Happy Tuesday

I didn't do a birthday interview with Eleonora in February.

She was not super verbal at that time.

So I thought I'd have the boys tell us a little about two-year old Eleonora today.

Who is Eleonora's best friend?

J - Kipper, Maya, Buzzbee (cartoon characters)

C - Eleonora, Momma, Dad, Josiah, and Lydia, and Bean's bunny, Thumper, and Buzz

E - Bunny!  Bunny!  Me!  Me!  Me!  Ha!  Me!

C - Oh, I forgot!  Caleb, too!

 What is Eleonora's favorite pastime?

C - Play with her Lil'Woodzeez, playing Starfall.

E - Poppa, Poppa, Poppa.

C - Eating apples.

E - Apple, apple, apple, Momma.

 What will she do when she grows up?

J - I think she might be a teacher.  Teacher, or Poptropica Island designer.

C - Buy a house and decorate it.  I'll visit her sometimes and eat her apples.

What does Eleonora love to eat?

C - Apples.

E - Apple, apple.

J - She used to love Puffs.

C - Candy!

E - Candy.  Candy.  Candy.

J - Eggs.

E - Egg, egg, egg.  Mom, Mom, Mom, eggs!  Go!  Go, Momma.  Egg!  Go!

Well, I think that maybe it's almost time to make supper.

Maybe breakfast for supper!

Our Weekend

We were scheduled to go on a lovely biking adventure on Saturday, but our friends got sick. So we decided to build a roof on our treehouse. But first Chris decided to investigate a mysterious puddle. Which led to the uncovering of a very large sewage trouble. Which led to a very sad and stinky weekend for our dauntless resident handyman. He is looking cheerful in the picture above, because after, I dunno, 15 hours or so of working in the muck, he thinks he has found the source of the troubles. More work lies ahead. 

In other news, Eleonora, Sunday School teacher in training, continues to entertain and delight. 

And her hair is getting long. She loves sitting here and letting me do her hair each morning.  Now the boys are another story. We sort of chase them about the kitchen with a squirt bottle of water to get their hair looking respectable each day. 

Have a wonderful week!

Spring is Bursting Out All Over

 Eleonora and I go on a garden tour most mornings.

Here's what we saw this week.

The boys' apple trees are blossoming!

There were just a few flowers on them for the first time last year, but no apples.

We are hoping for apples this time!

 I think these might be forget-me-nots.

I started them from seeds last spring and they are just bloomnig for the first time.

 The strawberries are covered in blossoms.

 And a few more Easter pictures for good measure.

Eleonora loves real bubbles and dandelion "bubbles."

 And this is how excited she gets about 'bunny'!

Another 30th

Last week we celebrated another wonderful Craft-Nighter's 30th birthday with a garden/baking themed party.

Check out that monogrammed watering can Jennifer whipped up on her Cricut machine.  

She's a marvel.

And see that dirt cake with little rows of carrots growing?

So cute.

A lovely time was had by all!

Easter Shoes

If you will remember, my number one piece of advice about making shoes is - Don't!

But I actually did have a bit of fun making Eleonora's Easter shoes, 

but the process was also a great exercise in patience.

To begin, I found a tutorial with a design and configuration that was pleasing to me, 

but it came with no printable pattern.

So I drafted my own.

These shoes have an outer layer and an inner layer.

(The soles are made from a hand-me-down skirt from Lou.)

Shh!  Don't tell!

This double layering made for a step in the process that included pulling the entire inside-out shoe through a tiny gap in the heel of the lining layer.

Drafting my own pattern led to a pair of shoes a wee bit too small for my darling daughter.

But they ought to be just right for Anna Kate.

Because of this size issue, the picture above is Eleonora modeling her (second attempt) shoes on the evening of Good Friday.

 Embellishing with felt flowers was the quick and easy part.

I borrowed a few pearls from this old necklace.

(Perhaps another hand-me-down, Jenny?)

 Ta-daa!

You can tell that Eleonora is descended from a long line of foot models.

Actually, that would just be her Poppa.

But she is a natural, nonetheless.

If you do dare to try to stitch a pair of shoes, I hope that you have a jolly good time!

Happy Easter!

Hello, everyone!

We have come to the end of a lovely Spring Break and Easter weekend over here.

 Thanks to my mom and Aunt Terry for some cah-ute Easter clothes!

 I have been doing piano lessons with the boys for the last few weeks.

Well, Mr. Hoffman and I have been giving them piano lessons.

I'll tell you all about it soon.

Anyways, I have had the most wonderful time with Josiah while we practice together.

He cracks me up and he is good!

 Caleb seems to be showing off his adorable baby teeth here.

He got a little misty-eyed, when I was laying with him tonight, at the thought of returning to school tomorrow.

He learned how to say his 'th' sound at school and he is so cute how he carefully works them into conversation now.

 Eleonora is a hoot.

She is crazy about her big brothers and they are crazy about her.

 I decided to make her Easter shoes this year.

I will tell you more about that later this week as well.

My number one piece of advice on the subject is as follows:

If you are thinking of making a pair of shoes - don't!

 My annual Easter dessert.

It came together much more quickly than my multi-layer-cake-in-the-toaster-oven marathon baking experience of Shady Nook days.

 Hmm.  Not frame-worthy.

But we sure do love each other!

 And last, but not least, my kids and Heather's Easter bunny, Thumper!

Easter Egg Hunt

On Friday, the kindergarten celebrated the last day of school with an Easter egg hunt. I helped some other mothers hide the eggs. 

We were running out of hiding places for those approximately 800 eggs.

And they're off!

There's Caleb at the back in the orange. 

Look at that happy hunting face. Ha!

Eleonora and I enjoyed a trip to the walking track and Lowes with our friends on Friday, too. Our last day before 10 days of Spring Break with the boys!

We are halfway through it now, and we are having the most fabulous time!