Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Relativity
I'm about to give up on relativity. I want to be an absolutist. And I want to toss out my preconceived notions of highs and lows. I want to live in the moment and declare it a high. Every single one of them. Except, of course, the ones that totally kick me in the gut. I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with those yet. I'll let you know when I figure it out. Or maybe you can give me a clue.
For the past few days, I've been trying to smile on my commute to work. Do you know how good it feels to smile at pure randomness? It's awesome. Sometimes, I see something and I think "wow, that's cool". Other times, I see something and I force myself to think of something good.
______
The Dalai Lama published this on Facebook yesterday.
"
______
I've been reading a lot of words meant to heal.
After rain, beautiful flowers.
Understanding sadness makes the joy more real.
Only through death can we experience life.
But I don't think it has to be this way. Or maybe I just don't want it to be this way. Why can't I look at the daffodil fighting to get through in my garden and know joy, without contrasting it with the dark earth that appears so sullen? Better yet, why can't I look at the dark earth and say to myself "that earth is perfectly placed and beautiful" and know that it provides life to untold plants and animals?
What if every moment we lived life we declared it beautiful? Because that rain? It is awesome. And not just because it makes the beautiful flowers.
____
Today, Helen brought home a pile of handmade valentines from her classmates. She loved them. Until she saw Connor's collection of cards decked out with a piece of candy. Suddenly, hers seemed somehow inferior. Hers will be around for months to come while Connor's will be devoured and moved on from. The mere existence of his today, though, dampens her feelings toward her own. That makes me sad. If relativity weren't involved, Helen would've loved hers even in the face of Connor's sweet treats. Helen's valentines? They are absolutely beautiful. I'm going to sit with her again tomorrow and listen to her tell me who made each one.
For the past few days, I've been trying to smile on my commute to work. Do you know how good it feels to smile at pure randomness? It's awesome. Sometimes, I see something and I think "wow, that's cool". Other times, I see something and I force myself to think of something good.
______
The Dalai Lama published this on Facebook yesterday.
"
______
I've been reading a lot of words meant to heal.
After rain, beautiful flowers.
Understanding sadness makes the joy more real.
Only through death can we experience life.
But I don't think it has to be this way. Or maybe I just don't want it to be this way. Why can't I look at the daffodil fighting to get through in my garden and know joy, without contrasting it with the dark earth that appears so sullen? Better yet, why can't I look at the dark earth and say to myself "that earth is perfectly placed and beautiful" and know that it provides life to untold plants and animals?
What if every moment we lived life we declared it beautiful? Because that rain? It is awesome. And not just because it makes the beautiful flowers.
____
Today, Helen brought home a pile of handmade valentines from her classmates. She loved them. Until she saw Connor's collection of cards decked out with a piece of candy. Suddenly, hers seemed somehow inferior. Hers will be around for months to come while Connor's will be devoured and moved on from. The mere existence of his today, though, dampens her feelings toward her own. That makes me sad. If relativity weren't involved, Helen would've loved hers even in the face of Connor's sweet treats. Helen's valentines? They are absolutely beautiful. I'm going to sit with her again tomorrow and listen to her tell me who made each one.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Back from Utah
We're back from a week skiing in Utah. We had a handful of new flakes to ski on, but nothing that could be measured. No matter - all three resorts we went to had their hills in great condition (Park City, Deer Valley, and Canyons). The only think we'd do differently is not plan on a whole day of skiing for Connor at the Canyons. There is only one small area of green trails there, and so Connor went over, and over, and over them during his lesson. He complained of being bored - and for good reason. Although we would've taken him on several blue trails, his instructor didn't - which Connor blamed on the person he was paired with "not skiing in control" enough of the time. We thought the ski schools at Park City and Deer Valley were a lot better, with Park City being the favored one.
Helen took lessons at Park City and Deer Valley, and on Friday, she impressed us with her turns, ability to avoid objects in her path, and her ability to come to a complete stop.
You might wonder, why is Helen wearing that ridiculous balloon taped to her helmet? Or, you might know Helen, in which case you hardly notice it. On my way to drop Helen off at ski school at Deer Valley, we passed through a craft room. Someone was blowing up a balloon, and Helen asked if she could have one, too. The guy told her he'd come tape it to her helmet - and he did, and she loved it! And she was a little sad about having to take it off for the airplane ride home! It was sort of nice for us, because she was easy to spot on the mountain. When I went to pick her up, every person in the ski school area knew her, and she had fallen in love with them all.
Elaine
Helen took lessons at Park City and Deer Valley, and on Friday, she impressed us with her turns, ability to avoid objects in her path, and her ability to come to a complete stop.
You might wonder, why is Helen wearing that ridiculous balloon taped to her helmet? Or, you might know Helen, in which case you hardly notice it. On my way to drop Helen off at ski school at Deer Valley, we passed through a craft room. Someone was blowing up a balloon, and Helen asked if she could have one, too. The guy told her he'd come tape it to her helmet - and he did, and she loved it! And she was a little sad about having to take it off for the airplane ride home! It was sort of nice for us, because she was easy to spot on the mountain. When I went to pick her up, every person in the ski school area knew her, and she had fallen in love with them all.
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| Helen, Grandpa Dick, Ed, me, Connor - with poles! |
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| I have no idea what Helen is paying attention to at this point, but she did manage to stop before running over my dad as he snapped this photo. |
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| Cutest gal on the mountain! |
Elaine
Friday, February 10, 2012
Yo! I Like High Quality Organic Yogurt
Several months ago, I had the opportunity to hear Robyn O'Brien speak at a lunch at Restaurant Nora in DC. The talk was sponsored by Stonyfield. After hearing her talk, it's hard to purchase a non-organic dairy product. Robyn wrote the book "The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It", and I heard about it at the time we were wondering about Helen's possible food allergies (which we have now decided is an allergy to mussels, and nothing else). The book discusses "food sensitivities" - which seem to be reactions like Helen's (lots and lots of puking) and food allergies (the super scary get your kid to the ER RIGHT NOW!) and ultimately says both are allergic reactions, they just differ in severity. And wow am I thankful that Helen is in the former category and not the latter. One reason to prefer organic is that the probability of having some adverse reaction to a product decreases when you know exactly what the product is, without having to worry about what it's been coated in, or what's been used in growing the product. Makes sense, right? And of course, some of the chemicals used in processing are known to be unsafe at some level, so why risk exposure at any level if you don't have to?
I am all about believing in the conspiracy, and it's not hard for me to believe that big agri-business is willing to sacrifice my and my family's health in the name of corporate profits. So I made my appeal to Ed (chief grocery shopper) and now he brings home organic milk. Here's the thing - I've been a vegetarian for a long time - as are Connor and Helen, so I figure our load of all the weird stuff that's pumped into meat is pretty light - but I might as well go the next step and eliminate all the junk that goes into dairy production as well. And, if it tastes good - well that's all the more reason to go organic.
Helen and Connor give Stonyfield YoBaby! and YoKids! two thumbs up. Mostly, they like them because the yogurt is smooth, not bumpy. Helen would probably eat yogurt with whole pieces of fruit, but that's a texture path that Connor is not quite ready for.
My favorite yogurt is honey flavored yogurt from Blue Ridge Dairy. They're a local farm and though they're not organic, they don't use growth hormones. I'm not a huge yogurt fan (most have too runny of a consistency for me), but I am a huge fan of the protein yogurt provides. I was a bit scared to try something new, having finally found one yogurt at the farmer's market I like. As part of Stonyfield's yo-getter program, I was given coupons to purchase several varieties of their yogurt, and I forced myself to try the Caramel and Honey greek yogurt. And, it was actually delicious! So now, I have two yogurts I love, which I almost always have at my office for my afternoon snack (13 grams of protein)! Yum!
It's been several months since we've been mostly organic in the dairy case, and I can't say I've felt a huge change, but I am hoping that I'm at leasts incrementally improving my children's health.
Now...to go with a CSA this year as in several past years, or focus on getting to the farmer's market on Saturday morning!
Elaine
I am all about believing in the conspiracy, and it's not hard for me to believe that big agri-business is willing to sacrifice my and my family's health in the name of corporate profits. So I made my appeal to Ed (chief grocery shopper) and now he brings home organic milk. Here's the thing - I've been a vegetarian for a long time - as are Connor and Helen, so I figure our load of all the weird stuff that's pumped into meat is pretty light - but I might as well go the next step and eliminate all the junk that goes into dairy production as well. And, if it tastes good - well that's all the more reason to go organic.
Helen and Connor give Stonyfield YoBaby! and YoKids! two thumbs up. Mostly, they like them because the yogurt is smooth, not bumpy. Helen would probably eat yogurt with whole pieces of fruit, but that's a texture path that Connor is not quite ready for.
My favorite yogurt is honey flavored yogurt from Blue Ridge Dairy. They're a local farm and though they're not organic, they don't use growth hormones. I'm not a huge yogurt fan (most have too runny of a consistency for me), but I am a huge fan of the protein yogurt provides. I was a bit scared to try something new, having finally found one yogurt at the farmer's market I like. As part of Stonyfield's yo-getter program, I was given coupons to purchase several varieties of their yogurt, and I forced myself to try the Caramel and Honey greek yogurt. And, it was actually delicious! So now, I have two yogurts I love, which I almost always have at my office for my afternoon snack (13 grams of protein)! Yum!
It's been several months since we've been mostly organic in the dairy case, and I can't say I've felt a huge change, but I am hoping that I'm at leasts incrementally improving my children's health.
Now...to go with a CSA this year as in several past years, or focus on getting to the farmer's market on Saturday morning!
Elaine
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Skiing Rite of Passage - Poles!
There is a long held trust between children, parents, and ski teachers. Children ask parents for ski poles, parents respond "not until your teacher says it's OK". And for their part, teachers are supposed to steadfastly deny those boogers until it is impossible to refuse them any longer.
Apparently Connor's ski instructor on Monday did not get the memo that he was the one holding the line on the ski poles.
And thus, Connor is now the proud owner of ski poles. Let's hope he hurts neither himself nor others with them!
Elaine
P.S. About a week ago, Helen was skiing down the bunny hill and asked for poles. Ed handed her one and she threw it right back at his feet and said with disgust "that's not even skiing with poles". Ed and I are still laughing about it.
Apparently Connor's ski instructor on Monday did not get the memo that he was the one holding the line on the ski poles.
And thus, Connor is now the proud owner of ski poles. Let's hope he hurts neither himself nor others with them!
Elaine
P.S. About a week ago, Helen was skiing down the bunny hill and asked for poles. Ed handed her one and she threw it right back at his feet and said with disgust "that's not even skiing with poles". Ed and I are still laughing about it.
Wordless Wednesday - Cotton Candy!
Circus Cafe, Saratoga, New York. Ever since Ed's sister-in-law arranged to have this dropped off at our a table after dinner - I've completely forgotten everything else I ate that night. They should market this as mind erasing cotton candy!
Elaine
Sunday, February 5, 2012
New York City! I Own You
It's true. New York City and I have not always gotten along. I doubt I'll ever forget when I nearly lost Helen, followed by the day I had a self-diagnosed panic attack in the middle of New York City with no other adults nearby that I knew. Although it took a while to get over that, I returned to visit Vickie the following November, and didn't even lose my kids once! Or feel as if I was in any danger of collapsing and leaving them to fend for themselves.
And now, frankly, it seems almost rude of me to tell New York City that my days of being intimidated by it are over.
For some reason(because we were being cheap), we decided to drive to Albany. On the way back, we split up the drive by stopping in New York City to visit Vickie and her crew. We spent a day chasing around giant statues in the City, visited a transportation museum, and ate cupcakes! Ed went out with a friend one night, and then it was back to DC for us. It was hardly intimidating at all. But it was fun!
Thank you, Vickie, for another great trip. Please let Tipper know that we are grateful that she is the nicest cat in the world, and someday, we hope to actually see something besides the blur that is Moxie as she exits the room when she sees us coming.
Elaine
And now, frankly, it seems almost rude of me to tell New York City that my days of being intimidated by it are over.
For some reason
Thank you, Vickie, for another great trip. Please let Tipper know that we are grateful that she is the nicest cat in the world, and someday, we hope to actually see something besides the blur that is Moxie as she exits the room when she sees us coming.
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| Benjie, Tipper, Connor, and Helen. Run, Tipper, run! |
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| Can we break it? |
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| "HELLO! I'm in a confined space! I must shout out to the world!" |
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| Notice the thumb's up Helen is giving? That's her letting NYC know who's boss! |
Elaine
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Mayday to Mom!
Last week, I decided to wake up prior to Connor coming downstairs for 40 consecutive days, to try and get in a new habit.
Typical morning in our house is I wake up. I roll over. I try and go back to sleep. I take a moment to beg the sleep gods that my kids will sleep in. That begging, by the way, is almost never answered - or it's answered halfway - in which case one child (usually Helen) will sleep until 8:00 and the other one will be bounding down the stairs at exactly 6:45 - which is freakin' useless. And, he would come down earlier, except I have a nightlight in his room that clicks on at 6:45, and the firm rule in this house is that nobody comes to see me before that light turns on.
Really, it's better for everyone.
Anyway, at 6:45 and 30 seconds, Connor is in my room on a typical day. He'll usually jump in bed for a quick snuggle, but really, he wants to be awake. And he is oh so wide awake, happy as can be. If Helen comes down at 6:45, all she wants to do is lay around for a few minutes. In fact, on the rare day that she's first up, she'll lay in bed for more than 15 minutes without making a peep (though she might kick me in the head or gut if I'm not careful).
In any case, on a normal day, I then drag my tired body to the shower, and try and get out of the house as fast as possible, to aid in leaving work on time so I can get dinner on the table by 5:30. It's a fire drill every day. Except Wednesday, which is the day I can work as late as I need (don't tell my boss!).
The first day I powered through waking up at 6:20 so I could drag my tired body to the shower by 6:30 and be out hopefully by the time Connor came downstairs, Connor was thrilled. I was, too. I pointed out to him that I was trying to wake up earlier than him so we could have a few minutes to play a game in the morning. He thought it was a great idea - with one caveat.
"Mom, you did not wake up earlier than me. I've been awake and waiting for the light to come on."
Well...OK. I got out of bed before the light came on, son.
Then, I fell apart, and failed on waking up. So...I'm trying again.
Monday, I woke up at 6:20 and was ready for Connor when he came down. He again noted that I did not wake up first.
Tuesday, he grabbed the baby monitor in his room and spoke directly into it at 6:30 clearly enunciating "Mom - just so you know - I am awake. You are not awake before me." Which caused me to haul a** into the shower after making sure I did not just have a heart attack. Those monitors are sensitive enough to hear a baby a few feet away breathe. A 6 year old talking directly into once is nothing short of shocking.
Elaine
Ed pointed out to me that getting into an early morning wake-up contest with Connor is something neither of us wants to do.
Typical morning in our house is I wake up. I roll over. I try and go back to sleep. I take a moment to beg the sleep gods that my kids will sleep in. That begging, by the way, is almost never answered - or it's answered halfway - in which case one child (usually Helen) will sleep until 8:00 and the other one will be bounding down the stairs at exactly 6:45 - which is freakin' useless. And, he would come down earlier, except I have a nightlight in his room that clicks on at 6:45, and the firm rule in this house is that nobody comes to see me before that light turns on.
Really, it's better for everyone.
Anyway, at 6:45 and 30 seconds, Connor is in my room on a typical day. He'll usually jump in bed for a quick snuggle, but really, he wants to be awake. And he is oh so wide awake, happy as can be. If Helen comes down at 6:45, all she wants to do is lay around for a few minutes. In fact, on the rare day that she's first up, she'll lay in bed for more than 15 minutes without making a peep (though she might kick me in the head or gut if I'm not careful).
In any case, on a normal day, I then drag my tired body to the shower, and try and get out of the house as fast as possible, to aid in leaving work on time so I can get dinner on the table by 5:30. It's a fire drill every day. Except Wednesday, which is the day I can work as late as I need (don't tell my boss!).
The first day I powered through waking up at 6:20 so I could drag my tired body to the shower by 6:30 and be out hopefully by the time Connor came downstairs, Connor was thrilled. I was, too. I pointed out to him that I was trying to wake up earlier than him so we could have a few minutes to play a game in the morning. He thought it was a great idea - with one caveat.
"Mom, you did not wake up earlier than me. I've been awake and waiting for the light to come on."
Well...OK. I got out of bed before the light came on, son.
Then, I fell apart, and failed on waking up. So...I'm trying again.
Monday, I woke up at 6:20 and was ready for Connor when he came down. He again noted that I did not wake up first.
Tuesday, he grabbed the baby monitor in his room and spoke directly into it at 6:30 clearly enunciating "Mom - just so you know - I am awake. You are not awake before me." Which caused me to haul a** into the shower after making sure I did not just have a heart attack. Those monitors are sensitive enough to hear a baby a few feet away breathe. A 6 year old talking directly into once is nothing short of shocking.
Elaine
Ed pointed out to me that getting into an early morning wake-up contest with Connor is something neither of us wants to do.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Lobsterfest - Connor and Helen Style
Connor has never turned his back when presented with the opportunity to play with lobsters. And though Helen loves eating them, she's not nearly as fond of the pre-dinner opportunities they present.
Elaine
Elaine
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