simplifying

This past January, when I blew the candles out on my very delicious, very non-paleo tirimisu joint-birthday-with-my-husband cake I wondered what it is that a happy mom of two beautiful, healthy children could even wish for.  It has taken me a couple of months to come up with it.  This year, I want to simplify our material world so we can spend more time with each other, and less time being distracted by our things.  It's funny, because when we moved from Nome we got rid of so much stuff-but we still have so much stuff. How does that work?
The cincher on my decision to do this has really been this book:

 

This book is really good. 

I would say it is a must-read for every intuitive-minded parent who feels like something is just not right with the way our society approaches childhood, and child-rearing.  I could go on for a long time about all the awesome things that are in here, but for simplicity sake I will stick to the topic at hand--see how I tied that in? Im already meeting my goal!

A large section of this book is dedicated to ways that you can enrich your children's (and really your own) time by simplifying both your family's material possessions as well as schedules.  My hope is that we will be able to enrich our family's time by paring down in the following areas:

Simplifying what we eat:  The paleo diet does this beautifully.  Not only does buying no packaged and processed food reduce the amount of garbage and waste we make, but the meal choices are very simple and nourishing.  Allowing Sadie to help (legitimately) with meal preparation--doing things like washing vegetables or stirring & seasoning has almost eliminated her fussy eating...except for mushrooms.  She very politely informed me that, "I don't care for mushrooms, mom, but you and dad can go ahead and eat 'em all up." I'll take it.

Simplifying what we wear: Can I just say that the laundry situation in my house has become REE-donkulous.  Between all the clothes that the kids receive as gifts/ hand-me-downs, and what we buy them there. are. piles. It's hard when they are little and go through sizes so fast.  I swear 2/3 of Eli's clothes are two small for him, so there they sit in random spots while I dig through the unfolded laundry to find that one pair of pajamas I'm looking for.  I am never caught up on laundry. And me--I have a ton of clothes just sitting around in piles and I always wear the same five old outfits, so why do I need them all? To make matters worse, we seem to have a bazillion sheets, towels and blankets that always need washed because a diaper blew out or a baby puked, or something.  Kids are messy. I get it. But I have this thought, that If I can reduce the over all amount of textiles in our house there will be less washing and more importantly, less folding and putting away, which is the part of laundry that I can never seem to get to.  I would also like our things to be good quality.  Nothing worse than a cheap shirt for your kid that shrinks up to nothing the first time you wash it-- or seams that fray and come un-done.  I don't have time to mend that stuff, so when I do buy new for any of us, its going to be fewer things of more lasting quality.  I will also try to make stuff myself, whenever realistic.

Simplifying our schedule: This is pretty easy for me, I stay home with the kids, so have a little more flexibility in setting the pace for our days---but still, I need to observant of not rushing my children from enriching activities so I can drag them along on this or that errand that needs run, etc.  My one major goal is to be able to sit down for dinner together at a reasonable time, as a family with no interruptions.  Every night.  I think that is becoming such a lost art, but it's so, so important to the heart and soul of family.

Reducing screen time:  We don't have t.v. but the computer can be just as bad.  After seeing how Sadie's imaginative play began to flourish, and her less-desirable behaviors drastically decreased when our computer was broken for a month I am a firm believer that less=more when it comes to time spent on electronic devices--for all of us.

Downsizing the toy collection: We have really tried to keep toy clutter to a minimal amount in our home, but it creeps in.  Payne recommends the following approach to reducing the amount of toys (there is some sound research behind this--and it very true in my personal experience as well) in your home so your children are not overwhelmed and can use the things they have imaginatively, and care for them.  The process is to gather up all your toys and get rid of half of them.  Keep only toys that you know can hold your child's interest for multiple play sessions.  Fixed toys (items that only do one specific kind of play) get chucked.  Toys that encourage corrosive play--in the garbage, toys that are broken and unfixible...garbage.  When you are down to half your toys, divide that pile in half again.  Those are probably all the more toys a child needs.  At this point you can take the second half of the toys and create a toy lending library, so that your child can periodically swap out a toy for one in the library which is like getting a new toy with no net gain.  I would also like to make sure that for the most part, the toys we do have our made out of natural materials like wood, wool, and other things that aren't ridden with chemicals that are toxic to youngun's body's (and souls.)

Reduce the amount of plastic in our lives:

I don't think there is much more to say about this.  The only true way to reduce the amount of plastic in your home is to step back from the consumreistic rush of buy, buy, buy. If we absolutely need something and it contains plastic then we will get it--but it needs to be essential to the functionality of our household.

So there it is.  I read somewhere once that by writing it down (or saying it out loud) you make it so.  Well this is my manifesto for 32--it seems like it should be simple enough;)

making a good life goes paleo

If you know me, than you are probably rolling your eyes about my title, because I am kind of a geek about nutrition--as in, for fun I read hoards of literature ranging from the very scientific to the, ahem, extremely fwowed out, hippie fabulous, on what is the optimal diet for the human body.  I should have probably been a dietician.   Vegan, vegetarian, Raw food, slow food, juice fasting...you name the movement I've probably done it or at least read about it.  I'm kind of a Michael Pollan groupie, and when I was teaching I even made my students watch the documentary food Inc. and write about it.

 I guess that I've had this nagging feeling all my life that it is extremely important what you choose to fuel your body with, and that the status quo (aka the SAD diet) is not the best one to follow.  You would think with this attitude I would be the model of health and fitness, but as I sit here writing this I can tell you that I am not.  In fact, I have struggled with eating disorders since the time I was a teenager (probably before that) and for me, finding balance in my food choices is something I wrestle with every day, and I probably will for my whole life.

When I was several months preggers with Eli, I bought these shoes--Merrel barefoot running shoes.  They made my feet and legs feel so good I started researching minimalist running, and in doing so stumbled upon the Paleo diet and gave it a whirl for a month.  I was surprisingly impressed with the results I experienced, namely AMAZING energy (which isn't easy to come by in your first trimester of pregnancy, I assure you.) I read all kinds of info from the internet, and then I read Robb Wolf's book and it really was food for though, no puns intended. I should have gone paleo and never gone back then and there, but then a series of events kind of got in the way.  Pregnancy, teaching, lots of travel, chasing my child, having another baby, moving to a new city, holidays, vacations, you know...life.

I meant to get started up with the Paleo diet this January, and it just wasn't happening.  I was in a major food rut.  Dinner time (both the preparation and consumption of) was a time I dreaded and loathed.  I was frustrated because Eli would fuss and Sadie decided this was the time of day she needed to terrorize the house, leading to many cooking distractions, excessive messes and burned or soggy food.  To top it off, she (always a good eater in the past) would barely touch anything I cooked.  Then there was the puzzle of my husband not always knowing when he would be home from work or class, and you add all that up and I was literally crying big crocodile tears into my cooking pots as I fixed dinners that I knew I would be the only one eating.  It was like a scene straight out of Like Water for Chocolate.  Deeepressing.  Especially for me, because I love to cook. But I wasn't loving to cook anymore.

Then a series of random, or not so random, events began to crop up in my life. I like to think of this as the way the universe likes to nudge you back onto your true path, and when you don't listen the nudges become more like roundhouse kicks to your consciousness.  They began gently, and subtly, and incresed in frequency and obviousness until I finally had to say, "okay, okay universe...I get the point. I really needed to give this Paleo thing another try." And in doing so, I need to revamp the way our whole family approaches food--and observes the rituals of mealtimes--before we miss out what I believe is probably one of the brighter spots in in quality time a family can spend together.  Without boring you with all the tedious details that led me to that decision--I'll save those for future posts, yo--I would just like to state for the record that March will be the month of the Whole 30 Paleo challenge in our house, and I will be posting recipes, and observations regarding said challenge, on Fridays, if you wish to follow along, or even join in the fun.  So fix yourself some bacon and eggs, and hop on over to Marks Daily Apple for some great stories and info, and I will see you next Friday.

half a year

I has been six months  since Elias has graced our family with his winsome baby self.  In half a year Eli has grown to be 23 lbs, and 30" long.  Major milestones this month are sitting unassisted, almost learning to crawl, and growing two toofers--which he decided to do the day we left for Hawaii (literally) which made for a fussy & very long flight for mom.  Eli's interests this month: splashing, yelling, growling and being involved--somehow--in whatever Sadie is doing.  He also likes to be in his Ergo carrier a lot.  Once at that height he  uses his lightening fast reflexes and long reach to grab and throw things off the counters and other reachable surfaces.  He loves anything loud and exciting (aka cousin Killian).  He does not love sitting still.  Eli has tasted a few solid foods this month, none of which have pleased his discerning palate except for caribou.  Good thing dad's going hunting for some more of those next week; I get the feeling that by the time this kid turns one he will be able to eat a whole one by himself. I can hardly believe that half a year has already gone by--it is an every-day kind of wonder to get to know this small human and to treasure these moments and milestones, each and every one because man, do they go by fast.

 We love you so Mr. Baby

a little bit of cousins

I've been sorely neglecting the blog lately, but can you blame me with this kind of adorability (can that be a word? It should in this case) to distract me:

seriously.... is that not the most baby cuteness that ever did grace a fish box?

And let's not fail to mention the sunshine and sandy shores of Oahu.  Thanks sister, for moving to a place that makes family reunions double as tropical vacations!  It was the most fun, and a real treat, to reunite--or just unite--these adorable, squishy cousins.  And the big(er) cousins, weeeellll.....they played hard, and drove each other a little nutso, but that's just how it goes, and at the end of the day, there was a lot of love to go around.

And that's what's best about family, right?  No matter how many awkward timeouts you get put in, you still love each other like crazy cakes.

wordless Wednesday

Sadie 2.5

I didn't take a ton of pictures over the holidays, mainly because I didn't want a camera stuck to my face the whole time. Sometimes it's nice to sit back and enjoy the moment without worrying about getting your lens adjusted just right.  And Christmas with a 2 1/2 year old is oh so magical and fun, even if it means singing Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells an infinite amount of times.  Thank you Sadie, for adding so much joy to our lives, and keeping us on our toes; you are such a delight.

Elias at four months

At four months old Eli is as jolly and Rubenesque of a baby as you could possibly wish for.  Get a load of those cheeks! No matter how much we nibble them they just keep getting bigger.  (Also, when we do this Sadie scolds us saying, Eli not food!) Big developments this month--Eli really, really wants to sit up and be a part of the upright world.  Still working on that, but at least he thinks the tipovers are good times.  Rolling over is now routine, and the super puking abilities of this kid have been downgraded to just moderate puking.  Other big news, Eli discovered his penis this week, and like 99.9% of all males in the world, he is pretty excited about it.  It sure makes diaper changes interesting, I'll give you that.  This kid has a good sense of humor, and his favorite comedian at the moment is his sister.  It doesn't matter what she does, it gets him to chuckling, which makes her laugh, which is a sweet sound to this mama's ears.  Happy four months of life little big guy, we sure do love you!