Happy Mother’s Day! This morning my boys gifted me with a fabulous sand bucket filled with rose petals, monkey grass leaves, their favorite chunks of mulch and assorted leaves from neighborhood trees.
The most awesome part of this gift was the fact that they had been amassing this collection for over a week and storing it in the garage. How cool is that? I was so impressed at their dedication and persistence to create this special gift.
The red bucket was various art projects both from school and from home inspiration. The art included stick figure drawings of me, barnyard animal stickers inside a barn, hole punched paper, letters, numbers and lots of crayon mountains. Again, awesome!!
You know what’s most amazing about kids? The incredible number of questions they can ask! Between Cameron and William and the ten miles we covered yesterday on foot, bike and scooter…I must have answered at least 1,000 questions. On our walk to the farmer’s market we discussed the concept of invisible fences and how they work. Have you ever tried to explain that to a 5 year old? It really requires some deep thinking. What I really love is their thought processes. It’s great to see their little mind working wondering why there are cracks in the pavement, why birds don’t have fur, why our butts are not in front and how seeds are made. These truly are only a small number of questions I get asked on a regular basis. They really want to know the answers to these questions, so I always answer them in the best way possible. Others, I am completely stumped and need to do some research.
To me I look it as an honor to be called Mom. I am so grateful to be the one they look to for the answers to their thousands of questions, endless requests for something to eat as well as being referee and comforter.
The girls have not found the words yet, but their little hugs and thoughtful eyes fill my heart. Each time they look at me, or toddle over with their little ET walk my whole body smiles. They are a joy. We are exploring so many new things and I am so grateful for the role of teacher and mother.
As you know one of my passions is nourishing my family. I follow the biomechanist, Katy Bowman closely. She teaches the importance of whole body natural movement. I wish I had known of her work when the boys were babies. So, now I am incorporating some key concepts into the girls’ routine. We are exploring textures and foods that are difficult to chew to help develop the muscles in their jaw. They practice walking on different surfaces including grass, rocks, mulch and 1/2 foam rolls. They hang from the True Stretch, ride on some part of me during our walks (which forces them to use their whole body) and ward off their brothers. I don’t want super babies, I just want to use what I learn. Especially if it is for the betterment of my kids.
I am going to discuss our lunch menu meal planning in the next blog post…here is the board:
