San Francisco Summer Food

The warm summer weather has finally arrived in San Francisco, and not a minute too soon!

I (Mommy) visited a friend Margaret today (who also has kids-super-cute twins 1 month older than Rohan), and she made us this wonderful summer caprese (sp?) salad with fresh tomatoes & basil from her husband's garden, & gazpacho soup. Lovely!

I've stuck to cleanse diet for 17 days now, it's been ok though I've cheated a bit with the mozarella today (totally worth it!)

After this cleanse is over, there are things I'll stick with:
- no sugar in tea, no caffeine, more veggies especially when eating out

Things I won't:
- alcohol & meat; I'll drink/eat both in moderation & when I am confident I know where the meat came from

And things I will go back to pretty much what I'd been doing, just more mindfully:
- Gluten
- Dairy
- Desserts - I'm going to (try to) avoid the cheap junk & only eat the really good, high-quality stuff

I haven't felt hungry at all while on this cleanse; my gastrointestinal system has been fine, and the 1 time I did have a glass of champagne, I honestly felt a bit tired & bloated afterwards. So, it's been a good experiment.

In other news, Mr. Idea still hasn't come home. :(

MISSING: GREY TABBY CAT

“Mr. Idea” - 9-year old grey tabby with white facemask, paws, and chest, and green eyes. Friendly neutered male indoor housecat, responds to “Here Kitty, Kitty.” Microchip ID # 43665B747F (first character may be an “A” not a “4”). Missing from home at Dolores & Jersey since Friday 9/24/2010. Please call Kate if you’ve seen him, thanks. Craigslist post here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/laf/1974660129.html COMMENT This is not a joke. He got out when the back door was left open for a long time on Friday afternoon - and we saw paw prints at the basement level in the dust on our back stairs. We think we might have heard him crying early this morning in a neighbor's yard, so spent all morning going door-to-door with flyers, and posting ads on light poles on our block. A few kind neighbors have let us into their yards to poke in the bushes, and we visited the local SPCA, but no sign of him yet. We're worried! :(

Mommy, you're pretty

Deven won more than a few 'points' towards his next tantrum, when he spontaneously shouted "Mommy, you're pretty!" after me as I was walking faster ahead of him, Daddy & Rohan this afternoon. I hear that Daddy coached him to say it the first time, but a) I'm OK with that, and b) Deven continued to say it - I think because the reaction he got was so positive, he wanted more (and, uh, yeah, so did I!)

Last week, we got some wonderful gifts from Aunt Carolyn, and a friend of hers created them - the boys names, carved in wooden puzzle-pieces. Watch here for the boyz trying to put them together right out of the gift-wrap:




In other news, Deven spontaneously started saying words that he was reading this afternoon - "Deven" "Mommy" and "Daddy" were all stated, matter-of-factly, when I drew them on the paper placemat at the restaurant we ate dinner at tonight.

These photos were taken before the screaming and wrestling match over the "N" of Rohan's name caused many tears and frustrated shouts. Oh well, the wooden names are still unbroken...as of 4 days later, at least.



This last photo is of the family stuffing their faces with food I made. Why is that a photo-worthy event? Because in this household, I'm the one that others try to keep OUT of the kitchen most of the time. Fact is, I love to eat but don't enjoy cooking...at all. But because I'm on this mad vegan-no sugar - no gluten - no alcohol - no caffeine diet still (and 9 days to go!) - I cooked pancakes...and they weren't half-bad!

Daadi's Recipe for a Happy Life

Eat half of what you eat,
Drink twice the water you drink,
Exercise four times what you exercise,
And smile eight times what you smile,
You will lead a happy life.




(Photos are from her 75th birthday this year - the other baby is a friends' 9 month old, James; and from our visit to Cedar Lake, Indiana).

Deven on the monkey bars, and Mommy's Food Experiment

Deven has loved the monkey bars since he was able to reach them (what kid doesn't?!?) and has talked about them incessantly when we discuss his school or a nearby park.


Yesterday at the park, however, I noticed that he wasn't just hanging on the first-bar that he could touch - rather he can now swing from 1 bar to the next like a, well, a monkey! Rohan, not to be left out, can slide and climb with the best of 'em, too. And just in case you think the house is full of peace, Deven gave Rohan a not-so-playful bite this morning when Rohan didn't share the etch-a-sketch magnet. Sigh.
At least I have 'em both enjoying the mini lacrosse sticks I got Deven for his 3rd birthday. :)


MOMMY'S FOOD EXPERIMENT

I've been feeling rather tired for the past few months, and have previously taken the steps of writing down what I eat, seeing a nutritionist and an acupuncturist (my lower back has ached since having the boys); and talking to friends about various "cleanses." So far, I've learned that
- I don't eat particularly well (not particularly horribly either, but not great)
- I don't sleep enough (shocking, with 2 kids, I know)
- I'm too stressed (duh...who isn't these days?)

So, I decided on an experiment that I'm starting today. It's called the Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston, and it was recommended to me by a friend who I saw on it at work (who said he felt great while he did it). Basically, it's a slight diet modification that shouldn't be too hard - no counting portions or calories. It requires that I eat whatever I want, EXCEPT

Sugar (any added types)

Animal products (including meat, fish, dairy & eggs)

Gluten (insidious plant-based product found in tons of processed foods)

Alcohol (oh, gosh!)

Caffeine (shouldn't be too hard as I wasn't doing much to start. But wait...chocolate has caffeine...)

Since it's basically a vegan diet, I figured I can do it for 21 days (according to the author Ms. Freston, you'll feel a little bit of withdrawal at first, but then start feeling better in a few days). So far this morning, I've eaten a big bowl of oatmeal w/soymilk, and a glass of soymilk with protein powder. I like all the things you CAN eat on this 'cleanse' (more on that later) so I'm excited.

Ek-doh-teen

My boys, brilliantly singing their A-B-Cs and saying 1-10 in Hindi (Ek-doh-teen = 1-2-3)

Years, not months

San Francisco has finally warmed up and with cloudless skies the entire weekend, it appears our summer is finally starting. As a lovely Labor Day weekend draws to a close, I'm unable to shake a thought that struck me in conversation with new friends this weekend - friend-of-friends who themselves have 2 kids 20 months apart, with their older one just 5 days younger than Rohan. After a good chuckle and telling them "it does get easier after the first year" - when Mom ("A") asked how old Rohan was, I said "oh, 19 or 20 months" - and when she remarked that her older one (again, 5 days younger than Rohan) is already 21 mos old, I laughed and realized I hadn't really been counting lately.

He's just Rohan, my sweet, chubby-cheeked cuddly younger son, who still loves sitting on my hip and being carried around; who now cries "Up!" if he wants to be held; and who still wants me to rock him to sleep (which I do, because hey - I figure he'll be a sweaty/smelly teenager soon enough and won't want to look at me...so I'll enjoy the unconditional love & attention while I can get it).

The thought that I couldn't shake, was that soon enough, we'd be counting both Deven's and Rohan's ages in years, not months. I wasn't quite prepared for it. Sure, I ask parents of school-aged children here in San Francisco "Where do your kids go to school?" and other questions reserved for the 5+ set, but I hadn't thought that sometime soon, my little Rohan wouldn't want to be carried, and Deven wouldn't want to play on just a tricycle (rather, he'll have a bike).


I know it's coming, but for now, I'll savor the weekends like these, full of fun at parks (where the playground, rose garden, and doggie-sculpture provided ample fun), the Kings Mountain Art Fair where the boys made "spin art," and the beach (where the boys were thrilled by our kite and shallow warm tidepools). Here's to my boys, now 21 and 41 months old!

Deven's first reading

Deven read the 'Made in San Francisco' label this evening. It's wonderful that he's reading! But is it bad that his first reading material was a beer bottle?