Why teaching...

I want to hear what children have to say. Their thoughts are organic and pure in nature with a touch of innocence. For this reason, I have no patience for adults, whose thoughts are processed and tainted by society, expectations and norms.

Derby Day

The Kentucky Derby....what a wonderful event consisting of dressing up, wearing fabulous hats, horses with clever names and a race....that takes 45 seconds. Literally. I had no idea.

I've wanted to have a Derby party for years. It's the best idea. I know. So, finally, that paired with a little bunco inspiration (Real Housewives of OC anyone?), we celebrated :)

Our lovely host, Robyn, served us bourbon in every way possible, the most obvious, of course, the classic Kentucky Derby drink, the Mint Julep:

After one of those, you're ready to eat, and what better than bourbon filled desserts. Yum!

And the best deviled eggs I've ever had...

Oh yeah, and Kentucky watermelon. That's right, bourbon soaked watermelon.

You would think by this time, we would be passed out on the floor, but there was more food, Waldorf salad...

....and biscuits, grilled meat and on and on.....

We ate and ate until it soaked up all the booze, watched the 45 second race, chatted and played bunco....oh, bunco, I wish you were more exciting. We tried. Maybe if there wasn't so much food involved it would have been our favorite game ever :)

Lovely time, ladies! Until our next bunco theme.

Enough said.

I wrote a lengthy blog post about this day, about the one year mark, but I erased it because it's much simpler than that:

Jess: I miss you everyday and will forever.

This past year has been a journey; a journey in healing, in self-reflection, in growth. And I made it a year, which at this time last year, I felt I wouldn't make it one more day.

And interestingly enough, nobody in our family could remember what date it was. Half of us thought it was the 28th and half thought it was the 30th, but none the 29th. It's as if this date was erased from our memories.

Your life and spirit live on forever. It's the bad times that force growth and understanding, but it's the good times that count.

XOXO

Green Life

Yesterday was officially Earth Day, but in my opinion, every day should be Earth Day. We need to be more aware and accountable for our actions and the impact they have.

Here are thirty-five ideas of things you can do (most are simple changes) to become more green, sustainable and accountable. Try one thing, and who knows, it may lead to others.....

1. Reduce your product intake+
2. Reuse items+
3. Recycle*
4. Eat local and organic, avoid eating non-sustainable seafood, eat grass-fed beef, free-range chicken and eggs (be aware of what companies define as "free range"). Be aware of what is in your food and what you are supporting*
5. Clean garbage up from neighborhood parks/roadways/schools*
6. Grow a garden (vegetables, herbs, fruits)*
7. Don't litter*
8. Snip six-pack rings*
9. Try listing something on freecycle.com before you throw it away+
10. Plant trees^
11. Install a clothesline to use instead of a dryer during spring-fall months*
12. Change incandescent light bulbs to CFLs*
13. Use natural household cleaners, body products (read labels carefully - see EWG.org for help)*
14. Use reusable shopping bags, and a step further, reusable produce bags*
15. Support your local economy and food*
16. Compost+
17. Walk or bike instead of drive+
18. Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying individual plastic water bottles*
19. Use a reusable coffee mug*
20. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth+
21. Do not use any pesticides, herbicides or other toxic food and plant additives*
22. Turn the lights off when you leave a room*
23. Read the newspaper online instead of receiving the paper version*
24. Use rechargeable batteries, recycling others in the process^
25. Use sustainable building materials'
26. Buy clothing made of sustainable and organic fabrics^
27. Use a lunch box instead of paper bags*
28. Buy less; buy used+
29. Unplug appliances that are not being used+
30. Limit use of paper products, print only what you need+
31. Recycle torn or overused clothing and shoes at appropriate drop offs+
32. Adjust your thermostat to a lower temperature during sleeping hours*
33. Swap washer and dryer for more efficient HE versions*
34. Wash clothes in cold water as much as possible+
35. Raise awareness in other adults and children =D*

Lead by example; others will follow

* green methods that I practice
+ green methods that I need improvement
^ green methods I pledge to try
' not applicable

You can check out the pledges billions of other people made in order to become more green: http://act.earthday.org/

Return of the Bunny

This year, Easter was spent with my husband's family. It was his grandma's last dinner at her house before moving into assisted living and dinner was filled with great food, laughs, conversations and toasts.

Following dinner, we talked about the Easter bunny. Now, last year, the Easter bunny made quite an impression on the boys. After they saw him a year ago, they didn't stop talking about him for months.

The boys started to get worried they wouldn't see the Easter bunny this year because we were at "old grandma-grandma's house" and he wouldn't be able to find them. At one point, Owen said, "grandpa, I don't think the Easter bunny is going to come this year.....". [little did he know, the Easter bunny was upstairs preparing.]

So, we told them to go spread out carrots to attract the Easter bunny, or as Owen put it, 'just like uncle Jay puts out bait for deer hunting!' {yikes!} Essentially, we were baiting the Easter bunny for his candy!!



we had to take silly pictures....we couldn't help it. ha!



So, the carrots were laid out, and they sat with grandpa and waited and waited and waited.......until...!

There he is!!

Stopping traffic....



Watching him hop around the yard, eating carrots and dropping eggs. It was quite the spectical.



Owen even got to get close and personally handed two eggs. He was beyond thrilled!



Done collecting all the eggs!

It was a great day! Hope everyone else had an enjoyable day :)



Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Adapted from Alexandra's Kitchen

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

 Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 40 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness (It took ours a little longer). If necessary, return pan to oven for more time.

This is SO moist and so delicious. It may have the word 'breakfast' in it, but we had it for dessert and breakfast the next morning :)

p.s. Just a little baking tip: if looking for baked goods to be moist, find recipes that include buttermilk; that's the key.

Kindergarten

I have been looking forward to kindergarten and elementary school time since before I was pregnant with our first, Owen. I just love little people school. And I couldn't wait for my own children to attend. It's why I'm going back into teaching. It's why I get so excited to be in the classroom. It's probably why when Owen got his school supply list for his first year of preschool I was so giddy.

This is the goofball starting Kindergarten in the fall. Yep, strawberry nose man himself:

We go to kindergarten roundup at our neighborhood school as all parents do and by the end, I wasn't feeling it. I wasn't feeling the excitement. And I need to feel that thrill to be excited about sending my child there.

So started the journey for the perfect school. And now after touring four schools, I'm spent. The one we love the most has a waiting list and we have no other choice than to wait until a spot opens up which may never happen before the start of the school year. We have to make a choice based on the other three.

All I want is for my kids to go to a school where they are excited about learning, the teachers are enthusiastic, they use a variety of delivery methods, have accountability, teach my child to be respectful of others and challenge them to their highest potential. But now we're met with the realities; public schools are cutting specialists for gym, music and art and their buses are the core of bullying; charter schools have waiting lists; and catholic schools are, in my opinion, though they have the smallest class size and highest respect level, are on the side of too much religion-based content.

And now, the excitement I felt at the beginning of this process has been met with frustration. I'm hoping the answer will become clear with a little more time. And that I can be comforted by the fact that whatever decision we make will be the best one we know. All I know is that I want Owen to love where he is going and to love learning. Here's to kindergarten!