Mermaid Crowns for Summer

Isla has a Summer birthday, so I'm thinking about making these crowns at her party for the craft/take home party favor.

Spring Nature Table - May

Paradise, This Place We Call Home...

Isla was really excited to surf the other day, so we got her all suited up and she paddled out with Daddy.





While they surfed, Lyr and I played in the sand and cheered them on:



After they caught about a dozen waves...







...we spotted dolphins! How exciting. I love being out in the water with dolphins, so I was thrilled my daughter was having that experience:



But wait! Did you see that? Three WHALES decided to cruise on by. Now my child is absolutely living my dream. I have never been that close to a whale, and she gets to have the experience of literally feeling the mist from their spray in her face! This is one of the best moments of my life, to see my sweet four year-old out in the ocean with three beautiful whales:









She will only realize the magnitude of this experience when she's older. Right now, it was fun and maybe a little magical, but only as magical as nearly everything is to her at the moment: a minute or two after swimming with the whales, she ran up to me on the beach, breathless and beaming, proudly proclaiming, "Mommy! You'll never BELIEVE this...I dunked my HEAD underwater!!!" Ah, yes you did, you amazing little person. You dunked your head under the water and that was awesome, too.


**All photographs, besides Lyr as Sand Centipede, were taken by Mike Billgren, and I believe he and his wife Alma also take family portraits in fun settings. You can find them on Facebook, or leave a comment here.**

The Best Pregnant Lady Treat... Ever!

Ok, so truthfully, I am not even pregnant right now. But that didn't stop the giddy feelings of excitement when THIS BOX showed up on my doorstep:



Although I adore Anna, co-creator of the Mama Lana Box, I promised her and myself I would be 100% brutally honest about my impression of the boxes. Well, I am happy to say that she and her sister-in-law have easily surpassed my hopes and expectations. I won't ruin the whole surprise, but I will let you take a little peek at a few of the treats that were inside this box:



Mother of two little ones, and avid parenting enthusiast, I thought I knew all of the cool mama-to-be gifts and luxuries, but it turns out there are still some amazing surprises out there. Among them, one of my favorite items from the box, is this book, which is described as "[a] global treasury of age-old wisdom for pregnancy, birth, and childcare brimming with inspiring suggestions for the modern mother - from ways to choose your child's name to planting a birth tree and using Feng Shui to plan your baby's sleeping place":



Although I have to say, my favorite part is these cards. On one side is a beautiful, inspiring image by one of four gifted artists, and on the other side, an empowering affirmation and meditation. I have never seen anything like this, and I wish I would have had these for the labors of my first two pregnancies. (Every box has a few cards, so at the end of your pregnancy you have a complete set.):



Soulful, sweet, and so fun, the Mama Lana Box is the perfect way to honor pregnancy, the beautiful goddess mama-to-be, and the growing baby. I can't wait to buy them for my lovely pregnant friends (you know who you are;)) and maaaaaybe, one day, myself!

And just in case you're in the market, use this code to get $10 off each box purchased anytime before August 10th: SaveShareClub1305-WRA6VJIRRY7V

Baby Rattan Love

One of my closest friends just gave birth to a sweet little girl a couple of months ago, so I have had baby on the brain a bit more than usual. I can't help seeing everything through the mama-lens. For example, how sweet would this little bamboo tiki cart be as a diaper station? Then, when Baby is out of diapers it can become an art-supplies organizer... Just sayin' ;)

The Nest!

It really is Spring! I am beyond thrilled about the sweet little nest two birdies decided to build in Isla's bike helmet.



We always hang the girls' helmets up right outside our front door, and a few weeks ago we noticed a couple of birds flying back and forth, carrying grass and twigs. We have been lucky to watch them build their nest bit by bit and now... Look - eggs!



They are so darling, they almost look fake. It will be so amazing if they hatch and we get to see teeny, tiny baby birds in there...

MamaLana Bliss Boxes!

My dear, dear mama friend Anna, together with her sister-in-law Lauren, has created an amazing company: a first-ever subscription box service for mamas to be! I am not surprised; she is incredible. I am, however, feeling the need to get pregnant again so I can subscribe to the mail-order bliss boxes for each month of pregnancy.

About the boxes, they say, "We want to help make pregnancy inspirational, transformational and beautiful. The Mama Lana box is the ideal pregnancy purchase, either as a gift to self or to an expecting loved one. Each Mama Lana box includes essentials from six categories: mind, body, soul, belly, baby, and bliss. At Mama Lana, we work hard to make sure you get exceptional value on excellent products. The total retail value of a Mama Lana box ranges from at least $65 to $100+. We are a luxury subscription box service – ours is not a paid advertising box or one filled with teensy samples. Our team of experts ensure we're choosing the best products for each month of pregnancy. In addition to the savings you get through our lower prices, you also save time and worry. All the overwhelming sifting of pregnancy products has been done for you with our boxes.

We deeply believe in women's wisdom. We seek to empower mamas, and help them embrace the beautiful transformation of motherhood. We don't push any particular philosophy when it comes to pregnancy, birth or parenting. We are here to celebrate the mama: her intuition, her choices, her journey. We believe in each and every product we put in our Mama Lana boxes. The companies we choose as our partners all make the world a better place. As a whole, they are fair trade, organic, green, and socially conscious. We donate a percentage of every box purchased to Madre - www.madre.org - a nonprofit that advances women's human rights internationally. When you help mothers, you help the world."

Wow, right?!

Also, I am honored to have some of my jewelry included in the mama boxes!

I will be writing up another post reviewing the boxes, once I see one, but knowing Anna, I'm have no doubt they're as inspired as they sound.

Play Food from Nature

The best play food has been either things my children could manipulate (wool roving, play doh, etc.) or things from nature (leaves, flowers, or seed pods). We have some fun seed pods in our neighborhood, but for more variety I ordered a couple more from etsy. Today the girls fed me chocolate-marshmallow ice-cream with nutmeg spice, all the ingredients for which are pictured above :)

Spring Nature Table

Mother's Day Gift Idea - Strawberry-Sage Lemonade

The girls and I made this strawberry-sage lemonade as a gift for my mother-in-law. We used a saved juice bottle and dressed it up by gluing fabric hearts to the front and rubber-banding a fabric swatch to the top.

A Caterpillar's Journey Through Life, and Our Backyard

At school, little I is learning about caterpillars and their amazing transformation. Today she came home and started playing in our backyard. After a few minutes, she came rushing over to me.

"Mom! Mommy! Looooooook!!!" She held this box out for me to see:



"Baby caterpillars! And I made them a nice, cozy place to live while they get ready to turn into butterflies!" Those Giant Impatiens plants are amazing for their popping seed pods. Not too much later I was shown the chrysalis, courtesy of the Trumpet Flower Tree:



Before we knew it, a beautiful butterfly had emerged:



It landed right on her hand, before flying off for a drink from our Pride of Madeira plant:



So incredible to see how what she is learning in school truly lives in her is such a creative, wonder-filled way!

Tide Pools

NatureToto - How to Start Your Own Group

Our mamatoto group is so incredible! I feel so lucky to have these amazing mamas and little ones in my life. I think I already posted about the Nature-toto group we started, but I have been asked so many questions about it lately that I thought I'd post again. We have a set time each week and meet in a new spot every time. We've gone apricot picking, blueberry picking:



on wilderness adventures to places like Ellwood, the beach, Cold Springs, Rocky Nook, and Lane Farms:







to go apple picking and mini donkey brushing at Seeing Spot Farms:



and, to top it all off, we went on a mamas and kids only NatureToto camping trip at Big Caliente!





I highly suggest creating a nature adventure group with your circle of mamas and little friends. What we've learned works best is 1.keeping it consistent. This means same time, same day, so it's easier to remember. 2.keeping it frequent. This is key. If you try to make sure everyone can go, you will hardly ever end up meeting. If it's every week, then it's not a huge deal if somebody can't make it. 3.create a groupMe texting circle, so you can all keep in touch for any last minute changes or check in about the location.

Happy adventures!

Outdoor Music Station

Inspired by other photos on Pinterest, we finally talked Daddy into making one for the backyard:

Fairy Sunday in Spring

Spring has definitely arrived at our home! Two sweet little birds are even building their nest in one of the bike helmets we have hanging right outside our front door. This morning we had such a sweet circle, and Lyr was pretending it was her birthday. (We were at a friend's birthday party yesterday). She realllllly wanted cupcakes for her "birthday" so we decided to make a whole day of it, and had a fairy party. We sang fairy songs like "Fairy Ring" by Maria Sangoilo and made gluten free fairy cakes:



*To make the cakes:
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (we like Bob's Red Mill)

2 eggs
sprinkle of salt
1/2 T baking powder
1/2 stick softened butter
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c milk or 1/2 1/2
4 oz. greek yoghurt

Mix together all ingredients and pour into silicone muffin cups. Bake at 350. When cool, frost with sunflower seed butter or cream cheese. Top with fresh, edible flowers and/or edible gluten free butterflies (find them on etsy).

They were a success!



Serve them with tea!

After the tea party, we told this fairy story while I wrapped a twig loom with yarn. Then the girls searched for flowers to make a fairy loom of their own. They found a special spot in our garden to set it up.



I'm planning on reading "Good Night, Fairies" by Kathleen and Michael Hague at bedtime. Such a sweet day!

Making Pie

When we make pie, we play the Kyra Willey "Making Pie" song, and it is the coziest kind of happiness. If you let the kids wash and chop the fruit, roll the dough for the crust and then cut it out with cookie cutters they feel especially proud of the finished treat.

Tuesday is "Red Gnomie Day" at Our House

Wool Felt Paintings

Start with a big piece of wool, and either clip it to the chalkboard, spread it out over the rug, or order a ready-made board (ours is from www.waldorfsupplies.com). Offer your little one small puffs of felting wool in different colors:


And let her make her masterpiece!



Ta Da!

March 11

Today was so sweet, and one of those days where everything falls into place. I worked for a few hours while the girls were at school, then after pickup we went to the grocery store. Not prepared with a list, we did the usual - just grabbed what looked good. Butternut squash, some nice cheeses, rhubarb, etc. When we got home, L took a nap while Isla and I began to prepare the dinner we would bring our friends and their new baby. Sage and Butternut Squash Mac N Cheese

*Apologies to the organized types, there are no measurements, but if you try letting go, and just go for it, I bet it will turn out amazing!

You will need:
butternut squash (med. size)
2 T butter fresh sage (a big handful, washed and torn into small pieces)
a splash of 1/2 1/2
two egg yolks
one small container part skim ricotta cheese
a big handful of shredded mozzarella cheese
a big handful of shredded parmesan cheese plus more for the top
1 and a half c vegetable stock
olive oil
salt
pepper

Peel and chop up the squash into bite-sized pieces. Toss with olive oil and a little salt. Bake at 450 for half an hour or so, until soft. Cook a small bag of pasta (we used egg noodles) according to the directions on package while squash is cooking. Remove squash and let cool a little. Turn the oven down to 375. In a small saucepan, heat up butter until just bubbling. Add the sage and cook until just starting to brown (five minutes or so). Add the stock to the pot. Smoosh up the squash a little with a potato masher, then add the stock mixture. In another bowl, mix up the ricotta, parmesan, 1/2 1/2, and egg yolks, and a little salt and pepper. Layer (kind of like lasagne) the ricotta mixture, squash mixture, pasta in a baking dish (we used two so we'd have dinner for our friends as well as our family), and top the last layer with some extra shredded parmesan. Cook on 375 until the top is kind of golden and crispy-looking. We also made garbanzo bean and brown rice flour bread, chia-seed pudding, and a big kale-carrot-avocado salad, and put it all in a big basket. On the way, we listened to the audio story "Visiting the New Baby" (highly recommend! Check out SparkleStories.com, under the "At Home with Martin and Sylvia" section) which beautifully mirrored our afternoon! My favorite part: Isla mindfully picking the bugs off of each leaf of sage before carefully tearing it up into the perfect-sized pieces <3

March 10

So far today we had circle time inside, a nature walk on the bluffs, play time on the beach, a picnic in the teepee, garden harvesting, and painting. I painted with the girls and finally got some daily/weekly/yearly rhythms up on the fridge, above their art table. I'm feeling happy and inspired and grateful today, and now I'm off to study group :)