Day 6 Mt St Helens!

You have to see the Mt. when you come here!

Day 5 An afternoon at OMSI

Day 4

Day 3 The Gorge!

Austin hadn't really seen waterfalls! and you just can't come to the Northwest and not see the gorge. So we wore them out!

Day 2

Day 1 of our visiting nephew!

Mataya had a dentist appointment in the morning, no cavities every thing looks great!

Then we went to pick up Austin from the airport. He is on summer vacation and we told him he was welcome to come for a visit, so he did! Here is day one!

Austin in the NW - Day 1
First day in the Northwest, June 25th 2008 Picked up from the airport, then hung around the house. We all went to the Oregon Zoo to see Grammy winner Kathy Mattea! I just love her!




Click on the picture if you want to see a sideshow.

Questions to ask!

Do you love yourself?

Do you love your life?

Are you authentic?

Do you live with joy everyday?

Do you believe in God out of fear or out of true belief?

Things I would like to do everyday!

30 Minutes . . . . . . of walking, every day. Do it by yourself, with a friend, or with your dog, but don't even think about skipping it. From an antiaging perspective, that's as bad as pulling an all-nighter. Why? A daily walk builds both the stamina and the mental discipline you need to stick with the rest of your staying-young plan. Let it slip and you'll probably abandon other healthy habits, too.

Add this 20-minute strength-and-stretch workout to your walks for additional armor against aging.


A Few Cups . . . . . . of green tea, every day. Because the leaves are young and haven't been oxidized, green tea has up to 40% polyphenols -- natural chemicals with potent antioxidant properties that are greater than even vitamin C. Just don't add milk: The casein in milk cancels out the beneficial effects. Find out the best way to prepare a pot of green tea.

5 Minutes . . .. . . of meditation, every day. Focused quiet time and nose breathing each day can help you manage chronic stress and its aging effects. How? When air flows through your nostrils, nitric oxide -- the feel-good substance that's found in your nasal cavity -- gets fuel-injected into your system. This helps dilate your arteries so that your blood keeps moving as if it's on an empty country road rather than on an L.A. freeway. Get pointers on practicing meditation and deep breathing.

A Couple Handfuls . . .. . . of walnuts, every day. Have six before lunch and another six before dinner to provide the omega-3 fats you need to strike the best nutritional ratio -- not only to boost your immunity but also to keep inflammation in check. Other ideas: Buy omega-3-enriched eggs; eat fish such as cod, halibut, and trout; or trychia seeds.

I wish EVERYONE would watch these!

I wish everyone that knows a child or has a child or a grandchild would watch these short videos! I think they speak for themselves.

Children's Museum, Thai food, and Ice cream

We went to the Children's Museum and then the traffic was so bad we went to thai food and then ice cream. A fun filled day.

What did you do last night? I bet it wasn't this fun! AKA Cheerio Smash Time!

Look what my children decided to do last night. AKA Cheerio Smash Time!

So... It was late and we really wanted to go to bed. Dylan said he was hungry so of course Mataya followed him. They ate leftover pizza alot of it. And then Mataya wanted cereal. Got out the Cheerios. So this is what happens when you leave a 6 year old with his 22 month old little sister alone to have a bowl of cereal. We couldn't help but laugh and take pictures. It really was funny. Oh the joy they had. Check it out here.

Spare the Rod Spoil the Child

Check out the link in the title. This is another reason for not spanking. And below...

http://www.parentinginjesusfootsteps.org/

http://joanneaz_2.tripod.com/positivedisciplineresourcecenter/id4.html

http://www.nospank.net/cnpindex.htm

http://www.stophitting.com/religion/

Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!"

A really good read is here!

Garfinkle and Green Parenting

Dylan had an appointment with the Orthodontist today. Dr. Garfinkle. He thinks things need to get moving towards the bone graft. So we need to schedule a team meeting. They also took pictures and and impression.

I also picked up my first order of things from the green parenting group.

Need to try this on the garden

All-purpose, non-chemical, insect repellent for plants

Before reaching for chemical pest controls, try this simple formula you can make at home.

1 garlic bulb
1 small onion
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 qt water
1 tablespoon liquid hand soap
Chop or grind garlic and onion, add cayenne and mix with water.
Let steep about an hour, then add liquid soap.
Put into a spray bottle and spray only affected areas.
This mixture will keep in the fridge for about a week.
(It is recommended to first test your mixture on a small part of the plant.)

Zoo Concert Junior Brown

We went to the zoo today took the whole fam and my Dad. Went to see Junior Brown. It was fun!

ALL PERSONAL GROWTH INVOLVES CHANGE

From the Guru today...

ALL PERSONAL GROWTH INVOLVES CHANGE

Personal growth is the process of responding positively to change.It involves risk as you step from the known to the unknown. All your growth will depend on your activity.Your strength and growth will come only through continuous effort and struggle.There will be no development without effort. Trouble is the common denominator of living. It is the great equalizer of life.

Your trials, your sorrows and your griefs will develop you.When good or bad fortune comes your way,you must give it meaning and transform it into something of value.

What happens to you is not as important as your reaction to what is happening.

My Aunt Jackie

So, I came across this picture the other day. It is of my Aunt Jackie and my 1st child Dylan. Just look at them. Look at her! This is a picture of unconditional love. My Aunt Jackie had unconditional love for all babies no matter what. My Aunt passed away just before Christmas 2007.

Passions...So true!

On one of the yahoo groups I read this was posted...



With permission...





She's spent years being told that her passions are inappropriate -that's the worst message of conventional parenting, imnsho.Children, even very young children, can be very passionate people,but conventional wisdom says that's bad - nobody, outsideunschoolers, even uses the word passion wrt children. They "getsucked into" something. They "become obsessed". They "get addicted".They are allowed to love academics and sports, but even then -passion? Its a dirty word applied to children.



So their lives get broken up into schedules and play time and screentime and cleanup time and dinner time and family time. They don't*get* to be passionate, even in secret, not even in the privacy oftheir own minds bc they must speak when spoken to and answer thequestion and "be a part of the family" and "what do youmean "nothing" what have you been doing?"



The biggest thing learning about radical unschooling has done for meis to allow me to see my kids as passionate people. That one thinglets me reframe everything else - Everything Else becomes a questionof how I'm going to go about supporting these passionate people Ilive with.---Meredith (Mo 6, Ray 14)

World Forest Center

We went to the world forest center today. It was kinds of expensive but interesting.


Mataya taking a rapids ride.




Dylan driving a jeep.

Garden Update!

Here is a list of what we are growing so far...

Peppers

Antilles Red Habanero

Bhutan Pepper

Big Chile

Bulgarian Carrot

Chocolate Habanero

Fatalii Yellow

Fish Pepper

Paper Lantern

Thai Denchai

Trinidad Perfume

White Habanero


Tomatoes

mortgage lifter

oregon spring

chocolate cherry

San marzano

Rutgers

early Goliath

Baxter early bush cherry

sweet 100

purple calabash

ananas moire

Japanese black trifele

sweet olive

green zebra

hillbilly potato leaf



tomatillo



green bell pepper



eggplant Rosa Bianca



herbs

cinnamon basil

choc mint

basil

thai basil

stevia

lemon thyme

chamomile

sage

lavender

spearmint

rosemary

bay tree

creeping rosemary

curry

parsley

arugula

lemon balm

garlic chives

spicy oregano

Italian oregano

dill

Broccoli

Apple Tree

Habanaro Pepper

Jalapeno Pepper

Cucumbers

Pumpkins

Spaghetti Squash

acorn squash

Blueberry plants

radishes

carrots

corn

peas

beets

spinach

lettuce

garlic

onions

black berry

other can't remember

Kids having fun

Kids just having fun! Check out the link.

Father's Day

Don't mind the half naked guy... but here are some picture of the fun Father's day that was had by all! You can check it out here!

My Father

My Father is very good at the connect before you direct with children. I don't know where he learned it but he very good at it and it is so sweet to see him with his grand kids.

Aunt Terry's 50th Birthday

Check out the link in the title.

What do you do....

when your ice cream machine breaks?

Strawberries!

We went strawberry picking today! With this group here.



Here are the pictures of what we picked. Now if I can save a few that would be great. But they are so good! Everyone is eating them like crazy!

Yummy!

Garden Pictures

Picture of the garden here!

Dylan's 1st time making cookies by himself!

Ok with a little help! ;-) They were so good! Check it out here!

Wow

Check out the link!

Bill's Adventure Day 3 A day at the Picotte's

Fianlly arrives!

If you are a golf fan...

Pebble beach golfing

This is so true...READ ME EVERYDAY!

I read this somewhere recently and copied it and I had yet to post it... but it is so true and how I feel.

I have come to believe in organic learning, respectful parenting and joy seeking. I believe that children should be treated with respect and consideration. I believe that people can be trusted to discover and learn on their own, with facilitation rather than dictation. I believe that yelling, hitting, shaming, love withdrawal and judgement have no place in a healthy relationship. I believe that worry is wasted energy and fear is misdirected energy.

Bill's Adventure Day 2

Trip to AZ - Second half

Quoting a message I got

ALL KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

You build the power to accomplish your goals when you educate yourself.
This power comes from knowing how to do something.
Power is the product of understanding.

The most successful people in life are the one's with the best information.
People with power are people who know how to get things done.
Knowing how to do something is sometimes virtually the same as havingdone it.

Knowledge will come to you by having your eyes and mind always open.
There is no knowledge that is not power.

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.

ALL STUDENTS ARE HONOR STUDENTS

ALL STUDENTS ARE HONOR STUDENTS

"My Child is an Honor Student at Such and Such School," reads a common bumper sticker. The words seem innocent enough, and something for parents to be proud of, so I ask why I feel sad when I read it.

"Because," I thought, "it's another adult-imposed division of young people, at an early age, ranking, dividing and separating them from each other by an artificial system based on alleged smartness, or less smartness, however we may define smart.

We don't need to label our innocent children as we adults have been labeled all our lives? Gifted, slow, attention deficit disordered, and dozens of other catagories? And then recorded in school records by adults who often have little knowledge of who these Blessed beings really are, what they feel, what they really know, what fascinates them in life, and most important, what they bring.

I can appreciate being with people who are bright and even not so bright. I usually see one or the other in the mirror each morning.

I am bright when I remember that everyone in the world belongs here. Brightness comes through me. I am not it. And some of the brightest people I know never completed high school, or got an A.

Being bright and smart is a way to be in the world. It has little to do with grades, passing tests or enduring pre-programmed requirements. I would like to see all of us, of any age, acknowledged for being compassionate, kind and questioning, unwilling to hurt other people because they are different from us, or see the world in ways we do not understand.

If there is a need to advertise on our bumpers, the sticker might simply read: "My Child Is Herself. And so is yours."

For NPR radio, written by Bruce Scott

Bill's Adventure Day 1

Trip To Phoenix - 1st half

Alternatives To Punishment

So I really like most of these... soumething to think about..

Alternatives To Punishment

Copy this list and post it where you can see it, as a constant reminder.

Use positive reinforcement.
Create a positive environment.
Say yes as much as possible.
Save no for the important things.
Use natural consequences.
Use logical consequences.
Use restitution.
Leave it up to your child.
Compromise.
State your expectations, and get out of the way.
Give specific instructions.
Give a reason.
Offer help.
Give a choice.
Redirect your child.
Remove your child.
Make positive statements.
Give in occasionally.
Give your child time to agree.
Simply insist.
Make rules.
Ignore some behavior.
Avoid nagging and threats.
Distract your child.
Use humor.
Make it a game.
Be willing to admit your mistakes.
Stop and think before you act.
Don't make a big fuss over little things.
Stick to routines.
Don't hurry your children too much.
Get to the root of the problem.
Correct one behavior at a time.
Give yourselves time.
Use the golden rule.
Model appropriate behavior.
Think of your child as an equal.
Always keep your love for your child in mind.

From the book Natural Family Living by Peggy O'Mara, editor and publisher of Mothering Magazine

Have you seen this?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24982210/&GT1=43001

So very scary!

On my brain and in my thoughts...

I got this in an email today...

Open to possibilities

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities -- always see them, for they're always there."
-- Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

"One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.' The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride."
-- Richard Nelson Bolles

"The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions."
-- Alan Cohen

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." -- Walt Disney

Last OMSI Lab

Dylan had his last OMSI lab of the year and Amoreena was so kind to help watch Dylan so I could take Mataya upstairs to play. Thanks Amoreena!

So this really hit me today

Ending The Cycle

Start Today


One of the hardest things in life is feeling stuck in a situation that we don’t like and want to change. We may have exhausted ourselves trying to figure out how to make change, and we may even have given up. However, each day offers us an opportunity to renew our resolve and to declare to the universe that we are ready for change. We may even say out loud that we have tried and struggled and have not found a way, but that we are open to help, and that we intend to keep working to create change for ourselves. Making this declaration to the universe, and to ourselves, may be just the remedy for the stagnation we are experiencing. And, it can be done today, right now.

It is difficult to understand, even with hindsight, how the choices we have made have added up to our current situation, but it is a good idea to examine the story we tell ourselves. If we tend to regard ourselves as having failed, this will block our ability to allow ourselves to succeed. We have the power to change the story we tell ourselves by acknowledging that in the past, we did our best, and we exhibited many positive qualities, and had many fine moments on our path to the present moment. We can also recognize that we have learned from our experiences, and that this will help us with our current choices.

When we do this kind of work on how we view our past self, we make it possible for the future to be based on a positive self-assessment. This inner shift may allow us to get out of the cycle we’ve been in that’s been keeping us stuck. Now we can declare our intentions to the universe, knowing that we have done the inner work necessary to allow our lives to change. Allow today to be the day to end cycles and enter into a new way of being.

Before trip to AZ

Since Bill does not have a blog... I thought I needed to post about his adventure! Check out before the trip here.

Can you put your head in a bubble?

Can you do this?

Rose Festival

Had to go check out the Rose Festival since they had dinos there! View pics here!

MDC Picnic

Went to a picnic the the group from Mothering. It is always nice to see like minded families.