Lucky babies

From mashable.com

"Whole Foods has a very active social media presence. They boast over 1.2 million followers on Twitter and more than 100,000 fans on Facebook. It’s a true big brand social media success story; or is it?

Comments made by the company’s chief executive, John M

ackey, in an opinion piece about Obama’s health-care reform initiatives published in the Wall Street Journal are stirring up controversy on the Web and showing the company the other side of social media. Case in point, a user-generated Boycott Whole Foods movement attracting more than 22,000 Facebook supporters in one week.

In the controversial piece, Mackey denounces the government’s involvement in health-care, expounds on the benefits of Whole Foods approach, and even suggests that a multitude of health problems can be prevented with healthier diets. " (my emphasis)

Seriously. People are up in arms about this.

OK here's the deal:

The people who surround us are sick because they're fat, they're sedentary, they're stressed out, they're eating toxic crap, drinking fluoride, u

sing bleached paper next to their babies' skin, bathing in parabens, and otherwise polluting themselves in so many ways it's a wonder we don't all die of poisoning as teens.

Cancer, heart disease, parkinson's, alzheimer's, stroke, MS, autism, ADHD. These are all directly attributable to the above, along with smoking cigarettes.

These are happening because we're fat, we're sedentary, and we're stressed out. So get moving, put down the donut, and change your life. Live simpler. Get rid of debt. Drive a used car. Work less. That's the key, folks. That's all. It's so simple, and everyone is ignoring it because it's not as easy or as sexy.

Here's someone who has a pretty good shot at never being seriously ill, G-d willing. She's so perfect, so healthy, and we haven't interfered with that. We've just let her grow, eat, move, play, and learn. Everything she's meant to. Sure, there's disease out there that isn't due to lifestyle, but they're not half as common as these killers. I'm glad I learned this now, though I fear the damage has already been done. I just hope and pray that I've regenerated enough to make a difference.

This baby is so lucky.

We haven't subjected her to assaults on her immune system. She's perfect, and we are just keeping her that way. We're trusting that her body knows what it is doing. I feel pretty good about our decision.

It's not like me to complain about the weather, I'm pretty easygoing (and I'm not one of those people who says they are easygoing when they totally are NOT), but this has been a bummer of a summer (heh). It's my last summer off ever in my entire life, and we can't even go to the lake because the weather sucks (kids plug your ears) shit.

I can count on one hand the number of summer sunny days over 25 we've had. I lose count when I add up the rainy days. We had major water damage because of the rain. My rain barrel is literally overflowing, and nothing needs watering. The dehumidifier in the basement runs 24/7 (that thing's a workhorse, we got it in the buy and sell 2 years ago for like 40 bucks, it's run for 2 years almost constantly and still works awesome. Unbelievable.

My garden does look fab, on the plus side :) I have thyme and lavendar to dry, but my basil got eaten by some criter so no pesto :( - tomatoes need a few sunny days but they're coming along. And we also put in a bunch of indigenous prairie plants this year, and they hate dry conditions so they're actualy doing awesome. Was out there today, playing in the mud. Doing my first transplants ever - pretty exciting stuff (if you're a nerd like me). My daughter 'helped' and we were covered in mud but it was fun. Really fun, actually. I didn't want to come in.

And a lily bloomed, right in my garden. It smelled just like it should. Katja and I both spent a few minutes admiring it and smelling it. That was something else. I'll post a photo soon. Just have to take one tomorrow.

Jam

Best jam I've ever made. Going to make changes to the next batch.

Bumbleberry Jam - strawberries, raspberries, and saskatoons, all local.

I used a cup less sugar than the recipe called for, because I wanted a softer jam. Next ti

me I will use a little bit less and add some lemon juice.

Every jar of this is spoken for, and then some - need to do a second batch this week.

Yum.

Katja Woke up just now asking for mama. She's only been asleep a couple of hours, and she typically sleeps through the night (she is 30 mos old) so this was kind of surprising.

I asked her if she wanted me to turn the fan off. "Non". I asked if she wanted a drink of water. "Non" asked what she wanted..."bubbies" (to nurse).
I knew this, but had tried to distract her with other options. Nothing doing, unsurprisingly.

I said ok (she was all red-eyed and pitiful, I couldn't say no), and said "un petit peu de bubbies." (Just a little bit) She snuggles into me, all happy, "non....beaucoup de bubbies!"
(Non lots of bubbies!). Then settled in to nurse happily.

She's so goddamned cute. One of the advantages of nursing a toddler is that you get to learn how wonderful nursing really is to a child. It is so important to Katja. She is very verbal, so it's so much fun to talk to her about nursing.

She describes nursing as being like cake or candy. Both of these are rare treats for her, so are pretty special.

She also tells me a lot about nursing by *when* she is nursing. If we're home and I'm trying to get stuff done, and she's whining to nurse, she probably needs me to set aside the work and give her some quality time. If she suddenly starts needing to nurse at night, she is likely fighting a virus or teething. If she is hungry. Tired. Sad. Bored. Nursing is the cure for what ails her. I mean, come on - how can you just cut that off?
I certainly did with my oldest, at just 16 months. I still feel like a jerk for doing it, but I was stretched really thin at that point in my life for lots of legitimate reasons, and this had to give.
I think he's secretly jealous the girls got to nurse longer.

Anika's been up to nurse 3x already, guessing growth spurt, but come to think of it, she didn't nurse much today - not for long periods. Too enthralled by her sister's antics to be bothered to eat. That means reverse-cycling. To be honest, I'm relieved. If she nurses very little during the day then nurses all night that would be perfect - my milk would be a bit regulated during the day so I might not have to pump daily (logistical fucking nightmare). And I would know she wasn't upset by lack of feeding.

I'm missing Sock Summit

I am missing SS09 And I'm ok with it, because at the time registrations were taking place, I didn't think I would even really want to go. But I've knit a few socks since then, joined the Rockin' Sock Club, and have finally gotten the bug for sock knitting.

I made socks for the midwives' gifts, and honestly, I think it was probably the coolest gift they ever got - a sock is an awesome gift, because most people just marvel that you can make such a thing (which is funny if you are also reading Little House on the Prairie when knitting socks). The other great thing about socks is that each pattern is a bit different, so it remains challenging.

An average sock is solidly a 5 hour to 8 hour project for me, depending on complexity and whether I get extended knitting periods. I have two socks on the go right now, a super plain navy for my father in law (and wonderful babysitter) and a fancy pair, probably for a gift.

Our midwives' gift - pair of handknit socks, a pound of organic fair trade coffee, and a gourmet chocolate bar.

And of course a birth announcement with a very heartfelt "thank you". I haven't posted my birth story for either home-birthed girl, so I should really get on that. There's just so much to tell, and I don't often get a lot of time at the computer. Maybe I will start chipping away at it.

Errands. Insert silent scream here.

One thing that kills me in this whole 'mom' job description is errands. I just don't feel like I have a handle on this task. I blame the two year old. She makes every excursion such an utter pain in the ass that I just can't stand doing errands any more. Add the baby in her enormous lead-lined (or at least it seems that way) carseat, and I'm exhausted just thinking of it.

Katja is now too big to go in the cart, according to her. If she does go in, she typically lasts 15 minutes before she starts grabbing stuff or freaking out to get down. She takes her shoes off Every. Time. We. Get. In. The. Car. So on an average day with 3 errands, let's say, I have to get her shoes on her five times. And have to put her in her carseat 4 times. And she usually fights me at least 2-3 out of those times.

She usually has to go potty at least once during our errands. This is always a total gong show, with me holding the baby, my purse, and trying to get her not to pee all over herself. Then finding a way to wash hands again with baby in mei tai and toddler needing help. OMG.

My favourite is when she pees, then I decide I'd better pee too while I'm at it, and she chooses that moment to demonstrate her new skill - unlocking stall doors, while I say nonononono wait wait (all in French, that's what we speak..which reminds me, how do you say "pain in the ass" in French? Just curious). Then she bolts while I finish up. Joy.

Then there's the baby - option 1 - carseat, which weighs 300 pounds (ok that''s approximate) and put it in the cart. Disadvantage - baby stuck in carseat all bloody morning, baby gets hot, I so damned short (5'1") that I can't see over carseat in cart and bump into stuff. Option 2 - carseat in stroller, all the disadvantages other than lien of vision; less storage, plus stroller has to be taken out of car, assembled, and put back in car after. No toddler option either. Option 3 - baby in mei tai - makes toddler wrangling challenging and makes me look like such a MOM.

Then there's the other stuff toddler does. Demanding candy. Grabbing peppers and eating them before I pay. Seeing a 5 dollar plastic crap toy and being mesmerized by it for 15 minutes to the point where I have to bribe her to get her away from it. Running amok in the parking lot. Grabbing sunglasses Every. Single. Time. We. See. Them.

Another favourite is trying to climb into the cart at the butcher's - we go to this natural butcher shop (incredibly far from home - it's a 40 minute round trip but it's the only place with naturally raised humane society certified meat, so "we" - meaning "I" go there). The carts are ancient and greasy. So of course Katja loves to climb into the cart from below, usually when my back is turned, becoming either filthy or completely stuck (resulting in shrieking). Joy.

One of the challenges of a big family is food. But that's for another post.

It's a good thing they're cute. HEre they are with new hair bows from Etsy - can't remember the name of the seller, but I love them.

More on the "big family"

So back to this big family - I have "big" kids and "little" kids. Since the littles (as we sometimes call them) were born, the big kids have had to do without movies with mom or extended "big kid" times with mom. I really do miss that - I remember taking them to Valley Fair when they were 8 and 10 and we had such a freaking blast. Part of me regrets that we are still a couple of years away from being able to leave the littles and do that again.

At the same time, we DID have those years, which is cool. And they have my ex (their dad) who does those things with them, like golfing, and movies, and other stuff. When they're with me, they're stuck doing little kid stuff, but it's kind of cute how my almost 14 year old DS stares at the baby giraffe in wonderment and tickles his baby sister and how my 11 year old DD invents the most ridiculous and crazy and hysterically funny games for her baby sister.

I love my photo of my big guy, minus the sullen expression that sometimes seems permanently affixed to his face, at the Como Zoo. Okay, he wore his headphones the whole time, but he did usually leave one out so we could talk.

I think it keeps them young in an age where kids are growing up so fast, and closer to home because they do enjoy the little ones. It gives them license to PLAY. It also is teaching them a lot about how much responsibility and sacrifice is involved in having children. I'm pretty confident my big kids will be very responsible when they start having sex LOL

Here's ODD who was pissy about going to the beach, finding her smile while playing in the sand.

(The cutie in the blue trunks is the hubby - he's a big kid too when we're at the beach!)








I get one on one time with the big kids. The other day, ODD came with me for lunch with a friend, which she thought was neat. Tonight the littles were so exhausted they were both asleep by 7, so we played scrabble and pictionary and made nachos and her birthday cake too.

DS and I sometimes sneak out to the library alone together, and he stays up the latest so we chat, or play cards, or he sits and reads while I knit. The two year old still gets lots of time with mama while the baby naps, and the baby gets her mama time at the breast, and at night sleeping with me, or when she's in the mei tai and we just snuggle and I breathe her in. She's so sweet and warm and yummy.

Speaking of the baby, there hasn't been much baby action in this post:

How's that for unbearably cute? New longies in Alligator Knits "On Safari" BFL - my own pattern, adapted from several I've tried.

And of course the two year old terror. She's so gorgeous and full of life. Drove me bonkers today but she's so worth the effort.