I can be a normal mom

I am not the mom to do arts and crafts with my kids. I am not the kind of mom who chases butterflies through a field with her kids (like the woman who is free because she is wearing pads with wings). I am not the kind of mom who will walk along a block for a whole hour, delighting in her child stopping every two feet to look at a flower.

I am the kind of mom who would LOVE for my children to get so engrossed in a movie that they sit still for 1.5 hours (I'm still waiting for that day).

However, there is a weekly ritual I have with my kids that puts me in the "normal mom" or "good mom" category (yes, there is a person who puts moms in different categories ;)).

Since the big monkey was 2.5 years old, I have been taking her to the Calabasas Farmers Market. When the little monkey turned 3, she started coming with. They both know to stick by me and not to run away. They know which vendors we go to, and the vendors know the kids by name. In fact, the few times I go by myself, they ALL ask where the kids are and are upset that I didn't bring them.

I figured early on that if the monkeys saw fruits and vegetables in a fun setting, and got to help pick them out, that they would eat more fruits and vegetables. I don't know if our weekly outings had anything to do with it, but my monkeys are, in fact, lovers of fruits and vegetables. On any given Saturday you can see the monkeys chomping down on raw cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, persimmons, Asian pears and other assorted fruits and vegetables.

And everything we buy is organic, which I am a big believer of.

A good friend of mine asked me "what's the deal with you and organic food?"

A long time ago, I read a number of studies that showed that pesticides and hormones in produce and meats have contributed in great part to girls going through puberty early. With my genes, my girls DO NOT NEED any help in that department. Therefore, we try to eat primarily organic and/or hormone free.

The funniest thing happen to me at the Farmers Market. I had been thinking about taking pictures of the Farmers Market for my blog but forgot my camera. So, we were at our favorite citrus vendor and up comes a woman to me and asks if she could take my picture for her....BLOG!!! My mouth opened so far down she must have thought I was a freak. I recovered and agreed. Apparently, this vendor uses bio-degradable bags and she was doing a blog post on these bags. I was so dumbfounded that I forgot to ask the name of her blog.

I'm hoping I can do a search and find it, since somewhere there is a picture of me putting citrus in to a bio-degradable bag at the Farmers Market.

So anyways, that's my one contribution to spending quality, wholesome time with my monkeys :) Whew - am I pooped!