Proud to Believe

"Mommy, are mermaids extinct?" my five year curiosity peeks. Suddenly visions of the planned out "Is Santa Real" explanation comes to a screeching halt. I wasn't prepared for other fantasy explanations.

I clear my throat unsurely, praying I say the right thing.  " No, honey, they are not extinct. But no one knows for sure if they are real. No one has any proof."

Panic and disappointment reaches her angelic face.

"That doesn't mean there isn't any mermaids," I reassure her. "it just means we haven't found them yet. All that matters is what you think."

Hope returns as she exclaims "I will be the first to find one!".

Some might not approve of  allowing my kindergartener to believe in such things. Honestly, I think it's the best thing you can do for a child; teaching them to be open-minded and proud of their beliefs.

In adulthood we are faced with trials of fighting for what we believe in:. our religion, our ethics, and even identity. I can't stress self-confidence enough. It's connected to everything we are. What good does it do when you crush a child's possible reality? They become uncertain, letting others decide for them who they are and what they believe.

I have strong faith in what I believe in. I don't want my children to believe in what I believe unless it's what they want to believe it too. If they decide to follow a specific religion, I hope it's because it's where they feel they belong. Though I am not a follower of a specific belief but my own I study several for the sake of appreciating choices. My children will have those choices and will be proud of their choice.

And if they change their minds, they will be proud of that too. Believing in something is only worth it if you can say that you are not ashamed of what you believed even though you changed your mind. So...I know there will come a time when my five year old will probably not believe in mermaids anymore. That's okay. As long as she is proud to have believed in it for as long as she did.

Whimsical Mai Dot com goes live!

I can't believe it's finally here!!!! My shop is now live on etsy. I'm still taking lots of practice on painting, but will have a few items listed soon. For now, we have four leaf clover items! Enjoy!

www.whimsicalmai.com

Creativity does not come in a box.

I have a juicy secret to share with you; I cannot cook from a box. Honest! Give me five ingredients and I can make a gourmet meal, but hand me a box of macaroni and cheese......diner beware.

I wanted to share this with you because last Sunday I made a famous box meal in one of their 'new' flavors, which let's face it, might as well been a soup by the time I was 'done' cooking.

I can assure you; I read every detail on that stupid box, and measured everything to the tee. I even put the timer on to make sure I cooked it for the required times. But here at the end of the instructions I still had a soup of ground beef, rice, and some sort yellow liquid that should be a cheese sauce.

My husband,  the ying to my yang, can prepare box meals like he invented them. Infact, sometimes (ok, most of the time) the miracle that comes out of the pan looks better than what is pictured on the box. Let's just say that for the most part any boxed meal is prepared by him.

This Sunday's episode of box food gone bad gave me an epiphany. It's not my fault.  I don't do well with box foods because there is not an ounce of opportunity for creativity in following instructions. Measure this, stir that, cook here, and serve there. I suppose that is why when it gets to the cutting and stitching part, I can never stick to the pattern; hence why I have never got into sewing. Manipulating patterns and blending three of them into one is very VERY hard, but for some reason I just can't pick one pattern. I'm sick: I know.

My husband says my version of rice o roni (made from scratch, by my own recipe) tastes exactly like the box kind. But I garentee you, that you give me the box and you'll have burnt mushy rice.  So here's to my husband, the professional box-chef. He probably doesn't have any idea what alumn is, but he can make hamburger helper with his eyes closed.

New project

Just wanted to give you a quick update! We are visiting family at the moment.. My Grandmother's birthday was also this week, so as a gift I put my rosemaling skills to work.  Here's a picture of the painting (Sorry for the bad quality, it's from my phone!)

Where are the birds?

Last year we had a bird nest in the eves of our covered patio. The nest was very obvious, and we left it alone all winter. This year, the bird is back, and made yet another nest. Last weekend, while doing yard work, I found an egg laying on our decorative rock.

I thought, being it was so carefully placed on the rock that it had safely fallen out of the nest, and my husband had put it on the rock. But he insisted that he didn't even see the egg.

Nevertheless, it proves the bird is back. Aha! The birds do reuse their nests! Not so....the nest was empty. I had to climb up to the eve and look down in the deep Crater of the nest to find it empty. There were no other eggs.

But, alas! a few days ago, you can hear the chirping of little birds in the eves, and mama bird is feverishly hunting for food all day.  But they are not using last year's nest. The trouble is, I see where the bird is, I hear the babies, but it is so deep in the eve, I cannot see the nest.

clever, mama bird, clever. So sorry to say the only picture I have of it is the dud egg.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

Last Saturday I finished my class in Os (ooo. ss.) Rosemaling, and starting my Telemark box. I have to confess I am not a fan of Os, but it is the easiest of rosemaling styles, so I am practicing anyways.

Financing practicing is not always easy. So with mother's day approaching, I decided to do some picture frames. I wanted to share them as soon as I finished it, but I was afraid that the pictures would somehow get back to the recipient.

But I'm pretty sure, that I'm safe now. :0)

I only put flowers on these pieces, but traditional Os is framed in red and white. As I said, I'm not a fan of Os, and I thought the flowers are pretty standing alone.

Now that I'm starting Telemark, I don't expect to be practicing much Os. I still have plenty to practice however, so I suppose many gifts I give this year will be painted ones. :0) Be on the alert, friends, if you have a birthday coming up, you might receive a rosemaled piece- if you are Norwegian or not.

Over the Rainbow

Saturday we had the uncanny chance to see a double rainbow twice. The rainbows were very bright.

I'm not going to get into my superticous thoughts about rainbows right now---I have a feeling you would think I'm nuts (I am not afraid of being precieved as crazy, I just don't want you to know how crazy I am just yet).

 Of course I took my camera out. Unfortunetly I am not a great photographer so I had a hard time getting a good picture.

Nevertheless, it is beautiful on its own anyway.