April Showers Bring May Flowers

I know that the saying goes "April Showers Bring May Flowers"... but why does it feel like it's raining more in this month than it did last month?

Springtime always makes me want to surround myself with fresh flowers. I wish I could go into the park by me and just pick every single tulip and daffodil that I can get my hands on and put them in vases all around my home. Wouldn't that be beautiful?

Tomorrow I'm going on a field trip with my son to Central Park. It's supposed to be sunny and warm - and I'm so excited! The class is going bird watching. We're going to be on the lookout for robins, sparrows, cardinals, swallows and blue jays. We might even get a glimpse of a peregrine falcon! It's going to be fun because the only birds that we see on a regular basis are pigeons.

It's funny, I feel like I've been stuck indoors all winter, and now I seem to be going to Central Park every few days. I love it!

Sunday in the Park

Life doesn't get any better than a perfect Spring Day in Central Park.

My mom was in town and after a whirlwind weekend of seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway, a birthday party celebration, back-to-back baseball games, etc...we were finally able to kick back and relax!

Once in the park, we tossed baseballs, chased birds, floated in a row boat and my favorite... took a nap in the sun! Central Park is an oasis for city dwellers. I leave after most visits with a renewed sense of being.

We all tumbled home on the subway...all happy, hungry and EXHAUSTED!

Art, Culture (and Children?)

My oldest son recently used his birthday money to buy a new video game. And now...both Fischer and Henry are obsessed with playing every waking moment. Sunday morning, they bound out of bed, raced to our rooms, whispered "I love you!" immediately hopping on the computer! (I couldn't help thinking, hmm, were their sweet words used to lessen the likelihood of my setting computer limits?)

However, this Saturday, I has another agenda. I wanted to take the boys to the Guggenheim Museum to see a massive art installation by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. I needed an angle...how could I entice them to give up their "earned" computer time for an ART MUSEUM? It seemed to be an uphill (and almost fruitless) battle.

So I told them the truth.

The exhibit was a once in a life time opportunity, having travveled across oceans to set up. And never again would they be able to see exploding cars danging from the ceiling of the Guggenheim or a pack of wolfs running accross the walls overhead or paintings made using dynomite!

In the end, curiousity got the cat. All three boys joined me. Once there, they chatted enthusiastically about how "Cool the cars were" dangling above us and they each had a theory about how the artist did it. They even waited in line to take a boat ride in a boat made of yak skin through Cai Guo-Quiang's art pieces.

The best of all, they didn't miss their computer at ALL!

Springtime is in the Air!

I love this time of year because it always makes me feel like I'm a kid again.

Each spring when I was younger, my family would always devote an entire weekend to planting new flowers and getting our gardens ready for spring and summer. It was so much fun because we got to put on old clothing and play in the dirt! My dad would walk around with his wheelbarrow full of fresh, new dirt, and my mom would carry around trays of seed packets and flower pots, but I had the most important job.

I was in charge of digging rows of holes for each flower, and then gently dropping them in. I knew that my job was vital to the appearance of the garden because if I dug the hole too deep, the flower would disappear into it, and if I dug it too shallow, the flower wouldn't be able to take root and grow. I took my job very seriously, and carefully dug rows of identical holes with my own blue-handled shovel.

I can still remember how great it felt to dig in the dirt and be in charge of the flowers. I remember laying in the sun after we had finished planting, laughing with my family and drinking lemonade. I also remember the pride I felt as the season went on, knowing that our garden was so beautiful and colorful because of me.

Hmm. Now it's less of a question of how to dig in the dirt with my boys but where? New Yorkers have precious little space to devote to making mud pies!

From Opera to Baseball!

So last weekend was about opera...and this weekend was the official start of our baseball season.

Yikes!

With 3 sports loving boys, our weekends are suddenly FILLED to the brim with:
- baseballs
- bats
- mitts
- snacks

Moving past my initial boredom as the games seem to drag indefinitely, I started noticing the elements of sportsmanship they were learning.

The team was genuinely proud on each others accomplishments, jumping up and down when someone "wacked" the ball or got an out. In fact, catching a ball for my 8 year old was a quite the surprise.

"WOW...look at that! I caught it." Of course, after marveling at his feat for a while, he then woke up to the reality that he needed to do something with it!

His teammate were yelling, "Henry, throw it to me! Throw it to me!" He slowly lobbed the ball to 2nd base. The runner started to (thankfully) slide too soon, stopping a good foot before the base. The second baseman miraculously stopped the ball and tagged the runner....OUT!!

Whew! Henry became a small giant! His teammates ran up to him and hugged him with excitement. Henry strutted around for a minute with pride and then got back to the business of baseball. After all, he and his teammates had a job to do, together!

Winter's Last Breath

Meet Maggie! My best friend sent me this snapshot of her little girl. I love that it's Spring Break and it is SNOWING...ohhhhhh, the glorious North. I swear growing up in Texas, I was in a swimming pool in March! I am ready for fresh flowers, sunny warm days and the dog days of summer!

Sweet Maggie. My little bit of Sunshine.

Going to Grandma's

I love the idea of Spring Break (and secretly wish I could have one!).

WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE KIDS? (Meanwhile, didn't they just have a Winter Break? And prior to that Christmas Break?) Ok, Ok...I do realize being a teacher is exhausting (I could NEVER hold up!), yet we simply do not have that much vacation time.

Neither Brad nor my family rarely volunteer to take the 3 boys! So we coyly broach the subject and then POUNCE on any offer! This year, the boys are off Grandma's house.

Suitcases in tow, new pajamas and favorite blankets packed...and the boys will have the time of their life (and hopefully, grandma will, too!)

Mississippi Magnolia Tree

My boys were in Mississippi last week for their annual St Patrick's Day trek. They arrived home with scratched arms, scraped knees and sunburned necks... bursting with stories.

They ran around the neighborhood with a posse of boys, climbing to the furthest branch possible in hopes of catching an adult off guard with their whoops and hollers. Their favorite adventure included a century old Magnolia tree. They scaled the branches that could easily hold a dozen boys in its arms.

As they recounted their tale, I remembered how much I love to climb trees. I was often lost in trees around our neighborhood in search of a moment of quiet and cool. Children love to discover secret places, hidden away from the adult world.

Hmm. I, too, could use a good hiding place right about now!

Rainy Day Fun

A Nor’easter whipped through the city this weekend! This proved to be the perfect excuse to stay home and make things with the boys. I wanted to make a pie and my 3 year old, Wesley, loves to 'help' in the kitchen.

In fact, Wesley and I had so much fun making a pie that we decided to keep going. Already covered head to toe in flour, we made a vat of home made play dough.

I admit….I can barely watch my kids tear into new containers of store bought play dough. Inevitably, my boys mix all the colors and it makes me sad getting stuck with a massive clump of brownish murky dough. I find myself crying out… “Be careful. Don’t mix the colors!”

So my solution…make your own! The recipe is super easy. We make a zillion colors and I can let go of my ridiculous anxiety.

Wesley’s Home Made Play Dough

1 cup of white flour

1 cup of salt

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Food Coloring

Water

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the vegetable oil and enough water to get the dough to right consistency. Break the dough into smaller batches and add food coloring to each batch.

All my flea market tin cookie cutters make terrific tools for little hands. So, grab an apron or cover up and let them...Mash, MIX, Mold and Create!

Some Days are Rainy and Wet

I left our apartment in the usual mad dash to get the boys to school on time.

Yuk...the worst possible commute--a New York Super Soaker! Pushing one stroller and dragging two boys with rain pouring around us from every direction, I was drenched in a matter of seconds. (I am STILL baffled that in this age of $800 strollers and baby-gizmo-for-everything universe, no one has come up with an umbrella stroller holder!!!!).

After I figured out how to engineer this simple attachment, I made a short list of things I’ve learned as a mom:

1. Getting the kids out of the house in the morning is RARELY easy (and when the stars are aligned and it is…it has NOTHING to do with my organizational capabilities).
2. It’s all about them (99.9% of the time!)
3. Losing patience is a two Way Street— sometimes they lose it with you and sometimes, you lose it with them!
4. Expecting kids to volunteer to eat vegetables is NOT possible. It is an ongoing and consistent battle we must continually fight.
5. Having 3 boys in one room fall asleep on queue is a DREAM.
6. Dessert always tastes better than my home cooked meals.
7. As a parent, it’s my job to play to their strengths and accept and nurture their challenges.
8. Mom (and Dad) must find time to take care of themselves! Note to self, happy parents mean happy kids.
9. Some days are rainy and wet
   

And on those rainy days, if you are looking for fun indoor activities, here are some of my favorites:

• Play Candy Dominos
• Get out the Art Jar
• Teach them to Knit
• Learn to Sew

Stay dry (and tell someone to invent the stroller umbrella holster)!

The Magic in Band Aids

This weekend while in the boy’s room putting laundry away, I noticed my 3 year old, Wesley, trying to climb to the upper most reaches of his eldest brothers bunk bed with the goal of 'stealing' his secret stash.

I removed the ladder and explained that he needed to respect his brother’s private possessions and I left the room. I returned momentarily to find, Wesley precariously perched on a stack of mismatched chairs! (The scene reminded me of the King’s balancing act in Yertle the Turtle).

Wesley tumbled down and scraped his ribs. YEOWW! Tears, screams and shock….His older brothers ran to the rescue bringing plenty of sympathy and Band Aids!

In quickly accessing the situation, we all concluded that this was a special 4 band aid operation. Immediately after applying the first band aid, Wesley was ‘cured’. He was proud of his band aid status. He proceeded through the day to proudly pull up his shirt to showoff the bandages.

I was amazed at how MAGICAL and simple the recovery became after the band aids were applied.

I caught myself wishing that all my trial and tribulations could somehow vanish with a small strip of plastic. In fact, I marvel at their power. At what age do kids stop believing in the magic of band aids? In my family, it seems to have lasted longer than Santa and the Easter Bunny.

All I know is I wish I could bottle the and sell the cure-all for adults. (ie. broken hearts, etc.)

He who has the most eggs wins...

My boys JUMP out of bed Easter mornings. Excitement to go to church? Hmm, not exactly, it's all about collecting the most eggs. The mad hunt for pastel, glittery eggs puts a hop in their skip.

Dressed in their Sunday best, with a gleam in their eye, all three eagerly stare out the church windows; strategically planning how they can get the most eggs. You see, Fischer, Henry and Wesley are in constant competition. Whether for eggs, lego pieces or attention, it is about whomever has the most.

We love the idea of epic egg hunts and other Spring traditions
So here are some of my favorites:

• Using our Personalized Easter Plate year after year
• Reading Velveteen Rabbit and Book to the kids
• Filling Easter Bags with eggs
  

Happy Spring.

Make A Yummy Easter Treat

Materials:
2 Chocolate Bars
1 Handful of Pretzel Sticks
Wax paper for cooling
Double Boiler
Jelly Beans, Chocolate Eggs and Peeps

Make Chocolate Pretzel Nest:
Step 1: Melt Chocolate
Do this first before bringing the kids in. Break-up the chocolate bars and heat it until the chocolate is well melted.

Step2: Coat the Pretzels
Have your child add the pretzels to the chocolate. Stir in until covered. Use tongs or a fork to place coated pretzels on wax paper. Cool in your fridge or freezer to speed the process. Don't worry if not fully coated.

Step 3: Build the Nest
Use the cooled pretzels and stack them into a circle on another piece of wax paper. Keep adding one at a time to build up the nest. Drizzle remaining melted chocolate to coat and hold the nest together. Return to the fridge for an hour.

Step 4: Decorate
After the Chocolate has cooled, place nests on a plate and fill them with jelly beans and chocolate eggs. Top off with a little Peep.

Step 5: Enjoy your Spring!

Pass the macramé!

Growing up, my mom was always working in her garden. Of course, this was gardening pre-Martha Stewart days. She started her seedlings in random, mismatched egg cartons and eventually moved them into cut out milk containers. We even collected rain water in various coffee cans.


We had spider plants hanging from macramé hangers that she made from colored twine and wood beads. I thought these were beautiful and tried to make my own. Our garden wasn’t fancy however, it was a family project. Everyone had a job. My brother and I weeded, my dad mulched, mom planted and beautiful things grew.

Today gardening is more of a competitive sport. Catalog and online businesses are booming with the renewed interest in getting our hands into the earth. Gardening is fun for the family.

So, living in the wilds of New York, our boys do their indoor gardening in our oversized corn plant pots. We toss various beans into the soil (dried beans from a soup mix to pumpkin and watermelon seeds). And watch magical things happen. Our house became the city version of Jack in the Bean Stalk!

So grab your gloves, plant some seeds and watch your garden grow!

Add butterflies
Find some cool tools
Hang an old fashioned tire swing in your favorite tree

Bottom line...get out with your kids and enjoy the change in the weather!

Top off your favorite little leprechaun with his own homemade hat.

Materials:
- 1 gallon circular ice cream container, clean and dry
- 4 pieces of green felt or construction paper
- 1 piece of gray felt or construction paper - 1 piece of black felt or construction paper
- 1 yard of green ribbon
- Scissors - Ruler - Black marker
- Craft glue or hot glue gun
- Hole punch

Step 1: Cover Container
Using the bottom of the ice cream container as a guide, trace a circle onto a piece of green felt and cut it out with scissors. Cover the bottom of the ice cream container by gluing the felt circle to it. Cover the outside surface of the container by gluing on 1 or 2 pieces of green felt. You may need to trim the felt or piece it together in order to cover the container completely. Punch 2 holes right below the lip of the container. The holes should be on opposite sides, directly across from each other.

Step2: Make Brim
Use the remaining piece of green felt to cut a brim that¦s as big as the felt is wide. Use a large circular object as a guide, or simply round off the corners with scissors. Place the container, open side down, on the middle of the felt circle. Trace around the container. Now, create another smaller circle inside that one about 2÷ from the line. Cut out the smaller circle. Make little snips in the felt from the cutout area to the drawn lines to create tabs. This will allow you to push the tabs up inside the hat and glue the brim in place. Turn the container on its flat end. Create a thin line of glue around the inside of the container¦s rim. Attach the brim to the container by pressing the tabs to the line of glue inside the hat. Allow the glue to set. Punch holes in the felt brim next to the holes on the ice cream container.

Step 3:Make Buckle
Make Brim Use the remaining piece of green felt to cut a brim that¦s as big as the felt is wide. Use a large circular object as a guide, or simply round off the corners with scissors. Place the container, open side down, on the middle of the felt circle. Trace around the container. Now, create another smaller circle inside that one about 2÷ from the line. Cut out the smaller circle. Make little snips in the felt from the cutout area to the drawn lines to create tabs. This will allow you to push the tabs up inside the hat and glue the brim in place. Turn the container on its flat end. Create a thin line of glue around the inside of the container¦s rim. Attach the brim to the container by pressing the tabs to the line of glue inside the hat. Allow the glue to set. Punch holes in the felt brim next to the holes on the ice cream container.

Step 4: Make Hat Strings
Cut the piece of green ribbon in half. Tie a double knot at the end of each piece. Thread 1 piece of ribbon (the unknotted end) through 1 hole in the container from the inside of the container to the outside. Then, thread the ribbon down through the hole in the brim. Repeat with the other piece of ribbon on the other side of the hat. Place the hat on your little leprechaun¦s head and tie the 2 piece of ribbon in big bow.