Monday, April 26, 2010

Weekend in Pictures

Saturday morning started with an AMAZING breakfast of Dutch Baby Pancakes with powdered sugar [I know, I know, I cheated]

Then I drove to the Browning's house to meet up with Katie and Henry to go to Prairie Fest in Ft Worth

Lily's started carrying things in her mouth like Rusty...It's pretty weird


When we got to Prairie Fest, there were bagpipes,


Tennis ball puppet shows,



A May Pole,


Lots of gardeners showing off their stuff,


A wonder woman spinning wool,


Lot's of YUMMY, local food, including these awesome folks from Potager.


We sat in the grass, listening to old hippies playin their Beatles covers


Henry hates me most days, I'm sure of it.

We got lots of sun :]



And then these creepers came out of the woods with their puppets...


All in all, Saturday was lots of fun.


Eamon was sick on Sunday [...] but was still able to make it to work. Lily and I had some fun with my camera.

This is Betty the Giraffe. She hasn't left her side all weekend, it's SO cute.



And here she is practicing her walking :]

Hope your weekend was equally as fun
Mae

Meal Plan Monday

Here's what we got cooking in our kitchen this week :]

Breakfasts:

Lily:
  • Steamed egg yolks [go here to see more on how to prepare]
  • Fruit or veggies steamed
E&M:
  • Steamed eggs with fruit
  • Omlet with homemade soaked wheat rolls
  • Soaked Oatmeal
  • Soaked Muesli
  • Soaked Panckakes [SO good, we served them last week with Amish butter and raw, local honey and steamed fruits. It was very filling! We used the recipe right out of NT because I didn't really like most of the ones I found online]
  • Soaked Dutch Baby Pancakes [So far, this is Eamon's favorite "soaked" recipe]
  • Fried Eggs with Homemade yogurt

Lunches:
  • Salad w/pan fried fish [talapia, flounder, or salmon]
  • Fish [the same mentioned above] with brown rice and steamed veggies
  • Hummus plate [chic peas soaked for 24 hours and cooked in the crockpot over night. VERY tedious, but noticably tastier.

Snacks
  • Laver [nori]
  • Fruit/veggies
  • kale chips
  • turnip chips
  • sweet potato fries
  • Yogurt
  • brown rice crackers [Lily is LOVING these]
Dinners:
Monday: Fettuccine with Lentil Bolegnese

Tuesday: To the Brownings for supper and Lost [IT'S ALMOST OVER!].

Wednesday: Tempe Chili with Cornbread

Thursday: Fried brown rice with Crab sticks

Friday: Black bean soup

Saturday: Pizza [the regular crust is back after being berated by E about tampering with our perfect pizza dough...]

Sunday: Curried Chicpeas and veggies with brown rice.


Keep an eye out for "Our weekend in pictures" we had lots of fun, hope you did too!

Friday, April 23, 2010

A morning in our garden

For some picture practice, I got up this morning to take some pictures of our garden. We have a 7[ish]'X2' spot in the back underneath Lily's window for salad items; lots of swiss chard, butter lettuce, romaine, and tomatoes :]

Everything is starting to sprout and bloom! Check it out!

As soon as I opened her window...dirt.

aaaand into the mouth.


I'm one lucky mama


lettuce sprouts

swish chard

Tomato plant one


Complete with our first tomato!
Dear cute tomato, Please get big and juicy and inspire all of the other slackers on our plant to get to growing :]



Dear Stupid bug, get the heck away from my tomato. I will squash you like the demon nutrition sucker you are....


And here's tomato plant number 2


I crawled out of the window to get more pictures. This is one of those "Do what I say, not what I do" moments... Silly baby


We're also growing lavender and Lilies here:


And we have a lemon tree, complete with some seriously cute lemon buds.


And this is where the flippin birds at the bloom


I've got some sunflowers growing in the pot that I made Eamon [complete with squash babies] for one of his wedding presents.


When we came back inside, I closed the window so Lily [AND Rusty] couldn't get out, but she still tried to scoot UNDER the two inch gap...


And ended up loosing a book.



Well! There's a look at our salad garden! Hope you have an awesome weekend!
Mae

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day in Pictures and THE Surprise!

Well, today ended up being really, really gray. BUT I did get to take some pictures!

Lily helped pick weeds in the salad garden


Then ate a LOT she shouldn't have...stupid flowers.



This is the cute shirt she wore today


When we got to the farm we saw goats,


and chickens



and rabbits [those were Katie's and Ava's fav's]



Overall, it was a good trip. We got rained...ahem, misted out, so we went home. On the way back, lily got super tired and hungry and was doing her usual pterodactyl scream. Super sweet Katie said "Lily...you can stop screaming. My head hurts." HA! Exactly, Katie, exactly.

I was actually reconsidering going because I was anxiously awaiting a package from the UPS man all day. I ended up missing him, but he entrusted said precious package with our [moron] apartment office. I'll let it slide this time...Can you guess what it was?



YUP! The lens to my camera! I am doing it y'all! I'll explain more later, but lets just say in a few months you may be seeing some pictures of some mamas working hard to get their babies in Rockport! WHEW! Feels good to announce it finally!

PLUUUUS!

You'll be seeing a lot more of this guy



And, of course, a lot more of this girl



Super excited to share this journey with you!
FINGERS CROSSED!

Mae

Earth Day!

Today I have lots of fun stuff for Lily to do for Earth Day!
We are headed to Homestead Farms in Keller for a whole lotta fun!
We're meeting the lovely Heather and Katie there for some goat milkin, chicken gazin, horse pettin, whoopin, hollerin time :] VERY Excited!

Speaking of Heather...
She's hosting a freakin awesome giveaway on her blog this morning!
Her and her husband are on their 21st week of pregnancy and trying to figure out baby names! It's a surprise [LOVE SURPRISES!] So, they're asking for your help! Head over to Mommypotamus's latest blog entry for a chance to win a $25 gift card to the Etsy site of your choice! HOW COOL is that?



I just had to post this picture, uh-dor-uh-ble

Pics to come later this evening!
...and hopefully a surprise....

Mae

Monday, April 19, 2010

Meal Plan Monday

Lily cut a vampire tooth last night. Yup, she has two front teeth on the bottom, one to the left about to cut, and a top vampire tooth on the right. We're about to have a funny looking kid. But hey, who could be mad at a chubby vampire baby for biting? Ok, maybe me...but you can't ;]

Last week was a success for Nourishing Traditions! And for me not eating refined sugar! Total, the only thing I ate that I shouldn't have last week was refrigerator biscuits with Spank-o-pita last night, and two pieces of white bread on Friday night. DANG WHITE BREAD! Other than that, everything was homemade and soaked.

Here's what we've got on the menu this week:

Breakfasts:
Lily:
  • Steamed egg yolks [I crack the egg, removing the white (maybe save them for something later on that day, but usually not) place the egg yolk carfully into a collinder (or steaming basket would work too) and place in a pot with an inch of simmering water covered for about 5 mins. Allow to cool and add a little salt]
  • Fruit or veggies steamed
E&M:
Steamed eggs
Scrambled eggs w/sautéed veggies
Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Muesli
Soaked Panckakes [SO good, we served them last week with Amish butter and raw, local honey and steamed fruits. It was very filling! We used the recipe right out of NT because I didn't really like most of the ones I found online]

Lunches:
  • Salad w/pan fried fish [talapia, flounder, or salmon]
  • Fish [the same mentioned above] with brown rice and steamed veggies
  • Hummus plate [chic peas soaked for 24 hours and cooked in the crockpot over night. VERY tedious, but noticably tastier.

Snacks
  • Laver [nori]
  • Fruit/veggies
  • kale chips
  • turnip chips
  • sweet potato fries
  • Yogurt
Dinners:
Monday: Scallops with cherry tomatoes, pesto, and whole wheat rotini

Tuesday: To the Brownings for supper and Lost.

Wednesday: Greek Big Beans with Brown Rice

Thursday: Shitake Soup

Friday: Kidney Bean and Cauliflower Coconut Curry

Saturday: Pizza [made my first soaked what thin pizza last week! Very good, even though I sorta ruined it, lol ]

Sunday: Lentil Pockets with Yogurt Tahini.

I'm having trouble getting Eamon to like the tartness of the soaked grains, any suggestions?

Well, off to do the mommy thing!
Mae

Sunday, April 18, 2010

What are you feeding her?!?!?! April


Clean plate after a lunch of chopped greens, olives, tomatoes, Greek lentils, and yogurt tahini sauce. Clean hair, not so much :]


On behalf of Lily's growth spurt today...whew...I believe it is time for another installment of "What are you feeding her!?!?!?!"
[If you want to see last month's post, you can go here ;]

Now, THIS is unusual, but I noticed today, Lily was being a little adventurous in her eating habits. She is going through a growth spurt for sure.
Here is what she had today from 3-6:30
3:00 About a quarter cup each of brown rice and beans. The beans were butter beans and kidney beans [both have skins that are really easy to peal off] with diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a little green pepper.
4:00 I left a portion of my Greek Yogurt [goat milk hurts meh tummy less] without honey so Lily could try some. Before I knew it, both of her hands, her face, and my knee were covered in yogurt, and my yogurt serving was drastically reduced. [No babies were harmed by honey in the making of this update]
4:30 Nap time in the pompason. We napped/nursed till 5. Yup, she nursed the whole time.
5:30 Golden raisins with the skins removed. I hate feeding them to her bc they are SO tedious.
6:30 More beans from lunch. What can I say, she is my child.

And then we nursed before bedtime.
My. Goodness. We are raising a foodie for sure.

Here are some new things Lily is in love with:
Brown rice:
Soaked for 24 hours, cooked, and frozen. This makes things a lot easier when it comes down to meal time. I don't have to go and start cooking it AN HOUR before I want it. I just pop it in the sauce pan with some water, and voila! Brown rice for baby in about 5 minutes. I'm trying this brown rice cracker recipe tomorrow to see if she likes it :]
Guacamole: Sorta... Lily loves avocados, this, we all know. So I started spicing 'em up a little bit for her. Here's how she likes her guac:
1 avocado [yup, the whole thing] halved, pitted, skinned and diced
1/2 diced Roma tomato
1/2 a lime's worth of juice.
1 pinch of sea salt
dash of pepper
Mix well and serve immediately. [and be prepared to clean...]
Greek Yogurt:
Plain* yogurt from goat's milk is ideal. The proteins in goat's milk are much smaller than those in cow's milk making them MUCH easier to digest. This is good to remember for those of you who are lactose intolerant, too!
*A good rule of thumb for you and you're baby to follow: Don't buy flavored products. They often contain an excessive amount of sugar and preservatives. Instead, buy plain and add your own toppings. It tastes better, and sometimes even costs less!

On top of that we keep her supplements simple, and regular:
1 capsule of Tuna Oil
1 capsule of Innate Choice Probiotic
Soon we will add a calcium supplement for her growing teeth!

She eats 2-3 egg yolks a day [1-2 in the morning, and 1 before bed] and pretty much whatever we eat at lunch. She loves food. I love her.
And on the boob front, she is still nursing 4-5 times a day, BUT has been sleeping through the night! I don't even know what to do with myself yet! It may not last, and that's fine. I honestly wake up and HOPE she's waking up because I feel like my boobs are gonna explode. But she doesn't... I've been having to pump in the mornings bc it gets pretty uncomfortable, but I know she's getting sleep, and it's such a relief!

So, there you have it! Email me with any questions [or suggestions!] that you have :]

Mae


***Always ask your family doctor before introducing new foods to your baby's diet.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Confession and a Surprise.

Well, guess I should come clean.
I haven't worked out in two weeks. Blegh.

For some reason I can't do the whole "cook 21 meals a week, soak grains, do all the clean up that goes with that, walk the dog, nurse the baby, keep up with my small business" AND work out for the sexy 20 year old body I'm supposed to have. GO freakin figure.

So, I'm starting over.
Stats
Size: 14 is too big, 12 gives me muffin top [pick your jaw up off the floor now...:| ]
Weight: 181 [HOW I GAINED weight? I don't even know...]
Waist: [at it's smallest part] 34 inches
Muffin: 42 mutha lovin inches...blugh.
Chest: [in nursing tank] 40 inches

If we move to Rockport, I will be at the beach a lot. If I thought I was self conscious in high school...shiver...Let's see if I can get this eating AND exercising thing down. Starting tomorrow morning...I think my whole family would appreciate me loosing the weight. Then maybe we could work on some siblings for Lily ;]

SO, BYE BYE Monster Rolls. You will NOT be missed.





















Now that is out of the way...sorta.
I have some EXCITING news. But...I think I'm gonna wait, now that I think about it. HA!

Hope you're having an awesome weekend
Mae

Friday, April 16, 2010

PAGES!

Blogger finally added pages to their edit options!
WHHOOOT!

Check up top as I'll be adding plenty!
First up, READ. :]

Mae

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Our First Bug

Well, being in and out of sanity the past 12 hours has done a number on me!
I feel the need to sorta, hang it out to dry and move on, so you, my readers, shall pay the price ;]

At about 3/4 this morning Lily threw up all over the bed. I was so sleepy, and didn't really think anything of it. That girl puts so many un-edible things in her mouth, it surprises me she doesn't throw up more. So I nursed her a little bit and she snuggled right up to me and went to sleep. I woke up this morning at the normal time with her and went to her room to play. I usually lay in the twin bed to try to wake up while she plays. But today, instead of wanting to "read" her books, or play tag with rusty, or build towers, she just got on the twin with me. I thought "YES! SLEEP!" And we woke back up at about 9:15
When we woke up, she was on fire! Ok, not like flaming baby, but her little head was burning up. I got out the thermometer and took her temp. 102.
Hrm... What's going on?
I try to let her play some more, be herself. I took off her diaper, tried to let her cool down some, and her temp came down a little. GOOD. But then, after feeding her, and giving her lots of skin to skin, it rose, and rose, and just kept on rising.

One of the hardest things for me to do since becoming a parent is learning not to please everyone.
That was a hard one to write... By nature, I need everyone around me to be happy about every decision I make-every employer, teacher, babysitter [lol] I've ever had, has told me this. Since Lily's conception, nothing could be truer. With almost any decision I make I receive one of two arguments:

***I wrote these two responses and realized that I was judging these women just as much as they are judging others, so I edited that bit out ;]***

These are both reactions I get when I ask for prayer over my daughter's health, seriously?!?!

After much debate, we decided to take Lily to Cook's Children hospital. Her temp was up, but she showed no "symptoms" Just loss of apatite, uber sleepy, lethargic. I feared UTI.
We checked her in and I started feeling awful about my decision, fearing what my "crunchy friends" would think of me.
Poor Lily was in pain, and the nurses didn't help. We got the head shake, tisk tisk, and eyebrow raise from our doctor for not immunizing her, which didn't help.
She got an "in and out" cath. I'm tearing up just thinking about it, but I can NOT risk her having a UTI and not knowing. My sister was hospitalized and died briefly from a UTI when she was just a few months older than Lily is now. I didn't look, but Eamon was such a great daddy. He held her hand and tried to sooth her. He was our rock.
The UTI screen came back negative, so they drew blood. Another moment for our knight in shining armor to come through for us.

It ended with the doc telling us it was just a 72 hour virus. If it lasted longer than that, come back. UGH. But the peace of mind that she didn't have a UTI from the diapers that I use calmed my spirit.

The thing about sick babies is that they demand all of your time and energy. I told Eamon I hadn't spent that much time with her since the day she was born. And I loved it. There was no fighting me to get down and play with her toys, no pulling my hair, no screaming. Just pitiful pouts, nursing sweetly, and cuddling. It was heart breaking and beautiful all at once.

Well, that the long and short of it. We made it NINE MONTHS without sickness, so proud of my little girl for handling it so well!

Mae

Monday, April 12, 2010

Meal Plan Monday

This past week I received the most amazing thing I've ever, ever used in my life. Ok, that's a little much, BUT REALLY!
Nourishing Traditions is a wonderful book that
"recommends includ[ing] the consumption of unprocessed or minimally-processed foods including: traditional fats (animal fats, dairy fats, olive oil, and fish oils, among others), organic fruits and vegetables, raw dairy products, soured or lacto-fermented dairy and vegetables (such as sauerkraut), whole grains (soaked or soured to neutralize their phytic acid), and bone stocks."
I got a lot of questions about whether or not I was going to stay vegetarian, and yes I am. I am excited to use all of the information on pulling as much nutrients from our food, and finding some new ways to use fish. One more thing that is awesome about Eamon being a sushi chef? Sneakin some fish corpses home to make stock! Be jealous...
[Ok, not really, that's sinful]

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Breakfasts:
Lily:
  • Steamed egg yolks [I crack the egg, removing the white (maybe save them for something later on that day, but usually not) place the egg yolk carfully into a collinder (or steaming basket would work too) and place in a pot with an inch of simmering water covered for about 5 mins. Allow to cool and add a little salt]
  • Fruit or veggies steamed
E&M:
Steamed eggs
Scrambled eggs w/sautéed veggies
Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Muesli
Soaked Panckakes [SO good, we served them last week with Amish butter and raw, local honey and steamed fruits. It was very filling! We used the recipe right out of NT because I didn't really like most of the ones I found online]

Lunches:
  • Salad w/pan fried fish [talapia, flounder, or salmon]
  • Fish [the same mentioned above] with brown rice and steamed veggies
  • Hummus plate

Snacks
  • Laver [nori]
  • Fruit/veggies
  • kale chips
  • turnip chips
  • sweet potato fries
Dinners:
Monday: Tortellini with black olives and artichokes

Tuesday: We're grillin at the Brownings this week if the weather holds up.

Wednesday: Sprouted Sloppy Lentils [a variation on this recipe] on soaked wheat buns

Thursday: Stir fry with brown rice

Friday: White bean soup

Saturday: Pizza [made my first soaked what thin pizza last week! Very good, even though I sorta ruined it, lol ]

Sunday: Angel Hair pasta with feta, cherry tomatoes and broccoli.

From cooking so much, two things have happened.
One: I got sick of cooking one night last week! HA!
resulting in
Two: Not home cooked meals make me sick. We ordered Domino's [which I used to LOVE] and it made me...well, not good. Same with Bueno. I am doomed to eat my own cooking for the rest of my life. Crap. HAHA!
So, this is why I must insist that everything that comes out of my kitchen promots optimum health for my family :] I highly reccomend getting a copy of Nourishing Traditions to any one in charge of their family's health.

What are you eating this week? Join us for Meal Plan Monday every week!

Mae

Friday, April 9, 2010

Corrected...Or Not.




We've had a great morning here at the Burke house! Lily slept in her "Big Girl" room by herself till about 1 am! Tonight we're gonna shoot for 3 am! And, just like I hoped, Eamon and Lily both slept great! I even got about an hour and a half of uninterrupted sleep! I know that seems crazy, but when I heard her cry from the other room, I thought it must have been like 4 or 5 am! LOL!


Does this look right to you?
Me either.

Recently, I told a friend of mine that there is no civilization on Earth that has survived being vegan. He has been vegan on and off for ten years, eating soy day after day, and loosing a bunch of weight-which isn't necessarily great... Also, his sexual preference has changed from heterosexual, to bisexual. Interesting, huh?

After my comment [on FB] one of his friends piped in with this:
"Keep telling yourself that, [M]ae."
Me [with MUCH restraint]: "Show me proof otherwise."
"There's never been a 100% vegan civilization just as there's never been a 100% omnivorous civilization. There have always been people who went their whole lives without consuming meat or dairy. There are plenty of people in Tibet who are over 100 years old and have been vegan their whole lives"

I didn't even reply. There was so much wrong with this that I didn't even want justify her with an answer.
After talking to Eamon about it last night, he helped me articulate what I was trying to put in to words all week.

So, lets do this.

First
"There's never been a 100% vegan civilization just as there's never been a 100% omnivorous civilization."
Correct.
However, one mark of a civilization is that there is religion. Most religions have a period of time where they fast. They often go days, or weeks eliminating meat and animal products. Some cultures do this once a week, others once a month, bi-annually, or yearly. Even so, there are plenty who are still allowed fish, butter, and unfertilized eggs.
BUT the majority of all thriving civilizations are omnivorous or non-strict vegetarians. If someone could find me a society that lasted a significant amount of time with a majority of vegans, please email me @ maeannette@gmail.com

Second
"There have always been people who went their whole lives without consuming meat or dairy. There are plenty of people in Tibet who are over 100 years old and have been vegan their whole lives"
Hmmm, can't justify awarding any points to this, but here's half a gold star.
The main reason I didn't argue my rebuttal to this is because the majority of my friend friend's are Atheists. I can never successfully argue anything with them, so I tend to stay away from it. But here is my first argument:
  • As far as "people in Tibet", those would be Tibetan Monks who are called by God to live the life they do. They are ordained by Him to do so, and will be blessed in their endeavors, as many, MANY men and women have.
  • Monks that "go their whole lives without consuming meat or dairy" do not reproduce! And those that do, have sickly children. [And MOST of those have NOT been vegan "their whole lives" it's usually a choice!] There have been a handful of criminal cases in the past ten years against parents of vegan children whose babies died from being fed a vegan diet. And while this is a sorrow I cannot understand, and my heart is broken for these families being charged of killing their own babies, there is a point being made here. These parents were uneducated in their decisions and misinformed, and their babies-and eventually themselves- were the price payed :[

NOW- I'd love to hear your thoughts on this- both sides.
If you are vegan or a strict vegetarian- please reconsider your choices. Your health, as well as your children's depends on it!

Mae

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Dear Lily (9 months)

*Today I had something else planned, but in honor of my sweet girls 9 month birthday, I think she deserves some attention ;]

Sweet Baby Girl,

Words cannot express how much you've changed my heart the last 3 months. Your personality is blossoming so sweet and sassy, and you are the biggest joy for Mama and Dada. Puppets and books can keep you entertained endlessly, but nothing compares to the way you giggle and grin when Daddy comes home for lunch!
In the past few months you've learned to say "Dada", "Mama", and "Buh-Bye!" You can take a few steps all by yourself, but still think crawling is the way to go. You love to twirl your adorably chubby fingers in my hair when you nurse. I know there's no connection like that of a mother and son, but I am in love with the connection of mother and daughter that we have now.


One year ago I was about six months pregnant. Daddy and I were finally recovering from the first financial drought of our marriage and everything started to change. After coming out of some really tough stuff, and about to enter the most stressful time of my life I started nesting like crazy talking to you every night, and clinging to your Daddy and Jesus. For the past few weeks I have been having flash backs every time I step outside. The way the air feels on my skin, the way the grass tickles my toes, the way the new spring produce invigorates my tongue...it all takes me back. Sometimes, I stand in awe that I'm not holding you in my womb anymore, but that you can experience all of these things with me!



I can't wait to know more and more of you as we [possibly] finish up our time here in DFW and the last few months of your first year!

Love,
Mama


We will return to our regularly scheduled broadcast tomorrow;]
OH! And a big shout out to Michelle Monk Photography for taking such gorgeous pictures of our family!