dear salty sailor

Posted in Kiddie Hangouts by

you missed the first week of summer, errr, well, the first week of summer weather that is. needless to say we spent a lot of time out of doors with various combinations of little people.

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barefootin’ in backyards

i had originally planned to align my mental forces against being happy about this heat spike but then i was reminded by jeff about one thing: beer. drinking it outside. ok, global warming i’m officially on your side.

not really but i needed that beer.

we also made our first trip to the zoo of the year with cousin and uncle

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it was a very successful trip and also resulted in a beer afterward.

my brain is almost officially fried for the day but i will leave you with a quote from darla: “welcome to the pickle toe factory. bet you can’t eat just one!”

stay in the lines

Posted in kiddie-do, Shopping by

in case any of you are looking for gifts for wee ones to celebrate the first day of spring, check out ruth heller coloring books. so many nature & outdoor designs that will put all those elmo coloring book pages to shame. pretty, pretty! darla will be receiving a few of these from the flower children come March 20.

Spring Has Sprung (Designs for Coloring)

Leaves (Designs for Coloring)

In Full Bloom: A Close-Up Coloring Book

a list

Posted in love and happiness by

a list of darla’s talents and skills that she shares with her mother:

constantly trying to wear as little clothing as possible

spinning in circles

asking for snacks to be brought to her on the couch

running into things

wanting what everyone else has

talking to anyone

sleeping diagonally on the bed

holding her hand out to let the wind rush through her fingers when the car window is down

*i especially love the last one, for both of us.

milk rotation

Posted in Run Da House by

as if i don’t have enough on my plate i seem to think it is a good idea to over complicate things by having a schedule for our milk buying. yes, a schedule. it’s a dilemma people.

here’s our milk rotation:

snowville creamery – gets delivered to us in our green bean delivery. pros are that it is local, grass grazed, less pasteurized, very tasty. cons = not organic, packaged in cardboard which is not reusable even though it’s recyclable, a bit on the pricey side, and only available in 2% and whole. we lean towards 1%.

stay with me. it gets better.

hartzler dairy – this used to be our go to in the grocery but now our closest store doesn’t carry it since we moved. but i just saw that hartzler was added to green bean so now things are going to get even trickier. pros = grass fed, local, extremely tasty, packaged in glass deposit bottle that is reused. no waste home friendly. cons = priciest option and out of the way to obtain. also not organic. only available in skim, whole, and 2%. rats.

wait for it…

nature’s basket 1% and soy milk – this is what we now pick up when we run out in between our green bean delivery. i just juggle back and forth between cow’s milk and soy. i can’t make a decision. which one is more ethical? which one will save the world the most? which one is better for our bodayyyys? i can’t handle the pressure!!!!

ok anyway i’m bored with typing all these pros and cons out. you get my drift. you now see how this is completely insane that i actually put mental thought into these choices but sometimes i feel like the weight of the next 7 generations depends on which milk jug i choose. why? because of that damn 7th generation slogan, that’s why. and because i care goshdangitalltohell. because i really do believe that the products i buy today will effect tomorrow.

you know that lady who’s been standing in the milk aisle for 10 minutes just staring at the rows and rows of milk. that’s me. if you see me, for the love of Jove, please just pick up the carton closest to you and put it in my hand and then push me onward to more pressing matters.

this life of trials and tribulations is not for everyone, but it’s the path i’m destined to walk. don’t cry for me, Argentina.

*obviously this is a first world problem and i’m providing this little write-up for proof and parody that this way of life is insane. and i’m insane. we’re all insane. yes, even you. now go forth an do good deeds. be bold and mighty forces will come to your aide.

sippin’ on syrzzup

Posted in kiddie-do, let me let me update ya by

most of my goals for the weekend fell through the cracks except for the Malabar Farms Maple Syrup Festival. Darla and i trekked north during the good weather saturday and we had a good ol’ time revisiting the process of maple syrup. really, i just made it a priority to purchase some more of the syrup because it is so delicious. one taste of real, fresh syrup and you’ll never want to go back to the hfcs substitute.

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the view is beautious maximus. can you tell i made darla pose for the second shot?

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tractor rides and tickles from evergreen branches

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she chose her raccoon socks because they live in the forest and would like maple syrup, so she says.

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we cheated on the candy rule and got some cotton candy made from maple syrup. can you tell by her face that she was happy to indulge? she then proceeded to tell strangers that maple syrup is healthy. which we were informed at the festival that it is. it has the lowest calorie content of any of the natural sweeteners and is good for your kidneys if it is pure. more pancakes anyone?

we did enjoy a pancake breakfast on sunday morning to break in our new bottle. i hope we will continue our visit as an annual tradition. it was bittersweet to visit as a twosome this year. i missed our cali friends dearly remembering our experience the previous year. hopefully next year we’ll be able to enlist more of a gang to join us.

dear salty sailor,

Posted in let me let me update ya by

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sometimes i get so sad that you are missing moments like these. darla was helping me put away laundry. she was doing a good job. since most of the laundry was hers she was capable of putting it all away and took great pleasure in helping me. she came across one of my shirts, stripped down and put it on declaring “i want to wear this and be just like you.” then she made up a little help mommy song as she went about her chore. i love her and i love these moments. i love those pigtails that are crooked from boisterous play. this kind of lifestyle is very challenging at times but i’m so lucky for these bits. and i’m overcome with sadness that you are not here for it. i’m sorry if i haven’t caught enough of them for you.

here’s just a few things that have tumbled out of the girl’s mouth lately:  she looked over her shoulder the other day at her bum and said “mommy, don’t i have such a big booty?” I was explaining how something works and she said “i really catch your drift mom.”  the last one that i remember was right before we went over for dinner with the neighbors. Darla wanted to bring her blanket so I was making sure she understood that if she took it over she couldn’t be territorial and had to be willing to share. I said “i’m afraid you will get upset and cry if one of the girls wants to play with your blanket. how do you feel about that?” and she looked me dead in the eye and replied “no, i wouldn’t do that. i would feel very proud if someone played with it.” true to her word, she took it over and it wasn’t an issue.

we miss you so much. thank you for the life you provide us.

love love lovesick love,

wifey

what i bought this week on the internet

Posted in Shopping by

my fashion tastes usually fall into one of three catagories: lace, floral, southwestern. here’s what i got this week with the excuse of celebrating a birthday in LA in just a couple of weeksdarla makeup1

looks like floral got left out this time

1. earrings by DittyDrops on Etsy. i wanted just about every pair. my second choice would be these, just in case anyone is shopping for me for that big 2-9 i have coming up.

2. Urban Outfitters Dress. lace + scallops = perfect warm weather dress in my eyes.

the lorax

Posted in kiddie-do, parenting apparently? by

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like millions of others across america for the past 4+ decades, the lorax has been a big part of our home. it holds a special place in my heart in regards to darla’s upbringing thus far. i like trees and everyone likes trees and dr. seuss did our society a great service by writing the story of the lorax.

i took darla to see the new lorax movie this morning. it just so happened that we were the only viewers in the theater so we got to enjoy the movie in a special more loud and interactive way. this simply means i didn’t have to worry about reminding darla to be quiet during the film. the universe knew what it was doing once again because, to my delight, darla often spoke lines from the original movie and book throughout the movie. the current movie is loosely based on the original and doesn’t rely heavily on rhyme.  i was very happy that she remembered such lines. Upon the first introduction of the once-ler she hopped out of her seat, put her hands on her hip and said “he’s crazy with greed” at the movie screen. ohhhh how i love her.

unsurprisingly, i prefer the original versions but i think this one did a good job of building on top of something that was already pretty great. I’m glad we went to be reminded by a couple of things by our old pal, The Lorax. the first being: “a tree falls the way it leans. be careful of the way you lean.”  the second line that got to me (that’s code for made me cry, again. for about the 4th time in the movie) was “it doesn’t matter what it is. it only matters what it could become.” i hope to hold these new lines as dearly to me as the tried and true “unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. it’s not.”

it really is a goal of mine this year to make our household further the steps toward earth friendliness. i hope to get my little sapling more involved with learning about trees, plants and all growing things. i need to do more than just show her videos and read her books. i need to make sure we plant and sow and tend. it has to happen. new goal for the year: plant a tree with darla.

tree talker

spring in our step

Posted in kiddie-do, let me let me update ya by

it seems like these spring like days are filling up more quickly than the cozy, insular days of winter. we’ve had a little spring in our step and running at a quicker gait. lots happening:

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we had a double bounce house day so she worked up a thirst. if anyone needs recommendations on either the world of bounce or kingdom of bounce i can provide some insights. aren’t my areas of expertise so glamorous? the next time i’ll be sure to check my deets before our dates with friends.

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a younger me would be laughing and scoffing at how much the current me takes joy from clean laundry

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the morning after a sleepover with the burkeybuns crew. they decided to dress as towels.

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i took darla to her first indoor play – the house at pooh corner. i was pretty sure that we were going to be the only ones in attendance until a huge school group came in 2 min prior to showtime. take a look at that annoyed look i’m already getting from darla for asking her to pose in front of the set.

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after the play we walked across the street to visit the state house. i figured it was never too early to start learning some state history and architectural elements, right?  darla was very impressed by the rotunda. she said it sounds just like Aisling. $5 worth of brussel sprouts can go to whoever gets that reference.

looking forward to an equally busy weekend. We’ve got the Lorax, Malabar Farms Maple Syrup Festival, Ohio Wildlife Center open house and BalletMet Sleeping Beauty all on tap along with some dinner dates and a labor information session. yay for busy schedules that help the days without our salty sailor pass quickly.