Camping in the Redwood Groves

 Jay and I have hired one of the older kids from our girls' school to babysit for us tonight.  She was Lila's first grade buddy and was on Bun's track team, so both of the kids are comfortable with her.  While I was arranging the night with her mom, her mom mentioned that they are big campers and have camped all over CA but always go back to a campground up north called Hendy Woods State Park.

Jay and I, being the  newly crowned spontaneous adventurers that we are, decided to head up there on one of his days off.

So on Thursday morning we set out on the three hour drive, up past the wineries and vineyards and into the mountains.  The only downside to Hendy is that in order to get there you have to drive on the windiest roads that I have ever encountered (and I grew up in Colorado).  I mean, they are, carsick, pukefest windy... and you have to be on them for over an hour.   I'm not going to lie.  It was rough...  Scenically beautiful, but rough.  Even Groovy James puked in his carrier.

Once we got there we at lunch and settled into the cabin that we rented.  Last week we froze while camping in Santa Cruz, so this week we opted for a cabin with a little wood burning stove.  It's funny, because as far as luxury camping is concerned, this site is WAY more rustic than the KOA, and yet our experience was so much nicer.

One thing that I love about these cabins (and I would NEVER have rented one otherwise) is that the bunk beds do not have mattresses or bedding.  They are just platforms.  So you bring your own air mattresses and bedding and use that.  Anyone who reads my blog knows how scared I am of bedbugs, so I can not imagine being able to sleep on a mattress that I didn't bring from home.  The very thought is making me feel itchy.

This is the little stove.  We only put two or three logs in it and it really got this little cabin warmed up at night.

It also has a little table and chairs.  There's a picnic table outside where we ate our meals, but I can imagine that this table and chairs would come in handy during the rainy season.

 The actual campsite felt like we were deep in Little Red Riding Hood's forest.  This is the kind of camping that I love. We could drive our car up to the site and have all of the comforts of home, and yet still feel like we were experiencing nature.

The Santa Cruz KOA sort of felt like we were 20 years old and camping at a music festival.  A good time, but not necessarily what I love the most when I camp.

These are pictures from around the site.  There were very, very few other people camping and while hiking we only saw two other people.  We had the feeling of having this park practically to ourselves.  There were a few tents and a few campers, but I don't think that any of the other 3 cabins were occupied.

It only cost $10 more to rent a cabin, so think it was completely worth it.

After setting up and exploring our campgrounds, we set out on a hike.  Our mission was to find water.  The girls put on their swimsuits and grabbed some towels and bottles of water, and we set out.

Unfortunately the dogs were not allowed on these trails with us.  I can see why.  There are all sorts of creatures that I imagine would stay far from humans but might feel differently about a leashed dog.  We put the dogs in their carriers and secured them in the cabin.  I felt bad about it... but it was for their own safety.

 The Redwoods are just breathtaking.  I happen to really like trees as it is... but these trees are incredible.

Somewhere in this park, there is a huge redwood trunk that a man lived in for a long stretch of time.  They call him the Hendy Hermit.  The next time we camp here it will be my goal to find it.  Our trip was so short this time (after all, we had to be home for our big date tonight) that we could only have one goal... and it was to find a river to play in.

But along the trail, there was a lot of playing to be done.

Finally, after hiking for about 2 hours, we made it!

And we were all wading around and splashing, feeling at one with nature when Bunny kicked over a piece of drift wood and a dead rat came floating out and heading down stream.

And then I freaked out and ordered everyone out of the water.

Yes, I know it's nature.  I am sure that there are lots of dead things in every stream...

But...

it couldn't have been any more nasty.

The image will be forever branded on my brain.

 This is a picture of Bunny going on and on about the discovery of the rat.  She would later tell us that seeing it had been the highlight of her trip.

 I had to take a picture of this tree.  I don't know why there's not a trail to it called, "Phallic Tree Trail" or something.

When we got back to our cabin I put out appetizers and started to cook.

We put out hummus and veggies, mexican 7 layer dip and chips and I got started on dinner.

For dinner I made baked potatoes, chicken breasts and salad.

I totally love camp-cooking on my little grill and eating outside.  While our kids munch on veggies, Jay starts a fire and I pour a glass of wine.

I think that I love creating home spaces when we are not at home.

 After dinner we took the dogs for a walk around the campgrounds.

The girls played and climbed on everything!

And we came back and roasted marshmallows.

 We are doing some serious roughing it.  That's our portable dvd player.  Bunny and Lila are chilling out in bed, watching icarly.

When it got chilly we started a little fire in the stove.

And Jay and I stayed up till the wee hours, sitting by the fire, talking.

In the morning we got up and I made breakfast burritos.  Then we started packing up and headed out with the dogs on a hike before starting the long trek home.  

Even though Groovy-James got sick in the car, I really think that the dogs both love coming on these adventures with us.  Also, I think that it's been great for Groovy, who tends to be very standoffish with strangers.  They are both very well behaved while we are away and when we get home they are always exhausted.  

Both of them laid like this on my lap, lifelessly, for ages last night.

This was a wonderful camping trip.  I can see how someone could really make Hendy Woods a home away from home.  I can't wait to return.  But the next time we go it will really need to be for longer than one night.  It's too long a drive and there are too many things to see and do there to spend that much time in the car.  

I am thinking of taking the kids back there in September for a few nights!  

Weight Update 14 Weeks

I have been feeling really great lately!  For the first time in so long I feel happy, healthy and in control of my life.  This has been a very tough, painful journey for me and I have learned so much about myself.  I am acknowledging things about myself that I have ignored and have hidden for most of my life.  In the process, I am  healing and accepting and becoming healthier and more self-aware.  Though this began as a weight loss journey, I have done far more than lost a few pounds.  I have faced demons and tackled flaws and slayed dragons (dragons who breathe cheese fries).  A few pairs of my smallest jeans fit again and I'm technically only 1 pound overweight!

Mentally I've been in a great place this week.  I have been eating a diet of mostly raw vegetables, lean protein, vegetable fats (lots of avocados and olive oil) and lots and lots and lots of tomatoes.  Tomatoes are my favorite thing these days.  Honestly, I think that there is very little that is as delicious as a sliced tomato dripping with olive oil, sliced garlic and sprinkled with pepper.  YUM.  I'm also snacking on things like cherry tomatoes dipped in hummus and mixing chick peas in my salads.

I feel great and I know that my nutrition grade is a B+ or higher each day on my calorie count ap. I am getting very close to my calorie target each day, sometimes going a few calories over and occasionally coming in a few hundred calories below.  Really, it depends on how active I am each day.  I am finding that planning my food ahead of time is incredibly helpful to me, as one of the traps that I tend to fall into is mindless eating and a poor concept of portion. When I pre-assign an amount that I should eat, I am less likely to take seconds or pick here and there as I'm cooking.  Also, I have stopped eating the food that my children leave behind on their plates (something that I am so guilty of) by asking them to scrape them in the trash when they are done eating.

All in all I had a great week.  I did a weigh in today and I actually took off a lot of weight, which s strange because I maintained my weight for so many weeks while fewer calories.  The body is a funny machine.  I'm not sure why I lost so much weight all of the sudden, but I am not worried because I have been super healthy and in a good place!

Now we are off to the Redwoods for a camping trip!  I love California!  There's so much to explore.  I am bringing a bottle of white wine and am looking forward to sipping a few glasses by the campfire after a day of hiking and swimming and exploring.

Being A Stay At Home Mom Is A Real Job

I have been thinking a lot about my role in our family lately.  And I've been thinking a lot about my role in life as well.  I've said in this blog before that I've never been a career driven person.  I actually went to college for an education rather than job training and as a way to pass the time while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.

I had very little experience with children when I fell into momming.  Though I had always wanted kids and always considered/ prided myself on being something of a nurturer, I didn't know that it would be my calling in life.  I couldn't have predicted how satisfying I would find this role in my family.  I'd never suggest that a mom who also balances a career finds motherhood less satisfying than me.  That would be ridiculous, so I don't want to misrepresent my opinion.  The difference between she and I is that motherhood is my career.  I don't make any money, but I sure do save us a bundle.  I can't imagine how much it would cost to pay for before and after school care every day, pay for a tutor to help with homework, pay for someone to drive my kids to after school activities and sport events and pay for someone to provide breakfast, lunch and snacks.  I think that's probably very expensive.  But if you have a career that you love and fulfills you, it's likely worth it to shell out the dough for someone else to provide excellent care for your children.  I don't have a career that I love and I don't have any job that I am interested in doing...  so, why the societal pressure to do something different than what's working for me?

Why in the world do people feel the need to pressure and guilt stay-at-home mom's to get jobs when their kids go to school?   No one has EVER asked my husband if he was going to get a second job to fill his down time.  Why am I expected to?  It boggles my mind.  People say these rude, arrogant, demeaning things like, "Oooooh.  I would just be so bored..."  Guess what?  When you have two little girls who are barely 16 months apart in age and are 7 and 8 years old... folding laundry, washing dishes and scrubbing your floors in peace and quiet is not boring, IT IS LUXURY.

Pardon my tangent, but it's like this:  I work my fucking ass off 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and I have for the past 8 years.  It took Bunny 7 years to sleep through the night.  7 YEARS.  Jay is a great dad, but when my girls are sick/cranky/tried/needy/upset/fighting or sad, I am the one that they come to and need.   I always have been. I am the one who disciplines.  I am the problem solver. I am the one who does our grocery shopping and am responsible for everything that goes into my children's mouths.   I work tirelessly creating healthy meals that take me hours to make.  I take them to sports and sit through (excruciating) practices.  I take them to school and I pick them up and I sit at our kitchen table with them for hours upon hours every afternoon working on homework, making sure that my children understand each and every new concept that they've been taught.  Usually as they do this they are eating a healthy, homemade snack.  I am by their side, sleeping in their beds when they are sick.  Any opportunity to be in their classroom- I am THERE.  Any opportunity to help out in the school in any capacity- I take it.  I am in the front row at every performance (even the performances that just happen in our back yard.) that they have.  I am crafting with them.  I am joking with them.  I am having deep heart to hearts and mending their hurt feelings when someone has made them feel badly.  And on top of that, I run a tight ship and keep a pretty clean home and keep our pets all alive (for the time being).

I work really, really, really hard.  I mean, REALLY hard.  And I love the work that I do.  I don't find it mundane.  I don't find it tedious.  I understand that other people have or would.  People are always very quick to loudly express how unfulfilling my job is.  But parenting is my career.  Someday my children will go to college and I will semi-retire, but for the next 11 years, this is what I want to do with my life.

I am very lucky because Jay has a good job.  I appreciate this so much because at one point we were really struggling financially and I had to go to work.  I loved my job but I was exhausted.  The fact was that I did everything that I do now, and I went to work for six hours a day while my girls were in school and missing time with them on the weekends.  And I ended up feeling incredibly stressed out and emotionally and physically taxed...

So, why, when I have a few hours a day to work alone, in my home and enjoy life, should I be expected to get a job?  I am a person not just a mother.  I have interests.  When my girls are at home I don't' have the time to peruse those interests or do much but parent my children- which is the way it should be.  But I would like to be able to do other things as well.  I mean, Jay has hours upon hours upon hours of down time on his days off when we are all sleeping, but no one suggests that he should fill this time with some money-making strategy.  It's just so sexist.  And it pisses me off.

Picture of the Day

Dear Lila Holler,

Who were you in your last life?

I just found my six year old "relaxing" in her room after a long, warm bubble bath.  She asked me if we have any "guacamole" to rub all over her face.

I said no, (in case you were wondering.)

Garden at 13 Weeks

UPDATE

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When I went outside to pick the ripe tomatoes for my salad tonight they were ALL GONE.  And next to my garden sits a bowl from my kitchen and the remnants of ranch dressing.  This could only mean one thing: Lila strikes again.

I am starting to see some real progress in places that there wasn't much this week.  Everyone (even Jay) seems excited to see the baby watermelon plumping up and turning into juicy little fruit!  Also, my pumpkin are sprawling and got their very first flower.  

But first, let me talk about my very first plant to produce a vegetable.  My crookneck squash plant.  How big are crookneck squash supposed to grow?  The plant itself is giant, not growing in vines like my other squash, but it's the size of a bush with huge branches that are growing up and out and are producing gigantic squash.  

Yesterday I picked and cooked this monster squash that is much larger than my HEAD!!!!!!!  

 Here are a few little squash that are growing from one of the limbs that sprouted outside of the garden plot.  And this is only a few!  I will bet the farm that there are at least 20 squash in there that will be read to eat within the next few days.

 This plant is over 3 feet tall now.

I couldn't bear to look at my yellow, wilted watermelon and cuke's any longer.  Yesterday I picked them out of this garden bed and pulled up the plastic from under the compost bags.  The problem was pretty obviously that the roots weren't able to break through the bottom of the bags.  The green that you see popping up around this garden is rogue peppermint.  I think that I'll pick it all out and make a bit of tea this afternoon!

While Dancer was staying with us he jumped into my whisky barrel and dug up all of my pepper plants.  I replanted them, but was concerned that they wouldn't make it because their roots were ripped apart by a little Chihuahua.  Luckily, they seem to be doing okay.  

These Cardinal Climbers are probably my favorite (or close to it) thing in my garden.  I just think that they are so beautiful and I can't wait until they reach the top of my pergola.  Does anyone know if I should be repotting them into something larger?

Acorn Squash!  They are around the size of my fist now!

 Okay, so my round zucchini had hit a lull in production for a week or so... which was good because I was running out of things to do with it.  I have both eaten a lot of zucchini and I have also given a lot away.  Something happened when we left for our camping trip.  When we came home we had an insane amount of round zucchini that had somehow quadrupled in size.  Here is a shot of a patch on a vine.  There are three huge round zucchini there.  I mean, I have so much zucchini that I will need to begin chopping and freezing it.  It's just... too much.  It's only 9 am here and I've already made a zucchini quiche and put a pot of pasta sauce on and have zucchini simmering in it for a vegetable lasagna.

And do you know what else I think I'll do, bread and pan fry some thinly sliced zucchini and make a little tray of zucchini Parmesan using daiya mozzarella (which I bought for the lasagna).

I think that all of this cooking means that I'm ready for Fall.  But does fall really happen in Concord, California?  That is yet to be seen.

 The zucchini vines are stretching out to the street.

 I give it 14 days before it hits the pavement.

I've been using my jalapenos here and there.  They are getting pretty big on both plants!  Does anyone have a good recipe for them?  I already have a great popper recipe, anything else?

I am so in love with my corn plants!  You know, I feel the same way about them as I do about the cardinal climbers and my pumpkins and zucchini.  There is a certain pride that is great when you grow something successfully from a seed.  A few of my plants come from seeds and a few come from seedlings (like my tomato, watermelon and peppers).  I am always excited to see growth and production, no matter how I started the plant.  But growing from seeds is sort of an ultimate accomplishment for me.  

My cucumbers have their first flowers!

You are looking at ripe tomatoes for my salad tonight!  There are SO MANY tomatoes in there and they are DELICIOUS.  When I say "so many," I mean, at least 100.  Most of them are still green... but can you imagine all of the delicious things that I can make when they are ripe?  Or, even just giving them to my girls to snack on with a little bit of dip (one of their favorite things).  

 This is another one of my tomato plants.  It was the last plant to get flowers and baby tomatoes, but it's looking good to me!  Does anyone know what fried green tomatoes are?  I think I need to google it!  I am in a cooking mood.

 This beefsteak tomato is the first to start ripening!

I am looking forward to pumpkins!  I have two pumpkin plants here.  This is my first flower but I have high hopes.  I want each of the girls to be able to pick a pumpkin for Halloween and I'd really like to make pumpkin pie from scratch with my own pumpkins for Thanksgiving.  

I've saved the best for last.  Here are two maturing watermelon.  They are the cutest things in my garden and we all love them.  I saw another baby that is smaller than a grape, but I have a lot of flowers and imagine that there will be more to come.  I am SO glad that I planted this.  I considered giving it away or tossing it out.  I didn't have room in the bed in my backyard where I planted the other watermelon (the watermelon that didn't grow and that I plucked out and provided "the true death" to.)  I stuck these in my front yard near a strip of rose bushes.  This plant is now a huge vine and is wrapping around the rose bushes.  

Camping Trip

When we left Concord on Thursday it was in the 90's and likely nearing 100 degrees.  We pulled out of our driveway with our children, dogs, a million supplies and the air conditioning blasting.  At some point Jay looked at his phone and said, "According to this, it's only 67 degrees here."  We rolled the windows down and low and behold, the temperature in Santa Cruz was shockingly low.  When we got there, in the hottest part of the day, we were all a little bit chilly.  Jay hadn't even brought a sweatshirt and had to buy one at the KOA giftshop (I am just counting the moments until I can make it mine, as I do with all of his sweatshirts... mwahhahahah...).  I hadn't packed for the cool temperatures and so we had to layer.  I put on every shirt that I had brought (4 of them) and a sweatshirt (but I am always too cold) and I put the kids in sweatshirts till the sun went down... then I layered them in pi's.  

 This is our little camping site!  It was small, but not nearly as tiny as so many of the reviews said that it would be.  Luckily, we had nice neighbors on both sides and I found the campgrounds to be generally quiet (though, if you didn't have children I wouldn't recommend it because the Santa Cruz KOA is really a children's campground paradise.)

They have what they call the "beach zone" that has sand and a really nice playground.  It also has mini-golf, this jumpy thing that is a hybrid between a trampoline and a jump house, banana bike rentals and a huge climbing tree.  They also have an inside video arcade for kids there.  This was empty while we were camping, but I can see how it would be a lifesaver on a rainy day.

In the afternoon we headed over to the beach.  The water in Santa Cruz is warm enough to swim in, but not that day.  It was also very rough with waves (but probably good surfing).

We had to walk down around a million stairs to get to the beach.  The going down was fine, the up admittedly hurt a little bit.  I think it was hardest on Sidney, who is blind and feels the incline with her nose before she jumps up.  I can only imagine how confused she must have been.

 When we got back to the campground, the girls rented banana bikes and zipped around the campground.  Lila was especially difficult to keep up with.  We ended up walking a ton and and finding a great little dog park to unleash Groovy James and Sidney in.

We got back to the site and washed up for dinner.  I put appetizers out and used our new camping grill.  This is the first camping grill that I've ever had. In the old days when I camped I'd just bring cold food and that would be that.  This is the first time that I've ever brought food and supplies for actual meals in a huge cooler.

Funny story.  We forgot to pick up the leftover food from Sidney and Groovy's dinner and when Jay was coming back from the bathroom, late at night, he bumped into a skunk eating and drinking up the remaining food and water.

After dinner, Jay took the girls down the pool.  It was heated and pretty nice for being on a koa campground.  It was also heated and I think was far more comfortable than just being in your pi's.  I wish that I could have gone in, but no pets were allowed and I wanted to clean up after dinner.

 When everyone got back the fire was really going and the sun was coming down, so it was the perfect time for roasting marshmallows.

I don't know how cold it was in that tent but the night was not the most comfortable nights sleep that I've ever had.  I packed blankets for Concord weather, not for Santa Cruz and that was a mistake.  We all survived, and now we know... but... I have never been so glad to have Sidney and Groovy curled up under the covers, one pressed to my belly and the other pressed to my back.  Little heaters.

This is what we look like when we are standing on a beach and taking pictures of each other.

Dorkiest couple ever.

Weight Update 13 Weeks

My post yesterday says just about everything, so I don't have much to write today.

I am feeling much better than I was three months ago and am just generally really proud of myself for making healthy choices and not beating myself up when I have a little splurge here and there.  I am learning that splurges and treats are a valuable part of life and so long as I am honest about them and I plan them, they are well worth it.   With some hard work I am wearing down my all-or-nothing mentality and honestly I am feeling pretty good about myself for a change!

This week I lost 1 pound, which brings my total to 32 pounds in 13 weeks.

Today we are leaving for a camping trip and I'm trouble shooting a potential food trap by planning my food ahead of time.  I have allotted myself lots of great treats and even a couple of beers, but I am staying within my calorie target.  I find that it helps me a lot to know how much I can eat before I sit down to a meal.  If I have boundaries, I normally will not overstep them.  When I don't, I miscalculate how much I can/should eat.