Feeling Better.

Hi all. I hope you are well.

We have all been "under the weather" here which is why I have failed to post recently. But lots of rest ... and some refreshing outdoor walks ... has restored us to better health. Now I have that feeling that comes after having been "laid up" for awhile. You know that feeling where you just want to do everything all at once because you haven't done anything in so long. I want to start a billion new projects, get all the laundry done, go to the movies, clean the house top to bottom, etc...

But first, I need to tie up some loose ends ... like, finishing the projects I have already started. And I did a little of that last night. So, some of you may want to check out my Etsy shop to see a few new items that I have posted (I think a couple items have already sold). And if you have placed a special order, I promise to get those done asap as well.

And now I leave you to go work on some of those previously mentioned projects ... but not before I share a few photos from some of our recent outdoor excursions ... Enjoy.

Daddy and Isaac posing by our house.

One of several neighborhood squirrels that we scout for during each walk.

Isaac and Daddy enjoying a super-fast sled ride down our driveway.

There is nothing quite like the cold, crisp, refreshing air of a Maine winter to cleanse the body and renew the spirit. Have a fun day!

Love,

Jodi

Saying Goodbye to the Christmas Season.

Like so many other folks, we are in the process of saying goodbye to the holiday season --- at least for now. We are carefully packing away our Christmas decorations as it will be another 11 months before we will need them again. And somehow, this is never an easy task... in fact, it borders on sad. Our house always seems to go from festive to "blah"... even though we were just fine with the decor of our home before Christmas. The packing away of all the holiday's fun & festive goodies always seems to leave our home feeling naked and dull for a while ... until we have forgotten all about how charming it looked and felt during the holidays.

So, I am thinking it is time to begin a new tradition. I think we shall begin decorating for our 1 month celebration of WINTER. I am thinking snowflakes, icicles, and various shades of winter blues ... and maybe begin our celebration on January 1st and end it on February 2nd (with the anticipation of the groundhog predicting an early spring). At least, I will give this new tradition a chance. And I will start with this:

No more naked house :) Any other ideas?

Love,

Jodi

GOOD MORNING 2008!

Thank you 2007 for all the good times that we shared. You were pretty good to us, and we are forever thankful.

And now, Good Morning 2008 ... we have big plans for you! We hope you will help us to work on the following:

• We are excited to move to our new home and hope that you will help us to make the most of it.
• We would like to remove as much corn from our diet as possible this year.
• We would like to get connected with and active within the home/unschooling "world".
• We would like to celebrate our creativity daily --- keeping art active in our lives on a daily basis.
• We would like to enjoy as much love, laughter, and joy as possible :)

So, thank you for coming 2008. We are looking forward to spending some time with you.

Oh - and we are so thankful that when you end - you will take our current president with you. We have been waiting for you to do this for the past 7+ years.

Goodbye 2007. Welcome 2008.

Love,

Jodi

P.S. Oh - 2008, we forgot to thank you in advance for bringing us our new cousin from Kazakhstan! We so look forward to his/her homecoming.

My First Snowman.

As a New Englander and as a lover of nature and whimsy, I am fully embarrassed to admit that I have never --- in my 34 years of life --- created or participated in the creation of a snowman or snow-woman. Apparently, this is a fact that I have never shared with my husband --- of 13 years --- until this weekend. I think that he is now wrestling with shock and pity. Apparently, he had a dad that thoroughly enjoyed making a snowman after each snowfall. I, on the other hand, had Bob (some of you know exactly what that means and know that I still love him dearly despite his lack of parenting skills).

Anyway, I decided long ago that I was going to be the sort of parent that could shock & awe my son with all sorts of amazing and "cool" skills .... i.e. fort defending, sled racing, firefly catching, and snowman building (not to mention cooking, cleaning and laundry). So, this weekend -- when the snow was just right, the weather was gorgeous, and Daddy was away working (I didn't want him around to show up my skills) --- I decided that it was a great day for building a snowman with my son. And though I had never done such a thing before, and never even seen it done, I thought it was a "no-brainer". So ... Isaac and I took to the outdoors... and I began to pile snow. I mean, I literally just began to pile snow.

I piled and shaped, and piled and shaped and then piled and shaped some more. And Isaac wanted no part of it. In fact, he wanted to go indoors "to watch dinosaurs". I kept reassuring him that Mommy was building a snowman and that we were having fun. I asked him to join Mommy in her pile building. He continued to want no part of it, and just kept staring at me as though I was some kind of jack*ss. And I would later find out that I was indeed a jack*ss, because one does not build a snowman by piling up snow and molding it into a volcanic shape. But I didn't know that then, and just kept telling Isaac that Mommy was trying very hard. This turned out to be a mistake --- because every time that I would stop to take a breather from shaping this alien-looking structure that continued to fall apart every couple of minutes --- Isaac would admonish me to "try very hard Mama!" To which I would reply with some ridiculous remark like, "Well if you are so great ... then you build this fricken snowman!" Good times .... Good times.

Well, after much work (on my part only), the snowman was finished. He looked a little strange to me, but I let it go. Then Daddy came home. And Isaac showed him his snowman (as if ). And Daddy laughed. And I proudly stated, "Not bad for someone who never built a snowman before, eh?" And Daddy thought I meant Isaac. You can imagine his delight in picking on me when I told him that I was talking about me. Then he felt some pity for the woman he loves ... and he told me that he would show me how to build a proper snowman one of these days.

Fat chance of that happening though ... because I took a little visit to YouTube and stocked up on some "How To Build a Snowman" videos because I want to be the cool parent who knows how to create all the cool things. Apparently, I am not the only person in need of some help, as there were plenty of videos to choose from!

However, I guess it might go without saying that when Daddy discovered I was checking out YouTube for snowman making tips, he felt even more pity for me.

Anyway, if you need them, there are some here and here. And before you can even ask, YES I know how to make snow angels. But if I didn't, I could learn here.

Enjoy.

Love,

Jodi

Some Fun Movie Making ... Starring Us.

Ok... this is just for fun ... so please don't get mad, sad or angry ... I am about to show you a hilarious video that I made on JibJab. But first, let me explain something ... Halis and I have been life long Democrats and have had to switch parties this year in order to vote for our favorite candidate. So, though the following video pokes fun at Republicans (light-heatedly), we are essentially making fun of ourselves and of our recent choice to switch parties. No ill will intended toward either political party.

So, let's see how many faces you can recognize in the following video. And be sure to visit JibJab to make your own :)

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!