Just a mix of stuff

Last week we were busy with two play dates filled with giggles and screams and princess dresses. Z came into his true light when he discovered the power of a little boy pretending to be a bear, a Tigger, or anything that can chase girls around. The house was filled with lots of running and screaming little girls, and one very rambunctious little boy who kept switching between growls, and quotes from Winnie the Pooh: "Where are you Long ears?"

I was also treated to the wonderful imagination of little girls left alone too long in the basement. When I went down to check on them, I discovered a vast and intricate spider web blanketing the room. They had gotten into my yarn, and had a wonderful time weaving their web through bikes and chairs and daddy's drum kit. Later, they came upstairs and decorated cupcakes in honor of the Feast of Epiphany, and then built a wonderful castle out of blocks. With her other friends a few days before, E had fun making bracelets with her beads, playing house, and again running away from her silly brother.

I am always delighted to see the wonderfully fun things children can come up with when they are running around without a television tying them to the couch. What a treat it is to watch their curiosity and creativity.

We also spent time this weekend reading a children's atlas that I picked up at a thrift store. I taught Elizabeth how to use the index to find places by their coordinates on the edges of the page. She thought that was great fun and we spent some time looking up cities and towns that she knew.

Later on, she wanted to practice her cursive writing (she's decided she wants to learn to write 'pretty' like mommy and has begun to teach herself), so I showed her how to write her first name in cursive and she caught on right away! Here's her attempt at doing her name (with princesses added for a bonus!)