six

We have had nothing but celebrations going on around here for the last several days. You see, this is the sort of thing that happens when one of your children turns SIX YEARS OLD!

Nicolas asked for a friend party this year in addition to our traditional family party. I was happy to oblige and when I asked him what theme he wanted (my kids know better than to name any commercialized movie, character or figure when asked about themes, call me mean if you will), he simply stated that he wanted a boys-will-be-boys party complete with mud, water, dirt-n-worms cake, tug-o-war, goody bags and lots of mud (did I mention that element already?).

And although the weather did not allow for as much outdoor time as we all would have liked, there were brief and momentary dry spots and dollops of sunshine that allowed these boys enough time to run, jump and tug their way through the yard in an effort to express their boyhood.

Needless to say, I loved every minute of it.

Nicolas has been blessed with some incredibly loyal and loving friends, all of whom I feel comfortable acting as mother-substitute during their two-hour long drop off party time. I love how each boy has their own unique likes and dislikes, their own way of expressing their friendship to my son and how they all came together as a group to play together peacefully during their time at our home.

Here's to all of Nicolas' friends and of course, to our darling six year old son..

homemade deodorant: check it off my list

So maybe not everyone would be as excited as I am to say that I have made my own deodorant. It's been on my mind for months now every since I read this post over at Angry Chicken. I knew that I just had to try my hand at melting shea and cocoa butters and mixing in some amazing essential oils to create my very own, aluminum-free, perfume-free underarm cream.

I took Amy's advice and held a I'm Not a Dirty Hippie Party and split the supplies with a friend. It has to be a good friend. You can't just invite anyone over to make jars of cream that you know full well will be used on your underarms. Plus, since the jars apparently last for months, you will be smelling exactly like your friend well into the Fall.

We had a lovely afternoon mixing and measuring while our five children ran around enjoying the cool breeze of yet another cloudy June day. The process was simple and involved lots of melting, stirring and sniffing (a highly scientific process that is used to gauge the perfect ratio of essential oils to butters). In the end, it was a perfect mixture of grapefruit, lavender and peppermint that gave our deodorant it's signature quality (this is my favorite blend of essential oils and I have been using it since last year to make my own room spray).

Today was day one of using my homemade deodorant and so far, so good. I will be sure to keep you all posted as to how it is holding up in a few weeks. That is for those of you who care enough to read about my thrilling experience with my homemade deodorant.

just me and my boys

I'm still softly singing all of the great songs that we had the chance to hear in person at the Elizabeth Mitchell show on Saturday. And still vividly remembering the original sketches, paintings and artwork of Eric Carle and Virginia Lee Burton that we got to see firsthand in the art galleries. And absolutely loving our I Am Your Little Bird t-shirts that we bought this past Saturday at the Eric Carle Museum.

It turned out to be a day with just me and my boys. I honestly think that I can count on one hand the times when it has been just me and my boys. It was really simple and sweet.

The day's events were in honor of Eric Carle's 80th birthday and The Very Hungry Caterpillar book's 40th anniversary. We had a chance to enjoy a little bit of this and a little bit of that and loved every minute of our time spent there.

Some highlights included The Very Hungry Caterpillar parade (complete with food models from the book on sticks- Nicolas really wanted to carry the pickle, but never had the chance to!!), a costume corner to dress-up where the boys had a chance to don some fabulous costumes and transform into Robin Hood and a knight, an opportunity to climb a few trees, a chance to have their faces transformed into animals with a little face paint and (have I mentioned this part yet?) a chance to hear Elizabeth Mitchell and her lovely band play and meet with her afterward for a little chat and photo.

The day turned out to be just how I imagined it to be- full of music, art and time spent with my boys. I'm so glad that I brought my camera...

a bit of art and folk music to start the summer off

It's Saturday. It's finally not raining outside. We have finished up our year of (formal) homeschooling and there are five people in this house who are ready for summer vacation and all that it holds.

First on the list? We are off to spend the day here for a bit of art, folk music and story time. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am to see Elizabeth Mitchell in person. Her music is sweet and folksy and it has been one of the soundtracks to our daily lives.

I promise to be back with photos and hopefully a story or two!

thirty-two

I am one of those rare adults who actually adores celebrating and being remembered on my birthday. And no matter what decade I am working my way through, this desire to accept, relish and remember the day I was born simply grows stronger.

Today I turned thirty-two. I think that I am just about the luckiest person on earth and believe that I am truly living the life that I envisioned for myself. This reality just about takes my breath away every day and I am humbled and grateful for all that I have been given.

I am truly content.

It seems that with each passing year I grow more comfortable in my own skin, feel more able to accept just who it was that I was created to be and feel the increased freedom and courage needed to let go of those ideals in life which hold no eternal significance or true purpose for me and instead aim to live out each day with deliberation and truth.

Today was an ideal day- an impromptu trip to the ocean for a day spent in warm sand, salty water and revitalizing ocean air with my favorite four people. We literally brought a ball to play with and the rest of the day was spent enjoying the elements and all of the gorgeous natural surroundings that the beach has to offer.

Could life get any better than this?

Needless to say, it was just about the most perfect way to spend celebrating the beginning of my thirty-second year on this earth.

a little nighttime

I find it ironic that my last post was about a pair of skirts that I had sewn for lazy days. Here I am nearly two weeks later and not only have I not had one opportunity to sit at that sewing machine again but I have also not had one lazy day since writing that post.

Life is cyclical isn't it.

Of course it has been nothing horrible that has been filling my days and keeping me from lazy days spent sipping lemonade and wandering outdoors, just simply life and the living that is to be expected when one is

managing a home with three children, homeschooling, working part-time outside of the home, working hard to carve out free time to be with her husband after the children are asleep and serving as the birth doula for our inner circle of friends and family (yes, I had a wonderful, surprising birth that I attended this past weekend with a dear midwife friend who's babe decided to come four weeks early).

I guess you could say that I am tired. And when one is tired, particularly as a mother, there are no lazy days to be enjoyed. It is truly ironic. The more tired one is, the harder one has to work to maintain the status quo and work to simply survive. You end up never pushing past that threshold of good enough or it can wait 'till tomorrow in order to be able to justify those lazy days to enjoy in the first place. Strange.

There is a delicate balance between remaining firmly grounded in reality and finding the strength, patience and courage to do what is needed each day to meet the needs and wants of those we love in life and that of allowing oneself a little room for distraction, a chance to create, imagine, daydream and dawdle over the beautiful (and not always practical) things in life.

In a perfect world, all of this living would be able to take place on the same plane, at the same time, in the same place. But, unfortuanately, I am one of those people who really cannot let down and exhale until all of the day's work is behind me. I immensely look forward to nighttime and relish the time spent in my home during the hours after my children have drifted off to dreamland.

I have really come to savor this time when my house is quiet and still, the time when I can wipe my counters clean for the day and tuck my sofa's slipcover in and know that it will not slide or stretch until (at least) morning. I appreciate this opportunity to start a good book and get at least a few chapters in without having to put it down and switch gears or meet a need, wipe a face or peel, core and slice an apple for one of my children. I have come to expect that any writing and reflecitng will only happen once the sun has gone down. I have grown to depend up this time as a chance to regroup, recharge and reevaluate. I see my quiet nights as an opportunity to focus on and appreciate all of the tiny miracles and abundant living that took place right before my eyes during the light of day.

And in the end, my night makes my days possible. Sometimes all I need is a little nighttime.