tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217811092024-03-23T11:17:04.031-07:00Baby UmaThe life and times of
Ms Uma Moses Annabelle Kucera,
gracing this planet since 2-2-2006.clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-20911032035373271622009-03-30T17:38:00.000-07:002009-03-30T17:39:23.955-07:00rainbow fairy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjG4Ax1mqtzBrCkW1b7yaRP4TckmnwuWKSAv2MWOCp9a97LUZXgvKy3SlFPGKfT3URwXnTcEZ0pjRk7kIWqp697_8sNpHTFG2jC1U2HZvQTH2eIhM1DR1RMHf0eG-vMulTHj9tGA/s1600-h/IMG_7646.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjG4Ax1mqtzBrCkW1b7yaRP4TckmnwuWKSAv2MWOCp9a97LUZXgvKy3SlFPGKfT3URwXnTcEZ0pjRk7kIWqp697_8sNpHTFG2jC1U2HZvQTH2eIhM1DR1RMHf0eG-vMulTHj9tGA/s400/IMG_7646.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319144871604181186" /></a>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-82948754484690207592009-03-30T17:34:00.000-07:002009-04-04T21:19:25.386-07:00February and MarchCheck out our trip to Phoenix and a bunch of strawberry related pics.....<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5319127050273751905%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-9416370973418295402009-03-30T17:19:00.000-07:002009-03-30T17:25:07.044-07:00Belated birthday picsUma's birthday party!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiJrNnmfQIadBhMv6d0wVgn3yD-oYn_Ak64RmzCw23XJ5OLWrCiP-f1MFloxDn1F7rixpmq37u7YUiNRWxx-5KWJeeh9K63hnygeQf5g9igNfmR7wveE5xtX1BtUtAUv3-9nNUA/s1600-h/IMG_1329.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiJrNnmfQIadBhMv6d0wVgn3yD-oYn_Ak64RmzCw23XJ5OLWrCiP-f1MFloxDn1F7rixpmq37u7YUiNRWxx-5KWJeeh9K63hnygeQf5g9igNfmR7wveE5xtX1BtUtAUv3-9nNUA/s400/IMG_1329.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319140123871678274" /></a><br /><br />New bike from Grandpa Kitty<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bipcTgyzw3WTPGfxYbANTCcXn2UFKbgeJtBbz53oF1pPnDW7jcoarQZpt9oicYdIu4mz5WZDVFNWg6d9H6KIxjxE-n97lbK9iwhGnZfZgtQFFBDMCaB20ZFxathYqvejLg1rBw/s1600-h/IMG_7569.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bipcTgyzw3WTPGfxYbANTCcXn2UFKbgeJtBbz53oF1pPnDW7jcoarQZpt9oicYdIu4mz5WZDVFNWg6d9H6KIxjxE-n97lbK9iwhGnZfZgtQFFBDMCaB20ZFxathYqvejLg1rBw/s400/IMG_7569.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319140253732358770" /></a>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-57879856225085073402009-02-02T11:45:00.001-08:002009-02-02T11:48:14.030-08:00Three!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsqhvLxHXlG6iiCnPF68b9btnP9z3ZvGrXuFdfGOPAWU0jYQS-gEuSWj2hwg7WiLrFtGZ98ZfxeA5JJD-MWSnLBidwArg3f6W_3NrSoR7I1W1IpsZB-q3fCT6Kur7CU_Tkkz84g/s1600-h/IMG_7547.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsqhvLxHXlG6iiCnPF68b9btnP9z3ZvGrXuFdfGOPAWU0jYQS-gEuSWj2hwg7WiLrFtGZ98ZfxeA5JJD-MWSnLBidwArg3f6W_3NrSoR7I1W1IpsZB-q3fCT6Kur7CU_Tkkz84g/s400/IMG_7547.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298289174135078434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U7Ny1b6XYlVJKRNwYlMCWTTFB4tj_zxLgrHnOoTBrTPNLC7s0aQJFeIhuIwjYBJRFxCB4UKHsEqlhSxt3EEILGRgTbgi3A3PIRUyjrx8Fcf9Lv-UwQkhMhxaVADKBCFjDgJAaA/s1600-h/IMG_7539.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U7Ny1b6XYlVJKRNwYlMCWTTFB4tj_zxLgrHnOoTBrTPNLC7s0aQJFeIhuIwjYBJRFxCB4UKHsEqlhSxt3EEILGRgTbgi3A3PIRUyjrx8Fcf9Lv-UwQkhMhxaVADKBCFjDgJAaA/s400/IMG_7539.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298289086985663106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwLUjX4r9GGQ8c2o9iCS6mbMtISSCB-Z7AHrQmaYrbw6oBhw94kL4LKZczjvoIhFcBlwvqDjjopxUkn5QBSfOi3TyeWS7D4qHpXhi54JIchERKE5P2A2Mr5r7_1lyrD0s3nXugw/s1600-h/IMG_7536.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwLUjX4r9GGQ8c2o9iCS6mbMtISSCB-Z7AHrQmaYrbw6oBhw94kL4LKZczjvoIhFcBlwvqDjjopxUkn5QBSfOi3TyeWS7D4qHpXhi54JIchERKE5P2A2Mr5r7_1lyrD0s3nXugw/s400/IMG_7536.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298288980490504242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebDMRSMs9RI4NYOThPoz7z4ILCGnOxlzOXaRmlG34rkjDAVpiqsUEsPWeRSqTLlJqtsTIIl89DE1M5skW_jSdaquGa82-wRz1y6OUpSLwHI3d8JgG6HGSjNpfie0d2vBT37Frnw/s1600-h/IMG_7476.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebDMRSMs9RI4NYOThPoz7z4ILCGnOxlzOXaRmlG34rkjDAVpiqsUEsPWeRSqTLlJqtsTIIl89DE1M5skW_jSdaquGa82-wRz1y6OUpSLwHI3d8JgG6HGSjNpfie0d2vBT37Frnw/s400/IMG_7476.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298288856419521522" /></a>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-64240682992434623402009-02-02T10:54:00.000-08:002009-02-02T11:45:37.799-08:00reflections on uma turning threeUma today is three, and thats a magic number (just ask Schoolhouse Rock). She is such a beauty and such a character. <br />Although the twos were a many splendored thing, I have to say I am really looking forward to the threes. In the past few weeks she's started asking so many questions, "What do dolphins do? What do swings do?"<br /> It's absolutely amazing to think of how much Uma has changed just since starting school in September. She has gained so many social skills and graces and is such a little lady now. We joke sometimes that she goes to charm school. <br /><br />In no particular order, here is a list of qualities Uma displays at onset of turning three...<br />*Uma sings all day long. Her entire life is a musical.<br />*Uma needs everything to be "just so", she's quite the perfectionist and rule-follower. This may be the death of me later in life.<br />* If one tiny drop of anything should happen to fall upon her clothing, she must change it immediately.<br />* Uma is fiercely determined. Once her mind is set on something, look out. <br />*Everything must be pink or sparkly. It's not my fault, I swear (although I do push the rainbows).<br />*She is ecstatic playing with any ball.<br />*Her imagination and fantasy world is rich. She lives with fairies and gnomes.<br />*She loves performing, anything will do as a stage. <br />*She talks about her cousin Lucas everyday. <br />*Uma loves wearing dresses, and <span style="font-style:italic;">must</span> have somethings that twirls if she is dancing.<br />*She loves choosing her own outfits, and her creations are hilarious.<br />*Uma is still incredibly shy. I still have to apologize to new folks who she gives the stare down.<br />*Although Uma is still a bit pushy and "large and in charge", she is certainly a very polite little girl.<br />*She still insists she is terribly afraid of ''maskes" (and face painting), although somehow clowns are okay.<br />*Uma loves to cuddle and cuddle and cuddle. <br />*Her recent obsession is preparing for her little and big sister. We have no idea how these are coming to us, but she is certain.<br />*Recently I asked her if she wanted a daddy and she said emphatically, "No, I want a<span style="font-style:italic;"> puppy.</span>"clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-43355381900959753072009-01-05T18:27:00.001-08:002009-01-06T11:54:07.996-08:00uma's holiday slideshow<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5288063795628690641%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-71957393020752733002008-11-29T10:58:00.000-08:002008-11-29T12:01:24.002-08:00Lila lispsA few weeks ago, Uma officially changed her name to Lila. I have no idea how this notion got into her funny little head, but she corrects us dozens of times a day " I'm not Uma, I'm Lila". Its been going on for about two or three weeks now, at first it kinda freaked me out, I wondered if this was a symptom of some multiple personalities or something but now we've all settled into calling her by her chosen name. Hopefully, this will pass. Funny, because they say everything is just a phase but some phases seem to last quite a while. For instance, last Halloween Uma(Lila) had no interest whatsoever in putting on a costume and lo and behold this year, although she talked about costumes for a month, when it came down to it, had no interest in being any sort of furry animal she had chatted about being endlessly. The good news is that she will now put on most other items of clothes and that is significant.<br /><br />Uma's (Lila's)little Waldorf school has been transformational in her development, she has blossomed so much in the last 3 months. Her teacher is like Glinda the good witch from Oz, pure magic. The environment and activities she does with the children are so homespun, nature-centered, and sweet. Entering the world of Waldorf is like learning a new religion filled with fairies, gnomes, and angels. I love it. I'm never a true "joiner" of any one philosophy or group, but I do love everything we've been learning along the way. My motto, though, for parenting and beyond is "a little bit of country, and a little bit of rock and roll".<br /><br />Since beginning school, Umalila (as she sometimes refers to herself), imaginative play has grown so much stronger. She will play by herself for huge stretches of time (thank you, goddess), happy with her own company and the worlds she creates within. This is monumental, as she has had me on such a short leash (just like her short umbilical cord!) She is a wonder to watch at parties, talking to strangers (!), playing with other kids, just having a ball without clutching to me for dear life the whole time. I have been in awe of her transformation. <br /><br />One somewhat funny thing Uma(Lila) has caught from school is a lisp. One day she came home and it was like her tongue had swollen to double its size. It was a bit worrisome at first, I even asked her teacher about it. Upon further investigation, I realized it was her little new best friend who lisps, and this girl is absolutely darling. So, now we have a little girl name Lila who lisps. Isthn't that sthweet?clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-45931167349246436052008-11-02T15:12:00.000-08:002008-11-02T15:13:46.446-08:00uma on stageHere's a two minute clip of Uma being quite spastic but classically Uma.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DblEIkuyvVU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DblEIkuyvVU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-12686171800078283182008-11-01T22:49:00.000-07:002008-11-01T22:50:28.948-07:00all hallows eve<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5263892541346870785%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-61294118200534002822008-11-01T18:15:00.000-07:002009-02-02T10:54:04.618-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTDdtGDoUsruWlL96AFwCFWp2Wvna1tNjtKyjzTOYsvSGuw7AeA_KTIhoVlckj88foP8Q_WePwkgOVawMrTlo4dZdF95Rp9tArc4g1sdPqAoDS66tOxcO-GV6p4z679WLV_G5PQ/s1600-h/IMG_6435.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTDdtGDoUsruWlL96AFwCFWp2Wvna1tNjtKyjzTOYsvSGuw7AeA_KTIhoVlckj88foP8Q_WePwkgOVawMrTlo4dZdF95Rp9tArc4g1sdPqAoDS66tOxcO-GV6p4z679WLV_G5PQ/s400/IMG_6435.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263863015074339026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6AyJ-gyOb5w8LHQFbvWikvqVKsdw1sDfEV6o2BQu-A3wWoYDEKpTGND0XZGIq18L0HJGIukxkPmVvaqPFjIgoEkspGzegkfJNCNg9oSnuvoTIvE9zXHUkBgf-T7bPj5kgtEdeA/s1600-h/IMG_6393.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6AyJ-gyOb5w8LHQFbvWikvqVKsdw1sDfEV6o2BQu-A3wWoYDEKpTGND0XZGIq18L0HJGIukxkPmVvaqPFjIgoEkspGzegkfJNCNg9oSnuvoTIvE9zXHUkBgf-T7bPj5kgtEdeA/s400/IMG_6393.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263862940393371010" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CLKRv2MvD7Brtx-JwV7QBmSWT2RnW6hidJzhDh-F7X9SjBoY7Rdz9FIrkp5Ulqn0XG3BUdb9qPWy85KpFVM66_q_aHTo2bS4xh4CYuCIlXE9DyLUwG3h_9EYvcgogx2RzZm3tg/s1600-h/IMG_0905.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CLKRv2MvD7Brtx-JwV7QBmSWT2RnW6hidJzhDh-F7X9SjBoY7Rdz9FIrkp5Ulqn0XG3BUdb9qPWy85KpFVM66_q_aHTo2bS4xh4CYuCIlXE9DyLUwG3h_9EYvcgogx2RzZm3tg/s400/IMG_0905.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263862873230266642" /></a>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-47979880511514037372008-11-01T18:12:00.000-07:002008-11-01T18:13:30.758-07:00Autumn!<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5262754563324400689%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-50139471130197550912008-09-15T16:21:00.001-07:002008-09-15T16:28:46.227-07:00first days of schoolUma has started pre-school! Her little in-home Waldorf is just as sweet as it can be. I have been so excited for her to have this time to herself, and for me to have time to start up my little dream business too. I really didn't think I'd cry dropping her off on the first day of school as I have been so excited for the break but as soon as I said goodbye to her and walked out of the house I felt it bubbling up and as soon as i got to my car I was a blubbering mess. My little girl is so big! She wore the cutest outfit ever too. She was just so damn cute.<br /><br />Later in the day, we went to a friends birthday party and they had rented a karaoke machine. We were watching everyone make fools of themselves and then Uma started to run around a bit so I went to the kitchen to talk to some friends. Next thing I know, someone said,"Who's up?" and everyone started shouting my name. i went in to find Um in the front of the crowd, a huge mic in her hand and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star cued up for her. She sang the song in front of everyone all by herself! No prodding!clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-25814083817959720672008-09-15T16:16:00.001-07:002008-09-15T16:22:30.533-07:00yummy summer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGYW1yF-K2f2KCttYdUcbELcAx8toETAsRj_6w84yj3Lqp_x1d9o_X-U_OrVMWUh5kdK6Wuq9AJTADjP1G3AbzHAM3phs00Zv7RslNRsxwBP48es5noxlca9wAlAzODEFLW5jgQ/s1600-h/IMG_5911.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGYW1yF-K2f2KCttYdUcbELcAx8toETAsRj_6w84yj3Lqp_x1d9o_X-U_OrVMWUh5kdK6Wuq9AJTADjP1G3AbzHAM3phs00Zv7RslNRsxwBP48es5noxlca9wAlAzODEFLW5jgQ/s400/IMG_5911.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246391254765213634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-dXfMm8L61gDfhEBlRwmrRWXEQ68gH_WDn4MYyMl34UMftMu8GXJfpgZgQydP_kUvTZ1Uco72MgHFUnCsw6Do2cdO62QTCxp1qLmzheTbQtOoByib0zY2mUkD2zrOZU2Neh9fQ/s1600-h/IMG_0515.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-dXfMm8L61gDfhEBlRwmrRWXEQ68gH_WDn4MYyMl34UMftMu8GXJfpgZgQydP_kUvTZ1Uco72MgHFUnCsw6Do2cdO62QTCxp1qLmzheTbQtOoByib0zY2mUkD2zrOZU2Neh9fQ/s400/IMG_0515.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246391820742444130" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPLb1BXm7bHYqVPCda43hCj-GcSpuI3SObkwICub4rOaUgspmG9ULili0ZYfexQ67cVhEPZwlqn6dC31mRJ0hSJRcxQ6wWByTafxTk1SzaX0a0UTzWJv2gQQy6V4Pg4s3bmiXbw/s1600-h/photo-1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPLb1BXm7bHYqVPCda43hCj-GcSpuI3SObkwICub4rOaUgspmG9ULili0ZYfexQ67cVhEPZwlqn6dC31mRJ0hSJRcxQ6wWByTafxTk1SzaX0a0UTzWJv2gQQy6V4Pg4s3bmiXbw/s400/photo-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246391689567030562" /></a>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-44370393237963541792008-09-15T16:14:00.000-07:002008-09-15T16:51:59.981-07:00august slide show<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5239715682552362417%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-17407816144918094932008-09-04T15:33:00.000-07:002008-09-15T16:14:47.835-07:00Farewell to summerUma had a rocking summer. <br />We milked August for everything it was worth. It was one adventure after another. In the beginning of the month, we decided to go camping with another mama and daughter- one that I taught for over three years at Trillium. We headed out to central Oregon to a destination called the Painted Hills. it was gorgeous- red striped hills and sunflowers under a periwinkle sky. We camped out for two nights, hiked around a bunch, and even had a very close encounter with a rattle snake! I nearly stepped on it with Uma on my back. we escaped unharmed but with adrenaline pumping for some time afterwards. <br />When we got back into town, I was felling to escape into nature again so decided to take uma to a 3 day sacred music festival called <a href="http://www.belovedfestival.com/beloved/beloved.html">Beloved</a>. It was incredible. Gorgeous music throughout the day and night with performer from around the world singing their hearts out. It was located in the coastal range on a beautiful property and there we found many friends, both old and new. We both danced and frolicked so hard that each night we both nearly fell over with exhaustion. I teamed up with another family we know and love, and we set up a tent for our kids to sleep right near the stage. It was phenomenal to se the kids sleeping peacefully as African drummers or Pakistani ecstatic singers belting out their music. <br />The last few weeks we've been berry picking, hiking to waterfalls, going to Sauvie's Island, riding bikes, and just trying to soak in summer's last rays. The next chapter awaits....clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-57616411424686890922008-07-23T21:53:00.000-07:002008-07-24T14:23:36.175-07:00june and july<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5226303735659967793%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3Dm-cwkhHUkME" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-13657897307263427732008-07-23T21:51:00.000-07:002008-07-24T14:24:33.733-07:00uma and matejothis takes a minute to load...be patient!
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<br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i80.photobucket.com/remix/player.swf?videoURL=http%3A%2F%2Fvid80.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj181%2Fhathor1320%2F5e788403.pbr&hostname=stream80.photobucket.com">clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-32940067426260081452008-07-23T21:46:00.002-07:002008-07-24T00:46:23.777-07:00party dress<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i80.photobucket.com/remix/player.swf?videoURL=http%3A%2F%2Fvid80.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj181%2Fhathor1320%2F81061642.pbr&hostname=stream80.photobucket.com">clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-13571325976478445682008-07-23T21:46:00.001-07:002008-07-30T16:01:28.672-07:00almost two and a half!It's been a good couple of months since I've written anything about lil Umie's development into humanhood. It's all J.K. Rowlings fault, as I devoured her entire series in this span of time. Now that I've finished, I can finally be a productive human being. <br /><br />Uma will be two and a half in a few days. She looks four and acts like she's going on 13. Our neighbor called Uma "large and in charge" when she was only a few weeks old, and she was spot on. I've had to hold back from starting to say the mantra my Mom said to me my entire childhood, "Because I'm the Mom!". She is already bossing me around and telling me what to do. Sometimes this is funny and cute, sometimes not. Half of the time she acts like a darling toddler, the other half she is a bossy African- American grandmother.<br /><br />She has so many little sayings these days. Six weeks ago she started trying to make her sentence structure a bit more complex by putting the word "because" in the middle and then basically repeating herself. days were filled with phrases such as "I really need that lemonade because I need that lemonade" or "I need to go to the park because I need to go the park". Then she looks at you with her eyebrows fixed and lips all a pucker. As the weeks have passed, she is now becoming a bit more logical with her use of 'because" but the take home message is usually consistent with "I want that because I want it". Who can blame her?<br /><br />Other charming phrases she uses constantly:<br />1. "I was just doing something" (useful in many situations)<br />2. "Alright, now" (employed both sweetly and demandingly)<br />3. "Be calm." (whenever she wants someone to be quiet, used with large sweeping gestures)<br />4. "Do you hear me??" (used menacingly)<br />5. "Mama, you are not going to noga(yoga)!" (going to yoga means that I'm going to go someplace w/o her. Used anytime she sees me put more than two minutes into my appearance, wear earrings, etc.)<br /><br />There's more, but those are the ones that are in the most vogue at the time of writing. She is fully conversational now. She always asks "Remember..." and pulls something funny out of her memory. She still sings all day long, the whole day like a campy musical aria.<br /><br />Uma delights now in wearing her "party dress" which is any dress that is lacy or flowing. She now has a vague concept of princess, but truth is she is much more of a diva. The good news is that we just passed out of the incredibly irritating phase where she refused to wear almost any of her clothes. She insisted on wearing one of two outfits for over a month(including sleeping), but now she's open to wearing new things again-thank goddess.<br /><br />We've had an awesome summer so far. We've had a tons of visitors-my dad and then friends from exotic locations such as Maui, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. We've been on countless picnics, gone to the beach three times, went to the Oregon Country Faire, and we just returned from 3 days at delightful Breitenbush- a hot springs retreat center nestled n the forest. It was at Breitenbush that I was finally able to DROP HER OFF with some fantastic mamas and call it 'kid camp". This may not sound like a big deal, but Uma has not historically been a "drop-off" kind of child. It was so amazing and adorable how she took to it. She loved it and felt really good about herself for going as well. <br />Another first this month was her first haircut- at a salon! No pics to prove it but she was lovely.<br /><br />Last but not least, Uma is pretty much potty-trained! It's been a very interesting month of huge successes and plenty of smelly laundry, but she's doing a great job. She looks so damn cute in her underwear.clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-40825388230112335172008-06-24T21:17:00.000-07:002008-06-24T21:22:42.777-07:00bake sale!<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxBeKEX_5jo24sHAJ3SjO4v8cCkk1TEw5E0i4MaKKSA4BLGSTq9JHthrsEj99DBYDkoP28l2JUgBu0' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-976413131930695582008-06-03T16:41:00.000-07:002008-06-03T16:47:50.194-07:00Uma's May<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5206244825500883841%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-50393819370065855802008-06-03T16:18:00.000-07:002008-06-03T16:33:13.584-07:00Obama Mama!Woo hooo!!! I may be premature, but I think tonight Obama will get all those little points he needs to win the nomination! <br />It truly is the first time in my life that I feel hopeful about the state of the world. I friggin love that man. Uma does too. She talks about him all the time. We have now seen him twice, and Uma loves the energy of the crowd . She knows his campaign's little logo and will spot it all over town. <br /><br />We had a fabulous month. Uma had lots of firsts. She saw a broadway show(Sesame Street Live), rallied with Obama in a crowd of 75,000 people, got a mani-pedi at a salon, learned how to pedal her trike, and rode her first fair ride all by herself! <br /><br />And....drumroll........she's signed up for a pre-school in September! I found the most wonderful in-home Waldorf school that has been facilitated by an angel of a woman for the last 18 years. I nearly cried three times during our tour, it was so magical and lovely. Turns out, she had room for one girl! Yippee!!clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-10447356671657713002008-05-03T15:32:00.001-07:002008-05-03T15:32:36.913-07:00uma slides, sings, and spins<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4gnAFSJ9jP4&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4gnAFSJ9jP4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-86152357241418605202008-05-03T12:03:00.000-07:002008-05-03T12:10:56.330-07:00uma in april<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="600" height="400" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fclairevoyant%2Falbumid%2F5196225947633941761%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21781109.post-2089678660466663772008-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:002008-05-03T12:14:53.498-07:00The tyranny of toddlerhoodIt's been a good six weeks since I've posted anything. My good friend in Amsterdam filed a complaint and so I figured it was time for an update. Uma is doing great. She's such a trip. She sings all day long, yodels off tune, states her needs emphatically, and delights in dancing.<br /><br />She has so many little sayings now- if she does want something, she'll say "I'm good", she knows how to bargain for just "one more time", and she will have an entire conversation with you about her day. One sweet thing she started doing recently is telling other kids or animals that's "it's okay, you're mommy will be back soon". When she talks to her friends, she tilts her head and crouches down, talking to them like grown-ups talk to her. She uses the same intonation as adults do when they talks to kids. It's pretty damn cute. She always refers to herself as Uma Kucera. In her pretend phone conversations with her friends she'll say "Hi! How are you? It's Uma Kucera. you good?"<br /><br />She has started clutching onto books like they're stuffed animals, going to sleep holding one tight. Her facial expressions are hilarious. She has so many funny little faces.<br />She is incredibly athletic, at the park she's climbing ladders, rock climbing walls, etc. The girl isn't afraid of anything. She loves her scooter, yesterday she went around the whole block, scooting away.<br /><br />Uma continues to be incredibly intense as well. From infancy, the girl has had the ability to throw a massive fit. When she was tiny, she would go nutters in the car, worse than any other kid I've met. I know that other kids can throw fits, but dear Uma takes the cake. These days it's usually around getting dressed. She would live in her purple skirt or rainbow dress if she could. Getting her to change clothing has become incredibly challenging. She insists on wearing sandals with socks. She refuses to do anything with her hair. If you even sneak in a ponytail, as soon as she sees it in the mirror she'll freak. Hopefully this will pass, but once she sets her mind on something, you better watch out. It's hard to know when to engage in battle and when to let it go. To engage means setting yourself up for 45 minutes of torture. To let her have her way is dangerous too. Ahhh- the tyranny of toddlerhood. The good news is that for such a pretty girl, she is certain to be strong as hell. <br /><br />Having taught school for many years, I've seen what happens when kids see how well their tantrums work and I know I've gotta hold the line- but it's never easy. We do time-outs which I really wish I believed in more. It's usually (almost always) around the issue of calming down. She just builds and builds, and although the time-outs get her into even more of a state, when she comes out she is ready to be human. It breaks my heart, but I honestly often don't know what else to do.<br /><br />Some confessions....Although I'm shamed to say it- she loves chewing gum. Yep- I give the girl gum. It was a weak moment that now has turned into a habit. Also, much to my chagrin, she would happily watch movies all day long if given a choice. I think it's because her molars are coming in that she just wants to be entertained sometimes, but the girl begs for Mary Poppins. She adores it. I battle with this as it is certainly easier to have her quiet in front of the screen, I can actually do things that need to be done, but it racks me with mommyguilt.<br /><br />As for me, I've decided to start taking small steps to get my little dream progressive kids bookstore/ radical mamas cafe/ community resource center going. I was pretty depressed about it after going to the workshop, realizing that the start up costs were huge and the profits could be tiny, but I still love the idea and want to move forward with it. I'm about to embark on the task of writing a business plan, hoping that I can find some angel investors to back me up. That's the only way it's going to happen, but I feel pretty optimistic.<br /><br />Either way, come this fall, Uma will be ready for pre-school and I will be totally ready to pour my energy into something creative. Wish us luck!clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15305853446448295176noreply@blogger.com1