I guess he was right

For years my dad has called Owen an old woman. He says this as Owen tries to keep control over situations most kids don't care about, like when he puts his hands on his hips and firmly says, "dad, we do not throw balls in the house". Or when he promptly marches over to the tv and declares, "we have a rule dad and we do not watch tv on Sundays!"

I am afraid if I had any doubts about Owen's old woman-ness, they are gone now. He came home the other day with a "caught in the act" certificate and a gold coin. He was so proud and said the principal gave it to him for helping set up cones for the buses at recess. I asked him questions about it, like did they ask you to help, what were your friends doing, were you playing ...

In a very serious tone, he went on to explain that he always helps out the recess ladies. In fact, he went on, he very rarely plays at recess, he mostly just hangs out with the recess ladies. He even went so far to say he is basically a kid recess lady. He said he waits around for kids to get hurt or need the recess ladies and then it is his self assigned job to get help.

All I could hear in my head during this conversation was my dad, smirking and smiling, saying what an old woman Owen was, and frankly, I agree. After calling himself a kid recess lady, there is no denying the precision and accuracy to which my dad has labeled Owen.

I appreciate that he is so helpful but you can imagine my joy when he came home today and announced he gathered a group of kids together and he orchestrated the group to pretend they were guards protecting the prisoners and the prisoners were trying to break free.

I am sure he kept a tight rein on the specifics, but I was glad he was a little more like kid old woman than kid recess lady.

It is kind of annoying

So, on my quest to feed myself and my kids non-GMO, real food, I have to break through a 7 year-old who gags when he looks at food and I am here to tell you, it is not going well.

I feel bad, his ranch is gone, his syrup is gone, his old chicken, 3 cheese tortillini, and ketchup, gone gone gone.

Now don't get me wrong, he eats better, but I wouldn't say he eats healthy. There are still no vegetables, not even one. His meals are always the same, I have just replaced everything with the organic, non-GMO version. He gets bunnies instead of goldfish, organic pretzels instead of not, organic bread instead of that one we loved from Fred Meyer.

I read blog sites about the picky eater and it really is so annoying, they act like they will just eat it. Or, that adding a dip will make them like veggies. I am here to tell you and all of them that it doesn't work like that.

I went to a party on Sunday where we cooked a healthy meal together, I asked the instructor chef what she does to have her kids eat it. She replied by telling me they love the food and actually ask for it. That is less than helpful. Hello? There is absolutely no instruction in that in case you thought there may be. Let me promise you that Owen is not going to love a black bean, guacamole, sweet potato taco.

Owen was crying tonight because he wanted pizza from Whole Foods. Through his tears i was informed he has nothing to eat. He can't eat his chicken cause he hates the ketchup, he eats noodles every night, and he didn't want macaroni again, there was nothing left. (See, I wasn't kidding, those are his dinners and we need work. )

I recently read not to cater to the picky eater, I am also pretty sure I could find something that says not to starve your child.

Owen comes from a long line of picky eaters, I mean honestly, how much worse does it get when Ben used to eat miracle whip sandwiches, a salad to me meant only white lettuce and ranch until just a few years ago, and up until a few years ago, I can't recall ever seeing my mom eat a vegetable.

He is doing a fabulous job in keeping with tradition but can't he love something as simple as a carrot?

Cast Free / Still Alive / Love my Oils

Because I fear that I will never post about the following three things in separate posts, they are getting put into one post even though they have nothing to do with each other.

1. Autumn is cast free! She wore that little cast for 2 1/2 weeks and then, just as simply as they put it on, they took it off.  She was a little cautious the first day without it and tended to use the other arm for a day or so, but then, it was as though it never happened.  And yes, it is true, she did not have a bath while that cast was on.  Judge me if you must, but seriously, how dirty can a miniature baby like her get?  Besides, she HATES the bath.  She stands on the side and screams during her entire 15 second bath.  The idea of a 15 second bath with a cast, well, it was just too much to bear.  She is clean now.  All is well.

2. Ivy is doing AMAZING with her teacher.  I have to say I am surprised, shocked even.  She seems to understand her teacher is “sick” and she has a different teacher until she comes back.  I do know that she is never coming back and heard from the school director that it was a decision that had to be made for the safety of the school.  Clearly the leave of absence term was a polite way of saying: we had to fire her in the middle of the day, in the middle of the school year for reasons we can’t tell you.  I have been waiting for the fallout, waiting for her to hate to go to school.  Nothing.  We have talked a lot about what is different about school and what is the same and her wise little self understands.  I didn’t know it, but her new teacher came from a different classroom and had been spending snack time in Ivy’s class.  Perhaps, Ivy was just familiar enough to make this work.  Not only is this working, but as I picked her up from school the other day, I found her running around on the playground holding two little girls’ hands.   I almost cried, not only was she ok, but she was PLAYING!  My heart was full and happy for her stressed little playing self.   This is serious progress, and she and I may live after all. 

 

3. Owen woke up last night around 11:30.  Greg and I were downstairs and may or may not have been smooching on the couch when my poor little boy came down with tears and sobs and explanations that his ear hurt.  Exit wife and enter mom with OILS.  We pulled out the oil book and my growing collection of oils and determined for ear infections we should use Lavender, Melaleuca, and Purify.  They were supposed to help with the pain and the actual infection.  I put two drops of each on the front of his ear, behind the ear and the top of his ear.  I then read that Grapefruit can help with the pain, so we added a drop or two of that to the same places.  A lot of oils you can use directly on the source of the problem, however, you can’t put the oils directly in the ear.  We used a cotton ball, and over the next 20 minutes I alternated the different oils.  We did two drops of an oil at a time, placed the cotton ball in the ear, and covered it with a heating pad.  I would let that sit for a few minutes and then do two drops of something else.  He watched Clifford and cried off and on, but was much better then when we started.  To help him calm down, I added a few drops of Balance and Citrus Bliss to the bottom of his feet.  Within 5 minutes, and 30 minutes after he first came down, he fell asleep and slept soundly on the couch until 5:00 in the morning.  When he woke up and came upstairs to bed,  he climbed in, woke me up to let me know my oils worked great and his ear was all better.  He laid back down and slept until 8:00 this morning.  Upon waking up, he declared his ear to be fine and has been outside in the cold, playing with his friends for the last 3 hours. 

I do love those oils.  So does Greg….

One of the best

I am obsessed with this picture. I mean, seriously, how amazing is the wolf in the middle?

Noooooooo

I hate change.  Well, that is not entirely true.  I used to hate change and now I just don’t really like it, but when it comes to one anxiety ridden three year old that is asleep upstairs, I hate it again.  I wanted to write a happy post that I started about a little adventure we took, but then I received an email and that friendly little buzz just sent me into a tailspin of anxiety.  To summarize: the teacher that your baby girl ADORES, and is the reason that she wears certain clothes, and the one that she pretends to be at home, the same one your crazy girl loves because she was her brother’s teacher as well, and the one that is her reason to feel safe at school when everything else is too scary to move, yes, that teacher is LEAVING.  It said something about a personal leave of absence and wishing her the best and a new teacher taking over.  We didn’t even get to say goodbye! My heart! Breathe!

A new teacher may not sound too scary for many, but for Ivy, well words cannot describe how I feel right now.  My poor little girl has such anxiety and stress.  I even worry that she needs to be seen for it.  In certain social situations, she can barely function.  Now, we have made progress,  of which I attribute a large part of that to essential oils, but she still needs work.  At a birthday party over the weekend she was looking for me.  I saw one of the moms bend over and ask her if she needed something.  I paused, waiting to see what she would do.  She tucked her head in the usual fashion and stared into space…for a second…and then she lifted her head and asked for help unwrapping the cupcake.  This was a major breakthrough for her.  I have been around her when someone, familiar or not, has approached her with a question or statement and I have actually felt her emotional and physical stress.  Her body stiffens up, she looks away, she can barely think, and we often end up with tears.  

Once she truly trusts someone or she does not feel vulnerable, a different girl emerges.  You get a social, sweet, and chatty girl.  You get to see her sparkle and see how incredibly smart she is.  She sings, she dances and she shines.  Strangers in the store know things about us, because she tells them.  Ivy really is the extreme.  She is sort of like one of those boxes you see with a big old orange sticker stuck to it: HANDLE WITH CARE.  Honestly, wouldn’t things just be so much easier if we could send our kids out with a sticker.

NAME: IVY 

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: HANDLE WITH CARE 

and the small print underneath would say: Let her come to you, she needs to feel safe, she needs to feel comfortable, she is happiest in control, she doesn’t know how to play, she loves tasks, she loves to be in charge, she needs her one go-to person, oh and whatever you do - don’t make eye contact. 

Well, since I can’t put that sticker on her, I suppose I have no choice but to take a deep breath (or fifty), hopefully sleep this lump in the back of my throat away, say a little prayer, add a little extra essential oils to her (and myself) in the morning and go meet her new teacher….. either that, or curl into a ball and cry….

I think I just might do both.

 

Well that was certainly sad & 15 month forgotten stats

On a Friday a little over a week ago we had just got home from Whole Foods.  The kids were crazy as usual from being contained at the grocery store and were excited to eat pizza, which by the way, if you ever want a good pizza, go to Whole Foods.  Anyway, Autumn and I were in the kitchen and she wanted me to hold her.  I put her on a stool and told her to stay there for a minute while I grabbed my salad.  She stands on the stools all the time, I know – not cool, so I wasn’t really worried about her.  But then suddenly, the tornado that he is, Owen came bounding in the kitchen, straight to his stool to eat his pizza.  As he climbed vigorously on his stool, it in turn bumped Autumn’s stool, which in turn knocked her off her feet, which in turn sent her flying through the air and onto the floor. 
I was close and almost caught her but instead watched her fall.  I picked her up and smothered her in kisses and so sorrys and rubbed her little bum better.  We sat back on the stool and she picked up her fork to eat.  I guess she landed on more than her bum considering she could barely hold her fork.  She tried lifting it to her mouth but it wasn’t working.  She tried again and the same thing happened.  We contemplated taking her in but throughout the night she seemed to use it more and more. 
We woke up the next morning and she seemed ok, until she climbed the stairs and tried to use her hand to push herself up, which left her lying on her face.  I decided to take her in and have her arm looked at.  3 hours later we were diagnosed with a broken arm and fitted with a little splint.  I was told it was a small break and would heal very fast and she needed to wear the splint 23 1/2 hours a day for a few weeks. 
We got home, she showed all of her friends her arm, they loved on her a bit, and Owen and I felt bad that it happened.    An hour or so later, as I was talking to the other kids, I heard something behind me…MAMMA, MAAAMAAA, MAMA.  I turned around and she handed me her splint and left to go play.  23 1/2 hours a day for 2 weeks, are you kidding?  I couldn’t keep it on for two hours, much less that ridiculous schedule.  She wasn’t having it and after finding the splint lying on the floor for the 10th time, we gave up.  The place of the break allowed her to do things still, but she couldn’t put pressure on her hand.  This is a serious problem for a 15 1/2 month old who is constantly falling down. It makes my arm hurt just thinking about falling down on a broken one! 
I took her in on Monday and she was fitted with a nice big pink cast to assure it stayed on and to make sure she wasn’t in pain. 
She doesn’t have to wear it long…thank heavens, considering she has suddenly realized it makes a nice weapon and keeps hitting us all with it. 
 
 
(she is smiling here, she didn’t mind the cast…she even held her arm up on her own to help the lady put it on)

************POST EDIT*****************
One of these days I am going to look back and my life and wonder why I forgot to write about it, because I definitely won't remember it when I am old.

When Autumn turned 15 months she was
** 28 1/2  inches tall and in the 5.62%
** 17 lbs 14 ounces - .8%
** and for some reason our dr doesn't measure heads anymore at this age.

And I would write an update about what she was like at 15 months, but it is June, this was 1/2/13 and I have no idea.  Hopefully I have a post or two to remind me of that.
******************************************

The Way we Are

If you would have told me 10 years ago that the year I turned closer to 40 than 30, I would almost exclusively buy and eat organic food, in large part to avoid GMOs, I would have pondered it but probably wouldn't have believed you and I NEVER would have believed that I would help gather signatures for a petition to label GMO ingredients in our food to assure it would make it to the ballot. 

If you would have told me that I would love peppers and regularly eat a huge salad made of spinach and millions of toppings with NO dressing, I would have laughed my head off and would have kept laughing if you told me I would be addicted to a boot camp class. 

If you would have told me that I would use dryer hedgehog balls in place of dryer sheets and would LOVE them, I definitely would not have believed you.  I hate static more than ANYTHING but bless those little hedgehogs!

Now, if you would have told me that I would learn about and use essential oils for all our ailments, I would jump for joy and rejoice because I have always wanted to use essential oils and my dream would be coming true. 

I have come so far. 

Peppermint for fevers, lavender and peppermint for burns, melaluca for rashes and eczema, a mixture of oils for upset stomachs, eucalyptus for coughs, geranium to help heal a cut (note – the smell of geranium is not my favorite so it has now been moved to the category of for emergencies only), a mixture of oils for helping Owen focus on homework and school, a mixture of oils for helping Ivy with EXTREME anxiety and to take her from a complete mental breakdown to happy and content within minutes, lemon to get rid of a pending sore throat, oregano to stop a cold from coming on, wintergreen for shin splints, a mixture of oils to help with sore joints and muscles, frankincense for everything.  I find the list goes on and on and adding to my oil collection is the highlight of the month. 

We put them on our necks, rub them on  what hurts, put them on our feet at night.  I love seeing the kids lying in bed with their feet ready to go, especially Autumn.  As I rub the oils on, I ask them if they have anything wrong with them for any oils.  We have a daily routine and add to it the oil for the daily ailment, if any.   I love being able to take care of the kids myself and help heal them without much use of medicine and doctors.   There is a place for doctors and medicines and I have no problem taking them, but if an oil will work first, I am going to use it. 

The closer to 40 than 30 me can’t believe my life and this is me. 

My favorite part of this is the image of my kids growing up here.  I can’t believe that my kids are those kids that smell funny and tell neighbors that they can’t eat things cause their mom wouldn’t like that.  And even more unbelievable is that I am the mother of those kids!  Unbelievable I tell you.  The life I am living now is so far from the one I grew up in.  We actually ate at McDonald’s sometimes twice in a day.  We made ourselves TV dinners all the time.  Emilee and I got the Salisbury Steak and Ben and Angie got the chicken nugget ones.  Ben regularly ate Miracle Whip sandwiches, we cooked hamburgers in the microwave, and we ate Instant Breakfast everyday.  There is a small part of me that feels bad my kids won’t be able to say those things, but you can’t undo what you know.  (most of the time it goes unnoticed, but Owen did ask for his old ranch dressing and syrup for Christmas, that was sad and I almost bought it).  They don’t eat this way all the time, we try for most of the time.  I read a blog that tries to eat healthy, the mom says she has an 80/20 rule.  100% healthy – 80% of the time and the rest is left for snacks at school and classes, birthday parties, going out to dinner, eating at the neighbor’s houses, Super Bowl snacks, the ice cream run, the still existing and having fun in the world day.  This works for me. 

They may not be able to say that they ate McDonald’s twice in a day, but they will be able to say their crazy mom tried really hard to keep them healthy and although the house was always a mess with a lot of chaos, it smelled good.