Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Spelling

G-pie channeled a typewriter (and I am not even sure she has ever seen one!) as she took her "spelling quiz" last night. One of the inventive and active ways she finds to learn.



She has recently started writing a lot- she enjoys expressing ideas (here's one reason I think she likes writing) and telling stories. Being the oldest sibling- or maybe it's just her personality from the get-go, I'll never know- she is a bit of a perfectionist. And recently she shared a desire to improve her spelling skills- it seems she was irritated when I was reading the stories she writes for her little sibs aloud and stumbled on misspelled words. So our solution was to use her actual writing to pull out words and give her pop quizzes.

Every week we end up with anywhere from 4-10 words on the fridge- we don't really have a specific time and place for the pop quiz, sometimes I ask only 1 word (especially if I notice she just isn't in the mood - and we all have days when we just don't care if things are spelled right, we just want someone to pay attention to our message- and I respect that!). Last night she was in the mood to show off so I started quizzing her and this is how she chose to respond... she spelled 5 of the 6 right. This was just after one of our famous family dance parties- movement and mental challenges naturally support each other don't they?

Baby brother is not so amused as he is included in the carriage return...


And don't you just love my little fashionista's new shirt design? It's a large piece of fabric, which she wears over a layering tank, tying at the waist and neck- it converts to several styles... I am so impressed with my sweet 10 year old. She amazes me daily with inventive thinking, big brainstorms and sometimes a little sassy silliness.

Monday, February 27, 2012

My Growth as a Yogini

Read all about it - my guest post for The Yoga Stone is all about my spiritual journey as a person of power and meditating mama!

http://www.yoga-stone.com/blog.html

Last week was a rough week- but thanks to yoga, Parenthood, and incredibly wonderful children- I am still here to blog about it!

How do you manage your stress when it all becomes too much?

Friday, February 17, 2012

Family Meal Times

My sweet family loves to gather around the family table- but as I have mentioned before I often end up remaining in the kitchen, manning the short order cook's counter. Me & C-dough are going gluten-free, G-pie has always had a slight appetite, to match her slim figure and J-cakes and Sugar Daddy would just as soon eat candy and soda all day- so the witching hour becomes quite hectic to say the least- especially now that my little Sugar Cube is causing all this heartburn, and seems to desire nothing but Tex Mex and milk.

PhotobucketSo I am trying something new (I know- not like me at all!) which I think I have posted about before here at barefootOCmama- the OAMC tactic, (once a month cooking) something I tried to do all by my onesies and vowed to never consider again. But what happens if you add friends? www.dinnerthismonth.com (We are going to give it a gluten-free trial)

Will this be the thing that saves Family Meal Time in our household? I love when we actually sit down together and can share our highs, lows and little silly things that strengthen our family's special-ness.

Read all about it on my first ever blog hop linky party thingy- click on the badge at left or go to my foodie blog at http://eatingbarefoot.blogspot.com

 Is it wrong to follow myself, or does that mean I will just go in circles?

OH! And speaking of "circles"...

Check out my new Google + Page, yes I said Page not Profile. Do any of you bloggers out there use Google + Pages yet? What do you think? If you are local to OC and you are interested in learning more about Social Media, I am hosting a Mixer at The Yoga Stone in Anaheim- check it out here.


Or hop along to another Friday blog hop...

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Feeling a bit pregnant.


So I guess I am like 27 weeks or something now. I am beginning to get to that point where I cannot get comfortable when I sleep. Everything I eat has some sort of issue with my system and... I am bursting with creation!! New ideas are crowding in from out of nowhere. Collaborations, connections, co-conspirators...

For the past couple of days we have been trying out this new schedule, where Sugar Daddy takes the kids in a concerted effort to let me "work". I am supposed to be...


But my doctors office keeps calling, it seems I haven't been to see the baby Dr in like 5 weeks, and I am supposed to be seen every 4 weeks- don't I know? But this is baby #4, don't THEY know? I kind of already know what to expect- I take my own blood pressure and have learned to bring it down almost immediately with little 3 minute meditations. I don't want to know how much I weigh. I feel the little sugar cube's movement regularly- quite often whenever I have to pee really bad already and have just sneezed. If you have a few kids you know what I mean... if you don't, you don't want to.

And then there is this lovely new space where I have carved out a little spot to sit and be productive and I find myself day dreaming a bit. I know it is a little messy- but you should see the house- you do know I have 3 kids and I'm pregnant, right? This is a little slice of heaven, no indigestion attached!

Anyway back to my reverie...hearing a neighbors distant hammer taps, the buzz of our lawn mower in the front yard, the drone of a jet plane overheard- it all pulls me back to my childhood when all I wanted to do was play outside all day. And I then I feel sleepy all the sudden.

But then again that is probably because of the little middle of the night monsters that inhabit my bed- there is even one in my actual body- who roll about kicking whomever they please!

So I stand up to stretch a bit, because I am a bit sore- even though I wisely listened to the lovely yogini who reminded us to
choose peace over pride 
as we adjusted our hips to become aligned with the center of the universe- or in my case to provide a little more room for her!

Then I decide to pull up the prenatel yoga ebook I downloaded - Simple Everyday Prenatel Radiance,  (love the Kindle Cloud)... but I end up getting distracted and downloading a new ebook instead- and then I notice they both have someone sitting "criss-cross applesauce" on the cover...  I hear giggling as little bare feet scamper past my window- talking about mommy being at "work". And I see that it is 5:06. My work is done for the day- time to go outside and play! 

But first I have to pee... again.

  

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Parents as Partners- *ust add an R

For "Parents" to become "Partners"- *ust mix it up a bit and add an R, as in "our".

It is...
  • OUR family
  • OUR livelihood
  • OUR shared common vision
  • OUR future together
  • OUR sex life
  • OUR best friendship
  • OUR home
  • OUR meal times
  • OUR need for personal space...
Since Sugar Daddy has been such an active part in the craziness that occurs round these parts on a daily basis, and I have become a larger part of the income producing half of our marital equation- we have become increasingly irritated with each other. He is *ust always around- picking up toys, getting snacks, helping with naptimes... I mean seriously dude! Over the past few months as the pregnancy hormones have kicked it- he has become so hard to deal with...

The *erk is constantly causing issues, (notice this post contains none of that letter that sits between the H & the K on the keyboard- his fault.) and getting in the way of my perfect, peaceful parenting. It seems he has his own ideas about how to live with the little buggers. We differ enough on how to handle the constant barrage of needs from the 10 & under crowd (and they are in the ma*ority) that I have begun to wonder if he's been reading too much Sun Tzu, while he is absolutely certain that I read too much Naomi Aldort.

Recently we have decided to divvy up OUR chauffeuring duties, so he will be taking OUR kids to park days and dance classes and homeschool PE. Gasp! My first horror filled thought was "What will my mama friends think of his parenting?" Ack!!! So I start looking for rentals in another state...

Then it hits me. Most of them, my friends especially, will think- wow, what a great dad. He obviously loves playing with his children, he even does laundry, wipes their butts and usually tries to get them to eat protein. The others will all *ust be *ealous, won't they? When they find out he also rubs my back almost every night, and often gets up (off the couch he has fallen asleep watching Colbert on) in the middle of the night to take one of the littles from OUR bed so they don't wake the other when they become restless- I won't be able to pretend I am supermom anymore, they will all know that my sidekick is no mere "hero support" but a genuine, bonafide SUPER DAD!!

We are the yin to each other's yang, so what if he still occasionally gives OUR children a time out? At least he no longer gets upset at me when I rescue OUR child from the time out and spend some time connecting with him or her to uncover the truth beneath their angst (usually it was Sugar Daddy who really needed the time out, and I have learned to honor this truth myself when I recognize the short tone creeping into my conversations with the incessantly chatty 10 & 4 year olds- yes, I *ust admitted that he even makes me a better parent, don't tell him!)

It is OUR life, and he is not only a present, but a willing partner and I am so grateful for all that he does and how much he loves me and OUR amazing offspring. Of course, once you have borrowed the R to make "Parents", "Partners"- you are left with O U. As in I'll "owe you" big time if YOU deal with the poop on OUR living room, floor... I'm busy looking for a "J" (it's called copy and paste, but I wasn't about to do it EVERY time.)

Friday, February 10, 2012

When it all just comes together

Today was one of those days. Things just worked out, not that there weren't obstacles, surprises and awkward moments, but solutions presented themselves and they were more than adequate and often even pleasant.

Even though our morning was hectic- what with all the cutting, stamping, stapling, stickering and such- picture a 2 year old with stickers, a 4 year old with stamps & a stapler and a 10 year old who keeps setting down her scissors withing reach of the 2 year old- the ensuing afternoon was sweet. The evening was eventful. I was a supermom who saved the day several times- but it sort of just happened. Things seemed to fall into place and the universe provided what we needed when we were ready to receive it.

Our homeschool group celebrated together- somehow all the photos I took were lost, but tonight G-pie shared some of her confections with me as she showed me her basket full of fun, unique, nifty and thrifty treasures- her favorite was the hand drawn one, she marveled at how much time it would have taken to do those for the whole group.

One of the great parts of having a 10 year old is that we are better prepared, more flexible and even experienced at these sorts of occasions: the social traditions and rituals of children and their mothers. A charming time of chit-chat, a plentiful potluck and happy children, sharing something sweet-and I am not referring to the lollies and kisses.

It was a splendid day- a chance to begin feeling the change that spring is bringing.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

My beautiful boy

My son wants to be a princess. His favorite outfit right now is a pink frock with tulle & sequins and a velvety bodice, with embroidered flowers. He insists on being the "hostess" at the tea parties we have. His big blue eyes and golden curly locks make him beautiful in the eye of any beholder.


Am I worried- not one bit. First of all why would I be, the fact that he enjoys and embraces the world he lives in (he does have 2 big sisters and a baby sister on the way) is fantastic! He loves to play with baby dolls and cleaning supplies and wears a Strawberry Shortcake apron (that his little big sister gave him), with pride. (Ok so the high heel dress up shoes scare me a bit, because inevitably one comes off an becomes a boomerang- and that boy has an arm on him)!

He enjoys being included equally in the girls' playtime. He loves his cars, and building blocks, and train set- and more recently he has grown incredibly fond of his tool kit. But these are the things he chooses to do on his own, when the sisters aren't available to play. Although sometimes J-cakes will join in the fun of the train set.

This boy of mine is strongly opinionated- he knows what he wants and he isn't afraid to throw himself into harms way or burst into sudden tantrums to get it. But once his desires are satisfied, he delicately stirs the tea and pours the creamer, making just the right sound effect, quietly saying "please" and "thank you" as he passes the sugar and asks for the honey.



He is different, but then my girls are fairly different from each other, as well- but as in most things, I am learning to celebrate the ways we are all alike and truly embrace ALL our unique traits. I strive to create a home where we practice acceptance and provide safety to examine all the amazing parts of being human. A harbor in the vastness of an incredibly varied ocean, where my little explorers can splash about in love infested waters.

More on this topic...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role

http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/8/Gender-roles.html

http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/gender.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWc1e3Nbc2g

What do you think?

That little tea set is one of my favorite things... and it IS Thursday, so linking up with Katherine's Corner for the
 Thursday Favorite Things
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