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| A pot of detox tea (my new addiction, sadly) and a bit of the book Seth made. |
1.
This is the week of toddler drama. Yarrow's will has taken on a determined edge these days - and her will is insomnia. Tantrums filled yesterday: 12-3 yesterday (yup, all three hours -that's why she threw up), and then again at night, for only a little over an hour, but it was late and I was tired. I'm not obsessive about sleep. She doesn't always nap, but she does always 'rest' in some way, and screaming fits on the floor don't count as rest in my book - for either of us.
When she finally fell asleep, it was the sort punctuated by shuttering little sobs - the sort that breaks my heart. Thankfully, I'd gotten my "sorry hit mama. Sorry yell mama." before she passed out, and there was peace between us when she woke. Poor little misery. How do you work with your intense little one to help them rest for naps and at night. (nota bene: we don't do the whole 'cry it out' thing, her sobbing was with me, except when I'd tell her "I'm going to feed the pigs" or "I'm going to check the oven". I find crying it out alone and unresponded to unkind. It's also not an option designed for tiny houses.)
2.
Retreat Cake #3
Dormition Berry Cake
1 3/4 c. flour (I used a mix of 2 parts white to 1 part whole wheat)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. turbinado
1/4 c. honey
3 eggs
1/2 c. milk
zest from 3 limes
1 c. fresh blackberries
Cream butter, turbinado, and honey until smooth. Beat in eggs, then add lime zest. In a seperate bowl, sift flour and baking powder, then stir in berries. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients gently, and right along with the milk. Fold mixture together and pour/spoon into a grease 7" or 8" cake pan. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, or until golden and springing, but firm when pressed. cut into squares and serve piled on a plate, with spicy, roses in bloom and dollops of whipped cream.
3.
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| Dormition Icon |
Happy Dormition of Mary! We celebrated with cake and meat and God celebrated with sunshine. Hopefully He likes the whole 'blue sky and bright light' effect and will let us keep it for a while.
4.
The hardest part about nap-time is still Luba, despite Yarrow's Will. Yesterday, Luba decided that right after Yarrow'd fallen asleep was the best time to greet every animal, wood demon, and imaginary monster on the property. She was loud and so enthusiastic until I ran outside and emptied a watering can on her. When she started up again five minutes later, I gave up and brought her in. Inside the house, Luba's favorite game is to find Sleeping Yarrow and shake her collars right beside her. Again and again and again. They're a team, Yarrow and Luba - fighting sleep together.
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| Best friends |
5.
We're over-run with grass-hoppers. So much so that when I surprised a huge garter snake in the kitchen, my first thought was "will he eat my grass-hoppers?!" I wanted to catch one and try to feed it to the snake, but he escaped. I'm thrilled with every toad I meet, and we've taught Yarrow that grass-hoppers are not friends (they're joined by slugs and the huge, ugly wood beetles in the Not Friend Bug category..everything else is greeted by a happy "Hi friend Bug."
6.
This week it has been particularly difficult to keep to the cleanse. I was tempted again and again by the memory of the oh so good Ben & Jerry's ice cream friends brought out for my birthday. It was so good I started to doubt my commitment to not support Ben & Jerry's..I mean, maybe they don't support Planned Parenthood..I looked it up last night - hoping to use this week's last few dollars to buy a pint for the Dormition. But then I saw this and this and this..no more Ben & Jerry's for me. Which is too bad..if Hagen-Daz supports abortion too, please just don't mention it to me..
7.
Ok, I looked it up..and according to the internet, Hagen Daz does support Planned Parenthood..REALLY! But it's an old list, maybe they don't anymore..I'll look into it! I'm either going to get really skinny on this whole "no good ice-cream EVER" diet, or I'm going to eat it and feel disgusted with myself for supporting a completely unnecessary company (Ice cream is not a life or death item, really..is it??) that choses to spend it's money in a morally repugnant way. What do you all do about these conundrums? I don't shop at Wal-mart (too many morally problematic issues to mention!), Starbucks (they support Planned Parenthood & are very pushy about their problematic views on marriage), Ben & Jerry's (see #6), and now Hagen-Daz! Ugh. So yeah, what do you do? How much do you avoid to keep away that gross feeling of "I just supported something I reject entirely for the sake of a yummy taste in my mouth..or an easy, quick stop to by a gallon of milk..or a caffeine fix?
Re: the question you ended your post with: Buy local? And I don't mean that in a snarky "Buying local will allow you to feel all sorts of superior to the sheeple who buy those other brands..." kind of way. I suggest it because I considered your conundrum and then asked myself, well, what do I do for these products? And the answer for ice cream and coffee at least is that there is a local dairy with two ice cream retail stores, which is the best ice cream in town, and my favorite coffee on the planet is a direct trade coffee roaster and shop around the corner from my house. The beauty of these kinds of businesses is: I don't know their politics and don't want to know. With big corporations, their politics and practices can grow to define them (which isn't necessarily a bad thing because, with the amount of money they make comes great responsibility). But when this happens it leaves conscious consumers like us in a bind. If you do business with someone local, it's kind of like, well I know you personally (as a person), which does not necessarily include your politics which on a local level is also as it should be in my opinion (I get turned off by nothing more than someone who makes every personal interaction about their own politics). It's just about the freshest, high quality product available (usually, since local businesses don't usually have the overhead to stay in business if their product is not in demand enough). I know this solution is dependent on there bieng local options for the products in question, but it may be something to look into. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I know you are..and we do, for a large part of it all - we have great local coffee, amazing gelato, farms all over..and you're so right in that I don't care about the politics of these companies, I just like the community they build. I just like being lazy too, and sort of 'generic American' getting ice cream at the grocery store sometimes, without the negative edge. But I guess that's not an option anymore, really, and I have to start dealing with the fact that having intentions and values regarding what we buy has a sacrificial aspect to it as well as an 'I only get the best' aspect..
DeleteThanks so much for the reminder! It was just what I needed!!!
Naps...if they happen peacefully in the toddler stage, it is generally because the kid is very tired. And that usually means some intense outdoor activity, trip to the park to play with friends, etc. I know you guys are outside a lot obviously, but maybe she needs more directed activity? Make her hike 2 miles before naps :)
ReplyDelete:( sigh..I'm so tired of 2 mile hikes ;)
DeleteSo lots of running around, dancing, playing and then a ride in the stroller while I run?? ok, I can do that! I can see her needing more exercise in the mornings, I usually clean in the morning, so she does have as many activities going on..Thanks!!!
I gave up on naps when they became more work to make them happen then they were worth. :). Skipping nap and having bedtime at 6 or 7 pm works too.
DeleteIce cream companies support PP... WHAT. NO. JERKS.
ReplyDeleteI like gelato. Local and fresh. And someday I'm going to get an ice cream maker and a bigger freezer and figure out how to make the stuff myself, too.
Three hours of tantrum and then throwing up!! Holy cats, that sounds exhausting. I'm sorry you're dealing with such a tough stage! I don't know about vomiting, but I know I had a few loud extended tantrums as a child, and my mom tells me I bit her on the knee once in my strong-willed toddling phase.... I suspect I got paddled for the latter, but I was too young to remember.... anyway, my mom survived and I grew up to not bite or throw rages. ;) Hang in there. <3
I know, don't you just hate them now!! I'm totally borrowing my in-laws ice cream maker..partially 'cause I have a recipe for Lemon Verbena & Peach Sorbet (we have a great lemon verbena plant too!!) and partially because I'm finally going to do this whole homesteading thing right, stop buying evil ice cream, and make do on local, home-made, or non-existent indulgences..after my cleanse, obviously ;)
DeleteYou were a monster! If Yarrow turns out as good though, I'll be thrilled! She fell asleep like a doll tonight, but I never bothered with a nap today..I might be losing out on some of my free time..
I feel for you with the nap time fights. Paco really fights it hard too. I keep telling myself that really if you are doing all you can to make them comfortable and happy there is nothing really left in your power to do!
ReplyDeleteI second Holly's idea. Maybe swim lessons. Swim lessons would make anyone fall asleep.....
1. Oh no, insomnia! She can't help but feel retched, I'm sure. Three hours is such a long time. I'd never consider cry it out unless I was on the edge myself--which hasn't happened more than a handful of times. In those situations, it was in both our best interests to take a breather. And usually there is someone else, another family member or friend, who can watch him for a half hour or so. Maybe next time auntie comes to visit, she can have one-on-one Yarrow time and you can step out of the yurt for some solitary unwinding?
ReplyDelete2. Yum. c: Is turbinado like raw sugar?
4. It's a baby-dog conspiracy.
5. There was a garter snake in the driveway as my sister was pulling up the other night. You'd think she'd been burnt or something, the way she screamed! And the (not so) little thing just moseyed out of the drive, minding its own business, lifting its head every now and again to see where it was going -- I think she scared it as much as it scared her. I hope it eats lots of pests.
7. My immediate thoughts were exactly what Donna said. It solves several issues in one go by shopping local. Unfortunately, they don't often take food stamps. :c I need to take myself on back over to the health food store and ask for an appropriate substitute for Starbucks Refreshers. Even if Starbucks wasn't a nasty corporation, I'm not comfortable with the caffeine addiction . . . maybe B-12 injections (yay, more money) or sublinguals? I'm really in a bind about what to do about my inability to burn energy. Gatorade seems to help with the breakdown (potassium? vitamins? I have no idea why), but that's not really a healthful alternative either. I HAVE to be able to burn energy for my job; it's just not an option for me to get nauseated, tingly in my limbs, and close to blacking out. It's also helpful to exercise, since exercising gives me energy, but I need the energy to go out there to exercise to begin with. What to do?
Turbinado is like raw sugar! It's so tasty!
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about Yarrow's tantrums..I can tell her right in the middle of one that I'm stepping outside..I'll say "I'm going to the kitchen" or "to feed the pigs" or "to pick flowers" and she'll calm right down, stay on her bed for me, and then ask "Mama cook?/feed pigs?/pick flowers?" in a sweet inquiring tone before going back into the tantrum :p..unless I'm gone too long, then she's starts whimpering and imagining invasions of bugs. So I do get to step out - Thank goodness! :)
Hmm..burning energy..and caffeine helps?? Have you tried Maca? Its a root from south America that's supposed to be good of energy, focus, balancing the body and all sorts of things..I've been taking it off and on for a while. If you have a blender, you could make smoothies with Maca, royal jelly, bananas, dark chocolate, berries, and yogurt...maybe with some flax seeds too..or almond butter..or you could steep green tea in milk and then make a smoothie with the maca and royal jelly, and masses of berries, or peaches.. (can you tell I miss having a blender! I'm asking for a non-electric on for Christmas this year!)..And then you could take them to work and sip them as needed..or you could just get maca capsules, like I do, and avoid smoothies altogether..