bring joy

an okinawan week in 14 random photos

I hope to never be.

I simply have no more room in my brain for another social media outlet.

But, if I were on Instagram, these are some photos from the past week that I’d share.

1. Beautiful veggies.

In my post 6 tips for feeding picky plant-based eaters, I neglected to mention how important presentation is. Kids get excited to eat carrots when they look like this. Trust me. My kids gobbled this salad up.

I used this spiralizer (affiliate link) to cut the carrots oh so pretty-like.

2. Docile sharks.

We went to one of the most beautiful places on earth–the Okinawa Aquarium, which is located on the tip of one of the island’s peninsulas.

We saw some amazing sea creatures, the coolest of which were the whale sharks. There was one mama shark that just had babies & it was so cute to...

flying ballerina, what I want you to know

motherhood, body image

If we let her, she would wear her leotard, tights, & ballet shoes all day, every day.

She is convinced of two things–that she can fly, & that she is an amazing ballerina.

(Her first ballet lesson was just this last week.)

She has the kind of confidence & reassurance that beams out her eyes, that shoots out her fingertips & toes. (Her sister Amalia, displays a similar, if not more subdued confidence, as evidenced in this post.)

I’ve thought on many occasions, but particularly more of late, what I want my daughters to know.

I want them to know God.

I want them to know the capacity of human generosity.

I want them to know that despite the breadth & scope of sadness & tragedy, there is far greater happiness & goodness in the world.

I want them to know faith.

I want them to know familial...

6 tips for feeding picky plantbased kids

kid's food

She wouldn’t tolerate picky behavior for a second. We ate what we were served, or we were out of luck.

If you are a parent of a child older than 9 months, chances are you know what I’m talking about when I say: there is nearly nothing more hair-pullingly frustrating than spending an hour making food, only to have that child(ren) throw a fit/refuse to eat/whine about said food.

One of the funny things I’ve experienced over the years as a plant-based mama, is people assume that my kids aren’t picky. (Don’t I wish.) Though my kids have grown up eating less processed food than the average American kid & they obviously eat more plants than most, they aren’t perfect eaters, & they aren’t without their picky moments.

Each child has a list of foods they love & foods they hate. And trying...