Pure Gravy: October 2008

Thursday, October 30, 2008

"i" in the Sky

I was nursing Imogen on the couch last Sunday. Looking out the window behind me--upside down--she pointed out an "i" formed by the clouds. I only began introducing her to the lowercase "i" for "Imogen" last week after taking the READY! for Kindergarten class, so I was really happy to see that she was interested. I hadn't really gotten that impression when I was teaching it.

Then yesterday Immy wrote an "i" on a painting she was working on. She made the dot first. I made the mistake of commenting "You made an "O"!" She quickly corrected me, "No Mama, it's a dot," and then drew the "line" to make the "i."

Later yesterday, days after she'd spotted the special cloud with her initial, Immy looked at the overcast sky and asked "Where's the "i" in the sky?"

Bathed in Sugar

There's something about babies right after a bath...

Tuesday

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Time to Reap

We had a good time Saturday at the Airport Garden Center's 1st Annual Harvest Celebration for kids. (By the way, you aren't alone if you're saying to yourself how many harvest celebrations can there possibly be on the Olympic Peninsula?!) They let everyone in for free and had a handful of cool craft stations including pumpkin painting and pine cones that we smeared in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed. There were even two goats to pet! The morning was made more fun because Imogen's friends Peter and Reid came with their parents.

Peter (in orange) and Reid (not pictured here) are special friends of Imogen's and with each other. The three of them were born within two weeks of each other.

From Top: Peter and Imogen paint their pumpkins; Peter paints; Immy contemplates a free cookie, a substitute for the rock-hard red hots she scored in the straw scramble

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Local Women Make Good (Food)

If you get a minute in your busy day, check out these natural-food websites by local women:

Diggin Food

Willi Galloway is the young woman behind this inspired website that she describes as "a community table that serves up gardening and cooking inspiration for people who like real food." She's a Seattleite and the West Coast Editor of Organic Gardening magazine. I know of her from the "Greendays Gardening Panel" on KUOW (Tuesdays at 10 am on 94.9 FM Seattle or streaming online at kuow.org).

Gluten-Free Girl
Shauna James Ahern is a new mom in Seattle who became a natural-food lover after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It doesn't hurt being married to a chef ("the Chef"). This website is wheat-free, but rich in content for all who like to cook and eat thoughtfully.

Plum Creek Mercantile

Sequim mama Candyce has opened a shop online to sell, among other natural products, her hand-sewn snack and bulk-food bags and fabric gift wrap.

Rhubarb Sky
Carrie is the extraordinary mother of cool and lucky Abby (3½), a devoted Salt Creek Farm CSA subscriber and fab gal about Port Angeles whose creativity apparently knows no boundaries. Carrie's blog Rhubarb Sky has recipes and crafts interwoven with soulful reflections on life. It's super inspiring and fun.

Cozy Coupe TDI

Imogen fills her car with biofuel (leaves and whatnot) today.

READY! for Kindergarten

I am lucky to be participating with four mom-friends in the READY! for Kindergarten program, developed by the Kennewick [Washington] School District to foster Kindergarten readiness skills through learning targets. Not only was the class free thanks to a grant the Port Angeles School District received, but we went home with a red bag of "tools" (some are toys!) to work with our kids. I'll go again in the winter and spring.

We're labeling things around the house, matching a set of letter "shapes," and talking about the first letter of the child's name, among other fun stuff.

"Children who are taught these skills at home get off to a great start at school. They start ahead and stay ahead, year after year."
-readyforkindergarten.org

Family Drama

Top: Cousin Ad acting in a play at Montessori school
Bottom: Immy May watching the performance thanks to a lift from Uncle Al

Thursday

Field Trip: Horse Farm!

We had our fall Pre-3 field trip on Tuesday to Freedom Farm outside of Port Angeles. It's the same horse farm Imogen and I visited on the farm tour earlier this month. We didn't ride horses this day (riding animals isn't allowed on field trips), but the owners put on a two-hour tour for the kids that began with a walk through the farm to visit Sierra the giant Brown Swiss dairy cow (top photo) and a big bull. Next it was fun in the straw pile and finally visiting the horses and searching for gourds hidden in the straw bales. It was time well spent on a beautiful fall day.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Mondays at Bonnie's

Top: Immy and Reid--Bonnie's son, born just days apart--are moving out of parallel play by interacting, organizing, holding hands and conversing. It's pushing the cute envelope into uncharted territory!

Bottom: Mama Alicia reads to her baby Charlie and Immy. Immy instigated the book reading by engaging Alicia and then coming over to me to sort of check if it was okay before she went and sat on Alicia's lap.

Monday

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Ta-Da

Today

Harvest Carnival

Immy partied hard with the Port Angeles pre-school set last night for the big "Pre-3" fundraiser, the Harvest Carnival! Ims went as a horsegirl and got a spider painted on her face by her beloved teacher Nicole. She and her dad did the carnival while Bonnie and I took admission. We came home with treats, helium balloons and an Immy key chain!

Saturday

Saturday, October 18, 2008

A Friendly Horse

A horse lives next to the Dry Creek Grange, where we went to the community sale this morning. Simon and Imogen shared one of the apples we got with this friendly guy on our way home.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Gonzo!

"It's Gonzo Mama!" Immy exclaimed when she heard him chime in on her John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together CD. She loves The Muppets. Gonzo and Animal have been her favorites lately. Before them, it was Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear.

Today

Adored

Monday, October 13, 2008

Happy Birthday YaYa!

You've been amazing us for 9 years!

We love you!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Full of Questions

"Where are my grandparents?"

-Immy, yesterday

Fan Use May Cut SIDS Risk

   Using a fan while a baby is sleeping appears to significantly cut the risk of SIDS, according to new research.
   The study, which is being published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found that using a fan cut the risk of SIDS by 72%. The use of a fan in a room with a temperature higher than 69 degrees Fahrenheit was associated with a 94% decreased risk of SIDS compared with no fan use.
   The lead researcher in the latest study explained that fan use increases air movement in a baby's bedroom that could protect babies from re-breathing carbon dioxide.
   "It cannot be emphasized strongly enough, however, that there is no substitute for the most effective means known to reduce the risk of SIDS: always placing infants for sleep on their backs," [the] Special Assistant for SIDS Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a statement.
   Since 2005, it's also been recommended that infants use a pacifier. In 2005, [the lead researcher] released research from the same group of women used in the fan study, showing use of a pacifier cut the risk of SIDS by 90%. That finding helped back up recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics on adding pacifiers to the list of recommendations to cut SIDS risks.
   The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Kaiser Permanente.

Dooren, Jennifer Corbett. "Study Suggests Fan Use Cuts SIDS Risk in Babies." The Wall Street Journal October 7, 2008.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122334074835910025.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Becoming

I didn't really know what I wanted to do,
but I knew the woman I wanted to become.
-Diane von Furstenberg

Climbing Up Mountains

Immy climb mountains? That be fun?
Kids climb up mountains every day.

-Imogen, 2¼, noticing the first snow of the season on The Olympic Mountains

Dreams of Salamanders

Right before going to sleep on Friday night, Immy said:

I dream about salamanders and books.

I dream about houses and horses.

Oh my gosh, could I love her more?!

Since Imogen had a couple bad dreams, I have begun to suggest nice things to dream about as I say goodnight to her. I might say "I hope you dream about ponies and rainbows." I try to suggest things she's experienced lately. This night, she thought up her own good things and showed me that we've created a ritual for now.

I like that the salamander we saw on the Spruce Railroad Trail made an impression on Immy. After nearly running it over with the jog stroller, we stopped and I gently picked it up with two sticks to show her. Often these moments pass and we simply hope that what we've tried to impart has stuck, and other times we find out right away that the time we took was indeed the investment we hoped it would be.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Don't Ask

The Made-in-Italy "fruit cocktail" scented markers with the Saudi Arabian price tag that sold for $.69 at the Goodwill seemed like a good idea last night. Imogen started out drawing on paper but quickly moved on to her hands, face and feet.

Unfortunately, soap and water did little to fade Immy's new look. She was devastated when she saw her face in the mirror after her bath. We haven't reminded her of it this morning and don't plan to. When we leave the house today, I want to pin a sign to her shirt that says "Don't ask!"

Thursday, October 9, 2008

The Living Forest

Olympic National Park Visitor Center

Port Angeles

Today

Clockwise from upper left: Immy was drawn to the "moose/elk" diorama; a tree round dating to the 1300s!; the kids' ranger station in the Discovery Room; running on The Living Forest Trail

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Little You

Never forget how you felt as a kid.
Look little you in the eye
each time you encounter a child.
-From "My Heroes" by Kimya Dawson

Chocolate Suite

Imogen dances after eating chocolate

Today

A Day at School

Top: Immy having snack

Below: Friends Reid and Cash

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Lake

Spruce Railroad Trail

Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park

Sunday

Economy-Class

I found this Port Angeles-made rocking "A-plane" at the Goodwill for $14.99!

Saturday

Farm Tour

Friends of the Fields, a grassroots organization "dedicated to preserving farmland and supporting agriculture" in Clallam County, participated in the Harvest Celebration Farms Tour on Saturday with an eight-farm tour of the Dungeness Valley.