a walk in the woods

Yesterday we tried to get ahead of the days heat, and take the kids for a little hike in the morning. Rain cooled the air a bit, but by the end of our trek, we were sticky and hot.
No matter, we had fun and saw wild turkeys, squirrels perched on logs eating found nuts, beetles with pretty shells, dragonflies circling the pond, and pollywog's favorite observation, ants.
CJ is growing up so fast and I am are making sure to connect with him each day. The memories we have made with him running through the trees, out in the desert discovering oasis, sand dune streams, mud baths (he always finds mud), star guided hikes, fishing with sticks in secret creeks 
Pollywog finds so much joy in nature as well. She has the curiosity and kindredness that reminds me of my grandfather. Nature knows her and she is home in it's midst. We called her river when she was still in my womb. Each body of water she passes is noticed and spoken of. She is quiet and inquisitive. She loves to sit and watch a bug crawl, look for hidden birds singing in the distance and feel freedom under her wandering legs.
Glee is abundant in the outdoors and even more so when shared with the ones you love.

The wrap up

It has been a busy week and I haven't really had a chance to write much...
Ya'all left such nice comments about my Color Week. I really appreciate it!
It wasn't the easiest to get pictures b/c our camera is on the outs but rigged and working :). Someday I hope to get a nice camera! but this one will do for now. (did I mention no view finder= just point, cross fingers, and shoot)
The best part of doing the color week (which is the best part of photography to me) was finding beauty in the mundane. I highly reccommed it.
Okay, enough blabbing... lets see...4th of July has come and gone. It was a blur of noise, heat, food and more noise. Our neighborhood was lit up and apparently no one has gotten the memo that the 4th is now over.
This week pollywog went to her first story hour at the library. It was so much fun. I was impressed with how well she interacted with the children. She is so social and loves to pet kids. They don't always like that though. go figure...
CJ has been busy (as usual) playing outside. He comes in to eat and well, that's about it. Did I mention he ate a box of cereal in two days...
Here are some highlights from the week...

yes, that is what you think, on her head. She was helping mommy and apparently found a fun hat to wear too.

My budding artists!

You can often find CJ drawing cartoons or cars at his desk for hours... He really is talented...

and pollywog...who loves to color and paint

the paper (walls, carpet, dolls, books)...

herself...

and me...

I also was at it again with the popsicles. This time I made Kefir, Cherry and Banana pops (they were bomb diggity) and mint, blueberry, cherry pops (haven't tried yet, but they should be good) This week I am making carrot,spinach, apple pops (juicing them then freezing)- they might not sound good, but they are refreshing and sweet and the kids get lots of veggies and fruits- you know to grow big and strong- Everyone is enjoying them and the kids don't even know how good they are for them...hehehehehehehe (evil mom laugh)
On a "green note" (or what I call simple, practical, living) ,this week we sold our second vehicle. We decided we only need one, especially with the price of gas. We figure one of us can always bike. B uses the kid trailer with his bike to go to the grocery store or to the recycling center, coffee shop, etc.
We also perused our local Farmers market and got some goods and took the kids to the recycling center to help (we had a big load this time) and also...

...this I am so excited about...(doesn't take much to excite me apparently)...
I have been wanting a clothes line, but with renting and all we had to get creative.
The line comes unhooked when not in use. Pollywog really likes to help mommy with this chore.










Now we are just waiting for our lovely container garden to give us yummy treats. Once the tomatoes are ready we have plans to make and can salsa...recipes people, I need them!

This coming week is going to be full...of fun! CJ starts his karate and pottery classes... and I, don't laugh, start my hip hop dance class. (hey, I heard that) I am super excited about this. I love to dance and it will be a good workout. Also, pollywog goes to story hour again, CJ has youth group and an upcoming float trip, and hopefully we can sneak in some good food and swimming. We are also starting up (again), our green smoothies once a day.
No goals for the week...just lots of things to check off and long summer days to enjoy!

Blessed and humbled daily by life's graces.

I'll leave you with one more picture- just because-well...I want to share the joy...
can't you just smell the freshness....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
see ya Monday!

Spring Cleaning

As you might have noticed, I've been doing a little clutter control. Both on my blog, and especially in my home. I am more and more aware of the "things" we accumulate, purchase, and want. This "stuff" can weigh you down and letting go and de-cluttering can provide clarity ~and~ support living a more simple life~ which is exactly what we are working towards.
I have gone through each room in our house with the exception of my son's bedroom and bathroom and the our school room/art room.
I first started by gathering my daughters plastic toys. I have read so much about the ill effects of plastic (here is one link) and of course the dangers of lead in toys from China. This coupled with the desire to, not just have toys laying around that are hardly even played with. My goal is to collect a few wooden, toys (and make some dolls), and let her continue to play with regular household items. (her favorites at the moment are: metal lids from canning jars, she likes to sort items in the dishwasher's utensil holder, boxes (of course) , and spoons and pots).
Second, I gathered up the plastics in my kitchen. It helped that we have been recycling all our glasswares (jam, pickle,olive...jars) so that they could be used to store bulk items vs, plastic storage. I also purchased some glass storage containers, for leftovers, and replaced any utensil we needed.
The kitchen is now plastic free, for the most part. This was easier than I thought it would be.
Then I began to slowly get rid of our liquid, antibacterial soaps and gels and cleaning products. (This is big for me. Last year I became obsessed with anti-bacterial products.) I have always believed in the power of using natural items to clean and disinfect. Having a little baby around made me paranoid about germs- but my views have changed. Here is an interesting article.
I could rant about the affects of indoor pollution caused by all the chemical cleaners and fragrances, and the importance of building your immune system from the inside out, but I will save that for another time. Back to the original topic...

I replaced all of our liquid soaps with natural, bar soaps. The ones in our showers are olive oil soaps (good for the skin- replinish moisture) ,and for the baby, Dr. Bronners baby unscented bar. In the kitchen, Dr. Bronners lemon bar soap (I love lemon in the kitchen.)
I am going to be on the look out for local soap makers, and purchase from them next.
To continue our quest for simply living, I de-cluttered under my kitchen sink.
This is what I was left with: Seventh Generation all purpose, Method unscented dish soap, Ecover rinse aid (for dishwasher), Seventh Generation powder dishwashing soap, Fruit and Vegetable wash, Dr. Bronners (glass jar) that we use for floors, and a vinegar and water spray. I hope to have even less soon. Once we run out I will make my own veggie wash, all-purpose, and find a different dish soap, or use Dr. Bronners. These items are all we use in the house for cleaning. I like to add essentials oils to the cleaners. Right now I have eucalyptus in my vinegar spray. Also, lemons to clean cutting boards. I plan to experiment with some other cleaners from my book: The Naturally Clean Home
Lastly I got rid of items in my bathroom and kept only essentials. I am using olive oil as my face moisturizer now, and love it!!! We all use the Dr. Bronners for shampoo, olive oil bar for body, I use a conditioner but I plan to start buying one in bulk, and olive oil for moisturizer. Pollywog has her own soap as mentioned and California Baby moisturizer) thats it!


The before's and the after










-and organized our hallway closet by the foyer. Now we can grab what we need and go. We have a container for the gym and swimming, jackets, shoes, and pollywog's shoes are with-in her reach. Also, her socks and hats are stored in the pockets.
It feels nice not to be drowning in things. Now I just need to donate and sale all the clothes, toys, and "things" I got rid of, that are sitting in the garage!