mamaroots

a tisket a tasket

are you getting ready your May Day baskets?  We will be doing just that tonight over some homemade Turkey Pot Pie requested by Silas, made by Daddy and enjoying the movie E.T.- the boys have not seen it and wanted to watch it!

So while the impending rain pitter patters on our roof we will snuggle down and have fun making our May Day surprises for friends.  Here are some spots on-line with great ideas:

http://www.theholidayspot.com/mayday/history.htm  http://basketmakers.org/topics/seasonal/mayday/frprojmaybasket.htm  http://www.mytrendytykes.com/2009/04/may-day-basket-ideas-just-in-time-to.html http://www.alphamom.com/holiday/2009/04/may_day_basket_idea.php http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/04/27/may-day/ http://www.victoriamag.com/article.aspx?id=5484

And just for fun a sweet little poem/song I found for you for May- okay so I improvised one spot!  Happy May Day Eve everyone!  Be sure to check back tonight for announcement of the Herbal Roots May issue winner!

The moon shines bright, and the stars give light,
A little before it is day;
So God(dess) bless you all, both great and small,
And send you a joyful May!
–Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland, English Country Songs

 

so I have this problem . . .

I really love yarn and frankly I am not a knitter or really a crocheter.  Sometimes I just walk the yarn isle and just touch and feel and then well there will be one that I can't resist that I snag up.  Oh my growing basket- so what do I do with it?  Well I do like to make chains, you know just a single long chain of yarn- it just plain makes me happy.  So I went to the sidewalk sale of one of the local yarn shops and found a couple skeins and now I need to make something to conquer the growing basket- you know it takes a bit longer to get through the yarn making chains!

So this afternoon I sat in the much needed sunshine and wiped up some chains.  Oh my the loverly chunky wool alpaca blend from Ireland in this bright purple was my favorite!  Now I know you are probably wondering what to do with all those chains . . .well they work great for:

*garlands

*cat toys- haha

*May Day Pole ribbons

*May Day Basket handles (are you detecting a theme)

*gift wrap

*art work display makers!

I am suuuure there are other uses for them.  For now I am putting these to use by rolling them on some old wood spools and I am putting these together with some artist trading cards, colored pencils, and clothes pins for the shop this week.  I made these in a fun 7 foot length.  Just right for a little brag area!

Any other ideas for chains or the number for the local Yarn Buyers Who Don't Knit Anonymous phone number perhaps?

rain . . .

rain go away, alright maybe not go away, I think we actually needed it a little bit, but dear rain there was a few things I wanted to do this weekend that you stopped from happening.  Things like bonfires, our local Earth Day fest, continued eradication of honeysuckle in the woods, and planting new bulbs in the woods.  So instead there were inside candles and sage burning for friends house blessings, yarn shopping, soup making, and a bit of toymaking.

 

 
i just have to keep remembering  that where there is rain there is life!  Hope you had a drier weekend than us, and you know what it is the last week in April which means Herbal Roots giveaway time!  I finished up some turtles to send onto Kristine- she is giving one away starting today.  Crawl on over to Herbal Roots for a chance to win.

If you have not had a chance to check out the Herbal Roots zine you really should- the boys just ask for it by name and each have their favorite parts each month- Jasper loves the mazes and Silas likes anything that involves being outside or sitting down for some tea!  This is really one of my favorite parts to our hybrid approach to learning with my sons each month.  It involves storytelling, being outside, plant medicine, and just living.  Kristine does a fantastic job each month.

Leave a comment here for your chance to win a copy of Herbal Roots for May between now and April 29th at midnight- I will announce a winner on Friday April 30th.  Best of Luck!

for extra entry points share this giveaway on your blog or:

-become a fan of Herbal Roots Zine

-become a fan of mamaroots

love your mama

 

You know that wonderful big mama that we all live on, she supports us, takes care of us, grows food for us, and takes an awful lot of abuse from us.  How about giving her some extra love today and then carrying it forward on the other 364 days of the year!

 Yesterday at Root Children we read my second kids book Elias and the Tree Stairs, talked about Earth Day different things to do on Earth Day today, then we recycled some glass jars by turning them into fun glass jars to put flowers on if we go on nature walks today, and since we were reading all about Mr. Marble maker himself Elias the jars could even be marble collector jars!  We used a pile of stickers that a friend had given me that she had been saving up for quite a few years.

Wouldn't you know it the trees around The Womb Room were quite enchanted and we even found some marballs- or as us humans call them marbles!

What will you be doing this Earth Day?  Here is a quick way you can make fun jars at home too.  Do you have a bunch of tissue paper left over from gifts or packages?  Tear it up into little pieces and use some modge podge to attach to a recycled glass jar.  Spear some glue onto the jar, layer on the pieces overlapping at spots, then once the whole thing is covered, spear one more layer of glue and let dry.  Know you have a lovely jar to put flowers in, make some homemade bath salts with essential oils and epsome salt, or make a wire handle and keep these to deliver May Day flowers to your friends!

This is a super fast project that takes less than half an hour- I like to use frappuccino jars myself, the labels come off super easy, they resemble the old milk jars, and well the vanilla is just darn tasty all be it not that good for you!

Enjoy the day- here is another fun project that I did for Babble also to help celebrate the day!  Of course you can always snuggle up under a tree and read some good books too!  I don't think the trees will mind at all listening!  Happy Earth Day everyone!

happy nessie day

 

 

My little water born baby has the funniest karma surrounding his birthday.  It may be bad weather, it maybe bowling alley on having league bowling etc. . . so this year he just wanted to swim.  Double checked swim times at the indoor swim spot, set on the Nessie theme, and then wouldn't you know it he had a tumble a few days before that required his first stitches which meant- you know it, no swimming.  Instead of trying to come up with frantic plan B I just said relax and I went and got a giant bottle of bubbles, croquet set and made his cake!  It was so peaceful, relaxing and just a simple lovely day!  I still got to do a theme and we enjoyed himself on a gorgeous April day last Sunday.  After our simple lovely day when the boys were all tucked in, hubby came running down and took me outside to listen to the Barred Owls calling- we first heard them calling in our woods 5 years ago when I was in labor at home with Silas- pretty amazing that they seemed to remember my baby again this year!

Here are few pictures and more are here if you want to take a look- one tip for you that I had fun with was for the goody bags for the kiddos I made a Nessie hunting bundle, basically took a bandana and filled it with a granola bar, couple monster bandaids, Nessie journal to log their journey, and then found these wonderful combo whistle/compass from Etsy seller SteamBent Canes- they were the best!  You know you when you need to find your way to the nearest Loch and then give a whistle!  Using the bandanas was fun and the kiddos can use it for hankie, dress up, on their heads, you name it.  

He has been enjoying his balance board that we tracked down for him- it has been his snowboard, wave board, and tonight his resting spot when he added his pillows!  But that could not top the super sweet painting that Jasper stayed up until 11:00 the night before finishing!

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for the sweet birthday wishes, I think I only cried a couple times this year thinking about Silas' birth and how big he has gotten- 5 years old now- heck I should be done to just maybe one good cry next year- heck who am I kidding, I will still crying when he turns 25!

You were all pretty good on the guesses on the picture with me and my sister, I was the one on the right! The winner was Lesli!  We look forward to sending you some mushroom love!    Thank you again to everyone for all your birthday love and yes Silas' knee is healing well!

mythical

 

 I could not resist sharing with you the newest book by one of my all time favorite illustrators- Nicoletta Ceccoli- there is just something that is just so amazing about her work that just makes me sooo excited to sit down with the boys and just absorb the pictures.  This newest book A Dignity of Dragons is written by Jacqueline Ogburn and is very fun.  It asks the question of if there is a school of fish, a pride of lions etc. . .what do you call groups of mythical creatures.  Fun and absolutely gorgeous!  Probably my favorite picture book of the year so far!

 

 

It was pretty timely since I was working on some fun birthday candle holders this week.  A couple for my sweet friends kiddos- a wee fairy and goblin, and tonight working on finishing up a little sea creature of the Nessie type for Silas tomorrow.  It is all about Nessie and sea serpents for my water born baby!

 

 

ode to not keeping up with the Jones'

I have to joke about how much we "don't keep up with the Jones' " in our neighborhood.  Our front yard is pretty eccentric with a mixture of herb gardens, peace garden, small vege patch, boy toys, and even some history of the original cast iron down spouts from the City Courthouse we got at a garage sale.  Our side woods is slowly becoming our fairy Tangle's enchanted woods with much less honeysuckle, and much more native plants and magical spots to play.  

Then there is our back yard- pretty wild and mostly home to our dog but also our berry plants we have been starting, Jasper's willow tree, and just a lot of wildness.  This time of year almost the whole back is violets- a good time to go back to Herbal Roots from last year and bone up on some more learning about this beauty.  My midwife once told me that to notice what grows in abundance near you- chances are that is what you need most.  So I strapped on my new vintage apron and wiggled my toes in the wild back yard and harvested some violets yesterday. 

I recently added this book to our hybrid school lessons add to our Herbal Roots learning- hoping to continue to grow with the boys in our learning together.  Jasper said they other day as we were leaving the back yard- see mama, even the wind gets to make wishes too as he showed me this dandelion- always learning from them!

1972

It is probably confusing around here- all this talk about birthdays but April is a full month of birthdays in these here parts.  My mama's last week, Silas' coming up this next weekend and mine was yesterday.  I had such a fun, full day that I crashed asleep before blogging last night!

It really can't get much better than the sweetness of my boys in the morning, hanging out with other old things at the antique mall solo in the morning, making toys in the afternoon, planting native plants in our woods with boys in the afternoon, my favorite Thai place for dinner and oh my bread pudding for dessert!  Not to mention all of the loving calls, facebook posts and wishes from friends and family- made me so appreciative of the incredible tribe I belong too!

Some of my fun vintage finds were sunny yellow benches for us to sit on for our chiminea marshmallow roasts, gorgeous linen calendars towel circa the fabulous year of 1972 from Etsy, vintage granite berry pot for us to pick berries this summer, apron, and more postcards. 

My boys could hardly wait to give me their handmade cards and my present of a giant concrete morel mushroom!  If you have followed me for a bit on the blog it is not surprise that I am mushroom lover and these bad boys are the king in these parts!  So far my trips have provided unsuccessful on procuring some of these lovelies but I am hoping to get back out in the woods for at least one or two of these yummy fungi!!  In case I don't my boys got me this fantastic giant one for the woods we have been working so hard on.  

Like last year I really love the idea of giving away a present on my birthday.  Inspired by the morel I am giving away a little morel set- a sweet little wood morel and matching pocket moleskine journal.  Here is a fun way to get entered for the giveaway.  Remember that cutie pie picture I posted of my mama when she was 2, I found a picture of me and my sis at the family farm when I was 2 at almost the same spot that the picture was taken of my mama.  Take a guess as to which little girl is me- I am with one of my sisters- a favorite pass time on my grandparents farm- tub swimming!  Leave a comment between now and Sunday at midnight and I will draw a winner next Monday!  

I will also be giving away packs of seeds from now until Earth Day with all orders at the shop.  Thanks to everyone again for wonderful birthday wishes- sunshine loving day!

when I see the redbuds

 

I have never seen the Redbud trees the same since Silas' birth.  5 years ago I was patiently and at times not so patiently waiting for this little person in my belly to emerge.  I was approaching my 43 week of pregnancy, holding steadfast to my home VBAC desires and hoping for labor to come soon.  One of the best pieces of info another friend had told me who had a her home VBAC was the she had to do everything different so that her psyche did not hold the memory of the C-section from her first birth. That was one magical gem.  I had a completely different support team.  On one of my many prenatal visits at my doctors house we sat on a blanket under her redbud tree and had a check and accupuncture. I remember looking up at the trees so lush and purple.  She asked if I had ever nibbled on the blossoms.  I had never heard or tried that and it was a beautiful sweet little treat from that tree.

I was continuing to trust the process and journey of that birth and would walk out on my deck and nibble from my own redbud tree and rubbing my belly.  Once my baby Silas did enter the world on that April day it was incredible in my arms, in my home, surrounded by amazing people.  Some friends brought a tree for Silas to celebrate his birth about a week later and low an behold it was a Redbud tree.  We had a ceremony and buried the placenta under the redbud tree.  Every year since then we all nibble from the tree and take in a part of ourselves.  

I told Silas yesterday we we remarked on how incredible the redbuds are that he will always know his birthday is near when he sees the redbud trees!  Go nibble on a blossom and try its sweetness, try one for Silas!  One more week to go till my babies birthday!  Remember I warned you on the sentimental posts!! haha-

There is no way I can ever see Redbuds the same- pretty fitting for Cesarean Awareness Month- remember ICAN this April.

 

 

happy birthday mama

bar of my favorite chocolate bar to introduce my mama too- check

big fun plant- check

boys buckled up ready for quick trip after school- check

beautiful day sitting under the trees enjoying lovely visit with my mama on her birthday- double check

Happy Happy birthday to my mama today!  She always will have my vote for the best mama ever- I love ya mama!  This is one of my favorite pictures of her when she was 2 years old growing up on the farm- oh my those overalls and curls- love her!!