Zach Aboard

The China Doll Saga

2012-01-24T09:38:00.000-05:00

We were browsing the aisles of the thrift store, Naia in on my back, looking for something or other. And she grabbed it. She reached out and took a hold of the China doll and would. not. let. go. For $2 we brought her home but when I stripped her down to launder her dress, Zach noticed that her little China foot was broken. Sharp edges are no good for a wee girl to play with.

Not to fear, Dr. Brother is here... Zach whipped out his medical kit (a holiday gift from 2011) and went right to work.

Naia looked on seriously, putting her trust in big brother to do the right thing. The China doll got the full treatment, getting disinfected, patched up, and set in a baby sock cast. And Naia took her back with a sweet kiss.

But our tale doesn't end there. Zach told me that he would really love to have a China doll too. He said that there was a pile of them at the thrift store and he scraped together the $2 from his vaults of coins and begged me to take him back to pick one out. Of course, yes, let's do that.

It seemed so simple.

He pawed through that pile of forgotten China dolls at the thrift store and picked out the perfect one. She had no broken bits, golden hair, blue eyes,and was ready for a new home. He cradled her in his arms, deciding that her name would be Mary (and that until Naia could decide otherwise hers could be Laura... as in the sisters from the Little House books) and we walked to check out.

That's when I heard the voice. It was slow motion, like a bad dream. I could almost see the words traveling in the air, moving towards my boy but I couldn't stop them.

"What's that boy doing with a doll? Boys don't play with dolls!"

This was not said under her breath. It wasn't said to her friend. The older woman in the red coat looked my boy and I in the eye and out of the clear blue spit her ignorant venom at us directly, loud and clear.

Here's where you need to know something about me. I am a bitch. Even in circumstances less heated than this, I tend to default to biting, bitchy, and blunt with a side of sarcastic when appropriate. But I had these two little people with me. I am the example of how to handle conflict. I was very conscious of this. It took every cell in my body not to verbally slice this woman open.

"Of course boys can play with dolls!" I said sharply looking her dead in the eye with a very serious mama bear look.

And yet she continued.

"Sure but boys can't play with GIRL baby dolls. That doll is a girl, what's he doing with a girl doll?"

Now my old friend Doug L. gave me the most delicious comeback after the fact via Facebook.
"You should have let her know that it was actually a boy doll. A boy doll with gender identification issues that likes to dress in drag." Boy I wish he was sitting on my shoulder whispering in my ear.

"Excuse me ma'am, my boy can play with whatever he wants. All boys can. And I don't believe we asked for your opinion on the matter."

And I whisked our family to the cash register. I didn't say anything particularly witty or profound. I just wanted to shut her up. But I looked at my boy and I could see the damage was done. He cheeks were flushed. His eyes revealed the hurt. This boy wears his heart on his sleeve.

We talked about it of course. Oh we talked and talked and talked. And I listened a whole lot too. And more than anything we hugged. A lot. For me it was like someone shot a poison arrow into him and there was no way to remove it. In an instant, with a phrase, he was changed.

I wish that was the end of the story, too.

He plucked up later that day with lots of loving from my husband and me. He was happily playing with his new doll at home, making plans, creating a little bed from a Clementine box. I went up to the laundry room to change the loads out. Doug was making dinner with the two kids happily sat on the floor playing with their China dolls Laura and Mary.

I heard the howl from the laundry room. Tears and screams and sobs. Thinking it might just be some pre-bed time witching hour drama I didn't rush down. But I saw he was waving his arms from the cockpit, and cradling that China doll with all his might.

Between the sobs the story came out. Naia, in a fit of toddler enthusiasm, bashed her China doll into his. Mary's face cracked and there was a hole in her cheek. No, no, nooooo.

"Dolly! Dolly! Dolly sad," she pranced around in circles chirping. Not a worry in the world.

The rest of that night was a blur. Again, lots of holding and hugging and listening. But that boy, he amazes me. He really does. After an evening of mourning the sharp words and the cracked doll he bounced back with the delicious resilience of youth that we old folks tend to lose.

(an ice pack for Mary was all his idea)

"I have a great idea mama! Why don't we sew a Batman suit for Mary? That way her cracks will be covered by the bat mask and she can have cool costume too! She's going to look so cool!"

So we're working on the costume (though I may resort to etsy, doll clothes are not in my skill set yet). And we're keeping the China dolls away from the toddler. And we're moving on. We live, we learn, we hug and hold, and we get back up and move forward. But so help this woman if I ever catch her out and about when I am not with my kids.

~this moment~ coloring

2012-01-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

A Friday ritual (most weeks). A single photo capturing a moment from the week(ish). A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

a visit with Joy (or Invasion of the Toddler)

2012-01-16T23:53:00.000-05:00

This is how the scenario played out in my head. I would pack up Zach and Naia around noon and tote them from the grandparents house just a few miles down the road to Joy's place (from An Art Family). I decided I would drive around a little and grab some coffee so that Naia would magically slip into baby slumber on the drive over. Then asleep in the Ergo I would send Zach off to play with the big kids while Joy taught me how to knit.

The problem is she is not a baby anymore, she is a toddler. She toddles, she babbles, she explores everything to the fullest. So there was no nap. She instead sang at the top of her little lungs all the way to Joy's place. And there was no knitting. She instead found ways to make a serious mess of everything she touched.

But there was laughter and catching up and fabulous food (of course fabulous food at Joy's place!) and ideas exchanged and plans made. That's what it's all about. <3

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There is still time to win The Organic Family Cookbook... leave a comment here to enter!

GIVEAWAY - The Organic Family Cookbook!!

2012-01-12T08:16:00.001-05:00

Normally the prospect of following recipes makes me a little dizzy and cross eyed. Add I tend to get a pit in my stomach when I see a recipe that is labeled "healthy". Usually, healthy means no sweets, no wheat, no dairy... no fun! But when I started flipping through The Organic Family Cookbook by Anni Daulter all of that melted away. I was immediately drawn to this beautiful book full of mouth watering photography and equally tantalizing recipes.

You know what's so cool about this book? It's so accessible. You don't have to be a hard core, from scratch kind of person to dive right into these recipes and feel like you are making a healthy change for the better. I was able to dig up many ingredients I already had but never knew what to do with and make some delicious dishes. And none of it felt like "work", it was all good fun and easy too.

My favorite part about this book is all of the little side bars chock full of fun ideas, from crafts to cool party ideas to what you should look for when buying eggs. The side bars in this book are so fabulous they could be a whole other book in themselves!

I let Zach pick the first recipe and surprise, surprise he flipped to the desserts and decided on chocolate chip cookies. I always followed the first recipe Google gives you when making chocolate chip cookies in the past, so I was surprised to see some completely different ingredients for this classic cookie. Did you know you can put healthier ingredients into a regular chocolate chip cookie and your kids will never know? Oh and the touch of adding dark chocolate chips... bliss!

I am so thrilled that Anni has offered to give away a copy of The Organic Family Cookbook to one lucky reader here. All you have to do to enter is head on over to the Organic Family Cookbook Facebook page and hit "like" and leave a comment here letting us know you did. If you are not on Facebook, don't sweat it, just leave a comment here. I will leave comments open until January 19, 2012 and announce a winner here that night. Thank you Anni!

Random.org picked #6 so Abby is the winner! Thank you everyone for entering and thank you Anni!
Abby, please click the "Contact" tab above and email me your contact info. Enjoy!

first snow

2012-01-10T00:45:00.000-05:00

It started in slow motion. Did I just feel? Was that? Nah. Oh yes. Here it comes. Plump, jolly flakes straight out of Central Casting floating from the colorless sky. We were at our farm day but there was plenty of time out there and back home for snow frolicking, catching flakes on tongues, making snowballs, vertically challenged snowmen and the like.

I am not a fan of snow, or cold, or ice, or winter. It's the burden of being a grown up who has experienced prolonged periods in the tropics. There is no charm or nostalgia. There is only wet and slippery and traffic jams and icy docks and a car to clean off when we are already late getting out the door. But once again my little teachers show me how to brush all that aside and just take it for what it is in its purest form right now. Magic.

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(Thanks to all of your kind comments from my last post and those of you who reached out and sent such heartfelt emails - many of which I am still working on returning. Stay tuned for a fun giveaway later this week!)

~this moment~ Plan B

2011-12-30T00:17:00.000-05:00

I need more moments like this one. We all need more moments like this one. Beach, baby, beautiful view, balmy weather, bliss. It's these moments we savor, sometimes with camera in hand and blog at finger tips. But more often than not in the quiet corners of a busy mind.

Busy. That's where I am right now. And that's where I need to be more and more. Busy with the kids. Busy learning new things. Busy with the boat. Busy with work. Busy with new projects. Yes, Cid... that project.

Here's the long and short of it, gears have shifted and the Master Plan has melted into Plan B. Master Plan had us casting off in 2012. But Master Plan had no second child. No baby-turning-into-toddler. No economic down turn. We had a hard time saying goodbye to Master Plan. He was very alluring. He led us on for a long time.

But Plan B understands all of these things. Plan B gets that cruising with a potty trained proto-human will be much better for mental health than cruising with a diaper wearing drunken sailor who is new to planet earth. Plan B gets that all that once-steady work can no longer be counted on and needs to turn into work that you make yourself so you don't need to depend on others. Plan B knows that stringing up new tramps and re-rigging the boat and painting on new non-skid with a tot is nothing short of maddening, especially when you have no Mary Poppins, no family support to take the kids even for an hour. So Plan B says exhale Plan B says create a new to-do list, keep your eye on the prize but don't make yourself crazy in the process. She says 2014 is ok. It will be no less fabulous.

So in the spirit of all that Plan B dictates that we blog less, sleep more, work harder, and find more of these moments. I won't be here regularly. But I will be here... more with the changing wind rather than with the rising tide. Quality over quantity. So dad, you'll need to log into Facebook to see more frequent updates about the kids :)

I hope my 2012 and yours are filled with moments of bliss. Yes, that is a good plan.

how I killed the sewing machine (hohoho)

2011-12-29T01:06:00.000-05:00

The sewing machine and I have had a tenuous relationship at best. I need her. She taunts me. I swear at her. She fusses and jams. We agree to get along for the promise of a cute project. But during the holiday rush she handed me her letter of resignation.

Dear Cindy,
You are a foul mouthed rookie and unworthy of my delicate machinery. I am tired of your crooked stitches and your wobbly cut cloth. I quit.
Sincerely,
Your Sewing Machine

And just like that she left me... mid-project of course. So I thought I would share the items I was working on for the holidays that did her in.

Exhibit A: The cheesey cute matching pajamas

These are your basic re-purposed sweater pants. I got an XXL men's sweater from Goodwill and made the sleeves into pants for Naia and the body into pants for Zach. The machine did not like this. Not one bit.

Exhibit B: Cloth Bags to replace wrapping paper

We had some cloth wrap bags from WrapSacks from years ago, but now that I "know how to sew" I thought I would make a whole bunch in different sizes to have and to hold for years to come and make a trash-free holiday. I used all kinds of fabrics and even a vintage Christmas tablecloth I got at a consignment shop. I think it was the thickness of the tablecloth that did her in. That's when she REALLY started acting up. Or it could have been the ridiculous way I was fudging the hems. Nah... it had to be the thick cloth.

Exhibit C: The Super Hero Collection

Did you know that Batman is an inventor? Yeah, me neither. In the serial story telling sessions that Doug & Zach have night after night, Super Heroes are invented and others are the old school classics. Of the old school Batman is Zach's favorite because according to my husband Bruce Wayne is a famous inventor (and I have to take his word for it because I just don't know about these things, which is ok by me.) Zach wants to be an inventor one day. And so Batman is cool in his world. I scored this Batman sheet at Goodwill ages ago. I made a pair of pajama pants and then made this roll up which I hand sewed first and then as I was trying to finish the inside the machine gave it's final swan dive. SuperJen saved the day and finished it off on her machine just a couple of days before Christmas. You want to see who lives inside the roll up?

Cute eh? No, I didn't paint them myself. I would have to exist in an alternate universe where time has a pause button or I am surrounded by an army of chefs and nannies (ha!). I got them at this etsy shop. They are awesome and the boy is thrilled!

So now I am saving up and researching a new sewing machine, hoping to score one by spring so I can make some cute dresses for the wee girl. Maybe the easter bunny will bring me one?

spiraling in the darkness

2011-12-26T23:00:00.000-05:00

For many winters I have had this vision during the winter solstice. I wanted to borrow from the Waldorf tradition of an advent spiral and make it our own for the longest night, creating a spiral on the beach of driftwood and evergreens and candles. The problem in making this happen in years past was that I couldn't find a suitable place to make it happen and I couldn't find a group of people who were like-minded to share the idea. But this year that all changed. I put it out there to see what would happen and it all magically came together. My friend Cindy totally "got" what I was thinking and graciously offered to host a gathering on Solstice. The people, the weather, the joy of the children, the location, the food, the friendship, the darkness and the light... it all came together so beautifully. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The place...

Getting ready...

Spiraling...

(our fabulous host)

Getting darker...

The longest night...

~this moment~ the longest night

2011-12-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

Happy Solstice

2011-12-21T23:11:00.000-05:00

'tis the season

2011-12-20T00:53:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I float through the days as if looking back on the snapshots as they happen. I can see the memories being made as Zach seems to pick and choose those holiday traditions that hold meaning to him. We didn't have many concrete family holiday traditions growing up, so I am sort of winging it. And I watch and wonder what Zach will hold on to and carry with him when he's grown.

And sweet Naia just cares about the lights. "Lights! Lights! Lights!" She wants to touch them and stare at them and say hi to them.

There are spurts when Naia self entertains and Zach steals away with the Chronicles of Narnia and I'm able to stitch and wax and bake. I go and go, The Grateful Dead and Jimmy Buffett fueling me on the Pandora feeling like I am so on my game.

And then I peek up around the bend from the galley to see why Naia is so quiet and a scene like this one unfolds. Sweet chaos.

Already my mind is drifting to January, that exhale time with no holidays, no parties, no plans, no projects. But I also try to anchor myself in the here and now and savor these moments with these tiny beings bursting with the excitement of the season. They bring me magic. They make it all worth while.

~this moment~

2011-12-16T08:11:00.001-05:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

slow days

2011-12-13T22:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like we're in a slow motion dash to the holidays. So many potential things to see and do and make, but nothing urgent. Motivation is thin. Lists have been checked off for the most part. Things we could do, but do we have to? Do we want to? Sometimes, yes... other times we're just doing some of this like good hibernating bears.

Mostly, I am savoring the sunny goodness of our bubble. Clothes can dry. Children can play. Water kefir can happily ferment.

Things may be slow here in blogland as we spin our way towards the holidays.

~this moment~

2011-12-10T00:07:00.000-05:00

A ~~Friday~~ Saturday (seriously, I had no idea what day it was all day long) ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

better than fish eye soup

2011-12-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

This is that time of year where we all get caught up in the season... picking out special items for our little ones... crafting our fingers off for family and friends... baking and eating like mad... making lists, checking them twice and all that jazz. I have to say first, I don't think there is anything wrong with giving your kids gifts and spoiling the tar out of them. I am very stingy about not buying toys for Zach or Naia during the year. I do not fall prey to the little trinkets at the hardware store or "just one thing" at the market. I am very comfortable saying no day to day. Which is why I don't mind giving generously (yet choosing carefully) for the holidays to my kiddos. With Christmas, Hanukkah, and Solstice all getting equal time in our family we live it up.

But like many parents I want to make sure my kids realize how lucky they are, I want them to be grateful. Back in my day, when I would sneer at the food on my plate and refuse to finish my dinner (my dad would make things like fish eye soup and made meals from a books called A Russian Jew Cooks In Peru, really can you blame me?) My dad would give me the line. You know the one. "There are children starving in China who would kill for your fish eye soup! How could you turn your nose up at a warm meal?!" And like every kid who has been the recipient of this line, I went rummaging for a box and some postage stamps ready and willing to send my soup to those poor kids in China.

The moral of the story? You can not guilt kids into gratitude. Nor can you lecture them. And while you can plan a charitable act for your family... if you the parent are the one who starts it the lesson falls a little flat. I really believe that when kids come up with ideas from their own hearts and minds it sticks with them.

So as I was filling our winter book basket with Astrid Lindgren stories and our anthology of Jan Brett Christmas tales I tossed in a few extra reads. I didn't say anything. I just placed them in the middle of the basket to see what would happen.

I found him one morning curled up with the "catalogs" from Save The Children and Heifer International. I said nothing and went about my business. He finally looked up after a long while. "Mom, are there really kids who can't afford a soccer ball? Or even art supplies?"

Yes that's true of many kids.

"Mom, did you know we can give some family honeybees? We can send them honeybees for a gift and then they will have all that delicious honey and all that wax. It's only $30 mom. Can we do that? Or wait, look at this. a whole flock of baby chicks for only $20! Then they would always have eggs to eat. We need to send chickens too so they won't be hungry anymore."

Bingo.

Before long he was scurrying about his room and came up with a bag of HotWheels and tears in his eyes. "I don't need ALL of these cars. We should send them along with our honeybees. Those kids should at least get some cars to play with."

"Oh Z, that's a very nice thing to do. But why are you crying?"

"Because sometimes doing the right thing makes you feel happy and sad at the same time."

The moment was completely his own. Sure I cleared the trail, but he chose to walk it. No syrupy mommy led project. No lectures about kids starving in other parts of the world while he picks at his dinner. Along with his toys and books and stocking stuffer surprises, I am happy knowing I gave him something that will hopefully last and grow in his heart for years to come.

Heifer International
Save The Children
World Wildlife Organization
Kiva (a great way for older kids to get involved, support a small business, and track its progress)

St. Nicholas The Shoe Thief

2011-12-07T23:49:00.001-05:00

So I suppose I could do the sweet, fluffy thing and regale you with prose about how we celebrated our own version of St. Nicholas day with making cookies and secretly delivering them to our dock master by playing ding-dong-ditch at his cottage, and how we set out our shoes, yadda yadda. But there are better people who put more effort into such things and we have bigger fish to fry here on the good ship Majestic. We have a thief! St Nicholas stole our shoes!

(gratuitous St. Nicholas photo)

Ok, so maybe it wasn't the good saint on a bad night. This has actually been going on for about 2 months now. We go to sleep at night all snug in our berths, and an intruder has been coming ON to our boat and stealing shoes. We leave our shoes in the cockpit outside the sliding door that leads inside the boat. And yes, the shoe collection tends to pile up (ahem). It started with one shoe missing every few days or so. We would go out in the morning, see it was gone, and then after a quick walk around the marina yard we would find the missing shoe in the grass or bushes or weeds. Hmmmmmmm....?

Then some of the shoes went missing and were never found. And then one shoe was found... with teeth marks chewed in. Now, we have three puppies on our dock, all under the age of two and all full of sweet mischief. So I naturally assumed it was one of them. Dogs love shoes after all, and many of them have free range on and off their boats. I approached each dog owner in turn, presenting the crime and the evidence at hand. "Oh Noooooooooo. Not my Fido! He would NEVER do such a thing!" Like a doting parent there were denials all around.

(who could accuse a face like that?)

Then a few more clues trickled in. First we brought the chewed up shoe into Zach's science teacher at the Smithsonian. She had a look and confirmed it was not the bite of a dog. Her guess was raccoon or fox. Then a neighbor man overheard us talking about it one afternoon and he said similar thieving was happening on other docks and that a fox had been seen in action up and down the docks. And finally one morning we were left with this.

(somehow I thought if I made the photo artsy and black and white it wouldn't be as gross. i was wrong.)

Sorry, gross I know. But we positively ID'ed it as fox scat. Now we've seen the local fox quite a bit. He's healthy and gorgeous and clearly fearless and bold. But why on earth does he want our shoes? The other morning (before the bubble went up) he made off with 2 work shoes of Doug's, Zach's new Merrell boots, and one of my Keens. In one night! Ahem, Mr. Fox, that's a hefty tab you are running up there my friend.

So now the bubble is up and our shoes are safe from Nick the Fox. We hope. But if anyone has any "natural" fox deterrent recipes we're all ears.

(there he is, making his rounds just as the sun was setting. you have no idea how much I want to follow him and see what kind of Imelda Marcos set up he has in his den.)

life in the bubble

2011-12-05T21:14:00.001-05:00

You know how as parents you sometimes block things out? Convenient amnesia seems to be a survival mechanism for parenting and probably how and why we are able to have more than one child. One thing Doug and I can not remember for the life of us is how we managed winter heating when Zach was a tot without having him touch the big large hot heater we normally keep at floor level in the salon. Our only answer was that either we were slacker parents or the dog was always in front of that heater making it impossible for him to get close and burn himself.

Our smaller oil filled radiators can't hurt you when you touch them, even at the highest settings. But the big hot heaters we keep in the main salon (once the "central heat" reverse cycle is turned off for the season which happens when the sea water it sucks in to run drops to 45F degrees) can leave a nasty burn mark with even a slight touch (don't ask how I know this).

So we did for the first time what intrepid liveaboards of the great white north do every season (like our pals Tig & Serena) - we wrapped the boat in plastic. Being 44 feet long and 24 feet wide we didn't want to do the whole boat. But we figured if we shrink wrapped the salon and the cockpit that would make a big dent in our warm and dry factor for the winter.

And boy were we right! Not only is it down right tropical in our cockpit during the day, we don't even have the heat on at all in the boat (of course it's not THAT cold outside yet... but so far so good.)

There's always been the option of getting a canvas shop to install what's called a "full enclosure" around our cockpit. The problem is cost. For a cockpit our size it would be about $6500 (and that was a quote from 7 years ago) to get the job done. The eisenglass panels are crazy expensive and then the labor and such on top of that. Then the issue of where you put all of that expensive and easily scratchable eisenglass in the spring/ summer/ and fall comes up? So it just never made sense for us. But having the boat shrink wrapped by our pals at Dean's Yacht Services was well worth it at a mere fraction of the cost of the enclosure.

Mr. Dean himself came to get the job done, which was quite a site to see. They loosely canopy the thick plastic around the boat and then use heat guns to shrink it on nice and tight.

He gave is a zippered door and some air vents in case we got a little too toasty and within a few hours we had a whole new room as our disposal.

I can't tell you what a difference this has already made to our usual cabin fever. Just being to live in 2 rooms rather than one... wow! Zach can be out there playing with his blocks while Naia is in here sleeping on the settee and I don't have to tell him every 30 seconds to keep it down. Your sister is sleeping. Shhhhh! And I can spread out my projects while he spreads out his and we're not on top of each other. What luxury! And good for family peace too.

It will be weird to experience our first good rain or snow storm with the bubble. We're so used to being really in it. I am sure there will be a little storm party in the bubble when the time comes. And when the time comes in spring we will pop this bubble, tear off the plastic wrap, and welcome our outdoor life once again.

~this moment~

2011-12-02T08:18:00.000-05:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

i'm gonna eat that baby

2011-11-30T07:25:00.000-05:00

Forget chocolate and fruit cake. I get to have my fill of yummy baby parts this holiday season. Why are their shoulder so juicy and their chins so delicious? What is it about those dents in their fingers and the rolls on their wrists? Oh so many sweet rolls.

Those long thick eyelashes are like sprinkles on top of her cheek cupcakes.

And that hair! Oh how I will miss that hair when it decides to lay down. Right now it's a non-stop party on top of that wee head. She pops up in the morning and this site fills me with joy.

And the best part are the squeals of laughter. It's that pure, unabridged, fresh from the baby tree laughter that fills my heart every time I take a nibble on that little sack of sugar. Seriously, who needs holiday candy when you have all that?

winter preparations

2011-11-29T08:05:00.000-05:00

This was that weekend. The weather was dry and temperate enough. The marina is void of weekenders and tourists. The geese were signaling us overhead making a V off the stern, due south. It's time to start readying for the winter. It's quite the ritual and the whole community was out chatting and helping and passing the occasional glass of wine if need be.

The kayaks are in their beds. The winter water hose is insulated and in place. The last boat wash of the season is done and the sails have come off for some winter rest and repairs. Many folks have a ritual for putting their gardens to bed for the cold months, this is how we do it on the water. We hunker down and dream of sunshine and soft breezes.

turkey math

2011-11-28T00:33:00.000-05:00

No it's not a cutesy homeschool project, it's our reality in late November. Thanksgiving dinner is simple math around here. Your average boat oven measures 15 inches by 13 inches and 7 inches tall max from the bottom rack to the top of the box. And your average turkey roasting pan is 18 inches by 14 inches, plus the mass and height of your average Thanksgiving turkey, a 13-pounder measuring at about 8 inches tall. It just doesn’t add up. Thanksgiving dinner aboard a boat is nothing short of mission impossible. As live aboards, we usually find some land lubbers to mooch off of or aim low with one or two homemade side dishes and an order-out turkey from a gourmet grocery store. But the boy is old enough now that he expects the full pilgrim feast scene at home and we can't let the little guy down.

So with a dash of homeschooling thrown in for spice I had Zach measure and write down the dimensions of our over and let him wield the tape measure at the grocery store. Our only hitch this year was that my mushy mama brain just didn't think about turkey until the day before, and by then the pickings for thawed turkeys were slim. The lucky bird who came back to the boat with us was within required measurements, but just barely. Zach, the somewhat guilty carnivore, named him Pilgrim and was chatting with him all day, carrying him around and apologizing for eating him. I swear he does have real live friends, really :)

I am the hypocritical carnivore in the family. While I do like to eat meat, I get all wonky about handling it. Especially poultry. Blech! So Doug was in charge of the bird. "Uh, honey, are you sure you measured this?", I heard from the galley along with grunts and squishing sounds. My husband man handled the carcass and made that thing fit. Just. Barely.

Voila! Dinner is served!

Not too shabby. This is only the second year we have cooked our own turkey. In the past we were all about the Whole Foods special counter for holiday misfits. We joke that you know you live in a little yuppie town when the police are all out directing traffic at Whole Check on the day before Thanksgiving.

Consider the fact that boat ovens are notoriously difficult when it comes to achieving and maintaining a determined temperature. And then there’s the fun trick our former Force 10 liked to do, charring the bottom of anything we cooked to a crisp while leaving the middle cold and raw. Botulism is a sure fire way to ruin a cozy family meal.

But with two successful turkey dinners under our belts now I think we can avoid the crowds, keep a tape measure in my purse, and cook our turkey on the boat from now on. Gobble Gobble, thank you Pilgrim!

~this moment~ happy (outdoor) thanksgiving

2011-11-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

A Friday ritual. A ~~single~~ few photos capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

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p.s.Don't forget... the code "zachaboardnov2011" is still good for the entire month of November to get you 15% your entire order at Made By Alejandro.

thankful

2011-11-22T08:22:00.000-05:00

It's the time when we stuff ourselves with food and wear stretchy pants and officially start the hunker down for the season. Our thankful tree has been up for about a week now. Paper leaves from construction paper and water color paintings cut up sit out for anyone in the family to jot down what they are thankful for at any time and hang it on the branch.

Zach was so sweet to put "mom" on one, but his first leaf was "Beef" and then "Worms" and "Solar System". A boy has got to have his priorities.

I found myself writing "SUN" for my first leaf as our November grey has been taking over. But among other things I am thankful for you. Yes you! Thank you to my community here who takes the time to drop in, say hello, make comments, and reach out to connect every now and again. Thank you! I am going to sign out for the rest of the week (maybe dropping in for a "moment" Friday if I am not in a turkey coma) and I hope you do the same to enjoy this lovely, lingering fall season, and good food, and friends and family.

ch-ch-ch-ch changes

2011-11-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

The re-organizing bug bit the crew of Majestic this month. We have been thinking about our use of space and frankly how poorly we put certain areas of our boat to good use. Zach was the one who sparked this revolution by asking one night at dinner if he could have his own office. We chuckled at first, dear sweet boy! But then he laid out his plan. He said rip out the head (toilet) from his bathroom and put in a desk and so on and so on. Oh hey, that's a great idea!

We never "opened" the head in his wee little bathroom because if he started going in there it would just be one more toilet to clean. So he tromps down the hall to our head or uses the one on the "guest room" side in the port hull. So why the heck is it sitting there, doing nothing. The whole bathroom is sitting there doing nothing. Of course it becomes a place for the boy to toss his stuff when he is supposed to be cleaning his room (ahem) or he turn it into different spaces (like here), but it's still an undefined space with a big ugly toilet.

So this weekend we ripped out the toilet and tossed it in the dumpster. The plumbing remains intact yet hidden in case this space ever needs to be a bathroom again. We're working on leveling the floor (it dips down to accommodate a drain for a potential stand up shower from the extendable sink faucet), again the new floor (a painted piece of plywood) will be easily removable for a quick change back to bathroom if needed. The faucets for the sink will be removed and another piece of plywood in place there to create a shelf.

Zach is buzzing with ideas for storing his "office supplies" and how to set up his desk. I am buzzing with ideas of some surprise decorations to give the place some personality. (I am thinking a couple small prints like this, they are SO him!)

If anyone has any fun print suggestions... tell me in the comments!

So Zach's need for a space of his own lit my fire for that need too. We have a "work room"/ pantry area/ laundry dump. It's nothing short of a disaster. It's truly embarrassing. My sweet husband does not posses what one might call the tidy and organized gene. So the work room is his dumping place for stuff he doesn't want to put away at the moment (sorry honey, busted!) We talked about it and decided that using the cubbies spread throughout the boat that Zach and I squirrel our art and homeschool items in would be a better idea for his tool and such. The truth is, projects never happen IN the workroom. They explode all over the boat in the area that is getting worked on. So why bother with a work space?

I am taking over.

Oh the images in my head for this space keep me up at night. I am not sure what we can pull off but I see it as a creative work space for the kids and I. A place for sewing and messy art and organizing of school stuff and so on and so on. I still have to share the space with the pantry and laundry somehow, I mean this is still a boat after all. But with some fresh paint and a mama's touch I think we can get the place organized, useful, and maybe even nice looking. So with a deep breath I am presenting you with the before photo (cringe)

... and it may take a little time with the holidays and all but I am so very excited about the potential after pic... to be continued...

~this moment~ i like ships too

2011-11-18T07:49:00.000-05:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

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p.s.Don't forget... the code "zachaboardnov2011" is still good for the entire month of November to get you 15% your entire order at Made By Alejandro.

my old timey boy

2011-11-17T00:06:00.000-05:00

He is the boy who begs me to take him to antique shops. He stops to stare at Victorian homes and loves little old men who dress "old timey". He's the boy who said to me recently, "Can we only study history and nothing else?" He's the boy who drew a portrait of Horatio Nelson to hang on his wall. Which of course leads to the ships. He looks at books and books of old ships, he draws old ships, he sculpts them in clay, he dreams of them at night. So taking a trip to Jamestown Settlement was a treat that had him packing his bags days ahead of time. A case of the sickies almost killed the whole deal, but we managed to get there and let him soak it all in.

It was so sweet watching him absorb it all, so in his element. I could see his wheels turning, his imagination swirling, his eyes twinkling.

If only I could see what was in his head as he walked the ships, my sweet old timey boy.

jumping for Joy

2011-11-16T00:49:00.000-05:00

You know how I keep saying that I really want to learn how to knit? Well, it hasn't happened yet :) The funny thing is Zach thinks I know how to knit. It's sweet and funny really. He'll see some yarn and say...

Mama will you make me a hat with this?
Uh, honey, I don't know how to knit.
Yes you do!
No, baby, I don't.
But we've knitted things before mama!
Um, honey I just cut things out of felted sweaters.
What about those mittens?
Sweater.
That bag?
Sweater.
My mushroom hat?
Sweater again my love.
Oh.
(silence)
Mama you need to learn how to knit.
I know. I know.

But I have very generous talented friends who are wicked good with the knitting needles... lucky me! Lucky us! My pal Joy over at An Art Family (who has a whole brood of littles she is busy knitting for) was sweet enough to squeeze a project on to her needles for Zach and surprised us with this hat.

It is SO him. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he opened the package. The color is bright and funky, just his taste. And he loves the pattern. "A mix of fisherman nets and spider webs", I am told. Once he had a good look at it he looked at me and said, "Now Finn's mama REALLY knows how to knit doesn't she?" Yes my dear, she sure does.
(thank you Joy!)

fall sick day

2011-11-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

It was the last lovely day of the season I fear and my boy spent it inside very close by the head (that's bathroom to you landlubbers). Poor thing got a stomach bug and moaned and groaned dramatically all day about missing out on such a beautiful day. We opened all of the hatches and tried to make the cockpit cozy, but he was still unhappy, like a caged up critter. One minute he's hugging the toilet and the next he was jumping up and down protesting, "Why oh WHY do I have to be sick?! Make it go away, please!"

So Naia and I ventured out to grab the mail and switch laundry loads and brought some fall beauty back for Zach.

First some leaves to dip in beeswax and hang up along the windows...

Then some acorn caps to felt some more colorful wool acorns for our collection...

Spirits brightened a little and the day mellowed to books, sleep, tea, and quiet.

Here's hoping for a healthier week ahead of us.

~this moment~

2011-11-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

news and random views

2011-11-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

A few quick updates as we spend most of our time outside soaking up this beautiful autumn weather and getting ready for a little trip with the family...

You know the wonderful Erin Goodman at Exhale. Return to Center? Well she is launching an awesome new project TODAY called Behind The Blog! She is interviewing an array of bloggers you may know and some who may be new to you and putting out Podcasts of the interviews. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak listen to her first interview and it was such fun! Erin is a wonderful interviewer and asks some fabulous behind the scene, reality check questions that we all want to know about. Click here and have a listen... and drop Erin a line on her Facebook page and tell her what you think and who else you may want her to interview!

And another project from a dear friend is airing TONIGHT on The Food Network. The show is called Kitchen Inventors and it airs Thursday Nov 10 at 8:30pm EST. My amazing friend Steve Greenberg is hosting and I also got a sneak peak at this show and it's loads of fun and full of heart. If you get a chance Steve and I would LOVE it if you could zip over to the Food Network page and buzz about the show after it airs and also like the show page for Kitchen Inventors. The more buzz, the more chance the series will continue and then Steve and I get to stay gainfully employed :)

A thousand thank yous for supporting these projects!

a visitor

2011-11-08T07:56:00.000-05:00

(Scurrying of feet on deck and down into the cockpit. Feet trying to be quiet but not quiet succeeding as they patter with excitement.)

"Mama, mama, come quick! He's here! Come! Come!"

Thankfully Naia is at that blissful stage where she can get into the cockpit on her own and feels a part of the action as she crawls after at my heels, but not big enough to get OUT of the cockpit into the danger zone. She pulls up and crains her neck around to see what's what.

Camera in hand I bound up to the edge of the cockpit and freeze next to the winch.

"Oooohhh. He's getting bolder is he? Let's be really quiet and see how close he lets us come."

Normally he's on the far portside piling, well out of reach. And lately he's taken to very low flying swoops that literally move the boat accompanied by punctuated low squawks. But this afternoon, he's decided to visit on the starboard side mid-ship piling. Close enough to touch, not that we would. And peering into our salon window. Cheeky.

He turns his back to us as I raise my camera. Zach can not resist, despite my urging to stay put. He creeps, genuinely soft footed this time, ever closer, holding his breath but bursting with dimples.

He gets close. Too close? The Great Blue Heron is not startled. He doesn't seem threatened or worried. He seems, well, mildly annoyed. Really? Really kid? Are you really going to make me move off this perfectly lovely perch? Come on? I don't want to fly away but at the same time I can't have you coming this close. So... alright. Off we go then.

It's just another day of ordinary magical moments.

bag it up

2011-11-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

Even though we live pretty small compared to most families I am always looking for ways to make things even simpler while still living a colorful, full life at home. Our latest method for organizing and down sizing is bagging celebrations up. Like so.

For example, the birthday bag. Birthdays have no trash around here. From the birthday banner that we use for every family member to the cloth bags and playsilks that we wrap with (which live in the playsilk bag with the toys under the salon table) to the birthday monster who holds a candle and has a chalkboard belly to write anyone's age or name (you can find him via the fabulous MamaRoots)... it all lives in the birthday bag. So when the special day comes we just whip out the bag, set up a colorful celebration, and then when it's all over stuff it easily back in to the bag again.

I have been making seasonal bags too for Nature Table items and little boat decorations.

The exception that I am working on is the winter/ winter holidays. Because we celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, and Solstice around there our celebratory odds and ends exceed my fat quarter of cloth bag limit. I have winter in a tupperware bin (decorations, mini tree, lights, cloth bags for gifts, candles, stockings, ribbon, it adds up!) but I am working on downsizing that too. Baby steps.

How about you? What do you do to organize/ simplify the holidays?

p.s. Speaking of holidays... the code "zachaboardnov2011" is still good for the entire month of November to get you 15% your entire order at Made By Alejandro.

~this moment~ a golden sea

2011-11-04T07:44:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

hello gourd-geous

2011-11-03T00:29:00.000-04:00

I admit it. I have a gourd problem. I can not get enough of them, the gnarlier and bumpier the better.

We bought a bunch for our Halloween party but I have to ask myself, even without the party would I still have gone gourd loco? Perhaps.

The little white ones went to our party guests. And we sent some other home with people so as not to sink the boat. And this year we were a little late in carving our traditional pumpkins, but Zach didn't seem to mind as long as he still gets to ~~play with~~ use the knife.

One note on carving gourds, they don't have the lovely soft flesh like pumpkins do. You need to use serious power tools to get through those "zombie pumpkins" (as we call the white/grey ones). They are rock hard.

But really I just love having them around to look at, and decorate with, and of course eventually gobble up.

halloween fiesta

2011-10-31T00:08:00.000-04:00

There is nothing more fun than Halloween. Period. The dress up. The sweets. The scary stories by candle light. The crisp autumn air. It's intoxicating in all kinds of ways. We LOVE to throw Halloween shindigs for the kiddos each year. Last year we didn't do anything because Naia had JUST been born. So this year Zach invited his buddies and we had a cold but festive time.

(banging wall to scare away the ghosts!)

(the spider's nest!)

(make a mummy craft)

(inside the broomstick goody bags: a CD of spooky stories and Halloween music, a small white pumpkin, and a jar of homemade slime.)

There were pirates and ninjas, cowboys and Indians, and even a praying mantis. Zach decided to be a World War I aviator. No mama, not Charles Lindbergh. And I love Amelia Earhart but I am not her either. I am just a regular WWI aviator. Yes sir.

Naia was the most fun to dress up because she can't protest my ideas - yet. So we made her a gnome, of course.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

~this moment~ first tea party

2011-10-28T08:08:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

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This is the last day to enter the Made By Alejandro sword & elephant giveaway. Click over and enter, you have until tonight!

oh shenandoah

2011-10-27T00:21:00.001-04:00

Last year Naia was a wee sprite at 3 weeks old when we headed to the mountains for a little get away.

We couldn't resist a repeat trip this year too. And our pals from Puzzled joined us which made it all the sweeter! It was a time for exploring and hiking and romping and sleep overs and camp fires and board games and good meals and majestic views.

It's funny how our little family, nestled here on the Bay surrounded by great blue herons and crabs and water snakes and a forest of masts gets such a kick out of the mountains. It's truly a novelty for us and especially for Zach who was waxing poetic at every turn and taking in each detail, noting how very different it was from home.

(mama the mountain looks like it's on fire with colors!)

And what a difference from last year, my girl growing and curious and taking it all in. Even though Doug and I often look at each other and laugh when we realize how laden we are when we travel now, how many bags are packed, how much space is taken up in our wee Honda Civic with diapers and stuffed animals and extra changes of clothes and books and snacks -- oh so far from our 10 minute stuff a backpack grab the dog and go days of yore. This is what visiting new places is all about now. These little people. It's worth all the luggage,

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Please don't forget to enter the giveaway HERE -- and spread the word because the discount code is good the entire month of November!

drunken sailor pants

2011-10-25T00:53:00.001-04:00

I followed a pattern. As in a sewing pattern with the sewing machine. Oh yes, there was swearing and drinking and seam ripping galore (by no fault of the pattern, just my brain). And thus if you were to really examine these little pants, they have a bit of what looks like a drunken sailor swagger to the stitching. So, just don't look that close, ok?

Because from a healthy distance they are pretty cute. And they fit for the most part. And my almost walking drunken sailor of a girl loves cruising around in these pants. So far two pairs.

But it's become addicting. So there will be more, especially in the Folksy Flannel which is warm and cozy and holds up so well to baby crawling action.

This was all part of a master plan actually. Back when I was pregnant with Naia I was looking all over for some receiving blankets. In a hormonal streak I remember not liking anything I saw. Too pink. Too cutesy. Too blah. So I decided instead to buy a few one yard cuts of really nice flannel and wrap her in those as a newborn, knowing that one day those same swaddles would become something cute to wear for my girl.

If you're curious, this is a sweet easy pattern from Made By Rae called the Big Butt Baby Pants. I tried originally making the Anna Maria Horner reversible baby pants from Handmade Beginnings, but honestly it was just too hard for a rookie. Just reading the steps made my eyes cross and my head spin. So I gave that book and those patterns to SuperJen and searched for an easier one, and the Made By Rae pattern gave me all of the cuteness with none of the dizzy feeling.

Don't forget to enter the Made By Alejandro leather sword & elephant giveaway!

GIVEAWAY - Made By Alejandro !!!!!

2011-10-24T07:31:00.001-04:00

Just feast your eyes on these beauties. Alejandro Ortega makes swords from LEATHER that will knock your socks off!

Made By Alejandro is an Etsy shop that will make kids and adults drool. I am so glad I have been able to get to know Alejandro and want to share his work with you all. I asked him how he got started in working with leather.

Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, my introduction to leather began my junior year of college while taking a theater class. I stumbled upon a Punchinello mask, which comes from an Italian art form called Commedia d'el Arte. The original Commedia d'el Arte masks were made from leather and in studying Commedia I learned a lot about the the use of leather as a medium in art. In 2007 I traveled to Italy to take a Commedia Mask Making Course from Maestro Donato Sartori, and learned the difference between techniques taught in books and techniques actually used. I returned with a bigger desire than ever to pursue my love of working with leather.

So how did he start making swords, shields, and the like?

Last summer, How To Tame Your Dragon came out in the movie theaters. I had some time and materials on hand, so I decided to make my three children their own swords, shields, and sheaths so they could be real heroes like the kids in the movie. People saw their leather toys and began placing orders, as well as telling others about my creations. My clientele now ranges from children, to adults, to an online toy store, to a local natural toy store. I am now happily making swords, shields, and other things using a material I love that's been around since the caveman: leather.

I know Zach has used the heck out of his set. He loves the way the sheath is adjustable so you can wear it around your waist or across your chest. He adores the shield and the way it's made so strong it can take blows from big kids with wooden swords. And of course he covets that leather sword, I think he appreciates how special and beautiful it is as much as he loves just swashbuckling it around night and day.

What's that you say? You don't have any aspiring pirates, knights, ninjas, or vikings in your home? Fear not! Made By Alejandro also makes these adorable leather elephants.

A pair of leather elephant key chains are the first part of this giveaway. Since elephants are social creatures who mate for life, Alejandro decided it was important to keep these two together. Just leave a comment below for a chance to win. They would make a great gift and if you have a baby who likes to play with your keys this is a nice, safe way to keep their little hands busy (all of his dyes are water based and eco-friendly.)

But wait there's MORE! (I've always wanted to say that) Alejandro is very generously offering this leather sword and sheath set pictured below.

Again just leave a comment here telling us what you like in the shop to win. For an extra chance at either item, please head over to Made By Alejandro's Facebook page and LIKE, then come back here and leave another comment telling us you did. ALL entrants must leave an email address! Entries will be open until Friday night October 28 at 8pm eastern.

But wait there IS even more!! From now and through the entire month of November you can get 15% off your total order with Made By Alejandro by using the code "zachaboardnov2011". Perfect for the holidays! Spread the word!

Thank you so much Alejandro!

And the winners are: The pair of elephants goes to CHANI!!!
And the sword & sheath set goes to: MARY!!!

I will email each of you separately for shipping info. Congratulations and thank you to Made By Alejandro.
Don't forget, the discount code above is still good for the entire month of November. So pass it around and place your holiday orders!

~this moment~

2011-10-21T07:08:00.003-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

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You still have until tonight at 8pm eastern to enter in to the Manzanita Kids Giveaway! Don't miss it!

birthday recap

2011-10-18T08:48:00.001-04:00

First I want to thank you all for the heartfelt birthday wishes! Naia is such a social butterfly and I know she would love to bat her eyelashes at each one of you and give you her chripy "Hi!"

As for celebrating, well second children (and subsequent ones I am sure) make you simmer down and ease up on many-a-parenting thing. For Zach's first birthday we had a shindig. I cooked, I decorated, I stressed. And of course what did he care, he was ONE! We decided we are not throwing birthday parties for numero dos until she is old enough to ask for one. And even then, they will remain small and casual like we try to do with Zach.

So with all that in mind we had a small afternoon cake affair inside on a pouring rain day.

I finished the birthday crown! (I battled with the $@#&*(# sewing machine until 2am one night and then gave up and hand sewed the whole thing.)

I attempted to create this for our "cake". Well I am not a from-scratch cake making kinda gal. So I bought a cake mix. But I think my mistake was buying "healthy" cake mix from Whole Foods. You know, gluten free, wheat free, yadda yadda. So I mixed it all up, separated it into bowls, added the food coloring, all according to directions. But the cake didn't rise to fill the jars, so I got little psychedelic cake hockey pucks stuck in the bottom of the jars. We made up for it with a mound of homemade whipped cream on top and these beautiful edible butterflies. (I got them at Sugar Robot, check them out, they have great stuff!)

For Naia I made organic pumpkin muffins and topped it with the homemade whipped cream. She of course did not eat any of it, but did decide to stick her entire face in it... of course!

Zach took great pleasure in showing her what a gift was and how to open them. Funny how little ones have zero instinct for this ritual.

Frankly, she could care less about the few little things we gave her as gifts. Her favorite part was the candle and the singing. Oh yes, more please. Clap clap clap!

One year old stats:

Favorite food: mama's milk

Favorite word: Hi! (to everybody and everything including wind) and Dada!

Favorite song: Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack

Favorite book: tie between Jamberry and I Am A Bunny

Favorite animal: dog

Favorite play thing: big brother of course!

p.s. Don't forget to enter the fabulous GIVEAWAY for Manzanita Kids! Entries will be open through Friday.

GIVEAWAY - Manzanita Kids !!!!!

2011-10-17T00:14:00.002-04:00

Oh how I love this shop! David and his family are so sweet and put so much love and thought into their line of toys. If you have not checked out Manzanita Kids on etsy, go go GO now! Go ahead. I'll wait.

See, I told you! Let me share what I love about their toys. They are natural, original, and the very definition of open ended. In other words - classic. Their latest offerings are high on my favorite list, like this Modular Vehicle. It's a plane, it's a truck, it's a sub -- it's just pure awesome!! You get all of the components and the wheel base and all you need is imagination.

And along the lines of open ended awesomeness check out these modular building sets. So many possibilities, I love it!

Aside from this classic building set they have themed ones too. Not surprising our crew totally covets the Atlantis set, check this out.

And the best part, they come apart and store flat and easy, which is super not just for a boat but for any parents trying to keep the clutter and mess to a minimum.

Of course Manzanita Kids also makes classic toys for wee ones that are developmentally appropriate and beautiful too. This Owl, Stars, Moon puzzle is a great example...

Or this fun stacking animal puzzle set.

All of the toys are designed and made by David and his wife Adrienne in their cottage in Seattle under the loving supervision of their 1 year old son and newborn daughter. And each one is finished
with a homemade beeswax/ organic safflower oil mix for a lovely shine.

David is generously offering one reader a $35 gift certificate to Manzanita Kids. All you need to do to enter is click on over to the shop and leave a comment here telling what you like! For an extra entry please click over to their Facebook page and become a fan. It's a great way to be updated about their sales, giveaways, and new toys. This giveaway will be open until Friday at 8pm eastern and then I will post a winner here. PLEASE register with an email address or blog address so I can get in touch if you win :)

Also for this week you can shop Manzanita Kids and get 10% off by using the code BOATBABY -- perfect for holiday shopping!

Thank you Manzanita Kids!

COMMENTS CLOSED. THE WINNER IS... Mama Forestdweller!!!
thank you everyone and thank you Manzanita Kids!

~this moment~ birthday sweetness

2011-10-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

one

2011-10-13T00:31:00.000-04:00

My sweet baby girl is one. Oh my. I know writing an open letter to your babe is the thing to do these days, but I am going to keep my words to her just between she and I. She is amazing. Period. And I am so lucky to get to be with her every minute of every single day to soak up all that wonder and beauty.

I am so grateful to my tribe of friends and neighbors who share in the joy of seeing her grow each day. Without family around to dote on her, it's nice to have dockside aunties and uncles who take notice of her little milestones. New words, new expressions, new hairs on that crazy blonde head. But today we celebrate the big one, the Big One! Happy Birthday to my sweet, strong, funny Naia! I love you so.

boat show

2011-10-11T01:26:00.000-04:00

This week was that time we anticipate all year long. Boat Show time is play time, meet & greet time, geek out time, savor the beautiful last gasps of lovely weather time, it's just a really fun time of year.

This year as with all boat show years past we got to hang out with all kinds of like minded sailors who made their way here from near and far for the show. Our RV traveling pals from Puzzled rolled into town and will be hanging with us all month long (hooray!). And the sweet and lovely Tig & Serena came down from Boston to take in some seminars at the show and visit with us. Their kids are so mellow and sweet and it was fun getting to meet part of our very small east coast posse of liveaboard families with little kids. And of course my pal Cidnie gets the Bold Mama award for jumping into her car with her 17 month old and driving out from Texas - just the two of them. Go Cid!

Kitty is scrumptious and Naia was completely fascinated by her and equally adored Cidnie, so much so she let her adorn her cherubic face with these awesome Jackie-O shades. Cid did a whirlwind tour of Annapolis but we loved having her in person for the short while we got to hang out and catch up.

Boat Show get togethers are fast and fun filled, but my real wish is to be sharing a slow sunset and a cold drink in a warm anchorage somewhere with these folks someday.

getting ready

2011-10-10T08:43:00.000-04:00

I will catch up on all of the fun we've had this past week with the Boat Show and visitors from near and far, but first I need to recover from all that fun. We've been in work hard play hard mode over here!

The last few night though I have been burning the midnight oil making a few little gifts for my sweet girl who I can not BELIEVE is going to be 1 in a few days!

The greatest thing about crafting things for 1 year olds is that you can do it in the day time too if you catch a moment because there's no need to hide it from them! Zach stayed so sweetly naive to gift making for such a long time (probably until about 5) I hope she's the same way for at least a few years.

I hand sewed the ball using left over 100% wool felt from the stash I got when she was born and I made that soft block. (It's the Summer Spark collection from A Child's Dream Come True).

And I bought a few extra sheets of wool felt in larger sizes to attempt my first try at a birthday crown. I bought Zach's crown on etsy, and it SEEMS like an easy enough project so I am going for it. I used this pattern from Juicy Bits and searched all over etsy and blogs for inspiration. So far it seems to be coming along easy enough, but I still haven't attempted the dolphin yet (all of my dolphin cut outs last night looks like ink blots) and I am worried about machine sewing it all together (that machine doesn't like me!) and getting the elastic band right. Wish me luck!

catching up (or ohnoit'soctoberalreadyahhhhhhhh!)

2011-10-03T07:39:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the quiet weeks around here. I have been overloaded with work, tending to a baby who is not feeling great, and madly preparing for the Boat Show, out of town guests, Naia's 1st birthday (already!), and even looking ahead to our upcoming Halloween bash.

(Even our nature table is getting spooky!)

I did want to share a few odds and ends. First if you are GINNY and you left a comment on the Alford Designs giveaway, please drop me an email (check the contact tab above) so I can send you your prize. If I don't hear from Ginny by Friday I will go ahead and use random.org to pick a new winner. Ginny - I hope you're out there!

Next - please surf on over to Soul Flower to check out my latest review of their delicious Little Flowers dress. If only this dress came in mama sizes!

(Hey Zach what are you doing? - taking my bucket for a walk - oh, ok)

I also want to share a wonderful online magazine that sassy, thoughtful, and just plain fun. Modern Ink was kind enough to interview me and publish a piece I wrote about living aboard. If you click here and punch in page 193 you'll find me, but don't miss the 192 pages before that and those after. It's a gorgeous magazine and the ladies who put it together really work their tails off so give them a shout out and enjoy the read.

I also still write just about every month for Spinsheet, our wonderful Chesapeake Bay sailing magazine. Mt latest article about planning to go south can be found here (search for pg 115 "Southbound: Listing To Port"). I am bad about keeping the sidebars of the blog updated with my latest writing assignments, but that's a good winter project.

I am also pleased once again to be a part of The Rhythm Of The Home and their delicious Fall Issue. Grab a cuppa tea and check it out, so much good stuff!

And of course my everyday gig that keeps me busy at the moment is writing for Run My Renovation. It's such a fun show with such a wonderful group of people putting it together (many of whom I used to travel with all the time pre-Zach when I was on the road producing). It's great fun to vote online deciding how the renovations go even if you don't get the show, be sure to click over and check it out.

Phew -- now I need some chocolate. I told ya I was busy :)

~this moment~

2011-09-30T09:57:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

i hate apple pie

2011-09-28T00:51:00.000-04:00

He has been begging us, and I mean BEGGING us to go apple picking again this year. Not next week, not when his friends can go along, I want to go... now. So we went.

And he didn't just want to pick a basket of apples, he wanted to pick them all. "Just a few more Dada, just a few more." He skipped along the rows of trees chirping about all the things we would make with our apples. Apple sauce, apple pie, apple pancakes.

And we got home with our pounds and pounds of apples, and Dada made crust from scratch (a big deal by the way for the cooking impaired). And Zach made whipped cream from scratch. And he picked all of the ingredients and chriped and skipped about the boat as the apple pie was baking. And then the moment of truth came... and he didn't eat his pie. He sheepishly picked at the whipped cream and moved it around his plate the way kids do to make it seem as though they have eaten something.

"Buddy, what's wrong?"

"I hate apple pie."

It wasn't that he did't like THIS apple pie, he doesn't like any apple pie. Or apple sauce. Or apple pancakes. You see where I'm going here? Flabbergasted I asked why on earth he asked, no INSISTED we pick all those apples if he wasn't going to eat any of the things we could make from them?

"I love being out in the trees picking stuff .And I love reading the apple pie book. I just love it all... except the eating part. But you love apple pie and I love baking with you, so it's all good. I just like that we do this every year together. And now Naia gets to do it too. I didn't want her to miss it."

And there it is. In a family where we've given up on daily rhythm, and struggle through with a loose weekly rhythm, I guess through the years we have managed to nail the seasonal rhythm thing. Apples are part of his September. And part of hers too... for now.

And now my heart is filled with his words. And my belly stuffed with apple pie.

right here

2011-09-26T22:25:00.000-04:00

Today Zach and I were taking photos of things that are right outside our door (so to speak)... noticing the everyday bits of our world.

:: bits of summer resting by our dock box ::

:: Naia makes sure to point out every plane that passes over our mast ::

:: improperly tied off cleats all over the place ::

:: Zach's cabin from the outside if you were walking by on the dock ::

:: I always wonder whether this mildewing marina life ring would really float after all these years waiting on the dock. I hope never to find out ::

:: Phragmites. Invasive but darn beautiful especially at sunset ::

It was an interesting exercise noticing the little things that caught our eye within a few feet of our front door. It really made me appreciate the everyday beauty and quirkiness of this life we live.

~this moment~ perch

2011-09-23T09:44:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

on the cusp

2011-09-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

This is by far my favorite time of year as far as weather goes. It's the time when we can spend one day at the beach in our bare feet and the next sipping hot coco in the cockpit in our woolens. Everything seems golden. The wind is beckoning. Critters are busy. The scenery is slowly changing.

Things may be a little slow here as we enjoy the season and repair the computer. My tech help desk (a..k.a. the husband) tells me we should be in full tilt functioning mode again by the end of the week. Here's hoping!

~this moment~ for you mama

2011-09-16T00:34:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You have until tonight to enter the giveaway!

boat lingerie

2011-09-14T22:52:00.000-04:00

There is an inside joke among boating geeks about how couples who sail together end up spending their alone time pouring through marina catalogs and oogling anchors. Pillow talk turns to shackles and ropes - ahem - for the boat. Anniversary gifts become waterproof handheld VHF radios. We call it boat porn. So you can imagine the palpable excitement when we got our new lines from Dyneema earlier this month. Ooooo, ahhhhhh, yeah baby! Since it will take us quite a while to install and use these fancy pants ropes, I thought I would just do a fashion shoot with them in the mean time. Boat geeks, get ready to drool. The rest of you, just know these ropes are strong, long lasting, safe not to mention easy on the eye, just like a good mate ;)

(cue the mood music)

p.s. There is still time to enter the giveaway here!

11 months

2011-09-13T07:28:00.000-04:00

How is it that my wee, brand new, little baby daughter is going to be a one year old in just a month? Slow down universe!

She is a strong, determined person who is still all cheeks. She is an avid explorer and climber and loves nothing more than getting flipped around upside down and spun around. She's a flirt and a people-person who waves and says "hi" to every person whose gaze she catches, as well as to the wind, reflections, dogs, and airplanes.

The "Queen's Gaze" is still with her, often looking out on us commoners with a regal stare that catches everyone off guard. She's still not quite eating, but has agreed to bird seed sized tastes of this and that once in a blue moon. She crawls at the speed of light, falls all the time in the name of adventure, and thankfully almost never puts the little odds and ends her brother leaves around in her mouth.

She loves her books, her brother's cars, his stuffed dog, and playing with bottle caps. Every time she nurses she strokes her own hair, but first carefully removes her wee hair clip and hands it to me first. Nothing makes her light up like daddy and big brother. And by the way burps are hilarious.

My sweet baby girl.

GIVEAWAY - Alford Designs

2011-09-12T06:42:00.001-04:00

I am all kinds of excited to introduce you all to Kari Alford of Alford Designs. Her new shop on etsy caught my eye as I was looking for snack bags to replace using disposable plastic baggies. We have a few of the standard cotton ones on board but they get kind of funky with fruit inside. Kari's wet bags are lined making them fabulous for all kinds of things from fruit to PB & J.

The larger ones are handy for cloth diapering, wet swim suits, or soiled baby clothes. And I use mine for things like sunscreen and lotions that more often than not explode in my purse. The baggies keep these items neatly contained and if they open the liner keeps the mess away from the rest of my bag. They're green and clean, brilliant!

I asked Kari why she decided to start making these wet bags:

I used to use hard plastic containers, but would get frustrated when I needed to pack several items in a lunch container. I saw a small wet bag at a store once and my first thought was, 'I can make that!' I've found so many uses for them and I'm still creating different sizes that work for different things.
I hope that it gets people thinking that they can live their lives a little greener. My personal goal is to live a greener life, and if I can help people accomplish that by providing the tools, then that's a great feeling.

She also makes these cup cords which I am finding extremely useful at this particular stage in Naia's life. Just in case she ~~throws~~ accidentally knocks over a toy or sippy cup from the table this handy leash keeps it from hitting the floor and making a mess or turning it into a game of mama fetch.

(looks more like a game of baby keep away here, i think a certain big brother rigged this up)

Kari is generously offering this wet bag and cup cord set pictured below to one lucky person.

~~All you need to do is leave a comment here.~~ For an extra entry please click on over to her Facebook page and give her a like. Come on back and tell us you did for another chance to win. And for anyone who buys something at Alford Designs from now until this Sunday September 18 use the code BOAT15 when you check out for 15% off your purchase. ~~Comments will close Friday night and we'll pick a random number winner at that time.~~ Thank you Kari!

COMMENTS CLOSED. THE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR PICKED GINNY! PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME GINNY BY CLICKING THE ABOUT TAB AT THE TOP AND DROP ME AN EMAIL WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. THANK YOU EVERYONE AND THANK YOU KARI!

finding your tribe

2011-09-08T06:39:00.000-04:00

Over the years I've gotten used to ignoring the strange looks and off comments about living aboard. I don't try to explain why I feel at home on a boat. I shrug off the stares about raising kids "in SUCH a small space". I don't try to make other people understand anymore why I have the need to wander, why we love being out and about rather than cooped up inside, why seeing new places is in my blood.
But there are others out there like me. I am so grateful for having a tribe as scattered as they may be. We connect, we chat, we plan, we laugh, we dream, we share. I have folks like Laureen from Excellent Adventure and her fabulous family all on a catamaran in California planning the same scheme we are. Why oh why is she on the other coast? And of course Cidnie the current 1st place Dyneema Challenge superstar (you can help her win by clicking here by the way) who is planning to cast off with a baby nearly the same age as Naia and come from Texas out our way next summer to head south when we do. And there's Tucker & Victoria and their adorable kiddos who will be leaving on a trip around the world next month! You can follow their adventures here.

And of course there's the Puzzled gang. Last year they were just another catamaran gawker who wanted to see the boat. We don't mind that, in fact we love it when folks get in touch around boat show and want to get together to talk kids and boats and cruising. But when Wendy and Matt and their three amazing kids (and I DO mean amazing) came aboard it was instant karma. These people "get it". From unschooling to wandering they were oh-so like us, no funny looks, no awkward explanations.

They are land cruising at the moment roaming the country in an RV. And each time we all get together it fuels my fire and reminds me why we're doing all of this.

Laureen and I like to joke that even though we're all in different ports and casting off at different times that we all need to find an island somewhere and live as a little tribe one day. Anchored out with the Puzzled folks I got a taste of why that would be such an awesome thing to realize one day. But not until after we see the world.

the rest of that first day

2011-09-07T00:33:00.000-04:00

Swinging through the treetops was all well and good, but there was more to our day. We ate lunch, ran some quick errands, dashed home, and cast off for a weekend of good friends and fair winds.

Yes, the beast was able to set sail. Unfottunately, we did not get a chace to out on that new rigging. Re-rigging a 44-foot sailboat is a monumental task. It's gonna take a while yet. But we got to shake out our new mainsail and fall in love all over again with how well our little home travels under sail.

(that dark thing you see on the bottom is our scary genoa. she is looking mighty tired next to our shiny new mainsail. we were joking all weekend that we could scrape the funk off the genny, ferment it in some tea, and sell it as the next new probiotic drink at Whole Foods.)

Thankfully this was the first time Naia wore her life jacket without any protests. She was all smiles, watching the waves and saying "Hi!" to every sea bird.

It was all part of a wonderful weekend anchored out and sailing around. A few days of the kind of schooling that requires kayak paddles and balls of yarn and sleeping bags and ice cream. And thankfully like minded friends to share it all with.

(finger knitting became the obsession aboard in between kayak exploration outings)

(drinking glug-glug by candlelight after the littles have gone to sleep)

Finding a tribe is such a powerful and warm fuzzy thing. Yes, another lesson of life learned this "first week of school." But alas, that's yet another story for another day.

first day, why not

2011-09-06T08:25:00.000-04:00

I decided to declare last Friday our first day of school. Being more of an unschooly type we don't follow a traditional school year calendar. There is no stop and start to our schooling, we just live and learn. But it seems like the thing to do around this time of year whether you are in school or not. So I spontaneously declared a first day of 2nd grade as the day was actually happening. Wouldn't you want this to be your first day?

It was a day of friends and fun and forests. It was a day of stretching comfort zones, creating confidence, and building bonds. And more than anything it was just plain awesome! To me that's what kids his age should be learning, how to trust and try and try again and explore and amaze yourself with that you can do when you are given the freedom to do it. I was so proud of my boy who really pushed past all kinds of things, like always needing mama next to him (hard to do this kind of thing with a baby), being wary of heights, trying things again and again that don't always work out the first time... he did it all with flying colors.

If you are local, you must make a day to check this place out.

(what is my big brother DOING up there?)

Our first day wasn't just spent in the tree tops. Oh no. That was just the morning. Tomorrow we'll share our rest of the day.

~this moment~ Thank You Dyneema!

2011-09-02T07:13:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

~ And thank YOU! All of you who signed on to help us win back in the spring. Those of your who left encouraging words while we waited. And those of you who raised a little hell on my behalf (you know who you are). ~

~ In other news, please head on over to Soul Flower and check out my latest review! Plus I am thrilled once again to be a contributer in the beautiful fall edition of Rhythm Of The Home. Happy September everyone!~

I'll be back next week. We're going SAILING!

this blog post is brought to you by The Sun

2011-08-30T07:42:00.000-04:00

Word on the street is that power to our neighborhood won't be back on until Friday. That's 5+ days without power. For many people it's a huge hardship, but on our little ship we have a secret weapon.

Four happy solar panels, 175 watts each. They have been soaking in the post-hurricane rays and leaving us running on our normal routine. We don't have heat or air conditioning (we plug into the dock power for that), but with perfect day and night temps right now that's not an issue. We just let the sun dance on the solar panels.

(even overcast or late day sun gives us juice!)

Then this little gizmo regulates the charging...

And our AGM batteries store all that power so we have it at night when the sun is not shining.

No moving parts. Nothing to break down. Quiet. Reliable. Seriously, why do we bother with any other power source? So if you're local and your ice cream is melting and your milk is souring, bring it on by.

a visit with irene

2011-08-29T00:24:00.001-04:00

She came, she made herself heard, and she left. Just like that.

Of course storm prep with sailors always ends up being half macho fest/ half dock party. There's talk of knots (both wind speed and the tying kind) and names of other storms weathered are dropped like
A-list celebrities at a Hollywood party. Isabelle. Floyd. Yeah, been there, done that.

Doug and I joked that we may have taken the spark out of the man-fest just a wee bit as we made our preparations with Naia in the Ergo. Yes, very important manly work here.

(hey mama, it's getting WINDY! check out that hair!)

The short of it is this... we studied the forecast very, very carefully. And we made the informed decision to keep the boat at the marina (rather than evacuate to a hurricane hole) and stay aboard as long as it was comfortable. We knew with the hurricane passing to our east that the the prevailing winds would be northerlies. What does this mean? In short, no storm surge in our area. And we were literally right on the line between one county that had a Category 1 warning and another that had a Tropical Storm warning. We get some butt kicking Nor'easters here that bring winds that strong every fall, so we knew the boat could take it. We prepared, yes, but we had some fun too.

(the red baron is fighting the storm clouds on our carefully wrapped stack pack)

(some neighboring boats evacuated...)

(many neighbors pitched in to make the docks safer for everyone.)

(dock carts tucked away and Zach's bait bucket tied as only a 7 year old can to the fencing there. i wonder if he will ever be able to get it off now?)

(ready for anything...)

Right around dinner time with the boat a-dancing and the winds a-howling Zach informed us that he wanted to go to Plan B. Or maybe we should call it Plan SJ. We told him if things got bad we would walk up the hill to Super Jen's place and crash over there. Well he's no fool. He knows hanging at Super Jen's place (aka World Headquarters) equals amazing food and a movie night. So he said he'd feel more comfortable going over, ahem, right at dinner time :) And afterwards declared that the best part of hurricanes was the food. Oh that strawberry shortcake.... mmmmmmm! Doug stayed with the boat and walked the docks checking other boats too.

The next morning the blow stopped as if someone flipped a switch.

First business item... free ice cream! The fuel dock office lost power (we don't have power issueson the boat except for air conditioning and heat, neither of which we need this time of year, because we run on solar) and the marina had to get rid of all of their frozen treats stat. Why yes, we will, thank you!

Then the blue skies beckoned and we decided to make it a beach day. The water was washed clean along with the breeze and the sand. I have never seen the Chesapeake Bay that empty and quiet. I think it was a healthy pause.

We collected sea glass, played on the jetty, poked at dead jellyfish, and came home wind blown and sun kissed. Really, not a bad weekend.

Thank you everyone for the well wishes and I hope other east coast folks faired as well as we did in the storm.

~this moment~ watching and waiting

2011-08-26T07:53:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A ~~single~~ couple of photo(s) capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

a funny thing happened on the way to the hurricane...

2011-08-24T08:33:00.001-04:00

So yesterday afternoon we were looking on the computer at the weather... because you know, we live on a boat and weather is something we like to pay close attention to, even when we're just hanging out in the slip waiting for rigging.

And my geographically inclined child pointed out the obvious... "Hey mom, that hurricane is coming to the Chesapeake Bay!" Oh, yes. Why hello there Irene, how sporting of you to plan a visit up our way. If you please, don't come to close because evacuating with a baby is a real P.I.T.A.

So we did the prudent thing. We started making long term plans... just in case. Clear the decks and cockpit. Toys off the dock now, just to get it done. And of course go buy groceries and batteries and such now before she comes any closer and the stores get all crazy like.

But we were unable to avoid crazy. Because my friends there is nothing crazier than living on the mid-Atlantic seaboard and feeling a 6.0 earthquake. It was a first for everyone in my family. We were in the underground parking lot at Whole Foods getting ready to hop out and shop. I was sorting through which of our grocery bags was the least disgusting to bring in and use while Zach declared that he would handle unbuckling Naia and getting her out of her seat (oy).

Then the shaking. I took a mama bear deep breath and did what any mama would do. I blamed the earthquake on my son. Without even looking up from my moldy bag sorting I hollared, "Be gentle with your sister! Stop monekying around back there!"

Then I realized, that shake was not from a monkey, more like a gorilla. Was a friend playing a joke? We almost always run into a friend at "Whole Check" so I thought maybe somebody was jumping on my back bumper to be funny. A quick check in the rearview mirror... nope. So being a jaded Washingtonian my next thought was, "Oh crap. Another terrorist attack. Well at least we'll be trapped somewhere with lots of good food."

No, too rhythmic for terrorists. Then I hopped out and saw the looks on the faces of everyone else in the parking lot. Could it be? Was that just? It was!

Radio on, phone the hubby, and drive out of that underground lot as fast as we safely could. People on the streets looking totally bewildered. I know my West Coast buddies think this is all funny for a wee little 6.0-er. But we're all earthquake virgins here. And our buildings are most definitely NOT set up for this. And for many of my friends it was their kids first day at school. So life here got a little chaotic. The National Cathedral lost some spires. The Washington Monument looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We're just not set up for this. We drove around in circles for about 20 minutes wondering what to do. And the decision was made. Buy our hurricane food at Trader Joes instead ;) They are above ground afterall.

So if things are a little quiet here this week it's because we're getting ready for that blizzard. Or ducking a tornado. Or that toads are falling from the sky.

the daily grind

2011-08-23T00:30:00.000-04:00

All moms know that feeling. You spin your wheels all day long and then as the sun is sneaking down to the horizon you look around and feel as if you've gotten nothing at all accomplished. I have to remind myself... a lot... that's it's not all about the quantity of things checked off my infinite to do list, it's about the quality in the time spent each day.

I understand the temptation to plug the kids in, drop them off with a sitter, sweep them under the rug so one can get something accomplished. And believe me there are days when I would give a bag of gold to have an uninterrupted thought in my head. But the tasks we do together, as slow and insane as they may be, are worth the mess and worth the extra time taken.

The salad could have been made in 10 minutes. It took a good hour, and that does not include cleaning the counter or the chubby cheeked helper. She felt what it was like to squash a tomato in her fingers, she tasted some avocado and promptly spit it back out, she smelled her first lemon and made a spectacular pucker after a curious lick, she ripped up pieces of kale with wreckless abandon. I am so glad neither of us missed those moments for the sake of "getting it done".

Of course we could buy laundry detergent at the store. Bam. Game over. But I have become addicted to making our own (one recipe here, and there are many variations online). It's less expensive, the ingredients are basic and good, and it smells wonderful. Yes, it takes an afternoon of Zach grating the soap while Naia tries to sabotage every step of the process with determination and dimples. But we're under the oak tree, listening to the halyard clang against the masts, smelling the pepperminty goodness of the Dr. Bronners, working together. It's all part of their becoming and my remembering.

gotta regatta

2011-08-22T00:45:00.000-04:00

While my teammates on the Dyneema Experience Team are winning ocean races with their sporty new rigging, we are taking a low tech approach to regattas - root beer cans and lots of tape!

(serisous about the start!)

Zach has been counting down the days to the annual 12 Ounce Regatta here in town. Kids who enter are given a bucket of supplies including the root beer cans. You are limited to what is in the bucket to create your vessel and the vessel must fit back in the bucket when it's finished. The race committee provides the water and the wind, and off they go! The last time we did this race was two years ago. That's because last year he worked and worked on his boat and a certain pregnant mama got the day and time wrong on the calendar and we missed the race. (I swear that's going to be one of those things he will remind me of when he's 40. Oy.) I was looking back at past races and noticing how very little he looked up there and remembering how there were many tears at lost races, lots of nerves, and it was an accomplishment for him to just stand up there alone and launch his boat without mama or daddy.

(age 5)

This time around the boy hardly checked in with us as he compared boats with fellow racers, he kept track of the standings on his own, and he finally understood what it means to be a good sport while cheering on his competitors and genuinely being grateful for his 6th place finish overall. I think the grown up racers could learn a thing or two from these little ones.

~this moment~ mutiny

2011-08-19T08:17:00.000-04:00

The Dyneema Experience Challenge is drawing to a close in one month and I have the honor of being the only team that Dyneema and New England Ropes has not provided with the free re-rig we were promised in winning the contest. Other teams are competing for a trip to Spain by blogging, tweeting, and otherwise loving all over the new rigging they've had since April. No chance at Spain for me because I can't blab about something I don't have. But I can blab about not having it. It is a social media competition afterall.

How can you help? Throw your weight behind my pal Cidnie. She is the only American and the only cruiser (as opposed to racers who have loads of money and influence to help them win) and the only mom in the final running. The only thing holding her back is followers. Just click and sign here where it says "follow me" to support her bid.

And if you're feeling surly, click on the FB pages linked above for New England Ropes and Dyneema and tell them what you think of running a contest without supplying all of the competitors with the tools they need to compete.

Happy Weekend and thanks!

michigan love

2011-08-16T00:50:00.002-04:00

So much goodness in our trip back home. My hometown is Chicago where I was born and mostly raised. But this little cabin on Lake Michigan is the closest thing I have to "coming home" from childhood. My family has had this place for 30 years. My little odds and ends from those decades are placed throughout the cabin and it was a trip to discover them again, and to see Zach discover them too. I remember when I would arrive as a kid the first thing I wanted to do was run over and have a porch chat with our neighbor Carol, and of course as Carol worked her magic charm on Zach he too needed to run over (by myself mama, like a big boy) and have his porch time with her as well. I still favor the sleeping porch as the one little bedroom, even when it's vacant, still feels like my parents room to me. How amazing to watch your baby sleep in the very spot you slept in as a girl.

Anyhow, the only thing missing was our dear old sailboat. The one I learned to sail on. The storms last winter took her away I am told.

But the week was full even without the sailing. Full of cousins getting to know each other and fresh picked berries and local wine and board games and sandy bums and wave jumping and rock collecting and uncles and aunties and neighbors and old friends and bon fires and junk shops and storms and ghosts and memories.

I *heart* Michigan.

~this moment~

2011-08-12T09:15:00.001-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

Postcards: The Woods

2011-08-11T09:13:00.000-04:00

Postcards: I Heart Michigan Beaches

2011-08-08T22:17:00.000-04:00

~this moment~

2011-08-05T08:46:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

this and that and some of that too

2011-08-03T23:56:00.000-04:00

Oh dear, I am running on empty over here. The little Miss is keeping us all scurrying as she crawls here and there and pulls herself up on everything and cruises along what she can grab a hold of. The good news is that all of this action equals a baby who finally naps. (insert applause here) The bad news is she is getting into everything and is hell bent on walking and chasing that brother of hers. I may have even purposely dressed her in long girly dresses lately just to slow her down. :) She is the living definition of determined.

Then the boy and his crabs. All he wants to do is crab. All. Day. Long. He got to the point of catching them with his bare hands. So proud, have a look. This photo was taken right before the little critter grabbed his finger and would not let go. Baby in arms I was totally unable to get the thing off, thank goodness daddy was not to far away and came to the rescue. Needless to say, there were tears. Many things are ending in tears lately. Must be a growth spurt.

And in the midst of baby chasing and boy tending and work deadlines piling on... I have this to contend with.

This is the trunk of my car in all of its splendor. In my defense, it's fairly normal for boat dwellers to use their cars as storage and pack them to the brim. The problem is that in a couple of days we are all piling into this wee Honda Civic and going on a road trip. Alas, the car needs to be emptied so that we can pack all of our things in there. Um, help.

And to top it all off, I no longer have a camera. Not to fear, this was by design. My camera is now in the hands of a dear friend and I am waiting for the new one to ship. And waiting. Like waiting for that rigging I won back in April. Yes waiting. Waiting.

forget lemonade stands

2011-08-01T00:07:00.000-04:00

This is what young entrepreneurs on the docks do for some extra summer ice cream money.

And the jar that says, "Give Me What You Can" was a very clever tactic. Within a 1/2 hour of the boys setting up their little shop in the marina dock office on the fuel dock they made $4! Guess who wants to spend every waking moment catching shrimp now...?

~this moment~ her tribe

2011-07-29T07:25:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

p.s. Don't forget to enter the Alphabet Glue giveaway until tomorrow morning. Have a great weekend!

slices of summer

2011-07-28T08:30:00.000-04:00

:: little bare feet ::

:: boys and their toys ::

:: outdoor creative time ::

:: indoor escapes from the heat ::

:: blanket & book time ::

I hope you are savoring the season wherever you may be....

GIVE AWAY - Alphabet Glue!!

2011-07-26T08:31:00.002-04:00

I am so pleased to introduce you all to Annie. She is the force behind the fabulous Alphabet Glue, a quarterly, downloadable magazine for families who love books. She fills each issue with ideas, book lists, crafts, games, and printables that you can use to get those creative story telling/ reading/ crafting juices flowing.

I adore the reading lists in each issue, packed with old favorites and several new stories we can't wait to check out. And the activities are so beautifully open ended they can be adapted to many age levels for all of the kids in your family. It's clear that Annie really pours her heart into each issue and I am so looking forward to upcoming editions.

The Spring and Summer issues are already out and the Fall issue will be available in early September. Annie is generously offering 5 lucky winners the issue of their choice. ~~Please leave a comment here and tell us about some favorite stories or books in your family.~~ Also please go to Alphabet Glue's Facebook page and like them there too for an extra entry. And you can always buy copies of Alphabet Glue here.

Thank you so much to Anne from Alphabet Glue!

p.s. sorry I forgot to mention I will leave the giveawya open to entries until Saturday morning. Thanks!

COMMENTS CLOSED!

Our 5 lucky winners are: ASHLEY, VICTORIA, JOY, MAMA BEE, & SUSANNA

Thank you!!

tell me a story

2011-07-25T07:11:00.000-04:00

Tell me a story, tell me a story” is a refrain my husband and I hear from Zach at least 3 times a day. Story telling has become not just a bed time thing, but an integral part of our daily rhythm and our family relations. We’re not talking about reciting the Three Little Pigs, I mean original off the top of your head stories.
I know what you’re thinking… “But I CAN’T make up stories, I am so (insert excuse here)!” Let me be very clear about one thing, whatever you think your shortcomings are, your littles not only have no idea but they also think you are fabulous!

My husband is the perfect case to prove this point. He’s a tech guy. He spends all day in a cold, windowless server room surrounded by chirping computers. Let’s just say he does not get any daily opportunity to flex his creative muscles nor did he usually want to before Zach. But now he is the King Story Teller of our family (especially funny since I am the one who makes stories for a living!) Through the years he and Zach together have created a cast of characters. Mango Man, Cloud Man, Mr. Moth, and some other not-so-original ones my husband sprinkled in there like The Ghostbusters (oh honey you are aging yourself!) Doug usually tells stories in the serial manner, picking up where they left off each time and stretching it out.

I am less a chapter book story teller and more the picture book kind, if you know what I mean. Short and cute. My characters revolve around our family which is something Zach really pushed for. Since we only see our family once a year or less and many died before Zach was born, they are all sort of like characters to him. He likes stories about Tio (my brother) and Martha (my mom who died 10 years ago) and Ruthie (my hilarious step-grandma who also died before Zach was born) and our beloved deceased Schooner-dog.

We often don't have to worry about coming up with material because he likes to call the shots. “Tell me a story about the time Tio and I and Schooner-dog went into the candy cane volcano and Ruthie saved us from the evil trolls.” And the real pay off is the way he has started to regale us with his stories lately, his most recent tales are of a naughty nine armed octopus.

Some days I am brain dead, you know they way we moms get. And my stories are weak fillers around the frame he laid out. And other days we create long winding gems with all kinds of twists and turns. Sometimes I find myself stealing from popular culture stories or books I have read that he’s not been exposed to yet because I feel like I can’t come up with something original. And that’s ok. The point is not so much the story itself. The point is you are giving your child your completely undivided attention. You’re not thinking of what you have to get done that day, you’re not making lunch, you’re not checking your email. You are looking each other in the eye, exchanging ideas, creating a memory.

Check in tomorrow for a fun story telling give away you won't want to miss...

~this moment~

2011-07-22T08:46:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

baby talk

2011-07-21T07:43:00.000-04:00

No, she's not talking. But she communicates insanely well. And it's making me stop and really take in her every glance and hand gesture and facial change. With Zach being my first, I focused so much on verbal language. Here is my baby, I will talk to him and eventually he will talk as well. And he did. Insanely early and non-stop and very, very clearly with a huge vocabulary. But I am wise enough to know that Naia is not Zach and she will find her voice on her own terms in her own time. Yet somehow at the end of the day I feel like I can turn to my husband and tell him everything she said, even though she hasn't "said" a thing.

First of all, that punim. The looks she gives could stop a bear in its tracks. When she is not interested in something the eyes say it all. Be gone commoners, the Queen has spoken! (The commoners in these scenarios are usually Zach and I.) When she's sad, it's all lower lip and eyebrows. They both dip down and quiver just before the waterworks. Her wee little mouth lights up in a wide open grin when her brother makes her laugh or mama plays "eat the baby". She crawls across the floor examining every piece of lint on the way as if it's her life's work (and it is!) She paws through her books with equal parts dainty and awkward, trying to get the darn things exactly the way she wants them and often turning the sturdy cardboard pages with her long slender toes. And those feet! We call them happy feet because she manages to balace on her tush and kick them up and down at a rapid fire pace when she's extra excited about something.

All day long she tells me what she likes, what she needs, what she wants, what's not working for her, when she needs to rest, when she needs to nurse, that she's not ready for trying food yet, and she would very much like to be walking now because truly crawling is for babies.

(check me out I'm standing!)

(oh crud. I WAS standing.)

She tells me that certain people make her happy while others make her uneasy, that dogs are amazing and cats are a mystery to be solved. She whispers that trees are magical and wind confuses her. She declares to the world that her brother is the funniest person on planet Earth. She would really like to know the mechanical engineering behind seat belts. And she confides that she's only barely tolerating life jackets with the promise of a day when they are not a full body experience.
Dolls, baby toys... forget them! Plugs, wires, hair brushes, paint brushes, sun glasses, car keys, rope, bottle caps -- yes! This is a girl who knows what she likes and will not be lured in by sparkles and fluff.

I am filled with wonder at the end of each day, as she lets me know that she would please very much like to nurse to sleep now and I look at her snuggled next to me in bed and marvel at her silence when she in reality has not uttered a word all day. And with one last sleepy glance from her long lashes she reminds me that she doesn't prefer bedtime poems or songs like her brother, no thank you, but if you could stroke my hair and not say a word that will get me on the fast track to dream land.

I am savoring this intimate time, when her language is mine to unlock and interpret. I am loving this brief spell of magical conversations that float invisibly from her heart to mine.

spoiled rotten duck

2011-07-20T00:35:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. It starts with a bowl shape imprint in the soil of our dockside "garden". Zach saw the imprint first and came running breathlessly to announce that we were once again selected by the local female Mallards as a nesting site. The pattern goes that each night an egg is laid and by morning mom is gone and just the eggs remain. This is the pattern for about 3-4 days at which point she sits non-stop on her nest leaving only for the rare sunset swim. And there she'll sit for about 28 days.

Zach is naming this one Bandito because he says she has a mask on her face.

It's really no wonder why we have so many ducks nesting on our finger pier because the truth is we pamper our mamas to be. Bread crusts are left at her side most mornings. Zach places a dock cart across the pier when we go out with a sign he made declaring "No Dogs." And in the heat of the day we water our duck. Yes, we turn on the hose and from far enough away so she doesn't feel threatened we sprinkle a cooling rain shower on her so she may have a drink (which she does with glee) and cool off.

It's an interesting cross section between wild animal and pet. She likes it best when we pretend she's invisible, but I also know she's come to expect her crusts and water. And she showed an amazing display of mama-bear instincts when we witnessed her full on attacking a very started neighbor dog who made the grave error of sniffing in the general direction of her nest. The pooch (who is supposed to be a hunting breed, ahem) was completely startled and beaten. Go Bandito!

(Zach took this shot.)

We'll keep you posted on any sighting of ducklings which should be another 10 days or so...

why winter stinks

2011-07-18T07:44:00.000-04:00

I am not a winter person. No surprise statement there for the folks who know me. I really have a hard time loving on the snow and ice. And part of the reason is all of this.

There is just too much to love about summer. Crabbing and fishing and dinghy rides and stand up paddle boarding and catching fireflies and eating outdoors. Critters everywhere, free range kids with filthy feet, sun kissed cheeks, and popsicle faces.

Our marina always has people outside at all hours, sharing meals, sharing wine, helping with each other's kids, playing music, chatting the day away.

There is just too much goodness going on to even fathom things like clothes or shoveling or heaters or darkness.

I so understand the yearning for an endless summer.

~this moment~ following the leader

2011-07-15T07:37:00.000-04:00

(she's officially a woman on the go now...)

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

variations on a square

2011-07-14T08:43:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share some of my summer sewing projects. No wait, don't click away! You have the right blog, really. Yeah, this is the sailing chick who doesn't know basting from serging and swears a lot at her sewing machine. But my son told me it's not nice to talk to mechanical equipment that way, and suggested I "try my hardest" (where on earth did he learn that old line). So I made a few things that are basically no-pattern-required, just sew a few striaght-ish lines, slap-em-together, variations on the sqaure.

First some warm clothing for our fenders. No really, for those not on boats, fender covers are a silly little luxury that serve a small purpose. Since our boat is fresh from the haul out yard with a nice summer wax job, we didn't want to let our funky old fenders rub against the shiny hull. (Wanna here a fun fact? We did not buy one fender for this boat. They have all floated to us after various storms. We just pluck them out of the water and put them to work.) So some basic polar fleece (it was on sale this summer!) sewn into little sausage sacks means when our fneders rub, they are also buffing the hull instead of marking it.

Next up... some more paper notebooks. Sewing paper is a little tricky for me, but super satisfying. Zach picked out images from various magazines and catalogs and we recycled some mostly blank sheets to go inside. I also made him a little felt notebook too using this tutorial.

And finally, Miss Naia's mat.

I got this small piece of Etsuko Furuya oil cloth on etsy and knew what I wanted to do. Paired up with some dark purple terry cloth I once again amazed myself by sewing a square-ish thing. I managed to get the two pieces together, turn in right side out, and then as I wanted to sew a border and close it the machine protested and revolted. Super Jen was busy (damn her for supporting her family) but I found another neighborhood sewing master to help me finish the last bit on her sturdy machine (hey Jen, bet you can't guess who?)

The idea is that if Naia ever decides to, oh I don't know, taste something other than the one blueberry she ate on Zach's birthday (yep that's all she's ever had in the food department) then the mat will be ready to catch her mess. But thus far, food like these tantilizing bits of fresh mango are met with a mix of scientific curiosity (what is this strange stuff and why are you giving it to me?)...

...and regal disgust (what is this strange stuff and why are you giving it to me?)

But there is a pretty mat there to squish it all on.

WIP - the floors

2011-07-13T00:46:00.000-04:00

Our floors are embarrassing. The carpet that came with the boat have been through an aging dog and a potty training boy and everything in between. Not to mention that carpet on a boat is just wrong and gross. And the delaminating faux teak and holly in the rest of the boat is splintering and peeling and also just gross. We've tossed down throw rugs and replaced pieces of carpet in the cabins and steam cleaned and nothing seems to make it better. It's an especially sore point now since we have a family member who spends most of her time on this gross floor. But we've hesitated ti replace it partly because of the cost to do so and partly because we have hemmed and hawed about what to replace it with and can't really decide.

But then the other day I hit my breaking point with these floors. Naia was napping, I handed Zach some sharp tools and said, "Let's get this floor out of here." And we did. Or we are. It's a true work in progress.

We have been ripping up the laminate in the galley and the carpet in the work room and guest cabin are out. We ordered one box of a flooring we really like called Plynyl. It seems to be the perfect mix of nice looking, low maintenance, and boat friendly as an easy to install vinyle weave. It's just really expensive. So we found a place online selling it really cheap, and we ordered one box to try it out, and we love it, and we went back to order more... only to find out that was their close out sale. They won't be carrying it any more :(

(two samples of Plynyl flooring)

So we have a half ripped out floor, half the amount of flooring we need to replace it. If anyone has any awesome boat flooring ideas... we're all ears. :)

water baby p.s.a.

2011-07-12T09:27:00.000-04:00

(Zach age 4 months)

Swimming is not a sport, or a pastime, or a summer thing. It's a life skill. But for some reason people spend more time and effort teaching their kids to ride a bike than swim. If your kid never learns to ride a bike, it's really no big deal. I don't ride. If your kid doesn't learn to swim, they could die. It's just that simple. Of course I have extra special interest in kids swimming because of this life we lead. I always joke that in our family you can learn to walk, talk, read, write all at your own pace. But you WILL be swimming by the time you're 2 years old. It's just how we roll here.

(Zach age 1 year)

I don't believe in "drown proofing" classes (in fact I think those are dangerously misleading.) I don't think there is any magic method to teaching a baby to swim. All it takes is 200% dedication on the part of the parents. When Zach was a tyke we did infant swim classes for about a year. Mostly because I hadn't a clue what I was doing. Once I got the hang of it (and "it" was just, repetition and fun like with learning anything) I just kept up on my own. We went to the pool EVERY week, 52 weeks a year, no matter what until he was about 3 years old. In the summer we swim every day. Once he was 3 I felt confident enough not to swim with him throughout the winter and that he would not lose any ground because of it. But we still went... a lot.

(Zach age 2 & Daddy in the ocean in Mexico)

Zach and his friends are like otters in the water, so natural and free flowing. And I have some opinions (take as you will) about how kids end up like this.

Aside from going and going and going, steer clear of floatation aids. Water wings, swim vests and the like are only useful when a parent is short handed with more than one little and needs to keep them safe. Other than that, the only thing they teach a kid is how to rely on something other than their own body for floatation. Babies and kids need to develop their core strength and figure out which parts of their little bodies need to work in order to keep their head above water. And finally... let go. The thing I see parents do more than anything is gently pass the little one from mom to dad like a delicate egg without ever letting the kid off anyone's hands. The great thing about pool is you can see the bottom. And you're usually teaching in 3-4 feet of water... let go. Just trust me on this one.

Ok, off the soap box and on to the cute pictures....

(yes she is underwater and dare I say smiling. she goes under all the time. from jumping in off the edge from a seated position to pushing off the steps to me about a foot away. it's perfectly natural for babies to kick and hold their breath. zach caught this shot while she was swimming to me.)

(Zach and Naia both love to play chase in the pool. Just one coo of "I'm gonna get the baby" or "Come and get big brother" and her chubby thighs start kicking like crazy.)

(cool splash made from Naia jumping in)

Naia is living up to her name (dolphin in Hawaiian and water sprite in various other languages) and she just adores the pool. We started her at 6 months, buying a pass to the local indoor pool unitl our marina pool opened. When our marina pool closes in September we'll buy a pass again and start our weekly trips all. year. long.

One more word on water safety. Even though Zach is a sea otter, we still require him to wear a PFD when playing on the docks or at anchor. And we always will. Nobody is a good swimmer when they fall in and on the way down hit their head, twist their leg, or bang up their arm. Safety first.

Now go swim with your kids.

p.s. all of the water pics were taken with a Fuji FinePix camera. correction, with Zach's Fuji FinePix camera. It also does video.

look! a sailboat!

2011-07-11T08:21:00.000-04:00

Oh wait, that sailboat is mine. And look, it has a... SAIL on it. (pause for cheers)

Blame it on homeland security I am told. Apparently our made overseas sail got stuck in customs for a 2 month inspection. I feel good knowing that all those people want to look over our sail and make sure it was made properly (ahem).

(ooooo, that's some major hardware on that clew.)

But onward we go. First a few weeks back Doug and our neighbor Tom took on the task of putting in the strongtrack system. A simple task in theory, but it was like squeezing a pig into a leotard. The task went well into the night and required wine and chocolate.

Now the advertisement for this system shows a young lad about Zach's age pulling effortlessly at the main halyard (halyard = ropes that make the sails go up and down) and says "Even a 6-year old can raise the main with our system." Now previously it took one, sometimes 2 grown men to raise our beast of a main. So... beware advertising men. I WILL be putting your words to the test and you WILL be hearing from me if my now 7 year old can not raise this sail.

(Lovely new track, same old ugly running rigging...)

Onward again... the stack pack went on first. This is just basically a nice built in cover for the main. But if you have kids, it's also a tree house, and that's part of how our last one died. So we asked for extra reinforcements to be built in at critical spots to hopefully tolerate the tree house role. And we have established some rules for our chief tree house dweller to help extend the life of the stack pack.

And then yesterday that very expensive piece of Dacron gleaming in the sun, shining with potential finally took it's place on our boom and mast.

So now if we maybe get our new rigging from Dyneema someday... perhaps we can.... gasp... sail our sailboat!

~this moment~ clean up crew

2011-07-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

p.s. I forgot to mention last week that my latest review is posted over at the super cool Soul Flower Blog. Go check it out and tell us what you think.

so happy together

2011-07-07T07:59:00.000-04:00

So many people told me about this whole sweet sibling thing. I don't know if I didn't listen or didn't believe them or a little of both. But seeing these two peas in a pod interact with each other brings me sunshine each and everyday.

He will lay down right under her just so she can pull his hair and beat on him and for some reason he thinks that's the funniest thing in the world (for now).

And every opportunity he gets he loves to read to her. She will even throw books at him, which I will call asking for a story to give her the benefit of the doubt.

It's really a good age spread for us so far. He's old enough not to feel territorial about his things, and she's little enough to be happy just sitting in the middle of his play in awe of his every word and move.

Nobody can make her smile like he does. Nobody can send her into a belly laugh like he does. And he is so feircely loyal to her, wanting to always cuddle her first thing in the morning or hold her or go to her when she seems upset. I know they will have their moments of holy terror, but I am blissing out on the bonding for now.

good things

2011-07-06T00:11:00.000-04:00

Pardon my French but our weekend was crappy. Just plain poopy. There was a tragic death of a dear doggie-friend that sent Zach reeling. There was a birth of a beautiful boy that was sabotaged by the "system" and sent the mama into a tailspin. And there was me in the middle of it all trying to make things right that I truly had zero control over. This weekend I was doula, milk donor, boy soother, baby bouncer, and somewhere in there we also welcomed a video crew on to our boat for a whilrwind interview. Rather than grapple with the things that zipped out of my control, I thought I would take a moment to focus on the things I have a happy handle on...

::Zach putting his own personality into his bedroom (he's obsessed with Horatio Nelson)::

::The way he constantly declares himself a "thousandaire" in several countries::

::getting some creative time with my boy here and there::

::fresh air induced naps::

::sleeping totem of children::

(I am also messing for formats on the blog, which a big joke for a computer challenged person like me. Please be patient as things shift until they fall into place.)

~this moment~ paws off the dress pal

2011-07-01T08:39:00.001-04:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

sunset dinghy ride

2011-06-30T08:45:00.001-04:00

It's been a long time summer tradition for our wee family to take the dinghy out well after dinner and putter around the creek or around town to see what we can see. Sometimes we make a new friend in the anchorage. Sometimes we spy a family of turtles our for a sunset swim. Sometimes we venture into town for ice cream. Sometimes we go and go for the sake of going.

So this last week we introduced Naia to the sunset family dinghy ride. Naia is still in the Weeble Wooble stage with her life jacket and only barely tolerated being in it at best. At 8 months old it's a full body experience and I appreciate how awkward it must be. She's a trooper, but her face says it all.

I was extra super proud of Zach who has become quite good at driving the dink. He's been taking the helm for a couple of years now, but in the past it was more like Mr. Toads Wild Ride. This time he helmed with confidence and ease, and steered us around obstacles and on course at a steady speed.

And of course, the ride served an extra purpose...

Ah yes, out cold.

en garde

2011-06-29T07:21:00.001-04:00

Ever since he was 4 years old Zach has been begging, and I mean BEGGING to take fencing class. He finally got to start this year and he loves it. I mean LOVES it! There's only one problem... nobody to practice with! Ever the resourceful lad he decided to take matters into his own hands. Of course first I caught this moment and explained that this scenario was NOT going to work, you can't fence with an unarmed opponent.

Well, Naia is now in training. She gets a front row seat to all of the action at fencing class.

And even when she was too little to sit up he was prepping her.

(She is exactly 2 months old in this photo, and yet she knows how to give him "the look".)

So the other day I was brushing my teeth (don't worry, this is going to get somewhere I promise) and Naia was begging for a toothbrush as always. Usually I hand her a second toothbrush and she coos happily and chews on it while watching me brush my teeth. This time I handed her the toothbrush and she smiled mischievously (can an 8 month old smile mischievously, oh yes!) and started fencing my toothbrush. Oh yes, young grasshopper, you have learned well. The master fancer of the boat was thrilled! I quite frankly was stunned and decided to brush my teeth over the sink. :)

So here she is ladies and gentlemen... the world's youngest fencer.

Oh yes, I am going to have my hands full.

p.s. The fabulous wooden swords in the clip and the shot below come from Friendly Fairies. I can not say enough good things about these folks, they are the best! Search their past items to see all of the varieties they make.