A very Happy Mother’s Day to all of you Enchanted Mamas. You make every day fascinating, and the world a better place.
Screaming and Yelling, by Maurice Sendak
When everybody screams and yells
Who calms them down?
Who rings their bells?
When everybody screams and yells?
The enchanted one. That’s me.
When everybody screams and yells,
There’s nothing to do!… Continue reading
The winter holidays have now passed. My boys decorated gingerbread houses sometime in November, and since that time they’ve served as holiday decorations. (You can read about all the reasons that making gingerbread houses are great learning fun HERE, and some things I learned as a parent HERE.) At this point, the houses have sat around for a couple of months and we’re ready to let them go.… Continue reading
When we told our boys that we were staying home over the holidays (see HERE), of course they were disappointed. Like my husband and I, they were looking forward to seeing their extended family as well as the celebrations that accompany the holidays. Since we changed plans at the last minute, we had no celebratory plans of our own, so we decided to do some new things to make the time special.… Continue reading
We were planning to take a road trip out to California to visit my family for Christmas. But between snowstorms in the mountains, sick relatives in CA, and our own exhaustion at year’s end, we decided we would be better off taking the opportunity to rest and spend time together here at home.
While we enjoy these big road trips (see HERE), we always come home exhausted; and often my boys have picked up a cold or other minor sickness while we’re on the road. … Continue reading
As we prepared to leave for my grandma’s house (see HERE), we got our first significant snow fall of the season. Some years we celebrate our first substantial snow by making Snow Ice Cream (recipe HERE) or make Maple Candy (recipe HERE). This year we celebrated by reading our favorite snow books.
I told my boys to pick out their favorite snow books, and they each came back with a huge stack. … Continue reading
While we were visiting/taking care of my grandmother (see HERE), we made our first pumpkin pie of the season. And it was delicious. Now that we’ve been reminded of how much we love pumpkin flavored treats, my boys are begging for more.
If you’re interested in making a simple, delicious Pumpkin Custard, which also happens to be grain-free, gluten-free, Paleo, and GAPS friendly, you can find my recipe HERE.… Continue reading
In case you’re looking for a last-minute, healthy, patriotic dessert idea, it’s hard to go wrong with an edible fresh fruit flag. It’s essentially a disassembled fruit salad. It tastes delicious, looks great, and is very easy to make.
We began the tradition of making an Edible Fresh Fruit Flag as part of our July 4th celebration two years ago. … Continue reading
I came across this New Year’s blessing from Neil Gaiman many years ago. I’ve always liked it. A year filled with magic, dreaming, good madness, fine books, kisses, personal passion, and a surprise sounds wonderful.
I add to this, may your year be full of love and kindness, to yourself, to those around you, and to all living beings.… Continue reading
This is the time of year when many people host an array of holiday gatherings for family, friends, and colleagues. It can be a lot of fun, but it can also result in a lot of waste.
Not only is there paper waste from gift wrapping that gets immediately discarded (you can find more sustainable package decorating suggestions HERE), but people frequently use disposable goods in order to lessen the work involved with hosting a party. … Continue reading
On this day, when we celebrate our country’s declaration of freedom from British rule, may we be thankful for our own freedom as well as be willing to defend the freedom of others.
Freedom of speech. Freedom to disagree. Freedom of expression. Freedom to object. Freedom of thought. Freedom of the press. Freedom to love. Freedom from corporate rule. … Continue reading