(Thankfully)

You can imagine our surprise when, out of the blue, during our son's yearly check-up, the doctor said, "I hear a heart murmur".

Huh?

We were handed a referral and told to make an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist for further evaluation. Even though I knew that this is common and most often benign, there remained an undercurrent of fear until the cardiology appointment.

The day of the appointment, Satch donned his cape and equipped himself with a metal sifter and tea diffuser. We were a sight to behold. On the bus a woman asked, "What's he gonna do with those?", and Satch answered, "I need these to rescue a deer". She looked back at me puzzled. "To rescue deer", I repeated.

Satch was worried about the cardiogram, but I told him that he could take home the electrodes for his doctor kit and I would take his photo for Dada which produced an instant smile. The doctor listened to his heart for a long time and determined that the ekg was normal and the murmur was (thankfully) benign. Then he asked, "What's he gonna do with those?". "Rescue deer", Satch replied. The doctor glanced over at me. "Rescue deer", I explained.

We're leaving early tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with family. Have a happy holiday and see you Monday!

Most Alive Monday: Blisses

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the Autumn tree" - Emily Bronte

Bliss...watching you try to catch a falling leaf while raking in the tide...

Bliss...in the morning when we saw the sun rise between the towering, bare trees.

















Oh so many blisses...

welcome to earth, Cedar Leonard Kroon and Harper Jude Soule!

"I happen to be here
a leaf among days & when mornings fall
awaken I happen to hear...
what claim does the leaf have to air that sculpted its
sail or the ground to which it fell...
I happened to be here now
I happened to see what I have seen" - Raphael (These Clues)

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.ment)

2008 Holiday Gift Guide

It's hard to believe the holiday season is upon us already. As you know, we're always on the qui vive for quality and imaginative toys and gifts. So, I wanted to give you a list of some of our tried and true picks for this holiday season. They are all quite marvelous with the added bonus of being mom-ufactured, family operated, earth friendly, fair trade or just plain fun:

Gonge, a family owned business in Denmark, makes amazing sensory toys of the highest quality.

The balancing board is a clever toy that improves motor skills by rocking, spinning and balancing. It can be played with solo or with a friend, standing or sitting. This giggle inducer is for ages 3+

The Little Travelers videos are beautiful and educational. Children get a glimpse into other cultures and customs through the eyes of two wee girls. These are not glossy commercial productions...their beauty lies in their realism because the girls were not directed, but rather observed by their mom. The series was produced and filmed by kindred mama, Angelina Hart, who at times had to put the camera on her lap in order to be in the frame. She purchased a few books at the bookstore and taught herself how to shoot documentaries. These videos are a lovely way to foster a sense of interconnectedness and global awareness as well as supporting the creative vision of a beautiful mama!

Another beautiful mama to note is Susan Bell whom, for the love of family and earth, launched her own business, Satch & Sol. She sells earth friendly, fair trade, handmade items made by Mongolian artisans.

We are completely obsessed with her line of handmade slippers. These slippers are gorgeous and reasonably priced! The wool is thick, soft, and warm.

Handmade items are so very special and even at 3 yrs old, my son has an appreciation for things that are handmade. He wore his slippers all day and didn't want to take them off at bedtime.

In the spirit of the holiday season, Susan is giving Mother Rising readers a generous 20% off all merchandise from her on-line boutique until the remainder of the year (except gift certificates). Simply use the code, Rising20.

Susan is mama to two delightful boys, Satchel and Solomon.

Twig Pencils are so earthy and visually pleasing that you may be tempted to put them in a vase on your table. They feel wonderful in your hand and the colors are vivid and blend nicely.

You can find them at A Toy Garden, the charming store owned and operated by kindred mama, Sonya Bingaman. Sonya lives in California with her two beautiful children. A social worker by trade, but after the birth of her daughter, she began crafting toys at home and selling them at local fairs. When her business began to grow, she opened A Toy Garden, where she sells unique handcrafted products made from natural materials. Her selection is sourced from all over the world and is sold at very reasonable prices. Gift wrapping is free...bright tissue that is easy for wee hands to open, tied with silky rainbow ribbon.
While you're there, check out the Nature's Kaleidoscope Kit. It's a kaleidoscope that children can create and recreate over and over with bits of stones and other natural objects. Very cool!

The Learning Tower by Little Partners was designed by kindred mama, Carol Gamble, who is a trained Montessori Infant/Toddler Specialist and is President and CEO of Little Partners. The Learning Tower is a fitting name for this unique and versatile product. It can be used in multiple ways. The Learning Tower enables children to participate in activities that otherwise would be beyond their reach. In the kitchen, they can safely help parents prepare meals, or play in the sink. Allowing children to help in the kitchen provides an opportunity for learning, and fosters a sense of independence while further strengthening the family bond. The Learning Tower adjusts in height to enable children to participate safely. Chairs can tip, stools don't have any safety rails and when children are engrossed in play a/o helping, they can easily become distracted and fall.

In addition to the practicality of The Learning Tower, there are a number of accessories that can be purchased to expand it's functionality and playability. It can be used as a playhouse, a puppet stage, or an art easel, for example. Maria Montessori said it best, "To assist children, we must provide them with an environment which will enable them to develop freely", and The Learning Tower is a step (no pun intended) in the right direction. For ages 18 months and up.

Some fun uses for The Learning Tower:

• Kitchen Science
• Stage a shadow puppet show

To go with The Learning Tower, you might also want to grab yourself a copy of "Gadgetology: Kitchen Fun with Your Kids, Using 35 Cooking Gadgets for Simple Recipes, Crafts, Games and Experiments". The author, Pam Abrams, is the mother of two children. She categorizes the projects/recipes in this fun book by the type of kitchen gadget used. We're in love with the walnut shell sailboats!

HABA's Block & Tackle set is fun and educational! The craftsmanship is superb, as one would expect from HABA, and it can effortlessly lift up to 350 lbs. It can be attached to the ceiling, a stairwell, loft, bunk bed, or trees. One of Satchel's favorite toys from last Xmas is a simple wooden crane, and HABA's Block & Tackle makes lifting an exciting new experience. Pulleys are simple machines that teach children about physics through play. Children enjoy figuring out how things work and here are some resources to enrich their curiosity with simple machines like pulleys:

• Explore Gadgets for Preschoolers
• Mudpies to Magnets (excerpt)
• Purposeful Play: Pulley Go Fish (excerpt)
• Play with Pulleys
• Simple Machines K-12

Tree Blocks are a marvelous, free form and tactile building set. They can be purchased with bark or without. The Tree Blocks company is one of the first companies in the US to offer toys made from reclaimed, recycled and sustainably harvested wood. The operation is managed by Juergen Eichhorn, the son of the founder of Eichhorn Company, Germany's oldest and most respected wood toy maker. Another favorite is the Crash Car. A toy originally designed for visually impaired children, the magnetic parts make it impossible to reassemble incorrectly. The fact that they would design a toy that can be enjoyed by visually impaired children is a reflection of the their thoughtfulness.

Gears! Gears! Gears! by Learning Resources is a construction set with lights and motion. It takes building to a whole new level.

There is no right or wrong way to connect these gears so the possibilities are endless and therefore has a high playability factor! Gears are another simple machine that teaches children about physics through play. I've written about Learning Resources here and here and here. Learning Resources manufactures innovative, high quality educational toys for the classroom and home.
The very cheeky, Christmas Tree in a Box, is paper art by, paper engineer, Sam Ita and illustrator, Karen Greenberg. It's pre-cut and ready to assemble. It is recommended for ages 9-12, but I know dozens of adults who would get a kick out of it as well.

I wish I had a truck load of these to take to hospitals and nursing homes.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Glorious Firsts

"Somewhere we ought to pick out a glory to celebrate" - Samuel H. Miller

Last week Satch picked out his own ensemble (seen here) and dressed himself for the first time.











He climbed a tree for the first time.

 Then yesterday we had our first snow. It was a very brief flurry, but we celebrated nonetheless with our first hot cocoa of the season. We topped it with a Trader Joe's vanilla marshmallow which are gelatin free and more like homemade marshmallows , not like the oddly textured bagged kind. Satch loved the marshmallow, I prefer homemade whipped cream.

Dance Lightly

"Let your life dance lightly on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf" - Rabindranath Tagore

It was a bit cold and rainy when a portly critter came tapping at the window asking for treats (no kidding- note the motion blur at its paw) so I had to run out and refill the clay bowl at the chipmunk cafe.













The event was worth another reading of "Nuts To You" which I just can't read without laughing...

And we made some acorn shaped brownies with this pan because a dessert that doesn't include chocolate just isn't worth eating. The making of said brownies required a fresh shirt for the Satch-man.















And a post nibble recital of a poem he learned from his friend, R.

We then decided to make a rain stick, not that we needed more rain. I poked all the holes around the cardboard tube, and satch sat on the floor with a pile of nails and a wooden mallet and hammered all the nails in. I taped the bottom of the tube and handed him a cup of rice and a funnel so he could fill the stick. Then after sealing the other end, I wrapped the tube in paper, and he painted it all sorts of colors and added some animal stickers. Then we wrapped one end with yarn using a glue stick so that it would look like a traditional rainstick seen here.

(By the way, this is Satchel's newly requested freezer paper pirate ship shirt.)








Rainstick Instructions here!

And the Winner Is....

So what did we do all week? We RAKED! We are surrounded by enormous trees and every time we thought we had it licked, we'd go outside the next day and find ourselves ankle deep again. So each day I brought in a handful of leaves and wrote your names upon them, then tucked them into a little basket. Early this morning, my sleepy little elf still in pajamas, donned his elf hat and picked a name from the basket...

















and the winner is...


Thank you all for playing with us. (And thank you, Chronicle, for your generosity)

Holiday Crafting & Giveaway

"I will make you brooches and toys for your delight
Of bird-song in morning and star-shine at night"
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Once again we're making as many gifts as we are able this holiday season. We started crafting sometime after SAW in September. That way we could take our time and still be done WAY before Xmas.

I always want to give Satch at least one handmade gift each Xmas, so when Satch was napping, I made him this Chalk Cloth Mat with instructions I found here.












It is the size of a place mat with a little pocket for stowing a box of chalk. It rolls up and ties shut for travel. I didn't photograph the back because it's nothing more than black oil cloth and not very exciting. I bought the Bubble Fabric and Sock Monkey fabric here. And I bought the oil cloth here. I only purchased a yard of each and have enough left over to make several more to give to family and friends. So, a few of you might be finding these in your mailbox.

While I was at it I made some marker/pencil rolls out of dishtowels for a few budding artists. I cut the towel in half and made two rolls per towel, and I only had to sew one seam. I'm guessing if you made these out of cloth napkins it would be even faster because you would only need to sew the lines that hold the markers/pencils.


























It's a variation from this book and inspired by this mama who made one for Satch in September.

Last year the snowballs that I made him were such a big hit that we decided to make more this year for some of the tots in our family.

For the wee babes, we made these Peppermint Swirl Jingle Bonbons! They are just the right size for dimpled fists to jiggle.

*Some terrific instructions can be found here!

*I buy my wool here!

And since we still have a half bucket o' broken crayons...I decided to find a soap mold in the shape of river stones and we made some "coloring stones" for the lilliputians. Another terrific way to recycle your broken bits of wax!

*I bought the "River Rocks" mold here! Scroll down because it's near the bottom of the page on the right. This is NOT a food mold, it's rubber and stinky when it arrives. I let it air out on the deck a few days and now it's fine.


*They were inspired by the gorgeous soy wax Crayon Rocks, that I would very much like to try out, but am unable to find anywhere in our area.

For two adorable, elfin wees, I made a little felted fairy orb necklace...




and some felted barrettes to go with it. (*Instructions from Amy)


And for Satchel's cousins, Hanna & Kiran, we made two Glove-Puppies. I sewed and Satch stuffed. The eyes are buttons that came from my late grandmother's stash and the dresses are made from vintage table cloth scraps.

*Free Instructions and video here

and Miyako's book here

The grandparents will be receiving a calendar that I created over at Lulu.

Our holiday postcards that I designed are printed and arrived by post yesterday. We decided on post cards because the text box interface would not open for their greeting card line. But, postcards are inexpensive to print and the postage is less too - so it all works out. *A word of caution regarding Snapfish. My postcards arrived with the white border cut off at the bottom. I'm not sure if they printed them off center or cut them wrong. I've asked if they can reprint them correctly before I return these and am left with nothing and after three email exchanges, they still have not been able to tell me if they will be able to do it right.

My goal was to finish our holiday to-dos before Thanksgiving so I started chipping away at our list in September, doing a little bit each day. Now we're finished, no stressing...Satch had fun helping and we didn't have to set foot in a single store.

*In the spirit of the season of giving, and in honor of crafty mamas everywhere, the very generous folks at Chronicle are allowing me to give away a copy of Amy Butler's, "Little Stitches for Little Ones". Simply leave a comment here by 12pm on Sunday November 16th and my sweet little elf will pick a name from his hat. I'll post the winner on Monday November 17th! (Please include a way to contact you)I will be taking a short blogging break this week to wrap and package these nifty gifties with Satch, but I'll be back on Monday to announce the winner.

Have a great week!

Most Alive Monday: Sacred Mountain

"People who have looked at sacred mountains all their lives say,
you always find one you can't forget.
Even when you're somewhere far away
you suddenly
remember
the color of those rocks
and how the light shines there
and you'll know that's where you ought to be
because in some strange way, the mountain is your home.
May your path lead you there...
At the edge of the mountain a cloud hangs.
And there my heart, my heart, my heart, hangs with it."
- Tohono O' odham as told by Byrd Baylor (From a very beautiful book entitled "The Way to Make Perfect Mountains: Native American Legends of Sacred Mountains") Cinco Puntos Press

Cinco Puntos Press is a nationally recognized, independent publishing house that specializes in literature from the US/Mexico border, Mexico, and American Southwest. With grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Commission for the Arts, Cinco Puntos Press publishes a wide variety of Native American, Chicano and Latin American literature, beautiful stories rich in history that celebrate culture and keep traditions alive.

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

The Dark Side of Satch

One of our neighbors gave Satch a black cherry Halloween lollipop that turned his tongue black. He wanted to photograph himself in the bathroom mirror. I kept my hand on the camera for fear of it being dropped into the sink.

Some little known Satch facts:

• He freaks if he gets even a drop of water on his face and immediately screams for a towel.
• He freaks when he has snot and yells, "BOOGERS...TISSUE!"
• If no tissue is available, he'll wipe snot on me and run away.
• He will no longer eat anything green.
• He will no longer eat tomato sauce.
• Now that he understands not to interrupt me when I'm on the phone, he just stands next to me and repeats everything I'm saying until I can no longer speak English.

The shower is too loud, the light is too bright, it's not the right fork, spoon, cup (you name it), but I love him madly.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Hope (Documented by Satch)

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." - Allan Chalmers

Yesterday morning, after breakfast, Satch hopped into his stroller and we began our almost 2 mile (and partially hilly) hike to go vote. He brought his camera and documented our adventure.

Along the trail, the tall trees showered us with jewel toned leaves.

\

"They're giving trees!", Satch exclaimed, and instructed me to place his gifts in the bottom of the pram. "Lets find more giving trees", he said. "We don't need to look for them", I replied, "they will find us". "Can they see us?", he asked. "No, they feel us", I explained. We sauntered along pausing every so often to breathe in the scent of the pines and firs.
















We stopped at the intersection so Satch could photograph a friendly dog...

and again because he discovered "an X".

When we reached our funky polling place, I felt very emotional, so full of hope as I slid my ballot into the optical scanner. One of the volunteers handed Satch a sticker and he immediately affixed it to his jeans and took a photo.














I could not stay awake last night to watch the numbers, but I awoke at 4 AM and wept with joy to read the news.

*Photo credit to my three year old son, Satch. He used his V-tech Kidizoom.

Buggin' Again

"Be there with life's mysteries.

Welcome them into your life." - Terry Bookman

Satch found a rather interesting bug the other day. It was...um...HUGE! It was slow and robotic with spikes on it's back like a dinosaur. I was alarmed by its long, sharp proboscis so I would not allow Satch to pick it up. As I explained to Satch, animals have a way of talking to us, even if the creature doesn't speak "people", we must use our eyes as well as our ears to understand. So, we carried it home in a newspaper and put it in our observation tank.

I contacted an entomologist at VT and explained that my 3 yr old son LOVES bugs and therefore, I try to give him a little information about the creatures he discovers, i.e. name and characteristics. I needed some help identifying this one. The bug expert replied. He said it was a Wheel Bug and can wield a painful bite if mishandled.
While Satch napped, I read up on Wheel Bugs and learned that they are the largest of the True Bug family and the dreaded monster of the insect world. They are beneficial Assassin Bugs and eat soft bodied insects by stabbing them with its beak and injecting it with saliva. Its salivary enzymes destroy soft tissue and then the bug slurps up the goo.

I explained this to Satch and Robert at dinner time, then my husband promptly ran down to the basement to find a cricket. He came back with a juicy one and plopped it in the tank. The Wheel Bug climbed down from its perch, speared the cricket and began the process of eating it. Robert was excited. Satch was completely blown away and tried to process it all. I was completely grossed out and couldn't finish my risotto.

For those of you who are interested in what scene was like, I found this video on youtube.


*For the record, I have an aversion to insects, but I don't let on because Satch loves them so.