Five Minutes Alone

A couple of months before I started this here Dance While You Cook blog, I had an idea for a website that I believed would help validate my chaotic existence as a full-time stay-at-home mother to three wild and unruly children.

I envisioned the site as a community space to share photos of the crazy things little kids can do in those horrifying moments when you realize the pip-squeaks have been utterly too quiet for entirely too long. 

I pray I'm not the only mother who walks down the stairs to a pantry ripped apart, tots covered in vaseline head to toe, fresh baked birthday cakes smeared all over the cupboard doors or a carton of eggs smashed on the dining room floor. 

Knowing that other capable and loving parents go through this same course of events could be satisfying to my stay-at-home mothering ego.

That said, I went through a long creative process about what the site would be called. I drank a lot of iced chai. I ate a whole ton of organic dark chocolate. I landed on the perfect idea. I bought the url right then and there. 

And then I told my closest friends. They laughed. They snickered. They blushed. 

They told me I should NOT start a website with that name. They thought it would too easily be confused with a pornography site... or worse.

But I've been thinking about it lately. Scenes like this happen all too often in my daily existence. I need an outlet. Maybe you do too?

Five Minutes Alone is the place where I'll be posting the cold hard evidence of those instances when I leave the children alone for five minutes only to find an hour's worth of clean-up as my punishment.

It'll be good for a laugh. 

It'll be good for validation.

It'll be good for our collective mental health.

Please, please do join-in the fun by uploading your photos to the Five Minutes Alone Flickr Group.

It'll make me feel better.

If folks choose to contribute, I'll be regularly posting all the great photos on the Five Minutes Alone blog so we can all laugh together.

If I'm the only woman on the planet who encounters this reality, I'll be posting my own photos on the Five Minutes Alone blog and I'll be crying to myself.

A Diversion: La Iguana

This summer in The Little White Kitchen I've been doing my fair share of dancing but have been majorly slacking in the recipe creation department. There are a number of reasons for this, namely...

1. I have been out-of-town or preparing to be out-of-town for nearly half of the summer.

2. I have been sick with a relentless head cold (could I be developing allergies for the first time in my life?) for the other half of the summer.

3. I do not have air conditioning in my house and it is 87 degrees in the kitchen before I even begin thinking about cooking dinner.

4. I have three rowdy children home all day, every day, and barely have a moment to think straight let alone concoct a fancy meal plan.

So there you have it. It's been salad and pasta and BBQ and tacos for this family for the past nine weeks. Despite how much I love summer, there is a little part of me that is longing for the rhythm and routine that comes with the start of a new school year. And then there will surely be more scrumptious gluten and dairy-free recipes coming your way.

Until then, a diversion from the packing and unpacking, the heat and the utter chaos constantly unfolding on the premises. 

La Iguana and Other Creatures: A Poem

'Twas an early summer day nearish the Pacific,

When up in the tree came a sight most terrific.

Over the branches and through the leaves,

Up climbed a massive iguana we just couldn't believe.

Small glimpses of its body didn't reveal quite its size,

Until he maneuvered out into the open to catch some flies.

He hung around for hours—so majestic, so grand.

A six foot long iguana—King of the Land.

Nifty Rain Boots ~ Join in the Kickstarter Fun and Win a Pair

Have you heard of Kickstarter? I don't know what planet I've been living on, but I hadn't heard of this most fantastically awesome concept until today. Somebody dig me out from the dust on planet Mars, please.

Earlier this morning, I unassumingly opened an email from an artist friend of ours to find my heart skipping a beat and nearly jumping out of my chest.

Rain boots? Kickstarter? What's this?

Jessica Swift is a remarkable woman living in Atlanta, GA spreading her message of love and empowerment through color, patterns and positive messages. Her artwork graces the walls of my home in two spots. I never tire of the whimsical cityscape that sets the tone for my living room.

Jess and I met a long time ago when she and my hubby worked together at the art museum in town. She moved away years ago to continue her pursuit as a full-time artist. Her smile will never leave my heart. It's contagious.

Besides her contagious smile and darling laugh, she is a highly talented artist with a deeply soulful spirit. Here's what she has to say about the mission behind her work:

We are all powerful human beings who deserve to be happy. We are each profoundly unique, and possess the ability to make our wildest dreams come true. And I believe that color and art are essential parts of living into our dreams and in experiencing life in a deeply happy and fulfilling way!

And with that, she's spreading the love in the form of Patterned Rain Boots with Secret Messages.

Now comes the cool part.

As with any dreamer who wants to make something out of nothing, start-up costs are necessary to bring the vision forth. This is where Kickstarter comes in. Jessica is funding her project by accepting donations through the Kickstarter program. The thing that makes Kickstarter so genius is their "all or nothing funding" rule. A project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Read more about this brilliant concept for funding creativity and the arts here.

And now the really cool part.

Jessica is giving away a pair of her most amazing rain boots to one lucky contributor to her Kickstarter project as a celebration for reaching her funding goal. The project will carry on! There will be beautiful rain boots on the streets! In the puddles! In the mud! I need me a pair of this goodness. You know how I like to splash in the rain.

Any and all contributors, even those contributing $1, will be entered into a random drawing for a pair of boots! To qualify, all contributions must be made before Thursday, July 21 at 8am.

Click here if you are so inclined to contribute to this fabulous creative project and take your chances at being a winner!

Go ahead now. Get used to seeing yourself in some sexy colorful rain boots. You deserve it!

Road Trips with Kids and NO TV

With the holiday weekend upon us it is predicted that 39 million Americans will hop in their cars and get on with the good ol' tradition of summer road trippin'. Hitting the road is one of my favorite parts about summer. To me road trippin' means freedom, adventure, lively and unpredictable circumstances, new places, tight spaces, roadside picnics and uninterrupted time with the people I love. All good things in my book. 

But road trips with kids can be a source of panic and anxiety for many parents, grandparents and godparents. And for good reason. When trapped in the car with children we brave endless hours of...

She's touching my seat.

He's looking at me.

Mommy, I have to peeeeee. I can't hold it. I have to go nowwwwwwwwwwwww.

Are we therrrrrre yeeeeet?

Over the years, the biggest words of advice we've ever received are "make sure you bring a DVD player for the kids". So early-on in our adventures in parenting we bought a portable DVD player to entertain the kids on our road trips. 

I don't know if it's just my kids or what, but bringing a TV with us in the car is a nightmare on wheels. 

As of this year I've vowed never to bring that thing into my vehicle again.

With the DVD player in the vehicle I endure endless hours of...

What's wrong with this thing. Why isn't it working? Every 31 minutes.

I don't like this movie. I want the other one. Every 7 minutes.

I don't want to watch her movie, it's for girls. Every 4 1/2 minutes.

I can't seeeeeee it. Every 3 minutes.

As a result of this torture, I banned all sources of motion picture from our latest road trip. No TV. No computer DVDs. No Gameboy.

Instead I found 13 simple ways to keep the children happy and engaged on our 32 hour round-trip excursion. Granted it was just me and my three monkeys. I needed some serious strategy.

As I was plotting out my no-TV method of road trip survival, my strategies fell into three categories—

Food

Activities

Passive Engagement

Food

For my brood, food is the most important component in maintaining our composure. All hell breaks loose when the children are hungry. Prior planning goes a long way such circumstances.

A few strategies that worked well for us:

Large Tote — I filled an 18 Gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote with endless snacks. Gluten-free and diary-free stuff that was easy to grab such as Larabars, Kettle Chips, Mrs. May's Sesame Strips, Stretch Island Fruit Strips, juice boxes and so much more.

Cooler — Then I packed a cooler with all kinds of fresh fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, jelly and lunch meat. 

Impromptu Picnics — This made it super convenient to stop for impromptu picnic lunches. 

Fresh Air — With my gaggle of young kids, the best picnics were had at old-school vintage playgrounds.

Prepared Smoothies — One of the treats we looked forward to the most was the frozen smoothies I packed in the cooler. Blend them up the day before you leave and stick them in the freezer overnight. They serve as convenient ice packs for the cooler and halfway through the day you'll have a fresh icey cold treat waiting for you. Don't forget to pack cups and straws, you'll need them when you stop in the middle of nowhere.

Icey Cold Beverages — Lest we forget the driver, be sure to pack some icey cold beverages that will help maintain focus on the road. Nobody needs an adventurous road trip turning into an adventurous visit to the roadside ditch. While coffee and tea may work for many of us to keep our attention sharp, a fantastic non-caffinated option for energy and focus is Kombucha. Pick some up at your local natural grocer before heading out and be pleasantly surprised at how invigorated you'll feel when you finally reach your destination.

Activities


Notebook and Pencil — I am always amazed at how far a simple pen and paper will get me when it comes to keeping the children busy. Each child received a new notebook for the trip and a small sack of colored pencils. They had hours of fun drawing the things they saw out the window.

Pipe Cleaners — We had great success with bringing along something crafty to keep their little hands busy, such as pipe cleaners. I found them at the Dollar Store and bought a pack for each kid. You should have seen all the beautiful rings, bracelets and necklaces I was adorned with by the end of the trip.

Binders — I prepared a three-ringed binder filled with age appropriate material for each child. For the baby this was coloring sheets of lions and hippos. For my eldest child the binder was filled with maps of the United States so he could draw our route as we traveled.

Library Books — There is a lot to be said for the captivating factor of new library books. Enough said.

Digital Camera — The kids love, love, love taking pictures of all they see. So many new and interesting things to capture. You should have seen my son trying to get the perfect picture of the military trucks as they passed. It kept him busy for over an hour.

Passive Engagement

Historically, this is where the TV makes an appearance. Not anymore, my friends.

Books on Tape — Instead, we opted to borrow books on CD from the library. Talk about happy and content. All three little ones sat and listened intently for hours. Then they would nap. Then they would listen intently. Then they would nap. The pattern continued until we listened through eight full disks. I was in road trip heaven.

Tunes — It wouldn't be a road trip without your favorite tunes to rock out to. Make at least two CDs ahead of time, one with the kids favorites and one with yours. Rockin' and rollin' is how it was meant to be.

So there you have it. Thirteen ideas that kept me and my children sane on our latest long road trip.

I'd love to hear your ideas for keeping the children engaged when on the road. Please do share your thoughts below.

Here's to safe, happy and contented travels!

It's the Simple Things in Life

"So, what's it like?" she says to me with bright eager eyes.

"What?" I ask knowing full well what she wants to know.

She's inquiring about my husband. She wants me to spill all the juicy details of having him back home now that his four year love affair with Grad School is officially over.

If I was collecting pennies for every time I have been asked this question over the past month I would have six dollars and twenty-four cents in my pocket.

Every girlfriend I see greets me with huge eyes and a smile that reaches from ear to ear. I can feel their excitement for me and my family. A lot of these women have walked alongside me over the years and have seen me through buckets of tears, fits of anger, physical exhaustion and mental delusion.

"I can't imagine what it must feel like."

"How different is it now?"

"Are you loving it?"

I must admit I'm walking on Cloud Nine, it feels so right and, yes, I absolutely love having him around. I simply can't get enough. By having him with us so much, I believe I am just now waking up from a dark haze to see what we were missing for so long.

First off, we accomplished more around the house in one weekend than had been attended to in an entire calendar year while he was in school. It blew my mind. Finally those squeaky doors, overcrowded closets and small—but important—handyman jobs got some much deserved attention.

In addition to cleaning out closets, over the past few weeks of summer vacation I have been working on centering myself in the things that are most important for the health of my family. 

I'm finding it's the little things that are the most meaningful to me. I have filled up my eye sockets with tears of joy more times than I can count since my sweet husband's graduation day. 

The main theme over the past few weeks in my family has been The Simple Life. (Was that a TV show? Who knows. We don't have TV. I think I recall something about Paris and Nicole. Must be a memory from the grocery store gossip magazines. Got to love those little treasures. Too much irrelevant information is imprinted on my brain from those five minute exposures. I will admit though, I do like these magazines. Put one in front of me and I'm captivated for hours. Is it because we don't have TV? Who knows. All I know is you should see me in a hotel room with cable TV. Oh, Lordy!)

Back to our house. Back to the simple life. Yes. A theme for us. Something to strive for.

The obvious truth is that it's the simple things that are the biggest blessings...

Sharing a cup of coffee together in the morning before walking into our respective workplaces.

A lunchtime communication just to ask, "How are the kids doing today?"

Playing catch in the backyard no sooner than walking through the front door.

Family meals. Two adults, three children. Finally a decent ratio.

Washing dishes in peace while someone else gets the kids ready for bed. Lord knows that I've hit my limit with the kids somewhere around the six o'clock hour. Who knew a woman could cling to the kitchen sink so desperately after dinner.

All that to say, focusing on the simple things in life has brought the most joy to our family over the past few weeks. And as of today I'm feeling inspired not to loose this feeling. So I'm creating a little project for myself.

Once a week I will be sharing a Simple Joy. Captured in a photo, one simple thing that brings me joy. Something that I see, feel, taste or experience that keeps me dancing in the kitchen. We all know that life can be hard, unpredictable and difficult to navigate at times. I'm fairly certain these realities won't ever disappear. Nor should they disappear entirely. It's the joy and the pain, the highs and the lows that make this such a rich and complex existence.

I'm excited to identify just a few of the highs on this here bloggy blog every Monday morning—one little way I can start my week off with positive perspective.

Bringing the Joy of Family Vacation Home

It has been one month since that glorious day in May when my sweet husband walked across the commencement stage to receive his diploma for our—eh, I mean, his—four years of hard work in Grad School.

In the past six weeks our family has traveled 2,784 miles by car and 4,334 miles by air to three amazing destinations for a some much needed R&R, in addition to visiting one very average middle America town to honor the life of a very important person.

Evidence seen here...

My road trip with the three kids halfway across the country. Dada stayed home.

Graduation vacation in Mexico. The whole family together. Delightful.

Camping in Moab, Utah. Multi-family fun.

Our annual trip to California to visit with my family. Just me and the kids.

Across the miles we've had plenty of time together to talk and dream and laugh and dream some more.

The most amazing thing about trips in general is that we get to take a step back from the day-to-day happenings in our lives. Remarkably, when not in the middle of the normal flow—be it the busy, mundane or chaotic flow—of our lives we start to see things a little differently. And if we're lucky we'll be seeing things a lot differently by the time we get home. That's why I love taking trips so much. The new perspective is so refreshing.

I especially like road trips—even with three rowdy kids in the back. The focused time I get with my hubby is precious to me. Endless hours of talking. Endless hours of hand holding. For some reason we don't seem to get much of that goodness when we stick around the house. And the kids are strapped in. Have I mentioned before my love of little children who sit still?

Still and quiet children aside, upon arriving at home my main goal was to translate the wonderful things we've seen, breathed and felt from our time away into our day-to-day living.

However upon arriving at home, the busyness of our schedules, mundane household chores and chaotic ambiance inside our four walls took their proper places front and center in our day-to-day happenings.

Hardly shocking. But honestly, I was shocked. How did we go from peace and harmony on the beach to three short people fighting, screaming and whining all day long? I imagined our family vacation bliss would last a few weeks at the very least, while I was secretly hoping for slightly more. We must have forgotten to pack the good vibes, mellow moods, and go-with-the-flow attitudes in to our suitcases. These delightful ways of functioning together have likely found anther family of vacationers to overwhelm with their joy by now.

But I want them back. Mellow moods, mellow moods, where are you?

So I've been thinking. What are the factors that contribute to such greatness as a family when on vacation?

A few points that have been sitting with me strongly...

Simplify everything. On vacation the schedules are simple. They are not overcrowded with nonsense. We do the essentials. Not much more. Cooking becomes a family activity. Tidying is a mindful practice.

Detach from the stuff. On vacation our space is not overcrowded with ten thousand little things. Or a hundred items of clothing. Or sixty pairs of shoes. Everyone has one outfit for now, one in the laundry and one for later. Just one pair of shoes per person. One hat. One book. In a hotel room or vacation rental there is a place for everything and everything in its place. This is so much easier to do when there are one hundred things to deal with instead of one hundred million things.

Allow children their fair share of the Earth's elements. For my kids, this is no less than eight hours a day feeling the sun's warmth and getting up close and personal with the forces of nature—be it a wave, dirt path or tall rock.

Plan well. There is a time and place for everything in the day. Try to feed the kids a meal two hours late and watch the madness unfold. Try to get just one more thing done on the computer before we leave for that bike ride I promised and watch the madness unfold. Meal prep, kitchen clean-up, quiet time and mama's work all have proper spots. When well executed this ship runs smoothly.

I'm excited to actualize these concepts in our home this week. First stop... delivering bags of stuff to the thrift store. Yay!

Beach Survival Skills With Little Kids

For the past seven years we've taken family vacations in Southern California to visit with relatives. 

For the past seven years I have had no rest on the beautiful sandy shores of the Pacific Ocean. 

In the weeks leading up to the trip I would always dream of relaxing on my beach towel, cool drink in hand, rolling over ever now and then to grab a snack from my cute and tidy little whale patterned lunch sack. 

Somehow that dream never came to fruition once we hit the beach.

Usually, you'd find me chasing a toddler into the sea. Running after a preschooler down the coastline. Or picking up the trail of a young lad on his way to the snack shack.

Not anymore, my friends. 

I'm not sure why it took me so long, but on this trip I decided to take notes.

"Watch what the locals do, Judith, and do what they do," I repeated to myself as we shuffled our feet through the deep sand.

By doing so, we took a trip that normally leaves me feeling like this...

And made it into a trip that has left me feeling like this.

Through observation of the locals, I learned there are two simple strategies to surviving the beach with little kids.

Strategy #1: Bury the children.

Bury them deep and bury them often.

With legs immobilized under 10 pounds of sand, there is no more chasing Big Bubba down the coastline.

Make the child a race car and say goodbye to the endless requests for the snack shack.

Bury the girl in a whimsical horse castle and say hello to your beach towel, cold beverage and clean snacks.

Strategy #2: Dig a deep hole directly in front of your towel. And welcome endless hours of jumping, sliding, hiding, digging, and pure... simple... joy.

Better yet, encourage that strong lad of yours to dig the deep hole.

Digging so deep that he finds water keeps will keep him busy for hours.

Now Mama, watch yourself sink into that deep relaxation you've always dreamed about!

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Xavier Rudd - Mother

Moab Madness

Please excuse me if you haven't seen the dancing cook doing her dancing while cooking thang lately. It's not that I haven't been dancing and cooking. For I have. 

But I've also been dancing while doing a handful of other things over the past few weeks. 

Namely dancing while driving. 

Dancing while flying. 

Dancing while beaching. 

Dancing while dreaming. 

More time on the road has meant a whole lot of egg dinners, mushed beans and camp food. 

Despite the lack of kitchen time for me in the month of May—a welcome break mind you—I have had more than my fair share of outdoor time. 

Upon return from our graduation vacation to Mexico where we spent every bliss-filled day on the beach, we turned around the next morning and drove to Moab, Utah for the Memorial Day weekend.

The American West is a magical place to find yourself in the summer. The children insisted on referring to our destination as The Wild West where people do things the old fashioned way. Indeed it felt that way with the vast rocky landscape and endless blowing dust. 

The eight little kids on our camping trip were in outdoor adventure heaven in Moab. Despite the mad crowds for mountain biking, four-wheeling, ATV-ing, and camping over the holiday weekend we felt like we were the only ones out there in The Wild West. Within minutes of setting foot in camp the boys took to their bikes and dashed off to hunt dinosaur fossils.

I took to my camera and dashed off to capture the miraculous beauty of the desert found in the form of sparse vegetation,

wind,

and sky.

Perhaps the most interesting part of our trip to The Wild West town of Moab was the local city park where we spent a lot of time escaping the 55 mile per hour wind storms that were tearing through the camp higher up on the rocks.

This park had the most interesting playground equipment I'd ever encountered.

Large, big-as-life, musical instruments.

Chimes, drums, bells, xylophones and cow bells.

The kids were really into it. 

But I must say, I think the adults enjoyed it even more. By the time four adults were playing, it turned into a downright chorus of spontaneous jamming. 

A genius idea for a park. It was amazing and magical and just the right touch to end our weekend trip out to The Wild West.

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Speaking of xylophone's... all xylophone lovers must check this out. Do yourself a favor and watch this three minute clip. It is joyous!

Forest Xylophone Plays Bach

Note To Self: When Traveling To Mexico With Kids

Dear Judith, 

Please take careful notes next time your friends tell you all the ways you can be well-prepared for your trip to Mexico. 

Remember to pack your sunscreen in the checked luggage so it doesn't get confiscated in the security line at the airport. Sunscreen is a key player for a good time in Mexico. By the way, the sunscreen in Mexico is super expensive even for the—cheap, hard to rub-in, barely does a good job—stuff. You can't afford for your light skinned babies to get the burn, mama.

Don't forget to get grapefruit seed extract to help prevent a rumbly tummy. For it's possible you might miss precious moments like these due to ill feelings.

If you think your friends are joking when they insist you pack Pepto Bismol—they're not. And if you think you are immune to traveler's tummy because you so desperately believe it won't happen to you—you're not. Thank heavens there was some of that funny pink stuff in the pantry when you got there. Otherwise you would have missed out on your baby girl's birthday celebration.


And when you do forget the grapefruit seed extract, Pepto Bismol and try desperately to avoid getting even a drop of water in your mouth but the entire family still manages to fall victim to Montezuma's Revenge, don't forget to pack the diaper rash cream for the baby. You're gonna need it, mama.

Always remember, the number one rule to enjoying the sun and the surf: stay hydrated. Dehydration will put a real cramp in your style. Keep those babies drinking water all day and don't get so busy with everyone else that you forget to drink some for yourself.

And a final few tips for next time... 

Keep yourself focused when packing—no Modern Family, phone calls, or desk work in the middle of the task.

Don't start packing at 10pm the night before you leave for the airport at 5:30am. 

Forget about drinking margaritas until you get there. Channeling good times while packing doesn't always work out so well for you.

Your Friend,

Judith