The Washington, D.C. area was treated to some glorious weather this past weekend, and audience members for the final SteveSongs performance of the week at Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts soaked it up! The Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods was the perfect place to be Saturday morning to listen to stories with storyteller Baba Jamal Koram…
The Arts
I’m a top Mental Wellness blogger!
I’m pleased to announce that I made it into the Top 25 Mental Wellness blogs at Circle of Moms. Thanks to everyone who voted. More details to come!
The transition begins: Waldorf to public school
Just how many different people can I be in my head in one day? Well, at least two solid positions are staking claim to my mental landscape. One is incredibly sad that yesterday was my son’s last day at his Waldorf school, and the other is very excited for our family to become part of…
10-day Yoga Challenge: Day Two: “Let your bottom blossom”
After my first of what I hope will be ten consecutive days of yoga class, I woke today feeling like my calf muscles had wrapped themselves around my legs. Same with the triceps. It was an enjoyable, tightened sore, like I’d had someone squeeze me into Saran Wrap. I was feeling so good yesterday after…
Dinner! Fun Food Friday
It’s gotten to the point where my son will ask, “What is it?” if I don’t turn his meal into a face or a construction vehicle. It only takes an extra few seconds to whip up something creative, and it’s a nice break from my rushing around. He sure does chow down more when the…
Unfolding into nature: May Carnival of Natural Parenting
Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Growing in the Outdoors This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how they encourage their children to connect with nature and dig in the dirt. Please read…
Who wins the title: “Most Conflicted?”
Before I had even cracked the spine of the book Good Enough is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood, it got soaked. For at least the fourteenth time, I’d failed to screw the top on my new glass water bottle on correctly, and it spilled all over the purse I took…
Wordful Wednesday: Today I looked at my daughter
You know that newborn hearing test you’re supposed to get when your baby is born? Mine got hers today. She’s nine months old. Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things. For example, sitting in the waiting room with her there and at the chiropractor’s office was about the first time I’ve…
Just take those sugary characters off the shelf
Long before I’d even come close to letting my son watch a Clifford video, his eyes lit up at the big red dog on the Cascadian Farms cereal box. Come to think of it, that was probably even before I ever let him eat any cereal. (Any cereal always been gluten-free and character-free, and I’ve…
The 12 days of spring break
On all twelve days of Spring Break, Mother Nature gave to me: lots of pollen falling from trees. There were only supposed to be ten days. And they were going to be full of activities we don’t have the time or energy to do when school is in session. But then there was pollen. So…
Baby’s first dress
Well, she’s been out about as long as she was in, and it’s gotten pretty warm here in the D.C. area. So I went ahead and put my almost-nine-month-old girl in a dress. For the first time. When my son had taken it out of the box sent by my mom a few weeks back,…
Writing while mothering, and writing without Mothering (the magazine)
By now, most readers have probably heard the sad news that Mothering magazine is going to cease publication. If not, read Peggy O’Mara’s explanation here. I found out in an email from the web editor regarding a piece I was writing for Mothering.com, which is still going strong, she said. I was happy to have…
Hirshhorn nurse-in a huge success!
At least I got in some lactivism this weekend! It has been a long string of days with a dramatic, exuberant, clingy, whiny and non-stop-talking almost-five-year-old and a not-much-sleeping, perennially-teething (but happy!) six-month old. So I will save the full report on yesterday’s nurse-in at the Hirshhorn Museum for another time (will link if it…
SteveSongs talks to Crunchy-Chewy Mama!
One week after I had my baby girl this past August, I padded groggily out of the bedroom late in the morning and found my son looking out our bay window and listening to a SteveSongs CD. With his knees tucked underneath him in the chair that sat where the birth tub had been, my…
Solstice celebration — we did it!
I’m so excited that I managed to pull together a solstice celebration this year. At noon on the day of, I talked to my friend and let her know another mom from our Holistic Moms chapter was maybe going to make it. Usually I can’t stand last-minute things, but this time is was great to…
On the bunny slope of tradition-making – Carnival of Natural Parenting
At age 37, I still haven’t learned to ski, and almost five years and two children into parenthood, I can’t quite believe in myself as a real mom of a real family with real traditions of its own. Although a few years of experience in Waldorf education tells me that children thrive on daily rhythms…
Like this: Christmas tree in the house!
It’s been a week since we put up the Christmas tree we cut down at Ticonderoga Farms. It was the first time we’d bought a tree as a married couple (I think) and for sure the first time as parents. But it was something I did yearly as a kid, and I always enjoyed it….
Advent Garden: focusing on beauty
When I walked into the Advent Garden room holding my son’s hand, I felt a rush of senses. The smell of fresh evergreens instantly transported me into a magical wintertime. I felt the profound calm of the darkened room, lit only by one candle in the middle of the spiral of greens and a few candles…
Fall leaves
I have a ton I want to write, but since time is scarce, I’ll at least post a few photos from The Time Before the Winds, when colors abounded. Now, unless you are looking at a pear tree, life looks more bare.
More on healthy food in schools!
My visit to Barcroft Elementary school’s Farm to Table celebration (referenced here last week)Â is now described in more detail on my column at the Washington Times Communities Family Today. Read “Authors, chefs encourage local, healthy food in schools” and tell me what your school is doing — or not doing — to promote healthy…