$20 at the farmers market

 (this is not my picture, it was MUCH more crowded than this on friday afternoon!)

thought i'd list what $20 will buy at the state farmer's market.  i was shopping for produce to feed folks at a bridal shower ( for today) - these are all things that dad doesn't really have in his garden (either right now or ever).

$8 for 4 extra large smooth-skinned johnston county cantaloupes - not only did my nose lead me to these, they were also the cheapest - i did taste their samples to make sure they tasted as good as they smelled!

$6 for 12 longer than usual but still skinny johnston county pickling cucumbers (i think they taste the best and have the least seeds - and they still taste really good)

$4 for 6 harnett county green peppers

$2 for 4 peaches for nathaniel since the last 4 peaches i bought him at the grocery store rotted before he got a chance to eat them. these smelled outstanding - and they were fresh from NC!  i can't remember exactly where. 

anyway, the cantaloupe is my favorite.  i think i would have been fine with just 2 of them - they are HUGE.
from dad's garden, i got blueberries and squash - YUM!

we're having fresh and healthy food at our shower today.  no meat!  :)  and, well everything is healthy except for the cake and the ranch dressing.  i didn't know how welcoming folks would be to a homemade yogurt-dill dip so i opted for the more traditional ranch.  just so you know, there is a green onion option that has half the sodium.  i got one of each and the green onion was better.  both nathaniel and i thought so.  mainly because it wasn't so salty!  now if they could just cut out that MSG!

fastest 18 months of my life.

in the last 18 months, my new baby girl has grown to be a toddler.
a toddle she does. 

she can almost jump, she talks up a storm, she started singing recently, she loves hairbows, hair bands, hats, necklaces, shoes (especially heels), climbing, crawling, rolling, tumbling, water (boy does she love water!), bananas, blueberries, and most of all her mama.  and daddy.  and everyone else for that matter.  she's not shy anymore like she was as a baby.

today she was 33 inches tall and a little over 26 pounds.  comparatively, she ranks 90th percentile in height for girls her age and 75th percentile for girls her age.  she's been steady on this 90/75 trend since she was 6 months old.

the only bad news today is that she still has an ear infection.  so, we have to try a different - a new - antibiotic.  yuck.  just when the "side effects" of the last one finally cleared up (um, lets just say there were some problems in the diaper area...), we'll have to start that battle all over again.  did notice, though, that my probiotic capsules can be opened and mixed with juice.  holly loves orange juice.  so, maybe this will help her tummy and maybe she won't have TOO bad of the poops from it.  (this antibiotic is known for giving really bad poops.)

so also since the day she was born, i'm 35 pounds lighter than when i walked into the hospital with her still in my womb! (incidentally, that is only 5 pounds away from what i was when i got pregnant with kendal - i gained 46 pounds with him!  that was mostly water weight.  i never lost it all before i got pregnant with holly, but fortunately i only gained 23 with her.)

holly LOVES her paci!  we were just saying today how we needed to stop it.  and, of coarse, she crashed before we were ready to put her to bed.  so, one more night of paci.  :)  well, maybe 1 more week.  tomorrow night mamaw gets them - assuming kendal is better (he has a fever and a rash, tomorrow we'll take him to the dr to make sure it isn't strep) - and then maybe next weekend we'll try to cold turkey her off the paci.  that's how kendal did it!  of coarse, at 15 months. 

slacker

so i know i haven't actually posted a real blog in a few days - but, i'm really getting a kick out of reading my old ones.  i'm trying not to post them all, but it is hard picking which ones to (and not to post).  now that i'm through the new-baby part, it is getting a little easier to weed through them...

not much to talk about except i discovered a new way to prepare my protein staple which for this week is navy beans:  mix a pouch of taco seasoning (i had organic taco seasoning - something i picked up at WF) and it really changed the whole flavor of them.  this seasoning packet was quite spicy so it made them delish.  i'm eating them with about 1/2 a romaine heart chopped up plus a little big of grated cheese and a few olives and a large spoonful of salsa.  guess it is like a taco salad.  minus the taco shell part.


work is going well - i really like working at gymboree, i just wish they worked me more than 5 or 6 hours a week.  time goes by fast there and most of our customers are really nice.  i haven't figured out, yet, how to not *shop* while i straighten, though.  it is tough when you're surrounded by such cute cute clothes.  and, you have at least one child busting out of her summer clothes!  :)

i just realized i forgot to give nathaniel the father's day card i made (him, and used as our club card this month...)  darnit!

it is so hot... i am ready for the fall.  wishing away time already.  :(

ok, so not much to say.  kids just woke up.  holly slept in kendal's bed and kendal slept on the floor beside her.  he wanted to sleep ON TOP of her but, well, frankly she'd probably let him but i didn't know if her ribs would be able to resist his weight for the whole nap.  i guess that is why they don't sleep together yet!  they'd love to but one would end up on top.  :) 

he just put something up on the next shelf and told me "so holly can't reach it."

these kids are a hoot!

ok, time to change diapers... and start working on dinner.

05/07/2007 - Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

interesting enough, this was written when melissa and the kids moved to KY two deployments ago.   now they are packing up to leave KY - so interesting my perspective!  i wonder how her kids feel about moving right now.  and, if they remember moving the last time. 

In September 1945, the U.S. Navy began using the Earthquake Valley area as a gunnery range, forcing the South family to leave their mountain homestead and seek refuge elsewhere. I feel like Tanya South was probably happy about this news, as it seemed that she didn’t enjoy the desert life as much as her husband. However, I’m sure this news was devistating to Marshal South and his dream.

This past weekend brought about bittersweet news in our family brought forth by the military (but not the Navy!), over sixty years later and far far away from Ghost Mountain. Rob is officially headed back to Iraq mid-June. I am so happy that my sister and the kids gets to spend the next month him before he returns to Iraq. However, it is very saddening that they are spending it (and the next few years) in Kentucky.

When Marshal South wrote this for The Desert Magazine in May 1942, I wonder if he knew what was to come for his family. “Deep down, the seed--the seed of freedom and simplicity which the Great Spirit implanted in every breathing thing--still sleeps. It is not dead. In good time, when man has battered himself weary and bleeding into the dust, it will waken again to save him and to set his feet anew upon the trail.” I wonder if, on his last trip down the mountain, he looked back on the home he was leaving and saw the lonely ghost house visited so frequently by hikers now?

Like the strangely sad feelings I had when I first saw the Yaquitepec atop Ghost Mountain, I had those same feelings yesterday when I went to my sister’s old house. They haven’t moved everything yet, they took what they could - mainly the daily-used items like beds, chairs, TVs, dinner table, etc.

I was telling dad yesterday that I felt like I was helping clean out the house of the deceased. Once where there was life, now there is an emptiness filled with dust, paper scraps, mismatched toys, Easter candy, etc. Even the closets are still full of clothes, some in bags with the tags still on them. The fish tank filter trickling was the only noise to be heard, no children playing and running and throwing balls, no mama yelling at them to behave or to eat their beans, no dog trying to eat all the crumbs in the high chair...

**************************
PART 2

Life's a voyage that's homeward bound. - Herman Melville

Marshal and Tanya South divorced 2 years after leaving the Yaquitepec. A year later, Marshal South died with heart problems. He was 62. His only request was that the land not be sold until the youngest child was of age. He wanted to make sure that if Tanya could not survive in the city that she would have a home she could return to.

I suppose there are lots of reasons that people move away from home these days. Some get jobs wherever they can find them, some like adventure, some move for a change in climate or scenery, and I guess some people just plain like to move (which why one would like to move is beyond me)!

I suppose it is also nice that my family is so warm and open, no matter where I’ve lived (rather, how far away), I always feel like I can go home AND that home could come to me. Even when Melissa lived in Missouri, I remember the Christmas we all spent together in her house. Although NONE of us were “home” (technically speaking), we sure had a homey Christmas. I feel like no matter where we all are, we’ll always be at home when we are together.

Which brings me to my pondering point. What exactly is home? Is it the base before 1st and after 3rd? Is it your current residence? Is it simply a place of refuge or is it where you were born? What if you moved when you were 10. Is home the place you were born or the place you spent your teenage years? If your parents have moved since you were a kid, has home followed them to where they live now? Is it as sad leaving ‘home’ (the way my sister left) or is it sadder to revisit ‘home’ when it is just a house? I wonder if my mom, while cleaning out Tuter’s house, feels sad because her home is lonely, void of the love, lives, and Sunday dinners it once sheltered.

I think home is the place that offers you security and happiness, i.e. where you are loved and welcome, and is not specific to any single location (address). Grandma’s house is home, although it is really my dad’s home. Tuter’s old house is home, even though she doesn’t live there anymore. Aunt Pat’s house is home, even though I never visited her house when I was little (she lived in Colorado). I always think of our old house (the one we lived in until I was almost through the 2nd grade) as home, although someone else has lived there since we moved out. I feel at home in my backyard, in my house, even standing atop Ghost Mountain looking at the ruins of another’s home. I suppose I am lucky in the respect that, for me, home is anywhere so long as those I love are with me. 

10/15/2007 - perfection from a perfectionist. ah...

today my baby is one month old. i can't believe its been a month since he was born. i can't believe i've been a mom for a month. i also can't believe that i've done NO work for a month. boy does time fly. any tips from you moms for me and time management? i'm having trouble doing anything besides feed him and hold him and change his diapers. my briefcase did, however, make it up the stairs today. just now i need to open it and work. i just feel like i'm ignoring him, like i'll miss something... if i don't watch him every second i can. he's only little once! and i don't want to miss a second of it.

today he smiled at me. it wasn't a by chance smile, either, because this time #1 his eyes were open and locked with mine, #2 we were playing pattycake, #3 he did 3 times in a row (he likes to 'throw it in the pan"). so that picture is the tail end of his 3rd smile. after i got the phone out to take pictures, he was more interested in the phone than me or pattycake.

today i measured and weighed him, so he's grown from 20 inches to 23 inches in a month, and also according to my scales, he's gained almost 3 pounds! he was 10.4 pounds, although he was wearing clothes, but his diaper was clean. so i don't know how much those weigh, but i know it isn't 2 pounds worth...

today i fed him his first corn syrup water bottle... eh, he loaded up his diaper AS he drank it. (and i only dipped a 1/4 tsp in the syrup and let it drip drain then stirred it with 1 oz warm water, and then he only ate about 1/2 of that. so, he didn't get much karo.) why doesn't this work for grownups?

speaking of things that they make for babies that they should make for adults, why don't they make mycelin (the gas drops) for adults? those should be renamed miracle drops. because that is what they are.

10/18/2007 - is the grass really greener on the other side?

 

this blog is appropriate on so many different levels, let me see if i can touch them all.

first, no one really has green grass these days, and if they do, then they are wasting our water and should be reported to the appropriate authorities. unless of coarse, they have a well, in which the "underground river" has been tapped. of coarse, since the underground river never runs dry (or so people seem to think), i wonder why i've seen so many older homes with drill rigs in their yards???

on a side note to point 1 and in celebration of our upcoming 'holiday', can people really witch water? i'm not a believer.

second, i've noticed this morning that no matter what i do, bo wants something different. if he is outside, he wants in. if he is inside, he wants out. if i'm in the bedroom, he wants me to go downstairs. if i'm downstairs (and i FOLLOWED him downstairs), then he wants to go back upstairs. why can't cats talk???

third, i found this analysis of "is the grass really greener on the other side?" while looking for a photo to post with this blog. it is too appropriate not to paste in here.

If the observer looks at his feet, he sees the grass at an angle more nearly perpendicular to the ground and thus sees through the blades of green grass to the brown ground below. This desaturates the green. However, if the observer looks at a nearby field, the more acute angle his line of sight makes with the ground allows less of the brown to reach his eye, and thus green will dominate his perceptual experience.

woah, let me interrupt my quoting from another webpage and start my last point, which is why i was writing this blog to begin with... i remember that before i was pregnant and/or had a child, i thought people, like my sister -who have kids - had it all. homes, husbands, family, adventure, companionship,etc. i wanted that SO bad. BUT (and you know there was one...), 1 month later and many lost hours of sleep and poor organizational skills (both time and thoughts and being clean, etc.) have begun to weigh heavy on me.

yesterday, i caught myself remembering the "OLD" times (i.e., before i had a child) and thinking about those who do not have any children (by choice or just because they aren't old enough yet or they aren't married, etc.) (and coincidentally also have clean houses and plenty of time and not having to worry about when is the next feeding and can you get home in time and where am i going to change his diaper and WHEN will he poop and i hope it doesn't leak out all over everything and what do i do if he gets a fever) and started to be envious.

fortunately, i realized what i was doing... and so i just put everything aside and looked at my child, who smiled at me, and then i forgot all about that green grass on the other side of the fence (the side where i used to live).

In other words, the grass seems plenty green when you look across the way at your neighbor's lawn, but you see all the bare spots when you look straight down at yours.

10/22/2007 - i think he thinks the ceiling fan is his dad!

thats what N says... because this kid is obsessed with the fan! i know it is the dark on white contrast, or maybe the movement, but it is cute.

new party trick: n blows in his face and he sticks out his tongue.

yea, the cuteness has no end...

10/27/2007 - new all time suck record! never to be broken!

this morning, nathaniel put the pacifier in kendal's mouth and he sucked 57 times ! yes, that was fifty-seven, LXII, cincuenta y cinco,...

by the way, today is his 6 week birthday!

11/14/2007 - The doctor said to keep his feet up!

i guess i'm posting this one because i wrote about Sarah Parker - who didn't win her battle with brain cancer.  this was when we first found out about it.  :(

so with the help of 2 pillows and a boppy (which at this point has turned out to be one of the most valuable baby gifts we received... that and the rainforest gym... and i can't forget to mention the bath tub and the stroller/babyseat and the playpen, where he slept for the first 5 weeks).

anyway, i'm sure all the gifts will come in handy at some point in time, like all the diapers (that are already used up) and the wipes (almost all used too) and the blankets (which i have tended to favor 1 or 2 so far, but i'm sure the rest will be used in time).

this blog was not supposed to be about useful baby things. i wanted to blog about the amount of anxiety and emotion that is experienced when a child is sick. even though he wasn't even sick, he was having surgery at our request.

so it is horrible worrying about if he'll hurt and if he'll wake. and for no reason did i worry because i know that the little tiny surgery he had was NOTHING compared to some... like the babies in NICU that have open heart surgery by the time they are 4 days old. the doctor and nurses and anesthesiologists were wonderful, very sympathetic to my tears. they spoke softly and caringly "i'll treat him like he was my own" i remember hearing one of the anesth. say as hey wrapped him in a white blanket and laid him on the tiny little hospital bed. the nurse raised the rails, looked at me and said "do you want to kiss him again?" but i didn't, because i didn't think i could reach him over the rails of the bed. besides, i'd given him 10000000 kisses that morning already.

he had such a good morning, smiling and kicking as he laid on the bed. i turned the tv on (which was right above his bed). he watched it with intent, he does love the lights. and he was so happy lying there on the bed, i wanted to pick him up and hold him tight, but i just let him lie there and kick.

the little gown i put on him was pink, which made all the nurses call him a she/her. i wonder if they do that to all the little boys. i liked him in the gown because when i held him i could feel the skin of his back, so warm and soft. its funny that as much as i hold him, i rarely really hold HIM because of all the clothes he is wearing. even his softest clothes aren't as soft as his skin. the only time i really get to touch him as i hold him is on the way to the tub, we strip on the bed (even the diaper comes off) and i carry him to the tub. he loves taking baths. he kicks and coos, and when i pour water on his belly, it usually washes over his chin and he sticks his tongue out to taste.

so it was very emotional to have them wheel away my baby. this morning, mom called with news about one of melissa's neighbor's child who has recently been diagnosed with brain cancer. she is 2. her parents have a website and have blogged about their ongoing experiences with the doctors, hospitals, procedures, and sarah's spirit. it is so great to see a child so unknowing of the severity of her condition, as she seems to be living life just like a normal 2 year old. but her parents.. i can not imagine what they are going through. i can't magine the tears they have shed thus far and all the tears yet to come. i can't imagine the way her mother feels when they take away her baby girl. unlike rocket, she isn't just getting toes removed!

read about her here and PLEASE PLEASE pray for her. even if you aren't the praying kind, do it anyway. reading their blog makes me feel so selfish for worrying about rocket. my baby boy is safe and healing in the comforts of our home... with no expectation on revisiting the hospital! there are so many more things to pray for... like the folks who really need it!

11/27/2007 - Thirty things that change when you have a baby

i get weekly emails from the babycenter. they are always very informative, as each week/month during my pregnancy they described "what to expect". anyway, post delivery, i still get them. they are usually about my childs development. this one, however, was a little more interesting. i thought i'd share, because those of you who have children will agree with ALL of these. those of you who don't have children (by chance or by choice) will probably not 'get' it. especially the ones i highlighted BLUE! i highlighted them because are the things i least expected from myself (before baby to after baby).  (and, 2010's edits are in red!)

Thirty things that change when you have a baby by Rebecca Woolf Last updated: November 2006

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [not only for the safety of my child, but also for the safety of myself because i always want to be there for him!]

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.  or, after 2, have i just given up?  ;)

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way. [this one in particular touches me because i find myself amazed and indebted because i KNOW our parents loved us as much as i love rkt. it is a feeling that leaves me speechless and sometimes in tears. not sad, just overwhelmed with love.]

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago. [you also learn pretty quickly the people that REALLY matter and love you more than you knew!]

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!) [i also find myself TALKING about these body functions. not really at the appropriate time either.]

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself. [i wish i could double bold this one!]

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom [i know melissa will second this one]

5. "You realize that, although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye [as a matter of a fact, you look forward to it!]

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous  totally.  i don't think my kids ever shut up!

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda [they may be worth having, but i still don't want them!]

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom  [like to overcome a fear of spiders just so your kids are scared of them!  my kids aren't really scared of anything!  except the easter bunny and santa!  haha]

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara [this goes for cats too!]

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

12/31/2007 - crib notes

today or tomorrow, kendal will be surrendered to his crib. yea, "we're" kicking him out of our room (and i'm trying not to scream).

this makes a mama sad. because, i like sleeping with him. rather, i like him sleeping with me. why? no, not because it runs my husband OUT of the bed (at some point in the night, when kendal has half the bed, i'm in the middle, and N can't sleep because he has no room), but because i actually sleep very well when kendal is on his "half" of the bed (really, i can't put him THAT close to the edge in the rare chance he'll learn to roll over - so he really does get half the bed!)

so i suppose here in the next few weeks, i'll start that no-sleep schedule that most mothers get right when their baby is born. he sleeps through the night in our bed (or in the cradle, which he is nearly outgrown hence the necessity to move him into his crib). i wonder how he'll sleep in his own bed. i know i won't be sleeping!

so it looks like the next few weeks will be rough for me. let me apologize in advance for my forgetfulness, snappiness, and depression.

hey, check that out! i spelled forgetfulness right on the first try! (wasn't underlined with the red "you idiot" line!)

01/02/2008 - for all his 5000 parts...

well, i've been bathing kendal for 3 months now (maybe less than 3 months, it took forever for his cord to fall off...) and each time i feel like i do a good job.

but, i remember after about a month, i found out that i wasn't cleaning his neck good enough, rather his creases had "cheese" (as LK called it... which is a great word for it).
so, i started paying close attention to his neck.

later, i realized that he had "cheese" in some of his leg creases, as well as lint between his toes and in the palm of his hands. where did he get lint from? who knows (since his hands were nearly always in a fist). so, i started paying more attention to ALL the creases and appendages.

i also noticed one day while he was napping the amount of wax he had in his ear. a little alcohol + qtip + sleep baby + slow, deliberate movements = no more ear wax buildup. no, i didn't put the qtip down his ear canal. i was careful.

well just then i was feeding kendal, and i noticed the back of his ear (he is SO nosy, he never looks towards me when he eats, he's always trying to look somewhere up and to the left...) - he had cheese behind his ear! well maybe, behind the ear isn't "warm and moist" as the other creases on his body, maybe it is dry skin.

so i just got a damp rag and tried to clean it. no doubt, it isn't dry skin. it's DEAD skin! i suppose now i'll have to add "behind the ears" to my list of places not to miss. its funny how for all these years i've been bathing myself just fine. and i wash behind my ears, but i don't really have such elaborate neck and leg creases. but i can assure all my creases are clean.

and i can assure you that now i have a greater appreciation for that old lever 2000 ad... for all your 2000 parts! i think babies have 5000 parts!

old blog

i found my old yahoo blog - well, where it was relocated to (it is now called pulse) - and i read maybe 30 of them.  i laughed until i cried.

i think i'll repost some of them onto this blog.  so, if you are reading something you think you've already read, well, you are!  :)

i'll try to remember to title these with the original post date first then the original post title.  that way you'll know it is an oldie.

Green Snake

nathaniel saw a green snake today as he was leaving to go have lunch with his dad and brother - so we quickly got the kids and went down there and caught him to show them!  i've only seen maybe 2 or 3 green snakes in my life so to me, this was a treat.  i forgot how tiny these guys are.

and, for the record, neither of the kids would touch him until i touched him (he was really smooth!) - and then holly did it too.  kendal still wouldn't touch him.  he would get really close to him and talk to him - he didn't act afraid, but he did not want to touch him.  maybe it was because of that run in with the eastern fence lizard last week.. but, i guess he just didn't understand that snakes have no feet/claws!  and this one had such a small head that i doubt we'd feel it if he tried to bite us.  not that we wanted to try... but, he was none-too-happy that we were holding him.

so - here is my kids' first non-captive snake viewing!!!

nathaniel's father's day gift

few days ago i asked the kids (gave them some choices) as to what they'd like to give their dad for father's day.  they picked shoes - maybe because they knew what that word was, recognized the picture - even holly can say that word, but anyway, that is what they picked.  so, as the mama (the one with the $$) i got him some shoes.  i wrapped them separately (sorta like the way i get each earring - one for valentines day, one for our anniversary - separately on feb. 14th) and the kids opened them for him. 

fortunately they fit. and even more fortunately, he likes them.  these were a great bargain (yay for summer clearance!)

check out the new sneakers!

salute to my dads

i wonder if she knew when she married him that she'd make him a dad.  and, herself a mother.

 back when i was the one and only...

 dad with melissa back when september 11th was a special day for good reasons. 

without him there would be no us. without us there would be no them.

 clearly we were all going through our dorky stage...  except melissa, who was totally hip with those braided pig tails!!!

 three's the charm, right?  everyone would always say "poor man" when we'd say something about him having three daughters.  whatever.  he probably knows how good he had it...

i see a lot of holly right there for several reasons:  first, they look alike in the face.  second, she's hogging her daddy's lap.  third, she's still got a pacy at a very old age... and not a lot of hair either.  and last - she's always pointing those feet out!  :)

early glimpses of the later benefits of fatherhood...  grandfatherhood!!!

enjoying his first boy - even if he had to wait until a GRAND son to have one!

so glad i got to make a man a daddy.

with not one kid but two.  wish we could have 12 but, well, i do want to keep my sanity...

redmond real salt

after a conversation with my mom a few weeks ago, i've been paranoid that my children and i are gonna develop disfunctioning thyroids.  why?  because we don't used iodized salt.  for at least a year, we've used sea salt - not the kind that is "enhanced" with the "necessary nutrient" iodine (i use it in quotes because that is what the salt container says).

this week, i ran out of coarse salt which is the salt i use when i am cooking.  it is easily pinch-able and i like that.  in browsing the shelf for a new container of salt, i ran across redmond's real salt.  i picked it up despite the whopping expensive price on it.  i guess i was wondering why it was so expensive, but i was quick to see that it claimed to have natural iodine in it.

first of all, lets discuss how SALT is made.  the redmond's real salt package pretty accurately describes the way salt is made in nature. [my additions in red and as crossouts]  

"In ancient times, a great salt-saturated sea existed near where Redmond, Utah is now located.  Water from the sea eventually evaporated, leaving a bed of rock salt where it lay undisturbed for thousands of years. At some point, during the earth's Jurassic era, a range of volcanoes erupted around the ancient sea bed, sealing the salt with layers of thick volcanic ash, protecting these precious deposits against the pollution that man would eventually introduce into the environment. Redmond extracts this salt from deep within the earth and brings to us its pure, natural state-without any additives, chemicals, or heat processing."

how is salt manufactured???  it begins as a saline solution which is then processed and kiln dryied at temperatures of 350-400 degrees. nearly all trace minerals are lost. chemicals are then used to bleach the salt, prevent caking and make it free flowing.

 

i'm not sure whether it was the use of the word "jurrasic" or the fact it is a US product - or maybe that it is a salt that is not kiln dried and unprocessed - but anyway, i bought it despite its price.  it definitely looks different than my old salt (it isn't as brown as the picture) and isn't as coarse, but i will try it out.  i tasted it and it tastes, well, like salt.  i'll report back later if there is really any taste difference (like when i put it on something other than my finger).

here's to a daily dose of iodine.  

two kendalisms

in reverse order.

yesterday on the way to meet the Ts in durham, we got stuck behind a big pepsi truck on the skinny  (2lane) part of 98 after you pass 70 (in durham).  on the back, there was a pepsi advertisement in which eric staal was in his canes jersey and holding his hockey stick (and maybe a pepsi?) - anyway, kendal went nuts. ''Hockey mommie, hockey!!!"   he knows what hockey is for sure.  even better, he knows what sport eric staal plays!

several days ago, there was an eastern fence lizard in the living room.  i was trying to catch it in a jar and the kids were all in the way trying to see it.  the jar was over it , but somehow it escaped underneath it and ran onto kendal's leg and diaper (he was sitting next to it).  he freaked out - screamed - and jumped up and ran to his dad.  in retrospect, i'm sure the feet/nails on it probably scratched sorta hard.  kendal was only wearing a diaper because k&h were outside playing with the water table and we'd just stripped them.  anyway, i finally got it in the jar and kendal came back up all big and bad like nothing happened.  "wook, mommie, wizzard!"  he was all about that lizard.  we took it outside and let it go. it quickly escaped to the other side of the deck railing.

incidentally, the one we caught was a male because it was vibrantly blue on its underside.  :)  the picture above is NOT the one we caught. ours had a whole tale.  though, i'm sure that kitty will soon take care of his tale and/or more!  kitty is the lizard-and-vole catching queen around these parts!

lost cat

boy has it been a crazy 2 weeks.  i still don't feel "caught up".  i can't imagine how crazy it'll be for the fairels since when they get back they'll be moving - their whole summer will be a blur.

and turns out it wasn't just our two-weeks that was disrupted. when we went to KY, we shut off the cat's access to the house and opened the cat door between the garage and the outside.  (thus, they could go out but still come into the "garage" part of the house for food and water and the LB should they decide to use it).


the minute we got home, lacy came running.  kitty stayed gone for another day.  since then, she's gone back out for 2-day spells.  yesterday, she came back in with a back-leg limp.  of coarse, when she comes in, she sleeps for about 1 day straight - so she's still sleeping now - but when she was awake earlier, she meows and purrs SOSOSOSOSOSOOSOSOSOSOSOSOSo loud that it can wake up kendal.  it did this morning.  6am sharp, he hit the floor.  she wasn't showing any limp this morning.  maybe she was just hungry or thirsty or just plain tired.  it was hot for the past 2 days!  so i don't have any pictures of kitty, just lacy.  she's in now, but i have no idea where she is. 

so anyway, on another topic, i finally remembered i had a camera yesterday. kendal actually asked me to take a picture of him with his tiger.  this tiger is the gift grammy and grandpa brought him in the hospital when he was born.  it sits atop his bed and occasionally he gets it down.  lately, he's gotten it down A LOT.  yesterday he had a tiger on his shirt, so he kept it with him all day.  suppose he likes his toy to match his outfit !?!?!  ha!  my kids love stuffed animals.  i used to love them too, so i guess i can understand why (though i can't remember why).

and last - there is a picture from not sure when but recent of holly sleeping with her daddy at mamaws in the chair.  it was just too sweet not to share!  :)

what goes in my tummy... part 2

finally getting around to part 2... these past couple of weeks have been very busy as you can imagine!  from having a vacation to having a wedding... WHEW!

so anyway, part of my grocery runs over the past year requires me to always venture into the frozen organic food section(s) at various grocery stores.  i am always amazed at the variety of foods offered to a very specific market of "vegetarians", thus, here is my next observation and/or rant about those specific people.  this is sorta grates my nerves sorta like people who say "PIN number" or "ATM machine".

ok, so why in the WORLD do people want to buy products that look like meat?  (i.e., fake meat.)  who really wants to eat a "turk'y burger" - i mean come on!  eat turkey if you want turkey.  eat soy/vegetables if you want soy/vegetables and call it a patty (like a bean patty, soy patty, tofu paty, rice patty, etc.) but to me, the word burger implies meat.  you don't have to "fit in" with 90% of meat-eating society by eating something that looks like the real thing.   if you are looking for a healthier alternative, why not just go for a grilled mushroom or corn on the cob and forgo the whole "burger" to start with?  burgers aren't the only thing that can be cooked on the grill... and "fake meat burgers" aren't the only healthy alternative.  (and i mean healthy loosely).

just as a sandwich doesn't have to have bacon and mayo on it, your breakfast plate doesn't have to have eggs and sausage on it.  if you don't want to eat real eggs and sausage, why not just NOT and eat something else altogether?  you don't have to "fit in" with the 90% of meat-eating society by eating something that looks like the real thing - just eat fruit and oatmeal!

chick'n.  really?  does a real vegetarian want to eat fake chicken?  isn't like the whole reason you aren't a meat eater the fact you don't want to eat meat?  so - don't eat fake meat!  that means fake corn dogs and fake italian sausages are out too. 

i am always astonished at the fake meat stuff i see in the frozen food sections at grocery stores.  i always wonder who they are accommodating.  vegetarians or wanna-bes.  and, before any vegetarians or veggiewannabes decide to buy any of those things, they need to check the nutritional label.  they may be lower in fat and calories but often they are LOADED with sodium and other weird crap in their LONG LONG LONG ingredient list not to mention they are generally made of soy.  unless it says that it isn't genetically modified OR that it is 100% organic (not just "organic", has to specify "100% organic") you can't be sure that it isn't genetically modified.  in any case, i'll be NOT partaking of the fake meat. 

100417 kate's bridal

Click here to view these pictures larger

a very needed update

again, sorry for not blogging every day or even frequently enough to probably keep you coming back every day to check.  (TS - i'm talking to you!)

melissa & her gang are still here so blog time is not abundant.

however, we stayed home today to "rest" for tomorrow (the wedding day) - plus the rehersal is tonight so the kids are zonked out right now and i just got out of the shower thinking about all i needed to update.

1.  holly fell down the stairs this week.  fortunately, our stairs are split so this was "half" a fall?  i didn't actually see it happen since i was already down.  she's been going up and down them by herself for several months now (interesting enough kendal still won't go down them without help and he's twice her age).  anyway, it didn't even phase her.

2.  holly started saying a bunch of new words this week (she can already say a lot, but these are just "new" ones).  like, banana (which is by far her funniest, i'll try to video this one next week), kendal, holly, faith, and probably more that i can't remember.  she's a real talker!

3. holly prefers walking around with her shirt UP.  she also is fascinated with hair brushes. she brushes her hair for at least 2 hours a day.  and, wants you to do it too.

4.  holly also likes to wear at least 5 bracelets at a time.  she also looks stunning while modeling kendal's fireman hat simultaneously "fire commander reporting for duty".  she's such a ham.

5. we got the train table from tookie's toys (still sad their closing, kate had her last day this past week) and needless to say it's been the ONLY thing the kids have played with since it came in the house.  well, that and books.  the train table even won over max and ruby and dora.  holly loves the draw bridge and kendal loves the castle-looking gate (or anything that opens and shuts...)

ok, so holly is awake now.  quick nap for her.  hope she makes it through dinner tonight!  :) 

pictures later.  i haven't even taken any.  need to check what melissa took... she's been the photographer this week (she has the same camera as me... not sure why i haven't gotten mine out!)

random observation

i've noticed the past few days that i've lost enough weight that many of my underwear bottoms are too big.

not really a bad thing but, i told you - random!

filling #1

went to the dentist today for my first filling since the 90s.  i have 2 mercury fillings and one of them had a cavity behind it so it needed replacing. 

let me just start by saying that my dentist and his staff is wonderful. they are very nice, considerate, and give me no reason to be anxious.  they actually go out of their way to make me feel as comfortable as possible.  however, it is nearly impossible to make me comfortable at the dentist.

today, i had to have 7 shots of novicane to make my tooth numb to the drilling and  my remaining teeth numb to the coldness of the air-sucker (the teeth have to be dry for the filling).  my face is numb.  i can say, though, that besides the tiny bit of tingle i felt when he was drilling and i realized that my tooth wasn't completely numb, i felt NOTHING.  not even the shots.  he was good at what he did.

so i'll let you know how my teeth fit together once i can feel my face again. 

in the mean time, i still feel like puking.  i hate the dentist [office].  i tell them everytime - its nothing personal.  it's the facility and the procedures, not the people. :)

shutterfly

i always try to update my shutterfly site every month with the previous month's pictures.

trouble is that there is a 1000 picture max for each folder (or month for me).  i can tell i have a new camera because i now take over 1000 pictures a month (personal pictures).

i suppose i need to start doing a better job at weeding out the bad ones, eh?

anyway, i even updated the header pictures this morning. 

http://kendaltherocket.shutterfly.com/

lead in with soy...

i was going to write a blog today about what i put in my tummy part 2 which i intend to be about "FAKE MEAT" but nathaniel sent me an article about "creating chicken without the egg" and it reminded me that maybe i should write a blog first about why i don't eat soy.

my #1 reason is because of the high amounts phyto-estrogen in soy.  oh, and the fact that most soy is genetically motified.  they also can mimic testosterone and inhibit the absorption of minerals like iron and calcium, and cause you to need more vitD and b12...  i've also read something about the thyroid and i know that if you are susceptible to aluminum toxicity, that you should avoid soy (learned that in the book he's not autistic, but...).  but anyway, when i was poking around looking for more reasons (i was hoping to make a top ten list), i found an actually list of ten reasons why that was so well written, i decided to just link to his blog (which i see that he posted it from another link but that one wouldn't work for me...) and repost it rather than coming up with a list of my own.

i'm just going to reiterate his last line really quick, though:  "I personally do not eat soy and will avoid it at all costs." which is almost exactly what i do.  i try not to buy anything that has soy in it - i will consider it if it is processed in a plant with soy (because that is nearly impossible to avoid), but, i'd say that 95% of our house is soyfree.  that 5% would be soy sauce (which i rarely use) and other sauces that have soy sauce in them. 

so, here is the list i didn't make:

10 reasons why you should NOT eat soy!

I have decided to write this Blog about soy because there is a lot of controversy and myths out there in the health and fitness industry as to how beneficial soy is for your health. I am going to tell you quite the opposite and how you should most definitely AVOID SOY!

1. Phytic Acid. Soy contains  high levels of phytic acid. In soy this reduces the assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children. It is possible to neutralise phytic acid in soy through methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. However most soy  in modern times is not prepared through these methods.
2. Protein Digestion.  Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
3. Phytoestrogens. Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
4. Hypothyroidism. To add to the point above, soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
5. Vitamin B_12. Vitamin B₁₂ analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B₁₂.
6. Vitamin D. Rather than satisfying the body's needs for vitamin D, soy foods increase the body's requirement for this vital vitamin.
7. Denatured proteins. Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
8. Processing. Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
9. MSG. When soy is processed with typical food processing methods, free glutamic acid or MSG is formed. MSG is a potent neuro-toxin. Often additional amounts of MSG are added to many soy foods.
10. Heavy metal toxins. Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

As you can see, these 10 reasons to avoid soy are rather damaging to the reputation of this "health food". I suggest you review these points and then have a think whether you would like to continue using soy in your diet.
I personally do not eat soy and will avoid it at all costs.

 

bittersweet

got some really bad news today - our favorite local toy shop - tookie's toys - is closing its doors.  this is sad in two ways - not only are they truly the ONLY good toy store around, but also it is where my sister works.  so, she'll be back on the job market.  hopefully she'll find another job as awesome as the one at tookie's pretty quickly! 

ok, so that is all the bitter side. 

the sweet side is that since they are closing, they are selling everything.  this INCLUDES the train table that my kids have loved since the first day we discovered the store.  fortunately, we already have a nilo and a ton of trains, so, katherine (the owner) is letting me buy just the train tracks and the flat to which they are attached (nailed down)!!!  how awesome is that?  not in a million years could we be able to build a train set as awesome as this one. 

i'd really rather the table stay at tookie's and the store stay open.  but, in the mean time, i'm glad i get to keep a piece of a local legend - right in my very own home!  the table will stay there until they close completely so we'll not pick it up until july.  i wonder if she'll be able to tell me who built it - and maybe a little history about it!  this is something i hope to hang on to for a very long time.  i know i'm not sentimental, but this table just seems like a treasure to me!