Ballet Time

Mady started a ballet/tap class this fall. She loves her teacher Miss Lisa and I love watching her in her class. This school is affiliated with the royal academy of ballet in London so they really creative methods of teaching the little ones proper form. The waiting area is small and it is especially fun keeping the little man contained, one day I 'll take a picture of what the lobby looks like when he is done.
We have been keeping busy lately, Mady keeps telling me that she wants to do home school. She can write her name and most of the alphabet. She is smart as a whip, I have to explain everything in detail. We will see about the home school, we live in one of the best public school districts in the state. We'll see what God will do when the time comes.

Yard Sale

We had our yearly yard sale today. Yes, once of year we get rid of all of the junk that has been accumulating or all of the projects that never got finished and pile it all onto our driveway. I find that there are two kinds of people in this world those who don't like yard sales and those that do. I have always loved bargain hunting and searching for things that I can fix up and make new again. I equate myself to a pirate searching for gold in the vast sea of yard sales that take place on any given Saturday morning. I always find the best treasures burried under ugly paint or unpolished brass. I always take my first mate Mady with me, it's fun to watch her as she digs through chests of toys to find the one gems she can add to her artillary. And I am happy to oblige her as the cost of her new found treasure is usually under $1.00. We scour the coastal yard sales early and the hit the inland sales on our way home. Today however we gave our day to offering our lost treasures to those who would find a new one. We didn't do quite as well as we had hoped, we have been pretty good about getting rid of things lately. But it was great to talk to the neighbors and to interact with the people who came to shop. I actually was able to clip some of my jasmine for a muslim lady and talk to her and her husband about the Lord. So the Lord had his hand our day and rewarded me with a little less junk and a heart full of joy.

Summer is Here

Yesterday we went to the beach. It was such a beautiful day. I watched Mady running around splashing in the waves and shrilling with delight. Aslan also took his first turn in the water since he has been walking. Yes.. that's right he is walking now. He loved how the water would chase him up and down the beach. He reminded me of a little sandpiper scurring up away from the water only to run it down again. I love being with my children, they are so carefree. They remind me how to live a life of freedom one that is surrendered to the Lord.

My Daily Life- Trader Joe's

Part of the fun of our week is our weekly trip to Trader Joe's. Why is it fun? I know the weekly grocery shopping experience with two small children doesn't seem all that fun. However, we have come to experience the complete opposite. Trader Joe's is a unique blend of my hippie roots and my more refined adult life. Maybe refined isn't the right word but how do you say I like to drink red wine and eat exotic cheeses. They have good red wines for $5.00 and under. They have a lot of organic items like fruits and veggies as well as lots of organic grocery items, and a huge salad section. I love that they have such healthy snacks for the kids, we love Pirate Booty, and Veggie Chips, as well as hummus and carrots sticks. They really make feeding my kids nutritious food very easy. So back to the fun part, they have this game in the store called "Find the Monkey" They hid this stuffed monkey in obscure places in the store somewhere and the kiddos get to find him and get a prize. Mady thinks it's fun to try and look for the monkey while I am shopping and she is completely preoccupied with finding the monkey. Well not completely preoccupied, she is also trying to get me to buy this and that, and really likes to help mommy put things into the cart. But the monkey is a clever way I can divert her attention long enough to get past the cookies. And as for Aslan, he is perfectly happy to eat pirate booty and drink water the whole time. And of course smile and all the ladies that coo at him in the store, he always seems to get a lot of attention. And if she doesn't find the monkey she still gets a bunch a stickers or perhaps a balloon when we check out. Which leads me to the people who work at Trader Joe's, I think they must recruit them directly off of RatDog's latest tour run. These people are a eclectic bunch. I think it's a requirement to have some type of piercing, and a plus on their application if they have a tattoo of two. No, not everyone who works there fits this description, but i like to always get in their line when we leave and ask them questions about their life. And they always ask me questions about mine, like, what are you doing this weekend? Or anything exciting happening with you? It's never a smile and a nod and then silence as they bag your groceries. They also usually make comments about the things that they find in your grocery carts, like oh this is great, have you tried it yet? Or have you tried this? They want to know how I prepare things to eat using their stuff? Always an exchange of humanism. I leave happy with a belly full of snacks and children who are not whinny. This is way we love shopping at Trader Joe's. Here are a couple of photo's... all in an effort to give you a glimpse of my daily life.