A Very Nice Day

     Although I thought the black format I had on my blog previously was beautiful, I was finding it hard to read the posts.  So, I’m exploring my other style options.  I love the red couch photo in the header.  Steffi is the one in the red sweater.  She was sitting there so calmly as the moms and dads fussed about the picture.  However, my favorite picture is the one below when the sweet girl crying next to her just sort of fell on top of Steffi.  Steffi took it all in stride.  I guess she was really prepared for being the youngest of five.

     This weekend, my son and his friend were playing basketball with her in the yard.  We have a special short hoop for her.  She’s good.  They were blindfolding her and she could still make the baskets.  Brendan loves to play with her and it is very sweet to see them together.  We’ve started calling them the two “boys” and Steffi likes that.  They both like to build, shoot dart guns, play with balls and run around. 

    I had wondered what to do today since the kids were off from school.  Vaguely, I’d planned a trip to the museum or a park.  It turned out that they day resolved itself very pleasently without any particular help from me.  We slept a little bit later–until 8:00 and I got a chance to read a few chapters of  the book I’m reading, The Last Chronicle of Barchester, by Anthony Trollope.  

        Sophie wanted to do a craft project with me.  So, I helped Sophie and Mollie sew a simple jumper for their American Girls.  One of my goals for this year is to teach them to sew.  I also did some of my weekly cooking: turkey pot pie, tortilla soup, cranberry bread, regular bread and baked apples.   A few neighbors came over and since it was such a beautiful day, the kids spent most of their time playing in the backyard.  Brendan and the girls cleaned out the screen house (which tends to get dusty) and we ate lunch out there.

      I tried to make a fancy dress for the girl’s dolls (we found some feather boas for them in my yarn box) but I only got one half-way done.  There were a couple of loads of laundry, phone calls, a long discussion with my husband about possible remodeling plans, a trip to the Y for swim team (Maggie) and exercise (me–weights and bicycle).  When I came home there was dinner to clean up, teeth to be brushed, P.J.s to get on and stories to read (Animal Ark to girls; The Bible–we are reading about David, and  The Cay by Theodore Taylor to Maggie and Brendan).  Then it was time to straighten up the house,  make lunches, answer emails and, of course, write a bit on the blog.  All in all, it was a very nice day.