Not to be left out of the sore throat, runny nose, coughing, upset stomach, fever epidemic that is sweeping through this January, I seem to have an ear infection. It's bringing out my inner whiny 2-year-old, but I'm attempting to tough it out using ear drops and ibuprofen. If nothing else, it's making me feel more connected with my toddlers. On the onset of all of these nasty illnesses, I thought it would be nice to do something a little different with the play dough in our classroom. I like to change out our dough every couple of weeks. Being... Continue reading

I finally cracked open this book before Christmas and made a couple of wooly friends for Nora. Since seeing the penguins in Boston, she's been talking about them and doing her own penguin research. I have to say, I think they're pretty cute. I finished the adult and chick before Sabrina was over. I found Woolpets to be well organized. Like many how-tos, it starts with easier projects and moves on to more complex sculptures while building on what you've learned and practiced. Nora looked at the book and jumped to the end to make a mermaid! Being a visual... Continue reading

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I fell asleep at the dinner table last night. A combination of my first day back at work after vacation, a restless night's sleep, and negative temperatures, I was just exhausted. All resolutions were a bust... except one. I didn't blog, I didn't work out, I didn't wait 2 hours after eating before going to bed (really blew that one!), I didn't even floss- and that's the easy one! I got to thinking what is the point of all these resolutions? Sure, the mass quantities of baked goods I consumed in the last month could have been used to build... Continue reading

She wanted to stay up until midnight. At midnight there are fireworks. She slept in late. Trudged through the snow to downtown Burlington. She enjoyed Himalayan food: mango lassi, somosa, and momo. She sang along with favorite musicians, Watched Irish step dancing and asked for lessons. And dampened our jeans as she jigged and reeled in the slush. She petted dragons in the parade and cheered on her school. She ran outside mid California roll to see the 6:00 fireworks. The "kids'" fireworks. NOT the midnight fireworks. She thanked us for a "wonderful time" already. She listed to A LOT... Continue reading

Yea! I already checked off our November date night. David thought it was a little too close to our last one, but November gets busy too quickly and we had a volunteer babysitter (thanks grandma!), and we got a check rebate check from the co-op, and we were needing something to perk us up post-election. No, not everyone was psyched about the results! So, off we went to Vermont's ONLY comedy club! See what they did there with the logo?! It took me months to realize it myself! Hitting the comedy club is not our usual thing... you know, being... Continue reading

After an hour of hair curling, Nora was in ready shape for a night of trick-or-treating as Merida from movie, Brave. It is so unlikely that she would choose to dress as a princess and from a movie no less, but Pixar's Scottish archer-princess won over her heart this summer. No doubt it was the actual large screen which drew her in. Brave was only the second movie that she has seen at the theater. The first was Charlotte's Web when she was just a toddler... really, too young, but how could I resist bringing her to a film based... Continue reading

I like pumpkin carving almost as much as trick-or-treating. I don't have many memories of going from door to door as a child. We celebrated All Saints Day at our church where I would dress as a saint and go to the parish hall afterwards to play games for candy. Seriously: Yup, that's me back in the day when preists wore a stole over the chausable and we said "And also with you." (Catholics understand!) I really hope that the woman behind my father was also dressed for Halloween because... wow! Anyway, I do remember my father carving pumpkins with... Continue reading

David and I celebrated our 12th anniversary this month. We had a lovely dinner out at our favorite restaurant, Trattoria Delia, as we have every year. Also, as usual, we had our annual "State of the Union Address". Okay, this sounds a little dorky, but we discuss how things are going in our marriage: what needs to change, what's working well, and our hopes for the upcoming year. Sure, there are the big issues and parenting matters that need to be dealt with as they come, but it's nice to have a night alone to just talk about us. Actually,... Continue reading

Here it is: Labor Day. It tries to be a nice holiday offering up a day off. But I'm hip to its tricks. It tries to be friendly, but let's face it, it's the demise of summer. Oh sure, we've got a bit to go as far as the calendar is concerned, but staying up way past bedtime, eschewing responsibilities, leaving on a whim for a new adventure... Done. Ah, but it was a good summer, a beautiful summer, one of the sunniest I remember. We hit the Freedom Trail in Boston, Chatted with the hurdy gurdy man outside the... Continue reading

Today, we (and by “we” I mean David) cooked at our 15th annual Green Mountain Bonsai’s Members’ Show at Mill Brook Bonsai. The weather, as always, was lovely. It’s been a treat to see the changing displays of these little trees over the years. Eleanor was sincerely a big help setting up, buttering corn, and cleaning up. She earned her tips! The apron she wore was a Christmas gift that I made out of a vintage bed sheet. The pattern that I used was Simplicity 7856. I used store-bought bias tape and I think the whole thing came together in... Continue reading

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Oh, I could write a whole lot about toddlers and independence, but today I'm sticking with fun activities to do with toddlers for the USA's Independence Day. When we talked about fireworks at circle, the children were quick to mention "Boom! Boom!" and "LOUD!" In fact, when I said we were going to make fireworks in a jar, one child put his hands over his ears! He was reassured when I whispered that they were quiet fireworks. However, if you are going to go and see the fireworks with a young child, I recommend bringing along a pair of ear... Continue reading

Happy Father's Day to our beloved Daddy-doh! Thank you for all that you do every day ...even when you get "all science-y" Continue reading

What an absolute thrill and honor to be named Early Childhood Professional of the Year by Building Bright Futures of Chittenden County. My center's director gave an eloquent speech about my work. She has been right along with me as I have gone from wide-eyed inexperienced infant teacher, preschool teacher, early essential education individual assistant, and to my current role as, apparently, "toddler whisperer!" It's hard to put into words my gratitude for this recognition. In a field that is all too frequently put in terms of "milk and cookies" using the word "Professional" means so much. Yes, I change... Continue reading

Ol' Chuck is back. He's bigger this year. The mild winter apparently allowed for plenty of fine dining. The first time I saw him in the yard, I immediately thought of the strawberries, still yellow in their infancy. When I checked on them just a couple of days ago, they were untouched and actually getting a bit pink. Today, they were bursting to be picked. Nora reported that she had to throw away (actually she said, "chuck" because she is a Vermonter after all!) three berries because they were nibbled on. "If the woodchuck is going to take a free... Continue reading

Happy Birthday to my beloved husband! Eleanor's birthday was Thursday, and it has really felt like birthweek. The first sailing race of the year was also on Thursday, and to avoid losing daddy to the bay, we tagged along with him. After an evening of sitting on cleats, rope burn, and white knuckles, I've decided I'm going to stick to pleasure cruises. Eleanor, however, was hip to every tack and jibe. She scrambled to the high side like a pro. After the race, she got to steer and hang out on the foredeck with dad. There was no cake. Heck,... Continue reading

I want a garden. Not just that, I want to be a gardener. I want to step barefoot into the backyard to harvest a salad. I want to heal using herbs that wind into the depths of our property. I want to fill dye-pots with hues plucked from a medieval-style plot. I want to send Eleanor out to pick favorite blooms to decorate our dinner table. I want a wide brimmed hat and dirt under my fingernails. Then, I remember that this is a rented home and close the door. This has been a sabotaging obstacle for me: this pesky... Continue reading

Eleanor celebrated First Communion with her class today. What a joy to celebrate this sacrament twice! I will share some more about the memories from this special day later, but now I must go say a rosary with my little girl. Continue reading

At the beginning of this school year, when asked about what she was most looking forward to, her answer was receiving communion. So excited, in fact, that I agreed to teach the second grade religious education class at our church. So excited that even though she is being taught the same material at her school, she came to class with me every Sunday so that she could make her First Communion in the same parish that I made mine. She was glowing with that excitement on Sunday... and maybe just a little nervous. She had the honor of reading the... Continue reading

It's rolling I'm just going to let the colors roll and cross all over the paper. It looks like a blue cactus. Oh, it's rolling along the bottom. I made purple, mama! This is like an amusement park... every color is a wild ride! It looks like a rainbow. I accidentally got purple into my yellow streak. It looks weird, but sometimes weird things are pretty good. It's turning out fancy. This painting is like me: silly. Well, it's polka-dot on a rainbow-y background. It's colorful. I'm wiping an outline of a house so that I can paint a red... Continue reading

My once tiny baby will be making her First Communion this May. For years, I thought that I would sew the dress for her special day. Alas, I should have spent those years sewing! Now, I have a deadline. I don't like deadlines. I don't do well with deadlines. I get panicky, and as I'm told, hard to live with when I have a deadline. I wanted to sew something lovely, with the finest fabric. Something like this: Wonderful mother, Jennie Chancey, made this dress for her daughter, Olivia. That's Olivia above. It was made using Sense and Sensibility's 1780's... Continue reading

Thanks for the photo, Abby! I spent the (dreary) day in Montpelier for Early Childhood Day at the Legislature. It's always a good opportunity to represent early educators as the professionals they are. Since 70% of the brain is wired by age three, teachers lay the foundation for all future growth and learning. It's an important job. We carry the burden of being thought of as the servers of milk and cookies or "babysitters." However, we are responsible for creating a curriculum for young children, observing, documenting, along with maintaining health and safety. Considering that 70% of children under five... Continue reading