Sans Soy & Dairy : A Confessional

Here I am, again, in an oh so familiar place.Within the first month of Baby L's birth he became congested and had a hard time breathing. We all had colds so I figured that was what he had, too. I was very wrong though. When we all got better but he did not, I became concerned. Then I thought more deeply on the matter. He couldn't breathe well, yet when I suctioned out his nose nothing would come out. The memories came flooding back, I went through this before with C - there was a food intolerance issue at hand. Instead of doing a complete elimination diet I targeted what I believed was the offender - Soy. I knew if I got rid of soy that 1) it would take a whole month to leave my system so I was up for a long process and 2) I would need to get rid of dairy as well. I was told a few years ago by my local La Leche League leader that soy and dairy mimic each other so if you need to eliminate one, you should eliminate the other as well.


Granola in progress

So started my journey of soy and dairy free living. I was pretty ok with eliminating them because I went through something similar with C. I had to give up soy with her for almost 18 months. I was still quite depressed over the realization at first, it can be hard for me to make changes. I got over it though, I would do anything for my children and I trusted that all of this was for the better. An intolerance showing up in my nursling meant that my own body was unable to tolerate the offenders, too. I was just ignoring my body's signs.


Cashew 'Cheese' recipe from my favorite place to eat when I lived in California

I no longer ate the processed soy I was addicted to years before but giving up all soy and dairy meant making all my meals completely from scratch (most of them were to begin with but now even the little things would have to be made by me like barbecue sauce and marinara sauce, etc). No more 'nights off' from the kitchen,and forget about ever eating out (not that we could afford it anyways, but still, it was nice knowing in the back of my head I could if given the chance) Minus produce, 90% of food found in your local grocery store has either soy, dairy or both. I tied not to think about the struggles ahead and just to see it as an opportunity to be more creative in the kitchen.


Destined to be the yummiest black bean burgers known to man!

And boy, did I start getting creative! Thanks to this 'inconvenience' my whole family is eating even healthier than before. We are still sticking with eating whole foods but now there is a lot more variety. K has discovered she really loves just about every kind of bean there is.

For a little background information: I was vegan for 15 years of my life. Wow, can I just stop here and say how funny it feels to say 'was vegan'. The cats out of the bag. I haven't really openly admitted to the fact that I am now 'just vegetarian', I was afraid of the backlash I would get from old friends and the 'vegan police'. I guess I just feel the need to be completely honest and that outweighs the possible ramifications.



I can remember the exact day when I made the change. I was fifteen years old at the time. I had already been vegetarian for a couple of years or so. I went vegan for the animals, but I discovered another perk to it - I was no longer constantly sick. You see,I loved dairy with a passion growing up, especially milk. I could drink 6 glasses a day of it. But I was always, always sick to my stomach. I never thought that it could be the dairy I was eating that did it to me. A few weeks after I went vegan the stomach pains were gone and I felt great. It ends up that I was more than likely lactose intolerant. Go figure!
I though that the vegan diet was the perfect diet and only way for everyone to eat. I didn't realize that, yes, while it is healthy that doesn't mean that all vegan food is good for you. I lived off of processed soy for most of my vegan years. It wasn't until I had my children that I realized how awful processed soy is for our bodies.



I only started eating dairy again about two years ago. Kevin and I both decided we wanted to eat simpler and to eat food that we could live off of when we have our little homestead far away from civilization. My body has been ok enough with it, but I only ate the organic or raw and didn't really eat a whole lot of it. I never went back to cow's milk, I don't know if I ever could, I am so used to rice drink now. I know that if I want to truly fulfill my dream of living self sufficiently off of our land I will need to give up that rice drink and learn to like cow milk, again...perhaps goat milk, instead?? It's funny how life works - I am pretty much back to eating vegan, again. How long will I have to eat this way? I foresee it lasting at least until Baby L is 18 months. Then again, seeing that these foods cause so many issues for myself and my family - should I really ever go back to them?


Black bean and sweet potato enchiladas

Anyways, after giving up the soy and dairy, Baby L got better and better each day. Around a month after I gave it up he was a happy, healthy baby. When he was about three months old I tested it out again and ate a bite of some chocolate that had both soy and dairy in it. Within two hours of eating it and then nursing him he was congested all over again. It wasn't worth it and I will not make that mistake again!

Well, here I am going on and on yet again. I apologize this post is rather all over the place. I could keep going on this new chapter in eating but I think I will end it here... for now.

Do any of you have any allergies/intolerances in your families that are/were a struggle for you? How did you get through them?

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Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a copy of the book Carefree Clothes for Girls. Details here.

Sans Soy & Dairy : A Confessional

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*Welcome August Sponsors*

Giveaway : Carefree Clothes For Girls

Just like I promised - a giveaway for all my sewing friends out there!



As I was cleaning up my sewing desk the other day I came across another copy of Carefree Clothes For Girls by Junko Okawa. I had forgotten that I was fortunate enough to win not one but two copies last summer on blog giveaways. I thought I would pass on my good fortune to one of you. It's such a great sewing book and I plan on making a couple of dresses from it for K this fall.

This copy is all in Japanese. The pictures, patterns and instructions make it easy enough to follow, though. It would be good for someone who has been sewing for awhile, or knows someone else who can help them.



For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post!
If you would like an additional chance to win:
let me know you are a dear follower
post this giveaway to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog
and please make sure to come back and leave me another comment letting me know you did so!

I will close comments on Thursday August 4th at 6pm PST and announce the winner within this post that night.

Comments closed!
The winner chosen by random number generator is:

Melissa - Hi Nicole! I would love to win this book, especially since I am finally expecting a girl ;o) Thanks, Melissa

Congrats Melissa! Please e-mail me with your mailing address and I will get this out to you straight away! Thanks so much for entering everyone!

Giveaway : Carefree Clothes For Girls

Babies Don't Keep

So, about last night...

I had so many plans, my rhythm post all envisioned in my head, lists of lists and a mini schedule all prepared. All that I needed to execute my plans was my Baby L to fall asleep.
I tried.
We started around 6:45 like we do every other night. I nursed him, and nursed him and struggled and struggled to get him down. He just simply refused to go to sleep. I became quite disgruntled looking at the clock, watching the minutes and hours tick by seeing my plans slowly slipping out of my grasp. I could only see the future and not the beautiful moment I was in. I knew Baby L could sense my frustration. Almost as if he knew I needed to get out of my thoughts he stopped nursing and looked up at me with his big eyes and grinned from ear to ear. I melted at the sight as the realization of my selfishness hit me - Where were my priorities?!
How could I let myself get so caught up in life, pushing aside and ignoring what really mattered most?



I felt low, and horrible and like the worst parent in the world. What did I choose to do? I gave in and let go. I choose not to leave my baby at all that night and to just settle in and cherish this time.

I stayed with him, not trying to get him to fall asleep (although he did need his sleep),but tickling his chubby cheeks, kissing his soft fuzzy head, soaking in every last ounce of him. I sang to him (he loves Michael Row Your Boat Ashore), he watched intently as my lips moved.He touched my mouth with his sweet little fingertips and his eyes lit up. He sang back in coos and giggles of delight. We cuddled and talked (Well, I talked). He grabbed my face and pulled it to his own to suck on my cheek and then giggled uncontrollably when I couldn't stop laughing (it tickled!). He screeched each time a kitty came near and tried with all his might to propel his body forward to get to them. He studied my face as I studied his. He would blow raspberries every time I spoke his name. As we cuddled together and fell asleep,with him in my arms, all I could think is that there is no place I would rather be. God, I am so incredibly blessed! To think I almost missed out on all of these moments - moments that go by much too fast. Every single day he grows and tomorrow he will already be different than tonight.

I need to always be this way - so in the moment. To think it really could always be this way if I just allowed myself to live in the moment instead of looking at what's ahead. Nothing could ever be more important than time spent with my children. Everything else can wait.



Cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep.


P.S. Stay tuned this weekend for the sewing giveaway I previously mentioned!

Babies Don't Keep

Knitting Awareness

It has recently come to my attention that I can no longer knit gifts that are meant to be for K in front of her. Ok that sounds ridiculous, I know, but it really is a recent revelation. For a long time I was able to knit her presents with her in the same room because she was too young to comprehend or be interested in what I was doing. Then the past year or so she started asking what I was knitting and who it was for. I have always answered with "Hmmmmm, I wonder... What do you think it could be?", even if it wasn't for her. She'd normally come up with a silly response and that would be the end of it - she'd go back to playing.

But now... oh boy, she loves to just sit and watch me knit (I have been informed by her teachers, as well as parents visiting her class, that she would sit with them and watch them knit during play time... she may be just a bit obsessed, like her Mama). She will study each stitch I make and ask many, many questions. She now recognizes yarn from my stash when knitted up and even projects that I worked on months before when they are given as gifts. Note to self : Any supplies for gifts from the Halloween Fairy, the Root Children and Saint Nicholas must stay hidden at all times!

I made the mistake a couple of weeks ago of having C try on K's birthday sweater in progress. Even though C is younger she is almost the same measurements width wise (those cute toddler chub years!) as my string bean K. C then told K I was knitting her birthday sweater and K has been on a hunt for it ever since. *sigh* Now that I can not knit it while I am observing their play (which is when I get a lot of my knitting done), I am so far behind.
I guess i should have know it would be coming sooner or later. I was just counting on later. Five years is pretty good though, eh?

Anyways. Now that I have vented about that. Here are a couple of my current projects.



Remember that horse dress I promised to make for C? To end headaches, I gave up on the original pattern I wanted to use, for now. I have a cute one currently in the works. I can't wait to see it finished!



This project has been ripped out and redone three times now. I hope I have it right this time. I am pretty back and forth about the yarn colorway,some days thinking it's cute and other days not liking it very much. Such is my indecisive nature, I suppose.



I had to share some exciting mail that came my way, recently, too. This may very well be the softest, yummiest yarn EVER. It's by the ever so sweet Genevieve at Sweet Basil Fibre Works. The main colorway is lemongrass (love the name). I am drooling all over the blueish colorways, too. So much to love! The pictures do not do it justice. Here, have a closer look...



Can you feel it?! Swoon

I am afraid to actually knit with it, I don't want to ruin something so beautiful. But I do want to work with it, so I need to get looking for the perfect pattern.I have a couple of ideas for Baby L, but I would love to hear any suggestions you may have. What do you think might be worthy of this yarn?

What are you working on? Happy creating!

P.S. For all of you sewers out there : stay tuned for a giveaway this week!

Knitting Awareness

Happenings

Trying to find time to proof a draft in between nursing sessions with help from Baby L (can't talk about it yet but it was mentioned briefly here).



Taking many walks down the road to where the wild blackberries grow. Shouldn't be much longer!







Counting our blessings. Enjoying those beautiful moments when it seems as if love is just oozing out of all of us at once.



Treasuring moments with our rascal cat Bhakti. Our screen door broke the other day and all four cats escaped. We were able to wrangle up three of them but Bhakti was gone without a trace. We spent hours searching for her but to no avail. Thankfully she came back home to us that evening.



Watching Kevin bikejoring our three dogs (someday we'll have a sled...and snow!)





Getting distracted from the bikejoring fun by crazy caterpillars everywhere around us.







What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Happenings

Summertime Sewing

Thank you everyone for your response to the recent rhythm post. I will keep them coming! Maybe I can make it a weekly post as I think I could go on and on about it for quite some time...
In the meantime, I am behind on a couple of deadlines, yikes, so I will answer questions very soon, just not quite yet! Nevermind!



While the rest of our country is in a heat bubble, good old Oregon is experiencing fall/spring-like temperatures barely going over 75 degrees. I have to say I am very much ok with that! I have never been one to handle heat well. My little ones seem to be the same way. We are enjoying it while we can, I know it will eventually get hot here. From what I remember of the previous summer, the heat didn't hit until August/September. With this in mind, I dug through the girls summer clothes box to find that C, who gets all the hand me downs, is all set with summer sleepwear but K did not have any.





I ran down to my fabric stash and found some light organic cotton fabric my friend Sarah sent me last summer. It's actually bed sheets, guess my sewing has a theme lately, huh? Although, these ones were new.





I dug through my patterns and pulled out two possibilities. One was the pattern I used for the girls flannel nightgowns (it has a short sleeved version,too) and the other was actually a slip pattern that was included with the bloomers pattern I use (McCalls M4505). I decided to go with the slip pattern. It seems to run a bit on the big side but I think the extra room might feel nice when it's hot.





I tried to alter the slip pattern a bit and in the process made the neck too tight. I 'fixed' that by adding an opening in the front. Not the prettiest fix but it works, ahem - let's ignore the fact that I didn't trim the threads yet, ok?
I had some issues with the placket in the back, too. Spent too many hours yelling at it. Since this is a nightgown and not something she'll wear out and about, I just let that go.





K had fun showing me how well it spins. Twirly dresses, skirts and nightgowns are a must in this house.











K is happy and I can rest better knowing that she will be cool and comfortable this summer whenever that heat does decide to hit us!

Summertime Sewing

Air Time

Such a sweet sight to see!

Air Time

Rhythm Revisited Part I : Simplifying & Child Friendly Responsibilities

I promised I would get around to posting about the adjustments and additions we have made to our home rhythm. It's hard to keep such a topic to one post because 1.) rhythm may just be one of my favorite topics of all time - so I do tend to go on and on about it 2.) I never seem to remember everything I wanted to say on the matter and need to come back to it 3.) rhythm changes as families change and 4.) while rhythm, in general, makes life a whole lot easier it takes a lot of thought and consideration to figure it all out to fit your family just right so there is just no way a day's, let alone a week's, rhythm could be crammed into one page.


Picture from last winter

Rhythm has been a huge part of our family life for many years now and it is the glue that holds our family life together. Many of you have seen my posts about it in the past but I thought I would revisit the beauty of rhythm and how it works in our family. It has saved us time and time again so I wanted to pass on the gift of rhythm to all of you.

To try and define rhythm simply : Each day of the week has a theme, and each day follows the same predictable pattern. Is rhythm just a fancy word for schedule. NO. While they have similarities, rhythm is more about a gentle flow, a knowing of what comes next, whereas a schedule is more rigid and by the clock. Little ones thrive and feel safe when they know what's next.



Does this mean we're singing and dancing on clouds every day and the picture perfect family? Nope, we all have good and bad days, feelings of inadequacy, siblings still quarrel and little ones still have tantrums, BUT it does help. My little ones always know what to expect and look forward to each day. It's simplistic ways really ease their minds and help them feel secure, relaxed, safe and happy.



I thought I would start out by saying our weekly rhythm has slightly changed. You can see my original rhythm broken down on my post at the Magic Onions. As I have mentioned before, rhythm is constantly evolving, adjusting and changes as it needs to, it is not the same thing as a schedule. It's all about going with the flow, and letting go. So as our little ones grow and change, so does our rhythm. No major changes here really, we just rearranged our days a bit. We decided Wednesday would be the best drawing day because that is our busiest day and drawing requires the least amount of preparation and clean up.

Here is our current weekly rhythm:

Monday is Baking Day
Tuesday is Craft Day
Wednesday is Drawing Day/Playdate Day
Thursday is Handwork Day
Friday is Painting Day
Saturday is Family Outdoor Day/Gardening Day
Sunday is Day of Rest/Holy Day

For this first post revisiting rhythm I wanted to share a new addition to our daily rhythm as well as a new way we have simplified our lives. The girls are at a nice age now to be Mama's helpers even more, and it is mutually beneficial. My girls learn so much from helping out and experience great satisfaction and a sense of self worth in doing so.

Last fall when I was given the opportunity to observe K's classroom for a day I noticed that all the children were responsible for their own dishes after snack time. The teachers had a child sized dish washing station set up for them and one by one they would be excused from their seats and go and wash their things. I loved the idea and right away thought about doing it at home.



Above is the girls cabinet in their kitchen space which stores their personal dishes. As you can see comparing this picture to what it looked like last year - we have simplified their toys a lot, as well. There has been quite a purge going on in our house lately.

I didn't get around to incorporating dish washing into our rhythm until winter time when I was very pregnant and very tired. I was at a breaking point. I felt like I was living in the kitchen doing never ending piles of dishes. This brought about two changes in our home. The first was simplifying our kitchenware. The reason I was always doing dishes is because we had so gosh darn many of them. It was much easier for all of us to just grab a new clean dish for a snack or meal instead of washing the one we previously used and left in the sink (apparently for the cleaning fairy to wash). This caused dirty dishes to get stacked up in the sink making washing them too overwhelming. I'm dizzy just thinking about it! To prevent this from happening we packed away (instead of donating so we could still have some for guests and future family) almost all of our silverware, plates, bowls and cups. We kept out only:

4 knives
4 forks
4 spoons
2 Mama/Daddy sized plates and bowls
2 child sized plates
3 child sized bowls (for multiple snacks at once)
a special cup for each of us
2 mugs (because the cups the girls' have can be used as mugs, too)
4 water bottles

Now each family member is responsible for their own dishes.



After our meals the girls' snuff out our mealtime candle and then we sing:

"Wash our dishes.wash our dishes.
Now it's time we, wash our dishes."



I start the big dishes (like the pots and pans used to make the meal) while we clear the table. Once I am done, K is usually the first to wash her dishes. We discovered the sink gets too crowded for the girls if they do them together and then quarreling breaks out. She scrubs them, rinses them and then sets them in the drying rack. Then it's C's turn. When they are done I like to do one more rinse to their dishes with very hot water, just to be sure they are nice and clean.



They truly enjoy playing in the water as they wash their dishes so, of course, it takes them quite a bit longer to do their few things than it would take you or I. Keeping this in mind, we adjusted our night time rhythm just a bit by moving up dinner a half hour earlier. This way they have plenty of time to play in the soapy bubbles without being rushed or pressured.



Well, I think that was quite a bit for this first post. I hope I didn't ramble on too much... I actually had to stop myself. It's such a passion of mine to have our home centered around our children.

Rhythm Revisited Part I : Simplifying & Child Friendly Responsibilities