I gotta be honest, the week started really sour.
Mother’s day morning was not so great. Gabriel kept me awake virtually all night, and was up and ready to start the day at 5:30am (let’s just blame it all on the one who can’t defend himself). But by the evening, Aidan actually saved the day by giving me an ultra sweet card, new little mixing bowls to match my cake stand, a wire basket, shortbread cookies, and a new Marc Jacobs romper that I was eyeing the day before at Bloomingdales. He also left at some point and brought home a feast of crab and shrimp. I talked to my little sister and she wisely said, “life is always just a little better with new clothes and sugar.”
I have to admit, she’s totally right.
Have a fun filled weekend! We’re going to go and see Chris Burden’s Metropolis II at LACMA tomorrow. Gabriel might just FREAK!
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Pretty confusing: let your kids play outdoors, vitamin D is good for you, too much sun can cause cancer, use sunscreen, sunscreen is full of harmful chemicals. As with most things, there’s a lot of conflicting information out there. It can get really overwhelming really fast.
I personally don’t use sunscreen daily and when I do use it, I use “safer” sunscreen. I rely more so on actual blockers, like wearing hats or thin long sleeved shirts. Gabriel on the other hand, refuses to wear anything on his head. On the one hand, I love it, his little head has become more and more blonde and his skin is becoming an enviable tan–I know, it’s super cute, but also probably not so good for him.
The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has released the 2012 list of better sunscreens for kids (and for you). Check out the list here along with a list of the worsts and why they’re harmful. Other articles that talk about the truths about regular sunscreen here and here.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I hear REALLY fantastic things about Josie Maran’s sunblock. I plan on grabbing a tube for myself (and Aidan’s nose) this week.
Summer kicks off in just a few days, and it’s beyond exciting!
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I read the book Bringing Up Bebe a few months ago and thought it was a pretty fun and interesting read. A lot of the tips in it were intuitive, as many parenting books tend to be, but it was still helpful to read it in print. One of the things the author mentions is “snack time” and how American kids tend to get snacks all the time, especially to basically shut them up.
I’m TOTALLY guilty of that, but mostly just in the car. Gabriel has ALWAYS hated being confined to his car seat, and he will scream bloody murder in the car, so I’ve taken to the habit of giving him raisins in the car. I buy raisins in bulk, add in some dried cranberries and mix it all up in a ziplock bag and keep it in the car and whenever he starts to wail, I just take his snack cup and fill it up. It’s awful. I’m always nervous that he will choke on one and I’ll have to make some crazy move on the freeway, but honestly, I have no idea how to keep him quiet so I can drive safely/sanely.
Anyway, Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bebe, writes that French kids only get food four times a day, breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. Snack time is usually around 4pm. When we stay close to home, we’re pretty good about keeping that schedule. I mean, it makes perfect sense to me.
I particularly liked snack time on this day because the colors were so pretty. I try to make sure his foods have lots of different colors, firstly because it’s fun to look at, and also, typically, if your food has a lot of color, it tends to indicate that it’s good for you.
Beige food=boring & not so good.
If anyone has any suggestions about figuring out how to solve my car ride problems, short of noise canceling headphones or playing a constant loop of elmo song, I’d really love to hear it.
Check out another thing I learned in that book, here. And a car ride playlist I created, here that doesn’t help with him screaming, but whatever.
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Today’s Tuesday Etsy Spotlight is Bitezzz, a sleeping bag store hailing from Palmdale, Ca. Inspired by her daughter’s obsession with animals, Ashley Sullivan created these hilarious sleeping bags.
I love the cow one the most, but the others are also incredible!!
How fun would these be at a sleepover! Or if your kids go camping!
I hope you check out her store!!
And don’t forget to “like” Sammy & Claire’s facebook page to get a chance to win $100 for the store!
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Are you mom enough?
This has obviously been making the rounds. I posted this on a mommy group that I belong to and gave my two cents, which are:
1. Who cares if this woman chooses to nurse her child beyond the age that society deems as socially acceptable?
2. Shame on you TIME magazine, for pitting moms against each other by asking, “are you mom enough” and also by using an obviously provocative (in the sense that it is intending to provoke, not that it’s sexual) image during a time when women who choose to breastfeed are trying to find an avenue to make it more socially acceptable. Totes lame.
Some of the mommies in this mommy group shared some opinions about it, on both sides, (sort of). I’m toootally exploiting them, but I thought their opinions were interesting and observations quite astute!
I think it causes a big stink because people express opinions on breast feeding and then pressure women to do it to and to do it their way, like when a famous woman said that not breastfeeding should be illegal. It is just one more thing that society pressures women about. Society loves to argue about personal opinions! We should be loving and supportive of one another, always!
What it boils down to is that all it did was push moms further away from each other. A breast feeding mom is not any better than a bottle feeding mom. It’s hard enough as it is to raise kids in this crappy world, why add more fuel to the fire? Why not help make raising kids easier by not judging each other.
I think they’re making a big stink because 1. he’s 3 and 2. she nurses in public. I nursed both my children, in private, and don’t understand why this 3 year old boy is still being nursed and don’t want to see it either. I think it’s a personal choice and needs to stay private.
Alright, yes, clearly this woman has taken breast feeding to the extreme — it’s pretty obvious that her decision to continue has more to do with her than it does her kid. But who among us doesn’t sometimes have a hard time letting go of these small comforts, rituals, bonding exercises..? I know I do — my daughter is two and a half and I can’t bring myself to take away her binky, even though she clearly stopped needing it a long time ago. I think when people start using language like “that’s disgusting” or “I don’t want to see that in public” it creates a culture of shame for mothers,and never in a million years will you catch me participating in that. To each their own, forever and ever, amen 
As a mother of 3 (I’m currently breastfeeding 1) I say that if people can bottle feed in public we can breastfeed in public. I personally do it in private or with my cover on, but there have been times when I forget my cover and if my baby gets hungry I feed her without it. Breasts were made for breastfeeding it’s too bad that our culture has sexualized them and taken the focus away from their intended purpose.
I nurse my three year old and its ALL about him. MANY moms do not choose to nurse because they want to. I tried to wean twice when I was pregnant with #2. I was so sick of my sore breasts, his constant wanting, groping, etc. right now he still ‘needs’ me to nurse him.
its not extreme. its normal. its a choice.
and another mom, responded with this article, which I loved!
Happy Mother’s Day yesterday!! And apologies for the ten day hiatus!! We’re back!
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We had to take a few family pictures yesterday, for a little project we’re doing. I wanted to share them with you, because I love them so, but also because I wanted to show off Gabriel’s awesome sweatshirt.
Gabriel’s sweatshirt was a gift from a brand new store, just launched yesterday in fact! Sammy and Claire carries high-end luxury brands that are also socially responsible and eco friendly…and their buyers have an amazing eye–all their kids’s clothes are mega stylish! Love!! Find Gabriel’s adorable Stella McCartney sweatshirt here.
To celebrate their launch, Sammy and Claire are hosting a contest and giving away $100 to one lucky fan in the month of May! Visit their Facebook page here and make sure you “like” them to enter the contest! The winner will be chosen at random on May 15.
photographs by Martine.
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Today’s etsy spotlight features wooden dolls by goosegrease. A family project, goosegrease prides itself on it’s sustainable business featuring a fair trade agreement with a Colombian craftsman who provides supplies! Bravo!
You can custom order dolls to look like your own little (or big) family, or maybe even just you and your loved one! Or if that sounds boring to you, why not play pirate checkers with the wooden dolls!?
I think these dolls are so beautiful and really, the kind of toys that you’d want to keep and display well after your little ones are done with them! Another cool thing, wood is naturally antibacterial, so slobber away!
I hope you check her store out, Anna Donado’s goosegrease is one of my new favorite etsy stores!
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We’ve gotten into the fantastic habit of making green smoothies in the morning. They’re a really fantastic way to get lots of nutrients in one delicious cup. Unlike juices, smoothies are whole foods that are blended smooth so you still get all the complete nutrients that are often lost when you juice things. Juicing, as you might imagine, really retains only the juice and all the sugar minus the fiber.
We basically use whatever is available when we make these smoothies. For this particular one, I threw in two bunches of lettuce, one avocado, two large leaves of basil, two cups of raw kale, a cup and a half of frozen blueberries, a cup of strawberries, half a frozen banana, two table spoons of superfood blend, and for the liquid, I used unsweetened cranberry juice.
In making smoothies, we always incorporate these basic elements:
Fat. The good kind. This might be coconut meat (get a whole coconut and use the coconut water as your liquid), generous heaps of almond butter, or avocado (my favorite additive as it adds a lot to the texture).
Greens. This is typically kale, but sometimes its lettuce, spinach or if you’re hardcore, I’ve also had a lambs quarter smoothie which was umm, not as yummy.
Fruit. This is typically to make it sweeter and more palatable, so we use frozen berries as they are low in sugar, full of flavor and antioxidant rich. Frozen (as opposed to fresh) berries are also much cheaper to buy organic, and as texture doesn’t matter much for this, frozen is perfect. Bananas are very high in sugar, but they will add to the texture and add a lot of sweetness with very little banana. When our bananas are overripe, I peel them and stick them in a freezer safe container and save them for smoothies!
Liquid. You need something to help your blender mix it all up. You can use water, almond milk, rice milk, coconut water, aloe juice or like in this one, unsweetened cranberry juice–good for your bladder and adds a yummy tang!
Supplements. If you want it to be over the top in nutrition. We use superfood blend or spirulina. But there are other great ones to add too, like flax! It’s really up to you!
Blend it all up and watch your whole family get into it. I guess our smoothies aren’t green as much as they are brown from the dark antioxidant rich ingredients and powders!
He loves it. Also, please don’t call child services on us for that crazy purple bruise on his forehead; learning to walk is dangerous business.
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Would you ever let your 4 month old baby get his face licked by a wolf? I did. I totally did. I gave my baby to the wolves. Aidan’s brother Palo is involved in an organization called Wolf Connection, which, in a nutshell, seeks to rescue wolves or partial wolves that were domesticated and later abandoned for various reasons and also educate young people about these creatures.
Aidan and I went on a hike with them years ago, but I wanted to take Gabriel to meet them too. They’re such beautiful creatures, majestic, incredibly intelligent and sensitive. They’re unlike regular dogs. They move differently and have different social cues amongst themselves.
The organization, located just outside of Los Angeles, goes on monthly hikes with the wolves. When we went years ago, we got to take the wolves on leashes and hike with them, but today they have handlers who take the leashes, and you just walk alongside them.
I highly encourage you to go and take your little ones with you. It might seem scary, but it is life altering. After you hike with them (it’s an easy hike) they retreat back to their dens and the MOST special thing happens… if you’re lucky… they howl. They all howl together and sing harmoniously.
I’d like to go on the hike in May, so that it won’t be too hot! If you’d like more information about Wolf Connection, or if you’d like to join them on the hike, check them out here.
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Mother’s day is right around the corner. I like to send out cards for all the mommies in my life, but once in awhile, I send something in the mail that is a little bigger than a card. Just something fun for the moms in my life.
1. Bathing Girls Tea Cups. My former intern, Alex, is living in Japan, just posted a picture with these. I was interested in them before, now I’m just obsessed.
2. Blooming Tea Bombs. I bought these flowering tea bombs once upon a time. I saved them for so long because I was waiting for a special occasion. I ended up saving them TOO long and they were brittle and broken once I finally tried one. The moral of the story: every day can be a special occasion. Use your flowering tea bombs.
3. Sweet Paul Magazine. Aidan turned me on to this magazine. It’s so stylish.
4. Shortbread Cookies. I have recently discovered that I love shortbread cookies. I love that they’re not too sweet and perfect for an afternoon snack.
5. Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin. This book had me in buckets of tears, love and appreciation of my little family. Warning, he curses… A lot. I’ve got the mouth of an exceptionally foul-mothed pirate, so I didn’t even really notice.
6. Set of Two Ceramic TV Dinner Trays.We’re always looking for vintage TV dinner tray tables. These would be so fun to have once we finally find the perfect ones!
7. Josie Maran Hydrating Body Butter with Argan Oil. Natural, organic moisturizer!
