October 30, 2013 by admin
Tweet.
Fall is upon us, bringing cold weather, crisp winds, and thoughts of winter and change. On this chilly, damp evening, we offer a mix of some of our favorite fallish songs.
So load up your playlist, perhaps with the above suggestions, and enjoy this fine, brisk weather!
Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: Autumn,Holidays,Music | Comments Off on Songs Of Fall & Winter
October 28, 2013 by admin
Looking around our house, you might be surprised at how many miscellaneous parts of games and toys we have everywhere. Are we just really that disorganized? No.
We’re surrounded by the bits and pieces we’ve picked up on purpose. We scout out the “free” boxes at garage/rummage sales and pick up parts of this game and that toy. Why? Because released from their set, a piece of a toy can become anything your child needs or wants it to be.
Our kids don’t know the intended purposes of our various finds, so the parts become whatever they desire: robots, spaceships, cats, houses, and parts for bigger tinkering ‘inventions.’ We find that having these partial games and toys around helps our kids create their own worlds—the way generations of kids have had more fun with a simple cardboard box than any toy on the market.
Suddenly, these bits turn into something special with a back-story, powers, and skills- all straight from our kiddoes’ creative minds. There is no commercial tie-in, no movie franchise, and no Happy Meal association interfering with the play.
And when our kiddoes tire of the pieces and move on, it’s OK. The partial bit cost nothing, or almost nothing. But it gave so much more.
Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: Creativity,family,freebies,kids,Playing,simple solutions,unplugged | 1 Comment
October 26, 2013 by admin
Our Bluey leads an active life, and we do all sorts of things during a typical day. We have our share of routines- like reading our ‘Dog’ books in the morning, or settling in for some Lego building. We have mellow times and crazy times.
But in many ways, the best part of any day is at the end. After reading a few comic books, brushing teeth, and putting on pajamas, Bluey is ready. Usually, TRMom gets him into bed, and reads one more book before Bluey begins to settle down. After snuggling with TRMom for awhile, TRDad takes over and helps the young Bluey find the sleep zone.
Laying there in the dark is just the best. We’re usually quiet, although sometimes Bluey still has a few things to discuss. But soon enough, he is dozing off and quietly breathing. Sometimes his eyes are still open, shining in the dark.
Bluey drifts towards sleep. TRDad listens to Bluey breathing and thinks about him- he is such a great kid. This moment of quietude is TRDad’s most treasured of the day. It’s the snuddle time that Bluey misses on nights TRDad isn’t there to cuddle with him. We hope he remembers these moments, as he cruises towards adulthood. We know he won’t want to settle down like this forever. Eventually, he’ll put himself to bed; as his older sister does now.
As much as we want him to recall visiting the St. Louis Arch, or climbing at Devil’s Lake, or a hundred other fun and interesting things we do; we hope that he treasures these quiet times, too.
Category Parenting | Tags: family,kids,Parents,togetherness,unplugged | Comments Off on The Best Ten Minutes Of The Day
October 24, 2013 by admin
As our weather turns crisp and chilly, we shift gears from coatless days of outside play and exploration to the joys of our TR Family’s definition of Fall and Winter hibernation.
It is an adjustment, but it doesn’t have to be a negative one!
Yes, sunny and coatless days are a joy. But these chillier seasons brings their own delights, too.
Category Get Outside! | Tags: Outdoors,Winter | Comments Off on Surviving The Cold
October 22, 2013 by admin
Lately, our Bluey is pretty obsessed with cats. No, not the Andrew Lloyd Webber kind on Broadway. But cats all the same: super cats, robo-cats, Garfield. You name it! If it’s 
feline, Bluey wants to experience it.
Every toy, rock and stick he picks up becomes a cat. Most of his Show&Tell appointments are about cats in one way or another.
But we’re not worried about this becoming a one-note band. It’s a typical stage that kids pass through. Bluey won’t be obsessed with cats forever. He’ll move on to dinosaurs, or planes, or pine trees. And eventually, he’ll figure out that he can have a plethora of stuff that interests him, all at the same time.
Until then, we let Bluey follow his bliss. Why not? His enthusiasm leads to learning moments. We read about cats. We discuss and research cats. We perfect our “Meows.”
Category Parenting | Tags: kids,parenting | 1 Comment
October 20, 2013 by admin
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
Oscar Wilde had it right, we think. Mistakes are supposed to be learning opportunities. We don’t serve ourselves (or our children) well, if we shy from the chance to make mistakes, and the chance to shine when we succeed where others told us that we would not.
This is our goal: to teach our kids that failure isn’t shameful. It doesn’t mean you’re defeated, and doesn’t equal a weakness in character. In fact, failure may be the very source of character. We’re not suggesting that anyone should ignore failure. We encourage you to change the way you talk about it and react to it.
If failure means you need to pull yourself back up, and try, try again—then failure loses its negative power. It becomes something positive and more powerful. Think about it: who do you think learns more, a student who fails the quiz and goes home to study, study, study and returns to get a C on the Test? Or the student who got an A on the quiz and an A on the test with no effort at all? Success is that much sweeter, when you know you worked your ass off to get it.
Too many people in the world tell kids
they can’t do things, and shouldn’t try. To them, we say: “Butt out, and give the kid a shot!” Let them try, and see what happens. They may surprise you.
The strength and character needed to overcome obstacles and defeats in life comes from making mistakes, and bouncing back. We encourage our kids to take on challenges and see what happens. Explore. Try it. See what happens. Then take the knowledge you gained into your next attempt.
“I pick myself, I dust myself off, and start all over again.”
Category Parenting | Tags: kids,Learning,Parents | Comments Off on All Of Your Failures Are Training Grounds
October 18, 2013 by admin
We don’t eat a lot of tofu in our vegetarian home. But when we do, our favorite recipe is for easy Tofu Bites. It goes great over a bed of rice. They take less time to make than the rice does to cook.
The downside? We never have any leftovers.
We have served this to kids, and adults; vegetarians and meat eaters. It easily expands to create a meal for a crowd- we’ve served this dish at large events to great success.
Ingredients:
1 Pound Firm Tofu
¼ Cup Soy Sauce
¼ Cup Ketchup
1 T Fresh Grated Ginger
1 Clove Garlic
Salt &Pepper to taste
1 T Maple Syrup
(Hot Sauce: Optional)
Process:
Dice Tofu into ½ Inch cubes.
Mix all other ingredients by hand in a bowl. Add in some hot sauce, if you want a bit of a kick!
Toss in Tofu and allow to marinate about ten minutes.
Bake in small casserole dish at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Try to keep the tofu in a bit of a heap- if it gets too spread out in the oven, it’ll dry out on you. We like it to remain saucey!
Yum!
Bake up some Tofu Bites and watch them disappear.
Category Recipes | Tags: good eats,Vegetarian | Comments Off on Tofu Bites!
October 16, 2013 by admin
We planted a small plot of garden this summer, and a small collection of containers. Our kids had a big role in planting and maintaining the garden. They dug soil, they raked compost, they chose plants and seeds.
And now, as Fall is upon, we know they’ve seen the results! Everyday, there was something ripe in our little garden. Something they grew, nurtured and harvested. Something they are eager to eat.
Our gardeners have harvested squash, melons, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme, carrots, sunflowers, as well as numerous variety or ornamental flowers.
As satisfying as it is for an adult to pull a tomato off the vine, it is ten times moreso for a child.
Even a single pot can be home to a tomato plant that can grow to produce fruit. We planted a very small plot, and produced hundreds of dollars worth of fresh vegetables. We know we made a lot of mistakes too- planting too close together, or sowing at the wrong moment, etc. But next year we’ll do even better. We’ll gather more containers, pay more attention to pruning, and have even better results.
No matter what your space, find a place for a garden in your life.
Category Get Outside! | Tags: family,Gardening,kids,Outdoors,unplugged | Comments Off on How Does Your Garden Grow?
October 14, 2013 by admin
We should all take more time to relax and slow down when eating our meals. But the truth holds that most of us finish up eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner in 30 minutes or much less.
If you are lucky enough to get 1 hour for your lunch break, what do you do with that remaining 45 or 30 minutes? Here are some of our lunch-time suggestions for the remaining chunk of time:
Take a walk outside.
Complete a task so that you aren’t running around before or after work: light food shopping, pharmacy, dry cleaning, oil change.
If you are close to your home- throw in a load of wash, empty the dishwasher, or prep for dinner.
Shop for a birthday treat, holiday gift, or those clothes you need that your kids never give you time to find.
Go to your car and meditate for a bit. Just close your eyes and relax.
Read.
If you can, take more time to eat your meal. It takes 20 minutes for your body to even register that it is full. But we know, leisurely dining for an hour just doesn’t happen every day.
How do you spend your lunchtime?
Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: good eats,simple solutions | Comments Off on Lunch Time Dash
October 12, 2013 by admin
One day, we felt cooped up in the house and decided we needed to get outside. We wanted to go somewhere but we were a little cash poor that day—so what to do?
We headed for a locally owned market about a mile from our house- Jenifer Street Market (Jeny St Market). Its distance meant that we could walk or bike to get there. Since this is a small market, we were confident that we could find something to buy for the bit of change dedicated to this expedition.
Walking and biking the streets of your own neighborhood allows for many opportunities to meet people, to notice buildings, trees and businesses you might not have seen before—to just BE a part of your neighborhood.
Jeny St Market is a friendly place. After our initial jaunt became a recurring event, the workers began to recognize our little family when we’d visit. They started to notice our purchasing habits, and to remember stories that they’d heard from us at previous meetings. We became ‘regulars.’
Our trips to Jeny St Market continue to this day, all year round (weather permitting). We love it as a quick destination, where we know we’ll see people we enjoy, and we get a little treat that we like. On the way, we’ll make new friends and discover new secret spaces. And become even more connected to our neighbors.
Category Get Outside! | Tags: Community,Grocery shopping,Neighborhoods | Comments Off on Jenifer Street Market