Monday, January 31, 2011

GIVEAWAY - Handmade Weddings!

I met Eunice back in June at my best pal Jeremy's wedding. I was a pregnant groomsman and she was a glorious bridesmaid. But when I discovered she was also the creative genius behind the invitations (they were so fabulous I carry them around in my purse just to show them to people) and all of the stunning print details at the wedding, I became a groupie.
Her company Hello! Lucky is the coolest for all things printed. And she's already written one book, Handmade Hellos. But her new book Handmade Weddings co-authored with her sister is really fabulous for anyone who loves to entertain creatively. Even if you don't have a wedding on the horizon, you will love the projects in this book which can easily cross over to birthday parties, baby showers, and all kinds of special occasions.
They put an increidible amount of detail with each project, nothing is left out. From timing to budget to incredibly thorough step-by-steps even someone like me can understand :)
Eunice generously sent along TWO copies of this book for me to give away. Just leave a comment between now and Friday night 8pm EST. I will pick two winners by random number and post them here Saturday morning. Thank you Eunice for sharing Handmade Weddings!

COMMENTS NOW CLOSED. WINNER ANNOUNCED TOMORROW. THANK YOU!

Friday, January 28, 2011

~this moment~ dolls taste yummy

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama

Thursday, January 27, 2011

cave boy

Dogs and little boys share a lot of common characteristics. But lately it's the caving instinct that my little pup is showing the most. Aside from the tangle of playsilk forts (or grown up traps depending on your point of view) that are popping up everywhere these days... the boy is creating all kinds of wee spaces to call his own.
Now for some perspective. Zach's cabin (bedroom) is roughly the size of a small walk in closet. There's not even enough room to do a downward dog yoga pose on the small patch of floor space. But he wants it smaller, cozier, more cave-like. So he's moving into his head (bathroom) which is roughly the size of a broom closet.
He's stocked the space up with all of the things a young man might need when striking out on his own. Emergency lighting, music, books, a collecting basket, chains of finger knit yard, and a suitcase full of random snacks and medical supplies and spare socks.
Poor little boat boy, all cooped up in such a small space. ;) Right.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

dog days of winter

When the outside looks like this...
(That's a good sized rock that Z tried to use to break through the ice. It bounced and skidded. Thick ice.)
(Bow wake iliterally frozen in suspended animation.)

We need a little color and fun to keep us sane inside.
What are you all doing on these frigid days?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

winter morning ritual

This is a glimpse at our morning ritual in these single digit mornings. Of course our closets do not benefit from the warm glow of the space heaters. So when we pull out our clothes for the day they are frigid cold at best, and sometimes actually moist and freezing if they were upa against an uninsulated part of the hull. So there is a process.
Piece by piece, slowly in the cold morning air, the clothes get warmed up on the space heaters. Zach does this automatically now. First his socks. Then shirt. Then undies. His order of clothing priority makes me giggle. And I love hearing him talk out loud through the process, telling each piece of clothing what it is doing that day and making happy AHHHhhhhs as the warm clothes make contact with his skin.
I warm up my things too. Though sometimes I get impatient with this ritual or I am simply in a rush and I am reprimanded by clothes that are only warm in spots and sting my skin with biting cold cloth. Patience, it says. Patience.

Friday, January 21, 2011

~this moment~ find the baby

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama


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Don't forget to enter to win a beautiful beeswax Honeypot luminary until 8pm EST tomight HERE.

And today is the last day to get 15% off with the code ZACHABOARD at Manzanita Kids  - plus they've added NEW toys and lowered their prices... don't miss it!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

everyday life: winter bathing

Saying winter bathing and everyday is misleading. It's far less infrequent than that, but we won't go there at this point. I wanted to share HOW we manage getting the crew smelling flowery fresh on these cold days.

The issue is water supply. We have two 70-ish gallon water tanks on board. In the warm months we can refill these easily and endlessly from the hose on the dock. But the marina turns off the dock water in the winter to prevent pipes from bursting and so getting water to the boat is a cold, wet, tiring chore that involves miles of hose strung from a building up the hill... it's not fun. So we're even more careful than usual with our water consumption, which means no bathing on board. Also the wee corners of the boat (where the bathing happens to take place) are harder to heat, so it's not a pleasant prospect anyhow to be wet and cold.

So we trudge up to the marina showers. I wrote about this last year. But the trip has taken on a whole new dynamic with a wiggly wee baby in arms. The packing for the trip has doubled (how do babies do that - double your load when they are so small?), and my husband looks like he's heading off for a 2-day trip with all that stuff rather than a mere shower. Towels for all, shampoos and lotions and potions, clean clothes, diapers, wipes, whatever odds and ends Zach insists on bringing with to entertain himself.
It's a short walk on a balmy 30-something degree afternoon like this with no snow. And our marina recently remodeled their bath house so it's quite nice all around once you're there (marina bath houses in general when you travel can be sketchy, so we're grateful for this!)
Naia gets to go first. And we've come up with a very high tech way to accomodate the bathing needs of this little one... a plastic storage container from the hardware store.
We sometimes leave it near the bath house and sometimes bring it back to the boat depending on how full our arms are, hence the nifty label. She gets a nice little warm tubby of water to play around in, though not being able to sit up quite yet, she mostly gets floated around in it and held up gently. We are always sure to get her head and face wet often so she gets used to the sensation. Learning to swim is the one thing we're pretty hard core about in this family for obvious reasons. Zach started at 6 months (and was a very early swimmer) in earnest and so will Naia, but bath time is early swim conditioning if you will.
Daddy goes next while I get Naia ready with dipes and lotion and jammies and nursing. All the while Zach is keeping himself busy some way or another, last night he was shooting blowgun darts (bamboo skewers from a homeschool Native America craft class) at the vents in the shower room.
If Naia doesn't fall asleep nursing, I start in on the singing. The girl LOVES singing and will sing along (howling like a little critter) when anyone sings (we first discovered this when she was 2 months old at a birthday party when she went crazy during the birthday song). Her current favorite is ABBA. I sing Dancing Queen over and over again and she lights up and howls and giggles until she passes out. Party girl.
Then I get to shower while daddy holds Naia and then last Zach goes in. Lately he's insisted that he can fit in Naia's tub. All legs and practically bursting the thing in two, he folds himself in there.
By the time we all get dressed, clean whatever messes we've made in the shower room, pack up, and then walk back to the boat, it's been at least 90 minutes or so. The day is ending. The crew is tired and hungry. But we all smell better. And that's what counts.
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Don't forget to enter to win a beautiful beeswax Honeypot luminary HERE.

And you can still get 15% off with the code ZACHABOARD at Manzanita Kids this week.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

six

He's not trying to talk my ear literally off my body. He's just six. (and just like me afterall)

He's not aware that he's dropping crumbs as he munches that croissant while walking across the carpet. He's just six. (and male)

It's not that he can't read, it's just that he doesn't want to perform when family or even perfect strangers put him on the spot to prove that he can. He's just six. (and shy... and not a trained seal)
He wasn't trying to foil my tidying up efforts by setting up a "museum" right after I cleaned up the book nook. He's just six. (and playful and creative)
He talks so loud. So LOUD. So very, excitedly, passionately loud in our wee little space. But he's six. (and excited and enthusiastic)

I try to explain that a french fries, hash browns, and mashed potatoes are essentailly the exact same things. But he doesn't believe me, because he's six afterall. (and knows what he likes)

He still wants to hold hands with me and anyone and everyone everywhere he walks. He is six. (and such a people person)

He is such a lapdog. A big six year old, long legged lap dog. (and always will be i think, just like his Tio)
He still skips everywhere we go. I will remember how sweet that is when he's no longer six. (and becomes self conscious)

He's on the cusp of believing and questioning. Imagining and reasoning. Fantasy and reality. He's oh so six.

How wonderful to figure things out as if they were happening for the very first time. How amazing to think you are the first person to discover that when you fart in the tub you get bubbles (and run dripping wet across the whole boat to announce it). How mind boggling to try to figure out this thing we call time. How sweet to truly believe in your heart that one day you WILL fly, just by thinking hard enough about it and drawing enough pictures of it happening.

And when I am having one of those days when I can only see the bread crumbs all over the place and wince at the volume and grumble at the food battles I try to remind myself that six years is still a very short time to get the hang of this whole being a human being thing. A sweet short time indeed.


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Don't forget to enter to win a beautiful beeswax Honeypot luminary HERE.
And you can still get 15% off with the code ZACHABOARD at Manzanita Kids this week.

Monday, January 17, 2011

GIVEAWAY -- Bee Natural Honeypot!

Who knew January would turn into giveaway month around here... but I couldn't resist when I met Creighton from Bee Natural. He noticed that I have a few of his gorgeous Honeypot luminaries on the boat and generously offered to give one away to one of you this week!
These pure beeswax globes are meant to hold a small votive or tea light  candle inside. They not only give off the most wonderful glow, but they fill the room with that sweet, subtle beeswax scent. The honeypots come in mini, small, and large and also come in electric. Each one is hand crafted and signed and dated by the artist. They offer a variety of botanical designs.
And they have some gorgeous carved ones too.
(we have this one and LOVE it! Perfect for the holidays, so festive and warm!)

(isn't this sky motif gorgeous? it's my favorite I think!)


The only thing cooler than these honeypots is Creighton and his sweet family and the work they do. His wife and 15 year old son both help in the company from pressing flowers to working with the wax.
Before making honeypots, Creighton did wildlife conservation work on Cumberland Island, Georgia with the Smithsonian Institution. A portion of the proceeds from honeypot sales go to support the environmental conservation work Creighton continues to do.

Bee Natural is generously offering one large Hydrangea with Queen Anne's Lace Honeypot in this giveaway.
All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us your favorite product from the Bee Natural shop. Become a fan on Facebook to get an extra entry. (you have until Friday night to enter. winner will be announced Saturday morning.)

Plus, enter the code HPC10 upon check out and get a 10% discount on any order. Thank you Creighton!

COMMENTS CLOSED - winner announced tomorrow!
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