last week: learning & playing

     Life feels so full right now, not in a rushed, frenetic, stressful way, but in a fulfilling, energizing, refreshing, and inspiring way.... I'm totally loving it.  Last was a good week, and last Monday seems like such a long time ago.  I thought I'd share a recap (which I'll do here from time to time, partly for myself, because sometimes I wonder, where did the time go?)
     Most days we begin with our morning routine of waking (well, waking for the kids - I'm up from the ripe hour of 4:45 AM with Atom!), teeth, face, make bed, get dressed, have breakfast, & do some work (not Phoenix of course).  All this happens in a fairly stress-less leisurely manner unless we have some place to be first thing in the morning (meaning by 9:30, 10, or even 10:30).  Then I usually have to find myself saying to Adobe a whole bunch of times, "Come on, we gotta get into hustle mode!  Move along or we won't make it to x, y or z."  And I try to stay calm, and not yell :)  (That's where the meditation comes in handy remember?  Being present and aware of how I say something.  The same exact thing said with a genuine smile sounds so different.)  Typically, morning routine goes from around 8:15-10:30/11, but there's a flex & flow to it, just the way I like.  And my girl is definitely a night-owl and late riser by nature, just like her momma.
     So then, after all or most parts of the morning routine, last week went like this:

Monday - Morning play outside in backyard clubhouse.  It was totally gorgeous out, so Adobe took a bunch of stuff out into the grape arbor and made a really cute club house, and she and Phoenix played outside for awhile.  Then, I called Jeneen to see what they were up to, and we decided to go join her, Stash, Haiku, Rilke, & Amelie at River Farm Garden Park in Alexandria.  

What an absolutely beautiful spot.  The kids had a real blast, making house, picking flowers, exploring, and frolicking barefoot.  Amelie's mom Danielle joined us, and we had great talks.  We stayed for about four hours.   

Tuesday - We went to the homeschool drama club performance of The Crazy Zoo.  This class is led by the fabulous Joshua Rich who creates a new play each session for the group based on the characters they want to play.   Joshua also happens to be a fabulous pianist (sounds a bit like George Winston) so if you're looking for some new good, soothing music, check him out.  Afterwards we went to Hayes Park where the kids all played for about 3 hours.  Phoenix absolutely loves chasing after all the big kids, trying to keep up, alternating between boys and girls.  The whole time at the park, he was off doing his own thing, alone, or with the other kids, and only asked for me once, to help him get on the swing.  Then, on the way home we had a fabulous curb find of two playskool cars and a trike to add to our collection of kiddie vehicles. 

Wednesday - In the morning, we went to a class at Hidden Pond Nature Center.  The kids got to drag the borders of the pond with nets and see what living creatures they could find.  

My first find was a dead turtle :(  But, I got to bring him home so I can dry him out (aka let him rot) and do something cool with the shells.)  We also found freshwater shrimp, a backswimmer, and a damselfly larvae.  Here I learned something new. The damselfly is very similar to a dragonfly, but their bodies are much thinner, and usually when they're at rest, their wings are folded back whereas dragonflys' are out to the sides.) 

     Others found a live turtle, a couple small fish, and other cool stuff.  The guide had containers at pond side to hold the critters, and then, we went back inside the main building where he identified each species, put stuff under the microscope and had a cool setup with a camera looking into the microscope that showed the image on a screen we could all see.  It was very high quality & crystal-clear image.  Super cool.  Then, we played at the playground there for a while, snacked on our lunch, came home to defuse for a few, and then Adobe went to her voice lesson with our friend Kisha, wife of Groovy Nate.  Kisha is helping Adobe prepare a song for her upcoming Talent Show party.

Thursday - We met up at Melanie's house with the families we are doing our collaborative vibe with.  The mommas talked, the kids played.  A good time was had by all. We solidified a little more what our collective will be looking like as we get it going to the point of rotation so that 2 or 3 of us are 'off' during that time.  For the next couple more weeks, we will all be together.  It is so awesome to see the kids of differing ages all playing together, not segregating themselves.  Phoenix, who is the youngest, was going between hanging with the 'big boys' (a 4-yo & two 9-yos), and being babied by the girls (who are turning 6 and 8, on the same day, two Fridays from now!)

Friday - We took a workshop on the Chinese Lunar New Year, offered by Stacy Clark.  That was fun.  She read a story about the Chinese Lunar Year, meanings & symbols, the kids got to make a few different crafts and sample traditional Chinese New Year foods - dumplings and tangerines.  Then, we ran a few errands, and went to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour.  We were supposed to meet up with a couple of friends, but that fell through, so we came home and chilled out for the rest of the day.

Saturday - Adobe had the last class of a drama class she's been taking through Encore Stage.  They did a portion of the Wizard of Oz, and Adobe was the wicked witch.  They had a performance for parents at the end of class.  (I'll have to get pics from our friend - I was shooting video & will share when I get it uploaded.) Afterwards, her friend Katy came over and they hung out, Phoenix slept, Atom was running errands, & I had some alone time for a bit... (That's when I began working on this post, but didn't get to finish... Domestic duties were calling me.)  In the evening, we went to our friends' house in Mt. Rainier - Sara & Domingo.  Great conversation, lovely raw food dinner, yerba maté, fun, & laughter.  And some healing energy. 

Sunday - I spent the day doing a Reiki I, II, & III Master/Teacher workshop.  Very exciting to tap into something I have felt instinctively and begin down this path.  More on that in another post sometime... Adobe had a double-birthday party to go to, and Phoenix and Daddy got some bonding time. 

      I look forward to the day when we can figure out a way for Daddy to have more freedom in his life too.  He has a grueling job as a union welder, working 6 am to 2:30, or 4:30 when they're pulling tens.  Sometimes even longer.  Playing with fire and moving and lifting lots of really heavy stuff, while being really cold about half the year.  I know it's hard to go bust his tail all day every day when we're having fun.  Hopefully as I get my business going more over the next couple years, we'll have more stability and find a different way for him to make a living, hopefully being his own boss.  In the meantime, I think a new job will come his way this year that is not going to be as hard on him.  I'm willing it to happen.

     Atom, I love you, and we really appreciate all the hard work you do, even if we're not always good at showing it; we know that as it stands right now, we owe a large part of our freedom to your hard work & self discipline!  Thank you!!!

new traditions

it's been awhile since i've posted, but as we approach the season of rebirth, i feel inspired, and i guess it is a good time to begin again.  this is a great time of year, when everyone gets in the giving spirit, but it's always felt a bit fictitious to me, a bit suspicious, a bit random.  i mean, even if you're christian, & you're ostensibly celebrating the birth of jesus christ, it has been shown that in all likelihood, his birth was not on december 25, and perhaps not in this month, or even in this season.  i figure that this holiday was created to give the economy a little end-of-year stimulation.  i believe most of the other american holidays were created for a similar reason, and thus, i have always felt a there is a lack of connection on these holidays with anything much more than consumerism.  the associated sentiments are nice, but i don't really need an excuse to show love or gratitude to those close to me.  and i certainly don't need to stress about how much i can afford to spend and who i need to get presents for.  what about random acts of kindness?  it was different when i was a teenager and my dad would just hand me the credit card to shop for our family and friends, and i didn't really have to think about the bill on the other side.  as an adult faced with the reality of living check to check, the whole scenario didn't quite make sense.  so for years, i simply declined to participate. 

well, of course, when you have children, that's a bit harder to do.  we've struggled with how to deal with this. we talk about what's really worth celebrating at this time of year, and have avoided stressing out and spending frivolously just 'because' that's what other folks do at this time of year.  at the same time, we don't want to be scrooges, and we do want to take advantage of extra time spent together during this time.  and of course, giving and receiving gifts is fun.

so this year, we're starting a new tradition.  rebirth & the return of light - solstice to new years'.  we will recognize the solstice in some way - perhaps a nice dinner or a small party.  it may not be on the solstice since that's a monday, not sure yet.  solstice is worth celebrating because it signals the beginning of winter - a time of rest & renewal for all life - when everything goes dormant & prepares to spring forth in the warmer weather.  this is a time that's great for hibernating indoors, going for invigorating walks through the woods when your favorite spots look so different, having warm tea, and snuggling together by the fire.  even more cause for celebration is the fact that  little by little,  daylight returns & the days begin to get longer. 

then, to continue the celebration, in honor of reflection & renewal, we look forward to another year together as a family, & we will show our love for one another through gift-giving on new years' eve.  that way, we get more time to make gifts if we like during winter break when everything slows down, and shop for gifts after christmas, when everything's on sale.  then everyone can get a little more of what they want, & we can spend a little less.  brilliant, right?

the other component is the tree.  it is sad to me how many large, beautiful trees are cut down every year just to be enjoyed for a couple weeks in someone's home, then to be discarded onto the curb for trash pickup.  (i'm not bashing you if you do this, but just think about it...) we plan to buy & decorate a live tree, which we can keep  inside until spring if we like, and then plant it in our yard.  we can enjoy it year-round, and watch it grow (for as long as we live here), and let it serve as a reminder of the fun times we had in 2009.

we'll see how it goes this year, and maybe this will be our family tradition for years to come.  whatever you do, think about what it really means to you.  and if you're able, donate something to those in need, in whatever way that makes sense to you.  i am donating a bit of the money i would spend elsewhere during the holiday season to charities that support  causes that touch my heart.  more on that in another post...

happy holidays everyone!

(the image above was taken at alexandria's annual scottish christmas parade in 2006.  the gentleman was a bagpiper and epitome of what i think the real santa would look like.  © artis mooney 2006)