Half Magic

10 Reasons to take your family to Flagler Beach, Flo

We just got back from a family holiday in Florida and it was wonderful. We went to Flagler Beach which is between St.Augustine and Daytona. A 90 minute drive from Orlando airport. It is located on the East coast and is beside a National Park.

1. Roger Gamble National Park

2. The massive and empty Beach

3. The Flagler Fishing Pier

4. HIgh Tides- Crab shack

5. The Taco Shop

6. The Halifax Plantation Golfcourse and Old Dixie Road

7. Marineland

8. St.Augustine and the Old Mill pub

9. The St.Augustine Fort.

10. Pirate Cove mini Golf

Of course it helps to have family there with a condo to crash at! A condo that does rent and is the nicest in the area.

Spring's First Lemonade Stand

I love our block.The kids really play freely and all the adults are within earshot but no one is hovering, at least not overtly. I hear everything going on and peek out every few minutes but mostly because I love seeing what they are up to like the lemonade stand. They just decided they would have a lemonade stand and raise money for Sick Kids. So a pitcher of lemonade was brought out, my kids took a table out, and a pillow case for a table cloth, bowls for money. They made a sign and the only thing they needed help with were the glasses. In these days of toxic plastic it turned out both homes had thrown out all the plastic Ikea cups. Solution- the wine glasses in the cellar from a Christmas party. Add a little Violin music to entice customers and voila they were open for business! And not one broken glass!

Having fun felting a Robin's nest

Aha! The quickest way to hang eggs- a bamboo skewer - poke the end through a piece of ribbon and into the egg and out it comes with the ribbon - in a mere second-

So busy but it's good

Pre-haircuts

Waldorf dolls in Pakistan- Nazli's kindergarten

You know when things literally seem to fall into your lap, it's right there, an opportunity but the question is are you going to grab it or let it go? That is how I feel of late with everything in my life and I have almost let things go, almost, but I don't. I had an excellent interview for my documentary that almost didn't happen because I was afraid of asking, I almost let go of a job opportunity because I wasn't sure if I could do it, I almost didn't make a connection, I almost didn't try a new gym and I am almost letting go of another gift- but will I- No! I know it will be great and everything is coming together it is just so hard to do it without money- all of it- running a house, raising kids, planting for spring, walking the dog, making a documentary, marketing for a school, going to parent evenings, faculty meetings, getting childcare, doing taxes, and more cooking and cleaning, washing and reading and research and research and networking and contacting, oh yeah and being a good wife.
However, there are so many highlights.
Meeting fantastic people, watching great documentaries on Pakistan on the Passionate Eye, reading great books, The Book Of Negroes, watching Helle Heckmans DVD on a Danish kindergarten Childhood's Garden , reading that Nazli has opened her Waldorf Kindergarten in Lahore Download GULMOHAR DIARIES , being asked to collaborate and film with a man I completely respect, learning my next interviewee is the hottest ticket in LA, and eating healthy raw cereal my sister introduced to me, my mom baking banana bread with the girls, and the kids playing with the neighbours outside for hours.
Next event I am looking forward to is a community kitchen with The Stop and hitting Florida and LA!

Family snapshots

Super tall Uncles and Aunts that always attract attention one way or another!

My sister Ashley finished the Around the Bay 30km run in 3.5 hours. That is awesome. Running the Washington marathon when PIper was only two was a milestone in my life. Unfortunately, I ran with an injury and I can no longer run more than 5km. Do I regret it? No, I ran out of fuel and had to dig so deep to finish that race, it was like going to hell and back but I did get back- a bit like natural child birth- very empowering.

Blossoming

 

When my daughter was only a year old I belonged to a Mom's group that met once a week and did cardio for an hour and gathered for coffee and conversation or guest speakers for the second hour while our babies were cared for. One such visitor was a Sex Educator. She told us that we better start talking about certain things to our children because otherwise they were going to hear it from less caring sources first such as other kids on the playground or at school and it may not send a positive message. The key was to plant it somewhere in their mind, a suitable explanation so when they did hear it from a peer or older child they would already have heard it but from YOU first. So the example she gave was about menstruation and I have used it ever since. 'Mommy bleeds once a month because mother nature is preparing a bed for a baby and when the baby doesn't come our body is getting rid of the bed. The bed is made of the tissue and blood.' Did it shock or scare the kids? No, they just simply accepted it. The seed has been planted so if they hear it from some older kids my explanation will come to mind.

 

So a year ago I decided to get a book for children from the library on human reproduction. Grade two may seem young but we have friends with older kids and she heard swear words from them so I knew she could very well be exposed to more without me there to protect her. I chose a quiet time to read it to my daughter. I will never forget the look of horror when she realized what the book and pictures were saying. She has never brought it up since nor have I but the truth has been planted in a positive way from her mother first! 

The next stage I am facing that is not pleasant to think about is her own menstruation. Many girls are menstruating at 10 which is so damn sad for me to contemplate. It certainly is not a subject at school yet the fact that the tampon industry has started marketing towards that age demonstrates this is a very real trend. However, I need to make this a positive healthy event in becoming a woman instead of a pain! I have another friend with a teenager who leaves her blood stained underwear on the floor of her bedroom and simply doesn't care or lacks self-respect, I am not sure. But I do want my daughter to take pride in being a woman and respecting her body and treating it like a temple. So I guess my first step may be a DIVA  cup for myself to role model sustainability. Then in a year maybe I will take her to a blossoming evening at the Circle of Wisdom . I have never done something like that but I am now seeing the importance of creating some magic and pride around it despite that not being in my own history. Perhaps The Red Tent  has influenced me more than I realized.

Valentines at the Honeymoon Capitol with kids

 

A last minute decision - we booked a hotel in Niagara Falls. We surprised the kids when we picked them up from school and started heading  out of the city. The traffic was terrible. When we arrived at our hotel the valet asked how the trip was? David lightly jested that people who live in Hamilton should work in Hamilton. To this the valet let David know that around here people  wish they could put a big fence around Toronto and keep them in! Oops! We stayed in our room that night, watched a movie and got up early for sunrise and a swim. From the falls we went to the Butterfly museum and ate bugs... seriously. We ate crickets, caterpillars and red ant- excellent sources of protein and iron. The crickets were ground into chapatis and served with a root stew, the caterpillars were crushed into powder and put in another stew and the red ants were crushed into a peanut cookie. It was excellent, the kids were skeptical but tried everything. I often think of Bush food as something like chocolate covered crickets but of course- you grind them into powders!

 A butterfly finally landed!                                           Patiently waiting...

The Menu: Mopani stew, Futari with Cricket Chapati                  The gardens outside the Butterfly Con.
Mtedza Puffs with Ants

Pakistan and Education

Wow, just finished reading Deborah's last entry on her blog my three cups of tea . I truly, deeply believe this is the best solution for peace in Pakistan- whether it is Waldorf or not, it is inspiring a reverence for life and nature, starting with the children. I am so in awe of Nazli for having the resolve to come to Toronto for four years to study and go back and really make a difference. I hope this documentary succeeds and I can get the right angle to attract an audience.

You've Got Mail

 

Theo made us all mailboxes                                    Piper gets a yoga lesson at school

Theo and I went to a Square dance this friday- they are such a perfect family venue. As Theo said she danced with her friend, then Austin, then a pretty girl, then an old man, then her music teacher. I had just as much fun learning to shuck the oyster! Most of Piper's class is ill- she is just holding on with a burst of energy then lying down complaining her neck hurts then playing the drums on our pots giving us all a migraine.
On another note I recently felt compelled to join the family and pick a soccer team- Sheffield Wednesday it is - why? I love the name- sounds like a good book or band and they were formed in 1867 and Sheffield is in Yorkshire.

Theo:Girls to the rescue            Narnia                                            Horse Fever
                                

Piper's House                                    Three Amigos
                    
 

The Beaches

            Cutting Edge technology                                  my favourite children's bookstore,Ella-Minnow
                                                                                            Dufflets for a latte.

The GOOf- $2 grilled cheese                                    French bubble gum fresh from Paris

Signs of spring- succulents are the thing!                  Water Goddesses