Monday, November 21, 2011

Road Trip

Just one more day before the great 800 mile road trip to visit family up North - our first ever with Mandarin. 

Away We Go!
The timing for a virus to come and set up shop couldn’t have been any better. Lately our wee morning hours evenings have been worrisome; Mandarin gasps for breath and coughs relentlessly, wakes herself up, cries and reaches out for me. The distinct barking-of-a-seal-cough commonly known as Croup has invaded our camp. Begone! Pestilent virus! 

If only it were that easy. 

And so. Packing light. NOT happening - at all. Honestly, how does one pack light for freezing weather? We will be out a total of 6 days and with the forecast of snow, showers and more phlegm for Mandarin, I feel the overwhelming need to be prepared and to make sure she’s snug as a warm bug. Also, in light of recent health developments, we’ve decided to invite a fourth passenger into our car: the vaporizer. The only known weapon to create humidity and attack the croup with it’s power of steam particles. Beat that Tony Stark. 

I rock my snowflake jammies. 
Living in the Bay Area we have undoubtedly mastered the art of apparel layering. We’re used to our cool yet manageable upper 40’s. I notice this because ALL my clothes are for layering. No one definitive thick sweater, even my turtlenecks are thin. The general forecast for WA state weather: The week ahead they will be warming up to the 40’s. Warming being the operative word here. 


Mandarin being sick is a pain for me to watch. The coughing, shortness of breath - I wish I could suck this virus out of her and spit it out like snake venom.  Being sick for Mandarin pretty much means I’m not letting you and your Muumuu out of my sight, I will toss every single Morsel of food on the floor, and I will scream if you try to feed me Spinach ravioli one more time. And she did. Bloody murder, with her tongue sticking out. 

Meanwhile, our luggages are 99% packed. I remember coming across the simple truth of this quote somewhere in the nook and crannies of the internet. 

”When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” 
- Sophia Loren

Packing for a child and for cold weather is like mental olympics. There’s a parade of outfits involved, some stretching and the whole sport of being here there and everywhere to get everything folded, rolled, bagged, tied and vacuum sealed. And when all is done, we still think what else we may have possibly left behind. 

The kitchen sink, perhaps?





Friday, November 18, 2011

Friday Five : Three


1. Studiously sitting and paying attention. 
2. My First Bundt Cake (Pumpkin Spice Goodnesssssss)
3. Adorable Toddler Chairs. Randomly lined up on a street.
4. My (current) favorite necklace. I wonder what it will unlock. 
5. If she had to dress herself: A bucket on her head and shearling boots. For the win. 

Happy Friday! 

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Pocket Review : Apothederm Moisturizing Cream

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - for a daily moisturizer that actually works. For more than a week now I’ve ritualized smoothing out a new cream on my face: Apothederm Moisturizing Cream. In my attempt to demystify the jargon surrounding this product, words that some of us normal folk don’t quite understand because clearly Smart Peptides and Emollient-rich are not part of our Sunday brunch lingo.  I’ve loosely looked it up so here’s the skinny on the science behind this cream. 


Smart Peptides: Amino acids that precisely target the appearance of your skin and addresses issues such as: The appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Loss of elasticity. Loss of firmness and definition. Appearance of darkened areas or general unevenness of skin tone. Rough texture.
Thinning of the skin.  Basically, skin care science.

Emollient: e·mol·lient [ih-mol-yuhnt]  
adjective
having the power of softening or relaxing, as a medicinal substance; soothing, especially to the skin: emollient lotions for the face.

Paraben Free: Basically (Parabens) a class of chemicals commonly found in cosmetics, perfume, and skin creams that have been shown to cause certain health problems. 

I’ve religiously used this sample for more than a week and have seriously noticed a subtle glow even after I slap on my make up.  Rejuvenated skin?  Maybe. While I don’t entirely notice age lines disappearing just yet, I don’t exactly obsess over every single feathered line on my face either. I  do like the lightness of their formula, it’s easily absorbed within minutes of slathering it on my face with the hydrating effect of a thicker cream. It’s fragrance free, thank God, unlike some of the other well known creams out there I’ve tried that unfortunately left me (to the dismay of my husband) with a barking Eau-Le-Wet-Dog scent on my face.  In the spirit of less is more with regard to products for your skin, I would have preferred this cream to have some SPF denomination to eliminate the need of putting two creams instead of one.

Either way,  it would definitely make a wonderful gift regardless of age because - who doesn’t want fabulous skin? It’s hydration in a jar with the science of rejuvenated soft skin in the elemental harsh dryness of winter. Your skin is happy, hydrated and holiday ready. 

Enjoy a $10.00 discount now and throughout December when you shop at Apothederm by entering TENOFF when you checkout. Your skin will thank you! 





Yeah, you’re welcome.  




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Friday, November 11, 2011

Friday Five : Two



1. Kissies in the morning. Yeah, I wake up all made up in the morning. 
2. There's a real doll in there somewhere.
3. A Gandhi quote that we keep in our room as a reminder of how we can affect change for a better world for our children. It's written on a large stone that I took a photograph of in small shop in Carmel, CA a few years back.  
4. Whimsical mobile from HERE.
5. Cuties in the morning. 

It's always a great start to the weekend when your entire family spontaneously has lunch at your place. I just need to mention that for the first time I feel like an accomplished home cook because even with such a simple meal as Adobo Flakes with Queso Fresco and fresh tomatoes, Mandarin and my nephew, thoroughly enjoyed their lunch so much that he just had to say, "Auntie, yummy!". 

Happy Friday! 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Falling Back

Chores caught up with me and held me hostage all day yesterday, leaving me exhausted and incapable of reflecting on our little weekend of wonder. In spite of the threat of rain, Saturday, we drove about a hundred miles south to Monterey Bay to take Mandarin to the Monterey Bay Aquarium - to make memories. There will always be room for memories in this house. 




It really got me thinking; the huge responsibility we have as parents to give our children the gift of experiences and good memories before they venture out into the world on their own. And if you as a parent haven’t realized it yet, planning ahead is key, and a change of lifestyle definitely factors in. Children pay attention to every. single. thing. Yes. They’re watching you - not Children of the Corn watching you - but learning from you by example. These lessons and the bank of memories they carry with them will shape them to be the kind, responsible, brave, smart and happy adults we all hope them to be. 





Every second, the frame of a memory is created. We memorialize the occasion by remembrance, much like the very act of framing a photograph; the physical manifestation of memories.  It is terribly easy to take specific things for granted. I talk about gratitude and savoring the small things a lot because there are many days when I struggle to be thankful and complain about the silliest things. Today, it's my horrible pillow that keeps giving me stiff necks. It gets flat as a pancake. I should toss it. But then, gratitude...thank you for five hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Ok. So I'm still really learning how to use my camera in low light and as you can see in one of those photos, Mandarin is terribly whitewashed with the flash, though I liked the idea that I did get their reflection from the glass.
Much more lessons to be learned.  
Thank God for photos because, let’s be honest though: she will not remember. Not the fries and halibut she tried for the first time for lunch at Phils Fish Market or the glowing jelly fish that floated in a ballet spectacle right in front of her in a dark room of awed guests, or that while making our way through the crowd surrounding the display of Puffins, Mandarin turned around uninterested by bathing birds because she was more interested in watching the chorus of people watching the puffins. Too young to remember for sure, at least not this deep into her childhood and I cannot begin discuss how incredibly fortunate I feel to be be there. To be HERE. To be present during possibly the most significant and important years of her life. The part where she learns about love - and pretty much everything else that will build character in her later years. 

You know you want a bite. 



I am not a parenting expert, but I am a parent and I've come to realize that at the heart of my daughter's understanding and discernment is her sensitivity to feeling.  Children, I would assume are all similarly the same. They can feel if they are very much loved or neglected, sad, happy - all of which precedes language before they even fully understand what those emotions mean. 


I want her to always feel loved, appreciated and happy - all while she's still oblivious to the wiles of the world. I want to prolong her innocence for as long as I can because that is one magical thing that once lost, they may never get back.

Let's see. Who seems more excited for the splash of water?

So. Monterey Bay. This coastal town delivered wonders for our weekend. Glowing wonders. Mandarin touched a starfish for the first time, the cold water iced her fingers and the feel of the starfish, I could imagine it must have seemed so exotic. She had an unexpected close encounter with a Bat Ray that startled and fortunately, didn't scare her. And those moon jellies, simply put, were stunning and hypnotic in the blue glow that surrounded them. 



It almost felt heavenly. 





 Every second has to count. How to make it count; therein lies the challenge of parenthood. It is both difficult and similarly exciting. Especially with the holidays coming up, there are more occasions to celebrate, more memories to create. Memories that aren't just for her, they're ours too.

While on the subject of taking the time and making time to celebrate, it's - well - timely that we gained back an hour over the weekend too. A full hour to read a book do laundry do watch Oddities or learn how to put together a Beauchene skull. ..... I'll have to figure this one out in the next few days. 


These days the sun dips into the horizon by 5:30pm and the day settles into its jammies much earlier and so, snuggles are definitely in order. Books before bedtime, too (I've started reading her Christmas stories to acquaint her with Santa Clause, christmas trees, elves and all the trims of the holiday season).

And yes we've started brushing our tooofees (her teeth came out pretty late).  


She may not remember all the details. So we'll be here to remind her.  Tell her stories of how she cooed out for the birds, and called out to the fish and how when she saw the Kelp forest and all the fishes for the first time the shape of her dainty mouth was a perfect "O" for a most wondrous and perfectly uttered WOW

Friday, November 4, 2011

Friday Five: One


1. Peek-a-Boo!
2. Footsies
3. Our first carved holiday pumpkins - ever! What!?
4. Orange Lilies. Love.
5. Tell the caterers to replace the cured salmon gravlax with the fennel, raddichio, and endive salad. Absolutely. 


Happy Friday! 
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