Little letters

I can't get enough of these little red string bracelets. Here they are with sterling silver rustic letters.

Who knew?

Who knew this little girl was so strong! One minute Ronnie was at the bottom of the rope, then all the way to the top in the blink of an eye.

I also caught a glimpse of Ben doing a head stand and Lila on a balance beam. Gymnastics was fun, but now we have a break from that and on to other things.

Hmmm, swimming? piano? martial arts?

That time of year

Back to school! Starting to feel like fall. Well, it always feels like fall in Berkeley. If you step outside around 8:00 am, you'll see a mass exodus down the street to school.

Just a four block walk to our school, and by the time we get to block two, there are about ten kids walking with us (and four moms, one dad and two babies).

Second grade and kindergarten. . .

Friendship (bracelets)

Ronnie has been asking all summer to make friendship bracelets at home, since she has been learning at camp. Finally, we stopped by JoAnn, and everyone picked out a few colors (even me), and an instruction book (it has been 20 years since I made one).

Ronnie taught her friend how to make them. Not sure how good this was for the couch (the string is pinned to the cushions).

I made one for Ben and one for Lila. And five for me.


Here are Ronnie's works in progress.

Boing!

If you ask nicely, Lila will let you boing a curl.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

We live in a relatively urban area. I say this based on the fact that we can walk to 2 grocery stores, 23 coffee shops, and 48 restaurants from our house.

So WHY are there CHICKENS in our yard every day??


It's actually pretty funny. Supposedly, they are pets of one of the homes across the street. They get out everyday, and come to peck around are garden. Somehow, they know to just peck at the weeds.


What's even funnier is that if these chickens had any idea what I did for a living, they would NOT be coming into my vicinity. . . and I don't mean chicken earrings.

The kids get a big kick out of our visitors, and I just hope the chickens know to look both ways before crossing, or we will come home to an ugly surprise some day!

Yesteryear

Something old and new for the wedding couple, all in one. So shabby chic!

These vintage Wilton 1776 bicentennial pewter porringers are a rare find, and I only have a few available.


Stamp them with names, dates or affirmations.


How cool! I'm hoping to offer baby sized ones too!


Get yours in my etsy shop before they are all gone.

And the answer to the Four of a Kind challenge is
A. Lila
B. Noe
C. Ronnie
D. Ben
...I think :)
Thanks for playing!

Four of a Kind Friday!

Ok, this time it's a little game. And no cheating! Guess who is who. Answers will be given on Monday. And just a reminder, there is one picture of each little Ostrin: Ronnie (2003), Ben (2005), Lila (2008) and Noe (2011).

Red string collection

The red string bracelet is known in Kabbalah to ward off misfortune. Here, I am introducing Under Her Charm's modern red string collection, featuring beautifully detailed gold amulets strung on deep red waxed irish linen.

Choose your favorite in my etsy shop!

Blue Eyed Beauty

With our strong recessive blue eye genes, Edwin and I made 7.8 beautiful blue eyes. The 0.2 is that wedge of hazel in Ben's right eye, but just as beautiful! Here are the littlest two blue eyes.

People watching in Berkeley

It's always fun to people watch in Berkeley. There is no shortage of unique and interesting sorts on the streets. Here was my view as I enjoyed my falafel at lunch.

Something for the kids

Ben and Lila humored me this evening and did a little modeling.

This is the first piece I've ever gotten on Ben...

It's a great gift for the boys of all ages - a stainless steel dog tag with rubber silencer, on a ball chain.

And for princesses of all ages...

a stamped aluminum crown on sterling ball chain.

Find them in my etsy shop!

Lucky Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway! It made for very pleasant reading to hear about all of the luck in your lives.

The lucky winner of the lucky mom necklace is SARAH, who said:

"i'm lucky to have a great mom who wares really about me i wanna won this to give it to her cuz i wanna thank her for everything"

Discoveries

We discovered a state park with a swimming hole, dressed up like a beach, just 30 minutes from our house. Everyone had so much fun playing in the water, even I had to roll up my jeans and get my feet wet.
***credit to AuraJoon for sharing her inspiring photos and animated pictures on her blog, and the secret of how to make them***

Noe discovered the joys of the sitting in the cool sand (because there is no warm sand in northern CA). She also discovered her feet! Once she realized those toes belonged to her, she didn't want to let go.

Even seasoned beach goers were full of discovery.

Free

Feeding my obsession

Or as my mom corrected, "FEETING my obsession." Ha! I LOVE my new maroon sequence TOMs!!

And thanks to Grandma for getting Ronnie and Lila silver sparkle ones. I guess we will spare Ben and Noe for now.

Summer treats

Yogurtland is my favorite treat, conveniently located between my office and the parking lot. But I suppose I should take the kids with me every now and then.

And of course it really has nothing to do with summer. It's a year-round indulgence!

Extreme Toddlers

This is what you get when you go to a three year old's birthday party whose father did high altitude rescue in the Himalayas.

Fun with Feathers

Ever since Ronnie got her feathers, I have been noticing them everywhere! I couldn't help buying a big bag of feathers to play with, all different colors and sizes.

Here was my first creation - sterling silver and chicken earrings.



Yes, it seems all of the feathers people are wearing these days are chicken feathers. Doesn't sound as exotic as peacock. But I love the way the feathers are so light (as in they don't weigh much), and blend in with your own hair, or feathers, if you are a chicken wearing feather earrings.

And don't forget to enter the Under Her Charm give away!

Give away!

Look down two posts! You can win the Lucky Mom necklace HERE

Seriously?

I'm not a huge complainer (well, don't ask Edwin or my mom). But really, I don't complain a lot, but this is ridiculous. Ronnie and Ben's camp is in a school in the Berkeley Hills. When I get there in the morning, I am faced with this.

Sixty-two steps, of which I need to get Ronnie, Ben, Lila and Noe to the top of, without any casualties. It only gets worse at the end of the day, when I rush to the top with Noe and Lila to get there in time. With everyone exhausted and holding handfuls of projects, lanyards and pipe cleaners, I can't believe we have made it 3 weeks without anyone toppling down.

It is a great camp and Ronnie and Ben are having fun doing science and art. Today was crazy hair day and Ronnie was crazy cute... not sure if that falls into the science or art category.

Ben was too self-conscious of his spiky hair and laid it totally flat before we reached stair 14. Then put on a hat to be sure.

Don't forget to enter the Under Her Charm give away! Just look down one post.

Under Her Charm Give Away!

Most moms I know would consider themselves pretty lucky, so I'm going to give away this "LUCKY MOM" necklace. This necklace features a 15mm gold rimmed sterling disc stamped with LUCKY MOM. It is accompanied by a swarovski crystal and gold vermeil lotus.

HOW TO WIN: Become a follower of this blog, if you are not already. Leave a comment on THIS post about why you are lucky (lucky in love? work? vegas?). Giveaway ends July 31st, and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner on August 1st. I will announce the winner on August 1st, and let you know how to contact me to get your necklace!

Shaken out of bed

This poor little guy was shaken right out of his nest Friday night. There was an earthquake in Berkeley, and I guess mama bird couldn't hold on quite tight enough.

The nest is right above the stairs that lead up to our front door. We've seen mama bird for a few weeks.

Edwin was shaken out of bed, too, but I slept right through it, and so did our little chicks.

Whew, that picture on the right reminds me of something Tim Robbins would have seen in Jacob's Ladder. Now that was a spooky movie. Anyone? Jacob's Ladder? So good!! I saw it twenty years ago and it still gives me nightmares...

Four of a Kind Friday!

Faithful Josh.

He has been a part of the family for fifteen years (he was a package deal with Grandpa Terry), living in Houston with Grandpa Terry and Grandma. The kids love him, and I think the feeling is mutual. Whenever we visit, Josh is right by them, especially when we go for walks.

Here is Josh walking along side Ronnie, Ben, Lila and Noe over a span of about seven years, during each of their first walks with Grandma in her blue stroller.



I think the kids help keep Josh (and Grandpa Terry) young!

Fun new necklaces, mixed metal

This morning I went back to an early morning pilates class (after a year!). The logistics of getting everyone to camp/day care an hour earlier is a nightmare. It means an hour less sleep for me, waking up very sleepy children, and, with Edwin's help, rushing like madmen. It was SO worth it! I love that I always seem to park in the same parking space, where someone has written this nice little message on the wall.


I don't know why, but for some reason it helps.

These new necklaces are now in my etsy shop. They are all mixed metal, with sterling silver and gold vermeil.

Gold vermeil is a heavy gold plating, 24K, over sterling silver. It is a gem quality plating that is 40 micro inches thick with a fine layer of nickel over the silver. The plate is very reliable, with a soft satin finish.

Newest little model

Noe made the perfect little model for this new sterling silver baby cuff.

The cuteness is out of control.

We'll be back

We left Texas yesterday, and we are back home in California. In honor of our trip. . .

Find it in my etsy shop, of course!

Sunrise, sunset

How in the world did THIS happen?

This was Ronnie (right) and her friend yesterday (if yesterday was 7 years ago).

Here they are today (if today was 10 hours ago).

In case you didn't see, they got feathers today. Ronnie picked pink and turquoise.

Maybe Ronnie's mom also got a feather. A well hidden pink one :).

See ya.

Mmmm...

Seriously.

My favorite Texas bbq - Pappas.

Childhood memories

I grew up going to Miller Outdoor Theater, sitting on the big hill to watch free performances and having picnics. Yesterday we took the kids to see the Houston Symphony and watch fireworks. They were playing the 1812 overture, complete with real cannon blasts at the end. Edwin had been watching it with them for weeks on the computer, telling them the story of the French and Russians.

Everyone loved it, especially the fireworks.

The previous two fourth of Julys, we sat huddled under layers of blankets with whipping winds watching fireworks through the fog at the Berkeley Marina. Although, after standing through the Bellaire parade in 100 degree heat yesterday, I'm torn which has harsher fourth of July weather, Berkeley or Houston.

One special little girl got to ride with her grandmother in the Tradition Bank car at the parade!