MOO!

For my birthday last year my parents got me the coolest gift. A mosaic photo frame from moo.com. It's hard to believe almost a year has gone by and I've not posted about it.

MOO is a site that takes your photos/designs and prints them on a variety of products, one of which are the mini-cards. These cards are approximately 1 inch by 3 inches and are the perfect size for storing in your bag (inside the handy MOO holder) and whipping out to share when asked for recent pics of your kids. But, they also fit into a mosaic-style picture frame to make really cool, interchangeable wall art.

Right now I'm having trouble deciding which of my cards I want displayed, so I've been playing around with different themes and layouts... I could go with calming scenery stills:

...or showcase the many {silly} faces of my kiddos:

I also think it could be fun to scan in J's artwork and create a mini-card mosaic of his masterpieces! Like these watercolors he painted this week:

I really like that idea, actually! Arranging the tiles would seem to him like putting together a puzzle, only there is no "right way" to do it, so the process would be completely open-ended and creative. Then, there's the added bonus that the images he's manipulating are his own creations. And, once he's older he would have ownership over swapping new images in and out of the frame--creating sort of a fluid, fluctuating portfolio!

What do you think? How would you MOO?

{And, whether you're new to MOO or not, check out their blog for inspiration!}

much-needed vacation

Presque Isle, Erie, PA

The Erie Zoo & Botanical Garden

This zoo felt like a storybook zoo. It was somewhat tucked away in a neighborhood. The entrance was nice, not extravagant or flashy, parking was free in a little lot across the street, and it just gave off a welcoming, old-timey vibe. I liked it! We were mesmerized by the giraffes for some time.

I guess you'd call this male bonding. A lesson in skipping stones.

I love J's posture in the next image. I felt like I captured his energy--and a special moment, flinging all his hopes and joys into the water like wishes.

Anybody know the significance of all the frog and fish statues in Erie? I didn't get around to asking about them or trying to look them up. They were everywhere. This one has been decoupaged with pages and covers from old books. He sat outside the library/Erie Maritime Museum.

Parts of Erie have an older feel. We hit this light a lot, and I really just liked looking at the one single traffic light and the buildings around.

You've got to look closely at this next image, of these amazing whirligig lighthouse displays at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (The TREC). Although it's free like all state park nature centers, that term just doesn't cut in when describing this facility. It's not dark and dingy and full of taxidermied wildlife. It's a LEED building; it harnesses wind power; and there's an IMAX theatre inside that holds a 4-story Big Green Screen.

At the base of this lighthouse model was a wheel, and when turned, every whirligig in the display was set in motion. It was really impressive to see them all moving in sync, and they were very finely crafted and detailed whirligigs to start with. My grandfather used to make whirligigs, and recently he's started making a few more. I think one was of a man canoeing, and the other was the 'classic' Mallard. I hope to convince him to take a shot at making us one with that features J's favorite bird, the Downy Woodpecker!

Happy Summer, readers! Where are you vacationing to?

~ sunday to sunday ~

Anticipating summer and feeling relaxed and peaceful on this gorgeous day, I'll let these pictures mainly speak for themselves, and for what we've been up to the last week.

Homestead Park -- Hilliard's home to an historic Ohio barn as well as an old blue train caboose; also many playgrounds, walking paths, and a cute covered bridge:

Gonna catch that train...

Early summer blooms:

Pretty sights from a morning walk on Memorial Day at Heritage Park , formerly the Rosedale Farm, home to the Everal family in the late 1800s :

The Everal Barn

Knock knock, anybody home at the Carriage House?

I liked the look of this old latched coal chute on the front of the chimney.

We weren't the only family out enjoying the lovely morning

Not the greatest gardeners, we spent a lot of time this week on our prettiest landscaping project yet -- still a work in progress.

Hope yours was a beautiful week, too, with another one to come!

Sepia Sweetness

Hoping yours was a peaceful Easter, and wishing you a bright cheery Spring!

Dawes Arboretum

Today we enjoyed a lovely Spring day at Dawes Arboretum: 1,800 acres, beautiful scenery, elegant landscapes, walking and hiking trails, 15,000 living plants, and many species of wildlife.

Clockwise from top:

1. we do not use the timer setting on our camera often enough!
2. Dawes Lake
3. The Japanese Garden and pond
4. The Cypress Swamp
5. trees that looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book
6. J scouting salamanders (the salamanders had just migrated days ago to the swamp to begin their breeding season and were extremely well camouflaged, much to J's disappointment)
7. goldfish in the pond at the Japanese Garden
8. Conifer Glen, where we felt as if we were strolling through the setting of a Jane Austen novel
9. my silly boys imprisoned at the Japanese Garden!

A Faux February?

Doesn't February suck? It's the shortest month of the year, but never feels like it.

Cold.

Gray.

Snow, or worse, melting dirty slush.

Flus and viruses abound. (Is SAD contagious too?)

Cabin fever.

Continuous snacking and drinking hot cocoa like it's water.

Grumpy, bordering on depressed.

Long days of boringness,

begging for Spring,

cursing Punxsutawney Phil for consistently seeing his shadow.

Well, this February is shaping up quite differently, and not too shabby. A huge snow at the end of January hit Columbus and a week later bursts of warmer air and bright sunshine. My little guy's been seeing a lot of his shadow, too. Which seems counter-intuitive to me... why does seeing your shadow imply that more winter weather is ahead, when clearly bright sunshiney days do nothing but instill hope and excitement that the longer days of Spring and Summer are quickly approaching?

Regardless, we've been enjoying daily walks around the neighborhood, even a hike at a local metro park where J proudly spotted ducks and geese perched on the iced-over pond.

Then, a crazy fall-like windstorm sweeps in complete with rain and hail and tornado watches.

Add to this mix my absolute giddiness for Valentine's Day, some fun crafty playdates, a new energizing and exciting diet (which C. is teaming up with me on), and these 28 days are whipping by in a whirl of busy-ness and (gasp!) happy-ness! Is this really February?

How's February been treating you? Love it or leave it?

A Very Special Valentine

I think there's some connection between being a mother of a toddler and getting crazily excited and decked out for holidays...

This year, I'm really feeling the love as Valentine's Day approaches. J and I decorated the sliding glass doors with vinyl cling hearts. I purchased a cutesy love birds hangy-decoration-thingy for the front door. I've been scouring books and web sites looking for Valentine's Day crafts. I bought pink muffin cup papers and 5 mini jars of pink, red, heart-themed sprinkles in the anticipation of baking some heart-shaped cutouts! (I even caught myself looking at pink and red bejeweled socks in the dollar bins at Target, but snapped out of that one very quickly.)

All this, and it's only February 1st!!!!

With all these ideas and preparations underway, I thought I'd best get a move on with a Valentine gift or two. The always-up-to-something-cute Jessi at everyday studios posted the cutest, most perfect, most inspiring gift idea -- a love-themed photo book from Shutterfly. As I clicked through the pics of her adorable boys, I knew a book like this would be treasured by J's grandparents. So, I spent a couple hours working on one of our own tonight while J slept and C watched the Superbowl, and here's the finished product:



View Project at Shutterfly

Closeups @ the Conservatory

Yesterday was our photo session with Jessi at Franklin Park Conservatory. She spent an hour with us as J urged us on to find the fish! We had an amazing time. I haven't seen any of her images yet, but from the fun we all had I know there will be some wonderful shots.

After our session, we let J wander (run) around a little more and I found this pretty bench.

Before we left, we went downstairs to check out the Christmas train. There was also a cute display of kids' handmade gingerbread houses. They were all very creative. There was even a gingerbread Big Red Dog sculpted next to a gingerbread doghouse labelled Clifford!

I think J could have watched that train go around the track for hours. It was hard to pull him away.

Silly Adorableness

I snapped these pics of J the other morning as he ran around the kitchen in circles. I just sat in the middle of the floor and clicked away as he delighted in the silliness of what he was doing. Sometimes he is so easily entertained! Other times...not so much.

Gosh, I love these pictures. Of course I am biased, but he isn't he just the most beautiful boy in the world? His happiness and delight are so contagious too, that he just becomes even more endearing.

Seasonal Eating

The blustery weather today had me craving warm comfort food. Tomato soup and grilled cheese was just the thing. And on top of being healthy and delicious, it all turned out so pretty that I had to try my hand at some food photography again. :)

Cheddar & Monterey Jack grilled cheese on crusty Italian bread.

Trader Joe's Organic Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper soup, topped with fresh basil, Parmesan, and homemade croutons.