eggs in the nest

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Last March I began my search for different types of blown-out eggs to put in a nest on our coffee table. I thought it would be a great way to teach the little miss about birds and hatching. So far in our collection we have eggs from an ostrich, emu, chicken, duck, goose, and quail. Clementine likes to pick them up and feel how smooth or textured they are; she is very good with them, realizing their potential fragility.  I made some flash cards with pictures of the birds and their babies. We match the egg to it's appropriate picture, talk about where the bird lives, what sounds it makes, how big they are, and other observations, and then thanks to you tube we can watch these birds hatching from their eggs!  I thought putting out our nest of eggs every year would make for a fun spring tradition. 

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things we look at as we sit at the table

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We gave this rusty, paint chipped, old stainless steel sink frame a new purpose with some plywood and a piece of masonite, coated with some poly to seal it, and now it sits beneath the skylight next to the old locker that we found.

The rat tail cactus hangs down from the locker; friends have often referred to it as the dreadlock plant. A spotted prickly aloe sits in a pot next to the squirrels and the once amazing succulent wreath is now sun starved in this oh so rainy town.

I found the things that look like shavings from sharpening a giant pencil at a yard sale but I'm still not quite sure what I will do with them. The spools of thread had to be hidden underneath to keep the little miss from getting into trouble. Old wooden drawers store the rusty railroad nails that we picked up along the Hudson River. The mister found the red lantern light on his last trip to Hoffman's. A little upstate dumpster diving gave us the large wooden barn beam that is so lovely and textured.

a slice of a tree for love

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A few of weeks ago we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. The 'traditional' gift is wood. We are so like minded, the mister and I, that we both went to the same store to buy the SAME gift; this lovely crosscut board from Canoe. These are specially made from fallen trees in the woods of Minnesota. They are sealed which brings out the natural wood grain and makes it safe for cutting and serving food. I love it. I have it sitting on our counter with some pumpkins and a box of grass. It makes me smile every time I see it.

make your table a chalkboard table

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I decided to give my butcher block work table a makeover.

I painted it with chalkboard paint.

I loved it so much, I decided to do a little table for Clementine, too!


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All done!

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Clementine's table.

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She can draw on it with giant chalk.

Older kids could play tic tac toe or hangman.

Dolls can play hopscotch.

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As for my larger table...

chalkboard table placemat

chalkboard table placemat

Now there can be personalized (and erasable!) place mats.

Imagine a dinner party!

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Photos for blogging can be labeled!

So could wines, cheeses, or food at a buffet.

My brain jumps to how many ways this would be great for a party!

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To do lists can be written right on the table!

The possibilities are endless.

And erasable.