word eggs.

Over the last month, I've shared a few early reading activities that have been at play in our house during the last couple of months (starting with our book nook and then our tiny flashcards). As my preschooler learned his letter sounds, he became ready to focus on word groups. After scanning pinterest, I came across the (amazing, fabulous, insanely fantastic!) idea of word eggs. Together, my son and I recently created some and they are his new favorite 'toy.' He slides them into his coat pockets alongside his prized Star Wars Grievous action figure. We hop in the car and he's word egging and light sabering simultaneously. Here's how we created our word eggs:

1. Grab a couple plastic Easter Eggs (hint: I found the larger sized, heavier plastic ones to work best since my son could hold them with two hands and spin the parts a bit easier.)
2. With a p-touch (or a sharpie and some sticky labels) create the last half of your word ending (-ook, -at, -op, -og) and affix the label to the smaller half of the egg, along the seam
3. Again, using your p-touch (or a sharpie and some sticky labels) create several labels that contain the starting letters of words associated with the desired word group. For example, if the word ending on the egg is -at, I created labels for the words cat, fat, pat, sat, rat, mat.
4. Affix the single letter labels to the larger half of the egg, along the seam.
5. To play, instruct your child to use their letter sounds to figure out the “magic” ending sound. Once the child sounds out the last half of the word, show them how to spin the egg and use their letter sounds to learn all of the words on the egg.

This post is also published via link at I can teach my child

luxury.

Source: maluna.tumblr.com on Pinterest

February marked the month of luxury.

After a long string of annoying illnesses during the holiday season, our family bumped back into Tbilisian life slowly. We nestled in, took care and enjoyed having our Eastern European home blanketed in a deep winter's snow.

But as the weather started to turn this last week, and a potential hope of Spring now flutters in my brain, the lists of projects-- craftiness, cooking, gardening-- and sites to explore in the city mounts. But, alas, we're not quite to spring (or projecting and exploring warmth). It is that annual weird 'in between' season right now. We're still quietly shedding a bit of winter as we look ahead to resuming morning walks, digging into the earth of our backyard and pulling out fabrics with some blooms on them.

So, we've continued to feather our nest and move in a bit deeper by treating ourselves to a few new goodies. Other people doing the expat trail will recognize the familiar move pattern that seems to be repeated with each new adventure. First, downsizing to prepare for a move, then going through all the little in between steps to arrange logistics, stepping on a plane, waiting for your shipment to arrive in your new host country, setting up your new home, fixing 'problems' with your new home, getting to know the country as if on a honeymoon, crashing a bit from everything you've been through (and perhaps, as in our case, taken your family through) and then eventually emerging to take stock of making yourself a bit more comfortable. We're in that final phase right now.

We've welcomed the addition of a television set to finish out some winter movie watching and a couple of big overstuffed beanbag chairs for the kids' room. We've updated our cleaning supplies in anticipation of Spring's arrival (I know, boring to some, but you should see my new self-wringing mop and a locally stitched bamboo handled broom! Exciting. Truly.). New curtains are sewn and hung. And, true luxury? We finally have a mirror in our bathroom, the generator's battery has been replaced and a water tank (to cope with the rolling water outages in this city) has been installed beneath the house. Ahhh...

OH... And for those dying to know what dress I would have worn to the Oscars this year? It would have been the one that stole my heart when I first saw it-- the gorgeous deep magenta Chanel with golden brocade tipping. Talk about luxury...

Source: weheartit.com via Shelby from anewbohemia.com on Pinterest

if I was going to the oscars.

This will be the first year in many that I won't be watching the Academy Award broadcast. In years past, I've created an appetizer spread to rival the parties underway in L.A. and popped the cork on champagne as I happily snuggled into an evening of watching my favorite movies and fashion come together.

The awards aren't broadcast here in Tbilisi and, frankly, no one seems to care. When I asked a Georgian acquaintance if the awards were shown on television, she responded with: "Oh, no one really cares about that here." And, while I can download movies, music, books, etc. from the Internet, the speed is more than (extremely) slow. So, this year, as I live in a far flung destination, I'll connect with my annual tradition by spending a bit of time dreaming about 'my Oscar dress'. After hours of debate and virtual dressing room visits, I present to you my final 18 dresses that I would wear to this year's Academy Awards. What do you think?! (click on the image above to see a larger view)

from left to right, row 1
1. Emilio Pucci
2. Phillip Lim
3. Jason Wu
4. Peter Som
5. Versace
6. Zac Posen

from left to right, row 2
7. Jason Wu
8. Alexander McQueen
9. The Row
10. Zac Posen
11. Roksanda Ilincic
12. Marchesa

from left to right, row 3
13. The Row
14. Alexander McQueen
15. Vera Wang
16. Chanel
17. Marchesa
18. Stella McCartney

Take a look at my board to see a few others that aren't included here!

cheer like a maniac.

A couple weeks back, I wrote about our book nook and instilling a sense of well being through the process of curling up with a book. Another activity that has my preschooler feeling proud these days is mastering his phonemic letter sounds. He's been working on these for quite some time as we've incorporated not just the name of the letter, but the sound it makes, into his early learning. 

He loves playing the phonemic awareness games on starfall.com (the phonemic alphabet song is FANTASTIC fun!). In recent months, I created a tiny set of flash cards (varying the size--- tiny or huge-- always seems to make the kids laugh and creates more of a gaming atmosphere in our house). Each card had a letter on it, written in capital print and lower case print. At points throughout the day, him and I sit down and go through the cards. The rules to the game? He sees the letter, says the letter sound or chooses to 'pass.' The sounds he gets correct go into a pile. The ones he passes on or misses, I say the correct sound and put them into another pile. Then, I pick up the pass/try again pile and we race through those in the exact same manner. We keep at it until all of the cards end up in the success pile. Then? We jump up and cheer like maniacs!  

fried snowflakes.

My son came home from preschool today and said "Let's make something mama!" Well, okay!... bring on the fried snowflakes.*

1. Fold a doily in eighths and snip it into a snowflake. 
2. Place the doily in a clean, dry frying pan. Using a microplane grater, grate two colors of oil pastel 'crayons' over the doily.
3. Turn the heat on low and watch carefully. 'Cook' your snowflake just until the crayons begin to melt (about one minute). 
4. Turn off the heat. Remove your fried snowflake and allow to cool (and harden) on a solid surface.

Hang your gorgeous fried snowflakes in a window and liven up a bleak winter's view.

*No child necessary to make this project. Feel free to whip out a frying pan, a few doilies and some oil pastel crayons and make a snowstorm of fried snowflakes on your own as the mood strikes. 




This post is linked at Skip To My Lou and Today's Creative Blog.

Snow + BBQ = Georgian Winter.

This Pacific Northwest girl isn't used to real snow. The snow I grew up with, in a suburb of Seattle, went a bit like this: First, spend a week with the local news teasing 'snow-mageddon'. Second, people race to the grocery stores and 'stock up'. Then, usually once per year, some snow would fall, look gorgeous and we'd go to school an hour late. Next, the snow would turn to rain. A day of ugly slush followed. Whole deal done and gone before you even really knew it began. With a few exceptions, that is what snow in the Pacific Northwest meant.

Here? In the former Soviet Union? Snow is a whole different story. Unannounced, it falls from the sky and people go on about their daily life, completely unfazed (while I fight the urge to race to the store and 'stock up'). Then, it keeps falling and falling and falling and falling... in huge beautiful fluffy flakes. And, finally, there is no rainy, slushy, snow-be-gone stage. The centigrade just drops to unfathomable temperatures and the snow from weeks ago remains in our back garden.

So, this last Sunday, in the late afternoon, surrounded by a blanket of snow, we stoked our Georgian BBQ and played and ate and laughed and relaxed, Georgian style.

Our locally purchased BBQ came complete with long swords for spearing the shashlik.* We've been using the BBQ since we arrived-- as my husband basically got off the plane and went shopping for a grill. But, we've only recently learned about using dried grapevines to add flavor to the shashlik. If someone would have told me sooner, I would have dried some of our own. But, luckily, the grocery store sells them alongside charcoals. And, you know what... they make a HUGE difference in flavor! Who would have known?!

As the BBQ smoked away, an epic snowball fight took place and snow angels were made. Deep red, dry, Georgian wine was sipped. The kids laughter bounced off of the concrete walls of our back garden. The baby, smartly, stayed warm in the kitchen while his big brother and sister served snowballs for licking through a quickly opened kitchen window. Hot chocolate was made and a hot meal, straight off the coals, ended our cold day.

And, that is how you enjoy a Georgian winter. As the week closes, we're gearing up for round two. Wherever you are, and however you spend your Saturday or Sunday afternoon, think of us as we fire up our grapevine stoked grill and make the best of a (still) snowy back garden. Supposedly, we're expecting another 'big snow', but that's according to local friends... and not a weather person forecasting snow-mageddon.

Pictures, left to right:
1. Our back garden dusted in snow
2. Epic snowball fight underway
3. Grape vines, dried and ready for the BBQ
4. Grape vines, close up
5. Our Georgian BBQ, complete with swords
6. The complete meal: walnut and pomegranate rolled eggplant, shashlik, fresh suluguni cheese, Shoti (local bread), Georgian potato salad and a beet/apple slaw.

*THE only way to eat grilled meats in this country, Shashlik is marinated cubes of meat speared onto swords and roasted over charcoals.

making Valentine's.

Valentine's Day may not be the major holiday here that it is in the States, but that's not stopping us from celebrating. The kids have been hard at work creating valentines for their classmates, their family members, their friends and their teachers. Here's a sneak peak at what's going on:

• My five year old son is making a Valentine's Treasure Hunt in a bottle for his classmates. Together, we colored rice, poured it into plastic drinking bottles, added a dozen or so little bobbles (a crayon, a button, a coin, etc), and tied on some ribbon for decoration. We also dipped the top of the bottle in red paint to seal the cap and add a bit more festive color. Then, we made a label asking the recipient to twirl, swirl and twist their bottle and find the hidden items.
• My seven year old daughter is making paper heart and doily Valentine notes for her classmates and tucking them inside a clear bag with a few pieces of candy, tied up present-style.
• At some point, I jumped on my (newly purchased!) sewing machine and created a quick heart garland to brighten up the kitchen window facing our snow covered, Eastern European backyard. 10 minutes of cutting out felt hearts plus 5 minutes of connecting them via a rapid running stitch equals a bit of festive warmth.
• My daughter is also crafting away at matchbox valentines for her teachers and family. She started down this path for her 15 classmates as well, but her plans fell short when we could only round up seven matchbooks! (I went EVERYWHERE in Tbilisi searching out matchboxes and came up empty-handed. She was left using up what I purchased a few months back.)
• Meanwhile I'm putting my newly purchased sewing machine to good use and creating a few little goodies for my darling three. One of my favorite mornings of the year is February 14th when I adore meeting my blurry-eyed kids upon waking, wishing them a sweet Valentine's morning, hugging them extra tight and placing a tiny little handmade toy into their still sleepy fingers. I can barely wait...

a list.

Anticipating my son's after school play date, I made a quick batch of cookies, laid out some apples (to be cut up fresh when the boys arrived) and sat down with a cup of coffee to make a quick to-do list for tomorrow. Here's what's up...

• purchase the book Q184 by Haruki Murakami for my Kindle
• gather supplies so the kids can finish creating valentines for their classmates
• finish sewing the kid's Valentine's surprise presents
• buy a baguette from the bakery on Pekini Street
• purchase a skinny dry erase marker so I can fit more list items on my coffee mug!

Whisper.

Did you hear that? A tiny whisper of an idea-- just in time for Valentine's Day.*

1. 3 inch covered wedge heels in patent red. Great with any LBD. (Aerosoles, style Plum Tree)
2. A great book, set in the cobble stoned alleys of Paris' Montmare district, about a mysterious stranger with gorgeous red shoes. Written by the author of Chocolat, this book is quirky, a bit unsettling and a look at a mother's protection of her children. (The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris)
3. One of my favorite coffee makers-- in RED! (Bialetti, Dama Gran Gala style)
4. Give this bracelet to someone you adore, have them make a wish, tie it on and when the bracelet eventually falls off, their wish is said to come true. (Water Horse Studios, Wish Heart)
5. Isn't life too short to wear black gloves everyday? (Knitty.com, style Freja mittens)
6. Charming DIY glittered hearts. (pinned via google)
7. A sweet hand painted necklace charm that makes my mind drift off to days spent in Paris. (Tuckoo and Moo Cow, Le Balloon Rouge pendant)
8. An ancient handicraft in the Republic of Georgia (my current home), felting uses sheep's wool to create hats, scarves, animal figures, dolls, decorative fruit and more. thewoolery.com is a great resource for carded felting wools in a variety of colors. (The Woolery, felting wool)
9. An all-time favorite of mine. I have these great latte bowls in the espresso size. (Anthropologie, latte bowls in color: chill)

*And, by the way, these are a few personal favorites I wanted to share (i.e. none of these businesses are paying me to display their products!). 

holiday clean up.

All over Tbilisi, Christmas lamps and lights were hung for the months of late November, December and January. Massive chandeliers swung from several of the grander avenues, wire peace doves swung overhead on neighborhood thoroughfares and little twinkling stars dotted the bridges of the city.

I literally watched in awe as beat-up trucks of lights drove through town this last Fall and older gentlemen slowly hoisted them on ladders and connected them to the city's power supply. On more than one occasion I wondered why it all was taking so long. Days of decorating turned into weeks of decorating and then... all of the decorations hung, unlit, for more weeks. And, then? Finally, as January 7th approached (Orthodox Christmas), the city lit in a spectacular fashion. The ordinarily steely grays and dead leaf browns that make up the city's winter color scheme lit with white creamy bursts of light.

And as we approach mid- February, the removal process is (still) underway. The weeks upon weeks of decorating is, inevitably, followed by weeks upon weeks of de-decorating.

book nook.

My preschooler has entered the magical season where he is 'getting it!' I'm grinning like a crazy person from ear to ear and snickering over my crafty techniques. He's laughing and smiling and begging for more. It's the magic of early reading.

We read a lot in our house and a few months back I started to put a few new-to-our-house reading ideas in place. Here's one idea that my seven and five year olds are both loving.

My husband and I are avid readers and have always read to our kids, but I wanted to really encourage my kids to experience the feeling that comes from curling up with a book and sitting still with it for a bit on their own. There's a certain sense of well being and peace that I've always found from the moments spent reading quietly and I have been trying to figure out ways for them to each start to experience this as individuals—rather than with me guiding the story.

So, with that goal in mind, I created a cozy little space in a corner of their room with a few pillows. I then strung some empty pieces of embroidery floss overhead-- creating a canopy of sorts. Next, I grabbed two small canvas boxes and affixed the initials of my kids names onto them with a bit of felt.* On a nearby surface, I placed a jar filled with stars that I cut out of felt. And, finally, I presented the game to my kids. “Take a book out of your box. Curl up in the new book nook. Read it in the way you know best.** And, when you finish the book, take a piece of tape and a star and attach it to one of the strings overhead. Let's create a starry sky for your reading nook! The more books you read, the starrier the sky will get.” 

Smiles started, independent reading flourished and a very starry sky has been created.

*With the kids help, I replace the books in each of their boxes with ones that are at an appropriate level for each of their abilities.

**Since my goal is to encourage a love of individual reading time, I wanted my kids to understand clearly that they could practice their level of reading-- whether that be sounding out some of the words, all of the words or purely looking through the pictures. The important thing to me, for this activity time, is that they learn to sit with a book from beginning to end and enjoy the quiet and time to be absorbed into the activity.




Linked at Today's Creative Blog.

snow in full color.

We've had snow on and off for the last couple of weeks and I've gotten fairly good at managing the ever huge pile of wet coats, gloves, hats and boots that arrive after the kids play like mad in the back garden. The radiator provides a nice drying rack, the kitchen table holds mugs for newly poured hot cocoa and the chair backs allow for coats to be tented.

And, we've now added a fab new snow toy*-- several spray bottles filled with colored water for creating designs in the snow. The collection quickly grew from one spray bottle to six and my back garden now looks like Rainbow Brite's unicorns galloped all over.

*Make your own: place a few drops of food coloring into a spray bottle, fill with cold water and screw the cap on tightly.

baby-oh.

The glitter has settled and the baby is now crawling rapidly after his favorite Georgian treat. The bread is sold at every little bread stand and tastes a bit like a slightly sweet, well worked yeast dough, baked into a wide circle. We've given the new treat a very technical name-- 'Oh Bread'. Clever huh?!

Hope your February is starting out wonderfully!