an ode to the park...and some creations.

elijah and gavin, just chilling

it may look like elijah's sharing with noah but really, he's making a not-so-happy sound as noah grabs the toy from e's death grip.

e helps gavin turn the wheel, while lyndi helps them both.

one of us has to monitor e and n's play time...it was shannon' s turn this time.
true story: once e got those two cars in his hands, he turned around, launched himself into shannon's arms with a look that said "save me!". we just busted up laughing...

e and i have been spending quite a bit of time at one of the local parks lately. we meet up with our friends shannon and noah on most tuesdays and thursdays. sometimes lyndi and gavin join us too. the park we go to has a great play-structure designed for the littler guys (the sign says ages 2-5 but our boys have figured it out quite well, thankyouverymuch) surrounded by astro- turf...which is FABULOUS. no more worrying about who's eating the bark, what has peed/pooped in the bark, what appendages will get splinters from the bark...etc. etc. etc. can you tell we don't appreciate bark very much? i suppose it's not technically bark...it's more like wood chips but still...it seems to be the filler of choice for most parks around here. so i suppose we like this park because of its lack of bark.

e loves climbing all over the play-structure, finding puddles in the picnic area (or other edible things...*sigh*...we're working on that), trying to figure out how to turn on the drinking fountain, playing/eating the dirt in the horseshoe pits and running hither and yon all over the place. it is such a great outlet for him...he nearly always falls asleep in the car on the way home (and considering the fact home is only a five minute drive away, that's saying something) and sleeps for hours once we get home and he gets put in his bed. he loves playing with the other boys and their moms...though he's still not the greatest fan of noah sometimes. noah is...ummm...well...let's just say...noah likes whatever toy elijah is playing with the best. so...occasionally that will cause some conflict. (ya think?) but typically, once e finally gets his hands on a toy he actually wants to play with, he just takes off in his own independent little way and usually ends up playing with the toy on the picnic tables. he's funny that way. and he's getting better at dealing with noah...which basically means ignoring him. :D hopefully soon, they'll both get the idea of sharing and playtime will go much smoother. maybe we should just stop bringing toys to the park? hmmm...there's an idea.

been working on some things lately. and have a lot of half-finished projects lying around...but a few things have actually gotten done! fabulous. below is a picture of my st. patrick's day "mobile". i say "mobile" because it's not technically a mobile at all...it's just shamrocks hanging from our light fixture. but i can pretend it's a mobile. it's not creative in the least...i just glued two shamrock doilies together...but it's colorful and fun. i realized after i'd glued them all together and hung them up that i should have folded four of them and made a three dimensional shamrock...but what's done is done...i'll save that idea for next year.
it's funny...i don't really even like st. patrick's day that much. i'm definitely not irish...and i'm not a fan of going out and getting drunk on green beer...i was just looking for something bright and cheery to hang over my kitchen table. and when i discovered this little shimmering doilies in all their cheap glory, i figured they'd be perfect. and they are. cheap as they were.

this picture is horrible, but you get the idea

i also just hung my easter banner that i've been working on for the past couple weeks. in all actuality, the banner probably only took me a couple hours total to put together...however...i get sidetracked easily...so it has been sitting half done for much too long until just yesterday when i put it all together. i hung it up today and it's quite festive. it slightly clashes with my shamrocks...but i guess that's what happens when you have easter in march.


i cannot claim the idea as my own however. i found it in the march issue of creating keepsakes magazine. when i saw it though, i fell in love and knew i had to make one of my own. i thought about making a bunch and selling them in my etsy shop (which is coming, i promise!) but the whole "easter in march" thing really dented my plans. however, there's always next year...right?



one last little tidbit from the anaya household...elijah has learned how to make the "indian noise". you know...the one where you quickly cover and uncover your mouth while making noises? yeah...totally hilarious. especially when he's all alone in his playroom doing it. i can't help but smile. love that crazy little monkey.