Do you live in a cold climate? Do you have small children? Do they go crazy without physical activity most days? Are the slides at your neighborhood park still beneath a layer of ice?
How about creating an indoor obstacle course?! If you haven’t done this before it is lots of fun to plan, set up, and take turns going through. It is also great exercise for kids and will help you get through those last few weeks of winter. Continue reading
Munchkins (felt-tip pen on marker paper & Gimp)
Cold induced hives a time not to forget
I’ve never heard of it. Last week we had some very cold days and my daughter was complaining of itchy feet. They looked red and I told her to put on slippers. The next day it was her hands. She told me at school she noticed she had “fat fingers”. I looked at them and they did look red and swollen. I got down to business on the internet after she went to sleep and of course got myself all worked up with worry. Continue reading
Cranberry Bog in January partially flooded; you can see the ice shards forming in the foreground
A vivid childhood memory I have is of digging through bins of old ice skates for a pair that fits, getting bundled up, and driving to a nearby cranberry bog to ice skate on the frozen surface. Skating on cranberry bogs is a lot safer than skating on ponds because the water isn’t very deep. Continue reading
cheap,yum,fast,&relatively healthy dinner-Sicilian lentil soup mix add broiled sweet Italian sausage at end; serve w fresh whole grain bread
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Dry lentils
I prepared such a successful dinner last night I had to share it right away in a tweet! I am sharing it here for those who might have missed it and including a bit more detail.
I made Lentil soup with sweet Italian sausage and served it with fresh whole grain bread with butter. What makes this meal great is that it is yummy, relatively healthy, cheap, easy, and super fast! It cost around $10 to feed a family of 4 and almost all of us enjoyed it. Continue reading
New Year’s Resolutions
Just the idea of New Year’s Resolutions makes me feel unmotivated. I know the average person gives up on them and I am pretty average so I am not going to bother! Instead I am going to pat myself on the back for my accomplishments of 2011 and if you are feeling the self improvement pressure take a minute to reflect. I bet you have much to be proud of too! Continue reading
My Sleeping Baby (poster paint on watercolor paper)
For a few years now it has been a tradition that my sister and I give each other’s kids “coupons” to an indoor activity center for Christmas which gives us something to do during Christmas vacation that is fun for them with lots of physical activity. Yesterday was the day to redeem and this year my sister and I traded off watching the kids while the other ran an errand/got something done. Continue reading
Rockin' Mama (felt-tip pen on marker paper)
The experience of bringing home a newborn baby can be full of excitement, love, and awe but it can also be full of pain, fatigue, and dread especially with your first. There is what people tell you about having a newborn, there is what people don’t tell you, but there is also what people tell you but you don’t believe could POSSIBLY be as extreme as they describe. Like the sleepless nights and the crying that you just can’t seem to soothe. It does get better as you and your baby establish a routine. Just knowing that it won’t last forever seemed to help me. I also found that the memory of those nights of desperation just like the pain of child birth fades over time. Continue reading
