Holistic Mommy

As many of you know, I like food and I like healthy food. I went years without eating sugar. From around my child's first year of life until six years ago (about 9 years total), if sugar was on the label I did not purchase it; I didn't bake with it and I just didn't eat it. (I did, however, have organic, dark fair trade on hand at all times.) Through this, I got to the point where sugar was something I had no interest in, nor any craving for. My child was not raised on sugar -- it was just our norm. When we changed cities, however, this changed drastically. Moving is something that always affects my eating and cooking habits as without my stores and shopping route of little markets, I get thrown way off-track. It takes a lot of leg work to rebuild that. Also, while working from home all those years, I had full control over my meals at all hours of the day. Work and school environments, however, are notorious for offering despicable choices of food. Sometimes I cave and some...

Over the course of her lifetime, we have gone up to the headwater to collect spring water. This came about after going hiking and adventuring with a friend who wanted to show me the spring. With very simple access, it is just on the side of the road of one of our favorite outdoor play places. We've been passed it numerous times and I had never even realized it! After being shown this spring, I dreamed of having spring water as our regular drinking water. The reality however, is that I was not able to get there regularly nor did I think it made sense to drive that far to gather our water. We continued to drink tap water and with great gratitude made trips to the spring when we were out that way. Recently, and after a decade after being shown that spring, there has been a big shift in our lives. There is a huge sense of heading to the springs regularly. This has been floating within me over the past week or two. Soon after, we found ourselves at the spring filling our big jugs for ...

We carved pumpkins today! I wanted to make an evil gerbil. I needed a reference and our gerbil, Sparkle, provided a great one. Little One also got to work on something awesome -- I call hers, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'. She says it has acne.

This bike is, by far, the best item a housemate has left behind. It is a Nirve Aloha Beach Cruiser. Let me tell you this kid absolutely rocks it. If my phone wasn't broken I would be able to share pictures of her riding it in true confident-kid-on-a-beach-cruiser style with her big floppy hat and sundress.

Through thick and through thin, we got Little One up to the top of a mountain everyday for a week this summer. She volunteered in tbe outdoor recreation program where I was working. Can I tell you how incredible it is to witness your growing youth out in the world. Such a kind, aware, filled-with-life human she is -- she turned heads up at that camp this week. She received big kudos from managers and supervisors throughout as well as an offer for employment next summer. The best part, of course, is the staff skipass she has earned for this winter.      

'Motherload' is a ski documentary about two single mom's, Izzy Lynch and Tessa Treadway. My friend, a solo mother of two and I, a solo mama of one, are this story. We are the reason we each get up to the hill. We wait for each other in parking lots, let each other cry in our vehicles, but in the end we get each other to the hill. She is the reason my child can now ski black diamonds and landed a job at the moutain next summer. I am the reason her child is now shredding and kicking butt as a snowboard instructor. We are the reason we manage to be pass holders each year and make it to the hill multiple times per week. Sometimes I get to the hill and realize my child and I were just there to have a hot chocolate and go home. Sometimes I realize my gear was stolen. It takes each of us 50 minutes to drive to the mountain -- but one time it took three hours. My kid kicks ass. I am so proud of her. Arctery'x has sponsored these moms and they now have a series. Go watch ...

The neighbourhood cat comes inside. Of all the rooms, and all the floors in the house...       He wanders upstairs and right into the bathroom. A t-shirt is hanging up. The cat sniffs the shirt...      He jumps directly up, up into the shirt -- and falls directly back down. With a thud he lands. He is in the shirt.       He tumbles around...       And soon emerges. Kitty is wearing the shirt. Somehow I was there to catch it all on camera... This is a true story about our neighbourhood cat. Have a nice day.