kids' music swap part deux

because you suggested it mama urchin - how about a another kids' cd swap? i so enjoyed this last time... but will keep myself out this go around and just send out the cds i am already committed to. but i am happy to partner everyone else up. the "rules" again:

- it doesn't have to be strictly "kids' music" but can include music that your kids like - just make sure it is appropriate for swapping...
- there is no age limit for the children to participate - but when possible it would be fun to have them make up the playlist
- be willing to ship overseas (fun to hear an international mix of kids' music!)
- have fun with the packaging but no need to send anything other than the cd
- goal is to ship by late september(i'll pin a date down once sign-ups close)
- interested? email me with kid's cd swap in the subject to: t(dot)bartley(at)att(dot)net and include your name, name(s) and age(s) of your kid(s), your blog address (if you have one - not necessary), and your mailing address
- once i see the interest that is out there (please feel free to "spread the word"!)i will close the sign-ups and randomly match the households I will keep the sign-up for the kids' music swap open until the end of the week(Friday 31 August). Please sign up if you are interested! The more the merrier!!

If you would like a button for your website - you can find it here

my back is feeling a little better - day by day - thanks for your well wishes. back to packing for the beach!

from here


to there


put my back out and am starting to panic a bit about all that needs to be done before the return to school next week. did manage to finally get this sewn together. (the fabric a hand-me-down from my sister-in-law.)

off to the beach on friday for (hopefully) a few days of nothing but cool breezes and sunsets...

see you on the return

p.s. if anyone wants a copy of the below listed cd i'll gladly send out 3. (that doesn't include you hannah!) first 3 to request... xo

summer 07 playlist

(or what we are currently listening to in the mini-van)

vacation {the go-go's}
my doorbell {the white stripes}
me and julio down by the schoolyard {paul simon}
movin' right along {kermit and fozzie}
banana puddin' {southern culture on the skids}
it's a small world {maurice chevalier}
it was a very good year {meatcoaster}
summer nights {john travolta and olivia newton-john}
the magic song (bibbity-bobbity-boo) {mary martin}
born to handjive {sha-na-na}
big yellow taxi {joni mitchell}
jackie jackson {franz ferdinand}
mambo italiano {rosemary clooney}
puff (the magic dragon) {peter,paul and mary}
walk like an egyptian {the bangles}
superball bop {jory felice}
mahna mahna {mahna mahna & the two snowths }
rolling home {dan zanes}



what's on your back to school rotation?

car-pool-mom

can't believe summer is almost behind us. it really has gone to quickly. we tried a variety of things with e over the summer. she had 2 weeks up in canada with me her little sister and my mom. 2 weeks (glorious weeks) at home with her dad. a week with a much admired 15 yr old cousin coming to our home. a week with a neighbour and her gramma. a few days with her bubbe. a movie day with her aunt. and 2 weeks of daycamp. i was really pretty unsure about the daycamp. a neighbour recommended it so i looked into it further. it was at a park on my way to work, with our city parks and rec dept and it was very affordable. so i thought i would give it a go. e loved it. arts and crafts. a little theatre. even a field trip. 1 week in july and 1 four weeks later in august seemed to do the trick. part of the appeal is that she attended both sessions with a close friend who lives a block away. (daughter of the friend of mine who recommended it.) and this last week another little friend from the neighbourhood joined in on the fun. i liked too that we got to know some people in our neighbourhood a little better, and so i pitched in shuttling the kids to and from camp (which worked well with my part-time schedule), and after camp care. (d thinks i am crazy but i really do enjoy a house of noisy - as long as they aren't too noisy! - kids. really.)

as i dropped off e and her friends this morning at daycamp - the chipper teen who assisted with the "valet" (gotta love l.a.)service smiled her chipper smile at me and said "good morning carpool mom!".

my heart swelled.

i loved the sound of it. i love loading up the girls, stopping at the two different houses in our neighbourhood, listening in on their continuous chatter, all of us heading into the preschool to drop off k then reloading and making the journey on to camp. and beyond that, i also love thinking that i have reduced carbon emissions this morning by 2/3. in my own little way.

i know you understand.

must run out the door for my last pick-up of the summer... s i g h

have a great weekend.

green{er} thumb

i have this dream about growing chrysanthemums. (alas, these are from trader joe's) the girls have wanted to grow some ever since the early days of reading this favorite. the elderly filipino man who lives across the street from us grows the most amazing spider variety ones in his front garden. i have asked him his secret but could not understand his response. (his english is quite broken - we call him "mr. big mountain" because that is what we think his pronunciation of his name sounds most like. as well as the fact that he is big and strong and has the most amazing smile - this name seems to fit nicely.) they really are the most amazing chrysanthemums i have every seen. the blooms fitting into my two hands cupped together.

i am learning how to work our soil. our dry hard-packed clay soil. the plants we put in this spring are doing well. especially considering the drought and heatwave we have been going through. i haven't lost any yet. and now we are starting to dream of the cooler days of fall. (october - i know you are just around the corner... hellllooo halloween...) thinking about four beds in the backyard to try our hand at square foot gardening. (inspired by this book. i am so loving it - every page gets me looking to try something new. blueberry bush in a pot - yes!)

and more natives around the pool.

and that chicken coop being filled. (we have had a chicken set-back. the chicks we were looking to adopt ended up being all roosters - and this mother hen just wasn't prepared for that. we have a new lead through path to freedom and are hoping to have two - or three - hens soon!)

and mustn't forget. room in the raised beds for chrysanthemums.

happy wednesday!

a little bias

breakfast

moving the plastic off the table (in this case much worn out placemats)


lunch

and replacing it with something homemade. heavy linen and trim choices by the girls. very simple project. which i needed right now.

i finally got around to making my own bias tape for these. i have been wanting to do this for so long. warning - i found it quite addictive. watch out for more... (this tool made it a cinch!)

noodlin'

just kicking back and enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation.

hope you are too!

(while sitting buy the pool we have started to re-discuss buying a second vehicle. would love your input. more info over at sewgreen...)

have a great weekend!

birds of a feather

on my summer "done" list, i included the initiation of a friday happy hour / playdate group. so good. as our neighbourhood changes and new families move in the sense of community continues to grow. i am not the "creator" of the concept we are following. it began between a couple of neighbours, then combined with an idea another neighbour and i had been discussing. our concept was based on one i heard about happening in an eichler neighbourhood in orange county. the concept is that a flamingo on the front lawn indicates drinks being served. so as said neighbour and i kicked back our raspberry lemon drop we logged onto ebay and scored 8 sets of plastic flamingoes in a rainbow of colour combinations. (perfect for our colourful neighbourhood!) they are from the original don featherstone moulds created in 1957 (just 2 years after our homes had been constructed)- important to the mcm enthusiasts amongst us. the birds were distributed last night. as kids played. mango-tangoes were consumed. and good conversation and company made for a lovely evening.

happy weekend!

up for air

things are still hectic. thanks so much for your comment love and understanding!

a little retail therapy is helping too... i don't advocate it but sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

dreaming of projects to come...

total immersion

i am feeling completely overwhelmed this last week. an emergency at work has had me at the studio every day for the last 8 days for up to 12 hours. too much. out the door as my babes awake and back home in time to bathe them and cuddle them to sleep. i miss my kids so much. i have a newly confirmed resolve that i am not interested in a full-time job. (and so grateful for the situation i normally find myself in.) a new found respect for those women who choose to work full time plus outside the home. and a new compassion for those women who don't have the choice.

hanging out

a wonderful (but hot) weekend here in the southland. temps in the high 90s. perfect for trying out our new solar clothes drier! I had been going on to d about how much i wanted a clothesline. how perfect this climate is for it. he was a little apprehensive about having our skivvies hanging around the backyard, but after drying 3 loads of laundry in one day he was impressed. (that and the announcement from our 83 yr old neighbour that she has been married 53 yrs and has never owned a conventional clothes drier. 53 yrs of hanging it out on the line!)

of course the clothesline purchase was debated with my dear friend before i settled on make and model. sam and i are usually on the phone or email to each other at least once a day. (though we live in the same city we are at opposite ends - 30 miles - and about 30 degrees F apart.) we are usually conversing about various "mom" issues including separation anxiety; what kind of toothpaste the kids like best, and meets our requirements as well; where to find a kid-friendly restaurant near downtown; the pressure to have a huge blow out bday party for a child's 3rd birthday; and just how to raise socially and environmentally conscious kids, by example, on a budget. we decided a little while back to put down some of our "findings" on a blog. another way to keep our conversations going. at first it was just us, then a couple of others stumbled across it, and now we thought we would open it - hang it out there so to speak. please come by for a visit. we would love to hear your comments and suggestions on what is on our minds. you can find us here at www.twogreenchickens.blogspot.com.

happy monday!

what i have done on my summer vacation (so far)

1. travelled home.
2. fell in love again.
3. found out that i am not alone in this love. (listen to "brandon")
4. missed a tornado.
5. helped make a tornado.
6. admired our new front door. (oh d i do love it so!)

7. dug in the dirt.
8. began a neighbourhood friday happy hour / playdate group. (mmmm raspberry lemon drops.)
9. started some neighbourhood co-op childcare.
10. realized i am happiest at home with a house full of kids.
11. taken to cooking and eating dinner outside in our swimsuits.
12. slowed down.

to be continued...

what have you been up to?

tech assistance

any blogger users out there who can tell me how to get "jumilla bugs" to disappear at the top of this page?

thanks!

found it! thanks a!

peace

thank you all. it really means so much.

i am feeling at peace. sorting through photos of our recent trip. and working on new projects. all good. more soon!

::

thanks for all your support and understanding.

flickr has apparently closed down the perpetrator's account. thank you flickr.

for those of you asking, i was made aware of this by another flickr user - a professional portrait photographer specializing in kid and family portraits - who noticed a lot of pics being "favourited" by this particular user. on further investigation it was found that hundreds of photos of young girls had been favourited by this user, and looking at them it was clear that the intention was not a good one. (most were of young girls at the beach.) the photo of one my girls was among them.

i highly recommend you to make all photos of your children open to friends and family only. and to check into any being "favourited" by someone you don't know. because you just don't know.

i am going to close things down here for a while. this has all really thrown me off. not sure what i want to do. i know you will understand. thanks again.

sick

i just received an email linking me a flickr user who had favourited a pic of one of the girls. this person is clearly NOT the kind of person i would want to have looking at pics of my kids. i thought i had kept photos of the girls private but somehow this one missed out and fell into the hands of someone unwelcome. i have blocked the person, and rechecked that all pics of the kids are private, but i remind you all that the bigger flickr (and internet) world isn't as kind and safe as the little piece we frequent...

home {sweet} home

you can take the girl out of the prairie.
but you can't take the prairie out of the girl.

we are
back home in california.
after a wonderful 10 days
back home in manitoba.

more soon...

we are off

the girls and i

to visit my mom

in manitoba

amongst the sunflowers

so excited

canada day at home!

see you in 2 weeks

all 2gether now :: mazel tov!

my mother-in-law, sarah, was bat mitzvah-d yesterday. everytime i told anyone of this, they looked at me quizically, and asked "why?". she alluded that it was because the rabbi asked her to. but i look at this,



and see a whole bunch of reasons.

we love you bubbie. we feel so blessed to have been part of your very special day. so much love...

happy birthday to you

really, 1963?

love you.

that was then / this is now

:: then ::
first day of kindergarten
awake at 5:30
out the door at 8:30
giddy excitement (her)
nervous excitement (me)
lots of hand squeezing (with her sister)
shy smiles (to new friends)
hoping we were right
trying to hold on
trying to let go

:: now ::
last day of kindergarten
awake at 6:30
out the door at 7:40
nervous excitement (her)
giddy excitement (me)
lots of hand squeezing (with her friends)
confident smiles (to her sister)
knowing we were right
trying to hold on
trying to let go


school's out for summer

mellow yellow

off to palm springs for the weekend. plan on sitting by the pool. and finishing up a very good read.

wishing all a lovely weekend. hug your dad for me. i will be thinking of mine...

she's with the band

on our recent trip up to berkeley our dear friend was holding her hair back with the cutest batik hairband. on closer inspection i realized it wouldn't be hard to make. then on a trip to doe, we spotted the same kind of thing again. of course i had to try and replicate it as soon as i had the time. (i unfortunately can't recall who made the ones at doe? anyone? they were made with great japanese prints...)

here is what i came up with...



i used some heather ross fabric that i have been holding onto too long, and some orange bandana print left over from the bday party goodie bags. the band was simply glued on to the two coordinating strips of fabric sewn together. the ends were finished by gluing on another strip. pretty glue-y, i know - but it was quick, easy, and the girls love them.


yes - i photographed this one in the tub. i thought it would be a place where i could get her to sit still. but apparently not for long...



happy tuesday! oops! i mean wednesday! yes it is that kinda week

0 - 1 - 2 - 3

veni


vedi


veci


happy birthday little bug xo

a few more pics here...

pool's open

here we go...



have a great weekend!

a peek

after seeing steph's and fanja's homes blogged, i thought i'd try showing off d's handywork. i am so proud of all he has done to make our house our home.

they bit. you can check out the cookiemag.com post here.

had a very nice weekend. conspiring with my best l.a. gal. and eating too many cupcakes. oh and the pool is officially open. (yes - i will be boring you with too many pool shots again soon!)

happy june!

hmmm... you are always such a great resource - wondering if anyone out there has ever grown their own loofah?? thanks!

cooped up

so as we trounced around berkeley our friends were anxious to show us this...



we have been dreaming up chicken coop designs down here. at first i was going to bite the bullet and invest in one of these (i do think they look great, and the coop itself isn't that much for what you get)- but then the shipping knocked me down (half the price of the coop itself!?) and we decided to put pencil to paper and do it ourselves. (steph's truck is still the winner for me so far.)

are there any coops in your neighbourhood you could share?

happy (can it really already be!) thursday!

friends&neighbours

we had such a good weekend up in the bay area. walked and talked and looked and laughed {and froze!} and ate apple tart by candlelight.

i have often gone on about how blessed i feel to live in a neighbourhood that really does feel like a neighbourhood. we know our neighbours. and are very close to quite a few of them. none more so than those who departed our little block for a big adventure earlier this year. man we miss them. and it was decided that wherever life takes us - no matter how far apart {geographically} we may roam - we will always be neighbours. {and hey we may end up living on the same street again!}

see you soon, neighbours. xo

on our way out

thanks for all the cozy love. and chook support! and cleanser advice... all so good!

i am suffering from a long week and a head cold. trying to get everything done at work so we can head up to sf on friday guilt free! so looking forward to a little get-away. and catching up with friends we miss so much. and of course seeing these and more "live"! and a much anticipated breakfast at kate's kitchen. (breakfast is my favourite meal for eating out, you know.)

have a wonderful long weekend everyone! see you next tuesday!

oh! and happy world turtle day! giselle's new digs are almost ready.

something up my sleeve

or
because i was tired of luke-warm coffee...

d is up at 5:30 each morning. the girls and i follow at 6:30 - as he heads out the door. (we leave the house by 7:40 for our walk to school.) he is sweet enough to leave me a cup of coffee in the press, but by the time it makes it to my favourite mug, it is cooler than i like it.

voila.



a lot like this.

bits of fabric are from stephanie. and buttons from melissa. (thanks again!)

another view here.

::

because i know these beauties are sitting on my work {dining} table at home, wilting in the muggy heat, while i am here working in the foggy cold. los angeles is a city of variant climate pockets...

thanks stacy, and sam. they are so beautiful...

and i am hoping for some guidance. what do you wash your face with? i have used cetaphil for yrs - happily - but am looking for something "better"... thanks!

de-lovely

perfect weekend. good food and good friends and good family too.

love watching the girls all get together.

and my mother-in-law arrived with these lovely gems in hand for me. i have not-so-secretly coveted them for some time. now i smile with each opening of our cupboard. thanks bubbe!



and as you may have picked up from the changes on our reading list, it also looks like we are going to be chook-keepers! our neighbour's hen just had 4 chicks and they would like to pass on 2 to us. e and k are thrilled. they are lovely little bantams and i think i too am excited. i think. anyone with chickens out there? any advice?

happy tuesday. (already?)

friday

though there is a lot of good stuff going on i feel quiet. i can think of a lot i could say - i just can't seem to organize it. all is good. all is busy - in the best kind of way. enjoying the stretch of summer days. and looking forward to a weekend of hanging around the house. perhaps venturing out to the annual turtle and tortoise show. and being with moms and grandmoms...

enjoy! happy mothers' day!

Corners of Our Home 25

more work on the front entrance



trying to establish a courtyard feel - and provide the front of the house with a bit more privacy. (another view here.)

it ties in with the fence d put in front of the carport.

playing a lot of catch-up this week. hope to be working in the garden all weekend long...

enjoy yours!

talking about my toes, over at sew green!

::these are a few of my favourite things ::

::swimsuit weather (but not too hot)::
::dog sitting our favorite pups::
::big sister reading to little sister::
::growing strawberries::
::garden ideas in the new issue of domino::
::listening to sarah polley talk about alice munro and julie christie::
::toothless grins::
::possibility::
::140 people working on our neighborhood school on sunday::

we brought in the most volunteers of any school in our area. for my friends and family who have helped me and stood by me while we realized bigsunday - thank you. especially to you d. it was an amazing day and in no small way that was because i had you by my side. anything is possible if you believe!

l o n g weekend coming

busy plans underway for bigsunday. (los angeles' day of community service.) just wanted to pop my nose in. or out. which way is it?

will be back soon.



(will be back sooner over here!)

i ♥

the sfv


i ♥ that you can go from here


to here


(on the orange line)

take good care of the earth. everyday.

a list of things we all can do.

Corners of My (Dream) Home(s) 2

when things move too quickly

when the world seems a bit too scary

when i crave some peace and some calm

i dream of this place



i know nothing about it. though have spent many days at the beach gazing at it. it is built on a tiny island off the coast of my favorite place on earth. off the grid. only accessible by boat. and perfect. to me. and my imagination. {can you see it?}

it has been a week where i am dreaming of this place. a lot.

up and down

full weekend. planting in the garden, birthday party in the park and preparations. (of the irs inclination.)

but at least a little time with my sewing machine.



(albeit not exactly what i wanted to sew...)

2006 was the year of the apron and cookbook.
2007 looks to be of the backpack and crayon roll.



how was your weekend?

Corners of Our Home 24

the wall of the patio off our bedroom where i want that vine to go