Multicultural Children's Book Day: Josephine!

Isabel has been wearing an old hat of mine lately and offering to be my personal detective. She wrote her name on a piece of scratch paper in red crayon. It says, "Isabel- Detective" and every time I turn the corner, she asks me if I have a case for her to solve.

When the box came from Chronicle Books for Multicultural Children's Book Day, I asked her to open it. She promptly took the book, Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, out of the packaging and set out to read it, instead of eating her gluten free ramen.

The book set her on an investigation of her own. Asking questions like, "What is Segregation?" This book set us on an afternoon of talking about what life was like for Josephine and how it was different from Isabel's life. Josephine didn't have proper clothes to keep her warm, so she danced instead. She didn't have her own bed, she slept in one bed with her whole family. This conversation was priceless.

We love the illustrations by Christian Robinson, each page is a joy.  The whole book is written in a dance of it's own -- it holds a cadence from beginning to end.  Patricia Hruby Powell's retelling of Josephine's life captures a beautiful story of hardship to triumph, struggle, desire and hard work. Josephine reminds you do do what you love with your whole soul.

Thank you to Chronicle Books for sending us this lovely book, we will be donating it to our library so if you are local, you'll be able to read it too!


Do you want to see more Multicultural Children's Book Day reviews? Visit these lovely folks:

2GirlsLostInaBook · 365 Days of Motherhood · A Bilingual Baby · A Simple Life, Really? · Africa to America · After School Smarty Pants · All Done Monkey · Andi’s Kids Books · Anita Brown Bag · Austin Gilkeson · Barbara Ann Mojica · Books My Kids Read · Bottom Shelf Books · Cats Eat Dogs · Chasing The Donkey · Children's Book-a-Day Almanac · Children's Books Heal · Church o Books · CitizenBeta · Crafty Moms Share · Discovering The World Through My Son's Eyes · Early Words · Flowering Minds · Franticmommy · Gathering Books · GEO Librarian · Gladys Barbieri · Going in Circles · Growing Book by Book · iGame Mom · I’m Not The Nanny · InCulture Parent · Itsy Bitsy Mom ·Just Children’s Books- Kid World Citizen · Kristi’s Book Nook · Mama Lady Books · Mama Smiles · Mission Read · Mother Daughter Book Reviews · Mrs AOk · MrsTeeLoveLifeLaughter · Ms. Yingling Reads · Multicultural Kids Blog · One Sweet World · Open Wide The World · P is for Preschooler · Rapenzel Dreams · School4Boys · Sharon the Librarian · Spanish Playground · Sprout's Bookshelf · Squishable Baby · Stanley and Katrina · Teach Mama · The Art of Home Education · The Brain Lair · The Educators' Spin On It · The Family-Ship Experience · The Yellow Door Paperie · This Kid Reviews Books · Trishap’s Books · Unconventional Librarian · Vicki Arnold · We3Three · World for Learning · Wrapped in Foil

Help us celebrate the joy and diversity of multicultural children’s books. Join us for a special day of reading and fun {January 27th} by clicking here!

I love... a few good links

This was snapped on our trip up North in the fall. 

On Membership and Belonging: a Conversation with Wendell Berry

How to Raise our Girls and Ourselves with Self Esteem (via DesignMom)

How to Raise Women without the Mommy Wars as a Backdrop

This Studio Space

Robert from Sweet Wood on The Asceticism of Marriage

Holly's practical ideas to cut your grocery bill in half.

What are you reading around the web?

Kerry for I love

**My comments are not working well on the first post on the homepage. If you would like to comment, please open up the post by clicking the header (I love... Knitting and Reading) above then you should be able to comment easier. I haven't made it a priority to fix that. So at least there seems to be a work around for now.

Thoughts and Musings...

Hello my dears,

It's been a while hasn't it?

I feel like I've hit the ground running and haven't stopped, so I decided to take an inventory of what I've done since I talked with you last. The dinner above was a beautiful stopping point in this long weekend. Simple soup (recipe to follow), sweet bread (apple sauce bread on the left, chocolate chip banana bread on the right) and sliced pears. Throw in a few sweet faces, some funny conversation and you have a near perfect meal.

So journey with me as I focus on the present and treasure the beauty of the past.

Since we last spoke, I've been to California and back.
I spoke and listened to my Grandmother, bodily cared for her for a too short weekend.
Conquered two first days of school (one you'll see tomorrow!).

Thanks to donated garden produce... I canned 12 quarts of tomato sauce, 4 pints of apple sauce, 4 pints + 1 quart of pickles.
Lost one iMac (so long sweet computer).
Designed a dissertation workbook.
Knitted 1.5 washcloths.
Packed 8 lunches.
Attended a super-fun pre-labor day BBQ.
Finished reading this book.

Stopped at Pumpkinland with some wonderful friends.
Wore my new fall coat, because I was actually cold.
Made fried green tomatoes.
Painted one tiny painting.
Nursed two tiny people's colds.
Wondered when the tiny people got to be so big.
Made a batch of laundry detergent.
Drank lattes and ate pancakes with friends-- with homemade whip cream and strawberry sauce.

And I'm wondering, what have you been up to lately? Keep me up to date-- I feel out of the loop.

happycampers: Stovetop Lattes

Are you going camping for the holiday? I was just day dreaming about our three day trip coming up. Three glorious nights listening to the wind, the rain, birds and other campers. Tent sleeping and outdoor-fresh air-first-thing-in-the-morning-warm-latte drinking.

Whaaaat you ask? Lattes in the wilderness. If you travel with us,Yes!

To make our camp stove lattes-- all we need to bring extra is our Moka pot. We like to pack light, so I'm glad the Moka is small.

Do you have a Moka pot? We love, love it. It's stove top, compact and easy to use. I got ours on ebay a few years ago for $9 bucks. It brews espresso-strong coffee and we mix it with whisked milk with just a hit of sugar. Camping coffee at it's finest. (Brewing tips here).

And recetnly, we needed to invest in a camp stove. For the six years we've been married we've made do without one. I'm not sure how. We really only had one style in mind, when we went to get it --the green Coleman Stove just like my parents but when we got to the store, we found that they were all sold out. We tried the next best thing a Coleman Fold'n Go 2-Burner Stove.

And after a few uses, I think I can say we love it. It cleans super easy, cooks evenly. And the only thing I look for next time is a wind screen, but I'm sure we can rig something up.

So if you are in the wilderness having a hankering for a latte, stop by our campsite. We'll make you one for you on our new stove! My kids will even wash your dishes....

Written on Sunday Evening:
Tonight, I rocked both of my babies to sleep. Truman fell asleep early with me in the big arm chair. He asked for a snuggle and a soft blanket. And then slowly breathed heavier and slower until he drifted off into dream land.

And Isabel just snuggled with me, asked to watch cooking shows on TV, then asked for a snack (peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwich), and finally if I would snuggle her in her bed. And I gratefully obliged.

And I think that was my Best Part of the day.


Here’s a bit of wonderful for you today:

Anne of Green Gables read aloud, easy to download to itunes!

Have I told you of my love for Catherine Newman? Well... Last week I ran out of things to listen to, so I listened to her Dalai Mama Blog from 07-08 over again. Every podcast, it was glorious.

Fleet Foxes new album, give it a listen on NPR. (Thanks Kerry).

Sarah Jane’s new vest. Don’t you love it? 

Gypsy Forest’s lovely quilts. There is something about those wavy edges... 

This beautiful headband... green and brown. Some of my favorite colors! 

My first Etsy Treasury:

Pop over to see it... I had so much fun choosing the most beautiful things!

Today:: Lovely Links for a Grey Day

This morning is grey and cold. And it feels a bit raw outside, I think I feel a bit raw inside. But last night I had two wonderful conversations and a full night of snuggling with my girl. I've had my tea but, perhaps I'll go pour another cup and then add a dash of grace for today.

This weekend is another girls crafting weekend and a baby shower! A weekend full of girl time is just what the doctor ordered.

Another thing the doctor ordered? Sweet potato fries. We made some. I want more...

Why don't you look at some lovely things.

Snack Bags Tutorial

Cake Lollipops

Great Food Book Covers


Delightful Bird Ornaments for a good cause

Vintage Botanical

Nanaimo Bars

Explaining Creative Process to Preschoolers

And then there's Molly's post. It hit so close to home I choked up a bit... I had my own bout of postpartum depression after birthing Isabel. I think it's good to talk about these things, it makes us all feel so much less alone. You can see more about Molly on her blog, Mommycoddle.

Good Morning!

Do you know what day it is? It's Rhythm of the Home, Spring launch day!

So grab a cup of tea and stop by some amazing articles:

Herbal Healing for Spring

Wet on Wet Watercoloring

PoeTree

Signs of the Robin

You can see my article about Revisiting Sanctuaries too!

For Today: I love...

Outside: Cold and sunshine. Sparkling Ice, light catching snow.

Inside: Warm and grey. Tea and honey.

Listening: An interview.

Learning:  Today is a choice, worry is a choice. I am not choosing worry.

Thinking: About her. And how much I miss her. And movie nights.

Doing: Watercolor.

Reading: Parts or all of these.

Seeing: Beauty.

Corner View: Favoirte Artist

Favorite Artist is so hard to choose.
At first thought Helen Frankenthaler, Freda Kahlo and Lee Krasner. But modern women would include Emily Sweet, Sabrina Ward Harrison and Sarah Genn.

Who would you choose? Who have I forgotten?

Find about other Favorite Artists Here. 

Eating and sharing

We ate so well this weekend. And I'm still full thinking about it. I love sharing meals, it just fills up my soul. Good food + sharing = heaven.

Lasagna TWICE! First when our friends came over dinner at our 'Italian restaurant' which was just our white paper wrapped kitchen table with candles in the middle. The kids were thrilled about coloring.

Eric made Eclairs... so delicious. Trubey kept stealing them out of the fridge. Aren't they beautiful??

Sunday lunch with more friends-- Lasagna round #2!

Later in the afternoon we took a drive to pick up some paint to finish up a project and while we drove home we all brainstormed dinner ideas. We listed off the ingredients we had in the house and thought how to use them best. Isabel loves soup right now-- and so with the drawer of veggies, left over chicken and some cheese we thought up, broccoli soup with chicken.

Little do they know that now we have an emersion blender.... so much more went into broccoli soup than broccoli!

Broccoli Soup with Chicken
1 small onion (or half a medium onion)
2 carrots chopped fine
2 medium potatoes chopped fine
1 clove of garlic
1 cup of loosely packed spinach
3-4 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
1 cup whole milk
1 medium head of broccoli and stem roughly chopped
1 tsp of honey
1 piece of bacon
2 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cooked chicken breast shredded (warm)

In a medium stockpot add butter and keep on medium heat until melted then add onions, garlic cook until translucent and soft. Add the bacon, stirring until bacon is cooked. Add potatoes, carrots and broccoli then add about a table spoon of olive oil if needed. Lightly salt vegetables. Let cook for 5-7 minutes. Then add spinach (lightly salt again) and stir until wilted. Add chicken stock and let boil until potatoes are tender. Add the cottage cheese and milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Use an emersion blender or blend in a regular blender in small batches until soup is smooth. (If using a regular blender: return to pot). Add shredded chicken.
Stir in the whole milk and honey. Salt and pepper more if needed.

Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top and crusty bread! Serves about 4 people.

Kids Yoga

After dinner tonight, the kids were begging for kids yoga. Truman usually wants to participate, but then he sits in my lap while I'm in lotus position or tries to use me as a jungle gym while in downward facing dog.

Tonight for the first time, he did all the poses for these two videos (our favorites!). His attention span is getting just a bit longer everyday and it was really fun to see him whole heartedly enter into practice.

I'm so glad that we have something to add to our evenings inside that help us 'shake our silly's out' and get a bit more active!

Sarah Klein and her niece do a good intro video easy to understand and so fun!



And this one is from the Bari Koral Family Rock Band, the kids love this video. I think it's a great way to introduce them to poses. Plus you'll catch yourself singing the lyrics on the way to a meeting the next day.

A New Year: Watching, Listening

"Are your listening ears on?" I ask as we wheel our cart stuffed with luggage, gifts, back packs and beloved dolls. There are people everywhere. And this is an attempt to snap my dreamy little girl into  reality-- just for a few minutes-- for her own safety.
Isabel reaches to her ears one at a time. "Click! Click, they're on!"

"Are your observation eyes on?"
"Click! Click! Yep!"


*********

I usually use my time at Lent as a New Years resolutions. I resolve to do something to better me or my family, not to restrict or not eat chocolate (I am realistic... hehe). This year for Lent, I gave up time wasters, and it was the most amazing thing. I was able to embrace that new time fully.

And now that I have recouporated from studying and graduating, from Christmas sewing and from holiday traveling (and I have an empty laundry room... gasp I know).  I feel like it's time now to refocus, refresh and take in a deep breath. To take 2011 as a chance to learn about myself, my family and others.

And for this year, I'm only asking myself two things. "Are your listening ears on?" "Are your observation eyes on?"

My goal is just to be the best version of me. Letting go of perfectionism and replacing it with trying hard, being consistent and loving deeply. I am going to wake up each day with a song in my heart and eyes on that see the beauty in the daily.

Will you journey with me? Ears and eye 'clicked' on-- noticing beauty?

In the Book Basket: Wintertime Books

My favorite part of Christmas is not the gifts (even though they're nice!) or even the food (but it tastes so good!), it's spending time with family. And now that I have my own kids, we are carving out our own traditions. And one tradition we have is gathering up all the Christmas books and each night we choose a few to read together. We pile onto the couch, under quilts and blankets... and I revel in those quiet moments together.

In our book basket this year, we've got some oldies and some goodies.

Here's a few of our favorites:

Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Red sings from the Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman

The Velveteen Rabbit By Margery Williams

Madeline's Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

What are some of your favorites? Maybe we could add them to the basket for next year!

Things to think about...

The fall has been particularly glorious this year, I can't remember another year in which 74 was forcasted for the second week of November (and I've been here almost 9 years)!

And thanks to a large group of awesome friends-- we painted our house this weekend-- more pictures and stories to follow.

And we had two kids with the flu-- no pictures to follow.

So here are some things I've been thinking about (other than grey paint and trim and uh... changing the sheets)...

My friend, Melissa's Apple Rolls look soo good, I wish I could pull up a cuppa and sit with her for a few hours.

While relaxing last night. Ahh bless you extra hour! I caught a bit of Lidia's Italy and she made this Chicken with pine nuts and olives. My mouth was watering-- and then I put it on my meal plan for next week.

This post makes me love fall even more.

Give me dreamy Polaroids.

Cozy thoughts about warm clothes. And warm wrists. Snow is forecasted for the weekend.

Moccasins. Need I say more?

I'm going to try and make toddler backpacks for Christmas. And I am swiftly running out of time!

Do you think about the creativity unleashed at your desk?

For the love of a little brick house...

Hello Dears!
I have a charming little house to show you. Grandma Bonnie has been working so hard to get it sparkling clean and ready for new owners-- it was her childhood home. If you are local, this house is perfect. If I didn't have one already, this is the one I would want. Character and charm, you can tell that it's been so loved and taken care of over the years.

I snapped a few photos when we went to visit the other day, and I am just bursting to show it off. The bricks! The vines! The built in desk in the kitchen! Screened in patio!

Ahhh, somebody stop me or I might have two houses soon...

Read Aloud: Hope for the Flowers

In my search for age-appropriate read aloud books for the kids, I came across Hope for the Flowers. I borrowed it from a friend who said, "YOU MUST READ THIS."

And I'm so glad we did. It is very much age-appropriate at any age. About risk-taking to make something beautiful. About not following just to follow. And the lead characters? Catapillars named Yellow and Stripe, no less. Though this novel was written in 1973, I feel like it was written for me, for them, right now.

I poked around the web and you can still get a copy here.

********

So far we've read Sarah, Plain and Tall, Skylark, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

And on my last Read Aloud post, we got tons of great suggestions on what to read next.

Laural Ingalls Wilder

Roald Dahl-- Of which I've read everything by him that I could get my hands on. When I was a nanny, we read George's Marvelous Medicine-- and the girls still have it (one of them is a senior in college!).

Toy Go Out or Toy Dance Party

Beverly Cleary

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo

Stewart Little

Twig by Elizabeth Orton Jones (I would also recommend Big Susan)

"My Naughty Little Sister" series by Dorothy Edwards

The "Betsy" books by Carolyn Haywood

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindegren

Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore

Mr Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

Fudge by Judy Blume

Such a great list! Anymore to add?

Tell Me a Story: Hip Mountain Mama

Today we're starting a new series called Tell Me a Story, stories about gratitude. I want to examine with other women how they stay positive, keep balance and above all have daily gratitude.







Today's guest is Suzy from Hip Mountain Mama, she has a popular online store and blogs. She's the spear head behind the One Small Change movement. I got acquainted with Suzy though twitter and her advocacy for safe baby wearing. She's busy, but balanced, passionate and thoughtful-- with a beautiful family.



Welcome Suzy.








Where do you live?


At the base of the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado



Tell me about your family?


I am married to my best friend and business partner Andy. My children are my sweet, shy, caring 6 year old daughter Magnolia and my crazy, excited, always laughing 3 year old daughter Sienna



What activity makes you feel most alive?


Anything that involves being in nature. Feeling the sun on my face, walking on leaves, putting my feet in a river...



What gratitude did you feel today? What gave you peace? Any ah-ha moments?

Today I feel gratitude for my family, friends, and environment. My daily meditation gave me much peace today and my ah ha moment was to learn to lighten up and let go of the baggage.







How do you see gratitude or mindfulness? Is this a daily practice?

I actually practice gratitude several times a day. For me, it is a thought like "oh wow, I am so glad I have such an amazing daughter" or "so and so is having a rough time with her husband, I feel so blessed to have such a great husband".


We also say out loud what we are thankful for each night at dinner.



As a work at home Mom you are required to balance a great deal of things. How do you run a creative business, participate in your community, make family time, spend time out doors and basically juggle it all? What are your tools? What are your compromises? How do you seek gratitude or slow time in your busy season?


After 2 years of being a work at home mom, it is all finally coming together. Since my husband is also working at home for the business it really works nicely. Such as right now, Andy took Sienna to the pool so I can get to my emails. Later I will play with the kids outside so Andy can get some work done. We just take things as they come and things always seem to work out and get accomplished. My main tool is to let things go. I had several loads of laundry that needed to get put away last night, but instead of doing this we played in the front yard, rode bikes, hung out with neighbors...and I got to the laundry today. Learning to let the laundry/dishes/beds slide for however long they need to slide for is what frees up time for fun! Andy and I also always make sure to set aside 10 minutes each (preferably in the morning) to meditate. This gets us in a great and relaxed mood to tackle the day ahead. Making time for ourselves is crucial in making this all work.









I know you meditate, does that help you have more daily gratitude?
Ahhh, yes. Absolutely!! I actually feel gratitude that I am allowing myself and that my situation allows me to meditate for 10-15 minutes each morning. It helps me be more mindful of everything and to really appreciate the beauty in everything around me!



How has the success of One Small Change made an impact on you? On your family? Does gratitude play a part in those One Small Change decisions?
One Small Change was such a little idea that has had such an amazing result. My family and I have made 7 small change in our lives that have impacted the environment in a positive way and this makes us all feel great. We feel like we are doing our part to create a beautiful earth to live on and to leave on to others. We are so grateful for our earth and all she does for us. I was just thinking this morning about how perfect nature is...it gives us all we need and we really need to give back!



_________



Suzy is a fun loving, 30 something, nature lover, dreamer, music fan, Mama, and Wife. She spends her days running Hip Mountain Mama, hanging out with her 2 children, and dreaming of ways to walk hand in hand with Mother Nature.

You can find Suzy on the web in a variety of places:

http://www.hipmountainmamablog.com/

http://1smallchangeblog.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/hipmountainmama

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hipmountainmama

Sign up for our newsletter* to the right for more exciting information!

Well, I didn't think that the August Break would lead me to take a break for almost 8 days. But, it did.

Since we last spoke, about my pet peeves of the craft closet.... my twin sister and her partner came to visit. It was really amazing to see them and invite them into our little world. The kids just loved having their Aunties here!

As you can guess, we've had a lot of visitors lately and this weekend, Eric and I are taking an evening away. We are staying in a place fairly local, but we need to reconnect, retreat and rest before we get into the school year (after labor day!).

A few things I'm excited about: 
The new edition of Rhythm of the Home will be out Septemeber 1!

I have something up my sleeve and it'll be up next Tuesday! Stop by then.


The shed project. Eric and I are shedding belongings like crazy. A big yard sale soon. If you read the article we won't be going down to 3 backpacks of stuff. We are just actively getting a smaller footprint. Donating, recycling, selling, trashing the things we don't need. Which it turns out is quite a lot.

I will finally get to see this movie.

And some of you know, but I'm starting my last class for college. Lord willing, by early December I'll be a college graduate. So send good, focusing thoughts my way. It could be a crazy season for all of us. 

Well all, have a great weekend and I might just be back for [gasp] a post this weekend!

*Photo by Cuba Gallery

Ephemera!

On our weekend-getaway, we stopped at a favorite of Emily's (and mine now too!) Ephemera Stationery Studio in the trendy and friendly East Village in Des Moines.

I could have taken the whole store home with me-- impeccably curated, fun and funky-- local, handmade items from a variety of vendors and artisans. So much inspiration in their storefront, now I'm contemplating painting my whole house robin's egg blue!

Arin and Karen are just delightful, hilarious and ready to answer any questions. It's obvious the love what they do, they offer classes on book binding, jewelry box making, fused plastic and so much more. Seriously, let me be in town for cupcake day. Offering cupcakes while shopping. Yes please.

[While we were there we got to watch them make the cutest custom personal stationery.]

[I wish you could see the letterpress cards and prints on this wall, so awesome!]

When in Des Moines RUN to visit them: 

ephemera stationery studio
505 e. locust street
des moines, iowa 50309
515.974.6932 

Yes, they are online! Shop, Custom Studio Work, Blog

While you were out...

It's been a while, hasn't it?

So many good things have happened around here, mostly in the form of playing outside and eating strawberries. Which is so good.

I may be out for a few more days, but while I'm away. Check out Vicki's series on Mothers, a great group of women who are celebrating motherhood, just in time for Mother's Day. 

:::::::::
I picked up a little dress on Saturday. And I love it. Though I paid waaay less than it's listed for on the site. Perfect. 

E opened a little vintage shop, such great stuff...

A new-to-me blog and Lisa is selling her clothes. Cute, cute!

Susannah's How to Fall in Love with You series on her newly designed blog.


The Green Kitchen. Alice Waters, Rick Bayless. Yes please.

Yerba Mate Latte.

I'm contemplating making one of these for Izzo, or two or three... but if not, I'll buy them from Andrea. (: