Beautiful Afternoon

Last week, I dropped by my parent's house for my mom's birthday. She & I went to one of our favorite outdoor gardens for a few hours-- Summers Past Farms. It was so relaxing and so gorgeous out. They make the most yummy mango tea garnished with mint leaves & flowers. This is where we attend the annual "Fairy Festival" and sometimes their "Lavender Festival" and Mother's Day Brunch. But throughout the year I am always tempted to attend their other many events & classes-- especially the soap making & wreath making workshops. I wish I lived closer! Here are a few pictures I snapped as the boys enjoyed running around & exploring. Jake loves looking for animals-- there are often bunnies, chickens & cats lounging in the gardens.

Fairy Gardens 2008

It's that time again!!! The Annual Fairy Festival at Summers Past Farms, a tradition my family has kept for at least the last 7 years or so.

Jake & his little cousin Bailey were SO cute, holding hands and giving hugs and kisses!

A few minutes after this photo was taken, Bailey did the QUICKEST strip-down I've ever seen. I saw the lightbulb go on, and she just pulled her dress off (lightning fast), her undies off, and unfastened her diaper- saying "water!" "water!" She was determined, I've never seen anybody move so fast! Luckily, my sister grabbed her before she actually jumped in! It was adorable- my sis snapped a quick photo as she raced over ot her. You know how important pix are!

Here are a few pictures of my {COMPLETELY} uncooperative boys. I *had* to do a little photo shoot of them because their outfits coordinated. But it was at the end of a busy{fun} (and virtually napless) day. They were both super sleepy and distracted. We could NOT get them to look at us OR smile. We looked like lunatics, a throng of women behind cameras- all jumping up and down or making arm gestures- and all making every type of crazy noise you can imagine - of course to no avail, because the kids didn't pay one bit of attention to us. I wish we had a picture or video of the adults though!

Once again, I didn't take any pics of the amazing grounds, but here are a few that I came across on the internet.

Above: part of the garden. I love this place!!! Below: the quaint little soap shoppe. I went in and didn't want to come out! They also have a darling little "country store" and an outdoor coffee bar that has the most delicious mango iced tea garnished with fresh mint leaves (for $1.50!). The petting zoo was a bit smaller this year, with just bunnies, chicks & turkeys. That's okay. If you know me and my fear of animal poop, then you know that I was completely fine with that.

On top of all this, they have a nursery and a sunflower maze! (They're so tall and, I hear, easy to grow) I always love watching the little kids dancing around to the live celtic music and walking through the rows of mini fairy gardens that people entered into the contests (like the one below).

This last picture pretty much sums up how Jake spent his day. These girls loved on him and doted on him ALL day long! I barely saw him! (Which made me a little nervous! But I knew he was the absolute center of their attention so he wouldn't be going astray.) They thought he was their BABY! They fed him berries and fruit and played house, rocked him in a chair & took him on wagon rides... oh did he ever love it! I loved hearing that little laugh in the distance as I sat and chilled on our picnic blankets. Can't wait until next year already! (Although next year I won't forget to sunscreen myself ... I'm majorly burnt. My kids, though: not an ounce of pink, thank goodness!)

P.S. What's the deal with Sodium Laurel Sulfate? From an avid internet researcher who doesn't have time to research things anymore. Is it really that bad? I thought my soap was all-natural and healthy, and I just found out that this lovely ingredient is listed SECOND! I assumed since I got it at the soap shoppe that it was fine. Ugh... Why is it in EVERYthing!?!?!

Our Wednesday

THESE THINGS MADE ME SMILE TODAY...

*~ A large Zebra Mocha (from the drive-through cafe) and Quiet Time while in the beach parking lot with two well-behaving kids in the back seat... ahh! Good start to a day!

*~ Watching Jake run back and forth at the beach with GLEE, laughing. This made me smile ALL OVER!

*~ Smothering Austin with kisses, and noticing that no matter what he is doing, every time I kiss him, he smiles. Even when he's entranced by a toy, and I just kiss the back of his head, I notice a quiet little smile come over his face... that is the sweetest thing!!!

*~ Our new book, especially the last line, which has made me tear-up every single night for the last week: "I love you through and through... Yesterday, today, and tomorrow too."

*~ A quick straightening-up of the house, where I only did 50% of the work. Did you hear that?!? I only did HALF of it! My hubby did the other half!!!

*~ Two kids taking two long naps at the same time!

*~ Having lunch ready when my husband came home from running errands, and sitting together as a family to eat.

*~ Sneaking a big, fat, inappropriate kiss (from my hubby) when our visitor was in the bathroom. Then acting like nothing happened when he came out!

*~ Watching Jake follow Kevin around the yard as he was mowing the lawn, back and forth, Jake follows him-- every strip of the lawn!

*~ (ETA) For the FIRST time since his birth (7 months ago), Austin had a day completely free of reflux! Oh momentous day! (I'm adding this one on Thurs, didn't want to speak too soon.)

*~ This: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

*~ Experimental baking ... Putting Oatmeal Cookie Dough into MINI-CUPCAKE trays! Yummy!! Oatmeal cookie cupcakes! (And then eating about 4 of them while they're still hot and gooey, oh so good!)

*~ Sneaking a peek at my husband outside when he's not looking, and seeing that he is emptying the ashes out of the fire pit with JAKES TINY YELLOW SAND SHOVEL!

*~ Being humbled by these blessings, these lives that are such a part of mine.

I love days like these...

Disclaimer: they're not all like this!

A day with my boys

Pictures from a pretty perfect day!

Yesterday I couldn't get Kevin to wake up and go to the beach with us, so after making breakfast, I decided to pack the kids up & just get out anyways. We went to the drive-through coffee shop and then headed to the beach. {P.S. I converted my double stroller to the configuration for two bigger kids, and it works... Austin is big enough, so now he can look around instead of laying flat, yay! Pics to come.}

Anyways, we went on a nice brisk walk and then I set Jake up with his sand toys while I spent some time doing my devotions. Then, the sneaky little woman that I am, I called Kevin and woke him up, telling him how CUTE his boys are at the beach, how much fun they're having and how beautiful it is, and doesn't he want to meet us there, pleeeeeeeze!? (How could he say no to that?!)

We don't get to spend much time out as a little family, so Im' always happy when we are. They were so cute playing at the waters edge, so I had to sneak up on them to get this pic with my camera phone.

Later in the afternoon I did a bit more sneaking... I looked out the window to see Jake "helping" Daddy fix the sprinkler and it was just the cutest thing ever... so I had to sneak up on them and get these pictures. (P.S. E, thanks for helping me remember how to spell "cutest"!)

Isn't Jake so darling, with his little wrench-thing all *ready* to go?

To my So.Cal. friends, can you BELIEVE how hot it was yesterday!?!?! It was like summer!!!! Absolutely beautiful!!!! So both babies were sleeping and I decided to put on my bikini (SCAREY! I have outlawed bikinis since giving birth to my second child! At least for the time being... I have some major work to do before I can sport one in public!), but I put one on, nevertheless, and layed out in my backyard. OOOOHHHHH MY GOODNESS! It was soooo heavenly!!!! Tanning oil and all, I felt like I was about 18 years old! The hot sun, breeze, peace & quiet, relaxation... it was almost unbelievable. I even spent a few minutes reading Life&Style, catching up on my girls Brittney, Lindsey & Angelina. (Shhh... it's our little secret!) I usually get the scoop on this important news when I work because these mags are lying around the breakrooms and stashed in drawers at the nursing stations, but I'm feeling a bit uninformed since I've been on maternity leave!

And, so he doesn't feel left out, and because this picture is just so dang cute... Here's Austin doing tummy time.

Farmer's Market Buys!

Natural Living~~~
I try so hard!!!
What are those 'crystals' in diapers that make them so unnaturally super-absorbant that a baby can pee in them a zillion times and they'll expand to four times their usual size before even feeling wet or leaking? I always wonder. What chemicals am I putting against my son's skin? (I've tried Seventh Generation diapers, no bleach or crystals... better than the others but not as absorbant!) I try so hard to cloth diaper most of the time, but still use disposables sometimes out of convenience. Anyways, every time I throw a disposable out, I think, "that'll take 500 years to biodegrade"... is it worth it? {{Not to mention that nagging question about the chemicals in them!}} Each child creates 2 tons of diaper landfill, which will remain there for 500 years! What am I contributing to the earth, and who will my actions affect and for how long? Long before I'm gone, and my children too. Anyways, I don't consider myself a super crazy environmentalist, but I try so hard to be ecofriendly and... my driving factor is actually the health of my family. And I do get sad about what we do to the earth!

So we've been trying to eat whole organic foods for a while, not always totally successful, but we do alright! I also try to avoid chemicals in the house/yard, but since my veggie garden died, I've actually let some pesticides & fertilizers creep into the garage shelves.

Here's the point of my post! No matter how hard I try, there is so much out of our control! I promise I'm not neurotic or stressed out about this, but it gets to me when I think of it... and I have nothing against China, but I am not buying anything from there for a LONG time because it seems that all of the (MANY) recalls lately have been from there. Like I said, nothing against the country, but there is something lacking in the inspection process or the safety guidelines. So anyways, besides the millions of childrens toys that were just recalled (from China, due to lead as well)... some of the vinyl bibs that we've been using on Jake for the past 6 months were recalled because they *just* found out that they have LEAD in them! Three times the safe levels! (Lead, can cause neurological damage & death!) I'm not afraid, I know Jake is fine, but it really irks me that I bought them here on the shelves of Babies R Us and they are just now finding this out.

Okay, so I'm getting rid of the bibs... feeding him naked & hosing him off afterward :) lol No big deal. But then yesterday I read that plastic baby bottles have toxic chemicals (bisphenol A: BPA), which are released into the bottles contents. BPA can lead to cancer, impaired immune function, hyperactivity & other problems. If your bottles are heated in any way (microwave, sterilizer, dishwasher), then the plastic degrades quicker, releasing more chemicals into the contents. Lovely! Hard polycarbonate BPA containing plastics are the worst, so we should try to use safer, softer plastics, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyamide. Better yet, is glass, or an alltogether BPA-free bottle. So I'm off to Babies R Us to get new bottles/sippy cups. If you are going to do the same, go for either glass or the following brands make BPA-free bottles: Born Free (ALL theirs are BPA-free), Gerber, Sassy, and Medela. Make sure you read the labels, and that they say BPA-free.

P.S. The comment I've gotten from many... we all consumed these chemicals and we're fine. I KNOW! But does that mean I should feed them to my children!?! With cancer and especially autism rates rising to strikingly high numbers... (both with unknown causes)... why not try to live more naturally and healthily?

P.S. I'm not over-protective or controlling or neurotic- I am pretty laid back with Jake, especially when he's out with other people, because I know that things in moderation are good and a little junk food or whatever won't kill him-- but when I can help it, when he's home with me and/or I'm feeding him or changing his diapers or maintaining the home we live in, I am doing so in the most natural, healthy & earth-friendly way that I can. (And I am glad that I am the one doing most of that stuff most of the time!!!) So there's my crazy blog rant #2... hopefully this one was a bit more useful than my last! I am afraid this note will present me as a little high-strung, but oh well. I'm not. (Maybe a little more than usual when I'm pregnant, but not usually!) lol

We LOVE the summertime!!!!

I can't believe it's already the end of August... sad! But in the mean time we're enjoying every minute. {{Well, minus the ones that we're dying of heat, trying to find an excuse to get out of the house.}} Pregnancy and hot non-air-conditioned hot days don't work well together! haha But we've been spending lots of time relaxing in the shade outside, going to parks, beaches, and visiting other peoples pools or air-conditioned malls/etc. One things for sure, if I'm home during the hottest part of the day, I'm absolutely NOT doing anything productive!!! haha I'm usually lounging with baby.



About above pic, yes, I did let Jake sit naked in the grass. I was worried about his poor little bottom getting itchy but he didn't mind. I had to set him down while I ran inside to get a towel & hat before putting him in the little pool (below), but had to take a pic of my little naked boy!



P.S. I have something exciting on my mind... Jake is sleeping better than he ever has!!!! When he was born we put him to sleep with a pacifier because it's one of the recommendations to prevent SIDS. (With the intention of taking it away at 4 months). We never stopped! Until 3 nights ago. The first night was hard, but now he sleeps through the night without any wake-ups, without calling us in there to replace it. I've been absolutely dreading it, but he has learned in just 3 short days how to self-soothe and put himself to sleep on his own. Lastnight he went down without even ONE PEEP... he watched me say goodnight, and rolled over and hugged his "baby" lamb. YAY!!!!!!!!

Really quick, on a different note, I've been inspired recently to try my hand at a veggie garden again. Still trying to figure out where to start, because this time I want to do it right and have enough food to feed my family... but I'm hoping to get one started in the next few months. Seeing pics of my friend's garden totally inspired me, so if anybody has any tips, I would love to hear them! The other thing is that I'm going to pick up some knitting again-- make some things for my new baby, who I am suddenly sooo excited to get things ready for. (Nesting has begun!!!) We don't have much to do to prepare for another BABY (we have everything we need), but there are things around the house that I definitely want to get done before he gets here. We have things that were supposed to be done 16 months ago (when I was "nesting" and preparing the house for Jake), that still haven't been done! We tore out our linen cabinets in the hallway to create a computer nook (with built-in desk and overhead cabinets for linens)... but it's still just an empty nook with the computer sitting on a piano bench and wires strewn across the house!!! Ah, it drives me nuts!! Every time someone comes over I have to explain because it's so embarassing! So we're going to get that done before this baby comes and have someone convert our desktop to "wireless". YAY! My old piano was also sitting on the patio for the last 16 months (since it got put out in the RAIN during hardwood installation...grrr...) and it was finally hauled away last week. (Another thing I'm always trying to make excuses for... our ghetto yard with old pianos and stuff in it... I say "we're still under construction, excuse the mess... for 16 months! Sometimes it's so hard to get things done around here, but I think Kevin is feeling a little "nesting bug" too, thank goodness! He's just as inspired as I am right now! YAY!!!) Little by little! I'm so happy. Getting rid of stuff feels so good! I'm sure I'll keep you all posted on the garden & knitting projects. I can't wait! :)