Learning I Have Hypertension

This past winter, I discovered I have developed high blood pressure. This came as a surprise for me, since I generally had always had blood pressure on the lower side of normal and since I don't really have the risk factors except for age and family history. 

For totally unrelated reasons, I had been taking a medicine for about two years that can be used to treat high blood pressure, and I went off of the medicine this past fall. Then, at a random gynecologist appointment, a nurse took my blood pressure at the beginning of the appointment and said, "That can't be right..." She went to my other arm and took it again. But that didn't help. 

My blood pressure was reading 164/110. 

When the doctor came in, she said that it wasn't rush-me-to-the-hospital high (although, I now realize it was close to that) and that this was just one point of data on one day. I needed to gather more data points and see my primary care physician. 

We got a blood pressure monitor for home so I could take my blood pressure at different times and gather more data points. Which I did, and I was averaging 159 over 103. Really not good. In fact, that put me quite firmly in Stage 2 of Hypertension.

I made an appointment with my doctor and brought in my data points. I talked with her about how I went off of this other medicine, and she explained that going off the medicine couldn't cause high blood pressure, however it could have been masking what otherwise would have been a steady rise in blood pressure. That is why my numbers were suddenly so high after going off of the medicine. 

So my primary care physician told me to see a cardiologist as soon as I could, and handed me a prescription which she said to start taking IMMEDIATELY.

As soon as I started on the medicine, my blood pressure lowered to average 131 over 84. I started being more careful of what I ate, and I continued my regular exercising. And I made an appointment with a cardiologist.

The cardiologist said that she thinks the hypertension is because of my family history and that I'm "at an age" when this can kick in. Sigh... 40s... 

She believes it is just "garden variety" hypertension that I can control with the low dose of medicine I had started, diet, and exercise. Luckily, I don't have any damage to my heart because we caught it early enough. She told me to take my blood pressure twice a day and use an app to track it. 

And she handed me a printout with her recommended diet and forbidden foods (so many forbidden foods!!!), although she let me know that I had a little more leeway than say a person recovering from a heart attack. She said to lower my sodium intake and eat potassium-rich foods. 

And then, of course, I did research to figure out what I could eat and to find recipes. I highly recommend the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet/eating plan, and I heavily leaned on the NHLBI website and even printed out copies of the information linked in the Getting Started with Dash Eating Plan section for myself and my dad (from whom I get the family history of hypertension).

So I've reduced my intake of sodium, sugar, red meat, non-whole grain carbs, and overall calories. I am pretty much eating vegetables, beans, some whole wheat grains, plain yogurt with fruit, fish, and chicken for every meal. Basically, I cook my own meals while Londo makes dinner for him and the kids, because there is no chance the kids are going to eat a plate of veggies and beans. And I still can enjoy some chips or candy on a rare occasion. 

On the bright side, I lost 20 pounds since I started this diet and my blood pressure is back in the normal range. And I discovered that I love beans! 

Virtual Lunches with School Friends

Today was Day 3 of virtual school. I'm happy to say that it seems to be going well so far. Whew! 

My kids are both in middle school now, so they have similar schedules, which are generally like this: 

• Mondays - Live virtual classes for periods 1 - 4
• Tuesdays - Live virtual classes for periods 5 - 8
• Wednesdays - Independent study all day, with optional check-ins for every period
• Thursdays - Live virtual classes for periods 1 - 4
• Fridays - Live virtual classes for periods 5 - 8

As it is the first week of school, everyone is still adjusting. And the truth is, the mental adjustment is probably the hardest part at this point. My kids have been grumpy and moody. No more hanging out all morning, playing video games for lengthy amounts of time, watching TV, not getting dresses... No more summer break!

We all know the best part about going back to school is seeing your friends. This year, they don't even get to really do that, at least in person. So they have to give up the freedoms they get during summer break, adjust to this new way of "going" to school virtually, start doing school work, and they don't even get to chat with friends in hallways, classes, and the cafeteria! 

Yesterday, the Pookie's best friend's mom messaged me and two other moms about letting this group of friends together for a virtual lunch today. Since Wednesday is for independent study and they weren't on video meetings/classes all day, it was the perfect day to let them get online together to eat lunch and play around. What a great idea! We all agreed and finalized the plan this morning. 

The boys had a great time! At one point, one of the other moms messaged the rest of us saying she just heard the best laugh from her son! We all agreed that it went well, and we plan to let them do it every Wednesday. They may not be in a cafeteria together, but they can at least get on a video call and have lunch and a good time playing around together.   

When the Pumpkin heard that her brother was doing a lunch with friends, she asked if she could, also. She has been communicating with her friends pretty regularly--probably even daily, either through messaging or video calls. But this was different, because it is really about finding a way to replace the cafeteria school lunchtimes. Of course I said she could, and her friends were able to also. And of course they had a great time. I told her she should do it every Wednesday. 

So what if they are technically getting more screen time by being on laptops/phones with video calls. So what if they are eating their sandwiches while sitting on the floors of their rooms and not in chairs at a table. So what if one of our dogs ate the sandwich crusts when one of the kids left the bedroom door open after lunch. They are getting a workable substitution for an important part of the school experience. 

Side benefit: They make their own lunches, so I don't have to pack lunchboxes and make sure they remember them, nor do do I need to clean them out after spending hours in backpacks and lockers!

Candy Camp Was Delicious

For the past few summers, one of my best friends and her family would meet for a week at the beach. This year, for obvious reasons, we did not get together for a vacation at the beach. I still wanted to get together in some format, some way to see each other and get the kids together daily for a week virtually.

So I came up with... Candy Camp! 

I had hoped my friend would be able to work with me in creating it as an activity we could do together, but she didn't end up having the capacity. Her youngest daughter wanted to participate (the older one is a teen and has pretty much spent her summer shut in her room), but my friend agreed to it as an idea and okayed the week I wanted to have it. 

My kids were excited to do it, and I bought candy molds for chocolate bars and a kit for creating gummy candies. I planned out the themes for each day and the daily schedule, and I created a online packet with slides that walked the kids through morning activities and pages for afternoon independent work. I set up a Google Meet conference call, and we had kickoff meetings each morning and a wrap-up meeting most afternoons. 

The themes for each day were: 

• Monday - Design your candy
• Tuesday - Market research
• Wednesday - Make your candy!
• Thursday - Plan your packaging and advertising
• Friday - Present your candy and describe your commercial

We had so much fun! My kids really liked it, and my daughter even said, while going through the first day's packet, that this was like a real camp! 

And my kids were so creative! They designed very inventive candies, came up with names and logos, drew the packaging and ads, and developed how they wanted to commercials to go. Here are the candies: 

                

• Far left: Pookie's candy was muffin-shaped fudge with caramel inside and M&Ms on top.
• Far right: Pumpkin's candy was a gummy bar with a dollop of jelly inside and covered with a milk chocolate and white chocolate drizzled on top.
• Middle two: My candy (a white chocolate and milk chocolate version) had chocolate on top and bottom and a middle layer of peanut butter combined with marshmallow fluff and Rice Krispies

We learned some things while doing this camp, too. In addition to market research and branding, there were many teachable moments. For example, our candy making went from Wednesday into Thursday because making candy is a difficult process. We had to make three batches of fudge before we got the right consistency to get the caramel inside and set correctly. We had to figure out how to get jelly into the gummy candy, and we had to scrape off the first try at the chocolate shell because it wouldn't set. 

As I said to my kids late on Wednesday, "Making candy isn't easy! If it was, everyone would do it." 

It was also such a great way to see my friend and her daughter every day and feel like we were really doing something with them. Her daughter really enjoyed it, too, and she came up with an adorable, creative candy, name, and ad. I was quite impressed. 

So it was fun, informative, a great creative outlet, a good bonding experience from a distance, and absolutely delicious! If you ever have the chance to design and make your own candy, I highly recommend it. Just don't make too much, or your next camp will need to be figuring out how to let out your waistband!

Question of the Week - Thanksgiving Dishes

Well, people, things have been busy round here. Very busy. The Pumpkin is recovering from her surgery and doing better now. The Pookie is in a clingy-and-only-mama-will-do phase (is it a phase if it's all the time since birth?). Work is crazy busy. Thanksgiving is tomorrow. And I'd like to spend a little time with my husband. Unfortunatly, that means that the 3 posts I'm in the middle of writing, including the one about the Pumpkin's surgery, are simply not getting finished.

Even though I don't have a chance to finish those, I at least want to hear from my bloggy friends! Considering tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US, this week's question of the week is:

What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving/family holiday dinners?

Since I know not everyone is in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving, I thought I'd make the question more general. Feel free to answer about any holiday you'd like, or multiple holidays.

My favorite dishes are the pies. Of course. I have a crazy sweet tooth, and I especially love pies and pastries. I make a delicious apple pie and pecan pie, and I'll be making the apple pie for Thanksgiving and likely for Christmas too. I've stopped making the pecan pie because of the concern of pecans having cross-contamination with peanuts, but at least I can enjoy eating them when others make them!

I also love the cranberry relish my mom makes for every holiday dinner, which I also make some years especially for the holidays we have at my inlaws, since they'd never had it before but really enjoy it when I make it. And I LOVE my husband's mashed sweet potatoes! They are even better than his regular mashed potatoes! I insist he make them for the holidays we are at my parents, because I just can't get enough of them!

How about you? What is your favorite holiday dish to eat and/or make? What do you look forward to every year? Who makes the best mashed potatoes in your family? Who's planning to pig out on turkey and stuffing tomorrow like I am? Just save room for pie!

Getting What He Wants Without Words

The Pookie is almost 17 months old. He has really great receptive language skills. He obviously understands a great deal, and he generally knows what the words are that we are saying to him. His own verbalizing, however, is not as advanced as his receptive skills. He does have quite a few words, but his pronounciation leaves a lot to be desired.

For example, instead of "mama," he says "nahnah." I'll take it, of course, cause at least he's saying something intending to be mama. But he does not pronounce Ms when he should. He also says "ick" instead of "milk," but he accompanies it with the sign for milk, which he does for some other words, too. He's makes specific noises and is learning the signs for cracker, cereal, water, more and all done. Actually, he has the words "all done" down pat.

For many other words or to convey meaning, he indicates with gestures and noises which we try to figure out. He gets frustrated, and that frustration comes out in ways I'm sure you all know. He gets mad and yells, he fusses and whines, and he throws things and has tantrums when thwarted or unable to get what he wants. In other words, he's a toddler with limited verbal skills.

Yesterday morning, the boy was up at 5:00. I tried to get him to go back to sleep, but it was no use. I let him play in his room for a while, but he kept fussing. Finally, at about 6:30 I brought him downstairs to feed the dog and just be somewhere else where he hopefully wouldn't wake up his sister and dad.

He was very happy to be downstairs. He helped me feed the dog and let her out, and then I went to get him milk. In fact, he asked for milk by name, though not sign. "Ick! Ick!" he said, pointing to the fridge. "Yes, yes. I'm getting your milk," I told him.

But when I handed him his sippy cup of milk, he yelled, "NO!" and slammed it down. "But little guy, that's what you asked for," I reminded him. But still, no. He didn't want the sippy cup. I decide to try him with water, which is sometimes what he wants instead of milk. Nope, no water. He again says milk and points to the fridge. I try to hand him his sippy cup, but that's still not what he wants.

He went to the cabinet with the kids' stuff. Oh, have I mentioned that he can totally undo all the baby-proofing on the cabinets? Yeah, that's fun. So he opens the baby-proofed cabinet and takes out a kid spoon. He walks back to the table. I think, well, maybe he's hungry. I try to put him in his highchair, but he freaks out.

Okay, no highchair. That's not new. Lately, he's started climbing in the real chairs around the table and wanting to be there unstead of the highchair. Over the weekend, we pulled out the Pumpkin's old booster seat for him to use at the table, and he's liked that a lot. Which of course means he rarely wants to be in the highchair, although he still sometimes tries to climb in it to indicate that he's hungry.

Even in my half-awake daze, I realize that he seems to want something specific. I start to piece it all together. He got a spoon and wants milk from the fridge. He is by the table but doesn't want to get in his highchair. It's morning and he's been up for quite a while, and he didn't eat much for dinner the night before. I think he must be hungry, and he usually has cereal in the morning. He doesn't usually remember the sign for cereal and I've never heard him say the word cereal, at least in a way I've understood.

So I ask him, "Do you want cereal?" He makes babbles that are not in disagreement. I go to the kids' cabinet and pull out a kid bowl. He looks excited by this development. I put the bowl on the table. I pull out Life and Cheerios and offer both to him. He quickly moves straight for the Life cereal.

I put that and the spoon on the table and help him climb into the booster seat at the table. He picks up the spoon and points to his bowl, making "ooo ooo" noises. I pour in the cereal, and he's obviously happy. He says "ick ick!" and I pour in the milk.

Delighted, he happily starts digging in to his cereal with both spoon and hand, as he does these days. He's sitting where he wants, eating exactly what he wants, eating the way he wants. Oh yes, he's a happy boy now!

Although he can get across what he wants without having the words, it would have been much easier and quicker if he did have the words. Someday, he will. For now, we'll keep trying to figure it out in other ways and teach him more signs.

Question of the Week - How Does Your Garden Grow

My sister has a share in one of those coop farms. She doesn't do the planting or tending or even the picking of vegetables. The place where she has her share takes care of all that. She goes every other week to the farm, selects the allotted amounts of veggies from what is set out in the barn, and then goes to the "Pick Your Own" fields to pick herbs and flowers. I've been with her once before, I think about a year ago. I brought the Pumpkin to run around with her daughter, who goes with her every week.

Well, this week my sister is on vacation, so she offered me the share at the farm. Londo, the Pumpkin, the Pookie and I all drove the 15 minutes out to the farm on Saturday morning. It was so much fun! The veggies look delicious, and the Pumpkin helped pick out which cucumbers and green peppers we took. Londo picked herbs--all sorts of herbs that make me just want to cook all day long! The Pookie hung out mostly in my sling while the Pumpkin and I picked flowers, including my favorite sunflowers!

I love the idea of the coop farm, and as much fun as we had, we actually aren't going to purchase a share. That's because Londo planted a little victory garden this summer in our backyard. Me? I'm not so good with plants. I'm great with animals, but my thumb is black. Now Londo, he's got farming in his blood and is great with plants of all sorts. And he actually really enjoys gardening! So he started a little garden in the back of our yard, and he plans to make it even bigger next year. So we really don't need a farm coop share for ourselves.

Obviously gardens and farming is on my mind this week, which is why this week's question of the week is:

If you could grow any type of veggie, fruit, herb or flower in your backyard, what would you grow?

The number one item I would like is strawberries, my favorite fruit. And guess what? Londo is about to plant some that he is getting from our neighbor who has extra or something. I want to say the neighbor has some vines and is giving Londo some, which Londo can plant and strawberries will sprout from it. But I'm not exactly sure how it works.

The things that Londo did plant for me are:
- a lilac bush, which I've always talked about wanting under my bedroom window!
- cucumbers, which I LOVE and am excited to have fresh from the garden
- a blueberry bush, which is actually for the Pumpkin since it's her favorite fruit but I love them too
- a rose bush with a trellis, which we got last summer from my SIL and it is blooming beautifully
- tomatoes, which he doesn't eat at all, but he knows that I love them and want them to make sauces
- watermelon, which everyone loves!

Next year, he already told me that he will plant herbs for both of us and sunflowers! And I'm going to ask him to plant summer squash, too. I've never been so excited about gardening--although that's likely because I'm not actually doing any gardening. Heh.

How about you? What would you like to plant in your backyard? If you had someone to do all the work for you, what would you have them grow? Do you garden yourself? Aren't fresh veggies and fruit the best?

Recipes Review, Bloggy Book Club and August Meet Up

Recipes Review

Get this: I posted a cake and muffin recipe review on my review site! Didn't know I had a review site? Well, I haven't posted in a LONG time. But it was one of my New Year's Resolutions to start posting on my review blog again. I've got all sorts of things I've been wanting to write up, but to get me going at all I started with some easy recipes. They are good ones I found on allrecipes.com, though. And the upcoming reviews are even more interesting!

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Bloggy Friends Book Club

In early July, hush did a book discussion for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I definitely have plans to read the book and add a (hopefully) meaningful comment to the discussion. If you've read it, head over and post your thoughts!

I had had this thought that those who like reading and are interested could host a book discussion on their blogs and/or comment to participate, thereby creating a sort of Bloggy Friends Book Club that meet at each others' places to discuss the book of the month.

So I'd like to host a book discussion of Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian on August 11, 2010! If you are interested, get the book, read it and come here and comment on August 11th.

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August DC Area Meet Up

I know everyone is more than ready for an adult-only get together. Let's do it in August! Please vote for the day and time in the poll on the side panel. There are lots of options because it occured to me that I should offer lunch and dinner times for each day. I'm unable to do the weekend of the 21-22, so I didn't include those.

I'm thinking we meet in McLean and go to one of the restaurants there. I really like a few in the Tyson's Corner II mall. What do you guys think?

Confirmed: Peanut Allergy

I find it very fitting that this week is Food Allergy Awareness Week, since our follow-up appointment with the allergist was yesterday. This was to be the appointment at which we'd find out for sure if the Pumpkin was allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. And the verdict is indeed in: She is allergic to peanuts, but does not appear to be allergic to any tree nuts.

A year ago when the Pumpkin had just turned two (and had enough verbal skills to tell us if something was feeling funny), we let the Pumpkin try her first bit of peanut butter on a cracker. Although Londo and I had some difference of opinion on whether or not there even was a reaction, we figured better safe than sorry. We reported a possible reaction to our pediatrician's office, got a referral to see an allergist, and made an appointment with the allergist. Although the nurse and the appointment were very frustrating, I did like the doctor and appreciated what he had to say.

He recommended that we get the Pumpkin a blood test to check for allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Although he noted that the blood test wasn't as accurate as the skin test, the skin test would require that the Pumpkin lie on her stomach for at least 15 minutes. Holding still for 15 minutes even in front of movie or show? Impossible for my 2 year old! Thus the blood draw and negative results that the doctor said could likely be a false negative. He recommended coming back into the office after she turned 3 and could possibly hold still for the skin test.

So yesterday morning, we went in for the skin test. We prepped her as best as we could. I was ready for a long wait, considering how long the previous visits took us (over an hour one time and about 2 hours another time). We brought toys and movies, plus special prizes if she held still and did what the doctor asked*. Even though our appointment was at 9:15 and the office opened at 9, we still waited an hour to see the doctor. After a brief refresher with the doctor, including giving him the spoonful of peanut butter we brought in with us, we had the Pumpkin take off her shirt and lie down across Londo's lap. The nurses put extracts and even a bit of real peanut butter on her back to see if there was a reaction.

Sounds fine, right? WRONG!

Forget about what the reaction was on her back for a moment. Instead, let me explain to you the reaction of my highly sensitive, active, emotional and spirited girl was. Do I need to even explain? I think this says it all: She freaked the EFF OUT! For the entire 15 minutes we forced her to lie as still as possible!

The first 5 minutes of that was wailing and shrieking such that she was unable to even realize what was going on. Londo had to hold her down across his lap, and I had to crouch by her face and hold her arms/hands to keep her from reaching her back while trying to soothe and distract her. Although the sobbing and wailing continued, we were able to distract a little with Cinderella on the TV and her new book I put under her nose.

So that sucked. It also sucked to watch the red marks appear and the two welts for the peanut extract and peanut butter grow. And then? The nurse had to outline the marks with a marker on her back. Her sensitive, itchy, don't-touch-it! back. Sigh. But that was over relatively quickly.

But it was worth it. We now know as sure as we can know that she is allergic to peanuts. She does not appear to be allergic to tree nuts, but we will be careful introducing them. The doctor said that we should still just tell people that she is allergic to nuts, because it's easier for people to just remove nuts and keep all nuts away from her. Also, I know that many nuts are processed and packaged in the same facility as peanuts. The doctor said there is a 10% contamination rate in facilities that also have peanuts and peanut products, so we still have to check every label for that as well as the ingredients. But we don't have to be quite as careful as we've been over the past year, now that she is very likely fine with other nuts. We do know that the allergy test could appear negative and she still could have a reaction (even a severe one) to any nuts, so we will be watchful and careful with all of them. The doctor also said that she has a 20% chance of outgrowing the allergy, so we will retest her when she's 6 and have annual checkups with him until then.

I've spent time over the last year reading blogs by parents who have kids with food allergies. I've found lists of "safe" foods and "safe" manufacturers**. We've been reading packages carefully, on everything since it can surprisingly be in things you don't expect or processed in the same facility or even on the same machine! I've found websites that sell candies and foods made in nut-free facilities, where I ordered the Pumpkin chocolates from a couple places for Christmas and Easter, as well as a cake mix for her birthday and chocolate chips for us to make cookies. I plan to list links to these things in another blog post, both for those who are interested and to make it easy for me to find all the information I have gathered at a glance. We don't bring her to Five Guys or Chick-Fil-A (two of my fav restaurants!) because they cook in peanut oil. We are figuring out other restaurants and places to avoid as well.

We have learned how to use the epi-pen, and we have a box at our house and one at school. Londo has been great about bringing one shot with us when we go out places (something I am working on remembering). I'm now looking into medical alert bracelets. The Pumpkin's current pre-school is a nut-free school, and as we look into new schools and daycares, we will be sure to find one that is nut free.

At this age, she still doesn't truly get why she can't have something that other kids/people have. So it will continue to be important to not have anything with peanuts around her at all. That means continuing to ask friends and family not to have or even offer their own kids PB&J sandwiches, because she inevitably says, "I want peanut butter!" She just does not understand the consequences at this age.

Our lives are not going to be exactly as we envisioned, with PB&J sandwiches at the beach (one of my fav beach eats) or sharing my love of Tagalongs with her. But it also shouldn't be as hard as this past year was, considering we can loosen restrictions about the tree nuts and considering that she will understand more and more as she gets older. This is just something else to live with, figuring it out as we go along.

But boy, I'm exhausted just writing about it all, let alone living it! Let the constant vigilance continue!

*When I told her about the special prize I had for her, she said, "I don't want a special prize! I want a book!" Ah, the contrariness of Three. BUT! I said to her, "Well, guess what your special prize is?" She looked at me and said questioningly, "A book?" And I responded, "YES! It's a book!" Her face lit up, and we laughed! I also added, "You can even get two books if you hold still the WHOLE time they are doing the test!" I doubted that would truly happen, but was totally planning to give her both books anyway.

**Did you know that not all manufacturers will include that the food is processed in a facility that also processes nuts? I find that highly irresponsible in this day and age!

Arts and Crafts Party

About a month ago, a coworker asked me what we were doing for the Pumpkin's birthday party. I had no idea and told her so. She asked, "Well, what is she into?" I assumed she meant Dora or Backyardigans or some other character. I shrugged and answered the only thing that my daughter consistently loves, "Art." When I later repeated the conversation to my husband, before I could tell him my answer, he said, "Art."

My girl absolutely loves to do arts and crafts. It is the only thing that consistently keeps her attention and entertains her. It's the thing she never seems to get bored with and always wants to do. So it was very fitting for her third birthday party to be an arts and crafts party.

Londo and I planned the party for our house and invited our family and a few close friends with kids. Two weekends ago, we went to Michael's with the kids and bought a ton of supplies for the art and the crafts, from the finger paints to glitter glue to googly eyes. We decided we'd have two "stations" in our house, one in the dining room for fingerpainting and the other in the living room/parlor for crafts, as well as the kitchen for food and the family room for playing with toys.

Last Saturday was the party. We spent Friday night prepping for the arts and crafts projects after the kids were in bed, and Saturday morning getting the food ready and setting up the stations. Thankfully, my MIL and FIL came up Friday night and jumped right in to help. Londo was in charge of setting up the fingerpainting project and room, shopping and preparing the finger foods, and putting together the favor bags. I was in charge of setting up the craft projects and room, getting the favors, and baking (using this recipe, which was delicious) and icing the cakes. The inlaws helped with setting the rooms up, setting the projects up and watching the kids--generally helping out whereever they could.

There were a total of 6 preschool-aged kids and 3 babies (and my teen-aged niece). After everyone arrived and the kids had played a bit (and the adults had started in on the finger foods), Londo lead the kids into the dining room and started them all on finger painting. They each made one or two pictures, and we set them on the table to dry.

Next, we had cake in the living room/parlor (before I put out all the crafty stuff). I had decorated one circular cake as a painter's palette and a square cake as a potrait. (This link shows you the inspiration for the painter's palette. I'll have to upload pics soon to show off what I actually did.)

After the cake and some running around/playing with toys in the family room, I brought the kids back into the parlor for the crafts. I had cut out pieces of construction paper in the shape of animal parts, and the kids could choose between making a lion, a bear or a frog. They glued on the pieces and decorated with puffy balls, googly eyes and markers of all colors. Next, they got the pieces for a crown (front and back pieces) and decorated those with markers, glitter glue and puffy balls.

I really think the party was a big success. Not only did the kids play and eat and have fun, but they were able to take home things they made themselves! And in their favor bags, we had put in plastic frames that was the right size for the finger paint paper Londo had cut so the parents could frame the beautiful art that their child(ren) had made. The kids got to wear their crowns and play with their animals.

And the Pumpkin? She got to do her favorite things with her cousins and friends. She also got to eat cake and play with toys. Not to mention all the great gifts she got, which she opened the next day! It was definitely a great birthday party for my little, 3-year-old girl!

Baby Sleep Boot Camp, Part II

My first Baby Sleep Boot Camp post was really all about our preparation for doing Baby Sleep Boot Camp.

But I have to say that by Friday night, I was exhausted and unsure of what we were doing. I felt like the baby was crying a lot, even though we were holding him and physically giving him comfort. I was uncomfortable in this new paradigm. The Pookie is such a different baby than the Pumpkin was, and I was just so confused about what was best for him.

So Friday night, when he woke up the first time, I just went to bed with him in the guest room and coslept with him all night. Which was miserable. He nursed all night long again, I didn't get any good sleep, and it felt like we were moving in the wrong direction. This just wasn't right for him or me anymore. I was back on board with doing Baby Sleep Boot Camp.

In order for both Londo and me to concentrate on the Pookie and his sleep, as well as our sleep, we set up a sleepover for the Pumpkin at my parents house Saturday night and Sunday night. This was especially important because the Pumpkin has been going through (yet another) sleep regression. I know it's the regression right before the next developmental leap around her 3rd birthday, but it's been a tough one in many ways. During the regressions, her sleep always goes totally out the window. So she's waking up crying and having fits and needing us, and that wakes the baby up. Or we've been trying to keep the baby quiet so he doesn't wake the Pumpkin up! Either way, we needed her sleeping elsewhere so we could focus on him.

Saturday night, after Londo dropped the Pumpkin off at my parents and I had put the Pookie to bed by walking him (he fell asleep within 5 minutes of walking with really no crying for the second night in a row!), my SIL came over to spend the night and help us out. She is planning to do this once a week for a while. We are eternally grateful!

When my SIL got to our house, we sat down with her and talked to her about what we had done in preparation for the night, from how we've been putting him to bed to how long we want to wait between feedings to the bottles of expressed milk we had set up (in a cooler in the bathroom across from the nursery, along with the bottle warmer) to when to come get me.

Because with the Pumpkin out of the house and someone taking night duty with the Pookie? We were going into the basement to sleep on the couches down there, far enough so that we wouldn't hear any crying. This was my SIL's intent: to give us a full night of sleep! We wanted, make that NEEDED to take her up on it. My plan was to set an alarm and wake up twice to pump, and otherwise sleep!

At this point, my SIL suggested that after giving him a bottle, she put him down awake and check in on him every 5 minutes or so if he was crying. Instinctively, I did not feel ready for this. But as the three of us talked it out, I realized that he was screaming when we were just holding him. Let me remind you that unless I was nursing him or sleeping with him, he has almost never soothed himself and gone to sleep. We've been trying to rock, bounce, walk, etc. with him, and the walking had just started working, but only when I first put him to bed. So if he's screaming in our arms for an hour, why not try and be there for him verbally and with physical closeness but not holding him?

We agreed to let my SIL try this method of controlled crying/fussing. We tried something similar with the Pumpkin, and it REALLY didn't work. But the Pookie doesn't not ramp up with crying the way she did. So maybe it would work for him. And if it didn't, it was only one night. One night of someone else willing to care for him and listen to him cry and be there for him and give us a night to sleep.

It worked. It wasn't perfect, no crying, sleeping through the night. But it worked!

The first time she put him down, he cried/fussed on and off for about 30-40 minutes. We had said if he was crying/fussing for an hour, then feed him again/pick him up/get us--whichever felt right to her. But it didn't make it to that point, and he was not getting really worked up. The second time she put him down awake, he didn't even fuss but fell asleep. The third time was the same as the first, except way more on the fussing side than the crying side. The fourth time he woke up, it was almost 6:00 and Londo and I were dying to know how the night went, so we all just got up then (although my SIL took a nap before leaving later that morning).

As for my night, I slept 4 HOURS IN A ROW before waking to pump the first time. And actually, I woke up just before my alarm when I heard walking above me, which would mean that my SIL was in the kitchen. So after I pumped, I went up to see what was up. My SIL had left the cooler and a note in the kitchen saying that she was out of bottles, so if I had more milk, please put it in bottles in the cooler and bring back up to the bathroom. Which I did. Then I slept for another 3.5 HOURS IN A ROW!!! I woke up at 5:30 to pump again, and like I said previously, Londo and I went upstairs around 6:00 to see how it went. Londo slept like a log all night long!

Not only was the night of sleep fantastic, but we had two major Doh discoveries:

1. The Pookie really is hungry during the night! He's not just nursing for comfort or to fall back asleep. He drank ALL the bottles I made for him. That was 10 ounces by 1:00 alone! So no wondering my feeding him one side and then trying to put him back to bed or going back to sleep with him next to me was not working. He was waking up still hungry in an hour or less. So now I know to feed him both sides when he wakes up. And that we needed to be giving him something more to help fill him up, since I can make only so much milk.

2. This method of sleep training really will work well for him. In fact, it will likely work better than holding him, since that seemed to be working him up more than leaving him in the crib.

So Sunday night, we continued this method, in addition to my being sure to feed him on both sides when he woke up and it was time to eat. It worked even better the second night than it had the first night! There was only one time I had to go in because he cried/fussed more than 5 minutes, and then he went to sleep just after that! And one time, he feel right asleep with no fussing at all! And he has been sleeping for 2 hours or longer since I've been feeding him both sides when he wakes. We are amazed!

Also, on Sunday night we started him on rice cereal at dinner time (which is usually an hour or less before bedtime). While I prefer the baby-led weaning/feeding method that worked great for the Pumpkin, it was becoming apparent that it wasn't working as well for the Pookie. We had noticed how frustrated he would get when he had to work to put the food in his mouth. He seemed hungry and upset that he couldn't get faster satisfaction. Add that to the fact that I haven't been pumping enough milk to keep up with his daytime demands, none to provide any nighttime bottles and my freezer stash was almost completely gone--well, it was time to either supplement with formula (which I didn't want to have to do) or try feeding him some cereal. This has been working really well, and he now eats the rice cereal or cream of wheat with some finger foods 2-3 times a day and seems very pleased about this.

So Baby Sleep Boot Camp went really well. We have found a way to work with the Pookie in getting to sleep and sleeping better that works for him. Although it is just outside of my comfort zone, I totally realize that this is best for him, me, Londo and our family. And having a "boot camp" where we focused just on him for two nights in a row was so perfect for our situation!

We've continued this method all this week, and it's been going well. There has been really only one bout of his crying/fussing for about 20 minutes, but most of the time he fusses for maybe a minute and then either falls asleep or babbles to himself for a few minutes before falling asleep. He's even been breaking out of his swaddle and still sleeping! And he's been waking up less often, usually about 3 times a night with the first time being before I go to sleep. Which means I'm only getting up 2 TIMES A NIGHT!

I'm getting more and better quality sleep than I have in over 7 months. I'm not worrying about the Pumpkin waking up the baby or worrying about both of them in our bed together. The Pookie seems to be sleeping better. It's been great.

I fully expect there to be sleep regressions and set backs. That's the norm with kids. But figuring out what works for him and seeing how well it works is going to be an important tool in our parenting toolbox. And now that the Pumpkin is almost 3 and starting to understand more, we (mostly Londo, who is really in charge of her at night) are beginning to work with her on her sleep. She might need a boot camp (although using a method that will work for her) soon, too, but it will be easier to work with her when we've got the other kid sleeping/going to sleep so much better!

Dairy-less

Today is the first day of me giving up dairy. Again.

That's right, again. Way back when I was in college, I started having regular stomach aches and was burping a lot. More than normal. The doctor I saw was no help, but the nurse! Ah the nurse suggested a few things to try, first and foremost giving up dairy to see if it was lactose intolerance. At this time, I'd never heard of lactose intolerance, nor had any of my friends and family. And it turns out that I didn't have the common symptoms that most people associate with it nowadays. But the nurse was smart enough to suggest that my problems might be that and what I needed to do.

So I cut out dairy from my diet for two weeks. It was not easy, not just because I love ice cream, milk in my coffee and chocolate bars. The byproducts of milk, such as curds and whey, are used in so many things, from processed meats to packaged breads. Lactose is even used as a filler in many supplements (note to self: check the non-active ingredients of the fish oil, vitamin D and iron supplements I take). Amazingly, my stomach issues cleared up. Over the course of the next couple years, I discovered Lactaid milk and ice cream, Lactaid pills, soy milk in my coffee, dairy-free cookbooks and the level of dairy I could consume without having any issues.

So why am I still not off the dairy? Well, when I was pregnant with the Pumpkin, I discovered that I could tolerate pretty much all levels of dairy once again. I quickly jumped back into the world of dairy and loved every second of it.

So why am I giving it up again? It's not for me. It's for the baby boy. And for me. The Pookie seems to be pretty gassy and always has been. He's still waking up a lot (A LOT) at night and seems uncomfortable. Soon after waking, he has a few farts and then seems to feel better. This may very well be totally normal for a baby with a developing digestive system, especially now that he has started solids. Unfortunately, he seems to prefer to be nursing so he can relax and let the gas out. As usual, I. Am. Tired!

I started wondering if the gas could be related to dairy, either how his system handles it or how mine does, since burping and gas was one of my lactose intolerance symptoms. I've noticed that the level of lactose I can handle has gone back down so I need to eat less dairy products that I have been. Maybe it's affecting him?

Maybe it's not. Maybe it has nothing to do with dairy or diet or anything like that. But I can go without dairy for two weeks (again) and see if there is a difference. Doesn't hurt to try.

Well, it hurts a little. Because that veggie omelet I had this morning would have been better with cheese, and the toast would have been better with butter. At least I still like soy milk for my coffee.

(Next diet change to start after the new year will be the Pumpkin's diet, in case dairy or fructose malabsorption are an issue for her. She is currently doing that picky toddler eating/non-eating where she is mostly living on yogurt and air, so I figure I can mess with her diet since it's currently so limited anyway. I've always wondered if she's had an issue with her diet and have been wanting to try and see if we need to change her diet. I suspect our diets affect our bodies a lot more than most people give credence to. So we are going to try!)

Question of the Week - Weird Eating

A couple of nights ago, we had hot dogs for dinner. The Pumpkin enjoys a good hot dog, as do Londo and I. But we noticed the oddest thing a couple months ago in how she eats her hot dogs. She doesn't eat it in a bun. Nor does she want it cut up. She doesn't even eat it from one end to the other. Nope. She eats it like corn on the cob! I have NO idea where she picked this up! I mean, we do eat corn on the cob, and she's a champ at it. But to transfer that to the hot dog? It's just weird eating!

This week's question of the week is:

Do you eat any particular food in an odd manner?

Londo is always teasing me about how I eat chips. I eat some (okay, most) chips by licking off the flavoring first, and then I (usually) eat the chip. This is especially true of sour cream and onion chips and those deliscious Hint of Lime Tostitos, which Londo jokes I obsess over like it was crack powdering the chips! (No, I've never done crack. Who needs to when there's usually a bag of Hint of Lime in the cabinet?)

As a cute bonus, the Pumpkin now eats her chips like this too! It's a bonus because it used to be just me driving Londo crazy with that odd eating habit, but now there are two of us to drive him totally insane!

How about you? Do you lick your chips? Do you eat the edge of your peanut butter cups first? What weird eating habit(s) do you have?

No Fresh, Hot Peanuts Here

On Sunday, Londo and I decided to try the Pumpkin with a tiny bit of peanut butter to see how she did. We have not exposed her to any nuts since we wanted to wait until we felt she could communicate if there was a problem. She is definitely verbally advanced enough now to communicate issues with us, so we thought we'd go ahead and try her on a weekend afternoon when we would both be there in case things did not go well.

I pulled out some crackers, organic peanut butter and some jelly to fix PBJ crackers for me and told the Pumpkin that I had a snack. She loves the crackers, so she climbed up into her booster seat and asked for some crackers. I gave her some and offered her a little bit of peanut butter on a spoon. She didn't want to try it, so we didn't push. But she always wants to try what I'm eating, so I made myself some PBJ crackers.

She eyed me a little, while eating her crackers. Then she held out her cracker and basically asked to try some peanut butter. So I put just a bit on the cracker. Probably not even a 1/4 of a teaspoon. She had a few bits, then put that cracker down and went back to her regular crackers.

Londo and I watched carefully.

Within a few minutes, she started getting red, splotchy marks at the sides of her mouth. They spread a little. Then another mark appears above her lip. She had stopped eating the crackers, but was chatting away (my little chatter box!) and drinking her water.

I looked at Londo, and he looked at me. We agreed that it appeared she was having a reaction to the peanut butter. Londo thought that the first red splotchy mark was getting a little white in the middle. I cleaned up the snack as thoroughly as possible, especially wiping down all areas that touched peanut butter. Londo asked if I was ready to jump in the car and get to the hospital if we needed. I said I was, but should probably put another shirt on. I waddled up stairs, changed shirts, waddled back down and checked her mouth again.

Still, she seemed fine other than the splotches. I sat next to her at the table, and we colored with crayons. I checked her mouth a few more times, and the splotches were clearing up. Within the hour, they were completely gone.

But they were there. It was definitely a reaction, and the only thing new she tried was the little bit of peanut butter.

The next morning, I called the advice nurse at the pediatricians. She agreed that it sounded like a rash and told me to call and allergist. She said that often the first reaction is mild, but that we shouldn't try her again with peanuts or any nuts because the next reaction would likely not be as mild. Instead, she said to avoid all nuts and nut products (including things cooked in peanut oil and such) until we saw the allergist and got further diagnosis and information.

I'll share my appointment making with the allergist with you, because I thought it was a bit funny. I called one of the numbers the nurse gave me, and the allergist was booked until June. No problem, I said, we can just avoid peanuts and nuts until June. We've already avoided them for two years. So I agreed to an appointment on June 29th.

Then I realized that I was going to have a baby about a week prior to that. There was no way I could make that appointment! I made the appointment for late July instead.

How could I have forgotten that little issue? Ha! All I can say is that I am pretty concerned about this allergy. The Pumpkin has shown no allergies to anything else, and there is not much in the way of food allergies in our families. So this has thrown me for a loop.

Luckily the pre-school we just signed the Pumpkin up for is a nut-free facility and they stressed how they dealt with food allergies. So we can continue our plan to have her start there in the fall.

But I'm sad that it looks like I won't get to share my love of PBJ sandwiches and crackers with her. I'm sad that I just decided that the boy's blog name would be the Peanut, and now I can't in good conscience call him that when it appears the Pumpkin is allergic to peanuts! And most of all, I'm sad that the Pumpkin will have to limit her choices of foods, restaurants, ball parsk and who knows what else because of an allergy. I know it's just an adjustment we'll make, and it's a pretty common allergy so people understand. I just wish she could have and do anything in the world, and is a limitation that I wish she didn't have.

Question of the Week - Changing Tastes

Toddlers. They are picky little people, aren't they? But then, so are many adults. What I have found, however, is that people seem to be more open to trying new things as adults and that our tastes change as we get older.

For example when I was elementary-school age, I didn't like tomato sauce on my pasta. My very Italian grandmother couldn't get over the fact that all I wanted on my pasta was butter. It wasn't until I was in junior high or high school that I started liking tomato sauce on my pasta. And now? I could eat it every day for every meal! I've come a long way, though I'm still picky discerning about many other things, not just foods.

This week's question of the week is:
What do you like or have discovered as an adult that you didn't like or weren't interested in when you were younger?

In a non-food area, I have discovered Bonanza in the last year (thank to Londo), and I really love that show! I don't remember ever watching it when I was younger, even though I did watch some western movies with my dad and other old TV shows. But I had no interest in Bonanza. Londo loves it and always has, so he has started watching it now that it is on TV Land regularly. I just barely paid attention to it at first, but I soon started getting interested. Now, I'm recording episodes that look interesting and am trying to be home in time to watch it!

My brother's answer would be guacamole. I remember about two years ago at a family dinner, my brother claimed he didn't like to eat anything green (yes, he is an adult and is even 6 years older than me!). Somehow, we convinced him to at least try the guacamole that was set out with chips and salsa. And wouldn't you know it? He LOVED it! Now he is often telling people about how he didn't think he'd like guacamole but he was so glad he tried it because it's delicious. He often uses this example to get his 14-year-old daughter to try new things.

What about you? Is there anything to eat, watch or do that you really enjoy as an adult but didn't like--or wouldn't even try--when younger? Maybe you'll open someone else's eyes by sharing!

Question of the Week - I'd Eat That Every Day

The other night, Londo made us beanie weenies for dinner. He actually offered the Pumpkin the choice of Manwich or beanie wienies, and she picked the later, saying, "Oh, I love beanie weenies!" She really does love chopped up hot dogs mixed in with baked beans. And so does Londo. (I'm only okay with them. I'd rather have a hot dog in a bun with a side of baked beans, but I don't complain when Londo cooks--which is all the time lately.)

As Londo is dishing out his plate and the Pumpkin's plate, he says to me, "This is my favorite meal. It's nutritious and delicious. If I were stuck on a deserted island and could only have one meal, it would be this. I would eat it for breakfast, even."

It was quite a bold statement for a dish of food. I was impressed. I had not realized he loved beanie weenies that much.

Then he turned to me and asked me what is the one food I would have if stuck on a desert island. Without hesitating I answered, "Pasta." He asked if I meant plain pasta, and I said, "Pasta with pomodoro sauce." Apparently, when I say pasta, that's what I mean unless I specify it as another dish. But growing up with an Italian mother who makes a fantastic tomato sauce, when I think of pasta, I think of it with the pomodoro (tomato) sauce automatically. I do love other pasta dishes, but hands down pasta pomodoro is my favorite.

I was suprised at myself for how quickly and positively I answered. Oh, that would be the dish. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Serve me pasta! It's not even my favorite food (although it's probably my third favorite), but it's the one I could eat for every meal. It would be very hard for me to get sick of it.

And now I pose the question to you all for the Question of the Week...

What is the one dish of food you would choose to have if you were stuck on a desert island?

Will you have a quick, automatic answer like Londo and I apparently do? Or will you have to think about it? Will you have trouble narrowing it down to just one thing? When you figure it out, do share!

Question of the Week - Those Girls and Their Cookies

One good thing about being pregnant is that I don't worry about how many cookies (or ice cream or candy bars...) I eat. And being pregnant when the Girl Scout Cookies come out for sale? Ohhhhh, it's very good timing!

My only real problem is that I bought the amount I normally would buy, and that's not enough for me while pregnant. Not nearly enough!

So this week's question of the week is:

Which is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? If you don't get Girl Scout Cookies, than what is your favorite packaged cookies?

I actually don't usually like packaged cookies. Any of them, even when they are stuffed with icing or have chocolate in them or fruit flavors. But for some reason, the Girl Scout Cookies are an exception. In fact, I've loved two of them for as long as I can remember.

Since childhood, I've had a tie for my favorites: Tagalongs and Samoas. I love them both so very much, and I could never pick one over the other. Until this year. Maybe it's just due to pregnancy, but I think I was leaning this way last year. No matter way, my absolute favorite is now Tagalongs!

Though I love the coconut and caramel goodness of Samoas, there is nothing better to me than the chocolate and peanut butter with a bit of a crunch. Mmmmm.

Unfortunately, I've only got one last, single Tangalong cookie. I'm saving it, savoring it, trying to make it last. I want it sooooo bad. But then I'll have no more, and what will I look forward to in the realm of packaged cookies?

How about you? Do you have a favorite that you can't get enough of? And do you know where I can get another box (or five) of Tagalongs?

Question of the Week - Your Speciality

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Since last year, Thanksgiving is even more meaningful because it's my blogoversary. This year, we didn't travel, so that was a nice bonus. We had Thanksgiving dinner with my family at my parents house. The four toddlers were running around, my aunts and cousins were there, as well as my siblings and their families. And everyone brought something delicious to the table, from appetizers to desserts.

It got me wondering...

What is your speciality that you bring/buy/do for family dinners?

Mine is apple pie (really simple recipe from my Mom) and pecan pie (recipe from the back of the Karo syrup--it's really the best I've had--and the No-Roll Pie Crust I wrote about here). Londo made mashed potatoes (modified from his mom's recipe). These are our specialities.

What about you? What do you bring to the dinner table?

More On Breakfast, Plus Freckles and Repetitive Nopes

Great breakfast ideas from just about everyone! A few of you mentioned cream cheese on toast, so I toasted whole wheat english muffins and left out the cream cheese for the babysitter to give the Pumpkin this morning. I'll ask her tomorrow how it went, but I have high hopes.

Also, I was having cereal for dinner last night*, and the Pumpkin asked for some. I have given her bites of my cereal before (when it's Cheerios or something else I deem acceptable for her age), and she really seems to like it. Well, she had eaten a bunch of her dinner, but really wanted more and more of my cereal. So I poured her a little bowl of her own with a touch of milk on it.

She LOVED it! So I poured her another. I'm happy to say, we now have another cereal eater in the family. This will make some mornings easier, especially combined with toast and fruit.

As for the fruit... I didn't mention it yesterday as part of our breakfasts, and that's because it's not just a part of breakfast for the Pumpkin. Fruit must be had at EVERY meal, and often for snacks too. This child is a fruitaholic unlike anything I've seen before. Just this morning when I was setting the breakfast foods out on the table while the babysitter was watching the Pumpkin, the child walked into the kitchen, saw the bowl of melon chunks on the table and (I am not making this up) mouthed the word "fruit" with no sound, immediately followed by her turning to the babysitter and saying out loud, "Eat! Eat!" and trying to get in her high chair.

Her passion for fruit was exceedingly high this morning, because we had not been to the grocery store in too long and have been down to an orange (which she ate last night with dinner) and applesauce. Also, I knew the eating regression was serious when she didn't even finish her banana one afternoon!

In other news, the freckle count is up to six! There are the two on her arm, one on her ribs, one by her knee and now the one on her thigh and one at her hair line on her forehead. I get so excited when I find a new one, and I keep looking all the time. In fact, the Pumpkin knows the word "feckel" and points at spots on her body when she says it, although she doesn't quite point to an actual freckle. The odd thing though is that they are all on her right side. You'd think with six freckles there would be one on her left side, but nope!

Speaking of "nope," I have a bone to pick with Sandra Boynton! As much as I love the book What's Wrong, Little Pookie?, it is teaching my daughter a major bad habit! Every question the mom asks her little Pookie is answered with "no," "nope" or "no, thank you." My child loves this book, and since discovering her love of it, she has been answered every question asked of her with "no" or "nope!" So when she does this, I start breaking out into the silly question the mom asks about hippos borrowing shoes or green elephants stealing cookies. It gets a big laugh and helps me maintain my sanity with a child who does not know how to answer questions with "yes" even when she means yes. But it still doesn't really alleviate my frustration that she does not answer yes. Ever. So, Ms. Boynton, can you please write a book in which the child answers very nicely yes to all questions asked? Thank you!

*On the rare occassion I had something as crazy as cereal for dinner when I was growing up, my mom used to call it "Silly Supper" night. We could pick cereal or PBJs or something else really easy to make. We thought these were so fun and funny. Now, I realize that it was a night my mom took off of cooking, but she made it seem like a special treat. As an adult Cereal for dinner has been a regular meal. We both really enjoy cooking, but it often didn't seem worth the energy when it was just us two. Now, it is important to us to provide the Pumpkin was home cooked meal. But sometimes we cook food just for her and still enjoy a little cereal for dinner.

Question of the Week - Breakfast Foods

Apparently the joys of having an 18 month old include another sleep regression AND an eating regression! Having been blessed with a very good eater, we have only had a few days here and there when the Pumpkin would not eat much. Those times were usually concurrent with really bad teething days or a sickness, and they did not last more than a couple days.

It's now been three days of very little eating, and that's after about three days of eating less and less. How can someone who has SO MUCH energy eat so little food? How can someone who's body is developing like crazy subsist on a few bites of crackers and maybe a few spoons of yogurt? It boggles the mind.

Just in case she's not eating because she is bored with the same old foods, I've been trying to think of new things to make. Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I am especially trying to find new breakfast foods.

Which brings us to our Question of the Week...

What is a favorite breakfast food in your house?

Usually, pancakes are a big hit in my house. And I am the Queen of Pancakes, as some of you twitters already know. I have use some delicious recipes I've found on allrecipes.com (which I've reviewed here) and make them from scratch! I'm really proud of my mad pancake-making skillz!! However, they take time, so usually I save them for weekends and freeze a couple for later in the week.

Regular breakfasts I cook before I leave to work include scrambled eggs with cheese, cream of wheat and oatmeal.

How about you? Do you flip the pancakes regularly or simply make toast?

The Girl Knows What She Wants

My little Pumpkin is starting to discover and assert her own desires and even independence. I'm finding it amazing (and not yet annoying) to see the little things she does to express her wants. Here are some cute examples.

Example 1:
The other morning, I had the Pumpkin on her changing pad, which is on top of her dresser. I opened the drawer right below her to pick out an outfit for the day. I was pulling out a white shirt when she reached in and pulled out an orange shirt. She's pulled stuff out of the drawer before because she's in a grabby stage, but it's always been random items that just happened to be in her reach. So, I put in back in as I always do, and I told her that she was wearing the white shirt today.

Well, let me just tell you that she was not pleased by this. She immediately started fussing. She would not cooperate with getting her white shirt on. Every time I started to pull her arm through, she pulled it back out. Then, she pushed the shirt back over her head to get it off. So I thought for a minute and then said, "Alright. You want the orange shirt?"

I pulled the orange shirt back out, and she called right down. I pulled it over her head and pulled her arms through without any resistence. In fact, she helped put her arms through! She apparently didn't care about the pants, because we had no issues with the ones I picked out to go with the shirt. But she did pick out the shirt she wanted to wear and insisted on wearing it. This is a first for her!

Example 2:
The Pumpkin saw the container of mixed fruit that I put on the table and asked for melon ("meloh" while tapping on the back of her hand with a finger--how she does the sign for melon). So I pulled out a piece of cantaloupe, sliced it a bit, and gave her some pieces.

She shook her head and said, "No." She then picked up the pieces and handed them back to me.

Huh. But she still wanted melon. So I pulled out a piece of honey dew, saying, "Do you want green melon?"

Indeed she did. She ate that that right up and wanted more. She ate all the honey dew and none of the canteloupe.

So far, her expressing her wants has not greatly conflicted with my wants and needs for her, but I understand that can become an issue. I'm just thankful that I'm pretty laid back about most of this stuff, thanks to the therapist I saw for my PPD! Most of this stuff just isn't a big deal. Does she want to hold her own spoon even though it will make a mess? Fine. Does it matter if she wears orange instead of white? Nope.

But I can't always accommodate her wants.

Example 3:
Lately, the Pumpkin wants Mama-and-only-Mama to pick her up and hold her, even while I'm cooking. She comes and tugs on my pants and sticks her head into my legs and says, "Up!"

I'm trying to teach her that sometimes Mama can't hold her while she is cooking*, like when I'm stirring spattering foods on the stove or cutting up veggies with a sharp knife. So I say, "No up. Mama is cooking."

Now, she has been wedging herself between me and the counter and then pushing me away from the counter, demanding "up." She is obviously trying to tell me to move away from cooking and Pick. Her. Up.

I wish that I could simply indulge her want to be held, but I need to balance her needs with mine, Londo's and even the pets (thanks again, therapist!). So this one I don't just let her have her way, but try to explain why I can't and when I can. I continue to tell her that I'm cooking and can't pick her up. That I am right her and she can hug my leg. That I will pick her up as soon as I can. Things like that. And once I'm at a point where I'm just stirring something that's simmering or adding already measured items, I pick her up so she can see what I'm doing.

I still find this all amazing. That she wants the shirt she picked out. That she wants the honey dew, not the cantaloupe. That she thinks that pushing me away from the food means I will be able to pick her up. She is learning independence and how to assert herself. I'm so proud of her for learning those things. It's also kind of nice that she also wants to be held and see what I'm doing, and that she lets me be part of it all still.

*In the comments of a previous post, Parisienne Mais Presque asked how I could bake with the Pumpkin in a sling. I will admit that it's not easy to bake or cook while holding her, and this is often how. I have to do the measuring and cutting while not holding her, which usually includes me telling her that I'm cooking and can't hold her yet. Then, when I'm doing easy things like adding or stirring things, I pick her up and either hold her with one arm on my hip or use the sling in the hip hold. I use my free arm and hand while keeping her as far away as possible. Sometimes I slide the sling back so she is half on my hip and half on my butt and both of my arms are in front and I can use both hands.

Most of the time, she is grabby, but I give her empty measuring cups and spoons to play with and just try to keep her out of reach of everything. It's not easy, but it is easier than listening to her whine and fuss non-stop. After she calms down or if I need to do something without her, I put her back down and try to get her interested in something else. Or else Londo takes her... if she allows it. ;-)