I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert

Today has been one those Mondays that you knew was going to suck a bit more than the average. On occasion my list making skills suffer and I notice by Friday that I have slowly transferred in scratches and scribbles the majority of my to-do's that are unpleasant to Fridays column. By Friday night I am drinking a glass of wine and tossing my to-do journal across the room to land in a pile of toys or laundry. I allow my thoughts to turn to the list briefly on Saturday but manage to block it out until about 7pm Sunday evening. It then hangs thick in my mind and causes me to face it, to reckon with it. I neatly make a new weeks list. I stare at Monday and frown. It is lunch time and I have already caught myself scratching something and assigning it to tomorrow. I suck.

I have been working on wrapping bakers twine round old clothespins for the arts and craft table at summer festival. I like the monotony. It makes me forget about the Monday list. It's over there on the table now. It hovers. I want to stab it with my pencil. Happy Monday.

And all I can do is just pour some tea for two

Amazing weekend. My mom sent us to a cabin on the lake, took my boys, and stuffed money in my pocket. We went antique shopping, ate Mexican food, fed ducks, and talked for hours. It was well needed and sublime. My husband is truly my best friend.

My poetry audition went pretty well, although my nerves were a kickin and my leg was shaking uncontrollably under the podium for all to see. I wanted to shout expletives at my thigh. I think the poems were decent, but my whole body tremor was annoying.

We went for a beer at my hometown Irish pub. It was overwhelming to see how things change. It has moved locations and is no longer in the skinny building with ceilings of fire retardant spray turned black by the years of smoke drifting upwards. It is now clean and sterile and holy boring. It is no longer packed with people so tightly that bodies brush. All the cute boys of my youth must be married with beer guts at home. All the big haired girls were absent. My old teachers were not drinking whiskey at the round table looking fascinating. There was nary a drunken lush from my youth. It was empty and kinda sad. Me and Joe drank our Stella's and left. You really might not be able to go home again.

I got a crazy teacher/he wears dark glasses

Off to audition for the Arts Festival poetry reading! I have major butterflies. Funny thing is I am a MAJOR extrovert...but am anxiety ridden today. My friend made me think about something today. I have been out of the work force since August and have not been public speaking...so I am just out of groove now. It is nothing I can't snap back into I hope. Right?
Am going to sit in the sun for a bit just now.
It is brighter outside than it has been for weeks-brimming with possibility.
I can already feel the light attaching itself to my face

Love was such an easy game to play

Finn is definitely focused on the here and now. That is what can help a parent to enjoy the day- the gently nudge from a child to remember that today is here ..NOW! And we ought to be present. BUT!!! There are so many questions about today/tomorrow/yesterday. He is having struggles with concepts of time. The ego as it looms large at this age can relate to time in relation to the self. He loves to hear stories of the past that include him and he likes to "plan" his day. But he sure gets confused by the days of the week and when exactly tomorrow comes. If I use the word later- oh my..when is later? And sometimes yesterday really is too far away. I am trying to find a simple daily practice to help him with the days of the week and time.

It is pre math I suppose, in the simplest form.

We made three posters labeled with today/tomorrow/yesterday and filled them out as we had a lounge floor breakfast. We labeled all the things we did and are doing and will do. We cut out images from magazines and identified letters and chatted while we created. They are hanging in the playroom now. As you work on a lesson like this you can also start to introduce sequence words like first/next/before/after/then as another little lesson.

And I had a feeling that I belonged

Story Pockets:
An easy and fun early literacy project
Finn likes to paint and then tell me a story about his paintings, so we started doing story pockets. The idea is to let the child dictate a story about their art and explore matching concepts.
1. Child creates a piece of art on paper.
2. Fold paper up two inches and staple- creating a pocket.
3. Transcribe the story for yr child on paper. (I loved this as a child- thanks gran)
4. Write down a sentence that the child tells you from the story on the pocket and talk about the letters and words as you write.
5. Write one word from sentence on each index card or scrap paper.
6. Encourage child to try and match the words and nestle into the pocket.
7. Have fun and display them!
Finn thinks these are fantastic and calls them games.
I did these at school with Kindergartners, but I think they are very appropriate for early learners.





In other news-me and my pal Carrie hit up my new local wine shop last night and went nuts for the Enoline wine machine. It is a very cool way to taste wine and learn about new wines without buying a whole bottle. The store was super cool and we left with knowledge and smiles! You load a card with cash and operate the machine yrself. We loved it. The tricky part is not drinking too much...it is kinda like those college drinking games like pyramid...We really didn't drink so much wine, but we drank the wine pours in a relatively short time... ounce here/ ounce there/woo woo. Did I mention it is in walking distance from my house? I will be back .

Just let my love throw a spark

3/27/99
Seems like a moment ago
My very best days have followed
xo Happy Day Dear Joe

there's no telling where it starts or how it ends.

It was washing baby day morning. Finn loved to wash the babies at his old school and I started the tradition before Blaise was born to instill some "tenderness" and basic baby care into his little soul. We used to do this a lot but I have noticed that over many months Finn prefers to play with Playmobile and Buzz Lightyear figures over his sweet babies. Then last night after we had to clean the mattress from an accident, we found a small baby doll wedged in the crack and he fell in love again. This morning we collected all the dolls and cats and such and played "baby bath" again and it felt so sweet and good to me. I want Finn to stay like this for as long as humanly possible. I don't want him to turn his nose up at beautiful benevolence. I want his heart to stay sweet and never go catawampus.

Can't you feel the weight of my stare

My Joe has always made blocks for the boys and now I have convinced him to make some for me to sell to folks who love wooden blocks as much as we do.... I am super excited to help him make some and learn a bit about woodworking. I mean, I am married to a master carpenter- I should know a few things! We are researching non toxic paints and finishes and will sell them this summer at some local festivals I am doing and on Etsy eventually. I have been restoring furniture and working on a million projects at nap time recently. My house is a tip and I have worn the same shirt for two days, but I am so juiced with creativity. I just had to photograph this little chair today. It has a charm to it- old and metal and once loved.

You should've heard just what I seen/Who do you love?

I have been prepping Finn for Spring Cleaning, talking it way up on the cool list of things to do. I fully wanted a buy-in this year so that I would have some help. And frankly, I am tired of him announcing that the house is 'real junky" and the windows have bugs that have "passed away"on them. (Where does he get this? He talks about his love for The Beatles and how some have passed away...Kook.) Finn loved having his own vinegar spray bottle and all went well until I tried to video him. He was not into being showcased today. He raged for a bit and I am just going to blame it one the 100lbs of candy he has consumed in the last 24 hours. I had a twinkling multi colored foil confetti pile around me last night as I watched a movie too. I will be glad when the chocolate is finally gone.
Random question to anyone...Where can I buy cork for making my own cork boards?





In other news: WHooo WHooo can count to 20? Finn!
And owls in other news: I so want to buy some of this!

Blooming like a red rose, breathing more freely,

So much crafting this weekend, originally uploaded by turnsharp.

I never post more than once a day
but the my creative juices
are flying around the house
and I had to share
New step stools
while they all sleep
away the sugar buzz

I know where I'm goin'/Don't you wanna come too?

I learned to make a banner last night for Finn's room. I used fleece and bias binding and I stepped away from the machine happy. I have been moping around the sewing machine. I have been afraid to try. I just jumped in again and I created! If feels good to make. I am going to make banners for the etsy shop this week! Yahoo! I also learned to set grommets. Hallelujah!
There is also much merrymaking here as Finn has opened his Gran's birthday present from the UK. He is gaga for his Dr. Who cyberman suit! Gran always buys him amazing costumes-we love her and miss her so much! I love that Finn dresses up nearly everyday and exercises his creativity.
I am a bit sad today as our Easter plans were sideswiped by Blaise having the flu. I am wishing a tiny bit to be someplace else today, but as I look over the top of my screen and see the three boys in the living room, I am fine. Blaise is on the mend and there is much chocolate in the house. I actually have no plans for once. I have homemade chicken stock on the stove and my husband looks sexy today. Hoppy Easter.



Montessori Mama had tagged me for a Open book meme and I have been neglectful... So sorry! She is a gem I found through Village mama. She has tons of great ideas for parents! She was just interviewed on the cool Artful Parent.
Check her out!

Where tomorrow shines/Gold and silver shine

We have a sick wee one this Easter weekend- so Finn and I went solo to the neighborhood morning hunt. He invited Jack and they had a great time running for the eggs. I will be using a Paz kit today for our eggs, all my red cabbage, turmeric, & onion skins dreams of natural dying have gone away with the addition of a sickly baby. We are getting ready to put our legs up on wooden stools and feast on the egg hunt bounty. Have a great day with yr Easter weekend traditions. xo

Your head will collapse/If there's nothing in it

Free activity: take some salt and let yr kid practice writing letters or numbers or just have sensory play. It kept Finn entertained for a long time. He later brought trains, dinosaurs, and cars into the salt for play.

Our seeds are growing and looking wonderful. We have started to get more and more excited for the garden this year. We have been stomping around in the backyard looking at our small plot. Some of my best memories are attached to growing up in the thick of the Southeastern Ohio back country. I loved the freedom and wonder of nature. I love that I already knew how to drive a stick shift at 16 because I grew up on tractors. I find it sorta terrifying that I had a motorcycle when I was a kid. I am even more freaked out that my dad buzzed me round the countryside on the back of his at a very young age. I love that my mom and I would walk down to the giant gardens we had in my childhood with a salt shaker and sit and feast on tomatoes warm still from the sun. And that my grandpa would pick me up from school and bring my rabbit in the car so that I could pet him with one arm while hanging my other arm out the window of his old car, trying to catch tall weeds on the banks of their road. I spent an incredible amount of my formative years in the creek. They were really some halcyon days in there. I kind of detached from nature for a long time but am so back in the thick of it as I tap my toe against the floor in anticipation of spending the day Sunday at my parents land. I want Finn to strip his fancy church clothes off and run wild around the land. I want him to get really dirty. I think there is a big possibility that we will move down to our land we own in the country someday and build a little world. Crossing fingers that it is possible to leave the city and make it work. Someday.
I was loving reading about Blue Yonder and the ranch today. Now that is what I am talking about!

Take this sinking boat and point it home/We've still got time

We are off to the doctor after naps. Finn says his ears hurt like tiny needles on the inside and Blaise had a fever all night. Oh Bliss/Oh Co-pay.
Before lunch we made a feeling/emotion wheel so that we could show each other how we are feeling. Finn choose the emotions. They are nervous, happy, loving, angry, peaceful, and junky. Junky is my favorite. I feel junky today. I am in the same clothing that I had on yesterday evening. I like the wheel. It would be nice if we had a wheel attached to our faces. It would be great to just adjust an attitude by a simple turning motion near the ear and jaw bone. Even if it couldn't change yr mood, it could announce to the world the real way yr feeling. Yeah, junky is what my wheel would say. I am in a bad mood partly bc I can't keep a pair of kitchen scissors to save my life. I buy them and make silent promises to myself that they will never cut anything but food. That they will never touch plastic or paper or hair. Yet I always fail. There is always a moment, a weakness. I am going to buy a new pair again soon and the wheel might as well be turned to angry now.
BTW...I am so smitten with Small Magazine.
Check out small draw section
adorable

I'll kiss you on the brain in the shadow of the train

I am going to church on Easter Sunday. The roof might fall in.
We are headed down to my mom's church and then have a country Easter Egg Hunt and some dinner out with the whole family. I am actually looking forward to it. I love an egg hunt. I like to dress up occasionally and I get to hang out with my Grandmother. She has given me carte blanche on her sun porch items. She says I can go gather some furniture I have been wanting for a long time. She says she has some old buttons and vintage fabric for me. Finn is taking home my fathers wooden bed he slept on as a child to have as his bed. I am so excited.
Finn was concerned about making sure we have pancakes at his grandparents house. We decided to make some half whole wheat pancake mix to take as a gift. No offence to my lovely mom, but she brought Jiffy Mix to my house the last time she stayed and that stuff has trans fat in it and the name has always disturbed me. We used an old peanut container and made a simple dry mix. Finn made labels and named the mix.
Finnian's Easter Egg Pancake Mix
It was fun.
I also met Momo-fali for coffee today and it was terrific. We had a great time. She is v. cool and has super shiny hair. We might go and meet Bossy for a drink.

And the load/it doesn’t weigh me down at all

Blaise had to get his vaccines today and it as usual sucked. We tried to temper the day with a trip to our pal's coffee shop and indulge in chocolates, but it still went south. I cannot bear to hear my child scream out. He is knocked out in an acetaminophen haze now and is perfectly fine, but I always get a terrible sadness when he cries like that. Finn laughed wickedly in delight at the fact he did not have to get shots. He did however take to playing with his brother a lot today. This has been happening right under my nose as of late and I am so thrilled. It has taken a very long time for Finn to buy into Blaise. He has not always been so thrilled to play with him. I was worried for a bit that they would never interact properly, but they have begun. They run with each other and tumble and laugh. Blaise cannot keep his eyes off of Finn. Finn is a Deity to him. Blaise is smitten and I think it is safe to say on this rainy sorta funky day in March that Finn kinda digs him too.

In a back corner of my brain is lurking this lovely photo. I really want many things. And one real big thing is to have an outside area to entertain. I want it to be whimsical and inviting and charming. I want to wear turquoise caftans and twirl my arms above my head and dance. I want to play with my friends again. I want lights like this photo. How do I make this happen?
photo found on one of my fave blogs Oh Happy Day
via

Like a record baby/Right round round round

I found this Delicious site on Sk-rt.com today! It is so much fun to come up with beautiful inspiration boards. I love being able to create an outfit and plan a little adventure in my head. As the boys sleep, I am daydreaming of this particular outfit. I am imagining myself wearing it on the day we close on our other house. I am visualizing signatures and papers and stress floating right out the room. I see the people look at me in my garb and think..."She is so chic." "How does she do it with two little ones?" I see Joe and I walk down the cobblestone street holding hands and laughing. I watch as we duck into a tiny bistro for a late lunch and martinis. My hair is shiny and I have no food on my clothing.
Back to reality...How can a house swallow pacifiers? I started with at least 6 this year and I am desperate to find them. I even looked in the crack between Finn's bed and the wall. He has been known to hoard contraband. It just makes me crazy. Have a lovely day. xo

I am thirty-two flavors and then some

Just announcing some new items in wee shop
Bakers twine and some vintage goodies
lots more on route
www.dooblehvay.etsy.com

Also younger than the sun

Before I had kids I thought about traditions. I put a lot of thought into the traditions of my marriage. I wanted to be that old couple that still had a codeword for leaving a party or a particular spot to celebrate or bundles of love letters for another generation to find. I think we will be that couple. I have started focusing on family traditions with the boys. I love the idea of planting these small comforting seeds in my sons minds. I love that they might one day practice some traditions with their own kids. One tradition that we have fallen right into is Pancake Sunday. We all make pancakes and read afterwards with coffee and juice and music. It sounds so simple and it is. I think the best traditions are simple motions that just get ingrained over time because they feel so good. I don't ever want anything to come in between us and Pancake Sunday. I found a book last year that speaks to me and I wanted to share it with you. I love love love "Under The Chinaberry Tree" by Ruethling and Pitcher. I have been reading it this winter and have found many special traditions and ideas within the pages. I love this birthday poem/prayer so much. We are going to begin to read this to our boys the night before their birthdays.
A Verse for the Night Before the Birthday
When I have said my evening prayer,
And my clothes are folded on the chair,
And mother switches off the light,
I'll still be____ years old tonight.
But, from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the darkness turns to gold,
Tomorrow, I'll be ____ years old.
_____ kisses when i wake,
_____ candles on my cake!

perfect
simple
and so
another tradition is born
here

* click on the book for details...