oh yeah i own a preschool

Well through a long chain of events I co-own a school, just a preschool right now but we have BIG ideas. Co-own with the best, coolest partner ever & we have some awesome (way over-educated) teacher moms that work with us as well. Through an at times intense summer of super hard work we started the school year in an amazing huge old house with hardwood floors, gardens, and porches the size of classrooms. We have a pair of chickens running around and a monster airplane see-saw that 7 children at a time can ride on. Our kids ages 2 to 5 rotate 'classes' all day and take turns in Italian, Yoga, Art & Nature Studio (my class, like the fancy name?), English, Math, Gardening, Music, Sensory experiences & ample blocks of open play. We have gorgeous hand carved wooden dishes in our play kitchen and tons of laughter filling our hallways - life at school is very good. Seeing my own children gathered around our little school's kitchen table cooking with friends and other parents (we are cooperative) is amazing and still highly surreal. I have thought about blogging about school plenty of times but because my blog gets some kind of random traffic and I want to protect the privacy of our families I have been hesitant and really just too busy to even stop and post a little blurb!

I'll give you a little view of our front porch though. These days we eat meals and snacks whole school, family style with our blue picnic tables lined up end to end. My husband built these and 1,000 other things for us this summer & we are already in need of more! Life is full. The ability to bring to life your dreams and imaginations is a superb reality.

Eating Better

One of my personal goals this year was to eat better. Not necessarily better as in lower calories even though that would be good. But better by cooking with higher quality ingredients, foods that have less processing, making more staples like breads, stocks, etc. myself and eating meals with more variety. I basically just make a menu list every week with a mix of very easy and more complex recipes so I have a couple of challenges and then a few nights where the whole process takes less than 30 mins. 

I have been slowly working up to a perfect week shopping trip and I think I have finally figured out the right mix for us. This is what a weekly shopping trip looks like now!

 Thanks to the most awesome market ever (Dekalb Farmers Market in Atlanta) my whole load here was just over $100

New spices, wheat germ, apple butter, fresh almond butter

Fresh pasta and a great bag of sweet peppers

Nori, cheeses, salmon for sushi, lots of trail mix ingredients, meats, shrimp, breads

And a happy little eater with this Greek salad (we have made it twice in less than two weeks very good!)

Getting There and some baby and toddler travel gear

So we will be in "hotel home" as Ava affectionately calls it until Tuesday unless this snow causes a moving delay. First, let me say that it is free, has a separate large bedroom and flat screen TV's in both rooms. There is a great free breakfast everyday and of course we get our room cleaned and beds made. It is getting kind of old though. Mostly I feel like I don't have much to do and getting the girls down the elevator with all their stuff is kind of a hassle. I am also still 'coming down' from a very intense job and so some days are feeling slow but not in a bad way, just different.

Photo: Ava and her new bff Jack at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History

We still manage to get out almost everyday while Joe works. I am getting pretty awesome at toting the girls around the city by myself. I do have some great gear though like the Baby Jogger City Mini  double stroller and an ERGO baby carrier with this infant insert. I use either the ERGO insert or the Snuggin Go to make the Baby Jogger appropriate for a two month old. I also have a good sling and diaper bag with stroller clips. The JJ Cole Bundle Me Lite  is saving our life in the cold weather. It isn't practical or safe to dress small infants in tons of heavy clothes so the bundle me light will keep the wind and rain off of them when you are running to and from the car.  The other thing I have needed is a warm jacket for me that is somewhat waterproof that has a hood because I can't manage an umbrella with both girls by myself.

Photo: Lilly in the baby jogger using the Ergo insert for support

I was a little worried it would take me a long time to feel comfortable enough to get out on the kinds of trips I would make with just Ava but I already feel just as confident taking them both out as I did just taking Ava. That probably says as much about how good of a baby Lilly is as anything else. She can go several days without ever crying. SERIOUSLY. When she does cry it is more of a fretting. She also eats every four hours during the day and goes a 9 hour stretch each night without eating during her... wait for it... 12 hour night time sleeping stretch.

Photo: Of course some days we just stay in and lay around ;) This is Ava's hair in its natural state. 

Is there anything kid or baby travel gear item that you can't live without? I really want to know I might need one! ;)

Finding a Little Freedom

First, my family is moving in 12 days to the Atlanta, Georgia area. About seven hours from where we live now and quite a big change for us since we have always lived in some part of Florida. We are excited and nervous which are refreshing feelings!

(Photo - Dec 2010 she has been smiling since 5 weeks old but this is the closest photo we have to a smile. Lilly gets very distracted by the camera)

We moved to South Florida from North Florida, seven hours away from our closest relatives, two days after we got married seven and a half years ago. It was quite a big risk. We didn't even have jobs when we moved and we both had some college to finish. It was so much fun though. Everything was new and different and the 'doors' were wide open. We had no debt, only one car, could live on very little money and had no expectations about the 'level' of our house, cars, clothing etc. Our first apartment was somewhere around 700 square feet and the rent was $500 a month.

(photo - Dec. 2010 at the Georgia Aquarium)

Fast forward seven years and we have a house, cars, bills, lots of stuff, careers, and my least favorite a "lifestyle." We are both turning thirty in a few months and well feeling a little 'old' and tied down for people who are STILL in thier late 20's. Our girls are still little and now is the perfect time, before they are in school, to experiment and try something new.

This is early for a 'New Years' post but my goal this year is to capture some of that feeling again that I had when we first got married. Moving to Atlanta is giant leap #1. We will be renting and working on simplifying, all with the goal of keeping the doors of life open. I don't know when I will start looking for a job again. I admit that I have been pretty spoiled by a great boss and lots of creative freedom and that will be hard to replace. No matter what though we are moving to a big city with lots of options, lots of people to meet and lots of new ideas and opportunities.

(photo - Thanksgiving Day 2010)

So cheers to 2011 and to turning 30 and to be unemployed for a little while (something I haven't been since I was 15 years old)!

p.s. In other news it is "the coldest winter in Atlanta in 100 years"...

p.s.s. I don't own one single sweater.