Aiyana needed a haircut and Omah didn't have time soooo papa decided to give it a go....his 1st haircut ever!!!



Aiyana is pretty darn good about sitting still...and you really have to be for this short bob



nice job papa! Wanna do mine next?



a perfect cut for a gorgeous little girl!

Round the Clock

The way i mama my kids there isn't that much free time; no bathroom breaks, lunch hours, no punch cards to time out and most definitely no 8 hour sleeps. Ah, i cannot wait for more sleep. That is one thing that i miss deeply. My husband and i reminisce the days when we were hard pressed to make it to Sunday brunch before the restaurants closed at 2 pm because we were still in bed. Can you imagine? Racing to get out of the house by 1:30 in the afternoon? Now I am overjoyed if my kids sleep til 8! Most days its 6:45 with little Satya waking up with a poop and a "MAMA! MAMA!!!" that's my little alarm clock. The worst part is on those rare days when she actually sleeps in but my tired eyes still open and wait for that little voice.
I was blessed with almost 4 months of sleep after Aiyana turned 2 and miraculously started to sleep 12 hours straight at night and before little Satya was born. Of course, it hardly counts because i woke up every few hours to pee in those last months of pregnancy anyway.
Since Aiyana turned 3 she will no longer sleep alone and she wakes a few times during the night if no one is by her side. She slept for 12 or 13 hours straight for one sweet year and then back to restless nights the week she turned 3. My husband and i rarely get thru a movie without one or both of the girls waking for boob or comfort. It's exhausting but my babes are little and this is just part of the territory. I am not into making my 3 year old scream for hours that she is terrified of sleeping alone because i "should" and because she is "supposed to" sleep on her own thru the night. I think babies and families are much more complicated and there are many more solutions to "problems" then we are led to believe. At the end of the day, i have to live with my children, their fears, my guilt and our victories. So whatever feels right for us is what goes.
We think we have a few more years before really good sleep returns to our bed.

Sickness comes and sickness goes

It seems that with little ones I am all too often wondering if the runny nose is from a crying spout or if we are heading into yet another bout of some cold, flu or other virus that sucks the last drop of reserved sleep out from under us. My heart speeds up a few beats and I internally browse the herb cupboard and decide what i will dose them up with the second i see a wet nose or feel a slight rise in body temperature. It's not that I'm scared of sickness or that I think my sweet girls will be damaged permanently from a fever, I just see the long nights and the cranky days ahead and it sends warnings of the impending stress through my body gearing me up to become the ultimate super mom who is dedicated to curing all forms of imbalance with herbs, oils, teas and a lot of TLC!

But it does mean that the upcoming play-dates and music classes and outings that are oh so fun for mama are canceled pending further notice. It means more time at home away from the little time that mama gets to talk with other mamas and a lot more creative energy needed to keep us from going stir crazy in the meantime.

So, right now papa is putting the 3 year old to bed who has a slight runny nose and watery eyes. She drank down the second of the vitamin C, cold snap and Wellness Kids Formula concoction with a sweet smile as she is all too familiar and very brave to swallow and chew up the most bitter of herbs. Thank goodness for that cuz giving my kids herbs, syrups, acidophilus, fish oils, silver water, tea, rubbing their feet with Thieves oil or eucalyptus and lavender oils is one way i know how to care for them; its another way i can love them since I cannot just hand them over for nature to run its course. It's how i do my part to ensure that their little selves will be as strong and as comfortable as possible while still being in line with the natural world and allowing their systems to gain strength through all these little sickness in the early years.

So now I wait and see what the morning or night will bring. Will we be awoken by a cranky stuffy child every hour through the night or will she awake refreshed in the morning with kisses and smiles? I cross my fingers..........

Rhythm...it's a love/hate thing

I have read and know from my days as a preschool teacher that rythm is essential in the life of a toddler. I struggle with it. I rarely do things the same twice in any area of my life. I really never have. Of course going to school or work kept me in line somewhat but outside of that my days are sporadic. I dont really like it. I always have a voice in my head telling me that i need to get in a flow of how and when i do things. I need to wake, eat, dress, prepare meals, play, clean, bathe and sleep all at specified times so that i can relax into my life and so my children know what to expect out of their days. Why is it so hard for me? It feels so unnatural in many ways. I like to do whatever, whenever and i thrive on newness. Hmmmm. I have got to figure this out. My 3 and a half year old needs it. I need it. Some days I feel lost and i am sure she does too.

Ok.....(a few days later) the more i look at other's blogs and talk to other mama friends about this, the more i see that i do have some rhythm in our days. I do want more but its refreshing to know that the voice in my head is definitely type A- completely different from who i am AND a bit extreme. So, I need to give myself a bit of kuddos for our craft days, swimming days, family dinnertime with blessing ritual and bed time rituals.....it seems to be the beginning part of the day that i am extra slow and need a bit more structure in which to flow.

For now, it is late and i need to start enjoying the mornings more which means more sleep at night. Oh, but i love the nights. They are so hard to let go. Each and every one of them.