Greening Sam and Avery

protecting spring

I think I was just saying the other day that winter was hanging on BUT at the same time spring seems to be trying to come!

Avery and I found this the other day.

It seems that the warm spot right up against our house is ready for spring! And it is WAY to early for that. I know there will be more freezes and more snow. To make sure that these flowers still look beautiful when spring is actually suppose to come I decided to cover up the flower a bit.

We dug some soil out of our composter, raked back the mulch around the flowers and added the compost around the little leaves.

Avery and I tackled this project while Sam was at school. Avery loved digging in the dirt and helping me to find all the little sprouting leaves. I don't think she understood exactly what we were doing but she had fun anyway!

 

living room bird watching

A few days ago we got  a couple of inches of snow. Now, we can't keep the bird seed in our feeders! We are seeing tons of juncos, house finches, redpolls, chickadees and purple finches. The girls are loving it!

They watch them during meal times and pretty much anytime they are walking past the door! And it has lead to great conversations about why the birds are all coming to the feeders right now.

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The NItty Gritty!

If you are looking for more ways to have fun bird watching with your little ones check out my All About Birds page. I am hoping to do a feeder project with the girls in the next day or so too! Gotta keep those birds happy!!

hiking when I have lost my patience

I have seen several other posts lately (like this one) about using outdoor play and adventure as a way to get through the tough times of the day. And I have to say those posts were life savers to me today. The girls did not nap. Which means no house work done, no computer work done and no real break or me time. This makes for a cranky mama. The instant I got them out of bed I told them right away we were going for a hike.

And it saved our day!

Who needs to walk when you can slide down the trail on your tummy!

Or your bottom!

Avery got to walk quite a bit today and she loved it!

Snack time on the trail!!

This hike got me back to being the mom that I like to be. The mom that can hold a hand when the trail gets slippery. The mom that can make up a song on the spot to encourage a sluggish 3 year old. The mom that can let the 2 year old poke along on the trail because each and every stick is new and exciting. I like being this mom!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Hiking may not be the perfect outdoor play choice for all families. If your kids aren't use to hikes then this may make the tough time of your day even worse. BUT outdoor play or exploring in some form is always a great way to break up the day, break tension and release stress!!  Get through the hardest parts of your day in your backyard and they won't be so bad.

winter is hanging on

We had to go to the library today and check out "Now it is Winter" by Eileen Spinelli. We have talked about this book before (and other's in the series) because they are great books for helping to remind us to live in the moment, enjoy the season that we are in and not be too anxious for the next season to get here.

So we read the book today. Again and again and again. To help remind us that winter can be fun. Winter can be great! And we need to continue to find ways to enjoy winter.

How are you enjoying the cold temps and snowy days?

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The Nitty Gritty!

Sorry not much of a post today and very few posts up here lately. My life seems to be getting taken over by volunteer stuff. I love all the different projects that I am working on, side jobs and organizations but it takes a lot out of me to stay motivated here at home. Especially when both girls would really love my attention and we would much rather be playing, doing puzzles or hiking than sitting around being quiet on conference calls.

So blogging is taking a back seat right now. A back seat because I have committed to certain organizations and refuse to let them down. So when I am not working on those projets I want to play with my kids. Any spare time I have I am giving to my kids and my husband, NOT to this computer. It makes me feel terribly guilty to leave this space sitting unattended for so many days but I just don't have a choice right now.

Sorry blog world.

you never know what you may find on a hike

Like an alligator wearing a bikini!!

Probably a geocache, but a super funny thing for a three year old to discover along a hiking trail!

We found another geocache while we were out and this one had instructions! Leave a treasure, take a treasure! None of them were really treasures but the girls found some "Cars" cards that they liked. And we left behind a family token.

It is an old keychain from my dad's company! Not a great treasure for someone else but it was really the only thing we had that would fit in the geocache bucket.

No, we were not out there to go geocaching but since we found the bucket we thought, why not participate! And the girls got a huge kick out of it.

We also discovered great views,

fun trails to follow,

bridges to explore,

good exercise for the dog,

and some great family time!

She looks thrilled to be taking a photo with me!

An awesome weekend hike!

How was your weekend?

 

outdoor play link up - kids on skis

We took Sam downhill skiing! At first she was very unsure and Chris almost had to carry her down the bunny hills. But eventually she figured out how to lean forward, bend her knees and stay up!

 

By the end of the night she was so tired she couldn't stand up anymore! We had a great time and are hoping to get her on the slopes again very soon.

The one big tip that I have to share from our experience is that giving them an example to watch is a HUGE help. At first on the little hills we were just having one parent take her up and ski down the hill. But when we got her on a longer hill and I was able to ski alongside her she did much better. I was able to show her what to do by example. I said things like "watch me", "see how I have my knees bent", "lean forward like me" and "keep up with me!" She loved being able to "race" me down the hill. And it really helped to keep her focused and paying attention to what she was doing with her body.

 

This Week's Feature

I found a post linked up this week that gave some great ideas and I thought it needed to be highlighted one more time! I love finding new ways to take what would normally be indoor learning outside and this post offers some great suggestions. Check out Outdoor Literacy from Growing Book by Book. And if you haven't read her book suggestion you absoltely MUST pick it up!

Now on to the link up! We are welcoming a new cohost this week. So be sure to check out The Golden Gleam and the great outdoor play they are up to over there.

How are you enjoying the outdoors this week?

Valentine's Explosion

So, my personal blog seems to be down...I cannot get to the blogger website at all which means I cannot post the personal side of our life over there (well the personal side that doesn't involve learning about the outdoors!).

I still want my family to see photos of the girls and what we have been up to so I am doing something that I have never done before and posting a non-greening related, personal post over here! Sorry for those that don't come here for this type of post.

But here goes...

Yesterday we had a ton of valentine's packed into one day! We crafted, we baked and made lots of yummy treats!

Cookies to give to neighbors, friends and the staff at church.

Recycled heart shaped crayons for Sam's friends at school (and a few extras for Sam and Avery). They were super excited to see the broken bits of their crayons turned into new fun crayons to give to friends.

Marshmallow pops! Yummy white chocolate and sprinkle covered marshmallows. We handed these out at choir last night.

Happy Valentine's Day friends and family! 

winter hike with family

So, the whole way up this hike I was way too focused on making sure no one was falling and watching for birds that I forgot to get the camera out. But it did come out when we got to the top and on the way back down!

The sand at the top was just perfect for castle building!

We saw hawks, eagles, geese and a beautiful view from the top!

The way back down was VERY slippery. So what would be the easiest way to get down? ON YOUR REAREND! 

We had a great hike!

We love family weekends because we are able to share some of our favorite activities and our most favorite spots in our area with people that we love! Thanks so much for making the long drive to see us PawPaw, Grandma, Bailey, Parker and Grayson.

 

snow play and family

two of my favorite things!

And it is so fun to play in the snow with your cousins that are from the "South" (as in St. Louis!) and don't get that much snow.

And eating snow was a big hit!

We climbed trees too!

Then we headed out for an adventure in the green space behind our house. Normally it is kind of swampy and not walkable but during the winter we can head back there to explore. We found animal tracks, animal homes, logs to balance on and a frozen creek to explore. It was wonderful! But the camera had to stay at home.

Happy Saturday!

snow books

We don't really have any snow here but we can still dream that more will be coming!

So, we got some more snow books from the library today. Here are a few that we are enjoying.

Stella, Queen of the Snow, Marie-Louise Gay

Another cute one from the Stella and Sam adventures. We love these books! This one is filled with lots of great snow play and outdoor fun. Not a lot of true science in this one but it can help to get kids excited about heading outside to play in the snow!

Blizzard, Carole Gerber

This cute book compares what is happening outside in nature, to the inside world of a little boy during a big snow storm. The pictures of the outside show what animals might do in the snow and some beautiful images of the snow falling down! The inside images of the little boy getting cozy are pretty cute too.

Sugar Snow, Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is a book from the "My First Little House Books" series. The story tells all about tapping trees for maple syrup. And it is based in Wisconsin. This book got the girls very curious about where their maple syrup came from and if they could see it coming out of the trees. I love when a book can inspire more investigation and learning!

What are you reading with your little ones right now?