Yin and Yang

I am not sure why I am consistently surprised by the yin and the yang, the good and the bad, the ups and the downs of parenthood.

Yesterday was one of those days...just a perfect kid day. Preschool, walk on the beach, playtime on the rug, story time, picnic at the park, painting, and a full hour of L and C playing together with no arguments. An hour! That is a record by about 55 minutes.

I mean, it was one of those days that you really shouldn't even talk about because then the universe will know that you need a little balancing out the next day. And, of course, I talked about it...

So, going to drink some more coffee while my kids watch a bit too much TV on this rainy morning. Ta, ta.

Things I Love

Some things that are making me smile...

New(ish) pillow covers from Etsy seller Ruthscrafts; this print makes me happy every day.

My brown Converse sneakers. I hope I am never too old to rock these puppies. Am coveting some light grey ones as well.

My new North Face Isabella backpack (Thanks, Mom!) I have avoided doing the mom-with-backpack thing and now I am not sure why I waited so long. Loving it.

Watermelon from Trader Joe's is just amazing right now. I cannot believe that $3.99 can bring our family that much happiness.

3 out of 10

I am one of those people who can give healthy, positive advice. When I speak to friends who are struggling with their self-image, their relationships, their place in the world, I can clearly see the beauty, strength and importance of those women. It is easy to give advice to such amazing people. Just tell them how fantastic they are and why.

Before you think I am a little too sure of myself and tooting my own horn, read on.

I am terrible at accepting healthy, positive advice. It has taken me a long time to see my own beauty, strength and importance. In fact, I am still working on it.

So, when I made my list for this year, I decided to choose goals based on the advice I would give to my friends. "Choose yourself." "Take time for you and your interests." "Take a chance; you are strong and amazing." "There is no reason to feel guilty."

Hence, #3. Get yoga back into my life.

I have learned to really love yoga. It was a stretch for me (horrible pun truly not intended, but my inner dork will not let me edit it out either, so...) to appreciate the strength, the focus, and the endurance it can take to get through a challenging yoga class. I was a gym girl and focused on the numbers, the time ticking away on the machine to tell me how hard I worked. Yoga was different. I learned to love the difference.

Now, I am taking my own advice. Once a week, I bring my kids to the gym and drop them off at the kids' center. No guilt. I stretch, I balance, I flow, I practice yoga. No guilt. I even take a shower sometimes. At the gym. With no kids around. Yeah. No guilt.

For an hour and fifteen minutes, my kids play and I choose myself. I lose the guilt. I choose my interests.

And, because life truly is in session, I may or may not have had to leave my beautiful tree pose today to wipe my kid's bottom. Isn't that just perfect?

Namaste.

Fresh Dinner for the Summer

This is one of our favorite dinners. Serve with hummus and cut-up red peppers, cucumbers and baby tomatoes. We sometimes throw some grilled chicken on top if we have leftovers. The best thing is that you can make this salad early in the day. It is actually better when it has been in the fridge for awhile. I try to get feta cheese with herbs from Trader Joe's and then omit the oregano and pepper.

S and I love this. The kids will eat it, but only after some coaxing. We start off with lots of bites with only rice and beans, and then try bits of each veggie. (I highly recommend serving this during a blackout. Those darn kiddies seriously each ate an entire bowl without a complaint. They couldn't see a thing! --True story)

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 chopped cucumber
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped red, orange or yellow pepper
• 8 cups bagged prewashed spinach (about 8 ounces)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups (8 ounces) reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 
  

Preparation

Cool rice after cooking.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until spinach wilts.

Combine rice, sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, spinach mixture, cheese, and beans. Sprinkle with nuts; serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Weekend Musings

Sunday morning, driving home from Trader Joe's with the fam, I saw this:

And, I thought, "Wow. If the A-Team was a bunch of chicks, those faces would have the crap airbrushed out of them." I said something like that to S. He said something like, "True that, sista." (Actually, he totally said that.)

Then I thought about this:

And, I sort of wanted to cry.

Sidenote: I love SATC. Love. I am planning on seeing it this weekend. I am just wondering when I am going to see a billboard of unshaven, sweaty women with their scars and wrinkles untouched.

The Little Things

Today, the little things amounted to a whole lot...

Spending time with 5 wonderful mamas and our collective 9 kiddos at the park

Watching sand being dug, apple slices being shared, 3-year-old problems being resolved

Finding common threads in the lives of very different, yet very close friends

Smelling a beautiful baby's head

Crowding on the sofa, listening to S telling stories to the kids, dozing

Relaxing in the living room, enjoying the cool breeze and the smell of star jasmine through the window

Life is never perfect. There were tears shed today. Boo-boos bandaged. Frustrations aired. Tantrums thrown.

Life is in session. I am trying to embrace it all. The sharing and the tears. The stories and the tantrums.

photo by TracyElaine via Flickr

Things I Love

Some of my favorites:

Method brand wood floor cleaner from Target

(The almond smell seriously makes mopping my floors enjoyable.)

Earrings from Etsy seller SMVDesigns

(Mother's Day present for my mama that I am hoping to borrow this summer!)

Perfect Mossimo T-shirt from Target

(I am a sucker for t-shirts, stripes and clothes that do not need ironing.)

illy coffee

(A coffee splurge that, literally, helped me stop crying this morning

after my 4:45 wake-up call from L and C.)