On our last two days in the city, we got to what all girls gotta do, a little shopping!! We had saved up our chore and birthday money so we could visit the biggest toy store in the world, FAO Schwarz. It was crazy!
We had the hardest time deciding what to pick … but the life-size piano was pretty cool, and Mom says one of her favorite movies from a real long time ago was filmed there—the movie Big with Tom Hanks. I certainly wasn’t around that long ago.
Mia and I loved New York City! We could have spent the entire week in Central Park. At first, we thought it was a forest and couldn’t believe that new playgrounds kept popping up everywhere.
A forest surrounded by skyscrapers.
Hiking on all these nice paved trails is much easier than in our forests back home.
One of our aunties attended college in New York City. When we were babies, she gave us a book all about the city. It was part of a whole series of children’s books about different cities across the world. We LOVE our NYC book.
We took it with us so we could visit some of the places illustrated in our book.
Twice a year, manufacturers and retailers—people that buy, sell, and make linens (sheets, towels, bed sets, aprons, etc.) come from all over the world and meet in New York City. This means my daddy and sometimes my mommy and Nanny Jane get to travel from our wonderful and quiet little Moscow, Idaho, to the big and bustling city of Manhattan. This year, my spring break just so happened to be the same week that my dad was scheduled for his bi-annual trip, so we signed up to go, too!!
My mom, sister, and I had a blast in the big city!
Farmgirls on Park Avenue!
Are you ready? It’s time to celebrate this holiday for an entire week! Beginning February 10 (today) and continuing through February 16, it’s National Random Act of Kindness Week. I know, I feel like we just celebrated the RAOK Day. I think there’s even a RAOK Month. Maybe this is because it really should, of all holidays, be celebrated year-round.
So what’s your plan? I’m thinking I’ll smile at folks a little more. Or give out more random compliments. We’re big fans of treating the next person in line at the coffee shop to a free coffee (or mint tea). Or leaving a little something (a Valentine, maybe?) on someone’s doorstep. Or … that person you’ve been meaning to pamper? This is the week! It’s official. (I love this stuff. It’s especially fun to do with kids. They GET IT big time.)
So, Happy RAOK Week! What’s your plan for paying it forward?
Have you ever had “special sprouts”? They’re actually Brussels sprouts, but if you say it fast, it sounds an awful lot like special sprouts, especially to a 6 and a 3-year-old. (Our very own Nanny Jane calls them Barbie cabbages.)
I love Brussels sprouts. I admit it. (There. I said it.) So I introduced them to my girls last month. I take mine whole, sautéed in a bit of butter, and then tossed with a splash of balsamic vinegar and sea salt a few minutes before serving. I eat them with abandon the same way I can eat bacon or popcorn. And guess what, so do my girls! Mia asks for seconds and Stella, thirds. Mia likes to peel back the layers and savor them one leaf at a time. Stella is an eat-’em-whole girl like me.
Last week we had BLTs, organic French fries, and … special sprouts (a rather interesting combination, but that’s what happens when it’s dance and gymnastics night). Stella’s fries remained untouched, and on her third helping of special sprouts, I wondered if I should make her eat her entire plate of food before I let her have more of something else. I promptly decided against it.
When she asked Friday morning if she could take any leftover special sprouts to school for lunch, I also decided against that. No need for her to know just yet that her peers might not love them the way she does.
Our pup, Walker, leads the way with Daddy and me behind him and Mama and Mia bringing up the rear.
We may have thought the hill was a little steep to walk up, but it was a blast coming down!
In honor of Bake Cookies Day yesterday, the 18th of December, my Mom and sister and I celebrated!
We enjoyed them with a cold glass of milk fresh from Nanny Jane’s cows. MmmMmm!
P.S. The butter in the cookies was also from Nanny Jane’s cows. So delicious.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
