Talking to Strangers

I came across the following retweet on Twitter this morning - a link to an article about encouraging your kids to talk to strangers rather than avoid them.

This immediately conjured up thoughts on a recent outing to the park my sister had with B. Long story short, my sister was chatting with another woman at the park and when it was time to leave, B marched over and gave the woman a hug. The woman proceeded to say "You should be careful who you hug".

I can't tell you how much this statement angered me. We try to teach B to befriend new children and people and to make his own judgement calls. Children are so naturally intuitive - chances are if mum is wary of another adult, the child will feel and mimick that wariness. We want him to know it is okay to trust other adults, especially those we deem as safe and subsequently engage in meaningful conversation with. I absolutely agree with this article.

Latest Food Discoveries and Good Reads

I must say this elimination diet was not the most enjoyable past couple months for the taste buds.

Some things I learned about myself:

Avoids:
- Peanuts (gassy, headaches, and mouth dryness)
- Dairy in all forms (mucous, stuffy nose, phlegm)
- Corn (significant eczema flair ups)
- Tomato (significant eczema flair ups)

I'm sure this list will keep growing..

Some good grocery discoveries:

• Red Raspberry Spritzer - so delicious and refreshing
• Lara Bars (Apple) - somewhat calorie dense and flavourful and virtually allergen free - vegan, GF, soy free etc.
• Spelt Pasta
• Silk French Vanilla Creamer

In other news, I've been DEVOURING books from the library by my work lately. In the past returning books on time has been a huge problem for me. Now with working so close and recieving e-mail notifications a couple days in advance I've only managed to have $1.50 in fines and they were on purpose - I was trying to finish a book because I couldn't renew it.

Latest good reads,

"You are Your Child's First Teacher" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy - great great parenting resource
"Living Simply With Children" by Marie Sherlock - also wonderful
"Geography of Hope" by Chris Turner - I saw this author give a talk at a work conference in Toronto I attended. He was absolutely amazing and inspiring. His book is sensational.

He's just THAT Kid

I think after ohh about a year and a half I have come to terms with the fact that I am raising "THAT kid".. you know..

The one...

That can't resist jumping in every muddy puddle when given a chance.

That sticks his hands in butter and tries to drink massage oil when I'm not looking.

Who runs away in stores just about the time when mom has to pay the cashiers - and giggles his head off when I catch up to him.

That would rather eat all the strawberries and raspberries and "pick" rocks for his basket instead.

Who still wants to play on the playground even though he got his clothes and shoes all covered in sand and lake water and therefore had to play in a *borrowed* diaper (thank you prepared mom at the beach!), soaked running shoes and a hat on the busiest playground in town.

Who takes all his clothes and diaper off at potty time while the other daycare teachers are helping other children and declares proudly, "This is my penis!"

That throws a full blown tantrum every time we have to come inside from playing outside.


To clarify.. I don't think it has anything to do with my parenting skills or style. Often I find other parents saying "you sure have your hands full". I know at certain times I've felt green with envy at those parents that seem to have it easy with children that are quite content amusing themselves quietly and never seem to get into trouble. The truth is, I'm happy with who Brendan has become. I'm glad he's confident, outgoing, and not afraid to try new things and see what reactions he can elicit. I know he is learning valuable lessons about cause and effect and testing out boundaries. He effectively keeps me on my toes and teaches me so many new things every day. He also strengthens the bond in our family through laughter and honesty. I can't wait to see what another child will bring to our little family. Part of leading a more stress-free life is learning to accept the hand that you've been dealt. I'm feeling pretty content with all aspects of my life right now and so we enter the "premester". We were trying for another baby awhile back and decided to put it on hold when I got my part-time contract job. Timing was not right. Now it seems like a much better fit. We will begin trying for baby #2 in August.

10 Things

(Photo Courtesy of the Hubby's Last Fishing Trip)

This awesome weather we've been having lately has definately been a breathy of fresh air. When SouleMama did a 10 things post over on her blog I just had to jump on board. Ten things bringing me joy lately:

1) Brendan giggling as we push him in a friend's hammock

2) Our delicious CSA weekly baskets

3) The prospect of a finished closet and patch of wall in the kitchen - after 2 years my husband will be drywalling both of these neglected places in our house

4) Book reading

5) Epsom salt baths by candlelight and red wine with my love

6) Discovering new lovely blogs

7) The ever approaching 4 day weekends I have for July and August - I rearranged my schedule to work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

8) Ripe strawberries

9) More quality time with my family

10) Brendan's preschool pot luck

What about you???

TGIF

This diet has been less than desirable for the palette. I'm hoping an eventful weekend might take my mind off it. In good news. It seems the antibiotics and medicated creams are helping my eczema - no surprise there.. sigh. The itchiness is unbearable sometimes. Only pharmaceuticals offer quick relief. I have noticed a digestion improvement on this diet. I am enjoying a lot more herbal tea these days and missing coffee less than I thought I would - I have subbed in green tea in its place.

Today I thought I'd post on 5 senses - something borrowed from another blogger I religiously follow :)

Feeling - hopeful after a very productive week. I am starting to feel like my transition to grad school for the Fall won't be quite as overwhelming as I've felt it would be for the past few weeks. Come Fall I will be a full-time grad school student, working part-time still in my current job (3 days/week) and working an additional 10 hours/week as a Graduate Assistant doing some sort of research at the university.

Tasting - seed and feed. Is this what it would be like to be a bird? Nearly everything I eat on this diet is dry and tasteless. Most of all I miss breads/potato/sauces/soy. I must find some delicious alternatives.

Seeing - growth. The little one is growing so quickly. Many of my seedlings are also growing rapidly. I have been experiencing much personal growth too these days. I love spring.

Hearing - protesting. An opinionated little boy protesting bedtime and trying to bargain with daddy.

Smelling - hemp oil. This stuff is seriously doing wonders for my eczema on my hands. The scent is also quite soothing.

The Diet Low Down: Day 1

So I saw a naturopath yesterday (she was absolutely fabulous, part-time doctor who stays home with her kids, and moonlights as a Professor at UofT). The reason for my visit was that for the past almost year I have gotten some progressively worse eczema on my hands, legs and feet. Particularly my hands. As a child I had eczema but never on my hands and feet like this before and it went away for ohh about 10+years. She suggested the best thing for me to try is an elimination diet. What can you eat on this diet? hmmm next to nothing.

List of Avoids...(pretty much my entire current diet - with the exception of egg, dairy, meat)

Wheat

Egg

Dairy

Red meat

Nightshade veggies - tomato, potato, peppers, eggplant

Corn

Banana, melons, and citrus

Soy

Processed foods

Sugars

Caffeine

Dried Fruit

Peanuts, Cashews and Pistachios

On the menu today:

Breakfast - Oatmeal with almond milk (very bland)

Coffee with sugar and cream - BIG CHEAT

Snacks/Lunch - Sunflower Rye crackers, Sesame gluten-free crackers with edameme dip (the dip is delicious although it does have a little lemon juice in it)

An apple

Gluten-free cereal with almond milk (again - pretty bland)

Dinner - pasta salad (which I later red the package of mix for the dressing and it contained dehydrated peppers)

blueberries and cherries for dessert

Supplements - flax oil, probiotics, spoonful of molasses (I read in a book this can help)

I did drink the recommended 2L of water today which is always challenging for me. I'm really going to have to work harder at this diet. Overall, I don't feel very satisfied and the diet is extremely difficult to follow. Sigh. 20 more days to go until I can start reintroducing. I'm going to have to get a whole lot more creative with my meal plan.

The Last Hurrah!

This past long weekend marked the end of a long era for my in-laws. This was the official last gathering of the family before they move into town from their 100 acre farm. The farm has been the hub of all family gatherings and the childhood home of my husband and his next immediate brother (there are 5 siblings in total - my husband is the youngest and his brother a year older as well as three older siblings from his dad's first marriage). I was lucky to enjoy the past 5 years of celebrations there with them. Time was often spent around a bonfire, going on hikes back into the bush, fishing, playing bocce ball, and going on snowmobile and atv rides.  

The rest of our weekend was spent gardening. The gardens in the front make a HUGE difference. I also started some veggies in containers on the porch. We'll see how they do. Our CSA starts next week. I can't tell you how excited I am for farm fresh local fruit and vegetables.

On the Brendan front... we can't get enough of being outside!