verdemama — green around the edges

Garden of Delights

by verdemama on June 22, 2010

Orion loves to spend time daily out in the garden “tending” to the veggies. See how he expertly picks the chives and feeds them to the eggplant?

Yeah, I don’t get it either. Cute though. Very cute.

Lately he’s adopted the oh-so adorable ritual of smelling whatever herbs and flowers he sees growing.

Mmm, chives.

Can “professional smeller” be a viable career option? Check out the technique: hand to nose, eyes closed. Orion’s a true pro.

Not all plants excite the ol’ olfactory though.

Chard, for instance? Smells kinda meh compared to its neighboring basil, oregano and chives.

But the bees are right about the lavender. It’s always worth a whiff.

And so we smell the lavender. Every single day. And even though it’s getting weathered by the summer sun, it still is worth taking the time to stop. Close our eyes. And smell.

Now growing: eggplant (Holy eggplants! Woo-ee, we’ve got a lot of ’em!), bell peppers, cucumbers, corn, poblano peppers, tomatoes, squash (acorn and yellow), as well as basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, oranges, lemons and passionfruit. Hooray for backyard gardens!

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Among the Giants

by verdemama on June 21, 2010

Father’s Day. Sequoia National Park. Good food. Good friends. Beer. Fire. Good times. Need I say more?

There’s magic in them thar 2,000 (plus)- year-old trees.

*****

Pants are optional.

But soaking up the scenery is mandatory.

This is what a good daddy looks like, in case you were wondering.

{Big thanks to Laura for snapping this pic.}

*****

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16 Month Birthiversary

by verdemama on June 17, 2010

Don’t forget to enter the Equal Exchange Dark Chocolates giveaway. Deadline is Monday, June 21!

*****

Orion officially turned 16 months old a few days ago, but this week has not been kind to me (or Orion, for that matter—he’s had a high fever on and off since last night), so you’re getting this a few days late.

Sixteen months old is such a delightfully fun age! It’s sad to see my wee little baby disappear, but this kid who replaced him is pretty darn cool. For instance:

:: He loves to wave hello and goodbye and blow kisses to everyone and everything. He blew a kiss and waved bye-bye to the park the other day as we left it and I just about died it was so cute.

:: He’s an excellent mimicker of sounds and his vocab is growing daily. Now he’ll just randomly say words I didn’t even know he knew. (Today’s word=pillow.)

:: He knows you’re supposed to blow on hot food to cool it down. He’s taken this tactic a step further and blows on everything that’s hot, including the backyard BBQ, the oven, and even hot pavement.

:: The other day when we sat down to nurse, he said, “Yum, yum, yum!” and clapped his hands together.

:: Today he walked up to the eggplant growing in our garden and said, “No, no, no.” The reason was a mystery to me until the hubs said it was probably because he warned Orion not to touch the eggplant because of the little spikes all over it.

:: He loves playing in the garden and smelling the herbs. He’ll also walk around the neighborhood smelling the flowers.

:: He can feed himself with a spoon, so now when we sit down to meals together I can actually eat my own food!

:: He’s getting the hang of walking, finally. He was a little late to that party, but I don’t mind because that’s less chasing around I’ve had to do.

:: He climbs up the biggest play structure at our neighborhood park and slides down the big twisty slide all by himself.

And that’s just a small sampling of the radness that is life with a toddler. I’ll save the tales of tantrums and back talk for another time.

*****
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Sick Baby = Sad Mama

by verdemama on June 16, 2010

A 102 fever snuck up on Orion totally out of the blue Tuesday evening—it’s the first real fever he’s had in his entire 16 months on this planet, if you can believe that. (He didn’t even have much of a fever when he got violently ill on our recent Alaskan cruise.) One minute he was playing and the next he was cranky and whiney and yawning like he was going to pass out right then and there. Poor little fella got a cool bath, some Tylenol and a little mama lovin’ and went down to sleep without a fight.

I was pretty worried at first, but after Erik had a convo with his physician parents, it sounds like everything is pretty normal. Now I’m keeping an eye on things via the infrared camera we have set up above his crib.

Judging by his super chill sleep pose, looks like everything will be a-okay with the little man.

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The Outsider

by verdemama on June 15, 2010

Orion is an outdoor kid. Which I LOVE, considering so many modern kids never see the light of day, opting instead to bask in the artificial glow of a television or computer screen.

First thing every morning, after he nurses, Orion grabs my hand and leads me to either the front or back door. I then say something like, “No. I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

“We need to eat breakfast first.”

“I’m still wearing my pajamas.”

And so on. It’s the little dance we do each and every new day. So we eat breakfast. I change his clothes and my clothes. And if I’m lucky and he’s in a patient mood (which isn’t very often, come to think of it), he’ll let me go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. We then venture out, usually making a pit stop for a few moments to play in the car, then we head out to the park or some other green area in our neighborhood.

I love that he loves to be outside. I did, too, as a kid in rural Ohio, but somewhere along the way, after almost a decade of life in LA and jobs that required me to park myself in front of a computer for the majority of my waking hours, I had forgotten the joys of being out in the great outdoors. I had forgotten how sucking up nature (albeit our citified version of nature) refills all those little holes and fissures in my soul. Orion reminded me. I also dig that his love of being outside has challenged me to seek out all the wild little nooks in my area. Luckily my neighborhood has some pretty great parks and even a couple public gardens, and, of course, there’s the ocean, which is only a couple of miles away.

(And if you’re in the LA area and looking for some local green spaces, check out my friend’s new blog In the Landscape.)

I hope that as he gets older and is tempted by video games and televised sports and the lure of the Internets, he remains a free-range kid. It’s tough when we’re tucked in between so many strip malls, freeways and skyscrapers, but we know there are still sea-salty breezes and tangled roots and kaleidoscopic blooms outside our door. And that is exactly where you’ll find us.

*****
If you like this blog, please keep voting for it at TopMommyBlogs.com by clicking here. I encourage you to vote often—you may vote once per day. Thank you for your continued support! xo

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Giveaway || Equal Exchange Dark Chocolates

by verdemama on June 13, 2010

It happens just about the same way every evening. Dinner is eaten, then baby is bathed and put to bed. After that my husband and I maybe watch a movie, or perhaps I hop online (or both). And then? It happens. It starts as a vague desire that grows and spreads until finally it has consumed my very being.

I must have chocolate. NOW.

That’s when I reach for a few squares of dark chocolate, and the beast is satiated. Dark chocolate is my go-to dessert because it’s loaded with antioxidants and other health benefits, it’s relatively low in calories (because it would be unwise to stuff your face with a fatty sugar bomb right before bed, right?), and a little goes a long way. And, of course, I always opt for organic chocolate… it just tastes better!

And for you, my fellow dark chocolate lovers, Equal Exchange is offering up a case of organic and fairly traded dark chocolate minis (a $35 value) to an oh-so lucky verdemama reader. Take them to the office, dole them out to the kids, or hell, hoard them all for yourself. (You’ve earned it! I won’t tell anyone.)

But there’s even more to get excited about. Not only is Equal Exchange awesome enough to offer up a box of sumptuous chocolates, they’re also a model of social, environmental and corporate responsibility. (Are you listening, BP? You could learn a thing or two…) They’re a co-op owned company and pioneer of the fair trade* movement in the U.S.

Yummy chocolates with a side of ethical business? I’m sold.

Hold on, there’s one more thing to tell you about before we get to the giveaway deets. EE is spearheading a fundraiser that benefits both schools and small organic farmers and artisans around the globe. The fundraiser features organic and fairly traded coffees, teas, cocoas, nuts and berries, and handmade tree-free giftwrap from EE, and beautiful gifts for the home from Ten Thousand Villages. It’s a unique and socially conscious opportunity for schools and community organizations to earn some extra cash. Learn more and get free educational materials here.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave me a comment below. For extra credit (i.e. an extra entry), follow Equal Exchange on Facebook, then leave me another comment saying you did so. That’s it! I’ll select a winner via random.org on Tuesday, June 22.

Good luck!

*In a nutshell, fair trade is a guarantee that the small farmers who provide EE with their products are paid fairly and enjoy safe working conditions, and only use sustainable farming practices.

**UPDATE! And the winner is… Commenter #18, Rebecca! Congrats, lady!

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Bless This Mess

by verdemama on June 11, 2010

Having a toddler means never having a tidy house. This is what happened when I left him alone for two minutes today while I went to brush my teeth. The bus left behind at the scene of the crime cements his guilt—there’s no blaming the cat for this one.

I’m now off to re-roll this gigundo pile of TP. And I wonder where my days go…

*****
If you like this blog, please keep voting for it at TopMommyBlogs.com by clicking here. I encourage you to vote often—you may vote once per day. Thank you for your continued support! xo

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Play the Pony

by verdemama on June 10, 2010

It kills me to see my baby hurt. I’m actually not talking about Orion this time—I’m talking about the vintage rocking horse he’s riding. I got it for my second birthday, and it was my favorite toy of those early years. I was thrilled at the prospect of passing the now 30-something year old toy down to my son, except… well, he’s not exactly gentle with it.

He loves riding it—he has no problem climbing up on it and rocking the bejezus out of it. But what’s funny is—us being city folk and all—he doesn’t really know what a horse is. He’s seen them in books, but he’s yet to see one in real life. So… he thinks it’s like a car, which is still his number one obsession. He’s been taking his car keys and stabbing them in the horsie’s googly bubble eye, in essence “starting” it up.

It’s actually pretty hilarious, watching him “start” the horse with a key in its eyeball. But I can’t help but wince a little when he does it. I keep promising the old girl a makeover—a little sanding, some new varnish. A day at the rocking horse spa, basically. And now perhaps a couple of new eyes, to boot.

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And Just Like That…

by verdemama on June 9, 2010

Closed doors are no longer. Doorknobs are no obstacle. Privacy? You were nice while I knew ya.

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Eat Dessert. It’s Good for You.*

by verdemama on June 8, 2010

*This luscious raw vegan chocolate mousse is, anyway. I’ve made this for a few parties and random get-togethers and everyone always raves about how delicious it is. Little do they know, it has a secret ingredient: avocado. Yes, the stuff of guacamole and sundry Mexican fare. Consider this to be, if you will… chocomole.

Before you run gagging from your computer, let me assure you, this actually tastes A-MAZ-ING! I swear to you, you would never know it’s made with avocado. It tastes like smooth, creamy chocolate-y goodness, and it’s loaded with vitamin K, potassium, foliate, dietary fiber, vitamin B6 and vitamin C to boot.

And it’s super easy to make. All you need are four ingredients:

(Serves four)
4 ripe avocados
1 cup of organic cocoa powder or cacao powder (or even carob, but it’s not my top choice)
1 cup of raw organic agave nectar, or cane juice, or maybe even honey (but I can’t vouch for that)
1 tbsp organic vanilla extract

Scoop out the avo and toss it in a food processor with the other ingredients, then blend until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate for an hour, then serve with fresh fruit. I served mine with mint from my garden and raspberries from my farmers’ market. So. YUMMY!

Those people who say eat dessert first? This is what they were talking about.