The Rowdy Pea

catching up

Well, I've been a lazy blogger lately if you haven't noticed. Last week I got walloped with the worst cold I've had in a very long time, and allergies on top of that. Yikes. It was a real scene around here.  But I am thankfully feeling much better now, and we are headed up north in a few hours to spend the weekend at our friend's lake house. Just the three of us-- woohoo!

Here are a few highlights from the past few days:

The salamanders are out and about. Right on time as usual. Ivo loves these little guys.

We had hail on Saturday.

My work table is so clean I had to take a picture. What a nice feeling to not be so messy all the time.

And last but not least, a funny kid quote. A few mornings ago I asked Ivo if he was all ready to go for our outing and he replied, "Yup, except I just need to spread my hair."

Have a fun weekend everyone!

nature hide and seek

Can you spot the hidden animals in these pictures? They're going to be included in a book we're making for Ivo's birthday in August.  He loves to play "I spy" so I think he will like his new book too.

Here is Ivo playing with a cattail, or what he calls "my favorite toy--fluffy wands!"

Six Unspectacular Quirks

First, a picture of what we saw today at the park:

Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever? I love this time of year.  Now on to Six Unspectacular Quirks.  Kate from Homeschooling in the Garden State coaxed me out of my blogging funk by tagging me for this meme.  Here are the rules:

* Link the person who tagged you
* Mention the rules in your blog
* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours
* Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them

Ok, here we go . . .
1. I don't really like to watch movies.

2. I drink my morning coffee black with a splash of cold tap water.

3.  I almost always spill a little bit of what I'm eating on my shirt.

4. I'm not religious but sometimes I listen to religious radio shows in the car.

5. I only buy one kind of socks so I never have to match the pairs. I just grab any two socks and go.

6. TLC cheddar crackers + black cherry fruit spread=crazy delicious!!

So, yep . . . pretty boring stuff there. But they are supposed to be "unspectacular", so there ya go. And at least it got me out of my not-blogging rut. Thanks Kate :)

And now to tag six more people:

Carrie from Waiting for Ruby, Mary Beth from Salt and Chocolate, Lizz from Red Dirt Mother, Emilie from The Little Nest ( a sweet blog that I don't visit nearly  enough), Jessamyn from Love This Life, and greenemother from The Owl and the Pussycat . I know you are all busy ladies so there's no pressure -- but I'm sure your readers are dying to know some of your unspectacular quirks :)

a guided tour

This week I was invited to go on Josh and Ivo's usual Saturday morning nature walk. It's at a wildlife refuge near our house, and since I usually use that time to catch up with chores it had been quite a while since I last visited. Ivo had so much he wanted to show me. HIghlights of the tour included the *exact* location where a garter snake had been last week, a small group of coots floating peacefully with their little white bills, and most exciting, a lightening-charred tree.  Amazing!

flannel board: the three billy goats gruff

Our favorite story this week is The Three Billy Goats Gruff, so a few days ago I used my paper cutter to make Ivo a flannel board set. He loves listening to stories told with the flannel board, and sometimes he tries his hand at being the storyteller. Yesterday he put on a show for Josh and me. It was a hoot: "Once upon a time there were three Billy Goats Gruff." Then, in a tiny voice, "Trip trap, trip trap," A booming voice, "Who's tripping over my bridge?" Tiny voice again, "It is I, the littlest Billy Goat Gruff." Then the troll voice again, "Oh, wow, I'm coming to eat you!" This is the funniest part . . . then in the little billy goat voice he said, "Oh, don't bother with me. My brother will be along soon and he has horns on his head and will bing you down off the bridge never to be seen again." So much for the surprise ending!

cute and clever!

I love my new mesh market bags so much I just had to post about them. They fit right in my purse so I can always have one on hand for quick trips to the store. For the big shopping days they are the perfect alternative to those plastic produce bags on the big rolls.  Josh wanted to use them for foraging but I told him no way. Bags this cute have to stay dirt-free as long as possible :)

I bought them (on Earth Day, no less!) from a new Etsy shop called Zummi, and I got to be her first customer--yippeee! I don't know why that made my day, but it did. It's fun to discover things. And I'm not the only one who did apparently because she is sold clean out of bags at the moment. It's nice to know that I won't be the only one at the store with a head of Romaine tucked into a "fashion" bag--hee!

archeology 101

Last Sunday we went out to an old farmstead east of town where Ivo's friend's parents were leading an archeological dig for grad students and volunteers. Now for playing in the sandbox Ivo wants to have a tape measure, a clip board, and a big box sifter. I can only imagine what wonders he will find.

little napkins

Like a lot of families these days, we are everyday cloth napkin users.  It's great for the environment and for our home economy, and so cute too. What's not to love?  The regular sized ones are cumbersome for small hands, so I made these junior-size napkins for Ivo and his friends. They can even double as a little placemat for nibbly snacks that don't really need their own plate.  I didn't expect him to be too excited about napkins, but he surprised me with a big smile and said, "Mama you made these for me? Wow Mama thank you so much. I love them." I think sometimes just having something little, and special, and your very own can be so nice, even if it is just a napkin.