Paper Pie

Fairy House!

Yesterday was all about the tree house next door. Today, we're on to another type of dwelling in the backyard that the kids are all excited about: these charming fairy houses.

Rye and Oats received these kits from their besties for Christmas and we've been waiting for the wind and rain to calm a bit before settling them into the backyard. Since we seem to have skipped right over spring and have entered into summer (with the 90 degree days and all) we figured it was safe to get building.

The high quality kits from The Felted Tree Etsy shop are pretty irresistible. They include a painted house, fabric bunting, gravel, sticks, shells, a flower pot and many more little surprises and are very pleasing to my detail-oriented self. Perhaps, the sweetest part is the teensy glass corked bottle in which you can leave a message for the fairies and in turn the fairies can do the same. In addition, I have just discovered the brilliant idea of changing the fairy houses per the season and decorating them for different holidays. Ummm. Count me Rylie and Otis in.

The kids were so excited to get these homes established in the backyard. Once we had them all arranged PERFECTLY, we all 3 realized:
"hey, the gardner comes tomorrow."
Head scratch.
"with his leaf blower."
No matter. We found some tomato cages and used them to establish a boundary around the lilliputian dwellings. I was also charged with telling Lawny Grass (Rylie's name for the gardner) IMMEDIATELY upon his arrival of these very special homes in our backyard. He was eager to comply and all is well so far.

Each morning the kids have been running out to the back first thing in the morning to check for clues that would indicate overnight visitors of the fairy variety. However, so far it looks as though the fairies are not aware of these new houses that are just waiting for some lively visitors. But, I have a feeling it won't be too long now... 

Tree House!

While on the topic of all there is to be grateful for when considering our current living situation, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the gem of a tree house that is just on the other side of the fence in our backyard. We have been in our place for a good long while, and a nice benefit to that sort of longevity is the comfort and familiarity that comes with our neighbors and the relationships we've built with the other families living around us. Ours is truly a sharing economy and this gem of a tree house is no exception.

This is a play structure of creative genius. Built from found materials like pallets, fencing and ropes, it is modular and the arrangement of its parts can transform and change as the kids see fit. It consists of a platform underneath a big shade tree, so not exactly in the tree but all the better to change and rearrange when one might want to add, oh, you know, a working drawbridge! There is plenty of shade, plenty of rope and imaginative play for days. We feel so lucky to live next to such an amazing little place.

Apprentice Of The Wild

Rylie and I have been lucky enough to be a part of the Apprentice of the Wild program this winter. Every other week we meet at a beautiful natural area that is well outside the city, though still near the freeway (in LA you are never more than a stone's throw from the freeway, never.) It is a wonderfully diverse place and each time we visit we learn more and grow more comfortable in the space. As the weather has changed from week to week, so has the plant and animal life. When we were out there yesterday, on what was the warmest day of the year thus far, all of the trees and shrubs were aglow with bright green tender soft leaves and the pollen was floating like tiny cotton tufts lazily through the air. They say the pollen is going to be epic this year due to the heavy rains of this winter. 

Despite free range exploration in nature and connecting with new people, Rylie learns ancient and survival skills aplenty. She has learned how to correctly carve with her knife, how to fashion a toothbrush from a cottonwood branch and how to catch a lizard in a snare. I can see her confidence and comfort level grow with each passing week. It is subtle, but each class finds her settling in just a little bit more and finding her place there amongst the trees.

And perhaps of equal importance is her comfort level socializing with new friends and unfamiliar faces. She's easily overwhelmed by large groups of kids, especially those in which she does not know anyone, so she typically stays pretty close to me on our class days. Yesterday was a different story all together when she used her sense of humor and goofiness to catch the attention of a group of kids playing in the water. They bonded quickly over a friendly game of throwing gigantic boulders in the water and naming them different random objects (I heard violin, pizza, baby pig, to name a few.)

This group of kids is unlike any other I've been a part of for how many of them that are present each week in the woods. They are calm, attentive, kind. They are helpful, interested, curious. It is such a treat to spend time learning from nature with them. And on the subject of learning, I, myself, learn so much in this class from identifying wild edibles to fashioning a willow branch into a mule deer. I had a thought yesterday along the lines of: Wisdom Keepers is doing it right, they are teaching all of the right things in an era in which the human relationship with nature is tenuous at best.

Rylie mostly loves to run off and explore while she takes to this wild area on each of our visits. It is a rare treat to be able to run, splash and play in rushing water in Southern California. They other thing she really enjoys is the stories. Our teacher, Sean, tells a folktale, parable, or other thought provoking and inspiring story each and every class.

I love to be out there in the fresh air surrounded by the infinite trees and to learn from Mother Nature's endless knowledge. I'm still learning each and everyday all the lessons this life has to teach me. Hopefully this early relationship with nature we are providing for our kids will inform their lives and their experiences in such a way to impart lifelong wisdom. Our greatest wish for them it to have a solid and firm understanding of who they are and where they belong in this world. That is an education without a price.

F-U-N

Two year olds are tons of fun. Plain and simple.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Amanda Soule

Busy Day

Not only did we visit the Los Angeles Zoo today, but we also hosted the inaugural session of our Toddler Art Group! More on that later . . . it's time for bed.

Butterflies And Roses

A running joke between Ryan and I is that the two of us have the exact same brain. We are truly convinced that we speak to eachother telepathically. We oftentimes begin humming the same tune spontaneously. I'll suggest a plan for the day and he'll already have the details sorted out. He emails me answers to questions I have not asked him yet, you get the idea. I think this happens when you spend your life together - it's magic. The same thing is starting to happen between me and my best gal, Mandy. She suggested last week that we take the girls to the Natural History Museum and Butterfly Pavillion. Rylie and I were definitely on board and I was wondering if we could take the new Metro line that just opened a few short weeks ago. I opened my email and whamo! there was a note from Mandy suggesting we take the train. Our plans were in alignment and we decided to meet at the train station at 2:30 on Monday. When we arrived we were delighted (and kind of astonished) to find that we had dressed our girls just alike without consultation. On the train, Mandy had her camera at the ready when she realized her battery pack was dead. I assured her not to worry that I had my camera and would get plenty of shots. Well, I got that top photo and then my battery pack went kaput too. Weird, right? The rest of these shots were taken with my phone and it's a real bummer because not only was there a hoop house full of exotic and rare butterflies lightly fluttering all around my head, but there was a massive rose garden with about a bajillion different types of roses of all colors right next door (and it was dusk on a very sunny day so they were all dripping golden light.) So yeah. Live and learn, right? Next time, next time. Instead of focusing on all of the amazing photo ops I was missing out on, I decided to focus on how wonderful it is to connect with friends.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Amanda Soule

A Morning With The Ducks

I do a lot of reading about being fully open to the present moment and responding appropriately, but I often get caught up in the practice and what that means in real life. One chilly morning last week, Rylie awoke and I knew immediately it would be one of those days. My baby, bless her heart, was not interested in anything I had offered her for breakfast. She didn't want her diaper changed nor her pajamas off. She didn't want to play with her toys, or to draw, or to sing and dance. Ride her bike? No way (as she says.) She resisted all of our go to activities. As she made her discontent known, I remembered all of the ducks at a nearby park. Ryan and I decided to rearrange our morning and bring those little duckies some bread instead.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a paddling of opportunistic ducks swimming across the lake to come and see what we had for them. It was early, before the world was awake, before the park was flooded with people on what was sure to be a sunny Saturday. I love to be out at that time of day and it felt extra special to have that big park to ourselves in such a densely populated city. The sky was steely gray and made the water look black. It was muddy, cold and wet. I had anticipatd the cold and brought my mug of hot tea, but I was not anticipating the mud as Rylie was wearing white pants, but no bother.


Rylie was delighted, we were relieved and the ducks were extraordinary. There were big and small, black and white, male and female, brazen and timid. I had no idea there was such a diverse group of them living there in the park. I can't wait to go back in the springtime when there are sure to be ducklings. Their chorus of unique voices rang out to let us know just what they were looking for.


I brought three slices of bread, sure that would be plenty, but I underestimated just how many ducks lived at this lake and just how voracious their appetites. Rylie tore a piece of bread in half and quickly threw it into the water. The mass of ducks leapt excitedly for the prize. The lucky duck that got ahold of it, dashed across the water and a large excited gang followed him, demanding that he share his generous bounty. The ones that stayed with us were eating the bread right from Ryan's outstretched hand. We also had to keep a watchful eye behind us for the very forward squirrels that would sneak up on us, surely formulating plans of their own.

We took a walk up the hill and explored this big green park that is so close to home. A lovely memory shared and a whole little world of experiences that may have been missed had we remained inflexible to the challenges of the moment. As it turns out, Ryan and I still accomplished all that we needed to that day, probably much more efficiently too.

Cookies With Friends

Oh dear, you must forgive me for my absence here. On Monday, I came down with the most awful flu-like symptoms and spent the entire day in bed reading stories to Rylie. Yesterday I felt tons better but may have pushed myself too hard because we had a pretty busy day with hearts and flowers and chocolate and all. So here I am today, chomping at the bit to tell you about a little Valentine cookie decorating party we had last week. Fauna brought over a whole bag of heart shaped sugar cookies and we whipped up some icing and got busy. Not before all three of us donned an apron of course. Once in aprons, Rylie showed Fauna all of her dance moves and Fauna delighted by mimicking each one.

After the dance party we got straight to the cookie party.


They would drizzle a bit of frosting on a cookie, then yell: prinkles! prinkles! reaching for the can of sprinkles and shake a few on top, and then down the hatch they went. After a  while Fauna gave up on the cookies all together and went straight for the good stuff. Sharp girl, this one.


Yes, it seems that the eating of cookies outranks the decorating of cookies when you are a toddler (and an adult, too!) Being 18 months and 2 and half they are very busy these days. When they are together it is a nonstop adventure of eating, pottying, diapering, playing, drawing, rearranging, loud voices, giggles, tears, all of that. They are just beginning to really socialize and work together on projects and activities. It is quite fun to watch when they are deeply concentrating on the task at hand without a care in the world. The littlest ones know no other way than to be completely and truly absorbed in the moment. I follow them around and try to learn all I can from the purity and authenticity that they bring to everything they do.

Though our cookie party did not last long that day, we were able to save three cookies to give to daddy when he got home from work that night. When I gave Rylie the plate to bring to him she couldn't help but snatch one more for herself. This girl knows what she likes, if it were up to her we would have a cookie party everyday.