Valentine's Day craft

A lot of times if I am painting, the kids want to paint too. So, when they want to get creative I pull out a large old sketch pad and let them go crazy with the paint on their own sheets of paper. I also let them paint multiple times on the same sheet so that it gives the page a nice layered affect. The end result is that I have several beautiful paintings that need utilized. Sometimes, I cut them into squares and give them to family members as miniature paintings they can hang on their fridge or have for a keepsake. But for this holiday, I decided to cut hearts out of the paper the kids had colored and give them as valentines to our extended relatives!

Trip to the dentist

We took our kids to the dentist for the first-time last week, and I was very nervous because both our children are really shy. Lincoln, who is four years old, went first, and although reluctant, he did great. He went into a situation he had never experienced, allowed someone to work closely on him whom he had never previously met, and came out of it with a smile! I was a proud mama. He did unfortunately have a small cavity just starting to form, so the next time we are in they will probably need to do something about it. But according to the technician it should be no big deal!

Trinity was next, but she would have nothing to do with any of it. At the ripe old age of two she is very set in her ways and determined that no one should touch her unless invited. And there were certainly no invitations being dealt out today. The only reason I took her to the appointment with her brother was because I noticed a couple spots on her teeth that worried me. (Yes, probably more cavities are in our future. I swear, I brush these kids' teeth religiously!) Thankfully, the dentist did not seem concerned, and said we would just check her out next time. As long as her teeth did not seem to bother her, most likely for her age it has not had time to develop into anything serious.

An artist lives in this house

My daughter Trinity LOVES to paint with me. Anytime I get out paint to work on a craft, it's as though she's drawn to it like a bee to honey. Recently, I began to paint pendants on some beach stones and shells. However, on more than one occasion I have walked away, only to return to several of my pieces with a new layer of paint on them courtesy of my little girl.

In between painting projects I have been browsing the Internet for some overdue shopping. I finally placed my seed order for our garden, bought a couple new pairs of jeans, and winter boots are now on clearance so I snatched up a couple pairs of those too. It's so much easier to shop without two toddlers hanging on you in the store, and everything is shipped right to my door. What did I do before online shopping?!

Tick tock

Something I have missed hearing in my house is the sound of a ticking clock. You can hardly buy one anymore that makes the wonderfully peaceful click every gentle second. I think of it as a reminder of life's everlasting heartbeat. There are old stories of people placing a clock close to a baby or a young animal to help them not feel alone, and this evening I was surprised at how it warmed my own heart to hear the familiar sound coming from one of my shelves.

This all came about as I went through some things I was trying to clean up so I could place them for sale on eBay or Etsy. The clock was one of several items I had collected from the garage and barns out of our storage. I believe it was from my grandpa who is a pack rat like me. It is one of those old bedside wide ups with an alarm and a beautiful large face. I had thought about selling it with the other items, but I changed my mind and will hold onto it a little longer.

Something else I am up to lately: seed catalogue season is here, and I can't wait to place my order. Gurney's, a company from Indiana, is my current favorite after looking through several others I had sent off to for information. They have an amazing deal right now, half off up to $200, which still beats the competition even with the sales tax, and their shipping is fairly reasonable. Not to mention they guarantee all their plants, and will send you new replacements no questions asked if the original product fails.