Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thankful Thursday

I like to do a lot if quick reading online. I like following blogs and picking up great articles to share, but my favorite part if every day is picking up an actual physical book and reading it to my girls.

We have a nice book collection at home and we have some well loved books. Even still, we go to the library nearly every week to pick up books. I love how you can find books to fit your mood. If the girls are really into a subject, animal, place etc. we can put books on hold.

There are some books we know by heart. Some that completely take me by surprise and still others that we check out over and over again.

This is my favorite part of every day when we get cozy and read. When we relax and get closer to bed. When everything slows down and our imagination takes us away.

What are your favorite books (kid or adult variety)?

So this week, I'm thankful for books! I still love them even on paper).









(Here is a look at a few that we picked up just this week. Our favorite so far is Namaste - quite a beautiful book)


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Thankful Thursday

I caught this rainbow a few weeks back when picking up my girls and since that day we have joked that this is rainbow weather. It is amazing how much MORE you appreciate the little sun pockets when it has been so wet, when 60 degrees feels like 80 because it has been so cold.

I'm so thankful that spring knows right when to come. Farmers markets are opening. Tulips are everywhere. The days are staying lighter longer. Mother Earth is reminding us that all things are changing around us - even if it is a little slow.

I'm thankful for this home, this strange planet and even stranger things upon it. Happy Earth Day to you all!



Sunday, April 17, 2011

Kids Cook Monday – pretend cooking


My kids are still young. While we try to cook together we are still limited to what we can ask of them in terms of ability and focus in the kitchen. But there is no end to what we can PRETEND to do! My kids love to sip tea and make soup in the tub. To fish off the couch and BBQ it up on the back of a box, to bake cookies in the back of my seat in the car and to feed each other popcorn complete with imaginary tosses to the mouth. I often ask them what is in it, how long it will take to bake, how it tastes, remind them not to burn it, or ask them for seconds. Plus there is never a mess…. Yes!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

What’s out there in the universe?


Yesterday I was listening to an NPR piece on the final homes of the soon to be retired space shuttles. It was a very sad piece highlighting the fact that missions were soon over for these much beloved planes, and that Huston, TX would in fact not be getting a plane for their local museum, which seems odd to most astronauts and their families. It definitely tugged at my heart strings.
I was in middle school when a space shuttle carrying a teacher just like my own blew up before my eyes. Even still, my fascination with space exploration, the challenging, rewarding, innovative, and often dangerous missions never ceased. I built a model Challenger, I knew what “O” rings were and what happened when they expanded, and I still thought that someday, if I wanted, I could be an astronaut! 

With all of this ending, with missions to space being something done by drones, cameras, and computers. Will my children feel the same way? I’m wondering now how to connect them to this same sense of wonder when they look at the stars, to this feeling that they too might some day visit – or at least dream of visiting the moon. I’m not sure just reading about in books or looking at pictures of it on the internet are the same as watching the countdown, as knowing that the shuttle is up there – orbiting – right above my head. It makes me a bit sad. I really do hope that something new and exciting is there for the next generation. I’m not ready to give up hope just yet.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Change 3 Things - the Cloth Diaper Challenge

When I first started thinking about cloth diapers I wasn't sure I could really do it. I obviously have changed my mind but I admit that there have been times when it seems overwhelming when I talk about it (not actually doing it - just describing it). So I love this simple idea from Cotton Babies - Change 3 Things - The challenge is to start with just 3 cloth diapers a day. If you have ever even been tempted to save money, waste, or try cloth diapers I encourage you to take this challenge. I'm offering to help you - you know I love my fluff!

In addition, if you are in Portland, OR I want to encourage you to come on out to Milogras for the Great Cloth Diaper Change. The GCDG is an attempt to break a world record in number of cloth diapers changed at one time. There are locations all over the place so if you aren't in Portland find the one nearest you. The event is April 23rd at 9am pacific time

Check out this super cute video by Kim Rosas who blogs about all things cloth at www.dirtydiaperlaundry.com. While you are there check out her Cloth Diaper Finder a nifty tool that helps you find just the right fluff for your family!



Already into fluff or want to know more about advocating for cloth diapers...check out Kelly Wells, she and her site are a wealth of knowledge about modern cloth, and all things green parenting!

Hope to meet some of you on April 23rd!

It’s not junk if you love it!


Did you ever read any Shel Silversten poems when you were a kid. These poems have always been a favorite of mine and I now love reading them to my girls. My favorite poem was always Hector the Collector. If you don’t know it – read it! Hector collected “junk”. Folks laughed at him for his collection and in the end the sad story ends with a heartbroken child who doesn’t understand why anyone would call this stuff junk. It often makes me wonder in a world of waste what I should treasure? What will my kids treasure. It is easy to say we shouldn’t hold on to a love of “stuff”, but the reality is we do find attachment to objects. I think in fact if we could find that we love the things we do have a little more we might not be so apt to just toss them aside so quickly. I think I’ll be reading Hector the Collector again this Earth Day – won’t you join me!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thankful Thursday

I have been wanting to start a Thankful Thursday's thread for months (as you can see by how long since my last post). I think the idea of bringing gratitude into the every day is important - even more so when you have kids as a model for them - but really just for your own soul. That being said - we have been SICK in our house this winter. It has been never ending and even today hasn't ended. So I've been having a hard time find the time or the desire to blog about much of anything let along being thankful.

I don't know if it is the sun finally coming out today or what made me come here but here I am putting some words down in a post. Today I am thankful for so much. I'm thankful for the soup cycle delivery I got yesterday that will make dinner so easy tonight, for the quick prints at walgreens that will provide my daughter with a show and tell from out adventures at the tulip factory, thankful for wifi at coffee shops, and thankful to my husband for splitting all the time at home and work with me so that we can both try our best to balance work and sick kiddos. So I guess today I'm thankful for convenience.

Blogging about living more on less I wouldn't normal say all convenience is good - but this tiny little services and people all around me are allowing me to survive and for that I'm thankful. I hope to be back more here soon! If you are thankful for something and want to share please add a comment below!

From our fun visit to the tulip festival in between illnesses