You HAVE to check this out! It looks like so much fun! Kaia is always talking about how she wants to get more mail and I tell her she has to send some to get some back. Well, now’s her chance!
I use to have lots of pen pals when I was a kid. Then computers happened and most of the snail mailing stopped. But there’s something so satisfying about getting mail that you can touch, feel, and even smell. Hey, maybe we’ll even get each others names!!
Go sign up!
One thing I really like about homeschooling is going on field trips! (OK, I know that I could go on field trips even if Kaia was in public school, but it just seems like more fun when we get to design and plan them ourselves!) She just finished up her solar system and prehistory studies. So, we headed to the Raleigh/Durham area to visit friends and play!
The first day, we met up with some other homeschooling friends and headed to the NC Museum of Life and Science. The little ladies enjoyed looking at the butterflies in the butterfly exhibit.
Driving the boats in their wind exploration exhibit.
Climbing on the dinosaurs.
Digging through the rubble for fossils. (Leif especially enjoyed tasting the fossils!)
On day two, we went to the Morehead Planetarium to see a show! We all enjoyed relaxing in the reclining chairs and watching the stars above in their huge dome auditorium. After, we spent hours playing and exploring at the NC Botanical Gardens. Leif made some great moves on their life size chess set.
Day three took us on a tour of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. We went specifically for the Megalodon exhibit, but enjoyed walking through the whole thing. Leif said ‘hi’ to the little turtle swimming back and forth.
Kaia heard the secrets of the dinosaurs.
And, of course, there were lots of smiles along the way!
Kaia, who has always been a very cautious little lady, decided she wanted to take a ride on ‘uncle’ Mark’s bike! I was really proud of her! She’s usually one who would prefer to sit back and watch rather than participate. So for her to take this step was a pretty big thing!
Off she goes!
Leif enjoyed some riding of his own!
And a little exploration of daddy’s face.
And a little more exploration!
Kaia took this picture when she noticed the sun shining through the glass door. I love it!
By the end of the 4 days, we were all pretty tuckered out!
We’ve got lots more field trips planned this year! Next stop is in May when we head to my sister’s in Atlanta for some time at the Aquarium and the zoo!
While we were gone, our fantastic neighbors and friends took care of our animals. Kathie even put up a few videos of the chickens, too.
I’ve been wanting to make Leif this doll for a while now. He’s so into taking things apart, pushing buttons, pulling levers…. I thought he’d enjoy it. It was a lot of fun to make!
If you want to make one for your favorite little explorer you’ll need:
(Here’s something major!! If your little one is still into putting things in his mouth, you may want to hold off on this doll since there are so many buttons and choking hazards!)
First cut out your pattern (download it here.… don’t let your printer ‘scale it to fit page’. You want it at 100%. And some of it is drawn really close to the edge of the page, so just be sure to compare what’s on your computer to what printed out… sorry about that! It’s very hand made!) You should have these pieces:
You will need to tape the four piece for the body together before cutting it out. Lay down #1 first, then #2 on top, and so on…
Iron your fabric. Then, using the pattern, cut out your fabric. You will need two body pieces. I only put clothes on the front, but you could cut a second set of clothes and dress the back if you want.
Put the right sides of the shirt pieces together and sew 1/2″ seam. I used a baste stitch for all but the last 1″ closest to the waist. That was a regular stitch. Then unfold the fabric and press the seam open.
Sew the zipper to the wrong side
Then rip all but the last 1″ of seam.
Trim the excess zipper. Fold the zipper and neck seam and sew 1/4″ seam. Sew 1/4″ seams at the arm holes and waist. Then sew a 1/4″ seam at the pants waist and leg holes also. Sew 1/4″ seam all the way around the pocket, and measure and make your button hole. Measure out where you want the button to go so that it will match up to the button hole on the pocket, and sew the button to the pants. Then, sew the pocket to the pants so that the button matches up. (was that too much??? Does that all make sense?)
Pin the pants and belt straps to the body front (matching the waist and leg corners to the triangle tabs on the body). Sew 1/4″ seam on the sides of the legs, leaving the wast and leg holes open.
Measure out where you would like the snap to go on the belt. Trim the excess belt (leaving 1/2″ or so extra so you can sew a seam on each end)
Sew belt end seams and sew on snap.
Place ribbon on foot (either one) and sew them onto the edge of the leg. Then attach and sew the velcro (making sure that the upper and lower pieces meet up then the strap closes).
On the other foot, sew a piece of shoe lace to the edge of each foot. Make sure the pieces are long enough to tie into a bow.
Sew on a face.
Place the right sides of the body together. Pin and sew the body front and back, (with a 1/2″ seam) leaving a large enough hole to turn the doll inside out. Trim off excess fabric.
Yes… Toby is feeding the doll some salad!
Turn it right side out. I put little beans (about 1/2 cup each) into the feet for texture, followed by stuffing. Then I placed ~4 bells into one arm, and crinkly paper into the other, followed again by stuffing, so that nothing moved around. Then stuff the rest of the body. The sweater material I used was nice and stretchy. I love the way the finished doll looks like he’s wearing clothes 3 sizes too small!
Hand stitch the hole closed and give him a proper name! You can certainly give him hair, or a hat… I like our man bald!
Then pass him on to your favorite little one!
Kaia said he looked like a hippie. I couldn’t really see what she meant. She said “you know… the tight clothes he’s wearing”. I said, “I don’t get it”. She said “you know… a Hippie... those people who walk like this… ” and she proceeds to saunter in a sultry way through the living room. This went on for most of the afternoon with me trying to figure out how this doll looks like a hippie. Then, as we were sitting outside playing, she said, “OH WAIT!! I MEAN A HOTTIE!“ I bust out laughing!! I have made Leif a pimped out Hottie doll for him to dress and undress! Great!!
We are wrapping up Kaia’s Prehistory studies this next week and she has been begging to do a dinosaur dig. I got this kit because it looked like it was pretty good quality and the tools (which are metal) could be used again.
The kit says it can be ‘hours of fun’, especially if you go slowly and carefully, like a real paleontologist would. While this did fill up a chunk of the mid day, when you go at it like a jack-hammer it won’t take long to get to the bones. Kaia’s never been one to be gentle about much 
Leif woke up while she was working and was a wonderful assistant!
Little hands, hard at work! I love it!
Kaia has changed it’s name from a tyrannosaurus to a Droptolipadon because anything she tried to feed it fell right out of it’s mouth.
Last week, my father-in-law passed on boxes of sewing goodies from his mother’s stash (so, that would be Kaia and Leif’s great-grandmother)! She was an avid seamstress and had some fabulous stuff! Look at this:
There were 4 boxes of lace like this! 
This is just begging to be the hem of a frilly dress or skirt!!
Look at this lovely lace!
And there are all kinds of patterns! Some obviously from the 70′s.
Kaia and I are going to use some of this to make some Greek goddess outfits when we study Mythology this summer.
And there was a nice chunk of this fantastic fabric!! I’ve already made Leif a pair of pants (I call them his Party Pants) and might make a skirt for myself.
Here’s what happens when you wear your party pants to sleep! Not a good idea to party when you are sleeping.
Our ladies have had a great egg laying month!! Last month we averaged about a dozen a day (from 22 chickens), and the numbers just keep increasing. I’ve put a fence around the garden so that I can let the chickens out of their gated area to free range in the afternoons without them getting to the seedlings. They are loving it!!
So, with all these eggs, we’ve officially started selling them. I spent a good part of today designing the cartons
Aren’t they cute?!
Don’t worry! This sand is new and contains no coprolites!
