GTM fight

I was at GTM today and I saw these which Chris loves. They were only 99 cents each, usually they are closer to 2 dollars and so I was filling my cart with them, when along came this woman who practically elbowed me out of the way. O.K. so I understand that maybe she wanted to make sure I didn't take them all, but please, calm down about it. She was so super grabby, I couldn't believe it. I wasn't going to take ALL of them anyway, although part of me wanted to keep grabbing them just to piss her off. I didn't say anything, but just walked away. I always see that lady there though, so next time I see her hoarding something, I may just reach right over her and grab whatever it is that SHE wants. I'm totally kidding!

Sleepy kids

Both kids are asleep tonight, by 7:30. This is a rare occasion in our household. Definitely an indication of how things have been the past few days, very very busy. Friday I decided to take Rowan for a blood test which required a short visit to our local Children's Hospital. It went surprisingly well, with just a tiny yelp when she pulled the needle out. He was kind of grunting during the draw as though to say, "get this thing out of me!". But when it was over he was happy to just go on about our day. We headed to the park to meet our playgroup friends and then headed home for naps. Friday afternoon, Athena started her new dance class "Mini Hip Hop". I was getting bored with the same old class she has been taking for almost 2 years now, and she was actually very excited to try "hip hop". It was a fun class for her, definitely more challenging then the ballet/tap one because it was faster paced. She said she liked it and is looking forward to going back next week.
Saturday I took Athena shopping with me to pick out a dress for an afternoon wedding. My mom came over to watch the kids while we attended the wedding. We had to leave a bit early to get home and put the kids to bed, but still had a nice time. I'm sure my mom could have gotten the kids to bed as they were super cooperative with her, but she was really tired to begin with and we were too so it gave us a good excuse to come home and the kids were happy to see us for sure.
Today Chris went on a long bike ride(ending at OB People's) and then we met him down at the co-op for lunch. It was so hot this weekend, like in the 90's, so we decided to hit the pool in the afternoon. Rowan hadn't been in a pool since our October La Paz trip and he really liked it. Athena had fun showing her Dad all her new pool tricks. I made some yummy pizzas when we got home from that which got scarfed up by us all. Rowan went right to bed after that and Athena fell asleep on the couch with me as I dozed off (accidentally) for about 10 minutes. Looking forward to another week of busyness and fun...
At the wedding.
Rowan pool face.
Ready to jump in.
Dinner.

AYCE at the Che

All You Can Eat! For me that meant 3 plates tonight (chris had 4). We haven't gone to a Che all you can eat in quite sometime. I remember taking Athena a few times when she was a toddler and then they weren't doing it for awhile, and then we kept talking about going but never made it there. Tonight we made it and it was totally worth my $5. We had plates of veggie sushi rolls (avocado, cucumber, and carrot) and veggie/tofu tempura. It was great. Athena liked it too, but wouldn't eat the veggies out of the tempura (just the tofu and a little broccoli). I couldn't believe she could tell between the greasy outer breading. She really does have sensitive taste. Rowan was just so excited to be eating grease. I know it is bad to feed little ones fried foods but it kept him busy for a little while so we could eat. He spent most of the time trying to run out the door so we had to use every distraction we could. The volunteer cooks also gave athena a cookie which was super nice of them and made her day for sure. They offered one to Rowan too, but I declined because I really do try and feed him healthy food! You should of seem him last night eating zucchini, spinach, tempeh, and peanut noodles like a big kid with a fork. At least one of my kids likes vegetables! (Athena will eat a few, but not enough in my book!)
I have fond memories of the Che. It was where my brother took me to my first show when I was in high school. He wasn't very nice to me back then and totally ignored me, but some of his nice girlfriends took me under their wing so I survived. I always think about that when I go there.
Here is a picture of Athena digging into her veggie rolls, and her plate of food already partially dissected. It was yummy but I should have stopped at 2. And another interesting thing is that Athena (and Rowan) gobble up nori almost every day but she did not like it soft like on the veggie rolls. I actually prefer it soft for some reason.
We rolled around in the grass on campus (the che is on UCSD campus) while Chris went to get cash. Rowan liked all of the buses driving past and didn't seem to mind his sister poking him with pine needles repeatedly. It was driving me crazy for some reason though.

Another Beach day

We headed to the beach again today, actually the bay but my kids don't know the difference! My brother and SIL are staying at a beach house on the bay with her parents for the week. Not another person was on the beach while we were there. Plenty of people rode by on the bike path though.
The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves once again. Rowan went charging for the water and walked right in until he fell forward under the water. Luckily I was there to scoop him up quickly! He only was upset for about 3 seconds and then went right back in the water. The freezing water I might add. He kept tugging my hand to go in further but my feet were going numb. Athena got to go out on the kayak with her aunt kelli and cousin oli. That was very cool for her. After that they made holes, houses, letters, and various other things in the sand. They were all loving it. Cousin Dante and Rowan got into their usual mischief and chewed holes in balls and dumped buckets of water out that weren't supposed to be dumped.
This afternoon, Athena had swim class. She has been taking it for 4 weeks and today was the last day of the session. She has definitely made progress but has a long way to go to be swimming alone I think. I'm proud of her efforts and am signing her up again since she loves the class and her 2 friends will still be in the class with her.


Rowan tries out the kayak surfer style.
"I like this water".
"I love this water. Must feel it with all of my body."
The kayakers heading in.
Buried feet. I was trying hard to get a picture of both girls looking, but Oli would only look for a split second and I missed her lovely face every time.

Happy Earth Day

They are signing "airplane" not flashing some gang sign, just in case you were wondering.


I tried to remind myself that it was earth day and couldn't think of a better way to "celebrate" then just spending as much time outside as possible today. Chris rode his bike to work today (23.3 miles each way). He is way more hardcore than me. At least I drove around our fuel efficient civic (40 mpg) most of the day!
I dropped Athena off at school and took Rowan for a walk at Lake Murray. We picked Athena up from school and went back home. After Ro's nap, we headed for the co-op for some earth day sales but got detoured by the beach just a few blocks away. The kids had a fabulous time at the beach and could have stayed much longer, but I had groceries to buy and so I hustled them over to People's. We had a good shopping trip, I remembered all my reusable bags thankfully, and then headed home (sat in horrible traffic). After we got home we had dinner and I gave the kids baths. We then headed up to our neighborhood park since Chris wasn't getting home until late due to the earth day bike riding!!! For bedtime stories we did an "earth hour" again with all of the lights out. We read books with a flashlight and joked about how the compact fluorescent bulb in our lamp was probably a better choice then a flashlight, clearly not as fun though for Athena. So that was our earth day. The other things I did/do that I feel are very important choices for our earth are using cloth diapers, line drying said dipes, eating organic and of course vegan, using non toxic cleaning products, cloth napkins, recycling, composting, ...that is just what came to my head right now. I know we all try to do our part, I am always learning and trying to do better. Sometimes I get lazy, and the convenience of not caring at all tries to sneak its way in to my thinking, but luckily I have Chris and a ton of awesome friends that keep me on track. Yay.

Weekend Camping

We headed to the mountains early saturday morning to join our friends at camp. We had waited a day to allow Ro to recover and he was back to normal. We got there as our friends were finishing up breakfast so we felt like we didn't miss too much. Camping was awesome and exhausting. The kids were all wonderful and played so nicely. Rowan was a bit of a handful, always running for the fire pit, or falling down the hills. He enjoyed himself though. It was colder than I expected and I forgot Rowan's jacket but luckily someone lent me one. I felt terrible that the baby would be left to freeze! I hardly slept at all during the cold night, but it wasn't because I was freezing, I was just worried about keeping Rowan warm. He and Athena both slept great (8 pm - 7:30 am). Of course I nursed Rowan most of the night to keep him happy.
I'm looking forward to camping again in June, I just need to get a bigger sleeping bag by then because it is hard to squeeze a baby in one of those "mummy" bags. Alright, I'll leave you with some pictures now, I am still very tired from the trip...

On the trail.
Dirty boy.
Athena saying goodbye to her "T" stick. She really wanted to take it home with her.

Camping wouldn't be complete without vegan cupcakes, right? Thanks Lindsey!

To Post or not to Post

It has been such a crazy week. I didn't sleep well at all for a couple of nights after the "incident" plus Rowan has been super sick. My fingers are crossed that he is on the mend. He had some weird virus that ended today with a rash that isn't Roseola or Chicken Pox. The Dr. didn't know what it was but she said he looked good overall so I really hope it is over. If he isn't better by the weekend he will probably have to get an x-ray but I really think he is getting better. I am looking forward to sleeping soon.
This week Athena had a parent luncheon and Spring singing performance at her school. The event also had a basket raffle where they made all of these themed baskets for you to enter to win (as a fundraiser). I didn't win any, but another parent told me Athena did. I hadn't entered her name into the contest but it turned out my mother in law had. So we came home with the biggest basket, the "family game night" one. Athena was thrilled. Here is a picture of Athena with the basket.
The rest of this week I was just dealing with a cranky toddler and feeling bad for neglecting Athena. She got to do some fun things with Chris though like go out to dinner so that was nice. We were supposed to leave for camping tomorrow but we will have to postpone that. If Ro seems better tomorrow then we will head up Saturday for just 1 night. Athena is REALLY looking forward to it and I feel bad that I have to tell her we won't be leaving tomorrow. I already hinted about it so it won't be a shock but she was thinking she and Chris would just go. Since we aren't ready at all, I think we will all just wait and see how it goes tomorrow.

Shaken up a little but OK

I was giving the kids a bath tonight and it wasn't going so well (kids were fighting over toys) and so I made Athena get out and she had a major tantrum. 5 minutes later, I was getting Rowan dressed and I heard a knock at our BACKDOOR. I looked briefly and thought it was my mom as she often stops by the back. Then I heard a man's voice, "I was driving by and I heard screaming." I looked closer and a very suspicious looking man was standing there. I started yelling for him to get out of my yard or I'd call the police. Chris was in the bedroom getting Athena dressed who was now calming down but he heard me yelling. The guy went out to his truck parked out front and I looked at him again and he was like, "I'm sorry". I just kept thinking to myself, "why isn't he leaving, why does he keep looking back, this is weird." So I went out to write his license plate # down but I got all freaked out so I made Chris do it. Chris went out there and the guy said "I'm sorry" again and "don't do anything" as in don't call the cops which weirded us out more. Chris yelled at him not to go in people's yard and asked him his name, and the guy said he couldn't find our front door (which just doesn't make any sense to me) but then the guy finally drove off. A few minutes went by as we got the kids ready for bed and I told Chris we should call the police, just in case. An officer came, they ran the plates and all they said is that the plates went back to an address in the city. At least the car was registered! They said they'd do some extra patrols and that if I saw him again to call them and not talk to him (duh). I'm still kind of freaked out, just because of the vibe I got off of this man, he was just off. Part of me felt guilty because I was thinking of how I feel when I hear a child screaming, but then I thought to myself that I would probably call the police if I was truly concerned for a child's welfare. I definitely would not go into to their backyard. I mean, what was he going to do!!??
Chris went out and installed a lock on the back gate and left the light on back there. I am still shaking a little, but I know things should be OK. I'm sure I'll check out the window before I go anywhere for awhile, you can call me paranoid and that is OK. For now, I feel safe enough with us all here together, but tomorrow I will probably try and either go somewhere for the day or have some one come here.

Bay Area Trip

We booked a flight to Oakland for the first weekend in June. I am so excited, we haven't been back to the bay area since Athena was maybe 2. Chris and I started dating when we both lived in Oakland. I was finishing my BA in Anthropology at UCB, he was working for this computer company called Palladium.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but we are excited to eat at some of our old favorite spots and visit with old friends. Our friend Diana and her family has kindly invited us to stay with them which we are very excited about. She has an adorable baby who is just 2 months younger than Rowan. We can't wait to meet the little guy in person. So even though it is still a ways away, I'm getting very excited. I know it will be exhausting, but I'm sure we will survive.

***side note***both kids are napping right now.

Happy Birthday Chris!

Today is Chris' birthday. The kids and I brought him lunch and cupcakes to his work today. One of his coworkers asked if we were "doing anything" for his birthday today, and I was like, "uh, this is it." In my defense, we are having a brunch on Sunday to celebrate his day at one of his favorite eating places. It is Pokez, a place I have a love/hate relationship with. I used to really like it until I got pregnant with Athena and then the "dirtiness" of the place started to gross me out. It still does a bit, but I usually get over it quickly when my giant tofu mushroom potato burrito arrives. mmm.
I've cooked a ton this week but it is all stuff I've blogged about already. Good stuff though.
Rowan had his 1 year check up yesterday. He is a big boy. 25 lbs, 32 1/2 inches, and 19 1/4 inch head. No wonder my back has been aching, he really is heavy.
Athena has been swimming (lessons at the Y) and I have high hopes that she will be swimming independently by the end of summer. She is really enjoying her lessons but doesn't like to put her eyes in. I bought her some goggles (they are even pink!) and she did a little better but then started telling her teacher she didn't like to put her face in because water went in her nose. That does suck when that happens.
I have 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes in my fridge for a party Saturday, and I am having the biggest urge to eat them up. I won't though because I don't want to have to bake another batch before Sat. Will power is not one of my strong points. Nobody will know if one is missing...
This weekend will be busy. My grandmother, 91, is coming to town with my Aunt and Uncle. I am so excited as she hasn't visited in a long time and we haven't visited her in almost a year! Plus we have birthday parties galore.
I keep thinking of posting about how hectic life has been lately, but instead I'm just going to try and slow down right now. I've been doing too much and it makes me crazy. Hopefully I'll figure out what needs to give and get into a more balanced routine because I've been running around day after day and it starts to take its toll. Luckily we've been healthy (knock on wood) and now I just need to figure out how to fit in exercise and sleep in my day which is going to be much harder than it sounds.

Sunday - SD Vegan Families Potluck

Recipe for Black Bean Quinoa Salad:
these are rough measurements

1/2 cup dry quinoa (cook it as usual)
2 or 3 cups black beans
1/2 red/orange pepper chopped
1 small red onion
1 tomato
3/4 cup frozen corn
2 avocados sliced up (stir them in last since they are more delicate)

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 3 limes)
1 clove garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
dash black pepper

Stir it all up and refrigerate for an hour or so.

We had our 2nd monthly vegan family potluck yesterday. It was a little windy at first, but the food was fantastic. Here is a list of what was offered:

black bean quinoa salad
taco salad with home made seitan crumbles
seitan hashbrown casserole with cranberry sauce
fresh artesian bread
tofu scramble
adzuki/baby lima bean hummus with homemade flat breads
pecan date coconut bars
tiramasu cupcakes
pink sugar cookies
banana bread
carrot pineapple muffins
jam shortbread cookies (i forget what they were called but mmm)
vanilla pudding from the :( ... failed cream puff attempt






And here are a few cute pictures of my vegan girl, and a funny story to go along with it. Rowan has this wooden alligator pull toy the clicks and clacks as you pull it. Athena was playing with it and I heard her say, "They put the pull thing in a hole in it's mouth, instead of around its neck like they are supposed to. That must have hurt the alligator when they did that." I don't usually mention to her about how animals are (mis)treated just yet, but apparently she already knows when something is not O.K. It was a proud veganmomma moment.

Saturday Native Foods

We visited our nephews plus their mama and papa this weekend in Orange County. We love to end our visits there with a trip to Native Foods.

Athena loves her kids meal with "save the chicken" nuggets. (she had already eaten a few before I remembered the camera)

Chris and I love everything. Here's a look at our meal, minus dessert. We ate that too fast to photograph.
Philly Peppersteak sandwich with mini greens salad for me.

Chris had chili with cornbread, and the Ensalada azteca. For dessert, we shared a peanut butter parfait. It was hard for me to share.

Blue toe

On a completely different subject, Rowan dropped a brick on his big toe. Yes, an actual red brick. You may be wondering how on earth that could've happened, and I'll tell you exactly that. I was in the kitchen making dinner and the kids were playing out back. I could see Rowan out the window and at first he pulled up a brick (yes, a brick, that should have been cemented into the ground). He sat down so I thought all was well and went back to cooking. Just seconds later I heard him crying and rushed out to find him with his hands on yet another brick! He was grabbing at his foot and I noticed his big toe looked scraped and red. By the time Chris got home from work his toe nail was beginning to turn blue and he was limping. Poor baby. I didn't really know what to do for him since he kept wanting down but then would struggle to walk. I rubbed some arnica on his toe after he fell asleep and I hope he is much better in the morning. I still can't believe he can lift those bricks, although it was more like a roll of a brick than an actual drop. Still, it was a brick! Now I'm off to search for the perfect vegan shoes for this baby. He may be graduating out of his isabooties which is a good thing since his toes are hanging out the ends!

Trail-a-bike update

Athena and Chris on their inaugural ride. I think it was a hit!

Choco Banana Muffins and Enchiladas

The Chocolate banana muffins from ED&BV were pretty good. I made them because Athena needed a cupcake for school today but I didn't feel like making actual cupcakes. I had some frosting saved from the last time I made cupcakes so I frosted the muffin and called it a cupcake. I knew she'd only eat the top of anyway weather it be a muffin or a cupcake. She said she liked it and she ate 2 of them yesterday as muffins.
Tonights dinner was fantastic. I made sweet potato black bean kale enchiladas with homemade cashew sour cream and enchilada sauce. I also had some left over tofu ricotta so I threw that in as well. These are not hard to throw together, but taste like something special. I sauteed an onion first, then added the sweet potato and some water and covered it for 15 minutes or so. Then I added the kale and beans and covered it for 5 minutes more. To assemble the enchiladas I took whole wheat tortillas, spread a layer of cream, then the sweet potato mixture, and then the tofu. Rolled them up in a casserole pan, topped with sauce and diced green chiles and red onion. Mmm, mmm, mmm. This recipe was also based on one from my sister in law. Doesn't Kelli rock!? She always gives me great ideas for dinners.

We got Chris this for his birthday. It is a 'trail a bike'. I didn't think it through very well so I ended up giving it to him today since I couldn't think of anywhere to hide it until next week. I was going to drop it off at a family member's house but I didn't have my cell phone with me and then I just go too lazy. I can't wait to see him ride off with Athena. She was so excited to shop for this since she loves riding bikes with her Dad.