Adorably Green

Hand-made and crafted of wool felt--doesn't get much cuter than this! Click here for more info.

Pests welcome!

Attention all cabbage loopers, army worms, webworms, diamond back moths, grasshoppers, slugs, aphids, fungal gnats, and all other damaging insects! Available vacancy at The Fox Den Garden; dining accommodations included.

I don't know which got here first (us or them), but anything chewing up our garden will either be food for praying mantises and ladybugs, or disposed of organically. Also, my 4-year old son, Rigel, likes adding new caterpillars to his bug jar...he's got quite the collection of cabbage worms and loopers.

When I think about it, nearly each and every plant in our vegetable garden was selected by myself or the kids for its enticing seed packet, then nurtured, obsessed over and observed every day since. We deserve to be a bit overprotective, right?

In other words, bring it on, bugs and worms.

Exception: Monarch caterpillars. Ever since our milkweed has bloomed, we've been keeping an eye out for those tiny monarch caterpillar eggs found hidden on the bottom of of the leaves. We finally found a few this morning! Last year we raised about 15 monarchs from caterpillar to butterfly outside our kid's window, and it was fascinating.

Adult caterpillars left behind only the stems of each plant--I had to buy more milkweed just to accommodate their voracious appetite!

This year we'll just be observers

(and hope we planted enough milkweed).
The best part of the project was releasing the butterflies...after their wings dried out (and after Mommy put down the camera).

I tried not to pay attention to the lovely black swallowtail butterfly that was laying eggs in our carrot greens this month, but of course--our carrot bed has now become a swallowtail butterfly habitat. I've counted 2 caterpillars, so far.

P.S. check out this charming Monarch butterfly on Etsy... it's handmade wool felt and can be a pin or a hair clip. I'm trying hard not to buy it, but I don't know how long that's going to last.

photo of felt butterfly credit: Etsy

Mommy Daughter Aprons

These reversible aprons have pockets on both sides, adjustable straps, adorable patterns (including organic fabric selections), and are available in Mommy as well as Tot sizes. An optional "Mommy apron" doubles as a nursing cover. Pretty darn cute. Created by a mother, these aprons are available from amusemebaby.com.

photo from amusemebaby

Love these toys...

The best toys are the ones that are in someone else's hands, room, toybox, etc., or those that have been stored away long enough to have been forgotten. At least, that seems to be the case with my kids, who had a blast today at Maz and Ava's house. Playdates at another family's house means Mom gets to test new toys out for upcoming birthdays and holidays. Here's some of the toys we love at Maz and Ava's house:

This portable fort (called a fortamajig) is the equivalent to a set of huge fabric blocks: you can build and rebuild forts of all shapes and sizes in just about any space

These magnetic shapes are great for all aspiring engineers and architects--check out Maziar's impressive design!

TAG is a great toy company, with lots of hands-on educational wood toys. Pull the lever on the number toy below, and the pegs roll out the bottom (like a register, almost). The rainbow gear puzzle is re-arrangeable and stack-able, with a removable lever that turns all the gears on the puzzle.

We didn't get to test this one out at Maz and Ava's house, but it looks fun: kids can trace each letter with its attached moving knob thing-y.

photo credits: TAG, Magna-Tiles, & The Happy Kid Company

Rigel and Iz are keeping an eye on our "strawberry patch"; they know exactly where our first two baby green strawberries are ripening. Therefore, how could this cute little pouch necklace not catch my eye?

The wings are a pouch, and the doll is a removable caterpillar... too cute.

doll necklace photos from Etsy

Cold Feet

Now that it finally feels like winter, the hardwood floors throughout our house make for icy feet in the mornings and evenings. Slippers don't stay on my kids' feet for long, but these cozy moccasin-style socks outlast many laps around the bedrooms and kitchen. (Plus, there are a lot of different colors and patterns to choose from.)

photo credit: http://www.nowali.com/default.asp

Fairy Fun

Felt fairies and fairy houses

Aren't these cute? Now, I'm not sure I would have played with them when I was a girl, but something tells me my daughter would love them. She's always carrying a doll around while talking in what Dan refers to as a "Minnie Mouse" voice. Plus, she and her brother just discovered the new Disney movie Tinkerbell. I'm not a big fan of kids and TV, but every now and then we allow a movie. Tinkerbell is very imaginative, and best of all, there are no villainous "bad guys." Just innocent fairies providing "nauture-ly" assistance... like painting the spots on ladybugs and pollinating flowers.

photos courtesy of imaginechildhood.com

Christmas on the brain...

...and we've yet to carve the turkey!

Subconsciously, I'm always looking for more excuses to buy toys for my kids, which is why I love Christmas. I sneak purchases year-long, telling the kids to ask Santa for that train or that dolly rather than giving it to them on the spot. I can't wait until Christmas day, when a lot of those toys we caught Rigel and Izzy drooling over in the store will at last be taken out of hiding and emerge from wrapping paper and ribbons into plain view. From where does this materialistic desire to spoil come? I catch myself rationalizing that maybe next year we'll throttle back on the gifts and focus on the intangible values of Christmas... but do I posses that degree of will power? Can we pull off a simple Christmas , in which each child receives only 4 gifts: "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read," as Jill from (building) a little house by the big woods describes? It sounds like the perfect solution for an over-indulgent parent like me, but (yes, there's a "but") I am going to give us at least a year longer of sneaking purchases into the top shelves of our closets while we get used to the idea. Meanwhile, here are some items I have my eye on:

Izzy is always getting into my purse--I have to be sure to keep it out of her reach, or else I'll blink and she'll have lipstick everywhere but on her lips. She is fascinated with make-up, and is always studying me if I so much as put a moisturizer on my face. "Ont some, Mommy! Izzy, too!" I love watching how carefully she pretends to paint her lips...3 years old and she's already a pro. I never was too girly--didn't really even play with Barbie dolls, and didn't get a mani/pedicure until my early twenties... That's probably why I get a kick out of Izzy's "all girl" personality. This wood lipstick by Erzi would probably travel everywhere with Izzy. (It is available separately or included in a set of wood "beauty supply products.")

Erzi also carries an adorable shaving kit--Rigel worships his daddy, and I can just picture him standing so purposefully next to Dan as he participates in the morning shave routine.

The kids could have a lot of fun with this toaster from Plan Toys--it has a timer knob and a handle that pops out the play toast... a fun accessory for their pretend kitchen.

Kids love hide-outs, and this room tent from Haba looks fun. Both Izzy and Rigel's imaginations would be stimulated in this "green oasis." (And, perhaps our couch cushions would be spared from endless fort building attempts.)