A Friday with Mama

Last Friday Mimi came over to our house to watch Ashton so Boston and I could have a little time to spend together - just the two of us. I packed up a picnic and we headed off to Dimond Hill Farm.

It was a gorgeous sunny day out. The wind was a-howling, however. I was kicking myself for not bringing us some hats! (Already!!) The farm is at the top of a large hill so the wind was blowing even harder up there.

When we got there, we first checked out the barn full of pumpkins and then headed to the back of the property to visit with the animals. Boston had lots of fun petting the pigs and a horse. He really liked the horses and I can't say I can blame him. They are just so beautiful.

There were some ladies there from our local Le Leche League group, including some friends of ours - Tracey and Frances. Boston and Frances had what may resemble fun picking flowers. They were too worried about the other taking what flowers they had picked to truly enjoy themselves. So typical for this age. I know Boston was super tired and cranky though so I guess it's understandable.

We got a little chilly so, instead of sitting on our blanket to eat, Boston and I ate our lunch in the car. I don't think he could have enjoyed it any more than he did. He had fun putting things in the glove box.. and then taking things out of the glove box. He helped Mama out by starting the car with his sunglasses as well. Such a gentleman!!

After running around and hanging out with the LLL ladies for a little while we headed out - we had to get home to make sure little brother was napping ok (he wasn't).

It was fun hanging with just one of my little guys and I think Boston enjoyed the extra attention as well. Maybe we will have to make it a "thing".

We made a new friend!

Boston and I both did! :)

We recently went apple picking with our new friends and had so much fun! We met Anneliese and Ellie through our buds, Alicia and Zan.

Ellie is just a little bit older than Boston. And she's big for her age! It's cool to see someone that Boston doesn't make look like a midget. Ellie and Boston seem to play very well together. It's so sweet. They don't seem to just play around eachother and there was no fighting - which almost never happens with 2 year olds - can you believe it?

We picked some apples, chatted, the kids played in this big, red gondola that looks like an apple. It was definitely good times. And it's always so nice to meet and befriend another mama. It's a bonus that Anneliese and I seem to have some pretty core stuff in common.. here's to hoping for many more playdates to come!

It's a dirty job..

Ellie was trying to help Boston up the ladder - with the

exact opposite effect! He didn't seem to mind too much though.

It was a tiny bit of a challenge to get the kids away

from the playground.. but we managed.

Funny Little Character

Boston, that is. It's so amazing to watch him grow. It feels like everyday he's doing something new, cute and amazing. He can be supremely frustrating a lot of the times but those flashes of uber adorableness make up for it, in my book.

He recently had his 2 year appointment and he is just as big as he ever was! He weighed in at a whopping 39 pounds and is 39" tall! He talks all.the.time!! And he speaks so well! The Dr. wanted to make sure that he could speak at least 2-word sentences. When she said that I had to laugh. Since that day the longest I have counted (yes, I have counted) is a 7-word sentence!! He impresses me all the time.

Boston adores both of his grandmothers, or Mimi and Grammy as he refers to them. He spends the night at his Grammy's house pretty often now and always has a blast. The past few times he even got to stay the whole weekend!! He sees his Mimi almost everyday as she lives only about 2 minutes from us. He also spends every Monday morning with her.

He loves his best bud, Sweden - our pretty little grey kitty. She's so patient with him. He loves to cuddle and pet her every chance he gets. It's pretty cute. She does get annoyed once in a while and the claws come out but she never really does any real damage.

Already?!

He's only 6 months old!!!

It started with the rotating...

Then the sitting...

Now there's actual crawling!!

And this...

*sniffle*

Brotherly Love?

This is just a taste of the 'love' going on in this house.. and, I'm sure, only a TINY taste of what is to come in the future!

Ashton is going to be one tough little guy...

Babyfood galore!

When Boston was a baby I had grand plans of making my own babyfood.. Well, like most grand plans that come with a newborn it didn't happen. I was just happy enough to get out of the house with enough clothes on and it was a miracle if I got myself fed. Needless to say, Boston survived on jarred foods and is none the worse for it.

Sooomehow, along comes #2 and with it more grand plans of homemade babyfood. This time I was set on it though. This whole 'green' aspect of my life helped push it along, I think. Sooo.. I bought some yummy local (except the apples. Boo!) produce and went to town for a few nights in a row. It was definitely more work than warming up a jar of food.. but it makes me feel good to know exactly what's in the food and to know it was made with a whole lotta love!! So far I have made applesauce, carrots, zucchini & summer squash. Next up are peaches and sweet potatoes. Someday I may even attempt some meat!!

Here are some pics I took of my babyfood making adventure. Enjoy! I know Ashton will.

mmm cinnamon!

All ready to be frozen!

What's with the name?

Tiny Little Tree Huggers... that's what my boys are and they don't even know it yet. I am hoping to teach them to respect their planet and to keep it nice for all the other people to come. It's, in my opinion, a nice way to learn about the simpler things in life. There's no need for 50 gajillion plastic blinking, annoying toys. No need to be buying new things all the time just for the sake of buying them. We should all learn to love what we have - to repurpose and reuse.

Over the past, oh I don't know, 8 months or so there have been many changes occuring in our house. I walked around and took some pictures of some of the things were are doing as a family to be more eco-friendly. We have stopped using most paper products. This was a huge change for us! We went from using plastic cups, paper plates and paper towels like crazy to pretty much not at all! Now we use cloth napkins, real plates & glasses and cleaning rags. Lots and lots of cleaning rags!!

Here is a sample of our cloth napkins. There are many more but they were all in the wash. I figured nobody would want to see dirty napkins. ;)

We no longer buy bottled water. We began using our filter once again. We also have begun using metal water bottles in place of disposable ones.

Aside from being eco-friendly we are using more products that are human-friendly. No harsh chemicals. No frangrances. I now have even stopped using traditional, drying face washes in favor of something more balanced with my skin... oil!! Seems counter-intuitive, I know. But my skin has been much softer and clearer since beginning this regimen. You can read more about it here.

The Oil Cleansing Method

Here are the oils I used to make my face wash.

We use reusable sandwich/snack bags instead of plastic ones. When we do use plastic they get washed and reused.

Our cleaning products have almost all been eliminated and replaced with vinegar. Here are some of the ones we still currently use.

One of my favorite changes, as anyone who knows me already knows, if that we began using cloth diapers! They have become somewhat of an addiction for me but I'm working on that. It's been a few weeks since I have bought one. ;)

Here is a picture of our stash from May of '09. It has changed and grown a little since then.

Another change made but no pictures taken is that our fabric softeners/dryer sheets have been replaced with wool dryer balls. The balls bounce around in the dryer allowing more air to circulate, shortening dryer time. They also reduce static. Very cool.

All these changes are pretty small but I feel they make a big difference. Not only in the amount of waste we produce but in the amount of money we are able to save!