At Home with The Andersons

"I am convinced that unconditional love is the most powerful known stimulant of the immune system.  If I told patients to raise their blood levels of immune globulins or killer T cells, no one would know how.  But if I can teach them to love themselves and others fully, the same changes happen automatically.  The truth is:  love heals." - Bernie Siegel My children love to chat with and visit with our neighbors.  It is hard for them now that everyone is inside.  This weekend our family, like many others all over the world, tuned into church from our living room.  The message this week was about showing love to all.  So how can we show our love and share joy when we are separated?  Art!    I was so excited when I came across window crayons in the craft store a few weeks back and now I am really glad I picked them up.  We have used them to free draw on the front door and the results were great. This time we de...

I started this blog years ago when my kids were young and, well, life got busier and though we kept exploring I stopped posting.  As we now face the many challenges of life during a global pandemic much has changed.  There is no school for my children to go to, my job for the past 17 years no longer needs me and the places we used to go and explore are closed.  Our new normal is anything but normal.  All our interactions with friends, family and teachers are done virtually, no hugs, no hi-fives, no face to face conversations.  When we go for a walk we still smile and wave at people, but we keep our distance and make sure everyone has plenty of space. Each day I wake up and our old routines have been replaced with adapted ones.  I go to bed worrying how I am going to engage my children the next day.  How can we explore from our own home?  How can I nurture their creative spirit?  How can I allow them the freedom they need to grow?  How ...

This chilly Saturday we headed to the National Postal Museum to have fun. C started out sorting Mail on a mail train. We love how hands on the museum is.  They have laminated postcards to sort and even a stamp to cancel them. A favorite for us and maybe the only thing that could trump a train is a big rig.  To C nothing is better than getting behind the wheel and switches of a truck with his Daddy. This is Owney the postal dog .  The most traveled dog of his time. We ventured through the forest following the first US Postal route. We rode in a stagecoach.  It was a little crowded with the other passengers.   I loved hearing the narrative stories told by the other "passengers" inside. Next C helped us explore the ABCs of the post office. Even A got into the fun. Scanning packages is hard work. On a hunt to canceling stamps. Sorting packages is a lot like basketball. ...

Our usual Satuday routine was thrown out of whack when our scheduled activities were canceled because of the impending snow.  What would we do?  In comes the College Park Aviation Museum . I have read about the museum a few times and really just needed an excuse to make the trip. Parking is easy and C was engaged as soon as we walked in with the automated Wilber Wright.  We were so excited with all of the hands on activities.  We explored propellers.  We checked out the controls. We played dress up.  C thought he looked pretty good and loved all of the zippers and badges on his bomber jacket. There were puzzles and airplanes to build We rode airplanes. C and Daddy flew an Airmail plane as well as an early Wright Brothers plane using simulators. There was a fantastic place for us to experiment with different air velocities. C really enjoyed flying in his own plane as well. We...

What a nice surprise after President's Day to have a little snow storm.  Waking up to see the ground covered in clean white snow makes me feel 5 again.  To give both C & A a chance to play in the snow I brought it inside where it was warm.  Some towels on the tile, water shoes to keep us from stepping on bits of snow that fell out, one big bin of snow and we were set.  This also solved the problem of how I could let the toddler play in the snow without making the infant miserable. At first we just explored the snow with our hands and a scoop. Next we hid some toys in the snow. After playing with that for a while.  I made some colored water with food coloring in some plastic cups.  I gave C some foam brushes we had so he could paint the snow as well as a craft stick to stir the snow. The brushes didn't work very well on the snow, so I grabbed his little kitchen ladle. Jackpot!  Then the fun really got started. We went thro...