MONDAY is MEMEDAY!

HEY! GET TO KNOW MEME!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? Nope
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? While watching THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Used to hate my illegible handwriting! I think I have Dysgraphia but it has kind of evolved into an art!
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Lean turkey! Secretly? *I like Baloney!* but haven’t eaten it in years! It’s all I ate everyday for lunch-With cheese!- when I was a kid. Liked it when the sandwich got warm in my locker and flattened by my books!
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 2 girls.
6. WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure, I’m cool like that.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…It's just a symptom of
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope. I remember the four bright operating room lights glaring above me and the smell of certs…
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Never say never
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Natures Path Pumpkin seed and flax stuff. *Shhhh! My REAL fav is Capin’ Crunch!*
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I nag at my kids not to pry their untied shoes off their feet. But I do it myself. Horrible hypocrite mommy!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically-hell yes! Emotionally-indeed
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? A tie between Ben and Jerry’s ANYTHING and Huz's ice cream, ANY flavor! And he makes it with skim milk!!!!
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? A gut sense or “feeling” precedes them. Then I see the eyes.
15. RED OR PINK? HATE Red -makes me feel ticked. Garish and ole ladyish -think Nancy regan and Barbara Bush-unless your a bombshell with a perfect complexion or if it's an evening gown leaning more toward wine. …so I guess foo-foo pink?
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? I can be quick to get irritable and impatient when over stimulated. It’s an ADD thing I wrestle with.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My bestest childhood friend, MA.
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Dark Sergio Valentes and Danskos.
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A salmon burger and spinach salad.
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? An obese cat snoring. Radio on upstairs HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I left the water upstairs boiling in the pan it was just about gone! PHEW! Anyway…the question…
22. FAVORITE SMELLS? My kid’s individual scents. My husband. Beeswax. Coffee. Too many to list!
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom and was she TIPSY!!! Silly broad!
24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? HATE watching sports!! Unless it’s my daughter. Body building contests are fun, though!

25. HAIR COLOR? Dark reddish brown with highlights.
26. EYE COLOR? Deep bright brown
27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Tried out about 10 different brands 3 or 4 years ago. None were comfortable enough to wear. Got a pair of hip glasses for driving and TV.
28. FAVORITE FOOD? Ice Cream, to be honest but I’m also a food snob. I like fine food.
29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy, happy. Had a baby and suddenly can’t watch gore horror. What’s that all about? I’ve been traumatized by HOSTEL.
30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Dewey Cox story
31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Fuzzy cozy “milkshake” Mountain Hardwear jacket.
32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Both! I’m an outdoors woman.

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Both. It’s my meme and I pick both.
34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ben and Jerrys or the Chocolate Sphere from the Crow’s Nest restaurant or Huz's IScream.
35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Dreamers of the Day-By Mary Doria Russell . Historical novel that illuminates the long, rich history of the Middle East with a story that brilliantly elucidates today’s headlines.
36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Grateful Dead skull and roses.
38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Nature: birds, water, wind, rain, thunder. My family’s laughter. Our frog croaking.
39. BEATLES OR ROLLING STONES? Stones. Those ole farts ROCK. But the Beatles.. the embodiment of an era…
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Germany
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Yes! I got skills! I have a weird knack for being able to identify who a voice belongs to without seeing the face. I make a game of seeing how fast I can identify the voices when we watch animated movies, i.e. Ratatouille. Yesterday, while listening to a radio commercial in the car I was like, ”That’s Keith David! The guy who played Rowdy Roddy

Piper's ill-fated buddy in THEY LIVE!” HUH?!?!?!
42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Dallas TX, YUCK.

Tag, you’re it?

Oh. My. God.

Oh, now, this just isn't right.

These were taken at 7:00am. And I have to drive into work. Wish me luck.

Look at the railings of our deck and table and compare snow levels to yesturday's pics!

* Giggling madly, eye twitching, hands fluttering, starting to sing!*

"Spring is coming! Spring is coming!

Flowers are coming,too.

Pansies, lillies, daffodillies

now are coming through!"

Macro mountain madness.

The Surreal World.

Oooooooooooh, never mind! Winter's back. Swell. Someone's playing games with the Alaskans.

This was taken 2 days ago:

My little one was out on the deck in her underware and kuspuk playing in the warm sunshine. Dea took advantage of the glorious sunlight to work on a school art project.

This is NOW:

I Shite you not.

Poor kid. She was saying,"Mommy... I. Cant. Get. My. Bike.To. Move!!!". 3 inches already and more expected all weekend. This is one bizzare, irresolute, seasonal changeover and it's wreaking havoc with our brains and rhythyms!!!

SEE?!?!?! Huz and LO are making an appeal to the Snow Gods and the Spring Lady.
 

The last snowman of the year?

Earlier today we had set out to the grocery store and then for a treat at a local cafe. We had to turn back because the road was a luge. So we had our own cafe treat at home.

Hot Coccoa with ice cream and sprinkles. So THERE.

Consider this my macro for the day?

LO's 4th Birthday is in a couple of weeks and I'm frantically trying to put together a "Birthday Story" book for her. I re-vamped some B-day stories that I have read online as well as in books and I'm also doing the illustrations. It's been awhile since I worked with watercolors but I thought this one came out pretty well.

So I'm off to get some more done during nap time. I think this is going to be a very special thing. I'll probably cry when I read it to her. I've got DEA's story going as well. Oh, yeah and then there's the dollhouse I need to build....

Can I take a nap?!?!?

oooooooo! Bad bastard cats!

Bad, BAD wayward shit cats ! These two


are about to have their heads handed to them. Look at them! They know what they did...
I was cleaning up LO’s room and discovered that someone had decided to turn her basket of play silks into a litter box. Nasty little poos and sprinklin’s of pee all over LO’s beloved silkies. FANTASTIC, guys!

So I throw them into a basin and drown them(No, not the cats, the silks) in anti-cat pee juice and of course the colors start to bleed immediately even though I’ve washed them a million times. I quickly separate them out from each other. But not before they stained the washing machine, though!!!


What by the jeezus is IN those silks?!?!?! LO and I finished washing each separate one in the basin outside- OH YEAH!!!! IT’S 52 degrees and SUNNY out TODAY!!!!! SPRING DONE SPRUNG!!!!- and hung them on the line to dry. Some are fine and some are now fuckin’ tie-dyed.

*sigh*

Well it’s my own damn fault. My least favorite chore? CAT CRAPPER. I thought, ”Oh, they’ll be fine until I can get a new box of litter in the morning. It's not so bad in there.” Uh-duh. Poor innocent silkies. Besides sticks and rocks, play silks are the BEST child’s toy. Versatile, portable, totally open ended, comforting... play silks. Which leads to my reparation for my cat box irresponsibility. I shall share the love and pass on a great web site-in case anyone cares- that sells raw white silkies on the SUPER CHEAP! DHARMA TRADING. I think you can get a silk for like $3 bucks. Just like Sarah’s silks. And it’s so fun to dye them with the kiddos.

May I also recommend NATURE’S MIRACLE ORANGE-OXY POWER JUST FOR CAT’S STAIN & STANK REMOVER. ;)
Cuz now our silks are fresh as a day in May....

IT'S A PARTY IN YOUR MOUTH! Thursday's Recipe

HOT FUDGE CHEESECAKE
Need I say more? For one 7" cheesecake:
Ingredients:
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
6 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Hot Fudge Sauce :
Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation: Combine chocolate morsels and half-and-half in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.
Yields 2 cups

Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation!
Combine first 4 ingredients; stir well. Firmly press onto bottom and 2 1/2" up sides of a lightly greased 7" springform pan. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack; let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300°.
Combine chocolate squares and 3/4 cup butter in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture is melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Add 3/4 cup sugar; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in cooled chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 300° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake cool in oven 30 minutes. Remove to a wire rack; let cool to room temperature.

Remove sides of pan. Serve cheesecake with Hot Fudge Sauce. Garnish, if desired.

ooooooh! BAD KITTIES!!!

Bad, BAD kitties!
These two beautiful sweet kitties

are about to have their heads handed to them. Look at them! They know what they did...

I was cleaning up LO’s room and discovered that someone had decided to turn her basket of play silkies into a litter box. Nasty little poos and sprinklin’s of pee all over LO’s beloved silkies. So I throw them into a basin and drown them-No, NOT the cats, the silks-in anti cat pee juice and of course the colors start to bleed immediately even though I’ve washed them a million times. I quickly separate them out from each other. Not before they stained the washing machine though!!!

What’s IN those silks?!?!?! LO and I finished washing each separate one in the basin outside- OH YEAH!!!! IT’S 52 degrees and SUNNY out TODAY!!!!! SPRING DONE SPRUNG!!!!- and hung them on the line to dry. Some are fine and some are now friggin’ tie-dyed.
*sigh*
Well it’s my own damn fault. My least favorite chore? CAT CRAPPER. I thought, ”Oh, they’ll be fine until I can get a new box of litter in the morning.” Uh-duh. Poor innocent silkies. Besides sticks and rocks, play silks are the BEST child’s toy. Versatile, portable, totally open ended, comforting... play silks. Which leads to my reparation for my cat box irresponsibility. I shall share the love and pass on a great web site that sells raw white silkies on the SUPER CHEAP! DHARMA TRADING. I think you can get a silk for like $3 bucks. Just like Sarah’s silks. And it’s so fun to dye them with the kiddos. We’ve used natural dyes as well as kool-aide, to get those more “un-natural” colors.

May I also recommend NATURE’S MIRACLE ORANGE-OXY POWER JUST FOR CAT’S STAIN & STANK REMOVER. ;)

Cuz now our silks are fresh as a day in May....

GONNA HAVE A THREESOME TONIGHT!!!!

Just my hubby and old boyfriends, Ben and Jerry.

Stepped on the scale this morn. With a wet head, too! And (after 3.75 years) I have officially dropped the 40 pounds of baby weight! Not including weight lost in the first week after her birth: baby was a 10# butterball. Then there was the gargantuan placenta and an unnerving amount of fluid(all of it in my toes), 23#.

Slow and steady wins the race, man. The secret of weight loss, godammit once and for all, is eat less(6 small meals a day to rev up metabolism) and move more. Water, drink it. Get the heart rate up for a mere 30 min. everyday. Throw in some weight training 3x a week for added metabolism boost. Period. End of lesson.

Come hither, BOYS!!!!

Our Astoundingly Adventurous Amorous African Clawed Run Away Attack Frog!

At the end of last summer I started a “life cycle” study of the frog with LO. We purchased a Grow-a-Frog kit from Classic Toys, filled out the postcard and sent for our mail order tadpole. Simple enough! Our lil guy arrived after a week or two and we set him up in his new digs. A sweet pad with tropical decor: blue sand, a white shell, tiny green DECOplant and food. LO named him Goo. We watched him grow day by day, swimming about “breathing in” his special tadpole food, his lil front nubs beginning to resemble future legs-such a cute bitty bugger!

Then he goes tits up.

Swell.

My Little One’s first taste of death. We buried him under a spruce by the house. LO colored his tombstone rock and placed it above his grave. I endured the QUESTION”Mama, why did Goo die?” asked ad nauseum. Then like an optimistic shmuck I order in his “free replacement”. I wring my hands as a week goes by and weather is dipping well below freezing. Last time, the schluffers at the Post Office blew off notifying us that we needed to pick up our live animal from their toasty warm building. The mail carrier is going to deliver the tadpole to his death in an arctic tomb -LO will discover a tadpolsickle in the mailbox. Sure enough I retrieve a cold but as yet undead tadpole and whisk it home to begin the acclimatization process. “What should we name him, LO? " LO searched her immediate surroundings for inspiration and I saw her eyes land on her basket of rocks.

I thought,”Here comes the height of creativity, the oeuvre-”

“Rock Rock!” she said, beaming and much to DEA’s chagrin.

OK!

Rock Rock was cool morphin' tadpole! He was larger and heartier and feistier than Goo. His front legs were already developing and soon after his tail began to shrink as his body absorbed it. In one night his small fishlike head totally morphed into a frog’s with big whiskers on the side! It was SO exciting! We took pictures of the big changes and followed the froglet instructions to a T. He was growing fast and I decided it was time for Rock Rock to be movin’ on up and ordered him the DEEEEE-lux apartment from Grow-a-Frog. The TubeTown condo arrives and what’s THIS stuffed inside the tank?!?! A big…naked...frog(?) with pink eyes peepin at us through a bag of freezing water!

“I didn’t order this!”

LO says,"where’s his color?".

“He’s an Albino!", sez Huz.

"I didn’t order this-why’d they send it?” Do ya smell the foreshadowing yet?

We set up the deluxe crib for the naked-it was almost obscene!- white frog, "Scoot". DEA got to name this one. Rock Rock remained in the original tank. He would need to finish baking and grow some before Scoot would recognize him as Not Food.

More picture taking. More oooing and ahhhing at Rock Rock’s changes.

It was a miraculous little lesson in the intricacies of life.

Some other time: PART 2 of Our AAAACRAA Frog

FRIVOLOUS FRIDAY FACTACULAR

1. Name a color you find soothing. INDIGO

2. Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.
DRIVING LESSONS WITH CARLOS-“YOU CAN SMOKE WEED IF YOU WANT TO… I ONLY HAVE 8 TRACKS…”-WHAT A FREAK!

3. What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of? VELOUR-love my Juicy Couture sweats, foo-foo.

4. Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see? PEARL JAM(did the twice in MT!)

5. What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)? N

MORE MACRO:

Dinner time!

PIZZA ANYONE?!?! Thursday’s recipe:

When I first moved to Alaska, I got a job as a manager in the bakery/deli /eatery where my Huz was the head pastry chef/baker. I was forever hiring and firing the Pizza People. Lame-o's one and all. Abusive tempers, no call no shows, flirty dimwitted tarts… So I often spent my workday picking up the slack at the Wood Fired Pizza station. I ROCKED that pizza station. I was the best pizza makin’ fool that place had seen.
And now, 8 years later I will share the Huz’s recipe for Pizza Dough:

LO loves to help with this, especially if the flour shoots out all over the place. In a Kitchen Aid(hopefully you have a Kitchen Aid)mixing bowl ,mix together using the dough hook:

3 1/3 C FLOUR
½ C SEMOLINA
1 ½ tsp DRY YEAST
1 ¾ tsp SALT
1 ½ tsp OREGANO
1 ½ tsp BASIL

Slowly add 1 2/3 C WATER and mix on 7 (Med) for 10-15 minutes. Dough should be warm and slightly sticky-not enough to goop up all over your fingers, though.

Break off a small piece and let the kiddos have fun with it!

Lightly flour dough ball and let sit for an hour to rise.

Punch down, drape over your fist and carefully start stretching into a circle. Then SPIN that sucker up into the air!!! Wheeeee! Kid’s dig it!

Sprinkle semolina on a pizza stone before placing dough on top.
Or, pull and stretch and form it into a cookie pan that’s been sprayed with Pam.

Top with whatever toppings you like. We love roasted garlic and Alaska Sausage Co. Loozyanna hot links. Bake on 500 for 10 min. or until it looks done!

3 NEW ONES

Anyone know who this guy is?!?

No, it's not Freud or Santa...

Red Radio Flyer with Recumbent Seat!

In harmony

Traumatized! Injured! And cantankerous!

Why am I traumatized? Saturday. Birthday party. Chuck E. Cheese. That’s effing why. Need I say more?

Injured? Cuz it snowed- AGAIN- Monday night. Enough to gently cover the roads in a soft white blanky while we all slept. “We” including all the fancy shiny plows and sanders and the folks who operate them. Unsuspecting cars off the road everywhere the next morning. Not including mine, though. After taking note that my car was NOT curving with the road down the steep hill to the bridge, I just shot us up a VERY conveniently-by the love-o-god- placed rocky rutty nasty steep driveway. Badda bing badda bang badda boom bumpity bump bump…. WHIPLASH .

Cantankerous? Because it’s supposed to be fucking spring and I have WHIPLASH. And Chuck E. Cheese nightmares.
‘Scuse my Fronch.

Oh. And now my car is stuck SIDEWAYS in the driveway.

Gonna be kind to myself and go buy a scroll saw. RIGHT Mama Randa?!?!?!?!?!?? When the car gets unstuck. Sweet.

More macro

Boy, I'm gettin' behind... I should have been taking pictures but we were

Watching a movie.

Quiet and broken

MACRO challenge catch-up

Since I'm behind, I thought i'd put 2 or 3 up each day until I'm caught up.

Yo, Mamas!

It's a llama!

This is my first stab(Pun!) at needle felting. I love it! So fun and...satisfying to see the animal emerge from a ball of wool. I think it freaks LO out a little. I'm sure she's saying to herself,"What does she have against llamas that she would work a VooDoo doll?"

A morning of painting together

Thought I would include this one, too. I took it when my auto-focus focused on LO's reflection.

THURSDAY is RECIPE DAY!!!

KINDERGARTEN ROLLS

2 T Yeast
½ C Warm water
Mix in a bowl and let stand until bubbly

1 ½ C Water
1/3 C Honey
1/3 C Oil
1 ½ t Salt
Mix and add to yeast mix

3 C Organic unbleached flour
3 C Organic whole wheat flour
ADD 1 cup at a time and mix well.

Turn onto floured surface and knead for 1o minutes until elastic.
Lightly oil and set in a bowl.
Cover and put in a warm place until doubled in volume.

Punch down and let the kids enjoy playing with it for awhile! Then make into rolls.
Place rolls on baking sheet and BAKE at 350 for 20-25 minutes
Eat warm with lots of organic butter! Yummy!

Here’s a good recipe for making homemade butter. Fun for when you have a few kids around. There’s lots of shaking so be ready to get in your arm workout for the day! LO had a great time with the bread dough-such a great tactile experience!- and smooshing the butter!

Yippie! A Macro photo challenge!

Well, better late then never, but I'm jumping on the

bandwagon! I think I figured I can get a bit of limited macro happening on my camera. Its a crap "kit" lens. Can't wait to invest in a really good one. I was spoiled by an old macro lens I had years ago.... What a wonderful thing.

I love a photography or painting challenge! If you know of any others, let me know! Thanks much and here's the first one:

No such thing as GLOBAL WARMING! Nah..

Well, from what I've seen and heard from other blogs and comments, We're not the only ones "re-visiting" winter!





On a totally different note, I just posted a meme but it posted under yesturday's post. What gives with that?! Is it because I started writing it yesturday? I'm new to the blogging thing and still learning... Anyone know how I can post an older entry on the day that I'm actually posting? Am I even making sense?!?!?

OI!



Ima Geek

IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK! Our Spring was going along swimmingly as it did last year(which prompted me to write the "Spring" post below).
I was ready to take the snow tires off the car.
I put away the down coats and broke out the mud gear.
The kids and I set out the deck furniture and copper fire pit.
We planted some starts inside!
There was a wee bit of actual spring springing! To correspond with the Spring activities we were doing!
I tried on my springish clothes to see if they are loose now(finally lost the baby weight)!
I WAS CONTEMPLATING A PEDICURE!!
I WAS ABOUT TO SHAVE WINTER'S GROWTH OFF MY LEGS, BY CROTCHITY!!!

And now it's dumping snow on us! Another foot of it is predicted! All afterschool activities canceled! Almost died drivin in town today!

'Spose I could say, yea! More sledding! More skate skiing! And we will enjoy it while we can... but what a TEASE! Screws with my head!

*sigh*

Homeschooling Mom Myths

I dig MEMEs!



Here's one I've had for awhile on Homeschooling Mom myths:





DO YOU BELIEVE THE STEREOHYPE?




Homeschoolin' moms:




rise before the sun-Always in the winter and never in the summer ;)




drive mini-vans- I've always hated those things! I'm loving my Subaru Legacy-first new car I ever owned. I do love Pathfinders, though. And I gotta say those mini coopers are just cool but not practical for Alaska.




wear denim jumpers- Ugh. Are they even still around?




And clogs- Do Danskos count?




wear turtlenecks- I don't bother with the turtleneck, I just wear a dickie. That and the 2 above make a fetching outfit. Sexaaaaaaayyyyy!










have long hair- Trying to, at least. Wacky curly. Usually shoulder length , sometimes longer, somethimes shorter depending on it's mood that day...




are all fundamentalist Christians-Hell , no. We're spiritual, seeking and intend to learn about the worlds different religions.




are all hippies with free range children named Rain Puddle, Patchouli and Star Flower- If hippy means tree huggin', eco-friendly, free spirited, liberal, trying to live a simpler more meaningful and fulfilling life, then YES! Sky and River we're baby names we considered.




wear dresses to our ankles- Skirts under the knee with pants underneath! Once or twice a year I get to play dress up and wear a gown!







-and our kids- are always in our pajamas- When I'm home, off go the clothes and I'm into a tee-shirt and my Juicy Couture sweats(one of 3 pairs-expensive but they last forever!) When LO comes home, off with the clothes and on with a tutu, "fancy" dress, twirly skirt( and it MUST twirl!) or bathing suit, or all of thee above! Oh, and fairy wings of course!




are extreme right wing- My father was to the right of Attila The Hun. I'm a liberal. I'm a MOMMA FOR OBAMA!!!!!!!




never watch TV- Kill your television! and adopt NETFLIX! We have no TV reception or cable and that's fine with us. We LOVE our movies, though!!! Silly for em! Big ass TV and surround sound.




Bake our own bread- My husband is an amazing pastry chef and the best baker around although he's no longer in that line of work. He's been banned from creating goodies except for special occasions!




Are constantly pumpin out the kids- I'm a member of the have 2 natural and if you want more, ADOPT club.





don't allow our kids out of the house during school - Oh, Puh-lease




keep our drapes closed during the day- Wha???????






What do YOU think?!?

MUD monkey!

A visual for yesturday's post...

SPRING REALIZED

In the heart of a seed,

Buried deep so deep,

A dear little plant

Lay fast asleep.

Wake, said the sun,

And creep into the light.

Wake, said the voice

Of the raindrops bright.

The little plant heard,

And arose to see

What the wonderful

Outside world might be.

~K. Brown

Here in ALASKA, that season between winter and summer is referred to as “Break-up”. Until this time last year-until I saw through the eyes of innocence and wonder , there was no “Springtime!” for me here. Break-up signified the thaw of our Alaskan snow-pack: MUD. Dirty snow melting into an omnipresent ooze. Murky oily puddles, asphalt implosions pocking roads everywhere. I would long to hike the ridges still hidden under snow as I looked at the mountains from our front deck. I would morn the vanishing ski trails and kick myself for not getting out there more often when the snow was glorious. Break-up meant dormant brown trees juxtaposed against a grey sky. A world suspended. A seemingly endless wait for that sudden burst of green, the warmer days, and dry ground. I would tell folks, “DO NOT visit during break-up! It’s just UGLY here. Everything is dead this time of year- not representative of this beautiful place!”. I never knew just how much life was exploding around me until I took the time to slow down, to look a little closer, to join LO on her level in exploring our world. That spring, for the first time, the words “dead , ominous, and depressing” did not come to my mind. Words “waking –rebirth- fresh –and new” took root instead. Break-up evolved into Spring Time -a time of quiet, gentle growth and discovery. I made a promise to myself that I would not taint LO’s experiences with my own judgment and succeeded in getting us outside each day, no matter what. We distilled our outside nature experiences down to the small nature table we created by our large front windows. A silky of white and one of brown were entwined and laid out to represent the surrounding mountain terrain emerging from the snow. Each week we pulled more and more of the “snow” silky away after taking walks and assessing the changes outside. We noted how the days were slowly becoming longer , how the sunlight changed around us , and the different way it cast itself in alpine-glow(or “elfin -glow”, as DEA would say when she was a toddler)on the mountains in the mornings and evenings. We set out little tufts of dryer lint, yarn and pet fur for the birds to discover and use for their nests. On our nature table, we set a decorative nest and eggs. LO and DEA put together a see-through birdhouse and placed it in the upper corner of our living room window in the hopes of viewing bird life. (We’re still waiting to for a bird family to move in!) Around Easter, with snow still thigh deep, we stomped down trails throughout the property with our snow-shoes and examined the buds on the trees for signs of life. To bring a little of spring inside our house we gathered various branches to force in a vase. LO was so excited every morning to see the changes from the previous day. We guessed at what would be emerging from those tight tiny buds. Pussywillows? Alder leaves? Slowly the buds began to unfold releasing those fluffy grey puffs and bright green baby leaves! On a slower scale, the same miraculous stirring went on outside. The rapidly melting snow and the ensuing mud didn’t seem so onerous anymore but became great fun rivulets cascading down the driveway and onto our road. The puddles were just begging to be jumped in and many mud pies were baked. We walked hand in hand seeing, hearing and smelling the fecundity of the life coming back to our world, day after day. LO and DEA, reveled in this wet muddy world. They helped me to realize that fun and excitement and beauty could be found outside on even the dreariest days. There was no more “rain rain go away” for us. We simply threw on the rain gear and heralded the return of life.

CHOCOLATE BUNNIES=HOLLOW

Our family celebrates and rejoices in SPRING. EeeeeeeeeeEASTER......Meh.“Holidays” have become so tired anymore. Especially when you don’t adhere to any particular religious doctrine. Easter-another capitalistic bull-shit holiday. Easter-the epitome of obnoxious. The time of year when i could just PUKE pastels. I’ve decided that for next year I’m gonna get all Martha Stewarty and make my own damn chocolate bunnies.
Shopping for Easter basket paraphernalia and the obligatory chocolate bunny at our local Big-Box Mart proved to be a surreal experience. I passed, unenthused, through aisle upon aisle of chintzy stuffed chicks and lambs, fussy foo-foo dresses, pastel schmunskies, and then on to the Isle of Chocolate Bunny Rabbit Sarcophagi . By the time I was halfway down the aisle I was wholly freaked. Repugnant rabbits! The eyes, oh those Blue and yellow EYES! Who’s the miscreant who decided on sticking candy eyes on the bunnies?!? Manic and Marty Feldmannesque! Those ocular orbits were on the verge of exploding forth from their cranial confection. They goggle all around in different directions like a chameleon’s! Those Psychedelic eyes… staring off at some other realm of existence. Those poor bastards must have eaten the brown acid… Chagrinned, I grabbed two of the least demented bunnies of the lot. "Parsnip Pete" to be exact. A kid’s gotta have a chocolate bunny in their Spring Basket, right?

Upon receipt of her basket, my youngest one picked up and considered her Parsnip Pete for a moment… and promptly plucked off its eyes and ate them. “See! Now they’re friendly." She then asked her sister if she could “ have yoursez eyes?”

Nope. Next year no more carny prizes. Just meaningful things. Homemade bunnies. My husband is a former/eternal pastry chef for Christsakes. Milk chocolate for the 4 year old. White chocolate for the 13 year old. And one for my hubby made with a Mayan flare! Ancho and cayenne! Chipotle!
They will be ROCKIN’.

THE Quintessential Waldorf-esque Book!

I have read many of the standard Waldorf recommended books i.e. Children at Play, You Are Your Child's First Teacher, Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, etc. All are great- but my beyond doubt favorite is Heaven on Earth, by Sharifa Oppenheimer.





It is so beautifully written-a smoother read with a more modern and applicable feel then Children at Play. I found this book to be almost poetic, and it just reaches out to stimulate all your senses! What I really appreciate about Heaven on Earth is that it is not a step by step guide book to change. Reading this book is the empowerment and encouragement of a gentle yet powerful evolution. Along the way, the author enfolds you in a wonderful symbiosis as she works with you to journal ideas and inspirations from the readings. This has helped me immensely as far as organization and planning goes in the evolution of my own family's lifestyle.

It's a very comprehensive read with great side bar notes that have helped me retain the info(I have Attention Deficit Disorder). They are also very useful for quick reference.
And the black and white photos in the book are just fabulous and really capture the essence of childhood.

Inspiring!

THE BEGINING

"Waldorf education addresses the child as no other education does. Learning, whether in chemistry, mathematics, history or geography, is imbued with life and so with joy, which is the only true basis for later study. The textures and colors of nature, the accomplishments and struggles of humankind fill the Waldorf students' imaginations and the pages of their beautiful books. Education grows into a union with life that serves them for decades.
By the time they reach us at the college and university level, these students are grounded broadly and deeply and have a remarkable enthusiasm for learning. Such students possess the eye of the discoverer, and the compassionate heart of the reformer which, when joined to a task, can change the planet." ~Arthur Zajonc, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics, Amherst College



Welcome! I am a mommy, Massage Therapist, artist, seeker...living in a mountainous hanging valley nestled 2000ft above another valley in south central Alaska. This blog will be about my family and our experiences- with an emphasis on Waldorf education and how I'm implementing it into our lifestyle. With each passing year I realize how many details I forget over time and the fear of loosing those precious "gems" has prompted me to get this stuff documented. So here I go.

Earlier this year with a desire to add a little more purposeful structure to the daily life of LO and Mommy, I began researching basic preschoolish/home school activities. I delved further into Waldorf Education, a pedagogical philosophy that has resonated with me for years. The Waldorf approach emphasizes the role of the imagination and the arts in learning, developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component. It’s overarching goal is to provide young people the basis with which to develop into moral and integrated individuals and to aid every child in the unfolding of his or her unique destiny. It has been fascinating and infinitely rewarding to see this philosophy at work in not only LO’s life but in the heart of our home. We are much more attuned to the natural rhythms of everyday life, each other and the miraculous cycles throughout the year that lay the foundations of learning and encourage living more of a back to basics life. Early childhood is such a wondrous and magical time. I’m blessed to be a witness and accomplice in LO’s exploration of the world.

I believe our world would better a better place if Waldorf was our primary educational paradigm. I'm hoping to learn from others as well as to spread some enlightenment.