Cape Elizabeth, Maine – It hasn’t felt much like winter around here… until TODAY! The cold weather and the date on the calendar are a double whammy that will have me up to my eyeballs in wrapping paper for most of the day. It’s day one of our unwrap-a-book-a-night-countdown-to-Christmas. To get ready, I’m wrapping up … Continue reading
Maine – Need a little backyard magic? Friends, an edible teepee is the ticket! This is where fun meets nutrition and education. Who’s with me? Simply drag sticks out of the woods or buy bamboo poles at a garden shop. Dig holes to drive your sticks into the ground. Just a few inches deep will do. Lean the tops … Continue reading
We didn’t set out to study Antarctica. We stumbled onto it through a book, which is my favorite way to discover anything. And if you don’t have a copy of MAPS by Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielinski, do WHATEVER you must do to add this book to your collection. It’s a children’s book, but honestly I’ve come close … Continue reading
Cape Elizabeth, Maine – Stop EVERYTHING and do this…. RIGHT NOW! People, I stumbled across an idea that has changed our countdown to Christmas. Instant family tradition material… to be passed down for generations. Normally our Advent Calendar is filled with chocolate. NOT THIS YEAR. Because someone mentioned a life changing concept… a BOOK. ADVENT. CALENDAR. … Continue reading
Swan Island, Maine (Not to be confused with Swan‘s Island, Maine) – When our boat left the banks of Richmond, Maine, crossed the Kennebec River, and docked on Swan Island, I had no idea that we’d just traveled back in time to the 18th century. But when we took the island’s only road up the … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – Well let’s just chalk this up to one of the ten thousand things I swore I would never do when I had kids. But here we are. We taped our trash to the walls. And it was awesome. For someone who used to iron her guest bedroom sheets, this is huge. Some … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – The first sign of spring in Maine is NOT daffodils… it’s sap. Taps and buckets start appearing on maple trees everywhere. And then steam rises from the wood fired sugar houses. And the best part of all… these amazing smelling sugar shacks open their doors to the public to celebrate the sap … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – Want a colorful way to drive boredom from your house? We do! And, to tell you the truth, with the bitter arctic cold we’ve experienced this winter, I’m taking every chance I get to change our perspective on spending another day inside. All you need is some paint, freezer bags and tape. I … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – This winter has brought some fantastic snowfall. And more is coming! But I must confess, we’ve gone sledding, snowman building, snow angel making, and even thought about building an igloo. But even with all of this snow, we never actually looked at it. I mean really looked at it. But this book changed that. The … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – I don’t know if you’ve been following our weather lately. But like a faithful metronome, we oscillate between windchill 28 below and 46 above. Either it’s unsafe to leave the house or it’s raining so hard that huge chunks of ice floating by also make it tricky to play outside with my … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – Nothing like combining reading and writing with a great big adventure! The falling leaves give us a great opportunity to find lots of words in the woods. Here’s what we are using to capture them! A DECOMPOSITION BOOK – I’m so glad we stumbled upon this decomposition book. It’s the perfect field … Continue reading
The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks tonight and tomorrow night (August 11-12). Tonight, I am going to repeat one of the most FUN things I’ve ever done as a mom. And you can too. Wake your munchkin up in the middle of the night and take that shocked little pumpkin outside to watch meteors streak across … Continue reading
Mackworth Island, Falmouth, Maine – The children of Maine are working children. The girls and boys don’t work for money or food. They are an altruistic bunch and work for the joyful satisfaction of a putting a roof over the heads of Maine’s tiniest inhabitants… the Fairies. When first light appears, the fairies wake. They take … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – From the working fishing wharves of Old Port where lobster are sold fresh every day to the island ferry boat rides to the shipping channel for cargo and crude oil, our port is a busy one. It’s one HUGE adventure to small boys… and mom… and dad. But the first time my … Continue reading
Washington, D.C. – Our trek to Maine continues with a stop I couldn’t resist: Washington, D.C. I knew my nearly 4-year-old would love the National Air and Space Museum. The best surprise of all was when my 1-year-old’s busy brain morphed into a state of euphoric curiosity. His pointer finger was fully deployed as he … Continue reading
Pattern Me Mommy 