Enchanted Chameleon

30 day photo challenge :: laughter

#tbt :: first month of blog '08

Decided to Throwback Thursday to the first month of my blog.  I decided to start recording my experience as a raw foodist.  We had Wednesday night dinners every week where I would go all out gourmet and our neighbours daughter Jessica and our friend Laura would join us as well.  It was such a great experience and a nice little tradition we had going on.  C was such a great eater then.  Not even remotely as picky as he is these days.  And of course, he was also still partially bald.

XO.
Suzanne 

~ mommy's little ninja's ~

So, a million years ago, my little man C turned 6.  

Ok, so it just feels like a million years.  It probably hasn't even been a million micro seconds, December still feels like an eon ago.

I was just downloading all the pics off my camera and I was happy to rediscover that day and share it here (I know, I just downloaded Decembers pics!  When it rains it pours, when your life is hard, your hard drive will go too!)

C's been heavy into Lego for a while now and at the time he was heavy in Ninjago (of course, he's been heavy into a million other things since then - million dollar post!).  We went with the Ninja theme, I couldn't handle anything too specific and it all turned out fine.  I found a great little martial arts studio in North Vancouver that had a phenomenal birthday party rental price that was a whopping $100 under the average cost of hosting an out of home birthday party.  That was thrilling in itself.  Naturally I barely slept that weekend and slaved away in the kitchen and sewing room to ensure mediocre perfection.  Believe me, I'm okay with mediocre.  I googled Ninja themed birthdays and what some people spent and made... uh, insane!  I proudly kept a budget and most of my sanity.  Being the gluten free people that we are it was more affordable to bake the goodies myself so I went all out.  The two exceptional pieces on the goodie table included Rice Krispie Square Sushi's and Roll's with Swedish Berry Fish and Ninja Bread Men to decorate when taking a break from all the action.

For 'goody bags', I went with funky ninja head bands.  I took my brightest and boldest and most Asian inspired fabrics and sewed one line of stictching.  That's it.  No finish, no edging, nothing. And they turned out fabulous.

It was a super fun event and a great memory I was happy to remember at this time.  Everyone was well exercised and well fed by the time they left.  What more can a parent want from hosting or attending a birthday.  I say bless the party that equally burns the same amount of sugar consumed!

XO.  S

Healthy Families BC :: Shopping Sense Giveaway

In my return to enchanting you (and me) I accepted a couple of invites to blogging events around town.  I thought it would help me get a little bit of my mojo back.  I had a fun and educational morning out with fellow Top 30 2012 Mom Bloggers at the Main Street Marketplace IGA and Dietician, Global BC One Bite at a TIme Correspondent and Model Avatar for the Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense BC website, Melodie Yong.  Overall we had a real live tour of the grocery store with lots of great info and facts from a Registered Dietician as is offered now virtually through the Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense site.  

Some of the great things that we learned from the tour and the new website include:

:: Planning weekly menus and shopping from a list makes it easy and affordable to make healthy choices in the grocery store.

:: How to use the Nutrition Facts table on packaged foods to make healthier choices.

:: Knowing food safety tips to ensure you serve your family fresh and wholesome foods.

My personal favorite and something I chat about often with my guests working the till at Whole Foods:

:: Don't shop hungry. (wink)

If you know me and my experience with healthy eating (former raw foodist, owner of a juice and smoothie truck, organizer of green smoothie challenges) I do feel a mite bit smug that I already know all I need to know and then some about food going into this. However the tour was a great reminder of my own weakness for striving for perfection. Whether my shopping has taken a downward slope or the downward slope is my nose that I'm looking along into someone else's shopping cart we all have to remember:  Do we want to be perfect or do we want to be happy. (Normally I say right instead of perfect but I think it's the same thing here!)  I'm hope we agreed that the answer was HAPPY!  Basically, we moms need to give ourselves credit where credit is due. With best intentions we set out daily or weekly to the dreaded or pleasurable grocery store depending on how many if any children we are wrangling that day and we deserve to make it easy on ourselves.

Two things I especially liked about the tour and the Site is the opportunity to get our children involved:

:: Get them in on the menu planning and list making.

:: Get them to pick out one of anything they want to try in the produce section.

This second will help stretch ourselves outside our comfort zones and maybe discover new recipes and favorites. And if I may add one further point:

:: Never shop when they are hungry. (wink wink)

A little fun grocery related activity that C and I partook in not so long ago was getting one of every pear variety that was offered in the store and doing a little taste testing.  Each day we sampled a different variety of pear and compared it to the previous pears we had tried our. Nothing exotic by any means.  Just pure, local, fresh fun.

And since all my experience as a healthy foodie comes from reading and not actual registered studies, it does help to take note of the information that hangs out so easily in a Registered Dieticians brain the way green smoothies hang out in mine:

::  4 grams of sugar is equal to one sugar cube (when reading sugar gram labels)

:: 100 extra calories is an extra mile of walking (for us ladies trying to keep it trim)

:: Although I've never had a problem with drinking my calories it is valid to note that even smoothies can become a calorie drinking frenzy when adding high fat food like yogurts and such.  I like to keep mine simple with just fruit and veggies (and don't forget to brush your teeth after if you spend a lot of time sipping them)

:: By the bone meat is fattier.  (just something good to know and simple to remember)

 

And in all her Model Avatar glory, Melodie Yong right smack dab at the front door of the IGA.

And now the part you've been waiting for, the big giveaway.  I am very excited to be giving away two $50 gift cards for Safeway provided by the Healthy Shopping BC Team that put together the tour and the website.  Just comment below and tell me what you think about the Shopping Sense website whether you like it or not, find it helpful, etc.  Give it a good exploring as I would love to see your feedback on it.  The contest is open to BC Residents only and will be open until Friday March 22nd at 12 am PST.  Two winners will be announced.  One entry per person.

Two winners of the Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense Giveaway:

Brandee

Taryrn

Thanks for stopping by friends.  Hope to see more of you in the weeks to come!  XO.  S

~ the great big boo review ~

I had the chance to take the boys (C and his friend) to see the Great Big Boo a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to report back.  This particular production company does other seasonal shows here in Vancouver (namely, The Magic of Santa coming up next month).  I'll review from two perspectives: the boys and mine.

The boys loved it.  They were on the edges of their seats trying to take it all in.  There was some dancing and lots of giggles.  C continued to figure it out and ask me questions for days after the show and he has referenced the story and characters a couple of times when trying to figure things out in relation to Halloween and being scared and such.  C didn't want to leave after, he was having lots of fun and I guess was kind of hoping for more when it was all said and done. On a scary scale of 1 being least to 10 being very, they initially gave me a 2 acknowledging that what was going on was scary but knowing they were just people in costumes and there was nothing to be scared of.  C later changed it to a higher score, perhaps more of a 5, admitting that it had scared him a little more than he first mentioned.

As for me, it was a super fun show to share with the boys.  The price was high in my opinion, 19.50 per general admission seat which feels steep for 6 year olds.  I can't imagine buying a ticket for that price for a child any younger.  I'm frugal and I like to spend my money and time wisely, but I do prefer experiences over things and this did fit the bill.  

As a grown up that doesn't like cartoons and is a bit cynical about children stuff, I'm not a huge fan of cartoony characters with huge heads.  However, speaking as an ex-actor and musical theatre snob the overall costumes, singing, choreography and casting was great and well enjoyed by the audience.  I especially enjoyed watching the children cast perform.

A big concern of mine was would it in fact be a non-scary performance as advertised.  C can be quite sensitive and the last thing I wanted was him to be up all night plagued by a giant head character.  I had high expectations going in so perhaps I'm a little hard them.  Part of the lesson of the show was to learn how not to be scared of things.  On the scary scale, I gave it a higher 7 right off the bat.  My anxiety went right up from the first sound of scary music and when the witch took the stage for her performance I saw several smaller children leave their seats for parents laps.  Being a Waldorf parent I'm very particular about keeping things non-scary, and if I had ones younger than 5-6 with me I would have rated it as a 9.  That's just my experience of scary with a sensitive child.  

Finally, CONCESSION.  I think I'm just naive walking into a place like the PNE Forum and not expecting a concession of junk food and expensive popcorn and pop combos and of course, souvenirs for sale.  I did my best to avoid the variety of candy apples and have the boys just settle with the free trick or treating that took place after the show.  Moral of that story is, I run a Juice Caboose specifically to see that healthier options are available to families in and around Vancouver at markets and events, I would have been happy to attend such a show.

In the end, I'm going with the boys vote for loving it.  I loved attending with them and watching them discover and enjoy it too much.  I also love having as many opportunities to dress up in our Halloween costumes as we can and the boys seemed to enjoy that too.  I'm sure the The Magic of Santa has nothing scary to be worried about and is just as enjoyable.  Happy Halloween!  XO.  S 

~ rhythm of the home :: autumn edition 2012 ~

Things have been so busy hectic lately that I missed the first day of the Autumn Edition of Rhythm of the Home going up.  But that's ok.  It's still crazy sunny and warm here and it feels as though autumn is giving me plenty of time to ease my way in.  Here's a peak and the things that have peaked my interest for the season.  There is still plenty more articles to browse and Enjoy! XO.  S

Starting in the top, going down left to right:  1.  Pretty Fall Scarf  2.  Autumn Festivals  3.  10 Steps Towards Getting the Break You Need, Tired Mama, Without Relying on TV  4.  Capturing the Season ::  Autumn Photography Tips  5.  When the Student is Ready  6.  Four Fall Simplicity Seeds  7.  Autumn Reading List  8.  Simple Newborn Hat and Mitten Set  9.  Using the Kitchen as a Place to Bond  10.  Hearty Potato Leek Soup  11.  Sew Your Own Reusable Sandwich Bags

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama

~ our belated may festival ~

"Many people don't believe in fairies, but if you look real close they're always there"  ~ Torlila

We finally got our Post-Pertussis May Festival.  C wasn't sick with it but it made its round through the school and the city as I understand it over the past couple of months and finally appears that we are all in the clear.  We had rescheduled our previous date for the May Festival since whether it was whooping cough or not, teachers and students were sick and there wasn't much to celebrate.  It worked out wonderfully as I see it, because we had a beautiful day and maybe a few more flowers in bloom than we may have a few weeks ago.  

C wasn't into it at first.  C is a very 50/50 type personality, you-never-know-when-it's-gonna-hit, wants to jump right in versus wants to stand back and take it all in first kind of guy.  As his mama, I'm the closest to figuring out the patterns and methods of his madness but assume once I do he'll change.  May Festival and the May Pole were no exception to wanting to stand back and observe. When I took my turn to join in on the May Pole though, I found my little C next to me with a ribbon in his hand, as always, he knew what was going on and exactly what to do, he just had to get there on his own.  

It was a beautiful little celebration and intro for us into the May Festival.  I have long wanted to dance around a May Pole and we can officially check that off my Bucket List.  I look forward to more elaborate dances in the future!

A little picnic buffet followed while the children jingled with bells on and frolicked in the yard. I absolutely have to get the recipe for the raw vegan dip.  It was nice to know that I'm not the only one that just stands in front of food and eats to her hearts content.  There was a few of us hovering over the same food and what a wonderfully wholesome selection there was. I believe I even instructed C at one point to just stand there and eat!  I do love a good dip though!  My strong suit is always sweets so it's always my preference to hover over the savoury at a shindig.  This will most likely be my new go to recipe for the summer.

Our contribution were gluten and dairy free pineapple blossom cupcakes.  I was inspired by a beautiful pineapple blossom cake at Food Coma Blog by Emma.  I was originally going to make it a cake but realized at the last second that cupcakes were much more suitable for a picnic.  No cutting, no utensils necessary.  The dried pineapple flowers are a Martha Stewart recipe, however I found that the best flowers came out of my dehydrator as opposed to the oven.  I'm always amazed at how quickly my baked stuff gets scooped up.  If they only knew my track record as a baker in my early years.  I couldn't even measure the right amount of water into a cake-in-the-box mix and these days I can substitute and even eyeball mesurements.  Go me.  

It was a truly beautiful little event.  Feels like it's just the beginning of what is in store for us for the summer.  YUM. XO.  S 

~ sweet, sheep, sleep ~

It was an awesome day at the 32nd Annual Sheep Shearing Festival.  We sold lots of drinks, had lots of fun and needed lots of sleep by the end of it all.  Thank you to the Sun, we're always happy when she shows up for our events, and to all our peeps that came out to celebrate with us.  It was hard to keep up with all the goodness.  

A special thanks to my friend Heather and her Hubby for keeping this monkey off my back.  Oh my!  He's such a great sidekick.  He even washed the truck for me afterwards.  Sigh.  Someone is teaching him well.  And then for my favourite part of the day...

If I could get all the stuff that I have to get done at the end of a car ride at the end of an event....  

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  XO.  S

~ wolftress and cub ~

I'm in love with this painting.  One of my bestees, a fellow kula member, painted it.  Just had to share some beauty and talent.  Spread the love.  More details on this paiting and the beautiful wolftress behind it can be found here.  

I love the little dedication to the Kula Clan near the end.  

"My Kula. My clan of women whom without you my life would lack such great depth and understanding. Ours is a wolf pack of strong Alpha females who arise to power in that of nurture."

LOVE.  XO.  S