We are not much for partying on New Year’s Eve. Even in our younger days, we preferred to spend a quiet evening at home. While trying to instill a sense of the passage of time with the kids, I thought it might be fun to mark the occasion with a celebration. Since the winter solstice zipped […]

For years, I’ve been keeping my children’s birthday parties sweet and simple, and that’s worked for us. However, when The Boy turned four, I threw him a huge “Knights and Princesses” party, complete with handmade tunics and princess hats, a dragon pinata, and nearly every person (adults and children alike) in full costume. It was […]

St. Nicholas paid us a visit last night! Each year I share Christine Natale’s stories of St. Nicholas in the days leading up to the festival. This year, The Boy remembered quite well each story, and the lesson in each. The yearly rhythm of festivals resonates deeply within him–a fact that brings me great joy, […]

Dress-up is pretty big in this house. I think the reason I go through all the trouble of making halloween costumes, is that I know I will see them in action for months, maybe years to come. I didn’t get as early a start on costumes as I usually do, but I managed to pull […]

Well, we did it again! Here’s this year’s fiesta. It was a good one. By the time we were through, we had partied for eight hours straight and entertained sixty-six guests! You can read about what Dia de los Muertos is and what it means to me, as well as see photos of 2010’s party […]

We celebrated a sweet and simple birthday this past weekend.  My little girl tuned four.   She now informs me that she is not little and is indeed, “a BIG girl.” Well, I think I’m inclined to agree with her. I gave her a couple of party options and she chose to light sky lanterns with […]

Another sweet and simple holiday–just how I like it.  Our celebration was very similar to last year’s. This year, St. Nicholas brought each child a golden nut, a tangerine, chocolate coins, a candy cane, a geode to break open, and a small wooden mushroom kaleidoscope. For The Girl, he brought a small wooden honey pot […]

Once again, I was pretty proud of myself for getting the kids’ Halloween costumes done ahead of time.  I love making the costumes for the kids (I always did fantasize about being a costume designer), and the key to doing it stress-free, is starting very early. Much to my chagrin, The Girl chose to be […]

I made these quills today for a birthday party we will be attending this weekend.  Nothing like waking up one morning, deciding to make quills, then watching a few videos, raiding the craft stash for feathers, and then making them.  All in the span of about an hour.

Yet another beach photo.  But–it is a photo of a different beach.  I love that my children get to know all of the beaches in our area.  They always want to know which one we are going to, and each has its own perks.  This one happens to be the closest to our home.  We […]