May flowers

i recently saw this project here and immediately knew we had to make these in time for mother's day tea!  there weren't really directions on the blog i found them but simple enough to figure out.

thankfully from my husband, i had a few sheets of really nice watercolor paper....(the thicker the better).

we talked about "collaborating" during circle time and i introduced the project as something we'd work on as a class. i was amazed how well they worked together.  very,very sweet. 

i set up during outside play and invited them all to participate.  some didn't but most did.  

 i put out poster paints and told them to have fun and fill the page!

i was actually in love with the finished pieces!  aren't they beautiful?

i then cut them into flowers for the next part of the project...

this was available the next morning for two children to work on at a time.

two details i learned in the process....

1. draw a "center" for them with white pencil to put glue in

2. put "dots" everywhere the glue needs to go.  

i didn't think abut this when i was prepping but quickly saw it was essential for the little ones.

red lentils for our pollen and construction paper for leaves.

we then mounted the  flowers on black 4x5 card stock...this was a happy accident as we had the black paper magically on hand.  i thought the contrast was perfect!

 ~ a beautiful may flower ~

1: Where am I going?

Challenge yourself to do your best but then patiently accept the way your life unfolds.  

Know that this is the path to inner peace.*

this is an interesting one. wow, i should probably recite this every morning...
recently i was put in charge as head teacher for an entire week while the director was away.
i was nervous but tried hard to do my very best.  luckily i was working along side another teacher with montessori experience (much more than i have)....in fact she was a wealth of knowledge, a saving grace.  
at the end of the week, i typed up an observation report of everything we did/didn't do with the class.  we took some liberties and i was slightly concerned about the director's reaction to some of the changes we made.  my report was extensive, i couldn't wait to hear back from her.
well, the whole weekend went by and no response.  i was sure she was mad at me.  my mind was racing with crazy outlandish scenarios.  she was a person that always got back to me.
why isn't she emailing me? texting? calling? what is going on?
i drove to work on monday morning with sweaty palms and rehearsing in my head how i would react to any challenges she made to my decisions for the week.  i was ready!
except, when i got to work, i was greeted with a warm hug.
she wasn't mad at all....just still in vacation mode and didn't get back to me.  plain and simple.
after my sigh of relief, i thought about my actions.
yikes, i let my mind take me a way down a pretty unhealthy spiral.  what was i thinking?
ah, that's just it.  i was thinking way too much.  all i was doing was thinking!
i was not patiently waiting for my life to unfold, i was pushing the river.
yes, i need to recite this one every morning.
xoxo

*taken from Buddhism for Mothers of Small Children

Denmark!

things have been crazed...

between my two jobs, montessori training & being a mom....

many things have gotten away from me, including this blog.  

we did manage to squeeze a trip to denmark in....

:::baby bruno

:::louisiana 

:::mummies!

::: did my child actually fall asleep in the stroller?!

:::legoland!!!!

 

:::thank you lexie for a great time!!!

xoxoxo

Make

recently i had the feeling i was just collecting ideas - and not making enough.  

so we've been a little busier at home these days.  this is one recent project...

inspired by this post and st. patrick's day....

we got out the shaving cream & acyclic paint

:::viola!

Memory

i'm not going to lie, this past week was a killer.  not sure what was in the air but we had a tough one.  work was especially challenging. ian has been working a ton. but on top of everything, emmett's behavior has been just plain out terrible.  i am use to some weeks being like this but i guess its been awhile since we have had this big of a doosey....
it's feels like everything i want or plan to do during these "testing" moments goes out the window.  it leaves me feeling like yelling witchy mom.  in the end, i know we both feel bad.
this weekend i asked my parents to take him.  i just needed some regrouping time.  its been months since i have had even a second to go at my own pace.  i am loosing site of my center. or what i am even doing in my day to day life. (or so it feels like)
i dropped him to my dad at a halfway point between the both of us.  i then went to whole foods which is a treat for me because we don't have one where we live.  when i drove into the parking lot...it all came flooding back to me....
this was where emmett and i would food shop when we lived close to the city.  he was so tiny but we'd load up when ever we had the chance to go.  those early days were really special to me.  it's funny, i have so many crystal clear memories from that first year and even the second year....but 2 years to 4 has seemed so cloudy.  its like i have been completely immersed and i haven't  had a chance to decipher anything yet.
its made me realize he isn't a baby anymore.  he isn't even a toddler anymore.  he's a real little boy.
so on my night "off", ive been watch you tubes of my child....go figure.

here's a video from those early days....(13months and we happen to be at Whole Foods).

Memo

i couldn't help but pull this from one of my favorite blogs...

A Memo From A Child To Parents

1. Don't spoil me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all I ask for. I'm only testing you.

2. Don't be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it, it makes me feel secure.

3. Don't let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them in the early stages.

4. Don't make me feel smaller than I am. It only makes me behave stupidly 'big'.

5. Don't correct me in front of people if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk quietly with me in private.

6. Don't make me feel that my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.

7. Don't protect me from consequences. I need to learn the painful way sometimes.

8. Don't be too upset when I say 'I hate you'. Sometime it isn't you I hate but your power to thwart me.

9. Don't take too much notice of my small ailments. Sometimes they get me the attention I need.

10. Don't nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.

11. Don't forget that I cannot explain myself as well as I should like. That is why I am not always accurate.

12. Don't put me off when I ask questions. If you do, you will find that I stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.

13. Don't be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose faith in you.

14. Don't tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real and you can do much to reassure me if you try to understand.

15. Don't ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I discover that you are neither.

16. Don't ever think that it is beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm towards you.

17. Don't forget I love experimenting. I couldn't get along without it, so please put up with it.

18. Don't forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be very difficult for you to keep pace with me, but please do try.

19. Don't forget that I don't thrive without lots of love and understanding, but I don't need to tell you, do I?

20. Please keep yourself fit and healthy. I need you.

where have you been all my life?

some how i opened my eyes and months have gone by without updating my blog.  

i could say, "how did that happen?" but actually i know.

we've been in a whirlwind. ian was on an artist residency for 8 weeks.  

yes, i just said eight weeks....

in that time birthdays happened, holidays happened and life happened.  

i knew it would be hard working full time and caring for emmett but it was really hard.

harder than i thought.  physically i knew it would be challenging and tiring but i didn't account for what life may bring...like a dog getting sick or ME getting sick (?!?!?)

or christmas completely wiping me out. 

(for the first time in my life i thought, "thank god this is over") 

and then on top of it all.....work, montessori training and oh yeah, caring for my 4 year old!  

he actually turned four in the midst of the chaos. 

i know when i am grumpy, it can feel like i do everything.

but having ian gone made me realize (and credit) all the things he does do for us.

cooking being the biggest one.  

since he is always hungry, he's always up for cooking.  and he is great at whipping something out of nothing.  

me...i hate cooking and think its fine to eat emmett's left over dinner and be done with it.  

this short cut leaves me depleted and back to being grumpy.  

i started a blog for the montessori school and it's been taking a lot of time and energy from this blog.

they didn't even ask me to do it, i just did it.  and in all honestly, im not sure they even look at it?    

today i was thinking about how i started this blog when emmett was one and it was such an important place for me to "meet" myself. 

it still is an important place for me.  i have missed this space very much.

it makes me wonder, where else am i losing track of myself?