Quiet Before the Storm of Busy

This is the quiet week before the storm.  

Not the thunder type storm...the busy kind.

All the end of school year activities begin this weekend...throw some birthday parties and a broadway show in there and we are booked til school ends.   Wow...Kindergarten is almost over...hard to believe.

So, this week Amelia and I have been taking things slow.  Rob was gone away for work last week.  We spent time at her playground after school and had our dinners out on the deck (yep Spring is here a month early) and took our oil pastels (this is her newest craze) outside to color the landscape.

Even Belle the husky knew it was a beautiful day.

Peter Pan is this weekend and Amelia and I are doing a Mother Daughter Lunch and then a Matinee....more to come on that and more :)

Ladybugs and Bees, Nasturtiums, A Rainbow Painting and Library Day

It was a quiet week for us.  For an Alaskan April, the weather has been spectacular, so we have been outside quite a bit.  

I saw this Ladybugs and Bees Tic Tac Toe on Pinterest, Amelia and I went straight to work on one for outdoors. 

  We used our already cut birch that we had from our Winter Woodlands Birthday Party a year ago, but will have to make more as these are too cute...we need to make one for pretty much everyone we know.  Will make the "board" thinner and less rustic on our gift versions :)

We also did some planting!   

I planted Nasturtiums in big pots for the front as I always do and a couple of pots of peas, while Amelia did her pots that decorate her cottage. 

 Unfortunately, we had to buy new seeds this year as the ones we collected last year I mistakenly put under the sink and they molded :(

Nasturtiums do so well here that they are my flower of choice.  I did do a couple of containers of peas too.  The rest I do toward the end of May so that I won't have plants all over the house.

Amelia got some painting in too...

It's a "Mommy and Baby" rainbow.

Finally, Amelia had "Library Day" for many of her young stuffed animals.  

They each have a library card (from our National Geographic Kids Magazine) and she uses her Barbie computer to check them out.  

Someone always forgets their library card or there is a bit of drama as to which book they end up with, but the outcome is always fair and full of lessons as Amelia is a lovely librarian!

Happy reading...

Princess and Fairy by Anna Pignataro

Amelia loves books.  I am sure I have something to do with it as I still cannot resist spending countless hours roaming Barnes and Noble.

I have posted about a few her faves...Mary Melcher, Phillis Gershator  (both who were kind enough to provide her with signed copies of her favorites) and a general post about her love of books that included...Princess and Fairy by Anna Pignataro. The pages sparkle and the drawings are dainty in pastels of blue, yellow, purple, pink and green, where one searches to find the clues that Princess and Fairy need.  The rhymes roll along as you search high and low in castles and cakes and everything sweet.  

Quite frankly, I am still trying to remember how we came upon the first book.  The second "Twinkly Ballerinas" I found on Amazon ... it was right up our alley!  We were officially hooked.  But to my dismay, could not find any others.  Until much later when I began searching again.  On Amazon there were a couple new books, Agatha and Mama, and they looked very promising, but we needed Princess and Fairy!  I googled...and finally found her!  Anna Pignataro.

There were a slew of Princess and Fairy books I have never seen!  I had to have them!  Ahem...I mean AMELIA had to have them!  :) :P   

Amelia's birthday was coming up and although I bought her a signed copy of Robert Sabuda's Peter Pan (will certainly do a post on his books in the future), I desperately wanted her to have a new Princess and Fairy!  There was "Most Charming Flower Girls" and the "Fairytale Parade" and  "A Very Sparkly Christmas" and so many new titles.  Now for the big question... 

Anna Pignataro is in Australia, in Alaska there are sellers in the contiguous US that won't ship here...the question...WOULD SHE SHIP TO ALASKA?  She would!  :)   It was rather expensive, but nothing too far off what we pay for anything to ship here. They came signed and with coloring sheets and postcards!  I was thrilled and Amelia was more so when she opened them.  Two on her birthday and one on Easter with one still waiting in the wings.

A week ago I began pondering what to get her Kindergarten Teacher as a year end thank you gift.  I asked my niece, Katie, also a Kindergarten teacher, what her favorites are of all the gifts she gets.  She answered "by far gift cards".  Hmmm.. Barnes and Noble perhaps?  Amelia learned to read this year...perfect!  Hmmm... why not a few of Amelia's favorites...signed by the authors!  Brilliant! Princess and Fairy will be included.  

Thank you Anna.

Let's Rewind...

Since I didn't want to get too far behind with the Birthday and Easter ... I saved a post on Spring Break week when Grammy came to visit. 

It was a very quiet week as I prepared for the big party and Grammy played with Amelia, who was sick for 2 of those days.

Luckily, we opened family gifts and she received a pillow and blanket from my sister that went straight to work.

She was feeling much better after a couple quiet days,  just in time for what hopefully is one of the last snow falls of winter.

Although, due to weather and Amelia insisting on not going anywhere, we didn't venture out too much with Grammy.  We did though make a trip to the zoo...

and said goodbye to the baby seal pup, Cosette, who will be shipped off in April to a new home :(

We had a delicious dinner (and dessert) at the Crow's Nest too...

and caught a spectacular sunset.

Since then, we have had more spectacular, un-April like, car washing, running just because...kind of weather...

Lastly, a couple peeks at the bathroom remodel...

Still waiting on shower door and moldings for where tile meets wall and 2 mirrors and cabinet from Shaker Workshops.  I absolutely LOVE these sinks and LOVE how the shower turned out.  

Once fully complete...will do a worthy post.

Next...Princess and Fairy.