Princess Pine

Princess Pine. bot: Lycopodium Obscurum. Princess Pine is a member of a plant family called club mosses. Not a "tree" by any means, but a moss that resembles one. It can be found on the floor of moist, nutrient-rich hardwood forests. It is also the nickname we gave our daughter when she was very young.

Why, you ask, would anyone nickname their daughter after a moss? It represents everything we truly love. It's is delicate and beautiful. It is found hidden at the bottom of trees, deep in the forest. If you weren't looking closely for it, you would easily trample it. The woods... a place where our family would rather be. Hmmm.... sit at the soccer fields today? Or hike in the woods? Our answer would, of course, be - take a hike. However, it is also fun to watch your five year old strap on his "magic" goalie gloves and stop a charging herd of other 5 year olds and 1 soccer ball.

The forest (or woods, we use them interchangeably) mean so much. It's peaceful. A place to catch a glimpse of all things wild. I always feel much closer to God deep in the woods than sitting on some man-made bench in a man-made church. It makes you appreciate everything in this world. Just like the incredible miracle of the creation of children, the creation of trees is amazing as well. One tiny little acorn, should it survive squirrels, bears and such, manages to grow into a giant, towering tree. That will eventually harbor those that tried to eat it in seed form.

Why, you ask, would anyone nickname their daughter after a moss? My daughter is beautiful. Delicate. Uncommon. When we call her Princess Pine she just smiles. As if she knows everything wonderful that is behind that name.

Tee-pee's

It all started with a discussion on my Mom's Board. Does anyone have any ideas for a playdate? A few ideas were tossed around, and a web site was posted. There, under neighborhood playdates, was the perfect idea. Stick tee-pees. So we gathered up the nieghborhood kids on a Friday afternoon after school. I will admit, it was a little slow to start. Mike went with them into the woods hunting for sticks. They charged out with Mike carrying a giant bundle. He showed them how to put one together (with twine at the top to help them stay) and off they went. The big kids worked together as a team and had their sticks assembled within a few minutes. They really never quite got the hang of draping the sheet around the tee-pee. Their preferred method was hanging it over the top. If they were Indians, they would have smoked themselves right out of their home!

The late afternoon quickly became chilly, and attention focused on hot dogs, chips, warm apple cider and a small bon fire. Marshmallows appears, with a hunt for smaller sticks. My children both appeared with multi-branched sticks. The kind that would be perfect for a snowman's arms. And in quick order, they plopped on and roasted multiple marshmallows at one time. I will give them credit for that one! The evening ended too quickly around 6:00 to allow for boy scout meetings, and cheerleading at a football game (thankfully, nothing for my kids!). Building stick tee-pee's was a great success. So was spending time with the neighbors.

Projects, projects

For some reason, it's become difficult to leave things alone around our house. I'm sure it all started very innocently when we bought our house 11 years ago. Something like hey, this bathroom really needs a new medicine cabinet. Over the years our confidence (and skills) have grown. Hey, we really need to do something about our kitchen became a reality 3 years ago. Walls ripped down to studs, walls even moved! Beautiful new hickory cabinets hung with the help of my Dad, tile floors and backsplash, even granite countertops! I love making bread, it's such a pleasure to knead the dough on granite. Our most amitious project was new siding the year after the kitchen. We decided, innocently enough, hey - if the siding is off, we might as well replace these old, crappy builder-grade windows too. So, side by side we ripped off siding, ripped off black wafer board, ripped out old windows, inserted new Pella windows and added new (and proper) plywood. The funny thing was that we finished one side in a weekend and thought, oh my god, we have 3 more sides left!!!! Yes, that was one heck of a project. I also have a beautiful bay window in my dining room thanks to that project.

The latest project is pretty modest. Rip apart the tool shed. Why not leave it as it is you ask? Well, the double doors open right into a wall. To get the garden tractor in and out, you need to drive it up (and back it down) onto a pair of ramps. So, off came half of the walls of the shed. While in there, I thought hey, it would really look brighter with a coat of primer paint. Perhaps I should stop thinking. The walls were painted first, to which everyone agreed it did look a lot brighter. And suddenly the ceiling looked a LOT darker. Hmmm. Off to the paint store for another can of primer. I have just finished the ceiling. I still have to paint the one exterior wall that is still bard-red with primer. And THEN I still have to re-paint everything with the paint I picked up that would turn the shed into the same color as the house..... I must have adult ADD because I am mentally done with painting, but know I still have quite a few hours out there to finish.

1st week of school

New backpacks: check. Shiny white new sneakers (for Dylan): check. Knee high black boots (with HEELS!): check. Loads of school supplies: check. That can only mean one thing... the fist day of school is here!

I put my baby on the school bus this year. While inconvenient as a working Mom, I was happy it is a half day program. Dylan was thrilled to ride the bus to "al-a-pine" with his big sister Morgan. For the first time that I can remember, Morgan didn't show that she was nervous. Must have been the boots! I didn't read Dylan right after he got home, and didn't realize until a GIANT melt-down at dinner that he was exhausted from his first day. I sent nap time bedding with him to the preschool center so he could have quiet time on the second day. The third morning he was in tears because he decided he didn't like Kindergarten or "al-a-pine". I suspect it's because he was reprimanded for playing too rough with a neighborhood boy who has never been exposed to pre-school. I had a few Moms over for coffee that 3rd morning, and was relieved to hear that ALL of her kids, from her Kindergartener to her middle school child had tears that morning. Yes, the first week of school is hard.