Monday, December 22, 2014

The Nutcracker

'Tis the season for the Nutcracker.  When I was young my best friend used to go see a performance of the Nutcracker every year for Christmas.  I was always so intrigued as I was never invited to go.  I'm sure it was something special that she and her mother did together and it was a tradition.  But, it always remained in my mind and I knew that when I had my own child I would want to make it a tradition as well. I love the story of the Nutcracker and ballet is just so beautiful.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Mastering...

The next thing I am mastering is PATTERNMAKING!!  I have made two dresses for my nieces - one for each of them and it was a beeyotch.


See images above. The top one is for a six year old and the bottom is for an eight year old.  The 8 year old's dress took me FOUR tries to make.  Yes, FOUR TRIES!  Here's why.  I had to make a pattern.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The In-laws are in town!!

And it's like a breath of fresh air!  I really have the best in-laws.  They come into town to see their grandchild and help wherever they can.  It's like having another pair of hands or two.

As a stay-at-home working mom, there is constant guilt hanging over my head about how much time I can dedicate to my child.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Water..

THIS is amazing!  And you know what?  It could not have come at a better time for me.  Well, anytime that I would've come across this article would've been good for me.

I definitely do not drink enough water.  That article has now convinced me.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Happy Garland Time!


Last week, my sister, niece, D and I went to Anthropologie at the Grove for a fun garland making party.

Monday, December 8, 2014

On the notion of silence

Do you ever notice that there is never silence wherever you go?  I notice it. I notice it ALL. THE. TIME.  because I find it very irritating.  I am a silence girl.  I prefer silence over noise any ole time...I mean, yeah, I like to talk but when I am in a public place, I like to be able to hear myself think and be able to have a conversation with my neighbor.  Actually having a conversation with the people around you can be so rewarding.  You never know who you can meet.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Rahua Shampoo

Image from Rahua website

I just discovered this new shampoo brand (I guess it had skin care too) - Rahua.  While I liked the way it performed, I am a bit skeptical about anything sourced from the rainforest.  I feel like even though the website states that they are sustainable

Monday, December 1, 2014

Conscious vs. Convenience

Isn't there just a fine line between the two in parenting?  For instance, I know that eating at home is far more healthier for us than going out to eat.  However, we love going out to eat plus it's just more convenient sometimes to run out to get a bite rather than, prepping, cooking, cleaning...

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Hand cream


The hubs and I just went to Whole Foods and checked out a bunch of hand creams.  He was in dire need of some.   Yes, seriously!  We really liked some of the pure shea butter options but then came across this neat little brand - Alaffia.  I'm impressed with their sustainability and empowerment platforms.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Weekend Getaway


Pismo Beach is a great weekend getaway.  Just about three hours away from LA.  We stayed at the Sea Gypsy Motel and had a great room.  Window opens out to the ocean.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Clek

Clek makes the best car seats!  The hubs found this online a while ago and now we've seen quite a few people with them.  It sure makes carpooling so much easier.  Just click it in and done!  None of that crazy winding seats belts around the back, pulling, tugging, etc...And look at how cushy the top head part is. Wish we had two of these.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Lou & Grey


Wow!  It's been a while since I've posted.  When it rains it pours and I've got several projects in the works, as well as, our school is putting together its upcoming annual Elves' Faire and there's a lot reliant on the parent body for this so every spare moment is spent crafting!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

It takes a village

Last weekend was a busy weekend here at the Casa.  For the past month, we've had a friend staying with us in our spare bedroom.  She was one of D's previous teachers and it's been great.

This past weekend, said friend had a friend in town staying with us.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Influence of Friends

Since we started Kindy this year, we've had to pack a lunch for the babe.  At first, it was a bit of a challenge trying to come up with lunch ideas.  But then I think I've gotten in a sort of  a rhythm.  Waldorf early education is based on rhythms in the classroom, rhythms throughout the days, weeks, seasons, years..so I figured, why not create a lunch rhythm and basically make the same lunches each day.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Little Miss Temper x2

Last night, the hubs chuckled about something as he was thinking back to a previous day's play date.  I asked what he was chuckling about.

He told this story - The other day at play date, he was hanging out on the couch watching the girls play.  D comes by and happens to accidentally hit his foot that was hanging over the couch and it tripped her.  Well, she got really mad and hit his foot and screamed, "Dad!!!  You tripped me!!" fighting back tears.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Eat according to your ancestry...

Just visited an acupuncturist the other day.  I've been having some pain in my left arm and thought to fast-track the healing.  Since we live nearby "Little Taipei" I decided to go see a Chinese acupuncturist as opposed to paying double and going to see a Western one.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

You can't change the impossible...or can you?

The baby is not such a baby anymore.  She's FIVE!  And she's got all kinds of spunk and personality and back-talk-onality...

Yeah.  This girl sometimes gets real smart-talky.  I usually ignore, but her dad sometimes gets really annoyed with it.  He says, "But she doesn't even make any sense!"

Well, duh.  She's five.  She doesn't really know how to make a case for whatever she's disagreeing with.  It's just what is her reality.

And then the hubs says, "I just wish she wouldn't argue so much!"

My response to that would be, "Look at who her parents are!  We argue all the time."

Not in a bad way but we both really like to state our case.  Maybe she'll outgrow it?

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

On the subject of Nightshades

Nightshades.  Have you heard that term?  I've heard it being thrown around here and there as a lot of Waldorf school avoid "nightshades" - a group of plants that are considered "toxic".  Grouped in this category are tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, potatoes.  Whaaat?!

Sunday, October 5, 2014

The Wonders of Waldorf





We recently had our Kindergarten Orientation.  Now, there are several reasons why I love Waldorf Education...the execution, the community...but the main one is that it is an intentional education based upon human development and at the center of the early childhood focus is a reverence for the child.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Spoon Salad


I just made the most delicious salad!  Ingredients:  romaine lettuce, kale, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, raw cheddar, avocado all chopped up into itty bitty pieces (because the baby doesn't really love to eat salad).

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Redefining "feminism"

Emma Watson, the actress, was recently appointed a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and gave a very moving speech to the UN.  You can view it here.  I mean, this speech made me cry because what she is saying, what she is feeling...I want MY daughter one day to be just as passionate about changing the world.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Homemade gummies

I've been wanting to make homemade gummies for awhile.  Finally ordered some grass fed gelatin and used this recipe from Wellness Mama.  Well...they certainly did not turn out looking anything like the ones Miss Wellness Mama has pictured on her site.  They were okay in taste.  She wasn't kidding when she said we had to work fast. That gelatin was coagulating faster than I could get it into the pan.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Cha-Cha-Chia...

And I'm not talkin the green chia pet thing.

I'm talking about Chia pudding. Now, I consider myself a pretty good cook. I like to cook and cook often.  I'm also a pretty stellar baker.

The ONE thing that seems to confound me is Chia Pudding!!  I have made it several times and it never turns into pudding.  Just stays chia seeds in some liquid.  I am really not understanding this...

Can someone please enlighten me?

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Unexpected deliciousness



A while back I had accidentally ordered Sprouted Oat Groats from To Your Health.  This is where I usually buy my ROLLED oats as they are sprouted and a friend turned me onto this company.  Apparently, they don't roll your oats until the order is placed so it's really fresh.

Monday, September 8, 2014

The End of Summer...

Really cannot come soon enough.  I was really chomping at the bit for school to start on September 3rd...and then the fire happened.  Yes, there was a fire at our school that then delayed the start of school.  Two classrooms burned, demolition, insurance crews, clean up, clear up, safety check...

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Corn egg drop soup

Why buy cream of corn


When you can make cream of corn??!


Yum!

We had a dinner party last weekend and I had intended to make corn egg drop soup.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Grand Central Market

Wow, where have I been hiding?  Under a rock or somethin'?  Maybe spending too much time analyzing my parenting unskills...(reference previous post)

Luckily, I haven't been hiding for that long and we (the fam) finally ventured over to Grand Central Market in #DTLA.  This place is pretty awesome!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Why don't we...How about...

Yesterday, I found the perfect scenario of how I could've approached a conversation with D in a better way.  Remember I had posted previously about this "battle of the wills"?  I often hear myself speaking to D and really wish I had not used the words I used.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Endearing

The other day, I had a work meeting so I had to take D to my sister's office to play with her cousin for the day.  I dressed for the meeting in a button down shirt and some slacks.  Took D to the sis', went to my meeting then picked her up later.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

You're Crampin' My Style, Kid



Am I the only person that ever reminisces...misses those days of yesteryear when I...didn't have a child??!  Yes, sometimes when I am driving around contemplating life, I think about those casual days long past that were so free.  I wasn't tethered to anyone.

Monday, August 18, 2014

On the topic of discipline

Sometimes, I sit and wonder, "HOW am I gonna get this girl to listen to me and stop speaking to either of us (the hubs and me) so disrespectfully??!"

Sometimes I feel like the "gentle" parenting approach is bogus.  All you get are a bunch of self-absorbed little brats.  I mean, I have found myself saying to the child once, "The world does not revolve around you, D...."  And of course have thought it a million times more after without verbally announcing it since she probably doesn't quite get it.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Horse shaped biscuits


Today was the last day of horse camp for the babe.  So I thought it fitting to make horse shaped biscuits for her to take for lunch!  Mmmm, these were delicious and so easy to make.  Recipe from Food Network.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

#SirPaul McCartney

I feel so lucky to have a husband that is so into music.  Music of all kinds.  He's on top of everything that's in town so about three months ago, he came into my room and announced, "Honey!  Paul McCartney is playing at Dodger Stadium!"  Me:  "Oh, nice."  Literally, just nice.  Not super enthused but interested.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Water, water...


Water...there's an abundance of it all around, but good water is hard to find.  In Nashville, we had reverse osmosis water put in.  It seemed a good choice at the time but I don't think we realized just how much water was being wasted.  Plus, it takes all the good stuff out with the bad stuff.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

The Elusive Pastured Egg


Having just moved to a new area, we are 'cessing out our local farmer's markets to find the best one for us.  Mainly, we are trying to find the best eggs as I hardly ever purchase eggs from supermarkets unless in a pinch.  In fact, having just come across this great blog post by Cheeseslave , I will now have to reconsider purchasing eggs from Trader Joe's!  I do not agree with factory farmed eggs.  We have driven by one of those and the conditions just look appalling even from the outside.  No living being should be subject to living without sunshine or mobility.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Non-toxic Plus

Image taken from A Night For Green Beauty - LA FB Page

The sis and I just went to this great event last night put on by La Bella Figura called A Night For Green Beauty.  Wow!  I wish they would have this every season!  It was so awesome to be surrounded by all these great non-toxic, earth conscious beauty brands.

I was made aware of this event via Beautycounter.

Bipolar, much?

Remember I said we just moved to a new house?  Yes, we did and the previous owners used a portion of the house as rental property.  So, we have a tenant that we share a wall with until she moves out.

When I first met the tenant, she gave me the whole rundown on the previous family...since she can hear them all the time...the father runs the mornings like a drill sergeant...etc.  "Oh boy..." I thought, "I better be on my best behavior."  The last thing we need is for D to have one of her terrible tantrums that she was having prior to our move...terrifying.

Now after being in this house for several days I am thinking the tenant must think I am a bipolar mommy.  One minute being sweet and kind and the very next, loooosing it.  Yeah, I have a pretty short temper and can fly off the handle.  Eeeks!  Oh this is so stressful.

Ha!  I should not care what the "neighbor" hears but truly I am embarrassed when I lose it at the most stupid things.  I try and try to be patient and kind, but it's truly not my wheelhouse.  The best I can do is try.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

For the love of Dog...


That's my dog.  He's a real sleepy head.  He has short legs and a rather chunky body.  Despite his shortcomings, he loves to walk.  He really does.  When we get out he likes to walk far, but he is real slow.  So, what would normally be a quick 20 minute walk takes an hour with him.

We just moved to what I like to call "The House with a Thousand Stairs".  It's really just 55 steps to be exact but I like to exaggerate, and for as many times that I am walking those steps, it might as well be one thousand steps that I take in one day.  Now remember what I said about my dog having short legs.  Yeah...55 steps just really isn't gonna work for him.

So because I LOOOVE my dog.  I carry him.  Yes, I carry this 53 lb dog down and up the stairs TWICE a day every day so he can go do his business.  And on top of all that, he actually slipped off the stairs in the house once and twisted his back.  Got the formal diagnosis from the vet yesterday.  Thankfully, it was only a twisted back.  I was afraid he might have dislocated his hips!  That would've been terrible!  Instead the doctor sent us off with a "Yeah, he's hurt his back a little.  Just keep him from walking down steps and he should be fine in a few."

And what does my dog do?  Well, I decide to take my daughter and her friend to my dad's pool.  Good place to just have the girls play in the pool, I can get some work done and the dog can hang out.  No, Yoda can't just hang out.  He walks around the pool area sniffing around and all of a sudden I am hearing heavy panting.  I look over to the sound and there's Yoda!  Trying to paw his way out of the JACUZZI!  Yes! THE JACUZZI!  The crazy dog has fallen in, is probably overheating and hanging onto the edge for dear life trying to claw his way out.  I leap off my chair and rescue him.

Imagine what that little incident did to his recovering back??  Crazy.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Paleo brownies



Mmm, these brownies are amazing!  I can't believe there is no flour used.  No, I am not going paleo but the diet does seem quite intriguing to me.  Why not just eat meats, veggies and fruits?  Why do we even need grains?  Seems such a clean diet.  Of course, I could not be strictly paleo because I love to bake.  And often the best tasting things (ahem, chocolate chip cookies, shortbread cookies) really don't taste great unless I use all-purpose flour.

Well, I say that now but it's because I have not tried to tinker with some recipes using healthier flours like sprouted spelt or sprouted wheat.  One day I will try but right now it seems so wasteful to "test" and then not have a batch turn out well and we end up having to toss the whole batch.  I don't like doing that.

Back to the Blueberry Brownies...I made these for a party where two guests were paleo.  Oh, these are so moist and delicious.  The original recipe calls for a blueberry sauce too but I didn't make it and the brownies weren't missing the sauce at all.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Walnut bars


Image from Edible Perspective

Mmmm, I was trolling the web one day to see what I could make without eggs or milk since we had neither.  The babes was enrolled in a summer camp where we had to pack her lunch.  I wanted something nutritious and yummy. (Image above taken straight from Edible Perspecive Blog..since I am horrible at food photos and these look delicious!)

And I stumbled across Edible Perspectives.  I have not really had the time to really dig in deep on this site, but if her recipes are as good as this one for No Bake Walnut Bars, well then I'm gonna have to spend more time here!  These are truly delicious and so easy to make!  I even made the chocolate sauce to go on top.  It was a winner with the hubs!  Check it out!

Friday, June 27, 2014

On exercise

Wow, the older I get the more I need incentives to actually get out there and exercise.  I think a little bit might be time constraints. I don't have a lot of time (well, I did when the babe was in school, but now that she is on summer break....). But a little is that now that I am older, I really wish I didn't have to exercise at all.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Manifest your destiny


This is what I'm into lately.  Truthfully, I've been trying to find meditation for a long time.  I have a tattoo of a lotus flower on the inside of my wrist that I had put there to remind me to meditate.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Nutrition in a capsule


I just met with a woman who swears by Juice Plus+ capsules.  There are three varieties - Orchard Blend, Garden Blend and Vineyard Blend.  She knew I had a daughter so had said, "We have these in gummy form too. I will give you some for your daughter."

Monday, May 26, 2014

Choosing love instead of anger

I'm just going to take my friend's post title and use it!  Here, my friend wrote a beautiful post about choosing love instead of anger.  This post was just what I need as a gentle reminder that I, too wish to choose love instead of anger.  To choose her way instead of mine sometimes.  Or at least recognize what might be going through her mind.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Comfort food

There are several foods that are deemed "comfort foods" - mac n' cheese, chicken soup, etc.

For me, I just realized what my comfort food is.  It's oxtail soup aka cabbage soup, but made with oxtail.  In my case, I've been making it with buffalo tail since that's what the local meat guy at my farmer's market has.  I love it.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Sunscreens

Summer is a'comin!  But, we stock and generously use sunscreen EVERY DAY.  I don't use a tinted moisturizer with SPF.  I literally slather my face with sunBLOCK every day and I don't let D leave the house without putting sunblock on her face.  She pretty much always has "white face".  I am obsessed!

I just bought a new sunblock to test.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Fairy gifts


D's latest gift from the fairies! A butterfly in its cocoon!  Inspired by MuddyFeet on Etsy.  Hers looks 100 times better but my kid doesn't judge!  I was just saying to G tonight that I really hope that when D grows up she remembers these many gifts from the fairies...

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

NudeStix

Image from Nudestix website

Oooh!  I'm going to put away my #safecosmetics hat for a minute.  I just watched Mixed Makeup's YouTube review on Nudestix.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

What th- WHAAAT?!

THIS blows me away.

Yes, going back to my obsession with cosmetics..which has now dwindled a bit as I search for mostly #safecosmetics.  Everything else just won't work for me.

I can't, in my good conscience, spend money on cosmetics that is not safe for me or the environment.

But THIS...a 3-D printer that prints makeup.  That would be AH-MAZING!!  I would like to outreach this girl and see if the raw materials would be safe, non-toxic.  I would hope so considering she is targeting girls between the ages of 13-21, or something like that.

This woman is awesome.  Jus' sayin'.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

If...Then

Lately, I have been trying VERY HARD not to use the "if...then" proposition.  If you don't do X, then you will not get Y.  That sort of thing.

I've heard it being repeated back to me by my sweet darling.  "Well, if you want me to do X, then you will have to give me Y..."

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Traveling crafts

Melissa & Doug makes a great little travel craft for a 5-year old.  It's a sticker by number.



They include a sheet with the picture and corresponding number but in the interest of taking up time, I didn't bring that out.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Is it a seaweed??

D and I went strolling along the beach a few weeks ago collecting seashells and sea glass. We came across this odd item.  It looked like a curled up seaweed.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Fairies and chicks and horses, oh my!

Oh my, indeed.  It's no joke running a school...especially a relatively new one...and especially when my career path never included anything remotely close to "early childhood education".  But, run a school is what I do right now and it's for the love of Waldorf and the love of the teachers and the families and their children.  I firmly believe the South Bay needs a Waldorf school.

Monday, April 7, 2014

"Feel like a woman, wear a dress"

Thank you, I think I will.

"Feel like a woman, wear a dress" was coined by and has become Diane Von Furstenberg's motto.  I love it.  I love wearing dresses.  One flip over the head and voila - an outfit.  It can be dressed up or down depending on how you accessorize it or what shoes you wear.

Dog or kid?

Was out walking the dog with D this weekend.  A lady with her dog walks by and as D is playing on a dolphin sculpture nearby the lady says to me, "Your daughter is so cute!"

Me:  "Oh, thank you!"

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Elf on a shelf...for your birthday!

Ummm..yeah.  Elf on a shelf has repackaged itself to capture more market share.

I mean, why am I even giving this guy air time?  I dunno.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Art perspectives

I am finding "learning about childhood" so intriguing!

For instance, the other day, D and I went to the beach.  In preparation she said, "I'm going to bring my Flutterby book so I can draw her on the beach!"  Great idea!  Lately, she's been kind of getting into looking at pictures and re-creating them on paper.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Uh-oh...chicken neck

I just saw some inkling of "chicken neck" on me today!!  The horror!  I'm aging.  

I mean...whoever thinks to moisturize under the chin and on your neck?  Not me.  But I better start!  

I would show you a picture but it is too horrifying to document...

Thank you.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Finding playfulness

I just had our parent teacher conference. And every time I attend any meetings that involve Waldorf teachers and what they do it just reinforces why I love this education!  This meeting was no different.

At our conference, the teacher tells me "D is a firecracker!"

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Ooh, SJP shoes!!

I meeaaan...who doesn't love Sarah Jessica Parker??!  Not a single soul I would bet.  I, myself, I kinda love her.  I loved her character Carrie Bradshaw, that's true.  But I kind of like her as a person.  She seems very sweet and she was definitely sweet when I worked for Boden and often sent her Mini Boden for her son.  She always sent a thank you card.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Frozen and no media

I'm always writing about how we go to a Waldorf School and there is a no media policy there.  The policy is there for a number of reasons, mainly because media affects children at a deeper level.  If put in front of a television or iPad, iPod, iPhone for too long, children forget how to entertain themselves.  They get uncomfortable

Monday, March 3, 2014

You show me yours...

And I'll show you mine.  EEEKS!!!  What do those words conjure up in your mind?  Dread is what is conjures up in mine.  But you usually expect something like that when your kid is a teenager, no?  Or am I just a dinosaur?

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Stranger Danger

At what age does one introduce Stranger Danger??  Well, I introduced whenever the occasion presented itself.  I think D was 3.5 or 4.  Can't remember.

I tend to be a friendly person. I will say hi to anyone and strike up a conversation and since D is with me a lot, she sees that.  We have a dog, people will come up to say hi.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

My mirror

D is my mirror.  A mirror of my mommy persona.  Not my public persona...right?  Because our pubic personas are much better than our private personas.  At least in my case.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Not just an empty jar of peanut butter


This is may look like just an empty jar of peanut butter...
But it's not!  It is now a vessel for my overnight oatmeal!  I took this jar and put in oatmeal (raw, rolled oats), some yogurt, milk and chia seeds.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Update on oil-pulling

Okay, I have been doing this for a week now?  Maybe more?  Here are my thoughts:

I definitely believe we should still be brushing our teeth.  I think the oil definitely pulls out all the bacteria, but I didn't feel my teeth were whiter since I felt like they had a coat of oil stuck on them?

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Kitchen Rx


Yes!  Your kitchen is chock full of great homeopathic alternatives to the conventional.  Say, like coconut oil - great for cooking, moisturizing, oil-pulling...

The other night, the babes had a very dry cough. It sounded terrible and pained me to hear her.  I had to get up and google a good homeopathic cough suppressant.  And, of course, the Internets never disappoints, does it?  This is what I pulled up: 1tsp cayenne pepper, 1tsp ground ginger, 1Tbs honey, 1Tbs apple cider vinegar.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Homeboy Industries


Cultural Monday was missed this week because D was a bit under the weather.  But last Monday, we toured Homeboy Industries.   I was introduced to Homeboy Industries by RedTri LA Blog...it was featured in their "How'd They Make That" post. From the pictures, it looked like you got a tour of their bakery and then you'd get a baked good at the end of it.

Friday, January 31, 2014

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is Chinese New Year.  Year of the Horse.

We celebrated with a dumpling party with some friends.  I had horse crafts for the kiddos, compliments of Red Ted Art, the adults made dumplings and even some of the kids helped make some dumplings.

For dessert we had sweet rice cakes.  A great way to ring in the new year.

I love the post from Mystic Mamma for what's to come for the Year of the Horse.

“Fast action flows just right for you if you are compatible with Horse energy by having Horse, Tiger, Dog, or Sheep in your Chinese Four Pillars chart of animal year, month, day, and hour…”

I'm a dog!  So this will be a good year for me!! Thank goodness because I was not really feeling last year.  I was really glad for last year to be over.  This year is gonna ROCK!!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Oil-pulling

Oh my goodness!  My sister just sent me a blog post on oil-pulling.  Thank you to my sister and thank you to Design Mom for posting such a thorough review of oil-pulling!


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Apricot Jam Bars

Do you ever have these hanging around?  Not the empty jars but half full ones.  Well, I did!   I bought the first one for a dessert and then forgetting that I had it, I sent the FIL out to get some more for a different dessert.  He bought the Reduced Sugar one. I don't ever buy things like that.
Anyhooo, I had a couple of jars of Apricot Jam sitting around and wanted to clear out my fridge a bit.
A search on the Internets brought me to Your Homebased Mom and her delicious recipe.  I added flaxseeds into my mix and then sprinkled shredded coconut and some sliced almonds on top.

It was a winner!  The fam loved it!!  This bar recipe can probably be used for any leftover jam.  I baked mine for closer to 50 minutes.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Storytelling...is magical

I am currently reading, "Healing Stories for Challenging Behavior" by Susan Perrow.  I came across this book at the Pasadena Waldorf School Store.  It's not that D has any challenging behaviors, I just wanted to read more about storytelling and this particular book had actual stories to address certain behaviors.  Through Waldorf education, I have been made aware of the transformative quality of storytelling.  I think it was about a year ago that I attended  a workshop of an author who wrote a book on Play and how through play (and storytelling), one could change a child's behavior.  It was really interesting -

Saturday, January 25, 2014

The dentist and the detective

Just took D to her 6 month teeth cleaning. The nurse comes out and says, "So for today we will be taking X-rays and then teeth cleaning."
Me, "Whoa, wait. Why are you taking X-rays?"
Nurse: "Oh it's just customary. We take X-rays every 6 months for kids her age just to make sure there are no cavities forming."

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Real Food Pantry

Ooh, Lisa Leake from 100 days of Real Food blog just gave us a tour of her pantry!

I'm super excited that while my pantry is not as neat and organized as hers, we have practically the same exact ingredients in there!  Whoohoo!  I keep our chocolate in the refrigerator.

Can't wait to see what is in her refrigerator.  I am just getting ready to CLEAR mine out!!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Lana

Just realized that Lana spelled backwards is Anal.  Whaaat?!  Yeah, ya might not want to name your child Lana...in case she turns out to be, well, "anal."

Am I right?

Monday, January 13, 2014

Cultural Mondays


D goes to school Tuesday through Thursday.  She used to go Tuesday through Friday even though technically, age-wise she is really just in preschool.  But because our school, Seeds of Joy, is a mixed age program we had a 4-day program for the 4 year olds and up (preschool/Kindergarten).  That changed this year since we have such a young class.  Almost everyone is below the age of 5 (which is great for the growth of this school!)

Monday, January 6, 2014

American Horror Story

Finding out commonalities through television...The hubs and I just started watching the first season of American Horror Story on FX. I think we are now four seasons behind.

He thought I'd enjoy watching since I loved Nip/Tuck (same producers) and I also enjoy horror flicks. Okay. First episode and it's about how haunted this house is...get more into it and there is a couple who moves in with their 16 year old daughter.

A bunch of creepy things start happening and the hubs and I keep asking the telly, "why are you still living there??"

At one point, the hubs turns to me and says, "Wouldn't you just move out?? And I replied, "Not only would I move out, but I would leave everything in the house!! Take nothing with me!!" The hubs agreed.

It's nice to know that if we were ever caught in a scary situation, we at least think alike.

Meanwhile, we often will watch tv in bed on the computer. So naturally, a show really has to be interesting enough to me such that I would want to stay up to watch it. Sadly, or maybe even fortunately, American Horror Story does not fall into that category. But, I think Jessica Lang does a great job on that show.

Jenga!

Remember this game? So fun. D got this from her aunt for Christmas. What a great gift for a five year old.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Good cop, bad cop...a little maturity, or...instilling FEAR

Soo...yesterday was an interesting day.  D was acting particularly ornery.  We had taken her and a friend to Mountain High for a day of skiing.  We had a good time but G was a bit annoyed that D was a bit whiney and wouldn't carry her own skis (um, she's four...) In the car, I'm not sure how we got on the subject, but D's friend said, "I am so lucky to have my dad because he always plays with me."  D says, "I wish I had parents that played with me..."

Friday, January 3, 2014

This tweet...really??!

"Being a dad is not hard work at all. When you love doing something this much, it never feels like work." @likeadad

This tweet was a "retweet" Umm, I am pretty sure I would not like to follow this guy. Clearly, his world view is all sunshine and rainbows. Yuck!

Really?? It never feels like work?