Feist- 1 2 3 4

I just received my new CD in the mail! Thanks Jana! I love it! 

It is so fun to have your favorites to listen to. Fidelity and 1234 are my favorites on the CD. I had heard them before but never knew who sang them. I love Regina Spektor's style and rhythm and Feist singing 1234 is just pure fun. Thanks for brightening my week! We're going to listen to it in the car right now as we drive to music class!

Regina Spektor - Fidelity

PS after driving in the car O asked, "Is this a good song or a bad song? Who broke her heart?" They are always listening!

Cooking Club

I had the funnest time hosting Cooking Club at my house on Thursday. We just started up an Enrichment group for those who love to cook (or would love to learn to cook).

My friend, Krystal, came and shared a box of homemade truffles with each girl there. Aren't they beautiful?! She just started a business from home called "Pink Pastries" using her great grandmother's recipe. Her truffles are scrumptious!

Everyone brought 2 or 3 of their favorite main dish recipes, and many brought food for sampling. I made Gingered Honey Salmon (Amy's recipe), Parmesan Artichoke Chicken and Marmalade Pecan Brie. We had other delights, too - Indian Curry with Fish, Raspberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken, Roasted Chicken with Pepper Marinade, Enchiladas (beef & chicken), and Spicy Ham & Bean Soup. I think next month is Fondue. I wish you could join us...

P.S. Your CD is on its way! Hope you like it!

Capturing W

I have been trying for quite a while now to get a photo of W that is more than him just running away from the camera. I love W's expression in this photo. It sums up his determined, observant, sweet, inquisitive personality perfectly. 

Shirt-Pants

My dear friend Melissa has inspired me to start sewing for my own boys. I sewed as a young girl and always won the modeling competition at the county fair (my secret dream was to be a model:). My friend Marcie won the construction part. I haven't sewed clothes for a long time. I have sewed quite a few baby blankets, but now I am hooked on sewing for boys. These are the reasons I'm so excited about sewing for my boys.

1- O feels special. He is so impressed that I made this for him. He is now interested in all things related to sewing machines and insists that he is going to sew his own socks. 

2- I can never find anything original for my boys to wear. I am bored with store bought boy clothes. 

4- I can save money (maybe).

3- I feel crafty and excited about all the possibilities. In the photo below you can see the little button tabs. It is fun and something a little different.

Challenge #1

I admit it. Sometimes I wish I could have a little more "Audrey time" - or any Audrey time. Living 2,283 miles apart is sometimes, well... just 2,283 miles too many! :) I can picture us packing up our kids in the car and gallivanting off to a cool museum or to explore the city or just to hang out at each other's houses - if only we weren't the entire United States apart! So, I was driving in the car the other day, and I thought maybe we could do a few little "somethings" to make the miles apart seem fewer.

Challenge #1: I say we each make one another a music CD of all our current favorite songs. Include 15 or 20 songs you love to listen to and mail it off by Friday, April 18. What do you say? Are you in?
P.S. Do you remember this concert?

Dr. Seuss Tree

Our mesquite tree out front looks like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. It is loaded with thousands of brilliant yellow pom-pons, and it puts a smile on my face each time I step out my front door.

My Favorite Read :)

I loved your idea of posting O's favorite read, so I decided to post mine, too. I am currently reading "Life of Pi," which is very good (so far), but my true favorite is "Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox." The illustrations are to die for and the rhyme is so very clever. Oh! How I would love to write a children's book (and have it illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama!).

O's Favorite Read

"A Visitor for Bear" by Bonny Becker and illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton is one of our new favorites. The story is so sweet and the artwork really lovely. We checked it out from the library last week and already have read it more than  a dozen times. O particularly likes exclaiming one of his favorite lines from the story, "Away with you! Vamoose!" 

Where I Want to Be Right Now

The most fabulous vacation of my life was to the island of St. John, one of the US Virgin Islands. One of my friends just got back from the caribbean and looking at her tan skin and her kid's sun bleached hair made me daydream of my week in heaven! 

Volcano Land

O came up with this idea on his own. While looking at our egg carton he was inspired by the mini-volcanoes and decided to make a volcano land. Each of the volcanoes is painted with hot lava and it is a great place for his mini-dinosaurs to live. I was impressed by his creativity on this project.