{this moment} herding bamboo

 

Inspired by Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

napa ice cream shop

napa is known for its ice cream

I love the light coming down from the pendant lamps in this drawing. Scott took L to an ice cream shop in Napa a few weeks ago, and later this drawing of his experience in the shop appeared! The people on the right are heading to a faucet where they can add whipped cream to their sundaes. For some reason L is obsessed with Napa and always wants to go there…

L has been experimenting with letters lately, not exactly what I expected since we lean toward the waldorf, “don’t read and write until first grade” philosophy. The idea is to develop the right brain/imagination sufficiently first before altering the brain irrevocably with writing patterns, which use a totally different part of the brain.

But, that said, if he’s into it and it’s who he is, we’ll go with it. He copies words he sees around the house, Straus from the yogurt container, for example, heehee! And he is constantly saying “what did I write?” after doing conglomerations of letters and wanting to see if we can read them. He will fill whole pages with letters and words, then head back to drawing again. Then go build an airport. Then plant a bamboo stick in the lawn. Then demand to go to Napa. Such is the life of a kid.

gardening to china

Every week, L goes out to my childhood home to hang out with the grandparents. This week, grampa decided to start the spring garden, so they planted artichokes and onions and who knows what else. Lukas wondered if the hole was going to go all the way to China. He’s been really into that idea lately. (I think the most direct route technically takes you to Africa, another place of interest for L) The other day though, he decided that he’d take a plane there instead because “if you were digging to China and you got to the fire in the middle of the earth, then ouch.” Heehee! I love living with a little kid!

{this moment}

 

Inspired by Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

beginning sewing

a little embroidery

Sometimes while I’m doing a little sewing, Lukas likes to help out too, so I set him up with some embroidery. All it takes is:

One hoop

Some fabric

Some embroidery thread

A blunt needle

Then I show him how to go up and down through the fabric. Sometimes he forgets and goes the same way twice… but he is very pleased anyway, and I love to see him working on a craft. It also reminds me that things don’t have to be perfect or done “right” to be enjoyed. Hmmm, it’s something I need to be reminded of quite often.

egg days

checking the basket

Easter, the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Such an involved way to calculate a holiday! Ssaturday, we colored eggs, and updated the Spring nature table. Then Sunday, at 6am, a small four year year old pops awake and says, clearly, “I wonder if the easter bunny came” I say, “hmmmmfffhhm, maybe, probably, why don’t you go see?” and he leaps and excitedly discovers his basket where gluten and nut free chocolate awaits, along with a bunch of fun toys.

eggs

seasonal table

Next, over to gramma and grampa’s house, where the rabbit has also stopped and then over across the way to the big egg hunt.

hunting with grampa

It’s become an Easter tradition, the annual Egg Hunt out at Todd’s ranch. Dozens of kids line up at the fence, littles in front, and they all take off searching in the grassy field for what seems like millions of eggs hidden so even the youngest can find a basketful. We see old and new friends and enjoy the sunshine this year. Afterwards, back at the hunting room, (where the walls are covered with animal heads, large and small) everyone enjoys drinks and a potluck. Love seeing people I haven’t seen since last year, and neighbors from my childhood days. We’re so grateful for these communities of friends and family!

{this moment} brothers

 

Inspired by Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

spring into sewing

knit top from sew camp

Last spring I took an online sewing class called the Backwoods Mama Spring Sew Camp. It is Spring again and for Spring and I am recommending it to all of you! Our sewing teacher Kathy interviewed me recently on her blog about the class, if you’d like to know more.

bloomin' bloomers

It is a totally self-paced class, so even home-bound mamas can participate! (Or those who don’t have time for a regular class for any other reason) My favorite part was learning to sew with knits on a regular sewing machine. All the patterns are easy to understand and there are videos and posts to explain everything. Then you can upload photos of your creations to the group flickr set. It’s fun to see what everyone else did.

The community feeling of doing something in common with others interested in the same thing is almost as good as if it were real life. And it sort of is real life, because although every participant was from some far corner of the globe, they are all real people. I highly recommend Backwoods Mama Spring Sew Camp, even if you live in town, like us!

baby bird bibs

reversible, I love the French Alice in Wonderland fabric

My Paris roommate from college days just had twins, a boy and a girl. She’s all the way in New York City, but one thing I can do is make and send these ultra-functional bibs. They cover the entire front of the body of an eating toddler and you could probably fit two babies under one of them. (doubling as swaddling blankets…)

the bird bibs

for twins...

I found this beautiful French version of Alice in Wonderland fabric, which is maybe a little girlish but not really. And puppy fabric that might be boyish but not really. Red and white are always fine for everyone and who doesn’t like a little embroidered bird? Truly the little embroidered birds were my favorite part of the making and of the final product.

Our four year old model, "don't hate me because I'm beautiful"

I made two of these for Lukas when he was about one year old and they are all he’s ever needed for mealtimes. Just the two bibs, and he still uses them, three times a day. They are reversible so if one side is a little dirty, you can just use the other side… It’s really like four bibs. Here he is modeling a new bib over his down vest, quite a look…

Congratulations to my wonderful friend, those babies are amazing!

{this moment}

 

Inspired by Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.