Welcome Back Spring

Today the weather is beautiful! But I am stuck inside catching up on some school work. I do however have my office window open so I can get some fresh air and hear the birds chirping. It is such a welcome change! Before we left Boston last week, my brother gave me a few magazines to read in the car that my grandmother had sent to him. It is called Birds & Blooms, much different than the fashion, parenting, health and dare I say, gossip magazines that I read. It was nice to read something different and it gave me some great ideas for things to do in the yard and to plant with Arabella when the weather warms up more. One thing that stuck me was a poem that was written by Barbara Stanley of Blairsville, Georgia and was published on the back cover of the February/March 2011 issue. It is a beautiful poem and so inspirational for this time of year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Awakening

Crocus ladies awake to sing,

"Get up, get up, it's time for spring."

The daffodils have just begun to feel the early warmth of sun.

The robin arrives to hunt the worm,

Scratching around on yonder berm,

While redbirds fly and look for twigs,

A nest to build in the tree of figs.

"Awake, awake," the early blooms sing to all the sleeping signs of spring.

"Get out of bed now and grow anew; let colors burst and leaves renew."

Getting Some Fresh Air

Today was perfect early Spring weather so Arabella and I decided to take full advantage and take a walk after lunch. She had fun riding in her wagon with Teddy.

At one point, she asked me to stop so she could check out all of the sticks that were in a front yard. She was so adorable - she would pick one up and say "Nope, too long", "This one's too short" and so on. She never did find the one she was looking for and hopped back in her wagon!



When we got home, we decided to explore the yard a little bit since most of the snow has melted...YIPPEE! I just wish the sun would get to the snow in the back yard and then I would be really happy!






Mommy had so much fun with you this afternoon Arabella, I can't wait to do it again!

Inexpensive Art Work

When I re-did Arabella's playroom, I was looking for something fun and inexpensive to put on the blank wall. And I found the perfect "art" one day while at a craft store. They had large sheets of wrapping paper that you were able to buy by the sheet. I picked out 3 that matched as far as colors and themes and then picked up frames at Ikea that matched the furniture in the playroom. I then cut the paper to size, popped it into the frame and Viola - wall art! And since it came out so well, I actually did something similar for my office which I am in the process of re-doing. The theme is black, white and pink with a little bit of Paris thrown in and I was lucky enough to find the same paper with a map of Paris and then a full size Eiffel Town on it.

So I picked up more frames at Ikea and this is how it came out...I LOVE IT!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: Sounds of spring...birds chirping and water from the melting snow rushing into the drains. Tasting: Jalapeno hummus and veggie chips...my mouth is on fire, but I love it! Seeing: Grass, even if it is yellow and wet, now that the snow is melting and one lonely crocus coming up in our yard. Smelling: Spring and the fresh air. Feeling: Happy for a few reasons - Arabella and I took a great walk in the warm sunshine, I talked with my Jersey Girl - Christa for the first time since she moved back, and because we had a fun filled weekend last week with Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeff, Macy and Rocco!

Signs of Spring

Even though it has been cold and windy here, the longer and sunnier days sure are a welcome change. We took advantage of the longer days yesterday and took a walk after dinner. It was still cold enough where we had to bundle up...hats, gloves, snow pants, boots....but it was nice to get some fresh air and let Arabella wear hearself out before bed. The following pictures are signs of spring for me...what about you?

You can finally see patches of grass!

Arabella's swing is usable again!

You can finally see the patio furniture and the covered boxwood!

And the snowman has melted!

Words For Thought

Recently, I was going through some paperwork and came across the following. I wish I knew who wrote it so I could give credit where credit is due. I know that I probably clipped it out of the Columbus Dispatch since it is from 2008 and that is where we were living at the time. I hope that it gives you as much to think about as it did me.

Blooms are frozen in time.

But the plant - which should have lived only the summer - had already

far exceeded expectations, thanks to a pocket kept warm by stone,

concrete and marble. As we being 2008, I can gather inspiration from the snapdragon.

The lessons?

You don't need a lot to live well.

Ignore those who say you can't succeed.

Hang tough through the worst of times; the situation is bound to improve.

Beautiful things can result from powerful struggles.

Life might not always be easy, but it's always colorful.

And last: Live fiercely all your days, however many you have.

Silly Girl

I am getting new snow tires installed on my car today, silly, I know, it is the end of March, but it has been cold and we have been getting snow flurries the past two days, so we can't rule it out that we might get some more accumulation. Putting that aside, when Jay brought the tires up from the basement last night, he left them in the mud room and our little monkey found them. It took her no time at all to climb up them and then into them. She totally thought that they were for her to play on...