~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.

hello old friend

It's been three years since they've seen each other but it was as if not a day had passed. Makenzie flew in with her mum and baby sister from Australia and jumped aboard with the same sweet exuberance and mile-wide grin she had at age 2 and 3 and 4 when she was our neighbor here at the marina. Zach loves Kenzie madly, and it's been a gaping hole for him when she cast off from our creek to sail the world three years ago with her family and never made it past Bermuda. As an adult I still find myself struggling to piece together the insanity of their experience. But Zach in his wonderful way managed to make his own sense of it. And when she hopped aboard for a week long visit it was as if it all never happened.

He had a wonderful, fun filled week with his pal.  As she left, she looked him in the eye and said, "Goodbye old friend." (with her sweet newly acquired Aussie accent) And as they drove off he came up and whispered to me, "I am so thankful that she's ok mom. Now I really know it."

and put in a parking lot... oooo lalalala

We had this lovely little wood on the corner of our dead end road that was great fun to romp through. Then one day the city came in, mowed down all of the trees and plants, paved it over, put up some displays and declared it a "nature park". Yeah, a they literally paved over the forest for a nature park. A huge parking lot (which I only ever see at most 2 cars at a time as we live on a back road and all of the locals walk to this "park"), and these crazy concrete and metal thingamajigs that are supposed to demonstrate lessons on water.

The misting poles have always worked, but the concrete water fountain sculptures had padlocks on them. As a concerned citizen who uses the park all the time, I wrote letters and phoned city hall. How could you pave over a forest to put in a concrete water thingamajig and then lock them up so the people who live near this park can't even use it? I was passed around and then told that they do water demonstration programs in the spring once a month and I could pay a few dollars and sign up to be a part of one. I hung up.

So I don't know if they had a change in heart, or if more people called, or if our awesome mayor waved his magic mayoral wand (he's a buddy of ours but I don't think I ever talked to him about this), or if it was simple oversight on the part of a city worker... but we arrived at the park last week and the padlocks were gone.

I'd still rather have our forest back... but... it sure was a lot of fun!

I hope the locks stay off!

it's raining friends

And when it rains, it pours. We had no less than 7 littles (NOT including Naia and Zach) and 4 accompanying adults visiting us this weekend. They stayed with or near us in various combinations of bed hopping and sleepovers and caravans. We swam and crabbed and ate and giggled and car pooled and water taxied and chatted and generally had an amazing time.

From Finn's non-stop chatter and sunny attitude... to Elizabeth's quiet explorations... to Joy's willing hands in grabbing Naia for me when I needed an extra helper... An Art Family temporarily became A Boat Family.

(Joy comandeeers the galley.)

 Sweet Noah's strength and solid grounding was such a fabulous example to Zach. And Kirsten with her open, loving heart and easy going demeanor. And Ethan the wonder boy with his crazy expressive face and comic releif. We so enjoyed the Taylor family and we can't wait until their RV pulls into our neck of the woods again.

And our last visitor... well that's a whole other post...

~this moment~ uneven match

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.

signs of summer

:: the playsilk sunshades are back in service as our temps hit the upper 90's ::

:: berry cake making ::

:: seashore treasures ::

:: sandy, chubby baby bits ::

How is the season shaping up by you?

p.s. don't forget to enter the Red Charlotte Givaway here!

her corner

This is Naia's little corner of the universe when big brother and mama are busy. We set her here and she has all of her worldly goods around her to grab and shake and throw and touch.

Lambskins on the bottom, this and that in a basket, and a soft landing behind her for when (not if, when) she's so excited that she topples backwards. Her yummy ring stacker and her basket of books. Oh how she seems to LOVE those books.

Some bugs fly overhead teasing her every now and again...

It's all good and cozy, of course until she figures out how to crawl away from it :)

And from her determination, that will be any day now... any day.

GIVEAWAY - Red Charlotte

I am happy to introduce you to fellow boat dwelling mama Charlotte for a giveaway this week. I met Charlotte about a year and a half ago when I interviewed her for an article in SAIL Magazine (see sidebar). Then we became pregnant around the same time. Then we swapped all sorts of links on etsy and it became clear we have very similar tastes. So I was all kinds of excited when she put her wonderful sewing talents out there and opened an etsy shop, Red Charlotte.

So my first question for her was naturally - how the heck do you have an etsy shop on your boat while caring for a baby?

Right now I rent a small workspace near the boat where I do all my sewing and store my fabric, so Red Charlotte is not technically run from our sailboat, although I do all of the computer work on board. Cora is my little work buddy. We have a daily and weekly groove. I have a set list of things that need to get done each day, but they are never done at the same time or in the same order. Each day always includes: some type of exercise, some hours spent sewing, and some playtime outdoors with Cora. When I'm working in the shop, Cora is always there with me. She plays with her toys and I stop periodically to read her books and sing songs. We sit together while I trim and turn sucking pads and sometimes she pushes the foot pedal as I sew. She's the best business partner ever!

(Look at that punim! This is baby Cora, the CEO of Red Charlotte, sporting one of the shop's gorgeous bibs)

You're so talented with the sewing machine, how did you learn?

My mom taught me how to use a sewing machine when I was a little girl. I also loved to hand sew and would design clothes for my dolls and make them sleeping bags and purses. I grew up in Alaska, so the long, Alaskan winters offered me a lot of time to sit at home and practice my craft!

Red Charlotte offers up all kinds of sweetly sewn baby items in really fabulous fabrics, even organic ones. One of my favorites are the sucking pads. I don't know what I'd do without these little beauties on my Ergo (they can be used on all kinds of carriers). They are part drool pad, part toy, part emergency rag, part oh-heck-these-are-just-a-cute-way-to-dress-up-my-ergo! Naia especially loves to play with the ribbons and I have been known to hang my keys or a playsilk from there for fun.

Today Red Charlotte is generously giving away one Ergo Stuff Sack in your choice of fabric. I have one and I can tell you it's soooooo handy! I love that my ergo can become a nice little pillow rather than be sprawled on the floor or couch looking untidy. And the sack protects my ergo when we're out and about. These are a fun way to treat yourself and they make fabulous gifts for new parents.

(This was perfect for our recent beach camping trip. It protected my baby carrier and doubled as a pillow!)

To enter for the stuff sack giveaway please just leave a comment here telling us your favorite item from Red Charlotte. This giveaway is open to anyone, even overseas. For an extra entry click on over to the Red Charlotte facebook page and become a fan. I will close comments Friday morning and post a winner Friday evening.

And the winner is... Lisa from Sweet Georgia and the Crafty Squirrel! Congratualtions!


In addition Charlotte is offering a 10% discount in her shop from now through Sunday June 12 to anyone using the code BOATBABY2011.
Thank you Red Charlotte!

~this moment~ nature girl

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.

of ponies and sunshine

It was the holiday weekend, the traffic lines to get over the bridge, the sing-song chorus of "are we there yet", the Honda Civic jammed full of everything we could think of and then a few things more.

A few hours later we pitched our wee tent, threw in the backpacks, and dashed over the dunes to see this.

My boy. That chilly Atlantic Ocean. They skip and dance together like old friends. And the girl, discovering the shore grain by grain. The infinite possibilities of the ever shifting sand keeping her endlessly mesmerized.
Each foamy wave that teased her feet brought a squeal of delight. Each shell had to be thoroughly examined, scanning its every bump into her consciousness. And small beach critters running for their lives as her King Kong grip reached out to greet them.

No plastic beach toys. No bags full of novels and shovels. Just a quilt and a camera and each other and the joy of watching the littles get completely lost in this scene. Then back over the dunes, a meal, a rinse, and readying for sleep.

Our cozy tent holds the whole world. My two babies and my love.

And we hear the waves crashing beyond the dunes, and the birds busy with their debates, and we hear the hoofbeats.

Evidence leading right to our tent door. I felt the nose press against the red nylon while we nursed. I felt the hoofs thunder past on the hot sand. A neighing phantom.

I woke before the rest, bladder leading me into the dunes. So this is that thing they call sunrise. How cool and welcoming before a scorching day. No human sounds. Just the dewy beads like jewels lining my path.

Finally that afternoon we spy them. First far off, playing and sparring and galloping in the breeze. I use my telephoto, sure that this is as close as we'll get to these wild island beauties.

'

"That's the one," he whispers. "She came back to see me." He is still. Stiller than I think is possible for a 6-year old boy. She ambles up. Then another. And another. "They trust me," he breathes. Closer, closer they come. His smile was a mile wide.

And the afternoon brought another wonder. She napped. A baby napping may not seem like such a big deal, but this is Super Power Nap Baby who normally only naps for 15 minutes at a time. She slept and slept and slept and slept. I kept checking her breathing. I read a book. An entire book. I stretched. I listened to my own music on the iPod. She would occasioanlly toss or roll her sweaty little head leaving wet spots on the sleeping bag. But she slept and slept. Dreaming of ponies and sunshine.