WFMW: Yoga with Mama

Here's another thing we like to do on Rainy Days! Exercise inside with Netflix Watch It Now's Ten Minute Solutions: Yoga. Nope, this is not a paid advertisement, but seriously, can you tell why I love it? What other way do you know to get a good workout with two kids on a rainy day?

From 4-6-09

From 4-6-09

I plan to blog more about Netflix and this video in particular. It's a new staple in my workout routine. (Yes, I have a workout routine, what do you mean by that??) Stay Tuned!

Go here to check out other things that work for other moms!

WFMW: Tent Day

When it looks like this outside.....























We do this!

When we have a rainy day, sometimes we beat the blues by making tents around the house and doing all our normal daily activities in tents. Believe it or not, it helps! :) Look for yourself, not a grouchy face to be seen.

Check out other tips from other moms at Works For Me Wednesday, here!

Works For Me Wednesday: Frugal, Earth-Friendly Gifts

I have discovered two websites this Christmas that are helping me change the way I think about Christmas gifts. I'm trying to focus more on the act of giving, and less on the shopping and the money spent and the quantity of gifts per person. I'd like to share them with you during this Christmas of deep economic turmoil in the hopes that you can also benefit from them.

Freecycle is a site along the lines of Craig's List-- basically people post classified ads and buyers respond and pick up the item. It's divided by county or region and you have to join the Yahoo Group in order to participate. There are moderators, so no worries about inappropriate items or listings. Here's the awesome thing. It's all free! That's right. People are posting items that they are giving away-- first come, first serve basis. It's awesome. Think of all the stuff you could get rid of! Stuff that you can't quite bring yourself to throw out, because there's still some use left in it. For instance, a lovely older woman came and got all our left-over dog supplies (worm meds, flea treatment, upholstery cleaner, etc.). AND, this year (drumroll please) we managed to be online at just the right moment as a woman from a ritzy upperclass part of town posted her sons' pre-Christmas toy closet clean-out stash! We cleaned up, people. Not only did we get Judah's Christmas gifts, we saved some out for his birthday! This is a sample of the few things we haven't wrapped yet. What you don't see is a gift bag full of matchbox cars and one full of knights and dragon figurines. I highly recommend you check it out.

The other site, Paperback Swap is one I've mentioned before, but a deal like this bears repeating. It's almost like an online neighbor with exactly your taste in books. You give him your books and he gives you his! The way it works.... You post books on your profile that you are looking to get rid of. They have a database of ISBN numbers that pulls up a cover photo, so you don't even have to worry about uploading pics of the book. When a member requests a book that you've posted, you print out a pre-addressed label, wrap the book and ship it out (average shipping cost for me has been right around $2). When the member receives the book, they comment and you are awarded a PBS "point" that allows you to request a book from another member. You begin your membership by posting ten books to receive some initial points (I think you might get three points to start with?). Here's one of Judah's Christmas books; as you can see, in mint condition.





As an added bonus, both of these methods of gathering gifts for my kids include recycling, in some way, products that have already been purchased and enjoyed by others. Things that might otherwise get tossed in the trash, or shoved to the back of the shelf and forgotten about.

To read some other hints and tips-- seasonal and otherwise-- check out Works For Me Wednesday at the Rocks In My Dryer blog.

PS. I'm not including any info or pics of Sofi's gifts because I simply don't trust the little bugger not to find out about it. She takes after her daddy...

WFMW Baby Massage

We read about baby massage right before our first child was born. I was so excited we bought a book/video kit and some fancy massage oil. How great can this be? I thought. A chance for J to bond with the baby, an easy cure for tummy troubles and a sweet bedtime ritual. Not to mention how this would boost our hippy cred...

Oh well. Sofi had other plans. Waiting an extra ten minutes between bath and NURSING was not her idea of a sweet bedtime ritual. My children tend to have distinct ideas about when they want their food. We tried the nightly bonding massage for about a month and then gave it up.

BUT. We did learn one super cool and useful thing from the video and book! A massage routine that has never yet failed to give relief (albeit temporary) to a gassy baby. Usually pooting or outright pooping occurs within the first two minutes of this massage. (instructions at the end of this post)

Fast forward six years to baby number two! I never even tried all the fancy "moves" on Judah as an infant. It never even occurred to me that (duh) being a different child, he might haves different likes and dislikes (*rolls eyes at self*).

BUT. I have just this week discovered that Judah loooves being massaged! My kids have really dry skin in the winter, so they get slathered up every night with lotion once we start using the furnace again each fall. As I slathered Judah he suddenly relaxed, his whole body went linp, his eyes kind of rolled a little and he started to hum! Pretty cute :) Yeah, he's his mommy's boy, all right. Loves him some ruuuuubs.... So now he gets some rubs almost every night!

You can buy the same kit we used here, or just google "Infant Massage" and find pretty decent instructions. If you get interested, I recommend the book and video. There are benefits to actually seeing someone else do it before you try it. And they have some really neat information about how/why all this works and exactly what kids of effects it has.

Massage to relieve a gassy tummy:

Lay baby face up on your lap. Remove diaper, but keep it under his rear-- you might need it to catch poop :) Slather your fingers with some thick lotion or natural oil. We used olive oil or apricot kernal oil. Using a firm, but gentle pressure and a slow stroke, trace a sideways "C" shape from baby's right thigh, above bellybutton (but below ribs) around to his left thigh. (Clockwise direction) This follows the direction that food moves through the digestive tract. GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECT OFTEN CAUSED OUR BABIES ADDITIONAL DISTRESS. If your child cries when you massage, be sure you aren't pushing too hard or going in the wrong direction.

Now go check out more stuff that works for other people!

(WFMW) Attachment Parenting Month

October is the official Attachment Parenting month and I wanted to dedicate some blog space to the importance of AP and babywearing in our lives. I thought I'd combine it with Works for me Wednesday this week, since it is indeed something that has worked for us.

I was only 22 when my daughter was born. I'd been married less than two years, had never lived alone and could barely navigate the mechanics of check-writing. Seriously. I was naive. An event in that first day after her birth affected me on a emotional level so deep it was years before I realized its significance.

She was fussy at first, probably a reaction to the difficult birth. She nursed frantically for hours (literally) and screamed with rage whenever I attempted to distract her, or put her down. My well-meaning relatives, in an effort to give me some rest persuaded me to give her to them to take outside for a walk.

"Babies love the outdoors. She'll calm down in no time. You close your eyes for a while and we'll wake you if she doesn't stop crying."

Against my own feeble instincts I gave over my hours-old dollbaby and drifted into sleep. Several hours later I awoke to find that my precious daughter had screamed nearly the entire time and had only just fallen into an exhausted stupor.

Oh how I cried and cried when I found this out. I held her and apologized over and over for leaving her,for putting my own needs above hers. I promised I would never leave her again. I determined in my mind that she would never have to cry again. At the slightest peep from her I would give her whatever she needed/wanted.

Now all of you reading who have children and a proper perspective on their needs can imagine that it wasn't long before I realized the futility of such a resolution. Babies cry and that's a fact of life. And I did learn to let her cry at times. And I learned that some crying is from thwarted will, not true need. And I learned that leaving her isn't always a bad thing. And I learned that putting my needs ahead of her wants sometimes was for her own good in the end. (Ie: getting myself some sleep, a shower, food, etc.)

But one result of that early experience was my embracing of a concept that I hadn't yet heard of, but would recognize years later when it was popularized and given a name. And I unconsciously began the practice of "babywearing", also never having heard of it. I had a ring sling and a backpack carrier that I re-made from one my parents used when I was a baby. (This was long before the days of Mei Tais at the Target checkout line. I had to make do with what I had) She went with me everywhere. She slept in the bed with us at night. She was on my back while I made dinner. She sat in a basket at my feet while I taught. I nursed her in the sling during the lessons-- thanks to the tolerance of some really awesome moms who were breastfeeding advocates before it was a celebrity endorsed activity. She helped me clean and sew and garden. She was my righthand man and constant companion


Except when Daddy was babywearing ;)



The results were amazing! Her verbal skills far outpaced the average. She was obedient and helpful. She was secure around strangers and never hesitated to give a smile to anyone. She learned amazingly quickly and was eager to participate in anything I was doing. Today she continues to be exceptionally bright (I'm not just saying this-- she really is! no prejudice at all...) and quite well-acquainted with the workings of a household. She has her own sling and practices the art of babywearing with her own "babies".


When my son was born, I was prepared. I'd read about Attachment Parenting. I'd researched babywearing options. I'd made a wrap. I was ready! It was sweet, sweet. This dear little bundle nestled against my chest, almost as though still in utero, but visible and kissable. We were here again, and it was a familiar place. Sweet, I say, sweet.



I've added a list of A/P and babywearing links on the sidebar. As a disclaimer, let me say that there are plenty of ideas and practices associated with the Attachment Parenting movement that we do NOT agree with. But in general, the idea of our children participating in every part of our lives in a physical and intimate way is very important to our family. Check out Rocks In My Dryer for other ideas that work for other families!

Kitchen Management: Mommy Style

So, Works For Me Wednesdays this week is themed "Kitchen Management" and I know many of you who know me well are now snorting into your sleeves at the idea of the word "Management" being even remotely connected with me, or my kitchen. But relax. I am not about to perjure myself in front of God and Everybody. I simply want to share a few ideas about managing my CHILDREN in the kitchen.

Everyone knows that kids start to meltdown at about 4:00 in the afternoon and continue to behave like teenage-mutant-whiny-turtles till bedtime. Or at least till Daddy gets home. Right? No? Your kids don't do this? Oops, my bad. Anyhoo. Mine do. The bad thing about this phenomenon is (other than insanity inducing decibel and pitch) that this time corresponds to dinner-making time. Baad combo. So what to do? How to get dinner ready without locking your kids in the closet while you do it?

In a word: Include Them (okay, smarty pants, two words) Duh, you say. Too easy, you say. Well, believe it or not, it's taken me a long time to perfect this theory and put it regularly into practice. Here are some ideas:

Beans, Tupperware and Spoons (I use the large limas, so I don't have to worry about them disappearing into a body orifice-- don't laugh, there's a family history...) They like to play 'Cooking' along with me:



Safety Knives (we use the ones from Pampered Chef), so they can Help Chop:



This one's just a butter knife:



Lots of stirring:



Child-safe closet full of interesting stuff (Tupperware, in this case-- and sorry about the old pic):



And last but not least, Groovin' to Some Tunes!

(insert mental image here of "...Cher...only....like an shorter fatter albino Cher....with morals. And no Sonny." 'cause that's the closest you're going to get to a pic of me dancing!)

Here's one of our favorite groovin' albums:

Judah and Sofi both love to play in the kitchen. They stay happier, I stay sane and dinner is on the table when J gets home. All it takes is a little advance planning, and some simple childproofing and the results are soooo great :)

Check out the Rocks In My Dryer blog for more awesome Kitchen Management Ideas!

Cheap dates work for me!

This is my first post for Works for me Wednesday-- hopefully the first of many. I think it's an awesome idea for ladies to share tips and hints online!

My hint comes out of our awesome anniversary this year-- number seven! Things are always tight in the summer for us, so finding something fun, special, but inexpensive is key. This year we decided to have an "at home anniversary". Earlier in the day we went to Martin's (a grocery store around here with a nice selection of gourmet foods) and bought a selection of cheeses, wines (paired according to label recommendations with the cheeses), olives and italian sausage. We rented a romantic comedy and sent the kids to bed early. We lit candles and ate at the coffee table in front of our movie. It was so wonderful! Better food by far than anything we could have afforded at a restaurant, no babysitter fees and we could stay "out" as late as we liked! Our total "bill" for our night out was right around $50. (the leftovers fed a "girl's luncheon" the next day)

We tried it again later in the summer with friends-- wine, cheese, olives and bread for five adults cost less than $75. No cooking and very little clean-up required for a classy, classy evening with friends. (And we had enough left over to have a few nice evenings "in" for the two of us after that. )

By comparison, last week we went out and even with free babysitting from a friend, appetizers, drink and a movie cost us $60!! We are sold on this new kind of dating-- especially since we found out that Martin's now has fresh-made-daily sushi and an antipasto bar! I highly recommend it to any of you that cringe when you think of the cost of spending special time with your spouse. I'm sure there's a gourmet food place in your town, and shopping for the food and planning the wine and cheese parings is soooo much fun!

GO check out Rocks in my Dryer for more cool ideas!