Just in case you want to learn a bit about going green and getting active, you can check out my post on 5 Minutes for Going Green entitled “Nature Yoga: Getting Active and Going Green.” Maybe yoga isn’t your thing, so how do you like to get some exercise and feel connected with nature?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
On Sunday afternoon while waiting for friends to come by for dinner, Annabelle and I were searching for something fun to do. Having Montessori on my mind (I’d been reading up on ideal set-ups for 18 month to 36 month olds and realized I needed to add more art supplies), I suggested we make a batch of homemade play dough, similar to this recipe. We opted for the no-cook version using just flour, water, and salt, and then added food coloring and vanilla for color and a pretty scent (vanilla behaves as a preservative too). Annabelle practiced pouring and scooping to help make the play dough, and then smooshed the dough with me until it achieved a good consistency. Here’s how we created our play dough:
Recipe
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup water (at least! We used about 3/4 cups to get a malleable dough)
Annabelle scooping the flour while waiting to add the salt.
Annabelle scooping the waterless flour and salt. We added water afterwards.
Annabelle rubbing food coloring into the dough.
Our play dough turned out to be as much fun as the store bought kind and looked pretty groovy, almost like tye-dye since we mixed our pink and purple dough into one large ball. Annabelle created worms, a princess crown, and items of jewelry (with my help of course!) from her dough and we stored it in an old butter container.
This is a great sensory activity for pre-pre-schoolers and encourages practical living skills like measuring, pouring, scooping, and kneading.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Me thinks the technical difficulties are taken care of, and I am happy to tell you that this technically challenged mamma managed to fix it all by herself. 3 cheers for me! Hip, hip, hooray!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Hello folks,
I am perhaps the most stubborn technically challenged blogger out there. By that, I mean that I wanted to make changes to my Green Mamma style sheet and was too impatient to wait for my technical adviser’s assistance (um, my hubby). So, for now, I’ll have to make do with an old theme until I am able to fix the various whoopsies around here.
Thank you for your patience! Hang in there,
Green Mamma
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Peaking into my organic herb garden this weekend, my husband and I noticed the oregano is abundant; so, I suggested we find a new recipe that calls for some of our favorite, fresh spices. I am a pizza loving vegetarian, so when I spotted this recipe from the Compassionate Action for Animals, I said, “Let’s give it a whirl.” And so we did! Here’s how we made our quick and easy vegetarian pizza:
Ingredients
Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza dough
organic tomato sauce
vegetarian cheese (contains milk and soy but is lactose and gluten free)
fresh herbs
Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Roll out pizza crust. Create a circle or square crust.
3. Pour and spread sauce onto crust.
4. Sprinkle vegetarian cheese onto tomato sauce. We like cheesy pizza, so add cheese to your preference.
5. Sprinkle your favorite herbs onto the cheese. I love oregano and basil.
6. Slide your pizza into the oven and bake for 8 or 9 minutes.
7. Serve up yummy slices of cheesy vegetarian pizza. Delish!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Last week Everyday Woman announced her intention to include a gratitude post each week which she calls Thankful Thursday. Inspired by the poetic prose of her entry, I have decided to make a change to my own gratitude post. I plan to introduce a gratitude word of the week, which I hope to reflect on throughout my week so that not only am I aware of how I have been blessed by life but so that I practice being mindful of what is most important to me.
This week I have chosen the word “forgive” to inspire my gratitude post. I thought about how I interact with the word “forgive” on a personal level and having held those thoughts for several days have decided that what craves forgiveness on my behalf is actually myself. And so I forgive and am grateful for it . . .
I forgive myself for raising my voice with my daughter. . .
I thank the universe for her everyday. My daughter is my precious love.
I forgive myself for making promises that I wish I had not made . . .
I am grateful for the opportunities presented so that I might flex my soul and try new things.
I forgive myself for quitting . . .
I now know that it’s okay to fail and move on from it.
I forgive myself for worrying . . .
The world is beyond my control and sometimes terrible events turn out to be wonderful blessings.
I forgive myself for holding grudges . . .
I shudder to think how many good times I have missed out on for staying angry over petty things.
I forgive myself for guzzling a gallon of gasoline each week . . .
may my children forgive me too.
I forgive myself for being a perfectionist . . .
the world is perfect in its imperfections, and yet, time and time again, I find myself straightening up a clean room or tidying up the yard when I should be spending time with my family.
I forgive my impatience . . .
everything will happen in its own time and life is sweeter when I am not rushing out the door.
I forgive myself for having impossible standards . . .
my true friends don’t care whether my house is clean, my hair is combed, or whether I am mother or wife of the year. I suspect that some of the qualities that I loathe about myself are what others like about me anyway.
And last, I forgive myself for manging at 10 p.m. when I really should just drink a glass of water . . .
snacking is so yummy though!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
After a busy morning at the farmer’s market, Annabelle and I were eager to dig into our fresh goodies when we returned home. With the hot weather, what better way to cool off than to whip up a smoothie! Here’s my recipe for a creamy, yum-yum (that’s how Annabelle lets me know she likes something ), blueberry smoothie:
Recipe
2 cups ice
1 cup blueberries
1 cup vanilla yogurt (we love Stonyfield Organics)
1 cup vanilla soymilk
Combine ingredients in a blender or smoothie maker until smooth. For a thicker smoothie, use more ice, and for a creamier smoothie add more yogurt and milk.
Serves 2.
And for the health nuts who love to know a thing or two about what they’re eating, blueberries are thought to reduce the effects of aging, are chock-full of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. To learn more about the health benefits of eating delicious blueberries, visit Blueberry.org.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
This past week our Montessori group visited the local farmers market where our children helped us shop, selecting beautiful tomatoes, melons, peaches, blue berries, cucumbers, and delicious mint, and learned how to cut fruit and veggies as part of food preparation.
After the moms and children practiced cutting our fresh and yummy farm treats, we talked about the colors, tastes, and textures, and even thought about how the foods grow and whether or not the seeds from these foods could be planted.
When our Montessori food cutting lesson ended, we walked over to the barns to visit with the farm animals. Below are pictures from our trip:
a market stand.
Annabelle holds a lumpty tomato in front of the peach stand.
Taylor reaches for yellow watermelon.
Annabelle expresses her displeasure with sharing her blueberries. It is an ongoing lesson in parenting for me. I hope that we find a way to show her how sharing helps everyone.
Taylor and Annabelle watch as we start to practice cutting fruits and veggies.
Max and Kari cut a lumpy tomato. Owen tries out our water spray bottle.
Kari cuts the tomato by using a blunt knife and a cutting board. Click here to see formal instructions on showing your child how to cut fruit.
Taylor enjoys a bite of her peach.
Elise and Madeline visit with the goats.
Annabelle may be a young equestrian at heart. She loves watching the horses.
Madeline says hello to the cows.
Mamma and baby goat.
A brown and white cow resting in the barn.
A beautiful chocolate colored horse.
This coming week we are hoping to work in the garden or go on a nature walk. Also, a good follow up activity to cutting food with a blunt knife may be for the children to learn how to wash silverware and manage food containers.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
This morning Annabelle and I made our weekly stop at the local library. I love to browse the new titles sections, check out the used magazines that the library sells (these are the only magazines I allow our family to purchase because of the monetary and environmental costs), and peak into the children’s section with Annabelle.
Today when we sat down, Annabelle ran over to the board book shelves, which are centrally located and easily accessible to small children, picked out a book, and ran back back to me to find a place on my lap. We read through an ABC book and color book before Annabelle decided that book time on Mamma’s lap is a wonderful opportunity for nyum-nyum time (or nursing).
I scanned our surroundings to see whether other parents and children were around to observe Annabelle breastfeeding. While I do not mind nursing in front of other people, I also want others to feel comfortable (and sometimes other parents do not want their older children to see a breastfeeding mother). I approached the page volunteer to ask whether or not I might nurse in the children’s activity room. She was unsure about the program schedule and suggested I check with the children’s desk. There, the librarian told me I could nurse in the activity room but that it is a public space and that I should expect other patrons to come into the room. I thanked her and headed for the room where I comfortably nursed Annabelle and read to her.
Navigating the library and finding a safe space to nurse is usually an easy task, however, there are places and times of day where breastfeeding in public is not only challenging but sometimes uncomfortable. Sadly I have felt a neighbor’s disapproving eyes on me when I nursed Annabelle in front of her (although I am unsure what her anxiety is about a mother breastfeeding her child).
Luckily, there are many breastfeeding mothers and pro-breastfeeding women and men out there who encourage nursing mothers to nurse their children. While I was thinking about my own concerns about breastfeeding in public, I came across Baby Maternity’s tips about this very subject. These tips remind breastfeeding mothers what their rights are for nursing in public and includes helpful hints for safe and comfortable nursing.
So the next time your child asks or signals that he or she would like to nurse in a public space, I hope that you will feel empowered to do so. How do you handle nursing in public? What are your ideas about discreetly nursing or openly nursing? Have you ever had a breastfeeding experience in public that surprised you? I’d love to hear others’ thoughts.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
