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
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 – 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
Time to dig through your recycling bin. This craft is easily made with bits of tissue paper, cardboard, ribbon, paint, and glue. Grab your munchkins and you’ll have this Valentine decor ready to display in no time at all. Paint your hearts. We cut ours out of cardboard boxes. Cereal boxes will work well, too. … Continue reading
Portland, Maine – I guess it’s a week after Christmas when I think of an old friend I’ll call Sally. Sally told me that every year, she takes everyone’s holiday cards and puts them in an album. What a respectful thing to do, especially when you consider the thought, time, and expense spent on holiday … 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
Washington, D.C. – My little explorers and I have hit the doorsteps of nearly two dozen museums. TWO DOZEN! Each one filled with fantastic experiences, knowledge, curiosities, and little tidbits that morph into invitations to explore even more. It’s the kind of journey that can make inquiring minds hungry… I mean hungry for LUNCH. And … Continue reading
I never thought I’d be a stay-at-home wife or mom. I’m a journalist. It’s all I knew. And never ever did I think I’d be the sort of wife who would send her husband to work with home-baked goods. In fact my career-driven inner 25-year-old is vomiting at the mere mention of such an eventuality. … Continue reading
It’s pumpkin time! Okay, not exactly… but back-to-school means one thing only: START your fall sewing RIGHT NOW! If you’ve been with me for a while, you know the temperatures barely need to dip to get my creative juices flowing. There are so many wonderful things to be sewn between now and the new year! … 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
If there’s a pizza joint in Heaven – it’s going to sit right on the water, serve up pizza made from organic ingredients, and employ a divine wait staff who flash charmed-motherly-smiles when my kids are loud (as if to say “Don’t worry. We know you need to leave the house. Let them roar. We … Continue reading
If it seems like I fell off the face of the Earth, I did. Actually, I was living in a never ending episode of Sanford and Son. My home? A cluttered version of their salvage yard (And if you think that isn’t possible, it is). It’s like I’ve had an awful glimpse into a special … Continue reading
Washington, D.C. – Every children’s museum needs one of these! It’s an igloo building activity. And the best part about it? Your child CANNOT build it without the help of other children. It’s impossible to do ALONE. And it’s incredible when built TOGETHER! As any mother of a preschooler knows… this concept is HUGE! (and … Continue reading
Pattern Me Mommy 