Breathe

I know it's been an overwhelming, exhausting week when I haven't blogged or read or breathed since last weekend. We had a wonderful visit from Papa and Mo Mox last Sunday and a relatively restful night of sleep for the first time in a number of days. It was the calm before the storm. Anna came down with a nasty chest cold on Monday with a cough that kept her from napping or sleeping for more than 20 minutes at at time. We shared our bed for days, attempting to sleep upright through the coughing fits.

Despite Anna's illness, and maybe even because of it (we needed some help), we traveled to Mo and Papa D's house for Thanksgiving. As Krysha so eloquently put it, we were all in our various states of disrepair on Turkey Day, but we enjoyed spending time with family and eating way too many carbohydrates.

The guest of honor.

Great Mo

Brother and Sister

Mo D and Uncle Loren with the grand girls.

The snugglers in the family.

Meg and her baby.

Krysha...the real photographer!

Anna turned a corner Friday afternoon, so Blake and I decided to stay an extra day and take advantage of Mo D's help. We hit the movie theater to see Love and Other Drugs, had a couple of drinks, and returned to Mo's to sleep for a solid six hours for the first time in a week. When we arrived home yesterday, Anna napped and slept through the night.

Thanksgiving Day came and wet without my usual contemplations of gratitude. Sleep deprivation is a powerful depressant. We're all feeling renewed today, able to breathe, and able to reflect on the many things that we are grateful for. I went to yoga, Blake's playing poker tonight, and we're busy decorating for the holidays. Here are just a few things that I'm feeling thankful for today:

Family to spend the holidays with, to lean on, and to love.

The rainy days and the rainbows that they bring.

Movies, books, and people that make me remember what I'm passionate about.

Healthy food to nourish our bodies.

A healthy daughter who loves to snuggle, ALL THE TIME.

Good conversations with my husband.

On the Agenda

This collection of catalogues and mail greeted me yesterday when I opened the mailbox for the first time since Monday (or maybe it was Saturday). We are horrible about getting the mail. For me, I think my mail avoidance has to do with the fact that bringing it in usually means numerous things get added to my To Do list. And, most often, the pieces of mail that don't go directly into the "Recycle Pile" or the "To File Pile," the ones that I want to look at more closely or that need action soon, get put into a pile on the counter and left for a while. I don't like piles on my counters. Right now I have a similar stack of catalogues on my couch. It's that time of year when they come in batches every day, and I want to peruse them all to look for great Christmas gift ideas, so they don't automatically get recycled as usual. I guess I'll be weeding out catalogues today and doing a little "shopping."

The good news? My People Magazine subscription finally arrived again after an unexplained two-week break, just in time for the Sexiest Man Alive 2010 edition. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I read a mindless (therapeutic!) magazine to turn off my exhausted mind last night.

Budding Artist

Anna's rendition of lollipops on the dry erase board.

We bought Anna this Melissa and Doug easel for her second birthday in July, and it may be one of the best purchases we've made for her. She uses it all the time. More and more she's intent on creating "real" pictures. She can stand there for an hour drawing with the markers or painting with watercolors.

A couple of weeks ago we were in a family drawing phase. She wanted me to draw stick figures of our immediate and extended family. I would draw the head and body, and she would tell me all the things that need to be added: mouth, nose, ears, hair, a beard for Daddy, arms, hands, legs...then she wanted to give it a try by herself. I drew a circle for the head and a line for the body, and she wanted to add the rest. I thought she made some incredible pictures of our family, complete with all the body parts. Our budding artist did not leave herself room for creativity, though. She wanted her stick figures look exactly like those we'd made before, so she often shouted "No, that's not right!!" when a leg looked out of place. (I didn't get a picture of her stick figures before she erased them, but I did capture her lollipops, above).

When we pulled out the paints yesterday for the first time in a while, she couldn't get enough - it was the first thing she wanted to do when she woke again today. Painting was so much fun for both of us. I loved watching her fill up an entire page (yes, she insisted on using every blank space!), telling me how this line and that circle might be a dog or a flower or a tree. She began mixing colors and realized that it made a new color - so began a lesson on primary colors and how red and blue make purple.

I suppose I'm so excited about her interest in creating and being creative because I never considered myself this way. And, it's something I do admire and value. I can create an apron from a pattern, because I have something to follow. I can even copy a picture of an animal or object well enough to make it look fairly realistic. But I don't dream up a design in my own head or imagine a new way to make the animal or object. It's fun to watch her do this, and I hope it continues...as long as she's having fun doing it!

This was her first painting yesterday...she asked me to paint, too, but almost all of this is her work.

A very focused cutie pie.

More brush strokes.

Soak Your Oats

Nourishing Traditions

I purchased Nourishing Traditions after a few informative conversations with other moms at "play school." (That's what Anna and I call the Thursday morning parent-child program at the Rudolf Steiner school). We were discussing iron deficiency - Anna had low ferritin levels when tested a while back, so I was questioning other moms on their iron-boosting tactics. While I have more information on nutrition and health stored in my brain than is probably necessary or even useful, I was not aware that a diet high in unfermented whole grains can deplete our body of important minerals like iron. The simple explanation is that all grains contain phytic acid, and when untreated, it can combine with iron (or calcium, magnesium, etc.) in the intestinal tract and block their absorption.

I've hardly cracked this book, and I'm overwhelmed and intrigued by all of the food science. Not all grains require the same treatment. Those containing gluten, like oats, rye, barley, and wheat are the most important to soak or ferment. It's not all that easy to do this (unless you are making all your own bread and pasta and crackers and tortillas and...). We pick and choose the things that are doable for us. We eat mostly sourdough or sprouted grain bread. We buy rice crackers and rice pasta to minimize our wheat consumption. We soak our oats (which we eat almost every day).

Here's how:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp yogurt, whey, kefir, or buttermilk (or use lemon juice if you are allergic to dairy)

1 additional cup water

Add-ins (flax seed meal, nuts, cinnamon, fruit)

Mix 1 cup of oats with warm water and yogurt (or other fermenting agent), cover and leave overnight. Bring additional 1 cup (I find less water is better for us) water to boil, add soaked oats and any add-ins, reduce heat, cover and simmer until mixture reaches desired consistency (this should take just a few minutes). *Note: the first time I did this, it turned out horribly! It took a few tries with a little more/less water, lower/higher heat, amount of time covered to get it just right.

We enjoy ours with ground flax seeds, whole milk greek yogurt, cinnamon, and honey. Healthy and yummy!

Sewing Season

It's officially cold now. While Anna and I still try to spend at least a small portion of every day outside, I'm not nearly as motivated to get out as I am in the summer. When the days are short and cold, I crave comforting indoor activities like reading and sewing.

So, here is my first sewing project of the season - an apron for Anna made with some fabric my mom picked up long ago, because it matched the colors in Anna's room. My sister-in-law sent me the link to the free pattern last year, and I've finally put it, and the fabric, to use. It's a little big for her now, but I wanted to give her room to grow. And, she insisted on a pocket, so I added one for her, along with matching pink fabric to line it and the inside of the apron. I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.

Next on the agenda...more puppets!

Posing by her kitchen.

I love the elastic in the neck strap (and her neck, of course)!

A miniature spatula in her must-have pocket.

Anna Says...

Another installment of all the cute things that Anna says...

It owies! When something hurts.

That's fine? When she wants to do something, asked with a high-pitched question mark and head shake.

Forty-four minutes. Her response whenever asked what time it is.

That looks just like the same that we have. When things are similar.

It's been a long time since we've seen these balls. Spoken about any object she loves, even when it's only been a few minutes.

What did you dang, Daddy? Asked after Daddy exclaimed "Dang it!"

I remember that who is. When she sees someone that she thinks looks familiar.

I just love things that are squishy everyday.

I wish I was going to Home Depot. While on our way to a different store.

Mom, what are you thinking? Asked while we were rocking and I was apparently obviously off somewhere else.

Oh, thank you! With a sing-song voice.

These are really good meatballs (or insert other food), Mom. Thank you for those, Mom.

These are pretty cool balls (or insert other favorite object). I love them!

I have a baby in my belly. Spontaneously exclaimed after she put a ball under her shirt.

I want to watch football on the couch tomorrow with Daddy. While wide awake at 2am.

I'm finding...insert any object Anna might be looking for. Always spoken with her head turning in each direction, eyes holding steady.

I want those boogies in my nose!

What are you talking about? Asked ALL THE TIME.

I'm sad. I'm flustered. I'm happy. I'm SO excited! Various feelings she often shares.

I love you. After a long break from spontaneous affection like this, I'm relishing it.

Grateful

Today I am thankful...

That Anna woke me up at 4:50am this morning, not puking. And, she was well all day long.

For our babysitter, Katie. She's amazing. Anna loves her and so do I.

For my husband who cooks and cleans, talks and listens, apologizes and accepts my apologies.

For the professionals who are supporting Anna, Blake, and me as we begin to understand her sensory sensitivities.

For the late afternoon run by myself on a crisp, cool fall day.

For massages given and received.

That Anna spontaneously told me she loved me and requested a hug and a kiss.

For girlfriends.

For good books.

Puke

Here we go again...looks like we'll be snuggling between tiny sips of fluids today. Hope this one goes away quickly.

Books We Love, November 2010

While they're not the books I would choose to write about, these three board books are getting most of Anna's attention this week. We've probably had these books Anna's entire life. They've fallen in and out of favor over the course of time, but they made a recent resurgence, because we found the number book behind the car seat last week.

Anna has always loved looking at the real pictures in these books (as opposed to drawings). She has her favorite pages, of course, like the one with all the balls or the one with the creepy crawlies. While there are no stories in these books, I have a feeling the words and associated objects and animals have done wonders for her vocabulary.

Fall Back

It's 6:30 am. We've been up for 2 hours; Anna began stirring at 4:30am and was awake by 5:00am. Attempts at going to bed later to adjust for the time change don't work with kids who wake up earlier when they go to bed later.

I'm cursing the men (without children?) who conceived of the idea of daylight savings time. It turns out, one of the guys who initially suggested it was an avid golfer who disliked cutting his round short at dusk in the spring. Go figure.

The upside? Anna enjoyed her first ever episode of "The Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross this morning, because there was little in the way of cartoons that early in the morning.

If Ben Franklin was right, we're going to be very healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Lists

I'm a list maker. They serve me in many ways, mainly they free up my mental space and keep me organized. Pretty much anytime something comes into my head that I need or want to remember to do, to buy, to write, to follow-up on, to discuss, it goes onto a piece of paper. I think I'm posting about this now, because my head is a bit full and chaotic.

We're approaching a wonderfully full time of year. Even now, before the holiday shopping, baking, wrapping, eating, traveling, and gathering commence, we haven't been at all bored. Somehow Post-It notes have become a prevalent decoration on our kitchen counters and cupboards, plastered with a random To Do as I run out of the house to music class or with something I need to add to Anna's Christmas list. They are a bit all over the place right now, hence the mental chaos.

Here is a list of the various lists I'm keeping (or in the process of making) right now:

Grocery lists

Favorite recipe list

Christmas shopping lists

Blogs-to-post list

Books read and books to read list

To do lists

To be lists

Things Anna says list

Season lists (inspired by Stephanie's summer list)

Things I want to learn, cook, or sew list

House projects list

People I want to (re)connect with list

Goals list

Things I need to buy list

Activities to do with Anna list

What lists do you keep (or am I the only one who finds this incredibly helpful)?

All of These Balls

In case you've been wondering what Anna is up to around the house these days, it's all about balls. She loves "all of these balls," particularly the mulit-colored ones, and can't wait to play with them when she wakes up in the morning. She doesn't throw or kick them, though. Mostly, she piles them all into the laundry basket, admires and talks about them, sits IN the laundry basket with them, and tries to locate her favorite small ones at the bottom of the heap.

It actually reminds me of the days when I would get so much enjoyment not out of diapering or dressing one of my seven Cabbage Patch kids, but out of arranging them all in a playpen. I guess I liked having them organized in one place? If she weren't a toddler (don't they all fixate at this stage?), I'd guess the obsessive-compulsive gene was already showing itself.

A peek in the laundry basket.

Her favorite place to sit.

And, there's even a video. It's 2.5 minutes long, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what goes on with the balls!