A Creative Metamorphosis: The Chrysalis Stage

You may have noticed that things have been quiet here at Adventures of a Rainbow Mama over the past few weeks...

I've gone into my Chrysalis Stage. I'm all Pupa; working on my metamorphosis. 

Learning. 
Thinking. 
Dreaming. 
Planning.

Piling my favourite books together and seeking creative inspiration. Asking the big questions. Seeking wisdom. Doing the hard work. And in doing so - recognising that to truly give myself to the creative process I have to release. Let go. Be. And so I am...

You might still find me chattering away on fb, twitter or instagram but the Rainbow Mama blog is going to be quiet over the next little while. My 365 project included. But, hang in there! I think you are going to love what I'm working on... and I can't wait to share it with you; you crazy, beautiful people. Thank you for believing in the adventures thus far. It means so much to me.

Lots and lots of love,
Amber. XO

246/365 Harry Potter + Alex Rider | Book Week 2014

We hadn't done "Book Week" before. 

But we were aware that it was a pretty big deal { T is a children's author after all } so the boys were pretty disappointed when their new school postponed it due to bad weather a few weeks back. Wahhh. 

Yesterday was the day when they finally got to show off their favourite characters. Hooray! 

Buster went as Kid Spy Alex Rider from the Anthony Horowitz books and Kingsley dressed up as Harry Potter { this is turning out to be  a life-long obsession - are your kids still loving Harry too?! :) }.

There were lots of great costumes; my favourites being all of the girls dressed as Pippi Longstocking with wired plaits! Too cute.

Do your kids like dressing up for Book Week? Tell me about your costumes!
Amber. XO

194/365 Chapter One

4:45pm | The wallpaper. Bernadi's Gelateria, Brunswick Heads.

JK Rowling Releases New Harry Potter Short Story!

Harry fans rejoice! 

JK Rowling has just released a new story that gives us the first updates on Harry Potter since she finished the last book in the infamous series seven years ago :)

Harry, now 33 (!!) is married - to "Ginny" - with two young boys of his own: James and Albus. Nawwwwww. Ron { of the Weasley Wizard Wheezes joke emporium } is still with Hermoine, and they have a son Hugo and a daughter Rose together. Even Neville Longbottom gets a look in; he's now a teacher at Hogwarts!

Released on her Pottermore website, and written in the voice of Quidditch World Cup gossip columnist 'Rita Skeeter,' this is a small glimpse into the 'current' World of Wizarding. But the BIG question is asked:

"Is the Chosen One embroiled in fresh mysteries that will one day explode upon us all, plunging us into a new age of terror and mayhem?"

Oooooooh! Exciting. JK Rowling had previously stated that she was leaving Harry behind her but maybe, just maybe; she's had a change of heart?! ;)

Let's hope that's true. I certainly have two rabid HP fans here. Oh and that makes me think that I should probably put a post together from our day at "The Making of Harry Potter" Warner Brother studio tour in London shouldn't I! #abouttime

Who would like to see our behind-the-scenes Harry Potter photos?!
Amber. XO

p.s. Read the full short story at Pottermore { or follow this link if you don't have a Pottermore account } and leave me a comment here on the blog or on my facebook or twitter to tell me what you think :)

The Reader

Long-time readers of my blog might remember the days when I wasn't sure how to get Hug interested in reading. I wrote about it a few times & I'm linking to some of those posts here:

"Mama I can read" 
The Art of Storytelling
The Textual Paradigm & Other Ways of Knowing

Well, time passed (as it does) and something happened...
He became The Reader.

Now, my boy LOVES to read. L-O-V-E-S.

There were days when I wondered if it would ever happen & now there are days when I have to stop him reading ;)

And it's amazing how often we are stopped in cafe's and stores (yes, he'll follow me out of the car and into stores with his nose still buried deep into a book) by people telling us how refreshing it is to see kids reading.

So, what happened? 

It's hard to put my finger on it. But, I really think it was about TIME. It just took him time to want to read. And then, the next part of the magic was, I believe, EXPOSURE. He has always been surrounded by books and by people reading. Books are important here. 

He always has enjoyed books but for a very long time he was happy to experience them visually.

Now, he knows there's something hidden in the jumble of letters too. A million things. A million worlds. A million ideas. He's hooked. And it's a beautiful thing to watch.

Do your kids like reading? Did it take time for them too or did it come easily?
A. x

Books I actually *have* read!

When posting about the books that I want to read I forgot to mention the wonderful book that I actually am reading! It's called Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry & despite the title it isn't overtly religious. In fact, I happened upon my copy at a yard sale & didn't realise until I started reading it that it is a Waldorf Steiner influenced book. Anyway, it's beautiful, really honest & personal, & I've been moved to tears on more than one occasion. I've earmarked so many pages so that I can return to the wisdom of Katrina Kenison's words when I need them.

While on the topic of Waldorf-inspired books I will also mention a book that I read last year that I've been thinking about a lot after Meg from Sew Liberated posted about it recently in a post entitled Waldorf & Montessori. It's called Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children. I had borrowed it from a friend & incorporated many of its gentle ideas into our daily lives. It's one of those books that although I've already read it I've often thought that I want to buy a copy to have on my own shelf!

The last book I'll mention is called Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing our children from birth to seven. It's a Waldorf book that I bought last year in preparation for Hug starting school. Again it's full of gentle inspiration.

The Lazy Beaver

I was reading this book to my sweet boys before bed tonight & I was struck with the thought that I must recommend it on my blog! But, when I googled it there was not even 1 image of it on the web apparently. Too weird! That's a first. I did find an Amazon listing but only for 'used & new' so I guess it's out of print. I think it's translated from Italian. Anyway, I reeeeally like this book, so please grab it if you come across it. 

It's the story of a young beaver who always chooses to play instead of ever contributing but in a rather sweet way he changes his ways and finds happiness. It's got great illustrations full of interesting little details & then a page at the back that talks about the real traits of beavers.

Beautiful books

I have had wonderful luck recently finding beautiful old books at thrift stores. This is my most prized one! I bought it for one dollar yesterday & it is amazing. It is copyright 1936 and 19937 and it's in immaculate condition. 

We started with the first story, at bedtime last night, of Olga from Norway and these are two prints from that story. So gorgeous! There are about 6 or 7 stories all up from children all around the world.

Olga plays her birch-bark horn while her friends dance around her.

And a few weeks ago I found an original copy of this book "Hailstones and Halibut Bones - Adventures in colour" from 1961. It's really cool. L and I have been reading the verses about each different colour and I'm sure I'll be able to incorporate into some type of activity.

5 of my favourite things (at this moment)

Our map. We bought a map and laminated it so that everyone could touch it - sticky fingers and all. It's tested in a few spots in the house and finally found a home next to the book-reading couch, down low enough so that everyone can see it. Hug and I am enjoying looking at this sticker book atlas (a great thrift-shop find, along with another recent great one: the Flag sticker book) and because the map is laminated we are sticking the appropriate stickers on each area. Hug also came home from pre-school singing a fun Continents song (I just googled to see if I could find 'our' one - nope! But, gee there are a lot of options!) that he has taught us all. I *love* it! Even Little lovely-one knows all of the words :)

Gumboots. Sweet, sweet, gumboots. I love gumboots so much purely for the fact that my boys L.O.V.E. *love* luuuuurve them so darn much :) Here they are - little and big - lined up at the front door. They are so ratty and muddy and even torn (& they're not even 'old'! We bought Hug's ones while we were away at Easter) and this scene brought joy to my heart.

We house-sat / puppy-sat for friends over the weekend and they have just bought a lovely house in the hills. I fell in love with this gorgeous bird tap the moment I saw it. I want one!

Bento. For some reason that I'm not entirely sure of I got completely obsessed with Bento a few nights ago! Now, I have had this bug before but not for a while... and then suddenly I was on an all-night web hunt for the best bento photos I could find. This obviously wasn't one of them :) lol. Actually, this was my first attempt at bento for Hugi's lunch:  Stirfried brown rice with a soy-sauce fish, cherry tomato, a mini spelt/kamut roll that i had baked and some cute goldfish crackers (thanks to my friend C in Florida). 

Flying trapeze. Yup, that is me up there - flying through the air! T and I had a brilliant time doing this awesome trapeze class recently. Too cool. 

The Great Castle Of Marshmangle

We are loving this book in our house at the moment. Both boys really enjoy the sensical nonsense! T and I love reading it too :) It's called The Great Castle Of Marshmangle.