we spent some time with the rivers and the creeks this past week. darla enjoyed throwing things into said bodies of water. it was very nice of mother nature to give us those temperature spikes that allowed for some outdoor exploration. this is pretty fantastic time of year for getting a last little communion with nature.
although, i am hoping for some winter hikes this year :)
i think you all should know that she was trying to teach the ducks to fetch in that second photo. she’s special.
here’s our week from my iphone:
we found walking sticks and were proud of it. we said hi to our sycamores.
we had lazy picnics in the park
and kicked our shoes off for a bit. we let our bodies become grounded again.
we hung our new nature prayer flags and added darla’s new books from maine into heavy reading rotation.
we rode ruju to the audubon center to continue the bird learnin.’
we dressed up like our forest friends,
and came to an understanding that darla has no chance of normalcy under her current parental guidance.
“the older i get the more i am into taxidermy.”
we gathered blossoms and walked trails,
and spied on the pond creatures.
did you know ohio has white sand beaches? oh. no. that’s just a volleyball court. my bad.
we tried out the thursday food truck festival at columbus commons and enjoyed the commons activities.
we took in a game at huntington park.
i was sure to wear my protective head gear since our seats were pretty close.
but really the most important development of the week was my complete surrender to my msg addiction. i think i’m on my second bag of rold gold cheese twists for the week. my body is NOT happy with me.
I’m incredibly thankful for all these moments the universe has bestowed on us this week. Goodness is abundant.
ps. if anyone is interested in obtaining maine themed books you can find them here: One Morning in Maine, Blueberries for Sal, The Little Fisherman, About Birds: A Guide for Children
we got to hang with our favorite niece all morning!
first the flash helped me make pancakes with an attitude
then cousinfriend joined and they all chowed on the most delicious pancakes to ever grace anyone’s lips while i ran around making said pancakes.
the we loaded up on the bikes and hit the trail
found a playground
and headed back home where girlies had an imaginary picnic. sounds pretty nice, huh? well, it was. thanks for being such an agreeable reader!
i wasn’t going to include this last pic b/c it’s pretty blurry but i did to see if anyone else caught on to how many outfit changes darla did this morning. and these were only the ones i caught on camera. i think there were 2 other variations in there.
so, we had a pretty rad day, all day. i like to look back at these posts to be reminded that our non-conventional lifestyle and schedule is completely worth it. we’re afforded so much freedom, flexibility and time to spend just like this.
hanging out together, with the people we love, searching for adventure.
pics from our first family cycle down to the audubon park:
cordelia and madame ruju are already besties
awww, darla’s humoring mommy face
spiderman
darla said she could see the statue of liberty
awkward smiles + flowers for daddy
where should we venture next?
no annual milestone over here, just our letter of the day. and what a B-eautiful day it was, too.
we started of course with breakfast of bread and butter and berry yogurt
it was at this point in the meal that my daughter jumped up and ran out of the room yelling “oh i forgot something.” she returned 20 seconds later wearing her ruby slippers. only her ruby slippers. she stripped out of her sleeper and put on a pair of buckle shoes in a speed that is going to make me very frustrated then next time it takes me 18 minutes to get her in or out of an outfit.
i think she took B day literally and so wearing her birthday suit was entirely appropriate. 
after getting dressed with a lot of attention paid to the letter B – braid with a blue hairband, boots and a birdie shirt we hopped on cordelia and biked to the audubon center for bird learnin’. hence the appropriateness of the bird shirt.
i know i post about the audubon park a lot but it’s by our house and is really a beautiful, magical place. this town does a great job with it’s parks. here’s our little bird watcher.
using the binoculars (the wrong way) to spot what she says is a “jerry bird.” huh?
and there he is. just imagine my sugar sweetness congratulating her for being able to spot an 8 FT PAPER MACHE GULL. ohhh, i laugh at life.
in the center we: read books about birds, bats, bugs, butterflies blah blah blah. visited the salvaged art butterflies which are still holding up with original coolness factor and did some of the center activities testing different bird beak designs.
we discovered a new room with lots of grand activities including bird and butterfly costumes seen here as well as a simulated climbing tree biosphere complete with root system too.
but the greatest resource discovered at the audubon park today….
BIG KIDS
i have previously noticed the magnetic pull that exists between pre-teen/teenage girls and toddler girls – probably toddler boys too but i don’t have as much experience with that. darla first adopted this group of homeschool kids and they were impressed that she knew words such as “audubon,” and “insect.” i think they were most impressed by her cowgirl boots, though. they then adopted her and entertained her for 15 whole minutes. i ate and entire apple in peace! all three were jumping, hand in hand, from atop this fire pit thingy, pretending to be birds and chanting “we fly so high in the skyyyyy!” it was very cute and gave me hope that one day darla, too, will grow into a lovely pre-teen and give a weary mother a break by bossing her toddler around for her. thanks again, universe.
ohhh man we did some STUFF this week. check it.
we zoo-ed it.
she likes to wear you clothes just as much as i do.
new artings at the library. she said she was inspired to draw so she did.
discovered some gnarly, antique doors in our hood. i told her they were secret doors.
she noticed this root system at the schiller park playground grown in a circle. decided this is where gnomes and faeries have dinner together.
in which she discovers a spider’s web, touches it then freaks out b/c it’s on her hand
nom nom at the north market + our treats for being good. she had the little girl and i had the dog dressed as a pig. japan, you so crazy!
you just go ahead and run it out, you crazy lunatic
these last two are at highbanks metropark in the natural play area. this is the best sycamore tree i’ve ever seen, said sycamore featured on the right. i asked darla to pose in front of it and she laid down on the ground and rolled around like a dog. she’s special.
a word on highbanks metropark: they have these little shelter houses that have fireplaces in them. i don’t care how cold it gets, when you get home you will take me there and darla too. you will build me a fire in one and you will like it. you will woo me with your manly survival skills and we will sit in front of that fire whilst darla goes buck wild at the nearby playground. i will probably have some yarn and a darning needle in my hand but i won’t be using them. they are just props b/c that is what a lady is supposed to hold in front of a fire.
that is all.
i can’t even keep track of all the funny stuff she says anymore and i’m getting lazy b/c you’re almost here so i don’t wanna. i feel that way about chores around the house. it’s like i think you’re already here so i don’t want to do it on my own but ‘taint the case.
i do remember that she has figured out how to be three people at one time instead of just two: toddler approaches. tugs on my shirt to signal that my attention is needed. says “mom, i’m mai pretending to be gumby” and then bounds off. i am very frightened for the future at this point.
you missed a pretty magical first for darla’s life – her first viewing of the wizard of oz. i would give anything to have captured the look on her face when dorothy opened the front door to reveal oz and all its vivid splendor. darla’s eyes grew saucerlike and she gasped. she then sat enraptured. if i had known it was going to be that spectacular i would have waited for you to be home before we watched it. also, I FREAKING LOVE JUDY GARLAND.
well i better sign off so i can write you a honey-do email so you know what you’re going to do when you get home.
i love you more than cheese.
wife former fwife
i meant to post this picture update earlier in the day but we were busy with adventures. the motto for this s’ennight could have been attention to detail. we made lots of new discoveries- secret old doors in the neighborhood, odd trees, new parks and playgrounds. learning is getting more comprehensive. such as when i show her the veins running through the leaves and then compare them to the veins in our wrists. she understands they serve the same purpose in both beings – the transfer of oxygen and nutrients. at least she understood for 2 minutes. it has probably floated away, out of her brain by now but FOUNDATIONS ARE BEING LAID! i am an educating force to be reckoned with. cackle cackle cackle!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyway here are some of my favorite pictures from our outings.
OhYeahandI’mHereToo
momjeanz 