Bikini Wrap

26 year old me, summer 2006

You hungry for lunch? I am. This morning was my first time all alone in my house since before my little man was born. Crazy huh? I texted my sis for ideas on what to do with myself all morning, (as if I don't have a list full of things to do already!) She said I should make a yummy breakfast, watch a movie and relax while I can. Good idea! So I made some french toast, watched a little of Did You Hear About the Morgans? on Netflix.
That lasted about 37 minutes before I realized I had so much to do! In goes laundry load #1, out go the clean dishes in the dishwasher, weeds get pulled, a wall art project gets started, and photos get selected for printing at Walgreen's. Phew! Time for lunch. Except for it's almost bikini season, (gasp!) and I don't want the mama-gut to make an appearance so here's what my go-to, feel skinny and healthy meal will be today:

Laguna Beach Bikini Wrap :)

tortillas
Earth Butter
sliced carrots, avocado, cucumber, and spinach
mozzarella cheese
fresh squeezed lemon juice
lemon pepper
sea salt
toothpick (for holding it together)


Throw it all together, wrap like a burrito and stick it with the toothpick, and enjoy while reading a silly chick lit book on your back porch in the sun! 

The Great Cloth Diaper Change in Lafayette, CA!

hosted by the Nurture Center in Lafayette, CA

This morning, Aiden and I participated in an international event, the Great Cloth Diaper Change. The first goal of this event was to change perceptions about cloth diapers and raise awareness about the benefits of cloth diapers among the mainstream parenting community. The second goal was to become a part of the Guinness World Records for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously.
At exactly 9:30am PST this morning, parents in over 400 different locations around the globe from Lafayette, CA to Hong Kong and Malaysia gathered together to change their children into clean cloth diapers in attempt to set the world record. Organizers were trying to get over 10,000 babies and parents to participate worldwide. The results are currently being calculated!
I was excited to be a part of this event not only for the goals I mentioned, but also to meet some other green parents in my local community. As a member of the estimated 5% subculture of cloth diapering parents here in the United States, it is not too often you come across parents who use cloth, let alone even know how far cloth diapers have come in the past few years. (I hadn't learned about them until right before my son was born.) It was fun to talk with other parents who use cloth, their methods of laundering the diapers and also learning of diaper services such as Tiny Tots Diaper Service who will take care of the laundry for you!
After talking with one cloth diapering mama, I was surprised to learn that more mama's in San Francisco used cloth diapers in her social circles than in her current residence in Danville. Hmmmm, being that the San Franciscans are some of the biggest trend-setters of the world, hopefully the message catches on. Being green, (in the case of cloth diapers) is better for baby's skin, the environment and your wallet.

On our way to set a world record!

9:30am PST changing cloth diapers with thousands of parents across the globe!

Happy Earth Day!

Since I've become this crunchy, borderline hippie mom who makes her own breast-milk string cheese and sings Kum-Ba-Ya all day to her kid, (I'm totally joking about the string cheese! That's just gross!) I guess I'd better acknowledge the ultimate day where we celebrate all things Earthly right?
Well, for starters I was very excited to find out that today if you bring any brand face-wash bottle to the Origins counter to recycle, you will get a FREE, full-sized Origins best-selling face-wash in return! That's a $20, luxury paraben-free facial spa in a bottle ladies! Go to their website for more details!
Starbucks is giving away a free tea or coffee when you bring in your reusable cup today and tomorrow Lowe's is giving away 1 million trees. Ok, now that I got my consumerist tendencies out of my system, I'll let you in on some fun, more sustainable ways you and the kids can celebrate Earth Day! :)

• plant a tree
• make a pine cone and peanut butter bird feeder
• go on a litter pickup walk today around your neighborhood
• make some trail mix
• go on a hike 
• decorate a canvas bag to use for grocery shopping or library books
• let your child play in the mud
• participate in a local event Earth Day 2011
• learn to compost
• start using cloth napkins instead of paper towels, reusable sandwich bags, reusable shopping bags and water bottles if you haven't already! 

The Songs He's Singing

January 2011, driving through Angel's Camp

About a month ago, hubby and I were laying in our bed listening to the sounds of Aiden on the baby monitor singing himself to sleep, "Happy Birthday to you baby Aiden, Happy Birthday to yooooouuuu!" We had just taught him the song earlier that night in anticipation of his quickly approaching second birthday. As I lie there I was thinking about how amazing it is that my baby can sing songs now. It's something that just developed in the last few months, I haven't kept track too much of all his developmental milestones in the past year. It's the baby book's fault, I'll blame it because it only has a page to fill out every month for the first year, not the second, third, fourth and so on. So maybe I'll try and do a better job of documenting memories on here because I'm sure one day while Aiden is walking along his college campus checking out the girls he's going to wonder, "At what age did I first learn to sing? And what were my favorite songs? "  Yeah, I'm sure he'll wonder that. :)
Well my sweet boy, your current favorite song happens to be "Daddy-O" by Frances England. You request it every time we get into the car and you sing along excitedly. "D-D-Y...Oh how I love you....Oh how I love you...Daddy O!" You are simply precious. You also love Elizabeth Mitchell's "Kitchen" song where you do a perfect rendition of the, "Shoo ra loos!" Another favorite of yours is "Itsy Bitsy Spider" complete with all the hand motions and you love when we sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star " before bedtime. I must also add that you LOVE singing the Bob the Builder theme song with your hardhat on and an enthusiastic "Yes we can!" at the end. Even though before I had a child I swore up and down that I would never use the TV as a babysitter from time to time and my views on childhood commercialism are completely anti-television and electronic games, I'm only human and a momma needs her peaceful showering/getting ready time in the mornings :)
I'm always feeling like there are so many things I want to teach him that it makes my head spin. I never feel like I am teaching him enough because he absorbs everything so quickly and is able to learn so much all at once. He amazes me. Lately, we have been going through a wonderful book I received as a gift from a good friend for when I was beginning to teach pre-school. It's called Round and Round the Garden and other Action Songs. It's an action song book with all the classics like, "The Wheels on the Bus",  "Five Little Ducks", "I'm a Little Teapot" and many more that I hadn't even heard of until now. The book has beautiful illustrations and diagrams showing the exact hand motions that go along with each song. It's brilliant and we use it all the time! Through using actions songs for learning, you can teach so many things such as letters, numbers, new words, animal sounds, body parts, fine movements and so much more!

When you go over to our piano and request a song for Mommy to play it's always, "Jesus Loves You." I play and we sing it together. You almost have that one down pat too. When we are just hanging out at home, we listen to Pandora's Music Together station and some of you're favorites to dance to are, "Bo Diddley Beat", "If You're Happy and You Know It" and another Brazilian song, (Don't know the name) of one of the Putumayo World Music for kids albums that we love. We heart the Putumayo collection. It exposes us to many different languages, melodies, rhythms and beats from various cultures around the world. It also gives us a break from the typical kid songs and after a while you sound like you can speak 5 other languages, (even though you can't) just by singing along with the songs :)
Some of your other all-time favorite music to grove to is the Fiddle and Drum albums from mommy's Music Together collection from my pre-school teaching days. "Clap Your Hands", "Biddy Biddy" and you sure can shake that little booty of yours to "Everybody Loves Saturday Night!"
I hope I can always inspire music in our home throughout your life Aiden. I also hope that during stressful times when we may be on the brink of a meltdown, we remember to turn up the music with song and dance instead. :)

Oh Just Breathe Honey!

For any man who's wondered about childbirth and how painful it really is, this video is a must see. I love how in the beginning he says, "When it comes to pain, research shows that men can withstand a whole lot more than women. " Yeah right, now that's total hogwash! We all know that when men get the mildest flu they act like they are on their deathbeds! Pluck a stray hair from their unruly unibrow and they scream like a schoolgirl. 

By the end of this labor simulation experiment the good doctor has a big change of heart! He didn't even make it four hours drug-free and he was ready to end the experiment. Try 18 hours of completely un-medicated labor WITH the water broke way before the contractions even began, as in my own labor.  (Intact amniotic sacs act as a cushion, protecting you from the full intensity of the pain.) Not to mention the pushing, tearing, healing and breastfeeding! This was a fascinating experiment for fathers to see just how intense labor pains can be but in my opinion provided just a glimpse for this man into the pains of actual childbirth. 

Woo Hoo! You're TWO!!!

A few months ago, I gave birth to an angel child. (Ok it was actually 24 months ago but it feels like just a few months ago!) He was so tiny yet could nurse like a champ. When he looked into my eyes I knew that he was going to depend on me for everything and I fell into the most powerful love I have ever experienced in this life. He loved to be swaddled tight and held for hours. When he would fuss I would dance around the house in my pj's at 3pm singing, "I Had A Dream" from the Mama Mia sound track which was my favorite album that season. I would get so overwhelmed with emotion when I would reach the line in the song where it says, "I believe in angels, something good in everything I see..." For the first time in my life, I realized the immeasurable power of God and just how good He is. I realized that He gives us a glimpse of heaven through these angel-babies that He blesses us with. I also had never experienced such a high of elation and excitement for life, one that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning just watching my beautiful little angel sleep so peacefully. I now knew the feeling of my needs coming second to this baby and the fierce desire to do whatever it takes to be the very best mother I could be for him. Anything ~for him. Anything that seemed hard at first, I would conquer! Anything that seemed scary, I would give it a shot. Anything that challenged what I already knew, I would consider it. Anything for you my sweet baby boy.

April 3, 2009 

Today you are two years old Aiden. You are such a funny little entertainer, stealing the spotlight and loving being in the center of attention.  In exercising my bragging mommy-rights, I must tell everyone that you eat ALL your vegetables, can count to 10 with no help, and almost have your ABC's down pat! :)
Your most favorite toy is your red cozy coupe. You ride it around the house, your little baby legs going so fast. Sometimes you put your toy cell phone and your cup of water in the back and tell me that you are going to, "Taaa-get" (Target) When you come back from your trip around the kitchen, you take out your tools and get under the car and "fix it!" So cute!
You have SUCH a friendly and sociable little personality! Whenever we are out in public you will walk up to anyone and say, "Hi, no doing?" (As in, what are you doing?) They chuckle and tell you hi and that they are shopping. You love saying, "Bye, Bye!" too. A LOT. You will have a short conversation with someone and then cut them off saying bye bye like 13 times to let them know that you are moving on to something new.
The other day, I was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. You kept trying to climb up on the counter, (which you know is a no no) and I took you down, set you by your toys and said, "Not now, Mommy's busy." About 5 minutes later I was done in the kitchen and I came over to see what you were doing and give you a kiss. "Can I have a kiss Aiden?" I said to you. You looked over at me and said, "Aiden busy!" I about died laughing. Two is a magical age!
Recently all three of us were browsing REI. There was a copy of Runner's World on the magazine stand with a muscular, shirtless man on the cover. You ran up to the magazine pointing at the man saying, "Boobies! Boobies!" Myself and the two store cashiers busted up laughing. One of the cashiers who appeared to be an older, wiser mama herself said, "Is he a breastfed toddler?" I replied, "Yes..." "Oh that is so good for him..." she said. Aiden you are a hoot!
You had so much fun at the SF Zoo for your birthday! You loved seeing the big Grizzly bears, the giraffe and the lion. "Rrrrrrraaaaawwwww" you said when you saw the lion.
Your most favorite parts of the zoo trip were playing at the park with your Daddy, (go figure) and riding the train with Daddy while Mommy shot some video of the event. Daddy said that when you both were waiting in line and the train pulled up for your turn, you knew it and began to cheer! "Yeaaaahhhh!!!!!! Train! Train!" you said, jumping around clapping your hands! I'll always remember the most adorable, proud smile you had on your little face when you finally got to go sit in the train while you waited for it to go. Priceless perfection.
Daddy and I love you so much buddy and look forward to many more years of watching your face light up with smiles and laughter.
Love,
Mommy

April 9, 2011 Vasona Park in Los Gatos