Are you kidding me child?

So I'm sitting next to Layla watching cartoons in the family room, and I realize Paisley has been awfully quiet in the kitchen. Though that usually spells trouble, I am not concerned. I have installed child safety locks on every kitchen cabinet, locked the water and ice dispenser, and put door knob locks on all downstairs doors. I've even bought trash cans that were too tall for her to reach into, and that have lids that are wedged under the first pantry shelf so she can't remove them. I am not concerned. And then I see a small fuzzy head peep up into my line of sight OVER the kitchen bar, and hear a squeal of pure delight. She has just scaled a chair, pulled herself from the chair onto our pub-height table, and is now dancing with glee. Luckily, she doesn't fall off before I can grab her. Even luckier, my camera is handy. If we make it to 2 before we visit the emergency room, it will be a miracle.

The Birthday Girl

I can't believe I have a 3-year old. I mean, I can believe it because she's acted like she was 3 since she was 1, but still...3!!?? Where did the time go? My baby isn't a baby anymore. She's not even technically a toddler. She's a, what, preschooler? I'm not ready for backpacks and lunches and big yellow school buses. Okay, I have 2 more years until the school bus, but 2 years seems not so far away.
But enough emotional-mommy talk...this post was supposed to be about her birthday party, which was a lot of fun. She has her friends Emma, Josh, Kiefer, and Brayden over, and they all took turns beating on a pinata which evidently necessitated a real bat instead of a plastic one. With a little mommy-help it was eventually opened. She got lots of nice presents, including plenty of sparkly dress-up clothes which are her and Sissy's current favorite thing to play with. Thanks for coming everybody, and thanks for the great gifts!

Stay Classy San Diego

It's Alive!!! (muahahahaha)

So we actually got something to grow! I picked 5 heads of lettuce, and they filled a huge colander. They were still on the small side, but the aphids have moved in and were really interested in the salad bar we had going...so I figured better small than never. Coming soon: cherry tomatoes and (we hope) green beans and squash!

Survivor-- vegetable edition

Umm...this is what I saw today when I opened my composter for the first time in a week.The only thing I think they could be is soybeans-- from the edamame that was boxed, frozen, bought at Costco, probably allowed to defrost (you gotta sit and have a hot dog after a tedious day shopping at Costco), refrozen in my fridge at home, and then microwaved for 3 minutes. After surviving all that, I'd hate to have them die now-- so we're trying to figure out how to transplant them somewhere safer without shocking the heck out of them. Apparently soybeans like coffee as much as I do, They were growing in 3 inches of it.

ETA: Okay, so apparently soybeans CAN'T survive all that-- when I went to dig them up I saw that they were growing out of squash shells. I had forgotten that I threw away some butternut squash guts a couple of weeks ago. Actually that's really exciting, because our family eats butternut squash by the truckload-- so if we can actually manage to grow some fruit before we kill the plants, we'll be all set for the summer (you know, butternut squash-wise) We planted 21 of the plants in our garden, and gave away 40+ more to Jamie, the Bams, and the Grzeckas. Actually, we did more of a run-by-seedling with the Gerckies-- they might not have even wanted them. Hehe. :)

Layla's New Do...

I decided to bob Layla's hair for the summer. (Daddy thinks it's really cute short) I found out from Tasia that some hair donation organizations --like Pantene's Beautiful Lengths-- let you donate only 8" of hair, which Layla BARELY had to give (so it's a little shorter than originally planned) It was a really unique opportunity to teach her about giving, and she let everyone know that she "donated her ponytail to kids that needed some hair." I love her new do, and so does Daddy-- although it makes her look closer to 5 than 2. :( BTW I wasn't just letting myself off the hook... I was ready to donate 8" too, but they don't accept dyed or highlighted hair. *whew!*

Mommy I'm hungry

My new (other) full-time job is feeding my daughter. I can't believe this kid! This is the tally so far...
*A big cup of milk
*2 scrambled eggs and a hunk of cheddar cheese
*A cereal bowl 1/2 full of yogurt and granola
*15 cherry tomatoes
*That same cereal bowl 1/2 full of chunky applesauce
*3/4 can of tuna (mixed up into tuna salad) with AT LEAST 15 wheat crackers
*another big cup of milk
...at this point I cut her off when she asked for more yogurt. :)

.......it's only 11:30am.

**EDITED to add the rest of the day...**
*10 more wheat crackers
* 1/3 zucchini muffin
*1/2 banana
*another bowl of applesauce
*another bowl of yogurt & granola
*1 1/2 pieces of veggie supreme pizza (entire thing, crust included-- with ranch)
*cup of milk

didn't take the time to do a calorie count, but I'm guessing 2,000. Wowsa!!

If laughing really burns so many calories, I should be a lot skinnier

I don’t even know where to start… I learned 3 things today; I drink too much coffee, I go to IKEA too often, and Layla is already smarter than I am.

Let’s see, for number one, we were talking about the names of baby animals. She told me a baby horse was a foal, a baby dog was a puppy, a baby chicken was a chick, a baby sheep was a lamb, and a baby cow was a half-and-half. : )

We got in the car and I told Layla we were going to IKEA, and she said, “Oh! IKEA! It’s the big blue house with giant “lellow” letters... I, E…what’s the other letters mommy?”

As we were driving, born out of the baby animal conversation, we were talking about the difference between things that are alive, and things that aren’t alive. (It started because she asked what a baby house was called) I gave her some examples and told her that things that are alive eat, move, and grow. She quickly got it, and named “alive” things. “People are alive, bushes are alive, horses are alive, trucks are alive…” I corrected her and told her trucks weren’t alive. “Yes they are mommy. That truck is moving. Do you see it moving? It eats gas. It’s alive.”

*Last cute saying today, I promise* Layla was “cooking” in her room, and I asked what she was making. “ I’m just making some food mommy. I’m kind of a good cook.”

5

That's the number of bruises on Paisley's face today. It's not neglectful parenting, it's learning to walk. And possibly some neglectful parenting. Sorry baby. Yesterday she only had two bruises on her right side, and I got some adorable pictures after she pulled up on the coffee table (and before she fell back down again) I had to angle the camera to her left side...and cover her forehead up with her hoodie...but **bragging mommy warning** does it get any cuter than this little girl?

It's here. And it's just a diaper.

In the world of cloth diapering, the name of Goodmama is king. These much-acclaimed $34 dipes are so sought after, that a mama must patiently "stalk" them on hyena cart, and even then is more likely than not to return empty-handed. After reading SO many good things about them, I decided I had to try one. I scored a used one for $28 including shipping, which was an amazing deal considering some mamas are actually charging MORE for their used Goodmamas then they originally paid for them! I (impatiently) waited and waited, and today it came. It was everything I'd read it would be...incredibly soft organic cotton velour, super stretchy, adorable print, fabulously absorbent...but I have to admit I'm still a little let down. I don't know what I expected, but it's just a diaper. A really snuggly soft beautiful diaper--but just a diaper. There's no way I can afford a whole stash of GMs, so I took a photo shoot of Paisley in the most expensive diaper she will ever wear--and I'll most likely resell it.

Her Daddy's Daughter

I'm not one to wonder how things were made or how they work. If everyone were like me, there wouldn't be any fancy-pants inventions like electricity...or automobiles...or indoor plumbing. Not that I don't love those things-- I just never would have thought of them. (but on the upside, the world would be very organized and aesthetically pleasing) Anyway, Layla evidently takes after Daddy, because the other day in the car she asked me, "Mommy, why do bikes and cars both have wheels?" I was impressed. I told her that's how they both move-they roll on wheels. "Oh, like a ball rolls?" she asked. "Just like a ball!" I told her. "But how do they roll?" she wondered. Uh-oh. "Well baby, cars have engines, and they move the, uh, pistons-er-gaskets...I mean, the wheels are on axles that spin on the...umm...I bet Daddy wants to tell you when he gets home from work!" Shoot. She's only 2 1/2, and she's already stumping mommy.

Thoughtful Living

We've been moving quickly on the path to crunchiness, and I know some of my family thinks I'm out of my cloth-diapering, tree-hugging mind, so I thought I'd attempt to explain myself. For us, it's been as simple (and as difficult) as trying to extend our beliefs and convictions about Christianity into our consumer lives. As cheesy as it is, I try to "do what Jesus would do" in my everyday life interactions...I try to be patient with my kids, friendly with the grocery store clerk, courteous on the road... I'm far from perfecting it, but it's a goal I strive for. Over the past year as I've been reading and learning more about the environment and our effect on it, I have slowly realized that my consumer actions have as real of an impact on others as my social actions do. God calls us to love and care for one another, but he also charges us with taking care of the world he gave us. Suddenly using 20 plastic bags for grocery shopping every week seemed in line with kicking a puppy or yelling at my kids. All of those things have a very real negative impact on others--even though some may be harder to see.
I'm trying to practice thoughtful living. We do a lot of things just because, well, that's the way we've always done them. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to think about things before I do them. How will using disposable diapers vs. cloth diapers effect the environment? Do I want pesticides used on my produce? How does buying this coffee effect the poor farmers in South America? Do I really need individually wrapped everything? We are so used to living a disposable life because it's convenient-- but is it worth the cost? I don't pretend to have the "answer" if there is one, and I'm not saying that any specific action is what everyone must do...I'm just saying that I want to stop and think before I buy. Having children has made me more aware that I want to leave the Earth a little better than I found it. If my new-found crunchiness is annoying, you can blame the girls. :)