This week finds me...
...appreciating beautifully designed objects. Like this sweet little butter dish I just received from my friend Holly. Who's pretty great at bringing beauty into our lives (here).
...indulging in making a few beautiful objects myself! This journal is my most recent creation.
...planning the "how to" journal post to share soon. It's such a great use of everyday materials... and large paper collections (ahem).
...navigating the stormy waters of a three and a half year old Isia.
...picking my battles wisely. Pajamas that don't match? Putting a dress over her pajamas to go to the museum? Sure!
...realizing recently that she might struggle with blood sugar drops like her Mama.
...evaluating our snacks, and trying more protein-rich foods to help ebb mood swings. Homemade trail mix is really helpful for this!
...hopeful that we'll be able to figure it out together- eventually. (smile)
What are you in the middle of learning this week?
We were having one of "those" mornings today. I had to defy gravity and sing every silly song I know to get my children's wriggling little bodies into their clothes. Then they kept crashing into each other- quite often on purpose (ahem). So our morning routine, usually twenty minutes, took almost an hour leaving us all ready for breakfast... and perhaps a new start to the day too. I sat them down with some yogurt and decided that what we really needed on this discombobulated, grey-skied day was pancakes for breakfast. And not just any pancakes- Rainbow Pancakes.
I've had the idea lately to try making rainbow arch pancakes. This is my first attempt, when I found out that a ladle is not helpful.
Pouring the batter on slowly with a spoon, and a well-greased skillet, helped the most. I also perfected the technique of working from the inside of the arch out. This way the curve of the skillet made pouring the last color (red in our case) easy to do.
I finished it off with little clouds of honey-sweetened homemade whipped cream, which makes any morning sweeter. Eek, I just realized my early-morning mistake. Do you see it? Yes, green should actually come before the blue. At least it's a tasty mistake (wink).
You might consider reserving a little green batter for some shamrock pancakes, which promise a lucky morning indeed. These pancakes were just the luck- and fresh start- we needed to move on with the rest of our day!
As I wrote about here, I've had a hard time giving messy materials to Billy lately. After writing that post, I kept mulling over why that is. Is it because we're living in a staged, showing-at-any-time house? Why yes, that's definitely part of it- but there was still something more. Finally I realized what it was, it was adding one more mess to our day. You see, mealtimes have become masterpieces lately with my littlest artist. And I realized that I was hesitant to create messy art because I was spending so much time cleaning him up already! But then, the other day, I realized something that could help. Billy was eating pasta, and it was ending up everywhere. I wondered what would happen if some of it was to end up on a piece on paper?
It was a great success! And the best part? Doing art this way capitalizes on a mess we already had, which helps this Mama stay a little bit saner. Something that is helpful for everyone! (wink)
Side-note: You could try drying it, but we just snapped a picture for posterity's sake. Actually, I don't keep all of their artwork anyways. Instead I take a lot of pictures of their daily masterpieces and include the pictures in their digital scrapbooks. This way they get to enjoy it, and it becomes another visual documentation of how they're growing up. Which they are, everyday!
I think it's a gift when, in passing, you're able to realize the magnitude of a moment. As a parent I find it's not everyday. That a day, or several linked together, can easily fly past with barely a nod of recognition. But sometimes I'm able to sense, in the midst of our living, a few especially important moments that I know will become treasured memories. And then, if I'm really lucky, I have time to run and get my camera!
Because you know when cooking pancakes turns into voluntary sibling sharing that something special is at hand (wink). And the fact that we ended up eating all of our pancakes, as quickly as I could make them, standing around smiling at each other, makes for a sweet memory indeed.
Wishing you a sweet ending to your weekend!
"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."
(words and inspiration via Soulemama.com)
. . . . . . . .
