It only took me a few days on the farm to figure out that morning chores are much smoother with a cup of coffee in hand. Ah, thank goodness for revelations such as these...
{Photo by Calvin, my morning chore buddy.}
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November 2009
Postcard no. 5
my sleepy little farmer.
I hope your weekend includes a little bit of rest!
SouleMama Sponsor ~ UMBRELLA PRINTS ~
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Today's featured sponsor is Umbrella Prints. In their words:
"Umbrella Prints is a textile house created by Carly and Amy. They design and hand screen print onto organic hemp and linens with a delicious palette of water based inks. All their fabrics are the perfect midweight to create patchworks, cushions, upholstery, children's soft toys and clothes, skirts, handbags and purses... the list is as big as your imagination. Umbrella Prints even have kits ready with patterns for you to make modular quilts, A-line skirts and Nimbus cloud lion toys."
For today's giveaway, Umbrella Prints is offering a gift to one reader including the following (all shown in photographs above):
- New Modular kits :: for building a quilt/patchwork in our lushious new colours : River Stone, Smokey Black, Royal Beige, Silky Oak, Starfruit, Storm boy Blue and Seaglass, start off small and make a dolly quilt or build it to a full queen sized quilt... We lovingly choose the colours for each pack so that you can build your quilt over time but the colours and designs will always look gorgeous together.
- New Remnants packs :: enough large scraps to make a cushion.... or let your imagination take you to new places
- Nimbus the cloud lion kit :: Our new design to accompany the much loved Flip doll girls
- Fat quarter: of the winners fave fabric (if in stock)
To enter, simply leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please!). I'll close comments and announce the winners by 8am EST on Sunday.
Thank you, Umbrella Prints & Good luck, everyone!
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***Comments closed! The winner is...oh ... oh ... oh ... what a beautiful giveaway ...
Posted by Julie Nelson Rhodes*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Postcard no. 4
So very happy to have a day to focus on the beauty, love and abundance around us. I am grateful for so many things in my life - this space and you, included. Thanks for stopping by here as you do, friends, and for sharing the journey.
Happy Weekend to you!Postcard(s) No. 3
Planning, Gathering, and Making for today's feast!
Wishing you and yours the loveliest of days! Whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving today or not, I hope your day is full of moments of gratitude, peace with yourself, and joy with those you love.
Postcard no. 2
Oh! I hadn't realized - in my attempt to be silly and suspenseful - that I would lead you to believe we'd found our farm. I'm so sorry! I do hope that day will come soon, and I assure you that when it happens, my excitement will leave no room for doubt.
So no, this is not ours, but it is in our hands for a short little while. I guess you could say we're six excited farmers-in-training at the moment.
And what's a proper barn without a few kitties?
Postcard no. 1
We've embarked on a little adventure!
Watch your mailbox (okay, the blog) for postcards!
one
My little boy turned one yesterday. One year old - one trip around the sun. He's a sweet, sweet, happy, funny, gentle, snuggly, jolly little one. I love him so.
And so does the rest of the gang. If a Mama were ever to worry (as all Mama's do from time to time) about the life of a fourth baby in comparison to say, the oldest...well, I need only look around me these past few weeks to be reminded of just how very loved, doted on, and attended to he is - by so many soul(e)s.
{Some details for those interested: Calvin used maple for the block, sanded them meticulously, and "finished' them with beeswax polish. The balls I knit and felted are from a pattern in Knitting for Baby - more details on Ravelry. And Ezra drew on paper, I scanned it onto fabric, which he then stitched onto the shirt with a bit of heat-n-bond for help.}
For weeks now, there have been surprises in the works. Children squirreled away with duct tape and saws and paper and pen and much excitement. Each with their own projects, their own ideas of who Harper is and what he loves. And each of them so very accurate - as different as they may be.
So when there are squabbles, and when it feels as though our family is running in four distinctly different directions with each child, and when it feels like no one is getting their needs met....and I begin to worry about this fourth baby's lack of baby book or other such silly thing...well, I hope in those moments I can remember things like this: A boy traipsing through the woods for the perfect maple with which to make his little brother blocks; another with pen and paper refining the perfect "troll that looks like Harper" to draw and sew onto a shirt; and a third dreaming up a recipe with her brothers' favorite ingredients together in one cake (carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin, oh my!). Oh - and all the poems and the songs and the special knowing sibling smiles and silliness, too. They way they look at him, and the way he shines back at them. It's something so special.
He is so very loved.
And I am quite certain he knows that.
Happy first birthday, Harper Jude! We are all so glad you're here.
SouleMama Sponsor ~ UNRAVELLING E-COURSE~
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Today's featured sponsor is Unravelling. Unravelling is an e-course led by artist Susannah Conway. In her words:
"The Unravelling e-courses are designed to help you heal the way you see your self and your world, using photography and journaling to access hidden thoughts and dreams, encouraging personal realizations and ultimately acceptance. Susannah is your guide through this process, sharing her insights and wisdom gleaned from a four-year voyage through grief and healing. To date we’ve had participants from 30 countries around the world – when Unravellers come together online a tribe is formed, and the encouragement and fellowship found in these dynamic groups supports each person in their own journey."
"Enrollments for the January Unravelling class open on Monday December 1st - the last class sold out in 83 minutes but if people sign up to my mailing list they'll get an email the minute registration opens on my site."
You can find testimonials from past Unravellers here!
For today's giveaway, Unravelling is offering two prizes:
- One person will receive a spot in the January session of the Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself e-course (starts Monday January 4 and runs for 8 weeks)
- One person will receive an 8x8 inch fine art photograph of winner's choice from my Etsy store. They will also receive a set of Cupcake postcards.
To enter, simply leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please!). I'll close comments and announce the winners by 8am EST on Sunday.
You can visit Susannah at the following spots:
Fine Art Photography in her Etsy shop
and at her blog Ink On My Fingers
Thank you, Susannah & Good luck, everyone!
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Comments closed! The winners are...
For the photograph & postcards:
I would love to win!
Posted by One Hook Wonder
For the unravelling course:
what a perfect way to start off the new year. i love it! thanks!
Posted by Healing Hillary
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Friday, From the Archives :: This Week in 2008
It's Friday - time for our weekly trip down blog memory lane!
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standing s t i l l
{Originally posted November 18, 2008}
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A Note Today:
One year ago - almost to the day - I took this photograph. Nearly each evening for weeks, I had been waking in the night with contractions too strong to sleep through. So many times, we believed our baby was coming soon, and we'd start to get things in motion - filling the birth tub, even calling in our birth team a few times. I would labor through the evenings and then, as the sun came up, everything would slow and settle down (and we had missed another night of sleep!). There was a lot of waiting that month, a lot of daytime napping, a lot of frustration, and a lot of searching for s t i l l. By the end, and in retrospect, we were able to see that time as a beautiful tunnel we were in together as a family as we waited to meet our baby.
On this night, I had some henna ready for a gathering with friends that was to be the next day. But before the little ones went to bed, I decided to let them do a bit of henna on my belly. They did, and then slowly - one by one - the four of them drifted upstairs to bed. I sat in the quiet, in front of the wood stove and continued like this for hours. Once again, searching for the still and quiet in the time of waiting and wondering.
Two mornings later, I would wake with a start in the early hours of a day - November 22nd - and with all the previous months 'work of labor' behind me, we met Harper in just a matter of minutes. (I wrote about his birthday here.)
They all have their own circumstances of pregnancy, labor and birth. Each as true and special as they are. This weekend, we'll celebrate all that happened in November of 2008, and even more importantly, the strong spirit and sweet soul of the little boy we've come to know in the year since - our dear little Harper Jude.
right now
One thing I have always loved - and will someday remember and miss - about this house, is the way the light shines right through from one side to the other at certain times of day. Old, worn wood and golden sunshine meet, and everything feels warm and good and so alive. It's always most present in the afternoon, and strongest in the late days of autumn. Right now.
Right now, I am enjoying it. Sitting in it, loving it, and soaking it in.food bits
I think about food a lot anyway (how can I not, when most of my waking hours are spent in the planning/making/eating/cleaning of it?). But in the events of recent weeks and months, I've found myself thinking about it even more, if that's possible - the comfort of food; the blessing of what we have available to us; the power of food to heal.
Today, a few little food gratitudes, if you will:
:: The temporary, but very welcome introduction of boxed cereal into my kitchen. Necessary and helpful. (and the source of a wonderful little lesson in letting go by this Mama!)
:: WHO Bread & my bread machine (a while back, my girlfriends all replaced my old and tired bread machine with a shiny new one. I love it almost as much as i love them. Well, almost.)
:: A pantry and freezer stocked full of goodness from months past and needed/loved now more than I ever could have predicted.
::Wholesome, good and simple foods. We're spending a lot of time in the car these days, so my meal preparing time is so much shorter. Right now I'm loving (as always, but especially now) The Art of Simple Food. Also kind of digging the newest issue of Real Simple's Easy Delicious Meals (five of the past seven evening meals have come from it's pages!).
:: Friends who feed. Yes, yes, yes.
:: Our evening family meal. Though they have always been special to me, I may have taken them just a bit for granted. These days, I'm realizing they are our daily anchor, in oh so many ways.
Where is your food inspiration coming from these days?
Blessings on the meal, my friends!
making plans for Harper
He Who Sports The World's Most Awesome Cowlick (we do declare) is about to turn ONE. I know. Crazy. Crazy and true.
The planning has begun - by a whole lot of people. Five very motivated and excited family members of his, to be precise. Everyone's working on something - songs are being written, poems penned, gifts crafted, cake recipes perfected. Yarn, fabric, wood, duct tape - you name it, and it's in use for this baby. There is much to do in the days to come.
Amidst the flurry, and especially in the presence of our 'new normal,' this Mama is both reminded and reminding of the two words I keep in mind with the birthdays of my little ones: Simple and Special.
And so this will be both of those. Simple and very, very Special.
We love him so!
Shalom!
This sweater has already been everywhere with me. I've found myself - often with little ones in tow - sitting outside of a doctors office desperately seeking some grass and trees and sky and fresh, fresh open autumn air. I've been amazed (and grateful) at the places where such a breath of fresh air can be found, truth be told.
This little cardigan of mine was made in lots of places like that - tiny pockets of quiet amidst a whole lot of noise. Rather symbolic of how I hope it might be worn, I think.
It's Shalom - a sweet (and generously free!) pattern by Meghan of Involving the Senses. I had seen this pattern all over the place, but it wasn't until I saw it on the arms of a lovely and talented 14 year old friend that I had to make it. That she had used the called-for yarn, Cascade Yarns Ecological wool, for a grand total of $15...well that kind of sealed the deal for me. (Also? She made hers in three days. Mine took a month. Hmn.)
I added some sleeves to the pattern. Because, well, this is Maine after all. They're 3/4 sleeves, just the right length so that they don't get in the way (of knitting and the like). And I added a few buttons, too. (Full pattern mods are on Ravelry.)
I love, love, love this sweater. It's such a perfect easy Everyday Cardigan for me. Proven by the fact that I've worn it absolutely EVERY day since I finished it last week. Including on this recent little family dinner out, when, at one point in the evening, I unexpectedly (to him) shoved the camera in Steve's hands and said "Here! Take pictures of my sweater!" He did - all the while, fending off four hungry and excited children, without even batting an eyelash at the request. (He pretty much rocks my world.)
SouleMama Sponsor ~ LIVING CRAFTS MAGAZINE ~
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Today's featured sponsor is Living Crafts Magazine. In their words:
"Living Crafts magazine is a quarterly crafts magazine for families who embrace a natural lifestyle, and are interested in traditional forms of craft such as sewing, knitting, weaving, crochet, paper mache, mosaic, woodwork, and other handwork for the whole family. Living Crafts provides craft enthusiasts with the information, ideas, and inspiration they need to support their desire for self-sufficiency, sustainability and a natural lifestyle. In each issue there are projects for the entire family, including fun crafts for parents and children to do together. You can download free patterns or subscribe by visiting www.livingcrafts.com."
You can download free patterns or subscribe by visiting www.livingcrafts.com.
For today's giveaway, Living Crafts is offering:
A 2-year subscription in the US, or a 1-year subscription for other countries. (If you are already a subscriber, they will add it to your existing subscription!).
To enter, simply leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please!). I'll close comments and announce the winners by 8am EST on Monday.
In addition, any SouleMama reader subscribing online can use the offer code Winter09SM to receive a free Winter '09 back issue (which includes all the projects featured in the photographs above, plus many more).
Good luck, everyone!
Thank you, to Living Crafts Magazine!
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***Comments closed! The winner is...another awesome giveaway...thanks for the chance to win! Posted by : Elizabeth so wabi sabi
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SouleMama Sponsor ~ SARAH JANE STUDIOS ~
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Today's featured sponsor is Sarah Jane Studios. In her words:
"If you were to go back in time to my 5 year old self and asked me "what do you want to do when you grow up, Sarah?" I would have answered: "Be a mommy and an artist." I am just delighted that now, at 30, I am doing just that. Raising 3 little children, and illustrating to my hearts content. I believe in simple childhoods. I believe vintage charm has it's place in a busy world. I believe in the innocence of childhood, and I illustrate about it: Thus, Sarah Jane Studios: illustrating childhood."
You can follow along with the behind the scenes shop action and family life at Sarah Jane's blog!
For today's giveaway, Sarah Jane is offering two winners:
A $50 Gift Certificate to Sarah Jane Studios!
To enter, simply leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please!). I'll close comments and announce the winners by 8am EST on Sunday.
In addition, Sarah Jane
is offering a free Holiday Card of your choosing with each and every order placed through November 30th (use code: soule mama at checkout).
Good luck, everyone!
Thank you, to Sarah Jane!
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***Comments closed. The winners are...Oh my, I have been a Sarah Jane fan for quite awhile..... I adore her illustrations.... simply beautiful! Posted by : Gypsy Forest
Oh, wow! I would love to win this. Posted by : Nowheymama*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Friday, From the Archives :: This Week in 2006
It's Friday - time for our weekly trip down blog memory lane!
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The Makings of a Day
{Originally posted November 14, 2006}
Today, we...
::had breakfast. An hour later, had breakfast #2. an hour after that? snack.
::played checkers. Until the board was tipped upside down by a frustrated little one.
::put away two baskets of clean, folded laundry (thanks honey). Filled the empty baskets with dirty laundry. The cycle continues.
::sharpened every pencil in the house, which required dumping them out on the table (where they then rolled all over the floor).
::cleaned said pencil off the wall. Adelaide?
::helped Ezra build an impromptu, emergency home out of blocks for Dunk, whose own home has apparently been flooded.
::read the entire basket full of our holiday books. Can I really continue to read only these everyday until December 25th? I don't know.
::made a solar system mobile, after discovering that we had no
pictures of the solar system anywhere in our house. (bad, bad,
homeschoolers.)
::changed three diapers, the third time there were no clean cloth diapers in the house. Used a dishtowel.
::tried to put Adelaide down for a nap. Four times. Only fell asleep after walking around in the sling for 45 minutes.
::started making an apple pie. burned out the motor in the food
processor. set off the smoke detectors. woke the babe up from her 10
minute nap. came back downstairs to an upside down bag of flour. nice.
::called Steve at work with desperation in my voice. Twice.
::called a friend for a sanity check, but I couldn't hear her because the craziness at her house combined with the craziness at my house to make a constant noise of static over which we could not speak.
::injected a pot of coffee.
It's 10 o'clock in the morning.
I try for rhythm. But some days, this just is the rhythm. When we're all headed in four different directions, and I'm not sure I'm going to make it to the end of the day (which seems like a very long time away). But I'm learning (trying) from these three little teachers of mine, to laugh a lot and just let it 'be'. Even - and especially - on days like today.*** *** *** ***
A Note Today:
I remember this day so well, the many more in the years since, and surely there are more to come in the years ahead. Those days seem to be all about the ongoing parenting (life?) lesson of 'leting go and rolling with it'. I'm still in practice (every day), but I do think - with practice - that it gets easier each year. There's so much to be learned from our time with these little ones. (And oh, the many uses for a dishtowel...)
Happy Weekending to you!
for Papa - 2009-2010
Papa just got his 2009-2010 hat! (New here? It's a tradition! Check it out - 2008, 2007, 2006).
I wanted to make something different for Steve this year - nine years into this annual hat knitting gig and I've kind of covered a lot of terrain - ribs, stripes, simple cables. Not to mention the kind of fall that he's been having - the man deserves a crazy-cool hat!, I kept saying as I searched for the right one. And so, we scoured the internets together (poor man - when you're on crutches and your wife appears with the laptop queued to Ravelry, you really have no choice but to participate, now do you?).
In our search, I found Cairn, which totally and completely stole my heart. It really did. Thankfully, he agreed. (He's an agreeable middle child, you know...)
I started it when we were in the emergency room a week or so ago now. But something was funky with the sizing and so I ripped that out.
I started it again the next day when we were waiting for him to go into surgery. We were laughing too much (because that man can wear a scrub hat like nobody's business) and I got distracted. So I ripped that out too as soon as I sent him off.
I didn't knit while I waited. But as soon as I saw the nurse in the recovery room laughing at him as he was coming out of anesthesia, I knew that all was well. That he was well. I laughed and started knitting again as we sat together waiting to go home to our babes. And I got this hat right finally. Ah...
Steve and I both want to thank you so much for the sweet words and kindness you've showered our way in recent weeks (months now - my goodness!). We still feel as though we're in the thick of it, but thankfully, and hopefully, past the scary parts. His surgery went well, and he's now started six weeks of treatment and rehab for the infection and it's effects on his body. Thankfully he's able to do it all as an outpatient now - it's worth a few extra hours in the car each day to have him home with us! It's possible (and we're very much hoping) that at the end of this next step, he'll be free and clear. Time will tell, of course. Until then, we're beginning to catch our breath a bit; and focusing all of our energy on healing our Papa in the ways we know how.
Because - as he reminds us all quite optimistically - ski season is right around the corner. And he's got some kids to chase down a mountain.
baby heads and baby toes
This was one of the first hats I made - for Calvin - when he was a babe. I remember using this picture for his first birthday invitations, which would mean he was right about the age that Harper is now. Harper is nearly one, and Calvin will turn nine in no time at all. Amazing.
Harper's wearing the hat now (that's him above - any confusion is totally understandable says their Mama!). That they both (all) wore the hat - I love more than I can say. It really has nothing to do with the hat itself - it's just that it seems to me to somehow thread the years of our lives together. And for a brief second as we head out the door for one adventure or another, right as I put it on Harper's head, there's a moment in which a little bit of each of them is remembered. Like a quick little glance through a mental photo album. I love that.
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And to the toes - a little pair of sweet things that came off my needles last week, just in time to hand them over to my sweet littlest niece. They're Saartje's booties (free pattern on her sidebar), knit in Heather's Shivaya Naturals fingering weight (so yummy and luxurious!). It was my first time making these booties - usually I use the Stay-On Booties pattern from Knitting for Baby. But Harper received a pair of the Saartje's booties at birth, and I remember how much I loved having something fit so immediately - for the littlest of toes.
Baby hats and baby toes. Oh goodness. There's nothing better than knitting for them. Well, next to all the snuggling and kissing, of course. (Oh me, oh my. I am so in love.)
moving slowly
I didn't think I was going to post today - our rhythm is just so funky, and I'm so sleepy that I fear my words make little sense. But here I am, at nearly the end of the day, feeling still funky and even more sleepy...but good. And wanting to share just this little bit of simple joy from our day.
Today I learned.... that jumping in a big pile of leaves is most definitely where it's at. And a cure-all for most all that ails you, no matter your age (please tell my why I've always let them have that leaf-jumping fun but not me? No more, I declare! Jump IN!)
That's all. It's time to make dinner. I'll see you back here tomorrow!
Be well, friends.
sitting still
{photo by Steve}
In the midst of so much, I'm doing my best to find the still. Those moments are harder to come by these days, and they always mean letting something else go by the wayside. But oh, they matter so much. So much.
So, here's to a new week! A week with as many moments of still as we can find amidst the busyness of our days and the fullness of our lives. All of us.
Cheers!
SouleMama Sponsor ~ BAYAN HIPPO ~
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Today's featured sponsor is BayanHippo & MinikHippo In their words:
"BayanHippo is run by Vildan, a Mama of two in Turkey. BayanHippo is now highlighting the kimono dresses and other things for children in the MinikHippo shop. You could find by BayanHippo’s shop very fun, stylish and unique handbags, purses and kimono dresses for very reasonable prices, which may be very nice and lovely Christmas presents!"
You can follow along with the behind the scenes action at the Bayan Hippo Blog!
- (top photos) Citrine Tote - the beautiful sporty and super handy design of this bag is perfect for Autumn and Winter seasons, it is very good suited for all seasons too!
- (bottom photos) Half Sleeves Kimono Dress - Old MacDonald Had a Farm.....No Zipper, no button! Nothing to make your skin uncomfortable. The ribbon made from the same fabric goes from inside to out to be tied at the back for easy dressing. The colors are matching and made with rich quality fabric. These are just a few options for you to choose with this dress. All Kimono and Jumper Dresses come in handmade cotton bags, which you can use later for little things.
To enter, simply leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please!). I'll close comments and announce the winners by 9am EST on Monday.
In addition, BayanHippo and MinikHippo is offering a 20% discount for SouleMama readers through the end of the month! To redeem, enter 'soulemama' at checkout (discount will be refunded).
Good luck, everyone!
Thank you, to BayanHippo and MinikHippo!
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***Comments closed! The winners are....For the tote:
I'd love the bag and the girls would love the dress. Either way we'd be happy!! Fingers crossed... Posted by: Pipsqueak
For the dress:
Oh, oh, oh! I was just looking on Etsy for a new bag! This one is
wonderful. How adorable and yummy would my 2 year old look in that
dress? I have been waiting to enter when I thought the prize was
fitting for my family and this one is! Posted by: vermontmommy*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
SouleMama Sponsor ~ LE PAPIER STUDIO ~
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"Le Papier Studio specializes in illustrating unique custom silhouettes. We work with you to design and illustrate the people, pets and special moments in your life using your photographs. In addition to our custom silhouette process, we have several lines of charming existing graphic illustrations and silhouettes to choose from. From invitation and stationary sets to birthday gifts and holiday ideas, Le Papier Studio would love the opportunity to transform the apples of your eye into artistic heirlooms."
You can follow along with the behind the scenes action at the Le Papier Studio blog!
- (top photo) Double Silhouette Ornament - crafted by hand utilizing fine pure white clay which has been fired and then finished with a special protective surface treatment. Silhouettes are hand painted to perfection with the finest black ceramic paint by Le Papier Studio. Pick from the existing silhouette illustrations on their website, or request a custom silhouette to be made from your own profile pictures.
- (bottom photos) 2010 Wall Calendar - Romantic Silhouettes - Canvas Silhouette Calendar with custom created Le Papier Studio illustrations. Calendar measures 13x19, cotton poly blend with satin ribbon for hanging.
To enter, simply leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please!). I'll close comments and announce the winners by 9am EST on Sunday.
In addition, Le Papier Studio is offering a 10% discount on all orders placed by November 15th. Please enter code HOHOMAMA at checkout.
Good luck, everyone!
Thank you, to Le Papier Studio!
Those ornaments are so lovely. Posted by: Heater @ Life, Gluten Free *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***Comments closed! The winners are...SO cool!...... Posted by : Kate
Friday, From the Archives :: This Week in 2005
It's Friday! Time for our weekly trip down blog memory lane- this one was a post I wrote for a weekly Self-Portrait Series hosted by Kath (the creator of Whip Up).
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Self-Portrait Tuesday: Identity
{Originally posted November 15, 2005}
{photo is from 2001, but the post was written in 2005. Sorry to confuse!}
For today, I'm going back to the beginning of my mama-hood. I found this picture recently, and it brought back a flood of memories and emotions. It's Calvin and I four years ago, in our old apartment...before Steve "found" his career, before Ezra and Adelaide, before our house--it all seems like a million years ago. I was (and still am, I think) a young, young mother. I was 23 when I met Steve, instantly fell in love and married, and decided right away to have a child. Just out of college, really...I spent only two years working. None of my friends had children--or were even close, and I suddenly found myself completely alone and isolated in so many ways. I was full of such a powerful love for this little boy of mine, and yet I was completely overwhelmed... by parenting him, figuring out my new role as someone's wife, and making meaningful connections with other parents. I had all these strong convictions and ideas about how I wanted to parent in a gentle, respectful way--yet it was so unlike any kind of parenting I had experienced or even witnessed much of at that point. This photo is a reflection for me of the complexity of all those feelings together--of my deep love for my child, a strong passion to be the parent I wanted to be, and the immense struggle to make that happen.
Lots of things have changed since that moment....I have so many more resources to parent with; have found myself in a supportive community; and I have lots more confidence in myself, and even a little experience now, as a mama. But the struggle--sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful-- remains each and every day to really *listen* to my children and myself, and to be the parent they deserve to have.
Self Portrait Tuesday bloggers here, with a great November theme of "Exploration of Identity." Kath, you rock...thanks for making me really think about this each week.
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A Note Today:
I was recently (re)directed to this post by a new Mama, and well...maybe I'm feeling a little sentimental these days, but it seemed like a good time to revisit it. And just how is it that the rolly-polly bald headed sweet pea is about to be NINE this winter? Oh, time.
Regularly scheduled programming happening here this weekend with some Sponsor goodness! Thank you, for your sweet words of support, and Happy Weekend to you, Friends!
where i've been
:: warming, reading, snuggling, knitting and staring by the fire
:: trying to stay on top of the essentials - with the help of many, many friends and sweet family (including, of course, Dorothy Gale of Kansas)
:: digging for dinosaur bones in the back yard (you never know...)
:: voting (and then being disappointed by my neighbors)
:: watching a season slip right on by
:: looking for the tiniest bits of beauty wherever I can find them, even (especially) in hospital parking lots
:: feeling oh-so grateful and blessed in very many ways...and oh-so overwhelmed and tired at the very same time
:: and mostly, waiting in a whole lot of waiting rooms, hospital rooms, and parking lots. Things have been a bit upside down for a while now, but in the past few days it's become even more topsy-turvy. Papa had surgery earlier in the week to begin treating an infection. He's doing well, and in the grand scheme of things, all is good. But the coming weeks (and months?) look to be very full for all of us as he gets treatment, we search for more answers, and our little family adjusts.
Thanks for your kindness and your patience! I think I'm needing this little blog - a little corner of joy - a whole lot right now, so don't you be thinking I'm going anywhere. I'm here. Just one day at a time. That's how we're rolling these days.
(And one stitch at a time too. Oh, the knitting that's been done - just you wait and see!)
halloween 2009
Our celebrations this weekend were full of silly fun, a generous dose of magic, and a gentle amount of spook! It's so much fun to celebrate the season with friends and family...in proper dress-up style, of course.
And we were...from oldest to youngest: Peg-Leg Pirate Papa (so aptly chosen!), Gnome Mama, Mr. Harry Potter, David Bowie (circa 1983), Ladybug Girl, and Gnome Baby. Such fun.
And you?
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Greetings! I'm Amanda Blake Soule - mother of five, author of four books on family creativity, editor & owner of Taproot Magazine. I live with my family in an old farmhouse in Western Maine where we raise animals, grow vegetables and make lots of things. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting!
