okay, this is odd...

so all my life I have professed a HATRED of nuts...almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, eww! I get mad (not really) when people call peanuts "nuts" because, well, they AREN'T. They are legumes. So I can like them.

BUT. Recently, a friend of Kaia's gave her some hazelnuts (also called filberts). She asked me to buy some to put in her lunches, so, gagging, I did. She ate them all, we bought more. Repeat. Twice.

Then, tonight, she gave me a small handful....so sweetly did she hand them to me, with love, that I felt it would be mean to decline...so I held my breath and tossed them in my mouth, trying to chew quickly.

AND. I LOVE THEM!!! my god, hazelnuts, where have you been all my life?!! you tasty, scrumptious little things!!!

I have had way too many since that small handful. and I am certain I will need to buy more soon. Like tomorrow.

and how awesome is it that they are so good AND good for me too?!

very. that's how awesome. very very VERY.

check it out...

My mother makes healing stone neckalaces, and she FINALLY (love ya mom!) made one for me! Here you see my two favorite colors at the moment which also happen to be stones with the right energy as well--I asked for a necklace that promoted health and energy. My mom puts the little heart stones on all the necklaces she makes as well, as her "signature". I don't usually put purple and orange together, though I like them best, but I think it works well here, and I LOVE my necklace!

update on valentine project!

This is for the mom who commented below, asking if I had gotten any ideas for homemade valentines yet--

I am taking my friend Tania's idea- she sent me an email instead of commenting on here.

My aunt brought over a bunch of scrapbook style paper for us to choose from and we are making bookmarks for the kids in her class. I will be posting pictures when we are done, but we are doing something pretty basic. There will be three hearts in a row, with the middle one the biggest. The middle one will say "Happy Valentine's Day". Then in the top and bottom hearts will be two more hearts, the top one will say "To: Various Child" the bottom one will say "From Kaia". Then we'll string a ribbon through the top and tie a knot!

I'm having Kaia do most of the work, though it's hard for me not to try to do it myself so that it's "neater". She is very proud of her crookedly cut out hearts, as she should be, and is really looking forward to handing them out. She is also doing all the writing. I am tracing the hearts for her to cut, cutting out the base of the bookmark, and tying on the ribbon. She is cutting, writing, and gluing. Like I said, I'll post pictures of the final product!

Thank you Aunt Carol, for the beautiful paper, and Tania, for the wonderful idea!
(and hey, Anonymous Waldorf Mom who wrote- let me know what you decided to do!)

Staying Home Today

Kaia is home sick today. She came into the bed last night with a tummy ache, and couldn't fall back asleep because of it. It's so hard to tell with her when she's actually feeling sick and when she just wants to get out of something. Since there's nothing to get out of, she likes school, and the stomach ache woke her up, I am assuming it's real. She is in my bed eating toast now, with Ben laying next to her keeping her company. He's always cheerful in the morning, and doesn't need to be carried around constantly.

Ben and I had a moms' group play date this morning at Barnes and Noble, with free coffee! That is disappointing to miss, but I am hopeful that maybe she will nap later, possibly at the same time Ben does, and that means I can too! This is a very small hope, but there none the less. She doesn't remember yet that today is library day, which she will be missing. I am hoping that will keep any ideas of claiming to be sick to miss school other times at bay.

she is calling, must go!

I highly recommend....

Watch the movie Stardust! I'd put that as a hyperlink, but I'm feeling lazy at the moment. However, the movie is AWESOME. humor, magic, love, pirates, ghosts, stars, captive princesses (well, one), witches, princes, and one boy who works in a shop (but he's not a shop boy!)

My two favorite characters are Captain Shakespeare (a sky pirate played by Robert De Niro) and Billy the goat/pseudo-innkeeper. I also like the bevy of ghost-princes. After he grows up a bit, Tristan is pretty cool. There aren't any characters that I don't like (unless they are supposed to be unlike-able, of course!)

A Loose Translation (or, A Monologue)

The Scene: A Living Room


The Characters:
The Narrator: A Baby
The Large Warm Thing With The Milk Thing: His Mother
The Small Loud Thing: His Big Sister
The Milk Thing: A Boob

Curtain Rises, The Narrator Begins.

Oh, Hello, Large Warm Thing With The Milk Thing! I wish to be picked up! PICKED UP I SAY!! BECAUSE I AM TIRED. TIRED!!!! BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW TO SLEEP. Oh, thank you...this is nice....yes, being carried around is nice....

BUT I'M STILL TIRED!! NO!!! NOO!!! NOT HUNGRY! TIRED!!!!!!!!!! HOW DO I SLEEP??? HOW??

Oh...Hello, Small Loud Thing...I like you! I like....BUT NOT RIGHT NOW!! RIGHT NOW I WANT TO SLEEP!! BUT I CAN'T! I FORGOT HOW!!! Hey, a milk thing....yum....mmmm...NO!!! well, maybe.....

NO!!!!!! NOOOOO!!!! NOT HUNGRY! WHY ARE YOU SITTING DOWN, LARGE WARM THING WITH THE MILK THING?!? I DON'T WANT TO SIT, I WANT TO
SLeep...hmmm....you ARE warm...this is nice....I....think...I am ....sleepy....SLEEPY I SAID!! I SAID I AM SLEEPY!!!

WHY HAVE YOU DONE NOTHING ?!! oh....Walking around is good...hey!
It's the Small Loud Thing again! Hi, Small Loud Thing! Hi! Hey...do you by any chance know how I go to sleep? HEY!! HEY I'M TALKING TO YOU!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?!

NO!! COMING BACK WILL NOT HELP! IT'S TOO LATE! ........ Where was I? Oh, well, I think I'll just close my eyes and take a small na....

AAUUGH!! SINKING INTO BLACKNESS! AND WHY ARE WE SITTING DOWN?!!?

Oh, HelLO Milk Thing, yes I do believe I WILL have a small snack...

WAIT!! I am TIRED!!! TIRED TIRED TIRED!!!!!

mmm...milk......milk....mmmm...oh..right...I've just remembered how to fall as-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In Which I Show A More Pathetic Side

On the sign up sheet table today was the festival/celebration list for Kaia's school. I idly glanced over it and saw this:

Valentine's Day- Please bring homemade valentines for everyone in the class. Give yourself two weeks to prepare.

ummm..... Hmm. I think (I am assuming they will give us a list soon?!) there are about 12 kids in her class. Which is better than my first thought, remembering that in her last class there were 25. So...12 homemade valentines. I can do that, I know I can. (well, Kaia and I can. Mostly Kaia, if I can keep my hands off) But does anyone have any cool ideas for us? For an All Natural, All The Time sort of valentine? (and how wrong is it that I did an Elmo reference that probably only Kathy will get for a subject in a school that promotes no TV watching? and, Kathy, you do get it right?! I'm not being too obscure?!) ANYWAY. Any ideas? I KNOW I shouldn't be worrying about what the other parents will think, but this is our first project that will be taken to school, and then home to each of the kids' houses...and I have NO IDEA what they expect from it. NO IDEA what the other kids' valentines will look like. So what I want is a valentine that I will be proud of, but doesn't scream "look how all natural and all Waldorf we can be!" cause I don't WANT to buy into the whole competitive bit...

SO. In short (HA!) I want an idea for valentines that would be something I would do normally (on a more creative day), that shows our own personalities (yet I'm asking YOU for suggestions, yes I am pathetic), that doesn't look too overly thought out or trying to hard to impress and that's CHEAP TO DO.

so, yeah. feel free to laugh at me, but then give me something, ok?