A few of my favorite things...

Today the holidays are coming to a close at my house... we are un-decorating and as I place things in boxes to be stored until next year festive fun, I am reminded of how much the ornaments on our tree mean to me- they represent 15 years of sharing the season with Sugar Daddy.

Each of our children has added to the collection with their baby's first ornaments, salt dough creations and delicate handmade trinkets. One of my sisters-in-law has gotten them keepsakes to hang on our branches over the last decade and they will have a trove of treasures to start their own traditions. Certainly among my favorite things...

We are blessed to live in beautiful, sunny Southern California, and while I restore the simplicity of our household decor my littles are playing in the hose outside in their choice of bathing or birthday suit. Before they discovered this delight, they were driving me to distraction!! So many favorite things about this, I can't even list them all...

Lastly my new favorite actual thing (many thanks to my other sister-in-law) is my new teapot- pictured here with a few of my other favorite things.


I am blessed by an amazing family. In addition to the comfortable family unit I grew up with- my mom & dad and big brother- which has crafted my character, continually providing a place to explore the depths of human connection. My immediate family is a favorite, as well as my extended family: my thoughtful and huge-hearted mother-in-law, my husband's brother who is always making sure our families stay connected, my fatherly uncles-in-law, the aforementioned sisters I have added to my heart and the countless cousins who I am blessed to share seasonal celebrations with.

Family is one of my favorite "favorite things".

And don't even get me started on the fantastic friends who feel like family!

Today's post inspired by:

Sleepless in the OC

It's the last day of 2011. 4:20 in the morning and I am once again sleepless. Why do all my pregnancies include insomnia? Lack of sleep makes mama do silly things, unthinking things, short tempered things.

How is a peaceful pregnant parent supposed to prepare when she is so sleepy? Well, I do have some tips... having done this a few times before!

#1 Do yoga daily- really it helps a lot. Need an inexpensive, easy to use resource? Simple Everyday Prenatal Radiance There now you have no excuse!

#2 Go to bed early, it's ok you won't miss anything really important. Sugar Daddy has made a few jokes about how out 10 year old stays up later than me- but really, they have enjoyed some special bonding.

#3 Watch what you eat. I'm one of those, "Hey I am pregnant- give me my banana split" type ladies- but with age (and apparently mine is an "advanced maternal age" this go around) comes wisdom.

#4 Give in and get up. Make yourself useful, it is quiet in these early pre-dawn hours, and I can get lots of writing, reading, or just gazing at the Christmas tree lights done without the usual gaggle of giggling wiggle-bots.

#5 Write a blog post- and try not to use it to sort through all the things you wish you hadn't said or done out of sheer exhaustion that week.

#6 Be kind to yourself- knowing your limitations and boundaries is what makes you a super mom, not being able to "do it all".

#7 Stay hydrated during the day, I wake up thirsty so often- and then if I quench that thirst I wake up to pee repeatedly, so I try to get my water in all day.

#8 "...think about that tomorrow." Embrace your southern belle and be like Scarlett, don't let your mental machinations make you mopey.

#9 Start your own "night night routine"- this is sorta silly but I believe the little child in all of us still wants a story, a little song and to be tucked in by someone who loves us.

#10 Remember that in no time at all these middle of the night moments will include a sweet little soul- make space in your heart for him or her with affirmations. (See #1, Simple Everyday Prenatal Radiance includes a great list, and right now it's on sale for about a buck- download to your PC, Kindle, Nook and do that yoga- your body will thank you!)

Well half an hour later- still before dawn, do I roll off the couch and do my asanas, go to the kitchen and grab a cookie, or try to crawl back in my bed without waking any of it's occupants? Guess I should practice what I preach... I can always have the cookie with my morning coffee. Yes I still drink a cup of coffee in the morning, I do have 3 other kids who need me whether I got any sleep or not.

Staging, Strewing & ideas for Vegan Stewing?

Homeschooling, heck parenting as a whole, is so much about setting the stage ["and cleaning up the spills that occur" the madwoman inserts as she leaps out from underneath her laptop in an attempt to save the family calendar from the tiny toddler with a cup of water obtained from mysterious sources!]- something my new bosom friend and kindred spirit, Kate, calls "strewing".

As I was clearing the clutter and sorting the soiled from the scattered clothing in the littles room last night I was suddenly aware of the fact that "staging" is what I do for my small learning humans, often unconsciously- pulling out a book on a recently experienced discovery, like ladybugs, piling all the stuffed dogs on C-doughs bed because he like to use them to bark at the Barbies when G-pie is playing with her little sister, and putting the puzzles with numbers on top of the dresser since J-cakes is totally into counting right now.

Really it just stems from paying attention to what your child is into and being less impressed by your own ideas of what you think they should learn from you and more interested in their ideas of what they think you should play with them. 

Yes, go back and read that last sentence again- it is a very important point. (I have to change a poopie diaper anyway so there is going to be a natural break in the flow of words pouring forth from my fingertips!)

So applying the same logic to my 9 year old- my job in her education is to create an environment and provide sustenance- till the soil and mix in some good compost for a fertile brain. Throw in some great companion plants, watch for weeds and pests - which if you choose the companion plants carefully, will be minimized, and water liberally. I mean that literally. My opinion is that water is an essential ingredient in a child's life. Drinking, playing in and with, visiting large bodies of, witnessing the changing forms of and very important- learning conservation. Lots of sunlight, a little pruning here and there- and then watch that little sprout thrive!

The most important things I can do for my children- provide a welcoming, accessible space to discover the things I "strew" about, pay attention to their interests and partner with them to find great resources so that they can pursue their passions, take them places that allow their imaginations to soar and give them lots of food that composts well!

Topping mamas list of skills to develop this fall- better, simpler, housekeeping tactics, everything there is to know about social media and continued growth as a yogini and fresh food fanatic! [again she leaps off the couch as the taller toddler gives herself away as the source of the mystery cup of water, bringing a freshly reFILLed cup to her thirsty brother!]

Doing the research to start filling my freezer with some delicious Vegan stews for the coming frenzied fall, suggestions welcome! Although I am following Gluten-free, Vegan recipes, I am still eating some chicken and fish, and beef jerky- and the occasional piece of Costco birthday cake, because really who can resist? It's called the barefootOCmama diet.

Here are some new favorite foodie blogs:

http://craftycookery.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/gluten-free-vegan-pita-bread/

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/p/vegan-veg-index.html

http://www.wheatfreemeatfree.com/honeydew-granitas/

http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/

Happy Sunday!! May your surroundings be pleasant, your thoughts full of light, your companions refreshing and your nourishment enriching to your body and soul.

Filtered Water vs Bottled

My hubby used to work for a company that leased Reverse Osmosis "pure water technology" to small businesses. He had access to a TDS (total dissolved solid) meter, and we tested the municipal water, as well as bottled water that is sold on the shelf and through delivery services.

Did you know that spring water is treated with chemicals at the source, brought down in big trucks, then processed for bottling? This means lots of water wasted, and the TDS measures higher than some tap water!

After testing every thing we could get our hands on we discovered that for taste and purity the RO unit won hands down. So we have been using the innards of a machine to filter city water. This cuts down on the cost, saves plastic bottles from being used, and gives us access whenever we need purified water.

The RO process wastes some water. We figured out that it takes 6 gallons of city water to get 1 gallon of purified water for use in our household. The other 5 gallons contain higher levels of solids- although it has been charcoal filtered so it is relatively free from chemicals. The "wasted" water is a by-product condensed from the gallon that is pure (it has something to do with the membrane that separates the solids from the water being unable to extract all the contaminates without water getting through).

We use those extra 5 gallons for maintaining our compost pile, washing our car, mopping the floors and watering the landscape portions of our yard - allowing us to cut down on sprinkler usage and water frequency (living in a rental means we cannot xeriscape & xerogarden as I would prefer to.)

We collect the water in used milk cartons that we have sanitized.

The TOTAL cost per gallon for our delicious purified water? 3 cents.
The convenience of not having to cart bottles home and store them? Free!
And of course the impact on helping save our planets resources is priceless.

More to come on this important topic...