a mama sleep fact?

 i can't stop thinking about this since i read it last night.
"by the time your baby is 12 months you have lost 2 months of sleep"!!!  yikes! 
i also read this interesting article on how women need more sleep than men. see, that's why i always need to sleep in! it has to do with women using more of their brain as they are frequently multi-tasking and the female brain needing more sleep to recover. 

maybe i need to nap more.

i wish he still slept like this.

mmmuffins....

we went to our friends house last month and she made these delicious banana muffins from this vegan cookbook. we all gobbled them up.
bella is home for he next 1.5 weeks as her morning play school is closed for passover so we decided to make some muffins this morning. (look at her here, helping me make some muffins!)
 i did not have all the ingredients to make the exact recipe above so i improvised and they turned out delicious!
1 1/3 cup spelt flour (use any flour you like)
3/4 cup oat flour (i ground whole oats in my coffee grinder)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baing powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 bananas (i did not have these so i put in 2 unsweetened individual serving size pots of applesauce)
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar (or some sweetener ie. maple syrup, honey, agave. if i used bananas i would omit the sweetener)
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or any milk)
add some chocolate chips (but of course!!)
mix the wet. mix the dry. mix the dry into the wet.
bake at 350F for 20 minutes. 

 helping with her 'cat tail'. she's been wearing it for a few days now!

 tasty

 done!

a tired mama....

Life is crazy busy; 2 school aged kids, a toddler, working, managing the house (shopping, cleaning, bills, cooking etc....the list goes on), nanny problems.....where to begin.

our nanny was simply not working out. she seemed to add way more stress to my life. i know several people who tell me how wonderful their life is with their nanny. i simply could not relate. she was unreliable, difficult to communicate with, unmotivated and finally just simply did not show up one day for work. i was beyond stressed that day as i had a presentation to get to and as i was driving in tears, realizing this is not working out. so, bye bye.

our sweet kai is so, so busy. such a toddler (as you will see below). you need to watch him all day long and stop him from basically committing suicide!  on top of the busyness in the day he has decided to wake up at about 1 and 4 am and stand in his bed screaming. i go in and nurse him, this usually soothes him but occassionally does not and we are at it again. any suggestions at this point are appreciated (and not the, close the door and see you in the morning kind :-) ). i am one tired mama.

these are the things i am doing for myself.
supplements: i take ashwaganda (i love this herb!) and an adrenal complex that has licorice in it to support my ever deflating adrenal glands. a mutli, b-complex, vitamin D (how i hope spring comes soon), and ocassionally an iron.

i now see an osteopath, as i have chronic pain in my right hip from carrying the wee one (and birthing 3 babies).  if you know my other 2 as babies, you know they were small, they fit nicely in my arms. this baby, is a giant. not sure how, but he is. the osteopath is marc, and he works at my friend's clinic. he is so calm and peaceful and i'm not too sure what he does, but i trust he knows what he is doing and it gives me about an hour every few weeks to relax and have a nap. i'll keep you posted on the results.

lastly, i started doing Oprah's and Deepak Chopra's 21 day meditation. I am not a follower of either, but this is really easy. they send you a daily meditation and you listen to it. it brings some quiet into my otherwise busy and hectic life.
so, that's it for now.....

 playing with an egg cup

 trying to lift a very heavy marble rolling pin

 the discovery of a whisk

what fun!

11/52

another week with che and fidel

A: has started playing the ukulele and he is quite proud of the few songs he plays; spongebob squarepants and row row row your boat

B: always with a little animal "baby"

K: a toddler he is! rummaging thru a drawer and finding sheer excitement in new things, makes for one tired mama..... (more on this to follow)

10/52

the 52 project with che and fidel

i decided to put in one picture of all three today. i just love how happy they all look sitting together at breakfast. kai looks so proud to be at the table with the big kids! happy weekend to you all!

today's breakfast:

french toast cut into shapes with cookie cutters (somehow these taste better, right?)

vegetable latkes (carrots, potatoes, zucchini, onions)

yum yum!

quick, easy and delicious....

i had a burst of cooking energy tonight and made this simple and delicious meal.

first was a quinoa salad

1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water cooked for 20 minutes.
i chopped up handfuls of cilantro, dill and fresh mint (the best!)
2 celery stalks finely chopped
good chunk of cucumber chopped
1 small broccoli head that I steamed first and then cut up and tossed into the salad
I made a vinigerette with 1/8 cup olive oil, 1/2 tbsp of mustard, 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tbsp of honey and some freshly squeezed lemon. shake and add to salad.

next up, curried coconut cauliflower soup

i sauteed 1 large onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil and then added 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped.  i added a whole head of cauliflower and 1 tbsp of curry powder and topped it with 4 cups of water and 1 msg free bouillon cube (the ones from the health food store). i simmered the soup for about 20 minutes and when the cauliflower was soft i blended with my immersion blender and then added 1 cup of coconut milk. salt and pepper to taste. done and delicious!

9/52

the 52 project with che and fidel

aidan: my long lashed boy

bella: lazily playing with "her" baby

kai: i love the reflection in his clear eyes.

Spring?! Can it be?!

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the ice blocks are melting. Can it be true? Is spring just around the corner?  Spring is a time for new beginnings, spring cleaning and cleansing. I thought I would mention a few things we can all do to help cleanse our bodies after a long winter hibernation. I have mentioned the liver in this post and this post, and here it is again! The spring is the time of the liver and gallbladder. The liver stores our blood and moves it smoothly in our bodies. When the liver energy is stagnant, the blood does not flow smoothly and we can have feelings of anger, depression and frustration and physically it can manifest with brittle nails, bloodshot eyes, joint or muscle pain and for females with menstrual issues.

 

What to do??
1. Start your day off with a glass of water with a 1/4 of a freshly squeezed lemon. The liver likes the sour flavour and will help to promote its function.
2. Eat from the Brassica family. These include; cabbage, sauerkraut, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale.
3. Choose from the following list of fruits or vegetables and have 1 serving per day; beets, carrots, apples, grapefruit, strawberries, dandelion, salad greens.
4. Include some herbs and spices into your diet on a daily basis; onions, garlic, tumeric, basil, ginger, cumin, fennel
5. Avoid (this is the part people don't like :-) ) red meat, fried foods, dairy, eggs and alcohol
Try to do the above for 3 weeks!
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Colourful Pops!

I love these! Oh. Spring you are so near and these look so delicious. The kiddies (and myself) are going to love these! I might not even wait for the warmer weather. Now I need to find the popsicle molds....
Blend each fruit (mango, kiwi, raspberries) separately in a blender with a tiny bit of water to get a nice consistency that is not too thin. Next, add these layers into your pop molds, and freeze for 1-2 hours!

Another reason to support Acupuncture!

A research paper in the Journal of Integrative Medicine supports acupuncture and fertility treatments with IUI (intrauterine insemination) and shows better success rates with its use.
Here's the link if you are interested in the read.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/afot-emw010912.php

8/52

the 52 week project with che and fidel

we went back to florida for a week to escape the winter cold here in toronto.
aidan: we got into such a great rhythm in the mornings and he started his day with journal writing and drawing.
bella: is able to find rodent creatures in all kinds of places. this is a fabulous park called Patch Reef with the most fantastic pirate ship structure.
kai: busy with necklaces, sunglasses and shoes. love that sweet, sweet face