Boys hiking with their papa

Is a sight that warms my heart. Even if it wasn't my beloved husband and my sons, looking out at the beauty seen from Sibley.

My boys love to hike and camp. First son constantly asks, "When can we go camping for 100 days?!" I typically answer when baby bibliotecaria is old enough to walk most of the day. I'm not sure when that will be, but we would love to do the Pacific Coast trail as a family. Maybe when she is four years old? Is that asking a lot? But I am constantly surprised at their ability to walk significant distances and love every minute of life outside.

As a kid one of my favorite books was My Side of the Mountain. I loved this book and the possibility it presented to my as a kid. I recently brought this home form the library, and was pleasantly surprised. Not to say that the movie is better then the book, but I remember the ending of the book being kind of tacked on--it fell short of the rest of the book. The movie did away with this ending. I'm sure if I re-read the book now, it would be better then the movie, but the movie wasn't bad. The book is on our read a-loud list.

So, if you have any good multi-day family hikes, please let me know! We're planning ahead for more scenes like the one above (bench is optional).

The Sunroom

In this urban jungle we do have an oasis of childhood. We call it "the sun room," although it is more nearly an enclosed porch, with huge windows all around. It is mostly dedicated to the children--it is a place where they can experiment and create on their own.

Split peas! I got a bunch of bags of these and they make a lovely tactile 'sand.' Second son especially loves them, but first son will spend a lot of time pouring and sifting... Sure, I find them in weird places all over the house (they like to stick to bare feet), but they are relatively simple to sweep up. And the sweeping is another game with a 3 year-old sized broom.

This is where we made a huge vinegar & baking soda volcano. We've made all kinds of 'machines', and watch the garbage trucks outside and the birds visit our seed feeder. I plan to make a fort for the boys and have a little climbing structure for baby bibliotecaria in the works for when she is one--at Christmastime.

The sun on the wall above was salvaged from a neighboring dumpster on San Pablo when we lived in the Creamery Art Studios (thank you Martian Gallery Man). We though it was too beautiful to be dumped, and so it has hung on the wall in all of our homes since living there. And is any space complete without Christmas Lights?

We love you, little sunny room.

Did the baby fall off the organ?

Philosophy Bites

Yummy, yummy!

oh, yeah, uh, I got into graduate school

I have a new number and everything, too.

It actually feels really good to be in school again (although, reflecting on the past six years, I've kind of always been in school).

heh.

Fuck you, Vegan Pancakes!

You have betrayed me--with your sweet promises of lightness, and fluffiness, and no milk proteins to hurt baby bibliotecaria's little belly (she has a pretty rare sensitivity to milk protein, not an allergy per se, but the milk protein in my mama's milk causes all kinds of harm to her little system. Consequently, I've cut it out of everything that I eat. No whey or all that other funky stuff in processed food, along with the obvious cheese and ice cream, etc.)

You were neither light nor fluffy, and barely cooked completely. Further, you were a pain in my rear to prepare--cutting the butter substitute with the whole wheat flour... my last can of pureed pumpkin I gave to you.

Get out! Just get out of my kitchen... before I do something drastic!

Stranger than Fiction (2006)

I saw this film for the first time the other night and was surprisingly impressed. The Dustin Hoffman Character, much like the Metaphysical Detective he plays in I Heart Huckabees, I think is my favorite, but the freaky author (played by Emma Thompson) reminds me of one of my best friends, whom I miss very much. Will Ferrell, is Will Ferrell.

Complete with Italo Calvino quotes, see it if you haven't already...

it is a Stevie day (all feathered at the edges)

get your portrait with Stevie

Six XL Fuzzi Buns with 6 cotton inserts

Why I have pictures of diaper covers below

Yes, I do like cloth diapers, but that is not why I have pictures of them below. I have them there because they are for sale. Yes, i deal diapers on the black market.

Actually, baby bibliotecaria has outgrown them and I am switching tracks with her--because the synthetics tend to harm her very delicate skin. So we're going all natural fibers, cotton, hemp, and wool.

Most of the covers I am donating to my friend who is running a Montessori Nursery and will need cloth diapers for the babes. I think it is so cool that she is going to have all cloth at her daycare, and I would like to support her in the small way that I can.

But, I'd also like to put some of the money already sunk in diapers for the future.

So, that is why I have pictures of diaper covers on the web log.