A Rainbow of Silks

I have, for a long time, loved the idea of playsilks. My Magic Cabin catalogue, one of the very few I get, arrives, and I look at all the wonderful playthings. My kids love to dress up and are fairly bursting with imagination, and I love fabric, especially natural textiles. So while I've looked at them often and thought they'd be a lot of fun, paying $10 each for a square yard of colored silk seemed, well, a bit extravagant. Then, a few weeks ago, I came across instructions for dyeing your own silks with Kool-aid! White silk scarves were less than $4 each from Dharma Trading Company, and Kool-aid didn't add much to the cost. The project was easy and fun; the kids were able to help out. It was also quick, and before long they were happily playing.

Peregrine puts the vinegar-soaked silk into jars with Kool-Aid. If I do this again, I will do each silk in a small pot so it has more room and the color comes out a bit more even. Also, I would use three packets of Kool-Aid for each scarf for a more vibrant color.

Here's the finished rainbow.

And here are a couple of cute little pilgrim/princess/king kids in the front room. They are finding so many uses for these and really enjoying them.

After dyeing with Kool-Aid I got inspired to try some natural dyes. From left to right I used coffee, tea, coffee/turmeric, blueberry, blackberry, and turmeric. I also did one with half a bottle of liquid chlorophyl I found in the cupboard. It came out a pale green that is also really lovely.

Foursday

Poppy: Mama, is there a Foursday?

Mama: Foursday?

Poppy: Well, there's Tuesday, and Onesday.

A Happy Twosday to all!

Just Call me Mother Goose

"Mama, we'll play Family, and I'll be the Mama, and you and Peregrine and Amy can be my kids." (Amy is a beloved doll.)

"Okay, Poppy, and will Raphi be one of your kids too?"

"No, he can be your baby. It's the first time ever that a kid layed a baby!"

Yeah, I've layed a couple babies in my time. You can just call me Mother Goose.

Peregrine-ism

You know you live in a house with an unusually large number of speakers when Peregrine, instead of asking Poppy to be quiet, asks her to "turn down that speaker in your throat"!

Dragonslayers

In honor of the feast day of The Great Martyr Saint George, we made dragon pancakes, read the story of his life, and talked about how we can be good soldiers for Christ too. We may not have any dragons to fight, but there is certainly a battle taking place, and St. George is a wonderful example of endurance, bravery, and great love. While the story of him slaying a dragon is what he's most known for, he endured terrible tortures at the hands of the pagan emperor Diocletian. By God's grace George remained steadfast in his love for Jesus, and witnessing this many others also professed faith in Christ, including Diocletian's wife, who was also martyred. Finally, seeing that George would not renounce his faith, he was beheaded on this day in the year 303 and received a crown of glory. This is one "superhero" that I feel very good about my son wanting to emulate! 

 Since Poppy is not eating wheat at the moment, I used this grain free pancake recipe that uses coconut flour. The verdict? Yummy. Thanks, Carrie. Next year, maybe we'll go all out and make this amazing dragon cake and these fun swords. 

False Advertising

The package said "No Mess, Fuss, or Clean-Up!"

I beg to differ.

Magic

Don't you wish the Housekeeping Fairy would come to your home?

Knights of the Rectangular Crib

When I was pregnant with Raphael, Peregrine was so excited to have a brother so they could sword fight! Well, Raphael is still a ways off from sword fighting, but who says he can't be dressed up? This is what I found yesterday morning when I went into the boys' room: Sir Lancelot (Peregrine), King Arthur (Raphael), and their baby dragon (Stuffed Iguana). They were all dressed up and ready for a great adventure, in spite of the fact that the King can't leave the crib on his own. King Arthur looks like he's about to say something very intelligent to the Dragon, does he not? 

Peregrine, on Fashion

Some days I let Peregrine pick out clothes for his brother. He is sure that, in this outfit, we have the cutest baby in the world! He thought it would be better, though, if he had a real beaver-fur top hat to complete the look. Ummm, I don't personally claim to care much about fashion, but I don't know where he comes up with some of this stuff. Maybe from Erik, who put together this ensemble?

Get Up, Stand Up

No one escapes being dressed up 'round here. In these here parts even the littlest cowboy gets in on it. And here, caught redhanded, the little feller pulls himself up to standing for the first time. He wanted to get in on the working-in-the-hayloft-with-Pa action. Yeehaw! And Ma, you better hold onto your bonnet, 'cuz this little feller will be riding the range before you know it!

Clap Your Hands....

...if you believe in faeries. (And cowboys.)

Colored Milk

If you'd been listening in around here recently, you might have overheard this:

Peregrine: Mom, if you drank a lot of food coloring, would it be bad for you? 

Me: Yes, food coloring really isn't good for our bodies.

Peregrine: Oh. But if you did, would it make your milk a different color? 

Has this boy been watching cooking shows or something? Did some food guru give him the idea that presentation and color are important when serving a meal? Or is he just looking out for his little brother, thinking that plain ol' white mama's milk for every meal might just get a little boring. Raphael doesn't seem to mind though. The little chunk, at 11 weeks, already weighs in at 14 pounds. I sure love these boys of mine! 

Acrostic Family

I introduced the kids to acrostic poems today, and had them (mostly Peregrine) help make some up for all the members of our family. Peregrine came up with some, uh, very creative descriptions, especially for himself. He also came up with some very, very sweet ones for me. 

Extra Smart

Really Good Racer

Intelligent

King of the World

Really Helpful

Extra Nice

Best Mom

Extra Pretty

Comforting

Absolutely Loved

Playmobil Lover (and Pirates too)

Expert Fighter

Really Creative

Experiment Maker

Great Boy

Racer

Intelligent

No Robberies 

Excellent

Awesome

Lovely

Excellent Sister

Tip Toe-er

Helpful

Extra Caring

Alethea is a Joy!

Raphi

Active

Pleasant and Precious

Happy

Absolutely Sweet

Extra Cute

Loved

Erik (the King of the World) took the pictures of the kids for me for Mother's Day. Aren't they great? It helps to start with such fine subjects, but I think he did a great job and I can't wait to get them up on the wall. And, someone needs to inform the spellcheck people that Playmobil is too a real word! 

Talent

Have I ever told you how talented my children are? See for yourself, in this marvelous video clip that captures then in all their charm! Enjoy!

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A Tribute to my Mom

Here's a little tribute to my Mom on Mother's Day. For something slightly more serious click here. I love you Mom!

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