Sunday, April 17, 2011

What we're up to these days.

- Ripping back the plentiful number of perennials in our garden. We need that space for veggies!

- Taking a hacksaw to the trumpet vine. Don't worry... it will be back in another month or two.

- Listening to "Chickens!" and reading about "Chickens!"

- Writing proposals and papers. And more proposals and more papers. And even more proposals and papers.

- Making cabbage soup since we got a head of the stuff in our bin this week. Cabbage outside of St. Patty's Day?!? Turns out, it can be done. And it's pretty tasty.

- Taking a good voice lesson and reworking some cornerstones of the repertoire.

- Organizing social time in the form of playgroups.

- Steaming dainty asparagus and teeny new potatoes for dinner... salivating as we think of the fresh peas to be purchased at the Farmer's Market in 3 weeks' time.

- Walking around the neighborhood to greet passing dogs, "Hi Dog! Bye Dog!"

- Whispering words of encouragement to my brave young seedlings in the basement workroom.

- Fermenting homemade yogurt and baking up batches of granola twinged with ginger (best when served together and topped with fresh strawberries).

Monday, April 4, 2011

Stay in and stay busy.

As a friend recently pointed out, "Hey! The daily highs are finally out of the 30s! Bring on Spring!" Yes... but we still have chilly wet days and so here's our survival list of how we've weathered (tee hee) the chill of winter and the shoulder seasons.

- Playgroups and playdates! What did moms do without the internet and cellphones to make play arrangements on the fly? It can be a lifesaver knowing that you're headed out to someone else's warm house for a different set of toys and some adult/toddler company.

- The library! This is a year-round destination (heat in the winter and AC in the summer!) and it's a great one. Our main library's first floor is entirely devoted to the children's section and there are several hands on play areas for those that aren't interested in sitting still with a book. The library also offers a variety of story hours and playgroups which are free free free.

- Wagner Farm. While this is cold in the winter, it's still a neat place to go and see the cows, horses, chickens and pigs (pigs only in the summer, though). They have a wonderful interactive museum geared towards toddlers and it's a perfect destination for an hour.

- The Exploratorium. This is in a neighboring city and has a small fee, but is a wonderland of hands on activities from slides, to a huge climbing structure (think a human-sized guinea pig maze), drawing with crayons, dress up and role play, a book corner, train table, water play, and interactive music displays.

- The Family Room. A drop-in style playgroup housed in a cozy building with coffee for the caregivers and rooms full of toys for the kids. It's geared towards toddlers with a room full of manipulatives, another with kitchen/house toys, a gross motor skills room with a slide and balls, a reading room, and an arts room. For the last 20 minutes of the drop-in, there's a "circle time" where we gather and sing a couple of songs, listen to a book, and wind down from the excitement of all the free play.

- Wiggleworms. This is the music class we've been attending for a while now. We both love it and Christopher talks ad nauseum about his wonderful teacher and her amazing guitar in anticipation of each class.

- Gymboree. We signed up for an awesome deal for this through Groupon over the months of January and February. It was a lifesaver. The classes were a bit lackluster, but most days of the week the "gym" was open in the afternoons for free play. It was the perfect well-lit, warm and cozy place to go climb, slide, and play.

There are a variety of other free playgroups in the area, as well as many more options that come with a fee. These are the ones we took advantage of most frequently. And, of course, I become a gym fanatic in the wintertime which means that Christopher can hang out in the kid care for an hour a few mornings each week. The staff know him well, and they have a ton of things to explore that we don't have at home, so he's happy to be there every so often. I'm grateful that he goes there so easily to give us each time to "play" on our own.

Spring related: I planted seeds this weekend! Not in the ground, but in makeshift seedling pots. They're all set up downstairs in the workroom beneath a florescent worklight. I am really hoping that I'll see some growth over the next few weeks. But, if not... we'll be out there before we know it. Yard waste pick up begins this week, so our spring clean up will now begin in earnest... when it's not raining, of course!