Open Your Heart Meat Eaters!

In the heat of the holidays we are surrounded by traditional meals which usually are centered around meat. If you are a vegetarian this time of year can be a struggle. I am writing this for my  mother. My mother has been a vegetarian for 25 years and vegan for the last 3 years. For her it was not a choice made to save the animals but for health reasons. In her early 30s meat started causing painful gout like symptoms. Back then vegetarians were not as socially accepted as they are today. She was made fun of by family and struggled to find anything other than a pile of iceberg lettuce at restaurants. In more recent years it has become much more accepted, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where we have whole restaurants dedicated to vegetarian cuisine.

Even with this recent acceptance of vegetarians there is still an attitude carried by meat eaters that they are somehow superior to the vegetarians. Some people, men in particular, I have found seem to think that eating meat makes them more of a man. Some of the men I have encountered are so proud of it that you might think they killed that grocery store bought steak themselves! Some meat eaters seem to think that vegetarians are out to take their meat away! Most vegetarians do not belong to PETA in case you were worried about that.

I personally eat some meat but prefer less meat in my diet. I actually enjoy the taste of Field Roast Sausage (a vegetarian sausage alternative). My husband eats a modified Paleo diet for health reasons so he consumes more meat than I am comfortable eating myself. He is supportive of my eating habits and has no problem throwing some Field Roast on the BBQ alongside some beef patties. I still always hear someone open their mouth about how stupid it is that vegetarians eat something that looks like meat but isn't. My response to this is to just look at what you call meat. Sausage in general is stuff in a tube that in no way resembles natural meat of any kind. I am also pretty certain that vegetable patties existed well before ground meat patties. If I wanted to copy meat I would have to figure out how to get bean curds to look like a cow and frankly I don't have that kind of time.

For some people eating meatless is a choice and for others it is medically essential. Whatever the reason is think in the holiday spirit and enjoy the company of those around you and not what is on everyone's plate. At our family meals we now commodate meat eaters, vegans, gluten allergies, nightshade allergies and low sodium diets. Why do we try so hard? Because regardless of these people's personal choices or allergies they are my family and I love them all! For that I can live with a little less here and there. 

November Paleo Turkey Meatloaf

My husband eats a modified Paleo diet due to an autoimmune disorder that affects his digestion and skin. Our cooking involves a lot of vegetables, so we get a weekly CSA (farm share) from Sauvie Island Organics. This farm share forces us to eat a more seasonal diet. In order to use all the veggies each week I often make what I call a kitchen sink meat loaf the night before our new share arrives to clear out space for the fresh incoming veggies. This week turned out to have a bit of a Thanksgiving taste so I decided to share this one. Another great place to find recipes for this kind of diet is the blog Autoimmune Paleo.

Ingredients

- 1 tbs coconut oil

- 1/2 roasted pie pumpkin, pureed or 1/2 can pumpkin pulp

- 2 small or 1 large parsnip, grated

- 1 beet, grated

- 1 small onion, minced

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 tsp sea salt

- 1 tbs dried oregano

- 1 tbs dried sage

- 2 tbs dried parsley

- 1 egg

- 2 lbs ground dark turkey 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, heat the coconut oil and saute the onion, parsnip and beet for about 5 minutes, adding garlic and pumpkin at the very end. Let cool.

In a large bowl mix egg with herbs and salt. Add the meat and vegetables to the bowl. Mix gently with your hands until incorporated.

Transfer the mixture into a loaf pan, spread it evenly and into the corners. Cook for 1 hour or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oven and carefully pour off liquid.

Cloth Diapers and Diaper Rash

The dreaded diaper rash! All babies get it no matter what you use or do. Yes, even cloth diaper babies. We can however, lessen the frequency of diaper rash by using certain products and techniques. The diaper design and creams can all play a part.  My first babe was constantly red until potty training and my second is less so but blisters terribly when she eats certain acidic foods.

I will start by stating I have had more diaper rash with the all in two style diapers over the pocket diapers. With my first I used Softbum Echo and Flip all in twos for awhile and saw improvement when I switched to the Softbum Omni and Sunbaby pocket diapers. The extra fabric layer between the insert and the baby's bottom seems to help bring down the moisture touching the baby. However this is still not enough sometimes.

With my first daughter the cloth diaper friendly balms worked great! My two favorite balms were Angel Baby Bottom Balm and Goo-Goo Baby Bum Balm. These products ready helped relieve the redness and chafing and washed out of her cloth diapers easily. Her sister however is a different case. The balms did very little to heal the open blisters on her poor little bum.

Zinc oxide based creams are considered the best moisture barriers for combating diaper rash. However, every cloth diaper manufacturer will say "Don't do it!" Zinc oxide  is a nightmare to get out of most fabrics. The cloth diaper world recommends using balms instead, but this does not work for all babes. For my youngest it was time to get serious. I did thirty minutes to an hour of diaper free time with each diaper change and I reached for the zinc oxide staples. In order to use a zinc oxide based cream with a cloth diaper you have to use a flushable liner to protect the fabric. This also increases the dryness in the diaper which will also help the diaper rash problem. I really loved Kushie Fushable Diaper Liners until I realized they are made from virgin timber pulp. As an environmental studies major this is a big no no! Bumkins Flushable Liners are the most popular liners on the market and generous in size for those solid food eaters. Bumkins are made using 100% viscose which is considered a much more environmentally friendly process. Once you have a good liner then its time for cream

I tried Boudreaux's Butt Paste and it stayed on but was terrible to get off when it came time to cleanse the affected area and did not wash out of cloth at all! It also didn't have any of the natural healing properties of the balms we crunchy mamas love so much. I tried Yes to Baby Carrots Soothing Diaper Cream and it worked alright but I really wanted to get these blisters healed. After some research I discovered Weleda Calendula Diaper Rash Cream. The Weleda cream is made in Germany and a combination of zinc oxide and healing oils. This cream in combination with a lot of diaper free time did the trick. I saw the rash improve in two days time.

Lyra and Etta (wearing a Sunbaby diaper)

Spider September

A month ago Lyra learned from one of her friends to scream and run every time you see a spider. This then lead to waking up in the middle of the night screaming that there were spiders in the dark. I have a background in field ecology so screaming about spiders is not something I do or have much tolerance for. In an effort to teach her that spiders were not something to be feared I declared September spider month.

I started by ordering a couple of spider books for her little library. I purchased Are You a Spider? and Spiders. These books are illustrated and designed to teach children the biology and life cycle of spiders in a simplistic way. Since I was already ordering books I decided to include

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders for my husband and I so we could properly identify the spiders in our home and yard. 

I also organized some spider coloring art on paper and the windows. There are crafty spider ideas all over the internet.

Spider window art using crayola window crayons

We followed this up with a visit to the Insect Zoo at the Oregon Zoo. Even though spiders are not insects they house a few Mexican red-kneed tarantulas there. This exhibit only briefly held her attention due to the exciting tiger exhibit next door, however she did not show any fear. 

Lyra checking out the Mexican red-kneed tarantulas at the Insect Zoo

Finally, I purchased a movie of one of the most famous spider stories ever written, Charlotte's Web. One of my absolute childhood favorites. She also fell in love with this movie. So much that she informed me yesterday that Charlotte lives on a web in her playhouse and eats lots of flies like a good spider.

This little campaign worked so well that I am considering making October bat month in honor of Halloween. 

I Am a Crunchy Vaccinating Mama

When I took our first daughter in for her two month shots she screamed for four hours afterwards. Her legs swelled from the vaccines and I called my husband crying. How could I have done this to my child? She then fell asleep for six hours and woke up like nothing had ever happened. I really questioned whether or not to put her through that again, but then I thought about what it would be like to have her go through the measles and I decided I would take four hours of discomfort any day!

The state of Oregon has one of the highest percentage of non-vaccinated children in the country. That number has been growing due to fears that vaccine causes autism and the dangers of ingredients such as aluminum and formaldehyde in some vaccines. The argument for vaccines is... well... pollio will kill a child...dead!

I am a crunchy health nut mama. My kids eat all organic and whole grain goodness so I understand the fears of injecting your baby with dangerous ingredients. That being said the toxic ingredients in vaccines are no worse for them then the toxins in a can of tuna fish if you think about it. The amount being injected into your child is nothing compared to what they pick up in their daily environment. As for causing autism well your risk for this disorder is the same with or without the vaccine. The risk of you and your child dying in a car accident on your way to the grocery store is much higher than the risk of an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

In these recent times we have enjoyed longer healthier lives, thanks to modern medicine (this includes vaccines). Somewhere along the line we have forgotten the horrors of the Smallpox epidemic. This horrible disease killed and disfigured millions of people throughout history. We would still be battling Smallpox today if it wasn't for a global effort to eradicate the disease in the 1960s using vaccine. The same can be said for pollio.

I am environmental studies major so I get really irritated when people think they don't have to recycle because everyone else is (Mom and Dad I mean you!). Some folks also think this way about vaccines. I don't have to vaccinate my kids if everyone else is vaccinated. This is true until everyone starts thinking this way and taking protection from those who really need it. My husband was diagnosed two years ago with an autoimmune disorder. The doctor recommend not vaccinating if at all possible since that could make his immune system crazier than it already is. That means it is important for our family to practice herd immunity. If we are all vaccinated then it lowers the risk of him catching something terrible.

As parents we have to make decisions everyday that will affect the health of our children for the rest of their lives. We are also making decision that will affect other children in our community as well. "It takes a village" remember that phrase? Well it really is true in so many ways. Vaccines work and that is not a religious belief it is a fact!
  

To Share or Not to Share?

There are some interesting parenting techniques out there today. The one I have been hearing a lot about is "I don't teach my child to share." This really bothers me and it bothers me even more when I hear peoples reasoning behind it. Its is simply not a black and white issue but a very grey one! There are things to share and things not to share and it is my job as a parent to teach both! Okay maybe I am a bit of a raving hippy socialist to start with, but hear me out.

One of the arguments of forcing a kid to share is that they will learn to take thing that are not theirs. Really?!? I am not saying you have to force your child to share everything but as a parent it is my job to guide them in learning what is their property and what is common ground. Example: Sippy cups and pacifiers are things parents are constantly trying not share even though our toddlers often seem cool with it. However, we know about germs and disease and they do not, so we step intervene in order to teach this. Toys at the toddler gym are common ground and this is where we guide them in the art of sharing. They do not own the red car at the gym and they must learn this even if they do not like it. Consider it their first real world lesson, we all have to do things we don't like.

The other argument I have heard is that kids will not learn how to cope in the real world it they are taught to share. They will think they are entitled to everything. Again, really?!? Maybe I am really teaching my child that they should give back some of the wonderful things they have to those less fortunate. Its a crowded world we live in today and if we do not learn to give and take then the less fortunate are going to be trampled! I want them to enjoy nice things, but also to be kind compassionate people that give back to society. My daughter has wanted toys that belong to other children and I have expressed to her the toy is not hers and then remind her of all the wonderful toys she owns. She may not like it but these are the norms of society I must teach her. I also express to her when another child want one of her toys how nice it is to share and to understand she will get her toy back later or maybe they can play together. She usually catches on and is happy to share. Someday she will grudgingly have to pay taxes but she will enjoy a clean park and good library as a result. She is learning that sharing can be a good thing through examples and parental guidance.

Children work out lots of issues on their own but every now and the parents step into settle major disputes guide them in learning the rules of our society. Just like the courts do for adults who have still not learned the rules. I respect other parents teaching methods so I will never make someone elses child share with mine but I will continue to encourage my daughter to share with others when appropriate because I feel that is my parental duty.

Kids, Chickens and Eggs!

Today most kids are very displaced from where their food comes from. It is very important to my husband and I that our kids understand their food from its beginning to end. Our quarter acer lot has provided enough space for us to do that. Two springs ago we started building garden beds and planting fruit trees which are really starting to produce fruits and vegetables this year and have been a blast for our toddler. I have wanted to raise chickens for sometime now and eggs have become a favorite with our two girls . If you have checked the price of organic eggs at your local grocery store lately its not cheap!

This winter we decided to finally get our chickens. In February I went down to Livingscape, our local feed store to check out what they had in the way of chicks. We had decided to get two chicks to start with since Portland has a limit of three hens chickens without a permit within city limits. When I got to the feed store there were only three chicks left. I couldn't just leave one there so of course I took all three. The man working that day was not a regular and was not exactly sure what breed they were. Lyra was so excited about the chicks she could hardly stand it. When we got home we set up a large cardboard box with a heat lamp in Etta's room since she was still co-sleeping with us. Lyra would drag every guest we had upstairs to meet the chicks. She proudly named the yellow chick Cinderella Chicken and the two black ones Tinkerbell and Fluffy.

Next we had to select a chicken co-op. With a four month old and two year old I was not really up for building one and my husband's handy skills are somewhat limited, so I purchased one from Chicken Gardener out of Eugene. We selected their small "Chicken Tractor" model with wheels that could be moved around the yard so they always had fresh grass and we could park the coop on our raised garden beds in the winter. They delivered the coop to our yard fully built for no extra charge.

From left to right: Tinkerbell, Fluffy and Cinderella Chicken

The chickens moved into their new coop in mid March. By May they were starting to look like identifiable adult breeds and we started to research what breeds we might have. We have identified Cinderella Chicken as a New Hampshire Red and Tinkerbell and Fluffy as Plymouth Rocks. Both known to be solid egg layers and good cold weather birds which is always a bonus for those cold snaps. As of yesterday Cinderella Chicken laid her first two eggs. The second one significantly smaller than the first which is fairly typical when they first start to lay eggs. It will be a few of weeks before she starts laying with consistency in size and numbers. The New Hampshire Reds are know to be early layers so it will be a few weeks before we see any eggs from Tinkerbell and Fluffy.

Daddy, Lyra and Aggie checking out the first egg!

"Is it worth it?" that is the big question that everyone asks. The cost of the coop, lamp and feeders are your big startup costs, which runs around $450 for 3-4 chickens, after that it is fairly inexpensive. We spend about $15 a month on organic feed and they consume a lot of our fruit and vegetable compostables. They will soon be laying around 60 eggs a month when they are all laying and that is about $0.25 an egg. If you buy organic eggs you are saving a little bit. Maintenance is fairly minimal as well. I spend a total of 5 minutes in the morning checking food, water and bedding and again at night. If I have to leave for the weekend they are usually fine on their own for couple of days with some extra food and a full tank of water. The excitement and knowledge Lyra has gained from the experience is worth every penny!   

First Time Running Mama I Salute You!

I am not a great motivational speaker, but I have some words for mamas that are getting out there and running for the first time after giving birth or for the first time ever. First of all, you are amazing! I will admit I have been a runner most my life, but now that I have two children I have been pregnant or nursing for 3 years and counting. When you are pregnant and/or nursing your body is not really yours anymore. For the half hour or so I am out running, walking or crawling (that's right crawling! Don't tell me your toddler always sleeps through the night) my body is mine for that time, just me and my thoughts. I see lots of first timers trying to do that same.

Hey mamas! It is okay to walk! The thing I notice most about new runners is a complete fear of what other people will think of them and their ability. I am here to tell you that this fear is irrational! What I love about distance running is most anyone can do it and no one is saying "oh look at how slow or fat she is." As the moms I run with will tell you "we all walked up the hill when we started." I have the same respect if not more for a mama walking her first 5k than a seasoned runner working on their 15th half marathon.

"My feet hurt when I run so I guess I am not a runner" is a phrase I hear far too often. If you are doing something you have never done before it is suppose to hurt a bit! Anything worth doing has a bit of pain. If you are a mama then you gave birth whether it was naturally or c-section and I think we would all agree that it was totally worth it and we would do it all over again. You are a sleep deprived warrior now and a 5k is nothing! To all mamas thinking about getting out there its time to grab that stroller and give it a shot. Whether you are doing it to lose weight, stay fit or keep you mental sanity you have more supporters out there than you know!

Me and Etta at the 2014 Rhody Run 12k in Port Townsend, WA

Toddler Crossfit

I recently got back into a running routine after having our second daughter. It isn't easy to find the time. Leave the house at 5:30AM before everyone is awake to get in a 3-4 mile run three times a week. My brother came over for dinner one night and I was telling him that I was getting back into running. "You need to join a gym and do crossfit" he tells me. Clearly my brother does not have young children at home. "Crossfit? I have a two year old! I am already doing crossfit!" I answered. You might think I am joking but I am here to tell that chasing a toddler all day is definitely a form of crossfit.

Crossfit routines incorporate high-intensity interval training, weightlifting, plyometrics, calisthenics, and other exercises. These are just a few elements of crossfit that are accomplished daily by parents everywhere.

• High-intensity interval training is alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. You can do this exercise by chasing a toddler running down the hallway with half a roll of toilet paper streaming behind them. When they see mama coming behind them they will start running faster as they hang a left into the living room. You then book it at high speed to prevent that toilet paper from being wrapped around the coffee table. When you finally get the toilet paper from your toddler you will begin picking up all the ripped pieces up and catching your breath. Before you finish you will look up to see the toddler throwing handfuls of dirt out of your favorite houseplant and you are up and running again.

• Weightlifting is where an athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates. This exercise is best executed with multiple children in a parking lot setting. Strap infant baby to chest and when your toddler refuses to hold your hand and wants to run into oncoming traffic you will quickly snatch them up and lift them over a shoulder in a clean and jerk motion to avoid hitting the infant.

• Plyometrics involves having muscles exert maximum force in as short a time as possible, with the goal of increasing both speed and power. This can be dubbed the super mom exercise. Toddler climbs on top of a bar stool to grab a bunch of grapes off the counter as their foot slips and your toddler starts to struggle for balance you spring into super mode lunging forward to grab your toddler's arm at the last second. This can be expected to occur 3-4 times daily leaving you with well toned calf muscles.

• Calisthenics are a form of exercise consisting of a variety of exercises, often rhythmical movements. They are intended to increase body strength and flexibility with movements such as bending, jumping, swinging, twisting or kicking. What better place for calisthenics then the playground? Toddlers generally obsess on one or two pieces of playground equipment, usually the slide or the swings. Which will require you to help your toddler up to the top of the slide climbing those steps over and over and over... The swings only requires you to push but your toddler will want up and down out of the swings many time causing you to twist and bend many times. The real workout happens when you tell them its time to go home. This will trigger screams and running. This will give you more weightlifting and plyometrics to get them into the car.

Lyra on the swing

The next time someone suggests an exercise routine you just gotta try you can suggest the toddler crossfit. Tell them you will even lend them a toddler for the day. Guaranteed to give you a workout you never knew existed. It even comes with a brain workout as the toddler will ask half a millions questions you never thought were worth asking throughout the day. For those in need of a more strenuous workout throw in an infant and/or puppy. I hear twin toddlers will double the workout as well. 

Help a Mama Out

My second daughter is now seven months old and I finally am feeling like my old self again. It has taken me a few months to write this blog because it is a difficult thing to write about. Hell asking for help is a difficult thing for me to do in general. I mean we all want to be super mom, right? When I had our first daughter everyone was coming by and asking how they could help out and were always visiting. It was stressful to try and look presentable all the time but it really did help me feel not cut off from the world. With the second one everyone assumed I knew the ropes so there was no need to check in. This assumption could not have been further from the truth. All our parents took off right after she was born and that was that. Here is where I admit I have never needed more help in my life and got so little.

Second children are twice as hard when they arrive because suddenly there are two children to care for. Not only are you completely energy drained and taking care of a newborn and in my case there was also an energy bound needy toddler. My husband took the first two months off of work to help out which was great. It really did help and I really was doing great. When he went back to work things were still pretty good for awhile and then at about four months it became obvious I had developed postpartum thyroidtis.

I felt like I was on a roller coaster with whiplash. I started gaining back some of the weight I had lost. I was tired and cold all the time. I had trouble functioning with simple tasks and memory. To make matters worse my hair was coming out by the handfuls. My milk supply dropped so the baby was eating twice as often and getting frustrated. My husband would come home and I would be rocking two crying children while I too was crying too from complete exhaustion. At one point I got sick and I knew I needed help and my family lives up on the Olympic Peninsula so that was out. I begged my husband to take one day off to help me until the fever and body aches went away. After taking two months off already he could not afford to take off anymore. He was reluctant to ask his folks in fear of them thinking we couldn't handle our own children. My mother suggested I hire someone to help with the cleaning. Great in theory until you factor in the the size of the hospital bills we were paying off. I finally got my husband to ask his mother to help and she could only help one day a week once in awhile during the toddler's nap time or sometimes after my husband got home from work. Not ideal but it was better than nothing.

Finally at about six months my energy came back my hair started growing back! I felt like I was back in the world of the living. It was probably two of the longest darkest months of my life. The first six months with any newborn whether it is your first or fifth is always the hardest. My advice to friends and family who are close to those with newborns is to check in frequently during those first six months. Take the toddler out and let mom get a nap! Things may appear fine and dandy on the outside but chances are there is a lot going on just below the surface. A female body just made a whole new human! It takes some time to truly recover from something like that. I write about this because even though I felt completely alone at the time, I know that I was not alone. There are mothers out there having similar experiences.  

Lyra (24m) and Etta (3m)

No Gender Disappointment Here

People always ask when you first get pregnant "Do you want a boy or a girl?" Its like they are asking if you like cats or dogs. Before we got pregnant with our first child my husband wanted a boy. The conversation came up with some friends at a dinner party and I asked him why. "So, I can play catch with him and things like that." I have been an athlete most of my life, playing soccer and basketball all through high school and running cross country and track through college. So, I took this comment as somewhat of a slap in the face. One of my long time friends seemed to be reading my mind. "You think a daughter of Liesl's is going to have any problem catching and throwing?" she asked him. "It's just always what I envisioned in my head." he answered.

A few months later we were pregnant. We decided not to find out the sex and for it to be a surprise. For me it was because I didn't want my husband to find out we were having a girl and be disappointed for the next 20 weeks. I knew once he was holding that baby he would be in love no matter what it was, that's just how he is. So for 34 weeks I listened to my mother in law tell everyone how she just knew it was going to be a boy. People at work tell me how they thought it was a boy too. This actually started to make me very upset (hormones did not help anything). I told my dad how everyone thought it was a boy and what was so wrong with a girl! "Well, I think its a girl, but then I thought your brother was going to be a girl too." he said. I laughed and this somehow put me at ease. Whatever it was it simply didn't matter. 

January 2012 our little girl was born. Just as I expected my husband didn't even care that it was a girl. He was so excited to be a dad. She is now two and puts on her Seahawk shirt and grabs her football every Sunday and watches football with her dad and papa. 

When we got pregnant with our second my mother in law started in with the "this one is going to be a boy." My husband was a whole different guy this time around "I don't care either way but I sort of hope its another girl so Lyra can have a sister. Also, we won't have to buy more clothes!" I decided to find out the sex at 20 weeks this time just so people would just stop telling me what they thought. I wasn't worried about the sex at all with this one after I saw how the whole family had feel in love with Lyra.

We now have two beautiful daughters and people still ask us "Are you going to try for a boy?" And our answer "Nope." We have decided our two girls is all we need to feel complete and content with our family and my husband went ahead with a vasectomy last week. "I thought we were going to get a boy" my grandmother said when she found out. "Sorry, talk to my brother about that one." I answered.      

Lyra, Etta and Daddy watching the Superbowl

Going Plastic Free for Safety!

In light of new studies going BPA free just isn't enough anymore. Mother Jones just released an article uncovering that many replacements for plastic containing BPA are more toxic than the plastics they are replacing. Instead of sifting through all the different plastic formulas to figure out what is currently considered safe we are getting rid of plastic all together. Before you write me off for being completely crazy I will just say I know too may people under the age of thirty to battle cancer not to be concerned. The task of eliminating plastic is easier said then done in today's world. There are many non plastic options out there, however they can be pricey.

Baby bottles are the easiest. Most all bottle manufactures carry a glass product line. You may have to get on Amazon.com to find them but they can be found in almost any brand for a very reasonable price. However, the nipples and lids are still made of plastic. Luckily the liquid is spending its time sitting in the glass portion of the bottle and to limit the leaching of plastic chemicals hand wash in warm water and soap and never expose plastic to high heat.

Same rule for sippy cups. However, non plastic sippy cups are harder to find and usually are pricey. Stainless steal and glass are the most common replacements. For my toddler I chose stainless steal for all the dropping and knocking over it is going to have to take. I purchased a Safe Sippy 2 and my toddler adores that cup! I highly recommend purchasing an extra parts kit too! I have heard good things from folks that have taken the glass route. A popular glass option for baby bottles and sippy cups is LifeFactory.

Lyra with her stylish Safe Sippy 2

For utensils there is always the good old fashion stainless steal which never really ever goes out of style. Stainless steal toddler utensils can be found anywhere and cheaply at your nearest Target or Ikea. If you are just introducing food for the first time you may want to use something softer that the baby can gum on while learning to eat like bamboo. Bambu makes a bamboo organic baby spoon. The down side of bamboo is that you don't want to put it in the dishwasher. I have seen corn starch baby spoons and plates on the market as well, however unless they are made from organic corn I would avoid them. Non organic corn is grown with very high levels of pesticides, atrazine in particular. Atrazine is a known carcinogenic.

While your child is in the throw the whole bowl on the floor stage it is good to have some non breakable plates and bowls. For this there is bamboo, stainless, potato starch, glass with silicon and much more! A simple google and amazon search will blow your mind what's out there. We chose to go with bamboo wear from Green Sprout. These can be found through many local Co Ops and Amazon.com.

For food storage there are many glass tupperwares and cloth zipper snack bags out there. I purchased my glass tupperware at Costco and I love it. For baby food I turn to a good old reliable mason jar. There are many options out there. Happy hunting!

Orange and Ginger Sauce (vegan)

Tonight my husband took a recipe from "Joy of Cooking" full of dairy and vinegar and put his own twist on it. It was so tasty I decided it was blog worthy. This sauce can be used in any stir fry of veggies with meat or tofu. Tonight he made a fried brown rice with asparagus with sliced chicken breast which he poured this sauce on. The ginger is not over powering making this a kid friendly dish, our toddler loved it.

Orange and Ginger Sauce

1 tbs Earth Balance
3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup shallots/onions
1 cup apple juice
2 tbs chopped ginger
3 cups vegetable stock (or chicken)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup coconut cream (can find at Trader Joes)
1 tbs orange zest
Lemon juice to taste
salt/pepper to taste

Saute earth balance, mushrooms and onions until brown. Then add apple juice and ginger and cook until reduced by half. Add vegetable stock and orange juice and cook until reduced by half. Add coconut cream and cook until it coats the spoon. Strain sauce into bowl and add orange zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stores in the fridge up to 7 days and can be frozen for longer storage.

My Kid is Happy, Healthy and Skinny

My oldest daughter was born tall and thin into the eighth percentile for weight and 78th percentile for height and by the time she was six months old she was in the zero percentile for weight and 86th percentile for height. The doctors assumed I was not producing enough breast milk. I could easily pump out eight oz in a sitting with a nice layer of fat in it and she was not fussy, tired or sickly. She was hitting all her development milestones and bubbly. This aside our doctor was very worried about that number on the scale and started us on a high fat diet mixing coconut oil, olive oil and formula into everything she ate. Still she remained in the zero percentile for weight and the 84th percentile for height. By the time she was ten months old the doctor ordered a huge round of blood tests which all came back perfect and normal. After that our doctor backed off for awhile as she moved into the fourth percentile for weight and held that until she turn two.

When children turn two they put them onto a different percentile chart. Factoring in her height this chart showed she was very underweight, again. They offered to refer us to a dietitian that would most likely prescribe a feeding tube. At this point my husband just about lost it. "She ate half a chicken last night and was running laps around the other kids at the park!" he yelled. My husband has some food allergies that affect the way he digests food so we decided to take her into for a food allergy panel even though she has never really showed any discomfort. This was an absolute fiasco! She screamed through the entire appointment and testing. Thank goodness my parents were there to help. Guess what they found? NOTHING! She can eat anything and everything and she does!

The problem with using a percentile chart to measure a child's health is it is comparing my child to other American children. The last time I checked America was having an obesity epidemic and most children are way too big. My child is not undernourished, she is in perfect health. Our society is obsessed with charts and test scores. Everyone wants their kid at the top of the chart, but is that a good thing? Maybe being at the low end of the weight chart is actually a good thing. So, I am declaring no more tests unless she is sick. My kid is happy healthy and skinny!

Pretty in Pink?

You know the drill, if its a boy everything blue and if its a girl everything pink, of course. Despite my best efforts to keep the girls clothing somewhat gender neutral in color, that annoying pink keeps flooding in the door. You know the pink I am talking about, similar to that of pepto bismol. As soon as they are born they get a pink hat and blanket, and heaven forbid someone ask if your little bald baby is a boy! People are always so quick to apologize when they realize they just called my three month old a "he." I always laugh and say "That's okay she doesn't know she's a girl yet either." And that's true! That little bundle of joy doesn't have a clue and they don't care either. As long as she has a dry diaper and steady supply of milk she could care less. My oldest daughter just turned two and this is when it starts to get interesting.

Toddlers are just learning to make decisions and are constantly pushing the boundaries. From the get go society is pushing girls into a pink world of ponies and princesses. In fact most parents are the driving force behind it. Just tonight I watched my husband grab a new purple sippy cup with hearts on it at the grocery store. I stopped him and asked him if Lyra had pick out purple one. "No, but its the only girl one they have." I held the purple cup up along side a green one with robots and bicycles on it. Lyra instantly grabbed the green one. "But I like the purple one!" my husband said to persuade her. "Its not your cup" I stopped him. We have our entire lives to be slapped around by the norms of society no need to start on our toddler right now.

For the most part I let my daughter choose what she wants to wear each day. I often have to take a shirt away explaining that she can't wear the same shirt everyday because sometimes you have to wash your lunch out of your shirt. I love seeing what she will come up with next. Children have amazing minds. So amazing they can see that a cardboard box has 10 times more wonder than any plastic toy. When it comes to gender norms folks just need to relax. Your little girl will not be damaged by wearing a blue rocket ship shirt or your boy playing with a pink princess doll. In my opinion every girl and boy should have a doll and a truck not one or the other. Enjoy watching them explore this crazy world we live in.  

One of Lyra's favorite outfits

Lyra's 2nd Birthday Party

Lyra's second birthday was last weekend, but due to a couple of our dearest friend's wedding the birthday party was pushed back to this weekend. I am proud to say we learned a few things since her first birthday.

First, our house is too small to hold parties that include friends and family. So, we held the part at Milagros Boutique in their Family Room. This turned out be the perfect size for our party. It will hold up to 40 people comfortably and cost $60 for a three hour block. For $30 more dollars they will do all the clean up for you or you can save the money and do it yourself. The room has a little play castle with a few books and toys perfect for little kids to play in. There are also fold out tables along one wall perfect for food and drinks and chairs and fold out tables for eating at.

Lyra enjoying a carrot

Second, cakes are much less work than cup cakes! Last year I made cupcakes and it was very labor intensive. This year I made two cakes. The first cake was a gluten and dairy free chocolate cake with a vegan coconut frosting.  I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix with coconut milk in place of cow's milk and earth balance in place of butter. This cake can also be made vegan by using egg replacer instead of eggs (this I forgot to do). The second cake was a chocolate beet cake with a cream cheese frosting. Before you get all weird about beets in a cake I will tell you that my husband hates beets, but loves chocolate beet cake. Beets are naturally sweet and when mixed in a chocolate cake they lose their earthy flavor and add the perfect amount of moisture. They also make a beautiful pink colored frosting! Lyra loves chocolate beet muffins, so I knew she would love the cake. 

Testing the frosting while everyone is singing

Thirdly, with a new baby at home order decorations online. Lyra loves Winnie the Pooh so we had a theme. If I only had a dollar for every time I had to watch that movie! I purchased everything I needed from Oriental Trading and Amazon. Lyra loved the Pooh party hats and made sure that everyone had one on. Including her baby sister.

Baby Etta and her Great Aunt Sherrye

It was a very fun event with friends and family. Lyra took a three hour nap to recover from all the fun. She received some wonderful gifts and now has enough dolls to distract her from "helping" with her baby sister, at least for a little while. Its hard to believe its been two whole years already. It seems just yesterday I was holding a 6 1/2 lbs little baby.

Toddler Whining!

The age of whining! They have learned enough words to ask for what they want, but still find they need to cry or whine to get it. My eldest daughter turns 2 in a week and has recently taken to crying and whining for everything, especially when I am nursing her three month old sister. The two year old is crying three times as much as the infant! Solution? Ignore it. It can make for a very long day, but the only way to break the habit is not to reward the behavior.

For example, she is allowed one book before nap time. She started whining and crying for another one and I refused and after about three days of whining she gave up and accepted the fact that she would only get one book. The thing about toddlers is they will keep trying elsewhere. If she wants crackers she whines for them. I tell her she has to say "please" and ask for them. This usually results in screaming. If I give her the crackers the whining stops, which I have done out of desperation while I try to change and nurse the infant. However, this means she will do it again and again. I must put my foot down and not let her have what she wants or it will never stop.

She has been particularly whiny this week with me and not her father. Seeing this makes me feel less guilty about not giving in, knowing that she is playing me, as toddlers will do. Three days seems to be the magic number with a toddler. I know there are parents out there dealing with the same thing and all I can say is hang in there and stick to your guns!