Becoming an Ecoholic

I am currently reading Ecoholic by Adria Vasil.  Actually I had been eyeing it for awhile, but was reluctant to pick it up because in a way I wanted to stay ignorant.  Not that I want to be horrible to the environment, just that I was worried if I read it I would feel so guilty and hopeless to do much about it.  I couldn't avoid it anymore though as it was staring me in the face, sitting on the shelf in my chiropractor's lending library, so finally I brought it home.

The book is definitely an eye opener to the ways in which everyday products and services are destroying our world.  I'm not going to give you the run down here, if you really want to know go read the book (and I suggest you do).

But actually what I was most surprised about was how our lifestyle, with minimal effort, is actually not that bad when it comes to our ecological footprint.  Ok, it's not nearly as good as it should be, but I think compared to most people we are actually living fairly green without even trying.  We tend to be minimalists by nature, not really spending that much time or money on products in general.  We're not huge consumers, usually accepting used items from friends and family members and only really buying new clothes when absolutely necessary.  Granted a lot of this is because we've never had enough money to justify spending it on material items.  Still, we're not overly fussed about decorating our house or buying all the latest technology.

Since starting reading Ecoholic, I have never been so happy to be, well, me!  In the past I would feel kind of sad that it seemed everyone else had nicer things than me.  It felt like everyone I knew had fancy decor and furniture, the newest gadgets including iPhones, iPads, Nintendo Wii, big screen tvs, fancy computers, nice cars, designer clothes.  Everything shiny and new, and expensive. 

Now, knowing what I know from the book I am so thankful we are how we are.  It means that we've spent substantially less money supporting companies who are ruining the earth. 

After reading the first section on beauty products and how harmful they are not only to the environment, but also ourselves, I realized how few I use.  I almost never wear makeup, maybe a bit of powder if my skin looks like crap and the whole get up I do maybe once a month, if that.  I'm not a sucker for fancy creams, I don't use deodorant (and I'm pretty sure I don't stink), and I pretty much use the bare minimum of everything else.  I do like to use nice skin care, but have realized that it doesn't have to be expensive and have been trying to use only natural products.  I'm slowly changing all our beauty care products over to only all natural stuff.

One big department though that I know I have to make changes in is clothing.  It's easy to ignore the terrible practices involved in the making of cheap clothing.  Unfortunately my thoughts when needing new clothes have always been "How much cheap stuff can I get for x amount of money?".  Now I know I should be spending it more wisely, maybe only buying one or two quality fair-trade items at a time rather than as much crappy stuff as I can afford.  And it makes sense really, because every time I buy cheap clothes  realize they are so poorly made they don't fit right anyway, and they just fall apart quicker.  For the boys thankfully we have relied almost entirely on second hand clothes from my cousins who have two boys, so I know at least the clothes are getting good use and we're not spending money buying more of them.

I've only read about beauty products and clothes so far, and am currently in the health care section (and again happy that we are not pill poppers who rely on medications, prescription or OTC, rather we focus on making our bodies healthy so they can fight off illness on their own).  There are still many sections to cover still, and I know I will learn much more about how to live green, especially in other areas like cleaning (I already don't use commercial cleaners, just water and vinegar, but am looking forward to more tips), technology, and of course food.

Ok, so if we had ever been in the position to spend a lot of money on nice things, I'm sure we would have.  But now at least, if we ever can afford more 'stuff', I will know what to look for and which companies I should be supporting.

Now I feel proud that we don't have nice things or care about the newest trends!

I'm really glad I've picked up this book.  I've only made a dent in it so far, but I'm learning so much already and feel not only more enlightened, but proud of ourselves for have already making good headway in the living green department.  Of course, there is always room for improvement!

The Day Has Arrived

30!!!

How do I feel today?  I feel great.  I feel happy, healthy, and young at heart.  I've made my peace with today.  Sorry 30, you're not gonna get me down!

10 more years until the next big scare.  I can handle that.

ETA:  It is now the end of the day and I have had the best birthday ever.  All my boys made it very special for me.  I got treated to a 1.5hr massage this afternoon followed by a gourmet dinner cooked by my wonderful husband.  After that there was ice cream cake, yum!  And, a small little box with some gorgeous white gold earrings.  A little while ago I told Tyler that I wanted some more earrings and, he listened.  They're just gorgeous, simple enough to wear every day and yet glamourous enough for a night out.  I'm such a lucky lady!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Tyler is usually the maker of pancakes in our house.  I can only recall making them once before, though they did turn out well.  The official pancake maker is away this weekend, and I have been wanting to make a batch for freezing for some time, so I figured I'd give it another go.  We have a really great buttermilk pancake recipe from Tyler's mom that we have used in the past, though we are constantly trying to tweak it so that we can use more wholesome ingredients.  Today was no exception.  After having already decided I was making them (and telling T about it, so there was no going back), I realized that we didn't have any buttermilk or yogurt (the latter being what we usually use in place of buttermilk).  With a little creativity though I was able to whip up some super yummy, healthy blueberry pancakes using whole wheat flour instead of the traditional white stuff, and agave instead of sugar.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes - recipe makes about 2 dozen pancakes

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3 eggs

3 tbsp light agave nectar

3 1/2 cups buttermilk OR plain yogurt (or in today's case I used 1 cup ricotta cheese and about 2 1/2 cups milk)

3 tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Sift together dry ingredients.  Beat eggs in a separate bowl then add agave, buttermilk/yogurt, and melted butter.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix, then add blueberries.  Use 1/4 cup batter per pancake and cook on a hot, lightly oiled skillet about 3-4mins per side or until golden brown and cooked all the way through.

I like to freeze them wrapped in 4's for a quick breakfast throughout the week.

Fall Schedule

Fall is knocking on our door and brings with it lots of changes.  Tyler is wrapping up his position at the Landmark Group and getting ready to jump into a new life working with his parents on starting their farm.  T is still adjusting to mornings at school and is definitely experiencing some effects of his new routine.  F and I are trying to adjust too to mornings where we have to be out the door earlier.

I love fall, and I love how the dynamics of life seem to change at this time of year.  Kids go back to school, and all of a sudden it becomes apparent that the lazy days of summer are gone.  Vacationers are home, and everything just seems busier.  People are back at the Y working out, and classes are filling up.  Some of my exercise classes that only had 3 or 4 people in them during the summer now have closer to 20. 

T is still doing well at school.  He is excited to go in the mornings and he is enjoying himself while he is there.  I am so thankful that he likes it and does not get upset about having to go.  I know we are extremely lucky in that respect, as most kids would probably cry during their first week, or even longer.  When I drop him off he still goes off to join the other kids happily.  He gives me a kiss and off he goes, and when I pick him up he yells "Hi Mommy, you're back!!"  I'm so happy that he is enjoying it.

But we are still noticing the effect it is having on him overall.  Sleep is still a little tricky, and his sleep window is harder to find.  Last night he resisted going to bed for over an hour, something that is unheard of for him.  Sometimes his behvaviour is a little off too, and he will do things to get our attention.  I know that he just needs more attention from us during this time, and the right kind of attention too.  I think I need to pay close attention to his naps as well, it seems to be a fine line between letting him nap enough so that he's not too tired and letting him nap too much and he is not tired enough for bed.  He is not ready to drop his nap yet, especially after starting school, but I think that time is getting closer.  I'm trying hard not to get discouraged when we have some particularly bad behaviour from him, or when he gives us some trouble at bedtime, because I know that kind of stuff is to be expected after starting school and that overall he is actually doing brilliantly.

F is still very much enjoying his time with me.  He is happy and smiley all the time, and he is sleeping well too.  This morning was his first morning at the Y childminder's without T with him, and he did well.  He was upset and cried as usual, but settled down and was fine when I picked him up.  I still wouldn't say he enjoys being there, but he doesn't cry the whole time.  He knows I will be back for him and is so happy when I return.  After I picked him up we went to active tots and he had so much fun.  Again he seems so much more confident now that it is just me and him, and will run around and try new things.  He loves kicking and throwing the balls around.

This is Tyler's last week at the Landmark Group before he embarks on new adventures.  He is so excited to get out and do something different.  I know he is really looking forward to doing some hands on type of work on the farm.  He will also work on starting his small free-lance design business as well.  After this week it will be interesting to see how our routine changes again, once he starts working elsewhere.

I am still missing having T around, but also enjoying my time with F.  It is definitely busier for me having to get them out the door to get T to school, but it means that we have more time in the mornings to do other things before picking him up again.  Sometimes F and I go to the Y, other times the EYC.  He starts swimming classes this week which will be fun for us.  We have been very social, meeting with friends most mornings and some afternoons too.

I have kicked my exercise routine into high gear these past few weeks and am now doing both spinning and yoga twice a week, in addition to cardio on Saturdays.  Actually last week I even did yoga 3 times.  I have stopped going to pilates though as the time was just too inconvenient.  Amazingly Hillary and I have been getting up at 5:30am to do spinning and yoga on Friday mornings.  Even though I had a cold all last week I still made it to all my classes, exercise makes me feel so much better.  I love it, maybe I can even start going more often.

We also have some fun afternoon stuff planned for T as well.  I think this afternoon I am going to take him to all sport at the Y to see what he thinks about it.  He needs more physical activity in the afternoons.  On Thursday he has something called creating balance, and on Saturday he has rhythmic gymnastics.

I've been hanging out with all my new friends a lot too which has been fantastic for me.  It's so great to be social and it sounds like we're developing some really good friendships.  We even went out and hit the town on Saturday night which was so much fun.  We started at Corrina's house, then we to the Village where we checked out several different bars and had a great time dancing the night away.  It felt really good to get out of the house and have fun with the girls.

We've got all sorts of fun stuff planned for September and October.  My birthday is in a few weeks and hopefully Tyler has something planned for me.  On Thanksgiving weekend we'll visit with all our family, and we also have a birthday party to go to.  Later in October we've planned to go to Round's Ranch and get pumpkins with a bunch of other families which should be lots of fun, and then the week after it will be Halloween.  I still haven't figured out what to dress the boys up as.

So this has been a bit of an all around catch up post I suppose.  We're headed into fall and looking forward to a change of pace.  The fall weather seems to have come early, but hopefully that means winter won't be early too, there's still so much we want to do before the snow flies!

Tristan's First Day of School

Today did not go as I expected it would.  Well, the part where T went to school without a problem and had a good time did, but the rest did not.

We got off to a bit of a rocky start.  Due to a random bug in T's bedroom incident last night, he ended up going to sleep later than usual, probably around 9:30.  Then he was up at 6:30am, which is very early and also very unusual for him.  So he started today off with a short night, which isn't that great.  Otherwise though he was in good spirits and excited about school.  He ate a good breakfast and was happy to get dressed and out the door.

I'm ready to go!

C'mon already!

Since we were not in a rush I figured I would let him walk instead of putting him in the stroller.  It took about 20mins for us to walk there at T's pace, and while we walked we talked about school, about his teachers, and about all the new friends he would make.  I told him when we got there I wanted to take his picture and give him a hug and a kiss before he went in.  He proudly announced to anyone who passed that he was on his way to school.

On our way

As we neared the last block before the school he exclaimed excitedly, "There's my school!  There it is!"  I could feel my heart beat faster and my stomach in knots.  We approached the gate and he could see all the other children in the yard.  I tried to get him to stand still for a picture but he just wasn't having any of it.

Bye Mom!

And just like that he was off.  No hug, no kiss, no bye mom, no turning to wave.  He didn't even look back.  I hovered for a few minutes to see if he would look over, but he didn't.  Reluctant to leave, I finally set off back home with F in the stroller.  I shed a tear or two.  Only a few.  Mostly I was disappointed that I didn't get a good picture of him.  He just couldn't wait to get past the gate and into that yard with the other children.

I moped back home but as I was about halfway there I looked down and remembered F sitting there in the stroller.  I was thankful that I had decided to leave the double stroller at home, as I don't think I would have wanted to see the empty seat as I pushed it back home again.  I remembered that it was now time for F to have some special Mommy time, something he has rarely gotten in his short life.  We had a really lovely morning at the EYC, and he seemed more relaxed and confident knowing he had me all to himself.

Come time to pick T up from school there was a little mix up on my part.  I thought pick up was at 11:45, but it was actually at 11:30.  I can't describe how awful I felt, thinking about him there waiting for me while all the other kids got picked up.  It made me sick just thinking about it.  He was fine though, waiting patiently with his teacher for me to pull up.  As soon as I ran in to get him he couldn't stop talking about his day, it was hard to get him to stop long enough to say bye to the teacher and he was still chattering on about it as we walked down the stairs and out to the car.

All in all he did wonderfully at school and it seemed like he really enjoyed it, which is more of less what I expected.  It was the rest of the day that came as a bit of a wake up call for me.

We went home and had lunch at our usual time.  From that point on I figured it would be just like a normal day, we were right on schedule for lunch and naps, and I figured T would likely be very tired from such an exciting morning, not to mention his short night last night.  He seemed quite wired through lunch though and even afterwards.  I put F down for his nap, and that is when I made the second big mistake of the day.

Not taking into account the fact that T was probably still overwhelmed and excited from the morning's events, and thinking I needed to get him into bed for a nap asap, I kind of rushed him through his normal wind down when he clearly wasn't ready.  I didn't warn him before turning off his tv shows that he usually watches while I put F down, and he was antsy while we read our books.  When I took him up to his room he was crawling the walls and not ready to sleep.  He kept getting more and more upset.  I was beside myself, this was so not like him and I was not expecting it nor did I know what to do.  Eventually I brought him back down and gave him some quiet time on the couch.  He did end up lying down and dozing off for a few minutes once he realized how tired he was.

I was completely taken aback by this turn of events and spent most of the afternoon in tears with him, mostly because this behaviour was so unlike my angel child and I was terrified that him starting school, and even worse my not being there to pick him up, have had damaging effects on him.  I couldn't stop all the thoughts running through my mind about him being completely uprooted by this change and thrown way off track for who knows how long.  I wanted my happy toddler back, the one who went down for naps and bed no problems and had to be woken in the morning.  I was scared that this nap refusal would lead to bedtime refusals, night wakings, waking up early, and then spiral into overtired toddler land.  And for what?  To put him in school one year early?  I already wanted to go back to how things were with him at home with me, things were just so perfect that way.  We had such an amazing routine.

But in my heart I know he needs to go to school, and that he wants to be there.  I know it is the right thing for him, and that he will learn more there than he ever will from me.  I also know that he will adjust, that we will all adjust, but that it will take some time.  I grossly underestimated that such a big change would have an affect on him, but really how could it not?  It is a HUGE change!  I figured my angel child who always rolls with the punches would just do as he always did and go with it, unaffected.

The other thing that worried me is how he will fare while he is at school.  The teacher called me this afternoon to follow up with me, and while everything she said was positive it really hit home for me now that he is in a new environment with new people, and they will be influencing the kind of person he is from now it.  It also made me worry that somehow my parenting will be judged as they assess what kind of person he is.  I know he is only three, and has never known an environment other than those he has been in with me, so he will have to learn how things work at the school.  But I just have these visions of him trying to do whatever he wants there and getting frustrated when he is taught he has to do things a certain way.  Not that we let him do anything he wants at home, but I do know there will be more rules and boundaries there and I'm scared they will think he is bad if he doesn't want to follow him.  I know he is such a good natured and sweet boy, I just hope he adapts to the way of life there.  I know it is good for him to be there and learn those things, probably because we are more relaxed at home and he needs that kind of structure.  I just couldn't help but feel in some way that my child, and my parenting, were somehow being judged.  I want everyone to view him as wonderfully as I do, and I am scared for the times when he may not been seen in that light.

This is just the softy mom talking though.  The reality of it is they are not judging or criticizing him, and they probably do think he is a lovely boy.  They also know that he is young and that he will learn in time.  That is what they are there for, to teach and guide him.  I know that I need to relax, as it is only the first day and he cannot be expected to know what is expected of him right away, he needs to learn that stuff while he is there, and he will.

So overall today was not at all how I envisioned it would be, and in all honestly has left me an emotional wreck.  Even despite his lack of a nap, T was still not in bed any earlier.  We tried, and it took extra long to get him to settle down.  I am hoping, and crossing all my fingers and toes, that this adjustment period will not be too long, and that his sleep will not be too adversely affected.  He was such a good little sleeper before, I cannot bear to think of him not getting the sleep he needs anymore.

I'm trying not to dwell too much on today, and think positively about this whole experience.  Today was just the first day, the first of many.  I'm sure they won't all be easy but I'm sure there will be lots of amazing ones too, so I just need to keep my chin up and know that it what is best for him and that he truly will benefit from his experience at school.

The Last Day

Tomorrow T starts school.

Initially I didn't have any immediate worries about enrolling him in school at this age.  I always knew that it was something he would likely enjoy, and I still think it is.  But as time has passed and we have crept closer and closer to the big day, I've been flooded with a mixed bag of emotions that I didn't really expect.  I thought it would be easy to let him go.  I truly underestimated how it would affect me, of all people.

For the last 3 years of his life T has spent virtually every day all day by my side.  We have hardly been separated more than a few hours at most.  He is my little sidekick.  It's hard to imagine that we have been that inseparable, but we have.  Even when I went to the hospital to give birth to F, T was only away from me for about 5hrs.  I put him to bed as usual and F was born in the middle of the night, and we were home by lunchtime.  So there was never a long period of separation.  During any other times where we have been apart for a few hours or more, he has been with Tyler or at the very least another family member. 

Starting tomorrow he will be with strangers for 3 hours every morning, 5 days a week.

I mean, c'mon.  It's only 3 hours.  Pull yourself together Mommy!

Still.......

I know that first day will be fine.  I will leave him there and he won't notice.  Maybe he'll ask for me after a bit but with some reassurance will be fine.  The second day will be ok too I'm sure.  But what about the third, or fourth, or tenth days?  What happens when he realizes that he will be there every day?  Will he be sad that he's not with us?  Will he miss all the things that we used to do together?  I know in my heart that he will probably be enjoying himself so much and that it is really me who will miss those things.

He will be in school for the mornings, which is when we tend to plan all our other activities like going to active tots or the Early Years Centre, or playdates with our friends.  I am really sad that he won't be there with us anymore.  I know that there will be opportunities to do those activities or similar ones in the afternoon too, but it's harder because naptime tends to mean there is less time to go out and do things in the afternoons before having to rush home for dinner.  I'm hoping some of our friends will still be up for afternoon playdates so that T can still see his little buddies.

I have planned some fun stuff for him.  There is an all sport program for 3-5 year olds at the Y on Monday afternoons, and I have registered him for another Y program called creating balance which will be on Thursday afternoons.  Plus he is going to be in rhythmic gymnastics on Saturday mornings. 

I am also thinking about how mine and F's routines will be affected as well.  Now when I drop F off at the childminder's at the Y so I can go to my spinning class, he will be all alone, without his big brother to reassure him.  That makes me sad.  He already has such a hard time going there as it is. 

But I have to look at the plus side as well.  I know T will love school and learn so much there.  I am also looking forward to spending one on one time with F, who hasn't gotten any of it in his little life so far.  It will also be nice to do activities and not have to have my eyes on two little toddlers for a change.  So there are lots of benefits as well.

I think the initial adjustment will be the hardest, figuring everything out as we get used to our new routine.  But once we settle into it everything will be fine.

For T's last full day with us we went to the EYC this morning, because once he starts school he won't get to go there much anymore.  We had  really nice morning there playing with the other kids.  After the boys nap I have to run out to pick up a few things from the store, so we'll try to make that a fun outing as well.

I'm excited, I really am.  I'm a bit sad and nervous too, but those feelings are only natural I think.  Tomorrow is going to be a great day, and in a way I can't wait to drop my Big Guy off and see him begin this new phase of his life, even if I'm holding back the tears as I see him walk through those doors.

A Morning With Some Friends

Yesterday morning we met with some friends to stroll the boardwalk and hang out.  4 moms, 3 babies, and 5 toddlers - quite a feat!  But everyone had lots of fun.

Simone, Aiden, Tristan and Zach

Getting them all to smile for the camera at the same time is an impossible task!

Little Miss Austyn

Finn finally gets to walk with the big kids for a bit

Cutie Pie Kiera

Tackle soccer

Rolling down the hill!

The only one missing from the pics is Isabelle.  We'll get you next time baby girl!

Great time with friends!


Things I Love

It's the little things, you know?

Like sometimes I will watch F as he wanders around the house.  I get down to the floor and call his name.  He looks over at me and his whole face lights up, then he bolts over as fast as his little legs will go and flies into my arms for a hug.  He has always done this, from the moment he could toddle around.  And he still does it.  I love it.  Love love love it.  It's one of my favorite things in the whole entire world.

Something from T as well.  At bedtime now he much prefers Daddy puts him to bed.  We go up together, but when it comes time to sing songs he usually tells me "Just go, Mommy".  I could take offense to this, but I don't.  I know he just wants to spend some special time with Daddy.  Also, what sweetens the deal is the super wonderful hug and a kiss I get from him before going, followed by "I love you Mommy, sweet dreams".

Ahhhhhh.

(And a totally non-kid related thing that I love - writing a blog post and then clicking the spell check, and nothing comes up as mis-spelled.  I've always had a damn good knack for spelling!)

Birthday, What Birthday?

It's September.  The 7th to be exact (and a very Happy 29th Birthday to my love, Tyler!  Enjoy this last year of your 20's my dear).  Which means the unthinkable is coming up in a few weeks.

I am turning 30.

Why does this bother me so?  Sigh, there is something about leaving your 20's behind and sliding that hideous '3' in front.  I wonder if 40 feels this weird.  I doubt it.  At 30 I'm just not quite ready to let go of the '2'....  I liked my 20's, they were where it was at.

SO, what is going on for this momentous birthday?  Well, last year I half-joked to Tyler that there had better be a HUGE surprise party for me.  Will that happen?  Not likely.  I love the guy, but I don't think he's much of a party planner.  Recently he had let me know that he would be going away on a fishing weekend the weekend of my birthday, making me realize he really hadn't thought about it at all.  I called him out on it and he assured me that there were big plans.  He just hadn't thought about which weekend to do it on.  I'm not 100% sure I believed him but I am trying to have some faith that he has put a little thought into it.

My new friends here have been asking me what I wanted to do for my BIG 30th and have set the ball rolling for a fun girl's night out.  I'm floored really.  I don't think ever I've had a friend really plan something for any of my birthdays.  Usually I had to plan my own birthdays and invite them, instead of the other way around.  But my friend C has insisted that this is a big one, and we must do something.  I'm so grateful to have met these ladies.  Not sure exactly what we are going to do yet, but it sounds like it has something to do with bars, alcohol, music, and dancing.  We just have to make sure we all take a nap that day so we make it past 11pm!

Ok, I am trying to feel less down and more excited about the prospect of turning 30.  I'm going to embrace my 30's and everything they have to offer.  Afterall, as much as my 20's rocked, right now is the best time of my life and I can only assume it will get better from here on in.  Older, maybe.  Wiser, most definitely!  Still cute and capable of having fun?  I hope so!

End of the Week Chicken Soup

Lately what we have started doing is making a crock pot chicken soup on Fridays.  We often pick up a whole chicken that we can make several meals out of, and so we save the leftovers for the soup.  Saturdays is when we go to the Farmer's Market and grocery store to pick up more food for the week, so making a soup on Friday helps us clear out whatever is left in the fridge that might not last much longer.  It helps ensure we are not wasting food while making a super yummy and healthy meal (or two!) at the same time.

This week's soup ingredients:

leftovers from two chickens, including bones

carrots, potatoes, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, peas, green beans, spinach, bean sprouts

seasonings (dried herbs, onion powder, bay leaves, salt and pepper)

organic chicken broth and water

wild rice

I threw the chicken, veggies and seasonings in the pot the night before.  At lunchtime today I added the broth and water and turned it on high.  An hour before dinnertime I removed the chicken and took the meat off, then added it back into the pot.  Cooked and added the rice.  Super easy, super yummy.

Our soup needed something to go with it, so I raided the fridge once again for stuff and came up with a fresh summery salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, green peppers, and yellow beans, tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette.

Quickly whipped up some homemade whole wheat biscuits, and voila!

There were 11 different veggies in this meal.  (well, 12 if you let me count green and yellow beans as two!).  This is such a great way to use up veggies that are looking a little wilty.  Another thing we like to do with these veggies at the end of the week is to use them to make our own vegetable broth.  Just another way to make sure we're not wasting anything.

The very definition of comfort food I think.  I hope my boys grow up thinking "Mom's cooking is the best!"

California Spring Salad

Thursday night's dinner was inspired by the salad of the same name from Milestone's.  I used to work there and it was probably one of my favorite dishes.  So I decided to try and recreate something similar for chicken salad night.

Ingredients

sliced chicken breast
organic field greens and herbs
organic strawberries, sliced
red onions, thinly sliced
maple glazed pecans (easy to make, just toss in maple syrup and a bit of melted butter and toast in the oven)
honey balsamic vinaigrette
goat cheese

Toss all the ingredients with the vinaigrette and top with goat cheese.  So easy, and so yummy!!

How is it THAT time already?

SERIOUSLY???

My baby is starting school!  Ok, technically today was just orientation.  But it certainly felt like the first day of school.  Last night I put together a change of clothes to bring with us, and labelled all his stuff.

Check out these super cute labels with our name on them that I got from Mabel's Labels. 

It's all so unreal.  I can't believe that he will be starting school soon.  Here he is ready to go in his new (and slightly too big but still super cute!) rain jacket.

The orientation was really great.  T got a chance to meet his teachers again, and have a look around the classroom.  He was very curious and inquisitive right away, wanting to check everything out.  They showed him where his coat hanger with his name on it was and how to hang up his coat.  Then they gave him a tour of all the facilities.  F and I waited in the hall so that we wouldn't distract them.  He got to look at all the different learning materials, and the teachers got to see what kinds of things interested him.

His start day is in exactly two weeks.  So we're going to have to cram in all sorts of fun stuff before then because I know I will miss him when he's gone!

But he of course, is going to love going to school.

Newborn Tristan Pictures

I just remembered that I meant to add some pics of my Big Guy when he was just a wee little man. 

Precious!