i'm about to fall into a potholder

I'd post more, but I've been busy trying to burn down the house. Now I've got to paint the kitchen. As if I didn't have enough to do just to keep everyone alive, fed, and clean. The fire. Yes, we are all fine, the stove's fine, and the children know how to call 911. I turned on the wrong burner and a big piece of Tupperware caught on fire. It was really smoky, and John had already gone to work. If I didn't have three small children I probably wouldn't have called 911, but in the moment it was the right thing to do. My mama-brain was saying, "What would Elmo do?"

My favorite story of the day is completely unrelated to the actual fire. I took the children out to dinner and on the way home Ella yelled, pointing towards a pothole in the road, "Mama, watch out, there is a potholder!".

more worms

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/kb/composting-with-redworms.html

zen master flash

Back in my fourth grade imagination the future would be very much like the set of the Jetsons. I was going to gifted summer school, holding snakes, learning to make lino prints, and building a city of the future. It was plastic and bubbled and all the water was tinted with sky blue food coloring.

Now the skies are not full of flying cars, but our pockets are filled with tiny little gadgets. The new iphone has downloadable applications for meditation. Tiny little gongs to ferry us into the moment. And out.

science fair

Ella is going to compost with worms. Stick with something you love, right?


http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/invert/worm.htm
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/school_projects.htm

food!!!!!!!!!!!!!

food!!!!!!!!!!!!!, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

She is eight months old and finally ate some solid food.

violin

violin, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Look what arrived today! The timing was perfect considering that she had attended her friend's cello recital yesterday. She squeaks but also sounds quite musical. Walking around in the front yard she was experimenting freely.

john b

john b, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ruby

ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

valentina bandita

I've stepped away for a week or so to make some things for a fundraiser at Ella's school. I've absolutely fallen in love with a little Waldorf doll that I made. Her name is Valentina Bandita. I met her on a bus in Floyd, Virginia with little feathers and yarn in her hair.

Speaking of inspiration, here's a beautiful post from one of my favorite sites .

new river trail

new river trail, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Our sunday hike was an unsolvable equation. Our three children are moving at very different speeds these days, and the compact car could only hold two small bikes. Ella was enjoying the freedom of the two wheeler while John was feeling earthbound and slow on the walking bike. At one point he even asked where his pedals were. Ruby was in the sling, no room for a stroller.

The light is very thin in February, and our children are heavy, but we were out there under the sun.

two dolls and a spoon

two dolls and a spoon, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

She can sit for a few seconds. In grappling with two dolls and a teaspoon she quickly lost her balance, but she was there for a moment. She weighs nineteen pounds eight ounces and is thirty inches tall, and is quickly outgrowing her nine month size clothes. She looks at me and says, "ma ma ma."