Moonshine Junkyard

lucy is learning to walk! she is a careful little thing, but finds that the fun of practicing standing up and stepping outweighs her innate sense of caution. she likes to take one step, maybe one and a half, then fall gleefully into mama's arms. she thinks this is hilarious. in other news, we are going on a trip! we leave early tomorrow morning for WYOMING. the whole beatty clan will be road tripping and camping throughout Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park for ten days. we will be cavorting with bison this time next week. wish us luck travelling with our little wolf cub. awwwoooooohhh! we'll howl at the moon and stars to you all, good night!

i have been lucky with breastfeeding. things have gone smoothly since the beginning when lucinda latched right on as soon as i got her in my arms, and we've never looked back. it did hurt at first, they told me the tenderness might last for ten days or so, but my nipples were in pain for the first several weeks of nursing. but only for that first moment when she would latch on, i'd take a deep breath and relax myself and feel the milk start to flow and everything would be comfy then. it seemed like i was nursing round the clock for months. she was a very frequent eater and i just kept it coming. to me it was cozy to have my spot on the couch or the hammock, quiet time with a big glass jar of water, my book and journal, ipod, perhaps a snack nearby, and my sweet content baby nursing away snuggled in my arms. lucy's nursing time has flown and i've tried to enjoy it fully.   now it is getting very near weaning time for my sweet toot. she only nurses once a day now,

photo by cassie my baby turned one! it's so crazy to me. i haven't even fully processed that yet, the fact that one year has passed since i became a mother, the fact that it has been one full year since i met this dreamy sparkling hummingbird of a girl. we threw her a garden party in our backyard. i spent the early part of the week trying to tidy up our backyard and make it cute, which is an endless task, the results of which will never completely satisfy me. but in any case, we had a nice place to hang out, play, dance, eat and celebrate this precious little girl of mine. party prep: sunflowers remind me of her birth because several people brought me sunflowers in the hospital, that and fresh lavender. it was this that made me want a "garden party" with visions of a bumblebee pinata (till i realized none of my friend's kids really eat candy) and little potted flowers for party favors (till i realized i was broke.) it pretty much turne

the fourth of july had me thinking this year about what it means to be a patriotic american. i want to be my own brand of patriotic, one that means questioning, challenging, dissenting, changing. helping to shape a better future for our children. where true freedom reigns, and  rad journalists  don't die  mysterious deaths ....but i won't get into that. the other night michael jackson's song  "heal the world"  popped into my mind and for the rest of the night i could not get the chorus out of my head! (so annoying. but i kinda loved it.) do you remember? it is soooo cheesy but the lyrics are all about love fighting fear and providing the inspiration for trying to make the world a better place.  what do pool parties with big fun rowdy groups of friends and their children have to do with healing the world? probably nothing. but i hope a tiny little something. because when you go to a pool party hosted by this little family of  rad people  driving veggie o