read this

My older brother (The Doctor) and his wife are making a new place. They bought this beautiful old stone house and are building into it their dream home. The Doctor has set up this blog to track the progress and to share their experience. Should be fun!

made by me

I am always trying to make more, tap into my creative side, use my hands, and be productive. It is good to remember that I have actually made a few things, finished a few things and sent them off to sweet little babies.
I still needs lots of help when it comes to knitting. Books and the internet have been great resources to learn how to make something other than a scarf.

These little pink booties were made for the 'other P'. I love the yarn; the color and texture, however I am still learning about yarn weight and needle size. These booties ended up being a little too big I think. But a lot of Love went into them. ;)

The purples booties were made of Vesper Violette, the yarn is a lovely shade of violet but I couldn't get a picture that showed the beauty of the hue. This pattern I found through Soule Mama who got it here. These turned out really nice, I hope to make many more in the future!


I am thinking about knitting this Baby Surprise Jacket for Phoebe. If I start now and work through the summer she can wear it in the fall. One of P's friends has one and it just looks so warm and cozy.

Smell the Roses

Spring has been really lovely this year. We had tulips and daffodils in the yard; yellow, red and purple. P has really been enjoying our time outside, she is quite the explorer. We have been busy with visitors (thanks for coming Gigi and Papa) and a fantastic trip to Denver. And more guests and trips to come. I have a number of projects I am working on, but sometimes you just have to stop and take it all in!

Options

It is starting to look like we will have some excellent options for school when Phoebe's education. Some of these options are schools that we have heard of or found through research and talking to friends but a few are brand new schools that will be open in the next year or two. I figure beyond the ones we have heard about there are probably another handful we haven't heard about.

Just for the sake of keeping you up to speed on the debacle that so many ask about, let me tell you about some of the education options.

Two Rivers Public Charter School- this is a charter school that is in walking distance from us, it is an excellent school that was started a few years ago by a group of moms who felt that there was no place to send their kids to school. Now it is a thriving, growing elementary and middle school.

Emery Education Campus- this is our neighborhood DCPS elementary school. This is where P would go if DCPS was on par with other school options in the area. I love the idea of P going to school with friends in the neighborhood. There are a few parents that are 2 years ahead of us in parenting and they have decided to send their kids to Emery and hope to do what they can to make it a better school for all. After reading this article I feel like we need to take a closer look at our neighborhood elementary school.

City of Trees Public Charter School- this is the school that a few moms from our playgroup are founding. They are planning to have the school's doors open August 2012. It will be a Waldorf school, which I have come to really love the curriculum from what I have read and seen in action.

New City Primary School- this a school that is in the planning stages also. It will be a classical Christian school and the plan is to open August 2011. This will probably be full of our friend's kids from all over the city.

Beyond these fantastic options, who knows what other options might emerge by time Phoebe enters kindergarten; I have a friend who would like to start a Charlotte Mason school, and a number of friends who are a part of a homeschooling coop. The possibilities are amazing when only two years ago we thought there was no hope.

Green Things

Lately it has been difficult to get P to eat enough veggies. Honestly, I think it is tough for our whole family (and most people) to eat the prescribed amount of vegetables every day. Although, getting a toddler to eat what they "should" seems extra difficult. P sort of grazes all day, she is a snacker and I am fine with that. But I have just realized I give her 'snack food' for snacks, ie. craisens, crackers, cherrios, cheese, yogurt. But since this is the bulk of her eating, I am realizing I need to supplement with some veggies for snacks.

Do any of you mommas out there have any go-to snack options that can help me round out P's diet?

I am thinking about trying something like this green smoothie. Seems like something she would totally dig.

Staying Put

For better or worse, the urge to move came and went with April Fool's Day. P will just have to get by with shopping at AJ Wright and the Lucky Star corner market.

Moving!

This may come as a bit of shock, since we haven't really talked to anyone about this, but we've thought a lot about this and decided we need to move.

At issue is P's proximity to a decent shopping experience. We can count on one hand the number of times that P has been in a mall with more than two reputable anchor stores...and the thought of that continuing for much longer just doesn't seem acceptable.

So, our plan is to find a nice house within a 10 minute drive of the Mall of America. Those of you who know us well may have a bunch of questions come to mind about how this will work out for us, but we're not too worried about it. What problem could arise that a merchant at the Mall of America couldn't solve?

More news later on the actual moving date...