Today, as I was riding my bike with the kids in the Burley, I had a flashback. I was ten it was June, I was riding my bike down some road in West Jordan. I felt free like only a kid can feel.
In reality (yes, thats right, reality rears up it's ugly head) when I was ten I would not have been pulling a bike trailer with two kids whose combined weight is somewhere around sixty pounds.
I digress; on days when I justify using the car I am much more stressed out when I get home. Even driving here is not a big deal but time spent in the car, I find, is not nearly as relaxing or freeing as time spent on bike. In a car you don't get to take anything in, even the unpleasant stuff....like garbage in the creek, that is not such a problem.
I have railed on cars before (What a waste) I won't do it here. For a few minutes as I was riding the path along the creek I had a sense of Eugene as two separate cities ( of course in a city of 160,000? there are 160,000 different cities.) One that is car based (searching for parking spaces, waiting a traffic lights, buying gas etc) And one that is a little more relaxed; people getting around on bikes. Finding parking is not problem, all you need is something good to eat in order to fuel up. The exercise is usually enough to reduce stress. I know that Alpha is a lot happier now that she commutes to work everyday on her bike.
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Okay, first off--yes the play doe is edible. My daughter made it black and my son proceeded to poop black for a few nights afterward. He thinks it's delicious I guess.
It's very easy and we make a fresh batch every few months. If you put it in a sealed tight container it last much longer than store playdoe. Here's the recipe:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 cups water
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup cream of tartar (Market of choice sells this in the bulk section)
Mix everything in a saucepan and stir over low/medium heat until completely formed and is no longer sticky. Allow to cool(ish) and then add food coloring. The color gets deeper the next day so don't worry if it's not a deep saturated color at first.
I pre measure everything and have my 4 year old combine it all in a large bowl before I put it on the stove. When it's ready she put in the color. This a a great rainy day project. (can you tell I art directed for Nickelodeon for years! I used to make HUGE batches of green slime for them).
Second, thanks for the response. I'm torn because I just came up with this word as a brand name for my friend, Isabel Kallman's, company and I'm really happy it's in the lexicon and people are talking about it. That means I did a good job. I don't even mind the negative comments because I figure that's just part of floating ideas out there into the greater either...everyone has a unique perspective and it's fun and informative to hear them. But I am saddened that the media seems to have buried my ideas about the moms who inspired Alpha Mom (who, BTW, is the primary caregiver and CAN be dad)in favor of pushing their own product driven agenda.
This concept was never meant to polarize moms (or dads), there's enough of that already. I truely think that a sense of humor, some elbow grease and a can-do attitude is the recipe for a better life.
For me the Alpha Mom in every parent comes out when you make (not buy) your kid's halloween costume, you burn your own CD's of amazing music for your kids to listen to in the car, you get inspired to paint a dino mural in thier bedroom, you grow a vegetable garden and enjoy the bounty or throw the best damn pirate tea party this side of Penzance. AND you use these moments to share and learn about your kid-- and yourself through them.
Don't get me wrong. Unlike you, I do have a weakness for the shopping. But because I do not have a big budget I include creativity and resourcefulness in Alpha Mom attributes. I often see cool stuff that I think "I could make that" or how can I get that effect on a budget? I'm a big fan of thrifting, hand me downs and Target. Eugene is cram packed with creative parents doing their own thing. I salute them.
The oddest thing for me is that the people who seem to bother to respond, like yourself, are so thoughtful and clever and witty and I think, "You, yes YOU are the very model of the sort people that inspired me..people with strong passionate voices". I hoped that instead of being pitted against one another we could stand united as a new breed of progressive parent.
Blah, blah..I gotta get some sleep.
But thanks for the feedback and the update. It was a pleasure.
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