I didn’t prepare a special post for Earth Day. It’s pretty much Earth Day everyday at our house.  But, we did get out and do some exploring and oddly enough, my son was really into getting outside yesterday.  More than usual. We went to our local park and instead of going to the playground he kept saying “let’s go into the deep, dark wood”.  But, first we had some sandbox play.

Appreciating dandelion adorned sandcastles

Then to visit Mama & Papa Duck and their 5 new spring babies.

New Duck Family

following mommy

My son was drawn to this big tree. Instead of making shapes out of clouds, he made shapes from the protruding roots. He saw a foot and a face.

Tree gazing

Off on another exploration.

Wide open spaces

A bird’s nest tucked away in the (not so) deep, dark wood.

a bird's nest

We had a wonderful Earth day appreciating all the beauty and wonder the Earth has to offer. The kicker was at dinner just as we got ready to say the blessing on our meal. (We have a simple blessing that goes, “We’re grateful for our food and peace be on our Earth.”) My son started, “thank you for going outside”. It sounds like I keep him shut up in the house. (Well, winter in London can feel that way sometimes.) But really, we go outside ALL THE TIME. Why he felt compelled to add the thank you for that before our meal, I can only guess that his little spirit is just so connected to what yesterday was all about. Then at the end of our blessing he said “we’re grateful for mommy’s flowers in the glass on the table”. He knows I love them . How sweet is that?  It really is the little things. I am so grateful for my family.

My favorite flower

Happy Earth Day! What did you do?

I’ve decided to hop on the Wordless Wednesday bandwagon. What a great way to get a post up about what were up to without dipping into time with my toddler. So, that’s all I’m saying!

My favorite color and flower

World's Best Granola (according to my husband)

Glimpse of some of my cookbooks

Homemade Pizza

Mmmmmm...

Sunday, April 18th was St. Galdino Day. We never need a reason to have a party, but a real, honest-to-goodness reason somehow validates the cake and presents! For privacy reasons, I don’t usually mention my son’s name on my blog. I call him “D” for Dino – his nickname. (Maybe it’s a little strange, since I have a parenting blog and most mommy bloggers, well, blog about their children, by name.)  But, since yesterday was my son’s official Name Day I thought I would share a little bit about it, in case you’ve never heard of Name Days.

Dino helping with the icing

Name Days are popular in parts of Europe and Latin America – and in some countries, as important, or more important than birthdays.  Its’ roots are in Christianity and date back to the Middle Ages and it’s purpose is the celebration of the saints.  A person named after one of the saints would celebrate on that saint’s day – or feast day. St. Galdino della Sala was a bishop from Milan who died on April 18, 1176 and his feast day is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church on this day.

homemade organic chocolate cake with strawberry cream cheese icing

Our son is named after my great-grandfather from Portugal on my paternal grandmother’s side.  His name was Galdino Silvia from the island of San Miguel in the Azores – a small chain of islands located in the middle of the Atlantic between America and Portugal.  My ancestors on my father’s side of the family all came from the Azores at the turn of the century.

A

A mouthful of chocolatey goodness (we introduced chocolate at Easter). Well, he is almost 3. It's organic and fair trade. Okay, I couldn't hold out forever.

When we were deciding on baby names (we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl – but I suspected) we looked to my family for first names, since our baby would inherit my husband’s last name. Galdino sounded perfect to us. Old World. Historical. Familial. Unique. He could shorten it and be called Dino. Cute. Cool. Charming. Boyish.  What boy doesn’t live dinos and what mom doesn’t love Dean Martin?

cake approval

Dino's new scooter. All the kids in London have them to get around!

It is said to be lucky to spend your Name Day in the city of the saint.  Maybe next year we will take a trip to Milan with our son! For now, we gorged on cake, tried out his new scooter and then spent our energy gardening in the warm, sunny weather. We found worms and an adorable little snail. (Cute now, but not once my vegetables look like dinner to them!)

Dino looking on as the tiny snail leaves a silvery trail on my thumb

That little snail tickled!

Baby Snail

Has anyone else celebrated a Name Day? I’ve read that there is an American calendar with Name Days too.

In an effort to get through my growing library of books I’ve decided to do a book review every 2 weeks. That should hold me accountable to making reading a priority! I love reading and I love writing, so a book review is in order.

I just finished a very witty and insightful book by Lenore Skenazy called Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry. You may have heard of her. She has also been dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” after letting her 9 year old ride the subway alone in New York City.

I think she just may be one of America’s Best Moms for researching real statistics on the irrational (and sometimes rational) fears that most parents share. She gives her children the freedom to be independent, build their confidence and prove themselves capable human beings. She provides examples of how safe we actually are today and points out how we insulate and over-protect our children to the detriment of their self-sufficiency – beginning in infancy. Think baby knee pads, bumpers, toilet locks and helmets for toddlers who may toddle into the coffee table.

I agree with Skenazy that 24-hour media coverage of parents’ worst nightmares does not mean that these tragic events are remotely likely of happening to your child. Coverage of crime has gone up, not crime itself. After all, ratings drive networks. In fact, crime has actually gone down since the 1990’s and is about where it was when I was a kid growing up in the 70’s and early 80’s.

I walked to the bus stop. I walked 1/2 a mile to the elementary school for soccer practice. I rode my bike a couple of miles to my friend’s house, all alone. I was 8 or 9 years old. Those moments of freedom were empowering. I didn’t have a cell phone. Come to think of it, I didn’t even have quarters in my pocket or a bottle of water to drink. I would tough it out and make it to my destination to rehydrate and use a neighbor’s phone if I needed to call home. I think the only time I did call home was to ask if I could eat dinner at my friend’s house. My parents usually said yes.  They didn’t have to ask if my friends’ families were serving organic, free range chicken and serving them on BPA-free plates. But, I was free-range.

I remember all of the neighborhood kids having different sounding dinner bells, so each one knew when it was time to come home for dinner. Thinking about the ringing bells makes me nostalgic for my childhood. This is the same childhood I want my son to have.  I want him to have the freedom to explore. To fail. To overcome fears. To bump his head and skin his knee. To climb a tree. To fall. (Hopefully not out of the tree.)

Back to the book.  I particularly liked the chapter, or rather Commandment 9, “Be Worldly – Why Other Countries Are Laughing at zee Scaredy-Cat Americans”. Americans can be very myopic.  Recognizing that, I like to see what people in other countries do. How they live. What choices they make in regards to a lot of subjects – like home birth, breastfeeding, education, etc.  America is a very young country with less tradition, and one could argue, less experience than other countries. So I feel it is sensible to look to other developed nations before making choices where I live. Some people feel that we are losing our edge, our public bravery. ‘Land of the free’ and ‘home of the brave’ doesn’t have the power it used to have, according to a German Father quoted in the book. It was enlightening to read about the freedoms children are still given in other countries, like Germany, Sweden and Denmark. I am pretty sure those parents love their kids too even though they let them walk to the park unchaperoned and play by themselves.

My least favorite chapter was Commandment 3, “Avoid Experts: Who Knew You Were Doing Everything Wrong?…Them!” I guess it’s not fair to say it was my least favorite chapter. I am on board with her advice about not listening to experts. I didn’t like “What To Expect When You’re Expecting” either. It was given to me by a friend. The part I don’t agree with is Skenazy’s advice given by expert (I thought we weren’t supposed to listen to them) Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch.

The advice is to look for credentials, like the American Academy of Pediatrics, or listen to your doctor – an MD, that is. I am certain Barrett didn’t mean credentials like DC (Doctor of Chiropractic), since Quackwatch denounces the profession, even though more deaths occur annually due to iatrogenic causes (about 1/3 of all deaths) compared to the rare stroke followed by a cervical manipulation (which, by the way can occur by a cervical manipulation administered by an Osteopath, too – but still an infinitesimally small chance, as well.)  He also recommends that we stop Googling health advice. I happen to like Google.

But not BPA.

Let me explain.  In her book Skenazy states, as an example of trust, that the FDA has determined that chemicals in baby bottles are safe. That “BPA will not turn your boy into a girl”. But that you and I can’t hear that (rational) message because  of the “nay-saying experts who get attention and airtime.” Well, gee. I am glad they did get that air time – and that I listened. Since the writing of this book, California has banned BPA and recently the Vermont Senate just voted to ban BPA in sippy cups, water bottles, infant formula and food containers. And now their bill is headed to the house. They voted 25-1 for the ban – evidence that BPA can, in fact, mimic the hormone estrogen, and that exposure has been linked to cancer and other diseases.  Other states have or are in the process of following suit. I understand that Skenazy doesn’t want us to live in fear, but questioning the ‘powers that be’ when it comes to our health via exposure to toxic chemicals is well, healthy. I want to teach my son that he can question some authority and challenge the status quo. But, oh yeah, I forgot, “DDT is good for me.”

Well, after all that my 2.5 year-old’s favorite part of the book is from the same chapter about experts. It was the part about over-commending children for basic everyday actions. When I read this part aloud to my husband our son went into giggling fits:  ”First my Lord, you woke up and did proceed not to throw your binky across the room. Huzzah, huzzah. Then my Lord, when it was time for the day’s repast, you did splendidly wield your spoon like a big boy…”  still makes me laugh and my son still recites it with a chuckle.

Okay, if you want in on the joke (Skenazy has a terrific sense of humor) get this book and read it! Beg, borrow or steal it. Okay, don’t steal it. That’s a whole other Commandment worth abiding by. Her book offers a sensible approach to giving your child freedom along with tips on taking free-range baby steps to giant leaps and tuning out the media sensationalism that paralyzes us with fear and robs our children of the childhood we had and loved.

Did you have a free-range childhood? What are your thoughts on how over-protective we are as a society?

*Stay tuned for my next book review/report. It piggy backs this one.

I thought I’d share some spring photos I’ve taken over the past few days from our visits to the park. Spring in London is feeling a little more, well… ahhhhh, than winter. (Oh, and my good camera lens is still broken. Thank you iphone for doing a pretty good job.)

Last year, I got my hands in some dirt and planted some organic tomatoes, peas and squash. We didn’t need to grow our own food. We had access to amazing farmer’s markets in Northern California that offered a bounty of local, seasonal fruits and vegetables. But, I wanted my toddler to see first hand where our food came from – the soil. I wanted our family to reconnect with the earth and, in the way of The Little Red Hen, turn our wheat into bread. Or, in our case, tomatoes into salsa and strawberries into jam!

After experiencing some success I was excited for another go at gardening. But alas, we moved to London last fall. Don’t get me wrong, they love to garden here, too.  But, I have to  learn the climate, and now we will be growing for more reasons; namely, to get access to the foods we love without costing the planet – or our pocketbook. (And our little guy can get dirty and still learn where food comes from.) He’ll love it because our garden is FULL of worms!

Here’s a list of where each organic fruit or vegetable comes from at our local grocery store:

• Blueberries: Chile or New Zealand
• Strawberries: Spain
• Raspberries: Spain
• Kiwi Fruit: Italy
• Broccoli: Italy
• Pink Lady Apples: USA
• Grapes: Israel

…and so it goes. Butternut Squash, green beans, baby corn, asparagus, artichoke, tomatoes and many others come from outside the UK, too – namely, Holland, Israel, Spain and South America. If we just ate potatoes, leeks, carrots, parsnips, beets and some leafy greens we could eat seasonally and locally. It’s just not going to happen with a 2.5 year old in the house. (Or a grown-up husband for that matter.) We do order a fruit and vegetable box from an organic delivery company who sources their produce from local farms with no plastic packaging. In fact, the root vegetables still have dirt caked on them.

Our wonderful gardener building my raised beds

So, today our gardener (yes we have a gardener and you would too with the limited storage space in London for a lawnmower and other gardening accoutrements – plus it’s required by our lease agreement) came by to build some raised beds for me, in addition to tending to our back garden. (That’s what they call a yard here). They turned out great, albeit small. We couldn’t alter the garden too much since we are renting. But, I am very happy with the results.  We will also grow tomatoes and strawberries in pots in our conservatory.  It’s like a greenhouse and should really help warm things up a bit here. I really miss the taste of a real, naturally ripened tomato. My son does too. He ate them right off the plant last summer but won’t touch a store bought tomato now.

Finished raised beds

So, now I must get online to order my organic seeds and seedlings and get this garden started before the ground warms up too much!  (Wishful California thinking).  Outdoors we’ll try peas again, sunflowers, carrots, beets, garlic and maybe watermelon. I can’t wait to browse the store.

This is a post for The Green Moms Carnival about gardening hosted at Green Talk this month.  Check out the other posts to find out more about gardening!

How about you? Any plans for a garden? A window sill herb garden or a Dervaes style homestead? (My dream). What are your reasons for growing?

Another “story” from Annie Leonard.  If  you haven’t switched back to the tap, this story may inspire you.  While, I believe that most tap water is safer than bottled water (due to lack of regulation in the bottled water industry), we still use a water filter to filter out a little bit more of the undesirables (mercury, lead, prescription medicines, fluoride, etc.).

It’s funny, when I was in high school I can’t remember ever being really thirsty while out and about.  I didn’t have a reusable bottle and I certainly didn’t buy Evian or Perrier (which were available at the time).  My girlfreind and I taught aerobics – okay, okay – jazzercize, while in high school and college and I was still never dehydrated.  I guess we got used to drinking a big glass of water from the tap before we left the house and then another when we arrived at our destination.

I am certainly glad that I have a reusable bottle now and I do drink more often, but I didn’t need it when I was younger – and I certainly don’t need to stop at 7-11 to pay for tap water in an Aquafina plastic bottle!

The Story of Bottled Water (2010)

Some people talk about how making green changes can cost more money, but kicking the bottled water habit may be the simplest green thing you can do – and this one saves you money! So, go ahead and get a stainless steel reusable water bottle and a good KDF, carbon or reverse osmosis filter (depending on your needs) and take back the tap!

We have anxiously been awaiting the arrival of Spring.  Not that we expected the sun to miraculously shine all day, or see the return of our enormous bumblebees and spiders yet, but Saturday at least marked  a day we could celebrate and gave us something to look forward to. Living in England we take the advent of warmer weather and sunny days more seriously than when we occupied a California zip code! Here are some Spring Snapshots:

The newest addition to our Nature Table.

Oak Tree Monster from mamaroots at Etsy

Etsy is my all-time favorite for handmade items.  Mamaroots has other great Waldorf-inspired things.

Our Nature Table (shelf really) need to update the sledding and Lantern Walk art

Our little gnomes love orchids too!

beautiful pink Camellias

crafts with paper tissue flowers

We got inspired by The Artful Parent to create these tissue paper flowers!

Is that Curious George?

Father/son painting

Are you ready for Spring?

The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish

Every parent should read this book! (Maybe even aunts, uncles and grandparents.) The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish was an eye opener. Whether your child is of school age or will be soon, enrolled in public or private school or home schooled, it will enlighten you on homework practices today, prepare you to make some choices and feel a little more in control of your child’s education, and hopefully keep the joy of learning alive.

When I first heard about this book my son was just a baby. But, stories of my husband’s childhood education and his belief that the school system ‘failed’ him for not seeing him as an individual fueled my interest in education alternatives, as well as my need to feel in control and know my choices as a parent.

I heard stories about the homework burden that children bear today. It sounded extreme compared to when I was in school. I barely remember homework getting in the way of anything – and I was a good student. I only remember ‘real’ homework in high school and my parents rarely helped me with any of it. It was MY homework, to be done by me. And, I still had time for cheerleading, a boyfriend, family time and hanging out with my friends.

There were several points that stuck with me from this book. Kids are starting to hate school as early as 6 and 7 years old! Even good students who usually love school profess to hate it now. Their love of learning is being destroyed because of the oppressive amount of homework interfering with their childhood. Kids are even giving up reading their own books for fun, because it isn’t fun anymore when they are forced to read all the time in the name of homework. Children drop out of extracurricular activities to keep up with the workload. They work on projects over holidays and weekends (sometimes mandatory). They begin homework assignments in the car on their way home from school. Shouldn’t they be learning this stuff IN school?

Homework

Some parents may think there is a good reason for all the homework. But, there is no consensus within the school system and in their policies on how much homework a child should have and whether or not parents should provide some help. There is also the issue of quality versus busy work. Teachers are not in agreement. Furthermore, they never take a course in homework and there has never been any evidence that more homework creates smarter kids. It’s a guessing game at the expense of our children’s desire to learn. The No Child Left Behind Act may not have helped things. Schools feel pressure to get kids to pass the standardized tests. But, is more homework the answer?

Children today are exhibiting more depression, anxiety and stomachaches. Homework is more of a concern than peer pressure. A parent has to worry more about their child scoring some Ritalin off a friend than smoking a joint! I was not aware how bad things really were. Being an older parent I haven’t been involved with public school since I graduated from mine in 1987. No one I knew was on Ritalin, anti-depressants or cutting themselves.

Today, children are commonly “punished” for not completing homework by staying in at recess to complete it (if their school even has recess anymore). One story from the book made me cry. A 10 year old in a California Charter School was made to wear his uniform backwards with is shirt inside out and write 30 letters to all of the other students in his class about why his homework was missing or partially completed! That sounds like fraternity house hazing to me! Berating or demoralizing a child for not completing homework is completely unacceptable and unforgivable. Some children face up to 3 hours of homework each night so they work on it through dinner and stay up late to get it done so they don’t stand out and have to face such punishment.

The authors interviewed several teachers and families and gave a good cross section of what is going on in America today with the education system. Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish give the reader tools to address homework issues in their own children’s schools. They offer real problem-solving tools and form letters that have been tried and true helping parents to achieve a variety of solutions to the homework crisis.

After reading this book and learning more about the education system in England (where we now reside), we have chosen to homeschool for preschool this fall, using Oak Meadow’s Curriculum. We were very keen on Waldorf Education but the two schools near us in London are not up to the quality of the one we attended in California for Parent/Toddler classes last year. They also start Kindergarten at 4 years of age here – too young in my opinion. So, armed with knowledge we will proceed. Perhaps when we move back to the States we will try something else. At least I will know how the game has changed for my son and I can work to nurture a life-long love of learning.

What has been your experience with your child’s homework? Do they get too much? Do you have to help? Do you homeschool, or are you on a Homework Committee at your child’s school?

I subscribe to many blogs. Some have environmental themes or Waldorf/homeschooling themes. I pore over blogs on green living by a plethora of green mamas to blogs on art & crafts and cooking. I usually get great information and feel connected and often times supported in my choices as a green and holistic mom. But lately, when I open my inbox to see another wonderful post with inviting pictures from a mom with a baby or a toddler, or worse yet, a mom with 2 or more children, all I feel is… well, bad about myself. What is wrong with me?  I have just one toddler/preschooler. So, why don’t I have any time to blog anymore?  Or do anything for personal pleasure?

How do you mamas do it?  It takes me hours to get my 2 1/2 year old to nap and then several more hours at night, resulting in struggles, and then my giving in and sleeping with my son or having him come into our bed at midnight.  My husband and I have no time together. I have no time to read, write or craft. Our wedding album still sits empty with pages waiting to be filled from 3 years ago. Baby albums have yet to be made and my son’s baby book is mostly chicken scratch in my old Daytimer waiting to be transcribed into his lovely handmade baby book. I have a stack of books on my night table just waiting to be discovered.  I am frothing at the mouth to get through “The Case Against Homework” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. How nice it would be to read something other than parenting and environmental books.  The lovely tome, “The Diaries of Sophia Tolstoy” is whispering to me at night “psst…hey….just open the cover”. But, I can’t. My son takes late naps and doesn’t go to bed until 10/11/12pm! Waking him from his nap early doesn’t work. Nor does waking him up early in the morning.  It seems he doesn’t require as much sleep. It’s like he is perpetually jet lagged from our move and wants to sleep from 12pm to 9am and then nap from 3-6pm! Interventions to adjust these times work only some of the time. I have no consistency.

So, here I am today, admitting, after a melt-down (in front of my son) – something I am not proud of – that I am burnt out!  You may say to yourself, “well, you’re blogging now”. Ah, yes. But, I should be napping with my son, because I will be up until midnight trying to get him to sleep. Yes, I have a routine. Bath, pajamas, books – lots of them. He loves books. Then once the light goes out it begins. “I wan’t a snack”.  Sometimes he’s really hungry because now many hours have passed since dinner. And sometimes it’s a ploy. Well, today he was hungry and I thought it was a ploy.  I felt so badly watching him scarf down his “carrot stew” (inspired by the reading of Tawny Scrawny Lion) after I snapped.  What would you think if you read a book about food and your child asked for that food? Sounds like a ploy to stay up, right?

So, I’m back to feeling less-than for not being able to DO what all you other mamas DO out there in the blogosphere – and in your lives. I’ve peeked inside your lives through your blogs. You cook from scratch, you play with your children, you take trips, you make crafts -AND you blog. How do you do all of it?  Do your children sleep for like, 2 hours in the day and 10-11 at night? Please tell me they do. And then tell me how to get my son to do it too. I would be forever grateful! Because, I am not willing to feed my son processed, crappy food or sacrifice our play and creative time so I can have some free time to myself. But, I also can’t spend 3 hours each night getting my son ready for bed and to sleep.

Ah….the world is at peace when he sleeps.  It’s just getting there that’s hard.  Any advice you blogging mamas?