Seed Collecting

Like an industrious little squirrel, I enthusiastically collect flower seeds every year. Many years ago I would roll my eyes at my mother doing the same thing on just about every walk we’ve ever taken. Well, I suppose I used to roll my eyes at her for breathing … sorry, Mom. My dear Mother was always on the lookout for pretty flowers and abundant seed heads while I was always on the lookout for Park Rangers to slap our hands from taking seeds from the park. Now, I’ve come full circle and here I am scurrying around (mostly in my own back yard) looking for seeds to collect.

Seed collecting is pleasing on so many levels. I will admit I get some perverse defiant pleasure from by collecting my own seeds. I pluck those plump little seed heads and think about how much money I’ll save the next year in seed purchases. “Ha!” I think, “I’ll show you, $2.99 seed- packet-company, my homegrown seeds are better than yours and they don’t cost a cent!” Don’t tell Monsanto, they’ll be after me…

Mostly, I just love being outside doing something fun and useful. My heart feels full of gratitude for the plants that thrived enough to produce seed, and I look forward to Spring thinking about what new plants I’ll try the following year and where I’ll sow these seeds. The kids love helping too and there are tons of learning opportunities. We look at how each seed looks different and how some have little “wings” to help them float away to a new location while others are “designed” to just fall to the ground. Much to the kids’ delight, a little potty talk gets thrown in when we discuss how seeds can be carried in bird poop. After they’re done snickering about mom saying “poop,” they go back to sensing my attachment to seed gathering and respectfully treat each little seed like a tiny treasure.

Other times they lose interest and decide it's time to bring Mr Potato Head outside to play... that's alright, they let me borrow his hat.

This Moment: Self Portrait

A Friday ritual. A photo capturing a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor, and remember. Hosted by SouleMama. (If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a comment below with your link.)

My First's First Day of Kindergarten

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 6:30am, he brushed his teeth, got dressed in the outfit he chose carefully for this day, then rushed to my room and urged me to wake up so we could get his snack ready for school. That’s right, today was William’s first day of Kindergarten, the day I’ve been anxious about for months and dreading in so many ways. I thought I’d be a complete mess, crying and crumpled at the bus stop or worse yet, running after the big yellow bus screaming “No! No! No! This isn’t right, he’s my baby, he’ll always be my baby!” Well, I am proud (and more than a little surprised) to report that no such shenanigans occurred and I didn’t do anything to embarrass myself or my growing boy.

Daddy stayed home to walk to the bus stop with us on this momentous first day of school. Rob’s presence actually helped me keep it under control (and his reaction to Sara’s demand for a diaper change right as we were getting out the door didn’t hurt either—nothing like a prickly hubby to distract me from my feelings about William's departure). Anyhow, Rob stayed behind to clean Sara up while the boy and I headed bus-ward. Thankfully, they caught up before the bus came—nothing was slowing our boy down this morning.

The nervous energy at the bus stop was palpable. Parents were pretty quiet but the kids were giddy and eager. Before the bus came up our hill, I stole a kiss on the cheek from William and then we heard that unmistakable sound. The kids all stumbled into a loose line, the bus stopped and flashed its red lights, everyone piled on, and just like that a massive yellow school bus packed with children drove off with my sweet boy...

...the sweet boy that I’ve rarely let out of my sight for the past five years… on a school bus… driving away from me… and I didn’t drop to my knees and curse the day… amazing!

Undaunted by our remarkable morning and realizing William was out of the picture for a few hours, Sara asked “how ‘bout we have some play dates?” but she happily settled for quality quiet time with Mom. We read piles of books then decided to decorate for a surprise First Day of School lunch party for her dear brother, “EEE-Yum.”

He was downright exhausted when he stepped off the bus but mustered a smile for us

Balloons, ribbons, and his favorite "fancy" lunch helped restore his energy and keep him smiling

I'm still not sure why, but this really wasn't a terribly emotional day for me. The days leading up to it were much more tense. Perhaps it is that I really like his teacher and have had several opportunities to see her in action and visit the classroom, perhaps it is that we got lucky with a small class size of only 16 students, most likely it is simply because of William's enthusiasm and excitement about starting "real" school... he made this easy for me. Oh, and there is always the possibility that the sprig of pine tree clipped to our fridge has helped keep me calm.  William presented it to me a couple of weeks ago. He told his Dad, "this is for Momma for when I go to school. She can look at it when she misses me.” Dang, that boy breaks my heart with his sweetness sometimes.... uh oh, don't get me started.

Now for the really weird part:  we will get up tomorrow and do this again, and again the next day, then the following week, and so on, and so on. We've entered a whole new world.

Farm School Finale

Temperatures spiked near 100 two summers ago and instead of the usual tractor-pulled hay ride and harvesting veggies during farm school, Farmers Erick and Wendy led us to the edge of the meandering Snoqualmie River. Nobody had swimsuits or towels and nobody cared. With 1 yr old Sara in my arms and 3 yr old William by my side we waded and splashed, cooled off, played and dug in the sand. It was beautiful.

I was reminded of that beautiful day last week when Farmer Erick showed us their irrigation system that pumps water from the river into their pipes and sprinkler system. “You don’t think we’d ever just turn these on for fun, do you?” he asked. The kids, having been taught all summer about how we don’t waste irrigation water when washing our hands off or getting a drink from the farm’s spigots, answered with a sober “no” but you could see a glimmer of hope in their eyes.  Farmer Erick did not disappoint.

A few tarps and one huge strip of plastic sheeting were placed on a hill, made secure with concrete bricks and then he let the irrigation pipes gush. The kids hesitated only for a few seconds before venturing into the flood but once they got started, the slipping and sliding was beyond fantastic.

William plunged in with all of his clothes on, didn’t even take off his hat... Sara did just the opposite

 

Photos were cropped and chosen carefully so Sara won’t despise me in her teen years (as if I can control such things).

This Moment: In The Woods

A Friday ritual. A photo capturing a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor, and remember. Hosted by SouleMama. (If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a comment below with your link.)

Magnificent Mint

“Smell dis, smell dis!” is often the first thing Sara says to visitors outside, followed by “you want some spicy flowers?” or “how 'bout we make a bouquet?” We may not have rich soil or a beautifully organized garden plot (at least not yet… never say never) but we do have vigorous garden mint (is there any other kind?), bright and spicy nasturtiums, and enough sweet peas to make a lovely little sweet-smelling bouquet from time to time.

Mint has been our garden hero this summer. Countless leaves have been plucked and sniffed for entertainment yet this hearty herb still thrives. Besides tossing bits into salads, making mint tea, mint soup, and mint sandwiches (made with real sand of course), and attempting to make vegan mint ice cream (more on that if I ever get it right), the kids also like to jazz up drinks they see sitting around with a sprig of mint.

Too bad I never have a mojito sitting around…

This Moment: So Much Fun with Cousin Christen and Cuckoo Grandma (Happy Dog Too)

A Friday ritual (with a twist this week). A handful of photos capturing some simple, special, extraordinary moments. Moments that I want to pause, savor, and remember. Hosted by SouleMama. (If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a comment below with your link.)