zen

This picture was before Easter and was our first picnic this year. OK, so a little chilly then and we've gotten snow TWICE since then, but spring is here and we are getting excited for SUMMER!!

You may notice that I have way more pictures of the girls lately than of Ivan. There are several reasons for this. The girls pose for pictures, or at least tolerate them, while Ivan runs away. And while I am keeping in mind that I should in principle at least try to keep things somewhat even, Ivan had a ton of pics taken of him at these ages too! Also, I am with Emora the most, so she wins out on pictures. Not to mention that small is just cuter! How can I resist the morning light on her and watching her do puzzles, or color or amaze me with her intelligence and creativity. And the others are at school- so it's not always easy to get their shots.

But I was thinking that I do need to share the cute things they are saying lately. My favorite of Ivan's: eye yeye yeye He says it all the time. I asked where he got it from and Brian said it's from me. I'm not sure if I say it all the time, but I think it's super cute on my little 7 year old.

Emora is learning her letters and numbers. She's got about all of them down, only she keeps calling N "zen"- which I think is so totally smart because it does look like a Z on it's side. So it's a Z and N- a zen.

I got this project done before we went to Saskatoon last week. I had an "assignment" from my "Artist Way" stuff. It said to go get fabric from the store and get a new look for your house. I was not liking my table runners and found this super cheap end pieces (the yellow and green). So I figured I'd make runners. Then I took a couple of un-needed blankets and make backing and cut them so that I also had enough material for 6 place mats each. Then I realized that I also had some left over curtain material to recreate my old brown runner, whose design had worn off. So now I have 3 new looks I love and it really did create a new atmosphere of joy when I see them, or switch them out.



This one is always trying to grow up way too fast. But then she'll have a crying fit and I'll remember she's still just a little girl.

We are enjoying who they are with their strengths and idiosyncrasies. Emora has been rough around the edges the last few days. I think all the lack of routine got to be a bit much for her. As much as we enjoyed the break, it'll be good to be more regular with school again.