Quick Release Knots

I haven't ridden (for real) in a very very long time. I stopped riding horses when I was in Jr. High and in the 15 years that have followed I can count on one hand how many times I have mounted a horse and ridden. So, I was a bit surprised when I went to tie Nino up to brush him and prepare him to ride, that my hands remembered how to tie a quick release knot. It is all coming back. Very slowly, but it's there. We got to ride Nino in a local arena here in town today. It was beyond fun. But more than anything, I most loved my trail ride with Sage. Cut away into the small mountain surrounding the arena is a short trail. Sage and I "climbed" the mountain and then ducked our way through overgrown trees, all the while, chit chatting about everything under the sun. It was priceless. Here are some pictures from our fun day.

Farewell to BBC, Hello Nino

Ryan and I took the kids out on Monday to spend some birthday money. We headed toward the outlets to our favorite store, Balboa Beach Company. We unloaded the kids and made our way to the store only to discover that the store had been closed down; the owner was ready to retire. What?! We were in disbelief, probably still are. Where else can I find really cute $4 shirts? It's weird when your go-to store disappears! We will have to improvise. Hey, at least Ross has not shut down.
On the flip-side, Martha bought a new horse, Nino. And get this -- we can ride him!! Okay, so most of you don't know, but just two weeks ago we had 4 horses, but only 1 rideable one, (at least rideable for Sage). Now we have 4 horses again (sold one, got a new one), with 2 rideable ones. And this horse wants to stand and look pretty more than anything : ) We even saddled him up tonight and Ryan, Darren and I walked him around. We were acting like 2 yr. olds -- all gitty and excited! This is a fun new adventure. So, adios BBC, hola Nino! (I don't think Ryan would quite agree it is an equal trade, but with his new cowboy hat, it might come close!)

Acquired Taste

I have to admit that I tried the Endangered Species chocolate (Milk Chocolate with Rice Crisp) again today and it is actually really tasty. Dangerously tasty. All of the organic ingredients must require a day to acquire the taste. I am way too used to the highly processed, over-sugared Hershey Kisses. Stepping in a tastier and more humane direction.

Bittersweet

Ryan and I fasted from chocolate for lent. We did this because some 40% of the cocoa beans used to produce chocolate (Hershey, M&M/Mars, etc) come from the Ivory Coast of Africa, where there are over 12,000 children who have been forced into slavery. Haven't a clue as to how the words "slave" and "chocolate" are linked? Go to a few of these articles ....

• 'Slavery' behind Easter Chocolate
• Chocolate & Slavery
• Chocolate and Child Slavery: Unfulfilled Promises of the Cocoa Industry

We took the 40 days to contemplate and decide what our responsibility is to this issue. We concluded that we would only buy "fair trade," chocolate. That is, chocolate produced without the labor of enslaved kids. Trader Joe's actually carries a really good Milk Chocolate bar which is fair trade. And a local market in town carries many of the Endangered Species chocolate bars, which I haven't really taken to, but you might. I found a great website which lists those chocolate producing companies which are "fair trade." Here is the link:
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/retailers.html

Really, when it comes down to it, how much chocolate do I really need to eat anyway? And I know fair trade purchases aren't the most convenient or cheap, but it's the right decision, for us, anyway.
p.s. I started this blog with the intention of posting some fun Easter pictures of the girls, but somehow that just doesn't seem to fit with this whole slavery-kid theme. So, you'll have to wait for the pics. Sorry!

Was lost but now I'm found

I have always loved the lyrics and melody to "Amazing Grace." And I have always sung the verse, "I was lost, but now am found," with fervor, conviction and joy. But I don't think it was until just recently that I fully understood the concept of being lost and then found.
You see, Auntie Holly bought Sage this really (really, really, really!) cute Roxy jean-jacket for no other reason than Holly being an extremely giving person and a sucker for cute girl apparel. She bought it for Sage about a year ago and it was a bit big and Sage wasn't really into jackets. But recently Sage had taken to the jacket and it was chilly enough for a month or so for her to wear it, so she did. And then just a couple of weeks ago I went in search for the jacket for Sage to wear and it was no where to be found. After calling all of the grandparents and searching every bag, corner and toy box in our house, I had almost given up. When I thought of the lost jacket I felt sad. It was a really nice jacket and Ryan and I would never spend the money to replace it (unless it was like 90% off the sale price or something). A few days past and I continued to share my agony at loosing the jacket with Ryan. Then he and Sage went camping at a local lake. While at the lake they were rummaging around the truck to find something and lo and behold what do you think they found? The jacket! Ryan called me immediately. He said, "Guess what I found?" I couldn't believe it, "No way, you found the jacket?" "Yup," he replied. Relief and joy came over me.
And as I sang this ever so familiar song on Easter Sunday I could sing it with a better understanding, having lost something and then found it just a day ago. Except it's not a thing that has been lost and found but myself; a soul, a heart, a mind. And I can't even imagine the joy God feels when another lost soul has been "found." Much more joy then that of finding a jean jacket, I am sure.

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

John New­ton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­i­ver, 1779)

Community Week

This has been a great week. Tuesday a.m. my good friend Tracy stopped by with her kids to play. Then in the afternoon we had a "random stop-by" (i.e. stop by the house unannounced) by Cory. She stayed and chatted for a bit about her soon-to-be boyfriend and then Michaela came over shortly after that to hang out, eat dinner with us and watch a movie (The Prestige). Wednesday Jackie took me kayaking around the lake, and Wednesday night Darren and Kate brought Palazzio's down for dinner and then we went to Carrow's for dessert. Thursday a.m. I met up with Danielle and the girls for a play date in the park and Thursday night I got to go experience "the labyrinth," (our Good Friday service which consists of stations which walk you through Passion Week). Friday my dad came and picked up the girls and I got to go to work and then meet up at my dad's later on for dinner. And now it is Saturday and we had the church Easter egg hunt this afternoon and now the girls are taking their naps. Tomorrow is Easter and I will be up at 5:30 a.m. to go to the sunrise service that our church puts on. Oh! And Aspen got to try on her "new" (Sage's old) shoes that match Sage's new shoes ... I should be so lucky to be surrounded by so many loving people!

Dogs, birthdays & slavery.

Well, I am 29 now. There is no going back. Really it was a wonderful birthday. Ryan and I got to do some kid-free shopping, see the movie Reign Over Me (Adam Sandler), and go to dinner. On Sunday, my actual birthday, we attended the conference, One Voice to End Slavery, in Costa Mesa. That is a whole other blog in itself, one that I am trying to get my mind around but don't even quite know how to do it justice in a blog. Maybe after some more thinking I will venture to write about the 27 million slaves (many of whom are kids) in the world. Here is a website, at least, in case the slavery issue is new to your realm of thinking too: http://www.freetheslaves.net/

On a funnier note, Sage and I had this conversation today:
We were walking on a the bike path and we saw a black Labrador. I told her that Jasmine (our walking dog) is a Yellow Labrador. And the rest of the conversation went something like this ...

Sage: Robert has a black lab
Mom: Yes, Robert does have a black lab. What is her name?
Sage: Shadow. She is a girl, mom?
Mom: Yes, she is a girl. What about Cheyenne, what kind of dog is she?
Sage: (silence)
Mom: A border collie.
Sage: Oh, yeah, a border collie.
Mom: What kind of dog is Tina?
Sage: A chiwawa.
Mom: Who else is a chiwawa?
Sage: Pepper.
Mom: Right. What kind of dog is Shea?
Sage: (silence)
Mom: A Brussels-Griffen.
Sage: A BrusselsGriffen.
Mom: What kind of dog is Chica?
Sage: A big polka-dot dog!
Mom: Yeah, you are right, she is a big polka-dot dog. She is called a Pointer.

Just the sweet moments of life .... now Aspen is up from her nap so my blogging time has expired. No picture today : )

Emerging Again

So after Aspen recovered from her double ear infection, Sage (Sunday night) barfed from 1-3 a.m. and was running a fever all day Monday. Then I came down with the stomach flu on Tuesday and it literally took me out. I could not move. Wednesday I felt about 75% and today I feel pretty good but lots of stomach gurgling. But, the kids feel good, it is sunny, and I turn 29 on Sunday! Tomorrow, Ryan and I get to head off to Santa Barbara to play around and eat at Chad's (thanks Holly & Joel!), which is where I had my first taste of lobster at the prime age of 21. One thing's for sure, you couldn't pay me to be 21 again. Here are some recent pics of the kids ....

Guilt

I don't remember coming across the chapter titled, "Guilt" when I was reading my parenting books and magazines. And yet it is a part of my every day life, sometimes in the background and sometimes in the forefront. Like today, for instance. Aspen has been cranky since Monday and running a fever since Tuesday, so I took her to the doctor today. Come to find out she has a double ear infection (i.e. ear infection in both ears). Oh, that's why she has been screaming at me for two days. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Then of course it is I who made her sick because I weaned her from her morning snack/recreational suckling on Monday and so she must not have been getting the antibodies that she needed to fight the infection. Again, guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt. We moms have to make so many decisions everyday that we are bound to mess up here and there and feel guilty for things that are out of our control. At least I took her to the doctor today and didn't decide to wait it out over the weekend!

Ice Cream Sandwhich

My latest indulgence is a raspberry sorbet ice cream sandwhich. Take one Trader Joe's Cinnamon Grahm crackers and break in half. Spread a couple tablespoons of Haagen-Dazs Raspberry Sorbet on one of the cracker halves and then top it with the remaining cracker. Nutritional Info: 120 cal, 2 gms fat. Never mind the fact that I do this about 3x/day ....

Summer in March?

For all intensive purposes it is summer, so we are "doing" summer. Yesterday we dusted off the kiddy pool, blew it up and let the kids splash around and get soaked until about 6:30pm. Today we went to the pool and tonight Sage and Ryan rode their bikes around until about 7:15 pm. As if it isn't hot enough Aspen insists on wearing this puffy striped hooded sweatshirt that one of her aunties got her. She sees it and sqawks at us until she is all suited up, ready for snow? And Sage cannot be parted with a skirt my sister got her for Easter last year. She pairs it with her pj's, under dresses, over shorts, or with whatever she is wearing. If I had to pick an item that she would wear over and over again, this would be the one. Thank God it's not one of those Dora shirts or something! While I would probably be okay with it, Ryan would have some serious issues, being the fashion police of our family and all.

Seasons

I asked my friends today if being tired is just our new way of life as moms. One of my friends responded that there are seasons of motherhood; some with energy, some without. I continued to yawn as we discussed the afternoon lull that hits right around 2pm, and the pot of coffee (at my house anyway) that is brewed and consumed to march on through the day. I am even getting sleep -- straight sleep at that! The girls have been sleeping through the night for like 7 days now. I have to laugh at myself while I write this down. Okay, so 7 days of great sleep is suppose to repair the gazillion hours of sleep I have lost over the past 3 years? Not totally logical. But, I did have a spurt of energy today and I cleaned our bathroom. It had been a while ... like a really long while. Those of you who know me best know just how long this could be, so I am glad the energy burst came today before some green monsters started crawling out of the toilet bowl!

Half-a Paper Towel

My grandpa (well, he is actually Ryan's grandpa, but by default he is mine since I don't have any other grandpas), tears paper towels in half as a form of conservation. Well, this was until he could buy the nifty little half-a paper towels. Have you seen them? Maybe by accident you thought you bought the "big" towels and then you go to tear one off and realize it's a bit smaller. This is after you have already bought the economy pack, which will now last you well over a year. It used to bother me. The tearing of the paper towel, I mean. I don't know why it did. Something inside of me screamed, "But I want the whole thing! Not just half!" Sounds like good old American consumerism to me. However, after using these half-a paper towels for quite some time I started to see that they weren't so bad. And somehow a roll of the "big" towels snuck it's way into the house and I tore one off only to find myself tearing that huge towel in half! It felt too big in my hands ... like, who needs such a large towel to wipe their face off with? So thank you Grandpa for inadvertently showing me that I need to put away gold fish laying about that might grow stale, and reminding me to re-use paper plates that have only crumbs on them from a piece of toast, and most of all, that half-a paper towels are the only way to go!

All the sippy cups are washed

A week ago tomorrow Ryan and I left for a mini-vacation to Tahoe. I have undergone a flurry of emotions in the past 7 days. From excitement and anxiety at leaving the girls behind, to utter relaxation while up in Tahoe, from excitement again at seeing the girls after 3 days of their absence quickly followed by fatigue at taking up motherly responsibilities again. Today, 4 days after our return home I feel my old, motherly self again; the house is somewhat tidied up tonight and I have a bit of energy to type out all the events of my life. And, of course, the sippy cups are all washed and lined up, ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

Happy Birthday Aspen!

We celebrated Aspen's 1st birthday this morning (just the 4 of us). Sage helped me make some muffins and we topped them with icing and sprinkles. Aspen likes cakes -- not unlike her sister : ) We also opened some presents. Sage passed down "Thumper," her very first rocking horse. She wrapped it with dad and handed Aspen the pink slip : ) We also wrapped another gift that we had never taken out since Xmas ... I know, we are so bad! Aspen knew know difference and won't unless this blog is still around when she is of reading age : ) Check out the pics.

Masquerade

Ryan and I got to go to a Masquerade Ball this past weekend. Well, okay, so it wasn't quite a ball, but I definitely felt like Cinderella escaping from her chores to meet prince charming. I was, of course, escaping from our sick house and I, of course, got to go hand-in-hand to the ball with my husband, but you get the point. We won first prize for best dressed but turned back into our old selves at the decent time of 9:30 p.m. We were in the Not-So-Newlywed Game show and got last place! Can't win at everything, I guess. See here for some pictures.

Virgin Mimosas

Because I am always thinking about how to make my days as a stay-at-home mom more exciting and creative, I bring you the virgin mimosa. There is something about drinking my beverages out of a wine glass lately that makes me feel normal; not the tired, boring mommy who just wants to get in a good nap and and type an uninterrupted email, that I am really feeling like. I bought some orange juice at the store the other day. Not something I normally do because, let's face it, real oranges are much cheaper and do just as much good as the juiced stuff. But, I was feeling a tingle in my throat and I thought I would reward myself with some orange juice in a glass. When I poured my first glass I realized I also had some Diet Hansen's (made with Splenda, Tangerine-Lime flavor) in the fridge. Oh, that might be sort of fun, I thought. And it was! It was fizzy and sweet and drinking it out of the wine glass added the perfect touch. When life gives you lemons, make Lemon-lime-tangerine Mimosas!

Change of Plans

At first I was tentative about our Tahoe trip, but then I got really excited thinking about all the quality time Ryan and I would have together. After Sage's first asthma incident we were still thinking of going, although I was pretty hesitant. If the next two nights go fine, we thought, then it would seem safe to go. Then Sage woke up with wheezing the next night again (Sunday at 4 a.m.). Okay, so no Tahoe trip. But we thought it would be fun to at least go to lunch and a movie on Monday, assuming that Sage would be getting better by then. Then Sage was up all night with a hacking cough Sunday night and her fever continued through Monday. Alas, we made the doctor appointment to give me peace that there wasn't anything else we should be doing to help Sage. He mentioned that we shouldn't be too quick to use the term asthma and then mentioned something about a bronchio spasm. Yes, continue to give Tylenol and Advil for the fever but other than that, this is a viral infection and it just needs to run it's course. Before the doctor's appointment we were thinking, "okay, maybe just lunch today." After the doctor's appointment, and after the lack of sleep from the night before set in, we opted for a nap at home; no movies, no lunch. There will be other times for getaways I guess. It's just funny (maybe not so funny) how completely opposite our weekend turned out to be. So, please continue to pray that Sage's body would quickly fight the infection and that we would all get some much needed sleep!

Great Advice

I read in a magazine that when administering medications to your children you should use a white board eraser pen to jot down the times & doses on your bathroom mirror. That way, when you wake up at 1 a.m. you can glance at the notes and know if you should dose your child with more "yummy grape stuff." I remember sort of laughing at the idea; like, why can't you remember the time you gave your child his medication? Sage had an asthma attack a couple of nights ago and she is also battling some sort of infection since she has been running a fever of 104. My mirror reads:

• Ibuprofen: 11 pm
• Tylenol: 9 pm
• Albuterol: 5 am
• Nebulizer: 11 pm

I get it now. No laughing involved.

SMART SPIN

I didn't even know the name of this marvelous organizer until just seconds ago. My mom bought me a SMART SPIN for my last birthday (almost a year ago). You have seen the infomercial; A lady opens up her cupboard and all of her mismatched tupperware falls right in her face. Yeah, that one. I started using the containers but hadn't fully realized the beauty of this gift until I finally took the base/spinner thing out of the box, handed it to Ryan and said, "Here, put this together." Part of the delay in putting all the pieces together was an overcrowded pantry, hence, no room for the spinner. Somehow the kids were distracted enough during the week and I rearranged everything to make room for the SMART SPIN. All I can say is that I wish I would have done it a year ago. It really does make my life a little easier.