The Whole World

Athena in car today:

Mom, when will the whole world die?

Me: Well, I hope that never happens.

Athena: Well, when all the people are dead then the world will die.

Me: If there aren't any people, maybe some of the animals will still be alive?

Athena: Yes, but they will live underground because the world will be gone.

• This child is always asking me such difficult questions!
  

Tomatoes and Birthdays

My friend was away on vacation this week and generously allowed me to pick up her CSA box for her. There were tons of tomatoes and since we aren't huge raw tomato lovers, I quickly wanted to use them up before they went bad. I made a quick and easy salsa without a recipe, and it turned out fantastic. I cut up tomatoes, red onion, and added cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, sea salt and chiles. Then I put it all in the food processor and lightly processed it so that it was still a bit chunky. I could drink this stuff up, so super delicious! I also made some tomato sauce and for the first time I actually peeled the tomatoes (you know where you boil them for a minute and the skins come right off!!!)!. I then cooked it down with onions, zucchini (also from the CSA), garlic, and added ground almonds in the end. The sauce was a really pretty color because of the heirloom tomatoes, it tasted amazing, I know it was because it was so fresh, probably picked that morning. I have to admit I'm reading Kinsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now, and it kind of inspired me to cook more from scratch as I had gotten pretty lazy with the move, etc. While she kind of makes some lame arguments against veganism that can be hard to get past, I do enjoy her work and take from it the parts I like. I think she is an amazing author and person. Anyway, so where was I? So on to the birthday...!

We celebrated today with family and it was a relaxing day by the pool. My brother brought Indian food from Punjabi Tandoor which was fantastic as always. He kind of knows the family that runs the restaurant so they seem to understand and respect his requests for "no dairy" and obviously no meat. My SIL made the cake and it was beautiful. My camera is still MIA but she took some pictures that maybe I can share later on. It was chocolate mint, my favorite! We served it with So Delicious Coconut milk based ice cream, what a treat. My belly was so full after all of this. So the day was pleasant, everyone hung out by the pool and got to chat and it was a beautiful day here. I even got surprised by 2 of my cousins stopping by which was nice. My family lavished me with thoughtful gifts, from roses to stainless stir fry pans, hula hoops to hemp shoes. Ah, such a lucky person. My kids gifted me with no major meltdowns, and an all around pleasant day. Rowan took a nice long nap too.

Still alive

I'm still here, survived our first move. There will be another in our future. We our renting a place for now, our house is sold, and now we can just hope to find a new house soon.

Rowan was majorly sick all weekend. Most likely rotavirus. Poor guy was just a limp noodle for about 48 hours. Thankfully he was still nursing or he would have had to be hospitalized I'm sure. Today he is improving, had a good appetite. I'm thinking we've turned the corner, but this illness has had its ups and downs so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

Athena is doing beautifully with the move. She wants us to buy a condo. She loves having an upstairs, and swimming with Dad every day. We even got to have lunch with him today right at home. That was nice!

We're moving, 1st haircuts, fevers

The moving truck comes Friday to move us out of this place. We will be staying in a condo for awhile as we continue to search for a home to buy. The condo is right by Chris' work, as in a 5 minute walk, has a pool in the complex, walking distance to Whole Foods/Trader Joes, a playground is nearby as well. It all sounds lovely, but I'm really starting to realize that we are really leaving this house forever. The house my babies were born in. I am really excited to be moving on, I think it will be better for our family, but I know I will miss it here. No, not the crazy ants that invade year around, or the smallness, or the millions of projects we've done to keep this place alive. But I know I will miss my yard. My yard used to drive me crazy, but the kids are finally at an age where they really enjoy playing out there. Rowan wakes up each morning and asks for "eeeeng, eeeeeng" (swing). They love filling up the pool, playing in the sandox, checking the tomatoes ("maaan-oooohhs"), gathering rocks and twigs. It really has been a rather nice summer out there. So yeah, I'm gonna miss it, but I hope we find something that I love even more. Athena has been acting out a lot, I'm sure it is because of the move. I keep forgetting that though in the moment and getting really frustrated with her. Luckily, she keeps me laughing with her random anecdotes.

Rowan got his first haircut today, but then suddenly came down with a high fever so I left my camera at the park in my panicky state. He is OK, and my friend has the camera. She is also the one who cut his hair. I can't stop staring at him. His lovely mullet is gone. It was starting to look like I cut his hair like that on purpose, and while I should be OK with that, due to my roots in the "T", I just couldn't let it go any longer. I'll probably never see those curls again as they looked like those baby ones that never come back. He looks absolutely adorable, but different. It will take some time for me to get used to it. It feels different too. I can't wait to post pictures of it so you all can see but it will probably be a few days until I get the camera back. So, that is all. His fever was up to 104.6, the highest he has ever had (athena got up to 104.9 when she had a kidney infection once though). Looks to be a virus, I even took him to the Dr. as I was kind of panicking.

Well, I should be packing, but I just can't get in the mood for it. Poor Chris will be stuck packing it all (again). The last time I was 8 months pregnant so I used that as my excuse, this time, I don't know what it is. I guess I just don't know where to begin. Luckily, we don't have to be out of here for another week. The house will be termite tented monday though so we'd like to have just about everything out by then.

If you need a dinner recipe, then make this. It was so good. Thanks VeganYumYum.

Kidical Mass

Tonight we took a family ride with a bunch of other families for the first "kidical mass" ride in our city(as far as I know it was the first). It was a lot of fun and I really hope the group continues to grow. The idea is:
"To celebrate the fact that Kids are Traffic Too. For family fun on vehicles that don't hurt the future! Another excuse to pedal with your family."

If you are in the San Diego area, then check it out:
http://pedalmamas.blogspot.com/

http://www.kidicalmass.org/

Midwife cat

While driving today Athena out of the blue asks us:

"Want to know the most funny cat thing?" (we say sure)

"A cat midwife!" (this was followed by lots of laughing from us all, then I ask if it is a person who is a midwife for cats, or an actual cat midwife?)

"It is a real cat midwife!" she says. (we all laugh again and again because it is so funny)

She adds, "She just says 'Meow, Do It, Meow, Do It!" (followed by more laughing)

Athena is one hilarious little girl.

SOLD

There is a SOLD sign on our house now. I can't even believe it. We still don't know when we have to be out of here, but the realtors will be talking this weekend. I'm guessing we have only 2 weeks or so. So much to do...like find another place to live! We are planning on renting in the area we'd like to buy since we haven't found anything we really love yet. So, I'll keep you all posted. Some day I'll be back to cooking regularly and blogging with all kinds of awesome pictures, but for now this will do.

Pride Parade

Last weekend we went to the Pride Parade. The kids really enjoyed it. My Dad started a blog here, and I'm stealing his photos of the kids since I haven't been taking many pictures. Athena loved all the free stuff but said her favorite thing was the clown who made her a dog balloon. Rowan loved everything, especially the motorcycles. Athena actually wants to be a clown now when she grows up. It was super funny because we always talk about what she'll be when she grows up and she always says, "a mom". When I tell her she can be something else and a mom she has always said that she'll just be a mom. I was telling her all sorts of things she could do like fly an airplane and she was like, "what will I do if I have my baby on the airplane?" I tried to explain that she would be fine bringing her baby on the plane if needed. "No, mom, I mean what if my baby comes out while I'm driving the plane!?" So that possibility alone totally ruled out her dreams of becoming a pilot, I mean, what would she do? I even further explained that she could take a break from flying when it got close to her due date but she'd have nothing of it.

Back to the parade, I have to admit, I got all teary eyed when this family of 6 walked by in the parade. It was a simple message they carried, just a banner that said "Married at Last", and on the reverse it said "Thank you California". I thought it was awesome.

Athena and marriage

Last weekend we were having dinner at my mom's house with my bro/SIL and family and Athena and her cousin O were talking about getting married. O has a plan of marrying Athena. Athena started to respond to this (and I thought she was going to say no, they couldn't marry, but this is what she said instead):

"Two girls can only get married if one of the girls looks like a boy." She went on to say that O did in fact look like a boy so that they could get married, and both seemed happy with that plan. I keep wondering if she made that up because of an observation, or if she just made it up because it made sense to her. Either way, it made me laugh.

Athena and Death

Athena is really into talking about death these days. It must be a four year old thing. These are a few of her statements about it today.

"I love, love, love kombucha! I'll be drinking kombucha even when I'm dead!"

or

"That would be funny if we died in the same place mommy! Then we'd still be together when we we're dead!"

or one of my favorites...

"Mommy, oh no, there is a bee! When is it going to be dead!?"

Mom v. 4 year old

Athena has sure been "testy" lately. Sometimes though our battles end in both of us laughing because we realize how ridiculous we both are. Like tonight for example, who sounded more ridiculous?

(Athena, rolling her tofutti cutie all over the table, leaving a lovely chocolate trail)
Me: Athena, stop rolling that all over the table or I'm going to eat it!
Athena: Stop always saying that to me or I'm going to take you away from here!
How do you respond that one? I just started laughing and said I'd eat her cutie while she took me away and then we were all just laughing.

Quick update

We haven't moved yet so I'm breaking my blog break, but I had to give these quick updates, mostly just so I'll remember later.
1. Rowan weighs 26 pounds and is 33 inches tall. For the first time in my parenting life, I have a baby in the 60th percentile for weight. I know %ile's don't matter much, but Athena has never been below the 75th for anything. When I joked to my pediatrician that he was looking "thin", she laughed because he is such a solid guy.

2. Rowan's bus. Rowan is absolutely in love with this matchbox type bus. He asks for it all of the time and even clutches it while he nurses to sleep. Last night Chris left it at Nana and Papa's house so tonight Rowan drove with Daddy to get the bus as he wouldn't stop asking for it and was looking all over the house and I started feeling bad because I don't think he understood that it wasn't here. He checked all of the usual places saying "Buh? Buh?" Oh, it is so cute. I was holding him in my arms when I asked him, "Do you want to go with Daddy and get your bus at Nana's house?" He jumped from my arms and ran to the front door, grabbed a pair of socks that was there and was frantically trying to get them on. "Buh, buh!"

3. Rowan's new sense of fashion. Rowan is starting to pick out his clothes now and I can't believe it. He will pull at what he has on and bring me a clean shirt, demanding that we change him into the proper attire. Tonight he found his monkey shirt and was working so hard to pull the tag off. He was grunting and everything and he got super frustrated that it wouldn't pull off (he was pulling on the tag that is sewn in, but acting like it was the kind of tag that you take off a new shirt). He kept this up for 5 minutes or so and was crying by the end saying "taa, taa" as in get this tag off. So I asked him if he wanted me to cut it off and he immediately handed over the shirt and stopped crying. I cut the tag off and he wanted it on right away and then walked out proudly to show his Dad. I was so surprised at how much thought he put into the whole production. I feel like Rowan communicates very well, even though I'm the main person who can understand it. I'm just happy he and I have that communication going. But I'm scared I'm going to have another very opinionated dressing kid. Well, look who his #1 role model is, his very fashionable, highly opinionated sister! (obviously they don't get this from their parents)

4. Potty. Rowan went pee on the potty tonight. It was amazing because for the past few months he'd say "pee pee" (actually sounds more like beepbee) and ask to go on the potty whenever Athena or I went (he says something like that and lifts his shirt and pulls at his diaper). I often, but not always, take off his diaper and put him on there, but he never goes. Tonight, I put him on and he grunted a little and there it was, a little stream of pee. We were so excited and he just had this beaming smile. Pretty cute.

Blog Break

I'm taking a break from blogging while we get ready to sell our house. I just have too much to do lately. Wish us luck on our "Open House" tomorrow. I hope it sells quick, but in this market I don't have my hopes up too high.

SF Post

We had a great weekend in the bay area but I'm so behind I am going to be quick. This video made me laugh out loud because the kid in front of us was a real pain. I totally let Rowan pull on his vest because a minute before he had told me to be quiet when I made a train sound. He said, "No one can make sounds!!!" Sheesh. This was taken at the steam train in Tilden Park, Berkeley. I always dreamed of taking my kids here when I lived up there. They loved it, well, Rowan was a bit scared, but I think he still enjoyed it for the most part. Plus, he picked up a new hat as part of the deal which he adores.


The new hat.
Rowan with our gracious host Ansel who allowed us to invade his home for 4 days, take his favorite toys, read his favorite books, gouge his eyes (ok just Rowan did that), eat his food, and all with a smile on his face. Seriously, he is one cute kid and I'm so happy we finally met him. We owe you big time Diana and Jeremy!!!
We went to a super cool park in Oakland. All of the parks there seem to have been redone and not in those hideous brightly colored plastic ones that we have all over our city. Not that those are so bad, but why do they all have to look the same!? I like how the boys were "parallel" playing.
There was a creek at the park too (Temescal Creek), and well, Rowan can not resist "WaWa" no matter how cold or murky it may be!
Dinner at Herbivore.
Fairyland and Habitot photos to follow in part 2...

posts

I haven't felt like writing much here because I haven't figured out how to download photos onto my laptop. We've got rid of our computer desk and main computer to help declutter our house while we get ready to sell it. So I'm adjusting to life with a laptop. Honestly, I do know how to download the photos but I don't know where the cord is and I've been too lazy to look for it. So, just wanted to let you know that I'm here, we are eating good, parenting as best we can, enjoying life. Athena has been saying all sorts of things to her brother lately that make me laugh, cringe, smile etc. Here are a few examples:
"Rowan, what is WRONG with you?" (insert teenage attitude voice and cringe)
"Wow, Rowan, you are such a good Daddy" (while Rowan was pushing dolls around in strollers with her. smile.)
"Rowan, you are making me crazy!" (laugh or cringe depending on the situation)

They are actually playing together now a bit. It is so amazing to watch their relationship develop.

Rowan is totally working it!

Rowan is having a real language explosion, although of course you'd have to be his mother to understand most of it. I'm really enjoying it, each day he puts new things together, even 2 words sometimes! So today while we were picking up dinner, the cashier was putting our food in a bag and Rowan made eye contact with her and starting saying and signing "more, more, more". For Ro that means, "Give me some food please." I thought it was hilarious since he just barely saw her putting the food in the bag, he must have been really hungry!

Tonight when I brought him in to get ready for bed, we passed the table for what seemed like a second and he recognized the package of animal cookies and starting signing/saying "more" and then signed for cookie! I could not say no even though he was about to go to bed because I was so amazed that he was being so specific! "More cookie!" When he signs cookie it looks a lot like the way he signs a few other things but in this context it was pretty obvious (he kind of claps his hands together and twists them a little).

****Funny Car Conversations****
Athena: Mom, Rowan KEEPS putting his foot in my face!
Me: Maybe it's because he's a baby.
Rowan: (unintelligible) RaaaRaaaBAAADAAA
Athena: No, he says it is not because he's a baby.
Me: Well then why is he doing it?
Athena: It's because he is still LEARNING, not because he's a baby.
Me: Oh, O.K., that sounds right.

4 year old check up and funny toddler

Athena had her check-up today and surprise surprise, she is doing quite well. She is still a BIG girl, topping the charts for height (90th %ile) and weight (80th %ile). She was super good at her appointment and cooperated in doing an eye exam, hearing exam, peeing in a cup, and talking with the doctor. Her doctor was impressed with all she knew and all she had to say. I was proud of Athena for being so cooperative because Rowan was being a real handful. It was too cute though because he wanted to do EVERYTHING Athena did, right down to peeing in the cup. He follows her around most of the day and wants to do what she does. If she is coloring, he wants to color, if she is reading, he is, if she is peeing in a cup, well, then why not him too? So Rowan was upset because I took a crayon away from him when he was supposed to be drawing like his sister, BUT he was actually sneaking tastes of the crayon. Sorry buddy, but no.
Other funny Rowan stories:
I've been teaching Rowan about the potty and he just recently started to understand and run to the bathroom. He just sits though, doesn't actually use it, but it makes me smile because he sits down for a second and then wants to get up right away and wash his hands. Then he will sit down again and want to wash his hands again, but I usually only play the game once. So today I was showing him his doll that sits on the potty, and put his potty right next to "Paul". I left the room to get his diaper and when I came back he had traded potties with Paul. It was absolutely hilarious to see him squatting over this tiny 1 inch high/3 inch across potty.
The other funny thing that Rowan does is blow his nose. He'll pull off a piece of toilet paper and blow it, or grab a towel. His little scrunched nose is soooooo adorable. I love that he mimics us so much. He is always helping Chris out in the yard digging with his shovel. Only bummer is that he often digs up the stuff we just planted.

Taking Turns

We've all been taking turns being sick since Saturday so no holiday weekend for us. First up was me, I stayed in my PJs all day Saturday and Chris tried to keep the kids occupied best he could on a rainyish day. Saturday night Rowan developed a fever and he was out of it all day Sunday. I took off with Athena for a couple of hours to attend a birthday party which was nice. She had a great time and I ate 3 delicious cupcakes. Rowan and I were feeling much better by Monday, but not 100%. This morning started off pretty normal, I even took Athena to school with NO signs of illness. As soon as she got home though she started complaining of neck (throat) and ankle pain and I checked her and she was burning up. She assured me that she felt fine at school, it was only on the drive home that she started feeling sick. So she has been laying around all afternoon with a fever and no appetitite. I made her some popsicles which she proclaimed tasted like water, which was pretty much what they were (I added just a little juice for flavor). I tried to keep Rowan busy so she could rest and we had a good time. He bit me super hard on my leg though and left a bruise! He also threw his lunch and then had a fit when I took the plate away, threw legos at me while saying "no, no", bit me a few other times, yeah, he's a real handful these days. He is so darn cute though I have a hard time telling him no or being firm in the least. I'll be glad when the throwing stage is over and his vocabulary develops beyond the 10 words or so he uses regularly. (mama, dada, dog, ball, nuhnuh [athena], no no, dah dah [trash truck], Da Duh [cousin Dante] duck, numanumanum or dubadubadub [nursing], hat, and more) He also signs a handful of signs like more, banana, bath, diaper, hat and ball (which he does a throwing motion even though I always modeled the ASL sign). There are more words and signs he has used, but those are by far his favorite. I could of sworn he said cookie a couple weeks ago, it was like "ki ki". I'm actually surprised that wasn't his first word knowing who his mother is:) Mostly he just whines an "uh unh uh" sound all day to get his point across. Anyway, back to the sickness, it looks like Athena will be sick tomorrow and miss her swim class :(, and Chris will probably get sick over the weekend with our luck. I'm really hoping he doesn't get this round but it seems inevitable...Hoping the rest of you are healthy, we should be soon!

The Biggest Cookie Ever

I made a double batch of Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan chocolate chip cookies on Friday (a rainy day) but made a big mistake! I thought I followed the recipe to a "T", but when I opened the oven to take them out, this is what I saw! I thought this recipe was foolproof but I was wrong...


I realized afterward that there was a side note I had missed. When using spelt flour, add another 1/4 cup of flour. Oops. I missed that, and here I was thinking I was all cool for using the spelt. Oh well, they still tasted great but they didn't serve their purpose which was to deliver them to the winner of my blogiversary, the same woman who I nailed in the face with a softball this week (still sorry)! She definitely deserved better than a flat pan of cookies so as soon as I get to the store to buy more chocolate, I'm going to make things right again!

Thanks Sweet and Sara

My box arrived Friday and thankfully our weather had cooled down from about 95 degrees when I won the contest, to 65 when the box contents arrived. It was the first time we tried a smores (from them) and it did not disappoint. The marshmallows are the same as usual, absolutely fabulous. So I just want to give a shout out to Sweet and Sara for their generous giveaway. The whole family appreciated it (well, Ro didn't get any but he wanted some).