Fingers crossed...

We planted the garden on Sunday (the weather was gorgeous... sunny and in the 60s)!  However, I didn't realize that it was a full moon (not great for planting), I'm still in denial about the mole situation, and it has been pouring down rain all day today (to the point of pretty much flooding our yard).  In addition, we have some very cold nights on the horizon.  So while I was super excited and optimistic about the whole endeavor on Sunday, I am now feeling a bit more apprehensive.  I did save half of my seeds so I figure we can always start over in a few weeks if it all goes to shit.  The kids did help some this year with planting, but mostly Charlie Ann was interested in planting her own seeds in a clay pot and Aden busied himself digging in the one free bed (saved for summer tomatoes!).  Their biggest contribution was helping me find the big poles in our woods that we used to construct our peas/bean pole!  I'm not sure how it will all play out, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Chicken love...

I just had to show off the amazing transformation of our little miss Lovie Lee.  When we first got her, she was severely lacking in feathers (she had been picked on and was in pretty rough shape... she was possibly the ugliest chicken ever!).  We named her "Lovie" because Charlie Ann said she needed some extra love (that is a serious understatement!).  

Here is her before shot (wasn't she just pitiful?!):  

And here is what she looks like now:

Isn't she so pretty? And she is absolutely the sweetest old chicken you could ever meet!  I'm not sure that she's ever given us a single egg (she's been working on those feathers since the day she got here), but she's still our favorite.  

And while I'm at it, here is a quick chicken related/before shot of the garden (I'd like to get started planting pretty soon, but I'm worried about a mole who is wrecking havoc in the beds--any advice would be very much appreciated!  And I did tell the chickens to enjoy these final days in the garden because as soon as we plant... they will be banished!!):  

A room for two...

The kids have been begging us to put the bunk beds back up (we took them back down a while ago... I think because of some sort of bad bunk bed related behavior or another).  So we took a cold, crummy day and worked on their little room (we were all sick, but a bunk bed project seemed to cheer us up a bit... and it definitely kept our minds off of our various aches and pains!).  

Here is what it looks like all freshly rearranged and spruced up a bit (with the exception of the closet which is definitely on my spring break to do list!)...   

A few notes... the white book shelf is a recently acquired hand-me-down.  The purple and dark blue shelves and rocker are all repainted thrift store acquisitions (amazing what a little spray paint can do!).  The doll house on the dresser (which is another hand me down) was from a consignment store.  Charlie Ann's "desk" came from a flea market in Asheville and the chair was from a local preschool liquidation sale.  I made the pillows (with Charlie Ann's help) and the comforters (I used an old comforter we had on hand, cut it in half, and covered with fleece fabric and flat sheets... so cozy!).  I think the beds are the only new pieces of furniture in the entire room!  

We're givers...

If ever you happen to be invited to come to our house on Valentine's day (or any day in February for that matter), you should say, emphatically, "HELL TO THE NO!"  Because if you do come, you'll get more than a heart bracelet and some pretty sugar cookies... you'll get GERMS... lots of them.  I actually did not plan a Valentine's day party this year, but it just so happened that we were helping out a couple of friends with childcare so I figured surely we could have a little valentine's day fun!  And we did have a grand time, but then Mr. Aden woke up later that night with a fever (of course!).  So our little friends got a little more than they bargained for.  What can I say... we're givers!

And here is the little germ sharing villain...

P.S.  His mustache was attached to a dum dum... how cute is that for a simple valentine?!  The other favorite valentine we received was a whoopee cushion (with a note that said, "Whoopee... It's Valentine's Day!").  By the way, whoopee cushions are absolutely hilarious for the four to six year old set!!  And an ingenious way to share and spread germs ;)

P.P.S.  The heart bracelet idea came from here!

This is fucking awesome!

Enjoy some hilarious hip hop thrift store love...

Valentines...

Fifty valentines for free!  Both preschool classes have 22 children and two teachers... so we set out this morning to make 50 valentines (that's a whole lot of love!).  I pulled a few pages from some old calendars, we painted some magazine pages pink, found a torn painting to donate to the cause (after some discussion), and then started a bit of an assembly line.  There was plenty of cutting, folding, gluing, and decorating work for everyone.  The kiddos helped for the first 30 or so... and then they lost interest so I went ahead and finished the job.  I wish I had a stamp for the message inside, but I'll probably write out a little something and then have the kids sign their names.  We'll do a few each day so it doesn't feel like a big chore.  It took less than an hour, but I think they're quite sweet.  I'm definitely going to remember to use these calendars for future projects... great paper weight and lovely images and colors to work with!  

Favorite things...

I picked up this very special necklace in a consignment shop in Ashland, Oregon (hitting the thrift stores with my sister last summer)!  I love it and always get compliments every time I wear it (best $8 I ever spent!).  Today was another day when I was wearing a head to toe thrifted ensemble...  a perfect outfit for teaching my 8am class and then heading out to the park for an afternoon hanging with some of my favorite little people.   

In the works...

I'm (very slowly) making progress on a T-shirt quilt for my hubby (a belated birthday present that I hope to complete by his next birthday... just kidding... hopefully!).  I've cut the panels, attached the interfacing, and have begun to sew the pieces together.  Once that's all done, I need to figure out the batting situation and choose a fabric for the back of the quilt (and then I guess I have to figure out how to put it all together!).  I'll be tackling this again on Saturday with a recently formed sewing circle (hurrah!) so I'm hoping they'll have some thoughts.  Here's the current state of things...

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And my Mama sent me some of my Grandma's fabric that she'd been holding onto for years (thanks Mom!).  It is funny because I really don't remember my grandma ever sewing, but somehow getting these yards of fabric feels like an unexpected visit from her!  I really really wish I knew what she might have been planning, but I'm hoping to come up with a special project or two for these lovely yards...

Thrifted...

Way back in 2006, we went on a buy nothing new for a year crusade.  I figured after that year we'd revert back to our previous habits, but that year totally changed my perspective.  All these years later, it is pretty rare that I go to a store and shop for new clothes.  I just have better luck (and I definitely have way more fun with less guilt) hitting the thrift stores.  I like not knowing what I might find.  Just a few months ago, I found a doctoral robe for $1.50... a nicer version of the one I had been renting each year for over 40 bucks!  That kind of lucky score is what keeps me going back for more.  Usually I'm on the hunt to clothe my kiddos (probably 75 percent of what I find at the thrift shop is for my kids), but sometimes I hit the jackpot!  Very frequently these days, I head out the door and realize that my entire outfit is thrifted (minus socks, bras, and underwear... I do draw the line there).  Many of the "new" clothes I own are actually quite old (some from college or even high school).  I am not a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think I manage pretty well most of the time (without much of a budget and without contributing too too much to the unsustainable consumerist corporate economy... say that three times fast!).  This week, I found a pair of jeans, black slacks, a couple of shirts, and even a pair of boots... all for me!   These cozy boots (that might possibly be as ugly as Crocs but I do LOVE them so!) were a total score and didn't show any signs of being worn by their previous owner.  I'm always shocked by what people will buy and then donate without ever wearing.  All I know is that I am very happy to have toasty warm feet and a little spring in my step...