Express yourself!

Ada and Charlie having fun playing with their rain forest

I mentioned a few posts ago that I would never buy another toy again. I have gotten 4 weeks mileage out of this box. It is played with on a daily basis, and has evolved over the past month. Most recently we turned it into a rain forest, which was and still is a big hit, "Mom, can we make a rain forest today?!"  Want to make your own?  Go here, print, color, glue and pretend.

I love this box.

This week we focused on the letter "B".  We made a letter "B" book with these print outs by coloring, cutting and gluing them into our very own book made with construction paper and bound with yarn. 

Today we made bird cages (because B is for birdcage and bird, you know), and hung them from the kitchen chandelier.  Go here and here to print and make your own.  We printed one of each bird, cut them out, glued them on each side of a piece of cut out cardboard, strung some yarn through it and voila -- a hanging bird cage you don't have to clean. 

Now what should we do next week for the letter C?

Labor Day on the Lake

A few pics of our weekend in North Carolina with Sam's old friends, and Ada's new friends...

Showing off his mad skills

Now it's Dan's turn to show off

I promise she was having a blast

Floating with her new friend, Holly

Cornbread and Butterbeans for Labor Day

I am a sucker for a banjo - and I love cornbread and butterbeans.

Getting in a North Carolina frame of mind as Sam and I prep to head to Goldsboro, North Carolina to visit our friend Holly and her husband, Dan.

I found this little gem from a fabulous string band called the Carolina Chocolate Drops performing for the Blue Plate Special on WDVX in Knoxville, TN. I used to listen to the Blue Plate Special while on the road as a case manager for a psychiatric hospital in Tennessee. Here is a little toe-tapping song to begin your holiday weekend -- I mean come on, the man is playing bones and a jug!

More on the significance of Black String Bands here.  Read it.

This holiday promises rest, football, the lake, good food and good company.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Los Arboles

We went exploring the other night -- well, that sounds too exciting for what we actually did. I needed to get out of the house, and I wanted to see what Irene left in her path, so after some nudging Sam took me on a drive around our neighborhood.  

Down the street from us

These Japanese Maples did not fare well, but are among the few in our neighborhood that are still rooted in the ground.

Did the wind knock this off? A tree branch?

This house has been the talk of the town -- and not for a good reason. Simply heartbreaking.

The roots from the tree in the picture above. This neighborhood is on day 4 of no electricity, and they may not have any until Friday.

Another tree down on the campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary on Brook and Westwood

Whatever kind of tree this is, it did not withstand the strong winds of Irene. This house, located in a very wealthy and swank part of Richmond, had 3 of these trees planted in front. All 3 trees were uprooted and laying in their front yard and on their house.

Ada and I had to take a different route during our walk of the neighborhood Monday -- this tree was blocking our path.

Bryan Park

 I'll say it again.  We were beyond lucky.

Neighborhood clean up

All photos are posted on Facebook - here are a few of my favorites:

Our neighbors Tej and Bob with Sam.  I'm pretty sure they had a blast doing the clean up.

The storm was definitely scary, but exciting as well. None of us slept well Saturday night as we were certain a tree would land on our homes. Unfortunately half a tree landed on this beautiful house below, which the owners recently purchased and of course just poured time, labor and money into a new porch - looks like they have more work to do. 

My favorite story from the hurricane was hearing a friend complain about her "wasted, college neighbors standing naked in the street during the storm." There were a number of drunk-naked-hurricane stories going around Richmond Saturday. Crazy people.

Even the kids pitched in to help with the clean up efforts - they had fun, too.

With half the neighborhood without power, what else could we do but throw an impromptu hurricane block party with about 23 adults and roughly 10 kids, in addition to passers-by who decided to "join us for awhile."

We were clearly roughing it.

This was the 5th hurricane for our neighbor in the white tank

We started the week with a medium-sized earthquake and ended it with wild and crazy hurricane (with winds up to 71mph).  I have had enough excitement to last me for a long, long time. I think we should just stick with the block parties.

Quentin decided to get an ear infection which meant an emergency trip to the Pediatrician and pharmacy the morning of the Hurricane. We got home just in time for the awesome show to begin.

The Artist

...and her pallet

I will never purchase another toy. This box has provided endless entertainment for two weeks now.

Ada practicing her letter "Q" in Blue

Daydreaming about her own blue picket fence someday

Speaks for itself