It's HHHot!

This weekend was unusually warm (well, hot!) so we spent a lot of time trying to stay cool. One day we went to the beach. I sat Baby Z down in the wet sand and he had a blast. Baby Z had to explore all aspects of the beach, including taste-testing the sand. His Dad even took him out in the water and let him stand on his surf board a little. Every moment at the beach was like my dream photo opportunity of cuteness. Here is just one picture:



You can even see John on a wave in the background. Perfection!

Maaaaa is Really What a Goat Says

Baby Z and I went to a fun place yesterday. In Southern California there are all kinds of ranchos around. Rancho Los Alamitos is in our town, has livestock, gardens and a beautiful old adobe home. We had our own person tour guide, a wonderful gentleman named Paul, who was born the year the Bixby family found oil at the Rancho (1921). Did I mention it's free?

We spent most of our time staring at the animals-- lively goats, sedate sheep, and GIGANTIC horses (of the shire breed, incidentally). Baby Z kept calling all of the animals diggy-diggy (what he calls dogs). When we tried to go into the milking barn, Baby Z dug his feet in and started screaming -- I'm hoping that's not some latent fear of farm equipment. We also walked around the gardens (lugging the stroller up and down steps - next time I'll leave it in the car) which had lots of roses and a very extensive succulent section. If you like cacti, this is your place! They were actually really beautiful.


My favorite part of the whole experience was listening to the wind in the trees (lots of them, lots of different kinds). Here is Baby Z by a VERY LARGE one.


All together, it was a great experience. It's good for these city folks to get a little agri-culture.

As Everybody Knows, Today is Earth Day...

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday to whoever's being born. Sorry- I can't get the song out of my head today. And why was it April 21st? Today is the 22nd. Hm.

Anyway, in honor of Earth Day, Baby Z and I headed out for some serious Creation Conscious* activities.

First up, we went to a local Farmer's Market. I've been wanting to do this for a while but I finally found one at a time that worked for us. It was a bit of a drive, but I imagined Baby Z and I browsing through outdoor stalls, meeting local farmers, enjoying the sunshine, admiring the beautiful fruit. I was confronted with my true motivation for shopping at a farmer's market when we got there and saw it was neither quaint nor outdoors. It was an indoor asian grocery store. I felt a little duped and considered turning around and going home, but we already used the gas (the gas, people, on earth day!). I needed some udon noodles anyway, so we did a little shopping (asian pears- yum!) and then left. I checked again on the web site when I got home and it is a market where local farmers sell their produce directly, so I don't feel quite so disappointed. Supporting local farmers means less transportation/pollution and fresher fruit for me. And, shoot, if the idyllic expectation of the experience is what it took to motivate me to take care of God's creation, so be it. So, I guess I'll look for an outdoor farmer's market and try again. It's important to find what motivates you.

Now, if you can play "3 R's" song by Jack Johnson in your head for this next bit...

Next, we donated some clothing to the Goodwill for someone else to REUSE. I spent a good part of yesterday morning clearing out (REDUCING) my closet and finally getting rid of items (especially business attire) that I had to admit I would probably not wear again. I followed Vaguely Urban's advice and took pictures of the sentimental items in order to let go (my first pair of nice work pants!). Donating items helps in lots of ways:

• I have less clutter and can more clearly see the clothing I like to wear, thus being less tempted to purchase more items. REDUCE
  
• The donated items help the less fortunate and REUSE items that would otherwise be thrown away (which doesn't mean it goes away--trash in landfills?).
  
• And beyond giving clothes to needy ones here locally, it also allows me to give to others not so nearby. I used Turb0tax's online tax deductions calculator to figure out what kind of tax break the donated clothes would give us. Then, I gave that money to a charity: The Rafiki Foundation.
  

And next.... my very personal sacrifice in honor of Earth Day: I refrained from taking a shower. I conserved water and enjoyed some time reading a book instead. The book was borrowed from the library, not purchased. (REDUCE, REUSE) Those who know me know that not taking a shower is a semi-significant price for me to pay (not huge, but not nothing). But those who know me also know that reading considerably lessens the sting of sacrifice.

In the afternoon, Baby Z and I took our usual trip to the grocery store. But this time, I finally managed to remember my reusable grocery bags! YEAH! And, I used a coupon to get another reusable bag for free. REUSING the reusable bags REDUCED the number of plastic bags we typically use from eight to zero!

Now, just to get the perfect trifecta of Earth Day, I did drop a bunch of stuff into my recycling bin. This is perhaps the creation conscious activity I do most consistently, which is good, but it is also the least best option of the three R's. I just learned this hierarchy, so it took me down a notch in feeling good about what I do for the earth every day. However, it also made me step up my game in other areas, so that's good!

I can honestly say this is the first time I recognized Earth Day in any way. And I'm thrilled that I can do a little to make the world better for my kids and your kids. And I'm excited to teach Baby Z all about it as a part of every day life. I can already see myself singing a little Jack Johnson when I tell our second child he/she gets to reuse his/her older sibling's clothes.**


* Creation Conscious, Creation Care - what we Christians should have been thinking all along way before being "Green" was so prevalent in our media and culture. But, alas, one finger pointing out leaves three pointing back at me (cheesy grin). I like thinking of being environmentally responsible in this light: God created our earth and delighted in it. He gave it to mankind to take care of and use to honor Him. This includes taking care of the things on this planet, including people, such as those who are being taken advantage of, or suffering due to poverty, famine, greed of others. Okay, I'll stop preaching now. Note: For the term Creation Care, and a lot of the ideas in this post, I give full credit to a very capable and passionate woman in my MOPS group who inspired us all with her ideas for living life as a better Christian and global citizen.
** No, I'm not pregnant.

Precursor to Potty Training?

Yesterday we put Baby Z down for a nap in the afternoon and he didn't go to sleep. It was Sunday, when naps are hard to come by anyway, but John and I were enjoying some down time so we didn't rush to get him up. He cried a little, chatted a little, quieted a little for about an hour and a half until we decided we should probably stop watching the movie and get the little guy. When we went in, this is what we found:

Baby Z's pants and diaper were neatly tossed over the side of the crib. He seemed to be enjoying the air time. No accidents in the crib, thankfully. The diaper was pretty full, so I guess Baby Z decided to just handle it on his own. Maybe he'll just potty train himself too! :)

Tidbits

Random thoughts....

* Socks are the best kind of mops. Just swipe as you walk by!

* Cleaning windows is the pits, but it feels so good afterward.

* Why is it so hard to remember to take reusable bags to the grocery store?

* If you don't believe in God, have children. You may be convinced by the number of times you see a close call, such as your child almost-if-I-stretch-a-little-more reaching for a plate on a counter with a sharp, pointy steak knife perched on it.

* I wish I could read while driving.

Meme (What?) Memoir

One of my best friends just "meme'd" me (total side note: "me" is a new sound Baby Z is making). Being new to the blogging world, I looked it up: Internet Meme This one is a Memoir meme, which goes as follows:

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I found this pretty challenging but I gave it my best:
Seeking true life, abundant every day.

This is perhaps more a mission statement for my life than a memoir, and I'm cheating a little by adding a link to one of my words, but I suppose there aren't any blog-policemen who are going to bust me on it. Thanks to Vaguely Urban for the interesting challenge. I pass the torch to:

Over Thinker
OhCripe
HeyKristiGirl
(Sorry- again, I'm breaking the rules by linking to only three other blogs. Honestly, they are the only other bloggers I know!)

Good News & Bad News

The good news is that Baby Z will now eat prunes- right out of the Sunkist package. No more packaged puree with apples required.

The bad news is that Baby Z will pilfer prunes when feasible and stuff his mouth full past all rational capacity:



I found him with about three prunes in his mouth and five to six dark brown plops on the ground.

What About the Routine?

Thinking back to where this blog started, I realized I haven't talked about routine in a long time. Goes to show you that eventually things settle into a routine so much that you don't even think about it anymore. So, like they give updates on where people are now on reality shows, here's where we are (Baby Z is now 16 months):

Bedtime: Baby Z goes to bed at 8pm. We put him in his pajamas, brush his teeth, read a book or two, sing him one song and put him in bed. He likes to have the tag on his blanket and puts his thumb in his mouth. He has started to wave at us as we leave the room.

Wake up: Baby Z gets up at 8am (although he usually wakes up and starts talking around 7:30am or 7:45am).

Naps: He's still doing 2 per day, approximately 10:30am - 12:15/30pm, and 3pm - 5/5:30pm. He will still occasionally wake up during his nap. He'll either cry for a 30 seconds and go back to sleep, or he'll wake up and play/chatter for a while. (Note: this happens still around the 45-minute mark.) Most of the time he goes back to sleep after such a playtime, but not always. He is much more resilient about missing naps now, especially the morning nap which he misses on Sundays. We usually leave church around 11:45am and he'll fall asleep in the car for a while. Even if it's just a 30 minute nap, he does better. But if not, we put him to bed early in the afternoon and he sleeps a little longer. I suppose we're getting close to the one nap a day time, but I'm going to hang on to the morning nap as long as I can.

Eating: He eats at 8am, 12:30pm and 5:30pm (or so). I still feed him pretty soon after he gets up from a nap. He also usually eats a little bit of what we have for dinner at 6:30pm. And he has a snack before his afternoon nap.

The biggest thing about routine now is that it feels very fluid and natural. I don't have to think about time and calculate hours. I know pretty well when Baby Z is tired and when nap time needs to come sooner. Since Baby Z is older, everything is a little easier- eating out, going places, changes in schedule. The baby time is pretty much over. Now we're in the toddler stage and the focus is more on training and discipline. So I imagine I'll be talking about that a little more (although it tends to be just as controversial as scheduling). But, don't worry, I'm not going to change my blog name to "Brainy Training" or "Honest Discipline" or some such thing.

Where Are My...?

I can no longer blame the disappearance of every day objects on my husband.



So far it hasn't been my keys or the remote (like he did at my Mom's). Hopefully he won't hide his milk in a place I can't find. I guess I'll find it eventually (with my nose).