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Oh baby names

March 18, 2016 by wildsunshine 1 Comment

I love naming babies. But I find it’s so much easier to come up with names I love when I’m not pregnant. Throw an actual baby into the mix and suddenly those names are either vetoed by my traditional-minded hubby or I’m suddenly thinking there must be something better or more ideal out there.

Add to this that baby #3 is a surprise, and we now have to go in with two names. Yikes – me and my first world problems! We have our boy name picked. But for a girl, it’s a real toss up. I have always loved Larkin for a girl, although it seems a wildly unpopular name choice on the baby name forums. Hazel was in the top for a long time. Then there’s my love affair with Indiana/Indie. Even Wilder has been a frontrunner. And don’t forget about River, which was probably close to my #1 girls name before Kelly Clarkson used it.

Good thing we have ~7 weeks to go, since my guess is that this baby is a girl. Fortunately we have two potential family names to use as a middle name: Mathilda or Eleanor.

Anyone else only seem to struggle with girl names?

photo signature green bee

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Filed Under: Family Adventures

New surfboards are here

March 11, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Just when I was getting motivated to kick off a batch of these babies… baby #3 decided to make me so darn tired at nap time that it took…forever. But FINALLY! I’m excited to share some of my winter projects now up for sale in my ETSY shop: www.surfpixie.etsy.com.

Come April, I will be on maternity leave for a month or two but I’m hoping to get a few more new designs completed this summer once we settle down as a family of 5.

hibiscus board fuchsia orange1boho lavender 5boho lavender 4

photo signature green bee

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Farm dreaming and 35 weeks!

March 2, 2016 by wildsunshine Leave a Comment

Long about this time every year, in the dead of winter, I start daydreaming.

  • I dream of open fields of green grass and their fresh cut smell
  • I dream of big blue skies instead of being surrounded by stark naked trees
  • I dream of a cute white farmhouse — a slight downsize from our current home even though our family is still growing (tiny house junkie here)
  • I dream of summer days splashing in hoses in bright sunshine followed by summer nights around a firepit with a sky full of stars
  • I dream of soft sounds of a horse, a few goats, and enough chickens to feed our weekly 4-5 dozen egg consumption.
  • I dream of rows of grapevines and the smell of fermenting grapes as we stomp bucket after bucket full, ready to embark on the fine craft of winemaking on a larger scale.
  • I even dream of the smell of manure.

I wasn’t raised on a farm, but I grew up near many. I lived an unplugged childhood, running through grass and catching bugs. Don’t get me wrong, we live in a great house in the best neighborhood. But I still dream about open fields and a smalll farm. Maybe someday…

Am I the only one with these winter daydreams? photo

PS: maybe the fact that I’m 34 weeks along has something to do with it. Wowzers! Time needs to slow down!

photo signature green bee

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Filed Under: Family Adventures

Is it a Sawyer, or a cat?

February 23, 2016 by wildsunshine Leave a Comment

The other day as I stood in the kitchen making lunch for the fam, I made a fairly large pasta bowl of pimiento cheese (hubby was home… he can devour some pimiento cheese). I set it on the table and went on getting the rest of lunch ready. When I turned back around, the 2 year old had climbed onto the table, was on all fours, head in the pimiento cheese bowl, LICKING IT with pure happiness.

I stood there in awe. “Sawyer! What are you doing? You’re not a cat!” (we do have a stubborn white cat who is forever contaminating unattended food bowls).

Sawyer looked up at me with a grin and said…. “meow.”

photo signature green bee

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Filed Under: Family Adventures

PHOTOS: Farm Fun

February 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Way back in the fall we were fortunate enough to meet up with one of my best friends and her boys at a local park that also has an old farm on site. Goes with my farm dreams, no? Here are a few gems of the little ones as I dream of crisp clear days outside.Harrison5 markedHarrison8 markedHarrison6 markedHarrison4 markedHarrison1 marked

photo signature green bee

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Paleo Pregnancy – addicted to crepes

February 16, 2016 by wildsunshine Leave a Comment

Ever since Pippa started eating solid foods, we’ve been casual followers of the Paleo and WAPF nutrition guidelines. I say casual because we do occasionally eat beans out of the can, rice, and we do eat dairy (although we do keep our dairy to yogurt/cheese/kefir, i.e. the fermented set). Knowing we would love to have a third child I made sure to eat extremely healthy last spring and summer. And here I am in the third trimester, yet again trying to give a sh*t about what I eat because… I’m hungry. ALL the time. And I want carbs. Bread. Cake. Rice Krispy treats. All the stuff I know will not grow a healthy baby.

At least we abide by eating a lot of meat and after purchasing a quarter cow last summer, we still have a good supply of grass feed beef in the freezer. In the words of my kids “we love MEAT.”

I also have never been pregnant in the winter when it’s hard to make it outside with a 2 and 4 year old. So my instinct is to eat. And hibernate. We spend 15 minutes getting ready for 10 minutes outside before they are cold. And another 10 minutes getting undressed and putting our winter gear away. Then I’m ready for a nap.

33 weeks preggers y’all.

So what have we been eating?

  • lots of soup with bone broths
  • stew beef in the crockpot
  • almond butter stuffed dates
  • dark dove chocolate (it’s my vice, can’t help it)
  • apples and cheese
  • paleo crepes (I make these almost daily at quite time in our house so I can eat an entire plate in peace)

Thanks for letting me vent. And sorry about the lack of photos. We just got a new computer, a Mac (and I am SO excited for the photo editing opportunities!) but am still in the process of moving photos and learning the ropes. I promise, more photos coming soon!

photo signature green bee

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Filed Under: Family Adventures

PHOTOS: Hanging out

February 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment

October 29 marked

Shh, don’t tell dad I’m hanging on his grapevine trellis. These were taken in the crisp late October days here in NC, just before Sawyer turned 2. I can’t believe he’s not a baby anymore! And this kid loves riding a bike. He has the balance bike down and is determined to commandeer his sister’s peddle bike.

October 34 marked

#wildsunshineblog #wildsunshineamanda #childhoodunplugged

photo signature green bee

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: amanda clark, natural light photography, toddler bike photo, wildsunshine

SURFBOARD: Boho lavender

February 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment

It’s funny how when you step back from something you once enjoyed immensely, how fulfilling it can be to jump back in again. Call it 8 months pregnant over-ambition if you want, but I am loving the creativity and massive ideas that are flowing right now! In particular I’m all about Bohemian surfer styles – detailed paisleys and florals with modern colors. And my goal is to create boards that look fantastic alone AND can be personalized if a buyer chooses. boho board lavender 1

I decided to go super girly for my first Boho creation with lavender. Looks pretty choppy in this first shot.

 

 

 

And (typical) decided to change up the color scheme half way through. Decided the fuchsia wasn’t cutting it this time. Ain’t nothin easy!

boho board lavender 2

And as much as I enjoy sawing, shaping, and sanding a board from scratch, with a big ol’ belly and (yikes!) soon to be newborn back in my life I much prefer the decor side of this surfboard business. I’m on the hunt for a source of similar boards that I merely have to sand and not spend hours carving. 30 weeks sandingNo wonder the neighbors give me weird looks – 30 weeks preggers on the front porch with a power sander and a surfboard at naptime. Ha!

Stay tuned as I finish up this board for the final pics.

photo signature green bee

 

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Sweat & Sawdust

February 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Waaaaaay back when I first became a mom, I started an art business. I wanted to find a decorative surfboard for the Bean’s room and was struggling. So I made one. Then I made some more and decided to sell them. It was a good little side business, but darn it dragging out that scroll saw, hand planing the edges, then setting up the belt sander without causing my forearms to bust out like Popeye (talk about building some strength) was a bit more than this new mama was up for.


But the boards still receive quite a bit of Etsy traffic and with 4 “blanks” sitting in my art desk, I decided it was high time to finish those babies and sell them (before I have yet another little one claiming all my time). 😉 So I dug up the belt sander, donned my goggles and dust mask, and became that crazy lady sanding a surfboard on her front porch. Middle of the afternoon. 7 months pregnant.

But man oh man, the smell of sawdust that floated thru the air took me back. The smell of great things in the making. Now if only I can convince my right arm to sand the remaining 3, I’ll be in good shape!

photo signature green bee

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PHOTO: Baby blue catchlights

January 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment

October 28 markedThis just captures her beauty so well! And those baby blues are more like blue/green/hazel depending on the light. I adore them!

Taken with my Nikon 3300 and a 50mm prime lens.

photo signature green bee

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I'm Amanda, a mama of four wild things and a growing herd of animals. We just built a farmhouse on our 13 acres of countryside in North Carolina, and are on our way to transform worn out tobacco pasture into a diverse landscape of animals, veggies, orchards, and grapevines. Join me on the farming journey! Read More…

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