I thought I should write a post about something we do weekly and that we really enjoy–Community Singing Time! A while back, my friend and neighbor, Janae, decided to organize a weekly singing time for our neighborhood. It’s been fantastic! Every week, someone hosts the group and leads the singing time part of the activity. This part usually lasts about 30 minutes and we sing lots of fun songs with hand gestures, dancing, and musical instruments. The host picks the songs and is in charge of running the show. We have some songs that are favorites and get sung nearly every week and the host can also introduce a new song to the group. The host also usually tries to teach some basic music theory concepts–fast and slow beats, high and low notes, etc. After singing time, the kids all sit down (usually on big blankets) and another mom (who signed up for the job) reads books to the group. During this time, a third mom distributes a little snack to all the kids. We all rotate hosting, reading, and feeding. It’s a casual group, so there are some weeks when we don’t make it to singing time, but we go most weeks.

We got to host the group last week. Here they all are during reading/snack time. Not everyone was there this last week, but it was still a good size group.

It’s been a great way to get the kids together to learn. Not to mention how nice it is to visit with the other moms! I’m so grateful that Janae organized it and got it going!

Amelie’s had a lovely February. Here’s a bit of what’s been going on:

When Grandma and Grandpa Haymond gave Amelie this new coat, they called it the Pinkalicious Coat. So, I thought it appropriate that she was reading Pinkalicious while wearing the coat. Thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa--she loves it!

Isn't this a cute doodle? I love the little guy with the hair, ears, eyes, and smile. I think that's his neck, but I could be wrong. Could be legs.

We were dancing around to Sesame Street music the other day and this is what Amelie did at the end of every song. Something she picked up in dance class, I think.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic March!

Oh, and I think this is my 100th post on this blog–that’s a lot of posts! I’ll have to figure out how to get it formatted and printed like a book some day.

Today we will be learning all the ins and outs of brushing your teeth from Dr. Calder Haymond.

First, stick the toothbrush in your mouth.

Next, try to figure out how to get some toothpaste on your brush.

When you can't figure that out, stick the whole thing of toothpaste in your mouth to see if that helps.

At this point, you may want to consider bringing water into the picture.

If you still haven't succeeded in getting any actual toothpaste on the brush, try try again.

And then resort to finding satisfaction without it.

This is Calder’s favorite thing to do these days. I figure there are worse things he could be addicted to–at least this way his teeth get clean!

Yum!

Last week, we did something that I, for one, am extremely excited about. We joined a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). In case you’re not familiar with the concept of a CSA, I’ll explain. What it means is that we have chosen to support a local farm that will, in turn, support our family. Last week, we looked through the various options for local CSAs and picked one based on convenience, price, and produce quality. Then, we officially joined the CSA and paid them a fee. With our fee (and the fees of a couple hundred other people), the farmer will now plan and plant his crop. Once he begins harvesting, in late May or early June, we, as share holders in the CSA, will get a box of gorgeous fresh produce every week for 13 weeks. If you’re interested, the CSA we have joined is Jacob’s Cove Heritage Farm in Orem. Here are some of the reasons I’m excited:

1. Great community experience. I’m eager to support our local farms and be a part of our agricultural community. If we want to, we can even go and help out on the farm–awesome learning experience for all of us.
2. Delicious produce. I have been wanting to get more produce into our family’s diet and this seems like the perfect way to do it. This particular farm is known for its heirloom tomatoes. In fact, they’ve even made someone cry, they’re so good. Check out this news story. I’ve never really cared for tomatoes unless they’re on a sandwich or pureed, but I hear that garden tomatoes are a whole other story. I can’t wait to be converted.
3. As fresh as it gets. The produce that we bring home each week will be as fresh as it gets. Usually, it will be harvested the day (or the day before) we pick it up.
4. Expanding my cooking skills. I think it will be a fun challenge to get a box of mystery produce each week. We’ll never know exactly what will be in our boxes and I can honestly say that I am looking forward to finding something I’ve never seen before nestled among the tomatoes and cucumbers. What a great way to introduce new food to our family!
5. Year-round produce. One of the reasons we chose Jacob’s Cove is that they are year-round producers. This means that when our initial 13 weeks is up, we can sign up for another 13 weeks of produce because of their greenhouses and other growing technologies. There might be less variety come Winter, but at least it will be fresh.
6. Local food. I think it will be awesome to look at our produce and know that it grew right down the road from us–that we know the farmer and his farm and that we can stop by for a visit any time.

Can you tell I’m excited? Although Jacob’s Cove doesn’t grow fruit, Dale (the farmer) told me that they will contract with local fruit growers to give us a fruit share option. Utah Valley has some fantastic orchards, so I’m excited about this. I am so glad we decided to go for it and join the CSA when we did. The day after we joined, the shares sold out and now they’re starting a waiting list.

So, as Bryce said, “Bring on the produce!”

Sorry that there hasn’t been much posting action on this blog recently. Two reasons: (1) I’ve been busy over at www.discoverthechild.com and (2) I somehow managed to delete all the pictures that were on our camera. There weren’t a ton, thankfully, and none of them were absolutely irreplaceable, but it was still frustrating. I’ll have to re-stage a couple of the shots. So, with that in mind, here are a couple shots of our lives in the recent days:

Look at all these valentines! Amelie was in heaven. We traded valentines with some of her neighbor friends and we were also part of a homeschooling valentine exchange. We sent out 10 valentines to families across the country and got 10 in return. It was great fun "meeting" these other families and learning about where they live. Thanks, all!

"How dare Mommy try to store any toys up here! This is my spot! Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to clear it out. Again....There. Much better."

And that’s it, folks. A couple of pictures. I’ll try to make up for it later this week. Happy belated Valentine’s Day!