Bunnies, Eggs, Children

Have you heard of Operation Bunny Drop? I hadn't. The first and second-graders at Ashwood, including Sylvan, are crafting bunnies for Japanese children through this project. There were several pairs of adult hands to go around and I was invited to take some photos.

The small hands holding needles and thread were precious. The focus and intention. The capability of these young crafters. The emerging personalities of each little rabbit. These gifts coming from one child to another.

"Children, when you are stuffing your bunnies, remember that they are not fat polar bears, just plump little bunnies."

"The stitches may not be perfect, but they were made with love."

"Can you imagine losing all of your toys?"

"I didn't even know I could sew this well!"

(Overheard.)

There were also riddles and jokes that were shared, mostly made-up. "Imagine you're in a golden room. No way out. No windows, no doors. How do you get out?....Stop imagining it!!!!"

There was a wild two year-old rolling a hula hoop around and spinning himself into circles. Did it distract from the sewing? Not too much.

And of course there was Easter and a party with friends, with lots of activity on the driveway for our pavement-deprived children: scootering, pedaling, ball games, chickens wandering about, kids and grown-ups, and once a small fairy girl sitting in the midst of all the chaos using chalk to create a mandala. You know. Just because.

~favorite photo of the day~

Lots of little girls in Easter finery to be seen.

And a really thorough exploration of a flower, by a one year-old, until the stage of complete disintegration.

~favorite photo of the day~

An amazing face painter was on hand who patiently transformed many young faces. Sylvan is ready for the Lion King. Oh darn, he was actually a tiger.

Next up: baseball season...

Easter: Part 2

I bet you were feeling cheated out of the pictures you knew that I must have taken of the adorable little girls in their Easter finery. Never fear. This mother of boys won't let you down!

Here's a little flavor of the Easter party we attended.

I had to include my big boy here, so you can see his height! And he was the proud winner of the magic egg! The prize was a terrarium, now filled with grass and sometimes ladybugs. A fly on a leash is another idea Jonas had, but no takers yet.

Wading in the stream? Yes, please!

Two gorgeous bellies on view:

And Z's "widdle chicks:"

Two more favorites of the day:

Easter: Part 1

too late for this year we learned of Peepshi,

Peeps Sushi (thanks, Kerry!)

Where are the Easter pictures, CraftingMama? Yes, yes, finally uploaded. We had a pleasantly gorgeous Easter day this year: the weather was beautiful and even a little HOT (remember last year?? fleece coats, red fingers from the whipping wind?). The hotness meant that I had my bare legs on view, in a skirt no less. This is so so so very rare for Easter in Maine.

We tried a Martha Stewart idea and used electrical tape on our eggs to block out certain areas. It was easy and fun to do. I also lit up a candle and used a wax resist method, making round dots on the eggs. I loved my red mushroom one, but then somehow moisture set in and made it sort of mottly.

a variety of eggs:

felted, sewn of felt, blown out and covered in origami paper, made of soap,

glass, and blown out and dyed with tissue paper

Easter hunt at home, then on to friends' for an idyllic afternoon with kids, stream, trampoline, more egg hunting, great food and hanging out. It's an important holiday in our family because you may remember that it is Jonas's favorite. More to come...

Star of a Day

We had a brisk, Maine-style Easter day: whipping wind and temps in the mid-40s (F). Hats, runny noses, parkas, the whole shooting match. Did I mention Sugar was also present, as in White, Refined, and Completely Unhealthy?
The day was a success on many levels, and satisfied my party-loving 10 year-old's need for a festive gathering on his Favorite Holiday. But the most important one is this: No one came in personal contact with chicken poop. Because my dearest Love of a Husband scooped it all away in preparation.
Egg-peeling by Miss Z. (who was, in Sylvan's opinion, the very best part of the whole day---More than candy?!---Yes!!!), who liked using the step-on garbage lid-opener. Do I need to draw your attention to the adorable legs in tights and small shoes? Or is it obvious enough that I was nearly in a swoon while taking the photo?

I loved seeing our friends' eggs. So much more creative than ours, and in much greater quantity! Next year we'll have to try our hand with rubber bands, sticky tacky (that stuff that sticks posters to walls), and get a little more loose with our form. This one, below, is like the Universe Egg:

So beautiful.

At left, this was supposed to say OM in Sanskrit, but it's backwards, so we think it says MO. And since my boys love deviled eggs, why not, we'll get a couple dozen more eggs next year!

The Favorite Holiday

One more shot of my new favorite hankie,
already on the clothesline!
First day of hanging out the laundry!

A couple of years ago, Jonas told me (in utter disappointment on the actual day) that Easter was his most favorite holiday, and why had we not planned a party?!
Too late that year, but this year, Mama is on top of it. I think it's the excess that he appreciates, and thanks to Jenny, who has personally stuffed 72 eggs with a combination of candy, coins, and Easter jokes, I think he'll be all set. We will be having some brunch with a couple of families here at our house, and hopefully, an outdoor egg-hunt. One of our favorite 2 year-olds will be here, in some sort of festive adorableness, and my biggest fear is (not the testosterone-plagued 6-7 year-olds on SUGAR but) that Miss Z. will trip and come in personal contact with chicken poop.
This is always my biggest fear about anyone who comes to our house.

Tiny felted eggs in a hand-made basket by Ravenhill's Mom.

Above is the little package that I sent off to Miesmama for the Swap--CHOO; I am showing it to you because she told me it has arrived. Here's what she sent me. I chose the poem Litany by Billy Collins, one of my favorites. There was an ATC in there too, but it's hiding.
And finally, these amazing cookies from the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated, which really ARE worth the 400 times they spent trying to perfect the idea of chocolate chip cookie. The key: browned butter. Since receiving the new issue, I have already made these lovelies twice. Perfectly decadent, with that lovely toffee flavor of browned butter. And as Hannah says, why don't we use browned butter in everything, it is just SO great. I did make them smaller than Cooks told me to, because dang, they wanted them HUGE and they are just too rich for that size. I laughed out loud when I saw that Annie made these recently also and was raving about them on her blog!