No Jacket Required

Today it reached just about 60 degrees!  The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, the clouds were perfectly puffy, and the sun was happily shining down.  It was simply amazing!  A glorious day such as this surely calls for an adventure to be had.  And, as luck would have it, plans had already been made to meet up with my friend Julie at the Natick Community Organic Farm.  Our timing couldn't have been any better!

Someone get these girls a farm, please!

What started out as a simple errand of dropping off some yarn to my friend Julie turned into a completely lovely adventure.  Our time spent at the farm today was just what we all needed. Soaking in loads of Vitamin D and connecting with nature truly feeds our souls.  Watching the girls run with wild abandon and connect with their friends and the animals made me feel (once again) that they really should be farm kids.  They would do well with lots of land to explore, animals to take care of and gardens to tend.  Thankfully we have the last two covered!  Thank you Mother Nature for this gift of this day!  We girls truly appreciated it!

{This Moment} What The Tooth Fairy Left

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. We hope your weekend is full of magic!

A Magical First

Yesterday at 2:30am Grace appeared at our bedside to tell us that the very wiggly tooth she'd had finally fell out.

As you can imagine, there was much excitement in our house. This tooth had been wiggly for quite some time and this past week it seemed to get looser and looser each day. We chatted with my mom that same night and she apparently went to bed thinking that this little tooth would fall out during the night. Smart Gramma.  

The tooth fairy box that we'd bought and tucked away many moons ago for her was brought out yesterday. There was much rejoicing over this sweet little box. "Oh, Mama, the fairy looks like me!"  and "I remember seeing this box at the toy store and wishing it could be mine!"  

All day long we waited for night to come so that the tooth fairy would arrive. Finally, it was time to head to bed. We went upstairs and she lovingly placed her box on one of her pillows.  

"Oh mama, I am so excited! I cannot wait to see what the tooth fairy leaves for me. Do you think my tooth fairy is a boy or a girl? I wonder if she will leave me a note and tell me her name? I think I will put my tooth in the box under this pillow over here and I will sleep on the other pillow over there so she doesn't have any trouble getting to the tooth and her wings don't get squished. I can't wait to show you what she left me in the morning!"  

It took her until about 11:30pm to actually get to sleep. In the words of my friend Emily: "better than Santa if you believe in fairies." Such a wise soul that Emily. We've never had any trouble with the girls falling asleep on Christmas Eve so this was a first for us. Needless to say, I was very grateful for the wisdom of Emily, who, too, has a house full of girls who adore fairies.  

The first time she came down very upset at the idea of the tooth fairy taking her tooth. "Do you think she'd let me keep this one mama?"  

Finally, she was ready for bed. I tucked her in for the fourth time and she sweetly drifted off to dreamland.  

Around 4:00am Grace crawled into bed with us."Mama, the tooth fairy came and left me a necklace!" The both of us promptly drifted back to sleep. She and I slept until 8:00am when Emma could not take the waiting any more and woke both of us up with "Grace, you are covered in sparkles!" Grace then showed Em what the tooth fairy had left for her and both girls skipped down to their room to see how much fairy dust was on Grace bed.  "Mama, there's lots!"  That's when it was discovered that yes, the tooth fairy did indeed leave a note!

If you look closely you may be able to see some of the fairy dust that currently covers her.  

It was truly magical!  And thankfully we'll get to experience it all again soon as she has a second very wiggly tooth in there. I'm actually surprised that both of her bottom teeth did not come out at the same time!  

Ski Bunnies

For the last couple of years Dave and I have been determined to get our girls on skis.  And for the last couple of years something always prevented that goal from being achieved.  Finally, this past Saturday we headed to Wachusett Mountain and turned yet another dream into a reality!

While the girls were in their lesson, Dave was out getting in as many runs as possible. He had not been skiing since before Grace was born. The weather was incredible on Saturday and he was thrilled to hit the slopes. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if he'd had someone to ski with. Even though I am a born and raised New England girl I am that rare breed of New Englander that doesn't ski. It wasn't until we moved from coastal Connecticut to small town Connecticut that I was even aware of kids learning to ski at such young ages. Needless to say, every family needs a lodge dweller. Someone for the kids to check in with and someone to watch everyone's stuff. I am happy to be that person.  

Finally, the time had come for me to pick up the girls. I waded through the sea of parents and children looking for my two ski bunnies. Finally, I spotted them. As soon as they noticed me the choruses of "Mama, we want our own skis!" began and I don't think it stopped until they fell asleep in the car on the way home. Dave was absolutely beaming at all this! After all, since he has a non-skier for a wife he's been wishing and hoping since the moment we found out I was pregnant with Grace that he'd have kids who skied!  

A Belated Christmas Gathering

This weekend we celebrated Christmas with Dave's parents.  With Christmas falling during the week last month, and Dave having to work, we weren't able to visit with them until this past weekend. They arrived Friday evening, in time for pizza and family movie night, and afterward we opened the gifts that they brought with them. 

Thanks Aunt Donna and Uncle Peter!

Opening her gift from Donna and Peter.  

Opening her gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

A balance beam for McKenna!  And she's wearing the leotard that Donna and Peter sent as Grace's gift.  

Dave's parents with their gifts from us. 

"Mama!  Look!  Princess Celestia looks like she does on the show!"

And a dream come true for the big kid! 

A Dream Realized

I have been dreaming about this cabinet for years.  And even more so from the moment I first laid eyes on it at IKEA. After waiting many moons my dream has finally come true! Gone are the days of having to struggle with a tower of bins to get to the needed supplies for whatever project was being worked on. 

Everything is now beautifully organized, easily seen and (mostly) in easy reach. Right now the girls need to use their stools to open the doors and get things that are on the second and third shelves. Though I imagine that it won't be long before those stools are no longer needed. 

And really, doesn't everything just look so much better in a jar?!

The cabinet has been up since Friday and I have not yet stopped smiling at it every time I walk by.  It is just such a delight to see.  Dave, Grace and Emma all agree that it's just what we needed.  And Sarah, who was the first person outside of our little family to see it, was in awe of how completely perfect it is too.  It just fits so beautifully in our lovely old farmhouse.  Almost like it's been here as long as this house has.  Thanks to my parents and both of my grandfathers for making this dream a reality this Christmas.  It's one of the best gifts we've ever gotten!

{This Moment} Sledding

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. We hope your 2013 is off to a great start!