our week

Posted in advantageous adventures, familyness, let me let me update ya, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

a
small
collection
of moments
from our week

^^^ crafting on the porch ^^^

^^^ pollacking on the porch ^^^

^^^ unschooling the franklin park conservatory ^^^

^^^ “mom, i want our house to look just like this jungle!” ^^^

^^^ nature walk treasure ^^^

photo 8EA5256E-EAE8-4884-ADB0-C5CF6CEA45B4-10130-0000038249D547F0_zps823a30cd.jpg

^^^ and i continued to grow a human ^^^

if this were a face-to-face convo this would be the point where i would deflect and say “let’s talk about how you’re doing” because i’m just kinda all over the place. the week was beautiful and i’m glad i snapped these photos of our outings and life because i can’t pull my head out of my pregnant ass sometimes. it’s so hard to focus on anything else other than getting this baby here.

i know my whole family is feeling stretched right now. i look around and i just see all these humans that are stretched so thin. but maybe i’m projecting and seeing that everywhere because it’s how i’m feeling. i tried to really take it easy this week. and it was nice to stay at home a lot. darla did her own things, mostly on the front porch. i spent a lot of time there too soaking in the air and sunshine. soaking in the feelings of just being. but i cannot escape this encumbered feeling. it makes everything feel so heavy.

maybe i’m on the brink here because i feel like all i want to do for this weekend is walk and walk and walk until i can’t anymore. it’s that very animalistic feeling taking over because i feel like this body has to do something. i feel like the tigress pacing back and forth before i slink off to find a place of solitude. please send me good vibes for finding some time to work these things out of my body and mind over these next few days.

*wishing you all the best for the things you wish to work out over the weekend, whatever they may be*

hi all, please give us your vote for the week by clicking the vote for us icon below. thanks for your help!

28Jun2014

raspberry picking

Posted in advantageous adventures, it's cool to school, pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

when i was a young girl it was my job to pick the berry bushes outside the back of our house. i find it rather funny that i pay people now to let me do it at their house, when i acted like it was SUCH A HARD CHORE back in my youth. but still, it does take me back to that time in my life and i hope darla will look back fondly at going to the berry fields with me since we don’t own our yard to plant berry bushes and give her the chore of berry picking.

well, she didn’t look on it very fondly today, that’s for sure. last year it was a novelty. this year it was one of those things her ol’ pregnant mom dragged her along for. so, i eventually just handed her my phone and told her she could just take pictures if she wasn’t interested in picking and i’m glad i did because she had a few good ones in there amongst the hundred or so she snapped away. it’s nice to have some pics of the big bump amongst the berries. i especially love the second photo, which isn’t that flattering of an angle for me or facial expression but it accurately depicts how it was out there: hot, sticky and pretty uncomfortable but incredibly gorgeous and so worth it.

worth it because i got my first taste of black raspberries. i’m 100% telling the truth when i say that i’ve been having anxiety that this baby will come during black raspberry season and i’ll miss out entirely. this was still pretty early for my black beauties but we got enough to wet my whistle for the taste and leave me satisfied should this human come before we can get back to the ripe patches next week. i will type it in all caps again because i’m serious that BLACK RASPBERRIES ARE MY CHILDHOOD ENCAPSULATED IN FOOD FORM AND I LOVE THEM.

{ people of central ohio, if i could send you anywhere for your raspberry needs it would mitchell’s berries. they are simply lovely, affordable and delicious. tell them we sent you on your next visit! }

4Jun2014

best of the fest: nelsonville music festival

Posted in advantageous adventures, familyness, i dig music, love and happiness, weekending by ElaineMarie

dear family,

one of the things i love about us is that we’re willing to give things a try. we don’t put ourselves in a box more than we have to and for the most part, we make things work. we have a lot of fun and adventure in our lives because of those things. we’re great. let’s keep it up and add another to this crew!

love, me.

i know 9 mos pregnant me would not have been able to hang in for the entirety of nelsonville music festival last weekend but dammit if i wasn’t sad to miss out on the all the fun. i was really and truly grateful to head down on sunday as a family of three and just enjoy the day and atmosphere. i can’t say we were as invested in the acts as much as we’ve been in years past. it was more about taking in the atmosphere. maybe it was a little bit about making a promise to ourselves that we’d be back in full force, bigger and better than ever next year.

darla definitely knew the ropes this time and made it very known that she did not need us. that is until she wanted us to buy her something. i desperately wanted to just let her experience this last time down there as a trio in the way she see fit but damn if that girl isn’t having a hard time making good decisions right now. i know she’s a kid. but i’m just a bit flabbergasted at how she comes to the conclusion that things are a good idea sometimes…

anyway, i just want to say i’m thankful to the universe for making it possible for us to attend this past weekend, thankful for my husband and his energy levels, thankful for the weather, and thankful for the beautiful ohio people who make the weekend so magical. unless this next kid is born with that extreme allergy to sunshine or something of the like { please do not do this to spite me, universe. this is only a blog } our tix for next year are as good as bought. boughten? buyed? i buy?

pssst. read our full weekend of attendance from last year here.

25Apr2014

our week

Posted in advantageous adventures, familyness, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

small

collection

of moments

from our week.

in my journal this week i wrote a list of the things i want my life to be about:

love. beauty. passion. gratitude. and the human spirit.

i think we did pretty ok getting that all in there.

* i hope you enjoy a lovely weekend *

18Apr2014

our week

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

small

collection

of moments

from our week.

the lovely bones

^^^ unschooling is back. bone gazing at the audubon center. ^^^

^^^ a long overdue beauty sesh with my main girl ^^^

^^^ back in pottery class ^^^

^^^ got a bag of doritos; by far the most important thing that happened all week.^^^

hope you enjoy a great weekend.

3Mar2014

life{dot}next V

Posted in advantageous adventures, Travels by ElaineMarie

i wrote last year about the life{dot}next retreat i attend annually. well we just wrapped up another successful extended weekend and are all now working on our re-entry to the real world. it can be hard to come away from a weekend of feeling propped up and full of hope and ambition to then re-enter the everyday landscape of obstacles, schedules and valid constraints.

i feel this last weekend was very sacred to me. last year i wrote a pretty gushy post and even though i still feel that way, i feel like keeping this last experience closer and intimate. i had an absolutely wonderful time. i know i owe a good deal of my growth to these retreats. i would like to share a few pictures from the retreat to highlight some very good times with some incredible women:

^^^ a goddess welcome to Anahata Spa & Resort in Desert Hot Springs ^^^

^^^ and rainbow blessings, too ^^^

^^^ set up for a calligraphy exercise ^^^

^^^ calligraphy invocation ^^^

^^^ stereotypical southwestern karaoke bar, complete with fried food and champagne bucket ^^^

^^^ the lovely lady-blur of 25 females enjoying themselves at dinner ^^^

^^^ our only sunny opening circle of the retreat ^^^

^^^ saying good-bye to a view that left me feeling majestic and charged all weekend ^^^

22Nov2013

week 47

Posted in advantageous adventures, let me let me update ya, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

i’m going to break here so i can discuss the difference between everything ▲▲▲above▲▲▲ and everthing ▼▼▼below▼▼▼

these first four pics are from our monday, the day this week i was a good mother. we got out with our besties to look at the beautiful bison at batelle darby creek metro park. it was a really great day of nature centering, trail walking, rock skipping and fish net building.

i must explain that fourth photo a bit. that is darla having more than a moment with the snowshoe hare pelt. i don’t know what it was about the snowshoe hare that made it more special to her than all the other carcasses but she was quite emotional about it. she sang to it. people, she sang to this dead animal fur and told it she wanted it to come back to life. it is life occurrences like this that make me very scared about what the future holds, or very intrigued. a little of both, i guess.

and it’s a good thing i got us out on monday because i feel like i did maybe less than average for the rest of the week. it seems like i just couldn’t get us to things on time and was a day late and a dollar short on everything. the look on darla’s face below is how i felt all week. there’s so much to be done and figured out in this life and i feel lost under it all. it’s nice to see darla has her balance b/c i don’t. the rest of you make it look so easy. you really do!

photo E15F2387-290F-4F98-B3E4-B899218ADCCA-8584-000006588F3A65FB_zpsb2da6cfe.jpg

but i’m trying to just give things time. and be thankful for the good moments that were mixed in even if i was a less than stellar human being this week.

15Nov2013

week 46

Posted in advantageous adventures, let me let me update ya by ElaineMarie

i bet you know what i’m going to talk about with week 46. yes, we’re still moving. 4.5 year olds and two adults with multiple jobs and only one shared day off a week make it hard to get a quick move done. plus, we’ve been doing a lot to make the place a bit our own. darla is finding places for her things and had fun testing out her new chalkboard door. i brought home a new little green friend and trying to figure out how to have a plethora of plants in the house without spending too much money. any good house plant suggestions?

i’m looking forward to becoming regulars at all the clintonville spots but some of them might be quite dangerous for us. we visited pattycake bakery this week and treated ourselves to spelt brownies and vegan buckeye bars.

as far as unschooling, darla started a new ballet class this week. other than that her learning has been concentrated on our house stuff. she’s been a helping with painting projects and errands. getting back to days filled with outings is a major motivator to get this move over and done with for me.

we all slept in this morning and I think it was much-needed. Darla was in our bed when we woke up. that hasn’t happened in a while and it reminded me of how much fun mornings used to be during our bedsharing days.

thanks, week 46. you’ve been good to us even if you did kick our butts.

happy weekending!

4Nov2013

weekending

Posted in advantageous adventures, Travels, weekending by ElaineMarie

we made it. it was a whirlwind trip of driving 10 hrs friday and then again sunday. things were hairy for a bit but mostly it was a great, grand adventure.

see i have this theory about arkansas. my theory is that it’s the first state people forget is part of the united states. when people heard i was going to a wedding in arkansas most said “ooooohhhh yeah, arkansas. it exists!” ok, not really but that’s what i read from facial expressions and body language. but i was very pleasantly surprised by the town of hot springs where we spent the weekend for my baby cousin’s wedding.

this weekend i hiked a mountain in my boots and lipstick because i felt like it. i touched the dreamy, warm mineral waters in hot springs national park. i spent time chasing peacocks with my darla in a park that felt like i was visiting the elvish realms of middle earth. i visted with family. i hope you can tell by my writing how much i enjoyed these novel experiences.

in the name of transparency i’m going to put it out there that darla gave me a real run for my money this weekend. i don’t think you’re supposed to travel while mercury is in retrograde. i don’t think you’re supposed to travel with a willful 4.5 year old while mercury is in retrograde anyway. communicating with darla was difficult at times. bedtimes were late, candy and sweets were plentiful and well, it was travel, so those were all things throwing my little girl for a loop. the majority of the time she was sweet and loving but then something would come along and send her into a funk. i felt like i was living in a nursery rhyme: there was a little girl, who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead…

i’m not sure if i handled things well most of the time. in fact i know i didn’t handle things well at certain times. darla is almost 5 years old and i feel like i should have some concrete answers on how i should handle situations with her but i am still at a loss. is it like this always? like until they’re 18 and fly off on their own?

i also have to admit that this trip rekindled my desire to be a rubbertramp. plans and schemes have been forming in my head about spending months on the road, discovering places just like hot springs. there is so much of america i have yet to see and i’d really like to have a road adventure with my family.

maybe some day you’ll be reading a blog post about that ;-)

1Nov2013

road trip

Posted in advantageous adventures, parenting apparently?, Travels by ElaineMarie

i’m blogging from the road!! don’t worry i’m not driving. we’re on a 9 hour trip and so far so good. darla has a whole bag of tricks that i’m praying get us through the day. d’s a pretty darn good travel partner though.

and me, i’ve just got my hat and a couple good books. that’s all i need.

ARKANSAS OR BUST!!!

momjeanz

Category Archives: advantageous adventures

our week

raspberry picking

best of the fest: nelsonville music festival

our week

our week

life{dot}next V

week 47

week 46

weekending

road trip