alaska

‘Well that’s creepy’, I’m sure all moms have said.

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Creepy stuff happens around here. Kids are magnets for the creepiness. Or maybe you just notice more because you have small people to keep alive on a daily, non-stop basis.

The following event has happened three times in a similar manner, with the location differing. The first time this happened we were up at the cabin by the lake. G was napping downstairs, my hubs was out doing something in the yard (in the rain) and S was watching a show in the loft. I was sitting in the living room under the loft reading my book and soaking up the peace and quiet.

Suddenly I heard S talking upstairs. I thought he was commenting on his show, but it sounded like a conversation. He paused and then says ‘I’m going down to get a snack. I’ll be back’. When he gets down the stairs he says, ‘Mama?! How did you get down here so fast?’. I asked what he meant. He tells me he was just talking to me upstairs, but then I was down here.

I tried to get him to describe what I looked like, but he just said it was me. He was completely confused by what happened and walked away shaking his little four-year-old head and completed his mission to find a snack.

This same scenario with slightly different details has happened two more times at our house in the last six weeks or so. Pretty wild! We’ve always had slightly supernatural events at our home: hearing people call your name (it’s happened to me, our nanny and my mom. Neither of them knew about my experience before reporting it to me), unexplainable crashing noises, one time all the cabinets/drawers in the kitchen opened silently while we were all standing in there but happened to turn around at the same time, etc. But this is the first one that occurred elsewhere and involved the kids.

Creepy, right?! And that’s why I don’t need to watch scary movies… I might have my own developing around here. I’ll keep you posted.

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Allergies to What?

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I read this article today about allergies. And what we are really allergic to… maybe? These types of things sort of make my mind go ‘BOOM’ these days. I feel like this should have been on the news YEARS ago and people should shouting it in the streets (or at least telling people in a moderate voice in the store). *On that note… I had to restrain myself from telling a lady not to buy Eggos the other day. Jeez.

I have thought for years that there is no way there has been such an increase in allergies to our food. How is that even possible? If anything our bodies should be adapting and getting more compliant with food types over the generations, not more sensitive. Obviously there is something more going on.

Definition of allergy (just so we’re on the same page): a damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially pollen, fur, a particular food, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive.

An Immune Response!?! What? I never really thought about what that meant… your body is interpreting a substance as a THREAT and is responding appropriately. Green peas? A threat? Apples?? A threat? What? And these aren’t genetic allergies… parents allergic to nothing have kiddos allergic to EVERYTHING!

Is it a coincidence that the rise in allergies coincides with the GMO revolution of our food?? Interestingly enough the rise in cancer also coincides with this timeline… but that’s another thought process. Have to focus on one at a time.

Gluten sensitivity?? Or allergy to glyphosate (Round Up) in your food? Wheat, soy and corn are the main crops sprayed with Round Up. It doesn’t kill those plants because they have the pesticide built into their DNA and are immune to it. Which means you are cannot rinse it off. Not only is it sprayed on the plant, but it is INSIDE the plant and is part of what makes it what it is. DNA. Scary. Who would want to put that in their body?? Nobody. Which is WHY these companies have put so much money into anti-labeling laws. Which is WHY we need all food containing GMOs to be clearly labelled.

Watch this video and educate yourself. Nobody told me what was going on until I met this amazing lady on a plane last Fall. She opened my eyes to how big of an issue this was… and motivated me to find out what I was feeding my babies. And exposing my family to. This is a BIG DEAL!!!! Don’t live in the dark anymore!

http://robynobrien.com/monsanto-and-roundup/

Raining and Pouring

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June isn’t going well so far.

Woke up this morning at 5:45 because my sweet girl was calling for ‘help, help, help’ in her room. Turns out she needed more water. She had two water bottles, one full, one empty… but they both needed to be full. Duh, Mom.

Popped back in bed and my son (who had snuck in there during the night) announces- ‘uh-oh. I went potty in your bed’. Luckily the only area damaged were his undies and jammies and ‘ankie’. He threw them all onto the floor for me to take care of later. Sweet.

Finally time to get up for good. Super excited to wash my hair and brush my teeth after our cabin trip where I forgot my toothbrush and was too tired to shower last night. Go to open the door… and guess what?! My sweet boy locked the door last night and then closed it. Locked out. It’s a knob that takes a key, but we haven’t had it since we moved in.

So- woke up early, potty in the bed, no shower before the kids get up and now I get to figure out how to pick a lock. Happy June.

The good news is I got it done with the help of some Facebook friend advice (the internet is a saving grace sometimes!). Used a screwdriver and wiggled it until the lock clicked and let me turn it. Good to know! Still wasn’t time for a shower if I wanted to take on by myself… but there’s always tomorrow.

PS I’m writing this at 10am. My lavender latte has perked up the day and my kids are now each playing nicely on their own in the living room. I’m sure our troubles o’ three all were taken care of early this morning and the rest of the day will be smooth sailing. That’s totally how it works, right?

Sunshine and Paddleboards

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Jeez. It’s summer in Alaska!! Week three of my summer break and we’ve been checking things off our to-do list. This weekend we enjoyed two days of 80^ weather (which is rare in the part of Alaska we live in) at the lake.

We purchased a paddle board at the world’s second most dangerous store: Costco. I have put off trying it out because I knew I would fall hard for the sport. And… I was right. It’s AMAZING! There’s something so surreal and peaceful about walking on the water. Well… peaceful when you do it by yourself.

I have two small people who are now proud addicts of ‘lake surfing’ with me. Also one other big kid: my hubby. My son is so awesome- he sits on the front of the board while I paddle- today he stuck his feet of the edge and played in the water while looking for ‘lake monsters’.

My daughter hasn’t gotten quite as confident as her older bro. She will sit very still and carefully, while she faces me and look for ducks and fish. Her main concern  is how deep the water is, so we stay near the edge when she’s on board. She’s just two- so I can only imagine the adventures to come. I wouldn’t say she is braver than her big bubba, but she definitely is more adventurous.

My husband would like me to hook our SUP to the jet ski and pull him on it. Yah… pretty much a motor addict… that man.

Turns out our cabin neighbors also love to SUP and we got to check out their inflatable ones today. Next stop, Play It Again Sports to purchase two of those for our travels. I knew I should have never gotten on that board!! I am in love!

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Alaska Paddleboarding!

Bottom line- if you haven’t tried it and would like an activity that allows you to enjoy nature in some peace ‘n quiet- this is a good one. Boards can be rented- but if you’re like me and know this is a match for you, just buy one. $370 at the Costco. Have fun!

Home to Alaska!

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I found this amazing blog where the blogger wrote about why she stays in Alaska. Her wording is perfect! . Here is her link:

http://onehotmessalaska.blogspot.com/2015/02/why-i-stay.html

It made me think about why I stayed. I was born and raised here, so no fancy story about being relocated to Alaska or stepping into the wild on an adventure. Being born was the start of my adventure. Me, my husband and two kiddos were all born in the same hospital (not at the same time, of course). All grew (or are growing up) in the same town .I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The longest I’ve left the state was 3 weeks for vacation and that was about two weeks too long. The people in this state are unparalleled. Alaska is so big and so small at the same time. Instead of 7 connections away, you’re more like two… maybe three if you didn’t grow up here.

I have had lots of friends who felt the pull to move away. I grew up hearing people talk about how they can’t wait to ‘get out of here’. I never could ‘get’ that… or identify with it. I already knew that I lived in the best place in the World… and had no need to test that out.

The people, the adventures around every corner, the ability to slip into the woods right outside our door is amazing. People here are self-sufficient (well, for the most part) and skills like sewing, gardening, wilderness first aide, farming, small engine mechanics, internal gps (not a skill I have, but my hubs does), canning and preserving food, hunting/fishing, construction,etc… those are things that are celebrated and desired.

I want my kids to grow up learning to love and respect nature. I want them to know that while it’s our job to be weary of strangers, it’s always our job to help those in need (whether we know them or not). I want them to think of others ahead of themselves, but always be prepared to take of themselves. These are values and life skills I feel like can be emphasized anywhere on a small scale, but are community attributes in Alaska.

Also… I cry every time I hear the ‘Home to Alaska’ song. So there’s that.

Driving on Up

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We drove up the big ol’ Parks Highway the other day to come visit my hubs. Me, the dog, S and G. Plus our one-million and one things. Dude… you cannot travel light with a three year old and a one year old. My ‘tree car’ (it’s a Sequoia. My hubs called it the tree car on the test drive we took… it’s stuck) was packed to the brim. And it’s not a small car.

This was my first big drive since the car in front of me hit a moose a couple weeks ago. I am a born and raised Alaskan… and have had a lot of moose encounters. We hunt moose, laugh at young bulls fake charging our trees at the cabin, scream with excitement when there’s one in the yard, we ooh and aww over them with their new tiny babies in the Spring, and they are our source of meat to keep our family organically and locally fed (no hormone growths in our meat, except those nature intended!). These are big, strong and capable animals. They have always been one of my favorites.

I know more people who have hit moose than I can count. I’ve come close a couple times. But the other day was my first witness to it. It was in slow motion: the moose sprinting across the highway while I yelled (to myself apparently. It turns out people in other cars can’t quite hear you) ‘Moooossseeee’, the white small SUV in front of me connecting sending that giant animal up 15-20 feet in the air, spinning so her feet were above her head at one point. She flew over the car in the next lane and landed on the edge of the road. At this point I am obviously in tears and hyperventilating. When I finally got it together enough to call 911, the dispatcher asks me to please sit there with my hazards on, so nobody else hits her, while I wait for the police. Watching an animal that is broken, but still alive, try to survive and get off into the woods is heart breaking. And scarring.

That’s what kept running through my mind our whole drive. Don’t worry- we didn’t even see a moose on this drive! Know what we did see- a lot of motorhomes and buses. Tourist season in Alaska is in full swing- and moose season begins in one month.  We will be out there looking for Bullwinkles then… but not with my tree car. 🙂 motorhome

So I’m Blogging…

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I’ve always been a writer/documenter. Could be my multiple head injuries incurred while enjoying my childhood, or just too much multitasking, but I remember things so much better if I write them down. Even more so by adding pictures. I’ve gone back and forth on the whole ‘blog’ thing, but recently realized I’ve been using my Facebook as an outlet on a daily basis… and maybe it’s time to take the plunge into the bloggo world. We will see how it goes.

My technological understanding is probably on par with a four-five year old (I’d know, I teach preschool), although I can run  a VCR and tape player with far more skill. Current technology though… yah. Working on it. So if you’ve taken pity on me and are reading this right now, hang in there… I’ll get it together.

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