SouleMama

found, in the flowers

A few days ago, I was in front of the house gathering lilacs. I've been doing it each day - sometimes twice - because lilac season, you know, it's just so short and it's just so special. I want to smell them in every corner of the house. With one bundle of it tucked under one arm, and my pruners in the other hand, I wasn't looking up but rather at the violets on the ground when I literally ran into Adelaide. And she ran into me because she was walking just the same - looking down at something or other with an armload of lilacs, a handful of lily of the valley, a pocketful of forget-me-nots, and scissors in her hands (time to get that girl her own pruners, I think). We both laughed and then set to making a plan, "well, I was going to do the bedrooms" she said. "And I was going to do the kitchen and the front hallway" I said. Not missing a beat she replied "These lily of the valley need to go in the green teapot, don't you think? Not your grandmother's green teapot with the missing lid, but the tiny green teapot, the one Papa got for you for Mother's Day one year. Oh, and the ones in the vase in Gram's room really need to be freshened up. I'll do that." 

Yes, my girl. Yes, yes. Perhaps, I thought, she's been watching me. But I can't rightfully claim all the credit. She spends a whole lot of time with this flower goddess and has certainly picked up a thing or two there (without a doubt her creative arranging did not come from me, but from Stacy!). But more than all of that influence from the women in her life, this girl of mine just pays attention. She knows when those Lily of the Valley are about to open and announces on the morning that they do. She remembers that they were my grandmother's favorite flower and Steve's grandmother's favorite flower too. And she remembers that they were here, growing in between the front steps, on the day her little sister was born, the very first spring we lived here. 

I think about Mary Oliver's often-quoted (understandably so) line "Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."

Pay attention. At the age of ten, she's got that dialed. At the age of almost forty, I'm trying every day. Having so many teachers certainly makes the effort more delightful.  

on Mothering.com

I hope this note finds you all enjoying a lovely Monday morning (and perhaps the ending of a wonderful long weekend?). I recently had a conversation with Meg Devine on Mothering.com, and the interview is live now. You can find that here. As maybe it was for you too, Mothering Magazine held a very special role in my early parenting days, and I've been honored to be featured there over the years. It was a pleasure this time to focus a bit on aging - aging children, aging blogs, and aging parents (that's me!). I hope you enjoy the conversation. (Thank you, Meg, for the opportunity to pause for a moment and ponder your great questions!)

Christopherus Homeschool Resources {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Christopherus Homeschool Resources!  

Since 2003 our aim has been to serve those wishing to create Waldorf-inspired homeschools,as well as those homeschoolers wishing to blend elements of the Waldorf approach into their children’s education.

We offer:

• The Christopherus Curriculum for those seeking a full, in-depth guide.
• A series of publications for those wishing to mix and match — covering Kindergarten through Eight Grade.
• Audio downloads of Donna Simmons talking on a wide variety of parenting and educational issues. These are a very popular way for people to learn more about Waldorf education and the Christopherus approach.
• A range of internet-based resources including an informative website featuring Waldorf 101, music from our books, articles and web pages featuring different aspects of education and parenting, networking and much more.

We feel that Waldorf education is a living, breathing approach to the education of children,based firmly on the teacher’s (or parent-teacher’s) creativity, resourcefulness, and efforts towards personal growth. The curriculum is based on an understanding of child development and is not set in stone. Rather, it is a rich tradition which can be adapted to differing needs.
We seek to empower parents to work with Waldorf education in a way that suits their particular circumstances and their children’s needs.

Recently Barbara Benson our Homeschool Consultant and Amy McGehee-Lee,homeschooling mom and creator of our Homeschool Planner got together and recorded a conversation they had about homeschool planning and how important it is to looking at the big picture first.  It's a free recording and you can listen to it on the Big Picture Planning page on our website.

 

This weekend, Christopherus Homeschool Resources is generously offering the following gifts to ONE lucky SouleMama reader: 

A Do It Yourself Starter Package. The package includes the following three books and audio:

The ChristopherusWaldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschools

Living Language – a language arts curriculum – Grades 1-5

From Nature Stories to Natural History- A Holistic Approach To Science For Families

And the audio: Educating the Human Being for the Future

Whether you are using our curriculum or taking a "do it yourself (DIY)" approach, these books are an essential part of any Waldorf homeschooler's library. Each book places its subject into the larger context of Waldorf education, thus helping you to understand the holistic thread which weaves together the methodology of Waldorf education.

The value of the prize is  $210.00  (prize is open to all customers BUT international customers must pay shipping.)

In addition, Christopherus Homeschool Resources invites all SouleMama readers a coupon for 7% off all Christopherus publications through the end of the week (Friday, June 3, 2016). Use Coupon code: soulemama6316

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Sunday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

What a wonderful offer!
Posted by: Maureen Richard

in my garden (and yours?)

Oh, the garden! As I write this now, a very gentle but seemingly long-lasting rain is falling. Just the very thing our garden needs - I couldn't be more happy to spend the day inside knowing just what good work the rain is doing out there. Nearly everything is in the ground now, though there are still some tomatoes and the squash to put in and a few more flowers, and the reorder of strawberries. Wait, what am I talking about? It's not all nearly in the ground - there's still plenty to do. And even when that is all done, surely I'll find room to tuck something new here or there, I always do.

We decided to nearly double the garden this year. Or, rather...it just happened, which is a "decision" of a kind, right? A mild fall season meant that I really was able to fully put the 'garden to bed' last year, which made the start of this year so much easier (just pull back the mulch, and voila!). The addition of raised beds last year helped enormously too - it's just easier to get started up again in the spring. And of course, we could use the food. We never make it as far as I hope with the things we love most of all, and so I'm planting more this year. More of the things we love and eat lots of and that store well. Beets, carrots, potatoes, cabbage. It's tricky to photograph the sprawling, spreading garden as it is now. There is this main garden, then behind it another fenced in area nearly the same size, which is where we have potatoes, corn and pumpkins. And then outside of that - in the orchard area - is the strawberry bed. I think I might need a drone camera to get it all this year (I'm kidding. I don't want a drone camera). What I'll really need, though, is a proper root cellar or solution of some kind to our winter food storage. We've had trouble with our cellar getting the humidity just right for storing, so we'll need to come up with something by the end of the summer to store all this extra food we're growing. Stay tuned for that project! 

For something that has been occupying so much of my time and attention in recent months, I haven't shared much of the garden with you yet this year! That's mostly because I've been dreaming up a different way to share the garden love. After several years of weekly garden updates, I'd love to mix it up a little this year. I want to continue sharing garden updates from time to time, and I'd really love to visit your garden! Or rather...host a tour of yours right here to share with all. Because surely I'm not the only one who loves peeking inside other gardens - those near and far, small and large, different and similar to my own. I love seeing what people are using for mulch, or what grows well in different parts of the world, and hearing about what we all love/don't love about growing food. And so ... garden tours here on SouleMama! Yes? It sounds fun to me, and I hope you'll be game to join in. If you have a garden you'd like to share, be in touch and I'll send you all the details. 

Cheers, to the work and play of the garden! Wishing you all a little bit of time playing in the dirt this weekend. 

all in a day

There was fighting all day long. So much more than usual. So much so that consequences were doled out, and a family meeting was planned. This Mama was fried and more than a little frustrated. But then, at the end of the day, just as suddenly as the bickering came on, it all lifted and there was this. Laughter, fun, and togetherness for hours. I heard each of their giggles and witnessed secrets shared, illuminated by flashlights and the moon, until we finally called them all in for bed. 

Oh, sibling love. It is a complicated and beautiful thing!

ten, right now

one.
I've come to almost love the call to help, from somewhere in the house, for all to hear. Sheep are out! Goats out! Pigs! Whatever it may be, all come running. And perhaps my favorite part of all is that those who are least inclined to give a hoot about those animals, come running just as fast as those who do. And it's aways a family moment and it's always a laugh. And always....everyone ends up on the 'right' side of the fence eventually. 

two.
You know I totally just jinxed myself by saying all of that and I should therefore resign myself to an epic day of playing 'which side of the fence are you on?' with all of our livestock today? (Bring it.)

 

three.
It's recital season! For you too? This weekend was an end of session circus performance here. That's Adelaide on the bottom of the purple silk, who just started circus a few months ago but has fallen in love. It sure makes a Mama heart happy when her little one falls in love with something, and is loved in returned by the sport she's chosen. Hooray for circus arts!

four.
Next weekend brings fiddle and piano recitals. Which means that we have been and will continue to be enjoying Oh Susannah and The Happy Hoedown each fifteen times a day for another week. (Oh my.)

five.
Did that seriously happen? Is she really five? Unbelievable. But here she is, marking her height against the wall, which means it's official you know. "I just can't believe I'm five now!" she exclaims each morning. I can't either!

six.
After that flurry of crafting last week for Annabel (including the wonderful Smocked Sundress from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing - it's been so long since I've made one of those sweet dresses!), I haven't picked up a single knitting needle, rug hook, embroidery hoop or anything else of the sort since! But, just this morning I spied Nancy's Vest on Ravelry and I might have just found my next knitting project (apparently I'm into vests these days?). 

seven.
There's a serious treehouse in progress out back. Situated in between the garden and the zipline, just back a few trees from the end of the half pipe. It's a happening place back there, I tell you! 

eight.
My youngest three set out to spend the night outside this weekend. If you think that's early in Maine for a camp out - without a tent - then you're exactly right. But brave souls they are with cool temperatures and so many bugs we thought they'd get carried away. They had so much fun....until we brought their sleepy selves in at 11pm, with rain expected soon.  More sleep outs are planned for the coming week - they've got grand plans for essentially moving outside for the summer (though Mama would really like some walls on that treehouse before they venture to sleep up in the trees!).

nine.
The garden! Oh, the garden is coming along and getting so much of our attention right now. I haven't given a proper update here yet, but I will soon. And I have a fun little idea about the blog and gardening this summer, so stay tuned for that. I hope you'll like it as much as I do!

ten.
I have a garden sin to confess. I bought 100 new strawberry crowns to plant this spring from my beloved FEDCO. I got them them and then, sadly, totally improperly stored them. Truth be told, I actually forgot all about them. When I went to plant them this weekend, they were nothing but a heartbroken moldy mess. I had moment of sadness, and feeling like a gardening failure, and generally feeling sorry for myself until my love said, "just order more. That's easy, right?" Right. So ordering more, I am. And this time I'll give them all the care they deserve. (Where does one quickly get 100 live organic strawberry plants now that Johnny's is sold out and FEDCO is closed for the year? Hmn...). 

I wish you and yours a most wonderful start to the week! 

 

 

Fabula Nebulae {a soulemama sponsor}

 

Greetings from Fabula Nebulae!  

Fabula Nebulae is a small, family collaboration in beautiful mid-coast Maine. Our all natural products for body, baby, and bath are made by hand in small batches. 

We chose our ingredients carefully and deliberately, and use only all natural, straightforward components - organic and fair trade whenever possible. Every recipe is carefully thought out, researched, tweaked, and meticulously tested before it joins our line.

Salve to Quiet the Storm, an all-purpose skin calming concoction, was created to meet our own need for a gentle, effective, cloth diaper safe bum salve. Now it is the base for almost all our creations.

We opened our online shop doors in August 2015, and are excited to watch our small, family company grow!

Fabula Nebulae is on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. 

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about? 

Pasaka: As we near our one year anniversary, we are proud of how Fabula Nebulae has grown, and incredibly excited to see where we’ll go! Our products have been welcomed to the shelves of shops across the country, and we’ve met some terrific new friends at the conferences we’ve attended with more shows in the works. 

As our product line has been expanding (sign up to be a tester on our page!), we’ve also been listening to customer feedback. We’ve tweaked some of our recipes to make our best-selling deodorant and moisturizer even better! Most recently, we have focused our attention on refining our packaging. Stay tuned! 

This weekend, Fabula Nebulae is generously offering the following gifts to TWO lucky SouleMama readers: 

A collection of our best-selling products, packaged as a complete Spring Gift Box (check it out here). 

In addition, Fabula Nebulae is offering all SouleMama readers 20% off through the end of May with the code SOULEFAM. Orders placed this weekend will also receive a tester product!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winners are...

These look fabulous! 
Posted by: Jen Barr

What a great giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity.
Posted by: Laura C

Twelve Little Tales {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Twelve Little Tales!  

Hello and welcome to the land of Twelve Little Tales! 

Twelve Little Tales is a storytelling tool including a story starter and prompts so you and your children become the storytellers too! Every month brings a new starter tale and 12 prompt cards all adorned with art from my original watercolor paintings. My name is Marna Widom and it is my pleasure to write and paint about the seasons and the magic and wonder that we can find if we look just over that hill, just under that toadstool or right in front of us at the look on our children's faces when we are weaving a story together. 

I love telling stories, but years ago when my young daughter would ask me to do so I found I could not think of a thing to say! It was probably self consciousness, but whatever it was I couldn't fulfill her wish. Over the years as a preschool teacher I learned to tell stories and found myself joyfully rewarded by the children being wide eyed and thoroughly captivated by anything I would come up with. As I realized there were many others who would benefit from some storytelling prompts, or would simply enjoy some monthly inspiration to add to their already developed storytelling abilities, I created Twelve Little Tales. 

Now that I have a five year old son and teach kindergarten at a charter school inspired by Waldorf Education I find storytelling to be some of the most enjoyable parts of our day, at school and at home. Stories can be used for so many things - to address a difficult situation, to make one (or 24!) children giggle hysterically or to create a lovely resting or bedtime ritual. One of the very most magical aspects is the quality of the space that is created between people when making up stories. In Twelve Little Tales as one reads a little tale card and reaches the end with the ... (dot dot dot) - this is where the true connection is made. Everyone involved is present and in the moment. It is like magic, creating something from thin air - but the air is not thin, it is almost tangible with expectation and wonder. 

Twelve Little Tales is enjoyed by parents and teachers with young children, by homeschooling parents and their younger and older children to help develop reading and writing skills, and is sent all over the world, including a seasonally appropriate Tale each month for friends in the Southern Hemisphere. I send out the Tales in three ways - in the mail packaged with postcards and stickers, digitally to print out or use on a device or a hybrid of the two. Also, the Tales are translated each month into French, Spanish and Dutch! 

Please visit the site for a sample Tale. Twelve Little Tales is also on Facebook and Instagram.

Happy Storytelling!

Marna

 

This weekend, Twelve Little Tales is generously offering the following gifts to THREE lucky SouleMama readers: 

Three months of Twelve Little Tales Digital (to print out at home or for use on a device) WITH Postcards and Stickers in the mail. 

In addition, Twelve Little Tales invites all SouleMama readers to visit the site and click •free gift• to receive two postcards in the mail. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Sunday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winners are...

What a beautiful and unique idea for littles! Pick me!
Posted by: Sarah

What a wonderful idea. I love telling my younger sister stories, it reminds me of a poem that says - "And children's faces looking up, holding wonder like a cup."
Posted by: susannah

Brilliant idea! My girls favourite time of the day is story time, and I love that they are just getting old enough to create the story together with me.
Posted by: Eve Newton

five

This morning, when each and every thing she opened up elicited such a reaction as this. I think this was a pink ruffled bathing suit, which IS pretty exciting. But it's ALL exciting when you're five! We've all been enjoying the making and the memory-visiting as we celebrate this little one of ours, who joined us five years ago today on a beautiful May day much like the one we're having today. What a blessing she is to all of us. And of course...there are some things in the way of handmade goodness, by my girl for her friends, and by her siblings and Mama for her. Such fun.

 Wishing you and yours a most wonderful weekend ahead! 

keeper of the bees

I've loved having honeybees in the years we've been keeping them. That is to say, I've loved having the bees. I love the honey when we can have some, I love the pollination they provide, I love helping out a few precious and amazing honeybees in the world, and I sure do love 'running into them' in the garden, or anywhere else around here, being reminding of their presence and what they do. But keeping the bees? Well, that's been the more difficult part for me to love. I want very much to love that part, but it's been tricky. It isn't as though the bees require that much of their caretaker, but they do require some attention and love. And truth be told, as the time went by, and years have passed, that has become something increasingly challenging for me to give to them, that love and attention. I'd continually think, "Oh, I need to get to the bees today..." and then a million other things would present themselves and they'd get put off for one more day. The bees are patient, but do we Mamas really need one more thing nagging at us, reminding us of what else is to be done, reminding us that we've got just a few too many things going on for the given hours in a day? Sigh. I think I started to resent the bees as one more thing. 

As my dedication to the bees began to wane, and was further discouraged by the low winter survival rate (oh and that one incident involving all the bees in my hair and the resulting trip to the ER, but that's another story for another day, and really, I think the bees were more scared than I)....as all of that was happening, I noticed that someone else was leaning closer in to the bees. "Aren't you supposed to add another box to that colony on the left?" Steve would ask. Hmmn....I began to think. And then I saw him reading my bee books. And the next thing I knew, whenever I was asked a question about bees and responded yet again with an exasperated "I have no idea," he swooped in with the answer. And so it was that under the Solstice tree this year for Papa was a membership to the local beekeeping club and a winter class at the cooperative extension! 

Armed with plenty of excitement and more knowledge than I ever gained when I took the same class (it couldn't have been the knitting distracting me, it just couldn't have been!)....Steve has begun his beekeeping journey. This week, he picked up his nucs in Vermont. They're overwintered Russians (I always kept Italian), and I think his plan is to swap out the queen for a Maine queen. That seems logical to me - Russia/Maine....Italy/Maine? Perhaps the Russians will be a bit more suited for this climate and therefore more successful at making it through the winter. I don't know, but Steve has plenty of folks to talk to about it, and many ideas on his own and for that I am so grateful. And relieved, really, to hand the reigns over.

It's funny, the responsibilities that we take on in a relationship for one reason or another, but don't really question. And then when we suddenly do after sometimes years and years, it just makes so much more sense for the other person to be doing it. Or vice versa. I can think of so many examples like this in our own marriage where we've switched up the responsibility for this or that - much to the relief of one and satisfaction of the other. 

And so for now, I'm very happy to be the wife of a beekeeper. Welcome, bees! We're glad you're here!

butterflies & bonnets

It happened again! I knew it would. Except this time it wasn't me barely containing my excitement and giving her a birthday gift too early....but rather my sloppy attempt at hiding said gift in my studio. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to a pile of fabric with some ribbon peeking out. "Just fabric! Let's go..." I attempted. "Mom, wait! That ribbon!" and then proceeded to tug on the purple ribbon from underneath the pile, revealing a bonnet. A bonnet she knew could only be for her. And she was just so excited about it, that it only made sense to complete the outfit by also revealing the matching dress, don't you think? She was thrilled. And perfectly timed it all was, as we were literally heading out the door to Calvin's school May Faire celebration - on a warm spring day. Just right for a butterfly dress and bonnet!

The bonnet pattern is from my friend Amy Karol's crafty club, Mail Order (does anyone remember that? So fun! So long ago!), but the pattern is available separately in her Etsy shop as well. It's such a handy pattern - I've made so many of them over the years, for all sizes. And the dress, of course, is another Suzanne by Citronille, because, well, I just can't stop making them. I have tweaked the pattern as the years have gone by to always include elastic casing on the shoulders which helps keep the whole thing from sliding around too much on them. Both of those are made with fabric from Anna Maria Horner's Fibs and Fables collection. The cross stitch butterfly pattern came from the book Sweet Stitches From the Heart. 

Only a few more days until her actual birthday now. Let's see if I can keep some things as a surprise for her. 

growing up

my oldest and his girlfriend :: my middle and her bestie :: my baby and her cousin

The photos on my camera and the events of the weekend have me feeling sentimental, proud and excited about all of the growing up that's happening around me all the time, from all of them each day. Who they are becoming is so much more amplified when taken out of the context of home and family....and instead put out there in the world in relation to others. Of course, I love watching them at home and with each other and nurturing those sibling relationships that will be with them for a lifetime, through all the challenges and joys of the present and the future. But there's something so illuminating about seeing their personalities through the lens of their other - wider - worldly relationships. I get to see a whole new side of them, and it's always such a joy, and often a surprise, to feel my vision of who they are stretching wider all the while. Overhearing my fifteen-year-old be so sweet to his girlfriend. Watching my ten-year-old and her friend since babyhood as they both teeter somewhat precariously on that edge of childhood and adolescence - but do so together and slowly all the while. And seeing my nearly five-year-old far away from my side in the pasture with her cousin sharing a story, laughter, and secrets that I'll never know. And those two boys who evaded my camera this weekend, but never my thoughts or attention. A thirteen-year-old who is helping more than one friend right now through a challenging transition in their own lives, with advice I wouldn't have come up with on my own, but that he delivers with compassion. And a seven-year-old who is so shy with people outside of our family, but whom I watch open his heart freely to a boy who is fast becoming his dearest friend, a relationship just blossoming but that I have a feeling will become a beautiful long thread. 

I know, so full of pride, those statements, but I'm sorry, I just can't help it this morning. As we start another week - full of the flurry of lessons and classes, school and the farm, work and play, squabbling and bickering, negotiating the schedule, and all the rest of the normal family love and life....I want to pause for just a tiny moment and a big deep breath. I am proud of these five people, I really am. And as we walk through this coming week together - looking sometimes from afar as we do when they stretch their wings - I want to remember to notice how wonderful it is to be walking alongside them on this journey. For that indeed, is such a blessing. 

 

Cobble Hill Farm Apothecary {a soulemama sponsor}

 

Greetings from Cobble Hill Farm Apothecary! 

Cobble Hill Farm Apothecary is a small-batch soap and skincare company located at the foothills of the Adirondacks in beautiful Upstate New York.  We are a husband and wife team who had a dream of living the simple life.  We bought an old farmhouse, planted a large garden and added chickens and bees all while challenging ourselves to create as many things from scratch as possible.  After years of gifting our popular handmade soaps and lotion to family and friends, in 2013 we turned our dreams into reality when we officially made our coveted products available to the public.  We love what we do, and spend countless hours carefully formulating every single item we make and sell to ensure it is high-quality, effective and something that will nourish your skin. 

What started as our love for making soap and lip balm grew quickly into a world of lotions, herbal salves, natural deodorants, men's grooming products and facial products.  Our lotions are formulated to hydrate dry skin and absorb quickly.  In fact our Body Milk is purchased in bulk by many knitters because they are thrilled that it allows them to keep on knitting right after application.  Our lip balm has a nice "slip" without feeling greasy and our shaving soap has a following all it's own of both men and women. 

Soap continues to be the main focus of our business as so many customers have become loyal followers for not only the scents we offer but also for the thick, creamy lather our bars provide.  And we love to use different beneficial ingredients in our soap like herbs grown here on the farm, natural clay, goat milk, raw local honey, dead sea mud, and even mineral water from the famous springs in the next town over, Saratoga Springs! 

Find all of the Cobble Hill Farm Apothecary happenings on Instagram, Facebook or our farm blog!

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? 

Yes! Many of our customers have asked for facial soaps and we have added them to our line! We offer 3 different bars, each with beneficial oils and clay which will gently clean your skin while leaving it soft and balanced.

We are planning on 2016 being a big year for us. We will dive into more wedding favor soaps, more wholesale accounts around the U.S. and will introduce Shampoo Bars to our line as well as a few products for your four-legged furry friends!

This weekend, Cobble Hill Farm Apothecary is generously offering the following gifts to TWO lucky SouleMama readers: 

a sample pack which includes 1 of each: soap, body milk, deodorant, lip balm and facial or shaving soap.

In addition, Cobble Hill Farm Apothecary would like to offer a 10% discount to all SouleMama readers with the discount code SOULE10; discount ends Tuesday, May 17, 2016.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winners are...

All of the products look just lovely! makes me want to take a long leisurely bath.
Posted by: Megan

Would love to try it! Thank you for the opportunity.
Posted by: Jody

Oak Meadow {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Oak Meadow! 

Oak Meadow’s flexible, experiential homeschooling curriculum for kindergarten to grade 12 provides students with the educational freedom to explore their interests, talents, and passions. Our approach allows families to set their own natural rhythm of learning and encourages creativity, critical thinking, and intellectual development through hands-on activities and interdisciplinary projects.​

Families can use the Oak Meadow curriculum independently or by enrolling in our fully accredited distance learning school. To learn more, visit our website or call 802.251.7250 to speak with one of our ​friendly and experienced educational counselors. ​

Visit Oak Meadow on Facebook and their Blog.

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? 

News at Oak Meadow!​

Annual May discount offer! Save 15% off everything in our bookstore and 5% off new enrollments in our distance learning school until Memorial Day, May 30.

Foundations in Independent Learning: This online teacher training program is designed to introduce parents and teachers to Oak Meadow’s philosophy and curriculum in preparation of implementing our academic program in schools, enrichment programs, homeschool cooperatives, self-directed learning centers, or for independent homeschooling. It is based on an educational philosophy that is child-centered and holistic. It provides strategies for encouraging students to be invested and engaged in their own learning, and to focus more on the process than on the product. It is not about what to teach as much as it is about how to approach the teaching process. Foundations in Independent Learning is filled with both inspiration and practical guidance, and presents a new way of looking at the role of the teacher and the student/teacher relationship.

This weekend, Oak Meadow is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader: 

​$150 gift coupon to use in the Oak Meadow Bookstore plus one set of our adorable Math Gnomes, crafted at a women’s collaborative in Peru that we partner with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Sunday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

This looks amazing. Thanks so much for the chance to win
Posted by: ruth

what came home

Halfway through the day at Brimfield, Steve texted for an update, on just how much damage was being done, I mean what treasures I had found. "I'm coming home with a trash can for the garden and some handkerchiefs!" I replied. And really, that's about as crazy as my purchases got at Brimfield this year! Each year, I think I come home with a little less, though my real reasons for going haven't changed. Truly, I love the experience - the people watching is seriously fabulous there, I tell you. It's such an interesting study in humanity, and our culture, the things I see there and the buyers and sellers of all that stuff. And you know how much I love old things - wandering all day through oddities and beauty and oh, the textiles! But I am clearly not a big-deal antique buyer or collector, for that matter. I like mostly looking at Brimfield, and making careful choices about what I bring home (Is it useful? Is it going to clutter up my home even more than it already is cluttered? Do I really really love it or can I just appreciate seeing it and move on?). 

There's also the issue of the pricing on things. Being lucky enough to live in this part of Maine, in the land of SO many antique and flea markets, there are better 'deals' to be found closer to home. Still, there's something about so many things gathered in one (big) place to assure that you'll find what you're looking for. Every year, I visit a few of the same vendors to stock up on my necessities - things I don't collect, but rather that we actually use in our day to day. Things you just can't really buy as pretty as they used to make. Handkerchiefs being at the top of that list. Pillowcases and linens too. So, we found our linen lady, in the same spot she always is, and stocked up there. Similarly, there's the silver booth, where I can replenish my supply of spoons in my particular chosen pattern, for it seems that spoons walk out of my kitchen every day and never come back, much to my puzzlement. There are also notions and textiles that I inevitably pick up for some crafty project I have in mind or another (Annabel's birthday being at the top of the list, hence the pink, pink, pink).

Those are the little things I plan on coming home with. And then there are the surprises. Like a trash can! I mean really now, look at that cute thing. A completely impulsive purchase, but one I'm pleased with. I intended it for the garden, but I think I might just plant some tall decorative grasses in it and make it a front porch planter instead - at least for this season. And the dresser and end table I hemmed and hawed on and looked and looked and eventually went back at the end of the day to purchase them both. I love them. I am working on brightening up our bedroom a bit, and this is just the right start for doing so. 

And with that, another Brimfield is behind me (I can never bring myself to attend in the heat of July and September is just too full to pull away for antique browsing). Always a treat, often a curiosity, and definitely an inspiration.

postcards from Boston

As if the eye candy of Brimfield weren't enough, we journeyed over to Boston for the night and then had an early morning at the Boston Flower Exchange, a market for wholesale flower sellers and designers. Um, a warehouse full of flowers? Dreamy! I happily followed the Goddess of Floral Goodness (otherwise known as Stacy Brenner of Broadturn Farm), making myself entirely useless as I could only identify about a third of the flowers on her list. That's okay. I learned a bit, drooled a lot, and snapped many, many photos.

With a car full of our vintage treasures AND armloads and boxes full of fresh flowers, we finally made our way home yesterday. With the smell and sight of pretty peonies, stacks and stacks of vintage shabby chic furniture, and laughter and good conversation between two dear friends....one might not even have worldly senses enough to pay attention to tiny details. Like the gas gauge, for just an example. That may have happened. (Ahem.)

 

Postcards from Brimfield

I'm at Brimfield! (Brimfield Antique Market) And as I've come to expect it is full of the best kind of people-watching and treasure-hunting goodness. This place is full of surprises at each corner, and most definitely there is always a whole lot of eye candy. I'm headed home full of that, and with some new ideas and a few new treats to boot. I do so love this tradition.

Until next year, Brimfield! 

a vest for Ani

I am the world's worst surprise keeper. Secrets, I can keep. But surprises are so hard! It happens with every gift-giving holiday that I end up giving at least one, if not more, of the gifts I have ready for someone to them before the actual day. I just get so excited to do so and can't wait. It works out well for them in the end though, as I then inevitably end up replacing that gift with another (that I do my best to hold onto, though often fail again. And so it goes). It's all silly, but fine. More love shared is good, of course. And more handknits received before one's birthday just means more time to wear them, right? Exactly.

And so it is that Ani has a new vest two weeks before her fifth birthday. It is, once again, the Little Shoreline Vest, just like the one I made Harper a few weeks back. And once again, I knit it with our wool, though this batch of yarn is dyed. The buttons are from Wooly Moss Roots. And, well, I don't suppose there's very much more to say about it that I didn't say last time. Except that miss Annabel is quite pleased to have her own version, as you can see. Oh, she's a silly one! 

no pinching or bunny ears, please

Oh, my heart. This right here is exactly what I wanted for Mother's Day....and they delivered, my kids (and their awesome Papa, of course). Such a lucky Mama I am! 

We're off to the races this morning, or at least that's how this particular week is shaping up to feel - a flurry of life and fullness ahead. With a few trips in the works for several of us, and normal classes and activities and Mayfaire and prom on top of that, I don't know that we'll have dinner together as a family until we start the next week. Oh my! But this, above. This day of relative quiet and complete togetherness, topped off with my five smiling babies captured in a photograph that I'll get to carry in my heart this week and keep in my hands forever and ever? Well, my heart indeed is full. And my running shoes are on. Let the week begin! 

Mother's Day

 

"Mother is not a title. Mother is a verb. It is not who you are. It's what you do."

~ Shonda Rhimes

~ ~ ~ ~

Wishing you all a lovely day! 

Alena Hennessy: Art Becomes You {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Alena Hennessy: Art Becomes You! 

Alena is the author of Cultivating Your Creative Life, The Painting Workbook, Intuitive Painting Workshop, and beloved teacher of the art-making process, both online and at select retreats. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and publications, including Dwell, The Washington Post, Somerset Life, Spirituality & Health, ReadyMade, Redbook, Stitch, Victoria, and Natural Health magazine, as well as being featured on Good Morning America and pilot shows for ABC Studios. Her paintings have been exhibited across major cities in the U.S., along with several museum shows. Alena is also a flower essence practitioner, along with being a Reiki master and energy healer. Through grace and intuitive guideposts, she calls the beautiful town of Asheville, NC her home. As a facilitator, her intention is that each participant leave a little more transformed, content, and open to wild possibility.

This weekend, Alena Hennessy: Art Becomes You is generously offering the following gift to THREE lucky SouleMama readers:

 

Your choice of enrollment in any of my ecourses (up to $249 value each)!

 

From learning to get in touch with your creative self through intuitive painting, collage, smartphone photography, as well as learning about flower essences, meditation practices, energy healing, manifesting and running an art or creative business, one of my online offerings may speak to you for what you are desiring most in you life. 

In addition, Alena Hennessy: Art Becomes You is offering all SouleMama readers an amazing savings off any of these rich virtual offerings! For a limited time only with the code create33. Offer ends May 29.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Sunday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winners are...

What a wonderful, generous offer! Thank you for the chance! :)
Posted by: Donna

Yes, please! What a wonderful opportunity. Thank you!
Posted by: josie cooper

What an amazing offering!
Posted by: Jennifer Evans

almost five

Five year old birthdays are among some of the best, I think. The excitement about a WHOLE DAY all about celebrating their growing, fabulous selves? It's a holiday. And then add in one little girl who most loves being the center of attention, and well, there's some serious build up happening around these parts to her birthday that is still a few weeks away. She's been counting down for a very long while now, as evidenced by the paper chain next to her bed that she talks about all day and anticipates throughout dinner. "Who wants to watch me rip off today's paper on my chain before bed tonight?" she asks the lot of us, enticingly, as though we can't imagine being so blessed as to receive an invitation to that most delightful affair (most of us indulge her and appropriately cheer. Such is the life, I now see, of a youngest child!). 

Naturally, there is some making happening. Particularly, perhaps, because this little one is such a strong supporter of the handmade. Or rather, she is happy to declare things made my her mother or her sister or her brother (though often she'll still insert herself as the maker, and that's okay too. No one corrects her. See above about the youngest child.). It's a bit all over the map, this making, and I'm not entirely sure what exactly will get done. But I do know for certain that whatever we do finish in time for her birthday celebration later this month, it will, without a doubt, be pink. 

Back to the making! 

 

the blessing of rain

The morning commute to Calvin's school doubles in length this month as they start their day at another campus, something that happens on and off throughout the school year. It makes what is usually a relatively quick drive quite a bit less so, and as I load into the car each day to do it again, feeling tempted once in a while to be bitter about it, I try to stay focused on the blessing in it. For one, it means more time in the car with him, which really is one of my favorite times that we share together these days. Not that we don't have plenty of fun and lovely moments otherwise, but there's something quite nice about driving together, isn't there? Once we're past the age of "are we there yet" and "I have to go to the bathroom!", that is. The attention we can give one another is undivided in such a setting, each strapped into the seat next to one another with a determined length of time ahead of us with nothing on the list but to drive. The conversation wanders from music to skateboarding to politics, from school and dating and his future plans, then back again. Silence happens too, and that's nice, in the sleepy morning as we wind the country back roads and notice the changes in the season that happen from week to week and month to month. "Put your phone away. Be here." I only sometimes have to remind him, and though he won't admit it, I swear there's a bit of relief in that. He never complains about it, anyway.

Sometimes, I have all the other kids with me too, and that's an opportunity for a good podcast or an audio book - we've been making our way through Encounters with Richard Nelson lately, each taking turns choosing the animal episode we listen to next (they never forget whose turn it is). Or there is music, or we tell a story. Or sometimes, stop somewhere fun to play for a minute. There is less silence on those drives. 

And then, there are times when I end up alone for that drive. And oh, that's a dreamy thing too. A little bit of peace and quiet before diving into the work and flurry of the day that inevitably follows. This morning was almost like that - on the way home, Annabel was quite happy to be looking at the books in her bag and surprisingly not chatty (so rare for her that I fear she's coming down with something. Fingers crossed it was just a really captivating book she found). And in that silence I got to thinking of the rain that began last night and appears to be happening in drizzles throughout the week ahead. Though I know it is wonderful for the garden and a true gift for the earth, I will admit that selfishly I feel a little bit sad sometimes about the rain during times like this. There is nothing stronger this time of year than the pull to the garden, and from talking to friends I know I am not alone in this strong physical desire. It's the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about before closing my eyes at night. My body craves it this time of year, and I do my best - amidst all the other demands on our days - to heed the call. Because I want to, because I love it. And it feels so good - stretching out like that after what is always a bit of a long winter (despite how little snow we had).

I was feeling a bit of that angst this morning as I drove home, wondering how now we would spend this day, as the garden work I really wanted to do was surely out of the question. And somewhere on one of those windy country roads, maybe as I passed another pasture full of someone else's sheep happily grazing in the misty grey morning, and I had many moments of complete thought all to myself to think the thoughts through....I decided to let that urge for the garden go, and to give into the blessing of the rain. For with it, there is no question or choice in how the day will be spent and that's certainly a gift, isn't it? It is, or it can be, a relief. That today, without feeling pulled out of doors, we will give into and dive fully upon the work and play that must be done indoors. And in letting that go - I need no longer worry about being out there, but instead be fully in here. It's just a shift, a little mental one, the feeling of a choice made rather than having been decided for me.....but sometimes, that little shift makes all the difference. In the big picture of life, most definitely, and sometimes in the small day-to-day as well. The blessing in the drive. And in the rain. It's always there.

Camp Stomping Ground {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Camp Stomping Ground!

Stomping Ground is a resident camp in central New York, that values autonomy, self-concept, and community. We say yes to kids where no one else would, and we engage with campers at an unprecedented level to keep them safe, both physically and emotionally. By employing cutting edge child development theory and a (literally) world class staff, we offer an intentionally designed summer camp experience that will not only quiet the voices telling your children that they need to be someone other than who they are – it will make him explode with creativity, kindness, and the knowledge that anything is possible.

OUR PHILOSOPHY
We start from the idea that kids aren’t so different from grown ups. That in a safe loving community, kids know best how to spend their time. We believe that every member of our community has a right to feel safe, physically and emotionally. And that people are happiest living in a free and trusting community. We believe that kids learn best through making decisions, not by following directions. Every decision we make at camp stems from these ideas.

WE ARE PREPARING KIDS FOR
The first day that they wake up and there's no one around to tell them what to do. By helping campers learn to develop and trust their own inner voice, we have seen that they can learn to understand that their power comes from within. When kids understand that they are to be trusted, that they are capable, and that they can be loved for exactly who they are, they can approach the world in a totally different way than if they've had their entire lives pre-planned for them.

Visit us on FaceBook and Instagram. For more information, watch the following video on who we are.

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Tell us about it.

James: We launched Stomping Ground as a one week pilot program last year, and since then, have expanded to three weeks of sleep-away camp. And really, the Stomping Ground has been a dream we've been working on for some time. Our founders have all run sleepaway camps professionally for many years, but never in a way that truly honored the autonomy of children until now. In the past year, we've had the pleasure to work with inspirational mentors like Dr. Peter Gray, connect with Free Schools and Sudbury Schools across the North East, and even speak at unschooling conferences about the beauty of helping kids to use freedom wisely at summer camp. It's been a whirlwind of a year, and we're glad to be back!

This weekend, Camp Stomping Ground is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

A week of camp!

The normal cost of camp starts at $400 (though we allow families to pay different amounts based on what they can afford), and we offer 1 week sessions starting July 10th and ending July 29th. All travel to camp must be paid for by the winner.

In addition, Camp Stomping Ground is offering all SouleMama readers a free Stomping Ground hoodie when they register for camp! Enter Coupon Code soulemama at checkout. This deal ends on May 9th!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

This is an incredible giveaway! I am trying to wrap my head around the fast approaching summer season for my girls and this has been a camp that I have looked at. We live in upstate New York and this program looks wonderful. Thank you.
Posted by: Leah

Welcome, May!

  

Hello May!

I'm so pleased to welcome (and welcome back) the following Sponsors for May!

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

Pipsticks

Pipsticks is an subscription sticker club. Founded by a mama of four, it has spread far and wide since launching in 2014, with thousands of subscribers in over 50 countries! Pipsticks collects stickers from around the world and delivers these unique, high quality, and child friendly designs right to your doorstep each month. Because we all know, there’s nothing that kids love more than getting mail + stickers!! Everything about our Kids Club subscription pack is totally kid friendly, so they can dive right in to creative sticker fun unassisted. We also have a Pro Club for adult sticker lovers! Check out the Pipsticks blog for simple DIYs and inspiration…

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

  

Sitka Arts & Science Festival

Sitka Arts & Science Festival is a retreat tucked in the mountains of southeast Alaska that explores place, craft, and our relationship to the natural world. The Festival brings together artists, scientists, and community members to explore and create on our beautiful island. We offer week-long workshops with our faculty that includes papercut artist Nikki McClure, writer and blogger Molly Wizenberg, Tlingit weaver and designer Teri Rofkar, traditional fish skin sewer Audrey Armstrong, and more!

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . 

I'm so pleased to have them joining us this month as a Sponsor, along with our ongoing Sponsors in the sidebar. The support of these fellow small businesses helps me to carve out the time I love to dedicate to this space, and I'm honored they choose to spend their resources here. All of the sponsors I feature are carefully-selected and businesses that I am proud to support, and in most cases, am a customer of myself! I encourage you to check out their offerings in the coming weeks and months, visit their websites to learn about the inspirational businesses they all are. And if you think Sponsorship is something you might be interested in for your own ventures, please be in touch!