Winter Nature Table

This is what our winter nature table ended up looking like.  The girls LOVED cutting out snowflakes and loved that I hung them.  If you look close, you can see our tiny beeswax snowmen and duck.  We put Camellias because our bushes are totally in bloom!  I had to take this picture from the side because otherwise, I would come out in the mirror!  With February coming, we will be adding some Valentine crafts!

Showing off our cute batik dresses!

When I went to the eco gift expo in December, I bought these darling dresses for the girls.  They are made by an artist up in Washington state.  Although they are not organic, they are 100% cotton, and sweatshop free!!  My girls love them and love matching!  I think they look pretty cute so I had to post this picture!

Cute Snowmen sculpted from beeswax

Today Bella and Lala had their first experience sculpting with beeswax.  It was very new to us!  It was so hard at first, that we had to put it in the oven to warm it.  But next thing I knew, I'd melted the heck out of it!!  The colors had run together a bit and we were worried.  After it cooled, we found everything was fine.  It was nice and soft and they made lots of little snow people and Lala made a duck.  Bella added a tree and a "snow house." The wax dries very hard so your project stays strong.  The girls had a really good time!

Craig finished his Student Teaching today!!

Craig spent the past semester doing his student teaching at Jordan High School.  It was a pretty grueling task, and very challenging for our family.  But he did it.  And he did a great job too. He student taught at Jordan High School in Long Beach where most of the students are from Compton.  Some of the students were pretty unruly-- they are so young and energetic and love to push boundaries.  So there were lots of obstacles to overcome, but Craig ultimately grew to love his students.  He now wishes he could get a job at Jordan!!  He hates to leave his classes!!  The two ladies are the teachers who showed him the ropes.  They were wonderful!!  I am just so proud of Craig.  He learned this past fall/winter semester what he is capable of.  He overcame some serious anxiety issues.  We are looking forward to him getting a full-time teaching job ASAP and having a stable carreer.  Yay Craig!!  

We started our compost!!

The time is finally right for us to do a compost!  We've been meaning to for a while, but other responsibilities continually got in the way.  We are so excited to have our "Green Machine" set up.  We had been collecting scraps for the past several days in anticipation.  We are so happy--our trash cans are already way less full!  Hooray!!

I learned to felt wool!

Today was one of the most fun days of my life!  I took a felting class where I learned to wet felt and needle felt.  Coming from a sculpting background, I took to it fairly well.  I really loved the feel of the wool.  I made these cute guys and I love them!!  I fall so in love with the little characters and dollies that I've created that slowly come to life before my eyes.  

The other reason why today was so fun, was because the teacher of the class and the other student that was there were two kindred spirits.  We all became instant friends sharing so many common beliefs.  We had wonderful conversations about home schooling, green/sustainable living, buying fair trade, just to name a few.  It was very refreshing.  The class was supposed to go from 9-12 and we all stayed together until 4pm!!  The class was in our teacher's home and she even fed us the most delicious quiche and salad.  I know these ladies are going to be close friends.  I am going to teach them how to make dolls in the next couple months!!  February 2nd is our next class where we are going to learn how to wet felt a Valentine treasure box!!

New Years Day

Well, we started our day by watching the Rose Parade a few times.  But later on, we got ourselves going and decided to take all the kids on a hike!  We drove up to the tope of Lake Ave. in Altadena.  The kids were pretty capable, as it got pretty steep.  While we were hiking, Craig and his mom, Grandma Ginny, kept Ceci and made our traditional "New Years Sandwiches"  They are a roll stuffed with sauteed onion, diced black olives, mild green chiles, tomato sauce, grated hard boiled egg, and cheddar cheese.  YUM!!!  You toast them in the oven so it all melts.  We all came home to a yummy feast with potato salad, chips, and apple, orange and ginger ale punch.  After this, I think I'm ready to get back to healthy eating!!!  But YUM!  Happy New Year!!

Happy 2008!

Over the last few years, one of our weird traditions for New Year's Eve that has evolved is that the girls and I fall asleep, but Craig wakes me up and we put "Happy New Year" crowns on ourselves and the girls.  We bug them by giving them a kiss, and then let them go back to sleep. If you're wondering if Ceci sleeps in her carseat, well, yes she does.  We think she loves the straps.  I was always an attachment parent and Bell and Lala slept with us forever.  But Ceci likes to be alone.  She is a thumb-sucker and I think that's why she'd rather sleep alone.  Crazy, huh?  Anyways, Happy New Year!!