Kara, a friend who also likes blogging, asked her blogging friends to share a summer recipe. This recipe meets all the allergy requirements in our family ( if I take the almonds out of K's) and it is yummy. It's from Real Simple magazine, back when Katie gave me a subscription to that magazine ( I love the layouts in that mag). The girls don't love this salad (what kids love summer salads?) but they will eat it. And once I served it to a bunch of single guys who really only love pizza and burgers...they said it was a chick-meal, but this is still a recipe I love.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup lime juice
1 TB white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
2 TB light brown sugar
4 green onions (white and green part, thinly sliced)
2 medium Granny Smith apple, diced
1/3 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (not a fan of peanuts, I use almonds)
2 TB thinly sliced fresh mint
1/2 cup thinly sliced basil
I honestly don't make this recipe except in the summer when I have mint and basil growing in my garden, as it is tastier with fresh herbs. Pound the chicken to an even thinness. Place the chicken in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Add 3 tsp of the salt and 1/2 tsp of the pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until no trace of pink remains, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes (if I have recently roasted a chicken and have left over meat, I skip all this). Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the lime juice, vinegar, and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the scallions and apples and toss. Drain the chicken and pat it dry. Dice the chicken and add it to the apple mixture along with the peanuts, mint basil and the remaining salt and pepper. Toss. Serve on toast or over crackers. (But I like it to sit in the fridge for at least an hour)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Lift of Love
Do you ever have moments where something is so exciting that all those cheesy phrases about the bliss of being love suddenly make sense? I know, many of us experienced those moments when we first started dating someone, or for the first day, week, month, or year of your marriage (everyone's bliss dissipates eventually, or maybe it was popped). But have you had such moments since then? I am having one today. I feel like I could fly on wings, like I have a splendid secret in my pocket, like my heart could sing (I know, enough already). And guess why? This old, fat man in a white t-shirt with suspenders and a Santa Claus beard came to my house today. He has a lot of hip pain and was excited because today social security checks get deposited. He trusts people and let me pay with a check. I paid $25. And it was so worth it. I now have a 4 ft x 21ft space, freshly rototilled and just waiting to grow things. It is so beauitful. Can you hear my song of rejoicing? It sounds better than my real voice. I feel like tomorrow is Christmas and I can't believe I won't have time to open my presents (seed packets) until after lunch. And I suspect it would have taken me more than four hours to dig such a space, probably more because I never have four hours without interuption to do anything.
I wonder why gardening excites me so much. Can it be passed on from one generation to another? Can farming run in our genes? If my diabetes didn't prevent me from drinking champagne, I would lift my glass, and say, " Here's to this year's gardening season. May the praire dogs of Montana not be replaced by the rabbits and squirrels of Michigan." Thanks God for the joy of watching things grow (and then picking them!).
I wonder why gardening excites me so much. Can it be passed on from one generation to another? Can farming run in our genes? If my diabetes didn't prevent me from drinking champagne, I would lift my glass, and say, " Here's to this year's gardening season. May the praire dogs of Montana not be replaced by the rabbits and squirrels of Michigan." Thanks God for the joy of watching things grow (and then picking them!).
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Tidbits
I like the order that God gave my children to me. H is super active, gregarious, giggly and wiggly. K is loud and whiney, generous, and reserved. But without her sister to lead her into play, Kassy is shy and quiet. If K had come first, H would make me exhausted. This week K was too sick for childcare during my Bible study. She sat next to me in my small group, colored and listened. She didn't make a peep except when she needed to go to the bathroom. I regularly take her to my book clubs, meetings, sessions with my tutee. I can always count on her to stick close and to be quiet. It is lovely. I used to wonder how some moms had such calm kids. Was I failing to discipline enough? Now I know some kids are just born like that.
H is affectionate. She showers people with kisses and hugs and if they express a desire for her to stop, she thinks a game has started, like when she says, "Don't you tickle me" and then squeals in delight as her pursuer does it anyway. Most of the spring, she has been taunting Jack, the third grader we car pool with. She will say as we pull into the driveway, " I don't even want to kiss you." Then they both leap out of the car and she chases, but never catches. The two of them act like brother and sister: taunting, teasing, and bickering. Now I hear she was kissing the little boy Chase on the way to the field trip on Thursday and his mom said he loved it! Teasingly, I related these stories to T and Cody at the dinner table, boy was she mad at me. Oh and she wrote Jack a love note the other day. I asked Jack the next morning if he got H's note, "She spelled my name wrong on the inside, her J was backward and it was lowercase" was his reply.
I have a love/hate relationship with children's medicine. I appreciate the sweet flavorings so it isn't such a fight to get them down. But my girls like the flavors so much they feel jealous if one is getting medicine and not the other. H, I'm suspect, has been faking some pain lately to get medicine. So I've been giving her special medicine for her specific ailment: food colored water with a drop of orange liquid sweetner. She always feels better. Now what do I do about it? Is she really faking, or does the very thought of medicine act as a healer? Any thoughts?
H is affectionate. She showers people with kisses and hugs and if they express a desire for her to stop, she thinks a game has started, like when she says, "Don't you tickle me" and then squeals in delight as her pursuer does it anyway. Most of the spring, she has been taunting Jack, the third grader we car pool with. She will say as we pull into the driveway, " I don't even want to kiss you." Then they both leap out of the car and she chases, but never catches. The two of them act like brother and sister: taunting, teasing, and bickering. Now I hear she was kissing the little boy Chase on the way to the field trip on Thursday and his mom said he loved it! Teasingly, I related these stories to T and Cody at the dinner table, boy was she mad at me. Oh and she wrote Jack a love note the other day. I asked Jack the next morning if he got H's note, "She spelled my name wrong on the inside, her J was backward and it was lowercase" was his reply.
I have a love/hate relationship with children's medicine. I appreciate the sweet flavorings so it isn't such a fight to get them down. But my girls like the flavors so much they feel jealous if one is getting medicine and not the other. H, I'm suspect, has been faking some pain lately to get medicine. So I've been giving her special medicine for her specific ailment: food colored water with a drop of orange liquid sweetner. She always feels better. Now what do I do about it? Is she really faking, or does the very thought of medicine act as a healer? Any thoughts?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Pictures for the entry yesterday. Above are two pictures from Hadleys' birthday. She chose Crispy Brown Rice treats with dairy- and soy-free chocolate chips (I asked her to pick a treat Kassy could eat!) Below is Kassy's birthday cake, gluten-, dairy-, egg-. and soy- free. The frosting was delicious. I love Cherrybrook Kitchen! Their allergen-free mixes have actually won some awards in normal baking contests...like Real Simple rated their brownies as the fudgiest of all the brands they tried. Yea! I must say though, thank goodness Kassy doesn't remember what normal cake tastes like or she wouldn't have loved her birthday cake so much.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Food
Pizza, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, ice cream, scrambled eggs, graham crackers, chocolate chip cookies. Foods of our past. Foods Americans serve kids at almost every function. Every six months or so I want to quit. I want my family to be able to fully partcitpate in all things--and almost anything with kids had food! Maybe Kassy isn't allergic to all these foods anymore. Maybe we should eat whatever and see how it goes. Let's just order a pizza and eat it. Yum. Whatif I didn't have to think so hard about food? Poor Kass, sometimes she asks for a snack and I look at her for a long time,"No" I want to say, "I'm sorry but I can't think of anything you can it at this moment, so you can't eat." Maybe if I didn't have to think about everyone else's diet, I could think more about mine. Maybe, maybe, maybe...
God reminded me last week that the food allergy discovery was a gift. In my reflections, I decided to blog about it as people often ask, how did you find out about the allergies? What DO you eat?
Kassy had a long history of ear infections almost since birth. By eight months old she had had six or so ear infections. The doctor recommended tubes though there wasn't hearing loss yet. He touted tubes as a cure-all. A miracle cure that would turn my crabby baby into a happy one. Knowing what I know now, I would have waited on the tubes. But, by nine months old, Kassy had tubes. Most of the ear infections stopped (not all). But she was still crabby--whiney and screamy and hard for me to enjoy. Talk about feeling guilty. I wished Kassy would sleep all day so I could ignore her. She was always touching her ears, it was like the tubes hurt. But there were fewer ear infections. And the doctor said the tubes weren't hurting.
When the tubes fell out around age 2, I was hopeful it was all over. But ear infections returned, not quite so frequently as before. A new doctor again recommended tubes, but he was more cautious and wanted to wait six months. She was failing her hearing tests now. But Kassy was still so crabby. I went to a Naturopath (easy to find in Bozeman). He put her on probiotics, and some immunity boosting herbs. When those didn't work, he began an elimination diet. Once we had eliminated dairy and wheat, he wanted to add apples, corn, and soy. I said, I can't do this. I need to know if these are allergies or not. Kassy clearly didn't have true food allergies. Such reactions are immediate and much easier to detect. In the naturopathic world they also measure delayed allergies(IGg): reactions that can take more than 4 hours to show up. Reactions can include congestion, ear infections, crankiness, skin conditions like eczema, and autoimmune complications. The test measures the antibodies produced in your blood when exposed to different foods. Then they rank the reactions on a scale from low to extreme, depending on how many antibodies are produced (your body shouldn't produce antibodies in reaction to food since food is not a germ). If a food is in the moderate range, they recommend only eating that food every three or four days. The medical community doesn't accept IGg testing, saying the tests aren't reliable enough and that there isn't strong enough evidence that IGg reactions significantly effect people.
Kassy's test took two weeks to come back. I had seen a few other people's reports so I knew what to expect, but the naturopath warned me, "Kassy's is one of the more extreme results I've seen." Kassy had almost no moderate reactions, most hers were low or extreme (avoid these foods completely). Her extreme reactions included: gluten (wheat, barley, rye, spelt), oat, all dairy including the casein and whey, both the white and yolk of eggs, soy, peanuts, almonds, blueberries, zucchini, kidney beans. I read and reread that test. What on earth would I feed her? I sobbed.
God led me to a book at Borders called Cooking Free. It's a cookbook for people with multiple food allergies. I have since learned to make egg-, diary-, gluten-, and nut- free breads, waffles, pretzels. I buy special cereals made of only corn, rice, and other non-glutinous grains. I am used to the dense texture of gluten-free products (gluten is a protein that makes bread spongy). I now stock xanthum gum, sorghum flour, bean flour, corn flour, tapioca starch, potato flour and more(you can't just substitute one flour for a gluten flour like wheat and get the same result.) I know what quinoa is and how amaranth tastes. I know how to sometimes use applesauce and hot water in place of eggs. My poor daughter never gets to eat yogurt or cheese or cow's milk (we use rice milk). My food bill is high and shopping takes a long time and usually requires several stores. I've learned that most canned tuna contains soy, most deli meat including hot dogs contain milk, and most traditional cereals, even Rice Krispies contain gluten. I now make my own taco seasoning, my own gravy, etc. Unless you go organic on everything, there is soy is all prepacked seasoning and meals.
So we've adjusted. And honestly, between my diabetes and her allergies, we eat more nutritious food than the average family. I get tired of thinking so much about food though. Last summer we gave gluten to Kassy every day for a week. She got an ear infection by the end of the week. Two weeks ago, I tried giving her some of the forbidden food. It's hard to know what causes what though. I came down with a cold about the same time as the forbidden food exposures. Kassy then got the cold and an ear infection. And man was she crabby. So hard to be around. I don't know what caused what. I don't know if IGg food reactions are scientifically legitimate. I do know that after four months on the new diet, she wasn't as crabby, maybe it's because she wasn't getting as many ear infections. I wish I could isolate factors and learn true cause and effect. But I can't and I am thankful, thankful that God showed us a way to make my darling's true personality come out. Now I pray that He will deliver us from these restrictions.
A friend of mine encourages me, telling me what a great mom I am because how I cook. I love the encouragement, but what mom wouldn't?
God reminded me last week that the food allergy discovery was a gift. In my reflections, I decided to blog about it as people often ask, how did you find out about the allergies? What DO you eat?
Kassy had a long history of ear infections almost since birth. By eight months old she had had six or so ear infections. The doctor recommended tubes though there wasn't hearing loss yet. He touted tubes as a cure-all. A miracle cure that would turn my crabby baby into a happy one. Knowing what I know now, I would have waited on the tubes. But, by nine months old, Kassy had tubes. Most of the ear infections stopped (not all). But she was still crabby--whiney and screamy and hard for me to enjoy. Talk about feeling guilty. I wished Kassy would sleep all day so I could ignore her. She was always touching her ears, it was like the tubes hurt. But there were fewer ear infections. And the doctor said the tubes weren't hurting.
When the tubes fell out around age 2, I was hopeful it was all over. But ear infections returned, not quite so frequently as before. A new doctor again recommended tubes, but he was more cautious and wanted to wait six months. She was failing her hearing tests now. But Kassy was still so crabby. I went to a Naturopath (easy to find in Bozeman). He put her on probiotics, and some immunity boosting herbs. When those didn't work, he began an elimination diet. Once we had eliminated dairy and wheat, he wanted to add apples, corn, and soy. I said, I can't do this. I need to know if these are allergies or not. Kassy clearly didn't have true food allergies. Such reactions are immediate and much easier to detect. In the naturopathic world they also measure delayed allergies(IGg): reactions that can take more than 4 hours to show up. Reactions can include congestion, ear infections, crankiness, skin conditions like eczema, and autoimmune complications. The test measures the antibodies produced in your blood when exposed to different foods. Then they rank the reactions on a scale from low to extreme, depending on how many antibodies are produced (your body shouldn't produce antibodies in reaction to food since food is not a germ). If a food is in the moderate range, they recommend only eating that food every three or four days. The medical community doesn't accept IGg testing, saying the tests aren't reliable enough and that there isn't strong enough evidence that IGg reactions significantly effect people.
Kassy's test took two weeks to come back. I had seen a few other people's reports so I knew what to expect, but the naturopath warned me, "Kassy's is one of the more extreme results I've seen." Kassy had almost no moderate reactions, most hers were low or extreme (avoid these foods completely). Her extreme reactions included: gluten (wheat, barley, rye, spelt), oat, all dairy including the casein and whey, both the white and yolk of eggs, soy, peanuts, almonds, blueberries, zucchini, kidney beans. I read and reread that test. What on earth would I feed her? I sobbed.
God led me to a book at Borders called Cooking Free. It's a cookbook for people with multiple food allergies. I have since learned to make egg-, diary-, gluten-, and nut- free breads, waffles, pretzels. I buy special cereals made of only corn, rice, and other non-glutinous grains. I am used to the dense texture of gluten-free products (gluten is a protein that makes bread spongy). I now stock xanthum gum, sorghum flour, bean flour, corn flour, tapioca starch, potato flour and more(you can't just substitute one flour for a gluten flour like wheat and get the same result.) I know what quinoa is and how amaranth tastes. I know how to sometimes use applesauce and hot water in place of eggs. My poor daughter never gets to eat yogurt or cheese or cow's milk (we use rice milk). My food bill is high and shopping takes a long time and usually requires several stores. I've learned that most canned tuna contains soy, most deli meat including hot dogs contain milk, and most traditional cereals, even Rice Krispies contain gluten. I now make my own taco seasoning, my own gravy, etc. Unless you go organic on everything, there is soy is all prepacked seasoning and meals.
So we've adjusted. And honestly, between my diabetes and her allergies, we eat more nutritious food than the average family. I get tired of thinking so much about food though. Last summer we gave gluten to Kassy every day for a week. She got an ear infection by the end of the week. Two weeks ago, I tried giving her some of the forbidden food. It's hard to know what causes what though. I came down with a cold about the same time as the forbidden food exposures. Kassy then got the cold and an ear infection. And man was she crabby. So hard to be around. I don't know what caused what. I don't know if IGg food reactions are scientifically legitimate. I do know that after four months on the new diet, she wasn't as crabby, maybe it's because she wasn't getting as many ear infections. I wish I could isolate factors and learn true cause and effect. But I can't and I am thankful, thankful that God showed us a way to make my darling's true personality come out. Now I pray that He will deliver us from these restrictions.
A friend of mine encourages me, telling me what a great mom I am because how I cook. I love the encouragement, but what mom wouldn't?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Wedding?
Why is that in this age of demanding equality that the women's family still pays for much(all?) of the cost of the wedding. I know parents of young girls H's age who have wedding savings accounts. Sigh.
We have a marker board. After a tiring afternoon planting lots of flowers with me, H happily began drawing on it. (Whineypants K was thankfully sleeping this afternoon). When I checked on the very quiet H, I saw she had written the word wedding...and many others. There were pictures too. She announced to me that she was planning her wedding (seriouslly, I think I have young teenager). So far she requires that it will be pretty. And the food will be hot dogs and cake and "nothing else." You can be sure I am recording this so that when the day comes in the very distant future, I can gleefully remind her of the menu she has already chosen!
And on side note, I recently learned that the other H at our school is moving far, far away. I am silently cheering! (See previous blog on Names in April)
We have a marker board. After a tiring afternoon planting lots of flowers with me, H happily began drawing on it. (Whineypants K was thankfully sleeping this afternoon). When I checked on the very quiet H, I saw she had written the word wedding...and many others. There were pictures too. She announced to me that she was planning her wedding (seriouslly, I think I have young teenager). So far she requires that it will be pretty. And the food will be hot dogs and cake and "nothing else." You can be sure I am recording this so that when the day comes in the very distant future, I can gleefully remind her of the menu she has already chosen!
And on side note, I recently learned that the other H at our school is moving far, far away. I am silently cheering! (See previous blog on Names in April)
Friday, May 16, 2008
Activity
The title is an understatement. My girls are active. I wonder if they rival boys (not quite so destructive). My oldest is not calm, not quiet, but she is sweet. K is calm and quiet though exceptionally whiny. Together, watch out. I remember a friend in Bozeman laughing at my girls as we walked to campus and wondering out loud, "Do they ever just walk?" They were skipping, twirling, and generally wiggling their way to campus. Yesterday, I tried taking a video on my camera for the first time. I think it demonstrates the general charcteristics of these two sisters together...fighting but having fun. It drives me crazy sometimes. Maybe all sisters are like this, but I wouldn't know about that. I wonder if my only-childness is why their antics and fighting baffles me sometimes?
And yes, that's a blue and red gymnastics mat in the middle of the living room.
And yes, that's a blue and red gymnastics mat in the middle of the living room.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Home Sick
K is on the couch with a fever and a deep cough. Normallly, I like fever days. Generally, it doesn't automatically follow at our house that once one is down, everyone will follow. And if K is sleeping most of the day, or just low energy, I get a lot done. But not today, I have been excited about today for over month. Our playgroup through the Saginaw public schools was supposed to go to the new children's musuem in town. We were to be the guinea pigs for the toddler exhibits. I was so excited. It was even going to be free. Now here we are and suddenly a day of getting a lot done seems dull.
On the positive side, T doesn't teach tomorrow until 3pm, so he can watch K in the morning should we need the help. That way I can go to Spa day at MOPS!
On the positive side, T doesn't teach tomorrow until 3pm, so he can watch K in the morning should we need the help. That way I can go to Spa day at MOPS!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
My Grandma
I love this picture of my grandma. It makes me think of all the things about her I never knew, a reminder that she had a vibrant life before being a grandma. The inscription says "To remind you again of how much I love you--Lou." I never heard my grandpa call grandma Lou. Her name was Mary Lou. She passed away in March at the age of 81. I found this picture at my grandpa's house. I couldn't resist posting it here. I will soon have it on my wall too. I need to get the picture of Grandpa from the same time period (he's a handsome dude). I think it was taken in the mid 40s. I love it and it will soon be on my wall.Gramma used to tell me stories before I went to bed. Here's the one I remember the most:
When my dad was in early elementary he wanted to be the line leader at school because the line leader was the first one out the door to go home. But he was never fast enough at getting his coat, hat, boots, and mittens on. One day he asked to go to the bathroom. He was gone a long time. At the end of the day, dad was the first person to get dressed in his outdoor gear. The teacher was puzzled, for a moment, since all the other students were still standing by their cubbies trading mittens, boots, and hats.
Here's my second favorite that I just heard for the first time. When Grandpa was eight or nine, he got a brand new bike. It was red, with big white tires and he was proud of it. He would hop on that bike and go zipping around his small Indiana town (what town, dad?). He was old enough to avoid pedestrians. He turned the corner, pedaling fast and there was little Mary Lou. It wasn't love at first sight, more like a hit and run. Grandpa knocked her down and kept going without looking back. Grandpa's aunt Rosie always said, "And she got you back for that a hundred times." Or something like that...where are the notes I took?
Love you Gram. There are so many more stories I wish I knew, so many I should have asked about.
Treasures?
H loves things. All things. All things found. All things given. Fancy dresses, undershirts, rocks, grass clippings, coins, paper clips adn jewelry . Everything. She loves them. And if she hasn't played with it in two years, she still can't bear to part with it. In fact H had tears when K threw away K's holey, smelly first blanket. H thought we should save that blanket for memories. She knows and can recite the verse about not storing up your treasures here on earth where month and rust destroy....but it has little meaning since all objects have memories for H. Sometimes I really get on H's case for loving her stuff too much, especially when she won't share.
She loves people equally as much. All people who so much as smile at her. They are all her friends and she is heart-broken (a word she learned and applied correctly at age 2) when anyone fails to treat her kindly. Playgrounds at age 2 and 3, pre-school, and kindergarten have been a series of advice on how to handle all the people who do not treat her perfectly. I dread junior high. Prayerfully she will get a thicker skin before then.
This morning on the way to school she handed me a small ball of dried grass. I opened the window and tossed it out. She started wimpering and then wailing. The grass was a present for me from her last soccer practice. It was soccer field grass. It was a present. I reguarly fail to treasure H's treasures. She is far more sentimental than me. I apologized but honestly did not feel bad, what would I do with a ball of grass? What would I do if I kept all such treasures she gives me? She has a treasure box where she is supposed to keep all her treasures. It is filled to the brim. The lid can't even close. K's treasure box is empty most of the time. Do your children love things? Do you then save every picture? every new rock? H would sob and sob if she could remember all the stuff I have secretly pitched. I am vehemently opposed to collecting stuff. I am determined to not give in to this American pasttime. But how do I teach my daughter to value the important stuff (Jesus, memories, people, who she is) without gathering piles of stuff? God has made a so many amazing things, treasuring them might not be all bad. I think I have been a little hard on her lately. I might get her a bigger treasure box. Or not. Any thoughts?
The treasure boxes, can you guess which one belongs to H?
She loves people equally as much. All people who so much as smile at her. They are all her friends and she is heart-broken (a word she learned and applied correctly at age 2) when anyone fails to treat her kindly. Playgrounds at age 2 and 3, pre-school, and kindergarten have been a series of advice on how to handle all the people who do not treat her perfectly. I dread junior high. Prayerfully she will get a thicker skin before then.
This morning on the way to school she handed me a small ball of dried grass. I opened the window and tossed it out. She started wimpering and then wailing. The grass was a present for me from her last soccer practice. It was soccer field grass. It was a present. I reguarly fail to treasure H's treasures. She is far more sentimental than me. I apologized but honestly did not feel bad, what would I do with a ball of grass? What would I do if I kept all such treasures she gives me? She has a treasure box where she is supposed to keep all her treasures. It is filled to the brim. The lid can't even close. K's treasure box is empty most of the time. Do your children love things? Do you then save every picture? every new rock? H would sob and sob if she could remember all the stuff I have secretly pitched. I am vehemently opposed to collecting stuff. I am determined to not give in to this American pasttime. But how do I teach my daughter to value the important stuff (Jesus, memories, people, who she is) without gathering piles of stuff? God has made a so many amazing things, treasuring them might not be all bad. I think I have been a little hard on her lately. I might get her a bigger treasure box. Or not. Any thoughts?
The treasure boxes, can you guess which one belongs to H?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Airports with little ones
This past weekend I took both girls with me and went to Austin, TX for Grandma's celebration of life party. This is my favorite picture of the weekend, my cousin Paul, Mattie the dog and K. I am glad I went but I am also glad to raising children with my hubby (man did I miss him!)I've read several "Guides to traveling with small children" articles in parents' magazines, but they only talk about what to pack to keep the tots occupied. That's the easy part.
What I needed to pack was a giant dose of patience, lots of extra time, and a willingness to stop and look around. I had all these things this weekend, but not enough. I guess I did have plenty of extra time. Here's my addendum to traveling with pre-schoolers, especially little girls who are easily scared.
1) Plan on moving slowly through the airport. K liked to jump over the stripes at the Austin airport, we couldn't get just walk. She couldn't just jump either. Walk walk walk, stop, jump, stop and regain balance, walk , walk, walk. And the moving sidewalks in Detroit, especially in the hallway with all the colored lights are not to increase speed but to stand still and marvel at the wonders of the colored lights, the music, and the fact that the sidewalk is moving.
2) Unless you live in a big city, be prepared to jolt to a stop at all thresholds. The step from the floor to escalator, from the top of the escalator to the floor, from the floor to the elevator where the crack is, from the ramp to the plane where the crack is and you can see the ground. All of these scary, potentially dangerous spots require at least hestitation and at most tears and screaming.
3) Stop at every water fountain, anywhere you can see a tram, and under the echo ceiling in the Houston airport. Let your children yell and hear the echo while all the other travelers hurry by shaking their heads at how loud you are letting your children be, never realizing they just passed under the best echoing spot ever.
4) Be prepared in the bigger airports for all the stores and food smells that will entice your children and make them think they are suddenly incomplete. Don't pass such areas without eating first, unless you plan to spend MORE money.
5) Going to the bathroom takes a long time. There are automatic toilets, automatic soap dispensers, automatic faucets, and little people can never work any of these automatic things correctly. But they want to. And your job is to help them. Anyway, don't enter the bathroom two minutes before boarding time if you can avoid it.
We did have fun this weekend on our travels, but traveling alone with two smallish children was exhausting, especially when there were so many legs to our trip (2 hour drive, 2 flights, 20 minute drive, parking lot shuttles, etc.) The girls did pick up a ton of new words and experiences and we had fun, but now I am exhausted and need some of that alone time after being with them for 24/7 since Friday. Overall, I am glad the girls got to experience a funeral and see so many relatives.
Monday, April 28, 2008
SNOT: Read the warning first
Warning: I believe the following topic can be considered impolite. This post is primarily about snot and picking your nose. If you will take offense, do not read on.
As I do every spring, I looked at H smilingly sheepishly back at me. I had caught her again, picking her nose, in public. I gave her "the look" and whispered "Gross. Why do you do that?" She looked back at me steadily and said, "If you aren't supposed to pick it, why does it taste so good?" OOhhh. I needed more info, what exactly is snot, it is gross stuff, right?
So here goes, snot is just another name for mucus, and boogers are just dried up snot. Snot is really good for us. Each of us has hairs in our noses to trap dirt and germ particles that we breath in. The hairs protect our lungs. When the occasional germ escapes the hairs and gets into our lungs, it might cause a cold or if the particle is pollen, an allergy. Our body secretes mucus to recapture those particles and force them back out, and mucus also cleans out the stored dirt particles in the nose hairs. So there you have it. Your very own Grossology explanation. Oh, and the reason it tastes "good" is because mucus is primarily made of sugars and proteins.
If you follow this link you will find an experiment to make fake snot and then use dirt and see how the "mucus" traps the dirt. Sounds like a good project for summer to me!
www.library.thinkquest.org/JO112390/Boogers.htm
As I do every spring, I looked at H smilingly sheepishly back at me. I had caught her again, picking her nose, in public. I gave her "the look" and whispered "Gross. Why do you do that?" She looked back at me steadily and said, "If you aren't supposed to pick it, why does it taste so good?" OOhhh. I needed more info, what exactly is snot, it is gross stuff, right?
So here goes, snot is just another name for mucus, and boogers are just dried up snot. Snot is really good for us. Each of us has hairs in our noses to trap dirt and germ particles that we breath in. The hairs protect our lungs. When the occasional germ escapes the hairs and gets into our lungs, it might cause a cold or if the particle is pollen, an allergy. Our body secretes mucus to recapture those particles and force them back out, and mucus also cleans out the stored dirt particles in the nose hairs. So there you have it. Your very own Grossology explanation. Oh, and the reason it tastes "good" is because mucus is primarily made of sugars and proteins.
If you follow this link you will find an experiment to make fake snot and then use dirt and see how the "mucus" traps the dirt. Sounds like a good project for summer to me!
www.library.thinkquest.org/JO112390/Boogers.htm
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Favorite Things
Midnight. I hadn't seen that hour in quite a while. I normally fall asleep no later than eleven. But last Saturday night I stayed up. The house was clean (well, picked up). The temperature wasn't hot. Everyone was asleep. The ringing in my ears required focus to hear, which I didn't give. It was silent and dark. I cut a pile of cheese, got a cold glass of water and a handful of pretzels. I settled into (not onto)my cozy couch and watched an episode of Men in Trees ( I love this show and always really appreciate the writers' sense of humor) on the Internet (my new favorite way to watch TV--less time, less commercials and free if you have Internet). I felt like I was stealing some bit of luxury. I didn't get to sleep late this morning. But I feel refreshed.
The girls have taken a liking to the music in Sound of Music, especially "My Favorite Things":
The girls have taken a liking to the music in Sound of Music, especially "My Favorite Things":
Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm
woolen mittens, brown paper-packages tied up with string.
I've been thinking lately about those little things, the unimportant things, rituals, etc. that make me smile, that bring a moment of happiness. Favorite things. I know, I know, as believers we can have peace in Christ. We don't need things, we don't even need happiness per say. But I think God allows a few things in our life to make us stop and be filled. What makes you happy? Are they big things, dependent on life's circumstances or little things? I think it has to be little things. Life is too unpredictable for circumstances to dictate happiness. Not that happiness is the only goal, but having it sometimes helps. I get the strangest high from picking food from my garden and then using it to cook for my family (and I hate cooking). Other favorite things: my girls' giggling together, holding Tom's hand, talking to my mom on the phone, plants (especially ones I have nursed back to health), a good cup of white or green tea consumed without interuption, really soft sheets and pillows, a patch of sunshine on my sofa in the winter, and at this stage of life an occassional quiet moment to read or relax in a neat house without being needed by anyone (I realize someday those moments could be all too common) What are your favorite things?
Simple things. Simple joys. What would we do without them? I just finished a book called Stolen Lives about a woman and her family who were imprisoned for 20 years (age 19-39)and for at least ten of them they were in separate cells, no light, no medical care, minimal food. It was a political imprisonment in Morocco. She didn't believe in God, and still doesn't, but she survived because of determination I guess...how would you survive without your favorite things, without touch? I don't think I would without the hope of Christ. I still can't figure out how they did it...
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