Yesterday I read this idea on another blog and I can't get it out of my head. This blogger plans to annually print and bind a year's worth of blog entries. I love my computer but there is nothing like the printed page. I am definitely going to do this. I have started migrating my entries from the old blog into this one so they're all in one place.
I have only found one or two companies/ways to do this. Please comment or email if you have one to recommend!
Today was Eva's last day at gymnastics. Her enthusiasm, interest and listening skills at gymnastics have been declining for some time now. This month she has been outright telling me she doesn't want to go. I told her we would cut it down to 2 days a week from 3 and she would have to attend for the remainder of the month I had already paid.
I think a major factor for her not wanting to go is social pressure. I pressure her to do what the teacher tells her to do. She doesn't always want to and wanders off to do her own thing. Sometimes her classmates ask her to play chase or tickle and she wants to be part of that fun. So there is this pressure, this tension. She wants to avoid it. A couple of times I gave her the choice to sit on the sidelines or to participate in the class. She chose to sit it out. And sat quietly for the entire remainder of the class. This is a strong force working in her!
It has been a dilemma for me because I don't want to just bail her out of a situation that she will encounter over and over in life. However, she is just three years old and doesn't have a whole lot of maturity to draw upon.
I told her today would be her last class. I reminded her that she wouldn't see her wonderful teacher Bertha anymore, and that she wouldn't learn any more new moves or get to play on the bar anymore. She told me she doesn't like to go to gymnastics and that is all fine. So today was it.
I will miss my mommy friends and the great little girls that were Eva's classmates. I won't miss the mess it made of the end of our day- rushing to whip up supper while two tired hungry cranky little ones climb the walls. And I won't miss Micah's incessant whining and crying to join the class, or his efforts to pitch himself down the concrete stairwell.
Maybe Eva will go back to gymnastics later on. Or try something new. Either way this has been a fun experience and we have lots of great memories to show for it!!
On a related note, I have noticed a very interesting evolution in my parenting. Until recently, I almost always built an outing into our days. I felt like we would go kind of crazy at home, spinning our wheels. But now we have our routine and it is really working for us. I am much more happy sticking close to home. There is plenty to do around here! I think also my parenting repertoire has broadened. I know about more stuff we can do together. Now that we don't have gymnastics in the afternoons, I can cook more often with Eva in the afternoons while Micah is sleeping. I'm looking forward to baking bread, for instance. You need a good stretch of time for that. We can also play with water in the afternoons more often. I'm excited about this new phase we are coming into!
Today I made shrimp stir fry for supper. Yummy, easy, and enjoyed by all! Which earns it a spot on the regular rotation. I pull a lot of recipes off the net by googling some key ingredients along with the word "recipe". Today I made my own variation of this Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry recipe. This is more or less the way I did it for those of you who are interested:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Hot but careful cuz olive oil spits if it gets too hot. Sautee a tsp or two of minced garlic (I'm very liberal with garlic), a handful of roughly chopped onions (so the kids can easily pick them out), and handful of chopped celery for a minute or two. Add a handful of broccoli florettes, handful of quartered zuccinni slices, handful of roughly chopped green pepper, and a cup or two of frozen cocktail shrimp. Stir over med-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of chicken broth (I found some pre-made chicken broth in a cardboard tetra-type package, with no msg, whoohoo!) and a couple of tsp of minced fresh ginger. Stir until the veggies are done to perfection. For me this means nice bright green broccoli. I like my veggies tender but to still have some crunch. We're talking maximum 5 minutes cooking. Stir in 1/4 cup soy sauce which has been mixed together with a tbsp of corn starch. Stir for a minute or two until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.
The beauty of the stir fry apart from its relative speediness, in my opinion, is that you can just go with your tastes and your gut. Throw in whatever veggies and proteins you have at hand. What really excited me about today's meal was the sauce. Best one yet, and I've been experimenting with 'from scratch' stir fry sauces for some time.
I wanted to mention the kids' reaction to Sunday's storm. Micah was clingy and wide-eyed but didn't cry. Eva was full of questions and interest. Once we'd hunkered down in the living room to wait it out, she declared herself "so frustrated". She was "very frustrated because all our windows are breaking!"
The storm was tough on the bird population. I have seen 7 dead birds, three in our own yard.
Our bougainvilla bushes were stripped bare. We have three broken windows and holes in many of our screens. The little window in our front door blew out with such force that we found glass way over in front of our tv.
Andrew's car has quite a lot of hail damage, including a broken tail light. Mine has a number of dents. Our power was out for two hours. There is so much flooding at the entrances to our community that first thing this morning it was difficult to get out without a 4x4 vehicle.
The temperature dropped within minutes from 34 degrees celcius to 15 degrees. Winds were up to 70km/hr. We got 31mm of rain in one hour.
But we are all just fine and we are so grateful for that!
We have a new thing around here. I picked up the idea from a web site called Premeditated Parenting. While I'm doing the breakfast dishes I put out a blanket and some toys. The kids are to stay on the blanket and play (without fighting or crying ideally) until I am done the dishes.
Eva does really well in general and actually seems to welcome Blanket Time. Micah understands the concept but is still working on his discipline. Some days are better than others.
Blanket time gives me a chance to encourage Eva. I can point out how disciplined she is when she quietly plays on the blanket even as Micah is dashing giggling into the living room and I'm chasing him with soapy hands. I can also point out what a good example she is to her brother.
The goal is to get so good at Blanket Time that we can take the blanket along to something like a doctor's appointment or a meeting. Behaviour problems stopped in their tracks! I think the idea has merit. So we'll keep working at it!
This Wednesday is El Dia del Niño. To celebrate, Andrew's work had a party for the kids this morning. There were a ton of blow up bouncers, a real live Shrek, Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny, face painting, freezies, hot dogs, pop, cakes and giant bolos (goodie bags). Eva impressively ate an entire hot dog and most of a freezie. Micah took a big fall down a bouncer slide but got back on the horse and climbed it again. Neither child would have their photo taken with Shrek. Micah clutched me extremely tightly for quite some time after seeing ole Shreky. I tried to enjoy myself but it was about the same experience for me as the recent piñata party. It definitely helped that Andrew was there but I still found it tiring and stressful. Maybe I need to change my attitude.
The kids showed good restraint with the junk food. I'm encouraged that I can actually impact their future eating habits by my attitudes and offerings. Eva had some coke but didn't finish it. She also had some marshmallows from her goodie bag and didn't finish them. She didn't push too hard for more treats from her goodie bag. We have been teaching her the word discipline lately. At first she said that she didn't like discipline, but since we have been able to point out that she has disclipline already, I think she is warming up to the concept. One occasion was today when she didn't finish all the marshmallows, and also showed kindness by offering the rest to her brother.
In the afternoon we went to the mall. We almost bought a Blackberry because it seemed like a good deal and Blackberries are so cool. ;) At the cell phone store they were doing face painting in honour of Kids Day and both kids got their faces done. Micah was so careful not to move that he wouldn't even swallow. She couldn't paint his chin because it was so wet!
It's looking up in the produce and fish departments, folks. Turns out there is a produce truck that does the rounds of my neighborhood three times a week! And he has pretty good stuff. He'll come right to my door. Now that we have a routine, I know that I'll usually be here when he comes around. This saves me probably 5 or 6 shopping trips a month! I usually go twice a week because produce doesn't last me a whole week. Also I want to eat fish twice a week and it's so not-fresh already that I want us to eat it the same day I buy it. Today I also found a very nice nearby store that sells fresh frozen seafood. Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks. I had a very good purchase experience today so I am optomistic! I did my produce shopping, seafood shopping, got gas and purified water (in #7 plastic containers, gah. Must find and install a purifier for the tap water asap) all in the space of about 45 minutes. By myself. What a treat! Claudia is back this week so I jumped out to do my errands while Micah was sleeping, Eva was watching a movie, and Claudia was doing housework. Excellent arrangement, if you ask me. I feel so blessed! Claudia's baby is only 5 weeks old. Can you imagine having to leave such a wee baby to go back to work? I guess there are a lot of women who do. Maybe some of you, dear readers. I didn't give Claudia any deadline for returning to work but her family needs her income so she/they decided it was time. Her mom is taking care of the baby.
I am getting ever more confident in my ability to manage a home!
After 4.5 years of marriage and two kids I feel like I'm finally starting to really get the hang of it. I'm getting better at feeding my family, the house is starting to stay tidier, I have a good feel for the things we need and don't need.
Today I cleaned out our kitchen cupboards. I put aside all our plastic sippy cups to offer to our cleaning lady- after explaining that I don't want them any more because I'm concerned about our health, of course. I also tucked away all of our plastic mixing bowls and storage containers. I can't bring myself to get rid of all that expensive Tupperware just yet. I will see how we do sans Tupperware for a while and once I am convinced we can absolutely live without it then I guess I'll give that away too.
I have a TON of cupboard space now. It's awesome! So much space that I have room for the coffeemaker and toaster oven in the cupboards. Which increases my useable counterspace by a good 15%. Feels like a whole new kitchen!
Yesterday we attended a three-year-old birthday party. For some reason I was expecting an indoor party and I was unprepared for the reality of the situation. All the kids' activites were in full blazing sun. Luckily I had some sunscreen in the van or we would have been in trouble.
These are usually big affairs and this was no exception. I have been exhausted by these parties in past. Now that Micah is older I thought that it would be a little easier. It wasn't. It is hard to keep up with both kids by myself in a carnival-like environment. There was a blow up bouncer, a ball toss game, a face painter, a balloon guy, a magician and of course a piñata.
The kids did have fun playing, and Eva got her face painted. Micah wanted to as well but got tired of waiting in line. They got balloons and dollar-store type gifters in addition to goodie bag of candy.
I don't know how to make it work so we can all enjoy this kind of party. It starts at about 5pm, late in the day for us. The only food available is junk snacks and sugar drinks until close to 7pm. That is winding-down time in our house! I convinced the kids to leave at about 6:30. We were all hungry and tired. We had 2x1 coupons for a nearby restaurant which I thought had a buffet, perfect! We met Andrew there. Turned out there was no buffet, the service was terrible and so was the food. Probably just as unhealthy or worse than whatever we would have been served at the party. It was 9pm before we got the kids to sleep. Yikes.
I am sorely tempted to just graciously decline the next invitation. Anybody have coping strategy suggestions?
I am buzzing with excitement! I experience regular challenges to finding certain foods and ingredients here (don't get me started on the entire aisle devoted to cooking oil but no peanut oil, sunflower oil or coconut oil. Oh and not being able to find popping corn, just transfat-laden microwave popcorn).
But back to the buzz. I just figured out that an excellent sugar option has been right under my nose the WHOLE TIME!
I just ordered a cookbook/nutrition resource I am very excited about. It's called "Nourishing Traditions"
I was reading a sample chapter and saw an ingredient I wasn't familiar with, called rapadura. I looked it up and immediately thought of the brownish cones I see at the supermarket and know is used in a traditional sweet Mexican coffee drink called Cafe de Olla. Did a little more research and, lo and behold, they are one and the same! Rapadura/Piloncillo is unrefined evaporated cane sugar. Which means it doesn't have the same anti-nutritional composition as refined sugar. Additionally, it is apparently quite good for baking. And it's cheap. WHooohooo! SOOO exciting! I'm not going to be able to sleep now.
I wrote in my post about how canned whole tomatoes were significantly more tasty than the redish spherical objects (labelled "tomato" but not overly convincing) available in my local grocery store. Melissa agreed but avised that the coating inside aluminum cans contains BPA.
According to the Globe and Mail article:
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is one of the most widely used synthetic chemicals in modern industry. It is the basic building block for polycarbonate, the see-through, shatter-proof plastic that resembles glass, and is also used to make the epoxy resins lining the insides of most tin cans, along with some dental sealants, sports helmets, and compact discs.
What makes it dangerous?
Independent researchers in dozens of studies have linked trace BPA exposures in animal and test-tube experiments to conditions involving hormone imbalances, including breast and prostate cancer, early puberty and changes in brain structure, particularly for exposures during key points of fetal or early neonatal development.
I have recently seen reading some disturbing information about plastic, especially the transparent Nalgene bottles. It's hard to know which sources can be trusted so I didn't want to jump the gun, but we immediately stopped using our Nalgene bottles. (I was very sad about this one because we had just purchased some cool Nalgene sippy cups for the kids). I have been steadily replacing our plastic containers with glass and enamelware. This really clinches it, though.
Today my challenge was to get a good photo of Micah. He doesn't like being photographed at this stage and to make matters worse when I do get the opportunity I've been messing it up. Here are the results from today....All in all, not a bad shoot for Micah. Of course I had to add one of Eva as well...
Considering this is a country that uses tomatoes extensively in its daily fare, I have been shocked and disappointed with the quality of tomato available in the grocery store lately. Some days I can't even find one to bring home. When I do, they are quite tasteless.
A few weeks ago I made a delicious ("restaurant-quality", according to my dear husband!) meatballs and marinara sauce meal. I used the last two cans of whole peeled tomatoes from the shelf at the store. Since that day, I have not been able to find canned whole peeled tomatoes. I read an interesting internet article or blog which argued convincingly that whole canned tomatoes are actually be tastier and better for you than fresh tomatoes from the produce section at the grocery store. This author said that when it's a whole tomato rather than a puree they must be high quality, that they are picked at the peak of ripeness and in the can within hours. I checked the ingredients of my cans of tomatoes and they didn't contain preservatives, which further convinced me that this author had a case. Consider grocery store tomatoes which are picked green, shipped long distances over a period of time, and subsequently ripened with some sort of spray, as I understand.
My last trip to the grocery store the tomatoes looked more decent than usual- actually red instead of a sickly orange, but not rotting. So I bought a whole bunch. I peeled them, pureed them, and cooked them into a fresh marinara sauce. It didn't hold a candle to the other one. First of all, the sauce was orangey, not a nice deep red. And it didn't have much taste. The grocery store tomatoes in my neck of the woods just plain don't have much taste. Have I mentioned that already? I am so looking forward to the day when I have access to a farmer's market and/or organic produce. I can't wait for my produce to taste the way it is supposed to again!
Micah got a haircut today. I didn't realize how long it was! He did great. Sat very still and watched attentively in the mirror. Both kids enjoyed the parting gift of suckers!
I tried to get a nice photo of him but he wasn't interested in cooperating. He looks a little sad in this one because it was almost naptime. I think he was mad about something too... maybe I wouldn't let him dispense water all over the floor or something.
I made peanut butter again and this batch is way better! I just had to have more patience!
I put a bit of olive oil and a bit of honey in and left it in the food processor much longer. It's still not as spreadable as grocery store PB, but much more acceptable in consistency!
Last week I managed to build a routine for our family that makes sense and is sustainable. I have been feeling that we needed more structure to our daily activities, but could never seem to make it happen. Now we have one and I am loving it even more than I expected. I really like knowing what will happen when, and I am finding that I have more dedicated time for my own thing and for housework than I did before. And the kids are enjoying knowing that there will be predictable and consistent periods of my time that is dedicated to them every day.
Here is the routine:
- get up, shower, get dressed - smoothies and coffee. Mommy puts in a load of laundry, kids watch a little bit of tv, Mommy has computer time - go for a walk when Daddy leaves for work - breakfast - Mommy does dishes, kids play without crying ;) - jump on the trampoline together while it's still in the shade - snack - errand/outing - lunch at noon - Micah nap at 1:00, Eva has quiet time then Mommy & Eva have special time together - snack when Micah gets up - gymnastics if applicable - kids watch video while Mommy makes supper - supper - Family Walk - bedtime for Micah at 7:00, Eva reads 3 books with Daddy then has quiet time before her bedtime at 8:00
I have been working on my sewing skills lately. This week I made Eva an elephant trunk and ears. Not the most exact facsimiles but good sewing practice for me! And fun for Eva.
If I am unhappy, frustrated, and/or angry with a parenting situation, experience shows that one of these two must be true:
(1) I need to change my attitude. Accept and embrace the current state of being. It will pass eventually. This applies to both kids' frequent waking as babies and even now with Micah.
(2) There is a better way and I need to find it.
This applied to the introduction to solid foods.
The mainstream North American method of weaning is a complicated process of do's and don'ts, whens and hows. When Micah was about six months old and showing some interest in solids, I bought some rice cereal (as per The Rules). Baby cereal needs to be mixed either with sterile water, breastmilk, or formula, which of course is also mixed with sterile water. This means that either I had to boil and cool water, or pump breastmilk. Either option felt like a lot of work to me. And that is just for cereals! Never mind all the work and planning involved with preparing pureed baby foods. (Yes I could have bought jars of baby food but I wanted to give Micah the highest quality food I could, and to me that meant making it myself.) It didn't make sense that a baby's nutritional needs would so suddenly change from something so simple and straightforward as breastmilk, to this complicated monster of planning and preparation. So I did some research on the internet to find out if anybody else was doing something that would feel more "right" to me.
I found an approach called "Baby Led Weaning" (BLW). Many people understand weaning to mean "cessation of breastfeeding". Weaning is actually the process of adding nourishment other than breastmilk to a young one's diet. We can call it “Baby Led Feeding” to reduce confusion since we don't understand weaning that way in North America.
Wikipedia has a very good explanation of BLW. I would recommend checking out the Baby-Led Weaning article in its entirety. It's not too long but it has good details about the whats and whys of this approach. Here are some exerpts:
As recommended by the World Health Organization and several other health authorities across the world, there is no need to introduce solid food to a baby’s diet until after 6 months, and by then the child’s digestive system and her fine motor skills have developed enough to allow her to self-feed. Baby-led weaning takes advantage of the natural development stages of the child.
The baby should be able to sit well unsupported, be eager to participate in mealtime and maybe even trying to grab food and put it in her mouth. The child should show signs of developing a pincer grasp, as well as an ability and willingness to chew.
Self-feeding supports the child’s motor development on many vital areas, such as their hand-eye coordination and chewing. It encourages the child towards independence and often provides a stress-free alternative for meal times, for both the child and the parents. Some babies refuse to eat solids when offered with a spoon, but happily help themselves to finger food.
In addition to this method being easier for Mom and Dad, it makes so much sense! Babies aren't magically ready for solids the day they turn 6 months. They are ready for solids when they can pick something up, bring it to their mouth, bite, chew and swallow it. It makes sense to me to trust that baby knows best for what his or her digestive system is ready, and when he or she is full. Constipation can often be a problem for babies fed solids according to The Rules. It is possible to overfeed a spoon-fed baby, and what impact will this have on the child's future eating habits?
You may worry about safety. Isn't a baby in danger of choking on chunky foods? Some argue that a baby started on purees is in greater danger of choking. A puree- fed baby learns to suck food, whereas a finger food-fed baby learns from the start to bite and chew before swallowing. When you offer a puree-fed baby chunky food, that baby may mistakenly suck the food and it could end up lodged in the windpipe. The Wikipedia article says: Contrary to popular belief there is no research supporting the introduction of solids by purees and in fact babies can become very confused when stage 2 foods are introduced (with lumps) unsure whether to swallow or chew.
Check out this YouTube video about BLW:
Something that I have noticed about Micah is that he became very proficient with cutlery very early on. Interesting that the video mentions it as one of the side effects of BLW.
I didn't know about BLW when Eva was at this stage, but her behaviour reinforced the appropriateness of this approach. She refused cereal early on, and always insisted on having control of the spoon at mealtimes. She gave up purees very quickly and showed a definite preference for table foods.
- Baby Sling. This product deserves a post of its own and will get one in due time. It is like an extra set of loving hands. I didn't get one until Eva was almost a year and I don't know how I parented without it. It comforts, it carries, it covers. You can go places you could never go with a stroller. You can do things you'd never be able to do without one. I really cannot recommend "babywearing" more highly.
Eva in the 'ring sling' in Thailand
Micah in the same 'ring sling' in Puerto Vallarta
Micah in the 'pouch sling' in Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico. I sewed this one myself. The other one is a little more comfortable because it's padded, but this one fits in a purse. I carried it with me all the time and also used it a ton.
Micah in a 'wrap', overlooking the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico. This is just a long piece of fabric that you rig up in any number of ways. The fabric I had was a little too thin to be overly comfortable, so I didn't use this type of sling/wrap much. But there are lots of parents who use this type extensively.
- Eddie Bauer (Safety 1st) Transit Tandem Stroller We still use this all the time. It is fantastic! It folds umbrella-style quite compactly. The kids love it. It is comfortable for both of Andrew and me to push, despite the 13.5" difference in our heights. It is nice and narrow. And the price was right at $129 US at Target. Highly recommend it. The only thing we don't like about it is the teeny tiny storage basket. Also I suppose it would be nice if it had a parent tray or cupholder. But at $129 who's complaining?!?
- Blue Baby. I got this guy at Toys R Us. Eva had a few other babies but didn't really fall in love until she got this one. Micah also loves Blue Baby. I'm pretty sure the key features are the hard head and open/close eyes.
Things for which we have had no use:
- High Chairs. The one we had, anyway. Took up too much room and collected too much gunk in the nooks and crannies. Tray unwieldly to wash in the sink. Haven't hit upon the ideal solution, as the booster seat we're currently using also collects a lot of gunk. But at least it doesn't take up the whole kitchen.
- Pureed Baby Food and Baby Cereal. Eva ate some but Micah never did. I just offered him finger food at about 6 months. He was interested and able at about 7 months. I gave him non-choking-hazard non-allergenic table food in easy-to-grip chunks. He decided what and how much. Sooooooo much easier for me than sterilizing water or pumping milk for cereal, than boiling and blending fruits, vegetables and meats. And he's done excellent. No choking issues. No weight gain or developmental issues whatsoever. No problems with illness.
I may expand on "baby led feeding" in a future post.
- It is becoming intensely hot here. I'd actually almost forgotten just how intense. (I know you may not believe that I'm not trying to rub it in when I mention this.) This is significant because our A/C will not be up and running until a week from now.
- Eva isn't ready for bed at 7 anymore. Her bedtime is now closer to 8pm. She doesn't get tired during the day anymore.
- Micah is now waking up around 6am. Yippeee! He is however waking at least once in the night. The other night he wouldn't let us put him back to bed and ended up sleeping with us all night. Maybe pain from that last molar that isn't 100% through?
- I am hopeful that the desire to be nudie poodie will cause Micah to fully commit to the potty thing. What joy it would be to scratch diapers off the shopping list!
Empowering, Informative, Exciting Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding Resources
The Joy of Natural Childbirth by Helen Wessel
Breastfeeding Made Simple by Mohrbacher and Kendall-Tackett
Taking Charge of Your Fertility (Revised Edition): The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Acheivement and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler
Our bougainvilla bushes were stripped bare. We have three broken windows and holes in many of our screens. The little window in our front door blew out with such force that we found glass way over in front of our tv.
Andrew's car has quite a lot of hail damage, including a broken tail light. Mine has a number of dents. Our power was out for two hours. There is so much flooding at the entrances to our community that first thing this morning it was difficult to get out without a 4x4 vehicle.
But we are all just fine and we are so grateful for that!
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Micah got a haircut today. I didn't realize how long it was! He did great. Sat very still and watched attentively in the mirror. Both kids enjoyed the parting gift of suckers! 
Eva in the 'ring sling' in Thailand.jpg)
Micah in the same 'ring sling' in Puerto Vallarta
Micah in the 'pouch sling' in Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico. I sewed this one myself. The other one is a little more comfortable because it's padded, but this one fits in a purse. I carried it with me all the time and also used it a ton. 
Micah in a 'wrap', overlooking the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico. This is just a long piece of fabric that you rig up in any number of ways. The fabric I had was a little too thin to be overly comfortable, so I didn't use this type of sling/wrap much. But there are lots of parents who use this type extensively. 
We still use this all the time. It is fantastic! It folds umbrella-style quite compactly. The kids love it. It is comfortable for both of Andrew and me to push, despite the 13.5" difference in our heights. It is nice and narrow. And the price was right at $129 US at Target. Highly recommend it. The only thing we don't like about it is the teeny tiny storage basket. Also I suppose it would be nice if it had a parent tray or cupholder. But at $129 who's complaining?!?+copy.jpg)
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