Making Lacto-fermented Kraut

by Meghan // September 12, 2013 // Comments off

One of the first lacto-fermented foods I learned to make (with the help of a great friend here in York), was Kraut!

I love making it, and even better, I love eating it.

Even better than that, I love watching my babies (and husband) enjoy it!

So, I hope to share this easy recipe/method with you, so that you may try it for your family!

Lacto fermented foods aren’t like regularly pickled foods- they are raw so they still contain all their original nutrients (and then some). They aren’t cooked or heated.

Laccto-fermented foods are cultured with beneficial bacteria that help preserve it and make it more nutritious. The foods retain their crispness and can be flavored in any number of ways by adding ingredients, such as garlic, spices, onion, fruit, etc.

And even better, they have added benefits for your health.

Some of those benefits include natural probiotics, increased vitamins, healthful enzymes and this natural process makes them more digestible.

On one of my favorite websites, The Nourishing Gourmet, she tells a little more about lacto-fermented foods-

“The health benefits of lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables are wonderful. I think we probably only know a small part of why they are so good for us. For example, unpasteurized sauerkraut and kimchi got a lot of buzz in recent years after some scientists found that birds fed kimchi or sauerkraut would often start recovering from the Avian Bird Flu!”

Not to mention it tastes amazing! It is way better than any store bought sauerkraut you have ever had (especially if you are like me and only eat sauerkraut on reuben sandwiches.)

Lacto-fermented foods are … fizzy. They are tangy, have a little fizz from the natural carbonation that is created during the fermenting process, and they aid in real health.

They date back to the ancient Romans, and are considered a “traditional” food. To learn more about traditional foods, grab a copy of Nourishing Traditionsby Sally Falon.

I will add some great resources at the bottom of this post for your leisurely reading (because we all have SO much time for that ….) that I love.

This batch of kraut produced almost 2 half gallon jars, in the end. I used:

2 heads of green cabbage
1 head of purple cabbage
1-2 sweet white onions (the more onion the spicier the kraut will be- not hot spicey, but like “zingy” spicy)
3+ carrots- I think I used a one pound bag of organic carrots, but we LOVE them in our kraut
3 heaping tablespoons of Real Salt (not that stuff you buy in the grocery store, and not “sea.”
Pure (pink) Himalayan Saltis WONDERFUL!)
3/4 cup of homemade whey (a link to making homemade whey coming soon!)
A big bowl for pounding the cabbage
A fermenting vessel of some sort

Below: chopping cabbage (this batch my food processor had some issues … so some was by hand and some was in the processor)

Into my (antique) crock it all goes-Here is a link to my Dream Crock

Everything in the crock- cabbage, carrots, onion, salt, and whey

This is a jar of Real Salt. If your salt is WHITE, and isn’t pink/gray/brownish, it’s not Real Salt.
You need to get some of this:

Here is my whey

And my baby bug pounding the kraut

Still pounding before gymnastics 😉

There it is:

When your kraut is about ready to jar, there will be several inches of juices in the bowl with the cabbage- it can take quite a while (15+ minutes) to get all the liquid you will need.

We use a meat tenderizer (which was at a friend’s house at the time of this batch) or a potato masher to pound the kraut to extract all the juices. Something a little heavy and good for pounding will work.

Then you add the kraut to your jar/fermenting crock/or other fermenting vessel.

To do this, you add a heaping spoon or two of the cabbage/carrot mix, then press down with one of these:

And poor off the liquid that comes up back into the crock or bowl.

Continue adding kraut, alternating pressing down with the tamper, and pouring off the liquid, until the kraut is about an inch or so below the neck of the jar.

Then spoon some of that liquid you’ve been pouring off, back on top of your kraut. A safe measurement is covered by about an inch, but as long as it is covered it is safe. It’s when the food is exposed to air (ie, not covered with the liquid) that you risk mold.)

This is the kraut just after it has been jarred.

And this is our kraut after a few days of fermenting. It is now ready to be moved to cold storage where it will be good for 6 months, or a little more. (If it lasts that long before we eat it all ….)

If you ferment in glass jars like these, you will need to burp your jars once a day to prevent all the pressure from building up. Once they’re moved to the fridge the fermentation process slows down so you won’t need to burp as often, but it is a good idea to prevent explosions … =)

Isn’t it pretty? I love the purple color!

We put the kraut on hot dogs, burgers, eat it as a side, and I even eat it if my tummy doesn’t feel good, to help queasiness or upset stomach. Those natural probiotics are great for your gut! (remember disease begins in the gut, with the loss of good bacteria, enzymes, etc.).

Here are a few links to wonderful resources on traditional foods and lacto-fermented foods:
GNOWFLIGINS– “God’s natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally, in season”

Weston A. Price- lacto fermentation (Nourishing Traditions)

Nourishing Days

Deliciously Organic- the UNprocessed Kitchen

Simple Bites

Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Sally Fallon

How to Make Your Own Baby and Toddler Finger Foods- Made Easy!

by Meghan // June 17, 2013 // Comments off

So, apprently there is this whole thing called “baby led weaning,” where rather than introduce pureed foods, you let baby just start eating appropriate sized/cooked finger foods.

We did this.

On accident.

We did do pureed foods for a few weeks, but then it was so easy to just him some dried blueberries to snack on while I made Lexie’s lunch. Blueberries became avocado, and that led to other soft foods.

Within a few weeks, Max was refusing the spoon. Refusing as in, if it isn’t warm, smooshy avocado, or warm, runny egg yolk, he isn’t eating it from a spoon.

He spits it out and tried to pick it up with his fingers, and when he cannot, he gets furious! Which in turn leads to me giving him finger foods instead ….

So, how do I make appropriate finger foods for the mister to eat exclusively, at only 9 months of age?

1. I clean and peel the fruits and veggies (so far we have had: sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, sweet peas, lima beans, cauliflower, apples, pears, but the possibilities are endless, really).

2. I place a steamer basket like this one inside a pot:

3. Fill the pot with water until it sits just below the bottom of the steamer basket, place your food inside, cover it, and let them steam for about 10-20 minutes. Potatoes and carrots take longer than say, apples or peas. I usually do 20 mins for carrots and potatoes (that are chopped in big chunks).

4. After they are cooked through and soft enough for baby, I take the basket out and let them cool a bit.

5. Then I put them on a cookie sheet lined with butcher or freezer paper. Pop it in the freezer so they can freeze through. After they’re frozen I put them in labeled bags.

That’s it! Fresh finger foods for baby and toddlers, ready at a moments notice.

I’ve also done chicken breasts, but I didn’t steam them. I sautee them in a pan with coconut oil, garlic, onion, paprika, salt, pepper, and parsley. After the chicken was thoroughly cooked, I did the same as with the veggies for freezing

Now I have lots of healthy veggies and meats for Mister (and Lexie, too!) at lunch, snack, and dinner when he can’t have what we are eating.

A few tips: I rough chop the veggies, and slice the fruit into wedges. Don’t cut them up into bite size pieces for the steaming process because A)they will become mush, and B) when you pull some out of the freezer for meals, you can cut them into smaller pieces for baby at meal time after they thaw.

But what if my baby likes pureed baby foods, and can’t eat finger foods yet?
Then you do steps 1-4, just like I did. But instead of freezing them whole, place them in a food processor or blender with some breastmilk, formula, or filtered water, and puree away! When it is the consistency your baby likes, poor into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap or foil, and freeze! Then, pop the frozen cubes into labeled bags! Very easy.

I still give Max egg yolk and avocado from a spoon, just to keep him eating something off a spoon. Egg yolks (preferably free range, organic) are the most nutrient dense food a baby can have, and it is most like mother’s breastmilk than any other food. It’s very easy to make egg yolks for baby, and SO good for them:

Place eggs (as many as you’d like, I do 3-4 at a time) in a pot
Fill the pot with water until it just covers the eggs
Bring to a boil, boil for 3.5 minutes
When you crack the eggs, the egg whites should be cooked (or mostly) and the egg yolk will be nice and warm, but runny.
Crack the eggs into a bowl for baby, spoon feed baby the egg yolks

I use the left over cooked egg whites in chicken and tuna salad. J.Tom will also eat them with sal and pepper with his lunch. **Do not feed your baby egg whites, it is considered an allergen for after their first year. Talk to your doctor before giving egg whites to baby. I have given Max egg yolk that had a little egg white get in it, and he was fine, but do what you and your doctor are comfortable with**

For avocado, I just smash a ripe avocado up with a fork, add a little of his formula, warm it for 10 seconds, and then mix it together with the fork. It makes a nice, warm, creamy food for baby full of healthy fats. He also eats them with his fingers cut into bite size pieces.

Benefits of Making Your Own baby Food

The wonderful thing about making your baby & young children’s food at home, is it doesn’t take long at all, and it’s so much more nutritious! Baby food from jars is cooked at such high temps, there is very little, if any nutrients left in it. High temps like that may kill the bacteria in a huge facility, but it also kills the nutrients.

You can season the foods just like your baby/toddler likes. Max loves seasonings already, at only 9 months. I can add a little cinnamon to his carrots and sweet potatoes, salt and pepper to green beans, and mix fruits together like apples and pears for a sweet fruit treat.

Frozen finger foods can be used for teething also- you can get one of these super awesome feeders:

And place the frozen apple, banana, or pear wedges (or any other food baby likes) in the net, and let baby teeth away! Max especially enjoys grapes, cut in half and frozen, in them.

The possibilities and choices are endless when making your own food. It also allows you to customize foods for babies with allergies.

Lastly, it is CHEAPER than buying baby food, espcially if you buy in bulk from a co-op, buyers club (like Sams or Costco), or local farmer’s market. And, if you grow your own in a garden, even better!

I really hope if you have been intimidated by the process of making your own baby food, that this helps you in some way.

38 week baby summary

by Meghan // June 13, 2013 // Comments off

Max is now 39 weeks (9.5 months), so this is the update for last week, his 38th week of life.

Let’s just say Max is now moving, fast! He is crawling everywhere, and is pulling up on everything! If he can get his hands on it, he pulls up on it. He likes to chase Lexie all around the house.

His new favorite thing? Dancing! He loves to dance and bounce.

He is still eating tons of finger foods. I have been steaming him fresh veggies, freezing them on a cookie sheet, and then storing them in bags for quick meals. I can’t get him to eat much off of a spoon anymore, he wants to chew!

Speaking of chewing, we have two top teeth! That was not fun, but they are here.

His days look like this:

7am wake and bottle
730 breakfast and play
8:55 down for nap
10:30 up from nap
11:30 bottle
12:00 lunch with mommy, daddy, and lexie
12:40/1:00/1:30 nap, depending on how long his first nap was
2:30/3:00 up from nap (nap is usually 1.5 hrs from whatever time he fell asleep)
3:30 bottle and snack, offer juice in sippy
5:30 dinner with family
6:30 bedtime- we shoot for 7pm, but he is usually begging for milk and bed at this point.

His naps have been SO great. He has been feeling better since the teeth finally got here, not as whiny and clingy as the last week or two. Literally, overnight he became my happy boy again.

We went to the pool Friday, and Daddy surprised us by leaving work early to join. We had a great time, and max loved the pool! We tried again, without daddy, to see if I could manage everyone by myself, and it was a success. So it looks like we will be getting a membership for the summer. They also have a toddler time from 12-1 certain days of the week. It is time just for the littles to play and enjoy the water. We may try once or twice a week, since that is lunch and wind down time for nap. It’s not usually hot enough for the water that early here, or at least it hasn’t been yet.

I have reduced his reflux meds from 4ml, to 3ml. So far so good. He has some spitting up while playing and crawling, but nothing that seems to bother him. Getting the medicine in him is still a challenge; we will both be so happy when he doesn’t have to take it anymore.

He did great at the chiropractor last week. His lower back was out of alignment and Dr C asked if he had been constipated … as a matter of fact he had been! Kinda crazy. He got adjusted, took a nap, and woke up poopy. True story.

Lexie has been her usual sweet self. She loves playing with Max, and looks forward to our snuggles in the morning and after nap; daddy has been traveling and she gets extra affectionate when he is gone. I think she needs that extra security.

She randomly sleeps for naps throughout the week, but always lays down for 1.5-2 hours for rest. Her bedtime is still 6:30 with no nap, she falls asleep right away and sleeps until 6:45-7am the next morning (usually). We have tried a later bedtime, and get an earlier wake time, which tells me she isn’t getting enough sleep when she goes down later. So we are sticking with early bedtime to keep from waking up at 5-6am! On days she naps, bedtime is closer to 7:30pm.

She found mama’s favorite heels before church one morning

First time at the pool

Our roses from Arkansas

Big girl on her bike

Lima beans- yum!

Mama left me alone with avocado for 2 minutes….

Baby Summary Week 38: reflux and chiropractors

by Meghan // June 1, 2013 // Comments off

Max is almost 9 months old. This is the post for his 38th week of life.

He is EVERYWHERE. He is eating well, and is still loving finger foods. Like as in, LOVES. He will eat a few jars of baby food, and then sit in his high chair and eat finger foods for 30 more minutes. haha And most of the food is making it to his mouth now.

He is crawling all over the house, chasing Lexie Raye, pulling up on everything, and really trying to stand …. on his head! He loves to stand on his head and look through his legs. It’s hilarious.
But he is also trying to stand on his own. He finally picked those feet up and walked while holding my hands. It’s like he has realized, “hey, I can move!”

Sleep is good; two naps a day. One is at 9:00 and the other is either at 12:40, or 1:00 depending on how long his first nap was. I think he is trying to tell me it’s time to push his nap back, to 9:15 or 9:30, because lately the morning nap has been short. I may try it this weekend and see what happens.
——–
Yesterday we went to the chiropractor (it was one similar to these Activa Clinics). Yes, we. I am so excited, we are praying this helps improve his reflux, so we can get off this awful medicine. If you haven’t read about chiropractic care in babies, you should Google it!

Illness such as SIDS, reflux, allergies, chronic ear infections, and poor health in general have been linked to poor spinal alignment. Spinal alignment affects our nervous system and our overall health. When adjusted correctly, these illnesses can be prevented and healed. Ear infections and reflux are two of the biggest reasons parents seek chiropractic care for their babies and children. If after reading this post you think you need to make an appointment with a chiropractor for your child then visit https://www.cobbchiropracticclinic.com/ and you can organise an appointment with a reputable chiropractor in no time with no hassle. On Natural Parents Network, Gretchen has a great story about her baby’s ear infections and how the chiropractor she booked an appointment with helped get rid of them.

If you’re thinking, “Well Meghan, babies didn’t go to the chiropractor 1,000 years ago, or 100 years ago,” This is what I would say:
If you think about our evolution, (and I haven’t read proof of this anywhere, it’s my own thought) babies were carried in cloths, wrapped around on their mothers, with their hips appropriately below their knees (fellow baby-wearers know what I am talking about here) for centuries.
They weren’t strapped into car seats on a daily basis, strollers on the weekends, or sitting in highchairs, exersaucers, etc during their day. I’m not saying these things are bad, albeit, these things are necessary.

For the last 8 months I have hesitated taking him to the chiropractor, although JTom and I have both used a chiropractor with success and there are many different chiropractors that we could have used such as the round rock chiropractor. If you are looking for a chiropractor then just ask around and I’m sure you’ll find yourself a good reliable one. ~~I think~~ it was fear. I wasn’t sure about someone adjusting my baby, and I honestly didn’t take much time to read more about it.

But I’ve had enough.

This medicine is awful, it’s not good for him long term, I have to ~~torture~~ hold him down while he screams, gags, and coughs to get him to swallow it, and most days he spits it back up.
(We have tried all ideas for giving him the medicine, but if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments for me!) If the chiropractor doesn’t work, we will need to get back on the meds until we find something that does. I’m pretty hopeful though as there have been high reviews of the local chiropractor, we’ve got our fingers crossed though! We were either going to go to our local chiropractor or go a bit further and go to one of flspineandinjury.com chiropractor clinics.

Our doctor was amazing; he was gentle and used an activator to adjust both max and Lexie. He used me as their “tester” or “surrogate,” to muscle test both of them.
I’m not a medical professional, so I won’t go into the long details of what a tester is. But, if he can push my arm down, while touching a certain spot on their bodies, it means it is a weak area for them. On an older child or adult he would use their arm, not a tester’s.

While doing Max (who was calm, relaxed, and happy, btw which I was surprised by since he screamed bloody murder at the family dr office the other day), my arm went down super far between his shoulder blades and his middle back.

I looked at the doctor like, “what is that?!” and he said,

“there’s your reflux. These areas are digestion, chest and esophagus.”

I cried.

Although we may not have success with chiropractic care for Max’s reflux, I couldn’t believe I waited THIS LONG to do it. I felt ashamed, in a way; this is so much better for him than those dangerous chemicals in his medicine he has been ingesting, against his will.

But I am glad we are doing it now.

I stopped the meds this morning; so far no reflux today. *edit: this is a weaning process, not something that happens immediately. I will be reducing his dosage, every other day, until we get down to nothing, or almost nothing.* We will make weekly visits for a month or so for adjustments. Then I will probably do once a month or so, if we have success.

Lexie was also adjusted; my arm dropped for her in a few different places. One was her middle back, and the other (which was worse) was her lower back. So he used the activator and adjusted her. He couldn’t test on her eczema, because it wasn’t flared. But he said if it does flare, bring her in and he will try muscle testing for it.

That was it. It was gentle, and easy. Nothing painful, forceful, and torturous about it.
I held Max, and of course Lexie was miss independent, but I could have held her if I’d needed to. The dr. was wonderful! Wonderful! I highly suggest him if you are in the York area. Contact me for more info, if you’d like.

I am not suggesting this for everyone, I am not a doctor or medical professional (I have to say this stuff to cover myself). However, if your baby suffers from reflux, ear infections, colic, internal body infections (like yeast build up, etc), you should research chiropractic care for you child.

Read personal testimonials, because it isn’t something the mainstream medical community is going to say, “Yes! Go try it and see if it helps. I won’t worry about the kick back I won’t receive from these medicines that only mask the baby’s symptoms!” No. That’s not the general response you will get. =)

My main reasons for finally trying it were:
A) it cannot harm them. It isn’t painful, or scary. It isn’t like filling their tiny bodies full of medicines that are not natural or meant for them.

B) I believe in nature. I believe in God, and His science in the body. I believe our bodies were made to protect and heals themselves.

C) I’ve always considered taking both of the kids to a chiropractor. It wasn’t until one of my dear friends told me her family’s story that I decided we would do it. A baby in her family was scheduled for surgery due to chronic ear infections; he had reflux, and in general had been sick a lot. He was taken to a chiropractor and adjusted. Later, the family took him back to the pediatrician to see about the surgery and the doctor said the baby no longer needed surgery. *true story, friends!*

That was proof enough for me. (This baby also happens to be the same age as Max)

Some of you are skeptical, and judging me right now. =) And that’s okay.

I may be an “extreme, counter culture crazy,” but we are trying everything we can to get Max well, and off medications. Like many of our decisions, this was done prayerfully, and I do pray next month I have a success story to share with you!

Or maybe you are interested, and curious to learn more.

Either way, I suggest reading and researching about chiropractic care, its risks, and benefits. Also, while reading, read comments written by others on the articles and blog posts; you will always find a wealth of information and links to blogs, websites, research, and studies in comments!

There are many videos like these on Youtube (the first one is our doctor):

Here are a few blog posts with personal experiences, websites on the subject, and my resources:

I hope if you have been considering this type of treatment for your baby, that this post will help you make your decision. I also hope if you are a skeptic, you will be encouraged to read, and educate yourself more. You may come out a skeptic, still. But maybe not. =)

Have you tried “alternative” medicines for your family? I would love for you to share your stories and experiences with me!

Baby Summary Weeks 35-36

by Meghan // May 21, 2013 // Comments off

Max hit the 37 week mark yesterday, so this is a post for the last two weeks of his life.

To say Max ha started eating is an understatement. The boy is devouring finger foods. Everything from dried blueberries and apples to sausage and sauerkraut! He ate the sauerkraut like it was running away from him! This weekend he enjoyed my cucumber and tomato salad in oil and vinegar … with garlic! We still do pureed foods just because sometimes I don’t have a meal made that doesn’t have dairy in it, but he is eating a LOT more finger foods. I can’t wait for him to try watermelon and cantaloupe this summer.

We still only have two teeth, but I think he is working on the top two. They’re a little white but not puffy yet. He has been napping great! Most days are 2 1.5 hour naps, sometimes a cat nap at 4:30 if he is really tired. But we usually just do early bedtime at 6:30pm instead.

Crawling … well, he is moving about 2 feet at a time before he falls on his belly and decides to roll over. So yes, he is crawling, but not for long distances. He rolls and scoots around a LOT more than he does crawl. **EDIT: he crawled all the way across the living room floor today! I know, it’s a 37 week update, but had to add it! YAY MAX!**

He enjoys being outside, and playing in the water. We have had beautiful, warm weather as of late. So Mama has been laying out while the kids play. He sits in the baby blow up bath tub and Lexie plays in her kiddie pool. Speaking of which, they are finishing our fence! Woo hoo! I am so excited. It should be complete tomorrow morning. They did most of it today. Lexie is so excited, she has been waiting on her fence for a very long 3 months.

Helping mama make the salad …

Last weekend was Mother’s day; we went to church at the Methodist church (which I liked a lot, surprisingly, coming from a full gospel girl. It was really homey). JTom got me a bread maker for Mother’s day- woo hoo! We have already used it several times and LOVE it. way better than doing it by hand, any day.

This past weekend we stayed home and worked around the house. JTom and Lexie got the garden in and JTom got the sprinklers set up in the flower bed. He cut into the sprinkler system and put little sprayers in the flower beds. They’re really cute. Our garden this year is just: tomatoes (roma, big beef, early girl, burly boys, and cherry), red and green bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and butternut squash. We put the bed in on the south side of the house, where they dug out for flower beds. It’s the perfect spot, and J.Tom may cut in some sprayers for the garden as well. I sure hope so.

I got some petunias for the back porch and filled the hanging baskets for the front, like I do every year. Lexie and I planted some giant impatience in a big pot for the front porch; they smell SO good. (I love having a front door that we use to come into the house)

JTom also got some new burners for the inside of his grill, so we can get back to grilling again soon.

Overall it has been a low key couple of weeks. Some how things have seemed really busy, but in all honesty we haven’t been super busy.

How have you spent your last few weeks? Anything exciting happening?

water play

she couldn’t resist; we didn’t have a kiddie pool yet

Mmm blueberries

Our record heat one day last week- 100 degrees here in lil ole York (we had snow on the ground the week before …)

Daddy and Mister

Reading a gymnastics books while waiting on class to start.

My morning Yoga

Mmmm Cucumber!

My Mister’s curls

wearing Daddy’s hat and looking like my cousin Wesley’s twin when he was this age. Like, if she didn’t have on the lace night gown, she would look exactly like him.

wearing daddy’s hat

34-36 Weeks Baby Summary

by Meghan // May 10, 2013 // Comments off

*I have been building this post all week, so “today” isn’t actually today ….*

Max has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 5 days! He suddenly went for a bitty baby to a big boy! He is almost crawling (edit: AAAAh! He crawled 2 knees worth today!), waving hi, giving wide, slobbery, open mouthed kisses, and laughing more than ever. Tonight for bedtime was the first time he put his head on my shoulder and his arms around me while we sang for night night. I usually hold him like a baby while he sucks his thumb and winds down. He’s such a sweet bear. Today, he also went from the crawling position to sitting position for the first time.

…. see, lots of firsts!

He said Mama while we were playing downstairs, hiding out from the rain. I was so excited. He is trying really hard to talk. A lot. The past few days I have had the living room fan, he is mesmerized; and I know all babies love fans. But this boy like instantly smiles and is hypnotized by the fan! He likes to play games now, like throwing his head back so you will hold him upside down, and putting his chin up so you can tickle his neck. It’s so funny. These are all things Lexie was doing long before 8 months. But it’s like he just decided, “Hey, I think I’m ready to move and have fun!” Before, he was so lazy and laid back. He is still laid back, just enjoys moving around now.

He gets so excited and is so proud that he can get up and rock on his knees, push up on his toes, and crawl backwards sometimes. He will be crawling more by the weekend, we are sure! Lexie gets very excited with him. She likes to show him how to do it.

He really enjoys playing in the grass. One of the great things about having a real lawn, is he can play and feel the grass without the fear of stickers.

I have him his first asparagus this week. He loved it! He also likes dill pickles (did I mention that last time?) and blueberries.

Lexie has been the sweetest most affectionate two year old ever this last two weeks. She is constantly telling me how much she loves me, hugging my neck tight, kissing me, playing and teasing, loving on her bubby even more, and just growing more kind and loving every day. Lexie has a tender heart; she doesn’t like for other people to be hurt or upset, but has had her share of not being so nice (like a typical two year old)… Pushing, chasing the dog, hitting Max … terrorizing the chickens comes to mind too.

But lately she has been so affectionate. Last night we were doing bedtime routine, and she just wrapped her arms around my neck, hugged me and said, “i love you more than this much!”

I’m sure my monster toddler will return soon, but until then i will take all these loves i can get! Her new favorite *obsessive* topics to talk about are the things that make God happy, and being grateful. It’s wonderful to see Christ in your child’s life, even before they completely understand the implications of their relationship with Him.

sweet Mister Bear

reading her Bible outside

talking to her buddy

I can do it, I can do it!

Heh

She is crazy about her umbrella!

Mmmm Blueberries!

Yes, I like them!

monkey girl

Mama, look where I can climb!

I’m doing it!

Did you see me?!?!

Mommy and Lexie

water play!

Max Baby Summary: Week 31

by Meghan // April 18, 2013 // Comments off

Max has been very clingy this week. His second tooth is here, and he is chewing like crazy with his side gums, so I am wondering if he is getting more teeth?! But I’m not sure. For the most part this last week was good. Minus the screaming. Oh my! The screaming. And it isn’t screaming like, “Oh, I’m mad so I’m screaming.” Or “feed me now!” (though he does that sometimes while I get a bottle ready.) No, it is just screaming. For FUN. A high pitched “Wheeee!” sounding scream. He was doing this while we ate lunch the other day. Lexie leaned over, put her hand on my forearm and said, “Mama. I do not like that sound.” Oh sweet girl, neither do I! Hopefully he will grow out of it before long.

He is signing milk all the time now. While I make his bottle, that little hand is just going to town signing for “milk.” It’s so sweet. He has been eating okay, but not great. Since the first tooth broke through he has good days and bad; he usually is only taking 4-5ounces, but will finish the rest mixed into cereal. However, because his new meds are working for his reflux, he is able to eat lots of real foods he couldn’t eat before, and now protests plain oatmeal! The boy wants real food. haha So we have been doing lots of avacado, carrots, peas, green beans, pears, apples and blueberries, etc.

His sleep has been better this past week, with only a few short naps. This weekend he had *perfect* sleep. All. Weekend. Long. It was amazing, really. I also found the activity table; it was hidden in the garage. We started using it this past weekend, and he did really well. For a baby who doesn’t seem the least bit interested in crawling or moving around at all, really, he stood up on his own for a long time playing at the table. He hasn’t mastered the art of bending his legs when he falls; so rather than fall onto his bottom … he just topples over like a stiff log. haha He doesn’t think it’s very funny, and usually gets really scared when it happens, so I try to avoid it… but the boy needs to learn how to fall onto his booty. So we are working on bending his knees and bouncing while standing, but those feet are firmly planted; I just don’t think he’s ready for all that yet really.

Considering Mister has been having such good sleep as of late, it is fitting that Lexie has been a little hit or miss. A few weeks ago, she went from not wanting to go to bed at night (read: saying she is tired, wanting to sleep, but also wanting us to pat her or rock her, which we don’t do because she has always gone right to sleep) to sleeping in her rocking chair. For some strange reason she has decided she wants to fall asleep in her rocking chair; and despite our attempts at keeping her in the bed, she gets up. But we have been going in and putting her back in the bed. The craziest part about all of this is she has been NAPPING. Consistently. For an entire week! I think this is partially because she is done teething. All her two year molars are in, and now she is back to eating and sleeping well. We considered taking the rocking chair out of the room, but I think we will just wait and see how long this phase lasts. Maybe she is just ready for a big bed… I am not sure. The 2.5 year mark usually is a developmental milestone for children when you generally see added clinginess, sleep disruptions, and new fears develop. She is definitely more clingy to both JTom and me, and has mentioned being afraid a few different story characters were going to “get me.” We have reassured her nothing is going to get her; she doesn’t mention this at bed time or anything, just sometimes while playing alone in her room.

Moni, Shelby, and Lilly watching us play doll house

Her imagination is wild! We still have engines that are beyond wearing out their welcome. haha I think I tell them things 200 times a day. “Will you tell me engines what I am eating? Will you tell my engines they need to sleep at nap time? Will you tell my engines they need to stay on the swing set and leave Scarlet alone?…..” Oh my. Then, the other night we had dinosaurs. On the ceiling. The engines go everywhere with us; she even includes them in her stories during stretching at gymnastics. They really like the museum. As long as I don’t have to feed them, I guess they can stay. 😉

Right now, Lexie is really into reading her devotional and Bible. I mean … like they are attached at her hip. As a matter of fact, the devotional is falling apart, and she can read every day, word for word, from January until today. Not kidding. That’s what we read for every nap and bedtime. It is her favorite. She is now acting like a little Mama to Max and her dolls. When Max cries she says, “Oh! Let me go see what is wrong to Max. Max, what is wrong to you? Tell me why.” haha I am not sure why she says “to” instead of “what,” but I’m sure she will figure it out soon enough. Her new favorite words are “fantastic!” and “earlier.” Hearing her say earlier is hilarious.

chewing on a pear

dyeing Easter eggs … a week late =/

painting her fingernails

We visited a church this past Sunday. It was really nice; it reminded me of my church growing up, which was a Full Gospel church. This is a non denominational church, it is small but has many young families. I am excited to maybe visit it again this coming Sunday. J.Tom was raised Presbyterian, so it is different than he is used to. But I actually felt like I was in church. For the past 5 years in Hot Springs I just didn’t get what I needed from our church; provided I didn’t give much back to them in way of serving. I never felt like it was home. The sermons were more like the new school way of thinking-motivational sermons or get people involved in serving the church, but let’s not talk about sin, salvation, the devil, or how to grow in Christ. That’s how I felt, anyway. The church we visited Sunday had an amazing sermon, though a little long, and a great worship service. Lexie walked into children’s church like she owned the place. haha She enjoyed herself (although she was supposed to be in the nursery since she isn’t 3 yet..) I don’t know if we will visit a different church this week or try this one again. We will just pray about it and see. We just hope to find a church that gives us what we both need, and that we can be a serve as well.

How did you find your church home? Is it one you grew up in or one you found after marriage, college, children…?

Max Baby Summary: 29/30 weeks

by Meghan // April 9, 2013 // Comments off

Wow, I know. I’m behind… Max is now 7 months old/31 weeks. This is the update for his last (month) week, which was 30weeks old/the week he turned 7 months.

We have two teeth! The first one was his bottom center right, and it came in about a week ago. 3 days later the left tooth came through. The left one seems to really be bothering him today; he’s been pulling on his ears and chewing his fingers … but of course he hurts himself now when he chews them because there are teeth in there! Haha! It won’t be long before we will have to make a dentist appointment for him; he’s growing up so fast. I want to make sure that for his first dentist visit, we go somewhere who offer Children’s Dentistry as at least that way they know how to properly treat young children so that they are used to going to the dentist and not scared, (like I am). My friend takes her children to this Dentist in Sarasota, which is where they live, and they are supposed to be very good in treating children. So, I think I may look for a dentist local to us that offers a similar service so that his first visit is a good one.

He is sitting up all the time by himself (that actually started about a month ago). He is much more balanced. I noticed when Lexie was his age, in the middle of April she was pulling up on things and turning herself around while sitting. I’m wondering if it is harder for him because we have carpet now? Lexie had hardwood floors to spin on. If Max were sitting on hardwood floors, then everytime he leans over or reaches for something he would realize, ‘Hey, I can move!” haha I may get the foam ABC mat out that Lexie used and put it down instead of the quilt they play on.. But I’m not sure how well it will work on carpet.

He is babbling a LOT! Lexie taught him to say “dadadadadada” a few weeks ago. I’ve been working with him to say “dada” when JTom comes home or is holding him. Two days ago, the boy looked at his daddy and said, “dada,” then when JTom didn’t say anything back Max said, “dada,” until his daddy replied. Then he just beamed! JTom was very proud. =) So we are pretty well convinced he knows JTom is DaDa. He has a few other babble sounds he makes and is so proud of himself. Max is also signing for milk. He signs it when he is waiting for me to make his bottle, when I sign it to him, while he is drinking his bottle… so next we are going to do “more” and “please.”

He is wearing 12 month clothes (he has a few 9mo that he can wear). About 5 days ago, he woke up and had a head full of hair?! Prior to that he had a “mohawk.” Then 2 days ago he woke up with lighter hair! It’s crazy how babies literally change over night! His eyes … well I am going to let you decide from the pictures. I really don’t know. The centers look light green, but overall they’re just really blue.

Max’s 6 month dr apt went well. He started a new medicine, I think it is prilosec for babies. They compound it at the pharmacy. The taste is terrible so he has a hard time swallowing it (even with added flavoring) but it has helped tremendously! He went from barely eating and taking bottles to eating a LOT more! I think he has gained 5 lbs in the last 3 weeks. haha He has been eating peas, green beans, carrots, apples, apples w blueberries, and avacado with no problems. Bananas constipated him for a day or so, so he hasn’t had them anymore. But there have been no problems with anything else as far as reflux goes! What a blessing and answered prayer.

His sleep has finally gotten a little better for naps, and here is what his routine looks like:
6:45/7:15 wake
7:00/7:15 up, medicine, eat
7:45 independent play in pack n play
8:00/8:15 go downstairs to do calendar and activities with Lexie
8:50 wind down for nap
8:55-9 asleep (usually a 1hr10min-1.5hr nap)
10:15-10:45 wake up
11:00/11:15 eat, play
12:30-1:00 down for nap; we do 12:30 if he was SUPER tired from a short first nap, but 1:00 if not
2:00-3:00 wake up; time depends on what time he went down for second nap. (Usually a 1hr10min-1.5hr nap)
3:00 eat, play
sometimes he takes a cat nap (he is in the process of dropping this nap)
Ideally, his dinner is 6:00, bedtime is 7pm
On days he doesn’t get good sleep (usually if naps are interrupted it’s with a poopy diaper, or we go to the library for story time…) then we do bedtime an hour early, so asleep at 6pm. That helps his catch up on sleep, and keeps him from getting in an over tired cycle which can take weeks for a small child to get out of.

Lexie is doing great. She still enjoys gymnastics, and has all her “imaginary” friends. We read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, along with Billy Goats Gruff and the Three Little Pigs recently … now everything is a “daddy fill in the blank” “mommy fill in the blank,” or a “baby/Lexie fill in the blank.” Obviously this goes according to size of said object. =)

reading

She started letting me wash her hair in the kitchen sink, so hair washing and bath time are no longer a fight. She was doing great, and then about 4(?) or so weeks ago, it became an absolute screaming, tearful battle to get her in the tub so I could wash her hair. She doesn’t like teh water to get in her ears or eyes. Of course we did EVERYTHING to prevent this, but when
she is screaming and moving around, it becomes impossible to keep the water only on her hair …. After I convinced her the kitchen sink would be fun, and that my Memaw washed my hair in the kitchen sink, she was okay with it. =)

Two weekends ago, Spring hit Nebraska. Although this coming week is supposed to be stormy and cold, the last two weeks have been warm and sunny. We don’t do the Easter Bunny, so Lexie got a spring basket with some new learning toys and a few necessities. We gave her a Thomas the Engine (electric) toothbrush, some new PJs, new dry erase markers for her dry erase board, a pair of fiskar kid’s scissors, and some accessories for her light table. (The light table is a whole other post! Look for it later this week or next!)

She also got her first real kite! In Nebraska it is very windy, and out where we live used to be cornfields, so there are no big trees around the house, they are all a street over at the park and school. So it’s the perfect place to fly a kite. She had so much fun!

In many of the pictures I am posting, the grass was just barely turning green, now it is all green and trees have started budding and blooming(?). Our garden season is off from the south by about a month, so we don’t need to get anything in the ground for a few more weeks, at the latest May 1st.

JTom has been traveling some with work. He went to Milan, Italy last week. He brought back three bottles of Italian wine and some parmesean cheese. I still haven’t tasted the Italian wine, but I am sure it will be great. The cheese … well it’s good! =) In Italy they put (very expensive) balsamic vinegar on a little piece (like a cube) or parmesean cheese and eat it. So when we went to Grand Island last weekend we got some of the good, “gourmet” (though no expensive…) balsamic vinegar and tried it on the cheese. YUM! New favorite snack, for sure.
He brought back some “monies from Italy” for Lexie and she was beyond pleased. haha I got a beautiful rosary, and the wine.

Turkey season in Nebraska has opened, so JTom may be hunting Saturday. He joined a hunting lease here, that covers hunting land all over Nebraska, and in other states as well. I told him if he brings home meat so I don’t have to buy nasty store meat, it will be worth it. He said “it’s called hunting, not killing. I can’t promise I will bring anything home.” So, we will see if we end up w a turkey in the freezer. =)

We have started planning our garden. We know we are going to get in tomatoes and maybe a few other things. We have to get the fence done soon, hopefully in the next few weeks. All of the pictures below are from March, so they are actually a few weeks old, or older. You will notice Max’s hair isn’t very thick. Look at his hair and fat rolls in the next posts with pictures! It’s crazy how quickly they change.

reading to Bubby

Mister Bear playing in the bath

reading her Bible to Max

I love to be upside down

new outfit

playing outside in the dirt

Happy Bear

Angel Baby

just minding my own business…..

Until now ….

picnic outside

happy bear

Mister outside in the exersaucer

Hi Mama- look at me!

Counter Culture, Anyone? Part One

by Meghan // February 11, 2013 // Comments off

God has been working on me a lot the last year, and I have too. I have had these very strong feelings and passions about life since we found out we were pregnant with Lexie over 2 years ago. I am so blessed that JTom shares those same sentiments; I couldn’t really find anything to describe our parenting style, and then while talking with like minded mamas on a forum, I found it- Counter Culture. It’s pretty much us, to a T. Some things that we do that are counter culture:

We say “no”- our children don’t get anything and everything they want. If they cry and pitch a fit they especially don’t get it
We don’t watch TV. JTom and I watch some television on occasion but in our house the TV is off. Lexie knows a few shows (more than I’d like due to being around other family and friends) and sometimes she watches Thomas the Train. But we limit it to a few times a month
We don’t do Disney. that isn’t to say we will never take our children to Disney World, although I can think of a million other places I’d rather take them … Disney is an overpriced, over commercialized parent trap. Maybe when the kids are older we will visit, but we do not buy a bunch of Disney products or movies, etc.
We pray. As a family. A lot. Much of this is instigated by the two year old herself. One of our family goals this year is to pray as a family more.
We know we are created in His image, and seek to live closely with Him
We don’t believe that today’s “normal” is normal.
We don’t believe that today’s “good” is good.
We don’t believe that certain things come with “childhood.” Sugary foods, not eating healthy meals, playing video games, and bossing parents around are not rights of passage in childhood. They are not part of being a kid. They are for some kids, but not for ours.
We go against the flow
Aren’t afraid to be ourselves, be different

Basically to sum it up, our culture is about self gratification, and we are trying to raise our children against the grain. This may result in the exact same outcome every other family has; I am not saying our way is better or the best. It is just how we do it. We are trying to instill in our children that this life isn’t supposed to be lived just for us, it is supposed to be lived to the Glory of God. That means we don’t always get what we want, what we beg for, or what other people have. It is okay to be different, as a matter of fact, it is GREAT to be different than mainstream society; society today is not a good normal.
What we do offer our kids is love, affection, time spent one on one, special outings, and an occasional splurge. They aren’t deprived; but our society and even people in our family would probably tell you that “having lots of stuff/toys makes kids happy. It’s just who kids are.” No, that is who kids’ are raised to be. That is how society has brought them up. But JTom and I really don’t want that for our kids. They have nice clothes, toys, books …. but they don’t need an excess of it all. Sometimes gifts we receive go back to the store. We would rather use the money for something they need rather than something they don’t even know they want.

J.Tom and I are raising our children as counter culture as we can, and started living this way well before we knew it had a “label.” We seek God and His glory in all we do and try to extend that to our children. Sometimes I think maybe I need to justify myself, my family, or the raising of our children to others, including our own extended family. Then I realize … no, i don’t.

I can explain it, but really I can just refer people to scripture.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:2.

Stay tuned for the rest of the series on our family and how we are going against the grain.

Yay For Being a Stay at Home Mommy (for the summer)!

by Meghan // May 9, 2011 // Comments off

Well, we are home-on a M O N D A Y!!!! It is the best Mother’s Day gift ever! We are going to make some more baby foods this afternoon-I think we will do apples and bananas today and see how those go. We are going to try cinnamon, too! Very exciting.

Lexie is doing wonderfully on her new routine! She gets up about 6:30 (usually because she is poopy) and then we play until 7:00, which is when she eats. AND (this is BIG!) We think she is SIGNING “MILK!!!” When she wakes up and snuggles she immediately starts doing the sign for milk; I was mistaking it for her wave “Hi” that she does. But no-we are pretty sure it is milk. WOO HOO I knew we had a genius baby 😉 So anyways, she eats at 7:00am, plays in her pack n play for 30+ minutes while I do some chores and get things ready for the day. When she gets tired of the pack n play, we play on the floor and have mommy/baby time. Then about 9:30am she goes down for a nap, which lasts until about 11:00am. Then she wakes up and eats again, plays for while, goes down for a nap between 100-1:30pm, and wakes about 3:00. Then she eats and we begin again! Finally at 6:00pm she has dinner and is asleep by 7:00pm. Then Daddy and I have the rest of the evening to do whatever we need to get done-eat dinner, chores outside or inside that we didn’t get finished. We could not ask for a better, sweeter baby! (well, maybe the next 2 or 3 could be just as sweet?) I am thinking we will have 3 kids.. unless the first 3 aren’t boys then we will probably have 4. =)

Lexie has always been a happy baby, but there were many days when she was so cranky. SHE WAS TIRED. At school she could not nap well, once she woke up at the end of a sleep cycle, they got her up. So she sometimes had a 45 minute nap. This usually rolled over to our weekends together too, because she was not used to getting good rest and only knew to wake up. NOW, she is taking 1.5-2 hour naps twice a day. We have dropped the 3rd nap all together, because she is no longer exhausted in the afternoons! It is amazing how much better we all feel when we get rest!

I went to Bryant Saturday afternoon and picked up Lexie a “like new” activity table-she loves it! I have to hot glue some drawer liner to the bottom of the legs so it doesn’t slide around on her (with hard floors it could get pretty dangerous). We went to our friends’ Bo and Jessica’s house and they had one for their little boy; I’d been wanting to get Lexie one and after seeing her play on their’s it was a definite-she needed one! =) Here are some pics of her playing on it.

Next I want to get her a baby swing for the yard. Fun fun!

Today, my friend Whitney and I are taking the kids to Arkadelphia to get our caps and gowns and then to the park. =) I cannot believe we graduate in 4 days. It is just surreal.. I still don’t think it has hit and I am fairly certain Friday will involve tears of joy.