no such thing as bad weather

As I begin to gather ideas and inspiration for our homeschooling journey, there is one theme that comes out strongly and passionately: I want my boys to be immersed in the nature. I want them to be taught by butterflies, by the enlivening smell of freshly tilled soil, by the rain and wind.

I want them to be very dirty at the end of the day, to write because they are inspired, to experiment and form hypotheses because they are curious. 

I want only to be their guide as they learn from the best teacher there is: the natural world.

 

little amigo doll papoose kit giveaway

Just a little bit more about dollies, please? ;) 

The Little Amigo in Growing Up Sew Liberated is accompanied by the oh-so-stellar doll papoose designed by Fabiola Perez-Sitko of Fig and Me. I'm not sure how I happened upon her Etsy shop a looong time ago, but I did, and the moment I saw her handmade doll papoose I knew I needed to ask her if she'd like to publish the design in Growing Up Sew Liberated. 

I'm so happy I did.

You see, just the thought of Fabiola gives me a big grin. Not only is she a doll-making genius, but she is funny, lighthearted, and she and I share something else - a bit of Spanish back-and-forth. She's from Chihuahua, Mexico, where I lived for three years. In the Spanish language they have a word - chispa - which means a sparkle, twinkle-in-the-eye kind of spunk. Fabiola's got some chispa, folks. 

Love pulled her north to the boreal forest of Canada, where she's raising her two girls on the shore of Lake Superior.

I'm so happy to share the pages of my book with her, and I hope you'll check out her lovely blog and etsy shop, where she periodically lists beautiful dolls for sale. 

Photo by Ginny of Small Things

Shortly after the book was released last summer, Ginny made a gorgeous pair of papooses for her daughters. She also has some tips on downsizing the papoose to fit a small child. 

Photo by Ginny of Small Things

It just so happens that I have just enough Echino fabric (originally used in the Art Satchel kit) to make a papoose. I've paired it with some aqua blue corduroy from my stash, as well as the hardware and strap material that you'll need to make a papoose. Leave a comment to enter to win the doll papoose kit! I'll keep comments open until Monday morning, March 12th. Gook luck!

Comments are closed and we have a lucky papoose-maker - Sunny Loya! Congratulations!

 

little amigo doll hair tutorial

Here it is- a simple method for making a doll wig that doesn't involve learning how to crochet!

Click on over for the full tutorial.

lachlan's little amigo doll

This little fellow was stitched together with so much love. Finn sat on my lap and helped trim threads, stuff wool, and guide the fabric through the sewing machine. I worked on him here and there for the week prior to Lachlan's birthday, taking those quiet moments to reflect upon the priviledge of having a little boy for whom I could make this red-headed doppelganger. 

He's a Little Amigo from Growing Up Sew Liberated - the knitted cap is the one Lachlan wore as a tiny babe, and the hat is a retrofitted Huck Finn. The pants and shirt are on-the-fly mama-made patterns. And, thanks to this doll, I also have a doll wig tutorial for you that I've been promising for a long time - it will be live tomorrow afternoon.

Finn, of course, was the one who noticed. "He has a scar, Mama, just like Lachie!" I felt it was important that both Finn and Lachlan have a doll with a beautiful scar. Finn often asks about Lachlan's "ouch" while bathing, and this is a way to address their feelings and questions about it through play. It's just a normal thing in our lives, and the scar certainly doesn't define the doll (as the real scar doesn't define the boy), which is made in the Waldorf tradition of minimal facial expressions so that the child is free to pretend that the doll has all sorts of emotions, not just the bright-eyed, fixed smile so common in playthings. 

Sweet boy. I'm glad you like your little friend. 

the lachlan book

This was the perfect gift for a one year-old. He loves it, and so does Finn. You can make your own here - the process was straightforward. It took us an evening to choose photos and write the verse. I plan on making another for Finn for his birthday in May. It's kind of addictive. And it makes me want to write children's books. Another interest to put on the "another stage of life" list. Right alongside "write children's books" would be "take a long bath," "sleep in until 8 a.m.," and "stay up late and don't regret it tomorrow." 

Ah, those things would be nice, but nothing beats cuddling up and reading a book with the comfortable weight of two little boys on your lap.

one year

One year ago today, we held Lachlan skin-to-skin for the first time since his surgery. 

Though we didn't dwell on all that he has been through in his one year of life, it has been a week of reflection for me. For, when you have a baby whose heart works only because of the skilled hands of his surgeon, a baby who struggled to nurse or take anything by mouth for the first five months of his life, who was fed with a tube ...

There's something so amazing about the pictures of him on his first birthday, February 27th. He takes it all in, this little one. He's full of sweetness and spunk. At one year old, he asks "waz dat" about every 13 seconds or so. He wants to know everything, see everything, hold everything ... eat everything in this world. Have your cake, little Lachlan. This life is pretty amazing, isn't it?

We ended up baking him the "Baby's First Birthday Cake" from Organically Raised: Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers . It was plates-in-the-air yummy.