This Easter was really great. I especially enjoyed the buildup to it because we did a number of crafty things that turned out beautifully. 

I’ve always loved dying Easter eggs—for my whole life it’s been one of the things that signifies Spring to me in a very concrete way, even when Easter arrives rainy and grey. This year, I decided it would be fun to dye our eggs naturally—meaning no Paws dye kits, no food coloring and vinegar concoctions. This time, we used kitchen and yard ingredients only.

* Turmeric for yellow
* Beet juice for pink
* Blueberry juice for lavender
* Red cabbage for blue
* Birch leaves/grass and assorted kitchen veggies for green
* Coffee for brown
* Onion skin juice for peachy orange 
* Vinegar

It was significantly more expensive dying the 18 eggs this way, and it took probably four times longer than a kit would have taken. But it was easily four times more fun! And we spend less than … probably $9.

Getting a good-looking green solution took a lot of work and time, and surprisingly, it did not color the eggs at all. I also assumed that coffee would easily stain the egg brown, but it didn’t. (That may be because I used the used coffee grounds instead of fresh coffee. I suddenly became frugal when it came time to use the coffee. Can you see my vices?) 

We called it “Kitchen Science” while we were doing this, and stressed to Lucas that it was all a big eggsperiment. We didn’t know how well it would work, whether we’d get nice colors, or if it would fail completely. A la “Myth Busters” we said, “Failure is always an option.” 

But if you care to scroll down to the end, you’ll see that our eggsperiment was a great success! We got lovely eggs in soft, earthy shades. They weren’t pale, as I expected. And as they aged overnight and over Easter day, they sort of changed colors, which was unexpected. Some got darker, some paler. Perhaps they oxidized? We wonder if the beet-colored pink eggs turned brownish because of iron in the juice. And weirdest of all, the blueberry-dyed, dark lavender eggs became a mottled lavender-and-orange before Easter was done. They were really cool!

At one point, when it became clear that we wouldn’t have any green eggs, I contemplated cheating and pulling out the food dye. But Ian convinced me not to, reminding me how cool it would be to have a basketful of plant-dyed eggs, and how not cool it would be to have almost all plant-dyed eggs and the green ones we cheated for. So we finished it as originally intended, and they were gorgeous!

That’s probably the longest story about eggs you’ve ever read.

This Easter was really great. I especially enjoyed the buildup to it because we did a number of crafty things that turned out beautifully. 

I’ve always loved dying Easter eggs—for my whole life it’s been one of the things that signifies Spring to me in a very concrete way, even when Easter arrives rainy and grey. This year, I decided it would be fun to dye our eggs naturally—meaning no Paws dye kits, no food coloring and vinegar concoctions. This time, we used kitchen and yard ingredients only.

* Turmeric for yellow
* Beet juice for pink
* Blueberry juice for lavender
* Red cabbage for blue
* Birch leaves/grass and assorted kitchen veggies for green
* Coffee for brown
* Onion skin juice for peachy orange 
* Vinegar

It was significantly more expensive dying the 18 eggs this way, and it took probably four times longer than a kit would have taken. But it was easily four times more fun! And we spend less than … probably $9.

Getting a good-looking green solution took a lot of work and time, and surprisingly, it did not color the eggs at all. I also assumed that coffee would easily stain the egg brown, but it didn’t. (That may be because I used the used coffee grounds instead of fresh coffee. I suddenly became frugal when it came time to use the coffee. Can you see my vices?) 

We called it “Kitchen Science” while we were doing this, and stressed to Lucas that it was all a big eggsperiment. We didn’t know how well it would work, whether we’d get nice colors, or if it would fail completely. A la “Myth Busters” we said, “Failure is always an option.” 

But if you care to scroll down to the end, you’ll see that our eggsperiment was a great success! We got lovely eggs in soft, earthy shades. They weren’t pale, as I expected. And as they aged overnight and over Easter day, they sort of changed colors, which was unexpected. Some got darker, some paler. Perhaps they oxidized? We wonder if the beet-colored pink eggs turned brownish because of iron in the juice. And weirdest of all, the blueberry-dyed, dark lavender eggs became a mottled lavender-and-orange before Easter was done. They were really cool!

At one point, when it became clear that we wouldn’t have any green eggs, I contemplated cheating and pulling out the food dye. But Ian convinced me not to, reminding me how cool it would be to have a basketful of plant-dyed eggs, and how not cool it would be to have almost all plant-dyed eggs and the green ones we cheated for. So we finished it as originally intended, and they were gorgeous!

That’s probably the longest story about eggs you’ve ever read.

We received the acceptance letter yesterday. It says that the Waldorf school is pleased to offer Lucas a place in the first grade next fall. There was never any real doubt that he would get in, but I’m happy it is now official. We already know about half of the families that will be in Lucas’s class—a class he will be together with for grades 1 through 8. Most of the rest of the children who will make up his class will come from the other kindergarten class at his school, which means that Lucas already knows them, but Ian and I don’t yet. 

I know they are actively interviewing candidates for the teaching position that will hopefully take Lucas all the way through the eighth grade. It’s an extensive process. At our family Easter celebration, I learned from my cousin Jenna, who is in the master’s Education program at Sacramento State University that one of her classmates is up for the job of Lucas’s teacher. Jenna says this woman is very competant and Waldorf trained. Who knows? My curiousity is really high right now.

We received the acceptance letter yesterday. It says that the Waldorf school is pleased to offer Lucas a place in the first grade next fall. There was never any real doubt that he would get in, but I’m happy it is now official. We already know about half of the families that will be in Lucas’s class—a class he will be together with for grades 1 through 8. Most of the rest of the children who will make up his class will come from the other kindergarten class at his school, which means that Lucas already knows them, but Ian and I don’t yet. 

I know they are actively interviewing candidates for the teaching position that will hopefully take Lucas all the way through the eighth grade. It’s an extensive process. At our family Easter celebration, I learned from my cousin Jenna, who is in the master’s Education program at Sacramento State University that one of her classmates is up for the job of Lucas’s teacher. Jenna says this woman is very competant and Waldorf trained. Who knows? My curiousity is really high right now.

Welcome to my new blog! I’ve got tons to learn about this platform, but I’m excited to do it. Up until now, I’ve been blogging on LiveJournal as SarabellaE.

Sing, World, Sing!

Now in chilly places
Where the snow had been, 
Wood and field and hollow,
Easter flowers begin.

Now a bud is opened,
Now a leaft uncurled;
Spring is in the sweet wind
Walking down the world.

Snowdrops in the garden,
Violets on the hills,
Cowslips in the meadow,
Dancing daffodils

Seem to lift their faces,
Softly whispering,
“Easter’s nearly here, now—
Sing, world, sing!” 

—Nancy Byrd Turner

I’ve rediscovered a book of poetry that I’ve had in my possession for … well, decades. It used to belong to my mother, meaning that at some point I stole it away into my pink-and-blue bedroom, probably to read by flashlight at night. It’s full of wonderful poems about animals, seasons, fairies, lullabies, and childhood adventures.

1. Grow a grass dish garden and make felted bunnies and gnomes. It’s been way crafty around here. Lucas and I have both been needle felting, inspired by springtime, my storytelling class, and a volume of stories called The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly.
2. Pose for
   kimkimkaree

   ‘s camera on a chilly morning in her daddy’s backyard. Good thing he’s a such a good sport. He even held the reflector for us when Madame Photographer needed more light. It was great fun and I’m feeling exhilarated and empowered by it, and also bashful. I did what?

3. Finish our Estate Planning, complete with the Wilson Family Trust, Durable Power of Attorney, Executor, Conservator, etc., and sign all the documents. We started this project last August. Seven months later, we are finally finished. It was so hard contemplating the possible icky futures that we used a lot of the intervening time to avoid doing the work. But it’s finished now and I’m relieved. My getting sick last year threw a lot of things into perspective. This is one of those things where if you confront the Boogeyman head-on, he will not be able to send you nightmares. I hope.
4. Practice playing Easter Bunny and hiding and finding eggs. Lucas has been playing bunny a lot lately. He makes paper ears on a paper headband and hops around the house. Although Ian loathes that I save crap like this, I have a stash of plastic eggs from previous years, and I pulled them out for the boys to play with. And although the Easter Bunny has an annoying, squeaky voice, I am pleased to see Lucas playing woodland creatures rather than superhero who destroys the bad guy by cutting off his head and spraying acid on his body. So I’m cultivating the whole bunny/mouse/chipmunk thing for all it’s worth. And damn it, if that means I have to save crappy plastic eggs and pretend to be Mommy bunny/mouse/chipmunk, then so be it and blessed be.
5. Enjoy the first tulip blooms and the trees leafing out in our yard. I’ve taken a few pictures outside around our yard lately and I hope to post them soon. It’s not like we live in an opressive wintery freeze for many months of the year, but nevertheless, seeing signs of spring on plants that I personally put in the ground is very gratifying. Our weeping cherry is full of lovely pink blossom clusters now. Today I noticed the very first daylily of the loooong daylily season. Yesterday, our first tulip bloom opened to a fiery red center. Today a handful of blooms are lighting up the front yard. A neighbor on a nearby street has a million of them in every color and I hope to go gawk at them this weekend.
6. Take naps with Asher (one for me yesterday, one for Ian today). I was so sleepy yesterday afternoon that when I put Asher down for a nap, I just followed him down the road to Slumberland. Sometimes afternoon naps feel so lovely, especially the falling asleep part. It helps to have a contented baby nursing his way to oblivion by your side. Ian had  today off, and he enjoyed a very rare nap with Asher too—without the nursing part.
7. Have a great lunch with old friends and a new one. Met with
   foseelovechild

     and 

   dakini_grl

    and a really talented entrepreneur friend of FCL’s. She was fun and gracious and in many ways has a career I’d love to have. I hope that connection grows and is beneficial for all of us. For the first time, I revealed my new business venture out loud. It was scary and I fear I carried on too long, but it felt good to hear some feedback and encouragement. More about that another time.

8. Ride bikes (one adult and one child per bike, please) to a nearby sushi restaurant for dinner. No, we don’t live in midtown, but there are a handful of local Fair Oaks businesses we can ride bikes to now that Asher goes into the toddler seat on the back of my new VERY PINK bike and Lucas rides behind Ian’s bike on the tagalong. (Whenever there’s any traffic, he goes on the tagalong instead of on his own bike.) This evening we rode to Masa Sushi. The food was good and it felt like such a treat not to drive a car to get there and home again! I hope we’ll do a lot more of that thing as the weather warms up.
9. Read stories like The Country Bunny and the Golden Shoes and The Golden Egg. I am a children’s book fanatic. I collect books for my kids and for me. I can justify my obsession when a holiday comes around, like Easter, and I can go to the bookshelf to find the perfect story to read. I had The Country Bunny and the Golden Shoes when I was a girl and I’ve always loved it. It’s one of the first feminist children’s books ever written. They say a mommy bunny can’t possibly do the job of the Easter Bunny, but in fact, she is amply qualified: for she is kind, clever, wise, swift—she has to be to raise her 21 bunny children!
10. Have some mind-blowing “couple time.” Thank you, love. Enough said. 

On the agenda for tomorrow: 
Dye Easter eggs with onion skins, purple cabbage, turmeric, beet juice, and blueberries for the first time. Visit my friend J and her NEW TWIN BABY BOYS!

This past weekend was totally fun. It was mostly family-oriented, as most of our time is. 

Saturday morning I went to a lecture/class on storytelling for children. I listened to one of the area’s best storytellers/puppeteers (Karen Vianni) talk about how to tell stories to our kids, why we should do it, and what to tell. Storytelling is big in the Waldorf world, especially for the young child. It is preferred to reading books aloud because the child responds differently to a story that comes from within you, that you create, and because without a book to look at, he can make his own pictures in his head. That exercise is critical for children’s development. Picture-making is thought to be key to problem solving and creative thought. 

Vianni says that parents ought not to believe that only traditional stories that have been memorized word-for-word are worthy of telling. Rather, parents should tell stories about the natural worls for stories from their own lives—that children are fascinated by what their parents were like as children, how they grew up, what they did, what grandma and grandpa did, etc. 

Because I’m always the class blabbermouth, I mentioned that you don’t have to tell your kids only the exciting stories—the ones with the crisis and climax—for they are often too intense. Lucas doesn’t want to hear about how Little Girl Sara Got Trapped by the Snake and Couldn’t Get Home. It’s too scary! I learned that the hard way because I told that story to him when he was maybe three. I was used to the traditional dramatic structure that we all expect from our entertainment: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, then denouement or catastrophe. I thought I had to make it exciting for him. “Please, don’t” was basically the reaction I got.

I’ve been practicing a little here and a little there for a few years now. I don’t do it all the time, but I do it now a lot more often. I started telling Lucas stories that are more about everyday things, like about going to school as a child or picking oranges off our tree in the backyard with my brother, or special things like when I came home from school and my mother had all the ingredients for making cookies out on the table and ready to go. You know, stories that are pictures of life—pretty similar to the way Lucas lives, but with small differences that are interesting to him. 

I also tell him stories about his own life, about things that happened last year or even yesterday. I don’t actually name the characters (us), but just say things like “there was a mommy, a daddy, a big brother, and a baby brother” and take it from there. And often when I’m finished telling the story, he says with great warmth in his voice, “Mommy, that was a story about me, wasn’t it.” And I say, “Yes, dear. It was.” 

I’m not an educator or an expert in child development, so I don’t really know how memory works in children his age, but I do know that Lucas is old enough to remember things from his own life now. I hope that by telling him about things that happen in our lives—mostly happy, everyday things—perhaps somehow these events and feelings will sink deeply into his psyche and slosh around in his unconscious. I hope that from his own inner well of memories he will someday be able to pull stories of his own to tell his own children, or even to me in my dotage.  

My good friend J is having twins—today! I received an email message this morning, saying that baby A is breach and because he is presenting first, she will have a C-section today to have her babies.

By now, all is probably done and I’m just waiting to hear how everything went. I’m praying for her and her husband and her two baby boys, who are full-term, (probably) fraternal twins. I am soooooo happy that she was able to carry them to term; their health is much more likely to be very good now that they’re fully “cooked.”

And I can’t explain it other than by admitting to a secret, masochistic stripe in my personality, but damned if I’m not totally jealous! I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to carry two babies, birth two babies, care for two babies. Completely crazy, I know! One is hard enough. 

But now that I’ve done the singleton thing twice, I can’t help but wonder if I could hack the double-trouble of twins. So that’s weird, I know. 

But there’s another part that is less weird and more miraculous: the fact that two new lives begin today. Two new beings are arriving here on Earth, and they come embodying the hope of every human being who ever lived. In my view, newborn babies have only just left the other side, the Oneness with Everything, that we wonder about and crave, the thing so many of us hope to return to someday. They come in spiritually and physically intertwined with others, bound to mother. Then they spend the rest of their lives simultaneously separating the threads to establish their own individuality and reweaving them together with others’ threads to build connections and community. 

The moment of birth is so mysterious and unique, and I am honored to have experienced it twice. I’m wishing J a safe, respectful, magical birth and happy, healthy babies. Blessed be.