The Little Guide that was not so little!

Happy New Year! Time to catch up and reflect. And be thankful for today's 2-1/2-hour nap (Soren's, not mine!).

I promised that I would share details of a pro bono writing and editing project that occupied pretty much all of my free time September through November. It was the creation of a brand new family resource guide for our rural county. Not my original idea, but one whose time had come and whose goal struck a chord with me, so I jumped on board in late summer. We published the first week of December.


The idea was to pull together descriptions of and contacts for the limited and sometimes hard-to-find parenting resources in our county and spare new parents the angst of searching for them and/or missing out on them altogether. The support groups, classes, and baby activities for new parents in this county of only 26,000 people are really few and far between. If it takes a new mom three months to hear about one she needs, that's really too late and/or valuable time has been lost when she needed the support. I certainly fell into that category for multiple resources, as I struggled to find my new identity as a parent in Port Townsend -- even though I'd lived here for nearly a decade before having Soren!

Dubbed The Little Guide for Little Ones (and Their Families), the 75-page printed booklet contains comprehensive descriptions—not just listings—of community resources, kid-friendly businesses, and age-appropriate events and activities for children aged birth to 5. We will consider going to a website in the future, but for now, the print version is it and worked the best for soliciting advertisements to defray the costs of printing.

It was produced as a community project of and fundraiser for the Port Townsend Cooperative Playschool, which Soren and I have been a part of since May 2010. Every Thursday (we had a session this morning) we meet up with a dozen other parent-child couples and learn and play. It's been a great socializer for him.

Anyway, I pulled more late-nighters on this guide than I did in four years of college, simply because the scope kept spreading and there were always facts that needed to be checked and checked again. Oh, and did I mention I have next to no free time?! As I wrote in the guide debut press release:

"Out of habit, I tracked my hours on this pro bono project—then wished I
hadn’t!” Randall admits. The owner of the communications consultancy Story
Services estimates she spent 100 hours over the last three months co-authoring
and editing The Little Guide. On one fact-checking phone call with a social
service agency, she was taken aback by the question, “So, where’s your funding
coming from?”

“We’re all volunteers, which is incredible because we’re all part-time
working mothers of young children and have very limited free time,” says
Randall. “But it was a labor of love.”

Read the full press release and see photos of my co-creators (with their kids) on my website, here.

I hosted a book launch party at our studio apartment on Dec. 11 and it was a stunning success in two ways. One, I created a Gift-A-Guide wishlist of family resource agencies and organizations in our community who could benefit from having a guide on their reference shelf, and several copies were sponsored by donors who were truly glad to have the opportunity. I didn't think about matching philanthropic impulses with community need until just two days prior, when I attended the holiday party for our local community foundation (I also volunteer as a steering committee member for the new Fund for Women & Girls). Mingling with our community's prominent philanthropists was a reminder to me to incorporate giving into this project, and to model that for our children.

Two, a columnist from the Peninsula Daily News dropped by at my invitation and stayed over an hour and interviewed every parent who came through the door. She wrote up a brilliant piece that really hit the nail on the head and can be read here. (Soren isn't in the picture because Jeff had taken him on a walk to escape from all the excitement.)

But Soren's first editorial photo did appear in our weekly paper, the Port Townsend Leader, as he posed with me holding copies of the guide hot off the presses. The article (just a rework of my press release) is not online, so here's a scan of the intro with our picture.

Want a copy or want to sponsor a guide (for $10) for one of the eight or so remaining organizations on the Gift-A-Guide list? Let me know!

Happy Mis-Mis!

"Happy Mis-Mis," says Soren. "Christmas" has some pretty tough consonants for a two-year-and-a-quarter-old tot. All the same, merriest greetings from our family to yours.

I'm writing at the end of a long Christmas day that began at 7:20 a.m. with Soren waking up the household, and it is not over yet at 10:15 p.m. as Jeff makes attempt #2 to put our stimulated child to bed and quietude.

But in between was homemade cinnamon rolls, present-opening (oddly, not of too much interest to Soren, but he is appreciating his new Thomas the Tank Engine toys and branded clothing), a walk to the beach, and fine dining out at The Belmont, a waterfront restaurant that dates to 1885. We all enjoyed a delicious meal and Soren was extremely well behaved and chowed down on various bits of shared seafood entrees. The clam chowder was a hit with him.

Ah, yes, we are celebrating with my parents (Soren's Nannie and Papaw) and my sister Nora ("Auntie Nono"). Sis Jill had to work a shift at her ER on Christmas Day and Jim and Gloria are fairly well snowed in in Eastern Washington.

These photos are actually from Thanksgiving weekend, when downtown Port Townsend rolled out the red holiday carpet. We donned elf hats to take a carriage ride down Water Street.

Our be-jingled horse, with the wedding-cakish Hastings Building in the background.

The model train in the lobby of the Palace Hotel provided much entertainment that day and tonight as well, after we finished dinner across the street. Soren can stand stock still for long minutes on end, watching the train repeat the loop. I always indulge him him when he asks to "go downtown and watch train."

As the holidays have progressed, the scene on the train tabletop has gotten progressively more wintry and festive, with fake snow added and little lighted Christmas trees and random wrapped presents along the tracks. No wonder Soren thinks it's wonderland.

Here's wishing you some holiday cheer delivered on the express. Choo-choo!

Choo choo! A Really Useful Engine

You might've guessed it...Soren was a TRAIN ENGINEER for Halloween! And the driver of not just any engine, but James the splendid red steam engine from the Thomas the Tank Engine stories. Note the little brass bell, with a cord for Soren to pull. He rang it all through the downtown parade, and at every road crossing.

Dad was James' fireman (with one of those choo-choo wooden whistles in his pocket) and yours truly was a character named Sir Topham Hatt, the director of the railway. (In early editions, his name was the Fat Controller.) With a pillow for stuffing, I had the warmest costume for sure.

Thanks to our community theatre for the loan of the top hat, to Jeff for putting his woodshop skills to such creative use, to our neighbor Steve for taking these family shots, and to the Rev. W. Awdry for getting his railway stories into print in England in 1945. He was the inspiration for all this.

If our son has to be sucked into a branded toy line, we are grateful it is Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, which has a long and distinguished history. There's so much to learn about trains, and he is in love.

And if I had a nickel for every time we heard, "Oh, how cute/adorable!" on our trek downtown, we'd have enough change in our pockets for ice cream cones for everyone.

Better yet, Soren skipped his afternoon nap in all the excitement and now Jeff and I are all alone after he crashed at 6 p.m. (a very rare occurrence). We just opened a bottle of locally produced Finnriver hard cider and are about to watch a Canadian zombie humor-love story movie called Fido.

Again, Happy Halloween to all!

Bang, bang! Halloween project in the making

Soren's wearing his eye and ear protection in early October as he helps his dad with his Halloween project. What's he going to be? Can you guess by the end?

The acquisition of a little red wagon this summer led to the idea of pulling Soren in it for our annual downtown Halloween parade. But how to decorate the wagon?

Jeff, crafty fellow that he is, came up with the idea for a steam locomotive superstructure that could be bolted (and unbolted) to the wagon.

It's made of plywood, scrap wood, and milk cartons for the bendy bits (e.g., boiler), and painted with spray paint. It's taken many evenings and weekends this month to assemble, bit by bit. It even has a brass bell with a cord that Soren can pull and make it ring!

As a finishing touch, this locomotive will have a face--a la James, from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. Here I am painting the wooden disk, which has a bulbous nose just like in the animated cartoon. The project has been a family affair.

So what is Soren's costume going to be? You'll have to wait until tomorrow (or the next day or so, whenever I get the photos downloaded) to see.

Hint: I borrowed a pair of overalls and a red bandanna for the special occasion.

Happy Halloween to all our fans!

Check-in from the potty

Hooray! Soren peed in the potty today for the first time in months. Don't know why, but we've been having a major "potty pause." Perhaps because our summer was CRAZY-BUSY. That's why this blog has languished. Apologies. Whenever I thought of updating it, something else took priority.

We did find lots of time to spend with friends over the summer. Soren knows sitting on the potty is more fun with company -- in this case, his friend Tayla (who is recently potty-trained; yay, Mama Shannon!). These pix were shot back in June, and as soon as Tayla noticed my camera she started to pose. Her sweet smile turned into a big grin for just the camera (below). Soren has fortunately not been conditioned to camera grins or grimaces. I prefer to "catch him in the act." Hee, hee.
I've been volunteering tons of my time and professional services on a new resource guide for families with young children in our county, as a project of and fundraiser for the cooperative playschool Soren attends. It's been quite the management and editing challenge, and of course it demanded much more time than I ever imagined it would. It is now in the proof and review stage, so I will soon be thrilled to see it go to print. We have dubbed it The Little Guide for Little People (and their Families). I'll tell you more when it's finally DONE.

We are looking forward to a visit from Soren's Grandpa Jim & Grandma Gloria this coming weekend. Sometime I will post pictures from our fabulous trip to visit them in Eastern Washington in September. Soon, I hope.

"Almost Two"

"Almost two" is the correct answer for anyone asking Soren how old he is, and he can say it himself. His birthday is coming right up on Aug. 27, but we threw him -- and two of his closest friends -- a birthday party yesterday.
The triple-birthday celebration at a nearby park was a reprise. Soren's one-year party was shared with the same friends: Tayla, who is 11 days older than him (pictured above, at right), and Noah, who is 11 days younger (in the middle). (Soren blogged about this last year--check out how much younger the kiddos look!) The cooperative family effort was another stunning success. No one had to knock themselves out, and no one's home was left smeared with sticky vanilla ice cream... Thanks, mamas Sarah and Shannon. I'm guessing we team up again next year!
The setting was lovely Chetzemoka Park on a surprisingly sunny afternoon rescued from a grey and blustery morning.
We brought our hand-crank ice-cream maker, and Jeff got it started--with his mother Gloria looking on and Soren sneaking ice cubes. We were grateful Jeff's parents were able to make the trip over the mountains this weekend to be with us.
While the ice cream froze, the kids played--sometimes with their mommies, as Tayla did with Shannon on the tire swing.
You can see why they call her Tayla-bug--she's as cute as a bug!
Soren was happy following the twisty-slide train. Grandma Gloria watches from below, and that's River leading the way.
Whee! Soren follows new friend Max down the slide.
Birthday boy Noah was a slider, too. We had to tear him away for the group photo.
Soren's proud grandparents, Gloria and Jim. The carrot cake she made was a hit.
And what could be better than cake topped with homemade ice cream? Noah and Mama Sarah kept close tabs on the finished product.
This year, Soren was not denied any sweets (it seems like forever ago we were keeping wheat out of his diet). He opened wide for this bite of ice cream.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
Torin and Max were special playmates for Soren yesterday. Thanks to them for coming, and thanks to all of our friends who joined us in celebrating the lives of these three very special youngsters.
And as more than one parent pointed out, Jeff and I deserve kudos for making it to Year 2 as well! Ditto to Shannon and Brandon and Sarah and Craig!!

Aug. 19: Shelly's first "show" opens!

If you're in PT this coming Thursday, you're invited to attend the 5:30-7:30 p.m. opening reception for my first "show" -- that is, the first photo exhibition in which not one, but two, of my photographs will be shown. These are them!

I've never entered an art or photo contest before, but was inspired to do so by one of my colleagues in the fabulous Work-At-Home Moms support group (see prior entry), who is busy getting her video installations shown at galleries around the region while mothering a four-year-old. (Yay, Jess!)

The call for entries of maritime scenes in the arts section of our local newspaper caught my attention, and while selecting three photos to enter (two were selected) was not difficult, I have to say that getting the digital files printed and framing them on the cheap turned out to be more work than I thought!

"On the Water: An Exhibition of Maritime Photography" will be on view through the Wooden Boat Festival in the upstairs of the new Northwest Maritime Center.

And if you can't make it in person, just enjoy "New Brunswick Lobsterman" (above -- see lots more photos of this day on the water from our 2006 travel blog, here) and "Frosty Stem, Point Hudson" (below).