it took 3 kids to get it right with the baby gear...

I love my new highchair, or I should say Silas' new highchair. I really feel like this time around I'm finally getting the most efficient, least ugly and simplest baby crap around. (excuse my language kids, but most of it is just that...)
It's a "Koala Care", industrial restaurant style highchair with no frills, no quilting. It doesn't tilt back or play lullabys but it has WHEELS, a must, and can be hosed down. Now that's what I am talking about. It's reasonably priced, can be donated to your local preschool, church, whatever afterwards and loses no value if you wanna sell it on EBay. I know I am a bit of a baby gear tech weenie, (is that the term?) but I can't help it. It Rocks!!!

the flower house, thanks to nana's green thumb...

nasturtiums, the happiest flower, abound at our house
right now...also our wisteria is in bloom for 2-3 short weeks

calla lillies, potato vine and azalea down the secret path
and another favorite, clivia which is too pretty to have
such an awful gynecological name.

I love spring at the flower house.

do you see ghosts?...

...ok...this sounds crazy but we think we see ghosts in these pictures.
We went to the Whaley House in Old Town. It is one of the only two official haunted houses in California. We walked all through it without seeing much in the way of ghosts,although the history of the house and the family is very interesting. We were told we could take pictures and that often ghosts appear in the pictures. So I brought along my digital camera. What do you think? In the picture above it looks like there a little girls face in the bottom left corner...




..and in this picture Emmett is standing on the 9th step, the supposedly haunted step, by himself while Mac takes the picture of his feet. Whats that pinkish thing next to him? No one was there!! Spooky!!

cutting teeth and eating sweet potatos...

Mac's first food was avacado. Emmett's was banana. Now Silas is trying sweetpotato for the first time. Two baby teeth are poking through also. Lots of changes. Maybe that explains the high level of GRUMP lately! It's hard to be a baby.

goodmorning from mac...whatever...

This cracks me up. My sweet 9 year old just discovered the fun of lip-syncing (above) but somehow I wonder if this is my future (below). Ha!!



I wish there wasn't an audio/visual delay issue but I can't figure out how to correct that youtube/blogger problem. "Um, Lauren???!!" said with a slight whine.

fieldtrip to old town...

I haven't been spending much time in Mac's classroom this year. First I had a baby, then I had a brand new kindergartener,Emmett, who needed my attention in his classroom. Finally I got a bit of time to dedicate to Mac and we had a great time. Her class is full of great kids!!
We had an awesome docent who told the kids all about the haunted Whaley House as well as lots of California history. She also gave them each something to wear from the time period. Mac is wearing, to her dismay, a basket on her head to represent the weavers from the local indial tribes ("Why can't I be the teacher or the lady who gets to wear the lace?")

After our time in Old Town, we went to Presidio Park where this picture was taken. Later, the kids ran around in the park...its so pretty there, I forgot. Poor Silas was smothered by 9 year old girls the entire time trying to out-sing, out-coo, and generally out-mother eachother. Hilarious!

And this is what the fieldtrip felt like much of the time!! Fun Chaos!!

first attempt at the 'totem' paintings...

The bear is kinda hiding in the tree, which Emmett likes. Mac likes her rabbit but thinks it should be an all white cotton tail, but she doesn't mind. Silas is decidedly pro-owl. I like my first attempt but I don't know if this will work over the bed.

what do you think?

I am thinking Irish Leprechaun, Megan and Mac think French, like "Pierre", and Emmett says C-U-T-E.

isn't that a beautiful tree...

Somehow, someday I would love to paint
a forest, a tree,
and my kids animal totems...a bear, an owl and a rabbit.


I have been trying to paint this concept for
a while now...we'll see...


Here are some of the images I have been collecting as ideas.
(none of them painted by me, by the way...)

studio scootching silas

at the studio silas was on the table i emmett. was under the table [i was sicke from scool]
i poped out of under the table and silas CROLED 13 KNEE steps !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i only have a litele fevre of 100.4 .
isin it unbelevable thet silas scootchd

got a call from an old friend...

Will called me today. He's an old friend from Walden that I haven't heard from in many years. He had a new baby boy 4 days ago, named Elvin Lee. Congratulations!!
Then, knowing he's a jazz guitarist, I googled him. I listened to some of his music, loved it and bought some cds.
Great to hear from you Will. It's been a blast from the past kind of month!!
check him out!
www.willsellenraad.com/bio.html

kids and pots...

This picture was taken during saturday morning cartoons. Their favorite cartoons are "the emperors new school" and "pokemon"...OY! But they still like cartoons I can relate to like Bugs Bunny and Scooby Doo. Soon it will be back to The Wiggles.

I am finally over my slump and feel like making pots again. Usually I don't feel
like creating anything when I am creating a human (aka Silas) but I am reinspired.

three thoughts for the day...

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest,
easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious.
Major General Smedley Butler

Here's what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in
a state of denial. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we are hooked on.
Kurt Vonnegut

Name me the emperor who was ever struck by a cannonball.
King Charles V the Wise

(I am thankful for my "Sun" magazine subscription...)

ok, I am freaking out about our school...

For those of you who haven't heard my ecstatic speech
about Mac and Emmetts school...well, it seems we may have
finally been given a new site that is a good fit for us.
It sounds like a dream with bigger classrooms, an auditorium with a stage,
and space...lots and lots for us all to be creative.
Room for all this...



organic gardens, school plays (that's the Waldorf
School doing Sound of Music)...tree houses and murals...
Now just keep your fingers crossed that it all really happens.
We're just a few "AYES" away!!

yup, another video...

This is for all you far away grandparents who need another dose of naked baby. I just couldn't help myself with this one...he actually rolled over semi-on-cue!. Please mute it, though, so you don't have to hear the high-pitched parent glee!!

this is emmett blogging emmett...(best guess spelling)...

i am pracedcing baskitball becus i am going to play baskitball at the YMCA on
march 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and the cool part aboet it its thet benjamin is going to!!!!!!!!!

good morning kitty...

Silas Loyal can roll over and has found his voice!

the waters of March...

I love March. Maybe because it's the first month that seems like spring though it rarely feels like it. Maybe it's because it's the one month of the year that you can usually guarantee rain in San Diego...and it's hard to say that about any month. I also love the song "Waters Of March" by Susannah McCorkle and if I could make this blog sing to you right now I would...some of the lyrics are...

"... the flowers that bloom, the fox in the brush,
a night in the wood, the song of the thrush
the mystery of life, the steps in the hall,
the sound of the wind and the waterfall
it's the moon floating free,
it's the curve of the slope,
it's an ant, it's a bee, it's a reason for hope
and the riverbank sings of the waters of march
it's the end of despair
it's the joy in your heart..."

The song continues, and I know many of you know it because
I have included it on every mix tape I have ever made for anyone.

So...welcome March. And Happy Almost Spring!

give peas a chance...

Some of you may remember this outfit...both Mac and Emmett wore it. Even though I usually dislike clothes with cutsie words on them , this is a favorite of mine.

mac got an i-dog....

i, mac, went with grandma carol and grandpa arnie to the chinese new year festival. After that we went to horton plaza for ice cream and i got a I-DOG!!