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We keep this enormo strainer under our sink for containing the compost indoors. And it gets full pretty quickly. I’d recommend keeping your compost covered to avoid fruit flies (we use an aluminum pizza pan that also has holes in it)–ours is improvised, but you can easily purchase an actual indoor compost pail at Target or on Amazon, or whatnot. Here’s our post on composting for beginners from last summer: here {Composting For Beginners}. What we’ve learned since last year is that compost is truly amazing insofar as it builds on itself, and springtime means lots of compost for your garden. So the second year in means a lot more fertilizer for you. I also learned that I wish I had an indoor composter during the winter. Can we say worm farm? Vermiculture! My eldest sister and her partner have a vermiculture compost in their condo. Pretty intense stuff. Note, Nina is following AA like a hound dog because she desperately believes that the compost holds treasures for her. Our big old compost pile, when you dig in a little, has beautiful beautiful compost. On the surface, it looks like we abandoned our produce scraps. Which I suppose we did. AA unearthed over 40 gallons of compost for the beginning of our gardening this spring. Ah-mazing.
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Most people have seen the controversial cover of Time Magazine, or perhaps read the Motherhood vs. Feminism debate at the New York Times revolving around Attachment Parenting, the parenting theory coined by Dr. William Sears that emphasizes breastfeeding, sharing sleep, and wearing your baby. So is attachment parenting this weirdo hippie movement wherein parents stifle their children and impose martyrdom on themselves with endless efforts at a childcentric life complete with nursing, carrying, tending-to on demand with organic food on the side? I don’t think so. Nor do the others parents we know who follow Dr. Sears’ theory. It’s not a take-it-or-leave-it kind of thing. Lots of parents incorporate his suggestions into their parenting style. We follow many of his suggestions and I’d like to think we’re normal, and our children are balanced, loved individuals. At its heart, I find that attachment parenting is about self-sacrifice and prompting parents to be aware that having a child means you have to set yourself, your world, your needs, everything aside, and take up caring for this little human in a respectful and loving manner. Put yourself last, focus on your family, and you’ll feel tremendous satisfaction and joy and see the way love grows! (A radical notion in our egocentric society.) Dr. Sears and his wife have written extensively, and we’ve read most of their books. Their AP focus is a lens that says, “Your child has these particular biological and metaphysiological needs. Be aware and try to meet them, even if…
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SuperBoy and SweetPea have a wonderful relationship–so long as you don’t force SuperBoy to sit for a photo with his baby sister. We had to take these photos sideways. They’re adjusting to life together. SuperBoy occasionally shouts “No!” and then “No, thank you!” (once corrected) in her direction. But overall, he pets her head, asks her for kisses when he’s injured, and helps me awaken her to nurse by saying “Wakey wakey, eggs & bakey!” Note the sequence: she begins & ends her photo shoot alone.
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Nina’s been watching our every move outside this spring, and ensuring that SuperBoy doesn’t get hurt playing around. She’s 135 pounds of love. And he loves her. Our pets are part of our family (2 dogs, 2 cats), so it’s wonderful to see how much fun SuperBoy can have goofing around with her. See evidence of their love, here. In other outdoor news, AA has become a regenerative gardener. He’s replanted the stalk of romaine lettuce & celery. I had no idea this would result in a life-bearing plant. Reduce & reuse! So maybe we will never have to plant celery again? Or romaine? Or other vegetables? This was done at the suggestion of one of his sisters. Thank you, sis-in-law! There are more ornate ways to do it, but he simply dig a little hole in a pot, and planted the lower stalk of the vegetable. Add water and sun. 🙂 See a few articles on this here at Empress of Dirt and here at 17 Apart.
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Close family is critical when you have your own little family for the support, love, and time they give to assist in the development and growth of your little people. I’m very blessed with a wonderfully close and supportive family. SuperBoy has lucked out in the fact that my second eldest sister is particularly attuned to children and attentive to him. And she’ll be SweetPea’s Godmother on Mother’s Day, so both of my children will be specially bonded to this sister. Here’s a typical example of SuperBoy’s relationship with his “Tia KKake” as he calls her. Recently she took him to the community center down the street which also has a little library. Just a little nephew-tia-time. Not only did they run the bases at the baseball field together, but also checked out a number of books including one hilarious number called “Sheep in a Jeep” whose title alone makes him erupt into laughter. He came home talking of all the books he’d seen, the sports’ fields, and the other little boy who’d been there. What a great little outing for him! And what a lovely little break for SweetPea and I to just focus on each other. She has converted much of her apartment to SuperBoy-friendly living space wherein they roll magnets, learn about the Periodic Table, water color, look at a collection of saints’ holy cards, read Tintin, and dance to all kinds of music. She has taught him American Sigh Language. He spelled out YES the other…
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We try to allow SuperBoy exposure to lots of different opportunities to develop his motor skills, gross and fine. That means following blogs like Play At Home Mom–a fabulous resource for outside of the box learning in a hands on fashion for kiddos. One of SuperBoy’s favorite skill games is “BEANS!” Black beans are so easy to find, and fun fun fun for little ones. Just keep an eye on them because toddlers can put things into their mouth very quickly. Just use your household measuring cups and containers. Tupperware and yogurt containers go a long way. SuperBoy loves to fill measuring cups and then dump them into larger containers. He likes to stack the measuring cups into each other, smallest to largest. And when the beans spill, he picks them up and counts them aloud. Counting AND picking up small objects with his opposable thumb & forefinger. It’s an all-around win-win situation!
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