airplane & a rope with knots

Andy's mom had a great idea (she would have made a great OT!). She said we should get a dowel to hang like a handle bar. Love it. If we can't construct one ourselves I'm sure we can find one in some outdoor play equipment or Abilitations catalog.

messy happy decor & playing hard

They say in Boulder people work hard so they can play hard. I think in our house the work is play... But an awful lot of learning happens when we're playing... :-)

Once, when Andy was about Zoe's age, he was told that all he had done all day was play. He answered, "I'm a kid, that's my job."

Tired out from playing hard...

going to the rec center

Yesterday afternoon we had the pleasure of having our friends, Maximo and Oliver, over. 

Ashley loves when Oliver picks her up. And it's really cute.

Here they are walking into the rec center.

The next few photos are for my dear friends, Catherine and Pat, Ashley's Maryland Occupational and Cranio Sacral therapists. Can you guys believe this is Ashley? Aghh! I'm so proud I could cry! Hypersensitive no more! :-)

Your eyes do not deceive you - Ashley really is walking under the waterfall! And loving it!

And putting her head under the streams of water...

And sliding...

And making seamless transitions! 

Here is Zoe up the first set of stairs, crossing the bridge with her tube, heading toward the water slides.

It was such a rough afternoon ;-) hahaha!

catching a rainbow

Fairy Puzzles from Grandma

Grandma Patti sent this puzzle and another one from the same series for Valentine's Day. Is she awesome or what? These puzzles are so pretty and whimsical I want to put them together myself! And that's actually how it began. Often times Zoe gets to thinking that she's bored, but then she refuses to do anything I suggest to remedy this. Rather than get frustrated, which can be difficult, depending on the level of complaining going on, I usually just start doing something myself. I believe I picked this idea up reading, A Charlotte Mason Companion, a long time ago. It works so well.

Sure enough, I had done less than half, when Zoe came over and took over. :-) Then she was so proud of herself for each piece she place correctly. She had it finished in no time, and we can't wait to do the other one! From the time she was a baby, puzzles have been one of her favorite things to do, but it can be a challenge finding her ones that are neither too hard, nor too simple. This 100 piece set was just right.

I found them on amazon, click if you're interested:

Sparkles in Light

They are made in the USA.

Crazy for sheets!

Recently Zoe has been asking for a "fort" in her room, which she shares with her sister. When I asked her what she meant she described a ladder to a room that was closed off, but had a window... or something like that. It's funny because their bed, which is now a trundle, used to be a loft. We chopped off all the legs when we moved here because we knew we would put up a ceiling fan, and you can't have a loft with a ceiling fan! Still, I'm glad we lowered the bed though, because they are still young, and couldn't be in their bedroom alone with the loft.

So, after giving it some thought I decided to install a canopy around the bed, to create a fort. This brings me to the title of my post - I am crazy for sheets! I get them on clearance, because they come in tons of colors and patterns and they can be a great no-sew project. Not that I have anything against sewing, it's just not one of my crafts right now.

Like the girls curtains, for instance, are the cutest purple floral flat sheets that I lined with white sheets. They even came with a ruffle on one side, which I used for the bottom of the curtains.

But back to the fort. So last night I went into Bed Bath & Beyond, looking for a work calendar on clearance for Andrew. All they had were like Hanna Montana and such, so I struck out in that department. Then I remembered I wanted to look for sheets for the canopy, and sure enough I got these huge sheets on clearance half off! I was so excited. They even had a huge decorative hem on one edge, just what I needed for the rod pocket. (All I had to do was make a small slit in the back on either end and voila! Instant curtains!)

So I went next door to Lowes, and found these fantastic curtain rod brackets. They are sold with rods or seperately, and as you can see they are quite different from the creasent shaped brackets for the wall. These brackets are ring shaped because they are meant to be hung from the ceiling. Perfect!

The whole thing went up in a flash, and you can imagine she shrieks of joy when Zoe saw the fort! Ashley was so taken back, all she could do was smile with her eyes all wide :-) We spent most of the day inside the fort. We almost finished the book we're reading, we played Miss Mary Mack, and checkers, we ate apple slices and had a grand old time. It's good to be kids... errr, I mean, an adult who thinks she's a kid :-)

One other side note: The curtains (sheets) really keep the heat in, something I'm really excited about as an added bonus. Ever since the girls started sharing a bed, we have struggled to keep Ashley warm, especially here with the dramatic temperature drop at night. She wont use a blanket of any kind, so we layer her in two sets of long johns, but even so, she sometimes wakes up because she's cold. It dawned on me tonight that before they had heat, this is what people did! They wrapped their bed in curtains! I can see why - it's amazing how it holds the heat!

Playgrounds Cafe & Cherry Almond Pie

So I was all excited to tell you how great this place is, where we went today, and how you local readers should go there, when I saw a sign which said they are closing their doors on December 20. So very sad. It is such a great place! A healthy cafe and coffee shop, offering organic and gluten-free food, with a huge bonus - An indoor kids play area that looks Waldorf-inspired! Anyway, they were much loved and will be very missed indeed :-( What indoor place do you love when it's cold outside?

On a much more cheerful note I think you're going to love my latest pie, inspired by the one I made for the Adopt a Gluten-free Blogger. That caramel looking texture, somewhat like a pecan pie (yes, pecan pie is next on my list, by the way!) is not corn syrup or any other kind of refined sugar, but soaked dried fruit. And oh is it heavenly! Cheers!

Cherry Almond Pie:

Add to bowl:

7 dates, pits removed

7 prunes

Cover with 1 and 1/4 cups of water, and soak over night.

In the morning, add to two separate bowls:

1 cup dried red sour cherries (my absolute favorite, though another variety would work too)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Cover each with water and soak for 1 hour.

Rinse the almonds in fresh water and strain.

Strain the cherries.

Set the oven to 400 degrees.

Add the dates, prunes, and their soaking water to the blender and puree.

Pour the liquids into a bowl and add:

10 drops of vanilla creme liquid stevia

1 tbs coconut flour, sifted

Mix well.

Add the cherries and almonds. Stir.

Pour into pie dish, well greased with coconut oil, and dusted with any gluten-free flour. I used brown rice flour.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes. You want the natural sugars in the fruit to caramelize some, but not to burn.

Chill in the fridge a few hours before serving.

Top with my Vanilla Pudding and garnish with a fresh cherry.