30 days of beauty: Sebastian @ nap time.

Sebastian curled up on the sofa for a nap with a blanket and a pillow. I asked him if he was sleepy and he said, "Hmmmmm. Maybe mama. Not sure yet".

I suggested that he close his eyes... so he squinted them shut.

..."A little softer, Sebastian?"

..."Shhhh, Mama. I'm trying to sleep".

Precocious much?

30 days of beauty: A little Valentine's fun!

Last night Sebastian asked me, "Ummmmmm, Mama? Can we have for breakfast tomorrow waffles and then go to the playground and play with the swings and then have chocolate ice cream? Oh, yum yum yum yum yum." Seriously, this kid knows what he wants. Our day began with Bas and I waking up to delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. Ben surprised us with a waffles/eggs/veggies breakfast... It was only right that we continued fulfilling the requests. We figured he had the perfect recipe for a Valentine's Day celebration and obliged him + added 2 playground stops to our outing.

The smile says it all! Here Sebastian and Papa are making their way to the 1st playground:

Fluffy clouds and a clear view of the mountain sweetened the deal:

Beautiful trees in Sugarhouse Park:

Rocky Road ice cream for the boys (I had strawberry cheesecake ice cream!):

Thoroughly focused on his treat:

Chocolatey, contemplative face!

The view of the mountains from the playground around the corner from our house:

Bas fully enjoying playground #2 (I had loads of fun monkeying around with him. This playground rocks!).

We were all smiles for a couple of hours, but he did melt down when it was time to go home. Poor kid would live on the playground if we let him. We ended the day with an episode of Caillou (he is so addicted right now... no more Sesame Street or Yo Gabba Gabba. He sure is loyal to whatever show he is into at the time) & a kid favorite dinner of mac n cheese with peas and corn, so the smile has returned. Mama is all smiles, too. Couldn't have asked for a better love day than time spent with my two fave guys.

30 days of beauty: Murphy the wonder dog!

This little guy has warmed our hearts, taught us much in the way of patience & added so much more to our lives. Okay, yes... much of what he added was just more responsibility, and when he was chewing everything in sight whenever we would leave the house he added a whole lot of anxiety and anger. You see, my husband proclaims himself a non-dog person. I understand that he hasn't had much experience with them, but am pretty confident that this one is growing on him. Enter the crate. Ahhhhh, so much better. At least when we leave the house we know that our stuff isn't being destroyed. Actually, Murphy has taken to it as his safe space and enjoys sleeping in it, too. The crate: a life saver. I used to think of it as a cruel doggie jail... no longer. We are careful, of course, not to abuse it. It *is* the greatest tool and has made this puppy loving experience so much better.

After roaming the house, enjoying treats and being tuckered out from some good old fashioned wrestling with the toddler, Murphy plants himself in any of the chairs he deems comfortable in the moment. We tried to keep him off of the people furniture for awhile and then decided that his comfortable happiness was ours, as well... here he is settled into my father-in-law's fabulous pink throne:

Oh, Murphy. You teach us so much and we love you, beautiful mutt. We are savoring puppy time, but do so look forward to a year from now when you are all settled and a bit calmer (though we have no illusions about you being too calm... you are a terrier after all).

30 days of beauty: Sunshine!

SUNSHINE!!! Sunshine streaming through bits of amber...? Well, priceless enough to give me a little edge of happiness.

a raw raw raw raw moment.

I am naked and open and lost without the beach.

Can't wait to fall,

to dive,

to release myself,

to disappear

into the sand.

I am drowning

in this landlocked

existence.

I promise

to meet you there...

if only

in our dreams

...or the near future.

30 days of beauty: FOOD!

Erin over at bluebirdbaby has inspired another 30 days of blogging. It is just the kick in the proverbial pants that I needed to refresh this space. I've been detoxing for about 2 weeks and thought it most appropriate that I begin this project with a little glimpse of some of the yummies I have been enjoying. As within, so without.

Ben and Sebastian have been enjoying oatmeal for breakfast much of this week. I have been doctoring up my cereal. This mornings breakfast was Mesa Sunrise flakes in vanilla soy milk with coconut, dried blueberries, craisins, macadamia nuts and chia seeds. Suuuuper delish.

Sometime last week we discovered some tasty veggie burger patties called Sunshine Burgers. OMFG triple yum. Here we ate them on whole grain bread with sunflower sprouts, onions, carrots and a bit of cream cheese.

Beyond these tasty treats, there has been much ingestion of smoothies, veggie stirfry and wheatgrass juice! Immune system is feeling the lift and this tiny cold the kid passed to me mildly came and went in about 2 days. It feels so good to be taking the time to eat right. So so very good... good food is a beautiful thing.

Ah, sweet February!

Every February I am taken by surprise at how the happy just flows on in. It is a strange and magical thing that I am just now really realizing... Oh, February! I have missed you so!

Dreary January is behind us. The sun is peaking through gigantic, fluffy, white clouds more than 2 days out of the week. Bulbs are beginning to break through the ground... crocuses just around the corner! All of this warmth and uplifted energy has brought me to another point of cleansing. It helps very much that Sebastian and I have transitioned out of our nursing relationship and my body is fully my own again. Instead of opting for a total elimination cleanse, I decided it best to redesign my way of eating; my relationship with food. I have been so unhappy with the weight I have been lingering at for so long (never did get back to prepregnancy weight, which was also much higher than my ideal weight). It isn't just about weight, though. It is about recognizing when I am overeating, and why. It's about noticing how I feel when I eat and how any given chosen food makes me feel after eating it. I am a certified Diet Counselor. Seriously. I know what to do, I just get lazy. And so: In conjunction with taking Michael's Naturopathic Ultimate Detox & Cleanse, I am focusing on making the bulk of my meals fruit or veggie centered. I don't eat much meat to begin with, so I am choosing only a tiny bit of sliced turkey or ground chicken in my soups. I cut waaaaaaay back on the breads. Strangely I don't miss them as much as I expected. And the sweets? Ugh. Those are usually my downfall. Not so. I am eating about 2 squares of dark chocolate (70% or above) daily and do not feel deprived in the slightest. No alcohol, no caffeine... but those are the only 2 no-no's for 2 weeks. Here I am at the end of day 5 and feeling great. I have had some emotions come up and some aches for the past 2 days, but the bum knee that has been bugging me since the beginning of December has miraculously stopped hurting. Ahhhh, I love a good cleanse.

So here I am, feeling great, reflecting much, and just reveling in transition. Sebastian is on a nap schedule again and that has afforded me some daily alone time to bathe, read & meditate. Everything is sort of shifting into focus. I'm going to continue taking it easy, but will post some photos when I feel up to it. Spring is on it's way!!!