unofficial start to summer

(Owen @ 10 months...almost exactly 6 years ago today)

reading list

The problem with borrowing books from the library is that you don't get to keep them indefinitely (I'm a slow reader).
Another problem I've considered and need to look into is how my not buying books affects the author. Do they get paid just the once when the copy is purchased for the library?
 I wonder if it is tied into circulation in any way. 

Hopefully.

Anyway, my book queue overfloweth:

1. The Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher

2. Taste What You're Missing by Barb Stuckey

3. The Food Revolution by John Robbins

4. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell

5. Culinary Intelligence by Peter Kaminsky

6. The Table Comes First by Adam Gopnik

7. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

I also can't get enough of Stella books. Luckily, neither can Maya.

 Stella Fairy of the Forest by Marie-Louise Gay

 And we stumbled upon these books @ the library: math via a story. 

Brilliant.

The Sundae Scoop by Stuart Murphy

And, not to leave Atwood out.

He's enjoying Mink River by Brian Doyle.

What are you, dear ones, reading these days?

I'm all set on nonfiction but I'd love some fiction suggestions.

And of course anything you think OM might enjoy.

Maya's spring reflection

Yesterday Woody and I had a (sort of) parent teacher conference with Maya's much loved preschool teachers. These things are less conference and more here's what's shakin' with Maya and how we can support her development. One very excellent part of it is a typed page, with photos of Maya, that we get to take home with their thoughts put to paper.

This is their Spring Reflection:

Maya is a gentle and creative child. She cares for others in the classroom and has displayed a high sense of empathy for people in her life. Each day, Maya greets the teachers with a great big smile and hug. She loves to perform and often takes opportunities to share her ballet and other dance moves with the class. Maya spins and twirls with grace and ease, as if everything around her has melted away, and on she remains, dancing on the center stage.

This year has been filled with new discoveries. Maya has blossomed into a young child who has recognized new skills and abilities. From the rock wall to the monkey bars or the dance stage to the easel, each experience has allowed Maya to practice new skills and build confidence in her abilities.

Maya also loves and cares for Peaches, our classroom pet. She shows a great deal of compassion and concern for Peaches, making sure she is happy and fed. She has recently begun to create spaces and opportunities for Peaches to exercise and socialize.

Maya has many friends in the classroom, and can often be found playing and giggling with Sunaina, Helena, and Mia in the imaginative or quiet spaces. Maya is able to create clear boundaries in her play and cooperate with other children, respecting their ideas and incorporating her own. If not pretending to run an ice cream store or playing dog family, she might be found writing and drawing at the writing studio. She also enjoys telling stories and acting them out.

Goal: Maya loves to share and perform at meeting times. We would like to see her have more opportunities to share her talents in a more structured way. Such as, planning and preparing, choosing music for her dance, or searching for or creating a story to tell.

One of the best parts of me going to grad school was the opportunity to have OM attend this lovely, amazing, creative school. 

also known as pilchards

I think this is so interesting.

I'm going to try it with OM.

As soon as I try it.

I'm a little intimidated by them but I can't stop reading how great they are.

Some photos from last week (Maya's favorite color is the rainbow...she was pretty stoked to see a double rainbow):

Humanizing Mom

This poem was read at church today:

Humanizing Mom

by Jane Rezpka

On Mother's Day, one expects to read about the wonder and glory of motherhood. While I can tell you from personal experience that we mothers like to be appreciated, I can also tell you that a rosy and sentimental Mother's Day column always refers to mothers in some other family-the picture painted there is not me, not my mom, not my grandmothers.

In my family, mothers do not suffer any more than other mortals, nor are we particularly unsung. We complain when we trip over shoes on the living room floor, and we expect a little praise for carrying the daily Grand Accumulation at the bottom of the stairs up the aforementioned stairs.

We do not deserve or expect devotion from our children. We wanted to have children. It was our idea. If they come around from time to time when they are grown-ups, we are ever so glad. But if they live their lives as secure and independent souls, we value that.

Motherhood, in my family, is not always the most important job in the world. Some of us are actually good at it, some of us shuffle along and do our best, and a few are better off in other professions. We try to face that.

Mother's Day is no time to romanticize parenthood-parenting is a down-to-earth process if ever there was one. So this Mother's Day, let's humanize Mom. Thank her for doing what she could, given all the dirty socks, thank her for loving you as well as she was able in spite of your three years in junior high, and then, let her thank you for the privilege of being your mother.

Happy Mother's Day.

P.S. I forwarded an email to Woody last week from apple with an ad that read: surprise mom with an iPad this Mother's Day. 

I told him I didn't need an iPad but I would love a clean shower and sharp knives.

I probably should not admit this out loud but my sweet man scrubbed the shower for about 3 hours yesterday. About an hour into it he came downstairs, grabbed his keys and said he needed some supplies from Home Depot to really get it clean. We're not that gross but our shower does have an affinity for mold growth. It needs more time to be cleaned each week then I'm willing to give. Anyway...best gift ever!

three, four, five, six!

Today we celebrated sweet little Brook's 3rd birthday.

Keeping the tradition going I FPS'd number shirts....

From the past two years:

 (2010)

(2011)

Happy Birthday Brookie!!