go natural baby

I left my heart with the fish in Maui.....

It is not easy returning from a glorious vacation in one of the world's most beautiful places. My amazing parents took me and my son to Maui for 12 beautiful days. I experienced some of the best snorkeling ever in  Kapalua Bay. I saw almost as many variety of fish at Kapalua Bay as I did at the Maui Aquarium. I snorkeled with sea turtles and watched the spinner dolphins put on a display of pure beauty and amazement on our whale watching tour. (more about the whales in an upcoming blog).
I felt rejuvenated and in pure awe of the ocean (my favorite place on earth). A piece of my heart was left at Kapalua Bay with the puffer fish....
So, after trying acclimate to Portland's climate I am back to the blogging and the organic baby clothes biz. I have been inspired and you will see this Maui experience in  an upcoming organic clothing line.
peace,
Justyn

Oh, here are two pics from a day of snorkeling (not at Kapalua Bay,but  West Maui). One of the coast line of Maui and one of me and my son. Photos  by Justyn LeDrew ©2008 -please give credit if you use.

Decorated Living Tree

Peace be with you and yours this holiday! Living trees are beautiful. We have enjoyed our tree so much, even without putting lights on it. I do not think the picture does the tree justice. We are keeping the tree and planting it in our yard.
Blessings,
Justyn

Organic Baby Clothes

Living Christmas Tree has Arrived

Our Living Christmas tree has arrived and I wanted to share a photo of it. We have not yet decorated it because I have been spraying it down with a water  several times a day. We are going to wait until it is  a little bit closer to Christmas to decorate. (I will post a pic of the decorated tree)
I will admit that it does feel different to having a living tree in the house vs a cut one. I will say that there is an energy that the living tree (like all living beings) adds to the indoor environment. I feel very aware of its life and have decided to forfeit my deposit and keep the tree so we can plant it in our own yard.

Blessings,
Justyn

Organic baby

Copyright © 2007 Justyn LeDrew All Rights Reserved.

Moms Enjoy the Holidays - You're Beautiful!

Women are so hard on themselves that it is no surprise that after we have children we go through many emotions about our "new" mom bodies. As we get older I think most women know that we should not have been so hard on ourselves when we were young. We thought things like: " I'm so fat, my nose is too big, look at my pimples, my hair is awful....." and the list goes on and on. How many of you were hard on yourself when you were a teen or young woman? Looking back we now see how young and beautiful we really were. How many hours of our lives were wasted on putting ourselves down?

I want to take a brief moment, right now, and tell all of you moms out there that you are beautiful. This holiday, enjoy yourself. Be with the ones you love, eat that slice of cake, eggnog if you like, and put your feet up. Look in the mirror at least one time this holiday and see that beautiful lady.

I want to share this website with you called "The Shape of a Mother". There is nudity (non-sexual). I am giving you  the link to a specific post on the site because it touched me :The Shape of a Mother

From one mama to many others - peace be with you and within you,
Justyn
P.S. I will be taking my own advice this holiday!

Go Natural Baby: Organic Baby

Copyright © 2007 Justyn LeDrew All Rights Reserved.

To Cut or Not to Cut...................a Christmas tree

About one week ago I asked my five year old if he wanted to go to a farm to cut down our Christmas tree.
He said," cut a Christmas tree?"
"Yes," I said with some trepidation.
"I don't want to cut a tree. That would hurt it," he replied.
Our conversation progressed into me explaining to him that this is how we get Christmas trees. He then decided he wanted a fake tree. I have to admit I was not too keen on the idea of having a fake tree in the house. Although at this point in the conversation I was also feeling that I did not want to cut down a tree. My stomach tightened a bit when I thought of "giving" up our real Christmas tree. This was a mom moment when I thought I need to think before I speak.
"How about we don't get a tree at all. We can plant one in our front yard and decorate it there," I suggested.
"No, I want a tree..... in the house," he said.
Hmmmm, I was stumped. I told him we should think about it. The next day I received the newsletter from my son's school and believe it or not the head of the school was suggesting that families rent their Christmas tree. Yes, that's right I said "rent". I have never heard of it before (Portlanders be gentle, I am new to the area after all). 
My son came home from school and I told him about renting a living tree. He loved the idea. I told him that they would deliver the tree and we would need to take care of it, including not putting lights on it. He did not care about the lights. I then proceeded to tell him that after the holidays they would come pick up the tree and it would be planted.
"Will it live forever?" he inquired. Well, that is another story.

You can learn more about renting a  Christmas tree at: Living Christmas Trees
I will post a picture of our tree when they deliver it.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!
warm regards,
Justyn

Go Natural Baby: Organic Baby

Copyright © 2007 Justyn LeDrew All Rights Reserved.

Dancing in the Puddles

Last night it began raining pretty hard and my five year old son went to the window and exclaimed that " the best puddles were waiting to be jumped in." He then said, "let's go jump in them." It was dark and cold outside and for a moment I hesitated and a "no, it is too late to go outside" almost came out of my mouth ,but in that moment of hesitation I had clarity. "Okay, let's do it" I said. It was cold. It was dark,but heck how many times will I get to jump in puddles with my young son ( okay we live in Portland). We put on our rain boots, rain jackets, I got a flashlight and brought my camera. He was right. There were huge puddles. He jumped in. He kicked the water around. He splashed and did not hesitate to splash me. I took photos and we began walking around the neighborhood. We stopped and jumped in every big puddle ( and yes, I jumped in them too). We were cold,but jumping in the puddles was pretty fun. I noticed that my pants were not only soaked,but getting muddy too- I kept jumping. We laughed and even got some neighbors to wave to us and laugh too when they were coming and going from their houses. It felt good to walk in the rain, to jump in the puddles, to not worry about the soaked clothing or mud. I did not tell my son that we had to go in. I let him tell me when he was ready. When he was satisfied we went home. We got into our pjs, I made hot chocolate (with tiny marshmellows), and even lit our first fire of the season in the fireplace.
As a parent I have worked on being present with my child every day, and believe me it is something I work on. Each day I have times that I space or that I am totally in my mind,but I also try to find moments and chunks of time every day that I am present with my child. I take opportunities to live like a five year old and enjoy the most simple things in life. When the words "no" are about to come flying out of my mouth I try to catch myself. What is really important? If I say "no" to this opportunity will I regret it later? So far I have never regreted saying "yes".
"Here's to dancing in the puddles", Justyn.

Organic Baby

Copyright © 2007 Justyn LeDrew All Rights Reserved.