Thanksgiving part 2: new tradition

Trying a new tradition this year: the thanksgiving tree.

 

 First we picked out a fallen branch, devoid of leaves, and interesting in shape. Then we found an empty pot in our garden shed and put a handful of rocks on the bottom to weight the pot and create a foundation for the branch. While I held the branch, Emagene shoveled some potting soil around the stick helping it stand up straight. We didn't have a bag of play sand at this time, so we just used whatever "clean dirt" we found in the shed. (Funny concept, eh? Clean dirt.) We set a few more rocks on top to help keep the soil from spreading all over my house and brought the "tree" indoors.

 

We gathered some fallen leaves of various colors in our felt turkey basket (I found it in the dollar bins at target) and then set Emagene to work decorating. The cardboard turkeys taped along the outside of the pot were a craft project from another day and super easy. They involve circles of various sizes and glue. 

While she was busy poking holes and using tape and whatever other way she could figure out to keep leaves on the tree, I cut out paper leaves from construction paper. 

We refilled the empty basket with the paper leaves and a sharpie. When we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner, we required everyone to write on a leaf something they were thankful for before filling a plate with food. This meant when we went back for seconds, we had to fill out a second leaf. In reality, we just sat around writing until we ran out of leaves. 

I love it! I may keep the set up and turn it into a winter wishing tree, replacing the cardboard turkeys with paper wreaths, unless someone knows where I can find scrap evergreen boughs in Texas...

A new hat

It's been cold here the last dew days. Cold as in toying with freezing and a chance of snow. Well, ice is more likely. Either way Aoife needed a hat. So I pulled out this treasure from the vault of the past

It's a true vintage baby hat. I have photos of me wearing this at her age with my grandpa.

But it's pretty priceless on her

And now to go knock icicles off the tree before the branch gets too heavy and collapses on the chicken coop.

Thanksgiving part 1: family

Due to holiday schedules, new baby and other family business, we were able to host thanksgiving dinner and have a couple aunties come over during the week of autumn here in Texas. Seriously Friday the trees were green, Saturday yellow and by the next Friday void of leaves with this link was floating around the interwebs http://www.texasstormchasers.com/2013/11/23/new-winter-storm-warnings-watches-issued/

But for the previous week, things looked like this around here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Doorways

*

Here I am again; on the threshold of change in a doorway that appeared without my asking. Do I go through it? Do I stand still and do nothing?  Do I run screaming in the other direction, back to the comforts of life as it has been? 

Well, I'm in adventurous mood so I toy with the doorknob and peak through the keyhole. From the tiny bit I can see, it looks inviting and exciting on the other side. I hear whispers of the work it will take to open the door and even more work to stay on the otherside. Only I can decide if the work is worth the revelry seen through the keyhole. It looks so promising over there. The mound of work  growing at my feet, covering the key, is intimidating but manageable. 

If I can birth a child in a car, surely I can open this door.

------

*

 Photo borrowed from wikipedia

Season of learning

So we've entered the season of darkness. The time of year spent indoors. The perfect time of year for learning; specifically for learning a new handcraft or skill.

Last year I refreshed my embroidery skills with a little motivation from this project by SouleMama and this project I found at JoAnn's. And while I worked on it often, I was out of practice and literally had to pull out and resew nearly very stitch. So it still looks like this:

The previous year my writing and photography skills were developed when I start this blog. 

Before that I was preparing for my first days as a mother. 

Before that was mostly career and school related.

So what shall I look into learning this year? Well, I've always wanted to write a book of some kind. Perhaps this season will be spent researching a topic and engaging in writing practices and challenges. Perhaps when spring comes I'll have something to show from my practice and research.

Perhaps.

But then again, I asked Pete to get me a guitar for my birthday...

What's tugging at the edges of your curiosity this season?

Conversations with my 3-year old

 The sound bites of childhood need a little nod from time to time. Here are some gems. Enjoy!

April 24

Her: Daddy has 2 red spots on his body.

Me: Where? On his face?

Her: No. Right there and right there.

Me: Oh you mean his nipples.

Her: *Confused looked*

Me: Daddies have nipples too. They don't make milk so he won't get breasts. Only mommies make milk for their babies

Her: He still needs a shirt.

An early morning in May sometime:

*Thud*

*Jingle*

Hi minar (Artemis). * giggle*  let's go find my mommy

*Jingle to living room/pause*

You know where my momma is?

*Jingle into my room*

Hi! Suns up! 

Sometime over the summer

As we watch a waterbirth video

Her: is that where the baby comes out? Out your bottom? Not your belly button?

Me: yup. Do you want to be there when it happens?

Her: *starry eyed* yeah!

Nov 4

Get me outta here!

You want out of the car right now?

Yes!

You want to walk the rest of the way home?

Yes

By yourself?

No, you come with me?

How is the car going to get home? And all our groceries?

Oh..... Where's daddy?

At home with Aoife.

On Juno?

Yup. On Juno. Guess what street I just turned down?

Juno?

Yup. Can you see our house yet?

Yup ... Get me outta here!

Nov 11

Me: What do those nerds taste like?

Her: Like strawberries.... And magic!

Dec 10

Her: you be this really bad guy

Me: Why is he a really bad guy?

Her: Cuz he steals people's baby's and kills them.

Me: .... Yeah. That does make him a really bad guy. He should go to jail where he can't have any fun.

* nonchalantly tosses guy into storage bin and moves on.*

Yesterday. 

Me: "I lose!"

Her: "But we're not racing."

Me: "You can lose at other things. Like challenges and games. For instances, in the battle to keep this closet clean, I lose! Look at it! Its a mess! i don't even know where to start to clean it!"

She points at the cooler which I had just chucked in there. "Right there."

Jan

Her: momma you wanna Hold your baby?

Me: I am. I'm nursing my baby.

Her: no that's my baby, this is your baby (holds up herdoll she's had forever).

Me: I thought that was your baby.

Her: no baby aoife is my baby.

Me: baby aoife is my baby too.

Her, casually: no this is you baby. 

Me: so the baby I grew in my belly isn't my baby. It's your?

Her: and daddy's.

Jan 28

We were eating a stirfry and she politely asked, "Chopsticks pawease." We get her a pair and she very nonchallantly asks, "How do you use these things?"

Feb 

Prince fill-pup has become prince Phillip again, only now they sing " once EEpon a bween"

Now that she's four the game has changed slightly. Last night we lit a fire outside and watched a lighting display. Naturally, this brought out her creative side. Suddenly, we were "playing dress up" and I was Cinderella.

As my step-mother she said: your chores today are 

1 (counting on her fingers) sweep the floor

2 give lucifer a bath

3 give a bath to yourself

4 blow your noods (nose)

5 turn off the chrimpsus lights (the white lights that hang on our back deck)

6 turn off the fire

7 turn off the lights (I assume she meant indoors)

8 blow on the fire

9 and 10 I forget because I was laughing too hard and trying to remember the first 8!