little kite

East coast girl with your sun tanned skin

Salt in your hair, kissed by the wind

You're wild and free to live and let be

Strings let go you'll soar and sink low

Follow the river away from the sea 

Float the Savannah, back home to me.

I once wiped the tears of a young girl's eyes 

Real life is tested by whether we cry.

Feel and allow it, for though there is pain 

A life without contrast is one built in vain.

Salt and fresh water, shadow and light 

Opposing angles build houses upright

I sit in my own house, thinking of you, 

little kite tattered, lost in the blue

I bottle my question and fling it to sea: 

Were sandcastles and kite flying only for me?

Tattooed Baby

Yes, sometimes I draw on my children. And sometimes I draw on myself, too. It's okay. It washes off.

This particular piece is a metaphor about freedom, and letting go of the things you think are helping you to fly so that you can really fly as yourself- with wings spread wide... and also how you take your mom's heart with you wherever you go... so please don't drop it... 

Yeah, that's it. 

Reading Rye Bird

We Are Learning To Read:

The video of the entire book read thru is 12 minutes long because that is how long it takes us right now to read the entire first Bob Book... we must do a lot of discussing and sounding out and also 'television narration'.  

This past week, Rye watched an art/drawing program on t.v. so thru the entire book, she was looking at herself on camera and narrating the process as if there were viewers, and also as if she were instructing an art program about horses and the moon (because there is a moon in the beginning of the book and instructions on illustrating 'the man in the moon' were featured on the art program...and because she LOVES horses right now) 

YouTube Link: http://youtu.be/mvfMUEKKLUg

We Made A Cat

We made a cat! 

No, not THAT cat~ another cat. 

A paper mache cat. 

Look, if you ever want to work on control issues- do paper mache with a toddler. Whether you need to work on not having to be in control or operating from a place of more self control, getting creative with a tot is sure to help...at least confirm the issues are present.

What follows is a pictorial journey from two balloons, some newspaper and flour paste to a new paper friend that follows us around everywhere... except the pool... I had to put my foot down on that :)

Pasting strips of newspaper around balloons. 

DRYING

No one has to teach them these things... she just knew how to paint herself... and she enjoyed it. We were killing time with creativity while waiting for the paste to dry...she was SUPPOSED to be painting paper. 

A cat begins to take shape... 

...and a mess.

It's always a pink cat she wants... 

Staying busy with the 'squirt paints' while Mom works on the smaller details. 

It was late when I left the cat to dry. Rye had already turned in...

Rye meets her new friend first thing the next morning... and wants it to go swimming with her. She's got a thing or two to learn about cats.

She put her shoes on all by herself... can you tell?

A hair bow and collar of ribbon for holding a jingly bell, our project is complete. She wants to know:

"CAN WE MAKE A DOG, TOO?!"

Drive, Chip & Putt

Some family members from home alerted  us to the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship when the ad started airing on tv during this season's Master's Tournament. I promptly registered Chandler and a little later, we received notice that he had made the 'lottery-style' cut for the first qualifying round. 

We've been a little pre-occupied with baseball, but Chandler took the opportunity to practice at the driving range whenever he could find a chance to do so. 

Though he has been swinging a club since he could hold one, and though he believes golf to be his birthright (I mean, he's from Augusta, how could it NOT be so, right ? Right. ) Aside from friendly rounds of "PuttPutt", this was Chandler's first competitive anything to do with golf. 

Chandler's First ScoreBoard  

Chandler warms up before his group is called to the tee box. 

Chandler waits for his turn at the first event: Driving

 Is there anything more fun than entertaining a toddler in a 'mandatory quiet zone' ? I don't think there could be. Perhaps dental work without Novocain, but it's an awfully close call.

Who can resist conical cups? Not us. Even with the benefit of a sippy cup on hand, we insist on experiencing the joy of cold splashes of water whenever a conical cup is available. 

Coach Dad consulting Chandler as his 'time' draws near. 

An exceedingly nervous Chandler tees up. 

A true picture of "tension" as the men on either side of the ball try to will it to obey their gestures: 

Chandler wasn't feeling too swell about things as we left... I can only share this photo because it was such a quick, sneaky shot it preserves most of his dignity in its off-centerdness...but I wanted to share it because it is the next best thing available  to having watched in person as his dad wrapped an arm around him, beaming with pride anyway... "Attaboy- you're my son and I'm proud of you!" <paraphrased, of course>  

Rainbow Sprinkles

 Rye's art & snack session was set up like this. 

Look closely at those pencil leads, it will be important later. 

Sugar is brainfood...it was a perfectly nutritious snack...stop judgin' me :)

 Sprinkles make ya sweet...

...and Sprinkles are inspiring! 

Yes...just a shirt & training pants... it's what works for us... 

~Sugar Lips~

Okay, time for the story. 

I bought a container of sprinkles in hopes of convincing Riley to broaden her culinary horizons. Currently, she and Buddy the Elf share a similar palate. 

Yes, sprinkles are made of sugar too, but if you shake them over, say, Mashed Potatoes or Chicken Nuggets then sugar becomes a lesser ingredient. Especially when compared with most of her current preferred favorites, like "Big Chocolate Cupcake Cookies" (a.k.a. Reese Cups) and Pink Ice Cream. 

 It isn't an exact science, but it has met with some success. 

So, Riley had a little bowl of sprinkles during her art and snack session and needless to say, when she was finished I had a living room full of rainbow colored sprinkles and some artwork to add to Riley's portfolio.

BUT... I didn't clean the mess up.. I had to run to a baseball game for Chandler.  I left the chaos to be dealt with upon our return. 

The thing is, by the time we returned- it was dark. Riley had fallen asleep in the car. I tucked her in and went quietly to the living room to clean up her 'creative explosion' from earlier. I left the lights off and vacuuming til morning, opting for the quieter method of sweeping sprinkles from the coffee table into my hand. 

Who can resist sprinkles, I ask you?

Not me, that's for sure. 

Absentmindedly, I licked a few clingy sprinkles from my fingers  as I walked the lot of them to the wastebasket.

"These taste like PLASTIC!' I thought to myself.

and 

"That's what I get for buying sprinkles from the Dollar Tree."

I had brushed the remaining sprinkles into the bin and returned for the pencils when it dawned on me:

"OH! I bet I just ate colored pencil leads..."

I opened the little container of sprinkles to taste-test my hypothesis: 

If they tasted like plastic, I knew my menu expansion plan would need to be adjusted- a more expensive brand of sprinkles sought and bought before we could proceed with sprinkling the scrambled eggs in the morning. 

However, if they were sweet, as sprinkles should be, I would know I had just tasted the rainbow... quite literally. 

Well...

If they had been sprinkles, I wouldn't be telling you this story.

 I'd simply say "Don't buy dollar store sprinkles"

As it were, I say "Learn from my folly" 

Colored pencil leads or  rainbow sprinkles? It doesn't matter- toss 'em out!

On Parenting...

HaHa- yes, exactly. 

Little Shadow Dancer

Everyone had gone to the truck, except Riley and myself. We seem to always be the last two in the car. There are a host of reasons, from finding a lost shoe to re-packing an understocked diaper bag. We've recently added "Load Rye's purse" to that list. That was one of the reasons we were lagging on this day.

We took the elevator down one whole flight...18 steps worth of space... to the parking lot ; not because it is faster, rather because it is a safer means of travel for those of us with both hands and a foot full.
As we exited the elevator, Riley spied her shadow in a shaft of sunlight. She and her newfound friend commenced a dance promptly.

Princess Fan Technique

Riley is a 'Sophia the First' fan. One episode featured a Princess Test. The Princesses-In-Training were practicing proper fan technique in hopes of passing the test. That is where Rye came up with the steps: "First I fan, then I laugh...heeheehee"

Enjoy our own little princess as she practices her fan technique...and excuse the background noise...it's bound to happen in this house :) 

Little Shopper

She said she was hungry. 

Clever what they stock those lower shelves with, no?

For The Championship

No one in the stands last night bothered with the whole bleacher. We only required the edge of our seats to keep a sharp eye on the field, the coaches, and especially those umps.

Each team had scored  dramatic wins in the previous week, bringing them to this third, tie-breaking match for the season championship. Those of us holding our breath were blue by the time a score finally blinked onto the scoreboard in the fifth inning.

As we neared the end of seventh inning, the score had climbed in such a way (6-1) that the fans for the opposing team began to quietly celebrate their (inevitable) win behind me. In all fairness, their optimism was understandable.

At this age, they only get seven regular innings.

It was all but over. Only the technicality of one last  'at-bat' for our team remained before the other team could get on with celebrating their win.

With gloves of resignation on their heads and the threat of tears in some eyes, our boys made the switch.

I'm not very keen on offering a good play by play; technical sporting terms escape me. All I know is, pretty soon, the bases were loaded and the score was tied.

It was Chandler's turn to bat.

No pressure there, right?

Here's where it gets beautiful. His coach is also his dad. I heard Clay calling encouragement to our boy, using words that between them are kindling... In that moment, my heart swelled over them both. Regardless of how the next few minutes unfolded, I knew I was going home with champions either way. All heart & passion & emotion those guys of mine :)

Still, the inning had to be wrapped up: 

It was awesome.

(Thanks to Luke for the video)