... bring May flowers

There was a whole lot of wet stuff falling from the skies last week. I am grateful our home floats, because other parts of our area were quite underwater for a couple of days. Once the sun came out again though, well, who could resist?

We were invited to a traditional May Day celebration at a friend's house, so after a quick sponge down and change of clothes it was all flowers and ribbons and sunshine.

(Photo lovingly swiped from Cindy Edwards/ Harmonious Kids)

When we got back to the marina Zach and the neighbor girls made May Day flower cones for our dock neighbors. It was a random act of kindness kind of thing, but one neighbor said thank you to the kids with fresh baked chocolate cupcakes the next day, so I think this may become a habit.

And of course Naia couldn't resist once again a little mud action...

Wishing everyone a Happy May!

There Be Dragons

This year was the first time we were able to create a little community Michaelmas festival for the kids. There are loads of blogs and web sites out there that can explain all about this festival of dragons (this one being one of my favorites and of course I stole lots of ideas from my pal Joy)... so I'll just let the photos do the talking. It was a beautiful evening of dragon slaying and strength and music and stories and food and fun.

::beeswax dragon medallions::

:: serving trays 2 for $1 with some burlap ribbon handles, then the kids decorated them as shields::

 

:: games of balance and courage::

:: Our fabulous Master of Ceremonies and her little helper::

::gourd dragon::

::dragon meatloaf::

::that meatloaf isn't getting away now! he was delicious!::

 

::making dragon bread by candle light::

::story time::

Dragon Books:
The Land of Long Ago by Elsa Beskow
Saint George And The Dragon by Margaret Hodges
Where's The Dragon by Jason Hook (one of Naia's all time favorite books!)
That's Not My Dragon (Usborne touchy feely board book)
Dragons by Lucille Recht Penner

and other books celebrating the fall Equinox...
We Gather Together by Wendy Pfeffer
Persephone by Sally Pomme Clayton

spiraling in the darkness

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~

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.

root children rain check

In years past, to celebrate the first day of spring, I have surprised Zach by waking up early and hiding small goodies around the marina for him to find from the root children who are busy preparing the earth for the coming season.

This morning we had a thunderstorm. And I got about 2 hours of sleep thanks to a little girly who thinks it's fun to practice her Irish step dancing in the middle of the night while refusing to nurse (it's like she KNOWS it will put her to sleep, little stinker). And half of the little odds and ends I had tucked away for him I just couldn't remember where I'd put them especially with all of that stuff piled around the boat from painting. So we took a rain check on our root children hunt. And he was just fine and dandy with that, especially with a mouth full of equinox cookies (half black half white for the 12 hours of day and night. i'd give you the recipe but alas whole foods didn't print one on the package ;)

So I gave him the handful of surprises I did manage to unearth from the depths of my closet (flowering tea, an exploding frog bath bomb from this etsy shop, a beautiful egg from mamaroots, and some magic beans) and that was plenty. The sun came out, daddy played hookie from work, we spent the day on the beach and chatting with neighbors, and that was the best way to celebrate the vernal equinox. Since it's a day all about balance anyhow, this was the most balanced I've felt in a long time. Family time, no place to be, no schedules to keep, toes in the sand, friends all around. It was the perfect way to celebrate coming out of winter hibernation. And those root children can try again next year.

Rhythmically Challenged

Ah yes, the family rhythm. The steady peaceful drumbeat of childhood. The bedrock of consistency that is supposed to make your family feel secure and run like a well oiled machine. There are many versions of it. The classic of course is:
                                   Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Market on Thursday,
Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday

In our home it's more like, "Oh crap it's Tuesday? Why didn't anyone tell me?! Hurry and get dressed we're late for (insert commitment here)."
 
I have seen many-o-blog display these beautifully simple weekely rhythm charts outlining mornings full of meaningful parent-child bonding, followed by wholesome meal preparation, and blissful afternoons with the words "quiet time" inked in a two hour block (who are these mythical children who actually become quiet on a set schedule and why aren't we cloning them?)
 
I thought about a weekly rhythm chart. I even wrote out some ideas and talked it over with Zach. But in the end it's just not who we are. We're not good at repetitive tasks. We stink at schedules. We love the friend who calls and says, "Hey meet us in the park in 10 minutes." YES. We're there. Planning a lesson for the day on mammals? Forget it! But if they boy starts to ask me about Horatio Nelson over breakfast... BAM! We're off and spending the whole day in Britsh Naval history land.

Of course it's all jaunty and romantic to imagine a life lived completely by the seat of one's pants, but the reality is we do have appointments and classes and events on our calendar (wait, did somebody flip the month on the calendar yet?) And while we like to play it by ear, that can often lead to the butting of heads when a certain 6 year old is deep in make believe land and I need to get some grocery shopping done. And even though we lean heavily into the unschooling camp, we tend to get topic-ADD. After checking out every book in the library on cheetahs, he tells me he wants to learn about Saudi Arabia instead. Or after playing outside with friends until way after dark, a certain little boy comes in and asks for a movie night at 9:30pm.

So here's what's working for us. We sat down and created little cards with the hodge podge of activities that might make up our day. And we keep them in a wee basket in the main salon.

Each morning we both pick out and clip on the things we want and need to get done that day. Some days I actaully have to clip up "eat" and "get dressed", becasue yes there have been times where neither of those things happen until way too late in the day. And sometimes I lay out a full plate of things to do. And sometimes Zach picks all of the cards for the day.

And sometimes we go for days not remembering we have the darn cards at all. And that's ok too. They're there when we need them and can nicely be ignored when we're chasing the wind. It's just how we roll here.