EnviroMama

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2012-01-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my dad's 62nd birthday.

I've noticed in the last few years that my heart seems to keep track of time better than my head when it comes to these things. I get more emotional in the week leading up to big dates, such as a birthday or anniversary of my dad's death. This happens even though I don't consciously realize the date is right around the corner.

I was lying in bed last night for about an hour, unable to sleep, when thoughts led to my dad. I started crying. Not big, gulping sobs. Hot, silent tears falling down my face, dropping to my pillow. And then I realized that the following day would be his birthday.

So in honor of my dad, here are some of the random thoughts (a poem of sorts?) that went through my head last night as I thought of him.

Playing catch in the yard
The best barbecued hamburgers ever,
with a side of Wonder Woman and Budweiser
Burying Ralph
Carrying me to my bed after a long drive home,
me feigning sleep
Bedtime stories of cousins and camping
Frozen yogurt bribes in exchange for weeding
Little Rascals
Forgotten tent stakes in Sequoia,
waking me to see a bear
White chocolate heart lollipops
Postcards from afar

scenes from the model railroad open house

2011-10-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

We visited the local model railroad open house last weekend. The kids had a lot of fun looking at all the details on the track and then riding the outdoor train.

Solana's favorite part of the model:

The boys' favorite part (besides all the actual trains):

Henry's favorite!:

long time, no see

2011-10-01T21:46:00.001-07:00

It's been almost a year since I last posted and I've wanted to post so many times, never knowing where to begin when so much has changed around here.

So a basic summary for those who don't know what's been going on:

From July 2010 to July 2011, I was parenting on my own for 8 of those 12 months. Henry was in DC, then North Carolina, then Oregon, doing training/internship/starting a new job (and home for a few months before the new job, thus my being alone only 8 of those months). I wanted to post about it while it was happening, but hesitated for safety reasons.

Henry was originally offered a job on the eastern shore of Maryland at the end of last year, but after much deliberation, we decided not to take it. The main reason being that it was just soooo far from our entire family and friends.

Henry then applied to 5 open positions in Oregon (and one in Washington) and was offered a position on central Oregon. He moved up in April to start working and I followed with the kids in late June. We got here July 1st and are settling in to our new home.

I'm still trying to make some friends here and that's been rough, especially since I left such amazing friends behind in San Diego. And I miss my family something awful.

As soon as I have time, I'm hoping to fill in with more pictures and some of the big things that have happened during my absence (like the fact that Jonas started kindergarten last month!). Maybe that will come in the winter when it's below the 50-degrees-at-the-coldest weather than I'm used to. As a (former) native southern Californian, yes, I'm scared of this coming winter here.

Here we are on our way up to Oregon, taken by another family stopping for the photo opportunity:

happy 2nd birthday, jude koa!

2010-10-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

Jude turned 2 on Sunday, but we celebrated on Saturday since that's the day we had our family whole for a short time.

::birthday breakfast of delicious oatmeal (and pancakes and sausage), courtesy of daddy

::long nap after a sushi lunch with Hani, Haji, and the rest of the family

::helping mom make chocolate chocolate chip ice cream with coconut milk (thanks to a borrowed ice cream maker from Grandma)

::opening presents, with a little help from a crane of course

::the requested digger cake

::solana and jonas promptly declared the section with jude's name to belong solely to him

::eating (?) cake and ice cream

::birthday ring

Many, many more times around the sun my darling boy! Life is so much richer with you in it!

a love of reading

2010-10-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

I cannot explain how much I adore the fact that my kids love to read as much as I do. If only I had as much time to read as I used to...

::big fans of Sandra Boynton here

::What? You don't like to read upside down?

::reading "together"

I would have had quite a few more photos of them reading, but I think the kids might be upset about them in 10 years or so if I posted them.

oh really?

2010-10-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

I was clearing out a bit (okay, more than a bit) of paperwork from the kitchen counter tonight and found this gem I had written down a couple weeks ago. Written down with the purpose of putting it here, but obviously I got sidetracked. Can't imagine how that might have happened...

Solana (to Jonas): I don't want your germs because I hate your stinky penis!
Jonas: You can't be mad at me because I'm too handsome!

Logic at it's finest, no?

she flies through the air with the greatest of ease

2010-10-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

That's my girl up there, flying through the air. I am so very proud of her. And kind of jealous too as I would have loved to be up there with her, but instead I was in charge of photography and keeping two boys from wandering under the nets.

Solana's only wish for the last year plus has been to fly. Every single penny thrown in a fountain, every candle blown out or eyelash blown from her finger has the same wish whispered to it. She has shed many a tear at the thought of not getting this wish fulfilled. So when I saw the opportunity for her to go to a trapeze class, I jumped on it. I couldn't help her grow wings and be able to buzz around wherever her heart desires, but I could help her experience flying in a slightly different way.

Here she is climbing the ladder to get to the platform. When we first arrived, Solana looked at the ladder and commented how high up it was. She also mentioned that she was a little afraid of heights. Yes, the girl who lives for roller coasters, climbs to the top of the rope at gymnastics, and who has been reaching the top of the REI climbing "mountain" for a couple years at least. Silly girl.

Her first time up at the top, so you can get a sense of how high up she was. The net at the bottom of the picture is taller than me (not that that says a lot).

I love her face here: pure concentration and determination with just a touch of nervousness thrown in for good measure. This is right before she jumped off the platform for the first time. Listo!

Her first fly!

I think she has pretty good form here. But then again, I know next to nothing about good form for trapeze artists, so I could just be making that up. One of the guys there commented on her "good banana" though, so she must have been doing it right.

After two failed attempts to get her knees up and on the bar, she did it! And she was damn proud of herself after the fact too, because she came down (back flips and all) and grinned this huge smile. Which I failed to get on camera of course because I was too busy watching her.

I only wish it weren't so expensive to do this because Solana had a blast and I think she would love to do it regularly. We were able to swing it (groan) because of a 1/2 off deal; I am just so glad we were able to give her this amazing experience. I have a feeling this will be one of those memories she will forever hold close to her heart.

I have to say, I am very proud of her. She went up there and just did it. No hesitation, no shyness around all these new people as per usual. When she couldn't get her knees up to hang on the bar, she practiced with another instructor on a standstill bar and tried again. And again. And then she did it, just like that.

nineteen years

2010-08-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Dad,

Wish you were here.

Love,
Jenny

a funny

2010-08-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

My penis gets dizzy when I spin it. -Jonas

Good info to have, no?

damn, he's cute

2010-08-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

So Jude's eyes started out blue, then started changing to a greenish color. We started to wonder if he was going to end up with similar eyes as Solana, but they are still in flux. They definitely look to be heading in the direction of brown, but they're almost a golden brown.

Yesterday when Henry's family was down, his sister remarked that Jude's eyes were about the same color as his hair. Jude's hair is also the lightest of all of ours and looks pretty red in the sun at times (love those highlights).

Sooo, based on this picture which shows their current color pretty well, what color would you call them?

random quotes

2010-08-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Solana, while sitting at the table for dinner:
"Beauty and Vain-ness aren't better than Plainness and Kindness."

She then asked me which I thought was better and told me it was better to be kind.

*****************************************************************
Jonas, while spraying the ground with the hose:
"Look, a ROY G BIV*! I mean, a rainbow!"

*****************************************************************
Jonas: "Hey Mom, in Jack and Annie**, it says 'the duck-billed dinosaurs' nests.' Those are nests builded by a duck."

*Thank you, They Might Be Giants, and your awesome album Here Comes Science.
**Jack and Annie are the main characters in the Magic Tree House series, which Jonas is currently obsessed with.

making his grandfather proud

2010-07-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

Jonas insisted on making these this past week: a dr. head thing that we have no idea the proper name of (but all white because he didn't want any black on it) and his own clipboard. Henry's dad will probably faint from happiness if he sees Jonas using them tomorrow.

our tiny garden

2010-07-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

Having no yard makes it difficult to do much gardening, but we try to do as much as we can on our little spot by our front door. Awhile back Solana and Jonas both chose some flowers of their very own to plant out there. Jonas chose Gerbera daisies (red, of course), which are some of my favorite flowers. When Henry helped the kids put them in pots, Solana protested at his use of a certain pot for Jonas' flowers, saying that she had planted some seeds in there.

Note: Solana does this regularly and we have found surprises in the past: little sprouts coming out of what we thought was simply a pot of dirt. One of our (sad-looking, unfortunately) tomato plants is on year 3 now, started from Solana squeezing a tomato into a pot of soil and tending it regularly.

Well, Jonas' flowers ended up in the pot anyway and a bit later, we saw what Solana had planted there. She tried really hard to be patient, waiting to see what was happening underground, and managed to wait it out quite awhile. But her curiosity got the better of her and she just had to pull it out to find what it looked like below.

She was quite proud of her carrot and said it tasted "really good, but a little bit spicy." Here's to my green-thumbed girl!

kale chips

2010-07-27T22:48:00.001-07:00

A year or so ago I had never had kale. I knew what it was, but never bought it because I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. That has changed. Kale is a good source of calcium, so I decided to get some and see if I could get it into my kids.

I found a recipe for kale chips online and thought I'd give them a go. For those who haven't had them, kale chips are like potato chips. Except they're green, healthier, and baked rather than fried.

2 of my 3 kids devour them. I'm sure no one here can guess the child that has eaten 1 kale chip in the entire time I've been making them, right?

::the day of this photo, those kids ate 3 (3!) bunches of kale throughout the span of one day

In case you want to try to make them, this is the basic recipe (but I just wing it every time):

-Preheat oven to 325 or so (or cook longer at a lower temp).
-Wash kale and pat dry (or don't bother).
-Tear off leafyness and into bite-sized pieces; discard stems.
-Toss with olive oil (maybe 1 tsp?)- I use my hands to make sure all pieces are lightly coated.
-Spread on 1-2 cookie sheets, without overlapping (I line mine with parchment paper).
-Lightly sprinkle with sea salt.
-Bake for about 20 minutes, turning once about halfway through. You're looking for crispy kale, not soggy.

I think the most important thing is to just be sure to stay nearby while baking as I have had pretty large difference in the time it takes to make them. Partly because my oven is possessed and will randomly raise the temperature midway through cooking something, but also because you can smell when they're getting close to done.

Happy kale chip making!

wet bag deal!

2010-06-15T16:24:00.001-07:00

If anyone is looking for a wet bag for cloth diapers or swimsuits for the summer, check out MiniMe BabyGear for a great deal: mediums are only $10 and larges are $12.

If you order a wet bag, then post a link on your blog, etc., you can then get a free wet bag added to your order. Just do the following:

1) Purchase a discounted Wet Happened? wet bag
2) Share the link with your friends
3) Choose your choice of one of the three free Wet Happened? bag (pink butterfly, blue dots, or green swirl) as my thanks for spreading the news! Please enter style in checkout notes, along with your link, to redeem free wet bag offer.

Even if you don't go for the free one, I think the clearance price is pretty good for those of us who aren't ready to attempt to sew with PUL.

And now that I have my link ready, I'm off to finalize my order!

on top of it all

2010-06-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

This post has a little bit too much information in it. Feel free to skip over it; I'll never know.

So Friday I started feeling like I was getting a plugged duct, likely related to the new bra I had worn the day prior. After my old (as in from pre-kindergarten days, not that she's OLD) friend and her kids left our house, I put Jude down for his nap. Despite the 3 layers of covers I was under, I started to shiver and knew it was turning fast and furious into mastitis. Over the next couple hours, my temperature rose to almost 103 and I tried to rest.

As the day turned into night, I slept, but kept waking. Before midnight, I had to get up and pray to the porcelain god, then I realized a migraine was coming my way. Yippee! Because mastitis alone just isn't enough fun, right? So I gave in and took some pain meds and went back to bed. Over the course of the next day, I took more Ibuprofin even though it felt as if it wasn't touching the headache anymore.

Now it's Sunday and the headache is still there, but it less severe as yesterday. My fever is gone, but the painful plugged duct just will not release (despite the numerous remedies and actions I'm trying). I did get out of the house for awhile with Henry and the kids and the heat of the sun felt good on my body, if not on my eyes. We went on a walk, then to Home Depot for stakes for our tomato plants and to a pizza place that has gluten-free crusts (yay!).

While there, I found that the universe just does not wish to cut me any slack right now. Because as if mastitis and a migraine weren't enough, I now have cramps to go along with my long-lost monthly visitor.

But you know, it's like I try to tell myself when I'm running and feel like I just can't go another step: Yes, you CAN do it, you pushed for 4 hours when laboring with Jude! You most definitely can do this.

yesterday

2010-05-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

beautiful sunny day
cold waves for jumping over, swimming, and (body) surfing
sandcastles for sitting on
walking on the sand, finding bees, ladybugs, and a crab
instant friendships
watching boys digging for sand crabs
napping in a tent
reading good books with my boy
six hours in the sunshine

"That was the most fun I've ever had!" -Jonas

what constitutes normal?

2010-05-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

It is completely normal behavior for a 19-month old to know and frequently utilize the phrase "Zombies. [are.] coming." Right?

And for said 19-month old to then walk up to you and chew your pant leg, saying "Eat. Eat. Eat." Right?

In addition to his adorable "p-tuh p-tuh, p-tuh" to imitate a plant spitting peas at zombies?

Even if it's not normal, it's damn cute, but I have yet to capture it on video of course. The second I pull out the camera, he sits on the ground and says, "See? See?" because he wants to see what the picture looks like. Spoiled digital-camera age kids these days.

happy 7th birthday solana!

2010-05-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

I have more to say and some pictures to put up, but for now, just a quick post. It will be awhile before my pics finish uploading and I'm exhausted!

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to my sweet Solana, my first-born child and only daughter! I love you so very much and adore watching you grow right before my eyes. I am so proud of who you are, my darling daughter.

Many, many more times around the sun, Solana!

a month later...

2010-04-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy and time on the computer has been both reduced and more for veg-ing than getting stuff (like blogging) accomplished. Here are some semi-recent pics I just uploaded for your viewing pleasure. Maybe I'll get to some more important, heavy stuff soonish. But really, what is more important than cute kids (that is a rhetorical question by the way)?

::smeeshed face

::coloring easter eggs

::pirate zombie

::what? don't all kids play plants vs. zombies in their free time? (she's a doom shroom by the way)

::singing the "boys boys boys boys" song

::and everyone thought jonas would be the firefighter!

::me and my boys

::the ubiquitous spaghetti face shot

mini books

2010-03-24T22:24:00.001-07:00

Solana has been creating her own mini books lately. It reminds me of the beginning of the school year when she was not wanting to write much at all. I knew it was just around the corner for her and was trusting that she would write more when she was ready. And it has been quite prolific; I have to say that I love it!

Here is the content of one of her most recent works (each line after the title page is a separate page in her book):

Plants vs. Zombies
By Solana
age six en a half

to especilly Jonas and Jude who love zombies.

Once upon a time there where 2 little boys named
Jonas James Hee Kim and Jude Koa Hee Kim
they liked to walk in the forest they liked to serch for zombies in the woods
one day a REAL zombie jumped out at them and
said BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS they were not
scared they had seed packets with them. they planted
lots and lots of plants they killed the zombie in like a 1 second
they had a sister named MARAGOLD
She was a expert on plants and zombies and was a gipsyish type
She liked to play in the woods
to she was very simaler she was also like a monkey
and a dolphin because she liked to swim
then they loved happily ever after THE END

Authors note
hope you enjoyed the story i worked hard on it for you

Note to iPhone users: Check out the app Plants vs Zombies if you are interested in seeing where some of this comes from. Jonas is now zombie obsessed.

co-conspirators

2010-03-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

I try not to post many pictures of my kids nakedness here (mostly for their privacy), but this one I just had to share. Obviously the aforementioned rule eliminates a good portion of pictures since they run around the house with only a ahirt on the majority of the time.

The co-conspirators:

Hoping that's a sight I see for many many more years to come. And it's interesting to see the difference in their hair color since it's really clear in this photo. I wonder if Jude's will darken with time or stay a touch lighter than Jonas and Solana's?

saying goodbye to sally

2010-03-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

And that guy who brought Sally (that would be the one in the background of the photos). Real name: Matt, aka Matta (I don't know that any of us will ever go back to actually calling him by his real name).

I told Jude to kiss the dog goodbye and he kept trying, but she would turn as he would move in for the kiss. Once Matta held Sally, Jude was successful, then looked alarmed at what happened. Silly boy.

picasso poetry

2010-03-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

As promised. Looks like I got the picture taken just in time too.

happy 4th birthday jonas!

2010-03-06T22:36:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jonas' 4th birthday today.

A day full of family. Legoland (thank you for the tickets Uncle Bully!).

Delicious dinner chosen by the Birthday Boy and cooked by his dad. A gluten and dairy-free red velvet cake, complete with fire truck, for dessert (and it came out not too badly, if I do say so myself~ Solana wrote the "Jonas" on the cake too). Jonas: "It looks so wonderful!"

Lots of reflecting on the day he joined our family and the healing experience it was for me. The promise of "no more milk" (and he didn't ask once today, so we shall see).

A very very special companion.

Happy 4th Birthday my sweet spunky Jonas! I love you so much and am so thankful to have you in my life. Many, many more turns around the sun my love!

solana's poetry

2010-03-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

As promised last week, Solana's poetry. All were copied exactly and obviously inspired by "A You're Adorable."

Joyful kid
U made my life complete
Darling thing
Exciting boy

Kissable thing
Ooo nicy boy
Adorable boy

************************************************
Orange
Rightly my family's cat
Adorable cat
Nipping catnip up with her tounge
Goodest cat ever
Exiting one

************************************************
Jonas
Onas
Nas
Adorable one
Simple

There was one for Henry and me as well, but they were very similar to the above-mentioned song, so I only copied these 3 down. She also had one about Picasso that I will hopefully get a picture of before it gets erased from the whiteboard.

Now I'm off to make a very red cake for my fire-fighter lovin' boy who is about to turn 4!

a matter of perspective

2010-02-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning was hectic. And it was turning into "one of those mornings" that warned of becoming "one of those days."

We were going to be gone all day, from taking Solana and the carpool to school in the morning until dinnertime. Somewhere in the middle I had to squeeze in a grocery store run, get gas, take Jonas to gymnastics, hit playgroup, pick up the carpool from school, take Solana to gymnastics, and somehow make dinner.

Back to the morning: I was finishing dinner prep (I had done most of it the night before luckily) and throwing it in the crockpot, plus doing a couple other things so we could eat as soon as we got home that night. I was also making breakfast for the four of us, in addition to making and packing lunches for us all. I was attempting to get Jonas to put on some pants and for Solana to do her numerous things to get ready for school, all with a fussy baby at my feet.

Some days this all comes together (mostly) seamlessly, but others go more like yesterday. I think by the time I really get it together, it's going to be summer!

I was getting frustrated and the last straw was when I opened the fridge to get the cantaloupe out. I grabbed the top piece off the precariously-positioned plate (that I had put there, might I add) and the plate containing the bottom half of the cantaloupe fell on the floor. Cantaloupe juice and seeds went everywhere. I growled an "ARGH!" and the kids asked what happened.

I told them and this is where it all turned around. Jonas replied quite simply, "Good it didn't break."

I paused in my cleaning of the floor and internalized what he said. And you know? He was right. At least the plate didn't break. Sometimes things are all in how you look at them.

today i'm thankful for. . .

2010-02-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for:

*running into a dear "old" friend while on a walk/grocery store trip
*the fact that I can combine a walk with a grocery store trip
*the warm sun on my face as I watch my kids frolic outside, all getting along!
*having my sisters to talk to on the phone, since we can't do it in person often anymore
*my husband who works so hard to support us so that I can stay home with our children
*Solana's renewed interest in poetry (I'll post some of her poems tomorrow)
*the kind soul that took the time to turn Solana's library books in to the (other city's) library after she left them at the park during school yesterday
*open-mouthed baby kisses (it will be a sad sad day when he stops doing that)
*comfort food for dinner

jonas' similes of the day

2010-02-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

When remembering the time Henry put Jonas' fire truck up in his closet (for not putting it away):
He's almost ruder than a stoplight.

Said about Jude at some point this morning during their fighting over a car:
He's as stupid as a box of jewels.

Tonight he made another simile involving a box of jewels, and I'm sure this story would be even better if I could remember what it was. However, due to the long day and hearing way too much arguing, whining, and overall crankiness throughout the day, I cannot remember what it was. Such is life.

brif lttr to jud

2010-02-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

Dar Jud,

Th nxt tim you throw on of your cars at th computr kyboard, could you plas aim for th 'q' or th 'x' rathr than th fifth lttr of th alphabt? Thank you.

Lov,
Mama

*We do have use of the 'e,' but the tile-thingy is gone, as is the rubber piece that makes it easy to push down, so every time we need to use the 'e,' we have to push it down just-so. The 'u' is also loose and the 'w' doesn't look so hot either. Anyone know if that is something they can fix on a laptop? Lauren?

morning star ranch adventure

2010-02-16T21:15:00.000-08:00

Today was another beautiful "winter" day here and we spent the morning at a farm for a field trip with Solana's class. Unknown ahead of time was the fact that the farm is a commune, which was fascinating to me as a self-professed people-watcher. It was intriguing to watch the interactions between the people living there, as well as to contemplate a completely different kind of living.

The students all seemed to enjoy themselves- the highlights for them being the teepee by the pond, turtle-watching, and most of all, the 1-week old kids. Many of them were even able to hold the goats, as was Jonas.

::two kids

::i love that i caught this one with his tongue out!

::planting cabbage

All in all, a wonderful day and well worth the drive to visit. After spending the majority of the last two days outdoors, in a more natural landscape, I am craving open spaces and simplicity. To take the time to have more of these experiences and make some awesome memories for my kids in the process.

wilderness gardens

2010-02-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

We went on a hike (walk?) today at the Wilderness Garden Preserve; it was beautiful weather and somewhere we had never been. It was a little farther than Henry thought, but worth the drive. On the way back to the car, Jude was needing to nurse so we stopped near the San Luis Rey river; however, he decided that he would rather be down playing with his brother and sister, so we all ended up by the water for awhile. After spending a few hours at the preserve, we came back home, exhausted. At least, Henry and I were.

Along the way, Jonas spotted a frog on the side of the path that the rest of us had walked right by and brought it to our attention. A reminder to slow down. . . that there is more to the journey than where you are headed, no?

::i think that whole frog prince thing might just be a crock

::getting so big!

::attitude, aka hoo-boy, are we in trouble!

::sisterly love?

::me and my kiddos

::it wasn't me!

::a smile to melt my heart

::this picture makes me reminisce- so much a part of my childhood memories

And last, but not least, Jude's first river romp:

why?

2010-02-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

Why didn't someone inform me a long time ago about the awesomeness that is parchment paper? Dude, I've made numerous batches of cookies now with it and tonight I made gluten-free pizza on it~ NO sticking! None. And no oil either. And if you've ever made gluten-free pizza dough, you know what a feat that is.

Somehow it must be bad for you though because this stuff is almost too good to be true.

on libraries and barracudas

2010-02-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

In the car today, Solana said as we passed the library. "You know, libraries are like the White House."

How so, you ask?

"Because they're big and have lots of books. And lots of people go to them- they're popular."

***********

Jonas at the dinner table claimed that Henry was a barracuda.

He said something cute when I asked him what a barracuda is, but I can't remember it right now because I'm suffering with this damn cold/flu thing with a side of killer migraine. Solana had this flu for an entire week and then Jude got it a few days after and is still recovering; it's a bad one and also a major reason I haven't posted here in a week. That, and the fact that I have hardly been able to put Jude down for over a week due to his feeling like crap.

Today I felt slightly off (besides the cold) and when we were coming home at lunchtime, I drove past a landscaper who was standing on the sidewalk by some undeveloped land. He was spraying the greenery growing there and I thought it was just water; the lack of mask or backpack thing tricked me. As I drove by, I knew I was wrong when the horrid scent of pesticides filled the car through the vent. And within the hour, I had a full-blown migraine which is presenting with some nausea and dizziness this time around.

I still have no idea why he would have been spraying there as it is a huge area and it's not like he could have been tackling it all anyway with his little sprayer. He wasn't spraying the sidewalk either. And for goodness sakes man, wear a mask! That stuff is made to kill!

our little scientists

2010-01-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

Solana doing her science experiment for her class' Science Fair:

:using her senses

:observing

letting out your thunder

2010-01-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Lots of that going on around here right now, along with some lightning, rain, a bit of hail, and tornado warnings. Crazy. We're prepared for earthquakes here, but tornadoes? Not so much.

But the point of this post was not to ramble on about the strange weather occurring here right now (just the fact that we're having anything that can even be considered weather makes it strange). Tonight in the car, Solana was telling us about friend drama going on at school.

Aside: I was hoping this drama that surrounds most school-aged kids of the female variety would hold off until at least 3rd grade or so to rear its head, but no dice.

Anyway, it's nothing major, but it's just a sign of things to come I think, which worries me. Cliques and the massive hurt feelings caused by outright meanness by so-called friends made the later elementary years of school a not-so-fun experience for me. Luckily I found some awesome friends at the end of sixth grade and we hung out throughout junior high and high school, and still maintain our friendships to this day, albeit in a different form.

So Solana was telling us about how two of her friends (her best friends) have been buddying up all the time lately and she is feeling left out. It's so hard for me to hear and I don't really know what to say. Solana has been spending time outside of school with one of the girls so they have a chance to foster their friendship and they seem to really enjoy each other's company. Three seems to be a tough number since one person inevitably gets left out.

I feel like there is a time and place to just listen and kind of let them forge their way with these things, but that she still needs help and guidance at her young age. But you can't force kids to play with each other either. What else can I do? I'd love advice if anyone has it.

The other story Solana was telling us was about a tower she and the other two girls built at school. She was upset because one of the boys in her class knocked it over before they could show the teacher and have her take a picture of it. She told us she "let out all [her] thunder." I liked her description.

trip to the children's museum

2010-01-20T20:45:00.000-08:00

gems from jonas

2010-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

While getting ready to head down to the garage for something, in all the wind:

Me: Jonas, you need to put your pants on.
Jonas: No, I don't care if my penis gets all squiggly; it's okay.

And while sitting together on the couch this afternoon:

When I get mad at my penis, I pinch it between 2 fire trucks.

addendum to full of yum

2010-01-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so yesterday was rainy-ish (read: drizzling and lightly sprinkling at various points during the morning) so we skipped playgroup and stayed home. Adventurous never-met-anything-he-doesn't-like-to-climb toddlers (*gasp* is he really truly a toddler already?) and wet play equipment just don't mix very well.

Anyway, Jonas, Jude, and I decided to make the chocolate chip cookie recipe again and I need to add a couple changes; I will put them in the original post as well so it's all in one spot.

The main change is that I actually measured the chocolate chips this time around and in my personal opinion, 1 cup is WAY too many chocolate chips. I always eyeball the chocolate chips in a recipe because I tend to prefer my cookies more doughy than chocolatey. I asked Henry his opinion to see if it was just me and he agreed they were too heavy on the chips. I think I would cut the amount in half, but if you usually like your cookies heavy on the chips, you might want more than that.

And questions in the comments section:

Yes, I buy the almond meal at Trader Joe's; I assume it's basically flour since it's just ground-up almonds.

Palm shortening is something I never bought because well, shortening is bad for you right? But I kept reading about it on a food list I'm on (and most of the people on there eat pretty healthy), so when I saw it on sale at Henry's aroudn Thanksgiving, I bought some. I have had lots of runny/thin issues subbing Earth Balance for butter in baking recipes and thought maybe the palm shortening would solve that. It did for this recipe, but I have yet to try it in any others.

The shortening I bought is Spectrum Naturals and is organic, no hydrogenated oils and no trans fat. While looking for that link, I saw that tropical Traditions (where I buy my coconut flour) sells it as well. Good to know in case you decide you want 7 (!) pounds of it. However, $26 is pretty good for such a large quantity. If someone knows some reason this is not good for you, please let me know.

And last answer, yes, everyone loved them. Henry said they taste pretty close to a regular flour cookie, which I think is nice if you're baking for people that are used to eating lots of gluten. Solana and Jonas really like them as well; Jonas actually eats them, which is saying something since he is not usually a big baked goods eater. And Jude? Well, I'll let you know in a couple years when he gets to eat one.

full of yum

2010-01-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

The other night I finally got around to making some cookies I'd been wanting to try for days (at least 2, but it seems like more when it has to do with cookies, you know?). And they were so very good. Yum.

This recipe was posted on a friends' Facebook status (thank you, Shannon!), originally from here. She mentioned subbing/adding coconut flour to help them hold together better (as well as using regular sugar instead of the fake stuff). I also used palm shortening instead of butter since we don't do dairy right now and changed up a few ingredient amounts slightly. Here is the recipe as I made it:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup palm shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (or up to 1 cup, depending on preference)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In electric mixer, cream palm shortening with sugars until smooth. Add egg, then vanilla.
3. Add dry mixture and mix. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Use a round measuring tablespoon (or cookie scoop) to make dough into round balls (or just wing it with a spoon like I always do) and lay 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until centers are set and very lightly browned. Cool 2-3 minutes before removing from baking sheet (or eat them straight off the cookie sheet so there's no need to dirty a plate/rack in order to cool them).

You can get almond flour from Trader Joe's for a really good price; they also sell dairy-free chocolate chips. I get my coconut flour from Tropical Traditions. I bought my palm shortening at Henry's, but you could sub butter if you're not worried about making then dairy-free.

sally

2010-01-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

We had a visitor over Christmas:

Sally came to stay with us for about a week, along with our friend Matta (who has been called that for so long it sounds wrong to call him just Matt anymore). Sally reminded me so much of our first dog, Scotch. Well, except for the fact that Sally didn't run away at every available chance. She came to my mom's house for Christmas and won over my entire family while there.

The kids loved having her here and I enjoyed being able to curb the vacuuming a bit. Who am I kidding? She was wonderful and I can't wait to see her again when she and Matta come back from their long Baja trip. Maybe there is a dog in our future (our very very distant future).

We got a semi-decent family photo on Christmas morning too:

I kind of liked this one, would be a funny Christmas card photo (you know, if I actually did those):

Apparently Matta was a little tired and was having some trouble figuring out which end was up.

And last but not least, my 2 silly kiddos:

I can't wait for Jude to slow down enough to join in the fun soon!

randomness from today

2010-01-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

Best moment today: Jonas and Jude playing firefighters with the vacuum and its accompanying hose. Especially sweet since Jonas was playing solo and he brought Jude into his play, which is rare still for him. Sure beats the hair grabbing that was happening during our Costco trip earlier in the day.

Strangest moment: At the beginning of said Costco trip, I had Jude wrapped on my front since he had just fallen asleep in the car. He, however, decided sleeping was not as fun as looking around at Costco and was currently awake. I was about to pull out a cart from the huge line when a woman offered me the one she had just pulled out. She said this though after noting the numerous items of trash in the basket. Strange way to help.

happy birthday daddy!

2010-01-04T20:39:00.001-08:00

Today would have been my dad's 60th birthday. All in all, it was not a bad day though. I reflected a bit on him and the fact that this is the day we celebrate his entrance into this world, yet he isn't here anymore. And it sucks, but that's the way it is.

Or maybe he is here and we just don't know exactly where. Either way, a bit of him lives on in me and my siblings, and now in my kids as well. Powerful stuff.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T19:58:00.001-08:00

Happy 2010! I was actually awake to ring in the new year this time around. Barely.

And a funny from yesterday:

Jonas, holding a bendable Plan Toys firefighter figure: I fink dis might be a booboo doll.
Solana: No Jonas, it's a VOOVOO doll.

::the doll

Looks like Jude will put it to good use at least.

so yeah, thanksgiving

2009-12-06T21:30:00.001-08:00

I type this while staring at our Christmas tree, which seems wrong but hey, that's the way it goes. Better late than never.

We decided to stay home again for Thanksgiving since half of Henry's family had to work and we preferred not to make the drive to his parents' house. We had (most of) my family over and a good time was had by all. Henry cooked the turkey on the barbecue, rotisserie-style (yum); I made a bunch of gluten and dairy-free sides from scratch to complete the meal: mashed potatoes, butternut squash puree, dressing, gravy, green beans and caramelized onions, salad, and cranberries.

I think my favorite part of the night, besides the (yes, gluten-free) pear crisp, was my sister's pirate imitation:

finger dancing

2009-12-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

Henry has taught all our kids from a young age to finger dance. What's finger dancing, you say? Well, watch and learn.

I posted a video earlier of Solana doing her version earlier. I'm still trying to see if we managed to catch Jonas doing it.

I find it kind of funny that both Solana and Jonas have gone through phases of being tyrants in the car with regard to what music they want to listen to and who is allowed to (or more often than not, *not* allowed to) sing and/or finger dance to said music. "YOU CAN'T FINGER DANCE!"

more jonas-isms

2009-12-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

The last couple days when Jude has followed Jonas into the kids' room or the playroom, Jonas tries to get him out saying, "He's going to tear up the place!" I'm still not sure where he got that one.

Also, we went on a "night walk" with flashlights tonight after dinner, looking at the Christmas decorations in the neighborhood. Jonas surprised me by loudly saying, "Jumping jellybeans!" when he saw an impressive house. It sounded quite funny coming out of his mouth, even after the fiftieth time.

I think there was one more thing he said, but of course I can't remember it now. Such is life and my memory these days.

why having label-maker is not (necessarily) OCD

2009-11-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

I loved my label-maker. Until the day the children did one too many things to it and it died on me. Henry got it for me our first Christmas together and I have now asked for a new one this year.

Why now, you ask, when your old one has been gone for at least a year? Because cranberry sauce should not have salt in it, that's why. And if you add about 1/8 cup of said substance to your cranberries in an attempt to overpower the maple flavor a bit, they taste god-awful. So you see, if that jar had been labeled properly as "salt," it would not have been mistaken for sugar and my cranberries would not have been ruined.

Luckily I bought 2 bags of cranberries so we could have extra for the freezer, so I remade the cranberries, forsaking the maple sugar for good-ole sugar, and we're good. But no extras sadly.

field trip

2009-11-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

We went with Solana's class on a field trip Tuesday: taking the train down to Old Town, doing the tour guide thing, then having lunch and heading back home. It was exhausting, but the kids seemed to have a good time. I was amazed at how many of them had never been there before, considering its proximity to where we live.

Solana was one of the girls chosen to wear a mantilla and pretend to be living here back in the day (not hard when there were only 5 girls there from her class). She looks embarrassed in this picture, but she was really excited about it:

They went into the first schoolhouse in the county and sat at the old desks. Does Jonas fit here?

They even got to pet one of the resident burros. I got a picture of Solana, but Jonas' was blurry since I was staying close to him (the donkey was a bit skittish):

We ate lunch on the grass and the kids got to watch a short scene from Shakespeare being performed before we headed back to the station to narrowly avoid missing the train back home. I think the train ride was the highlight of the trip, at least for my boys:

before and after

2009-11-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

The kitchen is done. Floor is done and I am loving the cork we decided on; it's so much softer than the concrete we've had for the last 2 months and dark enough that a crumb can fall without it shouting at me.

::taking sharpie to the concrete floor::

The appliances are freaking awesome. The dishwasher actually, you know, cleans the dishes. And? It's uber-quiet so we can watch the occasional movie and run the dishwasher. At the same time! The fridge is bigger than our last one which is nice, but sucks at the same time. I lost my top of the fridge storage so all my jars of beans, rice, popcorn, etc are currently residing on the countertop until I figure out where in our tiny kitchen I can fit them. And it sticks out into our narrow space more as well; we did get a side-by-side so when we open the doors, they don't take up as much room.

::solana's rendition of our family::

Best part? We have an ice maker and I can now have crushed ice whenever I want. The kids are loving that too.

All in all, I'm quite happy with our newish kitchen.

::new floor: you can also see all my jars in the background and our new fridge on the right::

grandma update

2009-11-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Surgery went well today, according to my sister and Henry's brother. The doctor was able to remove a good portion of the left side of the tumor. Now here's to hoping she recovers well and comes off the drugs okay.

0 for 2

2009-11-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

My score for gluten-free cooking/baking tonight. Argh.

First I made carrot cupcakes. The recipe was given to me and I made them for Solana's 3rd birthday party; I remember them being good. Made them at some point a couple years ago and they tasted funny; I chalked it up to not mixing the baking powder in well enough as they had this funny taste. Made them again tonight, forgetting about prior funny taste experience, and the same thing happened. This time I made them with gluten-free flour, but I think the problem ultimately is the recipe there. Not sure why they would have tasted good the first time though. . .

Dinner was chicken pot "pie." Filling was premade/frozen from last time I made it. I added potatoes and made the gluten-free bread topping; it came out really gummy and not so good. Sigh.

I give up. For now.

where'd that wagon go?

2009-11-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

Because I certainly fell off it; the NaBloPoMo wagon, that is. I got thrown off when Jude pulled an all-nighter last Wednesday. I ended up getting a grand total of about 4 hours sleep, half of that on the couch with him cradled in my arms. So Thursday night found me falling asleep with him at bedtime rather than blogging. Ditto Friday night.

Last night we didn't get home from visiting my grandma and then hanging out with Henry's family (and shopping) until late. In fact I think it was technically already today, so no blog post again.

It's been busy around here though. Grandma had her pre-surgery procedure today and Henry's brother called to say it went fine. It wasn't an angiogram as she had told me originally, but something else I cannot recall the name of. Basically they went in and cut off the blood supply to one of the 2 vessels leading to her brain. This should help tomorrow during the surgery to remove (hopefully most of) the tumor causing all the problems.

Solana went to her first slumber party on Friday night. She went back and forth on staying the night and ultimately decided to do it. We made sure she knew she could call us anytime and Henry would come get her of she needed. She ended up staying all night and looked really happy when we picked her up. The girls got a grand total of about 7 hours sleep, but it worked out well since we had a 2-hour car ride ahead of us; she actually napped for a bit on the way!

So yeah, big milestone there: Solana's first night away from her family (no, she had never even slept over at grandma's yet). I'm glad we waited until she was ready since it went so well.

updates

2009-11-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

Grandma's surgery is tentatively scheduled for Monday. She will be having a procedure done prior to that (angiogram?) in order to allow the surgeon to remove more of the tumor come Monday.

I may have to wait until after the surgery to visit since children are not allowed in the hospital (and I wouldn't want them there anyway) so I need to have someone with me to watch them while I go in to visit. I think Saturday is out to visit now because of her procedure (duration: approximately 4 hours) then her being out of it for quite some time due to anesthesia. We'll see. . .

And a house update: Our new cork floor is mostly in in the kitchen! Yay, finally! We're getting our shiny new appliances delivered tomorrow and I'm crazy excited about them, especially the fact that our new fridge will have an ice maker. Crushed ice. Need I say more?

grandma

2009-11-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

My grandma had to go in to the hospital today following her annual checkup after neck surgery. She had a CAT scan which resulted in an MRI ordered, and then her dr. asked how quickly she could get to the hospital.

Bad news is her tumor in that area has grown. So much so that the dr. was surprised she has been doing as well as she has. They need to do surgery and remove as much of it as possible. Fortunately (I think), it is not so urgent to need to be done tonight as we thought might be the case; the dr. needs to run some more tests first.

Good news is Henry's brother happens to work at this hospital now (he didn't when she had her last surgery there). We talked this afternoon and I was hoping he would be able to stop by and say hello, just so she would have a familiar face in this scary situation. He went further than that and is going to be her anesthesiologist for the procedure. I cannot express what a relief that is, knowing she will be in good hands and with someone familiar.

Please, send any positive thoughts or prayers her way. Surgery is tentatively scheduled for Monday.

Grandma~ Stay strong and fight. You have the arms of many, many family and friends wrapped around you right now. We love you.

yo ho, yo ho

2009-11-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

a pirate's life for us!

Not the clearest and a bit dark, but the kid was next to impossible to capture on "film" since he kept walking toward me.

uh-oh!

2009-11-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

Jude is starting to walk way more than crawl. Meaning I am going to have to start calling him a toddler soon. SO not ready for that.

Yesterday he started saying "uh-oh" and it's freaking adorable (of course). He just sits (or stands) there saying, "Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh."

You can hear Jonas in the background asking me to take his picture; he was sitting on the couch next to Henry, with a camera grin plastered on his face. That's his new thing, fake smiles for the camera! If you look at him, you'll see it near the beginning of the video.

what, this isn't part of your bedtime routine?

2009-11-07T18:18:00.001-08:00

Jonas spent the last few minutes prancing and dancing on the bed all while completely naked, to the chosen tune of "Cold Hard Bitch." Classic.

While he was doing that, Jude was climbing on the bed and scooting off, climbing on the bed and scooting off, climbing on the bed and. . . you get the idea.

Solana was cuddled up next to me and told me, "I'm going to marry the handsomest man in the world." I asked her if he was going to be nice too and she said, "He'll be perfect, mom. Like Daddy. Daddy's perfect, but sometimes he calls me 'lazybones.' My husband will be nice, but he might sometimes call my son or daughter 'lazybones.'"

Just another reminder to always strive to be a good example for our children. They are always watching and learning, creating a picture of what a marriage is, the roles each partner plays. Not that people can't break that mold, but these early examples are powerful and deep-reaching.

today

2009-11-06T23:23:00.000-08:00

Today was a long day: sick feverish girl, whiny boy (at least for only half the day), and a no-napping wonder. Plus a husband who is out of town for the weekend at a conference. Oh, and trying to get ready for a garage sale tomorrow.

So instead of some enlightening topic today (you know, like I usually have. . .), you get some pictures. They're from Jude's birthday, taken at the beach where we spent the majority of the day.

::birthday boy::

::freaking adorable, isn't he?::

::father and daughter::

clean up

2009-11-05T13:28:00.001-08:00

Me: Jonas, come help me put all the Mouse Trap pieces away.

Jonas: I'm going to stand here and make sure you get them all.

Sound familiar Tara?

the milestones, they are a flying

2009-11-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

Flying by, that is. It feels like Jude does one thing, only to learn something new the next day. It's insane the amount of growth children do in these early years, simply amazing.

So Jude took his very first steps when he was 11 months old. Since then, he has grown steadily more confident on his feet and is at the point right now where he's about 50/50 walking/crawling.

He's also waving hello and goodbye with that adorable backwards wave babies do. I love that he waves to anyone that says goodbye to him (usually) and at random cars that drive by us. He had one lady in our neighborhood (whom we do not know) in stitches over this the other day. Aside: Did I really just use the phrase "in stitches?" Ugh.

Yesterday Jude figured out how to click his tongue and make a cool new sound. He's been doing that a lot the last couple days.

And today he started holding up his hand and saying, "Duh, duh." Which apparently means, "High 5 man!" I started giving Jonas high 5's the last few days and Jude must have been feeling left out. It's freaking adorable.

Video of Jude's new sound and his high 5's. Couldn't quite get him to wave though as he decided he wanted to try to grab the camera. Again.

happy first birthday jude koa!

2009-11-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

::birthday ring::

My dear sweet Jude,

Today (okay, okay, last week) you're one! This year has flown by, as I knew it would. I've told you more than once to slow down, to stop for just awhile, and stop growing quite so fast. Alas, you continue on your path, getting older and bigger, reaching those bittersweet milestones.

::the favorite present, by Jude and the other 2 alike::

This last year has seen you pushed into this world (after a few too many hours working on said task) and promptly letting us know you were going to be a pretty chill baby. Not that you don't have your moments, but overall I thank you for your relaxed temperament. You did have to one-up your older brother by weighing 1 ounce more than he did at birth though.

You learned to roll over, sit up, then crawl, and finally to take your first tentative steps. Before we know it, you'll be chasing your brother and sister all over the place.

::his first bite of cake ever~ wish I could say it had tasted better::

So, my dear growing boy, congratulations on your first trip around the sun. I wish you many, many, many, many more and hope they are filled with as much love, happiness, and pure joy as you have given me this first year. I love you so very much and feel so blessed that you chose me to be your mother.

Love,
Mommy

::blowing out his birthday cake candle, encouraged by Solana::

halloween

2009-11-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

::hermione and scooby doo::

While I work on Jude's birthday post and the slideshow from his birth, I'm going to post some pictures Henry took on Halloween. The kids had a lot of fun. Solana went as Hermione (she's read the first 2 books in the Harry Potter series and begging for more), Jonas was Scooby Doo (his other current obsession besides firefighters), and Jude was a kangaroo.

I raided the dress-up box for some mouse ears and Henry went as the oldest costume in the book: a ghost. He was the only one out there dressed as one and got tons of compliments; he says there will probably be tons of them out in the neighborhood next year.

::wiggle ghost::

::strategically placed pumpkin::

::spooky cat::

::koa kangaroo::

::pretend there's a ghost in the background too because i forgot to get a picture of henry in his costume::

Happy Halloween!

back again

2009-11-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

I'm finally back here. I took a hiatus and didn't realize it had been a month-long one, yikes! Things have been really busy here, plus I've had a lot swirling around in my head, all of which resulted in no desire to write here.

I toyed with skipping this post since I still need to blog about so many things that happened in my absence, but decided to get this out here for now since the others may take some time.

A summary of what we've been dealing with in the last month:

-We all got sick and it lasted about 3 weeks for it to run through all of us, perhaps swine flu, but we don't really know for sure.

-Jude turned 1 (holy crap, he's 1!). I will definitely be blogging about that and his tol/dol ASAP.

-Jude is walking, but still mostly crawling as his mode of transportation.

-Our kitchen is still not done. At all. Mix-up with the flooring we ordered/they sent and now we're waiting on the final pieces of flooring.

Anyway, November is National Blog Posting Month, which I participated in the before and I figure I might as well give it a go again. So now is the perfect time to catch up on everything and get back in the swing of posting here. I will do my best to post every day this month, but I make no promises with 3 kids and the unpredictableness that is my life these days.

anatomy of a strawberry

2009-09-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Jonas, on examining his bowl of strawberries very closely:

Why do they have penises?

I had to have him repeat that one to be sure I heard correctly. I did. Apparently, the little "hairs" growing out of some of the seeds look like penises to him.

Boys.

Side note on the strawberries and the wee-est one: Jude ate very little today for some reason (hoping hoping hoping he is not getting sick like I was last weekend), but when he saw the container of strawberries sitting on the counter after going shopping, lunged practically out of my arms and toward them. He promptly ate 3 and called it dinner.

missing

2009-09-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Solana, tonight while lying in bed:

Mom, it's so hard. When I'm home, I miss my school friends. And when I'm at school, I miss you.

She later clarified that she misses all of us when she's at school. And we miss her of course.

old news

2009-09-22T20:53:00.001-07:00

Old news is Jude is pulling to standing. He can now do it without holding onto anything for support, but here is a video I took a month ago so I could post here about it. It's just taken me forever to get to it, per usual.

The kid loves the skateboards. I was asking him the other day, "Where's Jonas?" *nothing* "Where's mama?" *nothing* "Where's the skateboard?" He points and squirms to get down to play with it. Aye.

the witch and the zombie

2009-09-22T20:44:00.001-07:00

Jonas: Why did the witch and the zombie want the money?*

Me: I don't know. Maybe they wanted to buy something.

Jonas: Like what?

Me: What do you think?

Jonas: Maybe a brush rig. Or a ladder truck. Or an ambulance.

Because all witches and zombies need emergency vehicles to be content.

*I think this is from an episode of Scooby Doo, but I could be wrong.

so part two

2009-09-21T21:28:00.001-07:00

I knew it had been a long time since I updated here, but didn't realize it had been almost 2 weeks!

To make the long story short about part 2 of Labor Day weekend, we found out that our dishwasher was leaking. Through our floor and into our neighbor's ceiling. So we had to get a guy in here to set up 2 fans and a dehumidifier to dry out our kitchen, plus try to work around the mess (baseboards ripped out, kitchen linoleum mostly ripped up, but still sticking out in places, etc) in order to cook for our family. All during another period of high heat and the dehumidifier bringing the indoor temp up about 10 degrees or so. Ugh.

But we survived and I was able to continue cooking our meals at home, which is big when you're on a budget and eating out is difficult due to food restrictions. And now the equipment in gone and our floor is mostly concrete (except for some pieces of linoleum still on the sides). So it's usable and will be fixed when we choose which flooring to put down. Thank goodness for homeowner's insurance and the fact that they did deem us not negligent.

Meanwhile, our shiny new dishwasher and fridge (!) are waiting for us to be ready so they can be delivered. So very exciting! Yes, I'm excited about new appliances.

labor day weekend, part 1

2009-09-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day weekend started out quite lovely. Friday we met some friends at the beach for some morning fun since Solana homeschools on Fridays and my friend's daughter still hadn't started school. It was an amazing time. We packed light and the kids took off for the water right away. They found a dead bird by the water and buried it "so no one else will bother it."

Jude also discovered that he loves the waves. Never have I seen a baby enjoy the ocean as much as he did on that day. He crawled into the waves and didn't turn back; he kept grinning when a wave would hit him in the face. He seemed to love the feeling of being pulled into the ocean when the wave retreated. It was so neat to watch him fall in love with this powerful wonder of nature.

Speaking of wonders, while we were there, a pod of dolphins swam by and we got to enjoy watching them swim by. It was one of the most amazing things; they were so close to the shore! The kids were ecstatic once they realized what we were pointing at. I didn't get a very good picture, but this shows how freaking close they were to us on the beach:

Then Saturday we returned to the beach with Henry to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was awesome: warm water, hot sun, (mostly) not cranky kids.

Except for at this moment:

And no, I didn't whip out the camera just to get that shot; I was already trying to take pictures of him.

Pics from Saturday:

::sleeping! at the beach!::

::gotta love drought worry-free water play::

::the ubiquitous mound of seaweed::

::water baby::

::my family::

Part 2 of Labor Day weekend to come next. A hint of what's to come? Let's just say it involves my in-laws, downstairs neighbors, and a leaky dishwasher.

mister jude's fifteen minutes of fame

2009-09-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago I got a call from my friend Christina who is buds with Robyn, the owner of Babyhawk baby carriers. They needed a baby model for some instruction videos they were shooting that morning. After making sure I didn't need to be in the video, I said sure and rushed around trying to get all 4 of us ready to go in less than an hour.

And now the videos are finally up on the site and our beautiful baby Jude will be getting his 15 minutes of fame. Here's the one he costars in and yes, I did end up having to hand him over in the video which I wasn't ready for clothing-wise:

And here's the link on the Babyhawk site so you know where to find it if you need it (Jude's is the Front Carry Front Tie)!

So what do you think? Does he have a future career in modeling?

happy birthday henry!

2009-08-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

::make a wish::

It was Henry's birthday today. He got the best present of all: he started back at work after a wonderful summer off. Okay, so it wasn't a great present, but what can you do?

We went out to a Japanese restaurant for dinner where the chef cooks the food right at the table. Pretty cool. The kids loved the little volcano he made out of onion, then set on fire. Jonas of course had to know why he made a fire on purpose. And why the firefighters didn't need to come. And why the chef was doing everything he was doing. And. . . (Can you tell he's three?)

Jude enjoyed himself, especially stuffing himself with edamame and white rice, until the chef came back out to cook for the party across from our table. He banged his cooking utensils quite loudly which surprised me and startled the bejeezus out of Jude. He started crying and didn't completely calm down until it was just about time to go.

Presents happened before we had dinner since we can never wait until the end of the night around here. Here's a not-so-great shot of ~~Henry~~ the kids opening the gifts:

To top off the night, we had gluten-free, dairy-free German Chocolate cake with Coconut Pecan frosting. It tasted really good (but I'll definitely cut down the sugar next time), but fell terribly after I took it out of the oven. So it didn't look so pretty. Jude scored by sitting on Henry's lap and got a couple tastes of the cake; this was his first experience of watching the whole birthday cake/song/wish tradition. He better get used to it though as his is next and it will be a big one (he cried after the candles were blown out tonight and we were left in the dark)!

By the way, any ideas on that? I made some cupcakes a month or so ago as well that also fell after removing from the oven; prior to that, they looked normal. Another gluten-free mama at Solana's school suggested maybe my baking soda is old, so I'm going to replace that first. I just thought maybe it was due to it being gluten-free flours or possibly since I just bought silicone bakeware for these 2 projects. I've never used silicone before so maybe I'm missing something about using it?

All in all, we had a good night; hopefully it made up for the fact that Henry had to spend the entire day at school.

poohbear and the power of invisibility

2009-08-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Solana and Jonas spotted a neighbor's cat last night while walking home from dinner; we have no idea who exactly she belongs to, but apparently her name is PoohBear and she's a beautiful orange color. They pet (petted?) her a bit and then continued on down the hill. As Jonas came running down, he told us, "Can we have Poohbear be our cat instead of Orange?"

Henry and I looked at each other and asked him why. He replied, "Because I don't like it when Orange scratches me*. And I don't like her eyes. And her tail is too long and scratchy**."

Sadly, Jonas cannot have another cat either as Orange doesn't get along with other cats; he did ask if that was a possibility.

::orange in the grass, taken by Henry 6 years ago::

*Orange has only scratched the kids a couple times (and she was either provoked or really hurt by them falling on her in bed). For an old cat, she's actually very patient with them and mainly tried to hide from them rather than gouge them for bothering her.

**Also not true. Her tail is very soft, although it could definitely use some more brushing to make it as soft as it could be. As Henry likes to lament, Orange's brushing needs have mostly fallen by the wayside since having children.

**************************************************************************************

And today while getting ready to hit the outlet mall for a couple things, Jonas was supposed to be getting his underwear and shorts. "Supposed to" being the key words of course.

I walk in the bedroom and ask him if he has his underwear and shorts ready to put on.

He says, "They're already on."

I look at him squatting on the floor, looking at a book and reply, "That's funny; it still looks like you're naked butt to me."

He looks up at me and says, "They're invisible mommy."

ten months

2009-08-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

::first trip to the aquarium::

So that nine month long post I referred to when Jude turned 9 months old? Yeah, never happened. I was trying to catch this adorable thing he was doing on video, which he has since decided to never do again*, so that was out. And I wanted to take a couple more pictures of him for the post. That wasn't really a success either since most pictures of him these days look somewhat like this one:

Because life is too short to spend it holding still.

This is another familiar shot:

::heading straight for the camera::

Makes it hard to get a good shot down on his level when all he wants to do is crawl up and get his grubby fingers all over the lens.

What else is there to say? Jude is happy (most of the time), likes to play with all Jonas' cool toys (inciting much "No baby!" from Jonas), and is finally getting better about being in the car. He still doesn't love it, but at least we can sometimes travel without hearing screaming the entire time. Jude loves to watch birds, especially the hummingbirds that congregate in the tree near our front door.

The milestones are flying by these days. He's got 7 teeth with the 8th one close behind. It might actually be in already, but he rarely lets me get a good look in there to know for sure. He crawls quickly now, much to the chagrin of Jonas when he has his fire trucks all lined up perfectly. He pulls up on anything taller than he is and is starting to cruise the furniture a tiny bit. To think that at this age, Solana was still mostly immobile (she rolled, but didn't start crawling until 10.5 months).

::practicing his standing::

Jude babbles a lot and has started making a lovely high-pitched screeching sound as well. That one is especially lovely when we're at the library. He imitates sounds and Henry thinks he's saying "fish," but I thought it was possibly "this" when I first heard it. Who can say for sure?

The kid loves to eat now. He gets pissed off when someone is eating something and they don't give it to him. Presents kind of a problem since he can't eat just anything still; I will say we're definitely the most lax with him though in regards to what we give him. I do try to limit his grain consumption so that he is mainly eating fruits and veggies, with some beans thrown in for good measure; he does really like rice cakes though. I'm hoping this will help him to continue to like those foods as he gets older. He loves smoothies and comes crawling when he hears us turn on the blender. This morning he enjoyed one made with cantaloupe, concord grapes, and swiss chard; the other two wouldn't drink it.

::bean face::

He's starting to sign a very little bit. He claps his hands together, which either means "more" or "water." It's hard to tell which since when he signs it, he usually just wants water. He's signed "all done" a couple times, but not consistently.

Jude has really started enjoying other babies in the last few weeks. When he sees one (like at the library today), he crawls up into their face and starts to pat them on the head. And a couple weeks ago, he sat in front of one of his playgroup friends Olive and started giving her open-mouth kisses on her nose. Over and over. It was one of the cutest things I think I've ever seen. Seriously.

Here's a short(ish) video of Solana making Jude laugh one night while we were eating. I love his giggle.

So happy 10th monthday sweet Jude (a few days late)! Hard to believe that one year mark is creeping up on us already. I wouldn't mind if we stopped time for a little while before you get there.

::power to the people!::

*Jonas and Henry do this funny "Ha. Ha. Ha." laugh and Jude started imitating them; it was absolutely hilarious. But you will probably never get to hear it because he won't do it anymore and I didn't catch it on video the few times he did it.

first day of school

2009-08-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

::off she goes!::

Big milestone here today: Solana started school. For those who don't know, we homeschooled her last year for kindergarten, but she has been wanting to go to school. I checked out a few different charter schools so that we would be able to still partially homeschool her and ended up going with one that is 80/20 school/homeschool. She'll be home with us one day a week, plus a few random days in between when teachers have training days.

So off she went to first grade!

::pensive::

Solana went through phases of being really excited, then nervous, then excited again when she met her teacher the week before school actually started. When we got to the school and she sat at her seat, she looked so down I asked her if she was sad. She said no, she was just feeling shy.

That shyness must have faded because by the time we picked her up, she was talking about her new best friends. That's my little extrovert!

::my girl::

And can I just say how quiet the house with only 2 children here? Wow.

And? I really missed her. As did Henry, Jonas, and Jude. *sniff*

fairy luncheon

2009-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

This past week Solana invited a few friends over for a Fairy Luncheon; she had been asking for a couple weeks to do this and made elaborate plans while waiting for an answer. Planning parties is not my forte, but given she did not have a birthday party this year (or last), I decided to go for it. It was a lot of work for me with the 3 kids still wreaking havoc in the house, but we got it done and it was a success.

The idea started to grow when we checked out Fairies Cookbook from the library. Side note: The book has some cute ideas, but it has a lot of premade stuff in the recipes (as in cake mix, packaged frosting, etc.). I ended up altering the recipes some in order to use more homemade items (in order to be dairy-free) and try to make it a touch more healthy.

::fairy fruit magic wands: mine and Solana's favorite part. I cut the watermelon with a cookie cutter since I wasn't going to buy starfruit as suggested in the book::

Solana made lists of the treats she wanted to serve and the kids she wanted to invite; we had to trim both of those in order to make it manageable. So we ended up inviting 4 other girls to the luncheon, which ended up being a good number. There were very few conflicts, thank goodness.

::the smallest fairy: I couldn't believe she kept those wings on!::

The girls all dressed in their fairy best and started off playing together while I worked on their crowns (they chose the colors). Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the crowns or wands we made for them.

::Solana and her friend::

The kids ate lunch: star-shaped peanut butter and honey sandwiches, fairy fruit magic wands, watermelon cut in flower shapes, and sparkling fruit juice.

::the spread::

::fairy luncheon::

At the end, they were served dessert of Solana's choosing. I did not get a picture of the fairy cone hats as they did not come out well at all (not that the girls cared). They also had their fill of sugar on a stick, aka marshmallows topped with frosting and sprinkles. Then they played for a bit longer while we grownups cleaned up the toys and they went on their merry, sugar-high way!

::Solana enjoying her sugar on a stick::

Solana had a great time and I think the rest of the girls did too. I'm glad we did it, as a last hurrah before summer ends; all the work was worth it for my girl to have a special time of her own. Now let's hope she remembers it!

a new perspective

2009-08-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Eighteen years ago today my dad died after a 3-year battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I know I've written of it here every year, but it is such a huge part of my life and has shaped me in so many ways. I miss him and wonder what my life would be like now if he were still walking this earth with us.

This year was the easiest it has ever been for me emotionally. Yes, I'm upset and reflective, but I'm not a mess either. I didn't have 3-4 days of crazy sadness, anger, short temper, followed by a realization that it was all due to the anniversary of my dad's death.

This year I have thought a lot about his death from a new perspective. How insanely difficult it must have been for him to know his fight was over and he would be leaving his wife and four kids. As a parent myself, my greatest fear besides something happening to one of my children, is that I will die and leave them. How did he manage to deal with the knowledge that he wouldn't see us grow up, wouldn't walk us down the aisle, would never meet his grandchildren?

I saw the physical effects of what cancer and the subsequent chemo/radiation/bone marrow transplant can do to a loved one, but I wasn't fully aware of the emotional battle that must have been raging in his body the entire time. Even after he died I didn't realize how hard it must have been for him. Now, as a parent, I think I can understand more the extreme desolation he must have felt to be aware that he was leaving his life partner and his children.

I may have a better understanding of it now, but I hope with all I have that I will never have to completely understand it firsthand. I honestly don't think I could bear it.

struggling to hold on

2009-08-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was lying in bed with Jude, unsuccessfully trying to get him to fall asleep. He was more in the mood to nurse until he'd had his fill, then playfully bite me and watch my reaction. I guess that 7th tooth coming in is messing with him.

After awhile, he laid his head on my belly and then started doing zerberts on me. I'm pretty ticklish so I started laughing (and that's just my stomach~ don't get me started on my feet!). That encouraged him and he did it again, looking up at my face when I started laughing. He then burst out into a great big laugh and blew another zerbert on me. And again and again until neither of us could laugh anymore.

But it gets better. After the zerbert laugh fest, Jude crawled on my belly and looked me straight in the eye. He opened his mouth and gave me a huge open-mouth kiss on my nose, complete with filling my nose with drool (yum). He must have given me 10 of them before he tired of that and went back to nursing, then finally falling asleep.

I desperately wanted Henry to miraculously come in the room during this and grab the camera to snap some pictures or video. But of course that didn't happen, and if I'd gotten up, the moment would have been gone. So instead I chose to relish the moment and hope that my feeble mind can hold onto this beautiful memory in the years to come. The memory of laughing with my baby and of us reveling in each other, without being interrupted by someone or thinking something more important needs to be done.

I feel like that is my constant struggle. How to get everything done that needs to be done (and it is never ever truly done), yet still find the time to be present for my children? To make those memories that will really last the years and be the things my kids remember when they're grown.

I suppose that's my main reason for this blog: to have a place to record some of my most precious memories. Just in case they fade with the march of time and I don't remember the night my sweet baby Jude covered me with zerberts and open-mouth kisses. When we shared our laughter instead of slumber and I realized (once again) just how very much I love this soul.

love

2009-08-18T22:46:00.001-07:00

It's been way too long. My 9-month post for Jude is weighing on my mind, but still not done. Meanwhile, he's almost 10 months old.

But for tonight, something quick as it's almost bedtime. I was sitting on the couch tonight and Jonas came walking over to me.

Jonas: I love you mama. (crawling into my lap)

Me: I love you too (holding him in my arms).

You're my favorite Jonas in the world.

Jonas: (looking at me and saying in all seriousness) Can you let me go?

Moral of the story: Hold your babies tight while they let you because eventually those times will be few and far between.

precarious position

2009-08-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

I'm wiped out as Henry is out of town and we had a long, humid day. Jude napped a total of 30 minutes today which is exhausting in and of itself. So while I really want to get a post up about his 9 month stuff, a simple photo is going to have to do for now.

That's Jude crawling through my chair, probably looking for some food that one of his siblings dropped on the floor. Most likely from the day before. Yum.

sleep, take 2

2009-07-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

So after finally getting Jude to stay asleep last night, I poked around a bit online and then Henry and I started watching Milk. We got about halfway through and Jude woke up again.

Having had some time to myself (with no one touching me!), I went in much calmer, cuddled up with him, and sniffed his had while he nursed back to slumber. At that point, I started to drift off myself since I was completely relaxed and content to be cuddling my sweet boy. Just goes to show that sometimes all we need is a little break.

And tonight we can finish our movie.

sleep, that elusive demon

2009-07-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jude took a really long time to fall asleep tonight. Like an hour and a half long. Four attempts to leave and having to go back in seconds later long.

There was lots of flailing about, legs kicking, rolling back and forth on the bed, legs kicking, head banging, kicking off of covers, fussing, legs kicking, rubbing of the eyes, trying to get off the bed. And Jude was having a hard time of it too. Did I mention the legs kicking?

I love cuddling with him and know I should enjoy every second before he decides he's too cool to cuddle up with me. But man, is it tough to remind myself of that when I desperately need some time to myself.

happy 9th monthday!

2009-07-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

Jude is 9 months old today! A longer post on that in the next couple days, with pictures and hopefully a video. Assuming I can get him to cooperate. Which, with a 9-month old, is not a given.

My sweet baby is growing so fast.

one out of three ain't bad

2009-07-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

At least one of our children can fall asleep anywhere and proceed to be moved without skipping a beat. As I was walking Jude to sleep in the dark bathroom with the fan running, Jonas was lying on the floor listening to my singing and keeping me company. I called to him softly to get up as I was ready to unwrap Jude and lay him on the bed. Jonas didn't move. I tapped his foot and still nothing.

Then I realized he was asleep. With the entire lower half of his body blocking my way out of the bathroom. So I picked up his legs, scooted them over, and squeezed out the door. Jonas didn't pause in his snoring.

After nursing Jude back to sleep after taking him out of the wrap (I never said he could be moved!), I picked Jonas up and put him in his bed. He barely reacted.

if it looks like a bunny

2009-07-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

I snapped this picture the other day because Jonas' hair reminded me of our recent 1-night camping trip. The morning that we were packing up to head home, Jonas was in a somewhat grouchy mood. His hair looked like below, except he had 2 tufts of hair sticking up rather than the one pictured.

I was walking to the car with some stuff and he was right behind me, being silently grumpy. He looked up at me with a serious look on his face, then looked back at his shadow, and said with tears in his voice, "I not want to look like a bunny!"

It was one of those times where it really hurts to keep the laughter in.

garden bounty

2009-07-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

We have a tiny container garden outside our door: 4 tomato plants, 2 containers of strawberry plants, and (had) a basil plant that I killed when I picked the leaves too soon. The strawberry plants yielded some fruit early on and now we're getting nothing. We think they need more space and something added to the soil.

The tomatoes have been doing pretty well at least. This is what the kids picked the other day:

I wish we had more room to plant more, but we're making do with the space we have for now. We're hoping to add some herbs as well, but just haven't made the time to get a set-up ready for them. Plus, we have to figure out what will grow out there since we get a lot of direct sunlight throughout the day.

vintage solana

2009-07-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is video from Solana at about 1.5 years old. She used to love dancing to this song:

a jonas update

2009-07-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

Can you see what's missing in this picture?

Yes, that's our 3 (and a quarter) year-old son riding his bike with no training wheels! Go ahead, tell me how amazing he is. He makes interesting faces to boot. No, he does not have an underbite; he just likes to have the strap on his helmet *just so* and sticks out his chin to keep it there.

The only problem with learning to ride your bike without training wheels when you're still so young is that your feet can't quite touch the ground, making it difficult to get on and off said bike. But he's managing okay for now and the way he's growing lately, it won't be long before he can touch with no problem.

Pretty exciting stuff, eh?

fairy love

2009-07-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Solana is big time into fairies right now (and has been for quite awhile actually); I must say I'm enjoying the fairy phase much more than the princess one. And while she still enjoys princesses and dressing up like one, she talks about fairies much more. To go along with the obsession is a book series Rainbow Magic, of which she has accumulated quite the collection. In her words, series (series-es?) are great "because they never ever end!"

Last month we had a mommy/daughter (partial) day, which is a rarity; of course Jude tagged along since he goes where the boobs go, except in rare circumstances (like during my sister's wedding hoopla). Jonas hung out with Henry doing boy stuff and we took off on a long car ride to a semi-local Fairy Festival.

We got a bit of a late start and missed the fairy parade, which I'm sure Solana would have loved, but we did get to see the wonderful fairy gardens that people brought for the contest. Maybe next year we'll be able to create a fairy garden of our own.

Solana enjoyed the maze and found her way out quickly enough.

There she is in the fairy house. And no, she does not have a large mole on her chin. She decorated her face with sparkly "jewels" in the car on the way down and she decided it looked good there.

When we sat down to eat our lunch, we ran into a few friends we know from homeschooling activities. Solana looked truly happy when she started running around with her friends; that girl loves being around people.

yay costco!

2009-07-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

I was in Costco last week and was strolling through the aisles. I passed the rice and did a double take. FINALLY! Brown rice in bulk at Costco. And even better? It was organic. I was so excited about it, I mentioned to the cashier that it was about time they carried brown rice. So everyone that loves brown rice, buy it up so they keep selling it, please?

And then we ran in today to get the organic spring mix they sell (SO much cheaper than at other stores) and a couple other things. On the way to the register, I noticed a box of Mary's Gone Crackers and had to get some. They're gluten-free and dairy-free crackers and at the price they are, they better be really good. Even with Costco pricing, they're going to have to be a special treat.

So yeah, I was really excited about food at Costco. That is all.

flower girl

2009-07-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

We didn't bring the camera into my sister's wedding or reception since both Henry and I had our hands pretty full. Henry with boys and me with bridesmaid duties (and Solana). But Henry snapped a few shots of Solana all dolled up; this one is the cutest in my humble opinion.

A good time was had by all. If you are really interested or just slightly masochistic, head here for a look at all (almost) 700 pictures.

Or if not, here are a couple of the beautiful bride and groom and our family:

Solana getting fancied up with my sister Tara in the background

Tara and my 90-year old grandfather (who walked her down the aisle and gave her away)

bridal party (I'm the 5th one from the left, figured some of you might need the hint since I'm dressed up and all ;) Unfortunately, the typing is right over most of Solana's head.

at our dad's grave

Tara and her girls (minus Solana)

And not to leave out ~~Superman~~ Mike. . .

Solana dancing with her archenemy Tim

my siblings

Solana and me

my siblings with my mom

Okay, so that was a lot more than a couple, but there are just too many to choose from. There are a couple I remember seeing when I paged through them all one night that I can't find now. I'm not sure if they got removed or I'm just blurry-eyed from looking through them all again. I'll have to post if I find them. One was of my family after the wedding and the other was of the 2 boys on the dance floor at the reception.

One important lesson learned: it sucks to not have your own camera because you're then stuck relying on other people's pictures when posting on your blog.

lucky shot

2009-06-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

I took the kiddos down to the beach yesterday to get some super secret shots for a Father's Day thing I'm working on for Henry. I'll show that after the day since he does check in here and at least looks at the pictures (although I'm not sure how much he actually reads. . . Dear?). Anyway, I happened to catch this shot of Jude somewhere in the middle of our little photo shoot and it is classic.

And no, he wasn't crying. I have no idea what was going on at the time in all honesty. I got it blown up into an 8 x 10 today and every time I showed it to Jude, he'd look at it and grin. He knows he's cute.

getting ready

2009-06-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

Things have been quiet around here (on the blog), but not here (in our home). We're gearing up for my sister Tara's wedding this Saturday; my kids will then have 3 they can call Uncle. That word looks weird to me spelled out right now: uncle. I'm a bridesmaid and Solana is the flower girl, so extra preparations need to be done.

We've been busy the last few weeks, just going a lot of places it seems. Trying to decide on what to do with Solana and school next year. Henry is now on summer break and has had a bad something (sinus related) for the last 4-5 days (Happy summer!). Jude is going from army crawling to rocking on hands and knees to pulling himself up to sitting position (new trick in the last week). Henry's sister just graduated from nursing school, which was really exciting. And it's Father's Day this weekend, which always brings up emotions. Ones that I feel like I need to squelch in order to celebrate the day in this family, with my kids and their father.

So yeah, busy.

Here's a picture Henry took of the older 2 right before heading to his sister's graduation last weekend:

mis razones de ser

2009-06-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

new tooth

2009-06-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

For the record, Jude's third tooth popped through yesterday. Finally. He was a bit more cranky with these top two, but still nothing compared to the other kids when teething. The other middle top one should be coming through any day now.

And now it's time for number three to get to bed. His sleep is all off right now and so he's up late. At least I finally got the mountain of laundry folded while he played on the floor, just in time to bring in more from the drying rack and diapers tomorrow. Neverending. . .

monarch program

2009-06-03T22:22:00.001-07:00

::click the butterfly for the whole set of photos::

Yesterday we went to a local monarch program with some homeschooling friends. They spent some time learning about the life cycle of the caterpillar/butterfly; Solana and Jonas were both very vocal about their knowledge. While we were talking, one of the caterpillars in the room transformed into a chrysalis and our guide noticed right afterward as it was moving. It was so neat to know this spectacular event had happened right under our noses.

::jonas::

::this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. . . No, just a bad joke since this photo reminds me of the priest at Catholic mass. Solana showing me "her" butterfly::

::caterpillar::

The kids had a wonderful time. I am so grateful to be able to share these experiences with them.

31 on 31 or happy birthday to me

2009-06-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

I turned 31 yesterday so I'm now officially in my 30's. As opposed to just being 30.

We had a low-key day, hanging out with Henry's parents in the morning since they were still in town staying with us. Jude actually gave me the present of taking a 1.5 hour nap in the morning without waking once. Jonas chose a watermelon as my present.

We went for a walk in the late afternoon, then out to dinner. I made a kick-ass (if I do say so myself) gluten-free, dairy-free red velvet cake with "cream cheese" frosting that we feasted on when we got home. Not bad for my first gluten-free, from scratch, baking experiment. I actually am not a huge fan of cake and much prefer brownies, but a cake is just more birthday-ish, you know?

After the kids went to sleep, Henry and I watched Mulholland Drive. A day later, I'm still wondering on earth was going on there. Anyone want to enlighten me? Those kinds of movies where you never really get what's going on drive me crazy. Which I suppose is the point.

jonas' stoplight jokes

2009-05-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

What did the red light say to the car?
HEY! You need to stop!

What did the green light say to the car?
Time to go, please.

What did the yellow light say to the car?
You need to slow down, please.

I like how the red light comes across very rude and demanding, but the green and yellow lights are polite.

And? Think he'll remember these rules 12 or 13 years when he starts driving?

tea time

2009-05-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Jonas was playing with the kids' tea set yesterday while I was cleaning up the kitchen (which by the way, feels like what I am doing half the day; the other half being spent making a mess in it). He was showing me the various components and telling me what they're for:

"This is where you pour the tea out of. This cup is for drinking your tea. It's for making you feel better when you have hurt feelings."

He hit the nail on the head. Sitting and drinking a cup of tea can be a soul-lifting experience; it warms your body and your heart. And I'm glad Jonas sees that too.

more on solids

2009-05-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, now on to my thoughts here.

A note on our process: I subscribe to what is called "baby-led weaning." So you follow your little one's lead when it comes to solids and starting the weaning process. Obviously with our track record here on complete weaning, this is a very loooong process. But when you think about it, from the moment your child begins to actually eat solid food, they will nurse less frequently. I mean, it's not like this drastic event, but the process has begun. And that's big.

Anyway, you present your child with chunks of food and let them pick it up (they should have their pincer grasp before you start anyway); they put it in their own mouths and feed themselves. No spoon feeding, no adult feeding them when they might not want anymore.

Side note: It amazes me how many times you will see an adult basically force-feeding an infant. Even when the child is turning their head (Hello? They're trying to get away from the spoon!) or pushing the food away, the adult continues on with the feeding. The child then spits the food out and it gets scooped up and shoveled back in. And we wonder why we feel the need to clean our plates as adults. End rant.

Food during the first year is for experimenting with, learning the textures, being a part of the family meal, not really for nutrition. So that's where I'm coming from in my beliefs. And for the record, I'm not 100% opposed to giving them food on a spoon if they want it that way, but I kind of watch and wait for the child to tell me they want it. Already Jude is pretty obvious when he wants a taste of something: he makes this specific noise and waits for some help in getting it.

But this is a bittersweet milestone for me really. Henry had been pushing the feeding solids thing for a long time. He knows my stance on it: at least 6 months old (heck, even the AAP recommends waiting that long), sitting unassisted, pincer grasp, etc. I have done my research on the subject and believe me, the kid is not starving (none of them were at this age)!

I'm not sure what the rush is for so many people to start feeding the kid already! Once you do that you have more messes to clean up, diapers start stinking, you have to remember to pack food for the baby, etc. But I guess that's all my territory anyway so not even on Henry's radar.

I get tired of hearing how "he's starving," "he really wants food," "look how he's watching you eat." Yes, he watches us eat; he watches everything we do since that's how babies learn! So since he tries to watch the tv the rare times it's on, should we let him do that too? Yes, he is trying to grab at the food; he grabs at everything. Yes, he is putting things in his mouth; babies learn by putting things in their mouths and using their sense of touch. It's not all about food!

So yeah, bittersweet. I feel hounded (even if it's not meant to be that way, that's how it feels to me). I get tired of hearing how I'm depriving my kid and in a roundabout way, not providing him with all he needs.

And it really sucks when you finally give in and you hear, "Well, guess he doesn't need you anymore!" Huh?!? I'm tearing up now, remembering.