Bird Nest

Sliding Into Summer

After a dreamy trip to Seattle we are back and sliding into the Summer season.  Today we joined our neighbors and friends for Sunday Parkways - a six mile loop of closed streets for biking (and walking in our case.)  It was so sweet to hit the streets and watch as crowds of bikers and walkers took over the roads.  The loop passed through multiple parks with events and music.  Most sweet was watching old and young out on bikes, and of course all of the super awesome family bike setups.  I've been so inspired by these and can't wait for our sparrow to be a bit older for me to feel safe strapping him aboard.

Sparrow and I awoke from a nap to find Rooster and Jbird setting up for dinner on the patio.  I am so thrilled to get back into the swing of patio dining.  We felt a bit rusty figuring out the chairs, the set up, but it was so worth it to eat outside and enjoy the fresh air.  I'd love to have it all be a quicker set up, perhaps something Jbird could handle on his own - so we would be more likely to eat out there every meal.  I recall so many fond meals when I lived in Belgium on foreign exchange as a teenager, my host family always setting up the summer meals outside, even breakfast.  So many things I'd like to "move closer to."  I hope it's the summer we fall into new patterns, new rhythms, new rituals.

 

Daddy

Watching Rooster navigate fatherhood is one of the most rewarding and inspiring gifts this family has brought to me.  I admire and adore him with all of my heart, and now I get to love him even deeper as he cares for our babies and partners with me in this crazy nest.  I am so deeply thankful that my boys have him to watch over them, to nourish them, to inspire them as they grow.

Happy Father's Day!

Sparrow's Tree

No, the irony isn't lost on me.  Yes, my last post was titled:  For Trees So Tall.  And yes, we did just obliterate our superbly tall tree.  Somewhere a black mark has been placed next to our name.

We had a very naughty tree living in our parking strip.  So, after much to-do over the years, after gutting our sewer and water pipes, after ripping up our sidewalk and growing it's roots clear across our front yard into our neighbors and after much litter and darn sweet gumballs, we decided the time had come.  We got permission from the city to have it taken down.  But not without first selecting our replacement tree.

That was tough.  We were limited to finding another LARGE tree (think 100 footer) and included in the cities outdated list was our own offender with shallow roots, the Sweetgum.  So, I knew that we had to do more than just pick from the short list they gave us.  Finally after much searching, we diverted a bit from the list (and size) and purchased a Ginkgo and were given the clear from the city.  The arborists were called in and we all gathered to watch when they took it down.  It's amazing what brings everyone in a neighborhood together.  All the neighbors, outside in the street, watching the tree come down in pieces.  Everyone was giddy with excitement and all had stories to tell about other trees they had seen on the street over the years.   When the trunk sections came crashing down it shook the whole street and left scars on the street.  It was quick.  Like pulling a bandaid.  And I felt a tinge of guilt - but kept thinking of all the damage it had done, and was destined to continue.  I tried to focus my irritation at the folks that planted it in the parking strip, not the best home for a sweet gum, a bit short-sighted.

Tonight, ever wonderful Rooster plowed in and dug through the clay dirt and root tangles to create space for the new tree that had been delivered.  We planted it with Sparrow's placenta, which seemed like the perfect way to mark the occasion of this new tree coming to our home, the very place where Sparrow was born.  It was raining, Jbird was an overtired mess, and we were so rushed to get it into the ground before bedtime, before dark.  There was no ceremony.   In fact, I almost forgot what we had planned and thankfully Rooster remembered before we placed the tree.  Perhaps by the time Sparrow is old enough to hear about his tree, we'll have forgotten how we left out the ceremony.  We'll have created our own story by then.

For now, the story starts with this tree, planted in honor of Sparrow and his birth in our home, in our family.

Exploding

 
These tulips landed on our dining room table for Mother's Day.  Every morning we sit at the table and watch how they explode and open further.  I keep thinking they are past their tipping point and yet the next morning they are reaching out even further, the colors even more determined to amaze us.

And this is in many ways reflective of how I feel about the family we have birthed here.  Our lives. Our little family.  My heart looks like these flowers when I take a moment to look around and see where I stand.

I feel so incredibly lucky.  Not in the sense that this life, these blessings have been handed to Rooster and I on a platter, but that we have found this path, this existence and somehow we have just floated through these smooth waters into the perfect spot.  I mean, we work hard and it's an effort to make things work.  It's certainly an effort to make things fit into the outline we've drawn out and dreamed of.  Some of our choices have not made things easy, a bit of swimming upstream to say the least.  But mostly, I'm amazed at how beautiful this thing is - this thing about being partners in this journey, about raising these children and creating our own little family.  Mostly, despite the grumbles and the cries and the heavy lifting, mostly our life looks just like these exploding and hopeful tulips.  It fills me with joy.  And I'm so thankful.

Spring Sun Rays

 

A little wizard hat for the dress up basket. Jbird also wants an owl hood type thing but I don't know how to even start that project. 

 

And there are now some photos in flickr of the garden at request.  Nothing too amazing, but I'm very appreciative of the work our previous owner did in establishing these garden beds.  And every day I watch with anticipation to see what will bloom next, what will fill into the spaces.  Beyond our new vegetable boxes we just built, I'm thinking about using one of the 4 boxes for more landscape gardening.  I'm madly pouring through the native plant options as well as taking inspiration from what I see in our neighborhood.  I'd like to add a few more blueberry bushes.  These were such a hit last summer and are so sweet in flower gardens.  Who can resist a blueberry from your own back front yard?

As you may have noticed, most of our garden and vegetable work is right in our front yard.  We do have a back yard.  Indeed, a multi-tiered landscape that is partially tamed and also partially shaded.  However, for us, the main gardening happens in front.  Right out on the street.  I find it refreshing to walk past it every day, coming and going.  And often, we are right out in our front, playing on the sidewalk, talking to neighbors watching the world go by on our sweet dead end street.  We can have privacy in our back, or even on the side patio, but usually, it just feels right to be right out in front.   And it looks like we'll be out there all summer tending our new plants and vegetables.

A Big Bag of Little Fish

I cried today when I saw that little Sparrow is already erupting a tooth.  I remember how mournful I was at this stage with Jbird as well (yes, early teethers I have.)  While it is a true joy to watch a child grow before your very eyes, at the same time, it's hard not to mourn each stage as it passes, knowing it's so fleeting and delicate and easily sifted from the mind.  

Maybe it's all the photo projects of last month, maybe it's all the new sun that is finally streaming into our lives, but I keep running into reflections.  Little flickers that are so hard to document.  Just as the sweet moments, little voices, and awe-filled exchanges with little children.  All throughout the day, my boy says things that just make me smile.  I wish I did a better job documenting these conversations and reflections, instead, it passes, with little celebration outside of a smile or a laugh between Rooster and I. Like last night, Jbird asking to add to the grocery list - "A big bag of little fish" and a "glass of cold water".  Or this ongoing plot that Jbird seems to be working through about "when we die".

Jbird is very stuck on this storyline he has been working through this past week.  I can't for the life of me figure out where he is sourcing some of these ideas:

"When are we going to die?"
I don't know is my usual response...and then he launches into this possibility...

"When we die, we'll send our car to Kelly's (our friend) so she can put wings on it.  So it will fly.  And we'll drive it up into the sky.  And it will make squeaking noises."
"When we are ready to die, we will drive our car up there.  We will have Jane (our dog) and we will still have our eyes open.  For a lot of days.  We will go to New Seasons (our grocery store) on the way up there to get ingredients for cookies and gingerbread."...

So, this "when we die" story goes on and on.  And it's the strangest and most imaginative plot line I have heard yet from him.  Seriously, I can't think of anything that we have read or spoken of that would generate these ideas - specifically heaven or what happens when we die.  He does often speak of our old dog Lucy - and he always says that when she is better she will come back to us on an airplane. But beyond this, it's all new to me.  And I'm mostly just drawn in as he weaves this story.

Jbird Loves the Neti Pot

Jbird Loves Neti Pots, originally uploaded by bird nest photos.

In the bath the other night, Jbird had this amazing revelation that he could "neti pot" his ears.  As he tilted the pot in one ear, the water would drip out and around his chin and down from what looked like the other ear.  He really thought that it was going through one ear and coming out the other.  So adorable. 

For those that don't own a neti pot, I highly recommend.  I don't use it daily (I should).  I found it back in my yoga teacher training days and fell in love (what's not to love about cleaning your nose with a teapot??)  I guess it's getting some adoration in the mainstream as well, as I just saw this article.  Rooster still can't get into it - but it looks like Jbird is sold.  He also tries to use it properly in his nose, but I'm not sure he's actually getting it to work. 

(Also, doing a bit of blog re-modeling, so I apologize for any annoyances as I re-adjust things...Nothing earth shattering, just some new year work.)

Giving Thanks

A little late in posting about the incredible amount of thanks-giving going on in my heart this season.  Due to little Sparrow's birth timing, and our recovery, I skipped out on the large Thanksgiving feast, and sent Rooster and Jbird without me.  Later that night, the entire party (5 waldorf families, children, dogs) all walked over to our house and sang Happy Birthday and blessings to us from the sidewalk outside.  It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and of course, no photo was taken.

Later in the week, Rooster cooked a turkey and we had our own miniature Thanksgiving dinner.  So delicious that I have had leftovers for many of the following meals including breakfast. 

So many things to be thankful for - so utterly thankful.

Thankful for healthy, beautiful baby Silas.

Thankful for a little boy who is still holding it together even though his world is changing.

Thankful for the best husband in the whole world, who supports me through all, who in the end, wasn't afraid to cut the cord (and really, after that labor and birth, cord cutting was the least of it!)

Thankful for the best of friends and family; flowers, gifts, well wishes, delicious meals and all blessings.  Did I mention the meal train???

Thankful for my midwives, trusting in me and my birth and allowing it to happen.  And the community of women  and midwives working to restore belief in Birth.

Thankful for community all around, even among those I have never met.

So many many things to be thankful for...

Nesting Continues In Our House

Rooster Learns To Knit, originally uploaded by bird nest photos.

We have stepped up from traditional nesting like cooking and cleaning and turned to insane crafting.  This time I seem to be dragging Rooster into the nesting experience.   What an totally awesome husband I have.

First off, after being completely inspired by Soulemama - I ran out to gather supplies to create these "little guys" (as jbird calls them).  The other night Rooster and I stayed up and made a few of them.  Can you guess which ones Rooster made?  And then the following morning, after surprising jbird with these little people, I helped jbird make a few himself.  I have to admit, I had to do most of the actual work - but all done to his order/design.

Today, after waldorf playgroup, (and yet another day of constant contractions but no true labor) jbird and I headed off to our most amazing local knitting store to pick up more yarn.  I've been on a bit of a hat kick, using the Last Minute Knitted Gifts hat pattern.  And I keep thinking I may have time to finish just one more.

Jbird has been constantly talking about this "pink" (actually purple) yarn.  He talks about how when he learns to knit (knitting is one of many handwork crafts taught in waldorf education) that he will get this "pink" yarn.  Turns out, there really was a yarn that he was obsessing over.  In the huge wall of Manos Del Uruguay yarn he kept focusing on this pink/purple skein.  I'm not against boys wearing pinks by any means - but I did try over and over to draw his attention to all of the other really amazing colors.  But no, he was adamant.  So, in the basket it went.  And one day soon there may be a pink/purple hat.

Tonight, Rooster got the hankering to learn to knit.  Kick me for marrying such an awesome guy.  We'll see if his stitches get better with another beer.  I'm assuming one of us will go into labor sometime very, very soon.