We celebrated our first May Day today.  Being a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, it signifies the peak of spring, and the forthcoming summer.  We joined together for flower crafting, singing, dancing, playing and feasting.  Enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, as many many before us have.  Celebrating community and a shared belief that we are all connected to each other as well as the earth.

This was our first outing to meet some local homeschoolers and they were all very friendly and welcoming.  Through a stroke of pleasant irony, The Boy’s previous First Grade teacher just happened to bring her son to the playground while we were there.  It was nice to see her (pregnant!) and fill her in on how it’s going.  It somehow seemed like a nice closure to school.  One thing I was really concerned about when The Boy left school was the loss of community.  Once we were gone, it seemed barely noticeable, and now it seems like a non-issue.

The Girl was very excited about the maypole, having watched several maypole dances online.  As we gathered to watch the experienced maypole dancers show us how it was done, she began to cry because she wanted so badly to join. Her turn came soon enough and she was delighted.

For the feast, I brought gluten free pasta with pesto and a gluten free lemon cake (with mini maypole!). The feast was delicious and I have to say that there once was a time that I disliked the potluck and having now enjoyed so many great ones, now I love it!  Not only is it enjoyable to build community through food, but what a treat to enjoy so many new dishes!

It was a lovely, inspiring day all around.

I love the springtime.  It’s my favorite season here in Florida, and it can be fleeting.  I love the whole spring holiday aesthetic: pastel colors, birdies, eggs.  What’s not to love about that?  I vowed to not let the holiday sneak up on me this year but it did anyway.  It seems that every year we are sick in the weeks leading up to it.  I don’t know why I am surprised that it happened again this year.  But every year I let go of a bit more and every year I am happier with our celebration.  I did not make The Girl’s dress this year, and I did very little crafting for basket stuffers.

And it seems I’m the only mama on the planet who didn’t make her own plant-based egg dyes.  Every year I want to and every year I don’t.  But I’m okay with that.  I have to be honest that I love the bright colors of the food coloring, but next year I swear I will make the natural dyes.

I did manage to make Not Martha’s Surprise Eggs which were a lot of fun.  The kids loved them. They are filled with chocolate, jelly beans, temporary tattoos, stickers, and a pipe cleaner chick.  These were seriously fun and with splitting up the tasks over several days, they were fairly easy to make.

I also managed to make some fresh butter while on the phone with The Bird. How’s that for pioneer woman productivity?

I made the same meal that I always do (except the salmon) and this year I made a gluten free lemon cake because The Bird planted the idea of lemon cake in my head and I couldn’t get it out. With cake flags, of course.

Hopefully next year I will actually get my act together early instead of just thinking about it.  I’ll admit that I’m still trying to find my rhythm as far as having both kids at home and working school into the day.  Watching the holiday come and go so quickly made me contemplate starting winter solstice gifts now.  Seriously.

This year I had real help from The Girl.  The Boy did help a bit, then wandered off to build Lego.

I very carefully wrapped the gingerbread house, and we brought it with us to New York.  Miraculously, it survived the trip without so much as a crumb displaced.

I think I will have to bring our gingerbread house to New York every year for a photo shoot.  It looks so much more festive surrounded by snow.

The kids are allowed to devour as much of the house as they can on Christmas Day, but somehow I forgot to give them the go-ahead.  So the next day, while snow fell outside, the kids dug in.

The frosting held up so well that The Girl couldn’t even manage to break a piece off.

Finally her patience was rewarded.  How sweet it is!

Sadly, the snow did not taste like sugar, as the children were expecting.

Not enough for snow angels, but he sure did try.

The weather forecast says we may get some more snow early next week, and we are really hoping it happens!

Since our children have never seen snow (and The Daddy Monkey and I haven’t seen it in thirty years) we decided to take them to New York for Christmas.  Everyone said that we would probably not see snow this early in winter, but we were optimistic.

We saw our first snow in Virginia, and it was so beautiful!  Unfortunately, we were moving so fast that I didn’t really get any great photos.

After two full days in the car we arrived.  I was not that enthusiastic about taking the kids on a road rip, but they did remarkably well.

And did we ever get lucky! It’s not alot, but it’s SNOW!

This year, we decided to put together a farm set for The Girl.  This is the second batch of wooden animals that The Daddy Monkey and I have made, and they are fun and easy to make. I’m very proud of these because the designs are entirely my own.  I’m especially fond of the dog, even though somehow his scale got all messed up and he stands as tall as the cow!

barn photo by Finns and Flowers

To go with the animals, my mother and I split the cost of this beautiful handmade wooden barn, made by Finns and Flowers on Etsy. I couldn’t be happier with it.  It is gorgeous.  My father bought this cart from The Wooden Wagon to go with the horse, for pulling loads of hay and oats, of course!

I’ve really simplified our gift giving this year, and I’m so thrilled to be giving my Girl this set which was made by the loving hands of true craftspersons (and her parents!).  Along with the usual holiday messages of goodwill to your fellow humans, gratitude, and peace, I feel it’s important to show my children that we can create things on our own, without going to the store.  That items made by the hands of real humans do indeed have great value.  And that it’s nice to have playthings made of natural materials that will last a very, very long time and not end up in a landfill.  Perhaps that is the greatest gift of all.

Years later, the memory of Horsey still alive and well, Babci gave me the pattern for Horsey, along with the materials to make a brand new one, identical to the original.  The Daddy Monkey and I were very young, and freshly married with little money.  I don’t remember for what occasion I made Horsey, but I did, and he was well received by a fully grown man.  He still roams our house; sometimes in our home office with The Daddy, sometimes finding his way into the kids’ room.  He’s starting to get a bit worn and loved himself.

Remembering that last year’s kitty has become The Boy’s most beloved stuffed animal (“because he’s filled with your love, Mom”), I knew it was time to make him a friend. Using the Original Horsey as my inspiration, I set out to make a new one.  This one is made from an old wool sweater of mine that I felted in the wash.  The mane and tail are from the infamous yarn stash, and the button eyes and wool stuffing were from my stash.

Of all the stuffed animals I have made over the years, and there have been many, this new Horsey has to be by far my favorite.  All of the components–the colors, the softness of the fabric, the perfect squishyness of the stuffing, the warmth of the wool, and his sweet, sweet face–combine to make the perfect Horsey.  I simply cannot stop touching and admiring The New Horsey.

Hopefully the New Horsey and the Old Horsey can be friends.  I would hate for the Old Horsey to think he’s being replaced.

In the days leading up to today, we have been reading Christine Natale’s Saint Nicholas stories which can be found here on the stnicholascenter.org website.  Last night before bed, I asked The Boy if he thought Saint Nicholas might visit us if we left some shoes by the door.  He was excited about the idea, so we left a pair of wooden clogs on our nature table which sits next to the front door to our home.

In the morning, they found each shoe filled with a fruit leather, chocolate coins, a tiny stuffed animal, a golden nut, and a tangerine.  The Boy also had a hunk of pyrite and a wooden knitting tower (with wool yarn), and The Girl had an amethyst crystal, and crystal beads (to make a necklace with later).  The Boy was so excited that he said, “I’m going to write Saint Nicholas a thank you letter!” And let me assure you that The Boy does not want to write anything ever.  The Girl shouted, “I LOVE Saint Nicholas!”

And as if by some kind of Christmas miracle, it was downright cold this morning.  It is so much easier for me to get into the holiday spirit when it’s not 80 degrees outside.  We stayed inside most of the day, baking cookies and learning about how Christmas is celebrated all over the world.

A little about our treats: the meaning of the golden nut and the tangerine are in Ms. Natale’s stories.  The golden nuts were made by rubbing a walnut with cooking oil, then with edible gold luster dust that I used to use back in my chocolate making days.  The stuffed animals are from Ikea.  The wooden clogs were picked up at the Goodwill for $4.  Since they were painted with hideous windmills and said “Holland” on them, I stripped and sanded them back to their original lovely condition.

In Amanda’s words: This Moment – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Friends and family from far and wide, old and new, came together to celebrate life.

We ate.

We played.

We celebrated while my handmade papel picado banners flapped overhead.

Ever present, the ofrenda (shrine) sat nearby, laden with fresh fruit, handmade sugar skulls, corn, candles, copal incense, pan de muertos, salt, water, marigolds, and the photos of many departed loved ones.

Dia de los Muertos is a special day to me, and I am so honored that my friends and family joined me to celebrate those who have come before us. It’s a party I will never forget.

A very special thank you to Nathan and Camille Pyatte, our talented photographers.  You can find their work at pyattestudios.com.