She wanted to see sharks for her birthday. To go to an aquarium. So we packed up and headed to the Twin Cities for three days of swimming, adventuring, and city exploring. I hung her birthday banner across our hotel room and cooked her favorite breakfast in a slow cooker by the sink. We went to the zoo, had Ethiopian food, and enjoyed the contrast that the city provides to our quiet everyday. We had a blast.

The day after we returned home three of her "fanciest" friends came over for a small, simple party. We dyed playsilks together and for party favors the children took them home along with glass jars of homemade play dough, the recipe to make more, and the thrift-store fancy tea cups that Lupine had picked out for each girl.

It was lovely. (And I can't say enough about the small guest list. Three is a great number of guests – for a four-year-old or a forty-year-old.)

As for my bold and straghtforward gift requests (talked about here), I'm so happy I mustered the courage to ask. The things she received were perfect and will be enjoyed for a long time. Glitter, sequins, and ribbons from one friend, a handmade bracelet from another, and the girl who brought Lupine a Barbie doll last year (when I did not muster the courage to ask for specific gifts) brought her a bag of crafty treasures from her own collections – feathers, pipe cleaners, glitter glue, stickers, and all kinds of other magic. Perfect.

And today? We will rest. It's been a joy-filled and busy week.

When I was pregnant we called her "Baby Bluebird". Lupine Bluebird. My second born. My girl. Born at the right time to reap the rewards of all that we learned so far. Born at home, like her brother, but into a much different world.

Born to a more confident mother.

A more experienced mother. 

A mother free of the worry that had clouded and haunted her first steps into motherhood.

Born to a mom and dad who were ready to embrace life as four, rather than worried that they might get it wrong.

During my pregnancy Lupine was a glowing, swirling, ball of light in my belly. Happiness incarnate, shining out from inside of me. Magical in every way. Pure joy! Reflecting back, I remember that time so clearly now…

We had just moved. I was very pregnant and our house was very… wallpapered. We stripped paper and painted and stripped paper and painted some more. My due date came and went. A week. Still painting. Just a few. More. Rooms.

We had taken on a house-mate for the season, the brother of a friend. Caleb, in need of a place to stay and us, new to Viroqua feeling very open and full of community spirit. So we took him in. The fact that I was planning a homebirth with someone else living in my house didn't phase me a bit for some reason. He was (and is) a great cook and was a welcome addition for the time (and he made the best peanut butter cookies I had ever tasted).

Caleb said to Pete one night (long after my due date had quietly passed), "It's time to put away the to-do list. It will never be done, so call it done enough. Let this baby come."

I took his words to heart. We finished painting one more room while I mulled over the wisdom of what he had said. And then on November 9th I put Sage to bed, still thinking over what he had told us. "Okay," I thought. "It's done enough."

And into the darkness of Sage's bedroom I said softly aloud, "Okay, Baby Bluebird. We're ready for you now. You can come when ever you're ready."

A moment later I added in my head, "And Caleb, I could really use some peanut butter cookies."

Sage was asleep. I extracted 9 month-and-ten-days pregnant body from his bed and headed towards the kitchen. As I walked into the room Caleb, standing at the counter, turned to face me. "I'm making peanut butter cookies," he said. "Want some?"

I smiled. "Of course you are and of yes I do. And if you heard that request shot out into the universe, I think I'm having a baby tonight."

Two hours later my labor began.

As the first light broke the following morning and the first snowfall of the year began to fall, Lupine was ready. She was born before the warm fire in our family room into the warm and welcoming waters of our birth pool and the warm and loving arms of Family. As we birthed I felt all the stars in the universe streaming in through my crown, down through my core, and into her. Like a endless wide river. Her soul came in as she came out. It was peaceful, magical, and unforgettable.

Five years ago. Five magical years.

I love you Lupine Bluebird Wolf. You are magic. You are determination. You are joy and laughter and stardust. You are my girl. Thank you for choosing me to be your mama. Happy birthday, Baby Bluebird.

P.S. Thanks you to Gretchen, Erin, Pete, and Ina for the blessing you brought that snowing day. And to Caleb for the perfectly timed cookies and good advice. Love to all.

October is time for…

Harvesting and carving pumpkins. Every year we have volunteer pumpkin plants that spring up (this year in the asparagus bed) and provide us with plenty of pumpkins to carve.

Knitting. Constantly. Obsessively. Neurotically. In my knitting basket is Lupine's birthday sweater, my second arm warmer, a dress for our favorite Waldorf baby, and more – with Sage and Pete's sweaters on deck for the coming weeks.

Making live-fermented veggies to last us through the winter. Sauerkraut, gingered carrots, kim chi, cordito, and more. These are among my favorite foods and are on our table every day. (I use Sandor Katz's formula for ferments, though I don't follow a proper recipe anymore.)

Bringing out the bin of hand knits to handwash and lay out to dry the mittens, hats, sweaters, and slippers. These knits are such a simple pleasure for me. Some were knit by my grandma, others by me. I treasure them.

Putting the summer garden to bed. And the canning supplies. We're done! Time to count the jars. This was a great first canning year.

Putting the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes. So fun.

As we look ahead to Halloween I wanted to share with you a favorite magical tradition in our home: the Pumpkin Fairy. I was introduced to the Pumpkin Fairy by one of my most magical friends several years ago. And I was so glad we were.The Pumpkin Fairy is wonderful.

You see, I was always a little sketchy on keeping all that sugar from Halloween around the house. It's not what I wanted my kids to eat, yet I didn't want to be the heavy and swoop in and swipe their candy on November 1. Hello, rock. Hello, hard place. And then the Pumpkin Fairy swooped in on an autumn wind and saved the day.

The Pumpkin Fairy arrives by invitation to transform your Halloween treats into a wonderful, simple gift. (If she's never come before it's only because you didn't invite her before.) To invite her to your home is simple. Your child first selects the candy you will give her and put it out in a basket, covered with a cloth or silk. (Sometimes it is easier to choose a few to keep and put the rest out for the fairy.)

By morning the Pumpkin Fairy has come and transformed the candy into something lovely, akin to what you might find in our spring baskets. Around here the size of the gift is determined by how much candy they give, as an incentive to give it all. The Pumpkin Fairy has brought crystals, craft supplies, small handmade toys, and a special fall book. 

So there you go. That's how we do it around here.

(P.S. I'm closing down my Etsy shop for a while and have everything 20% off with the coupon code PUMPKINFAIRY if it is of interest to you. There are a couple of toddler Waldorf dolls, an upcycled shoulder bag, and a soft woolen hat.) 

How was your Easter? Ours – which is simply our Spring Celebration held a few weeks late to dodge the usual un-spring-like snow – was nothing short of magical. It always is.

There was the Easter Bunny hiding baskets, the magical egg hunt out in the yard, and our adored Wish Bunny's appearance during the egg hunt (more on that later). Oh, yeah. Our spring celebration is loaded with magic.

We're magic junkies I guess. A spring celebration with not one but two magical rabbits is the giveaway. At other times of year you'll find us welcoming Santa Claus, Saint Nick, and the Tooth Fairy. Even the Winter Solstice Elves, the Pumpkin Fairy, and the Rhyme Elves. We're almost always entertaining folks from other realms over here.

 We made a conscious choice when Sage was a baby to keep the magic alive and to invite all of these mystical folks into our world with each season. I know parents who have opted against this form of magic in childhood. They take the honest road with their kids, and don't participate in the customs that surround these myths. I was almost one of them. Years ago I argued that "magic" was just a friendly word for "lying" to your kids. Why on earth would I lie to my kids?

Because, I discovered, the magic of childhood sparks the imagination of the child in a way that nothing else can.

Children are born into magic. They live in a creative, imaginative world where anything is possible. The magic we allow into our customs helps to show our children that yes, anything is possible. Imagine it and it will be yours. Magic helps children be carefree – as they are supposed to be – and lets them dance in the joy of what only they can see.

Magic is vital. 

In case you are curious yesterday's magic went something like this at our home: To celebrate the equinox the children woke with the sun and searched the house for their baskets, hidden in the night by the bunny. (As I talked about here, the treasures we put in our baskets are simple, natural, and modest. Yesterday Sage and Lupine found this items pictured above plus some a couple of fruit leathers, and honey sticks. They were beside themselves with happiness and played with the dolls all day long.)

We set the nature table to resemble an egg hunt and later in the morning (after the eggs magically appeared) we enjoyed that search as well – the highlight of the day for us all.

The final bit of spring magic happens during the hunt at our house with the appearance of the Wish Bunny. There is only one Wish Bunny to be found, hidden somewhere in the yard. She use to be made of chocolate but these days she has transformed into a great big needle felted rabbit. When one of the children stumbles upon her everyone gathers around and the kids offer her something from each of their baskets – a thank you or offering of sorts to bring giving (as well as receiving) into the day. Then they whisper a wish in her ear and accept a treat that she has brought with her (yesterday she brought lemon-almond cookies that were ridiculously good).

Sage absolutely lives for the Wish Bunny. He says that he can hear her talking in his head when he talks to her.

My boy believes in magic to a degree that makes me believe too. Because really, I do. There is magic everywhere if we slow down enough to feel it. But I believe in magic in an adult abstract way that I could never explain adequately to Sage or Lupine. Not half as well as the Wish Bunny can.

Would I readily trade all of this wonder for "mom and dad hid the eggs and baskets" or "mama made the dolls and the bunny?" Not in a million years. Magic belongs in childhood and I will be the last person to try to break that spell.

Hello, thirty-eight. So nice to meet you. I expect we'll be having some great times together.

I've never been one to fret over birthdays. Over getting older. As a precocious teenager I would say "Age is irrelevant." because I chose to spend my time with people significantly older than me. But really, here at 38 I feel the same way.

Birthdays, in my opinion are the best possible moment of the year. It's the Me Celebration all day long. Not to be conceited, but what could more fun than that? I get to choose my favorite meals, and someone else cooks them for me. I get to pick dessert and people sing and cheer before I cut the first slice. It's fun. That's all there is to it. Truth be told I feel the same way about other people's birthdays (especially my children's) and look forward to the magic all year long.

When Pete asked me what I wanted for my birthday I said "I want to be the queen for an entire day." And I was. I took a bath and no one came in to the bathroom (or the tub, like normally happens before I am through). No one even knocked on the door or asked me a question through the key hole. Those of you who are not mothers can not possible understand how this twenty minutes alone may have, quite possibly, been the best gift I received all day.

There were of course other more tangible gifts as well. Like these feather earrings from Sage. Pete and I found four yellow shafted flicker feathers on a hike/date last week. Sage asked to have two for a gift he was making. He made me earrings. They are pretty rockin'.

Here are a few sweet moments from my birthday weekend.

There was a snow storm on Friday night that continued into Saturday. (I was born in a blizzard in 1973, so snow is always possible on my day.) So the kids and I snuggled down in the house and planted a few more seeds in our flats, played our favorite board game (Lupine's and mine anyway), and drank pot after pot of nettle chai. Pete in the meantime was in the garage, power tools humming, making something until late into the night.

I nearly slept in on my birthday, Sunday, and was finally awakened by the kids who just couldn't contain their excitement for another minute and piled back into bed, smothering me with birthday love. 

Before breakfast I received some amazing handmade gifts: paintings and "ornaments" on earring hooks from Lu, three pairs of earrings from Sage, and a stunning cedar potting bench from Pete. I spent hours on the couch knitting – and then ripping out – a hat for Pete's upcoming fishing trip, I hand sewed on a quilting project, and I read the kids a dozen books. Then the sun broke through, the snow melted, and we headed off on a walk and for some time in the garden.

After a key lime pie we tucked the kids into bed and Pete and I took a soak in the hot tub before bed. (We have this chemical free type. We built it from a kit when Sage was a little guy. And yes, we love it.)

All in all?

A perfect birthday. Thanks, Pete for pulling it off. You rocked it. I really was the queen for the whole day.

P.S. I will bring you chapter 1 of Simplicity Parenting later in the week!

All this talk of simplification had me in a mini-pickle about our spring baskets. What to do? We normally keep it pretty simple, but even "pretty simple" seems a bit obscene to me right now.

Really. How many sweet little knitted/felted/wooden do-dads do my people need these days (or even want)? Very few. Just last night in bed they were discussing how the most precious things from their Christmas stockings were new wool socks for Sage and new undies for Lupine. They had pretty much forgotten about the rest.

How do we normally celebrate spring? In past years the kids have each received a basket containing a couple of simple toys (wooden figurines, knitted animals, small games, modeling wax, etc.), some chocolates, some organic jelly beans, and other accouterments. We also do an egg hunt with both dyed eggs and treat eggs.

That feels so big to me right now with the simplification journey we are on and the realization that they thrive with less stuff – not more. So we're pulling back. I've decided to ease gently into a more simplistic approach beginning this season. This year the gifts and treats will be more modest but we'll still have plenty of magic. The trend of less will continue through our future celebrations.

Simple Spring Basket Ideas

My goal this year for my family is to have baskets without extra "stuff" that we have to figure out what to do with after the holiday. We have more than enough playthings, but maybe something fun/practical will be included. Some suggestions for sweet and simple spring baskets are below. It is a long list and I'm not proposing anyone do it all. But I suspect there is something on that list for everyone. Simple, natural, – often handmade and always magical – celebration ideas.

Easter "Grass" – Follow Lupine's lead in the photo above and use an existing (or gift a new) playsilk. We dip into our silk basket each year and decorate our baskets, adding plenty of ribbons and trims. (This buys us time while the easter bunny places eggs around our yard.)

Homemade Tea Bags – We love tea. It is a part of our everyday and the kids have their own favorites. I decided that some homemade tea bags would be more magical than store-bought and would pack a bigger "wow" punch in their spring baskets.

Making the Teabags: I cut some unbleached cotton muslin into squares, zig-zagged three sides (I used pastel rainbow thread), added a few pinches of loose herbal tea, and stitched the top shut with a piece of ribbon peeking out. I'll add a little felt tab to the ribbon soon.

To keep from having bits of muslin in your tea, do as I say and not as I do: cut with straight shears rather than pinking. As a side bonus, yours will look less like ravioli and more like tea bags. Muslin is compostable, so if your ribbon is wool or cotton the whole thing can end up in the garden after tea time. 

Candle – A simple beeswax candle can be so special for a child. Placed in a glass cup it can brighten your dinner table or bedtime and be a good place to share wishes before sleep. Having your own candle feels very grown up.

Play-dough – Make a single batch, divide, and dye several spring-y colors. Scent with essential oils if you are inspired. Package in little wax bags.

Practical Gifts – What do your little ones "need" this season that they would also love? Something you might make or purchase anyway. A kitchen apron? A new sunhat? A fancy headband? A shopping bag for helping out with groceries? Sew something up! That's my plan. I have a boy's hat cut out and ready to sew (below) and a girlie headband in the works.

Seeds – Every year we include seeds. My favorite spring basket addition! (That would explain our garden last summer. Ahem.)

Non-Sugar Treats – Yes, honey is sugar. Yes, fruit is sugar. By non-sugar I mean non refined (white or otherwise) sugar. We are on the GAPS diet so there will be no chocolate bunnies or jelly beans this year. But there will be other special treats and sweets. Some refined sugar-free ideas include: honey sticks, honeyed nuts, un-sugared dried mango, date balls, tiny cut out cookies (gluten-free or otherwise), roasted nuts, and homemade coconut macaroons. Just a bit of sweets, but enough to feel like a very special day.

Book – Each child will be receiving a special spring book this year. Favorite spring books around here include The Story of the Root Children, When the Root Children Wake Up, Children of the Forest, The Tale of Tiptoes Lightly, and Spring (by Gerda Muller).

Nature Table Items: A wool bunny, some felted robin's eggs, a fabric daffodil, a spring pipecleaner fairy, or a little woolen lamb can all be tucked away on the nature table after the holiday.

What about the plastic eggs, you ask? Yesterday I shared our wool felt egg turorial, and next week I will share our method for making fillable/reusable paper mache eggs with you (see below). No more plastic! Woo hoo!

And what to put into said eggs of any description? Here are some suggestions to get thinking beyond the jelly bean bag:

• Crystals
• Sea shells
• tiny treats (dried blueberries, sour cherries, homemade fruit leather cut into flower shapes, and roasted nuts will be in ours this year. But in years past we'd tuck in a single chocolate chip and the kids would go wild. They are easy to please.)
• Beads
•  Poem: Transfer a spring poem (original or borrowed from a book) onto a rainbow watercolor painting. Cut into strips. Roll up the little scrolls and hide in eggs. Then put the poem together as a family later in the morning.
• Wooden peg people
• Magical notes or simple drawings: bunnies, flowers, etc.
• Tiny packets of seeds: open a flower or vegetable seed packet, select out a few, and make a tiny folded paper envelope out of parchment paper. Insert a simple pencil drawing of the plant: a flower, a tomato, etc.

Choose an item (or two… or six) from the list above. Then keep it simple and keep it fun. So much of what we create for a children is about the experience – the joy of the moment and the magic of it all. It is not about the stuff in their basket at the end of the day or the sugar buzz they rode along the way.

Take it easy, and have fun – together. Happy, magical, simple spring to you!