Slices of Life

It was really starting to feel like spring was never going to arrive in New England.  We had snow and snow flurries into the middle of April this year and our temperatures were so cold that we weren't even seeing any signs of spring. It warmed up a day or two here and there but my boys and I were beginning to think that we were going to miss spring altogether this year.  That's when I challenged my boys to find some signs of spring; any signs of spring! We brainstormed what kinds of things we might see: birds; especially new species we didn't see in winter green sprouts and buds coming up through the ground or on the trees possible flowers we might see sounds of the birds, peep toads, and other things waking up we've been hearing a lot of woodpeckers knocking on the trees pollen collecting on the water or blowing through the air Then we used the camera to record what we saw and while I took most of these pictures some of the birding ones are all thank...

I, somehow, managed to read 5 more books this month.  I'll fully admit that a few of them took me longer than I'd like to get through and while I enjoyed them all the one that stands out most in my mind is The Storyteller.  There is just something so compelling about that whole World War II era and how Jodi told he story that I just could not put it down. The Silent Wife by Kerry Fisher-- I just love books about family secrets and sibling rivalries and this book was packed with secrets and silent fights.  When Maggie marries Nico she feels pretty confident that she knows what she's getting into; raising a surly step- daughter and being treated like the help from her mother- in- law but she has no idea what secrets lie beneath the surface of this family. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult-- When I picked up this book at Christmas I had no idea that I was going to love it so much!  I have always loved Jodi's books but this book was mainly about the Nazi concentration cam...

My husband loves pasta salad. He asks me to make it just about every week in the summer so over the years I have experimented with many, many different recipes.   My personal favorite includes sweet fruit, crispy vegetables, and a tangy sauce; which is why I was so happy to make this quick and simple pasta salad with grapes and broccoli the other week.   Ingredients: 1 box tri- colored rotini; cooked until al dente 1 jar black olives, drained 1/2  cup grapes; washed and sliced in half 1 cup broccoli florets; washed  1 jar Italian dressing (we used Good Seasons packet with balsamic vinegar) While the pasta is cooking I combined the olives, grapes and broccoli with the dressing in a medium bowl. Once the pasta was finished cooking I strained it and ran it under cold water. Then I tossed the pasta into the bowl with the other ingredients and gave it all a good stir.  I like to make my salad in the morning so it'...

We had some pretty nice weather this week!  The boys and I spent lots of time outside soaking in the sunshine.  We had those tree stumps to remove after last week's trees were taken down.  We also spent two days cleaning through the house; prompted by my boys!  We cleaned out the toy room (now our game room), the boys' rooms and our entire crafting/ science/ math closet.  I think we got rid of a good 12 bags of "stuff" and I just love how freeing that feels!  Oh, and we also celebrated a birthday! Alec and I began our day on Friday baking up a cake for Ian's party.  He wanted a chocolate cake and Alec and I wanted to try a new recipe.  The boys all worked on just a small bit of schoolwork and then the younger two boys and I sat down for a sewing project.  Using needle and thread we put together some stuffed animals from a kit we had bought on Amazon.  It was a lot of fun and their animals were so cute.  We went on a nice long ...