Soft Rain

I look out on my patio after a soft rain.
The birds won't stop singing.
The geraniums are an impossible pink.
I want to swallow them, whole. - Penelope Barnes Thompson
















a bit rainy...and so we did a bit of painting.















Some of you asked what we gave Robert for Father's day...






a Satchelicious Sigg, of course! Satch made a special painting upon which he proudly wrote "Dad" all by himself. I uploaded it and that's was that. My only complaint with the platform is that it doesn't allow you to wrap the image completely around the bottle.

Most Alive Monday: Tiny Globes of Rainbow

How much good inside a day?
Depends on how you live it. - Shel Silverstein

















































































*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.

This Light

"I sat down in the dew-wet grass
because it was just too beautiful to stand up and watch."
- Patricia Thomas (Firefly Mountain)





Some new favorites...

Firefly Mountain is a feast for the senses...a beautiful story set to exquisite paintings by Peter Sylvada. A child waits for sunset to see the fireflies with her family and is carried home to bed in the arms of her papa.


Ten Flashing Fireflies

Quaint counting prose with dreamy, glowing illustrations - sweet summer bedtime
book.


And our two old favorites...







and those we're still exploring...


Fireflies (All Aboard Science Reader)





The Very Lonely Firefly





Fireflies (Bugs, Bugs, Bugs)





Talking to Fireflies, Shrinking the Moon




When the Fireflies Come





Have a good weekend. See you Monday.

Body Art

What happens when I have the audacity to take a 5 minute shower...

Summer!

Nothing says summer like a community campfire...sing-along and s'mores!

Most Alive Monday: Round and Round

Satch is digging his birthday gift from the grands...

and so is his pal, R.


*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.

Consciousness of Being

"like a dragonfly wing
in the sun reflecting
the color of opals,
like all the hours
we leave behind,
so ordinary,
but not unloved. " -Kirsten Dierking




















































Have a good weekend. See you Monday.

Sidewalk Games

I keep thinking about the games I used to play when I was a child, games that were played outside with neighbors and friends. I keep looking around the yards and wondering, where are all the kids? Are they inside playing Wii?

We keep little baskets of rocks and sidewalk chalk outside in Satchel's wagon for instant gratification. I found that the chalk sticks are actually more vivid after they've been rained on. Satchel's great uncle sent him a set of 3D chalk for his birthday...really work! All the kids in our neighborhood were over our house drawing on the sidewalk - cool!













I want to start an anti-Wii movement and get the kids outside interacting with other children, instead of machines.

Sterling Publishing has a wonderful little book that is sure to bring back memories and bring back the fun!!!

What was your favorite game?


Some of my favorite games were:

• Whiffle Ball
• Chinese Jump Rope
• Running Bases
• Freeze Tag
• Tinikling
• Skully
• Jacks
• Hop Scotch
• Crack the Whip

Parsley the Pillar and Friends

"I'm going to name my callopilla, Parsley and I'm going to name all my ants, Alicia, because ants are mostly girls!" - Satch

(It's true most ants are females - When the harvester ants arrived, he took one look at them and renamed them all "tweezer")

Parsley the caterpillar played a round of Hi-Ho Cherry-O. Satch had to spin for Parsley because all those legs could lead to multiple spins. He placed the green apples atop it's jar lid. I should mention that Parsley is rather portly and looks exactly like this...too difficult to photograph inside the jar.





















Parsley played a round of Memory too.

Parsley had a sleep-over, but the next morning had spun itself a webbed hammock suspended from the jar lid. Turns out, Parsley is attempting to become a Giant Leopard Moth with a 3 inch wingspan, so I picked up a fine mesh cage thingy on Freecycle, removed the lid and suspended both lid and silky hammock from a branch in the cage.

We've been waiting a few weeks for some action - nothing. I've sent an email to a local entomologist and we're waiting for a reply.

The fireflies have showed up on cue and are performing each evening. There seems to be less than years before, but we're happy to see them. And lastly, we're still patiently waiting for our baby mantids to emerge...

Most Alive Monday: My Hero

Saving the neighborhood and striking fancy poses thanks to some new costumes via Freecycle.

That's a tattoo of Stag Beetle on his shin. We have a rather plentiful supply of bug tattoos .














*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.

Puppet Show

"Miracles are made in the heart" - Pinocchio

Satch is fascinated with the story of Pinocchio and asked for me to make him a puppet. I made a crude cardboard marionette and promised to make him a better paper maché puppet soon.

Satch fastened the pieces together and drew some pink eyes (atop the hat) and a mouth. (click to enlarge) Then I attached the strings. We clipped a vintage table cloth to his Learning Tower for an instant puppet stage.

There was a flurry of activity and not a single clear photo to be had.


I'm off to find an inexpensive tension rod for the archway of our dining/living area. I need to make a removable portable, stage curtain. You see, Satch is planning a volcanic interpretive dance set to the song, "Old St. Helen" by Billy Jonas. He has a lists of guests and has requested that his friend O, play a drum for the volcanic rumbling.

He has assigned me the task of "making and taking" tickets and of course, snacks.

Have a good weekend. See you Monday!

Unconditional Parenting

I've been mulling over Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn for several months...I've read and re-read this book and watched the DVD. It's taken me so long to write about it because it's so thought provoking and challenges the assumptions that many of us have been conditioned to believe about raising our children. I know that I can't be the only mom out there struggling with the whole concept of discipline. As some of you know, I've tried various and seemingly benign methods of discipline and I just don't feel comfortable, nor does it seem to help. In situations where I become completely overwhelmed by a particular behavior, I often resort to time out...and truthfully, not for any other reason other than I need that moment to collect myself before my head explodes. I'm not joking it really does feel like my cranium is going to burst. But time-out doesn't feel right. This uneasy feeling is what led me to Unconditional Parenting.

Alfie's message makes an extremely valid point: traditional discipline in the form of consequences is only effective in the short term, if it actually worked long term, we would not have to keep doing it. He suggests working with the child instead of "doing to" the child. He points out that, as parents, we need to look at the bigger picture...we want them to grow to be responsible adults.

The DVD is an overview that gets to the core of this insightful work and Alfie is very entertaining in his delivery. The book, of course, goes into much more detail. Unconditional Parenting has inspired me to trust my instincts in that if something doesn't feel right for my family, it's because it's not. That is not to say that I have all the answers yet, but I do believe that I have found another piece to the puzzle.

C'mon a my house

In Northern Virginia, summer is like the summer you remember from your childhood...not a summer that comes and goes so quickly that it startles you with it's departure. Here, summer saunters, it takes it's time, like honey. And the sunlight is the kind of yellow that only poets can describe, a light that beckons you to make sun tea and lemon popsicles. From the hammock we watched a tiny lavender butterfly flitting about the garden.































Things are beginning to bloom over at our nest. Our garden is a mix of flora... sort of cottage style. Most of our plantlings have returned from last season though there are some new adoptions from Freecycle and some newbies that we grew from seed. There are pumpkin vines growing beside our walk...an experimental new location as last year's locale was a bust. It's still a mystery to me what will grow in this soil.

The peonies were the first to bloom. We clipped some for our table then shared the rest with our neighbors because they fade so quickly and need to be enjoyed.





















The lavender is blooming beside a mound of Rosemary and Basil. The Sweet Williams and Lobelia are also in bloom.
















Also Daisies...
















that fit perfectly in this beautiful vase by Diana Fayt, a birthday gift last year from my sister-in-law.





















and Foxglove (Digitalis for medical buffs)...





















and Forget-Me-Nots
















At the playground, Mabel the hamster is taking a stroll (or rather a roll) while...
















so graceful that she makes clouds jealous, the Mighty K shows gravity who's boss.

Most Alive Monday: Jelly Invasion!

"Who wants my jellyfish?
I'm not sellyfish!" - Ogden Nash

We took Satch to see the Jelly Invasion at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and it was breathtaking! See for yourself...









































































The following day was rainy so I figured we should try to make our own sea jellies. We wadded up some pink tissue paper and stuffed it in a grocery bag. Then I blew some air into it and knotted it. Lastly, we shredded the remaining plastic and added some iridescent curling ribbon.







*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.