Tie Dye , Tie Dyes, Tie Dying

She now shares my infatuation with the tie dye. I can't have her model them for my product pictures anymore because she refuses to take them off.

Tie-Dying Fool

I have recently reunited with my dear old friend, the tie dye. I had forgotten how magical it is to open up all the beautiful things created the night before. The anticipation is delicious, and I'm really getting the hang of it. I have a sudden inspiration to market these things, so most of my time lately is focused on how to go about getting my stuff out there. Any suggestions are welcome!

Welcome Jiliana Sophia Ramos! 6/2/09

My new baby niece was born into this world early Tuesday morning! She was in such a hurry to be born that the midwives were still on their way! Truly amazing how birth happens whether you're ready or not. My sister is a hero of mine - so naturally cool about birth. All are well, although sleep deprived for sure. I can't wait to see who she is as she gets older and develops into a little person just like the rest of them are. Kind of makes me want to have another baby, but at the same time she is a reminder of what hard work a newborn is. I'll be happy to hold her and play with her and then hand her over when the day is done. She is beautiful and sweet. Another blessing for our quickly growing family :)

Our New Place

Frogs and salamanders, snakes, snails, and many other woodland friends keep us company at our new house in the woods. We have moved to a green, flowering, magical space where it feels great to step outside and breathe in the forest air. I have a clothesline. A garden. Woods to explore, and plenty of space to run around. It's truly amazing what a difference it makes to be in a place that suits you. I can't imagine not being here now. I see many memories taking place here - the good kind that you talk about when you grow older and look back. Summer never sounded so good!

Obi has a new job doing some modeling for my new Etsy shop. I'm now (hopefully) going to be selling my knitted goods in order to give me a good excuse to keep making them. Check it out!

http://twirlytoes.etsy.com

MORE PICTURES OF THE SHOW

Uncle Rhombus

This is a picture from last night at the Park Theater. Josh's band, Uncle Rhombus, played an amazing set opening up for THAT 1 GUY who, by the way, everyone should check out (find video below). I finally got out of the house for much needed drinks with very good friends. I forgot how therapeutic it is to have a night out on the town. I must make a habit of doing this more often.

Homeschooling on the Brain

So we're thinking of homeschooling Mazi, kind of decided on it already, but I'm not sure when to start. We get up every morning and start the whole thing : the groaning, the whining, the angry stomping around the house. Mazi drags her tired, ornery body out of bed and sits at the table, staring at her food until she's sat there too long and I have to get on her case about every 30 seconds. It's just not fun. She goes to school and I wonder what she's doing all day long as there is no explination that comes from her when I ask her later, "So what did you do today?". All I'll get for an answer is, "You know, the regular stuff....". I know she's learning, at least, but there's no wonder. No passion.

I guess I'm hoping somebody will come along and tell me that home school is the right thing to do for Mazi and I should start immediately with no worries. That's not going to happen though. I'm going to have to choose this one on my own, maybe against some people's beliefs, just like any other decision I've had to make for my children.

I ordered a book on homeschooling in hopes of getting some more inspiration. We'll see where things go from there!

Today

As this is my first post, I will catch everyone up on what's been going on.

We're living in a condo on a busy street in Holland, desperately looking for a more peaceful environment to raise our kids.

Josh is working for Cusack Music here in Holland. They are a guitar pedal manufacturer that also makes circuit boards for medical and lighting uses. Josh is the production manager and is at work most of the time, although he tries very hard to be home as much as possible.

I'm busy with the kids. Between cloth diapering, home-cooking, taking care of the house, keeping the babies from harming themselves and each other, doing a little bit of babysitting, carting Mazi around to school and her various classes, I'm not left with much time to do anything else. When there is a spare moment to myself, I have been really getting into knitting. Mostly stuff for the kids or Josh and myself, but I have sold a few things here and there. I'd like to knit more and make a small business for myself, but that will have to wait until I have a bit more time to work with.

Mazi is 8 now, in 3rd grade at Vanderbilt Charter Academy, a green belt in Sanchin Ryu Karate, and is a general smart-ass. She is doing very well in school, scoring off the charts while still getting in trouble for chatting WAY too much. We're thinking of homeschooling her starting this summer, and depending on how that goes she'll either go back to school or stay home with me. I'm still gathering info on this.

Piper is 21 months. She'll be 2 in May and it's crazy how fast that went. She's a tiny little thing that barely outweighs her baby brother. We're having a lot of fun listening to her learn new words every day and figuring out how to use language. Her newest saying is whenever you ask her something and she disagrees, she'll shout, "NOPE". It's really cute. She is also ridiculous, as all people this size are.

Oberon is almost 6 months old now, and is a very heavy, very squishy, baby boy. He is very content most of the time but is definitely more sensitive than the girls. We might have a mama's boy on our hands.

That's my world right now. I hope you all check back often to see what's going on. :)