san diego::love

***disclaimer: i WAS NOT COMPENSATED in any way to recommend the hilton. they were just this lovely***



we road tripped back down to san diego last thursday.....



ISIS is quite the traveling dog!











Jared started the drive, so i could use the fading sunlight to knit up some OSIRIS FUNDRAISING PROJECTS...

then, as the sunset, we switched.


pete's coffee powered my driving shift....





as did Sirius..... its serious....





the night was a rediiiiculous experiment in "how not to travel with a dog".


tip #1:

do NOT think you must settle for a nasty motel- just because they ACCEPT dogs.


no no


(cough*jared*cough)


tip #2:

never, ever, ever, book a hotel for less than 100/night in san diego UNLESS you are ok with bed bugs and drug addicts.....


tip #3:

if you eve find yourself in san diego at 3 am with a wife and three kids refusing to get into the hotel room you booked- call hilton fashion valley!


they LOVE dogs- have a nice inclusive pet package, a dog walking grassy knoll, delicious free breakfast buffet, free wifi AND comfortable beds, flat screen tis, beautiful views AND no bed bugs, no blood stains on the sheets





AND

no bathrooms that look like a murder ever took place in them.



after being up until 4 am.... we was TIRED.


so we did a lot of tv watching....




and a lot of driving on an empty tank of gas!!!!!!






we tried to go to our very favorite gluten free *dedicated allergy free* bakery EVER and they were closed for renovations!



so we hit the pet store.....




and then went to NAKED PIZZA!!!


delicious gluten free pizza from a company, that while NOT a gluten free facility, they take the gluten contamination seriously and have a really great system in place to reduce it.

the pizza was so good there are no pictures.


after a quick trip to the whole foods in hillcrest- where we met about 10 people that reminded us why we LOVED living in san diego.... we went back to the hotel to relax.


and craft....






























and watch more movies.... in bed....





and knit...





since isis LOVES to show us her "i can chew through ANYTHING" skills, we had to kennel her in the room if we weren't able to actively engage her and devote both eyes to her every second.


im not even joking... while petting her- she somehow managed to sink her teeth in a wooden post on the desk. she is the chewing ninja.





our view on saturday... friday was clear and sunny... saturday overcast with drizzle.... but still beautiful...






saturday we went swimming!  it was my first time swimming in 2 years!

another really great quality of the Hilton was the kitchen.


we ordered room service and notified them we were gluten free. they took care of it by adjusting everything and cleaning surfaces, etc.


normally- restaurants bring you spice free flavor free chicken breasts and veggies when you are gluten free.

these chicken breasts were beautifully cooked and flavorful...

i said, "look it looks like a heart!"




Ira turned the plate upside down and said "nope- it looks like LUNGS"





perspective.... i guess. :D







after dinner-

let the games begin....

Liv sat with our friends.... she didn't miss us at all.... i think it was the giant bowl of popcorn...








ira and embers are harder to lure away ;)

















ill stop there- because two nasty misogynist racist 20 year olds showed up and were so rude.... i, of course, said something.... it escalated a little and then we left....

ok, ill tell some more...

this stadium is super gross....and not just because of superc(g)ross...

its falling apart... and i think the risk for lead exposure is super super HIGH. i won't go there again, i don't think.... unless neil diamond was there... but he isn't the type to play a gross dilapitated stadium ;)


but the light show was great- there were fireworks, and FIRE.


we were so close that the fire almost burned our skin....




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

so much painting, so much laughter...

i bought a bunch of washable paint....

i have been worrying about our first painting session inside the RV.... these kids get wild and it can go from painting heaven to full on chaos in seconds.


well, the paint is amazing.... it came off of

 the ceiling

and my clothes   and the walls, and the cabinets


and daddy's new coat.....


it was great.


worry free painting.




and really pretty colors- for being washable paint....




ira's upside down peace sign heart...







this was emer's first painting session where he wasn't trying to just eat the paint or rub the paint all over himself....



i NEEDED this night.



the kids NEEDED this night.



we NEEDED to get messy


and create

and cover the walls

and cabinets

 and ourselves in....



                                                                       C O L O R







our souls were fed.



then we broke out the jewels!






and the new colored pencils.....



before i went to nursing school, i always wanted to work in Art Therapy.


Specifically, I wanted to go into hospitals, cancer treatment facilities and homes of the terminally ill and facilitate the creation of art through their own hands, feet, etc.

Since having kids, i have always felt it was really important to open up the bottles and let them free flow with all the mediums and without confines and without worries of mess.




Unfortunately, this RV *is* small enough that it has caused me to hesitate when it came to painting...

i was worried about MESS.


ME!!!!!


anyone that has even been to my house in tucson would be shocked.

we used to write on the walls with chalk, pens, paint, whatever.

at any random time there were bound to be

drying papier mache dragons,


    or a half dozen half painted painted canvas
   

                   500 smashed crayons all over the floor, (or melting in the oven.....)

             



or, lets be real, children ACTIVELY painting ON the floor while i baked something.



going from OWNING a house to renting an apartment- well, it broke me a little.

i keep forgetting-



THIS IS OUR RV!!!!!!!!!!!




so, im embracing my old messy artist self.... and trying to release the last year of "don't do that. don't do this. this isn't our house!'









and in other, more hilarious news- after cleaning up the kids, emers walked passed me knitting and said "bye!"


i look up to see this:



         



he wanted to go outside- in his underwear- at 9p.m.  in 40degree weather....




we got him a little more protected and off him and his daddy went.


he is getting so big!!!!!






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

expect nothing- A.K.A. MY 1,000th post.

this post is dedicated to julia and brianna and chandra- who have been my parenting coaches and therapists this past year.... or like, several years.....


i am afraid of ticks.



like- paranoia to the extreme- afraid of ticks.


like my children yell "ticks!!!!!!!' if they see overgrown grass near a hiking trail.


and we douse ourselves in geranium oil before hikes.


a while back, my good friend julia and her fan were walking through the fields with us and her husband ran into this overgrown grassy field and i said "what if he gets a tick!"


julia said " um, he will have a tick. and we will remove it. and it'll have just been a tick" and she kind of laughed.

i thought "but its a tick!"


i have been realizing- these past few years- that i let a lot of fear guide me. and in turn.... i think i have been pulling all these random worst case scenarios to me doorstep.


the universe keeps saying "it just it! and "you survived!"




so- I'm proud to report- that i think my battles with food and the fear of food and malnourishment are easing up.


i think i may be turning a corner.


up until last year, i used to lay awake at night worrying about the kids and nutrition.

I would think up all these elaborate ways to sneak healthy food into their bodies. I would puree oatmeal with
chocolate and spinach and spirulina

and call it pudding with whipped cashew cream on top. which was fine...

except i was lying and they were still not fooled.


they would take a couple bites and say "this is delicious mama! next time can we have real pudding?"


Last year, our diets were so restrictive, that it was comical. I recently decided that except for gluten- which was an obvious trigger for everyone- i was letting go.


however-




the kids had developed this permanent runny nose thing. and i thought- "they eat a lot of cheese".


but i was afraid that i would turn it into a "thing"...


so i have been avoiding dairy if possible- without really saying anything- i just started offering really new and exciting things without lying. and, for the most part... the runny noses cleared up.

 [insert opportunity for fro-yo]



Keira filled her bowl of  to the TOP.

I thought "i should have her put some of that in a to-go bowl"....

but my lesson of the year  [of the decade] is about NOT trying to control them, and encouraging them to
Learn THEIR own Boundaries.

So, i said nothing-


we sat to eat.


she finished it.


And shivered for a long time.


And then, an hour
Later....

 she said "I think I'll NEVER try to eat that much froyo again!!!! I almost just puked!"



A few things strike me about that:

1. She wasn't worried about hearing "I told you so"- because I never told her not to.

2. She went ahead and learned a valuable lesson without coercion or manipulation.... and without any real desire for me to prove her wrong. AND, though i was concerned about her getting sick..... I really didn't want her to learn any lesson. i never WANT her to pay a price for having fun.  in fact, i would have been jealous that she could put down a bowl of fro-yo that size and NOT get sick.

3. We didn't have to set up some weird dynamic and/or struggle where she has to beg for some silly thing such as milk with loads of probiotics and protein and calcium.... and i didn't have to sit there worrying the entire time about the sugar content and the casein and the eczema that would ensue.

The next day she went on to eat grass fed organic meat and freshly made organic kale chips....

and she drank a vegan greens smoothie.... and i didn't have to force any of it.


she is learning to like food that she likes. and she can eat a sugary cookie with frosting on top and turn around and ask for raw kelp noodles.





and she MIGHT JUST GET ECZEMA!


and she might puke, or get another rash.

and she might trip and fall tomorrow and sprain an ankle, or get a bruise, or catch a cold.


and life will continue on and we will just keep living it.



I control NOTHING in life, except my actions and reactions. 




there is no expect the unexpected.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Case of the Mondays

i woke up in a crank-tastic mood.

truly. i am rarely so cranky that i can't enjoy a good cup of coffee and sleeping in littles.

i just wanted to bust out of the joint and head to the desert to lay in the sun with friends at the park.

once the children woke up, were fed and dressed- we hit the road in search of a sunny(er) day. we found it about 30minutes away... and it was fleeting.

but the kids got to run wild and i got a minute or two of vitamin D.




























then we got french fries at in and out- (and i might've drank a coca cola)




Keira wowed us with her amazing yoga skillzzzz...

then we hit the fro-yo place for an pre dinner treat.
their pumpkin frozen yogurt mixed with the dulce de leche????? serious serious seriously delicious.


I'm going to go ahead and call today a wash.
it ended up having some amazing high points.... but the mood that i am describing as crank-tastic- was quite rotten.... i was a bear. i hungry, sleepy, disgruntled bear.
here is to tomorrow being about a million times better!!!!!!!!


there will be painting- so. much. painting. 

and noise.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Weekend

i found cedric all wrapped up in a blanket watching tv.... he is growing so fast.... he is supposed to be a baby for at least, like, another year :P



we went to drop jared off at work on saturday (fun)....

the view from one of the offices is amazing- so we hooped out back for a while....


keira is a rock star hooper.


the view







we ran the car through the car wash....




including the rainbow special....







isis was a little nervous....



then we were blessed with the presence of our sweet bear clan family for a great dinner and fire and woman talk while our children played.....

i got to spend friday AND saturday with friends.


good.

life is much better than i give it credit for on days when i miss tucson.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone