Special company

We have been enjoying our company these past couple of days. Lucia acted shy at first but eventually gave out smiles and high-fives. She wasn't quite sure what to think about so many people in the house at once. Soon she found buddies who read her books, played with her and paid her extra attention!

Spring cleaning / nesting fever part IV

The much-needed re-organization of the top of the roll-top desk occurred!  Next week... the inside of the desk gets cleaned out.  Most people throw miscellaneous things in a drawer... we use the desk for such items.

ADDENDUM:
The peonies on top of the desk bloomed beautifully as I had hoped, so here's an updated photo of the desk.

Spring cleaning / nesting fever Part III

With Troy's prompting, we rearranged our living room last weekend also.  I should have taken a "before" shot but didn't think of it.  Most of you have either been in it or seen pictures of the previous furniture configuration on our blog.  Anyway, the main impetus for the change was to make the room look less cluttered and more restful.  I think we managed to create more open space too, given that we added the rocking chair to the room.  The recent piano purchase made the room look quite cramped so this new look is refreshing to us.

Spring cleaning / nesting fever Part II

We tackled the sun room last weekend.  It's been needing a thorough cleaning for awhile now, especially since we spend the majority of our time there.  First, the slipcovers were washed and hung on the line.  The ominous clouds forced me to bring them in before they were completely dry, but the dryer took care of that plus eliminated the wrinkles.  I washed the windows, cleaned the walls and ceiling. Then, I started sorting and pitching stuff out (it doesn't look like I did much as there are still a LOT of toys around but believe me, it's a huge improvement).  Later that day, Troy cleaned out under the sofas.  I'm sure it was gross.  He also put the slipcovers back.  Toys might need to be relocated to the basement when company comes, as it still looks cluttered!

Spring cleaning / nesting fever Part I

We have been tackling the heavy duty cleaning around here but still have lots to do. Helps to know company is coming next week to motivate me! The task of cleaning the van's interior that I thought would be easy and quick took an hour and half. At least the little was happily occupied during that time turning knobs, wiping down surfaces, digging through various bags and bins, and of course climbing back and forth between rows of seats.

The vacuum named "noise"

Lucia definitely doesn't appreciate the loud whirring of the vacuum.  In fact, she wants to be held while it's running, which is great fun for Mommy or Daddy, as you can imagine.  The other day, though, she started relaxing around the machine, and now even points and says "noise" while passing by it.  That day, I cleaned out the inside of the van, and she was content to play in the van, despite the noise of the vacuum.  Later, she helped her daddy sweep the basement, starting out in his arms to finally pushing "noise" herself.

Meatless Monday supper

Supper didn't start out being planned as vegetarian, but as life goes, that was the end result. Since the past week revolved around spring cleaning fever, I looked in the fridge and realized that a tofu package needed eaten.  Hence, one dish of Thai red curry with tofu and vegetables appeared.  Troy mentioned something earlier about chicken nuggets, and we had a package of Morningstar buffalo style vegetarian nuggets in the freezer.  Voila... a hodge podge meal!

Sunday's moments

Our friends' new baby just arrived a few weeks ago. So yesterday after our fellowship meeting, I got to hold the baby for a few minutes. Lucia noticed after a bit, ran over and cried "No, Mommy, no. Hold you. Hold you." She kept tugging on my arm and clearly wanted to be in my lap in place of the baby. When Troy picked her up and tried to carry her away, her lower lip quivered and then she started crying. Poor thing! I felt bad too. As soon as Rosemary took the baby back, Lucia lept into my arms and finally stopped the tears. Oh my...the little bit of new baby prep we have trying to show Lucia with her dolls and tell her about baby sister is definitely needing improvement. August will be an interesting month of adjustments for one big sister!

It started with Friday's nap. She wanted to nap with her doll and the soft giraffe lovie. Then Saturday night it was the doll, giraffe and stacking cups. Before bed last night she was playing with her stuffed teddy bears so she wanted both the big one and small one in bed. I convinced her of just the small one. As she was brushing her teeth, she noticed her giraffe on the closet doorknob and grabbed it. And on the way to bed, saw her baby doll in the stroller and tried to take the doll with her too. I told her that we could play with baby in the morning. FINALLY, we climbed into bed, I pulled the blankets up to her chin, made sure small bear and giraffe were close, and then she stuck her hand out with a plastic train in her fist. How, when and where did she get that into bed?! We'll probably have the entire toy chest in bed with her soon.

Lucia's buddy Dylan

We met up with Dylan, her mom and baby sister at the Museum of Science the other day.  The girls really enjoyed the train ride, the archeological "dig," the sand box, the locopop ice cream bars, and wanted to stay past closing time.  I literally had to carry Lucia out.   They laughed as they screamed at the top of their lungs while we were inside the cafe eating ice cream.  The naughtiness of their behavior seemed hilarious to them, despite the moms constantly "hushing" the girls.  Thankfully not many people occupied the place.

Two munchkins

Seriously observing

creative animals in the scenery

Various birdhouses

Funky owl

Crazy huge eagles in the nest

Working hard at digging

Big shovels are awesome!

Sifting the dirt

hoping to find a bone

Regular sandbox

Mexican chocolate ice cream bars

This week's art class: Sidewalk chalk

Technically, we didn't go to the Art Center for a class, as we didn't sign up for this next three-week session.  So, I happened upon this tub of chalk at Target, and it was the best dollar I've ever spent there (and unfortunately I've spent plenty of dollars there).  Lucia was so excited as she had used the chalk at Neil's house and when she carried the chalk around, kept saying "Neil, outside."

Figuring out how to take one out

At first being cautious

then DUMPED it all out!

Very pleased with her caricature

She said "Happy Daddy" when she saw this one.

Yep, Mommy swallowed a basketball!

Modified cobra pose

How to eat a sweet roll bigger than your head...

... one bite at a time, of course!

Lucia's buddy Riley

Riley doesn't live nearby us, but he comes to visit his grandparents occasionally.  The last time he was in town, the two children rode the boats at the park, as well as the train, of course.  It was Lucia's first time to ride the boats and she really enjoyed it.

Last week's art class: Texture

The project concept was really neat.  We mixed white glue, powdered paint (any color of our choosing) and shaving cream.  Barbasol to be exact.  We slathered the foamy, gooey mixture onto the thick paper and then added the details like colored straw, pom pons, and squishy foam.  Lucia loved the mess.  By observing another mom/child team, we figured out that more shaving cream added at the beginning makes for puffier base.  After drying for 24 hours, the paint/glue/foam hardened very nicely.

Happy Sunday at Grandpa and Grandma's House

Bon fire and tractor ride

More weekend photos

Sitting on Grandpa's mower

Playing with Daddy's old trucks

Listening to egg coloring instructions

Pretty shades

First egg color!

Hunting for eggs

with Grandma's help