seven dinners

rice and beans

gluten free pasta with nettles and morel mushrooms

quinoa with roasted asparagus, roasted beets, lima beans, and sprouts

buckwheat with kale slaw, and blistered almonds

raw taco salad

french lentil soup with bread, and water mellon

raw lasagna 

bon appetit!

outdoor style

near our house there is a college with a beautiful campus- suki calls it the forest. there are many beautiful trails, gardens, and a few ponds. 

during the hot days of summer we like to take walks there; it feels cool under the trees, and the air, earthy.

suki likes to play that she is lost in "the forest", and requests that i hide behind trees where she can not see me. she must have picked up the idea from when mai is lost in the movie my neighbor totoro. it also seems to be a popular theme for children's books. maybe i should discourage this game, i am undecided.

her other favorite thing to do is gather rocks along the walk and then through them in the stream. she would do this all day if she could. 

for the past few weeks suki has been very stubborn about what she will wear. if we disagree with any of her choices tears instantly start building up, and start pouring down her face. she will cry into her hands until i usually give in, and let her out in things like this head fabric piece she picked out to wear to "the forest".

we found tadpoles here!

so nice

adam bought me records today! the BEST!

aamu aika

 gifts and tea.

"i'm doing my needle work".

small hands making.

HMD

adam let me sleep in today as a mother's day treat. it was especially wonderful since we have had many difficult nights this weekend. 

while i was sawing logs, adam was busy making a breakfast feast! it was his first try making gluten free waffles, and they were even better than the ones we usually make- what a nice surprise!

suki spent most of the day still feeling pretty sick. kids are so tough though; they do not complain as much as adults, even though it must be scary to be sick so young. there were many moments i would forget suki was sick, or not realize she was as sick as she was, because she was so sweet and happy. 

we intentionally took a while getting out of the bed today. after breakfast, we sat and enjoyed books and stories, before getting ready for the day.

koji waited politely for his morning walk while we made our mother's day wishes.

then we walked koji to the dog park and nearby school yard. suki wanted to bring her waffle in a bag in case she got her appetite back. she never did, but she played as much as she could. 

after a short while, suki was ready to go home and put her pj's on. we spent the rest of the day cuddling, reading books, napping; and then she watched fern gully with my mom while adam and i went out to dinner. 

we brought her back a funny face magnet set, and after some miso soup and making fun faces for about 20 minutes, she seemed free of her flu! it's difficult to say if it was the miso or the faces, but she went to bed happily happy. the best mother's day gift of all. 

much love to all of the mother friends and family of mine who have been an influence and inspiration! 

happy mother's day!

cargo

we can now transport 400 lbs via bicycle (or one toddler and 375 lbs)! we are feeling very happy to be much more free of our car. this bike is for adam and me to share, based on our daily needs. i am looking forward to trying it out, and getting back on my beautiful bike. i have been very jealous watching suki and adam ride off with out me. we are going to try an outing with me riding behind suki on the rack, but in two more weeks i will be free of the foot brace, and ready to peddle myself all the way to the beach. 

urban roots

farm fresh

our farmer's market reopened this weekend after months of major renovations. suki wore a dress that belonged to her cousin malaika when she was a young girl- it was truly a special day for her. all winter long suki has said the same thing when we pass the market, "i want to go there". she was beaming with excitement when she found out adam was taking her. i gave her a dollar for her pocket so that she could buy a mini bouquet of flowers for her room. she had a blast chatting with friends and farmers, eating apples (she ate two before leaving the market!), and filling her bag with wild ramps and asparagus. 

suki requested we make "asparagus pickles for spring". we don't have quite enough this time, but next week we plan to buy a bunch, and start picking right away. can't wait! 

time for work

occasionally, adam has short work days, and he will take suki with him. it is very nice for me to have extra time to relax, or to work on a project. these kinds of days are fun for suki too- getting lots of attention from his students. she takes going to work very seriously, wears her watch, and packs a snack, toy and book in her bag. when she leaves she says "goodbye, i am going to work now!" when she returns she yells out "i home from work!" as she walks through the door. 

suki's favorite things to do at "work" include: eating snacks out of adam's office bowls, drinking water from the drinking fountain, holding things that she finds, going for walks down the halls, making sculptures out of clay, making calls (to elmo).

do you have any special memories of going to work with your parents or grandparents?

"sometimes a haircut is a poem written in one hour"

this past winter i gave suki her first mini haircut. it was an exciting moment for us, because people often comment on how little hair suki has for her age. they ask me if it is because of our vegan diet. we try very hard to make the healthiest food choices, and spend a lot of time and money to plan meals that are nutrient dense. i had very fine, slow growing hair when i was young. that is why her hair is small, but look how her hair does grow! the above picture was taken after her haircut number one, and now only one season later she needed another trim.

this time, since her hair was a bit longer, we went to visit our friend ben. he has been cutting my hair for the past ten years, and he works at an eco-friendly salon. it's a nice place to be.

during the cut, suki was completely emotionless and VERY still- she did not say a word.

she looked a little sad, but she was just taking this very seriously. as soon as she hopped down from the chair she was excited, and had a lot to say about the experience. 

afterward, she and i went out to dinner at marie catrib's. we ate salad to help her hair keep growing strong and curly. 

this was her hair almost exactly one year ago. ben, our stylist, is in the background, topless and with a guitar. 

aarteita!

1. matterhorn scarf

2. braided spiral pins

3. odette ny rib ring

4. the complete book of essential oils & aromatherapy

5. heath ceramic bud vase

6. primoeza pocket cardigan 

spring breezes.