So wanted to change up a table for a bit for the equinox. I have a few more changes planned. I want to keep the table fresh since summer sometimes seems to drag on in Texas. Keep things fresh and growing.The beehive was made by pinning jute rope around styrofoam (would prefer a more eco-friendly material, but was short on time).

The bees were made with brown roving, thread and tissue paper. The pitcher of water is meant to reflect light around the wall and ceiling.

The cuttings are from our Mexican Honeysuckle plant in the front yard. This bush is drought resistant and amazing. What does it do in weeks of 100 heat without much water? It blooms and blooms! A true Southern plant - bring on the heat!

In my continued quest, I am learning how really, less is more. I had been planning this elaborate summer table and of course, hadn’t gotten around to actually execute any of them. What I learned at the summer rhythms class from Laura is that especially as the kids grow older, THEY will be making things for the summer table, so sometimes it is best to make a simple table that we can grow as a family. And if I have time to add fun things, then by all means do - but it doesn’t have to be an extravaganza from the get go. I still have several years of childhood to craft and add to our seasonal decorations.

With that I give you our seasonal table - a blue cloth, a shell, another shell doing duty as a boat, and lots of room for the kids natural treasures!

And to illustrate that it doesn’t take much - Tyler woke up the next morning, saw the table and said excitedly, “is it summer?!!”

It has been a crazy week and I stayed up far to late last night getting some tasks completed, but it was TOTALLY worth it! We had a fantastic May Day! All week we had been slowly delivering May Day baskets to our friends and we spent the entire morning delivering the last few. The kids also got a little surprise when they woke up this morning - two new Spring books, (from a great list compiled by Soulemama), and some delicious flower cookies! The seasonal table had reflections of the holiday with colored cloths, fresh flowers and its very own Maypole.

Some days I think that I do this more for myself than the kids, but they today Tyler asked, “why didn’t we do anything for Easter?” I told him we did the egg hunt with our friends and we had a bunny cake from Grandma H and easter baskets from Grandma W, etc. He said, “no…” and meant our seasonal table!?! I was way behind on Easter and the table didn’t have anything special…and he noticed. He even suggested “a Christmas tree with bunnies and chicks and eggs” for next year! I told him I thought it was a great idea and we would do it.

Those moments make the late nights getting everything just right so worth it! Here out some pics from our special day.

Our May Day table!	May Day baskets for our friends - full of flowers, cookies and an invitation to our spring Beltane celebration!
Surprises for the kids!	Tyler checking out his new books - he LOVED “The Sun Egg”

Earth Day was approaching and I was telling Tyler that we would have to sing “Happy Earth Day” (sung like Happy Birthday) to the earth. That got my thinking about birthday parties and so I thought - let’s have an Earth Day party!! And do we did. I had a lot of acitivites planned and in true toddler fashion, we didn’t get to them all. But we did go for a nature walk, make pinecone bird feeders for the birds to enjoy a treat, and of course had a cake with candles and all. It was a nice afternoon - Tyler was very excited by it and a few days later you can still hear Quinn singing “Happy Earth-day”. As the kids age, I am sure our celebrations will be a bit more earth-conscious (cleaning up iltter at a park, etc), but for now, just bringing awareness to Mother Earth and how we live in community with her is enough for a wee one. Here is some video of the kids singing….

A treat for the birds on Earth Day

A video of the kids singing “Happy Earth Day!”

We have been busy as bees around here and perhaps that is why I feel a bit winded this morning. I have much I want to accomplish while Chris is off with the kids, but I will take a cue from my body and lay-low. My biggest goal last week was to get my seasonal table back in shape. Wow, is it full of Spring now!! We have fresh flowers, a wonderful branch from our crepe myrtle, butterfliers that Tyler helped me make, some fabric eggs made by Kristy that we were lucky enough to get in an egg hunt and finally some cute little bunnies that I knitted this past week. They aren’t perfect, but full of love - I really enjoyed making them. If time allows, I would love to learn to needle felt next week and add some tiny carrots to their picnic of greens!

The butterflies and bunnies came from the spring edition of Living Crafts - a most amazing magazine that I would recommend for any crafter or someone wanting inspiration!

I really love the seasonal table - it is something I look forward to and it puts such a smile on my face. And I am most excited that I actually sat down and planned the next 4 months of the table incorporating festivals such as May Day, Pentecost and Whitesun, and St. JOhns’ Tide (Summer Equinox). The table is a mix of seasonal and Christian and Goddess traditions. I am learning to make the little and big changes quietly and not point them out to the kids instead letting them discover the mysteries and fun happenings for themselves.

The Spring Table!!	Georgous flowers from our garden!
Butterflies and Eggs hanging about	Bunnies munching on some greens

It is that time of year in Texas that draws us out of our homes and to many of the wonderful outdoor places in Austin. One of those is Town Lake Park. Surprisingly, still relatively undiscovered. Every Friday evening, we head out there with our dearest friends and their kids. We bring our dinners, wine and relax in the goodness and out breath that is the end of the week.

Easter Sunday,we actually put together an Easter egg hunt for the kids and they loved it. The next Friday, some of the kids were playing “Easter Egg hunt” all over again. It is a magical place with magical people and I look forward to it every week.

I am so blessed to be part of this super village filled with such amazing woman. I see their faces smiling and glowing. I know of their talents, strengths, weaknesses and struggles. We are each so different, but we share the desire to create for our kids a nurturing and loving environment, the desire to make this world a better place, and to live our lives more consciously making healthier decisions, but also soaking up all the goodness life has to offer us.

My favorite part though is how strong we all are. I have seen each of us come up to a rock on our path, deal with the struggle, and then clear our path by kicking the shit out of that rock. Not because we are necessarily angry, but more that there are bound to me more rocks, and at some point, we have to keep moving as our kids and life demands. That is the thing about being a Mom, we bear the pressure of so much counting on us. We become masters at dealing with challenges because we HAVE to.

I am waxing poetic. What was this post about?? Oh, good times at Town Lake. Here our a few shots from our last outing. Check out more on the eggs that Craftastica made!

Quinn’s bounty of easter eggs.
The amazing Meredith	Our lovely, glowing Kristy
Tyler enjoying a strawberry found in his egg.	Eva found a rose in one of her eggs!

A simple Candlemas table

Candlemas is February 2nd, but this year we celebrated a little later at a time better for Mama. It just had to happen before valentine’s Day and it did.

We celebrated simply with a plain pale pink cloth and a beautiful lemongrass lavender candle from Whole Foods that smells divine. We used candlemas to reset the seasonal table and prepare for Spring.

It was simple and it made me happy. I am sad to say that there hasn’t been much going on with the seasonal table at the moment. I put all my creative eggs into the Valentine’s Day basket and then after that commenced a series of home projects that have sucked all my time and energy.

Typical me - but hey, I do what I can. Thankfully, Spring is a show all its own and even though our table hasn’t reflected much of the change - it is visible right outside every window in our house. My favorite is Tyler running in to tell me that the blossoms on one of the plants in our garden have opened. Next year maybe I will get to some of the fun things I want to do..