Birthday Wishes

I have a permanent reminder on my feet to 'Want Less, Suffer Less' - But, I make an exception to that rule on my birthday, okay and maybe some other days out of the year too. I'm a firm believer in less stuff, simpler life, happier life. That being said, my birthday is in t-minus 2 weeks exactly and i do have some 'wants' this year.

1. A Breville Juicer - because i saw THIS film, nearly a year ago and have wanted one ever since. I'm a terrible vegetarian and would much rather drink my veggies than eat them! Sorry mom! 

2. A Singer Sewing Machine - Can i sew? NO! But i'm desperate to learn!! (I should have paid more attention in middle school Home Ec, dangit!!)

3. A Portable Record Player - Because i have records that need to be listened to! Plus we have been trying to listen to more music around here, and watch less t.v. - Living room dance parties have been all the rage at our house lately! 

4. Doc Martens - I've wanted a pair of 'Docs' ever since middle school - I'm still waiting. Aren't these BEAUTIFUL! Feminine and Tough! I'm a gemini people! Plus they remind me of one of my favorite shows of all time - 'My so called life' I seriously considered naming my daughter Rayanne. No shame. 

All that being said, i'll be MORE than happy just to have a good relaxing day with my family and a delicious meal of course! cough melting pot cough. ;) 

Kindly,

Shell

IG Love

If you haven't heard of instagram you probably live under a rock, and i'm probably jealous because let's be honest...the last thing i need in my life is another social media outlet. However, Instagram kind of rules as far as those sorts of things go. I literally have NO CLUE how to use twitter, or tweet someone or retweet blah blah blah. So IG it is for me! (I'm not that excited that facebook bought them since it was my secret little hiding place on the interwebs. grr.) I guess my secret is out - you can follow me on IG at -WildflowerShell- Here are some of my favorites bits and pieces.

Kindly,

.Shell.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Everyone that REALLY knows me, KNOWS I am a grilled cheese fanatic!! I can't help that i have a simple pallet. However, I've stepped up my grilled cheese game these days. I am 26 after all, I think it's time that i say goodbye to the Kraft cheese, butter and white bread. RIP. I will love you forever!

Here is my new and improved 'go-to' grilled cheese recipe.

Coconut Oil instead of Butter

Rosemary bread instead of White Bread

Fresh Mozzarella instead of Kraft Slices

Campari Tomatoes instead of Ketchup

+Pesto, just because I could eat that sh*t with a spoon!

Please excuse my less than stellar food photographs, trying to take good pictures of a meal that you are ready to chow down on is kind of weird and i am kind of impatient. Just saying. 

Kindly,

Shell. 

Montessori Madness

The title of this post, well actually anything followed by 'Madness' automatically makes me think of REEFER MADNESS. However, I can assure you, this is not about herbs. Sorry stoners we'll save that discussion for another day.

So as of last week i am officially a 'Montessori' mommy, add that to my crazy list if you'd like. Here are the top 3 reasons why we decided to uproot our kids from the traditional daycare they'd been at for 2+ years. I will dedicate another post in the near future to explaining what exactly the 'MON-TA-SORE-EE' method is.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 NUTRITION:

Their particular school is a SUGAR FREE ZONE! Can we say HALLELUJAH? I hate to be 'that' mom, but once you read this article you may understand. Not to mention my sweet angel of a daughter practically needs an exorcism after she eats ice cream. No more ‘specials’ i.e. dum dums on display in the classroom for her to drool over all day & no more fighting for ‘specials’ when it’s time to go home and eat dinner!! Also, they have the option to bring their lunch (which i pack in either a goodbyn lunchbox  or a lunchbots food container). When mom is being a bum, they have the option of a well rounded, fresh, hot catered meal for $3.00 a day!! Heck yes! I hated that i had no control over what they ate for 2  of 3 meals at their old school. Problem solved.

 EDUCATION:


On top of the Montessori basics that differ from a traditional classroom they now have 'Extra Curricular' activities built into their school day. Everyday they have one of the following classes: Mandarin Chinese, Gym, Music, Library, Spanish & Computer. Let's face it, not many daycares offer these options and - I - do not know how to, play guitar or piano, speak Spanish or Mandarin or have the patience to let my 3 year old, play on my Macbook. So needless to say this is a VERY exciting oppurtunity for my little ones. I am one stoked momma!

CONVENIENCE:


We save about 45mins to an hour a day in driving time, since their new school is located MUCH closer to our house! woohoo!
Also, and this is controversial for an artsty fartsy crunchy hippie weirdo mom like me, but they are required to wear uniforms (GASP) everyday except Friday. Surprisingly this rules my life becuase I have a million times less laundry and secondly because i have a million times less stress in the mornings. That's enough reason for me. Bring on the plaid jumpers and polo shirts! Please note the irony of all this, considering less than 10 years ago i was sitting in 11th grade writing a persausive paper on why uniforms are so Terrible and EVIL!! Oh life you are sooo hilarious!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who knows if it's a better than home school, or no school or traditional daycare. I sure as hell don’t know! I do know that it is what's best for our family right now...and  I'll most definitely let everyone know in a few years, whether it 'worked' or not. ;)


Okay enough already, time for zee pictures!!

^^ I Die! ^^

1st lunch I've ever packed!

I would call this a 'fake' smile, but she legitimately smiles like this. 

What the hell is going on here?

On our way!!

Unrelated, tears.

Places to go, people to meet!

My little food dude, ready to chow down with his new bros!

Sisters turn.

Stop it right now. I will melt on the floor right here. 

Making herself right at home working on some ART!

So far so good, They have adjusted really well and i can relax now! Oh and Addie's ATTITUDE problem seems to have  disappeared....almost. ;) 

Kindly,

.Shell.

Backpack Backpack

I decided recently to convert from carrying a 500 lb purse, to this beauty of a backpack. I really love the 90's and I'm on an eternal quest to acquire all the stuff i was never cool enough to have back then. Next stop, some floral Doc Martens. My birthday is coming up, just saying. So far so good, i love carrying a backpack instead of a purse. My hands are always free to hold more junk that will inevitably end up, on my back. I decided to go through it tonight and explore all the little treasures that i've been collecting. I will warn you, what you are about to see will confirm that i am in fact very weird. enjoy. 

Business cards from The Dallas Flea that i finally got to go to last week. Slightly disappointed, but glad we went! 

1. Memory cards stolen from the husband for my new hobby.

2. Tarjay sunnies and a wallet that serves no purpose

3. Corzya-comp - this stuff is the bomb.com, everything you would take if you felt a cold coming on, in one tablet, all natural of course.

4. MEDI-HERB - oh yes, herbs are good people!! This is an Adrenal supplement, you should probably be taking one too, look it up. 

This my friends, is a mini constitution - you can print one out yourself here and make this handy dandy little notebook to put in your car, purse, house etc. It's a good read, but don't take my word for it. 

Journal that i got bored and decided to paint the other day...

Clearly, i can't resist the dollar section at Target...one for doodling, one for lists, one for craft/diy ideas. 

Good reads. 

 My DWC binder... full of lots of Finding Kind/ Kind Campaign stuff at the moment. 

The end. I can always clean this up tomorrow right?? 

.Shell. 

Ramblin woman

Mad men live alone, in groups.

Mad men pretend to be lonely,

for the sake of their poetry.

They coerce and corrupt,

the most innocent women.

I loved a mad man once, i know.

Love,youth & sorrow.

For now, I'll color my skin

and smoke away my sins

Mad men chase dreams for day jobs

and day dream for night time fun.

They live in bars and strum on their guitars

I'll tell you about mad men

I'll tell you all i know

They come and they go

as they please.

On your knees,you'll be 

left, begging them so.

.Shell.

Grandma Style

Tuesday night grandma stuff, stitchin (or something??) not exactly sure what you would even call this...??  Oh and I'm watching PBS. I can't express my fondness for this channel enough. Does that make me lame? That's okay. Off to do chores against my own free will.

.Shell.

Little Boy Adventures

Any suburbanite will tell you that the burbs are lacking, for the most part, any natural gems. Sure there are playgrounds and some re-planted baby trees to replace the beautiful, old oaks they tore down but thats pretty much it it. Luckily, our next door neighbor has a little 'Turtle Sanctuary' in her front yard. The kids love it and every spring its all about going to see the 'Tewtles'...This year my little bruiser aka Gunnar is able to appreciate these slow creepy little things that crawl around the dirt he calls home.

                  

This is what I imagine would happen had I not been around:


1. Gunnar would fall head first into the pit, cry a bit, then get right up and explore
2. Next, he would head straight for the 35 day old rainwater that the turtles drink out of, then he too, would have a sip. YUM!
3. After tasting some delicious rainwater, he would realize that he hadn't had a taste of his favorite food, DIRT! Oh how glorious, it's how i imagine i would be crawling around on a floor made of chocolate.
4. While seeking out some more things to nom on, he would probably step on a turtle, once he discovered the scared creature curled up into a ball, he might just try and throw it, while yelling 'Ball'Ball'

Dirt don't hurt right??!!


.Shell.