here's a video of betsy's first sand encounter - and a little clip from the park the other day. enjoy-
Thursday, March 31, 2011
welcome to paradise
deedee arrived today and we headed straight to the beach. it was 88 when we left our house at 11:30 to pick her up. summer!!!!! the beach at coronado is one of the most gorgeous - not to mention the backdrop of the hotel del coronado. the beach sparkles with little golden flecks. the waves crash on the rocks to the south with swimming just to the north and a brilliant view of ships coming into the harbor all around. helicopters were swooping overhead every few minutes which had pete leaping for joy. "hello hel-coppa" we set up camp next to the sandcastles.com man - am pretty sure he retired from his real job one day and decided to be that guy who builds awesome sand castles on the beach, kind of like a street mime in the city but less scary. i wonder if the hotel pays him to do it or if he just does it for the love. betsy enjoyed her first little frolic in the sand more than i would have ever imagined - she was absolutely intensely beside herself with the texture of sand in her fingers and toes. and what better way to end the hot sunny gorgeous trip to the beach than an icecream cone for everyone?!?!
here's a video of betsy's first sand encounter - and a little clip from the park the other day. enjoy-
here's a video of betsy's first sand encounter - and a little clip from the park the other day. enjoy-
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
cinnamon maple almond butter
yes. it IS as good as it sounds. i found the recipe here via my sweet friend sarah who dabbles in these types of things and shares all her finds with me.
preheat oven to 325
mix 1 c organic almonds with 2.5 T real maple syrup
spread onto baking sheet covered with paper
bake 15 minutes stirring 3 times to avoid burning
let cool 2-5 minutes (if the cool too much it'll be hard to cream them)
stick them in the cusineart and let it do its thing for at least 15 minutes, scraping the sides when you need it.
add 1/4 t salt and 1/2 t cinnamon (and drizzle in a tiny bit of olive oil if its too dry).
viola!
other things on my radar:
-finding organic strawberries for a huge jam-making session with mom
-finally making my homemade deoderant
-remembering to water and care for our little wildflower patch and garden (carrots, lettuce, beans). its something pete and i really enjoy doing each morning together, although truth be told he much prefers watering the house or fence to watering the little plants that actually need it.
-figuring out the exact perfect ratio of cool rinses and soap and stripping and elastic positioning to get get my cloth diapers whipped back into shape. i'm hoping that line drying them again now that the hot weather is here will help. little lady bug may be potty training earlier than pete if this keeps up!
-scouring to the ends of the internet to find new, non-toxic, safe for everybody to touch and breath personal care products. am excited for my shampoo/conditioner samples to arrive as well as my new water based nail polish (acquarella). if the shampoo/conditioner is a no go, i am going to try no 'poo method. either way, washing my hair every 2-4 days has actually been awesome - i had no idea it was possible (well i did, my grandma can go for a whole week! something about wrapping your head in toilet paper at night, hehe-i think that's only for special occasions though, right?). i always thought it would be greasy if i didn't wash it every. single. day. but like most things with our amazing bodies, the oil production from your scalp is a supply and demand thing - strip it away less with harsh shampoos and hair color treatments and it will produce less oil. washing it less frequently and really massaging the scalp when you DO wash it also seems to grow your hair a lot faster. all good things....all things i wish i would have known y-e-a-r-s ago.
-really getting dressed each day instead of changing out of pajamas into work out clothes and back into pajamas at the end of the day. i need to pay a little more attention to me (for my husband's sake!) in the midst of all the business of my day.
-constantly looking for an "elefuff" (elephant) with pete. his latest obsession. at the park yesterday he pointed to a trail and told me he saw an elefuff so we went in search but never did find him. today twice we heard a squeaky truck that really did sound like an elephant and pete said "hear elefuff???" - once i told him bumpah knew where it was, he talked the rest of the afternoon about going to bumpah's house to look for the elefuff. i told him when deedee arrived (TOMORROW!!!) we'd go to the zoo and look for him there. :)
preheat oven to 325
mix 1 c organic almonds with 2.5 T real maple syrup
spread onto baking sheet covered with paper
bake 15 minutes stirring 3 times to avoid burning
let cool 2-5 minutes (if the cool too much it'll be hard to cream them)
stick them in the cusineart and let it do its thing for at least 15 minutes, scraping the sides when you need it.
add 1/4 t salt and 1/2 t cinnamon (and drizzle in a tiny bit of olive oil if its too dry).
viola!
other things on my radar:
-finding organic strawberries for a huge jam-making session with mom
-finally making my homemade deoderant
-remembering to water and care for our little wildflower patch and garden (carrots, lettuce, beans). its something pete and i really enjoy doing each morning together, although truth be told he much prefers watering the house or fence to watering the little plants that actually need it.
-figuring out the exact perfect ratio of cool rinses and soap and stripping and elastic positioning to get get my cloth diapers whipped back into shape. i'm hoping that line drying them again now that the hot weather is here will help. little lady bug may be potty training earlier than pete if this keeps up!
-scouring to the ends of the internet to find new, non-toxic, safe for everybody to touch and breath personal care products. am excited for my shampoo/conditioner samples to arrive as well as my new water based nail polish (acquarella). if the shampoo/conditioner is a no go, i am going to try no 'poo method. either way, washing my hair every 2-4 days has actually been awesome - i had no idea it was possible (well i did, my grandma can go for a whole week! something about wrapping your head in toilet paper at night, hehe-i think that's only for special occasions though, right?). i always thought it would be greasy if i didn't wash it every. single. day. but like most things with our amazing bodies, the oil production from your scalp is a supply and demand thing - strip it away less with harsh shampoos and hair color treatments and it will produce less oil. washing it less frequently and really massaging the scalp when you DO wash it also seems to grow your hair a lot faster. all good things....all things i wish i would have known y-e-a-r-s ago.
-really getting dressed each day instead of changing out of pajamas into work out clothes and back into pajamas at the end of the day. i need to pay a little more attention to me (for my husband's sake!) in the midst of all the business of my day.
-constantly looking for an "elefuff" (elephant) with pete. his latest obsession. at the park yesterday he pointed to a trail and told me he saw an elefuff so we went in search but never did find him. today twice we heard a squeaky truck that really did sound like an elephant and pete said "hear elefuff???" - once i told him bumpah knew where it was, he talked the rest of the afternoon about going to bumpah's house to look for the elefuff. i told him when deedee arrived (TOMORROW!!!) we'd go to the zoo and look for him there. :)
parks parks parks!
we had another lovely morning at the park yesterday - a new park, also in walking distance to our house! thanks susan for the lovely pics.
Monday, March 28, 2011
community park
this park is an (almost) daily affair - and offers such a lovely safe place for us to play. now that betsy is mobile and pre-walking, its even more fun (she used to have to watch the action from the stroller or baby carrier). i forsee lots of fun summer mornings spent here - beating the heat by getting there early. once mid-day summer strikes in poway, we'll be playing in the back yard in bathing suits! looking forward to some summertime heat heading our way.
 |
| Spinning! |
 |
| can't wait to climb |
 |
| betsy watching petey watching the trash truck go up the street |
 |
| once a little ham, he's now too cool for photos |
 |
| a stream is little kid heaven! |
betsy girl
this happy girl is on the go. climbing up and learning that gravity brings her down. we're working on the scoot backwards down technique but she seems pretty happy to slither down steps and playground equipment head first on her belly with her tongue sticking out as she goes. i just love watching our gal do her thing, she is so smiley!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
meeting peyton
we spent the last 10 wonderfully chaotic days visiting our friends in virginia and meeting their new daughter. it was awesome watching our boys play and bond (and fight over toys - hehe). and i loved loved loved stealing snuggles from miss peyton. i loved seeing the wonderful little community they live in at woodberry forest school (and a big shout out to the amazing maintenance guys who saved betsy after momma locked her in the car). i loved hanging in the brief moments of quiet with my gal and catching up on our lives and our thoughts and our struggles and our dreams. it was a great trip. i will say the airplane adventures with two kids and one parent - were....adventurous. easier going TO the fun destination than coming home from the fun destination, we were all a bit worn out on the homeward bound leg of the journey. but we survived and the kids are tucked into bed early and i'm off too!
