Source: http://mummynew.blogspot.com/2010/10/daisychainbabys-2nd-birthday-baffle-for.html
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wild Mother Arts Nursing Necklace Giveaway
The Woman Behind Wild Mother Arts I always like to ask a few questions of my sponsors. Not only do I like to get to know them a little better but I think its good for readers to learn a bit about the people behind the business. Let me introduce Jacquie, the talent behind Wild [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BreastfeedingMomsUnite/~3/OWaLjIqW2So/
Attention marketplace
I want to buy ethical milk products. And I am prepared to pay a price reflecting the additional costs involved in kinder production methods.
Source: http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/attention-marketplace/
A Mother's Lament
(to be sung to the tune of 'These are a Few of My Favourite Things' from 'The Sound of Music').
Dark, windy mornings and getting fingers in mittens
Fussing, complaining and having a good whinge
These are a few of my favorite things
Kids who are moany, walls covered with doodles
Dora The Explorer and uneaten chicken noodles
Small boys who cry when their brother takes their things
These are a few of my favorite things
Boys in their dress ups which ends up with bashes
Hurricanes in November and men with moustaches
Febreze and Dettol, panty liners with wings
These are a few of my favorite things
When the kids fight
When the bin stinks
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feeeeeeeeeeeeeel so bad.
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/11/mothers-lament.html
Monday, November 29, 2010
La Maison du Maman
An interesting social experiment took place in our house today. It didn't start out as that, but it sort of turned into one. It started out as a disagreement over where and what we were going to have for tea (rolls eyes heavenwards).
"Can we go to a restaurant?" piped up the bigger boy as we strolled home from the library.
"No."
"Why?"
Hmmm - let me think about that one. "Well, we only go to restaurants on special occasions and when Daddy is here."
"Oohhhhhh muuuuuuuuum."
Much huffing and puffing and rolling of eyes heavenwards later, I relented a little and suggested setting up a restaurant of our own at home. This turned out to be a very popular idea so I set to with a blanket/tablecloth, kitchen towel napkins, Ikea's finest plastic tableware and a menu from the local Indian takeaway; all resulting in something quite posh looking to a 3 and 5 year old. With Florence and the Machine as background music and mood lighting provided by the huge rain cloud outside, I declared 'La Maison du Maman' open for business.
Seats were taken. Napkins were placed gently on the laps. The menu was carefully perused and the chef special of 'Ouefs avec fromage et frites du fourneau avec legumes (cheese omelette, oven chips, baby sweetcorn and peas to you and I) was eaten peacefully and with minimal fuss.
"We have to talk quietly when we're in a restaurant," the elder customer reminded his younger brother. As I served the required extra chips, I even got a, "Thank you for your honesty lady." I presume he meant hospitality.
"Yes, thank you lady," piped up the other customer.
A kitchen with a frazzled mummy in it generally isn't very appealing and leads to all manner of mealtime messing. However, a 'restaurant' with a 'chef' it would seem brings out the best in my kids. La Maison du Maman may be extending its opening hours.
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/09/la-maison-du-maman.html
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Stay Sane This Christmas by Making Wise Decisions
Today I’m on (in)courage, talking about simple, practical ways to not go nuts this Christmas (or any time of year, really). From the post: “Perhaps you?ve got a baby this holiday season, so traveling a long distance through inclement weather sounds like a nightmare. Maybe your husband?s (or your) workload is unusually heavy this season, [...]
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- Finding the Holiday Joy - learn how to get rockin' photos this holiday season.
- The Vintage Pearl - simple, unique hand-stamped jewelry.
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� 2010 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Mom subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/simplemom/~3/1vD-7j0A6bk/
Vegetarian Foodie Fridays #27
Welcome to Vegetarian Foodie Fridays! Where we’re not just Meatless on Mondays, but all week through! Hi! My name is Melodie and I’m a long time vegetarian who’s into real food, holistic nutrition, and healthy living but suffers from a sweet tooth! (I love homemade baked goods and ice cream). To learn more about why [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BreastfeedingMomsUnite/~3/0pmw4q1l1v4/
The sun sets and the sun rises
My morning view.
My sister recently mentioned that every 20 months her career goes through an upheaval: new opportunities, inter-state moves, negotiations, lots of soul searching, etc. I thought, "Huh. That's interesting."
And then it hit me: I'm on the precipice of one of the greatest upheavals of my life. Bigger than moving away to a new state where I knew no one. Bigger than being jobless for 18 months. Bigger than weddings and graduations and new jobs. My life as I know it is irrevocably changing forever in a matter of weeks. Never to go back. Never to be the same. Never to be duplicated. It feels as big as birth or as emotional as death.
Yesterday I toured the floorplan of the new apartment I'm leasing in the beginning of December. Something about its plain-ness, its beige-ness, really hit me in the gut. The home that I've immersed myself in for the last four-and-a-half years is about to be a thing of the past. The wall colors, the drawer-pulls, the painstakingly chosen and placed decor are all going to be crumpled up into boxes and spit out into a beige, two-bedroom apartment with crown molding.
I've never felt very emotional about this house before now. Anthony and I always said it wasn't our Forever Home. It needed too many upgrades and re-designs to feel like our last home together, but here I am, three weeks away from walking away from it forever and I feel like I'm about to saw off my arm.
I paced the tiles of this house for hours while in labor. I brought my baby home here and have watched him blossom in its strange nooks and crannies. Anthony and I felt safe here, home here. Our friends have always loved it here and remark on its welcoming energy.
I've gotten to know wonderful people who live in the neighborhood who are always game to drink margaritas with me and hang out under my looming oak tree in the sweltering Texas heat, shootin' the shit, letting our children toddle around together and slowly, gently getting to know one another. Hollis romps in the front yard as I lounge in a lawn chair.
Of course, the house is a symbol only. It's just a place, a thing. The real issue here is change, upheaval. It's here. Dark, massive, and brooding, pounding on my door. I cannot ignore it any longer. Like my Feelings, Change will not be put off. I must answer its call.
When things happen for me they tend to happen all at once. Much like when Dad was dying and a million massive life events were happening simultaneously, my life today is also in tumult beyond just the house and its reasons for abandoning it.
I have a major career exam to take and pass; I must find a job; I must re-learn how to support myself; I must separate from Hollis to earn a living; I must find a place for Hollis to be taken care of while I'm away.
Only yesterday did any of this creep into my lizard brain. I've essentially been pretending my own life isn't happening to me. How convenient, right??
I've told Hollis that he and I are moving into a new apartment together and that Daddy is moving into the house. He says, "Ooh, nice! We get to have a new pawpawtment, Mommy?"
And I say, "Yes, honey. It will be our new home."
"Oh. Ok, Mommy. That's vewy nice," he chirps back.
Early this morning, before dawn, I heard Hollis' door crack open and his little feet pound down the hall to my door. "Mommy?" he calls out. "Awe you in hewe?"
"Yes, baby," I croak from deep under piles of covers. I think I slept 4 hours last night; I kept waking up expecting something out of my reach. Sleep was fitful, my dreams intense, my body kinked with tension.
He climbs up into bed with me and snuggles into the down pillows and comforter. Soon he was softly purring through his nose and I drifted off to a deep blue place of peace and ease -- like the icy calm you see in the documentaries of sea life beneath colossal glaciers. A place where I didn't worry, I didn't orchestrate, I didn't do anything except just be. I floated in this place of calm, cool navy and azure for an hour. It lapped at my skin and slipped over my limbs languidly.
Then Hollis awakens, pats me, and asks, "Where's Daddy?? Where my Daddy is?"
I blinked through the soft gray light oozing into the room. "Mommy and Daddy don't live together anymore, baby." -- God, I hate telling him that -- "Do you miss him?"
"Uh huh," he affirms.
"I miss him, too."
I feel as though I am taking a deep breath before a dive. I will be digging down into myself to get through the next several weeks. Yet, by far the coolest thing about all of this is that I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will get through it and land on my feet. I can't see how it won't happen. It's just what I do: I land on my feet.
Yesterday Hollis and I were driving to the store for firewood at dusk and he mentioned how beautiful he thought the pink and blue of the sky was. "What is that, Mommy?" he wonders.
"When the sun goes down we call it a sunset; it lights up the sky in the west."
"Oh."
"And when the sun comes up in the east, we call it a sunrise."
"Sunwise," he parrots.
"Yes, sunrise," I say.
Indeed. A sunrise on a new life and a new me. A sunrise restarts the clock and resets the heart. A sunrise is hope. A sunrise is unavoidable.
I welcome the sunrise.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThisIsWorthwhile/~3/HtXOulXaQ6Y/sun-sets-and-sun-rises.html
Weekend Giveaway: Willette Photography
This giveaway is now closed. The winners will be notified shortly! Time for another sponsor weekend giveaway! Today’s is from Willette, an amazing photographer who can show you how to get great holiday photos this year with her new Finding the HOLIDAY Joy class. She?s giving TWO Simple Mom readers a spot in her upcoming [...]
CURRENT SPONSORS:
- Finding the Holiday Joy - learn how to get rockin' photos this holiday season.
- The Vintage Pearl - simple, unique hand-stamped jewelry.
- Oak Meadow - creative homeschooling since 1975.
- InvestSimply - professionally managed investments in 4 simple steps.
- Mabel's Labels - earn free products as a volunteer product ambassador.
� 2010 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Mom subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/simplemom/~3/3drmNiU2cA0/
Massive 9/11 Case Settles as Plaintiffs Meet 95% Threshold
The September 11 suit concerning 10,000 responders and clean-up workers at the World Trade Center settled in June for $712M, with an important provision: At least 95% of the plaintiffs had to agree. And that has now happened, reports the New York Law Journal. The plaintiffs lawyers undertook a spectacular risk by taking these cases [...]
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Vegetarian Foodie Fridays #27
Welcome to Vegetarian Foodie Fridays! Where we’re not just Meatless on Mondays, but all week through! Hi! My name is Melodie and I’m a long time vegetarian who’s into real food, holistic nutrition, and healthy living but suffers from a sweet tooth! (I love homemade baked goods and ice cream). To learn more about why [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BreastfeedingMomsUnite/~3/0pmw4q1l1v4/
4 things to love this month
Kissing. Before you do anything else today, give someone a Big Kiss. A virtual one that is! Last year, I was very proud to be involved in the Pampers/UNICEF campaign to combat tetanus in developing countries. This year, Pampers are asking you to help by simply clicking the Big Kiss button on their site and they will donate the cost of 1 vaccine against maternal and newborn tetanus to UNICEF. Easy peasy - but SO important and incredibly worthwhile.
Flowers. What a lucky lady I am being sent these beautiful flowers from the lovely people at Interflora UK. They, very thoughtfully, sent the arrangement in my blog colour scheme and getting these delivered to my door reminded me how lovely it is to receive flowers. Email schmemail - send some flowers!
Your hair. Liz Earle have a scrumptious new hair care range. I'm a relatively recent convert to their Cleanse & Polish skincare routine and they kindly sent me the new 'botanical shine' shampoo and conditioner to try. I have to say that I love both the products - with naturally active ingredients, none of the nasty stuff, a lovely, fresh smell and for only �8.75 for a 200ml tube, your hair will feel much loved and very grateful.
Children's books. What's not to love about children's books? This month is the 20th anniversary of the Children's Book Festival in Ireland and I will be reviewing some of the best contemporary children's books and interviewing some of the best authors and illustrators over the coming month. Watch this space. In the meantime, you can read this article about how children's books have changed from those we grew up with ourselves.
So, plenty of things to love. And of course, there's always conkers, chocolate and Masterchef: The Professionals to add to the list.
Enjoy.
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/10/4-things-to-love-this-month.html
Friday, November 26, 2010
Dissecting the trivial
Quick fact about women in the news: ?apparently, women feature in only about a fifth of the world?s news headlines and just ten percent of all news stories?. (My guess is that if you took celebrities out of the media monitoring survey you could probably halve that number again for how often women make the [...]
Source: http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/dissecting-the-trivial/
Wise words
As I finished reading Roald Dahl's 'Danny, the Champion of the World' to my five-year-old last night, I was struck by the words at the very end of the book:
A MESSAGE
to Children Who Have Read This Book
When you grow up
and have children of your own
do please remember
something important
a stodgy parent is no fun at all
What a child wants
and deserves
is a parent who is
SPARKY
Wise words indeed.
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/09/wise-words.html
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Gossip
Mateship is a bond so sacred we want it recognised in the Australian Constitution but female friendship is something nasty and undermining. Apparently this is because female friendships are distracted by competition for men. Oh, this kind of shit doth weary me. (From the San Fransisco Chronicle via the Sydney Morning Herald). We all know [...]
Vegetarian Foodie Fridays #26
Welcome to Vegetarian Foodie Fridays! Where we’re not just Meatless on Mondays, but all week through! Hi! My name is Melodie and I’m a long time vegetarian who’s into real food, holistic nutrition, and healthy living but suffers from a sweet tooth! (I love homemade baked goods and ice cream). To learn more about why [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BreastfeedingMomsUnite/~3/6_ObAQsGz_Q/
Gossip
Mateship is a bond so sacred we want it recognised in the Australian Constitution but female friendship is something nasty and undermining. Apparently this is because female friendships are distracted by competition for men. Oh, this kind of shit doth weary me. (From the San Fransisco Chronicle via the Sydney Morning Herald). We all know [...]
50,000 words!
Yep, 50,000 words. A lot of words. The number of words me and thousands of other writers are aiming to write before the end of this month. Why? Simply because November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo as it is know to its friends. The idea of this initiative is to get procrastinating wannabe novelists and writers, such as me, to JUST WRITE. Hammer it all out, get it down on paper/screen and go back to it in December to faff about with the commas and the apostrophes and to correct the terrible sentence formation and shockingly bad dialogue.
I am more than slightly daunted by the prospect, given that I usually don't have time in the day to write a decent tweet, let alone 1,667 words of, what will hopefully become, a bestseller. But people do all sorts of mad things in their lives don't they, like climbing mountains and throwing themselves off very tall buildings and I know writing 50,000 words isn't quite up there with the base-jumping adrenalin junkies, but it's my challenge.
So while others grow fabulous moustaches for the month of MOvember, and start their Christmas shopping and watch the final week of Masterchef the Professionals, I'll be here, tapping away, tapping away, tapping away......
Some other bloggers I am aware of who are also taking up the challenge are Slummy Single Mummy, Musings on a Life Quite Ordinary, Deer Baby and an excellent writer Alison at Head Above Water who wrote this great post about the whole idea of National Novel Writing Month - and how to get through it! The best of luck to them and if you're also participating, leave me a comment below.
I will, of course, keep you posted on my progress and solemnly promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about exactly how many words I managed at the end of the month.
Wish me luck!
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/11/50000-words.html
Breastfeeding and Signing
This week I’ve been honored to share several posts about breastfeeding and signing.
On Monday, Alicia from Lactation Narration guest posted on Natural Parents Network about learning to sign with babies and toddlers, and on Code Name: Mama about the many signs for “breastfeeding.” If you haven’t seen the post about breastfeeding signs, you’ve got to [...]
On Monday, Alicia from Lactation Narration guest posted on Natural Parents Network about learning to sign with babies and toddlers, and on Code Name: Mama about the many signs for “breastfeeding.” If you haven’t seen the post about breastfeeding signs, you’ve got to [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CodeNameMama/~3/bVSW1TeZXFs/
Yodle and Attorney Advertising
Want to see something funny about attorney advertising? Try Googling this phrase: Our commitment to you is to go the extra mile to win your case, and we take that pledge very seriously. The result, pages and pages of lawyer websites using the exact same quote, can be seen here. A big old hat tip [...]
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Vegetarian Foodie Fridays #27
Welcome to Vegetarian Foodie Fridays! Where we’re not just Meatless on Mondays, but all week through! Hi! My name is Melodie and I’m a long time vegetarian who’s into real food, holistic nutrition, and healthy living but suffers from a sweet tooth! (I love homemade baked goods and ice cream). To learn more about why [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BreastfeedingMomsUnite/~3/0pmw4q1l1v4/
What the hell am I looking at here?
I have been meaning to do this for ages.. right back when Lauca was the baby signing, and now it is Cormac doing the signing and neither of them are babies anymore. We use American sign language because that was the book given to me and at the time when I was teaching Lauca as [...]
Source: http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/what-the-hell-am-i-looking-at-here/
Spy car
This car used to belong to the MI6. The kids love it. When we run out of things to do at the end of a boring day I always suggest playing in the spy car. Bill says he will fix it again soon and have it back on the road. But then bear in mind [...]
Where, oh where, are my feelings?
I used to be too sensitive. Now I hardly feel.
The past several months have been an extended climax of emotion and pain and it's as if it's happening to someone else. I have removed me from myself and am now driving a body forward, but am no longer experiencing it first hand. I'm exhausted.
I wake up, I smile, I love my boy, I feel free and happy, but it is so one-note. One color. One flavor. The deeper nuances are out of my reach. I am numb.
I signed a lease for a new apartment last week. Rooster is moving back into the house and I'm moving out the first week in December. It makes sense: I can't do yard work or fix a goddamned thing. He needs the garage and shed for all his crap. I'm over the moon about it, really. Seriously. I have visions of a maintenance man at my beck and call, manicured grounds, a pool that cleans itself, a walk to the grocery store, a little closer to downtown and my friends who live north.
It's such a strange mix, numbness and happiness. On the one hand I am protected, on the other I am held distant from really connecting. I call it The Wall. I've been accused of having it and warned of its ability to make me miss out on things, but then again, that's what I love about it. Its other super power is apathy: I don't give a shit if I'm missing out on things. (I feel like I'm finally understanding all the asshole boys I dated in my 20s. They really and truly didn't feel anything after all! It can happen!)
Though, to be honest it's not shielding me from worry. I do worry that all of these things I'm not feeling are going to come back and bite me in the ass. Yet, I also believe in the process -- oh, how I believe in the process -- and that what's happening to me and how I'm handling myself is the exactly right thing to be doing.
You see what's happening here? Up, down, back and forth. Holy crap, I'm a bloody mess.
When Rooster and Hawk were in Kansas City for a week last week I hung out with an awesome blogger (holla, Allison!) Friday, Saturday I went to Bloggy Boot Camp (more on that later), immediately after the conference I drove to San Antonio (1.5 hours away) for a surprise 59th & 70th birthday party, drove back to Austin and caught the tail end of a bachelor party including a party bus and drinking until 3:30 am. Sunday, I was spent. And raw.
I could feel a mountain of emotions just around the corner (exhaustion and being hungover will do that to me, apparently). A friend came over for interior design advice and I could feel the tears prick in my eyes as we looked at catalogs to feather his nest. I remember poring over images looking for just the right pillow or rug to make our house a home. Now I spend all my time cataloging just how to dismantle it. Which couch to take, which plates, which decor.
Pluck, pluck, pluck. The nest is gone.
When my friend left the tears had vanished, as had the tremor of emotion that had begun. I was back to Robot Jessica. And so I did something dramatic: I gathered up everything Rooster had ever given me as a gift, his box of pictures, one of his fantasy books that he loves so dearly, and the one photo of us as a family I've left framed in Hawk's room and put them all in a pile on the bed and I sat and looked at it.
I stared at it until the tears came and I shook with sorrow. I fondled the sunglasses, the mini iPod with the 1-year dating anniversary inscription that reads "Thank you, Jessica, for an amazing year!", I held my platinum wedding rings and remembered their weight on my finger.
Finally, I was feeling something: disappointment, uncertainty, fear, sadness. My broken fucking heart.
I slept for a week with that pile of things on what used to be his side of the bed. It made me feel something and for that I was grateful.
Rooster and I are getting divorced. It's a done deal. We're unraveling the life we made and rebraiding a new one based on friendship and partnership. It seems fast, but we've been emotionally disconnected for much longer than we have been physically.
I wonder if I seem different to my friends and family because I definitely feel that way. I feel immense strength at going about this the hard way, the kind way, the painful way. I feel distant and cut off. I feel free as a fucking bird. I feel crushing disappointment. I feel fear. I feel hope. I feel happy.
I'm so proud of how I'm handing this, how we are handling this. It's a rite of passage, doing this the hard way. I am not a coward.
So, Feelings, I know you're out there. I'll try to check in on you every once in a while, but I know you're not going anywhere. Until then, thanks for keeping your distance and I'll see you again soon.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThisIsWorthwhile/~3/8sgyTRo_5Co/where-oh-where-are-my-feelings.html
Vegetarian Foodie Fridays #26
Welcome to Vegetarian Foodie Fridays! Where we’re not just Meatless on Mondays, but all week through! Hi! My name is Melodie and I’m a long time vegetarian who’s into real food, holistic nutrition, and healthy living but suffers from a sweet tooth! (I love homemade baked goods and ice cream). To learn more about why [...]
Related posts:
Related posts:
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BreastfeedingMomsUnite/~3/6_ObAQsGz_Q/
Interview with Mini Grey: children's book author/illustrator
As part of the Children's Book Festival being celebrated across Ireland this month, I will be reviewing a number of children's books on the blog and offering a fascinating insight into the world of children's books authors and illustrators.
Today, the featured book is 'Three By The Sea' by award winning author and illustrator Mini Grey. This is a wonderful book with a warm message of friendship portrayed through the extraordinary characters of the culinary-minded Mouse, the gardening Dog and the wonderful eye-patched Cat, and of course one very foxy Travelling Salesman! It is engaging, witty, quirky and has brilliantly detailed illustrations which the boys love; they spot something new every time we read it and we've read it lots of times!
I asked Mini the following questions about her work.
How important is illustration in engaging children in books? In picture books, Words and Pictures are a fantastic double act, each doing a different job, maybe even telling a different story ? but you need both of them to have the whole story. So the illustration is a totally key part of the story-telling. Even the very youngest people are expert readers of pictures. Pictures can convey complex and subtle messages, and more information than pages of words could describe. When you open a picture book you get to enter a whole different world ? but there are still things your own imagination has to fill in as you turn the pages, so the reader is a vital collaborator in telling the story.
Where do you get inspiration for your illustrations and how have you developed your personal style? You might notice from some of my books that I absolutely LOVE drawing food. A lot of inspiration comes from looking at ordinary things around me and imagining them coming to life, or looking at everyday things from a different point of view. Also from seeing the ways things look a bit like other things - for example sausages that look a bit like fingers, spaghetti that looks rather like serpents ? the secret identity of things! My very first influences were probably the TV programmes of the Clangers and Mr Benn, which both had a very home-made (even knitted) quality. I love old recipe books and children?s encyclopedias.
What comes first: the words or the illustrations? It can be either or both! Some of my stories (e.g. The Adventures of the Dish and The Spoon) started by drawing lots of little pictures of my characters in different situations (car chases, tied to railway lines, etc). Others I?ve written down first. But then I get out scissors and glue and chop up the words and doodle pictures with them to see if any thing interesting starts happening. The magical bit is putting the words and pictures together.
How long does it take you to illustrate a book such as 'Three By the Sea'?
To actually just make all the pictures seems to take about 6 months. For Three By The Sea each double page took me about a week. I spent a lot of time painting pebbles! My pictures are usually made on very heavy watercolour paper. I use liquid watercolours, Quink ink, bleach and pencil scribbling. It?s good to let some accidents happen ? I like a bit of splattering.
Does illustrating always come easily to you, or do you ever suffer from 'illustrator's block?!I am always daunted by the prospect of trying to draw something on a clean page. I find drawing people particularly difficult. If I?m stuck I draw a tiny scruffy sketch on a scrap of paper or in my sketchbook, then scan it and enlarge it and draw over the top of it. I have a light box and I?m always using it to trace things. Cutting and sticking is another way out - make bits & pieces and cut them out and move around. Also ? nothing beats drawing a real thing - drawing a real thing tells you unexpected things about it that you wouldn?t necessarily have imagined.
Which children's books illustrators do you admire the most? My first children?s book influences were Dr Seuss, Edmund Dulac, Heath Robinson and I loved Tenniel?s illustrations for Alice through the Looking Glass and Tove Jansson?s Finn Family Moomintroll. The illustrator who really inspired me to want to make my own books was Lane Smith (The Stinky Cheese Man, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs) who pictures are edgy and a bit dangerous but also almost edible-looking. Shaun Tan?s books, e.g. The Arrival and The Lost Thing, give you the feeling of being adrift in extraordinary worlds. There?s a whole load of exciting author-illustrators making picture books right now, both new and established - the list would be a long one!
---
I previously reviewed the fantastic 'Jim' which Mini illustrated, and we also borrowed 'The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon' recently from the library - a book which was selected by The Guardian earlier this year as one of the best children's books for 5-7 year olds. Suffice to say, we love them all. Me and my children and very big 'Mini' fans - I cannot recommend her books highly enough.
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-with-mini-grey-childrens-book.html
Waking up at Dublin zoo
No, I wasn't the victim of a bad hen-night prank gone wrong! I was one of a privileged few who were invited to Dublin Zoo last Saturday morning to meet the keepers and follow them as they wake and feed the animals. It was early, it was chilly, but nobody really cared about that as the early morning autumn sun shone on the chimps as they ambled out of their overnight enclosure and deftly caught the apples the keeper threw to them for breakfast; beckoning cheekily for more when they were ready. Come to think of it, the whole scenario was actually very reminiscent of my usual morning breakfast routine!
From the chimps we moved on to watch the rhinos, zebras, giraffes and elephants all waking up, greeting each other and stretching their legs (a very long stretch in the case of the giraffes).
It really was very special to watch the animals in such a peaceful setting and to hear their keepers talk about them so knowledgeably and fondly.
We all had a wonderful time and it really was a great way to spend a sunny autumn day. The zoo was bursting with life and colour and without the summer crowds, the children were able to see all the animals very clearly. If you're looking for something to do with the children over the coming weekends, I would highly recommend it.
Thank you to everyone at Dublin Zoo, especially the keepers, for their hospitality and for giving us a wonderful experience.
For more information about the zoo, and a list of special events coming up in the autumn, visist www.dublinzoo.ie
Source: http://hotcrossmum.blogspot.com/2010/09/waking-up-at-dublin-zoo.html
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Gender training for your children
Holy crap is right, though not exactly a big surpise for those of you who are parents and who have watched children’s television lately or visited a toy shop. This video is fascinating. (Video link found at tigtog’s great post here).
Source: http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/gender-training-for-your-children/
Hiatus
I'm taking a blogging hiatus for a week or so. I have to focus on packing, moving, resume-writing, studying, job-hunting, and general life stuff.
I'll probably just post a bunch of pics or something. Maybe nothing at all. I have so many things I want to write about, but I simply must prioritize. Writing about what I think about the Erika Jong article a few weeks ago can take a back burner to packing my vases for now. My thoughts on it will still be around. As will what I think about separation from your child after 3 intense, loving years.
You also may have noticed that names have changed on this site. My husband (now know as "Rooster") asked to become more anonymous. I changed names for both him and our son (now "Hawk") as far back as I could one afternoon last week. It made me cry, but such is life. Hawk are my son's initials and Rooster was a nickname for my husband long before Hawk was around, so they seemed fitting.
Till then. Catch you on the flip side, all.
xo
Jess
PS: Who knows if I'll actually hold out and not post. I'm just giving myself permission not to.
I'll probably just post a bunch of pics or something. Maybe nothing at all. I have so many things I want to write about, but I simply must prioritize. Writing about what I think about the Erika Jong article a few weeks ago can take a back burner to packing my vases for now. My thoughts on it will still be around. As will what I think about separation from your child after 3 intense, loving years.
You also may have noticed that names have changed on this site. My husband (now know as "Rooster") asked to become more anonymous. I changed names for both him and our son (now "Hawk") as far back as I could one afternoon last week. It made me cry, but such is life. Hawk are my son's initials and Rooster was a nickname for my husband long before Hawk was around, so they seemed fitting.
Till then. Catch you on the flip side, all.
xo
Jess
PS: Who knows if I'll actually hold out and not post. I'm just giving myself permission not to.
Our hipster-haircut adventure:
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThisIsWorthwhile/~3/I6KJdDqHtHc/hiatus.html
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