Grandma's Old Porch Chairs (before and after) with New Cushions

I finally got the new cushions made for these cool chairs.  Originally, I thought I could take the old ones apart and reuse the foam, but I wasn't that lucky.  Due to age and the way the originals were made, I had to start from scratch.

Here's the old chair cushion.

Isabele sitting in the chair with the new cushion.

Titus sitting in the other chair.

Both chairs.  The fabric is bright and happy!  Important on a north-facing, covered front porch.

I learned a few things making these and will make some changes when I get tired of this fabric.  But for now, the project is done and off my list.

Momma Robin - The 5th Year

I just looked it up.  We moved into this house in the fall of 2007.  I'm pretty sure we had our first Momma Robin in the spring of 2009.  This makes it the 5th Spring with baby robins on our porch.
This year, the nest is in a green shower basket that I wired to the trellis in hopes that the Robin would pick that as the base for building her nest.  I'm pretty sure this is the first year she did so.  I have a picture on my phone of her nest and it's 3 eggs today...Hopefully I'll figure out how to get it off my phone and onto the blog.

In the Last Four Months

I should probably be shot for not keeping up with this blog at least a bit...but alas, apparently it isn't my forte.
January:  Titus turned six.  He got a unicycle for his birthday from Uncle Isaac and Madison.  The lake froze.  Titus went ice skating once.  Both kids got a rotten flu - lasted 4 or 5 days for each kid.
February:  Well, we live in Indiana.  This February was all about making it to March, and SPRING.  We survived.  Titus started reading library books!  Both kids finished reviewing capital letter writing and started on lower case letters.
March:  We had some snow, and some warmer weather.  We started some seeds indoors.  Titus continued to practice his Uni in the kitchen, holding onto the counters.  Isabele loves singing and dancing around the living room.  On a warm day, we walked the Pike Lake trail - about 3 miles round trip from our house and back - kids rode their bikes - first major ride of the year!  Isabele was a trooper - a long ride for a 4 year old.  Titus is amazing on his bike - fast and has great balance.  I cannot say enough about the Mini-glider Bike we bought for him when he was 2 1/2.
April:  Spring has sprung!  The kids got new bike helmets: "Nutcase" with magnetic clasps.  They are great - kids can buckle and unbuckle without help and there's no pinching tender necks!  The adjustment is really easy on the back, so we can change it according to Isabele's hairstyle of the day with ease.  Titus got a library card, as he finished the "reading school book" Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Great book.  I'm not sure the lessons were "easy", but it does only take about 20 minutes to complete a lesson.  It's so nice to have Titus reading and finding it interesting and a little fun (I think).  Both kids are still working on their lower case letters.  I'm using Handwriting Without Tears and I really like it.  They have some cute ways to help kids remember how to make the different letters.  It really appeals to Titus, who would rather be outside or in the garage with his Dad.  Isabele loves to do "writing school".  Reading is getting a little harder for her, but she keeps at it and is 1/2 way through the 100 lessons.

And that gets us to today.  I'd love to think I can manage to update weekly...maybe I should aim for monthly.

Our D.C. Trip

Titus, Isabele and I went to Washington DC with Brian on a work trip (then on to Austin, TX) mid December.  We had a really good time.  We went down to the National Mall and stopped in at the Air and Space Museum, Natural History, and American History.  Then we walked all the way down the the Lincoln Memorial.  The weather was great...50's and sunny.  The kids liked the hotel room, TV and anything water related, of course.  I really like the American History Museum and will have to go back when we have more than a day in DC.

A huge doll house at the American History Museum.  Unfortunately no photos were allowed at the Star Spangled Banner exhibit.

"Karabell, aka Lucielle" a doll Isabele got at the FBO when we got off the plane in DC. 

Titus showing off his present - an airplane.

Watching TV and jumping on the bed...is there anything better?  Thanks Angie for the idea of minimal rules in hotel rooms.

The fountain in the lobby of the hotel in DC.

Brian and the kids laying on the floor in the Lincoln Memorial just looking at the ceiling. 

The Lincoln Memorial

Titus and Isabele admiring the waterfall.

Lydia, Titus and Isabele at the Lincoln Memorial.

Brian, Isabele and Titus at the Lincoln Memorial.

Isabele Embroidering

Isabele wanted to embroider (I'm working on some flour sack dish towels right now).  Since she helped herself to what I was working on, I figured I'd let her try her own.  She's doing really well and seems to enjoy it.  You can see how hard she's concentrating in the pictures.

Video of BMX

One of Isabele's first rides at the BMX track tonight.

Isabele at the BMX Track

Tonight was the first time that Isabele rode her bike at Hire Park BMX track.  She LOVED it!!  The girl loves to go fast...and she had a great time.   

All set and ready to try riding!

 Wow!  That was fast!!!

We had to make her stop riding after a good half dozen runs.