nomad week (or two) in review

last weekend (the one before memorial day) we visited the beach that is most directly west of us, Ecola Beach in Cannon Beach. look how big and handsome this boy is getting! he pretty much ate sand and threw fits everytime we saved him from face-planting in the tide pools--he's officially a toddler!


they have great tidepools there; plenty of starfish and anenomes...it was little chilly but it didn't stop the girls from wearing their swim suits...
then last wednesday, blake was invited to lecture at the portland bead society. we came along for support--it went great! blake had those ladies rollin' and everyone gushed over the kids.
he spoke about bead use in tribal culture, and brought many examples from africa mostly, although he also talked about pre-columbian examples, native american, and asian. after the talk people were able to look closely at the jewelry and the maasai book, asked him questions, shared their own stories.
the next day i took mayan out the our second Homeschool Day at the evergreen space museum in mcminnville. they host homeschool kids from 9:30 to 2 with a lecture, workshops, and games all focused around one theme--this time it was astronomy. here is the big inflatable planetarium she is about to go into.
so i have recently read this book about the effect of anxious parents on their growing children. at first i poo-poohed it, but as i read further it made a lot of sense. i started to realize that the kids need more experiences without blake and i hovering over them. especially mayan who is old enough now to figure out many things on her own, and needs to know that she can problem-solve, and succeed in new situations without her ever-present attachment figures. its time for us to be that "voice in her head" or image in her mind, after the many years of nurturing. so in that vein, since she'd been to one of these before, i let her do the day on her own, only meeting her for lunch break. when i told her i would be doing this she hugged my legs and said "thank you thank you thank you...i am going to feel like such a BIG KID!" she had a blast, but when i went to pick her up, with my newfound focus on de-hovering, i saw this and had to take a picture: nearly every child had parent at their side, jumping in and assisting with every craft and activity. last time that was ME!
so to continue this, the day after i sent mayan into trader joes by herself to pickup her special rice bread (it was the only thing i needed there.) she was so jazzed about it--i gave her instructions which she focused on intently then set her off on her mission while i stayed outside with the kids. here she comes running back with her bag of bread.
oh, the look (and feel) of success! i have noticed mayan's confidence growing, and myself have been more aware of my shift toward clinging to the idea of "my babies" and my resistance to them getting older, and being able to find joy in my children becoming more independent. it's been a very positve shift for me and blake to make.

here is mayan working at her bead shop on a custom order from myself. she and blake built a special store-front for her business and she is open saturdays, noon to six. she is building quite a customer base....an entrepeneur like her dad!

sweet George, his hair get more and more delicious every day!
blake organized his office this weekend and gave some attention to his special Star Trek room...looking very good! (i HAVE mentioned this room before, haven't I?)

fast-forward to today...today was about beauty and organization. i wandered into my sewing room and began sorting through the many boxes of clothing.....and suddenly my whole day had past. the kids clothes are sorted: baby items, girls stuff size 6 months to 3 years, girls stuff size 4-6, and finally a box for George clothes, and also items to be returned to other people. i discovered soem things i had not seen in a very long time, especially some great vintage pieces--for those that don't know have a pretty huge vintage clothing collection, although most of which i will not ever be able to wear again unless i lose thirty pounds...i am clinging to the clothes, as i cling to the hope!

the roses are blooming and i made this lovely arrangement for our table.
last night i tried to make hamburger buns from scratch but sof course, i struggled with the yeast and they did not rise properly, so they turned out like denser mini-buns. tasty though! for lunch today i used them to make tuna sliders. cute, huh?

same weekend, different camera

These were sent from Chemynne today:

Nicole and Geo

'Thena and C

Toooo cute! Mayan, Thurston, Isadore

Clover princess

I'm glad she got a good one of Daena and Oliver--they are one stylin' couple!

Cousin love (the good kind!--lol)

My sweet baby boy!

Grill dude (this is so artfully taken, C!)

Us? Weekend warriors?

Something about the summertime and Blake having a 5-day work week again, makes us a productive team on the weekends. The first successful project: a front fence so Papa Nomad can roam freely without clothing. We found all of this metal at the Rebuilding Center on Mississippi Street for cheeeeeap! Although now *sniff sniff* I cannot gaze freely at my she-lovah across the way, I do like the way it looks and it creates a cool woodsy haven for the kids. The center section will be filled in with tall, clumping bamboo. Blake rocked this project with a lot help from MG and a little from me and Isa--it took 2 weekends and less than $100.


Here is a peeps at the little man....he still loves his nightly swaddle!
The next big project promised was a play structure--inspired by the cement feet leftover from the old pool deck we tore down last summer. We tried twice to get recycled lumber from the rebuild store, as well as lurking around some construction site dumpsters to no avail--the corrugated roof is recycled though, and the railing slats are salvaged from our old Ikea bed. (Oh, and Breana we "borrowed" a 4x4 post we found laying around in your yard, in case I forget to tell you when you get back!) Here's all of us ladies pitching in to prime it, pre-roof (which was a bitch to get up there, let me tell you--we're both amazed there were no trips to Urgent Care during this whole thing.)

We wore the proof of our painting all weekend on our hands.
BABY MEAT FAT!!!!
Our hero! Doing all the hard work.....
The berries were looking mighty fine so we harvested what we could....
...and I told the girls we could make a crisp. Summer rules.
It's always so special when Mayan can enjoy a homemade dessert (note the paint smear on her forehead):
Almost done!! The proud Papa in front of Das Kinderhaus. Project total: 2 weekends and under $200. (and WAY burlier/cooler than those store-bought ones...)