Furlough Foodie Fun

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So, there's a lot of reasons to be angry about the government shutdown, but I'm not going to get into them. What I am going to get into is gushing a bit about some of the marvelous things we've been making from scratch.

Set, Ready, Go!

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In the past month, we've had some marvelous adventures.

Sending my Best to Puerto Rico

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Last month, with four days notice, we sent our Best to Puerto Rico. 

Peaches! WIP Wednesday, September 13th, 2017

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Creating is my passion, my sanity, my sense of being "up to something", my way of contributing a little bit. I always have a few projects going, many left to the side for months or even years before I pick up the best and carry on. Here's some of what I'm working on this week:

Thirty-five for years and June Clean Eating Challenge

"Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years." Oscar Wilde, The Importance Of Being Earnest

Five Articles That Have Challenged The Way I Think - Summer 2016

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I read a lot of articles. Every once in a while I come across one that really makes me think, that challenges me in a new way. 

Holding the Balance - Hooray he's home!

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The girls' Daddy, my beloved husband is home.

One of the things I couldn't tell you is that Daddy was away for a month. 

One of the primary tenets of OpSec (Operations Security) is to not broadcast/publish/post/announce/etc travel dates, plans, absences etc. As a somewhat somewhat small female with two little ones in tow, we don't announce to the world that we're on our own for a month.

A month is a long time. I even read my own article on solo parenting in a few times of desperation.  Waitaminit. I know how to do this. I wrote about it. Didn't think I was writing it to help future-me, but hey. Oh right! That's what we do.

While it wasn't a deployment and his stateside training made regular contact possible, he was gone long enough that we had to form new patterns, routines, and lots of extra snuggling wherever they could get it. 

With extra treats, lots of toddler meals, and so much love and support from friends and family, we are back together. And little worse for the wear.

Now if we could just get through this heat we will get back to making this space home! 

I'm looking forward to showing you all the marvelous things we created, built, planted, spread, stenciled, painted, and spruced while Daddy was gone.

24.) "Know your number one job is to hold the balance when your child cannot hold it for themselves - be able to be a calm rock with a ho-hum attitude toward their emotional excess to help the child learn." -Carrie of Parenting Passageway

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10 Reasons My Husband is a Great Dad.

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Because my husband was out of town yesterday, we celebrated Father's Day together on Saturday. 

To further honor how lucky we ladies are to have such a wonderful fellow, here are 

10 reasons my husband is a wonderful father.

10 Small Acts of Self-Care

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I have no words for the recent acts of violence, hate, and gross ignorance.  And, while I have a slight allergy to brevity, I will not even attempt to cover any of my thoughts on the subject.

Instead, like putting on your own gas mask before attempting to help another, I offer you 10 Small Acts of Self-Care that can be done in just a few minutes. 

I am not a great activist, nor an outspoken protestor. I do however believe in the accumulation of small acts of love, patience, courage, generosity and more. Both to ourselves, and to others. 

Being a stay-at-home-mom of two toddlers (that are less than two years apart) it can be hard to notice the pressure drop in the proverbial cabin, and so hard to be all-here part of the time, rather than partly here all of the time.

Taking a few minutes for self-care is not selfish. We cannot uplift others without meeting our own basic needs. Taking a few moments to recharge our own batteries, give ourself a few more spoons 

10 Small acts of Self-Care

1.) Breathe Deeply

Seriously. 

Breathe in for at least four counts, and slowly exhale for the same. 

Any time you start to feel yourself getting tense, about to scream, or however it looks for you, fill your lungs and blow it all out. Go outside, repeat. Clear your lungs, fill yourself up, let go of your exhaust, exhale completely.

2.) Drink something warm and delicious. 

Here's the kicker, drink it while it's still warm. The first time. Boil the kettle, start a fresh pot of coffee, whatever your preference, and savor it.

You can even get fancy and warm up some milk (any kind you prefer) with a little sweetness to add, and serve it to your kids too. Our girls love a little sweet vanilla milk (milk with a little honey or maple and a splash of vanilla extract) and we savor it while I drink my tea or coffee.

3.) Wash your hands and face.

Warm water in cooler months, cool water in warmer months. Like brushing your teeth, this basic act can boost our well being and set us back on a better track.

Bonus points for lotion or soap that you love how it smells. I can vividly remember the smell of an oatmeal soap (unscented) that I made at a workshop in my teens. It doesn't have to be fancy, perfumed, or anything of the kind. 

Revel in the water running over your hands. Smoothly caress them in the water. Lovingly dry them on a clean towel. These hands are dear friends, incredible instruments, and could use some thanks.

4.) Count Your Blessings

It's so easy to get bogged down in what's difficult, what's not going the way you'd like, or be overwhelmed by senseless acts of horror blaring on the news. 

We are so incredibly blessed.

I'm not making any comment about which versions of the-powers-that-be that you believe in (or don't). 

We are privileged. We are RICH. 

We have food to eat, clean water to drink. We have so many choices between this luxury or that, between this opportunity or that experience, spend time with these people that love us or those people that challenge us (or both!), or even keep our own company. 

Even just thinking of five things for which you are grateful, can help you see life in a clearer light.

5.) Drink a glass of water.

Treat your body to some hydration, your brain to some fog-lifting h20. 

Most people don't drink enough water. Add a squeeze of lemon, a mint leaf, a slice of orange, or drink it straight up. 

6.) Stretch.

You don't have to even attempt yoga. 

Take a deep breath and try to touch your toes, lift your shoulders and move your spine a little.

Bonus points for baby dinosaur noises.

Even just push your shoulders back and front a couple of times. 

You ask a lot of your body. 

Take a moment to check in with yourself, even if it's half a moment to move something that's tight or tense. These small radical acts of self care bring more goodness to our world.

7.) Eat some vegetables. 

You can find scientific studies supporting just about every kind of dietary scheme. 

They pretty much all agree about eating vegetables. 

Cut some carrot sticks, more than you'll eat now, and store the rest in the fridge for later.

Plan to have a glorious salad. There's no reason for salads to be boring. Walnuts, apples, grapes, orange sections, almonds, pine nuts, goat cheese, dried cherries, blue cheese, parmesan cheese, nooch (nutritional yeast), your favorite vegetables, and even just a simple splash of vinegar and olive oil can turn an obligatory serving of greenery into a real treat.

We even love snacking on thawed frozen peas. They're a little sweet, and pop when you bit them making them fun to eat.

8.) Basic acts of grooming

Clip your toenails. Or brush your teeth. Comb your hair even just with your fingers.

Do whatever it is that you need to do but have been so busy putting out fires since the little ones hit the floor running.

It's amazing how human we can feel again after taking but a few moments to treat ourselves as such. These simple acts of soul-first-aid can be all it takes to give ourselves a bit of a fresh start.

When traveling these often fall to the wayside because we've stepped out of our normal habits and routines. Sometimes, when life is in flux or change, or even just the normal business of life, we forget to reset, restart and regain what we've put aside for the moment. 

9.) Challenge Your Mind

Read a chapter of a new book, read an article you disagree with, watch a Ted talk on something you don't understand, learn more deeply about something that may have controversy attached - like chocolate.

I highly recommend Tsh Oxnreider's series 

The Intellectual Grownup

There's only a handful of posts but she covers topics like A Brief History of Syria, Coffee and how it gets all the way to your cup, and What you might not know about Cerebral Palsy among others.

10.) Give yourself a little grace.

You're doing just fine. Really. 

Even if you're not ok. 

And, not to spoil anything, but it's going to work out somehow. 

Take a deep breath, dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and keep going. 

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6 Tips for Solo Parenting with Toddlers

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Six (Media Free) Tips for Solo Parenting with Toddlers

Solo parenting (not to be confused with single parenting) is when one parent is gone for a period of time, often due to work trips. 

Military families (like ours) experience this often - between trainings, regular drill weekends, long schools, and deployments. Add in work trips for weekday jobs and there's lots of time when one parent is flying solo.

Here are some tips for getting through. These also work for older kids,  difficult days, or when your spouse is home:

1.) Get them outside and active

Even if it's just a tiny toddler playscape, let them burn off big energy outdoors. 

How to move with littles - 6 tips for selling, buying, and moving house with small children

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Moving is hard for just about anyone. Moving with small children is even harder- their entire life is in upheaval.

Here are a few things that made the transition easier for us and our girls.

1.) Spend time where you're going, before you move. 

This isn't always possible if you're moving many hours away. Fortunately for us we moved about an hour away, close to family. During the process of selling we made a point to frequent our new area. Even before we'd found a house, Adventure Days exploring our new area became a real treat. 

We've been in our new house for almost a month and C regularly requests to "go on a Venture today." 

Moving can send their entire world into upheaval. Shifting some of their world gradually can make the leap and landing quite a bit softer.

In the reverse, we slowly stopped going to some places near our old house well before we moved. It's tempting to take advantage of the wonderful things you'll miss once you move. However for our girls, it was best to shift their familiarity to our new town and places. 

2.) Talk about what you're looking forward to about your new home.

As adults we have a fair amount of practice dealing with uncertain situations. It may drive us a bit nuts, but we know that after we move our life will settle in and feel normal again. Focusing on the great new things, and the wonderful things that will be the same reassured them greatly.

In our case we were very much looking forward to being closer to certain family members and more than halving Daddy's commute time. More time with Daddy was a very real thing for the girls to anticipate and proximity to many new favorite places (see 1.) above) 

3.) Get an extra laundry basket for loose stuff as you dash out the door.

This one is a bit more practical, but was a lifesaver every time we had to be out of the house. We bought an extra laundry basket. Any time we had to leave the house "show-ready" I grabbed the detritus and we were off.

Getting the girls out the door in time was sometimes almost all I could handle. Being able to just grab the odds and ends and pop them in the trunk of my car was so handy. When we returned to the house, the basket came right back in and we could start right where we left off.

4.) Read books about moving and talk about other families who've moved

This book was part of our daily reading for the better part of two months before we moved. We talked about friends, particularly with children, who'd moved recently. We shared our own experiences and told stories about moving.

Talking about others (real or fictional) going through similar experiences makes the whole ordeal more like a part of normal life. Instead of feeling cut off from what they knew, we all feel more connected. 

5.) Set them up to help

C was worried about what things we were bringing. We had many many conversations about if we were bringing such and such with us. As I packed my own things I often found a beloved item of hers at the top of the box.

While she was very worried about the move, she was an enthusiastic helper. She cleaned, polished, swept, vacuumed, painted, and decorated countless boxes. Children do so need to be important, be valuable, and have just as strong of a desire to be useful as we do.

6.) Be prepared to change course.

I had a wonderful goodbye planned. From everything I'd read, saying goodbye was a vital part of the moving process. I wanted to take C through each empty room and say goodbye and thank you to our old home, and then a final tour of our property. This is what I've done with almost every house I've left, and is part of my own moving process.

In the end, I loaded two exhausted and tender girls into their car seats. I did my own mental goodbye tour as they slept on our drive only minutes later. 

While it wasn't the graceful exit I'd rehearsed in my head, it was what the girls needed. More than dwelling on leaving what they knew, I tipped my hat in salute, and drove off into our new life.

We're Not Moving to Bahrain

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You're not moving there either? You've never even considered moving there? 

We hadn't either.

We hadn't until my husband got offered a job on NSA Bahrain, in the island kingdom of Bahrain. 

They gave us three days to decide. Even with the extension that made it a week to decide, we had some serious thinking to do, questions to ask,  conversations to have, and phone calls to make. 

Ultimately we decided that it wasn't the right adventure for us, but probably not for the reasons you'd think.