what would help you feel better?

this is a slice of my "family mission" created for my women's group on the topic of motherhood.
Whenever there is a crisis with the little ones, I always try to remember to ask: what would help you feel better?
Hopefully, a little shift happens... a solution becomes the focus, instead of... the little sister who colored
on her big sister's latest unicorn picture.
It works, except when it doesn't... and she just needs to cry a little.
update: as with most of my tricks, it has stopped working. when I ask elke what would help her feel better, she answers, devastated: "nothing."
tate always answers chocolate cake or something to that effect.

painting with water

painting with water is a clean alternative to paint. elke would spend quite a while painting

with water on the chalky chalkboard. construction paper works well too.

I drew a wild and wiggly line for her to trace after the photo was taken

and she did.

homemade worksheets

elke is wild for worksheets & activity books. here we customized her very own.
I drew seven empty circles & asked her to fill in the faces. I drew a suitcase and asked,

what would you pack? thirdly, what do you think is inside the toybox?

then she made one for me... & another with the best word scrambles I have seen.

(answer: I love you, happy= indeed)

she is unbridled by convention

my dear little sideways sandwich & pizza eater, naked beach wanderer, & own drum beat marcher,

how do I honor your choices and help you nourish yourself?

She is a funny, frizzy, wild, force of love! among many things...

playdough and bits

I have always wanted to go to an art spa. I imagine spending days simply creating with all of the supplies at the ready: walking up to an easel with paint poured or sitting down to a bowl of leaves & glue.

Sounds heavenly & meditative & almost exactly like preschool or this place.

I love open ended projects for kids with no destination or models and this is one of my favorite projects of all time.
Playdough with bits of anything: pasta, beans, sugar cubes, popsicle sticks... etc.
p.s I love how their glitter is cut with sand. its much less apt to fly around.

the appleby house by norm applebaum

We were invited to view a gorgeous house in escondido several weekends ago. the architect, norm applebaum, was there. The wood detailing was so special and the forms were gorgeous. Decks and overlooks everywhere.

Some tidbits from his beliefs on architecture:

Never equate quality of space with quantity of space

A home's exterior is another room.

Architecture is a totality, not just four walls and a roof.

A truly splendid home, inside and out. A great buy if you are in the market.

ode to the library

I can't sing my library praises loud enough.
In addition the giant bag of books I heave home every week, there are so many other perks! The girls get a craft every week & I am checking out movies, cookbooks, magazines and music. I found the glee soundtrack there & a lovely norwegian film I would have never seen otherwise. The summer reading program has the girls even more excited to read book after book after book. I am still discovering things there. Like this wonderful children's book in the adult art section. A beautiful way to snuggle up with your baby and have some art.

happy flags

we made our own flags, inspired by independence day. brett gave elke a small history lesson explaining our countries' independance from britain. trying to put monarchies (esp. princesses) in perspective, he explained democracy. we all voted on our favorite color. pink won this year. our favorite shape is hearts. a sad day for star & purple lovers.


elke drew her flag while tate used a stamp I cut from a sponge.

spooning carrots

isn't it romantic?
love underground.