A Great Way to Spend Long Days at Home

I can't believe I didn't set up the pool earlier in the week! I know you Winnipeggers don't want to hear it, but it is HOT here now. We go out for a walk in the mornings, and at 9am the sun already beats right into you. Monday the kids and I had a great day- they played so well together, were so agreeable and not particularly needy, it was very pleasant. Tuesday was a completely different story, one of disobedience and mischief. Yesterday wasn't great either. I suggested we set up the pool, but that they needed to clean off the patio to make space for it. Their desire NOT to clean overrode their desire to swim. This morning I went out there and we all cleaned the patio together, then set up the pool.

Here we are enjoying the refreshing feeling of water on our feet, waiting for the pool to fill.

Eva has gone to get her swimsuit on.

"Who cares if it's not full? Let's get swimming!"

This may look dangerous, but they have got it down to a science. They'll sleep well tonight!

The Swine Flu Thing

This past weekend was one of our most social in a long time: we went to the circus on Saturday and to a family activity at Eva's school on Sunday. Then whammo! on Monday school was cancelled. Since then the WHO pandemic status has gone up two levels, and according to the newspapers all non-essential workplaces are to close until May 6. In Andrew's workplace and around town many are wearing masks, and people aren't greeting each other with handshakes and air kisses as is customary.

So far there are no confirmed cases in the Torreon metropolitan area, however there are something like 50 suspected cases.

What has this meant to our family? The kids and I have stayed at home all week, with the exception of a morning walk. Andrew went to the grocery store on Monday night and stocked up the pantry and freezer in case things get really weird. We have talked about stocking up on cash too. We considered flying the kids and me home to Canada somewhat earlier than planned. I'm not a big fan of this plan. I don't like the idea of splitting up our family, and Andrew possibly getting stuck here if borders are closed. If it is indeed a global pandemic, would we really be any safer in Canada than here? And my parents wouldn't even be there because they are planning a getaway next month. What if I got sick? Or Andrew got sick? (With anything) Who would care for the sick parent and the kids?

I've had a chance to read and digest quite a bit of internet coverage on what's going on and here are some of my thoughts and conclusions:

- This flu doesn't seem to be any more deadly than any other flu strain. The "regular" flu kills between a quarter- and half-million people worldwide annually.

- My fears regarding this flu stem more from the fact that I am pregnant. My immune system is therefore depressed, making me more susceptible. A high fever could be dangerous for the baby. I want to avoid drugs for myself and the kids, especially the drugs they are using to treat this flu because they can have some funky side effects. Here are some of them according to the Tamiflu web site: Rare but serious skin reactions and allergic reactions have been reported...People with the flu, particularly children and adolescents, may be at an increased risk of self injury and confusion shortly after taking TAMIFLU and should be closely monitored for signs of unusal behavior.

- The air quality in Mexico City is very poor, so many of the residents likely already have respiratory illnesses and a compromised immune system. Perhaps this helps to explain why there have been deaths in Mexico compared to mostly mild cases in other countries. Another factor may be poverty. I have read a few stories about people with flu symptoms being turned away from hospitals because they are "too busy" or the person can't pay, or simply being misdiagnosed and later dying.

- I am pleased that Mexico took the step to close schools nation-wide early on. And if all the non-essential businesses do close for the next five days as reported in the newspapers (I haven't heard whether Andrew's plant will close) then it seems there would definitely be an impact on transmission rate. And our family's risk of getting sick would drop to almost zero.

Surprise Winner!

I was very surprised to find that everyone enjoyed this recipe! It is very flavourful. I am so excited to have another dish to add to the rotation:

Chicken in Mango Sauce

Sufficient chicken for two people, deboned and skinned if necessary
1 large ripe mango
1 tsp ground coriander- I used chopped fresh cilantro. Who knew that coriander and cilantro are one and the same?
1 clove garlic (chopped finely), or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcester sauce
Water if necessary
1 carton natural yoghurt or your favoured alternative - I didn't use this

Method
Fry all the spices except half of the garlic in a small amount of oil. Puree the mango (or at least squash it about a bit). I just diced about half of it and chunked the other half. Add mango to the spices, add soy & Worcester sauce, cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, chop the chicken into bite-size chunks and fry until opaque, along with the remainder of the garlic. Drain off any excess oil. Add the mango sauce and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, adding water if needed; make sure the sauce does not stick to the pan. Serve with the starch-based accompaniment of your choice (probably a bit runny for noodles; rice works okay, and so does couscous), along with the natural yoghurt. I served it with jasmin rice.

A Bust Outing

Today Eva's school had special family activities as a celebration for Day of the Child. We were all so excited about it! Once we got there, though, Eva was miserable. The first game she was a bit nervous but warming up, then we did volleyball with a great big ball, and it just wasn't making it down to her level. That's when she got really discouraged. She said, "I'm no good at these games". She refused to participate in anything after that. I couldn't seem to convince her keep pushing through, trying, and finding a way to enjoy herself.

Trying to hit the ball

Post-discouragement (and me with a weird-looking arm!)

We're just not sure how to handle this. In her defense, Eva by temperment is slow to adapt to new situations, there was a huge crowd of people, most of the games were new to her, she was one of the smallest kids, and there is still somewhat of a language barrier. However she was in a familiar setting with us right beside her, encouraging her and showing her by example. She just stood there arms at her sides, complained, and eventually cried. We felt so bad for her that she was missing out on the enjoyment of the day! Her attitude was especially frustrating when it came to the 'flag chase' activity, because she HAS played it before and she loves chase.

We thought about just leaving. Would that have sent the wrong message? We ended up staying to the end, and intentionally observing the last activity, which was spelling Montessori with our bodies.

I hate to see her missing out, and I was upset that she had no interest or appreciation for the effort and time the school put into this event.

Thoughts on how to handle this and future situations like this; how to best encourage her without pressuring or making her feel bad about herself?

Why Micah Likes to Sleep With Us

Micah has become a pretty good sleeper... sort of. It's conditional upon one of us being within arm's reach. Or closer.

If he were to spend the entire night with one or both of us, he would not wake up until morning. But because he starts in his own bed- after falling asleep clutching the arm or finger of one of us- he is usually up by about midnight looking that missing arm or finger. When we lay down beside him, he falls asleep again quickly. If we go back to our own bed after that, he is up within a couple of hours looking for one of us again. Then, unless we're feeling particularly motivated (and this is rare at 2am) either he ends up in our bed or one of us ends up in his. This isn't a huge problem, especially now that he has a comfortable bed and compared to our earlier sleep issues. It wouldn't really be a problem at all, except that it's not safe to co-sleep with a both a baby and a toddler, so we are trying to work him into sleeping alone in his own bed before Wee3 arrives.

We tried having Micah and Eva share a queen sized bed, but Micah turned himself sideways and pushed her right off the edge. Not a workable solution.

I asked Micah why he likes to sleep in our bed. He said, and I quote, "Because it's cozy and warm and tickley." Hard to argue with that.

Sustainable Laundry Pattern

I believe I may have finally fallen into a sustainable laundry pattern!

There is two prerequisites to this working:

- A 'normal' routine. It has taken me 2 weeks to get back on track after our holidays.
- Presorting of laundry in a single location. We have three hanging baskets in our bathroom, and as we take our clothes off, they go into either the Darks, Lights, or Colours basket.

Here's the routine:

Most days I do at least one load of laundry. Some days it is the basket that is getting full- today I'm doing three loads of darks. On Thursdays Claudia changes the sheets so I do sheets on Thursdays. Other days towels are on the schedule. I don't have a special day for this and maybe I should; right now I just do them when they get grungy or stinky. Not optimal but nobody has complained so I don't sweat it. :)

I used to get bogged down with the task of sorting and not actually get to the laundry, so the presorting is really really key. Thankfully Andrew is on board. I still sometimes get bogged down with the folding and putting away, but limiting the amount of laundry done in a single day really helps with that because then it's not quite so daunting. I tend to dump it all on my bed to add motivation factor. Sure, sometimes the pile gets moved to another location, unfolded, but more often than not it actually gets folded and put away before I go to bed. I also sometimes ask Claudia to take care of folding and putting away when she is here. She is great at folding so our clothes/closets/drawers invariably look better after she's been in charge of this, but for the most part laundry is my responsibility.

I should also mention one other key factor in all of this. I generally don't iron my clothes. Andrew takes care of his own ironing. Beautiful arrangement!

Jennifer Block Responds to "The Case Against Breastfeeding"

Hannah Rosin recently wrote a controversial article called The Case Against Breastfeeding. Here are some insightful exerpts from Jennifer Block's (speaking at the conference I'll be attending!) response:

We tell women that breast is best, we tell them to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, we even tell them it will raise their kid's IQ (and we should give that a rest), and then we send them home with formula samples, or with a baby whose throat is too sore to suckle, or a mom whose milk is delayed because of surgery, and we don't teach technique, and we are offended when a woman breastfeeds in public, so we make her feel housebound, and we don't give a mother and her partner paid leave, and we send her to go back to a workplace without on-site childcare, and so her only alternative to formula is to plug her nipples into a machine, and if she's lucky she gets periodic breaks and a "non-bathroom lactation room" in which to pump, and if she's not she gets a toilet, and so on and so forth.

But it's not that these public health recommendations are grounded in some return-to-the-1950s conspiracy, as Rosin suggests; they're grounded in physiology. And science is validating the physiology of the mother-baby dyad — that is, both are healthier when they remain close to each other during the first several months postpartum. It's not simply the milk that's inimitable; it's the mothering. (Indeed, "We actually don't know if feeding infants human milk has the same benefits as breastfeeding," says Labbok.) And mothering is something that our culture does not value enough to support. It is this dissonance between physiology and culture that has women so frustrated, and feminists like Rosin grasping at the bottle as a proxy for equality.

Why did American feminism evolve in such a way that we think of biology as destiny, and that destiny as a prison? Why are we so willing to surrender the parts and processes that makes us female rather than demanding that society support them? We've broken down doors and cracked glass ceilings, when what we need to do is redesign the building.

Labbok, who's worked in some fifty countries, tells me the feminists in northern Europe have done this. "In northern Europe, women fight for the right to breastfeed," she says. There, feminism isn't just about "making women act more like men," the right of women to be full citizens and the right of babies to be given best possible care are not at odds. "There's an understanding of human rights outside the U.S. that includes the right of women to breastfeed. And that means women shouldn't be expected to do it unless everyone is fully supporting it — her family, her society, her workplace, everybody all the way down the line to her government."

Finally, Some Photos

I have been remiss in posting photos recently. I have been mostly leaving the photogging up to my talented husband, but unfortunately that generally means that this blog gets no photo love. So here are a couple of my recent snaps:

Spontaneous puzzling session

Spontaneous jam session

A Great Elimination Communication Article

I want to share this great article about raising your baby without diapers by Dr. Sarah J. Buckley. I liked the whole article, but this paragraph stood out to me.

This is not a method of toilet training, as some have misinterpreted. Rather it is an enlightening process for baby and mother (and possibly other carers) that makes conventional toilet training unnecessary, because our babies have never learned to ignore their body's signals. Neither is EC a way of making babies control their bladder or bowels prematurely, coercively, or traumatically. It does, however, dissolve the illusion that children have no control over elimination until the toddler years.

Nesting Days

Let the nesting begin! Yesterday I finally got into clothing organization, a task I have been planning for months. Our closet is now officially organized. I packed away all the clothes I won't wear until after the baby is born, got together all the clothes Micah and I will never wear again, and put aside all the clothes Micah has grown out of. I also sunned some drawers that had taken on a weird smell.

Today's task: Eva's clothes. I might tackle the kids' toys too. I wish I/we could keep them organized! Eva especially has all these little trinkets and knick-knacks that are so hard to keep in any kind of order. And then there are the papers. That kid draws and colours like crazy! The papers just pile up and pile up. It's daunting.

More on CFLs

I have been thinking more about CFLs. About how most workplaces and some homes have fluorescent tube lighting, about how many households have a mercury thermometre of some type. About how I am currently (unsuccessfully) looking for a simple mercury thermometre to hang outside.

I think that education is the key here. And lack of same is what upsets me the most about the CFL thing. There is such a huge campaign going on about replacing all of our standard lightbulbs with CFLs, but such a dearth of education about the health risks (minimal or otherwise), safe cleanup in the event of breakage, and safe disposal.

It really bothers me that many of us (me included) are treating or would treat these bulbs the same as any other, when we really shouldn't. There are many household items which carry risk and dangers, but we are informed when we buy and use them and prepared to take the appropriate steps. Batteries, for instance. We understand that they can burn us if they leak, and that we should send them to an appropriate collection/recycling facility rather than putting them in the garbage once we are done with them.

Do I and will I use CFLs? I currently have a CFL installed in our front outdoor fixture. It recently burnt out and I had Andrew change it. I felt terrible but we threw the burnt out bulb in the garbage because as far as I know there are no special disposal/recycling programs in this city. We also have CFLs in a living room lamp that gets a lot of use.

I probably won't buy any more for indoor use for some time, because we have small children and I am pregnant. Once the kids are old enough to understand what to do in the event of breakage (and we live in a home where CFLs fit in more fixtures!) I would probably use them, with care.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) Dangers

You have probably heard, as I have, that it is energy efficient and therefore environmentally responsible to replace all incandescent bulbs with CFLs. But were you aware that there are real dangers associated with these things?

I probably would have already replaced all our bulbs with CFLs, except they don't fit into most of the light fixtures in this house. Thank God. Recently Andrew mentioned that he had heard something about them being dangerous, so this morning I did some research.

CFLs contain mercury. If they break inside your home (or while the garbage collectors are handling them), then the toxic vapor released into the air may cause damage to the nervous system damage, kidneys and liver. The mercury may also be absorbed through the skin or ingested accidentally.

Wouldn't it make sense to include consumer education about dangers and safe disposal in a big campaign for these things? This information comes as a great shock to me. Should it? Presumably the almighty buck reigns as usual.

I just looked at the packaging for a CFL I had in the cupboard and there is not one word of warning about the danger of heavy metal poisoning or safe cleanup in the event of breakage. There is not one word about safe disposal. These things are going to landfills, breaking, and sending toxic vapours into the environment.

The internet articles I've read seem to come in at somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum regarding the real danger of these things. This article says that any poisonous vapours dissipate quickly- within about an hour. Another article relays the story of a family who sealed off their daughter's bedroom for at least a month as they tried to work out how to "pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally sound cleanups of the mercury inside the bulb."

The Energystar web site publishes a CFL Cleanup and Disposal guideline document. The cleanup recommendations include:

- Leaving and airing out the room for at least 15 minutes. Shutting off central forced air systems.
- Scooping up mercury fragments with stiff paper or cardboard, and remaining smaller fragments with sticky tape such as duct tape.
- Not using a vaccuum cleaner, broom or mop for cleanup
- Disposing of mercury fragments in a glass jar or sealed plastic bag
- Wiping the area clean with a damp paper towel or wet wipe. This should also be placed in the jar or bag.

More details about cleanup and disposal in the document hyperlinked above.

Chapter Book Delight

We have started reading C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe with Eva and it is SO FUN!! I like picture books but I am SO excited to start sharing chapter books with Eva. The day after we read Chapter One, she came out of her room in the morning clutching the book and insisting we read Chapter Two immediately. I love her enthusiasm. It seems as though a fair amount of the phrasing is over her head (especially with it being set in England) but I am impressed with her level of comprehension.

Eva is practically dancing with excitement about reaching the chapter where we meet Aslan. It'll be a few days yet!

Official Declaration

I officially declare Micah to be a Big Boy. He has been dry at night for weeks, and doing well enough during the day to wear undies all the time. He looks so cute in his undies! Sure, there have been some accidents (especially on vacation- I did so much handwashing for various reasons), but overall he is doing great! It turns out that his urine makes his legs really itchy. So even when he does have an accident, generally it is not a flood because he remembers that terribly itchy feeling.

Way to go, Micah!!!

Letter Factory and Storybook Factory

I can't recommend highly enough the LeapFrog videos Letter Factory and Storybook Factory (there is also one called Talking Words Factory but we don't own it). Eva loved them and learned her letters and their sounds very quickly by watching, and now Micah loves them too. Within 5-10 viewings he learned to recognize all the letters of the alphabet and say their phonics sound. He is big into letters these days.

He is also big into counting, and can count to twelve in English and in Spanish.

This is a fun time!

Lentil Soup

I decided to try making lentil soup for supper today. I often have good success with allrecipes.com and today was no exception. Here is the recipe I used:

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped (I had none but it still tastes good!)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 4 big cloves)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used 210g tomato sauce and one finely chopped fresh organic tomato)
2 cups dry lentils (I also added some chopped potatoes and fresh green beans)
8 cups water (I used 2 cups chicken broth + 6 cups water)
1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced (I had none)
2 tablespoons vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar)
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil and fresh tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes and potatoes and green beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.

Sinus infection note

Thanks to those who offered sinus infection remedies and sympathy! I am very pleased to report that it never did get full blown and the pain was completely gone I think the day after I posted. Yay!

A couple of pool videos.

Here's a quick video of Eva swimming....


Here's a quick video of Micah trying to get Eva's attention. The audio is pretty funny.