Thursday, June 26, 2014

How to Not Freak Out When Eating with Your Kids

How not to freak our when eating with your kids:
Do not insist your children eat their vegetables.
Encourage them to eat them. Say, "My child, I love you. Eating vegetables is so good for you. Please, eat your salad, because I want you to grow big and strong and healthy." They will respond by smiling and saying, "I love you, Mama! I know you want me to be healthy, and I want to be healthy too. I will eat my salad."

Never flat out say, "Finish your salad, then you make have more chicken," because saying this causes confrontation. If you choose confrontation, your child will respond like this, "No," or he might say, "OK," and then get chicken despite your confrontational order. You will not have peace. And you will most likely loose your cool. 

If you make the mistake of saying, "Eat your salad." Keep calm! You can fix this. After your child responds, regardless of his answer, say what you should have said initially. Reminding your child of your love and desire for their well being, will encourage positive thoughts, and he will know he has the choice of eating vegetables or not, thus empowering him to make the best choice for him.

Let us play through the worst case scenario. You said, "Eat your salad." He said, "No." You remind him of love and he still does not eat salad, which is highly unlikely, because children are rational beings who can recognize what is best for them, then you have a choice. You can either further insist he eats his salad, which will lead to frustration, or you could punish your sweet, angel innocent as a bunny, or you could let it go.

If you choose the first two choices you will most likely freak out eventually, or feel terrible, and that means you are a sucky mom. But if you choose to let it go, feel empowered. You just allowed your child to make his own choice, and you can always encourage him to eat vegetables at the next meal. Just follow these guide lines. Because life is to short to insist your children do things they do not want to do.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Easter (extended version)

Hello all Easter week is coming to an end and I think I wantto sharesomeof the quirks and adevtures of the past week starting from Holy Thursday.
Last week Thursday, as we do every year we hax a stare meal. I was particularly excited this year because I am beginning Abby's prep for firsst communion. I was explaning to her that weare recreating the feast Jesus had before he died. When he gave us his body to eat, in the form of bread and wine. Hopefully she is beginning to grasp the concept. But mostly I want my kids to associate specific rituals with specific days so that can begin to recognize the importance of these days and why we do the things we do.

Good Friday a great tradition of buying feasting food. We travel to Gene's suasage shop. Affectionately referred to as the cow store, because of the Giant cow on sign. My mom buys smoked sausage, fresh sausage, kabanosy, horseradish with beets, polish rye bread, morski cheese and muenster cheese, sauerkraut salad, beet salad, cross bread, butter lambs, sugar lambs and beer. Every year on this fasting day for 29 years I have gone here. I brought John with. As we drove to the city and back home again I reminded John of footsteps of Christ. Now He's standing before Pilate. Now He's being scourged now at 12 o'clock He's being nailed to the cross. It's 3 o'clock Christ has died.

I woke in the stillness of Holy Saturday. I gathered my troop of children. We ventured over to the church with easter baskets full of feasting food to be blessed. After the blessing we traveled home. As I began preparing my contribution to the feast, a cheese pascha, I realized I had no almonds. I got the troop back into the car and we were off to the store. Finally completing Holy Saturday with egg dying, I fell into bed awaitng the sun.

Easter greeted us with a shining sun and gorgeous weather. We found our easter baskets, attended a beautiful mass, and head over the feast. We drank champagne, ate sausage and babka and cheese pascha.Christ is risen! I have been drinking coffee with whipped cream in it every day because, He is risen! I have only a little pascha left and hardly any candy. Easter week might soon be over but at least easter season lasts for forty days.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Finally Term! Hello 37 weeks!

Now I am beginning to wrap up my birth and labor prep. I am finding out that for the first time I am not ready at 37 weeks. I have the truly important stuff done. My birth box is complete. When I have the baby I have all the things I need for a good, safe birth. I know lists are boring but if you are curious what is in my birth list this is what I have prepared.

  • Yellow fold with born at home birth certificates for foot prints
  • ink pad
  • Emergncy phone numbers
  • birth pool
  • pool thermoniter
  • hose
  • faucet adapter for hose
  • 6 towels for drying mother getting in and out of tub
  • 6 towles for baby
  • 6 washcloths (cold compresss and misc)
  • 2 plastic drop cloths for under the pool and to cover it
  • thick drop cloth to use as a liner for pool
  • unbreakable bowl
  • olive oil
  • witch hazel
  • cord band
  • diapers
  • blanket
  • Button front shirt for skin to skin bonding
  • motrine
  • 2 peri bottles (one for upstairs, one for down)
  • Bulb Syringe (for aspiration if necessary)
  • Plastic backed sheet to cover couch with for after delivery
  • camera
  • 2 lg garbage bags
  • 2 tall size garbage
  • post op sponges
  • chucks pads
  • depends 
  • ice packs
  • electrolyte drink, coconut water
  • oj
  • eggs
  • food and coffee for birth attendants
  • ginger brew
  • peppermint EO for Nausea
  • Clary sage EO for pain management
  • golden seal for cord care
  • magnesium oil for after pains
  • peroxide (for clean up)
  • Neroli EO for anxiety
  • paper towels
  • small comb (acupressure pain management)
  • after birth soaks: Tub tea, Epsom salt, Lavender and Jasmine EO
Also we turned up the water heater temp. And I am going to need to ask someone to pick up food for us for after. Also champagne.



Sunday, January 26, 2014

Happy birthday Katii!

My sister Katii passed away last year battling lymphoma. I just want to reflect a
Iittle on her today. I started this on her birthday January 23, but I finished today.

I asked her help with making lunch on her birthday. I believe she inspired me.  I believe in the communion of saints, and that Katii and I can talk and help each other even though we are separated by earthly death. The meal was a success.

Katii was a fantastic cook, she was a model mother, and had an eye for beauty. I wanted to be like her when I was little, and when I grew up, I wanted her good habits and skills. I think about her frequently. Often memories of ways she helped me. She was a big sister, a model big sister. She took care of me when I was a baby and has helped me all the way even into adulthood.

I always felt special sharing my birth month with her. She was the oldest girl and I the youngest. Our birthdays were in January. I got to share it with her. This was just one of the many things I felt I had in common with Katii. I thought we were so alike. We had the same long golden hair (hers was longer), the same teeth, the same height, same love of shoes (she probably loved them more). I just always, even when I was very young, thought of myself as a little Katii. When I was little, In my mind, my three sisters paired off, Tessa and Lena, Katii and me.

I really miss her. I feel like I missed so many opportunities to be with her and learn from her. I don't even have a recent picture of us. The only one I found was from my wedding, nine years ago.

Happy Birthday, Katii! Pray for me! Pray that by God's grace one day we will be happy together again.