Monday, February 28, 2011

Five Questions for Dr. Eric Blake ND DLAc on SALDANATION

David has a great blog, the focus is mainly short fiction with a comic every Wednesday but occasionally he'll do a Five Question Interview.  I've decided to share his most recent interview with you because Naturopathy, and Dr. Blake specifically, has made such a large impact on my family's life.  An excerpt from the post appears below.

"If you're like most people, you see a doctor when faced with illness or injury but have grown accustomed to certain discomforts. Maybe cheese gives you a stomach ache and sugar makes you moody but you eat them both anyway. You chalk up fatigue and stress to work and not enough sleep. Hitting the gym makes you sore for a week and you figure you're just out of shape. You don't feel sick but you don't feel healthy. Perhaps you're fine. Sure thing. Take some pills...or maybe keep reading.

SALDANATION is fortunate to have touched base with Dr. Eric Blake ND. He's a Naturopath and director of Hollistic Health pc, a Naturopathic clinic in Porltand, Oregon. We asked him five questions."


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Portland's Idea of a Snow Day

After days of hype regarding the pending winter storm it finally came.  We got one inch of snow, maybe. School was canceled and a surprising number of businesses shut down despite the fact that roads were clear. That's what happens when it snows in Portland.

Flora was thrilled to have snow, no matter how little.   We had big snows the last two winters but she can't remember those so in her mind, this was her first time seeing snow.


She caught snow flakes on her tongue. 


Made footprints. 


And built a snowman.


A sad little snowman.


Look how proud she is!  It's killing me. <3

After building our snowman we drove up to my aunts house and watched some big kids sled on asphalt. They were keeping the dream alive.  By the time we got home at noon the snow had all melted from our yard and our snowman was a little pile of slush and raisins.  It's amazing how fun an inch of snow can be when you spend the day with a two year old. 

Is your city prepared for snow or does it shut everything down?

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Monday, February 21, 2011

Nearly 'Nilla Wafers

Inspired by Mama Pea over a Peas and Thank You I decided to make some Vanilla Waffers.  I used Mama Pea's recipe as a template and modified to accommodate my food intolerances and cooking supplies.  You can see the original recipe here.

We ate all but one cookie before I realized I should probably take some pictures so here is the one, lonely, remaining cookie.


It looks good, right?  Well, here's the recipe.

1/2c Non-hydrogenated shortening
1/2c granulated fructose
2T Soy Milk
1t Vanilla Extract
1 1/3c Whole Wheat Flour
1/2t salt
1t Baking Powder

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Cream shortening, fructose, soy milk, and vanilla extract on high for several minutes.

3. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.

4.  Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture.

5.  Make tablespoon sized balls and flatten them onto a cookie sheet with the heel of your hand.

6.  Bake at 350* for 9-11 minutes.

These cookies are so good!  I made the dough yesterday and cooked a few.  I put the rest in the fridge an cooked a few more tonight.  I'll probably bake more tomorrow. If you make them with white flour instead of whole wheat they really will taste like 'Nilla Wafers but I enjoy the richer flavor of the whole wheat and I try to avoid feeding white flour to my daughter.

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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Not Quite Movie Night

Last night I went out with a mommy friend of mine.  It was fun.  We see each other pretty regularly but always with our kids and it's been a while since we've even done that since her husband took their son on an extended trip to visit his family in Argentina.

We had so much fun talking during our dinner of Ethiopian food that we missed our movie.  Our plan was to see "Boy" at the Portland International Film Festival.  It looked good and I was excited but they oversold the show and by the time we got there, even though we were ticket holders, there were no seats.  Oh well, I can hope for an art house release.

We didn't let the movie being oversold ruin our night.  We enjoyed a glass of wine and some more conversation.  It was great to learn more about someone I consider to be a friend but who I really knew little about. We always meet with our children and that can make it difficult to hold a real conversation.

Check out the preview for "Boy."  Maybe it will come to your town and you'll do a better job of getting to the theater in time to watch it.  Apparently it sold out every night it was in Portland.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Injured on the Job

If you'll remember, my Valentine's Day involved a vomiting child.  I went to bed thinking about Flora's fever and upset stomach so when she called out for me at 1:30 in the morning I jumped out of bed and rushed to her.  Except I didn't make it more than two steps before I slamed my bare foot into the baseboard heater.  I collapsed to the ground and sent David to Flora's bedside.  

I knew it wasn't your average toe stubbing so after David attended to our child's needs I asked him to get me some ice and and ibuprofen before going back to sleep. When I woke up this morning my foot was swollen and bruised and all my toes looked like fat little sausages.  David called in to work so he could take care of Flora, who is still under the weather, while went to the doctor to get my foot checked. After spending 2 1/2 hours at urgent care it's official; I broke my toe, right where it connects to the foot.  I was given some medical tape, a fancy shoe and some Vicodin to help me through the next couple weeks.  

I have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot of this the next couple days because the nurse also informed me that I have a fever and must be coming down with whatever Flora has.

 This is my first broken bone.  Have you ever broken anything?

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Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day

My Valentine's day started off great: flowers and a card from my wonderful husband. It ended poorly: vomiting toddler with a fever.

Not the most romantic way to spend an evening but I'm happy I got to spend it with my two favorite people and if one of them was going to throw up on me, I'm glad it was Flora.

How did you spend your Valentine's day?   
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Blue Skys

It was chilly today but the sky was blue so I let Flora play in the backyard while I cooked dinner.




Do you let your child play in the backyard when you're not out there?  (I can see her out the window.)

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Short Walk

After nap Flora and I went for a walk.  Walks with Flora are never fast but this one was particularly slow.  We walked one block in 30 minutes.

First Flora insisted upon bringing all of her babies covered in many blankets so they wouldn't get cold.


Next she built nests on the sidewalk.


Then she spun around in circles before deciding it was time to walk home for a snack.


It wasn't exactly good exercise but she had fun.  

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

My Favorite Day

Saturday is my day to sleep in.  David and I have to take turns because Flora doesn't care that it's the weekend, she still gets up at 6am.  Some day she'll be old enough to get up, pour herself a bowl of cereal and watch Saturday morning cartoons but we're not there yet.  Yes, I'm the mom who will send her kid to the living room alone for a couple hours on a a Saturday morning when she's old enough.  She's hardly starved for attention.  I'm sure she'll be fine. Until that day, Saturday is my day to sleep in and Sunday is David's.

While I sleep David and Flora watch cartoons, play and Skype with David's parents.  I get up around 8:30, yes that's sleeping in at my house, drink some coffee and go to yoga.  By the time I get home from yoga it's lunchtime, which is followed by nap time.  That means every Saturday I'm essentially off mommy duty until 1:30 when Flora wakes from her nap.  It's the only significant chunk of time I get when I don't have to feed or entertain her and it's amazing.

If you live in Portland you should check your The People's Yoga.  It's where I go and they have a great business model.  If you don't live in Portland you should see if your city has something similar.  I know New York does...

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What do you look forward to every week?


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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Reading Double

New Year Publishing was kind enough to send me a copy of "I'm Having Twins" and "My Twins are Coming Home."  The books were written by a young girl named Paris Morris about her experience becoming a big sister at the age of three.  I like that the books give a real child's perspective on gaining siblings.  In "I'm Having Twins" in addition to the excitement of a new sibling Paris shares some of the concerns she had, such as having to share her room, toys and parents.  In the second book, "My Twins are Coming Home," Paris learns the happiness a new family member brings.  I think that these would be great companion books for a young child expecting a sibling, or two.  Any child expecting a younger sibling is bound to feel a combination of excitement and apprehension and Paris's story is sure to make them feel less alone in these feelings.

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The Most Perfect Mommy Ever (not me)

This afternoon Flora and I were playing "baby and mommy;" I was the baby and she was the mommy. This is one of her favorite games.  Today, I was instructed to read her stories while she measured me. To measure me she had me sit still, it was very important that I did not move which made turning the pages of the book very difficult, then she held my chin in place while she shined a flashlight through my cheek.  This lasted for a few stories.  I asked several times what we were measuring but did not get an answer.  Finally, I asked why we were measuring and she said it was because she was "the most perfect mommy ever."  Well OK then.  


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