Onto the July challenge! I hope you enjoyed June’s Bucket List challenge. It was my favorite so far and I highly recommend everyone come up with at least a few items to put on your own bucket list. Since we were vacationing for the beginning of July I decided to take a mid-year break from the 30 day challenge. July will be a short month.

What I really wanted to do was run/be active for July, but obviously that’s not happening. About 10 days ago I twisted my ankle while running. It became clear that the only people made for falling are toddlers. When mama falls, she falls hard. My chiropractor had a serious look of concern on her face after adjusting my back, neck, wrists, knees and ankles. She prescribed an extra appointment, which will be happening on Wednesday. Hopefully I’ll be back in action by the end of this week.

Another hindrance to my idea of a physical challenge is that the temperatures in Boise have reach inferno levels. This is the climate part of Idaho that I have yet to fall in love with. So July is going to be frivolous and fun and I’m still going to post daily. Yay for you! Since I liked making a list in June, everyday for the rest of July I’m going to do a Top 5 list. If you have an idea for a Top 5, drop me a comment here or on Facebook. Here’s the first:

TOP 5 SUPER POWERS I WISH I HAD
5. Super hearing
4. Speed reading, and I don’t mean the kind you can learn in a course.
3. Photographic memory
2. Super strength
1. Flight

Feeding Big Baby

Playing with the trains and the Boise Airport, probably picking up another disease.

We each got our own seats on the airplane!

Sleeping at Tutu and Grandad’s house.

My mom working her magical Tutu powers to put Porter down for a nap so I could go get a massage and hot tub at the Well Within. Ahhh.

At my parents house riding a mini tractor. It was love at first sight…with the tractor.

We went to the Sacramento Train Museum on the 4th of July and it was AWESOME!

“Mo big choo choos!” Almost a sentence.

Porter, train engineer.

Bam Bam

Growing up, my brother and I were so close that sometimes our parents worried we wouldn’t have friends of our own. Of course that wasn’t how it turned out, but that’s how well we got along. We had friends who were a brother and sister pair, the exact same age as us. They fought like cats and dogs, but they still shared the special sibling relationship.

After having Porter around for almost 18 months I have considered not having more children. I can totally understand why parents chose to have 1 child and then stick. Our friends had one child and then when she turned 4 they had their second. I believe the quote went something to the effect of, “once you have two you might as well have more, because any more than one is craziness.” This probably isn’t true for some families, but without having more kids I’ll never know.

It has always been part of our plan to have more than one child. I have my brother and Luke has his two sisters. We both believe that siblings are important because we know from experience that there is absolutely no relationship like the one you have with your sibling. In life, there are things that happen which you can’t share with anyone, except your sibling. Not your parents, cousins or friends. More often then not I find it’s the implicit knowledge about familial and life situations that only my brother really truly understands, that has brought me comfort, peace of mind, happiness and sanity. That is why I picked it for #30.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).
26. Visit, meet and learn from the Amish.
27. Be in supreme physical shape.
28. Go to bed when I want and wake when I want. Everyday.
29. Take a trip using Sunset Magazine itinerary. Eat at their recommended food stops, stay at their recommended accommodations, and do their recommended activities.
30. Give Porter a sibling. Conversations will start in 2014.

Are you familiar with Sunset Magazine? If you live in the Western US then you’ve probably heard of it, know someone who subscribes to it, or get the monthly edition in your mailbox. A couple years ago my mom gifted me with a subscription and it is one of the most tender highlights of my life. It inspires me to cook more, and better. To garden with confidence, inspires me to see the part of the country that I’ve lived in all my life, and to be creative in my home. There is so much to enjoy and learn from this one magazine. I love it and I’m hooked. #29 is inspired by Sunset (as was #14).

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).
26. Visit, meet and learn from the Amish.
27. Be in supreme physical shape.
28. Go to bed when I want and wake when I want. Everyday.
29. Take a trip using Sunset Magazine itinerary. Eat at their recommended food stops, stay at their recommended accommodations, and do their recommended activities.

#28 can only be reasoned by the fact that I have a child who was recently teething and then immediately ill (he is better now and has 4 shiny new molars to show for it). This has led to more sleep deprivation for everyone, except the kitties. In the last 18 months I’ve gotten about 3-4 months of regular sleep. Those sweet times always came after we did some sleep training, will it ever end? It can’t all be blamed on the baby though. We travel a lot, which throws off the regular schedule. And I’m a night owl and that just doesn’t jive with a child who wakes between 6-7am everyday. Even Saturdays! Alas, I signed on for this sleeplessness, but I can still dream.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).
26. Visit, meet and learn from the Amish.
27. Be in supreme physical shape.
28. Go to bed when I want and wake when I want. Everyday.

After running the Bay To Breakers with my dad. What a good example he was.

Finish line of the Spudman Triathlon.

In Idaho with my dad the day after finishing the Spudman Triathlon.

It’s the body image post, hurray! There are two types of body builds (in my opinion), heavy and light. Have you ever picked up a child and then practically thrown them in the air because they weight almost nothing, like they have hollow bird bones. Or picked up that child’s friend, or Porter, and felt like you were lifting a sack of bricks.  I don’t know the science of it, but according to my mother, picking me up as a child was on the brick side of things. I’m pretty confident that it runs in the genes, because Porter is no little birdy to carry around. I don’t think that’s such a big deal, but add to that some full hips and frizzy hair and it’s a recipe for a skewed body image. That was me in 5-7th grade. Then my dance teacher added the real cherry on top by asking me to lose 5 pounds before our upcoming recital. A word of advice, NEVER tell a 12 year old to lose 5 pounds. It was confirmed, I felt like a fatty.

Looking back on it, I was crazy to have been down on myself. In pictures I was perfectly normal and healthy, just not knobby kneed like my girl friends. Luckily, I was an active child and did sports through high school. So even though I wasn’t lithe and delicate, I was in great physical shape. Oh how beauty is wasted in youth! Then I went to college and started what has been a long decent to the where I am now. Very overweight and working my ass off to get back to “normal”. Let me tell you, that’s a long way to go from here.

Thankfully, I’ve been physically active most of my adult life by doing yoga, dancing, personal training, masters swimming, training for triathlons, teaching young children, currently running (not all at the same time). It turns out that the key to being healthy is eating right. And for someone who has a colossally huge sweet tooth it’s been hard to curb. I’m working at it and slowly but surly the weight is coming off. I also have the added bonus of having birthed my son naturally, which gives me confidence in my mind and body to accomplish just about anything. So, #27 may take awhile and I’m already working on it, but I’m excited to share when it’s complete.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).
26. Visit, meet and learn from the Amish.
27. Be in supreme physical shape.

For some reason, the Amish have always held my interest. Maybe it’s because they make amazing quilts, like my mom. Or because many birth stories that I’ve read by midwives speak of the natural labor and deliveries that happen in Amish communities. Maybe it’s because they’ve found a way to resist technology and the advancements of man and machine. Then there’s the part about their unyielding faith and ability to forgive. I’m sure that of all the Christian religious groups that are still in existence, Jesus would approve of their ability to love, forgive, accept others and hold fast to their convictions (although I don’t know how he’d feel about the whole giving up of free will to the elders bit). Their church services are open to the public, and while it may seem weird, I think it would be interesting to attend one.

Mostly, though, they are a people known for hard work that sustains their communities, and a lifestyle that lives in communion with the natural rhythms of the earth. Plus, I hear they make awesome ice cream. As an American, I can’t deny their appeal as a people. I feel similarly about the Pioneers that moved west and helped expand our country centuries ago. Luckily, I can meet the Amish and still learn from them in the first person. That’s my #26.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).
26. Visit, meet and learn from the Amish.

Today’s adventure to Sandy Point was a lovely reminder of why I want to do #25, and appreciate and utilize it this time. I took it for granted when I lived next to the Pacific Ocean for all those years. Darn it!

Oh man, it sure is hot here in town.

Let’s take a trip to the lake! And don’t forget the floaty.

All that swimming around sure makes me hungry.

Boy oh boy do we have a good time together.

Summer at the lake!

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).

A few nights ago Porter awoke a bunch of times, wouldn’t nurse for 2 days, and eventually made it to our bed in hopes that we all might get some sleep. He’s been teething and usually just being in my presence will keep him calm enough to sleep. This night, however, he was very restless and couldn’t get comfortable. It was frustrating for all of us, but he eventually got a little sleep with his head near my feed, right under the window. It turns out that he had Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It’s a virus that has a lot of symptoms similar to teething, headache, fever, etc.

A few days prior, he had what I thought was diaper rash, but looked like pimples all over his bottom. It wasn’t a rash after all. The telling sign came a day after the hard night sleep when I found crazy bumps on the bottom of his feet. At first I thought he had walked across something with bare feet and was having an allergic reaction, but then I remembered a Facebook post from a friend a few months ago. She posted that her kid had Hand Foot and Mouth, and then Luke’s coworker said that his kids also had it. I decided to look it up on WebMD back then, so I would know what to look for. Thankfully, I remembered the photos and looked at Porter’s hands, and he had the tell tale bumps there too. Maybe some would have taken their child to the doctor, but my intuition tells me that I’m right and that the doctor would have told us to wait it out. I took pictures and will be bringing it up at his 18 month visit next month.He’s been in much better spirits for the last couple days, but they are now turning into blisters. Ew.

The hardest part for me is that I didn’t even know he was sick until he was starting to feel better, and started to get the bumps. We were all over town this week, no doubt infecting other children around Boise. I hate that! I’ll be much happier when Porter is at an age when he can at least tell me that he’s not feeling well and I can determine if it’s teething or illness.

Had I known that Porter was sick with fever, I would have given him some Ibuprofen, NOT TYLENOL. The fever couldn’t have been very high, because I mistook it for being really hot from the 90* weather we were having and it didn’t last into the morning. That got me thinking about a blog post I read from HolisticKid.com about why it might not always be the best idea to give a child medicine to break their fever. You can read that article here. The gist of it goes like this:

“According to the National Institute of Health:Fever is an important part of the body’s defense against infection. Most bacteria and viruses that cause infections in people thrive best at 98.6 °F. Many infants and children develop high fevers with minor viral illnesses. Although a fever signals that a battle might be going on in the body, the fever is fighting for the person, not against.Brain damage from a fever generally will not occur unless the fever is over 107.6 °F (42 °C). Untreated fevers caused by infection will seldom go over 105 °F unless the child is overdressed or trapped in a hot place.So basically, the fever is your friend.  The fear comes from a parent’s misdirected concern for their child’s well-being and also a drive to relieve their child’s suffering.”

Another article by Emily at HolisticKid.com is about how she treated her feverish child with an assortment of alternative approaches, including Lemon Socks for fever. Emily is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which I know for a fact takes a rigorous course of study at a legitimate university with lengthy testing and licencing processes. She has studied holistic eastern medicine and practices acupuncture and Chinese Medicine on children and adults. She knows whats up and is obviously ready to use alternative approaches on her own children. That’s not so easy for me as a lay-person, not having studied medicine in any form. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to do my #24. And honestly, #24 won’t require a degree, just some knowledge and advice from my local Chinese Medicine Acupuncturists at The People’s Clinic and hopefully Porter’s Osteopathic Pediatrician. 

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.