Heart to Heart

In the soft blue hovering
haze of dawn you hold
my belly between your
hands and head, soft curls
and rough brush of unshaven
cheek, you whisper in a
voice that is between you
two only, soft and silly
and turning over rocks to
discover what lives beneath.
I laugh; baby learns your Read more »

Vaccines?

Choosing whether or not to vaccinate my baby was one of the most difficult parenting decisions I had to make. Back in the day, people were happy just to have vaccines, but nowadays, there is so much controversy around them, you can’t take it lightly. When it was time to take my daughter to her first doctor appointment, I knew that I had to go equipped with the necessary knowledge or be bulldozed by an M.D. Read more »

Free Range Kids

I just read a great excerpt from the book Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy, a New York mom infamous for letting her nine-year-old ride the subway alone. What I found most fascinating was all the hupla surrounding this scenerio. Does it matter whether the kid was nine or eighteen? As the saying goes, age is just a number. It is the maturity of the child that is most important. In this case, her son, Izzy, was asking to be allowed to ride the subway alone and only after much deliberation and precautions taken did they allow him to.

This enters into a whole discussion about today’s standards of safety as Skenazy goes into in her book. Read more »

A Scare for Mommy

I have been considering how much I have learned from my mistakes over the course of my lifetime. When I was a teenager, I learned to drive a  far distance from the car in front of me after crashing my dad’s Jeep while playing hooky from school. As an adult, I learned not to rush and to be aware after I knocked off a stock pot hanging from a rafter while putting away groceries and broke my nose. Yet, even with these lessons, I still understood that sometimes whether you survive or not is just a matter of luck. When I had a kid, that thought scared me so much, I tried to just push it out of my mind.

However, today, that realization came back and so did the fear. Read more »

Spring Photos

This is our home. Spring is the nicest time because things are just turning green and bulbs are blooming and yet, the weeds have not yet quite begun to take over. They will; trust me. The Santa Barbara River runs along our southern border and our land is super fertile. This year I have decided to not fret over the weeds too much, but to let them be. While trying to maintain this attitude, I have been writhing internally and having nightmares of being overtaken by thistle, clover and dandelions.

Ahhh, but then there are lilacs. And they make everything okay again. I had to water them like crazy and chant spells over them this year to get them to bloom. It was worth it. As you can see only the parts with the most sun exposure actually got flowers, but it is enough to fill my house with vases full.

And of course there are tulips. You put so much hope into these little suckers in the autumn and when they appear, it is like winter and all the hibernating and dormant activity and fun can bloom with them. They are like a kiss from spring, that is why they are called two lips (i have decided).

Speaking of hope, I have put so much planning and love into this year’s garden, I feel like I will wilt if it doesn’t succeed. This is my second year growing in this location and this year I am researching and keeping diligent notes, as well as, digging, tilling, mulching, watering and singing. I am direct sowing everything; hence, the row covers. I even have the sprinkler set up on a timer for when I am gone and the acequia is closed. All organic, of course. Wish me luck!

Acupuncture after Pregnancy

I started seeing an acupuncturist for my shoulder. I don’t know what is wrong with it, but it hurts. I can imagine straining it while lifting a baby several times a day, carrying a baby on my back or simply nursing hunched over. While I thought I was getting treatments solely for my shoulder, I actually learned that I needed much more as a woman recovering from childbirth and pregnancy. Read more »

Love: From Caterpillar to Butterfly

A librarian friend gave this to me, so that is the first clue that this is a good book. Unfortunately, I gave it to my daughter a little too young and she tore out the super special pop-out surprise in the end. I don’t want to give it away, but you can figure it out. Anyway, this is a great book for spring and a great book for a little one learning their colors. Read more »

The Nursery

We bashed in walls when we moved here, tore
up floors, destroyed remnants of past owners to
make it our own. The remaining saltillo tiles pave

a walkway through living space and kitchen to
back rooms polished with white paint soon to be
marked by short sticky fingers. A room of her own, Read more »

Love: The Ergo Baby Carrier

The Ergo Baby Carrier

There are plenty of baby carriers on the market, but my favorite is the Ergo. Although a big fan of the sling, especially when my daughter was a newborn, I still used the Ergo for when we went out hiking, wearing her on my front and using the newborn insert that you can buy separately. Read more »

Discussing Death

Sadly, my father-in-law passed away last week. He was a big fan of my blog as he was a supporter of everything we did. He will be greatly missed. His passing made me consider how adults discuss death with their children. My daughter is too young for the talk, but some day we will have to face it.

When I was a kid, my parents did not talk to me about death. When a close friend died, I was mostly kept in the dark about what was happening. After talking to people about it, I found that this is a common experience. Since both my parents were not religious, they lacked the easy answers that religion often provides. I have also chosen to not be religious, but it is important to me that my daughter does not feel left out of the discussion about death.

Though not religious, I am spiritual in the sense that many of my values and philosophies are faith-based. For example, I believe in reincarnation. My husband is not as convinced. No matter. When my daughter is ready to discuss death, I will tell her the truth. That nobody knows what happens after we die, and if they say they do, they are just guessing. Read more »