NEW! UPDATE!

October 2, 2013

I had originally intended to update this blog on my family life, with our adventures & trips, most especially our outdoor/nature-type escapades, but I've recently come to realize that it is hard work updating a blog, on a regular basis. I can definitely see how this would be called 'work' for a lot of people! I just can't do it.

Maybe it is out of my own dislike for watching people stay glued to their phones throughout the day, no matter what they are doing (even while walking), or my "favorite", while they are WITH their child (ren) & leaving others around them to have a panic attack every time they come close to either falling or ingesting a dangerous object.

Yeah. Highly annoying.

I have also recently made a lifestyle change by omitting my social media apps from my phone. It was too much. We already have enough distractions as it is. Here's my deal.

I have three babies. A 7-year old, a 5-year old & a 9-month old. If THEY alone do not take up ALL my time, then I am pretty sure that there is no place for social (DISTRACTION) media to have any part of my time &/or attention. I still have my accounts. I may look at it one day, but the MINDLESS amount of time I used to spend scrolling through other people's posts, coupled with running to update my own with a new one here & there,  'captioning' my "masterpieces" & then.....then waiting for the 'likes'.

I think I'm over it. Really.

I mean, really folks? How many 'likes' you get is now what we are concerned about? I really am starting to believe that this is now the norm for our culture & most importantly,  our generation.

It's sad.

And what's worse, some people tie their confidence & self-esteem to how many people react to their post. I mean, come on!  That's ridiculous! It's just instagram! It's just facebook! I haven't had my instagram on for a little over week and it is L I B E R A T I N G.

There is NO other feeling like it.

Once I omitted this time-waster, the funny thing is, I discovered that I STILL didn't have a lot of time during the day to do things, to play with my kids (without the need to rush to my phone to snap a picture or a video & post for the ENTIRE WORLD to see).

Once I let go of the need to document every nanosecond of my life, I felt more in CONTROL & FOCUSED, MINDFUL of my interactions & conversations with the little people in my life, the ones who mattered most. Albeit, even my relationship may have gained a positive as well. ;)

It just feels like I am truly LIVING.

I am also starting to believe that the zombies of the world, that we so often talk about & portray aren't what we think they are. It is people, stuck on their phones, tablets, iPads, their social media, their bajillion apps, and all these other devices meant to take your eyes away (& your brain) from what is IN FRONT OF & ALL AROUND YOU.

People
The sky
Trees
Birds
Flowers
The Ocean

Remember those things? Yeah. How sad is it that our children know more about the brand Leap Frog instead of an actual frog? (I'm not knocking educational toys, just trying to make a point here).

And also,  while I'm on a rant,  I would advise that mainstream media is just as bad.  If you want real news, look it up. Don't rely on just the t.v. alone to'feed' you information. They are scripted & designed to give you a limited amount of so-called knowledge.

American Idol? Distraction
The Voice? Distraction
Dancing with the stars? Yup. Distraction.
New shows? Freaking Distraction.

So. Many. Distractions. It's too much. And then we're shocked when we hear about such things as shootings, political corruption,  & does anyone even know why our government shut down??! My guess would be,  'no'. Because we're too caught up in who is winning the dancing or singing competition, or what the Kardashian sisters are doing next.

We had the cable off for a good while here at the house & only had netflix & a few other networks & they were some of the best days I spent...with the television OFF! Just recently however, basic cable was re-installed & I have come to the conclusion,  after browsing ALL the channels, that 95% of everything you see on t.v. is an ad. It is an outrage! And we wonder why our kids are obsessed with buying new toys, or we just 'have to have that new whatever-it-is'. The culture of spending. It's sick. I don't want to hear about your new whatever, your latest gadget, your most expensive bag or clothes blah, blah, blah. This is why we treat our things better than we do our friends or family because 'society' brainwashes us with the idea that these THINGS have more value than anything or anyone else.

How about you spend more time chasing your kids at a park rather than pushing them in the stroller to shop at the mall? How about spending your hard-earned money on fresh, healthy organic food rather than an $800 bag? What's more important?

Anyway, I'm losing my focus now because I fell asleep after putting my little ones to bed & then woke up to finish, but now it's just late. And my thoughts are all jumbled together in one big lump. Oops! Sorry.

So my point was, my time is valuable & constantly updating my life for other people to keep up with ME was bothering the hell out of me just as much as having my feed full of every little tidbit of 'what I'm doing now' or 'what my baby can do/say' from like, 200 other people.

Really?

WHO has time for all of that?!

LIVE!
BREATHE!
TAKE A WALK OUTSIDE.
WITHOUT YOUR PHONE! WITHOUT HAVING THE NEED TO IDLY LOOK AT IT WAITING FOR THE NEXT UPDATE OR NOTIFICATION.

Or not.

Camping!

September 20, 2013

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in". - John Muir

I had no idea that having my post up "shortly" would mean 5 days later. Oops! Thank goodness for zero deadlines! Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the photos & memories of our camping trip last weekend. It truly was a 'getaway'.

We arrived late Friday night & had just enough time to scarf down some dinner & set up camp. A driver with an extreme lack of sleep, 2 restless children & a travel-weary 8-month old called for an early bedtime. We called it a night! Or at least I did. I had been looking forward to go camping to see the incredible starry night sky, among other things, but I knew I would have another chance, so I went to sleep, nursing the babe, dreaming of gazing up at the stars the next evening.

I had been worried that it would be too cold for Baby Saige, considering we had not yet  bought a proper winter bunting for her. However, by bringing plenty of layers & using Audrey's fleece bunting from many years ago we did just fine. As you can see, she was pretty snug. Not to mention the warmth she received from having Mommy next to her, in a sleeping bag. Talk about cozy! The kiddos didn't seem to mind the cold once we arrived at the campground, until I was woken up by my boy in the wee hours of the morning complaining that he was 'freezing'. Ha! Cy remedied that by zipping him up all the way to his chin inside his sleeping bag. Other than that, it was a good night.

This was not our first time camping. We were invited to join another family last year on their annual camp-out. We loved it so much that we decided to go another year. Maybe it would become tradition for us as well. Of course, last year, the littlest was still incubating in her cocoon, so I guess you could say I was coasting compared to this year, but I didn't mind too much. We were out! In the great outdoors! A change in scenery is always a great way to lift your spirits if you feel like you're in a funk.

Isn't the lake just gorgeous? I could stare at it forever. This picture was taken at dusk. That sky is just amazing!

The next day we were up early & after breakfast, Cy helped the boys gear up for a morning of fishing. (photo by Sterwin Tan).

Our day was filled with fishing, biking (for those who brought them), walking along the lake, wading in the stream & generally discovering the campground & its surroundings. Uncle Nono brought a brand new raft which he debuted for the for the first time much to the delight of the little ones, & also the other 'big kids'. (Photos by Sterwin Tan).

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids as they played together, completely untethered from all their electronic devices. They ran around, played good old tag, hide-and-go-seek, hopped, skipped, jumped, and climbed! They did basically what every child should have the freedom and opportunity to do. Every. Day.

One very proud 'mama moment' was towards the end of our stay when Isaiah came bounding up to me to tell me that he had-finally-learned how to ride a bike! Without training wheels! I was ecstatic! It is just one of those things where you feel even more excitement than your own child. Well, almost. Audrey Girl learned to ride as well, despite the fact that she had already been riding on her own bike, only now she no longer needed training wheels. Hallelujah!

Much of my time was spent either holding , feeding, or nursing Saige to sleep. I am extremely grateful to my girlfriend Trisha for the maya wrap she handed down to us as it came in very handy, as all baby carriers do, especially when one is camping. And although my hands were 'always full', I was able to witness the thrill she experienced upon realizing that we were in a different place. I loved how she kept looking around her and listening to her 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the tallness of the trees, the sound of the different birds and animals, and most of all how completely entranced she was with the glow of the campfire. Who wasn't?!

Although I did get the chance to steal away for a brisk bike ride during one of Saige's longer naps, thanks to our Aunt who offered to keep an eye on her. It's funny how much more I tend to appreciate the simplest and shortest amounts of time alone since becoming a mom. Of course I would say that after the fact! Isn't that what usually ends up happening? In any case, I am more grateful, to say the least.

More pictures of the lake at dusk! It reminds me a little of the Northern Lights, something that is on the top three of my Ultimate Life Bucket List, which will probably be on another post! 

Anyway, I got to break in my new Nike trail running shoes! Yay!! No actual trail running was involved this time, but hopefully in the near future. The next few pictures were taken on our last morning, in spite of ZERO sleep from an incredibly fitful night with Baby Saige. I was just relieved that we were going home. I guess during this stage, you can only have so much of the camping experience. I say that only because she's so young and it's mostly just a lot of 'work', even when you are supposed to be relaxing. 

And here is a panoramic video of the lake at about 7 a.m.

Packing up and getting ready to leave..

A little ride with Uncle Kyle on his board..

And the whole crew, together! We're so happy to be a part of this group! Thankful for the invite last year.

On our way home, Cy decided to stop by the Red Cliffs. It made for a great photo op! 

I can still remember the smell of the campfire in my hair, on my clothes and body when we got home on Sunday night. We managed to get the kids changed, showered and put to bed in spite of being completely exhausted. It was the good kind of tired, though. It was refreshing and it gave me a sense of renewal. Yes, within just 2 and a half days. 

We hope to instill a love of the outdoors in our kids and hope that they, too will remember and cherish these times together. We are looking forward to going again, next year!

Happy National Breastfeeding Week/Month!

Happy National Breastfeeding Month! A little late, not that it matters too much. Here's a little collage of my breastfeeding timeline.  I know,  you really don't care to see my boobies especially when I'm feeding my child,  but I have since gained more knowledge & support through other like-minded mommas & frankly,  I really don't care much anymore how it makes OTHER people feel when all I'm doing is feeding my baby.  It's really nothing to it. If it makes people uncomfortable, then either they're staring too much or they have issues with themselves.  Why should I have to "cover up" & hide my child for other people's comfort &/or convenience. If it bothers you, DON'T LOOK,  simple as that. Breastfeeding is beautiful. I don't see it as anything more than a mother bonding with & nourishing her baby,  something that NO ONE else can provide.  I have exclusively breastfed all 3 of my babies starting with my son, Isaiah (2006) pictured at 1 day old.  I wish I had taken more pics of us,  of me breastfeeding him,  but he was always ' covered up'. He never had a problem latching on, no complications,  except when it came time to wean him at 15 months b/c I was pregnant with his sister,  Audrey,  pictured in the middle at 2 days old (2008). I took a few more pictures breastfeeding her than I did with Isaiah,  but was still very conscious & reserved,  so I used a small blankie. Baby girl had Mommy's milk for a good 7 months before she decided to wean herself off and it was the saddest day for me.  My next & now last little babe,  Saige (2013), who has a flair for flipping the bird, is a complete monster,  who wants nothing to do with covers, blankets or anything obstructing her view of her milk source, which is fine by me,  now that I've learned to let go of some of my insecurities about nursing in public,  & I mean,  WITHOUT a cover. The beginning was rough this time around which I did not have with the other two.  My milk came in later than I had expected & with it came the worst pains,  from latching on & positioning,  like pins and needles that I never thought I could endure, but I pushed through those sleepless days/nights & with a LOT of help & support from Cyrus, we got through. And we are still going strong today,  hopefully until her 1st birthday & maybe even longer.  I can't tell you enough how much this has helped me & how much it has benefited us,  not only the kids,  but our budget.  It's all-natural, wholesome,  & did I mention that it's free??! It's saved us practically $$$ on top of other baby necessties". It has been the most challenging,  most stressful thing I have done besides being a mom in general, but it has also been THE most rewarding. I said it before & I'll say it again,  I am PROUD to be a part of a community & movement such as this.

To all the breastfeeding mommas, More. POWER. To. You.  Seriously. And to all  supportive fathers, keep encouraging & supporting, you are doing a wonderful thing for you & your family. I promise, it's worth it!