weekending

Posted in familyness, let me let me update ya, weekending by ElaineMarie

our weekend looks a lot like just darla’s weekend in pictures. let’s be honest, we’re really just along for the ride here. we returned to sweaters with some fall-ish weather these past few days. it’s welcome, i can tell you that. the weekend was mostly uneventful which was also welcome.

we went on walks with very interesting clothing choices.

darla attended her very first ever dance class.

we listened to Happy Together by the Turtles on repeat because it’s someone’s favorite current song {so long video killed the radio star} and a very nice father found a 45 of it as a gift.

we built tent forts in the back yard and

made the first apple crisp of fall.

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i’m looking forward to these fall weekends. hope you had a nice cool-off and enjoyed your weekend.

xoxo

15Sep2013

gratitude adjustment

Posted in gratitude adjustment by ElaineMarie

sunday is the day e’rybody’s gettin’ spiritual, right? gratitude is an important part of my spiritual path within this world. here’s my weekly list:

5 Things I’m thankful for this week:

1. i’m grateful to have a mom who will drop everything to just come listen to me and tickle my back.

2. i’m grateful for my husband who knows how to change a flat tire.

3. i’m grateful for the relent of summer, cooler temps moving in and the autumnal equinox just around the corner. fall is my favorite season.

4. i’m grateful for a flexible schedule.

5. i’m grateful for new opportunities and the chance to sit and dream of things that may come to pass.

14Sep2013

Readz: No Impact Man

Posted in Readz by ElaineMarie

A friend of mine suggested I add a series to the blog letting people know what i’m currently reading. sure? why not? i read. so here goes.

i recently read No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. i picked it up on a whim at the library, remembering that i had seen something about their family years ago. Colin and his family set out on a year’s experiment to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible while living in new york city. the family goes through radical changes such as traveling only by foot or bike, consuming foods only grown within a 250 mile radius and eventually shutting off their power completely.

i had originally picked the book up thinking maybe there would be some examples of steps my family could take since i have strong zero-waste ambitions. well, i found a small bit of that but most of it seemed more applicable to city life, or honestly, things we already had in place in our home. what i found most useful about this book was the research and information put forth about such areas as american waste trends, food consumption and recycling efficiency. i have to say that i spent at least two nights staring at my ceiling thinking we are all completely effed after learning more about waste rates and resource consumption.

however, it lit a fire under me to make a few more small changes. 80% of our consumer goods in America are for one time use. ONE TIME. that’s just ridiculous and doesn’t match up with my personal beliefs. I’m continuing to further my search in areas i can refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle. this book definitely helped even if it did induce an anxiety attack or two.

12Sep2013

afternoon

Posted in it's cool to school by ElaineMarie

darla’s art projects always end the same way…inking up her body. i know what the future holds. i was told “this is a cyclops and his girlfriend.” I would actually be thrilled if Darla got this tattooed later in life. I think I’d get a matching one.

i’ve struggled a bit with teaching d to write. other than her name and the word poop she hasn’t had much motivation to learn to form letters and any lesson we’ve done up until now has seemed pretty pushy to me.

reading up on the unschooling philosophies has taught me to sit back and wait for the teachable moments. i have relied on the confidence that darla will show interest when she is ready and motivated and we finally had one of those moments. i suggested making a welcome sign for my mom and d was very into the whole process. she even seemed to like the process we developed of practicing each letter twice before putting it on the sign. this was a good time! i realize this is not the greatest penmanship but i’m mostly jazzed about the effort and enthusiasm she had for this activity. i’m thankful to be learning to be gentle with the learning process. We’ve been writing pretend letters and books for a few months so I think a real interest in learning to write is write around the corner. {pun!}

we shall see.

11Sep2013

Unschooling: Aullwood Farm

Posted in advantageous adventures, it's cool to school by ElaineMarie

our second half of our visit to Aullwood was spent at the farm. i found it very interesting that darla chose to spend most of her time and energy exploring was the herb garden. she asked about every single herb and we spent almost an hour smelling and comparing. there were hundreds of these little yellow butterflies that swirled around us every time we moved further along the path. i wish i had been able to get a picture of it but i’m glad i just left it as something to experience instead of document.

we thoroughly enjoyed visiting the animals but spent more time in the farm exhibit house.

another aspect i enjoy of unschooling is that it works even on days when i don’t really feel at my best. many days i’ve simply taken darla out into the world and let her be the guide about what we learn. i imagine it would be so hard as an educator on the days you feel less than tip top. all i have to do is provide an atmosphere in which learning can occur and be willing to interact as darla sees fit. it’s always very interesting to me to see the things she latches onto and inquires for more information. it’s usually not what i would have guessed and i’m thankful to be able to follow her lead.

thanks for checking in on our recent unschooling!

10Sep2013

Unschooling: Aullwood Audubon Center

Posted in advantageous adventures, it's cool to school by ElaineMarie

d’s absence all weekend made me really ambitious towards unschooling last week. we didn’t even make it home before it began. we had stopped at the aullwood center last year as a fam but only saw a fraction of what the park had to offer so we stopped off again last week and spent the rest of the day there.

i’m splitting this post into two sections because there was soooo much going on with this day i kinda worry it was information overload. we spent the beginning of the trip in the center learning about turtles and creek life, bees, animal bones and tracks and the usual nature center stuff. the highlight here was petting the turtles. i really spent most of my time explaining to darla why she could not get in the turtle habitat.

then we took our time on the .75 mile hike to the farm through the woods. d was in an especially determined mood and lead the way through the forest picking up on all sorts of foresty details. i thought it was cool that some of the trees were labeled with the date and causation of their fell.

we stopped to say hello to an especially woolly friend at the gate into the farm. i love this outing and hope to return to the Aullwood Audubon Center again soon. some highlights from the farm will be coming shortly.

thanks for checking in on our unschooling today!

9Sep2013

weekending

Posted in advantageous adventures, familyness by ElaineMarie

hi ho there! how was your weekend? splendid to hear it!

ours can be summed up in one word: festival.

our neighborhood festival was going on right across the street so we were kind of obligated to attend each night. by obligated i mean we took darla since she really has the mobility and determination to march herself across the street by her lonesome if we don’t agree to take her so it’s just easier and safer to plan on being there every night. rides, games and junk food = our weekend.

we balanced this out with another music and arts festival that was much more mellow. {that translates into no rides, fewer games, no junk food, lots of crafts & music}

and a special father + daughter craft time this weekend turned out that last photo opp. my zerowaste sorrow over the TP was quickly canceled out by the cuteness.

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5Sep2013

how i spent a lone weekend

Posted in Momma Needs a minute... by ElaineMarie

i spent this previous long weekend by myself. literally, i was by myself for 2.5 days. it was all kinds of glorious.

well, to be honest i was pretty down about being all alone for the entirety of the weekend. i had been envisioning some free time to hang out with friends and maybe go out but i really ended up sleeping and watching bad tv most of the time. i got some extra hours in at work and some time on my own projects and caught up on reading, all of which were important and necessary.

once i was able to distance myself from my expectations for the weekend things turned around for me. i have the bad habit of expecting life to be something other than what it is instead of accepting that the way things go down are exactly as they need to be. how much better off would i have been if i had been able to accept the fact that i was going to spend the weekend almost completely alone instead of pouting that i had no plans?

because all in all i had a pretty good time by myself. i think what i turned up is that i need some work on being ok with being alone. i need to work on being my own best friend. i think i need to conduct a committment ceremony to myself. in times that i am lonely, i’ll be my own best friend. i can tell you that my path might have been much truer if i had committed to myself at an earlier age.

but here are a few things i did, which are not extravagant or exciting but they are special and important to me:

1. spent some hours in a very pretty space 2. participated in the local rally to improve birth 3. admired the sunflowers 4. found new paths to hike 5. harvested our tomato bounty 6. snuggled in front of our george harrison grotto and watched the concert for bangladesh for the first time. soooo good.

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