Beach Dance

I know I’ve been largely absent here, and I apologize. I have a million posts in my head, but they’re just not making it into this computer.

Right now, Jenna and I are in Florida, soaking up as much Vitamin D as we can! We’ve been in the pool at least once pretty much every day, and most of the time, twice. It’s fantastic therapy for Jenna and she loves it. We have to tell her it’s time to get out every time. I think she would live in the pool if she could. She isn’t swimming yet, but she’s SO close! She has no qualms about getting her head under the water, and does an adorable little pseudo-swim where she holds her nose, kicks her feet and paddles with one hand while her little butt is up in the air. She stops and stands up when she needs a breath, then starts again. You can check out my Flickr photo stream (in the right margin) for a couple brief video clips.

The other day, it was too cold for the pool (around 70F and windy), so we decided to take a walk on the beach. I have to share a series of photos from our walk that I just love. We were headed back to the car, and she got a little way ahead of me. I noticed that she was doing a funny kind of little beach dance with her feet and I started shooting photos (she didn’t know I was shooting). As I watched and photographed, I realized that she was trying to make a horizontal line of footprints. I captured her finished work at the end of the series.

Some serious pronation going on – especially with her right foot. Need to ask our ortho team about it.

And a couple of extras from the photo shoot – just for fun:

Have a fantastic day!

 

Extending Christmas: For the Birds

We had a real Christmas tree this year. We debated much about what was most “green,” and I read several accounts that said a real tree, when recycled after use, is still “greener” than artificial options. Something many people don’t consider is the amount of energy that goes into producing and transporting (usually overseas) artificial trees. Added to that, most people only keep artificial trees for 5-6 years (average), which means the used trees simply end in landfills. Christmas tree farms plant a new tree for the one you cut, and, natural trees can be recycled into mulch when you’re finished. Most of all, we simply love the experience of making a day, as a family, to go out and choose a tree on a farm.

This year, we found another way to extend the life of our tree. Jenna was very upset to see the tree go, but my allergies were flaring up, and we suspected the tree (mold? pine?). In an effort to compromise, I suggested that we set the tree outside the French doors on our patio. Then, inspiration hit, and I suggested that we decorate the tree for the birds with peanut butter and birdseed ornaments. Jenna was sold.

Here’s how our project went:

First, we tied dental floss (any string/yarn would work) through the holes in Saltine crackers to make a loop. (We also decorated one cardboard toilet paper tube that we poked a hole in for hanging. I preferred the crackers because the whole ornament was edible.)

Second, I pulsed chunky peanut butter in my food processor with a little sesame oil to make it thinner and easier to dip. Those lucky critters got some organic peanut butter (Yikes! $$) because that’s all I had on hand. We poured the peanut butter in a glass for dipping.

Next, we dipped the crackers. We pushed them down in with a spoon and sometimes scooped the peanut butter up over the crackers to cover completely. We laid them out on wax paper to wait for the next step.

Then, we dredged the peanut butter crackers through the birdseed. We pushed the seeds in, to make sure they were stuck more securely. This was an EXCELLENT sensory exercise for Jenna, who did NOT like the way the peanut butter and seeds felt on her hands. She wanted to get them done to hang on the tree, so she stuck with it.

The finished product waiting on wax paper.

Next, we strung popcorn on dental floss. This was good fine motor therapy for Jenna, but she didn’t do it long. My needle-phobic girl (too many bad blood work experiences) was too terrified of the threading needle. Especially after this happened to Mommy’s thumb:

Finally, we decorated the tree:

Ta-Da!!

Now, to sit back and wait for the birds to come.  ……..

By that evening, our guests arrived.

They didn’t have wings, but they were still fun to watch. Within a day, we had six at a time climbing all over the tree and trying to pull the popcorn strings out! Within three days, the tree was bare. That’s OK! We can do it all over again. Christmas can last as long as the tree does. Then we’ll recycle it to mulch.

Next year, we’re considering finding a tree at a nursery that we can decorate for a couple weeks and then move outside for planting.

 

Oh Give Me a Home……

Yesterday, we visited a Bison ranch for their yearly Calving Festival. We had a wonderful time and learned a little bit about the fluffy buffalo! Here’s a photo journal of our day with some things we learned mixed in:

First, we heard some music. Then, we hit the petting zoo

It’s a duck!

Goats…

Bunnies….

A burro….

A fawn….

And a cougar! (That we weren’t allowed to pet) ???

Then we waited for our covered wagon to arrive to take us out to feed the buffalo.

Ah-ha! Scientific classification: Bison Bison Bison. Seriously. Look it up.

A mature bull is 6.5′ high at the hump, 9-12′ long & 1800-2400 lbs.

During mating season, males are so “busy” (hehe) they have little time to eat & lose up to 200 lbs.

Gestation is about 9 months & calves are born around 50 lbs (ouch).

Buffalo can run 35 mph for up to 1/2 hour!

They can jump 6′ high from a standstill.

They are excellent swimmers! Who knew? They look more like they’d be excellent sinkers.

Buffalo fur allows them to withstand temps of 50 degrees below zero.

In warmer weather, they shed by rubbing against trees & rocks or rolling.

In the 1700s, there were around 60,000,000 buffalo in North America. By the 1800s, thanks to white hunters, the numbers dropped to as few as 500. Today, there are around 500,000 in the U.S. and Canada.

Their meat is lean (2.4 grams of fat in 100 grams of meat!), free-range and hormone free. They’re not confined to small feedlots, they eat the grasses from their pastures, and are only given antibiotics when they’re sick (instead of in their daily grain as most cattle are given).

Cowgirl Jenna is in heaven. She says this was her favorite part of the day.

We checked out the full-sized teepee (with a real fire inside!)…

…and painted some kid-sized versions!

We watched buffalo jerky being made over an open fire (Yes – those are Amish girls in the background),

Waited for a balloon animal from a freaky clown in a weird hat (Yes – that’s an Amish man in the background),

Jumped in a bounce house,

Said goodbye to my favorite critter,

And called it a day.

🙂

 

Train Spotting

Today, we visited a railroad museum near us. Jenna’s favorites were the HUGE model train set with multiple running trains, tunnels, bridges, etc., and the actual train engine that she got to “drive” and blow the whistle. I was thrilled with all the fantastic photo opportunities and kicked myself for forgetting my good Nikon camera. I had to resort to my Droid camera apps (Vignette & RetroCamera), but ended up being quite pleased with the results! The steam engine pictured above & below is one of the only two running passenger steam engines in the U.S. They’re currently restoring it and prepping it for hitting the tracks again.

Given how much we all loved it, I think we’ll be going back, and I’ll make sure to take my Nikon the next time! Enjoy the rest of the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She really did have a great time, I promise! She just wasn’t in a photo shoot mood, plus, it was FREEZING outside and we were all a little bit numb.

 

Fancy Nancy Tea Party

My Aunt C invited Jenna and I over for a Fancy Nancy Tea Party! What fun! Jenna and I have been enjoying Fancy Nancy books from our library lately, and Jenna has been very into the idea of dressing “fancy” and using fancy words. If you haven’t read Fancy Nancy, I highly recommend the books (and there are MANY). I steered clear of them for a while because somehow I was under the impression that she was a little bit spoiled and pretentious (a la Eloise). I’m so glad we finally gave them a try! Unlike Eloise, Nancy lives with her parents, one little sister and a dog. She loves dressing fancy, using fancy words (even in French!), and dreams about visiting Paris. She’s very down to earth, and her adventures (as well as the lessons she learns) make it easy for kids to relate. Each book is full of lots of great vocabulary lessons (fascinating is a “fancy” word for interesting) as well as some sort of lesson, either about life & relationships or nature & the world. Awesome.

My aunt went to a lot of work to make the tea a fabulous success. She sent us an invitation last week made out of Fancy Nancy fabric that she stitched onto a postcard and edged with lace. Adorable. The invitation gave Jenna a whole week to build her anticipation and excitement, and I’m pretty sure we talked about it every day. We counted the days, and she carefully planned (and changed multiple times) what we would wear and which babies we would take. Today, she woke extra early and was practically bouncing out of bed. When we arrived, we found the cardboard Fancy Nancy pictured above, and here are some peeks at the rest of our tea:

Miniature tea set

Fancy Nancy plates

Fancy Nancy placemats for coloring that included Fancy Nancy trivia! Fun!

These tiny table decorations she found online

Tiny treats including Mini M&Ms, “Fairy Bread,” & finger Jello “princesses”

Jenna even ate most of one strawberry and TWO jello princesses!! Yay!

After the tea:

Jenna works on Fancy Nancy printouts (including mazes, dot-to-dots, etc.) with Aunt C

Making a thank you card for the library (who provided the large Fancy Nancy cutout)

Happy girl poses

Tired girl reads Fancy Nancy with Aunt C

I’d say the party was a complete success! I’ll leave you with a couple close-ups of the adorable tiny tea set (that was Aunt C’s when she was Jenna’s age!)

Update! Here’s a link for a BUNCH of great Fancy Nancy free printables! Scroll down to the Fancy Nancy section and have fun!!

 

Sparking a Love of Reading

I’m pretty sure reading has always been magical to me. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love reading (thanks Mom & Dad!). I’ve been so excited to foster the same magical excitement in Jenna. We have read to her since she was in the NICU as a baby, and she LOVES hearing stories. We started a routine of reading two stories before nap and again before bedtime at night, and it was a wonderful thing when she started bringing us books at all other moments of the day to snuggle down for a story. I still waited for that magical moment when she would start to get excited about reading on her own.

When she turned 4, I started working with her more by pointing to words and sounding them out. She quickly got irritated and frustrated and told me to “just read the story, Mommy!” She just didn’t seem interested in learning to do it herself. I backed off, watched and waited. I was thrilled last fall (at just past 4 and a half) when she spontaneously started sounding out words on signs when I was driving! She became infatuated with her Spinny Speller and she LOVED building words with this. I was excited for her. This continued for 2 or 3 months, then, somewhere around her 5th birthday, it seemed to shut off. She’s back to being frustrated & impatient when we sound things out, she says she doesn’t WANT to read it herself and insists that she just wants us to read to her. What happened?? I have no idea. None. And I’ve thought about it A LOT.

I began trying to think of ways to gently spark that magical excitement again. I say gently because I ASSURE YOU that any sort of pushing will be immediately met with her stubbornly applying the brakes. She needs to do things at her own pace. At some point, I started thinking about how much kids learn through modeling and imitating our behavior. I realized that I very rarely (almost never) pick up my OWN book and read when Jenna is around/awake. My reading time is while she’s sleeping. I decided to try initiating a “Quiet Reading Time” where we set aside time where the rules are no talking allowed and we BOTH spend time reading our own books. I knew that she wouldn’t be able to actually read on her own, but was hoping that this might push her into practicing sounding out words on her own again as well as reigniting her spark of interest in learning to read. She was excited about the idea. I set a timer (for just 15 minutes at first, so she doesn’t get to frustrated), and it became clear instantly that I was on the right track during that very first session. She got a teensy bit frustrated at first and stated that she couldn’t do it, but I gently encouraged her to just look at the pictures and try sounding out words if she wanted to. She quickly became engrossed, and now, two weeks later, she’s asking me more and more about words and sounding things out on her own. Hooray! That first day, she proudly told Daddy when he came home from work, “Guess what, Daddy? I’m doing Quiet Reading Time with Mommy every day now! Because I’m big!” We have Quiet Reading Time every day before naptime, now, and I’M loving it because I’m actually getting in some reading time of my own! Here’s what today’s session looked like:

Engrossed

 

Excited

 

Proud

What kind of stories do you have about reading with your kids? What got them excited about reading? What worked and what didn’t work for you? Do you read with your kids every day? If you don’t, I encourage you to give it a try. There’s nothing more magical and fun than snuggling down with a favorite little person to open a world of adventure simply by opening a book!

P.S. I should note that she independently declared today “Fancy Day” and just as independently chose her outfit & accessories! There’s also a tutu under that book!   🙂

 

Noodle Trick

photo by ashleigh290

Jenna’s been in a “big girl bed” (twin) for almost 2 years now, but we’ve had the occasional bad experience of her ending up on the floor.  A toddler rolling out of bed in the middle of the night isn’t fun for anyone in the house, let me tell you.  We treasure our sleep around here.

We weren’t thrilled with the idea of forking out the money for fancy side rails that she hopefully won’t need for long and started looking for alternatives.  I think I gave a shout out to the lovely Twitter mamas I follow and got this fantastic idea: Simply tuck one or two pool “noodles” in the edge of the bed inside the fitted sheet!  The fitted sheet holds them in place, and they provide a “bumper” that keeps the kiddo from easily rolling out.

BRILLIANT!

They’re also easy to transport when traveling.  We use two at home for Jenna and take one when traveling.  We’ve also asked if the homes we’re visiting have them already.  Many people do, which saves on packing space.

I’m so sorry that I don’t remember who gave me this tip and that I’m not properly crediting you!  If it was you, give a holler in my comments.

 

 

Another Virtual Baby Shower!

Photo by chicagophotogirl

A fellow mommy-blogger and friend, Renee from But Why Mommy, is adopting a baby from Ethiopa! His name is Lion, and you can learn more about him and his story here and here. This will be baby number two for her, and as many of you know, baby number two (and subsequent babies) often miss out on the fun of a baby shower. Which is kind of weird, because even though there may be several things that can be handed down or reused, you still need a lot of new “stuff” for the new baby. Especially when the gender is different from the first! The new mommy is just as excited for each subsequent baby to arrive and is probably even MORE in need of a celebration since she’s going through everything this time with a four year-old at home to care for.

Issa contacted me and several other “bloggy” parents who love Renee. We didn’t want Renee to miss out on any of the fun, but we had a dilemma. We’re scattered all across the U.S., so celebrating in person wasn’t going to work. Instead, Issa coordinated a virtual shower through our blogs. Today, we’re all blogging a piece of baby/mommy advice for Renee and sending her good wishes and virtual hugs. The good news about this type of shower is that there are no ridiculous games to play!! The bad news is: no cake. Sorry.

Renee, this blog-fest is for you! We all love you, and wish you and your family all good things!

(I’m “recycling” my advice from a previous virtual shower, because I still think it’s awesome and I’m all about recycling.)

The best “parenting advice” I ever received was from a friend and mentor in grad school who reminded me that if I didn’t take care of myself first, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my baby. This was especially meaningful advice for me because Jenna was still in the NICU, and I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I think that it’s wonderful advice for any parent-to-be, though. Too often, we don’t take the time that we need for ourselves. Time to renew and recharge in order to be the best parents we can be. When I start to feel like things are out of control or overwhelming, I usually realize that it’s been too long since I made some “me time.” Time all to myself to do something for me. Sometimes, the best thing is to just be. Grab a coffee, sit on a park bench and let my mind get quiet. Heaven. Sadly, it doesn’t happen often enough. Try to do better than I do! {wink}

On the lighter side, I found some funny tips at this site. Here are a few of examples:

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems: First buy an octopus and a bag made out of loose mesh. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this: all morning.

Go to your local supermarket: Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a preschool child — a fully-grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat. Buy your week’s groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goats eat or destroy. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Hollow out a melon. Make a small hole in the side. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure a lot of it falls on the floor. You are now ready to feed a 12-month-old baby.

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out, first smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer. Stick your fingers in the flower beds, then rub them on the clean walls. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Practice getting ready to go out. Wait outside the bathroom for half an hour. Go out the front door. Come in again. Go out. Come back in. Go out again. Walk down the front path. Walk back up it. Walk down it again. Walk very slowly down the road for 5 minutes. Stop to inspect minutely every cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way. Retrace your steps. Scream that you’ve had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you. Give up and go back into the house. You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Practice repeating everything you say 5 times (Or, practice having your spouse/partner ask “Why?” after every single thing you say).

If you have some parenting advice (or humor) for Renee, please leave it in the comments section here. Be sure to also head over to her site to give her your own good wishes and some bloggy love.

 

Something Very Close To My Heart

One day… all babies will be born healthy

Today… too many moms and families know the heartbreak of having a baby born fighting to survive

We’re marching again this year, and we’re making it a yearly event. This really is something very close to my heart.

We’re marching in memory of Maddie, my friend Heather’s 17 month-old daughter, who lost the strength to fight and passed away last year. Her bright smile might be gone from this earth, but it still lights up many hearts and inspires us to continue fighting in whatever ways we can. Maddie’s beautiful face is on the widget above.

We’re marching because our daughter, Jenna, was born with a birth defect and has spent her four short years of life fighting. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives, but we also know firsthand the struggles and sorrow that other families have to face.

We’re marching to give all babies a fighting chance.

The March of Dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in local communities and across the nation. The money we raise for March for Babies will help:

• support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects
• educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby
• provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care
• push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children

Please help by donating today!

It’s easy, safe and secure – just click to make your donation. Help us make a difference. Every dollar counts.

P.S. You would make me the happiest woman in the world if we could blow that $250 goal out of the water! 😉

 

Fighting H1N1 Naturally

photo by lepiaf.geo

Your health is the most valuable thing you possess.  It affects your ability to work, play, and generally enjoy life.  You’ve all heard the admonitions for vaccination, but this post is addressing alternative, natural things that you can do to help prevent colds and viruses in general, and H1N1 specifically.  We’re not getting vaccinated, but doing everything you see on this list instead.  Before you go off on a rant about how irresponsible that choice is, take a moment to read this post on our vaccination stance in general.  I’m hoping to do another post soon on the H1N1 vaccine, specifically.  Until then, I hope that some of this information can help you in your own prevention efforts.

Here’s most of the stuff you’ve probably heard already:

Hand Washing: Probably the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and others is frequent and thorough hand washing.  Wash with both soap and warm water, and vigorously scrub hands for at least 30 seconds.  You should be able to sing “Happy Birthday” two times.  See this post on soap that’s naturally antibacterial and does not contain triclosan.

Use Hand Sanitizer: If hand washing is not a possibility, hand sanitizers can help, but be sure to use enough and rub hands together thoroughly.  The effectiveness of hand sanitizer diminishes if your hands are dirty.  Two squirts and 30 seconds of rubbing are a good rule of thumb.  See this post on natural hand sanitizer.

Cover Your Mouth & Nose: Always cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.  If possible, use a tissue and immediately throw it away.  If a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into the inside of your elbow.  This limits the spread of germs via hand contact.

Hands Off The Face: Avoid touching any part of the face, especially the eyes nose and mouth where germs enter the body.  If you need to touch your face (and anytime before you eat) make sure you thoroughly wash your hands first.

Limit Contact: As much as possible, limit contact with those you know are sick.

And, MOST IMPORTANTLY:

If you have a fever, stay home!!!  If your children have a fever, keep them home!!!

When you have a fever, you are especially contagious and can quickly spread illness to others.  Please stay home, get lots of rest, follow the other guidelines listed here, and re-enter the world as soon as you’re feeling well enough. You should stay home at least 24 hours AFTER a fever ends, without the use of medications like aspirin or ibuprofen.

The following is information that you may not have heard or thought about:

Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (or Listerine). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat & nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water or nasal saline. You can use a saline spray or neti pot.  If you can’t, or don’t want to do this, blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with Q-tips® dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.  I have a lot of sinus troubles and have always used saline spray when I had problems.  This year, I committed to using this preventive measure daily, and bought a neti pot to avoid wasting all that plastic.  I am in love with my neti pot.  Seriously.  It’s so much easier than saline spray, and I can really tell a difference.  Here’s a video for how to use a neti, if you’re not familiar with it.  I know it looks weird.  That’s why I didn’t try it for so long.  Now, I wish I hadn’t waited.  It really is easy and not at all uncomfortable.

Drink as many hot or warm liquids as you can. Drinking hot or warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses in the throat before they can proliferate or do any harm.

Stop smoking and stay away from second hand smoke. Smoke severely damages and irritates your lungs, making them more susceptible to bacteria and viruses.  Smokers are much more likely to suffer complications or die from respiratory illnesses such as a cold or flu.

Supplement with Vitamin D3 & Vitamin C. The sun is the best source of natural Vitamin D, but we don’t get enough in the Midwest US.  Only supplement with vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is the type of vitamin D found in foods like eggs, organ meats, animal fat, cod liver oil, & fish, or a good supplement. Do NOT use the synthetic & highly inferior Vitamin D2.   Recommended dosage is 2,000 IU/day (adult), although more may be necessary in winter months.  Most people in the US are deficient in Vitamin D, especially in the winter (i.e., cold and flu season) when we need it most. If you have any questions about the level that’s right for you, ask your doctor.  Vitamin C recommendations vary from 90-500 mg/day (adult) and should not exceed 2,000 mg/day.

Drink plenty of water. This will help your body continually flush out contaminants and allow it to function at its optimal level.

Eat as many fresh fruits and vegetable as possible. The more colorful and bright the fruits and vegetables are, the more vitamins and minerals they contain to help boost immune function and keep you healthy.  Especially include those that are high in Vitamin C.

Excellent food sources of Vitamin C include papaya, broccoli, bell peppers, kale, cauliflower, strawberries, lemons, mustard & turnip greens, brussel sprouts, chard, cabbage, spinach, kiwi, snow peas, cantaloupe, oranges, grapefruit, limes, tomatoes, zucchini, raspberries, asparagus, celery, pineapple, leaf lettuce, watermelon, fennel, peppermint and parsley.

Frequently wipe down common surfaces like door handles, counter tops, drawer pulls & cupboard doors, faucets (especially handles), sinks, and kitchen handles like the dishwasher, microwave, oven, and refrigerator.  Do this more often when you know someone in your house is ill.

Get Enough Sleep. Something that seems elusive if not extinct for most parents of small children.  Make it a priority.  It really makes a difference.

Eat Chocolate.  OK – I made that one up.  But, why not??  Happy = healthy, right?  Uhhhh…..OK, maybe not so much, BUT, dark chocolate (in moderation) does have some great antioxidant qualities!

The more of these simple, healthful tips you follow, the less likely you will be to suffer from illness this cold and flu season.  That means fewer days of work missed, less cost for medical bills, and, most importantly, a happier, healthier family!

P.S.  Churches, movies, and sporting events are among the worst activities for germ-spreading due to the seating in such close proximity (e.g., if someone behind you sneezes, there’s just no way to avoid the germs headed your way).  Just sayin’.

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to replace the advice of any medical professional.  If you have any questions about your health, or whether or not the recommendations in this post are appropriate for you and your family, please contact a doctor.