fruity kids

The boy who claimed just a couple of years ago to HATE apple pie is coming around. A little. He'll eat it now, but with plenty of ice cream on top. It's a good thing too because now with Naia big enough to tag along and pick too, these guys racked up A LOT of apples.

We made an outing on a perfect September day to the local you pick farm and did just that with some boat friends. The weather was perfect and nobody whined or complained or peed in their pants or got hurt. As a parent I consider that a major success.

And it was wonderful to have a tribe of worker bees helping process the apples to make into apple sauce and apple pie...

... and apple art.

(apple play dough, which is just home made red play dough with apple pie spice and a stem and leaf stuck in the top.)

Our favorite apple books this time of year are Apple by Nikki McClure, How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World by Marjorie Priceman, and we love the poem for September in Elsa Beskow's book Around The Year.

Oh, and then they picked some peaches...

And as if that were not enough... Naia then sat herself down in the blackberry bushes and ate, and ate, and ate. Did you know if a toddler eats a certain amount of blackberries their poop... oh never mind.

tribe of campers

Shenandoah National Park has become an early fall tradition for us (2010, 2011, 2012). Hiking and deer and views and park ranger programs and cave visits and sitting in the warmth of the lodge are part of our family rhythm now.

This year it was extra special because our friends the Blasers joined us. Joy and I met because of blogging, and we've become friends in person because she happens to live in the same small town as my inlaws. This was our first time traveling together, and it was such fun!

Joy and Paul's kids are truly fabulous. Aside from everyone getting along and having similar likes and such, it was so lovely to see all the different age groups hang out so nicely from 14 to 2. Nobody rolled their eyes and stomped away when Naia would perform her full repertoire of toddler tricks. Quite the contrary. The bigger kids were so kind and giving to her, always helping out and making her feel included. When a game of hide and seek in the woods would break out (not exactly a toddler friendly game in bear country), rather than tell her, "Sorry this is a big kid game, you can't go along." They offered to pair up with her and held her hand or carried her the whole time while romping out in the woods and letting her take part in hiding and seeking.

Oh and Naia was in love with the two Pauls. Both Paulie the teenager and Big Paul, Joy's husband have a special touch with little ones. She was in full flirt mode and they were more than happy to play along.

Of course Joy and I had all kinds of schemes to glamp out the camp site and have long knitting sessions in the lodge and create crafts for the kids... um...no. None of that happened. But none of it needed to because we were having too much fun just camping and hiking and hanging out.

It's always makes vacation more relaxing when you head out with people who you just click with so nicely.

Zach is aboard

I keep getting remarks from folks about how big Zach is looking. I am in denial because he is still my baby... just taller. It's truly hard to comprehend that this wee thing we brought home to the boat at 3 days old...

Is this big strong lad now.

As we've been sailing this season, I've noticed a change. He's suddenly part of the crew. I mean really part of the crew in a concrete, meaningful way. All of us sailing folk engage our kids in the process of sailing the boat even at the youngest ages. We want to keep them engaged, teach them, help them feel important, all that. But in the end, we are still doing the work and they are along for the ride.

Zach's been sailing aboard our boat and friend's boats since he was a few weeks old. However from the time he could talk and walk sailing has been a big, imaginary adventure for him. He's always taken the perch at the bow where he could bounce and watch out for ships and chatter and dream. Mom and dad would raise sails and tack around races and navigate to gunkholes and troubleshoot rigging issues and once in a while he'd come by and want to "help". But more than anything he was in his own world while we sailed. Narrating an adventure, looking out for pirates, battling invading armadas, looking out for whales and mermaids, barking orders at his crew of scallywags.

This year he's emerged from his dream state and is suddenly very rooted in the reality of sailing the boat. It's bittersweet to say the least. I realize it's developmentally appropriate for children at 7-8-9 years old to make that shift. And of course the sentimental mama in me mourns the loss of that boy deep in his imagination, like when little Jackie Paper stopped coming to see Puff The Magic Dragon.

But I am also excited for this new stage and just as ready as he is. As soon as he knows we're planning to head out, he goes on his own to start closing the correct hatches, securing the few things we need to stow, helping his sister with her life jacket, and getting tools for Doug to do engine checks.

He wants to have a real hand in figuring out our course, adjusting the sails for maximum speed, determining right of way, learning about different types of boats and ships, and of course taking his turn at the helm. Doug was below changing a diaper and I was at the helm when our mainsail had some trouble recently. I was about to holler for Doug, but then realized I didn't have to. "Hey buddy, you take the helm. Steer us straight into the wind while I run to the mast and fix things." And he did. No need to call daddy.

It's all questions, but not those nattering little kid questions that go on and on. He is absorbing, processing, putting his own spin on things, figuring out, retaining. It's like he's truly aboard now and not just along for the ride.

 I'm glad to have another wee sprite lost in dream land, so I don't have to fully wake up either.

But I am so proud of my big boy and how far he's come and how much more he has to discover.

are we home yet?

We have been traveling pretty much non stop since the end of July. It's official. I am exhausted. First there was Chincoteague. Then Michigan. Then Chicago. Then New York for the HOOT. Then Shenandoah National Park (we went with our friend Joy and her family, she is a much more diligent blogger than me and already posted all about it here.) And in between on the free days we've been out sailing.

Whew.

And through it all I have been sick (bronchitis) and tired (ok I am just old) and Naia has been a handful (she's a professional toddler) and good old Zach has been a delight... but then threw us a curve ball by falling off a galloping horse. He is in one piece. Banged up a bit, but will be back in the literal saddle again soon.

So, until I can screw my head on straight... here are a few random photos from recent adventures.

what am I doing here anyhow?

My brother blogs for the Chicago Tribune. It's part of his job and he's awesome at it. He writes about two topics close to his heart, endurance sports and being a stay at home/ work at home dad. When I was visiting last month he was being big brotherly and encouraging me to "do something more with the blog!" Make a fan page, tweet my posts, find lots of sponsors, create flashy logo photos, market to a larger audience. I get what he's saying. And I totally know how to play that game. The thing is, I just don't want to.

Could I play that character? Hell yeah, with flying colors. I am in "the biz", I understand all that and it's not rocket science. But it's also so contrary to who I am. This is not a commercial enterprise, it's a personal space.

My big brother was the one who introduced me to the concept of a blog way back in (gulp) 2006. Wow, has it been that long? Anyhow, I was a new mom and emailing photos and updates of every burp, wiggle, and coo of my precious baby boy to our far flung family. Big brother calls me ans says, "You're clogging up my inbox with your baby stuff. Put it on a blog so we can keep up without getting huge email files." A what? I was very hesitant. Did I really want my personal life, my kids, out there for just anyone to see and read about?

Then I changed my mind because of books. One day not long after my brother suggested blogging, I was online researching good books to read to my little Zach. That's when I stumbled upon the very first blogs I ever read, MamaRoots and Soulemama. I started to "get it" after reading their blogs. It's not all about me and my personal life, it's about connecting.

It was my a-ha moment. I remembered way back when I was working 50+ hour weeks as as a Supervising Producer for some HGTV shows. This was before blogs (circa 1999), but some intrepid sailors with computer savvy created web sites like this one. Out Of Bounds kept me sane and kept my dream alive until the day I was able to quit my job and cast off sailing into the sunset (which was also before blogs, so I can't link you to that journey.) I was so grateful these guys had the technology and know how and willingness to put their adventures out on the web for others to enjoy and learn from.

Later after we had our fun cruising, back in home waters I found myself pregnant with Zach. Doug and I decided we were staying on the boat, in fact we were buying a larger boat and raising the baby on it. Again, pretty much pre-blogging in 2003. We felt very alone in the boat baby thing and were looking for any port in a storm to reassure us we weren't nuts for wanting to raise a kid on a sailboat. That's when I found Ghost's web site. I connected with Angela who was raising her little ones aboard, and even met up with them in the San Juan Islands and sailed aboard their gorgeous boat when Zach was just a year old. It was so reassuring to have that connection.

Later in reading Soulemama and MamaRoots and others, I began to feel another connection with folks who parented outside the box. Co-sleeping, homeschooling, breastfeeding, baby wearing, TV free, and Waldorf inspired living were not happening around my neighborhood, but they were somewhere. And my virtual touchstones turned into real life connections with like minded mamas al over the world. Many have turned into real life friendships, others into faithful pen pals. But it all connected because of blogging.

And now in this world where everyone has a blog, I have found a nice sized boat mama tribe. You ladies know who you are, scattered between Texas, Maine, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, and floating in the Indian Ocean somewhere. We have all come together virtually and in real life to support each other in this crazy but oh so worthwhile life afloat we all lead with our children. What would I do without these mamas to chat with?

So while I "get" where my big brother was coming from in encouraging me to go for the gold, that's not why I am here. You won't find glamour shots of me (or hardly any shots of me at all), or details about my spouse and our personal time together, or photos of my pregnancy test or x-rays or new hair dos. You won't find details about the kids personal lives, or me addressing you like a talk show host, or lists of hot deals or top tens or best or worsts or must haves. You won't find slick Pinable graphic photos and I doubt I will ever write a book.

But I will be here just the same. Sharing our little slice of the world, sharing crafts and people we admire, sharing things we learn on this journey, sharing books, and sharing dreams and laughs... and hopefully reading about yours too! Because the one thing I have learned about blogging is that it's not about me. It's about connecting and helping each other and making our days a little brighter. Thank you for helping me do that.