Suburban Homestead

The Big Time Festival: A Celebration of Coastal Miwok at Kule Loklo, Point Reyes National Seashore

I've been meaning to drill down into the history of our local Indians. If I learned about the Coastal Miwok while in grade school, I've not been able to retain any of it. As we get ready to embark on a long roadtrip from Wyoming to South Dakota, I've been researching the many stops along our route where we can visit points of interest in relation to American Indians. That said, I randomly came across information this past week for the Big Time Festival, while exploring hiking trails in the Point Reyes National Seashore. The timing of the event coincided perfectly with our upcoming summer plans, and so we took a couple hours and checked it out. 

The Kule Loklo site is a short half-mile walk from the Bear Valley Visitors Center. We just discovered the center recently, and were amazed at how much it had to offer. It never seizes to amaze me just how much there is to explore here, in our own backyard.

Along the walk to Kule Loklo, the kids kept themselves entertained exploring the terrain. The boys love to look in holes and lift rocks and logs in hopes of finding lizards and snakes. Beanie Love prefers to skip around, daydream and experiment with plant textures and touch.

When we reached our destination, we were immediately greeted by an older volunteer who was eager to teach us all about bull roarers - wind turn sticks used in Indian ceremonies. The boys loved it. Tiny Buns is always swinging stuff over his head, so to do it and have it make a cool sound too, just put him over the moon. 

The highlight of this little festival, at least for the kids, was the crafts. We made necklaces of abalone and beads, while listening to a member of the Miwok tribe tell a wonderful story about how man came to be. We hand-drilled into soap stone, making beads that we then polished and strung-up into another necklace. We observed basket weaving, explored huts and the sweat lodges, and even got to watch some traditional dance ceremonies. 

Don't be fooled by her shy expression - she loved every minute of it!

After the festival, we made the short drive to The Farm House Restaurant in Olema where we indulged in a late lunch of organic, local fare. West Marin never disappoints. :)

Forgotten Birthdays, and Half-Birthday Make-Ups

I used to love throwing kiddo birthday parties. Oh, to dream-up a cute themed party. Not much was more fun for me in those early years of motherhood. ;-)

So many hours were spent, dedicated to the cause!  Looking back now I wonder if I should have chosen sleep instead. After no. 2, I started having *celebration guilt*, seeing as Beanie is a Christmas baby, and not likely to receive the hoopla her big brother had. So we started celebrating half birthdays, not because I wanted to be annoyingly over-the-top, but simply for fear that no. 2 would say she felt forgotten. No gifts, no friends. Just the family, a tiny cake and a nod of acknowledgement. I won't tell you it wasn't cute. 

Then one year, both the big kids specifically requested no party with friends. I was beside myself with disappointment. I couldn't make them want a party if I tried, and trust me, I did. So I let it go, and for two plus years we had simple, family-only celebrations. (I had no idea how lucky I was.)

But this year, the winds changed again, and all the kids requested parties. You'd think this would make me happy. Instead, it gave me anxiety. My love of kiddo birthday parties had dried-up like California's water reserves. At one point I realized it was two months after Christmas and I STILL had not done anything for the seven-year-old. With my right palm to my forehead, I convinced Beanie a half-birthday celebration in warm weather, where we could use the pool, would be soooo much better. She willing agreed, because she's good like that. Which brings us to this week.

We went with a dessert themed pool party. I had the cutest milk-n-cookies pinata (from Whack Pinatas) that I'd bought on a flash sale site and waited for the perfect occasion to pull out. We stuffed it with fun stuff - the ice cream erasers being the cutest! We went to the balloon store and Beanie picked-out her balloons. I found some inflatable desserts for the pool, and we bought all the fixings for ice cream sundaes. 

Yes, kiddie birthday parties can be stressful, but it was so great to see Beanie have a day to feel so special when I often worry that she lives quietly in her big brother's shadow. She doesn't ask for much, and after a year of homeschooling her brother, and giving him so much personalized attention, I can definitely see how she might start to feel second fiddle. She loved every minute, wore a smile ear-to-ear, and when it was all over, she even said, "Thank you for my party, Mama. It was the best day ever."

Wordless Wednesday (Back to Abbott's Lagoon)

 

Back In The Saddle Again

I haven't been here in a while. I thought I was done, actually. I mean, I really, really thought I was done. I just didn't think I had it in me anymore to keep this blog up. Sure I still took lots of pictures and wrote posts in my mind while driving here and there, but at the end of day, when it came time to put it down, I just didn't want to do it. I thought about a final post, wrapping it all up with an explanation and a virtual prom queen wave, but then I decided to clean-out my closet instead. My three-and-a-half years of blogging had come to silent halt.

And I really had no problem with that. 

Then this past week we were at the family cabin and I went looking for a recipe. The search feature wasn't working well when I typed in "olive oil cake", and so I ended up searching through lots of old posts in an attempt to find the just one. I was so surprised to see so many photos and stories that I'd not thought about in ages. I came across recipes I'd loved but had forgotten to make, I marveled at pictures of my tiny kids over the years, and I thought - "I can't stop blogging - I have to keep this up for my kids!" 

We had a great week in the mountains and while I was there I thought a lot about Suburban Homestead and the importance of photography to me, and to us. The camera so wonderfully captures the beautiful moments in silence, allowing you to, in your mind, add the sounds of say, a symphony to their viewing (instead of the screams and whines that were more likely the reality). Without these images and stories, I worry that I might only remember the fighting, or the embarrassment from having seemingly little control over the four-year-old's outbursts. Or even worse, I might forget all it. I already am, just ask my kids. 

So here I am, determined (at least temporarily) to keep going. For the kids. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Our Easter Sunday

I know it's bad form to post holiday pictures two days after the actual holiday. (And I know it's also bad form to open a story with a negative.) But that's kind of where I am tonight: 48 hours behind, and too beat to deny the truth or spin it into something else. Thankfully, these pictures do a pretty good job of telling a sweet story about our Easter. 

We hosted Easter brunch in West Marin for all our families this year. Somehow, we managed to do little beyond opening the front door and providing ample seating for eveyone. Twelve kids and ten adults and it all worked out just fine. Our kids were lucky enough to have all their cousins on both sides for a day. 

Unlike our Easter parties in the past, I did very little prep or cooking this year. In fact, if heating up a Sun Farms ham doesn't count as cooking, then no, I didn't cook. The most effort I was planning on putting into kitchen sports, was making a couple boxes of these as a nod to my in-laws from NOLA. But when all our family arrived carrying bags filled with of warm quiches, lemonade, *spicy fruit salad*, rainbow jello cups, cookies and deviled eggs, we decided we had enough. I can't believe how little I got away with! Thank Peter Cottontail for the invention of potlucks and the blessing of a functional extended family!

My mom's deviled eggs are damn fine. She couldn't even tell you (or me) how she makes them. It's just something she feels her way through each year. And she'll wait until you're hooked and mid-moan with deep appreciation before she raises on eyebrow and nails you with a, "Ya know I only use French's yellow."

Beach Day

West Marin Staycation

It's spring break for us and we've decided to take a short trip to a wonderful place, right in our backyard. A mere 45 minute drive from home, West Marin delivers a punch of the good life. Tiny towns, secluded beaches, and small-time agriculture, including oyster farms - it's all here.  It felt like we had died and gone to heaven!

Down the road a short way from our house is our favorite beach, Chicken Ranch. We set-up camp with our next door neighbors from home, and rented kayaks to paddle across the bay for a couple bags of fresh oysters. It was a first for the kid and me, but not for our friends. What we found on the other side of the bay was something that had us scratching out heads and asking ourselves: Er, uh, why haven't we done this before?!

Tomales Bay Oyster farm was nothing short of rocking! The place was literally pulsing with music and good vibes. Every available picnic table was packed with daytrippers, young and old. My favorite moment was when I spotted a little ten-year-old surfer boy, shucking oysters for his mama. I wish I had taken his picture! 

After taking in the magic a bit more, we threw our bags of oysters on ice, loaded up the kayaks, and headed back to our place for a dinner of fresh oysters doused in elixir, followed by some hearty burgers for all. 

Beanie Goes Abroad - All in a Day

These pictures show one of our busiest days in Paris. Sometimes we'd get off to a late start, a few times we'd miscalculate travel times and miss out on something by the time of our arrival. But this day, we hit it all right. Beanie was such an incredible trooper! She powered through absolutely everything and barely ever peeped a complaint. She seemed to just instinctually know that this whole experience was an incredible treat. Here she is with a tummy full of croissants, getting creative with her pose!

I will never forget the squeals Little Miss made running back and forth behind my sister and nieces during this photo op. Jumping up and down and making bunny ears, she was so happy to just be a goof.

My sister read about the Parisian sewer system and wanted to go. It was walking distance from the Eiffel Tower and so we strolled along the Seine until we reached our destination. The sewers were...interesting. You really are down there in the thick of it, if you know what I mean. 

You can just see the horror on Beanie's face. The grid flooring we are standing on has us about ten feet above the flow of waste. We saw and smelled everything.

On our way out, we had the opportunity to buy a souvenir sewer rat. Instead we kept our hands over our mouths the noses, and walked ran back up to street level. I'm not familiar with the story of Les Miserables, but after touring the sewer, and having the connection drawn between the two, it's definitely on my short list. 

The Pompedieu! We read up on this crazy building a bunch before taking off, and so Beanz was super excited to finally get there. We were equally excited for her to have the opportunity to take one of the art workshops the museum offers after school on Wednesdays. The guide books said that they were taught in French but that they could be attended by non speaking tourists. We got a different story when we arrived, and so she was turned away. She was crushed and so was I!    

 

Stay tuned - tomorrow I will post pictures of Parisian food porn!

Beanie Goes Abroad - Busting Out at Château de Versailles

I've always had a thing for busts. I'm sure there is a clever joke in all this, but I'm actually being quite serious. Hundreds of years ago, these men and women were once significant enough to have had a bust carved of stone and presented in their honor. And yet...and yet...we no longer know their story. With each one I pass, I am silently curious: "What was your story?  Did you live with integrity? Were you good to your children and spouse? How did you like your eggs?" After walking past over a hundred or so busts in the palace that triggered my intrigue, but not my photo-taking action, I decided to start snapping photos of all my favorites going forward. 

This guy is devilishly handsome - I need to know more!

I am completely intriqued again, but for all the wrong reasons. 

Potentially handsome.

Unfortunate hair.

A likeable chap.

Reminds me of my dad in the '70's.

Curls,

curls,

curls!

I'll let the collar speak for itself.

Beanie Goes Abroad - Marie Antoinette's Château de Versailles

Welcome to Day 3 of my obsession with with all things Marie Antoinette. It all started when Beanie and I took the train out of Paris for an afternoon at Versailles this past Saturday. At first, I wasn't sure I even wanted to go. I'd been vacillating all week. Having been twenty years ago with my dad, and having been underwhelmed by the palace at that time, I really wasn't looking forward to going back and doing it all again. The only thing that had me second guessing my gut was that I knew Beanie would love to see a palace fit for a king and queen. But when my sister made the trek mid-week and came back and told us what she saw, I knew we had to go. 

So much has changed at Versailles in the last twenty years. For one, it has a great *museum* giving you background and a strong understanding on the history of the palace and the royal families that live there. More rooms are open for viewing today and some of the original furniture that was given away during the revolution has been brought back and returned to its original home. Not to mention the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's 150% mind-blowing Hamlet (or Hameau de la Reine) are all now open for touring, making it an absolute must see!

After spending time in the palace museum and familiarizing ourselves with everything, we got to tour the royal apartments, starting with the royal family's church. Imagine that!

The king's bedroom...

...and the queen's bedroom, where we were nearly trampled to death by a mob of tourists snapping selfies in front of the queen's bed.

Hall of Mirrors. 

Inside the palace was really the only place where we fought the crowds. Outside and beyond, we had plenty of room to move around. We took a tip from my sister and rented a golf cart to get around the grounds. At 30 euros an hour for rental, it was a bit painful. But it did allow us to see much more than we would have been able to see had we not. Thankfully an older German man offered to take this picture of us. It's one of my favorites. :)

I read somewhere that Marie Antoinette used to like to have blue ribbons tied around the necks of her sheep...while her people starved in the countryside! I'm looking forward to rewatching Sofia Coppola's movie on her, as well as some others I learned about during out visit. 

The Petite Tianon - the Queen's private retreat from the palace...located just a ten minute walk from the palace. Get it? Ten minutes!!

What's not to love about the children's goat drawn carriage?

And of course, wherever I go, I always love to see the kitchen!

Sprawling palaces and massive retreats aside, the absolute highlight of our trip to Versailles was seeing Marie's Hamlet, her fantasyland built in 1783 to resemble a rustic village in the countryside. She would come here with her children and friends to get away from the constraints of palace life, and to be more connected to nature. It is even more spectacular in the late spring and summer when everything is in bloom and the veggie gardens are well established.

Mind BLOWN! 

Beanie Goes Abroad - The Ticket Office at Château de Versailles

I have to believe the subject of this post is one you won't find easily on the internet, if at all. I'm curious to know how many people schlep to the palace of Louis', and get hung-up in guest services by choice, snapping shots of the newly remodeled ticket office and bookstore. I'd be happy to take the prize for such madness - I for one, thought it was all done brilliantly in its own right.

Had we been organized enough to buy our tickets ahead of time, or tricked into buying them early, down the street at the third party seller near the train station, I would have missed this magical space tucked quietly away off the front entrance of the palace. Once inside, I had to walk in and out of every room designated for sitting and waiting, purchasing tickets, and obtaining tour information. It was practically empty and I couldn't help but just fall in love with all the decor and how seamlessly modern touches were brought to this lavish and ornate palace. 

There were so many different wallpaper patterns that I lost count. I was curious to hear the story of their creation. Were the patterns new? Or were they in some way inspired by antique patterns already found inside the palace walls?

Each royal family that lived at Versailles was represented by giant, black silhouettes above the doorways. Anne D'Autriche had the most unfortunate profile of them all. 

I don't know the significance of this chicken graphic. Then again, I'm not sure I need to!

I just LOVE how Europeans fearlessly mix the old with new. In America is seems as though we are always aiming to preserve architecturally what little historical value we can scrape together. But not the Europeans. They take no issue in cutting holes in the tops of 100 year old buildings and installing glass domes, to give just one example.

King Louis XIV, the one most responsible for the expanse of Versailles, called himself The Sun King. You'll see lots of references to this throughout the palace, above are some modern graphics doing the same.

Beanie noticed the bathroom signage which caused us to give a collective, "Awwww!"

Then there was the gift store. With five rooms of creatively designed interiors, we joked about never wanting to leave. The kid's room was the best! I am personally a big sucker for books and, like my mom, love to wander through museum gift stores. I drooled over the collection of never-before-seen children's books on history and felt jilted when I couldn't fine them in English! ;)

We picked up this book for Beanie. It shows Barbie and Ken in couple costumes from Adam + Even, all the way up through history to modern times. Who cares that it's in French!? She loves the photos and even tries to decipher certain key words here and there. 

I have lots more to share on our day at Versailles. Stay tuned!

Beanie Goes Abroad - Wordless Wednesday

 

Beanie Goes Abroad

Beanie-Love, she will always be the middle child.

But this week...

...she gets to be the only child. :)

 

Beanie and I are in Paris this week. Three generations of women in the City of Lights: my mom, my oldest sister and her two daughters, plus Beanz and me. It all came about under dubious circumstances. *Someone* was pretty sure she had "three to five years to live", and so we did what you dream of doing with women of blood-relation, when you think someone is one their way out - we planned a blow-out trip to Paris. (As it turns out, said person was wrong in her self-diagnosis, but that good news didn't cause us to cancel our trip, our celebration of life, with three generations of women. No, no. We were all in.)

These photos were taken yesterday, on our third day here in France. Beanie and I were on our own. We had just broken away from a less-than-thrilling visit to the Musee de Cluny where we didn't learn as much about medieval life as we had hoped. After thirty minutes of artifacts and tapestries, we blew across the street to Luxembourg Gardens for some seriously memorable playtime, as well as some cake for dessert. Marie Antoinette would have been proud!

Parlez-vous français?

Dungeness Crab Mac 'n' Cheese

We are no strangers to Nick's Cove, but our kids are. At least, they were until last night when we introduced them to this old West Marin hot spot for dinner.

Freshly showered and bundled-up after a day at the beach, we savored local oysters in the half-shell, pork chop, Crab Louis, crab cakes, tiger shrimp and a side of fries. But everyone's favorite was the Dungeness crab mac 'n' cheese ordered by Mr. Noodle.

Some people have told me I'm lucky my kids aren't picky eaters and to them I say: "They would be if I gave them the chance." Trust me, left on their own, my kids would happily survive on loafs of sourdough bread and buckets of mint chip ice cream. (I'm pretty sure that comes from my side.) But having kids that weren't picky eaters was probably my number one goal going into motherhood. Most days I feel pretty good about where they are, although I will not deny it's an ongoing process. While we may be in a good place today, tomorrow's dinner might be greeted with three upside down smiles and a list of complaints. I just keep on powering through and talking the talk. Last night, I used one of my old-time techniques to get Mr. Noodle to try something new. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Hey, do you want the yummy mac 'n' cheese tonight?!?

Mr. Noodle: Ya! I do!!

Me: Oh good. It's so good here. They have a special recipe.

Mr. Noodle dives in and starts eating the pasta he has no reason not to love. 

Me: Do you love your mac 'n' cheese with crab?

Mr. Noodle: Yes. It's very good.

Me: Isn't fish in mac 'n' cheese the best? I told you they had a very special recipe. 

And before he even understands what's hit him, he's shoveling another spoonful of "pasta with fish" in his mouth, blissfully unaware that he's just fallen in love with a new dish. Before the night is done, I find about nine more opportunities to drop the congratulatory "YOU-JUST-ATE-FISH-PASTA-AND-LOVED-IT" bomb on him.

I love my job!

We Love You, Gong Hey Fat Choy!

Happy Everything! So much culminates on this weekend - Valentine's was Friday, the Chinese New Year celebrations wrapped up last night in SF with the big parade, and tomorrow we celebrate all our great favorite presidents.

We did some really fun things this week in hopes of bringing all these important celebrations full circle, at least Valentine's and CNY. (I, admittedly, dropped the ball on everything presidential.)

I often tell people how homeschooling has become a sort of healthy addiction for me. I crave and seek out creative ways of make learning 210% fun for all of us. It's what I focus on and research late at night (instead of blogging). The ideas bring me energy, and the entire process of bringing it to my kids has fueled a new learning for myself. We could argue all day long about who is loving homeschooling more.

Our Tuesdays bring us into the city where the 9yo takes a three hours science course at the Exploratorium. This week, life cycles and germination were discussed, plants and fruits were dissected. 

After class, I grabbed a couple books at the gift shop and we walked to Chinatown where we visited the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies.

Located down a barely-marked alley, this "factory" consists of little more than two women and a man running a very sweet (and crunchy) show. We hung out, marveled, paid a couple quarters extra for the privilege of taking pictures, and then we stocked up on vanilla and chocolate fortune cookies and headed home. 

Back home, after we devoured a huge platter of Chinese food from Trader Joe's, we gathered together all our fortunes and I read through them with the kids, challenging them to understand the deeper meanings. I convinced myself that this was in some way good for them, and counted towards some sort of learning block. ;)

 

But my favorite part of this weeks Valentine's/Chinese New Year/President's Weekend focus was the 9yo's and my crafting of Chinese fortune cookies from scratch. It started with the idea that we would make one of his favorites, pot stickers, as a project that studies not just food and culture, but math and chemistry. When I realized how difficult they are to make (hence the name "stickers", I suppose), I opted for fortune cookies on the heels of our exciting factory visit. The first recipe we followed...and tripled (read: math), was a late night disaster followed by a young boy's pleas to "try again" because this was "the best night EVER". I acquiesced, we changed course to this recipe and found great success! Our second attempt produced what are likely to go down as the BEST fortune cookies either of us have ever had -- like crispy, pancakes folded-up in to bite-size-goodness. Part of this project called for The Kid to create his own fortunes that would be applicable to the friends he planned to share them with in him nature class the following morning. I told him he would get invisible, bonus points for relating them to both nature and love. 

Cookies + Code

Our days have been full. It is December, after all. And while I'd like to think I've got this season nailed down to a science, I seem to flail every year. I thought to simplify the 2013 holiday season and play my get-out-of-jail-free card by skipping the holiday card mailing, but this strategic move offered minimal relief. We've still been gleaning fruit from friend's trees, canning for gifts, socializing with friends and family, exploring local open space, celebrating birthdays, learning to read, daydreaming, designing, cooking comfort food, experimenting with new interests, on and on and on...

I've yet to do much Christmas shopping. :-/

Yesterday was another big winter weekend day as we did our annual cookie decorating party with good friends in our old neighborhood. 

Former neighbors, and good friends for life, the mid-western contingency always provides the best treats -- and they rarely involve any added heat. Here they are shaking-up some Puppy Chow. 

After every last piece of dough was baked, iced, sprinkled and plated, the kids sample the leftovers and fuel-up on sugar before we all set out to make our deliveries. 

 

Because it's all about giving. 

From one party to the next, we regrouped at our (former) next-door-neighbor's house so we could get on board with the Hour of Code movement taking place this week. Having absolutely nothing to do with the holidays, this will definately go down as a highlight of our season! Why they planned this Week of Code during the holidays, I have no idea, but we pulled it off and all parties loved it! Simple, easy and fun to do. Please take a moment to explore the movement to get our kids coding by visiting code.org. 

P. stepped-up and prepped the kids about what we planned on doing with them. He engaged them first with an inspirational discussion, followed by some of the videos available on the website. He was awesome - a born teacher! We stopped for a quick lunch before breaking-out the laptops and P. got us up to speed on what he's been doing within our school district to bring robotics to our elementary school kids. Thank gawd for enthusiastic citizens like him who make our communities what they are. Our future depends on the brilliance, sacrifice and dedication of parents like him. 

And then it was time to code! Between the five kids that were actually able to navigate the online lessons, 495 lines of code were written in less than an hour!

I love that this mama is a programmer. A great personality and strong fashion sense can really work well with computer science. ;)

Because most of the Puppy Chow went out to neighbors, B. shook-up a second batch for the kids and called it Coder Chow. Too cute. 

 

Their work! :D

Alcatraz: Sunday on the Rock

We did too much this weekend, and the kids paid us back in no uncertain terms, with lots of naughty behavior tonight. We deserved it. All of it. I know it's all our fault. If we had done a better job as parents, we would have had a smoother ride. Instead, the kids ran the show and I'm exhausted, re-stratigizing for the new week. But as taxing as some days can be while I'm still moving through them,  I also know I will only look back and remember the smiles, the joy and the delectable innocence. That's why memories are so wonderful - you take the imagery, but rarely the pain.

Nevertheless, it was lights out at 7:30.

Today we went to Alcatraz with friends. It was a first for them, and for our kids, but not for Daddy and me. Many exciting improvements have been made in the ten years since my last visit. I wasn't expecting nearly as much as we received. It was a great outing, and of course, the weather could not have been better!

My dad has a funny line that he likes to say while touring museums, cathedrals, gardens or castles. As we all know, you can always hear a baby screaming at the top of their lungs while at any of these attractions. This is a universal truth. And when this occurs, my dad will always say dryly, Oh yeah, babies looooove museums. Or Oh yeah, babies just loooove touring castles. Today our running joke was: Oh yeah, four-year-olds loooove audio tours. (Not.)

OK, I'm done complaining - moving on!

Miss Frijoles and I found ourselves wandering alone on the audio tour for a while, and I became completely mesmerized by the intensity of her temporary solitude. She could not be reached. She was so entranced in the story of Alcatraz, something I didn't expect. I loved taking pictures of her listening, walking and in thought. Every image seems to have a *solitary confinement* element to it.

When we finised our self-guided tour, and exited the building, I told Frijoles how proud I was of her for doing such a good job.

What do you mean? She asked, barely above a whisper.

I mean, you were were so focused and into the tour. It was fun for me to watch you enjoying it, I replied.

Well, I didn't actually like it, Mama. It was, you know....kinda creepy.   :-/

ps - best blue - can I get a color match?!

Saturday on the Coast

We drove west today, to visit some really good people in their home near the coast. Despite juggling the mood swings of three kids with fluctuating levels of blood sugar (so inconvenient!), we made it through a lot of twist and turns in the day. After our all-too-late 3pm lunch (read: meltdowns from 1-3pm), we went searching for tule elk along the coast, and that's when the day turned a corner and everything in our little world got good again.

The drive out to Tomales Point in search of the elk took us out a beautiful country road, home to generations-old dairy farms, and some of our county's very best land. At every bend in the road there was another picture-perfect scene of cattle in the mist. We got out almost every time.

The lighting could not have been more perfect. Everytime I'd see something spectacular, I'd take a picture, review it on my screen and think: Yep, that's pretty much exactly what it looks like!

We finally found the elk that we were looking for. Massive and intimidating, with giant racks, they were surprisingly close to the road. As Beanie tempted fate, taking baby steps closer and closer, her big brother yelled out - See you in heaven! - before running back to the car.

Wordless Wednesday

At the Beach, Remembering Papa

We celebrated Papa's birthday this weekend. He would have been 74 on Sunday.

Blessed with unbelievably beautiful weather, we spent both days at local beaches, relaxing, reading, playing ball, refereeing the kind of time-outs that don't include balls, and just generally trying to keep the screaming to a mild roar.

Papa loved these days. He loved to be out in nature and he loved, loved, loved his grandchildren. (He also loved sausage so I made sure to serve that for dinner, Nana, was our guest.) It's a very sad thing to all of us that he is no longer able to join us, to share in the joy, and to see his grandkids play on the beach.

It still pains me that he's not here.

When driving out to our West Marin beach destination on Sunday, I realized we were returning to the same exact spot we'd discover with Papa, slightly over five years ago. How fitting! That fall day was a magical one - back when there were only two kids, and they didn't yet know how to fight, before either one had any shame in running naked, when perfection could be found in a simple baguette, filled with brie and salami, and when Papa was there to share it all. 

2008

 

Washington DC - Day 5

Our fifth and last full day in DC was on Friday. I had no idea how much we'd actually crunched into the day until I loaded up all our pictures. Wow. Here is a quick run through:

9AM: Ford's Theater to see the location of Lincoln's assassination. I remember coming here when I was ten years old, but the visit is so much more with the new visitor's center, as well as another one across the street at The Peterson House.

Thank gawd for my son's newfound love of American history. I doubt I knew much of Lincoln when I first came here thirty years ago, and still, I've never forgotten the experience. We've read, watched and listened to lots on our 16th president this fall, and it of course made our visit that much more meaningful - for the both of us!

A visit to The Peterson House is quick, but powerful. Once you've walked through the back room where Lincoln took his last breaths, you take an elevator upstairs and step out into April 15, 1865, the day after he was shot, and the day the manhunt for his killer began.

I read somewhere that there have been over 16,000 books written on Lincoln, and my son said this stack down the middle of a spiral staircase leading to the exit contained every single one of them. I have not confirmed either, but nevertheless, it's a pretty impressive sight. (btw - we picked up the audio book of Manhunt while in the gift shop - it came highly recommended. We started listening to it today and it's incredible - so beautifully written. There is so much more to that night of April 14th, 1865, than you could dream of.)

11 AM: Ok, ok, ok - did you know you can tour NPR's new building in DC? Neither did we, nor anyone else we spoke to! I happened to stumble on the ad one day while listening to one of their podcasts with the kid. We thought it sounded super cool and so we signed up. It's not the most exciting thing we did, but certainly worth the visit if you have the time and are a fan of public radio

Hanging out with Bob Boilen of Tiny Desk Concerts! The nice guys of NPR saw my camera and said "You need a Tiny Desk Concert photo with your son." Towards the end of our tour we got to watch some TDCs in a sound room and I absolutely fell in love with this Oregon band: Typoon

"From NPR news, this is All Things Considered." :D

After our tour concluded, we walked down to Union Station for a quick bite and look around. We never intended to spend the next two hours at The National Postal Museum next door. Uh-uh. Wasn't even on our radar.

1PM: The National Postal Museum is another one of those stops, like The Newseum, where we had no intention of stopping, but ended up dropping in for a quick peek, and staying for a long stretch. So cool and great for kids.

The kid designs his own stamp.

You don't have to be a stamp lover to get a lot of enjoyment out of this place. There really was something for everyone.

Above, the 9yo plays this game where you have to pick-up, identify, and sort the packages ASAP. A sensor, connecting box to drop, keeps track of your score.

3:30PM: The National Building Museum was one place we wanted to go under the understanding they had a Buckminster Fuller exhibit, an architect and inventor kid had just studied. Turns out the exhibit no longer exists, we did however, manage to run through some of their others before ending up in the kids building room. Next, we wrapped up our museum/tour spree with a stop at The National Portrait Gallery (5:00PM). On our way there, we caught sight of these amazing street performers:

 

6:30PM - Lincoln - the sister restaurant to Day 4's Teddy and the Bully Bar  where the floors are tiled with pennies, and the decor plays a twist on the mid-nineteenth century. Drinks and pendent lighting are served up in mason jars, dishes pay tribute to American classics, and mama might have even picked up a t-shirt for herself. A super fun way to unwind and dine after a long, long day of site seeing in our nation's capital.

***NOT ACTUAL SIZE!!!

Washington DC - Day 4

The first (and last) time I ever set foot in the National Air and Space Museum, I was ten years old, and we had about an hour to explore. If you've ever been to A+S, you know how ridiculous this sounds. You can literally spend days in any one of the Smithsonians, A+S is no different. Back in 1983, I barely scratched the surface of its collection, but all the incredible machinery hanging overhead left such an impact on me. My dad bought me a pouch of astronaut ice cream from the gift shop, and we dashed-out, deflated we couldn't stay longer. Flash forward thirty years, and I was so eager to get back with the big kid. I had set aside an entire day for us to roam, a full seven hours to just lap it all up. We came early, we launched ourselves in full-throttle, and then we kind of fizzled-out mid-day. Turns out neither the kid, nor I, are terribly interested in machines that fly. Birds of prey, yes, rocket ships, no.

It's not that I didn't find anything interesting, I just found myself gravitating more towards the culture and design of flying, rather than all that technical stuff. And the kid liked everything else.

There were definitely some highlights for the 9yo - an exhibit on the science of flight, which pertained to a block of study he just did and enjoyed. Through that, he had also read about the Wright brothers, so seeing their exhibit also helped to bring everything full circle.

All in all, we probably clocked about four and half hours at A+S, before walking across the mall and finishing the last hour of our museum day at Smithsonian's American History. The absolute highlight of our Thursday though, was dinner at Teddy & the Bully Bar.

Where to begin!? The recently opened sister restaurant to the popular Lincoln (where we ate the following night), Teddy was a spot I thought would be fun for the kid after the president's appearances in this book and this mini series, which we've enjoyed together. We had also heard a funny story at The White House about Teddy and his installing of animal heads in one of the rooms, and how Mrs. Taft had them promptly removed upon her arrival. Having enjoyed these stories about the former president, we were feeling well prepped for our upcoming night out.

When we were walking towards the restaurant I ask the kid to guess what we might see at the new restaurant and he said, "There'll probably be animal heads on the walls." #proudmama

When you first arrive in the Bully bar, there is a textured wall that looks vaguely familiar. You can't quite figure it out so you walk over to get a closer look...

...and then you realize - it's a giant wall filled with mini Mount Rushmores!

As soon as we ordered (Buttermilk Bully Rings, Teddy Clam Chowder and Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin), we were served a basket of warm bread and biscuits with salted butter and BACON JAM. We just about lost ourselves right then and there. The menu was a hoot to read with all its nods to our heritage.

I have to give up total control when I hand over the ordering of dessert to the kid. He's never going to order anything that sounds go to me. He's just not much of a fan of dark desserts. This cheesecake wrapped in phyllo dough had all sorts of weird sounding stuff in it, like rosemary. But it was delicious and so fun to eat with the flaky outer crust.

Rifle sconce.

Last but not least, I always have to check-out what's going on in the ladies room. Sometimes the greatest details are hidden behind bathroom doors.

Washington DC - Day 3

I can't help but feel the need to apologize when I have to post crummy iPhoto pics to my blog. I'm sorry. We had an early tour of The White House Wednesday morning and they have a no purse/backpack/camera/explosives policy. All you can bring in the gates are a wallet and cell phone. It was pretty freeing in that I lugged around four-and-a-half less pounds of camera gear that day, but of course, these pics stink.

This is the only pic we have of our visit to Barack and Michelle's pad, but it was still worth it. I loved seeing all the family photography through the various terms, and the secret service men on staff in each room were incredibly knowledgeable! I learned a bunch of fun facts, but my favorite was that Madison stood only 5'2 and weighed just 98lbs! (Taft goes down as the presidential heavyweight champion, coming in at 330lb., and 6'3.)

After our tour, we set out on foot towards the Newseum. I took the above of some construction zone posters. I love how everywhere you go in DC, you are surrounded by references to either history or politics.

PAUL on Pennsylvania. This was a FIND! I first tried a Beignet au Chocolate at a PAUL in the Paris airport last fall, while on a stop-over. I have never lost sight of what that chocolate and hazelnut donut did to me, and was always sad to think I'd have to fly back around the world if I ever wanted to indulge in one again. But Tuesday night, while heading back to our hotel on the bus, I spotted one - right here in 'merica!!! We made a point of going the next morning and it was absolute heaven to come in from the cold to a hot coffee and one of these:

The baker said the filling is their own blend of hazelnut-chocolate. Your first bite into the donut is pretty manageable. But each subsequent bite gets more and more explosive until you're groaning with pleasure while blobs of nutella-esque goodness are dropping on the table, running down your chin, and melting on your fingertips. It's a rare experience and one that every good child deserves. So when in DC (or France) get yourself to PAUL.

The Newseum - we LOVED it! I didn't have it on our original itineray but I'm so glad our DC based family recommended we go. Just incredible! My favorites were the Kennedy exhibits (there are two), one specifically on how the Kennedys were the first to use the media to their advantage, allowing the public insight to their family life.

The Newseum bathrooms are tiled a simple white with occassional glass tiles showcasing awkward newspaper headlines in our history. So fun!

There was an entire room dedicated to the ORIGINAL front pages of world papers through the centuries. Here, we have a look at one on the Salem witch trials!

Stuff interesting to boys.

My son learned about 9/11 at The Newseum. (sigh.) It was something I knew would be there, but at the same time, I wasn't really ready. We walked over to the wall of newspaper covers and in he marched to the movie room before I had a chance to think. I followed and asked him if he was ready for this and he said yes. The feature was more about reporting on the event, and how emotional it was for the reporters to remove themselves emotionally from the event. It was less about making us, the viewers, emotional. So in that sense, the video wasn't as heart-wrenching as it could have been, but there was still the imagery of the planes crashing, the buildings falling and people running for their lives. All of these things still make me very emotional, which I was. He was quiet afterwards, visibly affected, and so I pulled him to a quite corner and asked him if he was OK and if he had any questions. He said no. I asked him if he thought it a mistake for me to have let him see it and again, he said No. It was just really, really sad, Mom.

And all I could think to do was agree.

The Newseum was close enough to The Capital and The Library of Congress that we could walk over. Not that we actually did...we took a cab instead because by this point our legs ached something fierce. I think I mentioned that we are both walking 5-10 miles a day here? Lots of leg work going on this week!

Our tour at The Capital wasn't great. I think it was just the guide we got (her nervous laugh did not help matters from my end). To start the tour was a short film about the building and its history and that was great. Beyond that, our guide didn't seem to have any great little nuggets of information - like the guys over in The White House did. :) 

Across the street at The Library of Congress we finally understood why everyone kept telling us to Go to The Library of Congress!  It's just beautiful! We tagged along with another tour group already in motion and learned some great stuff, especiallyy about Thomas Jeffereson's prized book collection, which is on display right now. I do regret not having a complete tour of the entire building as I was told their is a lot of wonderful symbolism in the interior details. Next time.

Washington DC - Day 2

Once again, this will be an abbreviated post of quick notes due to timing and overall exhaustion. This morning started off with an 8:45 tour at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Very cool experience, and quick too. The best part is tours start here long before the other museums open at ten. So if you like to maximize your time like me, this one is for you.

I estimate we walked between five and ten miles today and a lot of that was in freezing temperatures with the wind blowing, albeit lightly. We are not conditioned for any of this but whenever we start to feel sorry for our sensation-less toes, I remind us both that this is NOT a winter in Valley Forge - we do have shoes for goodness sake! Oh, and God bless all those tough, brave men who fought for our independence. Good lord! With all I've (re)learned about American history in the last several months I'm beginning to think we've grown quite soft.

Per the kid's request, Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. Of all our planned stops this was actually the one I was least excited about. Strange to admit that now because it really was incredible in so many ways. 

I know - right?!? I totally want one of each too!! You are looking at a Chinese Water Deer above, and a Pink Fairy Armadillo below!

I loved the human origins section. We had fun with an interactive photo booth that showed what we would have looked like as Neanderthal. (No, I will not be posting those.) Above I'm standing with my favorite - Homo floresiensis - and yes, her head is at actual height!

The room of bones. Clearly an older exhibit but one of my favorites! Hundreds of skeletons displayed on a gorgeous color palette made more of an artful statement to me than anything else.

Need. This. Rock.

My little birder loved the incredible collection of native DC birds we discovered while walking down a quiet hallway... looking for the elevators... after leaving the basement cafe. :-/

We visited with family tonight in DC and after cooking us a wonder dinner they toured us all around the city for a taste of DC at night. Light or dark, rain or shine, Lincoln's Memorial never disappoints.

Washington DC - Day 1- Veterans Day

We had a phenomenal first day in our nation's capital and are exhausted from all the walking, emotional moments and heavy food. So I need to keep this short. But here is what I know about today:

Ted's Bulletin on 14th is the kind of breakfast joint you want to accidentally stumble upon on your way to Starbucks. Jaws on the sidewalk, we drooled over all the homemade pastries in the window, and so we invited ourselves in for a sit-down coffee and pop-tart at the counter. With the most exciting menu imaginable - yes, it does say Peanut Butter Bacon Burger - we headed back for a dinner of sloppy joe and spaghetti with meatballs.

Arlington National Cemetary. I knew it would be the ideal place to spend Veterans Day, and was eager to take my son to his great uncle's grave. What I didn't realize is that besides all the usual points of interest, we'd have a chance to see our president. We two stood on the curb while Obama drove by, waving at us, a small crowd of unsuspecting tourists. He was literally ten feet away! Here is the evidence as well as video shot immediately after of the guards leaving post.

 

 

It must be mentioned that we saw too many young women today, crying alone at headstones. I saw parents camped out in folding chairs, staring at their child's headstone. I saw a mother lying down on the lawn and grabbing at the grass her son lay beneath. A beautiful morning in a peaceful park, but I left, and took with me, a heavy, heavy heart.

Mount Vernon was just as captivating as I remember it thirty years ago. Although expanded now, so many of the details that have remained clear in my mind were still as they were even 150 years ago! The newly established visitors center was incredible and I only wished we had more than two hours to explore everything. If you go, give yourself 3-4.

Heading to Washington DC

When I first announced to my mom that we would begin homeschooling the big guy, I was very nervous about how she might react. Not that my mom is the least bit reactionary, because she's not. It was just that in general, because I always allow my mind to explore the worst case scenario, I had prepared myself to have any, and all family members, unload their fear on us. Of course, nothing close to that happened, and everyone was incredibly supportive and excited for the change. My mom ended up being one of our greatest supporters(!), offering to help in any way she could. At the time of announcement, she only looked a tiny bit surprised. Then she smiled, leaned into me and said - "Just take him to DC for one week a year and he'll be just fine."

(Did I mention my mom is awesome with the accidental one-liners? Hi Mom!!)

So I'm off to DC to ensure that our son is just fine this year. ;)

See, one of my mom's best friends relocated to DC several years ago and she has since been visiting her for two weeks, every year. She falls in love with our capital every time, always returning with a suitcase full of wonderful stories about free museum exhibits, a thousand things learned, incredible food, and of course, an eagerness to return.

For us, studies of Washington and America's history began our first day at home, quite by accident, really.  When we first sat down to crack open the 9yo's curriculum, he immediately rejected my teaching efforts, mumbling "This is just like school". It was 9:26 and mommy needed a break.  He got up and wondered around the house, I poured myself a second cup of coffee. When he came back, he was holding a magazine on world history (one I'd recently purchased for a rainy day car ride). He sat on the couch, and spend half the day reading it cover to cover.

This is what I see as self-directed learning at its best. :)

Tossing the curriculum, and embracing his new-found love of history, we dove in deep for weeks and learned so much - all of us! He read mountains of books and magazines, listened to audio books, watched programs, played games, and built models. It was so mind-blowingly exciting for me to observe from the side lines. My mom kept saying - "Get that boy to DC!"

Everyone I know who has been to Washington seems to have done so right around the age of ten, and in all of us, it left an indelible mark. I can't wait to get there and see it for the first time in thirty years, but even more so, to see it through my boy's eyes. Here were some our family's favorite resources that brought us to this point:

- The Libery's Kids series is great starter, especially for the small kids. Think Scooby Doo meets American Revolution. Good stuff if you can get past the phony English accents.

- History Channel's America The Story of Us.  An incredible way to see history come to live. Some heavy parts, but nothing horrible. Lots of wonderful teaching moments.

- Discovery Channel's North America. Stunning and perfect for the whole family.

- Incredible podcasts about George Washington and colonial life, offered by Colonial Williamsburg. We would listen to these together while on a hike or while he built a model.

- The Green Glass Sea (book on tape) by Ellen Klages.  Beautiful!

- The games of Risk, The History of America and Destination USA.

Not to mention countless books on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, US presidents, the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, WWII, the making of the bomb, the Little House on the Prairie series, etc., etc. Our local public library has been the greatest resource in our homeschooling and we are there weekly, always checking out the maximum amount of books allowable (which is 25, btw!).

Halloween Night

Halloween has got to be my favorite night of the year. We had so much fun last night, I only wish I wore a costume of some sort, but I didn't pull it together in time. Big, regretful FAIL. The kids went as a ranger being choked by a rhinoceros viper, a bride, and a ninja hamster. We have always traded-off trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood with going to my sister's. Last night, we went to sissy's. She is ideally located on the flats in a great neighborhood. She does a wonderful job of decorating, always makes herself and her kids fabulous costumes from scratch. She usually serves-up some sort of goodness in a carved-out pumpkin. With one too many dogs dressed up in silly costumes we meandered up and down colorfully lit streets while the grandmas stayed back to pass out candy. My kind of wonderful.

Halloween Happenings

I think I might have just taken a little unintentional break from blogging.  It happens sometimes, not always for a reason. We've been doing the usual, and while homeschooling is not nearly as demanding or taxing as we've all convinced ourselves it should be, I'm still finding it hard to take time out these days to post. But on the eve of Halloween, I thought it a good time to share some pictures from a Halloween party we threw last year. We invited neighbors from the old and new neighborhoods, for a night of costumes and candy apple making.

I am keeping a log and photo journal of all we do each day for homeschooling. It's recommended for a variety of reasons, one being it just helps to calm your mind on those days when you worry you are not doing enough. And it's something we all experience at one time or another. It's those days that you crack open your log, read about all the great stuff you do daily and then with new-found calm and satisfaction, continue powering on!

We spent our first six week of the school year really drilling down into American history which was so fun for all of us. My son rejected the prescribed curriculum we purchased on our first day, and instead of fighting him and having us resent each other, I instead took a lead from his interests and walked alongside him while he directed me towards what excited him most. He read a ton, specifically about America in wartime, we watched a variety of history programs on TV, we spend hours in the local library loading up on more books, videos and audio books, we played games on geography, history and war strategy. There were many highlights during this time, but my favorite was when I overheard the younger kids in imaginative play yelling "Quick, run! The Redcoats are coming, the REDCOATS ARE COMING!" The older kid's interest has spead on down to his siblings and the learning bug was contagious!

Then one day he said, "Mom, I think I'm all done studying war. Too much destruction. Can we learn about anatomy for a while?"

And so we changed course. That night I stayed up and ordered anatomy models, coloring books and study guides. It seemed the PERFECT subject to dive into right around Halloween! The boys loved assembling all the models. Each one came with a pamphlet explaining in simple terms the function of each individual part. So far, both have been mostly interested in the assembly aspect of anatomy, but I'm confident the big kid's interest will deepen in time and when it does, all the necessary information will be waiting for him to explore.

On a final note, we've been making these animal skeleton cookies with gingerbread for several years now. This is the first time we ever looked up the skeletal forms BEFORE piping out the icing, making these the most accurate of all our batches. (But please ignore the bunny ear *bones*, my kids are small and I had to allow them some artistic license ;)

Homeschooling + Chocolate = LOVE

Friends and family are so curious as to what we've been up to on our new adventure in homeschooling. Everyone wants to know how it's going (great!), if we are following a curriculum (not since day two) and how the heck we've been filling our days (all sorts of cool stuff!!). When I fill everyone in on some of the details of our first three weeks - like museum trips, board games, home-grown science experiments on the lawn, reading, more games, nature walks, model building, audio books, reading and more reading, weekly trips to the library, the History Channel at night, ethnic meals with supporting conversations, and on and on and on -- people have started to ask - "Who's having more fun with the homeschooling? Him or you?"

And after today's visit to the Tcho factory in SF, I'm beginning to wonder myself...



...eeny, meeny, miny, moe...

Yep - it's official - no one is having more fun than me!















What's not to love about learning when you whip out a couple worksheets with your Mama next to you while riding the ferry into your city? We strolled through the ferry building talking about everything we saw, grabbed lunch, and then headed to Tcho so we could learn all about how chocolate was made. Afterwards we walked over to the America's Cup Park where we refreshed our knowledge of sailing, and the science of wind, currents and really, really big boats! The kid was loving it, and so was I.



I promise to post soon about our decision to homeschool and I will do my best to share how we go about our days. It never ceases to amaze me how much my guy is taking in on daily basis when it's his interests driving the learning.