Monthly Archives: October 2012

local natives

Posted in kiddie-do, Travels by

i almost laugh when i look at these pics from our visit to the eiteljorg museum this past weekend while in indianapolis for my cousin’s wedding fest. you’d never tell by looking at them that we had a 3-year-old repeatedly telling us she wanted to “get out of here!” and throwing tantrums every 5 min. this is a visual example of how i have these expectations for how our excursions are going to go and then…someone has a breakdown.

it’s beyond my comprehension. i mean, i just don’t understand how someone could be upset in the presence of a tipi. i really don’t.

alas, the problem turned out to be a blood sugar one. it’s pretty nice to have a child that can tell you what is troubling her now. and i’ll tell you what. those tantrums were worth the half a beef taco i got to scarf down as a result. eiteljorg! them’s some tasty bites!

we lucked out because the museum was holding dia de los muertos (cousin and i agree this is the coolest holiday all year) activities for the day. we sat in on different dance troupes performing traditional dances from dia de los muertos celebrations throughout mexico. it was soooooo cool. darla even got up enough nerve to jump in and participate. imagine that.

so, even if we did deal with some slight attitude and darla’s unwillingness to participate in the family photo ( see below ) it was still a winner of a day. look….there was basket weaving! and babywearing! darla and i got to practice wrapping up a baby bundle for a cradleboard carrier. i wish i had thought to take a picture. i think i may just opt for a finely beaded baby carrier next time :)

tipi
native babywearingweaving

dia de los muertosdarla dia de los muertos

fam pic

and really, REALLY, any day that results in darla taking a little nappy-poo is golden in my book. she napped and had a grand time on the dance floor at cousin’s wedding. it was a good day.

papacarry

“we are the music makers”

Posted in Momma Needs a minute... by

“we are the music makers. we are the dreamers of dreams.”

this is my favorite line from willy wonka and the chocolate factory. it’s from an arthur o’shaughnessy poem.

to me this is a more fancy version of saying “imma do what i want.”

so check it. i’m a music maker. i’m a dreamer of dreams. i fight a lot of battles inside this head o’ mine that the ideas i have for living are somehow going to be detrimental to darla just because they are not the accepted norm.

and then i get the little reminders like this poem.

this life belongs to each of us to live as we want.

aaaand

imma do what i want.

an apology

Posted in Momma Needs a minute... by

i just spent a bit of time reading back through posts from a year ago and moving forward.

i realized that i used to have a lot more to say.

now it seems i just post a bunch of our pictures and talk about what we do. the whole point of having a blog is to share thoughts and feelings, right?

maybe i’ve been to busy to explore thoughts and feelings. maybe the thoughts and feelings i’ve been having for the past months are such that i’m not ready to share yet.

i don’t know.

but i’m going to get back to that. this was supposed to be an exercise in writing.

now, if you’ll excuse me, i have to get back to interpretive dancing to the soundtrack of an american tail with my 3 year old. true story.

weeksie

Posted in let me let me update ya by

this week:

fireflycider hand railteather ball sky highporch 1porch 2

found my first grey hair.

got some work done in a playful environment.

had the best apple cider ever.

great evening out to see richard buckner.

discovered a new playground. darla swung. i did calesthenics. win. win.

and took advantage of outdoor time in this glorious weather.

and now we’re heading off to my cousin’s wedding. family! i love my family! so excited. looking forward to sharing upon our return.

have a great weekend. huggie wuggies.

birthday buddies

Posted in advantageous adventures, Kiddie Hangouts, love and happiness by

i’m sure everyone remembers that we love to hit up pumpkin patches with these folks. we got to spend yesterday celebrating the birthday of our very best buddy and my favorite little guy at schacht’s family farm. can you believe how big these kids have grown?

patch

birthday party

wagongirlz

trunk party

buddies

these last two are my favorites. they were hissing like snakes and then laughing at how they amused themselves. these kiddos have their own inside jokes now. we’re slowly approaching the age when parents will be outsiders. i’m ok with that. especially if it means their bond will grow stronger. they’ve acted a bit more like twins in the past, but lately there’s been a whole lot of love.

happy 4th birthday burkeybuns! we love you.

thanks for that

Posted in Momma Needs a minute... by

so, i had the privilege of hearing this story for the first time today.

go ahead. pop on over there and read it and then let me know what you think.

it spoke to me in a lot of ways. i’ve been feeling gratitude for some of life’s trials and tribulations lately. it helps me grapple with perspective to remember that everything has it’s purpose and i do not yet know my full path in life.

to me that is freeing and empowering.

weekending

Posted in let me let me update ya, Travels by

i know we’re already into tuesday but i just thought reminiscing about the weekend was still in order. here’s our roadtripy, woodsy, campfirey weekend:

road hat

coffeeauto tunes

shake

1. road hat ready  2. coffee goodness ready  3. auto tunes ready (get it?) 4. pit stop

we stopped at aullwood audubon center in dayton, OH for a little woods-walking leg stretch. i’ve driven past many-a-time and said “we should stop there some day.” well, saturday was the day. and i think i’ll put it on the trip agenda more often. we spent a brief time there and i think…i think i’m gonna like it there

bridge wright trailtickle leaf

eye spyfence

balance footbridge

and then we reached my parents homestead for a fun night with friends.

pumpkin

the great pumpkin

mallows

ghost marshmallows. bonfire tradition now i guess.

it was a pretty quick trip but great just the same. i was so happy to just enjoy everyone’s company and visit with kiddos. i gotta say an added bonus of labor support work is reunion time with the families you have supported in birth.

at the end of the evening darla, mike and i braved the cold for a campout. darla was all like “let’s tell spooky stories!” to which we decided against and settled on robots instead. the best we could come up with was a half-ass account of the jetsons. i think the highlight of my weekend was being snuggled under 20 blankets with my family as the cold air nipped my nose. i kept thinking how great it would be for us to just live in a tent!

yes, a tent. with wheels. called a winnebago. i’ll never give up this dream.

weeksie

Posted in let me let me update ya by

how’d your week shake out? here’s ours:

artsy

guitarmural

outdoorsy

leaves
treetwisted swing

dirtsy

dirt toestoby

patternsy

patterns much

leavesy

door leaves

yumsy

glutenpush pop

lovesy

fly bear

i just wanted to include another shot from these moments when darla was tossing her beloved amanda bear up in the air. we were actually having a bit of a rough walk home as someone was not happy about leaving the playground, even though we’d been there for 2 1/2 hours. so in the middle of her whining and my coaxing us along she stopped and started tossing bear. it was literally and figuratively a release. i was so thankful for that little mood changer that got us home a bit happier.