what's in E's plate? - quinoa cakes

does this sound familiar? you read a recipe and you just think, 'sounds delicious... if only my toddler would eat this. it would avoid making two...three...four different meals.' honestly, there are tons of things we said we would do when we became parents and we've changed our minds on but making different meals for everyone just isn't something i want to compromise on. we find ways to make our meal 'baby-friendly' as much as possible.

here is a simple one. quinoa cakes. add any type of veggie. make a funky mayo/sauce to accompany. and arm yourself with patience. some kids might jump on this like it's the last toy on earth... others might play around with it. E was somewhere in between. we made ours with broccoli and kale knowing she LOVES broccoli and sort of eats kale, depending on how it's made. oh! and we added cheese cause come on... who doesn't love cheese? (sorry vegans...)


ima be honest... i'm not a recipe giver/sharer/followers. i'm really bad with doing things exactly as i should. i have no clue what the proportions are but here are the ingredients:

• quinoa - if you have some left over the fridge... perfect! about 2 cups should give 6 medium-sized patties.
• cheese - we did sharp cheddar cause it has an interesting taste and is good for melting, but you could also do feta or gouda or mozarella... possibilties are endless.
• breadcrumbs - we did regular but you can do seasoned if you want.
• eggs - for about 2 cups of quinoa, we did 3 eggs.
• veggies - now is the time to hide shit: spinach, tiny bits of broccoli, kale, carrots, zuchinni, mushrooms, corn, lentils... go nuts! 
• season to taste - i added cumin cause it's my favorite spice nowadays but go with what you like.

i sauteed the veggies and literally just shoved everything in a bowl. you're best to wait for the veggies to cool off a tad so they don't cook the eggs but other than that, just go for it. mix and let sit while you preheat your oven at about 350-375 degrees. line a pyrex dish with some parchement paper - it will avoid sticking. you can also fry these but we rather the less fatty version since we like to serve it with some curry mayo (literally just curry added to mayo). 

here is E's plate - one patty cut up into quarters served with cold cucumber and roasted carrots. it took a few dozen minutes to convince her to eat it, i'm not going to lie... but once she tasted it, she was sold and even let out a little "mmmmm". BOOM! cue the victory dance. 

it was DE-LIC-IOUS. 

note: curry mayo makes everything taste better. everything. 

what's in E's plate?

my husband is vegetarian. i'm not. he was brought up that way. i wasn't. he asked that our children be, too. he had good arguments and well, given the amount of decisions he had taken thus far, i gave him this one. beyond protein intake and iron consumption, my main goal with my children and food was to not have picky eaters.

our table rules are simple:
- sit properly at the table.
- it's ok if you want to use your hands.
- sing at the table if you feel inclined as long as you keep eating.
- we understand if it gets messy. (enter gypsy, the dog/floor cleaner.)
- always try everything atleast once.
- never force anyone to eat anything. (we don't want tears/drama.)


so far, so good... we've managed to get our 2-year old to eat and try (and love!) just about everything we've ever put in front of her: green beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, quinoa, strong cheeses, spinach, omelettes, mushrooms, eggplant, lentils, hummus, squash, quiche, onions, eggs cooked any way you can think of... some of her favorite things are olives and avocados!

i know, i know... we don't always have time. we don't always have inspiration. we don't always have the energy. as much as i can't stand me a child who only eats canned pasta, sometimes we do a simple mac'n'cheese (with a little butternut squash puree hidden in the mix...sshhhh!!! good for E's belly and mommy's conscious!) cause i just don't feel like going all out.

here is another example of easy yet healthy pasta:

whole wheat pasta with a homemade sundried tomato pesto and sauteed zuchinni.

side salad of tomato and cucumber

(dessert: yogurt with maple syrup or homemade fruit jam.)

sounds complicated but frankly, i whipped this up minutes before she sat down. cooking can be simple if you allow it. have fun with it, try new things. i've found that pinterest has been an amazing tool for finding ideas - you have a few awkward ingredients here and there (the day before groceries is always awkward), type in what you have in the search toolbar and BOOM! it has yet to fail me... i'm writing this as i make a super simple sweet potato-cauliflower soup, oven-baked "fried" pickles and a veggie risotto. (YES, all those at once...and all three were found on pinterest!)

bon appétit!

stay tuned for another "what's in E's plate?" coming next week...

mommy mondays : homemade baby wipes

as promised, this is kind of like part 2 - after the homemade soap here is an easy way to make your own wipes! ever since we started making these, we haven't had one bout of redness or even the slightest hint of a rash. we did use straight up baby faceclothes for a while - just wetting them with water - thinking it was better (and more eco-friendly) but it turned out to be so much messier... and a little harsh on the bum! so, enough with the chitchat, here we go...


what you will need:

• bounty paper towels (and yes, it has to be bounty. or another high end paper towel brand - no generic stuff. it won't hold up.)
• one cup of water
• a round plastic container (i got mine at the pharmacy)
• a tablespoon (to measure)
• sweet almond oil
• any type of baby soap - this a great chance to use your homemade soap! 
• an electric knife 

before you start, make sure your cutting surface is clean and dry - as well as your measuring cup and the round plastic container. if you can't find a round container, you can reuse a regular baby wipe container but it's just a little more work folding them into place.

so, the first step is to cut the roll of paper towels in half. the easiest way we found was to do this with an electric knife. if you don't have one, you can always use a regular bread knife but doing so makes quite a mess - little white fuzz everywhere! but whatever, it's well worth the easy to clean mess...

next, insert the roll of paper towel inside the plastic container - depending on the size of the container you bought and the kind of bounty you have, you might need to take some off the roll. when we buy the extra super soaker extraordinaire rolls, i keep the extra and reuse in our square box of wipes that we kept for that purpose. that way we have two containers of wipes (kinda handy with 2 babies) and we don't waste any of the paper towels! just fold them accordingly so they fit in the box and follow the next steps just the same.

                                                                                                                           then, measure out one cup of water in a clean measuring cup. in the same cup containing the water, add one tablespoon of sweet almond oil (any other type of oil will do really) and two tablespoons of soap. mix well. note here that depending on the size of the roll and the container, these quantities may be more or less... you will know how to adjust according to the texture of the wipes: soggy means too much liquid and dry means not enough. (did i really have to mention that?!)

                                                                                                              now that your liquid preparation is complete, poor it evenly over the roll of paper towel. make sure to cover as much surface as possible - don't just dump it in the middle but still manage to get the brown cardboard middle wet.                  

                                                                                                                 then close the lid on the plastic container. wait 10 minutes and flip it upside down. that way the liquid is evenly distributed on and in the roll of paper towel. after 10 more minutes, the roll should be completely embedded with the liquid. open up the lid and gently pull out the brown cardboard - it should just slip right out! 

there you go - homemade baby wipes ready to use! pretty awesome, right? and they are good for just about everything: changing diapers, cleaning dirty hands and faces, picking up messes, wiping up dirty counters...etc...etc... now, get cracking! make your own, too and let me know what uses you found for them! don't forget to share: down with johnson&johson, UP WITH HOMEMADE!

mommy mondays: comment faire son propre savon

il y a quelque temps, j'ai commencé à m'interesser aux projets "à faire soi même" - je cherchais des manières de faire plus de choses "maison" et de me conscientiser par rapport aux produits que j'utilisais sur et pour mes enfants. de là, j'ai trouvé une "recette" pour savon que nous avons paufiner avec le temps et les essais. je l'aime tellement que je ne me vois pas retourner aux savons de pharmacie bourés de produits... surtout qu'il est tellement facile à faire!

alors, allons y...

ce dont vous aurez besoin :

• 1 pompe à savon achetée en pharmacie (la sorte qui transformera le savon liquide en mousse -  si vous trouvez une pompe vide dans un magasin spécialisé, c'est encore mieux! )
• 1/4 tasse de savon de castille (nous utilisons la marque dr. bronner's doux pour bébé)
• une coulisse d'huile d'amande douce et/ou de vitamine e en huile
• 3 goutes d'huile de théier pour hydrater 
• 5 goutes d'une huile essentielle de votre choix pour la senteur - si vous voulez! (nous utilisons lavande)

*au sujet des huiles essentielles et de la vitamine e, vous pouvez jouer avec le nombre de goutes (et même avec les types d'huiles). les quantités et sortes indiqués sont ce que nous avons trouvés fonctionne le mieux pour nous. évidement, trop d'huiles peux donner un savon très huileux.

la première étape n'est pas trop écologique* mais elle consiste à vider la bouteille de son contenu à couleur un peu radioactive. vous devrez aussi vider la pompe de son contenu - il y en aura sans doute qui aura fait son chemin dans le réservoir. 

*le point positif: vous aurez qu'à le faire une fois! 

on aime bien enlever l'étiquette pas très belle pour y inscrire un petit titre rigolo - yann a insisté qu'on appel celui-ci 'super savon pas cher'.

vous pouvez garder l'étiquette, si vous le voulez. ça n'aura pas d'effet sur le produit final même si spiderman (ou fraisinette) est de la partie!

ensuite, mesurez environs 1/4 de tasse* de savon de castille.

*bon, ça fait environs 6 mois que je fais ce savon alors je vais vous avouer que je ne mésure plus rien. j'y vais à l'oeil et du coup, ça me permet de jouer avec les variantes - plus de savon donne plus de mousse, par exemple. amusez vous à votre tour et vous trouverez certainement la formule pour vous et votre famille.

ajouter au savon un peu de vitamine e et/ou de l'huile d'amande douce. vous pouvez faire un ou l'autre... ou les deux! la recette original n'avait pas d'huile d'amande douce mais quand élie a commencé à percer ses dents, nous en avons ajouté pour contrer les petites plaques rouges. un succès!

vous pouvez en profiter pour ajouter les goutes d'huiles essentielles - qui sont aussi une option. commencez par faire la recette de base et après vous pouvez faire des recherches sur les différentes huiles et leurs bienfaits et vous amusez à votre tour à trouver le bon mélange!

une fois que tous les ingrédients sont dans la bouteille, ajoutez de l'eau - n'y allez pas trop vite car sinon ça déborde. un autre bon conseil: ne pas remplir jusqu'à rebord sinon ça risque de déborder aussi une fois le réservoir inséré. de toute manière, c'est rien qu'un petit rincage ne peut régler!

et voilà, les carottes sont cuites! c'était facile, non? si vous pompez et que le savon ressemble à ceci... c'est que vous avez réussi! si le savon sort encore en liquide, c'est pas grave par contre le savon se consomme plus vite dans cet état. c'est signe que vous n'avez pas le bon type de contenant.

tout simplement dit, j'adore ce savon. j'adore quand j'en manque et que je ne fais qu'ouvrir la pharmacie et je fais mon petit mélange en moins de 30 secondes. ça bat à tout coups de sortir, aller en pharmacie et payer 4-5$ à chaque fois seulement pour mettre plein de produits potentiellement chimiques sur mes enfants... bien sur, le kit du débutant coûte un peu cher: environs 4-5$ pour la pompe, 16$ pour une bouteille de 32 oz. du savon de castille dr. bronner's et à quelque part entre 5-10$ pour chaque huile essentielle, selon l'huile que vous choissisez.

le point positif: la bouteille de 32 oz. fait environs 20 bouteilles de savon! 

mommy monday: how to make homemade soap

here's a little something i discovered a while back while on my hunt for things i could make on my own and i just absolutely fell in love with it - so much so that now i can't help but share! i can't even imagine going back to regular baby soap - partly because i know what i am using on my children but also partly because it is so darn easy to make!

so, here we go...

what you will need :

• 1 soap pump bought at your local pharmacy (the kind that transfers the liquid to foam -  if you can find an empty soap pump in a specialty store, that's even better! )
• 1/4 cup of castille soap (we use dr. bronner's baby mild)
• a tiny sliver of vitamin e oil and/or almond oil
• 3 drops of tea tree oil - optional but i find it helps with hydration, although too much can render the opposite effect! 
• 5 drops of any essential oil of your choice for the scent - if you want! (we use lavender)

*when it comes to the essential oils as well as the vitamin e oil, you can play around with the amount of drops (or even kinds of oils), these are the amounts we found work best for us. obviously too much sweet almond or vitamin e oil will make a very oily soap. 

the first step is not very eco-friendly*, but it consists of emptying the soap pump of the nasty neon blue "soap" that's already in there and washing it clean. (you might also to pump it a few times to empty the reservoir of the soap that's seeped in.)

*the upside: atleast you only have to do it once!

we like to take off the silly label and write our own little title for the concoction - yann insisted on calling this one 'amazing soap (and cheap)' for the purpose of the photoshoot. 

you can keep the label if you like, it makes no difference in the end - your soap will still rule even if spiderman (or strawberry shortcake) stays! 

next, measure out about 1/4 cup* of the castille soap. 

*now that i've been doing this for almost 6 months now, i sort of just eyeball it and it works just fine. when doing it for the first few times, i did take the time to measure it out but in the end, it's your soap, so have fun with it; play around with measurements and find what recipe works best for you and your family's needs.



add to the soap a tiny bit of the vitamin e oil and/or almond oil. you can do one or the other... or both! our original recipe only contained the vitamin e oil and when élie was teething yann suggested we added a little bit of sweet almond oil (which was already our go to 'diaper rash' solution) to the mixture.

now is also a good time to add the drops of essential oils - which are optional. you can try this recipe first and then research a little about which essential oil does what - this will allow you to play around with the recipe and make your own little mixture!





once all the ingredients are in the soap pump, fill up the rest of the bottle with water. be careful though - don't fill it up too quickly or else it'll foam up and overflow. another good thing to keep in mind to avoid overflowing is to leave a little room for the pump - if you fill all the way to the top, it'll come through the sides once the pump is inserted. in any case, it's nothing that a little rinsing can't fix.

there you go - all done! how easy was that?! if you pump and the soap looks this... you've succeeded! if it comes out still in liquid form, it's ok but i find it uses up the soap much quicker. if this happens, you might have the wrong type of pump.








i just simply love this recipe. i love running out of soap and opening up the cabinet and being able to wipe up a batch in about 30 seconds flat. it sure beats going to the pharmacy and paying 4$ everytime only to put nasty commercial soap filled with tons of random ingredients on my kids... keep in mind: the starter kit will cost you - about 4$ for the soap pump, 16$ for the dr. bronner's 32 oz bottle of soap and anywhere from 5-10$ for each of the essential oils, depending on which ones you choose.

the upside: the 32 oz bottle of castille makes about 20 bottles of soap!

our favorites

once again, i've taken a good 2-month long (and some...) break from blogging but with good reason. actually, probably with the best reason there is. on january 19th, i gave birth to our second baby girl and we just spent the last months or so soaking up every minute of this new baby. i promise, the birth story will come... i'm very excited about sharing this beautiful experience with you all but this morning, i felt like i wanted to share with you all some of my (our) favorite products. those that have saved us in a bend, those that always come in handy and those we've only just recently discovered.

1. baby carriers - for anyone who's never used one, tried one or even seen one... they are soooo worth looking into. my sister kindly passed on her ergo baby carrier over to us when i got pregnant and i was so thankful for it... especially when i saw the price (they retail for anywhere between 115-160$ depending on the model). i remember thinking it was insane to pay that much for, let's face it, a bag but after having used it time and time again... i'd pay that much twice over in a heartbeat!

i was also fortunate enough to have one of my best friends make us a mama kangaroo wrap... frankly, my fiancé much prefers the sturdiness of the ergo whereas i'm a bigger fan of the flexibility of the wrap. he hates the tangled mess that can come from wrapping a mama kangaroo - it really is only a long piece of fabric when you look at it - and even feels trapped in it. i, on the other hand, rather that than the heavy straps of the ergo. everyone has their preference and there are so many out there that you are bound to find the one that best suits you and your needs. i'm typing this with baby in the wrap, sitting comfortably at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. lovely!

here are some of the options out there when it comes to baby carriers:

carriers - http://www.bynature.ca/baby/baby-slings-baby-carriers/soft-pack-buckle-carriers.html
wraps - http://www.bynature.ca/baby/baby-slings-baby-carriers/baby-wrap-carriers.html
slings - http://www.bynature.ca/baby/baby-slings-baby-carriers/baby-slings.html



many other websites carry baby carriers but the best thing to do if this is your first is to find a store that carries each kind and to go ahead and try them. don't be shy, you are, after all, going to spend a pretty hefty sum on it and lots of time using it so feel free to take them for a little test drive!


2. video monitor - my second go-to product was also given to us by an aquaitance we met... at the dog park! working as a garbage man in a wealthy neighbourhood in montreal, he stumbled across a video baby monitor that was being thrown away and thought of us. we thought it was absolutely silly at first and i'm sure a few of you are rolling your eyes as you read this but we just got hooked! so much so that when we dropped and broke it, we went out and bought another one! the main reason why we love it so much: you can check up on baby without disturbing him! so great! we have horrible squeaky doors in our house and everytime we open and close them, we manage to wake someone up... and every parent knows how horrible it feels to have spent the last hour(s) trying to put baby down only to wake him up trying to check up on him... no more of that with a video monitor!

again, quite a little sum to be dropped but if you're lucky like us, you can find a used one in perfectly good condition on websites like amazon for 50$. we have the Levana Wireless and what we loved about it was the cute little wireless screen monitor that can be carried about to a distance. we what adore about it is that you can purchase extra cameras and monitor up to 4 cameras from the same base monitor! what?! yeah! so, with the arrival of the new baby came a new camera... seems a little creepy? it is a little, until you want to watch a movie cuddled up with your significant other. babies sleeping, monitor is hand, volume up we can safely keep an eye on them and enjoy a little alone time!

many different models out there, again you can research into which one suits you best. we had chosen this one based on price but turns out we are satisfied customers!

3. aden + anaïs swaddle blankets - any swaddle blanket is a must but i particularly like these ones bcause they are big, extra soft and very pretty... ok, that last bit isn't necessary but always a nice plus! these muslin blankets were created by an australian mother living in the US who had trouble finding proper swaddling blankets like the ones she remembered from her childhood. the ones she found at the time were too small, too thick, too warm and not very attractive. these blankets are so big they can not only be used to swaddle but also as burping clothes, nursing covers, stroller covers... and really, the list goes on.

i love the soft, breathable texture of these blankets. i love how they are so big that they can used as a cover or folded into a small pillow or used as a swaddle blanket when folded in half. i love the pretty designs - there is bound to be a collection you love! i love that my 18 month old now uses it as her blankie. i just simply love the versatility of these blankets. again, i thought the price was a little much at first and ended up buying one individually. about a month later, i went back and got a pack of four and we now use them exclusively on a rotation with our newborn. they are amazing and i could never say that enough!


4. sweet almond oil - this little jewel of nature, derived from the sweet almond tree, works wonders for a plathora of reasons and uses. it's usually used as a massage oil, which can be great during pregnancy for little aches and pains (some sources do mention possiblity of premature birth if used during pregnancy whereas many other sources deny it). it can also be used during birth for perineal massages. it's great for diaper rashes (unless you have a history of nut allergies in the family in which case you can turn to coconut oil). it can be applied to the scalp for craddle cap. we've just recently begun making our own baby wipes and we add one tablespoon of oil to the mix (1 cup of water + 2 tablespoons of whatever baby soap you use - we make our own, also - added to half a roll of bounty papertowels in a plastic container.)

all in all, it's been our go-to product of choice. we've never used diaper rash cream on her as they can often clog pores and make the rash worse off than it already was. other than during teething periods, our daughter has never had diaper rashes of any sorts and i attribute that greatly to our use of oils instead of creams. it also be used as a muscle pain revliever, as a treatement for dry hair, as a healthier substitute for olive oil in cooking, a skin moisturizer... and really the list goes on and on. look it up, try it out and you'll love it, i'm certain!


5. my breasts - let me explain this one: with élie, i stopped breastfeeding exclusively pretty early on. we introduced the bottle as early as 16 days old because feeding was so painful for me. i had a lack of proper support, or at least i didn't reach out the right people during that period of time for encouragement to keep going. anyways, now that i'm getting a second chance at it, i'm proud to say that we are going on almost 3 months of exclusive breastfeeding with émile... and what a relief!

it's been a relief on me, on yann, on our bank account, on our baby bag and just on prepation/organization in general. i used to feel so bad giving élie the bottle and now i'm just so happy every time feedings come around. i'm proud of me, of her, of us... i'm so happy and humbled that i got a
second chance at breastfeeding (which i can about more in detail in this previous post: http://www.gypsy-mommy.blogspot.ca/2012/11/es-birth-part-3-or-breastfeeding-best.html). actually, we've all gotten a second chance because not only does émile breastfeed but i've pumping as much as i can for élie... and yann's been relieved as it's working out so well and it's just less stressful for us all.

being able to exclusively breastfeed has allowed us to splurge on other things like little family dates/outings and we've also been able to keep saving up for our wedding this fall... so exciting! speaking of outings, one of the great things about breastfeeding is the ability to dress baby, pack a diaper or two and just simply be out the door! no bottles, no cleaning, no sterelizing, no powder... just some already attached boobs. and freedom.


well, these are some of our favorites... what are yours?

confessions of an addict

i'm not going to lie. i'm not going to pretend. and i certainly am not going to make excuses. i was a tv addict. plain and simple. not a day went by where i didn't watch tv. for more than an hour at a time. mindlessly. it was just one of those things - it had always been there. in retrospect it's almost sad to say it like this but it was one of those things that was always part of my life: it lulled me as a baby, accompanied me as a child and was my friend throughout my teenage years all the way to last year. 25 years. we had a good run, tv and i. from tom & jerry to riki and jerry to jerry and elaine... i loved it all and watched it all. and it never crossed my mind (or my parents' either, i guess - but it's unfair to drag them into this) that i could be doing something better with my time... or my life.

it wasn't until two years ago, when i met a certain amazing french man that i started feeling bad about my ... addiction? habit? when he mentionned that he hadn't watched tv in over 15 years (movies were exceptions) i couldn't believe it! i thought, very naively, "then what do you do?!". mind you, we spent most of our time just hanging out and drinking so the tv wasn't really part of our friendship but once we started dating, evenings became more relaxed and intimate - pyjamas, a beer and tv. and every single time he would complain and comment on basically everything. it drove me nuts. he would laugh at the shows i was watching, complain at the commercials that were passing and just be flat out annoying (or so i thought at the time)... then i got pregnant. already in the first few months, he was beginning to let me know how he really, truly felt and where he stood on the subject: tv was poisonous and he didn't want his children around it. not now. not later. not ever. not even maybe. i was able to bargain to keep the tv during the final months of pregnancy and the first few months of being at home with the baby - without too much trouble given he understood the situation. i have to say, being at home, alone with a newborn and having as much trouble breastfeeding as i did, tv wasn't only helpful... it was vital. it may of saved my sanity... and potentially my baby. when élie turned 3 months, we gave her the best gift we could possibly give her: we cut cable. no more tv watching. no more commercials. no more ridiculous shows. no more being passive in front of the idiot box.

like i said, i'm not going to lie: same as any addiction, the first  few weeks were tough. really tough. i just didn't know what to do with myself. days seemed to go on forever. it was just me, a newborn and what seemed like defeaning silence that sometimes felt like torture. i'd always been a big fan of music but i must admit that i totally rediscovered it once tv was gone. that and the art of dicussion. actually listening and paying full attention to the conversations i was having. i started appreciating more and more every day the beauty of life and all that it had to offer. like a smoker who quits and begins tasting foods differently, smelling things differently... i was taking amazing pleasure in just watching my daughter be. i was having the most amazing, deep conversations with yann. i was reading books i had bought years before and had never taken the time to read. i was taking more walks. writing more in my journal and doing projects i had had on the back burner for too long... all because i had been spending most of my "free time" watching tv.

i've been a year tv free. at the time, it felt like i was giving my daughter a gift. in retrospect, i gave myself an even bigger gift. freedom. mental freedom and time. now that i've been a year without tv, i can safely say it drives me insane when i walk into someone's house and the tv is just idly playing in the background. it almost shames me to say that i now have the same judgements and thoughts about others as yann did about me almost 2 years ago... and only a year ago, i was the same zombified being receiving information i hadn't asked for and yet, here i am today. writing this post. i feel sad when i walk by a house at night on my evening strolls with gypsy and all i see is dim living rooms with only the horrifying light gleaming from that small screen. i feel sick to my stomach when i see people eating supper with the tv on, unable to even adress the person sitting right in front of them and bother to ask, "how was your day?". i see red when i'm talking to someone and realize they heard nothing because they were more interested in the new head'n'shoulders commercial.

above all, i feel ashamed to think i was once that person. all those people. that was me.

nowadays, you can still find me sitting on the couch - reading, writing, doing crosswords, cuddling with élie or with yann, petting the dog or one the cats, talking passionately with a friend, facebooking (one addiction at a time, please), blogging, searching for new recipes, researching homemade projects (...and actually doing them!!!) or watching a movie. a movie i chose. a movie i want to see. not passively watching show after show, being bombarded with ridiculous commercials of products i don't want but suddenly think i need, restaurants that don't even exist in my area (or country, for that matter), cars i'll never drive or companies i couldn't care less about even if i tried. i take more pleasure in the smaller moments and i thoroughly enjoy just being. i'm not saying tv was keeping from living but i'm not saying the contrary either...

when i see children needing a screen put in front of them in order to sit still for 2 minutes without throwing a tantrum, i think... there's something wrong with the picture. children are being over-stimulated, propped in front of the tv set as young as birth. and why do we do it? because that's what we know. that's how it was done for us. but it's not too late to break the cycle. it never is. i'm not suggesting we all cut cable - we are, after all, free to make our own choices - but i am suggesting turning it off once in a while. taking a walk. having a real talk, face to face. reading a book. listening to music. scrapbooking. taking up a new hobby. the possibilites are endless and oh so rewarding.

we spend so much time wondering why days just fly by, why children are so demanding, why human contact has become almost obsolete - there are 24 hours in a day. an average workday is about 8 hours. we spend on average 6 hours sleeping. and 3 hours watching tv. that's 15 hours a week. in addition to a 40 hour workweek (and then we wonder why times just zips by and why days seem to last 5 minutes!) 99% of households in america own atleast one tv. an average (tv-watching) child sees about 16, 000 (!!!) commercials per year. 54% of children between 4-6 years old chose watching tv over spending time with their fathers when asked to choose between either. statistics like this aren't needed to convince me but they definitely cement our decision to cut it out of our lives and confirm what a brilliant choice that was. the merit goes to yann, i just tagged along and boy, am i ever glad i did. i'll be forever thankful that he opened my eyes to life without television.

and above all else: i'll be forever thankful that we are allowing our daughter to grow up in a television-free zone where creativity prevails and freedom of thought is key. she draws. she plays the piano. she can manage to just sit there with just about nothing and be content. and that, my friends, is priceless.