Strawberries to Start the Summer

Yesterday we loaded kids, carseats, snacks, and buckets into a friend's minivan - 2 moms and our 4 kids - and went questing after the fierce, but not particualrly elusive, Strawberry.

We were successful. We went picking at a friend's farm where the berries were thick and sweet.

Brother-Bug hard at work and snack.

There was great excitement from all the kids, and enough space in the open fields for them to run and scream and "help" pick berries for pies and jams and frozen treats.

I love getting kids out of the house and out of the constraints if the city. I always notice how much happier they seem, how less drastic their meltdowns become. I especially love when we can connect the experiences of outside and away to the food that we eat. It seems so empowering and health-building, not to mention FUN!

What all kids really need - space to run and play without restraint.

The strawberries taste the best when they are fresh in the field, all the better for being just a little dusty. When we bring the berries home and wash them, they still taste better than purchased berries because our work is a part of them, and our memories of toddlers free-ranging through rows of bright berries lingers around each bite.

Oh Yum!!

Berry picking should be a mandatory activity, and not only for children. Take a morning, or the whole day. Play hooky and flee to the berry patch. In most areas strawberries absurd just starting. Soon you can find blueberries or blackberries. The summer is full of sweetness.

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We went picking at Riverbend Farm, near Pleasant Hill. I love this farm and buy all my canning fruits from them. If you aren't in our area, try a Google search for u-pick berries. Find your own favorite local farms to support.

Keep your eye out for a post about all the many things I will do with these berries!

I guess my work is cut out for me...

Mindful Monday: Sorting It Out and Re-Configuing

With the craziness of summer, the arrival of backyard-grandparents, the trip to Breitenbush, and Country Faire, my Mindful Monday posts and plans have taken a back seat. This is fine. Absolutely perfect in fact. Some times are just more busy than others, and we adjust accordingly. And with the fine weather (as well as broken computer) I have been lounging in the sun more, reading, playing, and dreaming of the someday-garden here at the new house. This is good.

But today is rainy and so I return to the blog and contemplate. This is also good.

Past Mindful Monday intentions have been:


*Three Good Things at Bedtime - This has been really great and I want to keep doing it. It has lost consistency and I want to go back to making it an every night thing. I also want to think about how we get in bed (the routine), what time we go to bed, and other minor bedtime details.

*4 Walks a Week - This was awesome. And then I ran out of audio book. I just need to get a new one on my iPod and re-commit. But this really seemed to make me a MUCH better person all around.

*Making the Bed - Got the habit and then lost the habit. Loved it while I did it and don't like that I dropped it. So back on the horse here.

*Washing Hands - We never really caught on to this one, though I have noticed less whining when I do make a point to get hands washed... and I remember more often too. We'll keep working here.

*Getting the Glasses on Brother-Bug & Picking Up Library Books - These two started right as the crazy times also started, so they never really got off the ground. We will re-try them until we get them.

*Playing the Yes! Game - I'm still sorting out the details. It's easy to say Yes at Faire. It's hard to say Yes when struck down by a horrid head cold. That's where I am at for now. Further updates as I figure out more details and how to persue this goal in a more trackable way.

I also want a good way to track these. I want to check them off, but the system I have (a paper inside the cupboard door) doens't really do it for me. I love Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project Toolbox, but with minimal computer access, what I really want is an iPhone App for Happiness Project Resolutions. Really. That would be so cool!

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It's been a bit since I shouted out. I got the idea for Mindful Monday from Meagan Francis over at The Happiest Mom. It's a good blog and a fun book. Check it out.

Introducing Mindful Mondays

What can I say? I'm such a sucker for alteration - Wordless Wednesday, Mindful Monday... I love the way it rolls around in my brain. Anyway... I digress before I even begin.

Over at The Happiest Mom, Meagan Francis posted last week that she was setting intentions on Mondays and invited everyone to join in. This is inspirational to me - mindfulness, intentions, and resolutions work really well for me and I like the idea of checking back in at the end of the week and see how I did. The original post is here, and I think that instead of quoting it, I will suggest you check out that awesome blog and read it there.

I will leap forward in to my Mindful Monday Intention.

• WHO: Me and Brother-Bug
  
• WHAT: Bedtime Check-In
  
• WHY: I get tired and cranky and am often deep in my book when the little guy crawls into bed. I don't really want to be bothered, but there he is needing cuddles. By this point I have already cuddled his sister to sleep and if I am still awake, like I said, I'm trying for a shadow of "Me Time". But I know I am losing something precious when I just get him to lay quietly and sleep without a lot of interaction from me. Also, Brother-Bug is really good at focusing on the negative, and I hope that a positive check in with me helps him focus on what was good about the day, so that he can drift off in a loved and happy space.
• HOW: When he comes to bed I will put down my book, give him a cuddle (as much as the nursling allows), and ask him what his three best things of the day were. I will tell him my three best things - trying to make one always be about him and how much I love spending time with him. We may then read a chapter of our book, watch some T.V., or read quietly to ourselves... but not without the Three-Happy-Things Check In.

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That's it. Consider that intention set.

Go! Go! Go! No...Slow Down.

We all do it. Every Mom, everywhere. We are so busy. We process so much. And yet... We don't need to do it all. There is, in fact, no way we will ever do it all. This has been a topic on a couple of other Mommy-blogs I read. We are so busy.

Mom-101 has two eloquent posts here and here. Hat's off to gainfully employed moms - I don't know how they do it. When I look at my week, I can't imagine trying to squeeze in a job as well! Oig.

Over at The Happiest Mom she writes about the importance of the "mom-reboot" and questions how important some of our tasks are. I love her frank writing style and go back there for post after post. I am strongly hinting that my "kids" get me her new book, The Happiest Mom, for Mother's Day.

This has given me a lot to think about. My thoughts on this are many and scattered - not at all ready for a post just yet. But it's in the works. But I need to prioritize...