New Boots!

The big news is that Samuel got some new boots. For the first time ever he got cowboy boots. We bought them at this Western Store near the Powells by our house. Samuel picked out white boots with a silver tip and hopes to wear them during his riding lessons and just generally about the town. He still has his rubber boots and he said he will still wear those when he runs in the sprinkler and when we go for walks in the woods but the cowboy boots are THE boots for otherwear currently. I got a close-up of the boots and also a shot of Samuel (who did not want his photo taken and yet I cajoled him into it, not my usual motto, but I really wanted the picture for posterity because it was such a big deal!)

There is also a picture of Eva spinning- one of her favorite activities. She likes me to spin her and yet I can only spin for so long before I am too dizzy and she must carry on alone.

We got some awesome local beets at the Farmer's Market today and I made them with a little butter and some dill from our herb garden. I have never had beets so good. I have to say beets are a vegetable I shy away from. I actually prefer the greens, which I made with rice, onions from our very own garden! and cannelini beans and also lots of herbs from our garden- savory, oregano, thyme. After I read that thyme is this amazing elixir cure-that you can drink as a tea when you are sick to feel better or even stave off an illness, I put it in everything! Eva put some dill and thyme with little flowers on her new baby kangaroo so that he would smell nice and be pretty.

Oh and the funniest thing... I talk with the kids pretty frequently about buying local food, buying foods and doing things that are sustainable, etc. We buy a large percentage of our foods locally and even those that aren't locally grown or raised are at least sold by a local grocery we frequent. So Eva the other day was nursing and she stopped and looked up and said, Momma, is nursing local? And I laughed. Yes, it is very local. You can't get much more local. She smiled and resumed nursing!

And I am so excited I actually planted cranberry beans and they are sprouting out of the ground. My carrots never seem to come up but the beans are doing excellently. I have never grown them before and can't wait to see how they grow.

This is a great link to an article about kids and boredom. I put some of the ideas to work today with Samuel, who goes up and down so quickly sometimes and talks about being bored frequently. Today I realized that he really needed to be a part of what I was doing in an exciting way for him and that included cracking eggs, which is a new skill for him that he enjoys practicing. Sure enough he was off and running to something else after he had cracked a couple of eggs for me. I am attempting to approach boredom as another emotion, something that doesn't need to be solved but also something that can be addressed compassionately.

http://sandradodd.com/BoredNoMore