Thanksgiving guest writer

I was a guest writer for a friends blog.  I would love it if you would check it out. http://thefamilypracticeblog.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-traditions-guest-post-by-treesandtoddlers/

Botanical

 

 

Most of my hobbies reside in the winter, earning me the titles of  Ice Princess and a Snow Queen, but today, as the heat dissipates and allows for more a comfortable outdoor existence,  I want to throw away those titles and become a Fairy of the Fall.  I am reminded of  Goldilocks and her porridge,  other seasons are either too cold or too hot, but autumn is oh so right.

 

I took my coffee this morning on the front porch, and watched my toddler play amongst the apples that had fallen on the ground from our tree.  It was warm enough, that when the steward of the park across the street came to test the sprinkler system Sage was able to help out by running through the series of sprays.  And it was cool enough, that when my little guy wanted to ride his scooter the metal did not scald him from sitting out in the sun.

 

This afternoon the boys and I went to the nearby botanical gardens and explored among the  flowers.  Sage loved running a long the little paths and smelling the blooms. It was a great time to practice the names of colors in both English and Spanish.  What I thought was going to be a half an hour activity turned into almost three hours.  I had patience and Sage had curiosity so we just let it all flow.  The weather has not been fiercely hot, like it has been all summer, and there is where I think the patience originated.  The heat makes me cranky like nothing else on earth. 

 

 

 

 

Often, our outings are about the needs of two year old, Sage.   He demands a lot of hands on attention and safety considerations. He has  linguistic and physical learning  mile stones happening every day. It is so exciting to see what he will say or do next.  He has developed his own tastes and desires and even a sense of humor.  I also am very impressed with his strength and coordination.    This toddler stage of life is so ego-centric that other family members needs are over looked to appease the screams and the abundant energy of Sage.  The baby often seems to be brought a long for the ride, and is just absorbing the love and fresh air that is surrounding him. Robin is almost six months old, and has such an easy going personality. Today, I really wanted to make something all about him. So, while Sage was jumping off of near by benches, and walking on a stone wall like a balance beam, I rested in the grass with Robin and helped him practice un-supported sitting.  I had to spread his legs a part and place his hands forward and he could hold the position for about 3 seconds until he slowly toppled over.  The inspiration of taking a cute photo of him amongst the flowers turned out to be the perfect location for learning to sit on his own. The dense flower beds seemed to hold him up.  Bolstered by flowers he could sit confidently for minutes at a time!  His excitement was reflected in big grins and giggles.  He is my little flower child.





 

 

 



As I look over these photos of Robin, I am brought to tears. What a thrill that he had his first moments of sitting independently amongst flowers. It is a bitter and sweet moment. He is my baby.  I will never have another one. Soon he will be like his brother, leaping off of benches and shouting for his own way. I will delight in this moment. Robin is well on his way to becoming a boy.

 

Today I am also grateful for the decisions  that were made to bring me to Ogden, Utah.  I would have NEVER chosen to live here.  But, there is beauty all around this city, outdoor recreation abounds, and there are endless wonders for children to explore.

 

 

A hot metephor

Those of you not from Utah may not know that it has been the hottest summer on record. More days with temps in the 100's and 90's then ever before. It has been so very hot, but not as miserable as last year, because last year was only the 2nd hottest summer on record but, I was pregnant and sick as a dog.  So on this Sunday the manna that fell from the sky came in liquid form. RAIN!! It cooled the black top, settled down the dust, put the flies in their place, made my hair curl, and brought much needed relief.

My little family was able to take advantage of the wonderful day by heading to the nearby trails once the rain stopped.  I walked with the baby on the front pack carrier and my husband and my toddler rode around on the mountain bike.  The mountain bike has a toddler seat mounted on the cross bar and gives the best view and rush of exhilaration to our adventurer of a son. On this particular day, he and his dad, would climb the hills in front of the baby and me and then they would turn around and zoom past us going down hill and do this over and over again.  All the while Sage and I would be shouting in a Marco- Polo type fashion.  How fun to all be connected by the sound of our voices being carried on the light breeze after the storm. 

  

The experience was a good metaphor for the past few weeks we had as a family. Dharma was diagnosed with melanoma. Like the heat of the summer it was uncomfortable to deal with, but we had to step into it and take it on full force.  He had surgery to remove a large section of skin on his inner thigh, and like the refreshing rain, we were relived that no more cancer remained.  We are thankful for the capable surgeon and for the answer to prayer. 

We will continue with our little family excursions, with more joy in our hearts, and more appreciation for each other after we have been through the heat.

Walk away

Today I did something that really scared me.   What heroic thing did I do? Well, I walked the opposite direction my son wanted to go. From a lady who has been bitten by a lion and holds live raptors for a living, how scary could walking away from a toddler be? TERRIFING!

  Within the first two minutes of our hike he wanted to go back to the car.  He stood on top of a large boulder and screamed a non-sense word at me over and over as I tried to encourage him to come with me down the trail. With every step I took towards him, he took two steps away. He wanted me to chase him, and he wanted to be the one in control. Normally, I fall into that because I am scared. I am petrified he will walk out into traffic, I am scared he will get lost, and I am worried that I wont have enough speed to catch up to him before he hurts himself.

I held my breath and prayed that my tactic with my renegade toddler would work.  I said the ageless words that all wise mothers and teachers of toddlers have used, "see you later, I am going this way." And I started walking with my back facing him, not looking over my shoulder. I was so frightened that he would dart away but in fact he fell for the trap, like most children do, and called to me almost instantly "I coming too." I made an audible exhale.  I kept walking and he kept shouting "coming, I coming."   The rest of the hike he hung close by and had so many questions about what he was seeing.

The rest of the walk he was so engaged and creative.  I was thrilled.  Imagination is just starting to show up in his day to day life, and when he found a stick and held it up in the air and said "I fireman" I just beamed.

He also was very intrigued by the few leaves that hag fallen off the trees.  He bent down and touched them all.  "Wow" and by the end of the walk he was using the word "leaf" like an expert. We also identified a few different species of animal by their scat.  On several other hikes I have shown him the plant that he was named after, he never seemed to care, but today he was proud to touch the three lobed leaves and shout his own name.

On our walk there were a lot of boulders that were fun to climb upon but also there was fuzzy lichen growing on most of them. He loved touching it and finding other rocks and shouting "More."

Another magical moment was when I asked him to walk quietly and we might see a deer. And he started to tip toe and say "shh quiet" in a sweet whisper and an actual deer jumped up and ran across the path!

The adventure is in the everyday

Supposedly it is the end of summer, and  I have been feeling down for not be as amazing of an outdoor mom as I wanted to be this season.  And so I started to think back about what I have done with my two boys, and although not every day was a wilderness adventure, everyday was an adventure in some way.

  I am proud of hauling my kids to farmers markets, music festivals, splash pads, county fairs, baseball games, amusement parks, little hiking trails, movies in the park, community picnics, train rides, river swimming holes, water parks, etc.

 A lot of these events I was flying solo due to my husband working nights and weekends.  I have come close to having a few nervous breakdowns but I feel like my toddler is making memories and my infant is being exposed to some good energy. I have gotten really good at knowing what to pack for the day and how to load the wagon and the beach umbrella in the car in the most efficient way.

I am impressed by my husband as  he also has been a hero in taking the kids fun places while I worked or rested. He even took our toddler to four sessions of summer camp at the Nature Center. Yah Dad

 

We also have had a lot of fun as a family when all four of us could participate.  My reflection of the summer has given my hope in what I will be able to accomplish in the future.  It is a lesson that major ordeals are not what create our lives but it is the what we create day to day that matters.

Good day to the Ogden Nature Center

I love my job at the Nature Center. I feel blessed beyond words to be doing what I love, to have truly the most amazing co-workers, to learn new skills, to occasionally bring my baby to work, and to have open access to a complete gem in an industrial part of a city!  Check it out www.ogdennaturecenter.org

My main job is to do outreach so I go out into the community and give presentations with animals and birds.  I am also the one who books and sets up reservations for when we do these programs.  I also get to help with summer camps and school field trips that visit the center. I have to tell you that when I was in High School that this is the kind of job I hoped that I would have one day. This and a Girl Scout camp counselor, a nature guide in Alaska, and a ski instructor. Pretty sweet that I have been able to do those things too.

I started at the ONC in October 2012 and I can honestly say I have not had one bad day at work. I have had some challenges but compared to some of my other  experiences on the job such as being charged by a mountain goat in rut, arranging for a life flight for a young girl in cardiac distress 7 miles from a road, being stepped on by a horse, or skiing with 10 eight year olds in 2 feet of snow, I have been able to handle the challenges at this job with grace. 

Today I helped out with summer camp and did a lesson about tarantulas, played field games, and did some insect netting.  Pretty fun for me and the campers.

The next coolest thing about my job is that my husband works 1/4 mile away! I know that is too hard to believe but it is true.  He works at a call center at the industrial park that is located right next to the ONC.  Today I ended work just as he started his day. So he dropped our children off at the Nature Center and I was able to go exploring with them. We had a wonderful time walking the shady trails, checking out the raptor birds, gazing at the water birds, and playing in the grass. 

It was a perfect afternoon.  A dream in fact. Both the kids were in high spirits. They got tired at the very end of our walk but hey we live just 10 minutes away so nap time was not too far off.

oh my the playland.

It has been in the low 100's in our town the past several days. Record breaking heat and a 3 month old and a two year old  really don't mix. I have discovered  that my car does not have AC vents in the back seats. And for a baby in a rear facing car seat that is miserably uncomfortable. Before we go anywhere I make sure to breast feed him extra long so he has fluids and I also place cool wet rags on his body.   I really don't want to put my baby through these hot temps yet my toddler is literally climbing the curtains and needs to get out of the house. What is a mother on a super tight budget and an outdoor agenda to do?


  I know I must sound like a complainer and almost in every paragraph I write there is a recurring theme of "it is difficult." Well so be it. Here is my theme again.  It is difficult to manage an infant and a rambunctious  toddler

My husband works nights and I work most days.  We take turns watching the kids and have a babysitter for the few hours our work schedules overlap.  That seems to work out pretty well except it is difficult to go out on activities with out having backup.

So what have I discovered?  McDonalds play land.  It is free.  It is fun.  It has AC.  There are other moms to talk to.  It gets me out of the house. And my son LOVES it.  The play land at our nearest McDonald has a musical instrument theme. It is awesome!  A giant rubber guitar to climb on and strum. A piano slide and some life size drums.  Also there are tall slides, climbing elements, rolling elements, a swinging saucer on a rope! Did I mention it is free and has AC. So this outdoor mom has gone against all things that she once thought were holy and has ZERO issues with spending two hours at the McDonald play land.