Thursday, July 22, 2010

Thank You


So this week we went along with Perry to Des Moines, Iowa where he needed to travel for work and we decided to add a little family time into it for a mini vacation. Because he was there for business I was left alone with the kids for a huge portion of the time. Every time we ventured outside of the hotel room I kept hearing "Are they all yours?" "Boy, you have your hands full!"over and over again. As if I wasn't stressed enough being in a strange town, on my own with four kids did they really think that these comments were helping?

Well, on our last day there I decided I was going to try an Art Museum with the kids. About 2 minutes after we walked in, Taj walked up to a painting and touched it. This sent the woman right over to us telling my two year old that he was not allowed to step off of the carpet. This sent my two year old into instant tears (She was not mean, she was just doing her job and Taj is really sensitive when being corrected). So I grabbed hands and walked right back out the door. We got outside and I took a deep breath and thought, "No, we came all this way and Zola and Ajay really want to do the treasure hunt. Everyone else thinks I am overwhelmed, maybe I am and we should just go back to the hotel."

Instead of listening to all of the negatives in my head and heading straight for the car, I decided to get some fresh air in the rose garden behind the Museum. Let the kids run around and maybe they will be ready for a quiet space after that.


So, after about 30 minutes of running around in the hot sun I decided we were ready to try this again. We walked to the van and got the stroller which Taj willingly crawled up into and Peylyn was in the Ergo. We walked back to the main doors and went in. We went back to the lobby to get the treasure hunt board and start all over again. We had to go past the woman that had sent Taj into tears earlier and he waved and said hello. So at this point I am thinking, ok we can do this. Then an older lady walks up to me and I feel myself stiffen and wait for the inevitable "Gee, do you have your hands full." comment. But it doesn't come...She looks at Peylyn in her Ergo and tells me "Of all of the babies I have seen being carried around next to their moms heart like this, I have only seen one that was crying." I replied with "At her first whimper, I am able to nurse her without even breaking my stride." She hugged my shoulders and told me to keep up the good work. It was all I could do to hold back the tears.

Being a mom is challenging enough, why do people feel the need to point out the obvious? We need more people like this woman telling us what a great job we are doing. Though I will never see her again, I hope that some how she may know how she really turned my day around. It was her praise that not only got me through our trip, but we had an awesome time searching for pieces of art and learning new things.

I even was relaxed enough to let out a loud laugh that rang through the entire place when Zola commented on how small the penis was on a particular sculpture.

Friday, July 2, 2010

New WildTree Rep in Town

Well here we go, I am going to try this one last time. Third time is a charm right? I have tried this "selling" thing before and failed, but I have a good feeling about this one. I joined the ranks of WildTree pushers the yesterday under Rachel. I really felt that I needed to give it a try since I really do feel that it is something that I can stand behind. When Perry comments that I might want to look into it because it has really helped my cooking then I know that this could be something worth looking into.

My order from my party was small, but what I do have (grape seed oil, fajita blend, korma curry and Thai red curry paste) gets used almost every day and I want more. I have found that these spice blends have really helped with my cooking creativity. Trust me, a lot of that is needed when you are cooking for 2 meat eaters, 2 vegetarians and one child on the raw/breastmilk diet (Taj). I am anxious to see where Peylyn winds up with her choices of food once she starts eating.

Today I was really craving some hummus, but my lack of tahini in the house had me thinking that I should make something else with my garbanzo beans. As I was standing there trying to come up with something for lunch I noticed my left over guacamole blend from my tasting. I thought I would give it a try and I wound up with an AWESOME batch of hummus!!!!!

Thomasa's WildTree Hummus:

1 Can Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
4 1/2 tsp WildTree Guacamole Blend
2 Cloves of Garlic
Juice from 1/2 of a Lemon
1 Tbs Grape Seed Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy (you may need to add a little water). Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

This stuff was seriously good and really hit the spot! I sat down at the table with a huge plate of veggies, a ton of hummus and New Moon and enjoyed an incredible lunch!!!!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Fun in the Sun

The kids and I had a great day today. On our way to return a really over due library book, the exit we had to take off of the highway was closed. So I called a friend to give me some detour instructions. I got a little lost and Zola blurts out "Mom you are going south so you have to turn around." She gets a little panicked when she thinks we are lost and starts yelling out directions. I said "No I am heading west and that is where I need to be going." So this started up an entire conversation about the sun and how you can tell your direction or what time of day it is. Ajay, the creator of many things decided that we needed to make a sundial so that he would always know what time it is when he is playing outside.

For once I decided to not say "Sure, we'll do that one day," and instead make today that day.

So after we got back from the library and a new playground, we got to work (well, after Taj and Peylyn were down for their naps). We got on the computer and googled sundials and found some great info and directions on the BBC sight here.

I wanted to make it more sturdy than what they were showing so I pulled out a piece of wood that Zola brought home from summer school last year and we decided that it would be perfect.


We made the markings on the wood with a razor blade and then filled in the lines and marked the numbers with a marker. Then we traced the gnomon onto cardboard and cut it out so that it would be more sturdy. We wrapped it in tape and nailed it to the base.


The only thing that I was lacking for this project was a compass (and sadly that was a pretty important part). But I pulled out my cell phone and got the time and placed our fantastic sundial on the ground so that the shadow was on the right hour. I couldn't have been too far off because it kept pretty good time all afternoon and best of all, my kids were beyond thrilled.


Then, this evening I got to have my own fun in the sun. For a rare treat I was able to go to the movies with a friend and enjoy the movie "Eclipse." Ah yes, it was a good day had by all. I must add that after Twilight I was a total "Team Edward" fan, but New Moon and Eclipse have definitely put me on the "Team Jacob" benches. I don't know if I can stand to wait until November 2011 for the first part of Breaking Dawn to come out! They better get part 2 out before December 2012, otherwise no one will be around to watch it! LOL!!!!!