Thursday, March 20, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
overflowing
Each day since the birth of my youngest babe has been pure magic. I am amazed by how grown e seems to me and my strong desire to reel her back into the small pond of my loving arms to hold her as close as possible for as long as possible. There has been much heartache on my part at the loss of my only child family. When i look at our tinier one, i see how different e is from her and yet, how she was just this same babe, what was it yesterday? no, it was almost 2.5 years ago, the quickest time period of my blessed life. i find it hard to describe the depth of my love for e now. when i think about it or stare at her precious porcelain skin, i realize that god has granted me the huge gift of yet another creature to love so strong, like only a mamabear can. this grips my chest tightly with joy at the hope of the future and sorrow at how fleeting each minute with them now seems. i cannot believe that i get to do this thing called love. i get to share life with the man who taught me to love and who still dreams out loud with me after ten years of togetherness. having this newborn lump of goodness in our arms makes everything new, full of hope giving us a grateful longing to be alive.
on my 21st birthday, my dear friend, jessica gave me a poem with a line that describes my current life:
"i am drinking from the saucer because my cup has overflowed"
on my 21st birthday, my dear friend, jessica gave me a poem with a line that describes my current life:
"i am drinking from the saucer because my cup has overflowed"
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
gunter baby
our gunter baby was born on saturday morning at her house. she had a gentle birth and is so full of health and contentment. more to come later...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
eating locally
last spring, i really got into eating locally grown and produced food and drinks. i tried to spend a month just eating local foods which proved to be very challenging in april for a few reasons. this spring and summer, we hope to be better prepared in our attempt to support local and sustainable foods. the first part of the learning curve for me was just knowing where and when to get local items. my options were the grocery store (whole foods, mainly), the local farmer's markets that had just begun on weekends, and the farm tour where i picked up a few things. i did not have my own veggie garden but did have lots of herbs thanks to the previous lovers/owners of my house. eating out would not have been possible should i wanted to stay totally local.
A CSA will solve this problem now but we were leaving the country last year so did not join one. We have met many farmers on the Farm Tour over the years that we would love to support by joining their CSA. Hopefully, we can get in early enough this year to join one. I am only at the very beginning of my journey this year.
wouldn't one expect "A southern Season" to carry lots of locally grown items? I did but was hugely disappointed to find labels claiming "north carolina's finest" then the back said, product of georgia. Hu? What? Over and over, again their shelves were full of items with the carolina blue colors but were grown by the bulldogs down south. there is a small section that does carry items grown and bottled/produced in nc. the stamp or label "goodness grows in nc" was helpful for locating items within this store.
one of the challenges for me, personally was getting enough calories and variety in a day, mainly b/c my diet is already limited to non-animal sources of nutrition. this works easier if i can eat whatever is available in the grocery store without a thought to how many miles it had to travel to get there. also, i do eat processed or ready made foods like say, bread from weaver street market's bakery. i didn't attempt to make my own bread products so that left me feeling the need for some bulk. i did eat lots of nuts, as NC grows them well!
Eating local has grown in popularity just in the last year with so many more resources and options being made available across the usa. Some people chose to define eating locally as a day's drive to and from one's residence while others stick to the "100 mile Diet" for items withing 100 miles of one's area. Still others will say that eating foods grown within the state or region is eating locally. What do you think of eating mainly or all local foods?
A CSA will solve this problem now but we were leaving the country last year so did not join one. We have met many farmers on the Farm Tour over the years that we would love to support by joining their CSA. Hopefully, we can get in early enough this year to join one. I am only at the very beginning of my journey this year.
wouldn't one expect "A southern Season" to carry lots of locally grown items? I did but was hugely disappointed to find labels claiming "north carolina's finest" then the back said, product of georgia. Hu? What? Over and over, again their shelves were full of items with the carolina blue colors but were grown by the bulldogs down south. there is a small section that does carry items grown and bottled/produced in nc. the stamp or label "goodness grows in nc" was helpful for locating items within this store.
one of the challenges for me, personally was getting enough calories and variety in a day, mainly b/c my diet is already limited to non-animal sources of nutrition. this works easier if i can eat whatever is available in the grocery store without a thought to how many miles it had to travel to get there. also, i do eat processed or ready made foods like say, bread from weaver street market's bakery. i didn't attempt to make my own bread products so that left me feeling the need for some bulk. i did eat lots of nuts, as NC grows them well!
Eating local has grown in popularity just in the last year with so many more resources and options being made available across the usa. Some people chose to define eating locally as a day's drive to and from one's residence while others stick to the "100 mile Diet" for items withing 100 miles of one's area. Still others will say that eating foods grown within the state or region is eating locally. What do you think of eating mainly or all local foods?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
birth music mix
i am currently working on a mix to fill my ears while i am in labor...which could be any day now! bring it, baby.
I would like your recommendations.
here are some of my current picks:
sufjan stevens
the cure "just like heaven"
caitlin cary
third day over and over, again.
mason jennings
heaps and heaps of the innocence mission (thank you, baby brosie for the inspiration)
coldplay (just "yellow")
thad cockrell (which, yeah, that may be weird for me to labor to my single, guy friend but we can skip by it if necessary. i just had to have "warm and tender love"!)
clearly, i need some help now that i look back over this. it's so random. but, i think it will work. woo hoo! now, i just need some gentle and strong contractions to go along with the music.
I would like your recommendations.
here are some of my current picks:
sufjan stevens
the cure "just like heaven"
caitlin cary
third day over and over, again.
mason jennings
heaps and heaps of the innocence mission (thank you, baby brosie for the inspiration)
coldplay (just "yellow")
thad cockrell (which, yeah, that may be weird for me to labor to my single, guy friend but we can skip by it if necessary. i just had to have "warm and tender love"!)
clearly, i need some help now that i look back over this. it's so random. but, i think it will work. woo hoo! now, i just need some gentle and strong contractions to go along with the music.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
We are Friends of Midwives in NC.
North Carolina Friends of Midwives announces House Select Committee on Licensing Midwives
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Meeting begins at 1:00pm Legislative Campus Room 1228/1327 LB
Speakers:
Russ - 20 minutes + Q/A
Sonya - 20 minutes + Q/A
Tom Mansfield (I think) - Director of Legal Department for the Medical Board
Dr. Frank Harrison - NC Medical Society (NCMS)
Chip Baggett - Director of Legislative Relations for NCMS
Directions: Directions can be found on the General Assembly website at http://www.ncleg.net/help/directions.html. We will meet in the lobby of the Legislative Building at 12:00pm. The meeting will take place at 1:00pm in room 1228/1327 LB.
Parking: The directions found at the above link will also give you directions to the parking decks depending on where you are coming from.
Parking near the Legislative Building is always tricky. Here are a few options:
Option 1: From the Legislative Building, continue on Jones St across Wilmington St. and take the first right into a visitor parking lot. (This lot fills up quickly.)
Option 2: From the Legislative Building, turn left on Wilmington St. Bear left at the end of the block to loop back onto Salisbury Street. Turn right into the third parking deck on the right, which is marked for visitor parking. (This lot also fills up some mornings.)
Option 3: From the Legislative Building, continue on Jones St. into the residential area and look for unrestricted parking on Jones and the surrounding streets. (This involves walking a few blocks, but you should be able to find a spot.)
What to Wear and Bring:
One of the goals of this meeting is to break the stereotype of midwives and homebirth supporters. In the words of Russ Fawcett, “We should be dressed smart and professional (I will be wearing my "tree hugging, earth munching peace dad" t-shirt underneath my suit and tie).
Babes in arms are welcome. We were coached that we should be very careful with toddlers, as legislators can get annoyed quickly if things get disruptive. If you need childcare, please read the section below.
If you happen to have some of the Liberate Labor, Mandate Midwives buttons,
please bring them on Wed so we can have the audience decked out!
From the GA website: Individuals or groups who enter the buildings for the purpose of expressing support for or opposition to an issue shall not carry signs or placards into the Legislative Complex or display signs or placards, except when the signs or placards are worn as badges or are otherwise attached to the dress, do not exceed twenty-five square inches in surface area and are not libelous or vulgar.
Please bring a pen and paper because we want NCFOM to help us take notes in any questions that the speaks ask.
Childcare:
Childcare will be provided in North Hills, Raleigh (about 15 minutes from the Legislative Complex) at the childhood home Jean House at 224 Ellwood Drive. Childcare will be provided by Ellen Cheek (mother of 5).
If you are interested in childcare or volunteering to help, please contact Ellen at cheekatribe@juno.com or 336-498-1949 or Jean at 910-508-8816. Jean will be at the house at around 11:00 or 11:30.
Here are directions to the childcare:
From I-440E (the Beltline) to the babysitting house:
Take the Six Forks Rd. North exit 8B toward North Hills
Merge onto Six Forks Rd.
Pass through a few stoplights and pass North Hills shopping centers on left.
After you pass Carroll Middle School on the right,
Turn LEFT onto Northbrook Dr.
Take your first RIGHT onto Terry St.
Take your first LEFT onto Ellwood Dr.
The house is the last house on the right at the bottom of the hill.
It is a white painted brick ranch on the corner of Ellwood and Pamlico.
Unable to Attend? We still need YOU!
If you cannot make the meeting on Wednesday, please email the committee members (again, a special note to a Representative from your area) and tell them that you know of the study committee and this meeting, that you are unable to attend but are anxious to see them recommend licensure for CPMs.
Copy your local legislators on anything you send to the study committee members so they are aware of the discussions going on and the concerns of their constituents. You can go to www.ncleg.net to find a complete list of members of House and Senate, where they're from, their contact info, how they voted, what bills they sponsored, etc.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Meeting begins at 1:00pm Legislative Campus Room 1228/1327 LB
Speakers:
Russ - 20 minutes + Q/A
Sonya - 20 minutes + Q/A
Tom Mansfield (I think) - Director of Legal Department for the Medical Board
Dr. Frank Harrison - NC Medical Society (NCMS)
Chip Baggett - Director of Legislative Relations for NCMS
Directions: Directions can be found on the General Assembly website at http://www.ncleg.net/help/directions.html. We will meet in the lobby of the Legislative Building at 12:00pm. The meeting will take place at 1:00pm in room 1228/1327 LB.
Parking: The directions found at the above link will also give you directions to the parking decks depending on where you are coming from.
Parking near the Legislative Building is always tricky. Here are a few options:
Option 1: From the Legislative Building, continue on Jones St across Wilmington St. and take the first right into a visitor parking lot. (This lot fills up quickly.)
Option 2: From the Legislative Building, turn left on Wilmington St. Bear left at the end of the block to loop back onto Salisbury Street. Turn right into the third parking deck on the right, which is marked for visitor parking. (This lot also fills up some mornings.)
Option 3: From the Legislative Building, continue on Jones St. into the residential area and look for unrestricted parking on Jones and the surrounding streets. (This involves walking a few blocks, but you should be able to find a spot.)
What to Wear and Bring:
One of the goals of this meeting is to break the stereotype of midwives and homebirth supporters. In the words of Russ Fawcett, “We should be dressed smart and professional (I will be wearing my "tree hugging, earth munching peace dad" t-shirt underneath my suit and tie).
Babes in arms are welcome. We were coached that we should be very careful with toddlers, as legislators can get annoyed quickly if things get disruptive. If you need childcare, please read the section below.
If you happen to have some of the Liberate Labor, Mandate Midwives buttons,
please bring them on Wed so we can have the audience decked out!
From the GA website: Individuals or groups who enter the buildings for the purpose of expressing support for or opposition to an issue shall not carry signs or placards into the Legislative Complex or display signs or placards, except when the signs or placards are worn as badges or are otherwise attached to the dress, do not exceed twenty-five square inches in surface area and are not libelous or vulgar.
Please bring a pen and paper because we want NCFOM to help us take notes in any questions that the speaks ask.
Childcare:
Childcare will be provided in North Hills, Raleigh (about 15 minutes from the Legislative Complex) at the childhood home Jean House at 224 Ellwood Drive. Childcare will be provided by Ellen Cheek (mother of 5).
If you are interested in childcare or volunteering to help, please contact Ellen at cheekatribe@juno.com or 336-498-1949 or Jean at 910-508-8816. Jean will be at the house at around 11:00 or 11:30.
Here are directions to the childcare:
From I-440E (the Beltline) to the babysitting house:
Take the Six Forks Rd. North exit 8B toward North Hills
Merge onto Six Forks Rd.
Pass through a few stoplights and pass North Hills shopping centers on left.
After you pass Carroll Middle School on the right,
Turn LEFT onto Northbrook Dr.
Take your first RIGHT onto Terry St.
Take your first LEFT onto Ellwood Dr.
The house is the last house on the right at the bottom of the hill.
It is a white painted brick ranch on the corner of Ellwood and Pamlico.
Unable to Attend? We still need YOU!
If you cannot make the meeting on Wednesday, please email the committee members (again, a special note to a Representative from your area) and tell them that you know of the study committee and this meeting, that you are unable to attend but are anxious to see them recommend licensure for CPMs.
Copy your local legislators on anything you send to the study committee members so they are aware of the discussions going on and the concerns of their constituents. You can go to www.ncleg.net to find a complete list of members of House and Senate, where they're from, their contact info, how they voted, what bills they sponsored, etc.
Monday, February 11, 2008
kangaroo care
Tonight, e and i were watching a video my mom sent us about animals. When she saw the joey jumping out of it's mom's pouch, she said, "i need to see a kngaroo being born." thanks to youtube, i was able to find such a scene for her. we have watched it at least three times now. now, if i can just recall how to post a link to it for you all to see!
who knew that kangaroos essentially are born twice? once as tiny babes who then crawl into the pouch and nurse, nurse, nurse to grow strong on milk that changes for their stage of development (just like human milk does!). Then, around five month, they are born out of the pouch. pretty fabulous!
interestingly enough, there is a term "kangaroo care" used to refer to lots of skin to skin contact, breastfeeding and touch that helps babies born "early" to thrive outside of the womb. some of these babes would be sent to the machines of the NICU when they may just need some kangaroo care. we used this type of love for ez when she was born at 37 weeks (which is exactly how far along i am in my pregnancy right now!). she was born at home, weighing in at 5 pounds. She never needed a supplement beyond my milk, thankfully and we did not need to transfer to a hospital for any sort of care. we are eternally grateful to all the people that believed she would grow strong. she clearly has! those first few weeks were a shaky time for me as a new mom trusting my body to continue to grow my babe strong.
now, i am in that place of my pregnancy, again...and i am just so thankful to still be pregnant tonight! woo hoo! bring on more weeks of pregnancy...at least one or two for me. and, then bring on the sweetest lil newborn. i will continue to trust my body, my baby and my jesus to grow stronger and stronger the life force within me until it's birthday into the world outside of the womb. we look forward, so very forward to that day but wait patiently.
who knew that kangaroos essentially are born twice? once as tiny babes who then crawl into the pouch and nurse, nurse, nurse to grow strong on milk that changes for their stage of development (just like human milk does!). Then, around five month, they are born out of the pouch. pretty fabulous!
interestingly enough, there is a term "kangaroo care" used to refer to lots of skin to skin contact, breastfeeding and touch that helps babies born "early" to thrive outside of the womb. some of these babes would be sent to the machines of the NICU when they may just need some kangaroo care. we used this type of love for ez when she was born at 37 weeks (which is exactly how far along i am in my pregnancy right now!). she was born at home, weighing in at 5 pounds. She never needed a supplement beyond my milk, thankfully and we did not need to transfer to a hospital for any sort of care. we are eternally grateful to all the people that believed she would grow strong. she clearly has! those first few weeks were a shaky time for me as a new mom trusting my body to continue to grow my babe strong.
now, i am in that place of my pregnancy, again...and i am just so thankful to still be pregnant tonight! woo hoo! bring on more weeks of pregnancy...at least one or two for me. and, then bring on the sweetest lil newborn. i will continue to trust my body, my baby and my jesus to grow stronger and stronger the life force within me until it's birthday into the world outside of the womb. we look forward, so very forward to that day but wait patiently.
Friday, February 8, 2008
i am old now.
it's been over a week since i last posted. first, let me say a huge heart pulsing thank you to the best person i know for writing all of that sweet mushiness for the world to see. thank you for being open to all that it means to be my love and for constantly growing with me. i am so stoked for our upcoming chance to do the birth dance, again and fall more in love with you and jesus through that experience.
that's about what our week has been for the most part...gearing up to welcome baby g. sometime this month, we expect the babe in my womb to emerge earthside via a gentle birth at home. we went through all the birth kit type stuff, again and organized it. then, re-arranged all of our bedroom to accommodate it as a potential birthroom. it would have been fine the way it was but i got antsy about it and needed a change. we hung pictures, too. i have been creating a "wonder wall" of inspiring images. as i begin my 37th week of pregnancy, i am led to remember that e was born during my 37th week of pregnancy with her. i am hoping and even thinking it's true, that this babe will stay in a lil longer!
sleep has been coming to me this week thanks to a hip adjustment from the chiro. laying for more than 4 hours was killing both of my hips but i am sleeping so much better now, without any pain. i did wake up from a nap with some pain yesterday but it went away quickly.
we spent the afternoon at the park playground where poor e took a tumble down the stairs and now has a bruised nose. she recovered quickly though. with her future bro-in-law, we took a little walk down to the bench that resembles two hands to eat cashews and drink yummy fizzy drinks. then, her BIL rolled down the hill, making us laugh! we met a precious lil one with a new brother named ralphie. how, i love that name!
that's about what our week has been for the most part...gearing up to welcome baby g. sometime this month, we expect the babe in my womb to emerge earthside via a gentle birth at home. we went through all the birth kit type stuff, again and organized it. then, re-arranged all of our bedroom to accommodate it as a potential birthroom. it would have been fine the way it was but i got antsy about it and needed a change. we hung pictures, too. i have been creating a "wonder wall" of inspiring images. as i begin my 37th week of pregnancy, i am led to remember that e was born during my 37th week of pregnancy with her. i am hoping and even thinking it's true, that this babe will stay in a lil longer!
sleep has been coming to me this week thanks to a hip adjustment from the chiro. laying for more than 4 hours was killing both of my hips but i am sleeping so much better now, without any pain. i did wake up from a nap with some pain yesterday but it went away quickly.
we spent the afternoon at the park playground where poor e took a tumble down the stairs and now has a bruised nose. she recovered quickly though. with her future bro-in-law, we took a little walk down to the bench that resembles two hands to eat cashews and drink yummy fizzy drinks. then, her BIL rolled down the hill, making us laugh! we met a precious lil one with a new brother named ralphie. how, i love that name!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
re-hijacked . . .
ok, weird title, but i can explain.
first off, this was my blog (i'm andy, stacy's hubbie) originally and stacy hijacked it from me.
secondly, the blog-o-sphere is a much healthier and happier place since she hijacked this one. and you all are certainly more enriched by reading her blog posts than you would be from reading mine - that is if i ever got around to posting anything to begin with.
and third, i'm re-hijacking this for only one day, then i'm giving it back. the primary reason behind this is that today is stacy's 30th birthday. that's right folks, she is 30 years old on the 30th of january. she has entered into her golden year and let me tell you, she was GOLDEN way before this year, so i don't know what all the hype is about.
hopefully this hatched little plan of mine doesn't blow up in my face. i'm crossing my fingers hoping that i don't screw something up.
so, in honor of stacy's 30th birthday and more specifically, in honor of her as a partner, friend, mother, activist, lactivist and so on . . . i want to blog about why i think she was golden before this year and why she will still be gold well beyond! i think the best way for me to get this message across is to list out some of the enriching experiences in my life that i would have otherwise missed out on if i hadn't fallen in love with this gal. here goes!
my apologies to the readers if this was way too mushy. i just couldn't help myself. :-)
to end this thing up, i want to share some amazing pictures of stacy with you all, that i think capture the beautiful, compassionate, sassy, silly and thoughtful person that she is. enjoy! there is both humour and beauty involved. i had to have some personal fun with this since it is her birthday and all . . .
a friend, a momma and a student. this is stacy with robin lim, famed midwife in indonesia and pretty cool lady in general.
for so many reasons, i find personal inspiration in this photo of stace
i think this is one of the most beautiful pictures i have ever seen! this on the beach in kuta, bali, indonesia
a fellow comedian. this is what we have found to do with our spare time and digital cameras over the years
man, she's cute. but, i'm trying to remember who would have taken this picture?
whoa - and still hot . . .
often posing as celebrity personalities in her spare time, i found her in the living room two days before halloween just standing like this?
this gal is one serious thinker. look at the brain waves just lightin' up the sky behind her
a trend setter no doubt, but a sunglasses designer - who knew?
a skilled teacher in the art of eating safely
a sassy momma, then multiply times two and all bets are off!
here we are. just setting the trend together. a lovely couple with a strong sense of style. i love what she did with her hair.
wait, that must be an original pair of the sunglasses there.
that lady does not have time to play. you can see why i fought for women's equality in a church meeting - there isn't really a lot of room for error. ;-)
talk about making friends and babies happy . . . i couldn't ask for much more in a partner!
Happy Birthday Stacy!
first off, this was my blog (i'm andy, stacy's hubbie) originally and stacy hijacked it from me.
secondly, the blog-o-sphere is a much healthier and happier place since she hijacked this one. and you all are certainly more enriched by reading her blog posts than you would be from reading mine - that is if i ever got around to posting anything to begin with.
and third, i'm re-hijacking this for only one day, then i'm giving it back. the primary reason behind this is that today is stacy's 30th birthday. that's right folks, she is 30 years old on the 30th of january. she has entered into her golden year and let me tell you, she was GOLDEN way before this year, so i don't know what all the hype is about.
hopefully this hatched little plan of mine doesn't blow up in my face. i'm crossing my fingers hoping that i don't screw something up.
so, in honor of stacy's 30th birthday and more specifically, in honor of her as a partner, friend, mother, activist, lactivist and so on . . . i want to blog about why i think she was golden before this year and why she will still be gold well beyond! i think the best way for me to get this message across is to list out some of the enriching experiences in my life that i would have otherwise missed out on if i hadn't fallen in love with this gal. here goes!
- got married @21 years old - very brave, but totally worth it. wouldn't change a thing
- traveled around the world together - twice in 10 years!
- became a regular at a local addiction recovery shelter for homeless men. this was not because i was particularly addicted
- i am father to an amazing baby girl that was born at home - never thought i would say that
- i will be a father to yet another beautiful baby that will be born at home - definitely did not "plan" on saying that . . .
- i live in a solar house - i'm some sort of neo-hippie-environmentalist that i used to make fun of
- i drive one car that runs on bio-diesel and another that i can sleep, cook, store soy ice cream, wash dishes and entertain a 2 year old in for hours.
- fought for women's rights and equality in a stuffy church meeting - and i fought gladly!
- i stopped eating meat after 7 years of convincing. yes, i can be abnormally stubborn
- i stopped eating dairy after . . . not so much convincing
- i became a stay at home dad and i love it
- i'm proud to say that i know what ROA means when it comes to pregnancy! for those of you who don't know, maybe you should get to know your local doula? ;-)
- i learned how to bake a cake - a vegan cake at that!
my apologies to the readers if this was way too mushy. i just couldn't help myself. :-)
to end this thing up, i want to share some amazing pictures of stacy with you all, that i think capture the beautiful, compassionate, sassy, silly and thoughtful person that she is. enjoy! there is both humour and beauty involved. i had to have some personal fun with this since it is her birthday and all . . .
a friend, a momma and a student. this is stacy with robin lim, famed midwife in indonesia and pretty cool lady in general.
for so many reasons, i find personal inspiration in this photo of stace
i think this is one of the most beautiful pictures i have ever seen! this on the beach in kuta, bali, indonesia
a fellow comedian. this is what we have found to do with our spare time and digital cameras over the years
man, she's cute. but, i'm trying to remember who would have taken this picture?
whoa - and still hot . . .
often posing as celebrity personalities in her spare time, i found her in the living room two days before halloween just standing like this?
this gal is one serious thinker. look at the brain waves just lightin' up the sky behind her
a trend setter no doubt, but a sunglasses designer - who knew?
a skilled teacher in the art of eating safely
a sassy momma, then multiply times two and all bets are off!
here we are. just setting the trend together. a lovely couple with a strong sense of style. i love what she did with her hair.
wait, that must be an original pair of the sunglasses there.
that lady does not have time to play. you can see why i fought for women's equality in a church meeting - there isn't really a lot of room for error. ;-)
talk about making friends and babies happy . . . i couldn't ask for much more in a partner!
Happy Birthday Stacy!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
he makes a mean smoothie.
enjoying the fruit of his labor.my hubby loves to make all kinds of smoothies full of berries or other fruit, soy ice cream, nuts, chocolate chips, soy yogurt...any kind of smoothie. i am rather picky (hmmmnnn, no surprise there) about how i like my smoothies. even though i do not prefer nuts or chocolate in them, he still experiments a lot. i will usually at least take a sip and sometimes like the chocolate banana almond drinks he makes. basic ole smoothies with strawberries, OJ and a banana are what i prefer. thankfully, our dear daughter enjoys his concoctions from helping create them to slurping them.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
snow
it's snowing here! it's been snowing since late afternoon. the snow is sticking to the ground and likely to stay stuck as nightfall approaches. i really enjoy watching the snowfall, playing in it and the deeper the better if i have nowhere to be. although, it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow morning so that may melt it all.
we have been reading a lot of books about snow over the past few months. perhaps, b/c we lived in constant summer from june to october last year, i wanted e to know about winter! when she was three months old, we had a glorious time at canaan valley ski resort (it's really a state park that hasn't been rehabbed since 1974 or something) in a cabin with 10 friends. she and i took our first hike together, all bundled up in a fleece sling while hubs went snowboarding. the snowfall there was beautiful with full, lush flakes falling all day.
good ole canaan valley!
hanging with dad while mom is ice skating.
that fleece sling i was telling you about. it's an adjustable cozy carrier that i got for $10 from the trading post on MDC. we shared it for months with our nov babe.
lil ez learning to play "apples to apples", a hilariously fun night we all had riding rosa, dancing in molasses cages and drinking rum and rootbeer (except for me, as i hadn't introduced alcohol back into the body, at that point. didn't think ez needed white russians, just yet.). or, some ended up with just rum and rum by the end of the night.
the secret to avoiding tears while cutting onions is to wear ski goggles, of course.
this guy is one of e's first crushes. he went on to marry one of the coolest chicks around, leaving e to mourn and cry through the night. she is recovered now and close to the couple, i am proud to say. very mature of her.
at least 90% of our books come from the thrift store as that is where they are most affordable. and, some real treasures show up there! cool books like, "we were tired of living in a house" by Liesel Skorpen, which has a new 1999 edition. but, we scored the old skool version with fabulous illustrations. thus, we don't have all the classics, yet of course. in almost every trip we do come across one for .25 that i could have splurged $6.95 on to support the big book box and it's worth it to build slowly. being 2 years old, i figure we have a while to build up her library stash. we supplement with a weekly library trip for story time and a few books.
These are the beloved snowy books on our current reading list:
the snowy day by ezra jack keats (ezra and jack are two of her favorite and familiar names!)
snow, a dr. seuss book by p.d. eastman
snow, forgot who wrote it but it's told by bunnies
the first snowfall, by anne and harlow rockwell
winter friends, by carl sams and jean stoik
She pretty much could tell these books to me as she knows them by heart at this point. it kinda freaked us out the first time she was "reading along" with us. but, now, we pause through most books to let her finish the sentence. if we get distracted while reading or talk to someone else while reading, she helps us get back on track by pointing to the book page and saying, "talk to this".
A couple books contain long playtime in the snow followed by making hot cocoa. Thus, when we tell her, "it's snowing!" all day long, like we did today, her response is, "i need to make hot cocoa!" as soon we go out for a long romp in the white stuff, we will certainly counter with some dark chocolate cocoa full of warm soy milky goodness!
we have been reading a lot of books about snow over the past few months. perhaps, b/c we lived in constant summer from june to october last year, i wanted e to know about winter! when she was three months old, we had a glorious time at canaan valley ski resort (it's really a state park that hasn't been rehabbed since 1974 or something) in a cabin with 10 friends. she and i took our first hike together, all bundled up in a fleece sling while hubs went snowboarding. the snowfall there was beautiful with full, lush flakes falling all day.
good ole canaan valley!
hanging with dad while mom is ice skating.
that fleece sling i was telling you about. it's an adjustable cozy carrier that i got for $10 from the trading post on MDC. we shared it for months with our nov babe.
lil ez learning to play "apples to apples", a hilariously fun night we all had riding rosa, dancing in molasses cages and drinking rum and rootbeer (except for me, as i hadn't introduced alcohol back into the body, at that point. didn't think ez needed white russians, just yet.). or, some ended up with just rum and rum by the end of the night.
the secret to avoiding tears while cutting onions is to wear ski goggles, of course.
this guy is one of e's first crushes. he went on to marry one of the coolest chicks around, leaving e to mourn and cry through the night. she is recovered now and close to the couple, i am proud to say. very mature of her.at least 90% of our books come from the thrift store as that is where they are most affordable. and, some real treasures show up there! cool books like, "we were tired of living in a house" by Liesel Skorpen, which has a new 1999 edition. but, we scored the old skool version with fabulous illustrations. thus, we don't have all the classics, yet of course. in almost every trip we do come across one for .25 that i could have splurged $6.95 on to support the big book box and it's worth it to build slowly. being 2 years old, i figure we have a while to build up her library stash. we supplement with a weekly library trip for story time and a few books.
These are the beloved snowy books on our current reading list:
the snowy day by ezra jack keats (ezra and jack are two of her favorite and familiar names!)
snow, a dr. seuss book by p.d. eastman
snow, forgot who wrote it but it's told by bunnies
the first snowfall, by anne and harlow rockwell
winter friends, by carl sams and jean stoik
She pretty much could tell these books to me as she knows them by heart at this point. it kinda freaked us out the first time she was "reading along" with us. but, now, we pause through most books to let her finish the sentence. if we get distracted while reading or talk to someone else while reading, she helps us get back on track by pointing to the book page and saying, "talk to this".
A couple books contain long playtime in the snow followed by making hot cocoa. Thus, when we tell her, "it's snowing!" all day long, like we did today, her response is, "i need to make hot cocoa!" as soon we go out for a long romp in the white stuff, we will certainly counter with some dark chocolate cocoa full of warm soy milky goodness!
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