Good Times

I am so lucky for the small moments when I get spend time one-on-one with my children. As we rode home this afternoon through the misty rain, my daughter told me all about Five Nights at Freddy's and why it was much too scary for her to even consider playing. Oh yes, and she asked about the mating habits of earthworms. 

Sometimes I have to wonder how she manages to breathe between all the chatter. Right now I'm trying to soak up every minute of it because I know, someday soon, she won't choose to ride home with mom any more... 

'Tis the Season

This time of the year, if you are coming to the island on the first boat or leaving on the last boat, you're bound to see lots of carts like these.

You'll also see numerous plumbers, electricians and carpenters either gearing up for or winding down after a long day of hard work; getting the numerous island businesses up and running doesn't happen over night...

Happy Birthday

Unbeknownst to me, my children set an alarm and got up at 4:30 this morning - just to make me breakfast for my birthday. Awwwwwwwwww, so sweet...

Unfortunately, they burned the toast which set off the smoke detectors at about 4:50. After things quieted down, my heart rate returned to normal and a new batch of bread was toasted, I sat down and enjoyed my delicious breakfast.

Proud Moment

This is the first year the Mackinac Island Public School has had a robotics team. And wouldn't you know it that the very first year the team competed they earned a spot in the National Competition! Yesterday, before we'd even asked, donations started pouring into school. Before noon today, local folks and businesses had pledged $7000.00 to send the team to St. Louis. I am so impressed with how our community has rallied around these kids. 

Just another reason I'm proud to call Mackinac Island home!

Missing March

April arrived the other day and it hit me that I hadn't posted here once during the month of March...

March was a busy month for us.

We dissected deer and pig hearts,

spent the night at school for a "camp out,"

and got pranked by Allen for April Fool's Day. (S, of course, had to make sure his father knew exactly how he felt about the toothpaste filled Oreos.) 

We also drove down state to pick up a few of  our favorite summer friends. Last summer "The Girls" arrived in mid-June, but this year we thought the weather was nice enough that they could arrive a bit early for their summer "vacation" from the farm.

Not my best plan because I am currently working diligently to make sure the water in their unheated coop doesn't freeze as the nighttime temperatures dip into the mid-teens. They stay nice and toasty snuggled in their down parkas, but water doesn't stay liquid for long at 18 degrees Fahrenheit (about -8 degrees C.) 

More on my no cost solution to that problem another time...

Mackinac Moment

The kids and I went exploring down by the shore after school today. It was rather blustery, so sheets of ice were piling up on the beach. Not very much ice though, it's nothing like some past years.

Only on Mackinac

Somehow I don't think I'll find many snowmobiles, complete with groceries, parked outside the store on the mainland...

Score

On Friday,  the kids and I took the day off school so I could take them to orthodontist appointments. Whenever we have a few minutes on the mainland we always pop into thrift shops so I can look for sweaters, and of course, the kids often find a bargain or two. On this trip they found two snowball makers at Goodwill for $1.99 each.

The next day they spent the entire morning outside enjoying the wonderfully packable snow. 

Worth. Every. Penny. 

New Toys

One day after school last week, the kids walked into the gym to find their skis. Each child in grades two through six was assigned a pair. As long as they come back to school for gym class the kids can take them home.

I think it's awesome that the kids learn to ski in gym class. Heaven knows I could use a few lessons.  

The Good Old Days

I've been having some fun lately digging through the boxes of photographs I've collected over the years. I could sit there for hours looking at them; sometimes giggling and other times feeling frustrated that somehow dates were never written on the back.

Luckily, when it comes to photos of my childhood, I can often narrow the date based on one huge family event: my brother was adopted in 1980 - the year I turned 10. I'm thinking the picture above (with our dad) was taken not that long after he arrived - maybe the summer of 1980,  and the one below a few years later - maybe 1982 ish (with our cat Sybil.)

I feel like I got the best of both worlds when it came to childhood. I had ten years to experience what it was like to be an only child, and then in an afternoon I went from being an alone to being a big sister. (My brother was eight when he came to the US from Korea.) While we may have fought and bickered like typical siblings, I'll take having a brother to being an only child any day. Though, I'm not sure how I feel about us having matching haircuts. Ugh!

Sled Parking

Mackinac Island Public School sled parking.

Notice how several are tied to the rack?

It gets windy down by the school...

Snowy Day

We woke up this morning to find everything covered in a blanket of snow. It was so beautiful, I couldn't resist going out to explore.

Spending s bit of time outdoors by myself was just the ticket for a quiet Sunday morning.

Delightful

It is a delightful thing to come home from a long day at work and find your husband up to his elbows in dinner preparations. He's a keeper...

Kids Do the Darnedest Things

While walking down the hallway after school today, I stopped in my tracks as I watched a third grade boy attempt to take a drink from the drinking fountain. Nothing too unusual about that you say. Well, the amusing part was, the boy tried to take the drink while still wearing his snowmobile helmet. A helmet virtually identical to this one: 

Photo via

I couldn't help but quietly giggle inside my own helmet as I watched the water pour out the bottom of his as he lifted his head and walked away - undoubtedly still thirsty and now quite damp from the nose down. 

The Long Walk Home

It was 38 degrees (about 3 C) this afternoon and my daughter walked all the way home without her coat, hat or mittens. She insisted "It's way too hot for my coat!" 

Sure, the walk home is a mile (about 1.5 km), and yes it's up hill pretty much the entire way, but it made me chilly just watching her...

If you're wondering about the sleds, lots of island kids take sleds to school to use at recess. Our kids go outside for lunch recess virtually every day.

Photo by Clark Bloswick

(Taken in the last day or two.)

Cheese Please

Allen bought me a cheese making kit. And who knew - homemade cheese actually tastes delicious! Though, I won't be making it on a regular basis. You see, to make cheese you need milk that hasn't been pasteurized at high temperatures. I tried three batches using three different brands of milk (Wal-Mart, Meijer and Prairie Farms) but not one of them worked. 

Luckily, the mother of one of my students only drinks raw milk, and she was able to pick up an extra gallon the last time she stopped by to pick up her milk share. (In Michigan the sale of raw milk is illegal, so people who drink it typically purchase a share of a cow from a farmer, who then provides them with milk from their own cow. Thereby avoiding the illegality of selling unpasteurized milk.) 

The raw milk worked beautifully. On my fourth try I finally got to see some beautiful cheesy curds in my pot.

I had no idea how much milk it takes to make cheese; one gallon made a ball of cheese about the size of my two fists. (No wonder it's expensive!) We ate some while it was still warm and it had the most amazing buttery flavor. Allen, especially, loved it, but  I don't see myself purchasing a cow share just to be able to make cheese regularly...

New Jammies for a New Year

Up until a few days ago we hadn't pulled out the warm jammies, but normally they are a must in Northern Michigan. Both kids love footed PJs, but I've never attempted to make them before. Which is weird given how many Christmas PJs I've made. This year I was running a bit behind so the kids got New Year's Pajamas.

Now that my children have a number of homemade garments, they are becoming clothing connoisseurs; I'm starting to hear design comments and critiques:

"I want my next pair to have built in gloves, too." (Not gonna happen.)

"Mom, mine look good, but the tops and bottoms don't match." (But they "go.")

"Next time can you make the head hole bigger?" (Oops.)

Now I know, when I decide to make my skinny son the size eight PJs with the size 12 length thinking  I'll get a perfect fit that way,  I need to use the size 12 neck opening, too. Thankfully he loves them anyway. How could he not - they're footed Dr. Who pajamas, which according to my son makes them awesome. 

The pattern is Happy Feet Footed Pajamas by Peekaboo Patterns, available here. (Go buy it now!) I love this pattern and have now made four pair ranging from newborn  to size 12. They were super easy; the raglan sleeves make the top quick and simple with no armscye to ease or sew and each leg is just three pieces. I sewed both pair in one evening. If the pattern came in my size - I'd have a pair!

I did receive this pattern for free, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own. 

Lovely

The nasty storm may have delayed our trip home by a couple of days, but it was delightful to come home to a lovely blanket of fluffy white snow.

Happy Feet

Mackinac is having a little baby boom. One baby was born a couple of weeks ago, and two more (twins) are due soon. So, of course, I've been making jammies - specifically Peek-a-Boo Pattern's Happy Feet Pajamas. 

They are so stinkin' cute. In the newborn size they are adorably tiny. (I haven't had little ones that small for such a long time. Sigh...) And they were so easy to make; each leg / foot is only three pieces, so they sewed up really fast. The top has raglan sleeves, so there were no armscye (arm holes) to ease and sew. The hardest part of the whole thing was sewing on those little cuffs, but once I got the hang of it, they went quickly. I think each set took less than an hour and a half.  

I made deer set because the little guy's dad is a hunter. I remembered my husband's frustration when our kids were born. He was kind of forgotten in the whirlwind of showers and presents, so I wanted to make sure this dad to felt remembered. As for the sock monkey fleece, it was just too adorable not to buy!

I love that this pattern includes all the sizes from newborn up to size 12. Now that the baby jammies are done, I can get to work on bigger PJs for my kiddos. After making those little newborn feet, my daughter's feet seem gigantic! 

I did receive this pattern for free, but the opinions expressed above are my own.

Learning to Sew

Merry Christmas! 

My students worked so hard this December to make these cute decorations for their parents, but I couldn't post about it or it would've spoiled the surprise. 

I was very impressed at their effort and attention to detail. For most of them, it was one of the first times they've ever picked up a needle, but now all 18 of them know how to tell the difference between the right and wrong side of fabric; sew a running stitch, back stitch and a slip stitch; turn something right side out and press; and how to sew on a button. Not to mention that they all know the difference between thread and string. Now, whether or not they remember it all is another story, but if nothing else, they've all had a good introduction to sewing by hand. 

If you'd like the pattern to make a little snowman for yourself, you can purchase the pattern here. (Although the original pattern is designed to hang on the wall and is 12 snowballs tall.)