Jaro: Boy, I know nothing about these trees. The Winterthur Museum is not far from Philadelphia, PA, but it may actually be in Delaware. It is a very famous museum of American furniture and is in an old mansion of the Dupont family, which probably planted the trees. I never asked, but any provenance for these trees might be very hard to come by. But they had a label ÂInversa" on them. They are growing irregularly upright on their own at this stage. It is hard to see in the pictures, but they weep with a leader turning over, and then another leader starts upward, etc. I have no idea what training they had through the years. I have seen other trees called ÂInversa and these look like they could be the same cultivar. There are two in the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. and these are growing irregularly upward on their own, but with multiple leaders. There is another older one in a cemetery called the National Memorial Park, or something similar, out on Lee Highway west of Washington, D.C. It might be in Fairfax. This tree is a bit more upright than the others and may be a different cultivar. I think Dave has posted some pics of ÂReflexa and they donÂt look like these ÂInversa trees. In any case, it seems these trees take a very long time to develop. I was told by the curator at the National Arboretum that the larger of the ÂInversa" trees there is over 90 years old. Those at Winterthur may be close to that age. But I have never seen any kind of "garden" tree anywhere near as beautiful as these at Winterthur. But it was something like 10 years since I was there. If I ever get back there I will do a thorough "photo essay" on them and post. --Spruce

Heather, I am so glad that Sebastian enjoyed the box. I had fun putting it together with Rhiannon,even though she kept taking things out and saying Mine, Mine. I enjoyed doing this and so did the girls. We should do this again sometime. Stacie Here is what I found out about the soap flakes: Making Soap Flakes for Craft Recipes Crafts Tip From Stephanie Brown, Your Guide to Parenting: Babies & Toddlers. Have an Idea? Pitch a Story FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Many craft recipes call for Ivory Soap Flakes. Unfortunately, the company stopped making this product in 1993. Soap, in general, helps keep paint from staining hands, clothes and other surfaces and it also helps paint made with gritty, powdered tempera go on paper more smoothly. Those testing and developing the recipes found that flakes were preferable to liquid soap because it kept the paints from becoming too runny. In addition, some recipes need the "fluffy" consistency of the flakes versus powdered soaps like Dreft. You can make your own soap flakes by using any pure vegetable soap and grating it with a cheese grater. Ivory soap is about the cheapest pure soap, but you can experiment with different types to get different smells and even colors. Be careful if using soaps scented with extracts like peppermint with very young children, since it seems to make them just want to eat the paint. I find that laying the soap flat on its widest side and using the side of the grater with the long openings (2 inch slits) is more effective than using the sides with small holes. As far as the citric acid goes, I found mine at the pharmacy, I think even Walmart carries it.

When my child was in kindergarden, a friend of my child told all of the kids that there really is no Santa. Her parents do not celebrate Christmas at all because of their beliefs, and were very clear with their children about why they do not celebrate Christmas, explaining clearly to their kindergarden and preschool children that Santa is not real, and that parents that tell their children that Santa is, are lying to their children, and that they wanted their children to know the truth, and to know that "they" will always tell their children the truth, so that their kids will know that they can trust them. They did not want to act like Santa was real, and have their children believe they had lied or misled them, and believe that they could not trust what their parents said. You can imagine how upset the other moms were when their kindergarden children are telling them what the other children were told, and then asking "is Santa real mommy"? You will always tell me the truth, won't you mommy? Under "that" senerio, we were all put in a situation we did not want to be in so early, and had to admit the truth. Some of the kids even told that mom what her daughter told them, and she affirmed that her daughter had told them the truth, and went on to explain the same thing she told her children. You can imagine how upset a couple of the moms were with that mom.

Lynn, the HW are red oak #2. They have alot of grain & knots which works for me b/c of the dogs( big one is Sam-11yo, my 1st child, Pepper - shaggy black one & Salty - the little sh*t Tzu puppy, J/k) I have turned into that crazy dog lady!! I had mentioned earlier I wasn't lovin' the glass cab in the foyer - too much visually when you first walk in. So, I will get out my handy dandy magic sliders & move it all back. Not only do the dogs think I am crazy, Dh does, too!! But he appreciates the effort just not when I ask him to help:) I have wanted to add 2 cool - kinda funky stools to each side of the glass cab. I could pull them into the seating area when entertaining as xtra seats. Maybe some kind of animal print........hmmmmm Sideboard is too big for the foyer & it does look nice in the DR. French doors on each side of ET opposite the sofa. LOL on the attic. I am turning into a pack rat!! There's junk up there, too!! Thanks soooooooooo very much. Smiles:)