This Moment...

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see...  inspired by Soule Mama

Have a colorful day!

This Moment...

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see...  inspired by Soule Mama

Have a great day.

Menu Mondays!

Today we are off on a camping trip.  We will be in Big Basin State Park.  My family will be there and we will have some time to just soak up nature, play some games and do a little exploring.   The Menu would  make dining easy for a stay at home vacation.  Has anyone ever had a successful stay at home vacation?  We tried it once but it was very difficult to leave the work that was accumulating.  Maybe we will try it again.  Being in Santa Cruz is the perfect vacation spot.

But I digress.....oh how the mind wanders!  We return from camping on Wednesday hence the pizza.  I need to unpack, do laundry and put stuff away so I try to plan a cook it self meal.  Enjoy!

Monday- Grilled Sausages/Corn on the Cob
Tuesday- Pulled Pork Sandwiches/Carrot Salad
Wednesday - Pizza/Green Salad
Thursday - Chicken Soup/French Bread
Friday - Taco Night
Saturday - Meatloaf
Sunday - Grilled Sausages

Have a great day!

This Moment...

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see...  inspired by Soule Mama

Give your pet an extra snuggle today.  Life is short, cherish the small things.

Increasing Fluid Intake

Plain water is good but sometimes I need something a little more interesting to motivate me to increase my fluid intake.  Water is vital to our health.   When you are properly hydrated, your mind functions better, your skin glows, you have more energy,  and for nursing mamas like me -it improves your milk production.    It is easy to forget to drink enough on a busy day but since I am also working out more, I notice that I don't perform as well on days when my water intake is low.

Just recently I figured out a way to increase my fluid intake which is super easy and quite tasty.  It is very simple and works especially well during the warm summer days.


Make a pot of your favorite herbal tea.  Put it in the refrigerator.  This stays fresh for about 24 hours (if you don't drink it all first!).  Drink frequently throughout day.  I have used green tea, chamomile, chamomile lavender, peppermint, and white tea.  They were all very good iced and I found the flavor motivated me to drink more.

Remember to take care of yourself so you can take care of your family!

Enjoy your day!

In Memory of...

Miss Molly Muffin

My beloved companion and friend

February 1998-July 26, 2010

I will miss you and your smile.  You are in my heart and mind forever.

Menu Mondays!

photo courtesy of serene journal @ flickr 

I have been working towards more organization in our little world.  School time is rapidly approaching.  We always have to eat and there is nothing worse than getting to the end of the day, being exhausted and not knowing what's for dinner.  This is our weekly menu.  I try to keep everything fresh and as close to nature as possible (though cutting corners for the sake of time and sanitity is necessary on occasion!).  I am also working to reduce our food budget.

Monday- Bean Burritos
Tuesday-Steak Salad with Braised Carrots (leftovers from Sundays dinner) and Sourdough Bread
Wednesday - Antipasto Salad (recipe from the menu mailer at Kitchen Muse- which appears to be no longer in business), Green Salad
Thursday-Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese,Green Salad
Friday - Taco Night
Saturday - Leftover Bean and Bacon Soup (from the The Healthy Home Economist blog - I will make a double batch of this and freeze the rest for later) , Green Salad, and Cornbread
Sunday -Grilled burgers, Potatoes fries, and Corn on the Cob

The focus for me for the next week or so will be figuring out not only a school rhythm but also a stronger life rhythm which help support us as move through our homeschooling year.

Enjoy your week!

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Planning For School

I have been studying diligently.  We will be starting our homeschool year in two weeks.  Two weeks!!! Yikes.  I am reading curriculum.  Thinking about how our days will work.  How the week will be laid out to fit the home lessons and the extracurricular classes which we enjoy.  We are using Christopherus Homeschool kindergarten, grades 1 and 4 this year.  I will also be using Before Five in a Row for my preschooler so he doesn't feel left out.

It can be a little overwhelming to try to process all this information, lay out a basic guide of goals for the year and make sure I have all my materials.  But when I have planned well, our days, weeks, year goes smoothly and we accomplish what needs to be done.  We also have plenty of time to play and travel which is also important to us as a family.

Even if you don't homeschool, it is important to plan.  When you provide your family with a basic framework of how your days will look, life is so much more pleasant.

You might think that this will make life more complicated, but in reality, a little structure relieves a considerable amount of stress.  You know what needs to be done, your house will be cleaner, and your meals more nutritious.  This will free up your overtaxed brain to focus on other tasks and allow you to move efficiently through your days.  Perhaps you will find you have more time to take care of yourself or spend some time doing something fun and unexpected with your family.

Enjoy you day.  I have some planning to do!

Surviving Teething

How am I coping with a toddler who is teething?  Not well I am afraid.  It has been two weeks of no sleep and much crying and holding during the day.  I feel spent.

 How to survive teething?  In a word --- Drink heavily!   Just kidding.   Under usual circumstances, Hyland's Teething Tablets help.  Little missy has 6 teeth coming in right now so it isn't quite powerful enough .

 Go on long walks.  Stay outside.  The fresh air does wonders.

 Know in my heart that I can survive anything.  This to shall pass and will become only a faint memory in the long memory of childhood.

Have a great day.

My love of baby carriers

I love baby carriers.  I think I have eight or nine in my closet right now and have passed on or sold countless others.  My favorite changes with each baby and often with each developmental stage.


My first experience was a New Native pouch sling that was entirely too large but I loved wearing my little charge in it and she was so happy. (I did daycare for a neighbor baby before I had kids).  After I had my first baby and realized that these little people have their own agenda which didn't necessarily coordinate with mine.  I began my search for an ideal carrier so that my baby was happy and I was able to move through my day as I needed.

My first sling was so ugly and hugely bulky.  But it was super soft and the baby was very content when in it.  I invested in a Baby Bjorn so that I was able to take long walks with my little as she craved constant movement and circling around the butcher block in the kitchen became rather dull after the 100th time.  When she became too big for the Bjorn, I purchased a Kelty frame backpack.  This also served its purpose but was bulky and hard to travel with.

By the arrival of the second child, I was thoroughly educated and in love with attachment parenting (didn't have a clue with the first but boy did she educate me!).  I invested in a Maya wrap sling and an Ergo backpack.  I found the Maya wrap convenient, portable and good for discreet nursing.  The Ergo is my workhorse of carriers.  The last three babes have spent many contented hours in it hiking, walking, at the park, grocery store, outings, etc.

I have also loved my wrap carriers - a Moby wrap and a Ellaroo  especially with when my third and fourth babies were new.  This allowed me to hold them all day and run around with the older ones.  The down side of these carriers for me is wrapping them.  While not difficult, it does take some practice.  They are definitely super comfy for many, many hours of baby holding.

My last type of carrier style which I use frequently these days is a pouch sling by Slinglings.  I bought one of these when I had number 3 and found it to be the most convenient of carriers especially in the childhood phase of wanting to held but needing to be put down to walk constantly.

I finally took the plunge and made my first pouch sling just recently.  It was so easy.   I used a combination of two patterns - one from Parkbird Patterns and the other from Amanda Soule Blake's Handmade Home .  Last week, I  finished a pouch sling for a baby gift.  So pretty.  I don't know if it will get used much.  But I feel good that I am passing on something that I found to be vital in my parenting.

I loved being so close to my babies.  It has helped meet their needs more easily.  It has also allowed me to meet my needs.  None of this would have been possible without all my baby carriers.  They have saved my sanity many times over and made me a better parent as well.

There is tons of information out there on wearing your baby.  If you haven't tried it, you don't know what you are missing!

Have a great day!

Menu Mondays!

Since the arrival of Miss Summer, I often find dinnertime rolling around and me standing in the kitchen  realizing I don't have the items to make a complete meal let alone a healthy one. Really, how do I make burritos when I forgot to buy beans and the cheese we have is starting to look rather blue when it really should be cheddar.

School time is fast approaching and our life is only going to be more chaotic.  I need to get organized and get some good routines in place.  Mealtime is the best and easiest place for me to start.

photo courtesy of Horia Varian at flickr

Maybe my weekly menus will be a springboard for you to simplify your life a bit.  Feel free to use it in your own kitchen.  I will be happy to share recipes.

For the week of July 19th-

Monday -  Roast Chicken/Asparagus/Salad
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce/ French Bread/ Salad
Wednesday -  Red Beans and Rice/Salad
Thursday - Chicken/Veggie/Pasta Soup
Friday - Taco Night
Saturday - Grilled Salmon/ Green beans/Cornbread/Salad
Sunday- Celebration Dinner- Steak/Sweet Potatoes/ Salad/French Bread - (I am running the
Wharf to Wharf 10k race)

Eat Well and Have a great day!

This Moment wtith my new camera

I am so inspired by SouleMama  -

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Where the kids go that were holding these sparklers?

I finally bought a camera of my very own.  I so excited as I won't be sharing (not that there is anything wrong with sharing!) with my hubby who seems to conveniently need the camera on the same day I try to take pictures for my blog or the etsy shop.  

After much research, I am now the proud owner of a simple but effective Kodak EasyShare Z91.  I love the pictures I am getting.

Have a Sparkly Weekend!

Why Sunday with Summer?

Summer is my last child in a line of many.  She is beautiful, bubbly, and full of life.  Since I have been down this parenting path a couple of times, I can really appreciate how short and precious each phase is.

  

Every phase has had it's beautiful moments - birth, the newborn sighs of contentment, the first smile, tooth, steps....These moments happen and then are gone, only remembered in a little compartment in my brain.

There are also the hard lessons learned.  The million books I have read and continue to read to try to parent my children in the manner that will help them thrive and become all they can be. 

Summer reminds me to get down on the floor and just be with her.  I am delighted by all her babyness.  I am delighted by her-all of her.  I am reminded that though my laundry might have become mammoth in size, that my kitchen counter can not be seen due to the volume of dishes that cover it, that this is so much more important.  

I will never get to recapture these years in my children's life.  Their job is change, grow, move forward down their own paths. 

My job is to relax.  Relish these moments.  Just be there.  Treat each day like a Sunday.  A day that is a bit slower then the rest of the week.   Time for a drive down country lanes just to look at the flowers.  A perfect summer day filled with sun, sand and the sounds of children playing in the ocean waves. A season of light and laughter.  A summer Sunday.

Have a great day.

Where does the time go?

I can't believe it has been so long since I've written.  My life often feels like a blur.  We have just celebrated three family birthdays, spent time at the beach, planned a family camping trip and made another enjoyable trek to the snow country.

Now I am settling back into our homeschool routine with a gardening block.   Tomorrow I will head to the nursery to pick up some seeds to plant and a few other flowers which catch my eye.  We will also feed our herb garden and our lemon tree this week.

We will are making these lovely tutus for a local dance recital.  It took some thought and a couple of prototypes which were not quite up to my standards.  But I think it is perfect.  The girls will look adorable in it.

Tomorrow will be the day where I won't work and will just spend time playing with my family.  Hope you can carve out some space to do something you love.

Enjoy the lovely spring sunshine!

Did I check the disclosure box for this?????!!!!

I am reading a book called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. Excellent book so far (I am only in the first chapter).  I am having aha moments frequently.  A particular paragraph really struck home.  Mr. Payne discusses many of his parents coming to him saying they didn't expect all the work, the chaos, the frustration that came with having children.  They didn't sign up for this.  

Parenting should be about the joy of being with your children.  The hugs, giggles and learning moments.  Some how this gets lost in the "I'm hungry", "Tommy hit me", and mountains of laundry, sleepless nights, having a million interrupted conversations with your romantic (what is that!) partner and I haven't even hit the teen years!  The stress level is high for me right now.  I am struggling to think straight, to plan for meals, schedules, etc.  Household responsibilities are overwhelming.  I clean the floor and two little munchkins come charging in with mud on their feet to find more cars and boats for the puddle outside.  It is enough to send me over the edge. 

I did NOT sign up for this.

We have many days and weeks where I am totally content to be in the thick of things.  I manage very well.  Our house is organized, relatively clean (we homeschool with 4 kids so the house is really LIVED in) and we are all happy.  But when I am not on my game, it all goes to hell in a handbasket.

What do I do?  Well, the first thing I do is start reading.  Inspiration is a wonderful motivator.  Blogs, books like the one mentioned above, anything that reminds you to dream.  Then I step back to see where I can simplify and streamline our life.  What can I do to take better care of me.  I am the captain of this life, I need to remain steady and strong so all these shipmates can do their work knowing their boat isn't going to sink.   (Even if the captain really really wants to jump ship at the next port) - what's with the boat analogy? hmmm...


Anyway, remember the dreams you had before you became a parent.  Figure out a way to reclaim those.  Find the love that you have for your children and your spouse.  Let if fill you.  Find the love you have for yourself.  Hold it close and breathe.


Have a peaceful day.

 

The Man of Many Questions???

photo courtesy of dullhunk @ flikr.com

My youngest son is the master of "Why?".  Every thing you say to him brings on this question.  It is very difficult to redirect him so he doesn't get too focused on having an answer.  But he is tenacious.  It will serve him well as he grows into adulthood.  Right now it only serves to drive me nuts!  Really, how does one find a suitable answer to a conversation like this? -

"Get your shoes, it's time to go to the park."

"Why?"  


"Hmmm, I wonder...."

I love this quote.  It is so appropriate.

 "It is not every question that deserves an answer."

 Publilius Syrus, Maxims

Have a great day!

Adventure at Elkhorn Slough

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Time to go!

 

Have a lovely day!

The importance of planning

 

Photo courtesy of iheartlinen @ flikr.com 

I've  lost my way.  How did this happen?  I forgot to make a yearly plan for our homeschool.  

We use a curriculum but I pick and chose from it.  I try to plan our yearly goals as we have 3 kiddos doing "school" of sorts.  We write down a daily plan.   However, I feel like our lessons have become somewhat random and unconnected.  

It happens to me every year. We are completely gung-ho for the first half of the year and then January hits.  I get a yearly case of the blues in January that morphs into spring fever.  So hence the need for a really strong guide that I can follow.

So last night I pulled out my planner and the curriculum and set out to make a guide so we can finish the year properly (in my mind anyways!).

It is quite the task but having a plan for our days really make life's rhythm much smoother and enjoyable.  I feel good about starting our "school" this week.  Yeah!  Now if I could just figure out what's for dinner.  Ha.

Have a great day.

Slow Down!

 Photo courtesy of Phil Dorkas @ Flikr

 Our fast pace of living takes its toil.  Anxiety rises as we try to answer all the demands that inundate us each day.  The world bombards us with information from the moment we get up to the moment we go to bed.  Most of our time “sleeping” is spent tossing and turning, running through the day’s events and planning the most efficient agenda for the next day.

Maybe it is time to slow down.  I wonder if we would feel more satisfied if we could spend an hour each day in silence?   Or if we spent a day each week away from the phone, the computer, tv, automobile and newspaper.

Create a cocoon.  Take a walk.  Eat simply.  Read.  Be with your family without distractions.  Be with yourself without distractions.

How difficult would it be to really sink into this quiet place?  Would it be hard to turn off the chatter, the “I should be doing this” in our heads?  Would we be more productive during the week?  Sleep better?  Hear our hearts desires?

I would like to try this as an experiment for three months.  Care to join me?  Even as I put that out there, I am trying to figure out where to squeeze it in.  It will take a conscious effort on my part to clear this space.  Will it be worth it?  Let’s see.

Here is the plan.  Slow down.  Take one day a week and step back.  No work is allowed.  No household chores (other than feeding yourself).  No errands.  No to do list.   Celebrate simplicity and calmness.  Let me know how it goes.

Have a great day!