Do You believe in Magic?

Okay, fess up.  How many of you read the title of this post and immediately thought of the Lovin' Spoonful hit from 1965??  (click here to enjoy a trip down memory lane) That was from my high school days and I loved that song.  And, while we're confessing things, I'll admit that while I don't believe in magic, I have certainly wanted the ability to wiggle my nose or wave a magic wand to eliminate the time and dedication necessary to many an undertaking in my life.

Ella at Halloween.  Here talented (other) grandmother
made her costume.

I'm not sure whether Ella believes in magic, but she certainly has a "thing" for princesses and fairies these days.  I am a firm believer in afternoon naps up until kindergarten (!), but allow them to have a quiet time if sleep doesn't come.  Ella has spent her recent quiet times  looking through the Usborne Big Book of Fairy Things to Make and Do.  I get her to fall asleep by promising to wake her up before Jack wakes up so that we can do some of the projects together.  It's worked two days in a row to get her to nap and there's nothing like some good quality time together letting her create girly, glittery fairies with construction paper, tissue, glitter, and glue.  Here's one she made this week.  The under skirt and sleeves are made from torn paper (rather than cut) and she was proud to be able to do it all by herself.  We didn't have the called-for glitter, but the book has quantities of pages with foil stickers that can embellish the fairies plus about 20 different projects to make with fairly simple supplies.  If you have a little girl in your life, this is a super gift.

As I lack a working magic wand, I've been putting in some effort to get back to a workable exercise plan.  My goal is to do some exercise every day over and above my normal routine.  At this point, I'm doing a lot of walking along with trips to the gym.  If the weather is good this weekend, I'd like to get in a couple of bike rides.

Jack is making great progress on the potty training front.  In just over a week, he's gone from wearing diapers 24/7 to being in big boy pants except for when he's sleeping.  He hasn't had an accident here since the first day and tells me when he needs to go.  Pretty amazing.  I wish it was so easy for me to learn new habits!

I've been enjoying pears recently.  I tend to like the anjou pears best.  I like them cold in wedges, or with a bit of muenster cheese, or even, like Lori has hers, with a sprinkle of cinnamon.  There's something about the texture of fresh pears that is very pleasing to the tongue, no?

It's time for me to wrap this up so I can wake Ella up for todays Art session!

Magic wands are great for bringing smiles to 4 year olds, but exercise and a reasonable diet are the ticket for making the changes I need for healthy living!

Be good!