summertime

It's been awhile... and there's absolutely no good reason for it; we've been the opposite of busy--spending our weekends playing in the yard, poolside and picnicking... as you'll see below. 

Went to the pool on the first day of summer--although the season has been pretty damp and chilly thus far, we got lucky on June 20th, so we---and everyone else in the county--headed to the pool. 

Both girls are in swim lessons at the Y--and getting some pretty great skills!

 Dad's Day was another beautiful day (no one's going to believe my tales of rain and woe, I guess)--so we biked down to the park for a picnic and some play time.

 I'm in camp! They do this kind of stuff at camp.

And, as has become a tradition, we had a soltsice bonfire, complete with s'mores (mission impossible: making s'more without "frankenfood"-- but Mi-del makes a pretty decent, if crumbly, graham cracker and we managed to find a HFCs-free marshmallow--and the girls were none the wiser. :)

Happy summer, everyone! With love, The Happy Campers.

Kinder's End

Remember this? Well, that was a whole school year ago... Winona wraps it up in Kindergarten tomorrow. Here's a little art and homework retrospective on a truly great year in the life of wee Winnie Lou....

"This is a picture of me marrying Toa. I have three crushes. The guy who played Jack in Into the Woods. Connor (from her preschool) and Toa. Connor has my heart."

 "I like flamingos" and "If I had $100 I would go to tea with my Mommy." (Influenced by a wonderful Christmas tea party from Aunt Jenny!)

Math and "You are the best, Jezebel. I love you!"

Jezzie's birthday song: "Jezebel I love you as the morning sun. Mommy tucks (tux!) you in bed as the morning sun.Winona holds you in her arms. We love you... ya ya ya ya ya ya" and two of her many awards for being a Spot On Student! :)

 Ode to Cats: "I like cats because they are soft. Do you like cats? I like cats." and, Ode to Frogs: "Frogs live in the world on the lily pad. He likes to tap and eat flies."

 Her lunch box note today (today was the last FULL day... tomorrow is basically "show up, pack up your cubby and hug your teacher" morning... 

She's such a fun, sweet kid. We are so blessed... and so looking forward to not having to get her little Kinder-self to school by 7:40 for a looooooong time! Happy summer!

craft time

Whenever life's pace picks up too much, a good round of crafting goes a long way in slowing things down. It's a perfect blend of being together (all in the same room!) and pursuing individual activities (you throw a party for all your stuffed animals while Daddy plays music and I...

make little felty guys

 that spell out "Jezebel" for her birthday

 and make this picnic quilt for our summer adventures... I've been eyeing this pattern in this great little sewing book for years, and have always been turned off by the "Advanced/ Time: Weekend" (read: this will take me three months of focused effort and frustration). But I was feeling bold and had all the materials I needed (less the bias tape), so I went for it. It is mistake RIDDEN and I think I may have finally learned my lesson around the importance of measuring twice and cutting once.... but it's complete and ready for some beach/park fun. The girls have already rolled themelves up into it, so the freshly ironed, just made look is long gone. I'm letting go.)

Three

Little Monkey, you woke up so early today. You're at that wonderful age where you understood only that "Birthday!" meant a good, fun thing... but, what? What was in store? You rose mighty early to get us all up and going to find out...

  

Joy of joys: birthdays mean "presents!" 

(I had seen that one coming--my sister had given me fair warning!)

I am one lucky, happy girl with the loot I hauled in...

We played with the new toys for awhile, while mom made a cake-- (things continue to look promising!)--and then walked to the park for a picnic, despite cloudy and slightly wet weather.

My favorite food: 

Then home for what turned into a really long nap (this birthday stuff is exhausting!), a delicious homemade mac 'n cheese by Daddy... and then...

                                   

  I'm THREE!

I'm full of antics, tricks to get you to smile. I laugh easily myself, even when I am trying to be mad. My smile scrunches up my whole face and beams out of my eyes. I care deeply about what is going on around me, and pay close attention to everything. I worry when others are sad and hurt, and do what I can to fix it. My sister is hilarious and I LOVE her. I love to cuddle and give huge kisses. I am brave. I take easily to water and heights, and can hold my own, thank you very much. 

I can do it "by myself."

Then I'll sing you a song. Then it's my sister's turn.

Then I run away from my toothbrush and pjs until you catch me and I make you laugh.

Then I negotiate for Five More Minutes.

And then I need a long, cozy snuggle.

                                   

Peter...Peter....

Mr. Pan has made quite an impression upon our household.

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo...

How About You You You? You can come Too, Too, Too...

We took a train trip to the big city for the weekend!

"OOOOOH, sooooooooo CUTE!"

 

She is getting so tall, but not as tall as a bear, yet. 

Pure joy for all of us! 

Pink-a-rrific!

Here's Winona Lou at the stage door, perfectly and pinkarrifically ready for PINKALICIOUS!

If it sounds like a painful and terrible show, you're right... but because this little adorable star was in it--along with some of her darling friends, it was a very enjoyable (and thankfully ONE hour long) show...

I wasn't very good at getting pictures during the show, but will ask around to see if anyone else was. In the meantime, here she is getting the big kids' autographs (a really great group of young teens whom Winnie is growing quite fond of...)

 ...and close on her heels: 

And the very best part: the party with friends and fellow cast members afterwards. 

Here's a snippet of Cupcake Dreams... 

Winnie and I were talking tonight about how one of her New Year's Dreams was to "perform on stage." Here we are: half way through the year and she's been on four different stages, performing two full-length musicals, a solo act in a talent show and an invitation-only performance for the Staff and Volunteer Appreciation event at her school (reprise of talent show number). I gushed with pride, then tried to gently break it to her that we would not be keeping up this pace for the balance of the year. 

I think she only heard the first part, because she nodded a lot then said, "They're doing Into the Woods this summer and I can not WAIT!"

Ah, "The Bug."

Happy Mama's Day

This Mama's Day, we did a lot of celebrating. With these two little ones,

   

the best mom in the world as my mama...

 and a wonderful and loving mother-in-law, 

what is there not to celebrate? 

Nothing. I am so very blessed. 

When something is difficult in my very blessed life, it's very much a "first-world problem."

You know the kind: stressful mornings get out of the house to be on time for work/school, health insurance premium and deductible going up, rift with the boss/ coworker, broken wash machine...

And then I hear about a woman-- many women--who die in childbirth because they didn't have access to anything sterile when it came time to cut the umbilical cord. I hear about a child who is blind due to an infection that could have been prevented if there had been some gauze in the room when she was born. And I feel like a jerk for complaining about, well, anything.

Thankfully, there are people out there who don't sit around feeling like a jerk... they take their OB skills and volunteer in places like Papua New Guinea (where one in seven women die in childbirth), and introduce the concept of hand washing, a sterile razor, tying the umbilical cord, wiping the infant's eyes and birthing on a clean surface. Then they provide the tools to make it happen (gloves, soap, twine, razor, gauze, plastic sheet). Then they leave the kit with the mom-to-be and her birthing attendant and head back to their First World practice and hope they've saved some lives.

Tonight, we celebrated Mother's Day by packing 100 of these Birthing Kits to be sent to one such amazing doctor in Australia. Friends came over and folded plastic sheets, cut soap, measured twine and stuffed 100 ziplock bags in the hope that a mama and baby-- or 100 mamas and babies!--will be safer, healthier and loved by strangers here in Oregon. 

Here's a picture of one of the kits, alongside a picture that Winona drew to put in the box: a mama, a baby (with music notes coming out of her mouth!) and a picture of one of the kits-- under a sunny sky. 

Happy Mother's Day, to mamas everywhere!