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24 Friday Feb 2012

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*Well, I’ve settled on a new blog theme that I was overwhelmingly drawn to. Going back and forth from theme to theme over the past few days has definitely shown me that less is more esthetically. Now that I’ve landed solidly on my theme of choice, I suddenly realized that it is the same one used by one of my favorite new blogs le zoe musings. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess it’s true. Things are sorted out a bit differently at le zoe musings, so I guess that’s why I didn’t see it right away. Anyway, I think it’s lovely and simple.

*A brief addition to my last post regarding the homemade cocktail. As I discovered today, leaving out the gin gives you a fantastic and very healthy soda for you or the kids.

*I am thrilled to be able to say that Miles is 100% potty trained! After 2 years, (yes he started showing interest in the potty at 1 1/2 years old) it finally clicked for him.  It felt like it would NEVER happen. We’re so proud of him. So proud that we threw him a potty party a couple of weeks ago. Complete with cupcakes, music and handmade decorations. It’s a tradition that my sister Linda started with each of her sons. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate this new phase in they’re development.

So that’s all for now. Time to get dinner on the table and get ready for the weekend with my parents!

Sometimes mama needs a cocktail.

24 Friday Feb 2012

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Now that Juniper is sleeping through the night, (not nursing again til morning) I am able to indulge at the end of particularly difficult days.  One of my all time favorite drinks is a gin and tonic. Simple and refreshing. The weather has been so unseasonably warm lately that I was in the mood for one last night. The one thing that I do not enjoy about the drink is that store-bought tonic waters all have high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener. So last night I set forth to create a close facsimile with what I had in the kitchen. I have to say, it was so delicious that I had a hard time not going for a second. I did however stop at just one, nobody likes a hung over mama.

Recipe for awesomeness in a glass: 

1 shot of Gin

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp honey

seltzer water

ice

Combine gin, lime juice and honey in glass. Fill the glass with seltzer. Stir til honey is dissolved. Enjoy!

In the end it tasted more like a hard limeade than a gin and tonic, but hey, I do love me some limeade

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Nursing Strike!

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Nurse the baby: your protection against troubl...

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Miles never went through a nursing strike, so this has come completely by surprise from Juniper. The only issue I’ve had with Juni was that in the beginning, he nursed constantly giving me little time for anything else. So now at nearly 9 months old he has begun refusing to nurse. It’s frustrating and upsetting to have my sweet baby push me away. I’ve been reassured that he is NOT weaning himself and that it is a completely normal phase in development for a breastfed baby. It’s just so odd for him to reject his source of hydration and comfort out of seemingly nowhere. Not just to push away from me, but to look at my breast with confusion as if it were a 3 headed alien. I’m trying to remain calm and steady and continue to offer my milk to him. I’ve been expressing and giving him that so that he doesn’t become dehydrated.

A friend of mine that had great success nursing her son, has given me advice and this link to more information about nursing strikes.

Today has been a bit better. He partially nursed twice so far, once on waking and once before his nap. I feel like it will be a couple of days before we are back on track, but I’m happy to have a good support system in place to help me through the rough spots.

New Year, new theme?

18 Saturday Feb 2012

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I’m getting tired of the look of my blog. It’s had the same ‘Koi’ theme for quite a while. So if you come a searchin’ for my words and find yourself looking at an unfamiliar page, don’t worry, it’s still me. I’m just looking for a new package in which to wrap myself.

Gaterjuice

17 Friday Feb 2012

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Miles woke up this morning with his very first stomach bug. It’s been going around his school and I guess it was his turn. The first thing I did (after cleaning sick off the kitchen floor, then living room floor) was call my mom. She’s always my go to person for sick kid advice. I knew basically what foods to avoid and which to give, but I just wanted to double check plus get any mom secrets she might have.

I was having trouble getting him to keep anything down. Toast, deluded juice, water and cough medicine had all ended up on the floor at my feet. Cough medicine, because on top of the stomach bug, he still has a pretty bad cold. So, mom reminded me to have him take slow, small sips of liquid so that his stomach wouldn’t be so tempted to reject it. She also reminded me of the B.R.A.T. (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) diet to ease upset stomach. Of course I had to get him to keep down a liquid before I even thought about solid foods. The last thing she mentioned was a homemade Gatorade recipe she had given me years ago just in case. Just in case I had a child that was sick and I didn’t want to give them tons of sugar, fake colors and flavors.

Gatorade uses sucrose, glucose and fructose, undisclosed “natural flavors” and colors in their basic recipe. That just doesn’t fly with me. I really can’t understanding putting crap into my son’s body when he already feels like crap. So, I’m super glad that I had the recipe at hand. Here it is below. I just want to mention that after a nap, two cups of the homemade Gatorade (which he calls gaterjuice) and a handful of crackers, Miles is feeling almost human again. Thanks mom!

Homemade Gatorade

1/3 cup Sugar

1/2 salt

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 pulp-free orange juice

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

7 cups cold water

*Makes 2 quarts

In pitcher combine sugar, salt and boiling water. Stir to dissolve. Add orange juice, lemon juice and cold water. Stir before serving. This tastes just like, if not better than store bought Gatorade at a fraction of the price.

Desperately Seeking Solace

15 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Buddha at thotlakonda

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A couple of years ago, I was at wit’s end. I was depressed and anxious because I was having difficulty getting pregnant. Miles and I were not getting along very well, fighting like an old married couple. Basically, I just needed a break. A long break. I took a week to myself with no responsibilities, no time restraints or house work. I took the bus to spend the week at my mother in-law’s house in Virginia. She was working the whole week, so I had the place to myself. It was glorious. I sat and listened as the heavy rain beat against the green leaves outside the open windows. Wrote for hours. Napped. Ate. Walked outside when the rain stopped. It was thoroughly rejuvenating. When I returned to my regular life, Miles and I were friends again (for a week or so). I had been so relaxed that I got out of my body’s way. I was pregnant with Juniper.

Well, it’s been a while and I need that break again. Although my time in Virginia was relaxing, I’m looking for someplace new. Someplace that holds new sounds, smells and tastes. I won’t be able to go until the summer since Miles is in preschool now, so that gives me plenty of time to decide. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. It should be a place that has lots of quiet, but also safe for a woman to travel alone. It also has to be SUPER cheap. Tall order, I know.

I love my family more than  I can ever put into words, but… mama needs a break.

A New Year’s quicky.

02 Monday Jan 2012

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Girl Who Had Everything

I'm feeling a bit like Liz today.

Well, its a new year with all new possibilities. I’m feeling lighter, emotionally and physically. New Year’s weekend was pretty wonderful for me and I’m trying to carry that through for as long as I can. I finally got some real ME time by surrounding myself with girlfriends, while leaving the boys with Kofi over night and in to the next day. I missed my family, but the time away was refreshing to say the least. All that was necessary for my little getaway was a breast pump and an incredibly wonderful husband to hold down the fort. I thank my lucky stars that Kofi is so supportive and understanding of my needs. He had some bonding time with his sons and I was able to be girly and slightly irresponsible. I loved it!

I now feel like I can reasonably deal with Miles’ insubordinate behavior without become a wailing banshee. It does no good for either of us when all my patience is gone. Maybe we both needed the time apart. All I know is that yesterday, we had a fantastic day of playing, eating, talking and just being a family. It was marvelous.

Also I’m happy to say that I reached my weight loss goal for 2011. The baby weight is gone plus a little extra. This year I hope to just firm up and get down to the weight I was when I met Kofi. I can do it!

So, I’m looking forward to this new year. I’m very curious to see what it will bring to us or what we’ll bring to ourselves.

Too many tomorrows or not enough?

06 Tuesday Dec 2011

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I’ll do it tomorrow when I have more time.

Huh, I didn’t do it today either.

I’ll start it tomorrow.

Wow, today really got away from me. When am I going to do all of these things that I keep telling myself I need to do?

I know, next week will be better. I’ll have so much more time and hopefully I’ll be motivated to do it.

These are the thoughts that keep me safe in my little bubble where I wish so much for myself, but don’t actually attain any of my goals. Right now in fact, I’m writing this blog entry so that I have an excuse not to fold the laundry and start dinner. If I don’t get those simple tasks done, then I certainly won’t have time to lift weights, crochet, clean, do yoga or any number of things I tell myself I wish I had time to do. My mind is already jumping to next month when the holidays are over and I won’t have so many obligations to deal with.

I want to be in the kind of shape I was in when I lived in San Diego, but that requires exercise (The photo to the right is from that time in my life. When ever I look at it, I wish I had that energy again). I get past this by assuring myself that no one expects a mother of a toddler and a 6 month old to have the extra time and energy to exercise. It’s so easy to justify. I know I’m not alone in this. That’s why when we see someone that has all the time restraints that we do and more, but is still able to miraculously run marathons or run their own business, they seem inhuman. We wonder what their big secret is. I know their secret, it just doesn’t feel realistic to me. They have drive. Stamina that is unwavering even on the hard days. They push themselves farther than I’m usually willing to push myself.

One might argue that I pushed myself to have two natural births. I was able to push myself through learning to nurse Miles and then nursing a voracious Juniper when he came along. But see, there is a difference. I did those things for the welfare of my children, not so much for myself. When it comes to pushing myself to do things just for me, I tend to falter.

The aspect of this ongoing struggle that always gets me down, is that there are only so many tomorrows to wait for.

…because I wanted to write something about what’s happening now.

15 Tuesday Nov 2011

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Juniper.

Juniper

Things are finally starting to fall in to place with Juniper and Miles. Having two kids is just… well, it’s harder than I would have imagined. Trying to keep up with the needs of an infant and a 3 year old has been a real test of my patience. Miles still isn’t fully potty trained, but at least he’s doing all his #2 in the potty. Juniper is passed the colic, but is now dealing with teething. I’ll take pee pee diapers over poopie diapers and teething over colic any day.

As far as brothers go, they are pretty awesome. I can see the love that they have for each other get stronger every day. Miles loves to help me take care of Juniper. Whether it’s throwing out a dirty diaper, fetching me some wipes or rocking him in his seat to calm his crying, he is a fantastic big brother. I try to imagine what they will be like as teenagers. Will they be close friends or have separate interests? Will they fight or defend each other? Will they still be good boys or will I want to sell them to the gypsies? Only time will tell.

The holidays are coming up fast. Thanksgiving will be here in a little over a week and then Christmas. Miles is talking about writing a letter to Santa and we need to start thinking about our Christmas photo/video we do every year. Now that our family is complete, it’ll be nice to document it with one of our usual silly projects. Stay tuned!

Lastly, I love my little family. That being said, I need to find more time for myself so that I can continue to feel the love.

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