What makes me smile? Making homemade play dough and admiring my daughter’s very first pigtails. As the mother of a very bald baby, I have been waiting for this day for a long time. =)

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Yesterday afternoon Matt, Annabelle and I drove into D.C. to attend a children’s Thanksgiving event at the National Museum of the American Indian. On the way there, Annabelle fell asleep in the car, so Matt asked me if I wanted to stop and take pictures. Of course, I accepted and gladly suggested Georgetown. He dropped me off behind M Street where I wandered around Montrose Park and a nearby cemetery where I snapped lots and lots of photos. Above is what I saw.

Once Annabelle woke up we played in the Montrose park for a bit before loading back up into the car and heading towards the Museum of the American Indian. While searching for parking, an officer stopped us at a light where we were made to wait for about 20 minutes. We saw

leaders from China and Germany passing through on their way to the Whitehouse where President Bush hosted the G20 Summit to discuss regulating the global economy and world trade. After the officer waved us through though, we sat in traffic again because

protesters rallied against California’s Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage. The group was full of energy with lots of rainbow umbrellas and flags, awesome and intelligent signs (I particularly enjoyed one sign that said, “Let’s Vote on Your Marriage”), and an enthusiastic and steadfast crowd who endured brief but heavy down pours.

Phew! What a day downtown. After our busy day in the city, we’re leaning towards a low key children’s event with ample parking and no risk of protests and world summits. That said, I felt grateful that my daughter not only took in a beautiful day in the park but also saw motorcades for world leaders, as well as a rally that supports civil rights. Not too shabby for a trip downtown.

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Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Courage! Look out, beyond, and see
The far horizon’s beckoning span!
Faith in your God-known destiny!
We are a part of some great plan.

~James Weldon Johnson

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be. ~Langston Hughes

O, let America be America again —
The land that never has been yet — ~Langston Hughes

We must take back our land again,
America! ~Langston Hughes

Or do you think those precious drops
From Lincoln’s heart were shed in vain? ~James Weldon Johnson

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work . . . ~Abraham Lincoln

that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth. ~Abraham Lincoln

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Sunday, my family had the great fortune to witness the Congratulatory Wall for President Elect Obama, set up by Avaaz, an organization of global citizens committed to taking action for important issues in today’s world. While there I had the opportunity to photograph the many visitors who were signing the wall as well as one man who I noticed kneeling down next to the inscription at the top of the steps on the Lincoln Memorial. Again, I am so grateful to have been among these many visitors and that my daughter and husband were there to share these moments with me.

To learn more about tolerance education and to teach tolerance at home to your children, visit tolerance.org.

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I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day. ~Vincent Van Gogh

Dad pushes his dear one across the pavement in her miniature car, which she found at the Goodwill.

catching leaves is as much fun in the dark as it is in the light; the leaves highlighted by a dim cast from our neighborhood lamps

when cars ride by

a silhouette of trees created by lights from neighboring apartments

a moon hidden but glowing from behind the clouds; what I see from our swingset.

With our early evening play resembling the night, I am beginning to see the rich colors and opportunity for adventure that Van Gogh alludes to.

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Yesterday, in what turned out to be the longest of nights (during which my husband and I pleaded with our daughter  to sleep or at least rest), I made the decision to get out of bed with my daughter at 6 a.m. and take her for a drive so that my husband could get a few hours of sleep and function as a somewhat sane person during the day.

I quickly dressed and brought Annabelle downstairs where we strapped on her sparkling pink sneakers over her polka dotted footy pajamas.   Since it was so early in the day and the air was cool, I selected a puffy white vest for her to wear over her pajamas.  Looking at her (and thinking about it now), I realize how much we, as parents, get away with when it’s that early in the morning (i.e. dressing our kids as though they dressed themselves) and how much fun it is to be a parent (though I would vote for sleep over a silly outfit any day).

At first, I thought I would take her to see the ducks, although we were both disappointed when some early morning walkers told us that even the ducks don’t come out as early as we do (I politely told the walkers that we usually prefer to sleep at that hour).  I then promised Annabelle that we would have more fun with the ducks at a later time but that we needed to go elsewhere.  Still, I had no idea where to take her.

Then I jogged my memory for ideas of other ponds or at least safe places to go so early in the day.  With all the excitement of the election and my a rekindled interest in politics, I decided that we should drive into the city and take in the national sights early in the day–something that I had never done before.

Driving into D.C. on Constitution Ave., we took in the colorful foliage and parked nearby the World War II Memorial.  As we headed for the Memorial, we saw

dazzling red and gold trees

the Washington Monument reflecting in the pond with gorgeous trees decorating its base

and  on our way back we stopped at the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue

As we jogged up to the White House, Annabelle and I sang her favorite “Choo-choo” song with lyrics that go something like, “First we go to so and so’s house and then we go to so and so’s house.”  Since we were at the president’s house, I sang the song that way too.  The only other visitors were 2 middle aged men in law sweat shirts, and I can only wonder what they thought of us since we literally jogged up, sang our song, snapped the above photo, and jogged away.

While my night and morning didn’t turn out as I had expected them to, my daughter and I still managed to enjoy the morning and do something we had never done before.  Admittedly, I felt exhausted for the rest of the day, and yet, I am still happy for my adventurous morning with her.

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Now that Election day has come and gone and history was made, I found myself wandering through my own sleepy world with a small smile on my face. I feel so pleased with our election’s results, as many of you may well know. I do offer my apologies to readers who enjoy my blog but who may not like to hear my politics. I promise to get back to talking about the small stuff, the green stuff, the homeschooling and parenting stuff that bring many of you over here. So, let’s get to it.

Today, with autumn as our backdrop, our Montessori group planned to head outside to spend a day raking, jumping, and playing in leaves. Not only is raking leaves a practical living skill for our preschoolers to learn, but being outside collecting leaves and playing with them inspires a love and connection with nature that is invaluable.

But before I get ahead of myself, let me share a bit about how our lesson went. The mom/guides enthusiastically guided our children outdoors with rakes in hand. Once outside, our children noticed this or that and the raking of leaves was all but forgotten. Still, we reminded our children that there was fun to be hand and leaves to raked, so we (the moms) began to rake.

Minutes later our little ones noticed that their stomachs were rumbling. It was snack time. Indoors we went. Once inside, the children set the table with place mats, bowls, and plates. We then served them apples and carrots to fuel their energy for another round of raking. Here are pictures of the hungry ones:

Once snack time ended, our children headed back outdoors although this time with a little more gusto for leaf raking. Another mom and I carried our rakes to large leafy patch of the yard and began to rake and rake and rake. Eventually, the older children took notice and wandered over. Then, the younger ones joined us to observe the work that is raking leaves. A 3 year old in our group told me, “This is hard. I don’t think that I like raking leaves.” So the other mother and I reminded him about the best part of raking leaves, “You can jump in them, dear.”

And so we raked some more. Below are a few more pictures from our lovely morning with the leaves:

Annabelle uses her head to rake . Max is amused.

Max shows the younger children how to rake.

Sabrina is enthusiastic, at last, to be among the leaves.

I have to confess that when I was growing up in a leafy, leafy neighborhood in Connecticut, I detested raking leaves. What I remember though are funny and sometimes odd conversations had with my parents, neighbors, and my grandfather. Raking leaves was simply a matter of having patience, hanging in there, and feeling a little bit of relief when the yard was clear. As an adult though, I am learning to like it (although our yard is much, much smaller than when I was a kid) and am hopeful that Annabelle may enjoy it too.

Below I’ve included resources for fun, enthusiastic leaf raking with your children:

Mommy Lounge

Whole Family

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“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

I feel like last night was one of many first steps that Americans have taken towards electing a president we are proud of and believe in.  That said, John McCain’s concession speech moved me beyond words, and I only wish his campaign had let him be the candidate I saw speaking last night.

Yes we can!

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The Capitol, taken while standing on a top floor in the Newseum

So, tomorrow is the big day.  I’m excited and nervous.  I comfort myself by thinking about how the candidates must feel about tomorrow.  From what I’ve heard on MSNBC and the Today Show, both candidates are visiting 7 states today!  Yes, 7!  Can you believe it?  I can.  Regardless of what the polls are saying, many people still haven’t made up their minds; yes, Obama is ahead in the polls, and I am praying that tomorrow is his day; still, anything can happen behind the curtains.

My husband tells me that he thinks it won’t matter who becomes president. “Our lives won’t be too different in either case,” he reasons.  I’m not so sure.  I worry about Roe v. Wade being overturned.  I worry that the U.S. will agree to off shore drilling in Alaska.  I worry about what would happen if McCain takes office and God forbid something were to happen to him.  Let’s just say I am up worrying a lot these days.

Meanwhile, my dear one isn’t sleeping either.  Maybe she sense that I’m tense?  Maybe she’s still excited over all the parties, candy, and fun with friends had on Halloween?  Whatever the cause, my dear one has not let her mom and dad sleep in oh, 3 nights.

But it’s not all misery over here.   I’m hopeful too.  I am hopeful that Obama and Biden will win.  I am hopeful that my daughter and all children will live to see a man, who happens to be black, take our country in a better direction.  I am hopeful that when many of our troops return home this Christmas, they will be able to stay at home with their families.   I am hopeful that wars will end and people will talk.  Is that too much hope to have?  I hope not.  =)

Like I said, tomorrow is the big day.  Election Day.  You may not agree with everything that I have shared with you in this post.  Good.  I think everyone should make the choice that most resonates with their core values.  That’s why, it is my belief, that we should exercise our right to vote as active citizens in a democracy.  Yes, democracy.  All of our votes matter.

Are you planning to vote tomorrow?  Have you already submitted your vote? Was the environment or another issue important to you in making your decision?

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Last week I introduced Jenny, an environmentalist and green bride who is committed to a lifestyle that puts Mother Earth first. Due to the impressive list of ways that Jenny “goes green,” I am happy to share a few more of her tips with you now, which I hope will be helpful to those of you focused on fall and winter composting and organic gardening. With the weather cooling down, many of us will be raking leaves and tending indoor composts during the winter months, Jenny’s suggestions are of great value to anyone who gardens, yearns to garden, composts, and who wants to learn about how easy composting can be. Below are several common questions I had about composting and gardening followed by suggestions from Jenny.

How do I dispose of fruit and vegetable waste and other food waste, like egg shells, in an environmentally friendly way?

We place vegetable waste, fruit waste and egg shells (that are rich in calcium) in an indoor worm bin. When the worm bin is full, we place remaining waste in a compost bin that we keep outside. We also place citrus peels and vegetables with strong odors (like garlic) in the outdoor compost bin because the worms in our indoor compost do not like these foods.

* From Jessica/ Green Mamma: Remember that in order to create an organic compost, the food scraps that are added to the compost must be leftovers from organic foods. Food scraps from many conventionally grown foods may contain traces of pesticides, which can end up in your compost when you add these foods to it.

How can I use the compost created by worms in an indoor worm bin?

The worms produce vermicompost, or worm poop, which is a valuable worm soil amendment. We mix this with potting soil and use it to repot our plants. We also sprinkle vermicompost on top of potted plants and outdoor plants. We do not use synthetic fertilizer for our many indoor plants.

What kinds of materials from our yards can be added to a compost?

Good question. Our family uses grass cuttings in a number of ways. When we mow our lawn, we leave the bagger off so that the grass cuttings decompose and recycle nitrogen back to the ground. For maintenance and landscaping purposes, we add grass cutting from the front yard to the compost bin to keep our front yard clean.

During the fall, we also place the fallen leaves in the compost bin. We bought a tool to turn our compost and we aerate our compost weekly. We have three compost bins outside and we alternate filling them up so that one bin is always ready with compost. We mix kitchen scraps with grass clippings and leaves to create a good balance between nitrogen and phosphorus. We do not use pesticides or synthetic fertilizer outdoors. We will be using our compost pile for mulch to retard termites.

How did you select your compost bin?

Currently, our county gives away compost bins to residents.

What other materials can be added to a compost?

We place lint from our dryer in the outdoor compost bin. Worms in our indoor worm bin also break down newspapers, although I try to eliminate the pages with colors as the ink used to print color are harmful to the worms.

Do you have any other suggestions for reusing materials that might otherwise be disposed of and end up in landfills?

We go to our local Starbucks/coffee shops and ask them to save used coffee grounds. We use this to mix with the clay soil we have in the yard and also as fertilizer in the yard. The coffee ground increases aeration and drainage of our clay soil.

What other changes are you making to your garden and landscaping that benefit our earth’s environment? Have any of your gardening tricks allowed you to offset global warming?

We are slowly converting portions of our grass lawn to gardens. For the back yard, we want to choose plants that can produce flowers or berries for birds. We also want to plant some fruit trees. We are hoping that the little amount we do can [in our garden and with our many composts] help towards locking in CO2 [and reducing the impact of global warming].

The results of our many gardening and composting changes? We went from throwing out 2-3 bags of regular trash and 2-3 bags of yard waste per week that ends up in the landfill to throwing out less than a bag of garbage per week. The rest of our trash is recycled.

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Tonight as I sit down to write my gratitude post for the week, I am eating chocolate soy ice cream with chocolate chips and am listening to my husband give my daughter a bath.  We just finished creating spider and pumpkin paintings from Annabelle’s hand prints.  Over the weekend, we also carved pumpkins, planned out projects for the winter, and tended to chores that needed attention.  And this morning, I finished my fourth race of the year in our county’s 15th annual Goblin Gallop.  I almost cannot believe that we managed to do so much during our weekend and that as we completed our tasks, we spent quality and unrushed time together as a family.    I suppose what I am experiencing is abundance; moments that are in and of themselves complete and full because I am there fully experiencing them.

One of my favorite moments from my week happened an evening ago in the bath tub with my daughter; she is beginning to put multiple words together to say sentences and sing songs.  She has many favorite children’s songs, so I taught her the “5 Little Pumpkins” song for Halloween, which I have included below.  Each time we finish singing, she holds up her pointer finger and says, “Again,” or “One time, ok?” which is something that she has listened to me say at bedtime, after I have finished reading her the same book over and over again.   So today, I am grateful for my daughter and October and for being able to totally experience them both each and every moment.

Five little pumpkins
Sitting on a gate
The first one said,
“Oh, my, it’s getting late!”
The second one said,
“There are witches in the air!”
The third one said,
“But we don’t care!”
The fourth one said,
“Let’s run and run and run!”
The fifth one said,
“I’m ready for some fun!”
OOOOOOOH, went the wind
And OUT went the light (clap on “out”)
And the five little pumpkins
Rolled out of sight.

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