Thankful for Babies and Doctors

Like most expecting parents, Daddy and I often wonder out loud what baby-to-be will be like. Our kids are all so unique, with such strong personalities, that we spend much of our time shaking our heads in amazement (or amusement).



In fact, it is usually at those times that we look at my belly and ask that question.

 

I'm beginning to think this will be our "It's all about ME" child. He gave us a bit of a scare at 6 weeks, and since then has doubled every pregnancy symptom I experienced with his siblings. The first time I felt him kick, he was trying to kick S. off of my lap. He is very food-oriented, and lets me know exactly what he thinks of whatever I have eaten (or not eaten). He also lets me know exactly what positions I may or may not sit/stand/lay in. He has been known to interrupt conversations with sudden backflips, and staff meetings with hiccups.

 

His due date has been January 1. You would THINK the possibility of being the New Year Baby would appeal to my little narcissist. Unfortunately, he must have heard me say that I would actually prefer the tax deduction - just so long as he comes after Christmas. You know, so everyone can have a nice, relaxing holiday at home, before the hustle and excitement of welcoming him into the world.

 

Which brings us to the ultrasound we had back in August. Not only did he insist on being a boy, rather than the twin girls I had requested,

 

 

the prenatal specialist in Albuquerque expressed concern that his left ventricle looked slightly smaller than his right. If I squinted really hard at the picture the doctor showed me, I could kind of see what she meant. The important thing was, it meant another ultrasound! One of the perks of being of "advanced maternal age" is that you get the fun 3D ones, with lots of pictures.

 

So, a few weeks ago, we headed in for a rather longish ultrasound. We saw his fat little cheeks,

 

 

his objection to being poked,

 

 

and his perfect little fingers.

 

 

What we did NOT get a clear view of was his heart. He was not exactly cooperating with the tech, and finally fell asleep and refused to move at all.

 

The specialist decided she needed to see him in action herself, so we were back again just a week or so later. This appointment took two hours, and when the tech got a clear view of his heart, there was no squinting needed to see the difference. The left ventricle is quite a bit smaller than the right, and what is more important, the aorta (the artery that comes out of the left ventricle and takes oxygenated blood to your body - see, I did listen in fifth grade science!) is proportionately narrower.

 

This is known as "coarctation of the aorta", and if you want to google it, you can really freak yourself out. This is one of those things with a wide range of seriousness, however, and both the prenatal specialist and the neonatal cardiologist who saw the images later seem to feel it's somewhere in the middle. Not serious enough that he should need surgery (pretty please, God), but serious enough that we will be delivering in Albuquerque, at UNM. Exactly how bad it is/what needs to be done won't be known until after he is born (insert here, if you wish, long explanation about valves that close after birth and Mr. All-About-Me screwing up blood flow measurements with his constant practice breathing).

 

We're hoping to have the baby on a Friday, spend the weekend watching him eat, sleep, and poop, and be told, "Meh, you're good - come back for a check-up next month." A more serious possibility is an angioplasty - a little balloon inserted and inflated. Not fun to think about, but better than actual surgery! Either way, we feel very good about him being born at UNM - excellent hospital with fantastic staff.

 

Now, we are just waiting on a new due date. December 27 would be the optimal choice gestation-wise, but there's the minor matter of making sure enough of the team is actually going to be there, and not on vacation! So, we may be looking at earlier - and spending Christmas four hours away. I have the feeling Mr. Me will be pushing for the latter, in an attempt to keep our focus on him, and not on some other little baby born in less than perfect conditions.

 

We appreciate your prayers, and I will try to keep everyone up to date. I hope this will help excuse my lack of posts this month - and, if there's a bright side to being stuck away from home for a stretch, maybe it will include time to write reviews! Hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving, spent whatever way you wish!



Bountiful Baskets Haul - End of October

Feeding my cheap produce addiction this week:

 

Two regular baskets and four root pack add-ons. Check out those mammoth sweet potatoes!

 

We could hollow them out and sit in them!

 

I also got 75 pounds of Roma tomatoes (at approximately 57 cents a pound). They came in very underripe, thank goodness, so I didn't have to process them immediately. The kids helped me sort them by color:

(and, for some reason, my pictures have disappeared completely...I am leaving the boxes in case they spontaneously reappear...if not...imagine!)
 

 

and, after I put together a basket to share with Grandma, I tackled the potatoes. Full disclosure: this didn't all happen in one day!

 

I decided to just wash, cube, and can most of the brown potatoes, and ended up with 13 quarts. I boiled them briefly first just to get some of the starch out.

 

 

Any cloudiness you see here is on the outside, because I forgot to put vinegar in the canning water.

 

I saved a few out to eat now, and decided to try one of those recipes that is all over Facebook. You just slice a potato most of the way through,

 

 

sprinkle with oil and seasonings, and bake.

 

 

I have to say, I wasn't terribly impressed. They took FOREVER to cook, and ended with the skins being very tough. The kids were especially unhappy with the chewiness. We finally chopped them up and added baked potato toppings, and ate them that way.

 

I used one of the pears to freshen up a mix I made from the last basket's fruit - kiwis and persimmons - and layered it with Greek yogurt for parfaits. I topped it with BB granola, which is DIVINE, and told the kids we were having dessert for lunch.

 

 

While all the chopping and canning was going on, I was also roasting the Halloween pumpkins we had just decorated, along with the seeds:

 

 

I like the seeds best when they have soaked in a mix of lime juice and chili powder, and are roasted just shy of burning. The pumpkin I just roasted, cubed, and froze for now. I have enough food saved up for the first part of maternity leave, now I want raw ingredients so I can cook when I'm up and around!

After a few days of waiting, I had about 25 pounds of ripe tomatoes. These I peeled, chunked, and canned with a little garlic and oregano. To peel your tomatoes easily, dunk them in boiling water for about a minute, then ice water. The skins should slide right off. If they stick, you can toss them back in the hot water for another 30 seconds. Don't you wish everything peeled that easily?!

Another few days, another 25 pounds ready. I made 14 quarts of a spaghetti sauce that made my house smell like Heaven!

 

Your basic tomato sauce recipe with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. I also threw in some of the parsley pesto I had made and frozen after an earlier basket.

 

Then I started experimenting, and ended up with what I am calling "Sweet and Sour Chunky Salsa". This is roughly the recipe (there was little to no measuring going on):

About 15 pounds of tomatoes in varied stages of ripeness, diced (I like chunky salsa). The greener they were, the smaller I diced them.

 

Diced tomatoes - three small purple, and one large yellow.

 

Three cans of diced jalapenos that someone gave me, and which are too mushy to use in anything else, but hey, they were free.

 

Garlic!!

 

2 cups of cider vinegar. This turned out to be way too much. I was going by proportions based on another recipe (7 lbs tomatoes to 1 cup vinegar), and I didn't want to skimp since I was water bath canning, but - sour! So, I had to add more sugar - about 3/4 cup in all - now both sweet and sour! Oops.

Salt, cumin, pepper, oregano, cilantro.

 

Five Anaheim peppers I froze from an earlier Bountiful Basket pack, sliced and diced. I had cut the tops off and partly deseeded, but these aren't hot peppers, so you don't really need to.

 

Bring to a boil and then simmer about 20 minutes.

 

Hot pack into prepared pint jars (there were 14 in all) and water bath for 25 minutes.

 

There was a LOT of liquid left, and I can't throw anything away, so I funneled it into an empty bottle to save!

 

I was eating through leftovers in the fridge as I cooked, and spooned some of the salsa in with some corn. Yummy! Any other suggestions for using a salsa (pico de gallo, really) that is a bit on the tart side?

 

The remaining tomatoes have been ripening slowly, and I have been peeling, dicing, and freezing them every couple days. This is what I have left of the original 75 pounds, 2 weeks later:

 

 

There are several was to encourage your tomatoes to ripen faster, but I have been happy with letting them get ready in stages. I really need to win the lottery so I can just stay home and cook all day! Well, and maybe do a few other things. I suppose that means buying a ticket first, though...

 

 

 

 

 



Picture Books for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving does not seem to have as many preschool-appropriate read-alouds as, say, Christmas or Halloween. It also has the handicap of being a historical holiday surrounded by both myths and controversy. These reviews are unapologetically personal - I love going into this season with a focus on thankfulness and good food, but C.'s heritage and my own beliefs make me a little more sensitive to historical and cultural inaccuracies.

 

9780062198693

 

We have a love-hate relationship with Pete the Cat. Loved the first few books by Eric Litwin, hated the subsequent junior readers. This lift-the-flap is, unfortunately, leaning towards the second group. The cover bugged me right away: Pilgrims did not wear buckles on their hats, and they did not dress solely in black and white. The Native Americans (they only get that generic title) did not garden in feathered headdresses (do you pull weeds in your church clothes?) While small children do not need to be inundated with the conflicts between Native American groups and European settlers, a little historical accuracy would be nice. Pete's final comment, "I am thankful for the brave Pilgrims that started this free world,"...um...yeah, not even going to touch that one.

 

9780060002367

 

Sigh. Buckles and monochrome and headdresses again. The Wampanoag are at least mentioned by name, with a few tidbits of culture and language, and the only feathers past the front cover are on the turkey. The overall focus is on being thankful, and an author's note includes some less-than-perky details (the reason Squanto knew English is that another group had held him captive), as well as a list of foods that would or would not have been included in the original feast. Munsinger's illustrations are always adorable. This is one I would feel good about reading with my children, and would recommend to any teacher ready to follow up with age-appropriate discussion.

 

Honestly, my favorite Thanksgiving read-alouds continue to be older titles:

 

9780439459488

 

Out of print in hardcover, you can't beat the goofy illustrations and sing-song rhymes of this counting book. Whenever we see wild turkeys on the side of he road, my kids automatically call out, "Gobble gobble wibble-wobble!"

 

Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' by Maryann Cocca-Leffler is completely out of print, but kids always enjoy the comedy of errors that result in every traditional dish going missing. Again, the focus is on family and being thankful for what we have.

 

9780525456452

 

This one is just plain funny, in both text and pictures. I read it every single year, and so far, it is still available in both paper and hardcover! The only problem is, it always leaves me hungry...

What books do you like to read during this season?

 

 

 

 



Nonfiction Monday: Hands-On Science Fun series from Capstone Press

Back when I was a public school teacher - more than ten years ago - it was already hard to fit science and social studeis lessons in. With more and more required reading and math programs in the public schools, I am hearing more and more parents complain that those subjects aren't included in their child's school day at all. Some teachers point to the nonfiction requirements of their reading programs as the sum total of their sci/soc curriculum. While that's like saying you can learn to be a heart surgeon by reading a paper on it, I can't blame the teachers - you have to do what your district requires of you, whether you think it's the best choice or not.

 

As a result, however, we are seeing a huge upswing in parents wanting to supplement those areas at home, and elementary-level science kits and books are very popular right now. I ordered this set with high hopes, and took half of them home to try out with my own kiddos.

 

    

 

My only disappointment came in the form of my audience. They love both reading and experimenting, but the day I picked as a "Science Day" turned out to be one of those I'm-not-listening-or-following-directions days. You have those at your house, too, right? Good! I mean, not good, but...okay, moving on. This is the only one we actually got through:

 

9781429652940

 

I remembered doing similar experiments when I was younger, and it had plenty of steps to divide among three kids. After looking at the book together, I showed them various liquids I had set out with drops of food coloring in them:

(Please ignore potatoes - this was also a Bountiful Baskets Day!)

We took turns mixing the food coloring in, and immediately noticed how much thicker some liquids (like this ancient corn syrup) were than others:

 

Everyone had to take a turn with that one!

Again, please ignore produce in background.

We also sniffed each liquid first to see if we could guess what it was:

Just water!

I wondered why they didn't add food coloring to their oil, so I put some red in ours:



Oh, that's why.

We also tried milk, which we made blue.



Unfortunately, that just mixed with the water:

Yummy!

In the end, though, the point was made, and we got to see how everything went into layers:



This was after about ten minutes. By the next morning the layers were more pronounced, although it never looked as pretty as the book cover!

All in all a fun experiment with easy instructions and explanation at the end. It's not Ms. Shore's fault that we squabbled over the stirring, or that certain individuals wanted to pour things we weren't ready for yet, or that partway through I realized that a certain young lady's fingernails were black because she had taken the PAINT MARKER out of my desk, which she KNOWS she is not supposed to get into, and we had to launch an immediate investigation of where exactly she had been when she painted said nails and did she paint anything ELSE black, like, say, a floor or wall. I do intend to try the other experiments out.

Some other day.


For more great nonfiction, head over to Wrapped in Foil!

 

 

 



Picture Book Review: Dot, by Randi Zuckerberg

9780062287519

 

 

Waaaaaaaaaaait a minute...Zuckerberg? Yes, she's his sister. Also, it seems, a quite capable writer. Here we meet Dot, who is as tech-savvy as many young children these days (even S., who is quite happy to play in the mud or sort buttons for hours, quizzed me the other day on exactly how and why you tag people on Facebook).

 

Dot knows how to tag, and surf, and tweet, on any number of devices. Her mother finally says, "Go outside, Dot! Time to reboot! Recharge! Restart!" There, Dot and her friends remember more interactive ways to tag, surf, tweet, etc., all adorable illustrated by Joe Berger. This one will be hitting story time before it even hits the shelves (loosely fitting next week's already chosen theme of...dots!)  I hope we will see more of both Dot and Ms. Zuckerberg in the future.

 

As promised, an easy and obvious gift suggestion - include a coupon good for one day of exploring outside with Mom or Dad! Maybe even offer to bring some friends along, pack a lunch, and head somewhere you aven't been before.

 

Thank-you to HarperCollins for the review copy!

Picture Book Review: Everything Goes by Brian Biggs

One of the blogs I follow, MotherReader, has a great feature titled (currently) "150 Ways to Give a Book". I say 'currently' because she is always adding to it. Of course, we all love to give and receive books, right? We can make them even more special, though, by pairing them with other items (by which I do NOT mean the spin-off merchandise that makes the book seem like an afterthought.) For the rest of this year, when I review a book, I will try to also offer some gift suggestions to go along with it.

 

I already know who will be getting these two, the latest in Brian Biggs' Everything Goes series:

 

9780061958175

 

In this nice, chunky board book, Santa travels by everything BUT sleigh - with a single trusty reindeer behind the wheel, or perched on his handlebars. Kids will get a giggle out of some of the facial expressions of both Santa and his sidekick, and the passers-by.

 

9780061958113

 

Bright, cartoony drawings follow a young boy and his family in their hot pink car, as they leave the crowded traffic to board a ferry. Definitely meant for a slightly older audience, the boy's questions about why the boat doesn't sink are answered in fairly simple text bubbles with cut-away views. Other types of boats are explored (this busy river makes the roads look empty) throughout the pages. Trying to read from beginning to end in one sitting may prove to be a bit much, but it won't ruin the book at all to take it in pieces - or, just let your little one explore the pictures on his own, and use the text to answer questions as they come up.

 

Of course, anything involving transportation is a pretty safe bet for gift-giving. Toy cars or boats come to mind immediately, but consider some other options as well:

 

- If the little one already has a million toy cars, what about something to carry them in? Soft-sided lunch boxes are just the right size for a toddler to tote around, and can take a lot of punishing use.

- Do you live near a marina or bridge? Tuck a coupon inside the pages good for a day trip together to watch the boats go by. Better yet, have a friend with a boat that will take you out for a cruise?

- Look for related puzzles, like this sturdy one from Melissa and Doug:

 

- Is this a crafty kid? Look for big car-shaped beads to string, or a paint-by-numbers, or a wood car or boat that can be painted.

- Finally, boats just scream bath toys!

 

What other gift ideas could you put together with these titles?

And a Frightfully Good Time Was Had By All!

We held our annual Family Fright Night this past Thursday evening. Outside of Sumemr Reading, it is probably the event that takes the most planning and prep work, but it's also the most fun!

 

Decorations were fairly simple this year, since I make ladders a bit too top-heavy:

 

 

Yards and yards of black cloth are invaluable.

 

This is where I sat to read stories to anyone interested.

 

This guy greeted people at one door, while a screaming ghost waited at the other.

 

 

Hooray for purchase orders and day-after-holiday clearance sales!

 

 

This is the beginning of the food-holiday-season, so we had fun with that:

 

 

Dried Skin (potato chips), Witch's Teeth (candy corn), Secret Message Crackers (Scrabble Cheese-Its), and a pumpkin with fruit-and-cheese skewers for 'hair'.

 

Miniature Jack-o-lanterns (orange Oreos), Severed Fingers (pretzel rods) in a Delicate Earwax Sauce (queso), Dried Blood Drops (red hots), Honey Roasted Teeth (peanuts)

 

I was especially happy with these, but the fruit and cheese were the biggest hits! To drink we had Pumpkin Blood, Chilled Blood, and Goblin Goo (bug juice of varying colors)

 

We do ours as a come-and-go event. When trying to get kids into costume, it's hard to be anywhere at a specific time, so this has seemed to work best. There were two craft stations:

 

Make your own treat bag (which then gives you something to hold prizes in, so we tried to steer kids here first),

 

And Make Your Own Monster. I got big people shapes from Oriental Trading on sale, and just spread out some generic craft supplies.

 

Markers...

 

 

 

Yarn...

 

And imaginations.

 

 

There were some very friendly-looking monsters,

 

some absolutely adorable,

 

 

 

and some I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.

 

 

Notice the blood? I asked him what is monster had been eating, and the answer was something along the lines of, "Everything."

 

It was a popular spot!

 

Both crafts were presided over by Pirate Clara, who came here straight from work.

 



 

She is awesome at quietly keeping large amounts of children, glue, and stickers under some semblance of order, and very crafty. She is never allowed to grow up and leave me.

 

There were also three games to play as many times as you like:

 

Eyeball Bowling

 

 

See, I told you we couldn't throw those old cassette cases away, and that I would find a use for them!

 

 

You got to pick a prize for each one you knocked down. Prizes were a mix of candy and toys. This game was run by another one of our teens.

 

Her sister ran the Feed the Monster game:

 

 

Toss the bugs in the monster's mouth, pick a prize for each one that makes it in.

 

 

The most popular game, though, was run by Mr. Cliff. You had to stick your hand in a bowl of cold green Jell-O, and pull out an 'eyeball' (ping-pong ball).

 

 

The eyeball had a number on it, telling you how many prizes you could pick. S. was the first to break the surface:

 

 

 

followed by L:

 

 

Hey, I like this!

 

 

In fact, I like it so much, I'm going to refuse to pull an eyeball out, because then they will make me stop!

 

The sliminess did not deter many kids.

 

 

In fact, I was very proud of D., here:

 

 

She does not generally like to get messy, but kept going back to this game. She also brought me this adorable Rice Krispie monster, which so far I have not been able to bring myself to eat:

 

 

Of course, seeing all the costumes was the highlight for me. The shy soldier,

or the never-shy-a-day-in-his-life Scooby.

 

This young man was talking away to me, and I finally had to shake my head and say, "Honey, I can't tell who you ARE!" Awesome costume, Mom!

 

Definitely winning the award for attitude, though:

I love that these girls were discussing a book in the middle of the chaos:)

 

Cutest. Punkin. Ever.

 

 

These two friends got seperated at different schools, so they were happy to hang out here.

 

 

Costumes weren't required, though, and those without had just as much fun!

 

Huge thanks to all the parents who brought kids, and to the awesome volunteers who helped out (including the two who hadn't signed up to help, but took over when others had to leave - and then stayed to clean up!)