Only because...

Only because we live in the country can BP and BB run outside looking like this. Well, I guess they could anywhere, but nobody stares here. I brought them down from their bath to say goodnight to Daddy, and when I turned my back they had their boots on and were running out the door to meet Daddy in the orchard.

Serena & Lily

We are living in a sea of "decorator's white," and have been sticking paint swatches up in every room of our house. With Spring on the way we are considering painting some rooms. All the woodwork in our house is painted HC-78. The HC stands for historical color, and the real name is Litchfiled Gray. I call it oatmeal. This color is a design challenge because you have to choose the right shades to coordinate with its brownish tones. On a positive note, I like the oatmeal color on all the woodwork because it is softer than bright white, and hides everyday smudges and fingerprints from the girls. With that being said, I was having a hard time finding the right colors to paint the rooms until I found the above company, Serena & Lily. When I received their catalog in the mail I immediately knew their color palette would be perfect for our house. BP has asked for her new room to be pink so I think Serena & Lily's "Shell" will be perfect. And BB of course has no color preference or at least she has not expressed it yet, so I think Serena & Lily's "Bluebell" will look great with the bedding she already has. For our room I am loving S&L's "Air" because it is subtle and soft and is the color of the sky, which is what we see when we look out our bedroom windows. I am hoping the paint samples are in our mailbox today.If you have time to drool check out S&L's website for beautiful bedding, toys, furniture, and other accessories.

Circle Park

Last Wednesday was a "10" of a day...sunny, warm, and Spring-like. Where did that weather go?

Anyway BP, BB, and I made our first visit to Circle Park, which is very close to BP's school. We have been watching the snow melt each day and waiting semi-patiently to explore the park. We have not been since last October when I was chasing a scooting BB around and trying to keep her from eating all the woodchips. It was a different experience this time and at one point I acutally was able to stand back, take a deep breath, and watch the girls play together. Aaahhh! It's the little things, isn't it? Then BP's friend Justin from school showed up and I got to watch BP get all silly and girlie when she saw him. After the sillies wore off, they played, chased each other, and then Justin shared his snack with her. Very sweet!

She sleeps just like her father!

Handwriting

The Handwriting without Tears supplies I ordered for BP came last week and now handwriting is her new favorite activity. As soon as BB takes her nap BP says, "Let's do handwriting mommy!" She even came inside on Saturday when she was helping Daddy to do handwriting. She is really into it. HWT is fun and not grueling. We start by using the little chalkboard with a smily face starting point. BP writes the letter after I model it once for her on the chalkboard. Then we move to the workbook where BP writes the letter with verbal help from me. Then she practices writing the letter on gray block paper with the starting corner all on her own. Finally, she moves to the floor where she builds the letters. As you can see in the first picture she takes it very seriously.

Thanks Papa!

When planting a small orchard it helps to have one of these. So thank you Papa for letting us borrow your tractor or The Barefoot Dad would still be out there digging the nine holes! The girls enjoyed the tractor just as much as your son did!

Fruit Trees

Saturday was "plant an orchard day" for The Barefoot Family. BF Dad gets some wild ideas, it is what we love most about him. He just doesn't get ideas, he actually follows through with them. The guy has some serious motivation! Anyway, he dug nine holes, planted eight trees (I have ot get one more this week), and then fenced them from the predators (deer), all in a day. I carried buckets of water to give them a drink and now we cross our fingers that we will have apples, pears, and cherries someday, the tags say this year. BP and BB were there to supervise the whole process.

Friends

The Barefoot Princess and her posse last year. We moved an hour away but have kept in touch. Not a day goes by that she does not mention Grace and Lillian. Friends since before they could walk or talk, these girls have had a lot of fun together. The proof is in the picture above.

Buggies

Lancaster '09

Keri's Corned Beef

I have to thank my Irish friend Keri for this recipe. We tried it last year and it was soooo... good! We will never go back to eating plain boiled corned beef again. With this recipe it is all about the beer! Irish beer of course.

Here is the recipe...

Take any sized corned beef

Rinse corned beef with water

Place it fat side up in a baking dish

Pour bottle of beer on top of corned beef

Then mix ...

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 bottle of beer

Pour over top of conred beef

Cover dish with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 31/2 to 4 hours

I took it one step further and marinated the corned beef in the mixture this year. I will let you know how it turns out.

Good Luck and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Irish Soda Bread

We sent BP off to school in her kilt all excited and ready for St. Patrick's Day. (I swear her hair looked a little redder this morning.) BB and I got to work on making the Irish Soda Bread. We made 10 mini loaves and 2 large loaves. Here is my Pop-Pop Wentworth's recipe... Warning this recipe makes A LOT of soda bread. You can adjust it or cut everything in half to make less. Also this soda bread is very moist, a little sweet, and has lots of raisins. It is delicious!

1st soak 2 cups of raisins in hot water

drain raisins when fat

Then in a large bowl...

4 cups whole milk

8 tbsps white vinegar

3 eggs

1/4 tsp baking soda

7 cups flour

2 cups raisins

1 cup sugar

2 tbsps + 2 tsps baking powder

2 tsps salt

mix well

pour into buttered and floured pan

bake at 375 until golden

baking time depends on size of loaf pan

We are packing our buggy and leaving tonight for Lancaster County. Our annual trip to visit with friends and attend the Gordonville Mud Sales is here again. The girls are excited and are waiting patiently with their rubber mud boots for Daddy to come home. We'll check back in next week. Happy weekend to everyone!

Team Work

As they grow older each day, I catch them playing together more and more. Here BP is teaching BB how to do something with their little stove. BP was being so sweet and so patient and BB was acutally listening and totally looking up to her big sister. It was one of those mini-moments that was so heart warming, I tiptoed for my camera and caught it without them knowing.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is my absolute favorite holiday! For me it brings happy memories from years past and also ushers in Spring. There is no awkward gift giving with this holiday, so the true spirit and fun of the day can just be enjoyed . St. Patrick's Day is all about eating, drinking, and being merry! You can bet we will do our fair share next Tuesday! I will make the traditional corned beef and cabbage, roasted veggies, my Pop-Pops Irish Soda Bread, and the shamrock cookies above (Thanks to Martha). We will play Irish music and dance a little jig. My husband will think I am insane all day as he always does on this holiday. I just hope BB and BP have fond memories of St. Patrick's Day when they are older too.

Projects

Here are a couple of BP's projects that Miss Erika sent home last week. My favorite is the one eyed snowman!

Ponies

We spent Saturday morning with the above cast of characters. They were fuzzy and funny, snuggly and safe. These ponies were "bombproof" and perfect for BP and BB to play with and get to know. These ponies live on a farm that belongs to Barefoot Dad's childhood friend. BP has been asking to ride a pony for some time and we knew this was the best place to take her. Amy is a lifelong horse person and has two little girls of her own. 4 little girls + 6 little ponies = 1 morning of FUN!!!

Both BB and BP went for rides on the ponies, but I was having so much fun I totally forgot my camera at the time. Apologies! I promise to take more pictures next time. BP fell for Daisy (the one she is leading above) and also another little palomino named Dude. I bonded with the black and white paint above named Comanche. He was as cute as a button. BB loved all of them! Amy may be sorry she introduced us to these ponies she may not be able to keep us away now.

Sap Time

It is that time of year again. Sap time. Warm days, cold nights, perfect for tapping trees and collecting sap. After hearing the weather report for the weekend, Barefoot Dad scrambled to get everything in order and got to work...luckily our new property has a handful of trees.

Step 1 Find the Sugar Maples (hard to do when the leaves are off the trees)

Step 2 Drill hole in tree

Step 3 Put tap into tree

Step 4 Hang sap bucket

Step 5 Listen for the ping of the flowing sap

Today the sap flowed instantly from the trees. Tomorrow we will check all the buckets and begin collecting the sap. It takes 43 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, and a VERY, VERY long time to boil it down. BP was there every step of the way as Daddy's little helper. She gets really into this whole project. I think it is cute that they do it. I can see BP telling her friends about it someday, rolling her eyes, and saying, "my Dad makes me collect all this sap and it is so much work" and secretly loving it. BB just loves being outside and getting dirty. Since the warmer weather blew in, I have to change her clothes at least three times a day. Where there is mud she finds it in a serious way.