and the livin' is easy

it is almost summer. almost. tomorrow is the last day of school around here--that's my measurement.

i still love summer vacation. love it. love my boys being on our family schedule--as goofy as that is, sometimes.

every last day of school we make a list--and i'm not much of a list maker. but, we(all four of us) make a list of all the things we'd like to do,see,visit,learn, make,try and experience over the short michigan summer.

we started the summer list because as b was ending the school year in 2000, i had just given birth to his new baby brother and i was hoping a list of things from b would help me stay balanced and attuned to both kids--little and itty-bitty. the early baby days of nursing and bathing, napping and burping slip away too quickly and i wanted to make the most of summer for b too. admittedly, i was afraid balancing the needs of two kids would be near impossible. the summer list eased this worry. we did fine, if i remember correctly.

so tomorrow, we'll make our list and do a few other things to celebrate the end of another successful school year. i'll post our list next week. in the meantime, what do you most want to do, see, visit, make, try and experience this summer?



love and light and summmertime
deborah

roughing it....r-style

5th grade camp was last week.

r is our 5th grader.

big red took the week off and went along to chaperone.

big red loves camp. he went to 5th grade camp several years ago with our oldest and didn't want to miss out camping with r this year.

i over-packed for them. it's what i do.

they had a ball.

b and i met up with them one night for dinner in the lodge. and i brought nail clippers because i had forgot to do r's nails before camp. r was a bit annoyed with his manicure at camp. can you imagine? whatever.

so left without his momma and in the wild, r built a fire and a shelter.



he held a tarantula and several snakes.

he tried archery.

he went no-handed on the high ropes course. (i have a video of that, but blogger is not allowing it to load)




some times, boys need some time without their mommas.

but r turned up his nose at dinner one night this week. then i found out he voluntarily ate a worm at camp. oh, correction....half a worm. c'mon. are you kidding me?


love and light and bravery to try new things
deborah

just so you know

just so you know, the pictures to this post are from our last big snowfall. i should have posted them with some story about sledding. but, i didn't.

just so you know.




last night at dinner r had a difficult time keeping his loose tooth in his mouth. it kept squirrelin' out. his brother--patient as can be (sarcasm) says, "yank it already. it's gross." just three or so more bites and it fell onto r's lap, anyway.


r has admitted that he hasn't believed in santa claus for some time--he said 5 years. i think he hasn't believed in one or two years. so, he says as he gets up from the table to go look at his mouth, "i hope the tooth fairy comes tonight, because i lost that other tooth last week and it's been under my pillow ever since".

red shoots me a look.
i shoot it right back.
then b shoots me the look.

what?
why me? (even though i know)
and in hushed tones, we discuss that he doesn't believe in santa claus.

but this is the tooth fairy. a completely different animal? i don't know.
this is what i DO know.
1. my boys do not believe in santa
2. that the responsibility of teeth are mine
3. that my boys like money

r comes down this morning--"geez, the tooth fairy is crazy. she didn't take my teeth and left me five bucks on the floor."

really?



under my breath, i say, "she's doing her best and you only got five bucks because that's all i had--had i remembered yesterday? you would have got a twenty". that made me smile, just so you know.


love and light, just so you know
deborah

why we do the things we do

why we do the things we do. intention.

we do them for some kind of pay-off. now the pay-off may be vastly different from person to person, but there is a pay-off--or we would stop.

so why do you blog, if you blog?

what is your pay-off?

i'll tell you. i started blogging for one reason, or what i thought was one reason. and my reasons now have grown and changed and become much more clear.

originally i wanted to have a place for my customers to view my pieces--paintings and jewelry and handbags. yes, since i've started apples in wonderland, i haven't posted one of those things. i will return to that in time, i'm sure.

however, i wrote a little silly note on facebook a couple years ago. it was the bucket list note that sort of went viral and i realized that several of my 20 things i want to do before kicking the bucket could be done through my blog. really.

so here is my list from 2009.
1. travel the world for one year with my family....and then take a vacation
2. see jack johnson in concert in hawaii....and then a luau
3. summer in a cottage on lake michigan with all my favorite people....just relaxing, collecting stones, eating well, drinking wine and having a ball
4. write a book of essays about my grandparents for my boys
5. learn to make pottery
6. dance with big red at his 25th birthday party
7. enjoy my boys as men and see them happy in their lives
8. raise a barn with red....a creative space for art and music and great shin-digs
9. give with a warm hand
10. paint abstract landscapes on canvas too big to fit in my van
Original acrylic on canvas. 30" x40"

11. sleep in a thatched hut in tahiti over the water....enjoy the sunset and a fruity cocktails with red
12. travel italy, spain and greece with people that enjoy good food, any wine and lots of laughs
13. road trip across the US during the summer....in search of the best pie
14. be a paint chip namer, food critic or pajama tester
15. get paid for what i would do anyway....express my opinion on everything
16. design clothes and jewelry for my own label....indigo jones studio
17. do a summer of traveling art fairs
18. interview everyday people about the stuff i REALLY want to know
19. not be allergic to kitties and start with two....they always lead to more
20. my friends and family to know, really KNOW how much i love and treasure them

i'll break it down.

i want to write a book of essays about my grandparents for my boys. i want to get paid for what i would do anyway....express my opinion on everything. i want to interview everyday people about the stuff i REALLY want to know. and i want my friends and family to know, really KNOW how much i love and treasure them.

so this is why i blog. this is why i do what i do. why do you do what you do? i really want to know.:)



intentional love and light
deborah

flying high

my boy is flying high.

just after his big brother hopped on the bus, the district closed r's school for freezing rain.

he needs some outside time. don't we all.

i'm spending as little time outside as possible. i know, i should just brave it. i wuss out a little more every winter.

this year, i've hit a new low. i am not speaking outside. yes, you read that right. why? my teeth freeze.


r is origami-crazy these days. though, mostly he makes cootie-catchers and airplanes. lots of airplanes.

i find them everywhere. i dodge them as i am making dinner or standing on a chair, rescuing indie off the top of the fridge. my life is at risk all. day. long.

now--to rescue the planes that took some rather precarious landings. and hope that b's bus stays grounded in the ride home.


love and light and clear skies
deborah

proverbs for mommas

in memory of dr. suess and his "green eggs and ham", i taught the b how to make an omelette.

"give a man an omelette and he will eat for a day. teach a man to make an omelette and he will eat for the rest of his life." proverb--adjusted to fit--or at least until we are out of eggs....again.

Would you eat them
in a box?
Would you eat them
with a fox?
--dr. suess

he will eat them with a fork.
he would eat them with a spork.

he will eat them with a cat.
he will eat them sportin' a hat.

he will eat them with his brother.
he will make one for his mother.....well, i'm still waiting. ;)


love and light over-easy
deborah

the story of basketball, carry-out and snow

once upon a time there was a lot of basketball.

basketball is over here.

the season's done.

we had lots of basketball this weekend.

our boy did really well. his team of 9 was down to 7 for the play-offs and then 2 boys were hurt in the first game. his coach had to be out of town for the games.

so he asked big red to coach.

uh, what?

yep, red and another mom coached these 10 and 11 year old boys.

they won but two of their regular season games and did their best this weekend.

we brought our tired little sweatball home and hung out with family.

we played board games, b helped his grandpa load up his ipod, and we ate yummy carry-out ribs and pasta and salad and breadsticks.

then we awaited the snow. it came. and kept my boys home from school for two days. then the sun came out. then i was happy again. the end.


love and light
deborah

wrestling and tackling

the boys have another snow day. it is not snowing. it is sunny and blue skies are filling my windows. it's really pretty. and really cold.

so, i can hear the boys wrestling in the family room. that will end badly. so, i'm off to encourage them to figure out something else to do. i may encourage chores;)

then, i'm tackling my studio--which is really our extra bedroom that has no bed. it does have nine lifetimes of art and craft supplies.


that room also catches everything that hasn't found a permanent home. alas, that's the problem. so, i'm going in to pick up, throw out, pack away and file neatly. i may need reinforcements. good thing it's a snow day. :)


best
deborah

we name the things we love

in case anyone's wondering, my favorite girl names currently are:

genevieve and vivianne.

daphne and phoebe.

lucy and polly.

amelie and claire.

for boys, outside of my own two sons' names:

benjamin and abraham.

oscar and theo.

august and oliver.

gage and roman.

just in case you are wondering. or need help in naming a baby. you are welcome;)
but, i'm not having a baby. and i don't forsee any more kitties in our future for some long time, but i love naming things.

my dear friend, the pretty penny, will be a grandma within days. maybe just hours. she is beyond happy happy happy.

isn't it the best seeing those you love splitting themselves wide open with love and happiness?

i wanted to name this new little person--her daughter's new baby, but stranglely, they want to name the baby themselves. can you imagine? :)

so, i am now lobbying hard to name the shiny new baby's grandma. i'm hoping they all agree to *panana* because we name the things we love.

if you like to share your favorite names right now....i'll totally indulge you. i can talk names all. day. long. :)


best
deborah