What the redheaded hell?

This was on the back of an old National Geographic, and it was just too weird not to take a picture of.

Mmmm, greasy goodness! Get down with your polyunsaturated selves. Gogo free radicals!

I've Created a Monster!

A drawing monster that is. All I did was bring home a few markers. I guess this should be filed under "be careful what you wish for." Orion has never had much interest in art, but after today I am wondering if it was just because he couldn't get very vivid colors from crayons. He drew pictures literally ALL DAY today. Went through a bunch of computer paper and then a whole stack of stuff I had set aside in the closet. I thought I should capture some of it, although this one to start he did a week or so ago when we had the crayons out, and I am just now getting around to taking a picture. I thought this was noteworthy as it was the first time he said he drew a picture of himself that had legs. What follows are all from today, and this is literally only about 10% of it. A good portion was single smiley faces, which HAD TO BE only one per piece of paper.

This was was explained as, "Daddy but with no hair or beard or moustache."
I think this is my favorite. Is it a third eye? Or maybe Kuato LOL.
A picture of a picture.
More variety, such as 3 legs,
eyes in the middle and belly button up top,
some type of weapon arm,
and more monsters with weapons. These guys had to fight, complete with sound affects. The above one was a "scraper". The one below had something to do with fans that suck people up. They made a sound like "floop floop floop".

And my other favorite. Right at the end of the day, he broke the mold and put our family on one piece. The little one at the bottom is Kona. Wasn't sure about that one shape at the top, but he declared it a hat.

Mr. Fluman

There is a new villain in town. He is a pretty evil one. He apparently got us all sick. Orion had the lowdown. The conversation went something like this:

Orion: How did we get the flu?
Me: I'm not sure. Somebody must have had it that we were near, and we got the germs
O: I know somebody who always has the flu!
M: Yeah, who is that?
O: Mr. Fluman
M: Oh, so he has the flu all the time and can give people the germs?
O: Yeah!
M: That doesn't sound like a very fun way to live!... Or does he like having the flu since he is Mr. Fluman?
O: Yeah, he likes having the flu! He is like a bad guy who gives people the flu

And then it went on to include something about how he has a dinosaur for a pet. I didn't quite get how he figured in, but I assume he had a natural immunity or he wouldn't be very helpful. Sweet boy, guess he didn't want to blame something this awful on a real person!

You never know where...

...you will meet another babywearer... or what they will look like... or ahem, even what gender they will be. We went back to the Dollar Store today because Orion has been talking nonstop about these fruit candies he saw there. Akasha was in the FreeHand, which always gets alot of attention, and the male checker asked me what kind of carrier it was. I told him it was called a mei tei, and he proceeded to tell me which brands he had! Oh, you actually know what it is and meant what brand. Wow, cool! He told me he has tried many carriers, but the mei tei is his favorite. Dollar Store guy, you rock.

I love Raffi

Ron has been saying he would love to start having music at dinner, so I brought my laptop in the room tonight. We decided to ask Orion what type of music he wanted. I was meaning more like a genre, and was going to read him some station choices, but he piped right up with Raffi! LOL I didn't even know he would know an artist to say. He has never showed much interest in music. Ron kinda gave me a look, but I said let's see if they have him. Well, they did, and it turned out to be a great choice! I forgot he had done that one album more for adults, and the result was a station full of folks like Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Paul Simon, John Mayer and even Bob Marley. It turned out to be a GREAT choice.

So while I am talking about Raffi, I just want to say how much I love the guy. For those of you who don't know him as anything more than a children's musician, he is also an amazing child advocate. He has a beautiful covenant for honoring children. So beautiful in fact, I am going to copy and paste it here!

We find these joys to be self evident: That all children are created whole, endowed with innate intelligence, with dignity and wonder, worthy of respect. The embodiment of life, liberty and happiness, children are original blessings, here to learn their own song. Every girl and boy is entitled to love, to dream and belong to a loving “village.” And to pursue a life of purpose.

We affirm our duty to nourish and nurture the young, to honour their caring ideals as the heart of being human. To recognize the early years as the foundation of life, and to cherish the contribution of young children to human evolution.

We commit ourselves to peaceful ways and vow to keep from harm or neglect these, our most vulnerable citizens. As guardians of their prosperity we honour the bountiful Earth whose diversity sustains us. Thus we pledge our love for generations to come.

---

The words of A Covenant for Honouring Children suggest nine guiding principles for living. Taken together, they offer a holistic way of restoring natural and human communities, thus brightening the outlook for the world we share. They form the basis for a multi-faith consensus on societal renewal.

Respectful Love

is key. It speaks to the need to respect children as whole people and to encourage them to know their own voices. Children need the kind of love that sees them as legitimate beings, persons in their own right. Respectful love instills self-worth; it’s the prime nutrient in human development. Children need this not only from parents and caregivers, but from the whole community.

Diversity

is about abundance: of human dreams, intelligences, cultures, and cosmologies; of earthly splendours and ecosystems. Introducing children to biodiversity and human diversity at an early age builds on their innate curiosity. There’s a world of natural wonders to discover, and a wealth of cultures, of ways to be human. Comforted by how much we share, we’re able to delight in our differences.

Caring Community

refers to the “village” it takes to raise a child. The community can positively affect the lives of its children. Child-friendly shopkeepers, family resource centres, green schoolyards, bicycle lanes, and pesticide-free parks are some of the ways a community can support its young.

Conscious Parenting

can be taught from an early age; it begins with empathy for newborns. Elementary and secondary schools could teach nurturant parenting (neither permissive nor oppressive) and provide insight into the child-rearing process. Such knowledge helps to deter teen pregnancies and unwanted children. Emotionally aware parents are much less likely to perpetuate abuse or neglect.

Emotional Intelligence

sums up what early life is about: a time for exploring emotions in a safe setting, learning about feelings and how to express them. Those who feel loved are most able to learn and to show compassion for others. Emotional management builds character and is more important to later success than IQ. Cooperation, play, and creativity all foster the “EQ” needed for a joyful life.

Nonviolence

is central to emotional maturity, to family relations, to community values, and to the character of societies that aspire to live in peace. It means more than the absence of aggression; it means living with compassion. Regarding children, it means no corporal punishment, no humiliation, no coercion. “First do no harm,” the physicians’ oath, must now apply to all our relations; it can become a mantra for our times. A culture of peace begins in a nonviolent heart, and a loving home.

Safe Environments

foster a child’s feeling of security and belonging. The very young need protection from the toxic influences that permeate modern life-from domestic neglect and maltreatment, to the corporate manipulations of their minds, to the poisonous chemicals entering their bodies. The first years are when children are most impressionable and vulnerable; they need safeguarding.

Sustainability

refers not merely to conservation of resources, renewable energy development, and anti-pollution laws. To be sustainable, societies need to build social capacity by investing in their young citizens, harnessing the productive power of a contented heart. The loving potential of every young child is a potent source for good in the world.

Ethical Commerce

is fundamental to a child-honouring world. It includes a revolution in the design, manufacture and sale of goods; corporate reform; “triple bottom line” business; full-cost accounting; tax and subsidy shifts; political and economic cycles that reward long-term thinking. Ethical commerce would enable a restorative economy devoted to the well being of the very young.

The Amazing Disappearing Week

I feel like I have been sucking at taking pictures or getting posts up these days. There is just alot of stressful stuff going on around here right now, and I am not making it a priority. I need to be getting the camera out more though for sure! Here are the few shots I managed to take this week.

Sheepy in the Maya Wrap. How adorable!
Passin' the time on the potty with Mr. Dragon Puppet

Relaxing Evening with Friends

I don't think I have ever had such a drama free night with Orion! I think Zoe's house has a magickal good vibe spell over it. He had a couple moments of not wanting the babies near some project he was working on, but overall it was a night of good buddies. It was also great to see Jessica and Dane, who we had not seen in ages! Olivia is talking up a storm now, and even though Ron still likes to say, "I don't speak Olivia," he could not ignore the constant stream of "Daddy Won"s that were happily shouted every time she went down the slide. It was hilarious how intent she was on having him watch her. And of course I mean "Won" as in rhymes with "Ron". So I started calling him Daddy Wan Kenobi haha!

But it gets better. Olivia likes the baby too. If Olivia likes you, she knows your name. Ah yes, tonight we had the unveiling of the best nickname ever - "Baby Kaka". OK, in all fairness I think she said Akaka some of the time, but that kaka sound just really jumps out at you. It was flippin hysterical, but for Akasha's sake I really shouldn't encourage it LOL.

Here is Akasha happily chewing on some toy
Olivia giving Kaka some love.
Double trouble there in the background. Yes, Sophia is walking at not even a year old. And JUMPING. Seriously, I couldn't believe it. She gets both feet airborne.

Speak of the devil, this picture cracked me up!
It's all about the Phia attitude!