Get Camping

There are so many beautiful places to camp near Santa Barbara, and it's not as hard to pull it off as you might think. I didn't camp for years after having Isla, thinking it would be too difficult without Ryan, who was busy working and building our business. Now that the girls are 4 and 2, I've taken them twice, without the hardworking hubby, and both trips were surprisingly easy.

Our most recent trip was to Big Sur, which was an easy 3 hour car trip away (ok, maybe 3.5 hours since we had to stop 4 times to go potty!) We stayed at Plaskett Creek, on the Southern side of Big Sur.


It was a great spot, with lots of room for the kids to run and climb:



...and a very short walk to the bluffs and beach:





Because we were only staying one night, and setting up/taking down a tent seemed like a lot of work to me, we camped in the Prius!



We didn't bring a stove, (which we will be sure to bring next time!) so I just brought a cooler and a big basket of easy food like fruit, yogurt, nut butter, rice cakes, corn cakes, gluten-free pizza, prepared gluten-free pasta, prepared oatmeal and agave, prepared rice and beans, cold chai for me, coconut water, salami and turkey for my carnivorous children, avocados, lots of veggies like carrots and zucchini, etc. I will admit, we met some of our dear mamatoto friends there, and Emma made us a gourmet dinner that night, but we arguably would have survived without it...

We left home at 6am, arrived by 9:30, played all day, ate Emma's homemade gluten-free s'mores around a campfire, slept in the car, packed up, and headed home around 11. Both girls were happily exhausted and slept the whole way home, so we made it back by 2. An entire vacation in 31 hours. Success!

Everyday in the Waldorf Kindergarten

This is such a sweet book. Children who go to a Waldorf school will love it (like mine do!) and it would be equally wonderful to familiarize a child who will be new to Waldorf before he goes to school. Here are some of our favorite parts:







*I believe they are only available on the Bella Luna Toys website, which is where we purchased our copy.

Sweet Book for Summer Solstice and All Summer

"Sun Bread" by Elisa Kleven

Summer Rhythm

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

There is something about being under big trees and around water, flowers, lizards and squirrels. Although I prefer "wild" nature to the more groomed variety, I still love the Botanical Gardens.

Dr. Mom

There are a couple of indispensable books in our home right now:

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child is the first thing I turn to when one of my girls gets sick. I love how I can look up the illness and see the detailed description (to make sure I've made the correct diagnosis!), the conventional treatment, herbal treatment, homeopathic treatment, dietary guidelines, nutritional supplements, acupressure, and general recommendations. For many, preventative measures are also listed. If you only buy one book for your family, this is it.



To supplement SMFAHC, we have "Compresses and Other Therapeutic Applications" by Monika Fingado, which lists in detail how to apply compresses. I have found this invaluable in bringing down high fevers, and it is for adults as well as children.

Summer Fish Verse

Summer Bee Verse

Sweet Bohemian Baby

More fabulous finds on etsy:

Newborn quilt by Peace Love and Quilts:



Bamboo baby wipes by Gnome Clothes:



Organic velour baby blanket: by Maple Sugar Designs:



Pants by Sunshine Salad:



Elephant pants by 3 Moss Flowers:



Changing pad and burp cloth by Stickelberry:

Blueberries!

If you take the 101 north, just past the tunnel you will see a big sign with the words, "BLUEBERRIES" painted on it. It takes about half an hour to get there from SB, but it is very worth the drive.



We go picking every year, at least once and usually with the other mamatotos.



They open at 10am and it is pretty key to get there as early as possible, because it gets HOT. It's really sweet at the farm. They have little nostalgic metal pails for everyone to use while picking, and have some adorable farm animals on site to visit with.



We finish off each day by reading "Blueberries for Sal" and making a pie, topped with coconut cream.

Here are some of the "Little Sals" trying to sneak blueberries out of Ryan's pail:

Mobiles

Here are a few of my favorite mobiles for Baby on etsy right now:

By Mama Earth Creations and Dancing Seed Mobiles:




By Butterfly Cove and Magic Wool:

Mermaid Crowns for Summer

Isla has a Summer birthday, so I'm thinking about making these crowns at her party for the craft/take home party favor.

Spring Nature Table - May

Paradise, This Place We Call Home...

Isla was really excited to surf the other day, so we got her all suited up and she paddled out with Daddy.





While they surfed, Lyr and I played in the sand and cheered them on:



After they caught about a dozen waves...







...we spotted dolphins! How exciting. I love being out in the water with dolphins, so I was thrilled my daughter was having that experience:



But wait! Did you see that? Three WHALES decided to cruise on by. Now my child is absolutely living my dream. I have never been that close to a whale, and she gets to have the experience of literally feeling the mist from their spray in her face! This is one of the best moments of my life, to see my sweet four year-old out in the ocean with three beautiful whales:









She will only realize the magnitude of this experience when she's older. Right now, it was fun and maybe a little magical, but only as magical as nearly everything is to her at the moment: a minute or two after swimming with the whales, she ran up to me on the beach, breathless and beaming, proudly proclaiming, "Mommy! You'll never BELIEVE this...I dunked my HEAD underwater!!!" Ah, yes you did, you amazing little person. You dunked your head under the water and that was awesome, too.


**All photographs, besides Lyr as Sand Centipede, were taken by Mike Billgren, and I believe he and his wife Alma also take family portraits in fun settings. You can find them on Facebook, or leave a comment here.**

The Best Pregnant Lady Treat... Ever!

Ok, so truthfully, I am not even pregnant right now. But that didn't stop the giddy feelings of excitement when THIS BOX showed up on my doorstep:



Although I adore Anna, co-creator of the Mama Lana Box, I promised her and myself I would be 100% brutally honest about my impression of the boxes. Well, I am happy to say that she and her sister-in-law have easily surpassed my hopes and expectations. I won't ruin the whole surprise, but I will let you take a little peek at a few of the treats that were inside this box:



Mother of two little ones, and avid parenting enthusiast, I thought I knew all of the cool mama-to-be gifts and luxuries, but it turns out there are still some amazing surprises out there. Among them, one of my favorite items from the box, is this book, which is described as "[a] global treasury of age-old wisdom for pregnancy, birth, and childcare brimming with inspiring suggestions for the modern mother - from ways to choose your child's name to planting a birth tree and using Feng Shui to plan your baby's sleeping place":



Although I have to say, my favorite part is these cards. On one side is a beautiful, inspiring image by one of four gifted artists, and on the other side, an empowering affirmation and meditation. I have never seen anything like this, and I wish I would have had these for the labors of my first two pregnancies. (Every box has a few cards, so at the end of your pregnancy you have a complete set.):



Soulful, sweet, and so fun, the Mama Lana Box is the perfect way to honor pregnancy, the beautiful goddess mama-to-be, and the growing baby. I can't wait to buy them for my lovely pregnant friends (you know who you are;)) and maaaaaybe, one day, myself!

And just in case you're in the market, use this code to get $10 off each box purchased anytime before August 10th: SaveShareClub1305-WRA6VJIRRY7V

Baby Rattan Love

One of my closest friends just gave birth to a sweet little girl a couple of months ago, so I have had baby on the brain a bit more than usual. I can't help seeing everything through the mama-lens. For example, how sweet would this little bamboo tiki cart be as a diaper station? Then, when Baby is out of diapers it can become an art-supplies organizer... Just sayin' ;)