Some New Friends

I have some new friends I am very excited for you to meet. I have sort of been keeping it a secret for the past week-ish because I wasn't sure how things were going to turn out, but I am pleased to introduce our pacific chorus frog tadpoles!
The reason why I have been hesitant to post this is because they didn't seem to be doing so well at first. We came home with 7 and had lost 2 by the next morning, and then had 3 more that didn't look so hot. But, after some time to adjust, our 5 remaining tadpoles all seem to be thriving!
We plan to raise the tadpoles and watch them turn into frogs and then release them back where we got them from. Admittedly, I think I am actually way more excited about this than the kids are, but I think that they will learn a lot through the process. I just get the biggest kick out of sitting and watching them eat and swim. They are way too cute.
They are a bit more work than I had anticipated, as the water gets dirty very quickly, but that's OK. I already take care of kids, dogs, cats and ducks, so what are a few more small critters added to the list? Also, it's nearly impossible to get good pictures of tadpoles in an aquarium. Just an FYI.
Have you raised tadpoles before? Pin It Now!

The Best Weekend

I had such a fabulous weekend. My eyes are pretty much closing on me as I type, but I figured I had better reminisce about the weekend while the memories are still fresh...
Friday night the whole family headed to the coast. The weather Friday night was terrible-- cold and rainy-- and the forecast for Saturday wasn't much better. We woke up to cloudy skies and some misty rains. But after a coffee on the beach and a swim in the hotel pool, the skies were clearing up and we had some blue sky. We spent time in Seaside in the morning, had a sunny lunch on an outdoor patio in Canon Beach (it was glorious!), and spent the afternoon at Hug Point, a marvelous gem of a beach with several caves and a hidden waterfall. Somehow, we had never been there before. It was a sunny Saturday and only a few other folks there....I felt like we had stumbled upon a hidden secret (except that it is clearly labeled on maps). If you are not familiar with weather on the Oregon Coast, sunny days are hard to come by, and I felt SO very lucky that we had a wonderful day of sand and sun.
Saturday night was spent at home (watching the Blazers lose). But Sunday morning I awoke to a quiet house at 7:15 and shortly after the Todd and the kids arrived bringing coffee and breakfast, and very many cards and love letters from the kids telling me how much I am loved (my heart is still melting). After breakfast, the kids and I went on a short morning hike. We saw a few birds, a magnificent bushtit nest (still in the makings) and a whole slew of tadpoles and salamander nymphs. In the afternoon we had a picnic at Mt. Tabor, our amazing neighborhood park, and then I had dinner out of the town with four other lovely mama friends ( a Mother's Day tradition).
The weekend was absolutely perfect. If it could only be just a bit longer....

And, as I am posting these pictures I am realizing how grown up my kids looks. How grown up they are, I guess. I am so very lucky to be the mama of these two wonderful creatures, and am realizing I need to soak up these moments before they are all grown.

Hope your weekend was everything you needed!

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Happy Mother's Day

.... to all you wonderful mamas out there!!

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This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

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Rally for the Fish

Yesterday, I brought the kids to their first rally. I was very involved in activism back in my younger years, but as I got wrapped up in grad school, and then with starting a family, that sort of fell by the wayside. But, now that I am finding snippets of time for myself once again, I have been feeling motivated to become more politically active, and to share my passion for taking action for the Earth with my children.
Yesterday's rally was at the Forest Service headquarters in Sandy, Oregon, the gateway to the Mt. Hood forest. We were there to protest the Forest Service's plans for the Jazz Timber Sale, along the Colwash River in an area of unstable soils. The proposed logging would put huge amounts of sediment into the Colwash River, threatening the winter Coho salmon that use that river. The Forest Service is billing this timber sale as a restoration, even though decommissioned roads will be re-built in order to access this area.
Phoebe had a great time at the rally. She joined in with the other kiddos in playing in a little pool of muddy water (to signify what the logging would do to the Colwash River). When they poured the mud into the pool, Phoebe said "mom, I want to play in that." I told her she could, and she looked at me with a puzzled look on her face and said "really?". Then she got right in, and had a good old time. Finn was a bit more reluctant and spent his time feeling shy on the sidelines, but that is 100% what I expected. Phoebe had fun and has already asked to go to more rallies and I think Finn learned a little and was happy to miss school for a couple of hours. There was a great turn out, and even though the Forest Service locked us out of the building, we did make the news (and Miss Phoebe is even in a quick shot!).
The next step is to bombard the Forest Service with letters urging them not to go through with this timber sale. Finn has already said that he is going to draw a picture of salmon with an "x" for each eye to show what the logging will do to them. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

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A Spring Cleanse

For months I have been talking about doing a cleanse, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. I finally decided it was time to commit and chose this week to begin my cleanse. My cleanse is 5 days of: no gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, or anything processed, with green juice every morning,  followed by 5 more days of no gluten. It's pretty short, I realize, but hey- I am trying to be realistic here.
Really, this is how I should be eating most of the time. Lots of fruits and veggies with some whole grains mixed in. And in reality, I do eat like this plenty of the time... Usually our dinners are very healthy and breakfast on most days is as well. The times when I turn to bread, cereal, or cheese and crackers are times when I am busy, exhausted and starving, and just need something to eat quickly. Which happens more frequently than I would like to admit....
So far, this is only day 3 of my cleanse, and I am feeling good, but I also feel like I have spent so much time preparing food. Making a quinoa salad and beet salad so that I could have easy lunches after coming home from work; prepping veggies for juice in the morning when I leave the house at 6:30 and also have to pack lunches, shower and get kids ready for school; Making veggie sushi rolls for a quick and easy snack; crockpotting beans for dinner; and making muffins so the kids had something they would eat for breakfast (because they want no part in my green juice and sauteed veggies in the morning). This along with all of my other, regular food prep. And this has only gotten us through a couple of days.
So, my point? I am happy to be cleansing and I wish I could eat like this all of the time. But, I feel like I would need to hire a chef, sleep less, or get much better at my time management skills. I think part of it is making it a routine, and, I think I can try and keep that in mind for the future. Maybe cooking healthy food for my lunches once or twice a week can become part of the routine, and keeping veggies already cut up to snack on would be wise as well.
How do you manage to eat healthy when your schedule is busy?

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My Little Guy is Growing Up...

I haven't had much to write about for the past few days. Does blogging work like that for you? Sometimes I feel like I have so much to get out, so many posts just waiting to be written, and then other times it feels more blah..... like there isn't much worth putting down on paper (or digital paper anyways).
The weather here has been moody, and raining off and on a lot. And, my allergies have been terrible. Like terrible as in causing crazy headaches that only go away with Sudafed. Which, you can't even buy here without a prescription, by the way, because of the meth problem in the northwest. Luckily my mom sent me some last year when the same thing happened, so I am all set. I hate taking meds, and would much rather resort to homeopathics or herbs, but sometimes you need to bring in the big guns...
So anyways, enough complaining. The real reason why I decided to write this post is because of Mr. Finn. He is 6. And a half. And he has never been the super independent type. I have never been able to drop him off at a birthday party, or even a play date. He has always needed me to be there with him. I was his security blanket. When he was a toddler and couldn't fall asleep he would yell out "I need mommy's arm"-- and I would go lay next to him and he would rub my arm until he fell asleep. Sweet, huh? So, a couple of weeks ago he played over at the neighbor's house for about 20 minutes without me. It was the first time he went to a play date without me. It was spontaneous, and didn't last long, but I was a proud mama.
Guess where Finn is right now? Play date with a friend from school. At his friend's house. Without me. I walked him to the door and he ran in without even saying goodbye. And we are an hour and a half in and no phone calls, so I think he is doing OK.
I know this probably sounds silly for most parents, but this is a huge step for him. I am so proud of him for being so brave and overcoming his fears. And, also, a teeny bit sad that he is so grown up and that he doesn't need me anymore (as much as we want them to grow up independent, it does feel nice to be needed). But mostly, I am happy for him. Happy that normal kid things aren't stressing him out as much as they used to.
I love six. Such a great age. They are still young enough to be silly and cute and mostly innocent, but old enough to be independent and to have real conversations. And I am so proud of my brave (not-so) little guy. Pin It Now!