i'm still here!

hi friends! so, yes i am still here. i have been without my pc for many, many weeks now. the generosity and support of my class parents has been incredible. one mom loaned me her *netbook* (read: tiny, but functional laptop) for several weeks so that i could at least have an online presence. another mom loaned me her apprentice who is a former computer programmer. after two long days, we are back up and running. hooray! i still have to reinstall my camera software, but i thought i would go ahead and say hello.

some things that have happened in our lives (in february) during my absence:

*sienna's golden birthday: 6 on the 6th! her grandparents drove in the sleet and snow to show up in our living room completely surprising her. she is still ecstatic about it.

*her party was intimate and sweet with two other 6 year old girls. i made these chocolate ice cream bowls. honestly, how could i resist this after my recent obsession with beeswax lantern making?

*the next day, we enjoyed a nice brunch with grandma debbie and grandpa charlie before their departure. i made this pavlova (also first experienced with emily at foundation year studies, as mentioned in her post). it was a huge hit! this is certainly a new favorite festive treat in our house.

*within a week she lost her first tooth! she has another loose already. wow. i had no idea it would happen so fast!

*jasper has officially stopped nursing. i really thought this would be a struggle one day as this child was a very avid nurser. alas, before i knew it he just stopped coming to me for his *nur-nur*. i am ready for the freedom this brings to mama, but do miss the sweet bonding time with my babe. bittersweet, indeed.

*for valentine's day, sienna, jasper, and i felted rocks in festive colors. sienna handed hers out to her classmates and we enjoyed a bowl full of them on our table as a lovely centerpiece.

*for other friends of the family (and ourselves!) we made peppermint bark. as per amanda's suggestion i had tucked away a pack of organic candy canes that i purchased for 99 cents after christmas. this was our first time making this treat and it was so much fun for the kids! they were able to do almost all of it themselves.

*for matt i made this divine chai concentrate. admittedly, i wanted it for myself and am probably the one who has consumed the most of it thus far (we are on our second batch already). it is so delicious!! the second batch sienna made. she ground the cloves and cardamom seeds in the mortar and pestle and grated the nutmeg, too. mmmmmm......heather has shared several ideas for using this concentrate in other creative ways that i can't wait to try (chai scones recipe here)!

*given the swirl of activity in my personal and work life, i have been quite reserved with swaps thus far this year. i did jump in on chris' vintage marble swap which was a lot of fun! simple and sweet, no creating necessary, an excellent excuse to get myself back in the antique stores. i also signed on to swap valentine's with my sweet cyber friend kristin. sienna and i had been working on these wooden hearts, having a blast with paint, glitter, and fabric scraps. i am looking forward to seeing what comes my way from sweet kristin!

i am happy to be back in this space and look forward to sharing some pictures soon. i will say now that our camera is also suffering some technical difficulties in the form of an ominous black spot that can only viewed on the screen, but not seen on the lens. drats. i strive for strategic placement of said dot so that it doesn't affect composition as much, but alas am just working with what i've got!

much love to you all!
rae