Mama Re-Grooves

A year of Re-thinking, Re-using, Re-fashioning and Re-purposing

Daily Post

Giving and Giving Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States.  Being Canadian, for me Thanksgiving will always be in October but it is always worthwhile pausing and thinking about all that we have for which we can be truly thankful.

My gratitude list is easy to make. The top 10:

1. My partner, best friend and husband, Javier

2. My two healthy, beautiful, curious and energetic boys, Nash and Rio

3. My FAMILY-parents, siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who love and support us

4. My FRIENDS- back in Canada, here in the USA and spread across various countries who give support, comfort and laughter, nourishing my soul

5. My health- 40 and still able to run after two little boys and able to make my body do pretty much whatever I want it to do

6. A comfortable home

7. Healthy food on the table, in the fridge and easily accessible at farmers’ markets and grocery stores

8. Clothes for all seasons

9. Books

10. Music

It was actually difficult to limit it to 10!!!

It is imperative to me that we teach Nash and Rio the importance of being grateful and the importance of giving- time, help and things. To that end, this morning we went through their toys and books and filled two big boxes of things to give to a shelter for families. I explained to Nash that some people don’t even have homes to sleep in and some children don’t have toys to play with. He “got it”. After we had boxed it all, he decided that he wanted to write a note and draw a picture for the people who would be receiving the things we were giving away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He signed it “Love Nash”. I taped it on the side.

Today, I am grateful for so much. What are you thankful for?

Autumn days

“Daylight Saving Time” has begun- which simply means little boys wake up an hour “earlier” in the day and go to bed at the same time at night- making for chronic sleep deprivation for us all.

It also means that the park gets DARK at 5 pm, cutting into our outdoor play. We have been taking advantage of the light to master the monkey bars and go on the “wiggle waggle” as much as possible. It has been wondrous to see how Nash and Rio are growing close as brothers. Nash has taken to “keeping Rio safe” at the park by spotting him on the playground structures and Rio insists on Nash pulling him on the WW. Nash gave up riding his scooter today to placate Rio’s demands that he (and not Mama) pull him.

A few phone camera shots from this afternoon’s walk.

 

The importance of odd bits

“Let’s make a car.”

The other day I decided that Nash and I should build something together. Rio was still napping and Nash was starting to get fidgety inside the house. I feared he would awaken the beast and I was not yet ready to take them both on again. Nash obviously needed a diversion more active than reading books, so I took out Made to Play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After flipping through the pages, I devised the grand plan that we should construct the Rubber-band Racer.

I assembled the pile of materials: a paperclip, masking tape, cardboard, a rubber-band, a ruler, a pen and scissors. At first, Nash was engaged in the project and helped me measure and cut. However, not 10 minutes had passed before I became the sole auto mechanic and Nash started doing his own thing. After half an hour of fairly precise calculations and nearly exact lines, I managed to create a serviceable replica of the book’s racer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I looked up, anticipating rave reviews for my efforts. The shower of accolades failed to drown my ears, but I was far from disappointed.

Nash proudly held up his creation. With a roll of tape and the odd leftover bits  of my car, he had devised the most wondrous plane I had ever seen. ”It has a flap, see?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I did not see,” I thought, “but now I do.”

Halloween

Halloween is upon us once again. I clearly remember last year, as we had just returned from our trip driving down the eastern coast of Australia in a campervan for a month and we were all so jet-lagged we could barely function. It was also Nash’s first experience trick-or-treating from door to door and he could not believe how he could get free candy by simply putting on a costume and walking around the neighbourhood!

This year’s costume for Nash was decided upon (by him) way back in the beginning of the year when we found a Darth Vader mask at Goodwill. He didn’t forget. I found the rest of a Darth Vader costume (two sizes too large) at the same Goodwill for $2.50 last week and with a few pins here and there, it was perfect. Of course he didn’t wear the mask at all when we out on Friday; rather, he insisted on face paint that was more than anything like an evil Kabuki character. Rio was a mini old Obi Wan Kenobi in a costume that Javier scoffed at because I used a hoodie of mine and some shorts and a belt from Nash. In my opinion, with a bit of face paint, it was better than fine for a two-year old and the acquired objects were few- only his light saber. Both Nash and Rio acquired toy light sabers for their costumes. Unfortunately they are very cheaply produced and they don’t light up as promised. Money wasted? Look at the picture and you decide…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was going to be Han Solo in keeping with the Star Wars theme. However, after figuring out just how many things I would need to buy (used or not), I decided to be a zombie/ghost bride using one of the costumes we acquired from Freecycle. It worked out well and was quick to come together.

I decided the Goblin Walk in San Carlos might be fun- hoping there would be games and activities for young children. I will not ever take the boys to the San Carlos candy grab they call the Goblin Walk again. Not ever. It was a mob of children rushing the stores for mini chocolate bars and suckers. It was insanity and the sugar added to it made for complete chaos.

Halloween is a huge thing here. I grew up with people enjoying Halloween, but I honestly don’t remember pumpkin patches or so many people decorating their houses two or three weeks beforehand. I find pumpkin patches a strange and foreign phenomenon. Oh alright, I will confess:I find them to be money-grabs. Set up a few HUGE bouncy houses to catch the eyes of passing children strapped in car seats, add a few hay bales and over-priced pumpkins and voila! “Pumpkin Patch”. Harumph. Of course the kids love them because they can bounce to their hearts’ content in an inflated plastic houses at inflated prices. Really, I find it annoying and bizarre just how many of these “patches” pop up in urban areas in October.

Rather than buy more stuff, we made our own Halloween “ghosties”. Take an old sheet from goodwill, cut it, stuff the top, use a black felt pen to make a face, tie it with some string and there you go! A fun morning activity with the boys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween everyone!

Time Flies

What a trite and banal statement- really.

Of course time flies! I am the mother of two little boys who have endless and uncontainable energy, which means that the days race by, often leaving me to wonder what exactly it was that we did with our time.

During my absence from MamaRegrooves (is it really two whole months?) I have:

-battled extremely painful psoriasis that covered all parts of my body

-travelled to Canada to visit family for two weeks

-had a nasty and stressful incident with flooding in our Vancouver apartment requiring massive repairs and a battle with our tenants that ended in less than satisfactory results

-travelled to Mexico for two weeks with Javier, Nash, Rio and my mother-in-law who visited a few extra days on either end of the trip all the way from South Africa

-taken an Adventure Travel Writing course with Ellie Rubin at Stanford

It has been a hectic time, to be sure!

I am truly ecstatic to say that my psoriasis is in somewhat of a remission. I was tempted to go on a very heavy drug because the pain was excruciating and keeping me up at night. The worst part was not being able to play with the boys, as having them touch me sent shock waves of pain through my body. How do you explain to a 2 year old child that he can’t sit on Mama’s lap to read a book? After some research online, I came across Healing Psoriasis- the natural alternative and borrowed the book from the library. Despite the skepticism of my doctors, after two months on the very restrictive diet and incorporating some supplements, I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my skin. No more sleepless nights and I can play with the boys! My skin is still rather unsightly and people still stare- but the physical pain is gone.

Canada was two whirlwind weeks of visiting with family and enjoying the Canadian prairies. We visited the Calgary zoo with Grandpa and went for a spectacular walk at Little Bow Park with cousin Ethan. I was sad that I did not get to see both of my grandmothers, as neither one is in great health. However, Nash and Rio visited with their Grandma Hooey, who showered them with love and actually (almost) got them over their fear of dogs. I was amazed that they helped her walk her three dogs one afternoon! I miss Canada and my family and such trips are always bittersweet.

Being a landlord is stressful and not fun. Enough said.

Our most recent trip took us to Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico and to Nuevo Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. We spent two weeks in Mexico surfing (poorly), boogie boarding (slightly more successful), playing in the pool, eating ice cream and tacos and going for short walks. I will write more on www.littlesherpas.com soon. In the spirit of MamaRegrooves, we didn’t load ourselves down with trinkets from Mexico and used yogurt containers for sand toys while playing on the beach. This made for much lighter bags!

Lastly, I attended a course on travel writing last week. It was exactly what I wanted and needed to inspire me to just write. We are revamping Little Sherpas, our travel blog, and I am excited about it! The book on travelling with kids is coming along, albeit slowly- but better that than not at all.

Here are some photos from our recent adventures:

Plastic

As a parent to two busy boys who never seem to stop playing, except to eat, I sometimes wonder what all the plastic that surrounds them is doing to their little bodies and minds. What is it doing to mine???

A couple of months ago I watched Plastic Planet on netflix. It was, to say the least, incredibly disturbing.

My efforts not to acquire new things seems minuscule compared to the efforts of a Bay Area woman who is trying to live plastic free. I heard about Beth Terry and her blog My Plastic Free Life  on NPR a couple of weeks ago.  Her blog is excellent and full of helpful hints regarding ways to cut down on your use of plastic. She has also written a book.

Personally, in part inspired by her, I am now buying even more in bulk and have started using mesh produce bags similar to these that I bought three years ago in Vancouver with my friend Lynn when we went to the farmer’s market. I find that using them for bulk items such as lentils, nuts and popcorn is easy and cuts down even more on our acquisition of plastic.

Less plastic means a healthier me and a healthier planet. Now… to just get rid of those pesky diapers… ;-)

 

Nash’s First Pedal Bicycle

Nash has been asking for a pedal bike for some time now. Abuelo made us promise to stave off the acquisition until he came to visit, as he wanted to be the one to get it for him. Over the past couple of months there have been several appropriate bikes offered on Freecycle, but this was something Abuelo wanted to BUY NEW for Nash, so we passed on those ones and all took a trip to the store to get a new one for him. It was quite the process… getting four adults and one orange obsessed little boy to agree on such an important item. Thankfully, we found one that pleased us all and we took it home.

The Skuut he has been riding has obviously been incredible training, as Nash was able to ride the very first day. It brought tears to my eyes. He is growing up so quickly! Today a bicycle, tomorrow that motorcycle Abuelo keeps talking about…

Attachment

We recently drove to Palm Springs with my father to spend a week frolicking in the pool at a resort. IT WAS HOT! More than hot. It was stifling. It was suffocating. It was it-feels-like-you-are-baking-in-an-oven kind of hot! Nevertheless, we had a great time. We usually went to the pool twice a day: once before it got too too hot in the morning and once in the afternoon before supper. Nash and Rio could not get enough of the water and the slides. They were most sad to leave- the pool as well as the undivided attention of their Grandpa.

Palm Springs is, allegedly, a shopping mecca. There are some outlet stores in Cabazon, about 50 km away and we did indeed visit them. Grandpa bought Nash new shoes, flip flops and some sorely needed socks and treated me to  a new bathing outfit (a cover-up t-shirt counts as a bathing outfit (along with the shorts and a bikini top) now that I am 40 ;-) .

I managed to walk out of the mall without buying anything. Part of me really wanted to buy a summer dress to wear around the pool and out to one of our several dinners of tacos… but I resisted and am glad for it.  I don’t NEED another sun dress- really, I don’t.

I must admit, I like clothes. Pretty clothes. When I was a lawyer with a disposable income I spent money on clothes. Cool, unique, local designer one of kind type of clothes. I had places to wear them… Life has changed monumentally in the past 5 years. I no longer practice law. I no longer buy such fun clothes and I no longer have anywhere to wear them! I mostly feel at peace with all of these changes.

But this post is not about clothes and my attachment to them. It is about other things…

This post is about D’Ugly and my attachment to “him”. D’Ugly is an Ugly Doll that Javier and I bought together about 5 years ago to take with us travelling. He went on so many fabulous trips with Javier and I while we were dating, when we were married and after we had one, then two, kids. He traveled to Asia, Oceania and North, Central and South America. If he’d had a passport, it would have had more stamps than most people.

I lost him in Palm Springs. We were at the pool and I either left him there in the chaos of getting two hungry, tired boys back to a hotel room after a long day in the sun OR someone swiped him. At least, no one turned him in to the lost and found at the resort, so someone else is enjoying his company now. I feel guilt and sadness and loss. Silly? Perhaps… as he was JUST a plush toy- right? Yes and no. He WAS certainly an inanimate object and just another thing in the pile of stuff we have. However, he represented so much more… Memories of trips past. Excitement and curiosity about trips to come. Challenges between Javier and me as to who could get the most interesting photograph of D’Ugly on a trip. Cooperation. Teamwork (as the Wonderpets would laud). A shared sense of adventure. Commitment. Fun.

When you lose a sentimental object, it does mean something, right? Javier is upset. I am upset. I am struggling with this.  I am striving to detach from “things”, as I am not sure the attachment is all that emotionally, mentally or spiritually healthy. The seemingly overwhelming feelings surrounding the loss of this plush toy seems almost ridiculous. It was just a THING. A toy. Sigh. I am sad about the loss and sad that I am sad about the loss. Does that make sense? How do YOU deal with the loss of such things?

Here are some of the last photos I took of D’Ugly the day he left us.

    

 

Baking again: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Nash wanted to bake something, so we chose chocolate zucchini muffins to share at the park one afternoon with our friends. The recipe I came up with was adapted from a recipe found on line here. I found the recipe mostly ok, but even a preliminary consideration of it made me realize that it was waaaay too high in sugar. I also find baked goods like muffins made only with egg whites a bit off in texture, so I used whole eggs. Additionally, because I am careful about taking nuts to the park where some people (kids!) might be allergic, I simply left them out (though walnuts would be a welcome addition and are full of good oils!). They were a total hit and several mamas asked for the recipe! I will admit it… when people want a recipe for something that I have fed them, I feel nourished. MY dream? Own a little restaurant somewhere on a beach some day where I can create good food and baked treats to feed others. For me, that wouldn’t be work… that would be a true labour of love.

Here is the recipe for the muffins we made:

3 eggs

1 cup of thick greek style yogurt (I used non-fat Fage)

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar          2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini

2 cups whole wheat flour       1 cup white flour

1/2 cup bran (I used wheat bran)

1 tsp salt     1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder    1/4 c. cocoa (packed)

Oven at 330 F. Bake for about 12 to 20 minutes, depending on size of muffins…

Mix the wet ingredients and sugar in one bowl. Mix the dry ingredients in another. Add dry stuff to wet stuff and mix until just barely incorporated. It made 6 big muffins and 24 tiny ones!