I can’t believe it’s already October…..

What happened to the month of September?  And now October?  The last time I wrote was the beginning of September and we had just gotten back from Tahoe.  Thank goodness we went to Tahoe then, because craziness ensued shortly after.  We had Doug’s parents coming out for 2 weeks, during their visit we were celebrating Saige’s 2nd birthday and Ryder’s 5th birthday and to boot, we decided to gut our 1, I repeat 1 and only bathroom and try to remodel it on our own.  After all of that we then decided to invite 27 kids and their parents over for Ryder’s birthday party!  Phew!  Again, craziness!!!

Doug found 1/2″ – 1″ thick concrete all on the walls and floor under the tile he removed.  Apparently before they made cement board that is what they did!  Poor guy had to chisel all of that out – what a mess!

so we actually do have a working shower, toilet and vanity.  We have plastic sheeting inside the shower, though, we have a little more tile and grouting to do but we are getting there.  Let’s just say this is my last remodel job for a long while!

And now as of today this is where we are…..

Still some things left – but we are at a stand still – Doug just had his gallbladder removed last week – ugh!

The kids birthdays were fun.  I pulled out the decorations a week before Saige’s birthday and kept them up till Ryder’s birthday.  Nothing like celebrating the whole month   That’s how it should be.  Ryder and I worked on a cake for Saige’s birthday.  I don’t think I will be working with Marzipan in the near future!  A bit more difficult than I had thought.  But the filling, too die for, lemon curd from my Alice Waters cookbook.  So yummy and so easy.  Also great on toast or scones.  In the end it looked cute – definitely homemade.

We got Saige her first dollhouse – so cute

Milo ate a few of the dolls within the first hour ( I guess that’s what happens when you have a lab puppy!).  Went out and got her some new ones and he has only eaten 1 so far.  Maybe he’s over them finally.

I finally made her birthday crown for her to wear year after year and would you believe – I totally forgot about putting it on her!  It wasn’t until we were almost done with the entire day that I realized it – so for posterity I had to get it and put it on her for some pictures – she was pretty much done at this point.

Had to get a shot of her in it

After Saige’s birthday we tackled the bathroom, everyday…… tiling, grouting, tiling, grouting – I still have grout on me!  The last day of Doug’s parents visit was Ryder’s birthday.  We had a little celebration with Ryder’s favorite meal, veggie tacos and then ice cream cake (he totally wanted it and normally I wouldn’t do that – b/c I love making my own – but I knew I was going to make one for his birthday party, I went the easy way).  It was a perfect evening.

Then we had a bit of a breather and started preparing for his birthday with his friends.  Of course I can’t do anything easy.  We were having a Star Wars themed party – he’s TOTALLY into Star Wars.  So I had an idea for the invites, I wanted to redo the scrolling text in the beginning of star wars but make it appropriate to his birthday.  So I started to google the text.  I wanted to see exactly what it said so I could redo it for us.  Well, luckily someone else thought the same thing and already did  it and I just had to plug in his info.  But then how to print it.  I wanted to print on black paper – of course no one can do it – but I don’t believe them so I continue to search and search.  But after brainstorming with my friend at work we figure out a way to do it and they turned out cute.  Then it was making the death star pinata.  Nope can’t buy one, gotta make my own and then stay up until 11:30 the night before the party adding the detail – yes I’m a bit crazy when it comes to the kids parties.  Anyways, Ryder came up with the ideas for his party, he wanted a death star pinata, bobbing for “death stars”/apples, and pin the light saber on darth.  So I had to get a big image of darth and make a light saber out of cardboard.  It was fab!  That night as he was going to bed he said “Thank you for the best birthday ever!”  That makes the late evenings and all the work – soooooo worth it!

Now that it’s almost November – I’m wondering what happened to October!  Lots of visits to pumpkin patches, scarecrow building at Ryder’s school, plugging away at the bathroom and getting ready for Halloween.  Oh how I love this time of year – I just wish it wasn’t soooo hot out!  I love the cool crisp mornings, though.

This was for the Halloween party at Ryder and Saige (yes she is now going to preschool with Ryder) school.

What have you been doing during this wonderful time of year?  Where is your favorite pumpkin patch?

 

Zen Mama

I have been devouring buddhism and mothering books lately, I’m trying to remember to be present, to work on being mindful and to incorporate meditation into my everyday.  I am LOVING these books!  It has really helped me gain perspective on situations that arise and to remember to live in the moment (which means don’t beat yourself up about overreacting to a situation that happend, move on, learn from it and be mindful the next time a situation like that comes up).  This has really helped me be more of a “zen mama”.  Don’t get me wrong, I have my moments, as most of us do, but I am learning from those moments and moving forward.  I have a mantra written on the big chalkboard in our kitchen “In out deep slow calm ease smile release present moment wonderful moment”  this little manta, while breathing in and out and saying this in your head, literally takes a minute or so but as soon as you’ve said it, you are instantly in a new place.  I use this during my stressful moments (or what I am perceiving at the time to be stressful).  Once it’s done, I’m in a new space, a new person. 

So anyways, in trying to stay a zen mama and be in the present I decided we all needed a family getaway.  So at the last minute we headed out to Tahoe for a couple days.  What a wonderful idea (if I do say so myself).  Forget about the piles of laundry, the dishes, the multiple projects looming over our heads and just be together “in the moment” as a family.

We had the most wonderful time!  We hiked and saw magnificent views, walked everywhere we needed to go, played in the sand and in the freezing cold water (in both the lake and the pool – so much for a heated pool?!).  But at the time it didn’t matter, all that mattered was hanging out together.  Oh, how it rejuvenated my soul, our souls, communing with nature and envisioning the many years ahead of us coming back here. 

 

 

(this is how clear the water is!)

So, to all you mamas out there looking to get back to your zen state – get out with your family, even if it’s just for the day or a couple hours, forget about the hundreds of things waiting to be done at your house, enjoy the moment – we don’t get this time back.  Be present, be mindful, and don’t forget to go easy on yourself!  We are our worst critics. 

In Out

Deep Slow

Calm Ease

Smile Release

Present Moment

Wonderful Moment

It only takes a minute.

What have you done to be a zen mama, or to help live in the present?

 

weekend play

 

Every other weekend I have to work on Saturday’s.  It’s really a bummer – we LIVE for “family day” (that’s what we call the days we are all together).  Usually family day is all about fun!  Sometimes we do have to work around the house – but we can usually incorporate fun into that.  So on the weekends I work on Saturday we must make the most of the one family day (Sunday).  A couple weekends ago we wanted to escape the heat in the valley so we headed to the beach.  I wanted to try a different beach so we headed to Crissy Field in San Francisco.

why have we not been to this beach before?  Ridiculous!  This place is great!  You get more sunshine then the beaches in Bodega or Tomales.  Great dog beach and what a view!  Golden Gate Bridge on one side, Alcatraz on the other, and the exploritorium behind you – fabulous!

 

 

there is such an energy being there…. the energy from the city, the energy from the ocean, and the energy of the people – let’s just say we were all energized from being there….

afterwards we stopped off for a local IPA at The Marin Brewing Company, our usual stop on the way back from the city.  Gotta love a place that has a surf board with Jerry Bears displayed proudly on the wall!

It’s so important for us to have these days, away from the house, not being reminded of the piles of laundry or dishes glaring at you.  Just the four of us, being together, enjoying each other and our surroundings.  It’s food for our soul – it helps me to be a better mama.

What are some of your favorite “family day” adventures?  We even enjoy a simple “backyard adventure”, anything that gets us together and focused on the present moment.

 

creative outlet

Last week we had two parties, Ryder’s good friend Piper’s 5th birthday and our friend’s baby shower.  I thought these were great reasons to find some time to get in the cottage and get creative!  Oh, it felt good! 

The first gift was for Piper, she is such a special little friend of ours and so I felt she needed a special little gift.  This is what I created…..

I had this beautiful raw silk that I just love and some red/white ticking and it all came together.

I was happy with the end result

We knew that our friend is having a boy, but they are keeping the name a secret.  I also knew the color of the room and the theme of the room so this is what I came up with…..

the color of the room is green and the theme is kind of a jungle theme.  

Wall hangings are turning into one of my favorite things to create.  You can do so many different things,  use so many different types of materials  – it’s like a collage – and then it just all comes together. 

Oh, how I wish I could do this full time (well I don’t know if I ever really want to do anything full time – besides being a mama) but I wish I could walk out into my cottage for work and create all day!  Now that would make me happy

 

In Memoriam

 

10 years ago a furry orange guy came into our lives and our hearts and his name was Mojo (or as we liked to call him Mo kitty, Mo Cat or The Great Mouser) and today he leaves our lives but never our hearts.

 10 years ago Doug, Wanagi and I were living in Healdsburg on top of little hill, in a little cottage overlooking one of the most beautiful valleys ever, Alexander Valley.  We were a happy little family.  I had this obsession with going to the local animal shelter and torturing myself with visiting all the animals in there.  I’m surprised we didn’t have a house full of 4 leggers.  But I restrained myself – instead I found animals for our friends.  But I so wanted a cat.  I saw this black and gray tabby that was adorable.  I had been eyeing him on a couple visits, Doug wasn’t totally sold yet.  So one day when Doug and Wanagi were taking their Saturday afternoon nap, I headed out to the shelter.  To my dismay, my black/gray tabby was nowhere to be found?  I went into the cat room and immediately this little orange tabby came right up to me and rubbed all over me, purring and just so happy and sweet.  Well that was it, he had me the first moment our eyes locked – I fell in love.  So I called Doug and he was still a bit apprehensive but the shelter required Wanagi to meet Mo before they would let us take him so they came to meet him and of course Doug was smitten immediately too.  Actually so was Wanagi (much to many peoples surprise – especially our vet- his comment was “that dog let another animal into your house?!”).  Well Wanagi and Mo were fast buds.  We have many memories of them lying on the couch together and the back porch.  Going back to the animal shelter (the black/gray tabby happened to be in isolation b/c it was getting neutered and given shots- so it was fate that Mo was to be our kitty). 

 So back to the homestead, Wanagi couldn’t get enough of Mo, always sniffing’ him (that big head of Wanagi’s always up in Mo’s business!)  That’s a good cat to put up with that behemoth always sniffing’ around him.  Mo took to life on the hill instantly.  There was a plethora of things to do, climb trees, run around the hillside, hunt, an abundance of mice to chase, always birds to watch and a cozy chimnea to curl up in for napping. 

 After a couple more years on the hill, we finally found our house in Sonoma and moved out of the country into town (most people actually consider our neighborhood to be a country neighborhood- regardless we had neighbors now!).  Not sure how Mo was going to do in a neighborhood – he was so used to being out in the country on 10 acres.  Well he loved his new yard.  We have made all kinds of special places for him to lay and hide in – one of his favorites is under the Japanese Maple in the front of the house.  We have an abundance of birds that visit us so there was always someone for Mo to stalk, as well as all the chatty squirrels. 

 Soon after moving to Sonoma we found out we were pregnant – soon came Ryder.  Poor Mo took a backseat knowing there was a new member in the family.  Mo always kept his distance, wasn’t really sure about this new little guy. But once Ryder got old enough to start toddling around and seeing a cute furry little one – that was just irresistible - we knew we’d have to keep a close eye on him.   Well, we knew that Mo would let you know if he didn’t want you by him- sometimes he’d give a “loving” little swipe with his paw (the joke was that Wanagi was even afraid – he wouldn’t walk by him when he sat on the step going down to our sunporch! – 115lb dog afraid of a 15 – 20 lb cat!).  Mo was really nice, though – never vicious.  But anyway, one day Ryder went toddling over to the rocking chair where Mo lay and he just buried his sticky little face into Mo’s furry little belly.  At first I was a bit nervous – but I quickly saw how calm Mo was and how gentle he was with Ryder – it was amazing.  He knew how to be gentle with the kids – it’s funny how animals know these things. 

Well a few months ago we noticed some weight loss and we brought him in to the vet and got a bad diagnosis.  As the next few months past we continued to see a decline – and when I realized he was unable to jump up to sleep next to me at night I knew that he wasn’t himself.  We said goodbye to Mo at 5:30 p.m on Friday July 31 – he peacefully went to meet his buddy Wanagi who was waiting for him.

Mo will be greatly missed – we miss you Mo and you will live in our hearts and memories.