6 bits of randomness

1. I had forgotten to follow up on the almost Thanksgiving horror story. Luckily Fischer was so distracted by all of the family and hoopla he didn't even notice the turkey. In fact the ONLY things he ate were ranch dip and cool whip! He ate his weight in white creamy substances. Gross. He loved Thanksgiving and was a huge ham for all of the relatives. Seriously, what did we ever talk about before he came along? Anyway, he still seems to be a vegetarian except for the occasional bite of chicken at someone else's house.


2. I also forgot to tell you about the pet psychic, I WILL tell you about that this week sometime. (Thanks for the reminder Angela)


3. Have I mentioned that one of the major downfalls to getting rid of the binky is that Fisch now licks and sucks on his hands? Just FYI in case you are thinking of getting rid of your babe's pacifier. Say goodbye to naps and hello to hands in mouth! Still want to do it? Let em' keep that thing till college... or at least till cold and flu season is over.


4. You know that poem, "When I am Old I Will Wear Purple"? You know, it is the one that inspired the Red Hat Society (of which my mother is the 'queen mother' of her chapter)? Well, somebody lent it to Sophie and Kaia... and now they think that because they are 10 years old, or 70 years old rather, that they can sit and sleep on the furniture - seriously right in front of me, with a look like "yah, so, what are you gonna do?" AND they have begun to eat off the counter and the table and the stove!!!! What? They never did this before. If I find out who tried to liberate my old lady dogs... well... I'm giving them to YOU!


5. We've decked the halls and trimmed the tree and we are oh-so ready for Christmas... and Hannukkah (Andy's mom is Jewish). We've already started reading books about these holidays and singing carols with Fischer. The new thought on my mind is... do I go with the whole "Santa brings you presents" thing? Or do I say "some people believe Santa brings you presents" Or we like to "pretend that Santa comes down the chimney". I want Christmas to be most importantly about the birth of Christ, however I think all of the Santa and reindeer stuff has a place too. How do you do it?


6. Yay, I finally finished my NaBloPoMo! 30 posts in 30 days! Were they all stellar? Not in the slightest, but I did it. Now if only I could devote that kind of commitment to something that really matters in my life. Well maybe this will propel me forward to the next 30 days of something. OK, OK - I'm going to do it for all of you to see... here I go>>> 31 days of exercise in December! I'm doin' it. Wanna come along? I'll keep you posted.

Lazy Day

Her nose used to be all black when she was a puppy. I guess she licked it right off.

Bouncing Bust? No More!

I'm often asked what kind of sports bra I wear when running. Seriously, I was asked twice this month alone... so I thought I'd share. As a woman with an abundant bust, finding a good sports bra was a challenge. I often layered two or even three to minimize movement during aerobic exercise. I can't stand ANY bounce. Running was so annoying with all of those bras layered on... until... I found... drum roll please... the Enell! I've heard that even Oprah has worn this bra. When I first found this online I could only find one store in my area that carried it (a specialty running store). I really wanted to be able to try it on because the sizing was strange and the price was higher than I would like. Let me say right now that this thing is worth every penny! It is not sexy, but I don't care... in fact most of my friends whom I've flashed while wearing it, thought it looked like some sort of armor or breast plate. So what? Two marathons later and I STILL LOVE IT! It works and I am free to do anything I want while wearing it... so there you go. Now you know.

Stuffed and Sleepy

Ahhh, Thanksgiving Day is just about over. All of the family have gone home, Fischer is in bed, Andy is watching football, and I am here making darn sure that I blog every single day this month. I think I might get a badge or something. totally worth it ;).

Today was really fun. Fischer and I started the day with friends and a 5K... in the rain, it was great. Some of our friends even broke their own personal records! You go girls! I walked and ran with Sheila and her sister while pushing Fisch in the stroller. it was great to chat and to just be outside doing something before all of the eating begins!

Later Andy and I got the house cleaned up and the food cooked for Turkey Day. My parents, Andy's Mom, sister, brother-in-law, and brother came over. We had a great time, pretty relaxing... I've never had such a small Thanksgiving party since I met Andy, but it was really quite pleasant. Although, of course we missed all of the relatives who couldn't be with us.

Now the day is over and I am ready for bed. Sorry for the dull post, I'm too sleepy too be interesting. I will say that I am so very thankful for family and friends. They are the people who lift me up and move me forward. I'm also thankful for my own tiny family - my incredible husband, sweet boy, and loyal dogs. They make our home a home. I am truly blessed.

Butt first...

Today I'm prepping for Thanksgiving as I'm sure many of you are too! I wish you could see my clean house... in never lasts long. Don't try to come over now, it isn't clean yet! Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

3:34 AM as I'm helping Fischer back into his one-piece footy pajamas after going potty:

Me: "Put your arms in first."
Fisch: "Daddy says put your feet in first."
Me: (yawn)
Fisch: "I say, put your butt in first!"

I found the perfect ornament

I love Christmas ornaments. I love Christmas ornaments that document milestones in your life. AND so does my mom, so I have lots! Andy and I have ornaments to commemorate our wedding, first house, pregnancy, having a baby, our professions, our hobbies... you name it - and I love them all. So of course when Fischer was born... I wanted to do the same for him. His first Christmas was all about the "first Christmas" ornaments. His second Christmas, last year, was about his interests - trains, The Wiggles, motorcycles, and of course a St, Louis Cardinal World Series Ornament (because that is his Grandpa's team and that was a really big deal!). So this year, I'm on the hunt for the perfect ornaments. I'm looking for a fire truck (since that was this year's chosen profession), a garbage truck (because he loves them so much), a soccer ball (because he played that for the first time this year) and probably a hockey ornament (because he loves it like his daddy does). Now all of those are easy finds... except the garbage truck. I have only found one place to carry these - the good news is that you can choose from rear or front loader, personalize it with your name and year and you get to choose the color. Sooo, I'm sharing this in case anyone else needs a garbage truck Christmas ornament. Helzer's Creations is family owned and operated, they create personalized polymer ornaments for just about anything and anyone, they have ornaments for every profession, team, and interest. I must not be the first one to want a garbage truck ornament.

Will this Thanksgiving be a horror story for Fischer?

Because of books like Eve Bunting's A Turkey for Thanksgiving and a few other similar stories on our shelf, Fischer is just absolutely positive that we'll be having a turkey for dinner on Thanksgiving. No... not on a platter, but on a chair... as a guest. We've gone many a round with this one. He thinks it is hilarious when I say that we are going to eat the turkey. He "knows" I'm pretending. Because how would the turkey fit into our mouths? ... Obviously it would be too big. I've tried to explain that the turkey will be dead and cooked... but he doesn't get it. Luckily I stopped myself tonight from telling him that we'll "just cut him up with a knife so he'll fit in our mouths". I think that may have been a traumatizing image for bedtime. Sooo, I have no idea what horror may occur at our house on Thursday when there is no big colorful bird sitting at the head of the table... only the gnashing of teeth and people mumbling... "the turkey is delicious". Yikes.

Happy Sunday

Wow... this blog everyday for a month thing is harder than I thought it would be. I'm drawing a blank tonight... any special requests?

Jedi Mind Trick

We've been having some problems lately with a Force power. Apparently Kaia has been using the Jedi Mind Trick on Fischer to get him to give her his breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
It started out with him giving in and doing it every time. But now that he has begun to resist, it appears to be getting more painful. Today he ran screaming toward me with toast in hand, saying "She keeps saying, (in a high pitched voice) 'I want some toast, give me some toast'".
It is getting so bad that he often will not allow her to be in the room or to look at him while he is eating.

All the while, she is just sitting there looking at him... like she is in the picture.

Seriously, he might be the next pet psychic. Ha ha, you laugh, but a few years ago, while I was pregnant with Fischer, Sophie and Kaia were having some problems... we invited an "animal communicator" to come to our house, just for fun... Let's just say I was totally blown away! She made me a believer in her skills. I think I'll tell you about her tomorrow.

Random Ramblings on beds and cheese

Thank you all for your well wishes and emails, I am cured and Fischer is on a TV detox program now. He was such a good boy while I was sick, he sat on the bed and watched TV when I couldn't muster up much interaction, and he sweetly read books and played games on the bed with me when I felt up to it. The two of us lived on my bed for 2 days and have come out of it healthy wealthy and wise.... or at least healthy.

While we are talking about it, let me just say I LOVE my bed! I do. There is nothing super spectacular about it. But it is big (king) and high (on cinder blocks), piled high with pillows (10) and draped with thick cozy blankets. I love it.

Oooh and my mother-in-law just finished the most incredible quilt for it. I'll have to snap a picture to show you. It is gorgeous - but of course I don't actually want to use it because it is too pretty and because the dogs and Fischer are always on the bed and that might goober it up! So instead I'll seal it up in a bag and unzip it for guests to have a quick peak at its beauty while I'm bragging about it, and then I'll zip it back into safety. Or maybe I'll just wait till Fischer isn't so sticky and the dogs are too old to jump that high, and then I'll put it on my bed and admire it all day long and never get anything done again.

All of our other bedding has at least one drop of chocolate milk, if not a spattering of it or a large stain of it, from Fischer who drinks it every morning.
-I feel that I should clarify "chocolate milk" for you as really Carnation Instant Breakfast that our doctor recommended he drink in lieu of vitamins. So really, I'm not a bad mom... I'm following doctor's orders (I'm just positive he meant have him drink a full packet of the stuff EVERYDAY for the rest of his life).

Some people use the phrase "in lieu of" to mean "in light of" BUT it does not mean that. It means "instead of". I always remember that from the movie My Girl, and of course that "you can never wear too much blue eye shadow".

While I don't wear blue eye shadow, in the past I'd been known to say (with a mouthful of cheddar) "you can never have too much cheese". (Once, I even said this to a guy at a party! Can you believe he didn't ask for my number after that?? He obviously must have been a vegan.) Anyway as it turns out, I can tell you for sure that that statement is so totally untrue. Shocked? I know, I was too.... totally disappointing. A few years of lactate pills and lots of lingering pounds have squelched that statement for me. It is only funny to say that when you are skinny. Oh and while I'm giving out free "life" lessons... Being a vegetarian doesn't mean that you just substitute all meat products with extra cheese. Trust me.

Where in the heck was I going with this? I'll let you know if I remember.

Under the weather

Day two of aches, sweats, chills, and nausea for me. Fischer is on Day 2 of massive TV overload.

Save the World: One Click at a Time

If you scroll down this page on the left side column you'll see a header called "Save the World One Click at a Time". The links below it have been on the page forever, but have moved from the right column to the left and have changed from links to buttons and back to links. ANYway the important thing to note, as I have blogged about a few times before, is that this is a way that you can save the world with ABSOLUTELY NO TIME AND NO MONEY. Really.

All you do is click on the link and then click on the button it shows. That's it! You can do a world of good.

• One click at The Breast Cancer Site gives a free mammogram to someone.
• One click at The Hunger Site gives 1.1 cups of food to someone who needs it.
• One click at The Child Health Site gives a child health care.
• One click at The Literacy Site helps a child attain literacy.
• One click at The Rainforest Site helps protect 11.4 square feet of rain forest.
• One click at The Animal Rescue Site provides .6 bowls of food for needy animals.

The fabulous thing is that if you click on one of these links, then click on the button that says "Click Here to Give - It's FREE", you've done it! THEN you can look at the top of the page at all the tabs for the other sites and click through them all. You can literally do your part for every site in under 30 seconds total.

How does it work? When you click you see some advertisements... so that is it. The advertisers are paying/donating for you to look at their ads (whether you do or not).

I just received this email from Ray:

PLEASE DO THIS 'FREE' GOOD DEED - Animal Rescue Hi, all you animal lovers. This is pretty simple... Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ PLEASE TELL 10 FRIENDS !!!

Obviously it counts, it works, and they really need your help. The email said 20 seconds, but like I said, I was able to click through all 6 sites in about that amount of time.

Feel free to cut and paste that email and send it on.

By the way, clicking on Ripple gives you 4 opportunities to click and give for free.

1. Click to give 6 days access to clean water
2. Click to help a village feed itself
3. Click to give 2 days access to education
4. Click to finance a $100 loan for a day

Also, by clicking on Free Rice, you can play a little vocabulary game and for each word you get right, you are donating 20 grains of rice. it is addicting and in a few moments you've donated full bowls!

The hottest new toy in town: hot glue sticks!?

I've started thinking about what to get Fischer for Christmas. But what do you get someone whose favorite "toys" are:

5 no-slip mats that go on the bottom of the tub, 4 sticky, dirty hot glue sticks, and 3 little men. At any given time you can find Fischer walking around with one of these ...collections. The collections rarely inter-mingle with each other, but all of them can be transformed into vehicles, people, places, animals, etc. By the way, those three little men from left to right are: Johnny Appleseed, James and Fischer.

So I guess I can definitely say he likes collections of things. I'm seriously thinking of getting him a bag of hot glue sticks to replace the disgusting ones he loves so much. Write that in the baby book! For your third Christmas, Mommy and Daddy bought you a bag of glue sticks! You deserved it!!

Today's collection of choice was 4 baby pop beads. Now these were extra exciting because one of them contained something that could have been cheese or could have been a carrot! We had to wait quite awhile for the thing to shrivel enough to fall out and be labeled. (it was a carrot).

Yesterday morning Fischer busiest himself in the living room with zillions of little tiny pie tins. He stacked and sorted and displayed them in a variety of designs. When I walked into the room he stood up ... beaming ... and proudly announced "Mommy, look at all this crap! I've been doin' this for hours!" (Crap??)

Anyway, the top 3 pictures, along with Legos are his most prized possessions. He has lots of toys but these are the favorites.

The author of Rocks in my Dryer posts a weekly group blogging thing called Works for Me Wednesday. She chooses a topic then everyone blogs about it and she links to their sites. Well the other day the topic was toys. Works For Me: Toys Worth Buying (Subtitled: I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE JUNK IN MY HOUSE).

The great thing is that under her post is a list of 250 links to other moms telling their kids favorite toys, and there are even more ideas in the comments! So... I spent a few minutes perusing them and found some really great ideas, for toys that kids actually play with for more than a minute. There were many frugal and unique ideas too, like buying Halloween costumes after Halloween and making a "dress-up box". So fun!

I'm pretty sure I'm going with games this year. We recently bought a few and he is having a blast! We play them everyday. Now that he is almost 3, there are plenty of games that he can play... so we're into it. Not to mention, all of his games I foresee ending up in my classroom someday when I'm back at work and he has grown out of them. OK let's be honest, that's where I see all of his books going and a number of his other belongings. I really do try to get him things HE likes and not just what I like, but...

Muffin Tin Monday

Muffin Tin Monday is... all about putting together a fun and inviting lunch for your little one...in a muffin tin. Do this, and chances are, they'll eat a little more than usual (which I would love for Fisch to do) and possibly try something new (which I would be surprised if Fisch would do)! I've heard that you should give kids a new food 15 times before you can truly determine whether they like it or not... and this seems to be the perfect way. Usually Fischer won't even let the offending new food stay on his plate... but this idea is promising.

Muffin Tin Mondays started and resided for quite a long time over at Sycamore Stirrings... till she upped and moved overseas. She passed it along to its current home at Her Cup Overfloweth. These ladies like to issue themes and fun ideas to their many followers who in turn post their pictures and links to their blogs for you to admire their marvelous muffin tin creations. In fact, you are welcome to peruse many of these photos over on Flickr. Lots of great ones!

We tried our very first Muffin Tin lunch on Sunday and Fischer loved it!! He DID let offensive foods stay on his plate, although he did not try them. He DID eat more than usual. This was definitely too much food, we shared a bit. If I was going to post to the Muffin Tin blog, I'd definitely have to get a better looking muffin tin!

Anyway here are the foods pictured: mini PB&J sandwich circles that I cut out with a shot glass, carrots, drink, Pringles, our homemade pickles, apple slices, cheese, turkey, banana bread cubes, bananas, and dinner leftovers (pasta, beans and veggies).

I thought for sure that Fisch would eat the chips first... but he didn't, he started with the mini sandwiches. Although this muffin tin looks rather uninspiring... I will say that it made me think a little bit more about what I was giving him for lunch. It was also really fun for he and I to decide together what should go in it.

Happy Birthday Mamma and Mamma

Today is my mother's birthday and Andy's mother's birthday. Yes exact same birthday, exact same age. Fischer calls his Grandmas "Mamma". He loves them like crazy!!! And of course, so do Andy and I.

My mother-in-law is the BEST! Anyone will tell you that I lucked out BIG TIME! She is kind, caring, generous, supportive, respectful and definitely inspirational. After 30+ years as a special education teacher she is launching into a new field of school psychology. She'll have that degree in no time. Happy Birthday Bets! We love you!

My mom is also fabulous, of course. She is warm, compassionate, giving, supportive and loving. She too is embarking on a new path, as a hospital chaplain. My mom has always taken great care of our family and friends and is now spreading that love to hospital patients. I know the hospital feels lucky to have her, just as our family does. It has been an exciting time as she and I are stretching our roles from mother-daughter into good friends. We love you so much, mom! Happy Birthday!

We are proud to tell the world that you are our MOMS!

America Recycles Day AND a Challenge...

Today is America Recycles Day. You can find out more information about recycling and ARD events in your area by checking out the National Recycling Coalition website. If you poke around for a minute you'll find a lot of useful information and facts. Turn your bigger kiddies loose on the "conversionator" for a fun way to let them read those great facts. You can also take a pledge to recycle more in 2009. I'm not going to quote you all the facts... we all know it is a responsible and easy way to save the world.

Are you up for a challenge????? Enviromom is challenging us all to reduce our waste enough to only have to set our can out to the curb ONCE a month. She has tons and tons of ideas and tips to help us do this. In fact she goes room by room and lists all the different types of garbage in your house and helps you find an alternative route for it. She does say that this is a journey and may not be able to be accomplished overnight, but making these changes will greatly reduce your waste and therefor "save the world" (ok I added that last part).

I see that Sommer over at 5 Minutes for Going Green was promoting the challenge in October.

Whaddaya think? Are you up for it? Leave me a comment and we can start making changes this month for "practice" and then try it 'for real' in December.... together. Whoa - December? That would definitely be a super-mega-ultra- challenge, but I'm up for it. Who is with me? Sign up in the comments and we can do this thing together!

Book of the Day

Fischer, Andy and I have been happily gobbling up a feast of Thanksgiving books for the past two weeks. I have to say that Fischer's and my favorite is I know and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson and Judy Schachner. If you couldn't guess, it follows the idea and rhythm of the original "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" song and story. This story stars a hungry old lady eating up the entire Thanksgiving feast dish by dish until her body becomes enormous and blob-like (especially compared to her teeny tiny little boots). it is definitely a fun one. I like to sing it (even if I am tone-deaf) and Andy likes to read it. Either way Fischer just loves to hear it. We won't give away the ending... because as you know full well "perhaps she'll die".



I found lots and lots of lesson plans crafts and activities about this book on the following great sites:

• Moultrie-Colquitt County Library
• Mrs. Nelson's Class
• Making Learning Fun

Click around till you find what you like in the subject you want to target.

Stuck in my head

So, this song has been stuck in my head for awhile now:

A Turkey sat on the backyard fence and he sang a sad sad tune.

Thanksgiving Day is coming Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble

and I know I'll be eaten soooon,

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

I would like to run away.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

I don't like Thanksgiving Day ay ay.

I had gone searching for Thanksgiving songs on dltk and PreschoolEducation.com to try to replace the tired old Halloween songs that Fischer wants me to sing everyday. I found a few good ones, but this is the one that is stuck in my head ALL DAY LONG! Do you want to hear the low velvety voice that sings it to me all day? Go here and push play.

Patience Lost

Tuesday, as I was trying to sort and fold laundry on my kitchen table, Fischer wanted to "help". He was climbing on and off the chair with an armful of small toys that kept making him slip. The toys were getting in the way of my folded piles as Fischer was quickly pulling item after item out of the basket. So, I tossed the toys across the room onto the couch in frustration. They were in my way. Suddenly, Fischer bursts into tears. "I didn't want you to throw my toys.." sob, then he stops abruptly and very seriously looks at me and says

"Mom, I need you to be patient with my toys."

Ummm. He pretty much put me in my place. All I could do was take a deep breath to calm the frustrations, and pick up his toys. We found a better place for them to wait while he was actually really helpful sorting socks.
Why is it so easy to fly off the handle? To snap at a loves one, get frustrated with a child, or yell at the dog? I really felt like God was speaking to me through Fischer just then. I believe he was telling me to cool it, step back and make a better choice. Breathe! In that one sentence, I felt I was being reminded to exercise great patience and to approach my ridiculous frustrations in another way. When I told Andy about the incident he said, "Remember, he is an old soul and that will come through more and more the older he gets. That is why it will be a challenge and privilege to raise him."
A 'privilege'? I had forgotten.

Happy Birthday Bampa!

Today is my dad's birthday, Fischer's grandpa (or "Bampa" as he says it). Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for being the best Dad, Father-in-law and BAMPA that we could ask for!!!

We all love you SOOOOO Much!

Love, Lisa, Andy and Fischer

Did you know my dad has an identical twin brother? Happy Birthday Uncle Dick!

Vets, Poppies and Gratitude

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. It is a time to remember those who have served and a time to be thankful for the freedoms that we enjoy.

Friday, Fischer and I were walking up to the entrance of a store. Outside, were two Veteran soldiers passing out the Buddy Poppys to fund raise for disabled and needy veterans of foreign wars. People kept walking right pass them, not looking, not listening, shrugging off the FREE poppy. Fischer and I stopped and took a poppy and thanked the men. I now wish that we had contributed to their fund or had engaged the men in conversation about their cause and about their service. I didn't think I'd know what to say... I wish that I had said something. I explained to Fischer that these men were brave soldiers who fought in a war to keep us safe and to ensure our freedom. He loved the flower.

My grandfathers are Veterans as I'm sure yours may be also... I think we'll send Fischer's only Great-Grandfather (PaPa) a card thanking him for fighting for us.

For more about Veteran's Day or ideas of things to do in the classroom or with your kids at home, you can go to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and/or the VA Kids page.

Sometimes I'm Brilliant!

Once in awhile I have a brilliant idea... and I just have to share. Now before I do, I'd like you to know that I'm completely aware that my "brilliant ideas" are usually things everyone else already does and are categorized under "common sense" for them.... but please don't burst my bubble.

Cooking and cleaning have never been my strong points and were pretty much avoided at all costs before I became a stay-at-home mom... so in a way, I'm a newbie at homemaking.

Anyway, on to the brilliance...

You know the rubber splash guard in your kitchen sink that keeps the garbage disposal from spraying you in the face? You know how the underside can get so slimy and disgusting and can even smell? Did you know you can clean that thing??? (Of course you did, be quiet.)

I've come up with a fantastically easy way. Get a brand new round toilet bowl brush and spray it with bleach, then stick it all the way down into the (off) garbage disposal until the splash guard flaps have closed completely around it (meaning the brush is hidden beneath the flaps, and you are just holding onto the handle). Then bring it back up and prepare to be mesmerized and disgusted at what comes off the underside of the flaps. Rinse and repeat until the brush comes out clean.

Ta daaa... I cannot believe I just gave a cleaning tip! Will wonders never cease. Do you have a brilliant cleaning tip? Obviously no tip can be too commonplace for me (don't worry I've never heard it and have never done it and could really USE it. I love tips!). Do share.

Fischisms at 2 1/2

• Fischer sitting in the cart at the grocery store trying to touch everything on the shelves:

Me: "No." ... "Don't." (repeatedly)
Fischer: Don't say 'don't' to me, it is embarrassing. (no one was around)

• Fischer sitting at the counter while I cook dinner.

Fisch: Mommy, I want a drink.
Me: (hands full with four pots and pans on the stove) Just a minute.
Fisch: When you say 'just a minute', it hurts my feelings.

• Fischer and I laying on my bed.

Fisch: Mommy, I love you sooo much.
Me: (fishing for compliments) Why?
Fisch: Because you are cute and a smartie.
Me: What else?
Fischer: (annoyed) That's everything!

• Fischer in the car with mommy and Grandma Barb, talking about someone who is getting married.

Mommy: Fischer, are you going to get married?
Fischer: Yes.
Mommy: Who are you going to marry?
Fischer: You.
Mommy: (heart swelling) Awww, that is so wonderful, I'd love that.
Grandma Barb: Fischer, are you going to marry me too?
Fischer: You can marry your own self.

(Apparently marrying your mom is ok, but marrying your grandma really crosses the line!)

What do coffee, style, The Arc, and saving the planet have in common?

Last month I posted about reusable lunch gear: reusable lunch bags, sandwich wraps, napkins and snack bags. Apparently that post caught the eye of a director for Rejavanate bags. He said I might be interested in their product and their company and that there is a good story to go along... and he was right. I was taken with these three things about the company:

1). They reduce a significant source of landfill waste - burlap from coffee

2). They provide jobs to those that often have difficulty finding jobs - The ARC

3). They provide a good way to reduce our paper and plastic bag consumption

Do you know about The ARC? It is an organization that helps to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Finding a job is often a need that that they can help meet.

The Arc is the world’s largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an array of services and support for families and individuals and includes over 140,000 members affiliated through more than 850 state and local chapters across the nation. The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
http://www.thearc.org/

According to Rejavanate:

- Coffee is the second largest commodity in the world

- 800,000 tons of burlap are put into landfills every year

- The ARC helps 140,000 people find housing and employment

- US consumes over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps

- 14 million trees were cut to produce 10 billion paper bags for grocery stores in the US


So with the support of this company and/or the purchase of one of their bags, I can:

• Create a job for someone who has a disability


• Save the planet and save landfill space


• Feel like I'm doing my part to offset my coffee consumption


• Have a fun new bag to put things in

I'm IN!

If you are interested, check them out. You can also have your company's logo put on the bag. The company's sister site is buygreen.com. They offer all kinds of products and information to help you and your family make some good green changes.

Frosty fingered dreams come true

We are on our second substantial snow of the season and Fischer is having technical difficulties. Thanks to Grandma he has a great coat and a great pair of snow bibs, and thanks to his buddies he has a 2 pairs of good snow boots, he has a few nice warm hats... So what is the problem? The gloves! Whoever decided to make shortie children's gloves did not have children. And for some reason every glove company has just followed suit for years and years. It is ridiculous! If your child is going to touch the snow at all, then somehow he will fidget and expose a bit of bare skin on his wrist. THEN, your snow play time is short lived after that because the snow is going to get inside the glove, the glove is going to get yanked off and then that tiny bare hand is going to be used to scoop a pile of snow up and... then the waterworks! Frozen fingers, tears... then mom tries to slide the wet glove back onto the wet hand and that doesn't work... so she gives up and... well... time to go inside. That is... until now. I think I may have found the answer to every mother's frosty fingered dreams... drum roll please... Elbow-length gloves! Hello!

L-Bow makes mittens and gloves for kids that fit right over their coat and all the way up to their (you guessed it) elbow! They have waterproof gloves and mittens as well as a new line of breathable gloves and mittens for sweaty hands. I'm really thinking that these are heaven-sent. The price is a little steep for me, but may be worth it for a happy kid who gets to play outside longer. Now, should I order mittens or gloves? I'm thinking mittens. They'll keep his hands warmer and I don't think his fingers are strong enough to let him be that dexterous in think gloves anyway. I'm going to order them, I'll let you know how it works out.

By the way, I know that the fleece gloves pictured above are not waterproof, but we have the same problem with his little snow gloves too.

FRUGAL NOTE: I've heard of savvy mommies who cut 2 holes at the end of a tube sock and slide that over the glove and up the sleeve to protect little wrists. It sounds like it would work like a charm. Why am I going to order these spendy gloves anyway? Because Fisch needs new gloves this season and because I only have to keep track of one pair of gloves... not the gloves and the special socks... I know us... we lose stuff.

Shoot, what if we lose the new gloves? Well, maybe we won't because they are so big!

Last hike before winter hits

Fischer and I went for a fun little hike on Saturday. It was the perfect distance-to-destination for him. We had a great time taking a little photo shoot. The weather was overcast the entire time until we were leaving... oh well. We still had a great time and Fischer was totally soaked by the time we left! He absolutely loved exploring every leaf, rock, drop of water, and bit of dirt we met along the way! This may have been the last warm day for a while... we'll see.

Making powerful connections

Vital Ground is the organization founded by Doug and Lynne Seus and Bart the Bear to preserve wild land for the grizzly, which in turn preserves the land for all living things.

Operating as a land trust, the mission of The Vital Ground Foundation is to protect and restore North America's grizzly bear populations by conserving wildlife habitat. While preserving the areas where grizzlies roam is the focus of Vital Ground, the positive impact of our work goes well beyond saving a single species. Because the grizzly's range covers several hundred square miles−from alpine meadows to valley bottoms−protecting grizzly habitat benefits entire plant and animal communities in the wildest, most scenic places left on the continent. -Vital Ground

For more information check out their website and/or the video below.

You can support Vital Ground through Donations and promoting awareness. Remember talking about "Growing up Grizzly"? You can buy that book through the Vital Ground website to support their foundation. Also, one of the authors of that book, Douglas H. Chadwick, can be seen in the above video.

Save the World On Tuesday: VOTE!!!!

537 people?? YIKES! - Vote.

Obsessing on Grizzlies

Photo: Doug Seus and Bart the Bear (from Vital Ground)

After watching Growing Up Grizzly I and II on Animal Planet years ago (and sobbing from start to finish of both episodes)... I've had a growing fondness of grizzly bears and also of Doug and Lynne Seus. To say that Doug and Lynne raise and train grizzlies just doesn't paint the most accurate picture of this amazing couple and their family. I don't think I can explain the intense relationship, commitment, and pure love they have for their animals. They do train bears and other animals for film. They do it in a consistent, patient, positive, and genuine manner that is remarkable. I find them to be incredibly inspiring. Not only because of their devotion to their animals and their cause (we'll talk about that tomorrow), but because of the intense focus and presence they have when working with their animals. It is a focus and a presence that I'm ashamed to say I don't always have with Fischer. They talk about the fact that when they are with a grizzly bear, they have to be completely there and not have their mind on anything else. They spend hours playing with and teaching the bears everyday. They are truly building a significant relationship.
They are the "parents" of Bart the bear - remember him from Legends of the Fall, The Bear, The great Outdoors, etc? Bart Passed away about 5 years ago from Cancer. They have three other bears that they are raising and whom have been in the movies and on TV also (Bart 2, Honey Bump, and Tank). Here is a little clip:

I found Growing Up Grizzly 1 on EBay (on VHS), and I'm going to pick up the second. There is just something about Doug and the bears that I cannot get enough of! I'd give anything to go to their home and observe him with his grizzlies. I'd expect it to be the kind of awesome experience that inspires you to move mountains.

Book of the Day

I have been dying to tell you about Growing Up Grizzly: The True Story of Baylee and Her Cubs by Amy Shapira and Douglas H. Chadwick. I am absolutely in love with this book. I had to wait till our swap partners received it before I could talk about it.

The photographs are fabulous and the story is true. The authors witnessed this story unfold and we are so lucky to get to experience it in a book! It is about goofy looking 2 year-old bear named Emmett who wanders into an area of land inhabited by other grizzly bears. He notices a mother bear and her three cubs and is immediately drawn to them. The mother does a good job of keeping him away from her cubs, until one day, he sneaks over to them while she is fishing. When she returns she sees this big old bear sitting with her tiny cubs and seems to realize that he needs her. He becomes one of her cubs. She feeds him and teaches him and keeps him close to her as if she has 4 cubs now. They hibernate together and ... well, they seem to be one big happy family. Then when her little cubs are 2 and it is time for them to be on their own... well, Emmett is ready too! It is as if he was kicked out of the den at two but just really needed two more years to be ready... I am tearing up just thinking about it! You can think of it as a bear adoption story or a bear with special needs or a beautiful mommy story or whatever you want... I just thought it was touching and the photographs are fabulous. Did I mention it was true??? So sweet.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

I've been wanting to talk about a few things since our swap package arrived in the UK last week. I'll be doing a series of posts this week about bears. Grizzly bears have been on my mind for awhile and I have a few good things to tell you about.

Today, I'd just like to say again..."Thank you" to Life with Nature Girl for hosting this swap and "Thank you" to Craft Matters for being such good swap partners. Out of all the books in the world to choose from... we both chose to theme our packages around BEARS!! So funny.

Anyway, you already know about the fabulous book "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" that we received... but I wanted to let you know about Michael Rosen (the author) reciting the story on You Tube. T and D's mum told us about it... it is great!! Fischer is in love with the book now and really enjoyed ALL of the You Tube videos on it... I really liked Michael's.