a package came

Lina, a dear friend from my childhood in Anchorage sent this in the mail for Elke's first day of Kindergarten.
How nice she had a designer fashion her first school outfit complete with a pony on front!

Lina and my sister Kim met in 2nd grade when she spoke no english. They communicated through drawing and have been best friends ever since.



Her line is called Freerange Chic and it is the perfect blend of sweet and fun.



oh, and a reversible matching pony purse with vintage ribbon handle is very nice for every day!

recipe rolodex: zucchini cornbread

I found this recipe in bon appetit a couple months ago and it really was so good. Salty, sweet and a bit funky with our wild zucchini from the farm.

construction paper construction

It is always interesting to see what happens when I cut up colorful shapes.



glue is for drawing.

and tracing. let it go.

elke cut up her own and made some friends.



and a self-portrait

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...