memorial day...

happy memorial day, happy beginning of summer! i hope you are hanging out in the backyard (or front yard, or park, or pool) on a big old blanket like we are. enjoy it, it goes so fast!

market season...

yay for farmer's market season! i'm so excited to start our weekly ritual of visiting the market as a family. fresh produce, meeting friends, climbing trees, eating popcicles, hanging out on a blanket in the grass... it feels like summer! after a the first few weeks were rainy, it was nice to have a lovely day. here are a few photos of sid with her  good friend who came along. photos with tessa were taken by my sister katy, with much thanks! 

katy and i will be at the market selling our wares a few times this season. life is so busy with three kids but it is fun to do! maybe we will see you there!

tess at ten months...

tess at ten months is a super silly tess! she scrunches her nose to show good and bad. she is very good at letting you know exactly what she wants, often with her own made up signs or language. she is cruising all over the place, by herself and holding our hands. she can stand on he own but is still unsure about the whole walking thing. it's getting so close. i'm not sure i'm ready for that milestone but i am enjoying this steadier tess, as it means she can explore more freely on her own. she is constantly watching her brother and sister and trying to do what they do. she loves being outside, animals (especially her nap buddy, kitty). she loves the zoo and exploring in general. she saw the ocean for the first time and held our hands to run into the water as fast as her legs would carry her. she kicked and splashed and was covered in sand and water. she licked all the seashells like an ice cream cone then threw them down for another. she is fairly fearless until someone new approaches and then she suddenly is shy and cuddly. she says "hi" and "bye" and waves at everything. she gives great big open mouth kisses while smashing her face into yours. she is loved tremendously and that love just shines out of her onto us all. we are all so grateful for this little ball of light!

sorry, for my absence lately! my five days a week posting challenge was fun but proved to hard to keep up. i'm going to aim for two days a week. i do have a lot to share!

**i do post pictures daily on instagram!

mister finch...

years ago i had the idea to make large fabric moths to hang on the wall. i thought it would be such a  beautiful sight. i doubted anyone else would like them but me. small children got in the way of making what i had in mind, it would require both intricate and large scale work. i always carried the idea around with me though. when i saw these moths by mister finch i literally gasped! they are different than the moths i envisioned but nonetheless someone had created large scale textile moths! i'm glad someone else had the idea too and actually carried out. i'm glad to have found the work of mister finch as well. if you are a fan of textile art, especially nature inspired, you have probably seen his work before. we live extraordinarily different lives i guess, but in way when i see someone creating work like this i feel like i have found a kindred spirit. i also feel the tiniest bit jealous of their free time to create. someday all these ideas rattling around my brain will have more time to be developed. in the meantime i will fit in what i can when i can, and i will be inspired to make more time by looking at marvelous creations like these....

he writes:

My main inspirations come from nature and often I return to certain ideas again and again.
Flowers, insects and birds really fascinate me with their amazing life cycles and extraordinary nests and behaviour.
British folklore is also so beautifully rich in fabulous stories and warnings and never ceases to be at the heart of what I make.
Shape shifting witches, moon gazing hares and a smartly dressed devil ready to invite you to stray from the path.
Humanising animals with shoes and clothes is something Ive always done and I imagine them to come alive at night. Getting dressed and helping an elderly shoemaker or the tired housewife.

how lovely.

all photos and more are from here. hopefully he doesn't mind me sharing them. you can also look in his etsy shop as well.

forever...

the other day i was out walking with the kids (we do that a lot these days, forever wandering) and my son suddenly turned to me and said "i wish we could all stay this same age forever... us kids and you and papa, and we could just stay together like this always." he said it with such absolute longing and honesty. it was a one of those moments you want to hold inside you forever and never forget. i want to memorize it and keep it with me throughout my life, to wear it like a locket next to my heart. i know that feeling and often i wish for it too... but they will continue to grow and change, as children do. honestly as sad as that makes me at times, i of course can't wait to see it. i want to know the people they will become because they are already so interesting and funny. even tessa already at nine months old. i love who they are and i will love who they become even more. my son's words are what i need though. they are a reminder of how fleeting it all really is. he can feel it now. at ten he can sense that cusp he is on and i'm glad he is trying to hold onto childhood a bit longer. although, a few minutes later he did say that maybe he would like to be thirteen at least, that way he could watch all those PG-13 movies we never let him see. oh, the future is always calling isn't it?