Organizing-Life » children

creating random

I can’t create random. As much as I try to make arbitrary, organic, unplanned…my paintbrush, pastel, or pencil still has purpose. My drawings feel charted and specific. But you look at Tyler’s or Sydney’s art and their visual stories are so…random. They are wonderful creations that feel “in the moment”, fluid, dynamic, and spontaneous.

Isn’t it interesting that adults who have lost so much of that ability to let go, wander, dabble, and meander try so hard to reclaim these qualities. Isn’t it strange that from an adult perspective all of those words mean “do-nothing”, but from a toddler’s perspective, to waffle, wallow, and bask, are words of profound productivity.

These watercolor pictures are pen drawn by me, and mostly watercolor painted by Tyler (I am pretty sure you can tell which watercolor painting I did.) Yes, the second is my attempt at a car…even with the dinosaurs you didn’t think we could get too far from wheels did you?

dinosaurs…

Upon a toddler request, we visited the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C., to see the dinosaur exhibit. I was just so overjoyed to encourage a passion other than wheels and race cars. So we went…and had a lot of fun.

In a nearby exhibit is the Hope Diamond.The 45 carat blue diamond from India.

Daddy: Do you like it Sydney?

Sydney: pe-ttie. Wannn it!!!

On the crafting table this week: Manos de Uruguay Wool Classica legwarmers, this Berry Hat, this sweater vest, seam-binding in StoneHill Collection Zest, Orange Medallion, and finishing up some baby gifties! Whew, happy Monday!

muddy, wet, late winter

We were able to pop outside for a bit even though the forecast was for snow, and the clouds were out in full force. It was damp, cool, but otherwise calm. The kids just loved being outside. Fresh air, puddles, mud, sticks, and snow boots make for wonderfully wild messy and wet adventures.

thinking about living

I never thought I’d want to live in the country. As a kid, I abhorred living a 30-minute drive away from friends, no trick-or-treating because the houses were too far away, getting snowed in and having to cancel social engagements, and living the slow-life. How then did I decide to attend a college in rural Maine?

By the time I finished undergrad, I wanted a bit of life in the fast-lane. I wanted nights clubbing with friends. I wanted cultural diversity. I wanted politics and swag. I wanted urban living where neighborhoods are walkable and a work desk that was a few blocks away from home. So, I snagged a job, in politics, and moved to Washington D.C.

My 20s were filled with nights out on the town and traffic held up by the Presidential motorcade driving up Connecticut Avenue at rush hour. Farmers markets on the weekends. Wonderful dining at some of the nation’s finest restaurants and some of the best dives. I met lots of interesting characters, volunteered to help combat adult-illiteracy, and I had fun.

After I married, I moved to the suburbs and started a family. I felt I had been there, done that, had a lot of fun, and I was ready for a new phase in my life. I now live in an over populated suburb, next to too many people, stuck in traffic and road construction, battling bad municipal water, vehicle emissions, no open yard, and a really high cost of living.

I am tired of keeping up with the Joneses, who ever they are. And I want my children to be able to grow up amongst nature. I want them to find bugs and spiders. I want them to see what they planted grow and produce food to eat. I want them to respect the forest, it’s plants, and it’s inhabitants. I want them to learn how to swim, ski, and ice-skate, and experience this plant’s awesome gifts of nature.

It just broke my heart the other day when my son asked if he could put on his boots and go outside to play and I had to say “no” because we don’t have anywhere to play out front. (The other problems were that his sister and I were sick and that the snow is so deep he wouldn’t be able to navigate in it anyway.) I so wish he had a place outside to build that awesome snow fort…and maybe I wish I just had snow-pants.

There are certainly some things I like about this heavily populated area. The grocery is less than two miles away. The farmer’s market is less than a mile away. Local farms are less than a hour drive in the car. We have access to so many international foods and natural food products. Cultural diversity is rich here. The public school system is healthy and the infrastructure is perpetually on the front political burner.

There are a lot of things keeping us here in suburbia, and I suppose I am just going to have to be smarter than the average Jane and think up creative ways my children can learn about what is real in this world and how to deal with what is not. But maybe, one day, my children will be able to play outside every day; and it will just be a given that that is what living is all about.

opening your ears…open your mind

I must admit that I was, well, near irate at our pre-school’s switched decision to now NOT to hold make-up days. Wednesday, February 17th marked the end of a 3 week-no-school streak. Snow, more snow, and more snow and the fact that the state and county road crews here aren’t equipped to handle nearly 3 feet of snow, and over-development means there is no where to put the snow, were the reasons why we all were cooped up inside.

E-mails have been flying around our co-operative pre-school about make-up days, possible tuition reimbursements, and county school closing policies (which we generally follow…generally.) My first reaction to all of this was “why am I paying for school days when the school isn’t open but could be open since the parking lot is cleared, no one takes a bus, and neighborhood streets are clear? Why can’t we hold make-up days or get a tuition reimbursement? Why is the Board correspondence so annoyingly vague?” We even started looking at other pre-schools for fall enrollment.

And then I took a breath, (and another with some calming lavender essence) and took a step back. Perhaps switching schools could be a good idea. Perhaps we’d face many of the same governance problems at a new institution. And maybe there are circumstances we can understand that might shed more light on why the Board decided to not to follow county policy. Maybe I should ask someone who is part of the Board about the reasons underpinning their decision. Hummm, maybe that last one is a good idea.

And so I did ask. She and I are going to meet up soon to chat about our the school, mom life and our children who will hopefully be in the same classes next year. (Sydney is currently enrolled too, and we do hope to stay with PNS…i.e. I hope they have based this decision upon reasons we feel we agree with.) The outcome of all this remains to be seen, but I feel better about handling the situation in a constructive manner. Usually I don’t.

the end…

I am quite astonished we made it through three weeks of no pre-school. Tyler’s school is in session today, but I keep thinking I will get an e-mail saying otherwise. I think we are all glad things are moving back toward normal.

We have been keeping busy baking cookies.

Or in their case, licking the mixer beater, and smashing the dough with our toy cars. (This gluten-filled recipe is the Vanilla-Bean Spritz Wreaths from Martha Stewart’s Cookies. And yes, all those vanilla bean seeds makes this a very expensive play-dough.)

Stencil painting for the car-obsessed, (the technique we used in part is demonstrated here,)

…and potato stamping. (The kids keep the pantry door open which lets lots of lovely sunlight in. This makes my potatoes sprout, and then, makes them inedible. What do you do with sprouted potatoes but make potato stamps?)

Reading stories about a Fox and lots of Sox, Green, Red, and Blue Fish, and going potty. And…well, you get my gist. I am so glad he is going back to pre-school.

crafting, cavilling, and going a little crazy…

this weekend, I was doing a little bit of sewing…

and a little embroidery…

and this bag is for our birthday banner.

and we were doing a little bit of this…

(and add a lot of cavilling)

and a lot of this.

And it is snowing again. (Just a couple of inches today.) Going a little crazy here…cabin-fever crazy. We are still waiting for the schools to start up again, meanwhile we are still PAYING for private pre-school. Humpf. It is what it is, this too shall pass…isn’t that what we say as parents? And I need glasses to see better. This will not pass. What are you doing this February?

grocery haulin’

Sydney’s physical therapist suggested it might be beneficial for her to haul some heavy loads in a bag. “Drag heavy loads” to be exact. Pulling exercises help work the key core body muscles and is an exercise that is very beneficial to someone who is low-toned. So, in that vein, I put together an experimental grocery tote for Sydney so she can “help” Mama haul some heavy groceries…I am thinking like cans of tuna that aren’t too heavy and can’t get juiced or spilled.

(An apology about the light in these photos…I am still trying to figure out this camera.) This mini-grocery tote measures about 9″X10″ and is made of unbleached mid-weight cotton fabric. The lining fabric was a thrifted table cloth in green and taupe with yellow daisies. It is experimental because I did a little experimenting with applique and some free-stitching on the sides. Conclusion, we’ll see how long the applique holds up to toddler wear and tear and a tumble in the washer and dryer, and I need some more (a lot more) practice with the free motion stitching, mine looks like I was riding in an airplane during turbulence.

I would have preferred handles to be a bit longer to fit over the shoulder, but this was the fabric I had on-hand. With the flowery theme, I can certainly see this tote going to many-a-farmer’s market this spring and summer only to come home filled with juicy fruits, colorful veggies, or even a yummy cookie or two.

There are so many wonderful tote bag tutorials out there, I will not bore you with another one. Just Google “tote bag tutorial” and you’ll find a million.

happy birthday Sydney

There was a little happy birthday-ness going on around here recently. Little Sydney turned 2 years old. It seems like just yesterday we were nursing in the NICU, traveling from home to the hospital for visits, and feeling seriously stressed out about the prognosis of our little baby born weighing just 5lbs 5 oz, at 34 weeks old. (Yes, she was a very large, very old, preemie.)

It turned out that we had an abrupted placenta and little WonHee decided to come a bit early. After a fairly uneventful labor and delivery we went home from the hospital, only to be readmitted for high biliruben/jaundice and hypothermia. A low temp could have meant a sepsis infection, but instead it was just Sydney’s little body saying that she wasn’t quite sure how to regulate her body temperature yet.

After 5 days in the warmer, she was discharged to parents who really weren’t sure it was “safe” to bring someone so small home. I mean, the wonderful NICU nurses are there around the clock to monitor everything. Was it going to be safe for me to sleep? I remember feeling like, “they trust ME to care for this little person? How can that be?”

Fast forward past, colic, screaming in the car seat, visits to the cardiologist, physical therapy, and temper tantrums that started at 18 months (who said terrible-twos start at 2?)…and we have a wonderful little girl, who exerts her independence with an incredible amount of cuteness, and who is just simply an amazing part of our family. Honey, you bring light, interest, entertainment, and love to my life everyday. Happy Birthday little girl. Mama loves you so very much.

The Waldorf doll sweater is from WaldorfMama. (Also found on Ravelry.)

You in bed, me in bed.

Olivia!! by Ian Falconer.

On the menu, gluten-free cornbread with honey-thyme-butter, mustard greens with garlic and bacon, and apricot pork loin roast.

And gluten-free “ca-cakes” with pink frosting for dessert!

snow around here

I thought I was moving south I tell ya! After digging my car out three times in one week my last winter in Waterville, Maine (in addition to towing the car out of the parking spot once, yep, a total of 3 feet,) I decided it was time to move south…to a place with no snow. But it still snows here. I am greatful for some white to cover the ugly brown we live with from late November to early March, but I thought it would be a bit more balmy down here south of the Mason-Dixon line. The schools let out early, the grocery stores clear out of milk, bread and eggs and kitty litter, and people panic down here when the weather man suggests snow. Hasn’t any one around here heard of snow tires? Nope.

But a bit of the white stuff does mean a large bit of fun for little ones. Even though I have a cough from the nether-world, (recovering from something that hit me hard last Friday with a fever of 102 degrees,) I spent 30 minutes finding and applying snow gear: boots, hats, and mittens, to my two toddlers for a bit of outside time. I managed to grab my camera before heading out and this is what the lense caught. Snow isn’t really that bad if I don’t have to shovel it, and I can stay home.