It's been a busy week!

Boy, it's been a very busy, stressful week. I'm sorry I haven't posted since Monday, but it's been crazy around here. We have to remodel both bathrooms due to mold issues, so I have been working with designers, contractors, demo crews, etc to figure this all out and plan everything while taking care of the children, household, etc. It's been so stressful and really hard on me. I will be so glad when this is over and we have 2 new bathrooms. I don't even know what we did this week to be honest. I know went to some parks with friends, went shopping, took some walks, went to the library, went to a friend's house, went to an inside playground called Scooter's Jungle (Ian played with his friend from preschool) and I don't know what else. At Scooter's Jungle, there is a really big, steep slide that Ian loved going down (Ronan didn't like it). The boys are doing great. Ronan is still feeling fine, but pooping a lot. Ian seems to be pooping more too, so I don't know if it's a stomach bug or if it's just eating more raw foods. They are eating very high raw foods and seem to be doing very well on it. They really love the veggies wraps I make for dinner. Last night Ian tried mung bean sprouts and he loved them (Ronan didn't like them). I also spiraled the zucchini to look like noodles and the kids really loved them. I'm making raw corn tortillas right now and hopefully they'll ready for dinner tonight. The boys have been sleeping really well at night too...yeah!! By the way, guess who is wearing the Darth Vader mask?

Over the next 2 weeks I probably won't be posting due to our contruction. If I get a chance I will post the updates whenever possible. Once the bathrooms are done, I'll post before and after photos. Take care everyone!!

My appreciations:

-my wonderful family

-my awesome husband who doesn't get stressed out very much (which is good for me)

-my amazing children

-the money to be able to remodel our bathrooms the way we want

-my parents for letting us stay at their house during some of the contruction

-my very good friend Emily for letting Matthew stay at her house so he can work

-beautiful fall weather (sunny but little bit cool)

-sunshine

-little rain the other day

-my health

-raw foods!

Love, Shelly

Busy Weekend!!

I'm sorry I haven't posted since Friday; we had a very busy weekend. Saturday was Daddy Day!! I wasn't home much because I went to Pilates, Farmer's Market, Mother's Market and had a massage. I felt kind of bad that I wasn't home much of the day (but the boys just love having Daddy home, so I knew they were having lots of fun). The boys did NOT take a nap, so needless to say, Matthew was pretty tired once they both went to bed (at least they went to bed early). Sunday we went on a hike (it took over 1 1/2 hrs) near our neighborhood. It's loops by the road and by a school, but it's nice; little bit hilly and little scenic. I wanted to do a hike close by our house because we needed to leave by 11:30am to go to Murrieta. So, the some of the pictures were of our little hike. The boys were a little crabby in the beginning of the hike, so it didn't start out very well, but by the end they were fine. Ian walked/ran the entire way and Ronan was carried a little bit.

Then we went to Murrieta and I dropped off Matthew and the boys at Tom and Dawn's house and I went to Sheri's bridal shower. I've know Sheri since 3rd grade, so I've know her forever, and was happy to see her. I can't wait for her wedding; it's going to be on the beach in Carlsbad!

I had a great time seeing Sheri and talking with Mrs. Kubota (Kate's mom - I've know Kate even longer than Sheri). The picture is of Sheri and me at the party. Then the other pictures are of the boys playing with Tom and Dawn. The boys had so much fun playing with them and were so comfortable around them, it was so great! Their dogs were so great around them too and they all had so much fun. They jokingly call Tom, "Auntie Tom" and Dawn, "Uncle Dawn".

For some reason, Ronan was up all night Sunday night and then he threw up at 2:30am. When he woke up at 7am, he had a blow-out and then preceded to have many more blow-outs all day long. He was in a good mood, playing all day, took a 2 hr nap and was totally fine. I think he didn't digest some of the food yesterday and that must have made his tummy hurt. I sure hope he sleeps tonight and he feels better tomorrow.

My appreciations:

-my awesome family

-my amazing husband

-my wonderful children

-my awesome brother & sister-in-law

-Pilates

-shopping on Saturday

-my long massage

-boys going to bed early

-hiking in the morning

-going to Murrieta

-visiting with Sheri and Mrs. Kubota

-visiting with Tom and Dawn

-having a mellow Monday

-bedtime

Love, Shelly

It's Friday!!!

Yeah, it's Friday!!! We went to Shalimar's house for a playdate and had lots of fun (I forgot my camera so there's no pictures of the kids playing). We talked a lot about raw food and I gave her some tips and suggestions to incorporate more raw foods into her diet. She made a yummy kale salad and a marinated cucumber salad. Yum! After we tired the children out, we went home and Ronan took a very short nap. I've been so tired lately and I don't know why. This is my 67th day being 100% raw and I'm still tired in the afternoons. I don't know if it's just being a mom and not sleeping as much I need, always busy doing things around the house, playing with the kids, etc. I need to figure this out because I hate being so tired. I am definitely a morning person and love the morning, but I shouldn't be so tired in the afternoon/evening. Maybe it's just going to take some time for my body to adjust and/or maybe I need to adjust my diet. So, anyway, I fell alseep on the Ronan's bed while I was laying down with him because he didn't take a long enough nap and he was falling apart. Well, I ended up falling asleep a little bit and he didn't . I woke up (maybe 5-10 minutes) and they had lined up all their dinosaurs, dragons, animals, etc and grouped them all and were making stories. It was so awesome and creative!!

After my little nap I made raw banana, cherry, blueberry ice cream (put the frozen fruit in the Champion Juicer and you make ice cream). And then for dinner we had veggie wraps with the onion bread from RAWvolution, pinenut cheese, sprouts, jicama, avocado, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and olives. The boys are starting to really like these wraps. Now I need to find other dinner meals that they'll like so it's not alway veggie wraps.

My appreciations for today:

-my wonderful family

-my awesome husband

-my fabulous children

-my awesome friends

-My health

-the Sunshine

-making yummy raw foods

-playdates!

-naptime (for me too :))

-my children playing so well together

-Bedtime!

Love, Shelly

Visit to the OC Zoo today

Today we went to the Orange County Zoo to see the animals and walk around the park. I have such conflicting feelings about zoos because I don't like to see animals in cages, but my kids love animals and love learning about them. It's so hard! Chris and her children, Jesse & Shelby, came and Courtney and her daughter, Kamryn came too. We walked around the zoo and saw coyotes, a bobcat, a moutain lion, owls, eagles, vultures, bears, beaver, porcupine, donkey, mule deer, and goats. We went to storytime after seeing all the animals and then we ate some food and played in the trees. I forgot most of the food that I prepared, so luckily I had some dried food in my bag and Chris and Courtney shared their food (thank you mamas!). I can't believe I forgot a whole bag of food...ugh!

We had a lot of fun and both boys crashed out in the car, yeah!! Amber came to babysit and I got some errands done. I got a green juice and 2 oz of wheatgrass at Mother's Market and I still feel nauseous. I think it was too much wheatgrass. Usually I just get 1 oz and green juice but I wanted to try more today. I won't do that again!

Oh, I talked to Ian about Ruby and told him she was sick and old and is in a better place now and is not in any pain. He said, "Jasmine's not going to die, right, because she eats a lot of food." I'm not sure what he really meant, but I think he said that because we were saying that Ruby hadn't eaten and was so skinny, so he just probably thought Jasmine (our other cat) is so big and eats a lot that she is fine. I'm not sure he quite gets it, but we'll talk about it more if he wants to.

My appreciations for today:

-Ruby for being a wonderful sweet cat

-my brave husband

-my awesome children

-my wonderful family

-my fabulous friends

-riding the bike today for 1 hour while Matthew took the boys for a walk

-going to the zoo

- seeing a HUGE mountain lion

-watching the kids feed the goats

-watching the kids climb trees

-naptime for both boys :)

-babysitter

-getting errands done

-bedtime!

love, shelly

In Memory of Ruby

Today is a very sad day in our family because Ruby, our very old cat, passed away. Ruby was about 18 years old and has had a long life and lived in many places. Matthew said "he bought her at the pet shop because she was the sorriest looking little kitten in the corner, and no one was paying attention to her". She was a sweet cat and was terrific with the children.
In the past week Ruby was quickly losing weight, not eating much, and not acting like herself. And then in the past few days, she quickly went down hill; she was not eating, had a hard time walking, crying a lot and just looked miserable. So, Matthew brought her to the doctor's office on Tuesday morning and they gave her fluids and medications to keep her comfortable. They did some blood tests to rule out anything that could be minor, but today they said she was dying of old age. We will miss her terribly. What do we say to our children? I don't know what to say to them without crying and upsetting them. I know we need to say something, but I'm not sure when or what to say. At least Ruby is not in pain anymore and is in a better place. We love you Ruby!!
Love, the Mead Family

Park Day w/ Kim and family

This morning I rode the bike for 45 minutes while Matthew took the boys for a walk to the park. We are trying to get the boys outside every morning to get some exercise and enjoy the sunshine before Matthew has to go to work (they usually walk to the park or walk around the block). Then I took the boys to the park to meet my friend Kim and her children (Mikayla, Ashley and Dylan). I met Kim at a prenatal yoga class when we were pregnant with our first child and then we got pregnant again at the same time (she had twins). We never can get together because of conflicting schedules so today was so nice to hang out for a little bit and talk. Mikayla loves Ian and wants to marry him one day (isn't that funny!). Ian had fun running around the park with Mikayla. It's been pretty hot again these last few days, around 85 degrees, so I can't wait for the cooler weather. I'm hoping it cools down this weekend. I made veggie wraps for dinner and the boys ate it all up. The wraps were a raw tortilla, beets, cucumbers, sprouts, raw cheese, carrots, lettuce, and zucchini. I was so amazed and happy that they liked the wraps. I'm trying to figure out other ways to get the boys to eat vegetables and to find some great kid friendly raw recipes for dinner.

My appreciations for today:

-my wonderful family

-my awesome husband for always taking the boys on a walk in the morning

-my amazing children

-Riding the bike

-Meeting Kim at the park

-Realizing how fast time flies and how fast kids grow up

-Pilates

-Sunshine

-My health

-the boys eating tons of veggies tonight

-My babysitter, Amber

-Bedtime

Love, Shelly

Toddler in the Garden Class

This morning we went for a run and it was kind of chilly. I guess it's starting to cool down finally which is such a relief (I drove our running route and it's about 3.2 miles...pretty good). Today we went to the Toddler in the Garden class and it was taught by Miss Emily. The boys tried tomatoes, fed the goats and horses, painted with carrot juice and pulp and helped plant carrots and onions. Here's the link for more info: http://ochomeschooling.com/earthroots/calendar.html

Ian really loved the pineapple heirloom tomatoes but didn't really like the other ones. Of course he doesn't like them when we are at home. It was so funny to see a whole bunch of kids fighting over tomatoes. Ronan tried a few tomatoes but didn't like them. We had 3 tomato plants in our garden this summer and the pineapple heirloom tomato plant did not produce any tomatoes. :(

Miss Emily gave my 3 tomato plants but I don't know what kind they are....I hoping they grow well.

Ronan got sunscreen in his eyes, so the rest of the morning didn't go so well. I really need to find a sunscreen that is tear-free. I wish they would just wear hats!

Ronan took a nap on the way home and Ian and I read books, did puzzles and relaxed while Ronan took a short nap. We had a mellow afternoon and Ian was in bed by 6:45pm, he was so tired (he woke up at 2am this morning and went into the front room, started playing with his toys and then I heard him saying to, "Ronan, are you ready to play, I got all the toys setup." I couldn't believe it. I really need to put a digital clock in their room and teach him to read it) Ronan was in bed by 8pm. They are going to sleep all night (sending out positive energy).

My appreciations for today:

-my wonderful family

-my awesome husband

-my fabulous boys

-running

-watching the boys try the tomatoes

-feeding the goats

-naptime

-breeze and cool winds

-sunshine

-tomatoes

-my health

-raw food

-bedtime

love, shelly

Hiking Day and Pool Day

Sunday is Hike Day! We hiked a 1 mile loop at O'Neil Regional Park and both boys hiked the entire time. They like to do their ABC game while they hike. They name animals, reptiles, dinosaurs, or superheroes for each letter of the alphabet. It keeps them busy while hiking. They are doing great and I hope to do a hike every weekend and gradually increase the distance. After the hike we went to the playground area and then to the Nature Center. We ran into Rachel and Steven at the playground so that was nice (they live very close to the park). We also ran into another friend, Jenn and her children; they were camping at the park. We saw deer running in the park but no other animals. After all of that the boys were so tired and needed a nap. Ronan took a short nap and Ian didn't take one. In the afternoon we went to Emily's pool and Ian swam a little bit without his lifevest. He can't swim for very long but he still tries. Ronan's getting braver and braver in the pool.

We had a very busy weekend but it was fun!

My appreciations:

-my wonderful family

-my awesome husband

-my fantastic children

-my awesome friends

-hiking in the early morning

-both boys hiking all the way

-seeing the deer in the park

-naptime

-going to the pool (thank you Emily!!!)

-watching Ian swim without his life-vest :)

-cleaning the floors with a new Method mop cleaning system

-bedtime

love, shelly

Saturday - Playing cards,Reptiles,Dinner

Today was a very busy day....I went Pilates, Farmer's Market, bookstore and Jill's house to borrow a book and while I was doing all of that, Matthew took the boys to the park and then he got them to take a nap (yeah!). The boys got up at 5:15am this morning and they went into the front room and started playing Dragon War with the cards that Nana sent a while ago. They love playing card games, especially Dragon War and "who's the biggest" (a made up dinosaur card game). I stayed in bed and listened to my podcasts (listening to a lot of raw inspired radio shows) while the boys played so nicely together. It is so wonderful when they play so well together and entertain themselves for a period of time...yeah! So, the boys took a nice long nap (about 2 hours) and then we went to the Anaheim Convention Center to look at lots of reptiles. Ian got to hold a reticulated python (I got to hold it too) and touch a huge iguana and a bearded dragon lizard (those are the pictures you see above). Ian just loves snakes...I think we'll be getting a snake when he's older. The other picture is of 2 huge bullfrogs. We saw tons of snakes, lizards, tortoises, centipedes, millipedes, tarantulas, cockroaches and some fish. After that we went to dinner - we ate at Native Foods (all vegan restaurant) and I bought To-Go items from 118 degrees raw restaurant (they are in the same plaza). The boys shared a tofu/rice/veggie plate and a fruit/dip plate and Matthew got a portabella/sausage burger. I got a marinated kale/sweet mustard salad, coconut/veggie wrap, cookies, bread and cheeze. I ate the salad and one of the wraps and we all shared the cookies. YUMMY! The pictures above are the salad and the cookies. We rarely go out to dinner, so it's a real treat AND the kids were awesome and ate really well. The other picture is the boys playing in the water feature that is outside Native Foods.

Today I appreciate:

-my wonderful family

-my amazingly patient husband

-my awesome kids

-Pilates

-Farmer's Market

-Both kids napping!

-Reptiles

-Going out to dinner

-Yummy RAW food

-My health

-Sunshine (great weather - not too hot)

-Bedtime

Love, Shelly

More catching up - Friday!

Sorry, no picture for Friday!
Friday we went to a friend's community beach pool and had a great time. I forgot my camera so unfortunately I can't show you what it looked like. But it was shallow which was great for the kids, sand around the water and some geese actually flew in and swam on the water. There is a lake right next to the pool and there's lots of ducks and geese around, so I guess they like the pool too. Ian was swimming underwater with his life-vest and having lots of fun. At one point Ronan dipped down underwater and I rescued him very quickly. He was a little bit scared but quickly got over it. You have to always keep your eyes on your children in the water; it's super hard to do that with 2 kids. Luckily Ian has his life-vest so that helps me keep an eye on both of them. After swimming Ronan took a 3 hour nap and Ian didn't take one at all. So, they both went to bed too late because Daddy got home and they wanted to play with him (Ian went to bed at 8pm after getting up at 5:30am and Ronan went to bed at 9pm).
:)

Catching up on my blog- Thursday

I'm sorry I haven't written in my blog since Wednesday (sorry Nana!). Sometimes I so tired in the evening that I just don't want to be on the computer, but I will try to post everyday so that you can see what we've been doing and get an update on the boys.

So, Thursday we had playgroup at my house as usual. I have my friends from my Attachment Parenting Mom's group come over and we try to chat while the kids play. I didn't know how Ian would be because he's usually in preschool on Thursdays and Fridays (he's not in school the entire month of September because his teacher is in Ireland with her family). Ian was really excited about playgroup and ended up having lots of fun and he shared really well with everyone. The boys were playing in the tent with Kamryn and playing with T-Rex Mountain. Then after playgroup Ronan took a nap and then Amber came over to babysit. I did my errands, came home and the boys really excited because they got a package in the mail from Nana and James (from England). Ian got a really cool fossil/crystal and they both got small animal figures and they got foam truck puzzles. Amber was putting one of the trucks together when I got home and Ian was super excited to show me everything. THANK YOU NANA AND JAMES!!! Ronan is doing better when I leave and is finally starting to really like Amber. He calls her "Amber bamber" - it's very cute.

:)

Superheroes!

The boys are really into superheroes right now probably due to Daddy's influence, but they are loving them right now. Ian can name all the superheroes from A to Z. Ronan loves to sing the Spiderman song and they both pretend they are different superheroes. Ian also makes up different superheroes and they love making stories with them. The bottom photos are from the walk they took on Tuesday morning with Daddy. They were wearing their new superheroe t-shirts and their new sunglasses. The other 2 photos were taken last night when they were running around the house pretending to be superheroes. They are so darn cute!!!

My appreciations for yesterday:

-my wonderful family

-my awesome husband

-my very smart children

-going to the library

-my babysitter

-pilates

-going grocery shopping by myself

-reading

-my health

-bedtime

:)Shelly