Mother Earth

When all the trees have been cut down,

When all the animals have been hunted,

When all the waters are polluted,

When all the air is unsafe to breathe,

Only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

~Cree Prophecy

Fiddle heads

We've lived in Maine for almost 5 years now and had yet to eat 'Fiddleheads'. Every spring we'd see signs along the road that would advertise them for a couple bucks per pound. I had read an article about Fiddle heads when we first moved here but hadn't been adventurous enough to try them out until last night.

On the way home from the circus, I had Chris stop by a roadside stand and bought our first pound. Another customer told me that I'd regret only getting one pound, as he was buying 12. "You know, once they are gone you can't get them again until next year." I know he was right, Fiddle heads aren't usually sold in the stores and are only available for s short time during the spring. I still only got one pound and it turned out to be a lot more than I expected.

I asked  the lady who was selling them how I should cook them, "Just boil them like you would broccoli or any other vegetable and then add some butter." Sounded simple enough to me. 

I washed them off..

Trimmed the stems a bit...

and put them in the pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes or so, then added some butter and dinner was served...

I wasn't sure if Chris would be willing to try them, he's not a huge vegi fan but he ate every last one on his plate. They tasted a bit like asparagus but leafy-er. I think fiddle heads will become a spring tradition for us!

Fun Weekend

On Saturday morning we got up and headed out to enjoy the day. Once in the truck we realized that Chris missed a call to go into work,which he wasn't happy about. He returned the call and they already had enough people to cover the work that needed done. It would have been nice money but I was glad he didn't have to waste such a beautiful Saturday working inside a boiler.

We ended up at Lowe's and bought a new lawnmower. We have about an acre that is almost all grass, for some reason it seems even bigger when it's all mowed, it looks really nice out there now.

While Chris was mowing, I was working in my flower beds a bit, Sam was playing in the grass and Pie was flying her new kite. At first I tried to get it in the air for her but soon realized it was better just to let her do it herself. She did a great job running up and down the driveway and had sooooo much fun!

Later that night we went to Chris's buddy's house so they could make a trade on work tool boxes. Chris needed a bigger one and his buddy could use the extra money so it worked out for both of them. His house is a awesome little log cabin on a beautiful lake. It would be such an a great place to live EXCEPT during black fly season. We came home with bites all over us.

Sunday morning, Chris went back out to finish up mowing until the black flies got too bad, then we came back in and the girls settled down for a nap before we headed to the circus.

Pie was excited to see the clowns, tigers and the dogs who do tricks. She seems to prefer the clowns from a distance though. I wasn't surprised that she wouldn't stand with them for a picture, but she was thrilled to accept a blue balloon from them.

Sammie had fun just looking around at all there was to see.

It was incredibly hot in the auditorium and the girls had sat still as long as they could so we left about halfway through the second half of the show. I think in a couple more years the girls will enjoy the circus even more.

Finding Beauty

I have always liked dandelions, I love how bright and happy they are. They are tough fighters, coming back year after year. Millions and millions of dollars (well maybe not millions.. who really knows) are spent every year to kill these pretty little flowers. What did a dandelion ever do to deserve such harsh treatment? They offer pollen for the honey bees and many people put the greens in to their salads.
My girls love to spend all afternoon picking the bright yellow flowers out of our yard. What mother doesn't love a bouquet of pretty yellow flowers pick by her loving children? When I see a yard full of dandelions, I don't see an unkept lawn, I see a yellow sea of beauty. 
Dandelions are always welcome here.

Family Names

As the mother of 2 girls, I have heard a number of times that the "family name" will end since we didn't have boys to carry it on. I came from a family with 2 daughters, as did my mother, several generations of  "family names" have ended in my family and never once have I heard one word about it.

I can not tell you how much this bothers me. Not that the family name ends, but how insulting it feels that my girls are less important, less valuable, not worthy and wont contribute to our world somehow because they didn't have the honor of passing down a name. It's not that I don't have respect for my husband's family heritage, after all I gave up my own name to take his.

It just seems like such an old fashioned idea and so much expectation is placed on the the child based only on their gender. There is no guarantee that a son would grow up and have children, or if he does, that the mother would have taken his name, possibly giving the children her maiden name or a combination of the two. Just as there is no guarantee that a girl will give up her own name if she marries - IF she marries.

It's impossible to know what the world will be like when my daughters are grown up and are creating their families. Placing so much importance of something like a name on the sex of a child just seems so trivial and well, sexist to me. Not to mention hurtful, when said to the mother of two girls.

Out of the mouths of babes...

After revealing the contents of Sammie's dirty diaper, I hear a little voice from beside the table:
 "Holy Poop, Mommy!"

Thankful

Today, I am thankful that the sun is shining even if it's only between clouds. I am thankful for my friends, their support and humor. For my husband who works so hard to take care of us. I am thankful for my mom who always worries about me, my dad who always looks out for me, and my sister who always inspires me. The sleeping baby on my lap and cartoons that have taught my 2 year old words to songs I have forgotten and helped her count to ten when I could only get her to 2! I am thankful that my Hula girl seems to be feeling better.

I am thankful for days when it's easy to look on the brighter side.

Grey

The primary cause of unhappiness is not the situation, but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral, which always is as it is.

~ Eckhart Tolle

Sometimes it feels like so much effort to be happy and so easy to feel down. It's been cold and rainy here the last few days and I struggle to keep my mood from matching the grey sky. I need to remind myself that I am in charge of my happiness and need to look for the good and not fall for the bad that pulls me into the darkness.

Take time to smell the flowers

After about 6 months of working nights and about 8 weeks of working 6 days a week, Chris finally had a 3 day weekend to spend home with us. We spent Friday doing the usual grocery shopping, Sautrday morning Chris got up and replaced a U-Joint on the GMC and put new brakes and rotors on the Dodge. In the afternoon we went to the park so the girls could play on the playground, then went to the car wash and finally got some ice cream. Sunday we headed out to go to a birthday party but misunderstood the directions and went to the wrong park. The girls had fun anyway and Chris made it home in time to watch the hockey game.

Kiss Cookies

Pie is in the "helping" stage right now. It's nice to see her learning and getting interested in different things. Her favorite is helping me make 'kiss cookies' for her daddy. She likes to dump the measuring cups of sugar and flour and the teaspoons of vanilla in the mixing bowl, but her absolute favorite part is "mushing" the cookies once I spoon them out onto the cookie sheets. "Pie mush them" she says. Daddy's favorite part is eating them. ;)

Grandma's Bear

This morning Pie spotted the Teddy Bear that my Grandma had given me for Christmas when I was a teenager. It's one of the few things I have from my childhood that has survived many chewing puppies and moving a handful of times. I had put him up on a high shelf in my bathroom, just because I knew he would be safe there. This morning he came down and is now part of Pie and Sam's animal family. I hope that they love him as much as I did. I will always think of my Grandma when I see my girls playing with the bear and know that she is looking down watching over them too.

Appearances

I recently read a thread on a debate message board about children's appearances and how they reflect on the parenting the child receives. The majority of the posters felt "sorry" for children who had dirty hands or stains of their clothes and assumed that they were left unattended while the parent were consumed with themselves. It was so important to these posters that their children be perfectly clean and in matching outfits every time they left the house, even if it was a quick trip to the grocery store because they felt they'd be judged and looked at as bad parents.

I could not help but shake my head as I read this thread. It is no wonder why so many girls (and boys) have self esteem and body image issues when their mother's make such a big deal out of their appearances from the second they are born.

While I think my girls are beautiful, I want them to see themselves as smart, kind, friendly, generous, and helpful. I hope that they can see past the paint and perfume that their classmates will wear to school and love them for who they really are, whether they wear the latest fashions or their sister's hand-me-downs.

So when you see us at the grocery store and my girls have dirty hands or crumbs on their faces you might want to take a look at me too, because I was right there playing in the mud puddles with them and I baked the cookies that they ate on the way shopping. If that makes me a bad mom, so be it. Life is too short to worry about matching outfits.

Bubbles

We went out int he yard this morning to play. Still not the nicest weather yet. It's warming up into the 50's but has been pretty windy. I am so ready for some really nice weather.

Pie had fun with the dump truck.

Most of the time Pie and Sam play really well together.

Sometimes not so much.

Sam had fun blowing bubbles.

Side

Finally after way too many days of windy, yucky weather, we were able to get out "side" and play for awhile today. We have been working on the flower gardens trying to move some lupines into much more managable places and have been enjoying the first blooms of the season. I've been working the last few seasons to move some lupine up from the hillside into the yard where we can actually see them. They readily reseed themselves and grow wherever they like. Come June our yard will be a sea of purple. I can't wait!

Pie learned a new trick on her slide today.

And Sammie just enjoyed the green grass on her barefeet!

Betty

Pie drops her play phone on the floor.

Me: Uh oh spagetti-o

Pie: OH OH Betty Go!