Friday, April 29, 2011

~this moment~

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.



p.s. This moring we're heading up the Bay today on our maiden voyage of the year to somewhere really exciting - the haul out yard. The boat needs some bottom paint, wax, rudder work, and general TLC. I may be out all together or just popping in for the next week while we're out of the water. Have a great week everyone!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

it takes a marina

The marina is our village. The village bobs and shifts and changes with the wind, but the bonds are rock solid.
Take for example our dock neighbor Miss G. She's an art teacher. Zach is a drawing machine. He sees her coming home after a long day in the public school trenches and pounces on her. "Do you want to come over and see my latest drawing?" She's never said no.
The other day he busted out his whole portfolio of ship drawings from the last 2 years. And she sits. And she listens. And she takes the time to notice his detail and encourage his ideas. Never did I hear that generic "good job!". She found something original to say about every drawing. Lucky kids at her school.
Then the next day she brings by extra drawing paper and images that she thinks may inspire him. I am not sure how people can get along without community. I am so grateful.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

ring-o-licious

SuperJen strikes again! And man did she make one little sack of sugar happy. My girl can't take her hands off of this beautiful ring stacker that Jen made for her as the best easter gift on planet Earth.

The fabrics are amazing! Jen knows my taste better than I do. Fun, sweet, and not pukey-pepto-pinky. Yes!
The cool thing is for anyone else who has the chops to sew something like this, you can make it so many ways by mixing up the fabric choices. Here is one she made last year for another little sack of sugar we know.
(photo of adorable baby with SuperJen made toy stolen from The Salty Dog Blog)

And something about those little ribbons on top. The girl LOVES those ribbons. Tug, squeal! Oh my.

Now she has mentioned to me before that this is not a project for the faint of heart. Even for a Martha Stewart type like SuperJen it's a challenge. But if you are so inclined, here's the link to the pattern.

BokBok, thank you easter bunny!

Monday, April 25, 2011

springy goodness

It seems the last chill has gone from the air, warm squalls are rolling in, and the smell of flowering trees and bushes permates everything around the marina. Finally. We spent the weekend washing and cleaning the cockpit and doing some engine maintenance...
 Doing some earth day crafting...
And just soaking up the change in season...

Friday, April 22, 2011

~this moment~

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

If you give a boy a...

If you give a boy a needle and thread he will stitch up some clothes for his gnome. And then a pillow for his baby sister. And then a bag for his treasures. And time will pass with that quiet hum of a child being busy. And that boy will learn to create for himself.
If you give a boy a paintbrush and sit with him side by side he will spill color and love into the universe. He'll watch the hues run and bleed. The boy will get lost in a rainbow. He'll paint himself a story.
If you give a boy some costumes, some open ended dress up clothes that don't tell him what to be... he'll disappear into another world. His voice will change accents. His smile will fill with mischief. The one boy will become five different characters. He will walk in the shoes of royalty. He will be free to be.
If you teach a boy to bake, his world will be sweeter. He will know how to satisfy cravings. He will unlock the alchemy of eggs and flour and heat and chocolate. He will taste tradition and lick the spoon of memory. He will know the joy in feeding himself and those he loves.
If you teach a boy to sew on the machine he will unlock the mystery of production and figure out the magic of patterns. He will know self sufficiency. He will blend creativity and utility and yearn for more. He will feel power. He will ooze pride.
If you teach a boy music he'll build scenes out of notes. He'll belt out Gene Kelly tunes while tap dancing in puddles. He'll pick and strum out his thoughts. He'll beg to go to the ballet and announce he's putting on a salsa show. Rhythm will be his forever companion.
If you show a boy how to garden he'll become friends with the earth. He'll practice patience first hand and understand how to nurture. He'll taste dedication. The boy will feed his soul and pass it on.
If you teach a boy to love animals he will tread lightly on the earth. He will use his hands for helping. The boy will know trust. And the trust will open his heart. He will connect and consider. He will exude compassion.
Why give a boy a toy gun when every stick will become one anyhow? Must we arm our children for desctruction, can't we teach to use their arms and hands for creation? Why limit a boy to footballs and trucks and plastic toolsets and stories of talking cars? What's the point of plugging him in day after day and tuning out the richness beyond the wires and cords that bind us? Why have him choose between baseball and basketball and leave out ballet and ceramics? Why box him up in blue when you can paint his path in rainbows?

Give a boy the gift of an open mind and a creative spirit and the whole world will thank you.


Monday, April 18, 2011

GIVEAWAY - Noah & Lilah

Get ready to gasp as you feast your eyes on these crazy cute clothes for kids from Noah & Lilah.
Sherri only started sewing 2 years ago! Talk about inspiration not to give up on sewing! Here's how she got started:

"When pregnant with Lilah, I wanted to learn to sew and so I took a class at Joann's and we made a pillowcase. I was hooked. That same week I signed up for one more class (an apron), bought a machine, fabric and patterns and went to work. Other than those two classes, I'm self-taught. Another big motivator was quilting. I started finding all these amazing modern quilting blogs and started to become obsessed and finding tons of quilts that I *had* to make. Which l led to a fabric obsession as well. Ironically, I have so many quilts I've started and not finished because I get so busy with the shop. I have poor nieces and even a son and daughter that are still waiting on quilts from me. Soon!"

She has the best fabric combos with such sweet, classic designs. I asked her what inspires her work:

"Lots of things - mostly my kids. Noah and Lilah really is about simple, modern clothes that aren't overly frilly. Not that there isn't a place for that for some kids, but it's just not *me*. Which of course means that Lilah will probably be the girliest of girly-girls, but that's okay too. If there's one thing that these kids have taught me, it's that often what we think is best or what they really want is so far off from what really *is* best for them, and often taking a few steps back and remembering that they really are just little people perfectly capable of making their own choices (and all that goes with it - making mistakes and learning from them!). They remind me of that often, and I've learned more from them in the last five years than I ever have doing anything else in life. "
Sherri is generously offering a $25 gift certificate to her shop to one lucky winner. Just click on over to Noah & Lilah and leave a comment here telling what you love about the shop. Get an additional entry by becoming a fan on Facebook. But wait, there's more (I've always wanted to say that) if you buy something from the shop between now and the end of the week (Sunday) put in the code BOAT20 and get 20% off your purchase!
Comments are closed. Winner announced within the hour. closed Thursday night (I will keep comments open until the end of the day and announce a winner tonight.) and winner announced on Friday. Thank you Noah & Lilah!

Friday, April 15, 2011

~this moment~

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

lost magic

So we planted these "magic beans" a few weeks back on the first sunny day. Zach had been given one of these a couple of years ago and it was so much fun to watch it grow and reveal the magic word that I was suckered into getting more.
Now I have never pretended to be a gardner, or know anything about plants, or even like gardening. But how hard could it be?! The boy scooped soil into little pots, dug little holes, plopped the beans in, and they are inside in a sunny place pampered and watered and such.
Was it something I said? Do the beans know that gardening is not my thing and they are mocking me. Not one little sprig of green has popped through our pots of dirt. Not one. Maybe I need a wand?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

half way round the sun

Just a one day shy of her 6 month birthday Miss Naia is in full tilt exploration mode. While she is unable to crawl yet (and thoroughly miffed about that fact) she wants to goo-gaa at everyone who will meet her gaze, she's an unapologetic flirt (practically got engaged to a man on the metro last week), and loves nothing more than to be sung to. The camera mystifies her and dogs make her kick her feet with glee.

To celebrate her big half year milestone, she tasted her first food... beach sand. Ah, yes. After a good long while just squishing and squeezing and sifting the stuff... (I wanna do everything HE does!)
She decided she couldn't resist a taste.
Who me? No of course I wasn't eating sand. Why would you ask?
My sweet, smiley, silly girl.

(this post was especially for grandpa who said, "I wanna see more of my grand daughter's face!")

Monday, April 11, 2011

big little helper

When chatting with strangers about the baby and the age spread between the two kids I always joke that all new babies should come with 6 year old helpers. Every single day Zach amazes me with his ability and willingness to help around the boat and help with Naia. I try so hard not to take it for granted or let it go unappreciated.

It's the little things like bringing me a clean diaper, keeping her happy (as only he can) when I need to finish making dinner, reading to her if I need to make an important phone call, and just generally loving all over her. But then there are the bigger things, like sensing when I am losing my battle with getting out the door on time and keeping my sanity and saying in his little voice, "Mommy, how can I help?" The way he brings me water when I'm nursing. The way he picks up his room the first time I ask, or sometimes even before I ask. The way he runs up to the marina office to pick up our packages and bring them back to the boat or out to get the mail. He begs me to let him do the dishes, but I worry about running out of water in one afternoon :)

But the most recent helping act truly floored me. I heard him down in the galley as I was getting Naia ready for a day out at the museums. My mama instinct said, "He's smeaking brownies for breakfast, grrrrrrr!" But when I went down there I found him making sandwhiches and cutting cucumbers. "I'm packing our lunch for the museum mama. That way we can get going on time and you don't have to worry."
It was the best lunch I ever had.

Friday, April 08, 2011

~this moment~ I See You!


A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.



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Don't forget to enter the Seed Bomb/ Poo Pop giveaway until tonight. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Poo Pops (tutorial and a giveaway!)

Hey kids, wanna play with poo? Who could resist an offer like that? My pal SuperJen certainly couldn't as she loves to get her hands dirty and jumped in to help us make seed bombs/ seed pops/ poo balls/ poo pops -- whatever you want to call them.

There are a few different recipes for these floating in cyberspace, we followed one and then improvised. Roughly here's what you will need:

Red Clay (powdered or just clay)
Worm castings (worm poo) or compost
seeds (flower or herb)
water
lollipop sticks if you do the pops
We mixed 2 parts clay to 2 parts poo to 1 part seeds and 1 part water. In the end we found we needed more poo and way more seeds to get it right. You massage it all together until it feels soft and plyable like play dough.
Then roll them into little balls. We made the flower seed mixture into the seed bombs and the herb seeds (we did chives) into the poo pops. Put the lollipop sticks in while they are moist. Once you are done rolling let them dry in the sun for at least a day.
Once they dry and harden you are ready for action. Jen stamped these little baggies to put the seed bombs in for gifting. The idea is to just toss the bombs into any are that you feel needs a little flower power. The clay will break on impact or break down in the rain, the poo or compost will fertilize you seeds which will sink into the earth and grow. Keep some in your bag and throw them everywhere! Guerilla gardening!
With the herb poo pops, we wrapped them in tissue paper like real lollies for gifting. Just unwrap and pop into a small pot of soil. Then in no time your herb garden will be growing around you lolli stick.
The fine folks over at Soul Flower sent me a load of seeds this week as a happy spring gift, and I want to share the love. Post a comment here telling me your favorite item over at Soul Flower and I'll pick a comment at random to win the pile-o-seeds, a baggie of seeds bombs, and some poo pops. I'll close comments on Friday night and post the winner Saturday morning. 
Happy Spring!
COMMENTS CLOSED - and the winner generated by Random.org is!  CHRIS (MamaRoots!)
I'll put your pops and bombs and seeds in the mail on Monday. Thanks everyone for playing along!
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