Snack Tray Attack

Okay, I feel really lame for bringing this up since I haven't put together a snack tray in ages, but I love them and I want you love them, too.

I read about snack trays in "The Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears and his wife, Martha Sears, RN. I wanted to try them out since BuggaBoo likes to graze. I'm sure being a distracted toddler is one reason for snacking all day, but I strongly feel another is because BuggaBoo has a weak epiglottis. When he was a baby he spit up all the time. I am not joking. Our pediatrician was surprised that he even gained weight. I always fed him on demand, I know that's why he thrived.

My mother-in-law said all her babies had the same thing, and both my nephews from that side of the family had it as children. My one nephew who is ten still has episodes of vomiting, especially if he eats too quickly or has a carbonated drink. So I think grazing may be BuggaBoo's way of not overloading his stomach.

The basic principle of a snack tray is to offer a variety of finger foods in a balanced manner. Dipping sauces are encouraged since toddlers can't resist them. First of all I sat down and composed a list of toddler-friendly nutritious finger foods that were quick and cheap. When I started I used a muffin tin.



What you see here, left to right, is whole wheat spiral pasta, bagel with peanut butter, pear chunks, tortillas filled with hummus, homemade seitan, and steamed carrot sticks. Well, this was way too much food for my little guy. He also didn't get the concept at first, he kept coming to me and telling me he was hungry. I would direct him back to the tray telling him he could eat whatever he wanted whenever he felt like it.

The next day he caught on and was so very excited about the whole thing. I decided to scale down production to an ice cube tray so there wasn't too much food.



This one was pretzel sticks, dried apricots, tortilla spread with peanut butter and wheat germ before rolling up, steamed broccoli, cucumber chunks, olives, peaches, and steamed carrot sticks. The dip was homemade hummus. As you can see by the glimpse of BuggaBoo's face he was pleased with his snacks. The ice cube tray proved to be the right amount of food to feed him until dinner.

After that BuggaBoo put in orders for what snacks he wanted and hovered over the assembly. As soon as I set his tray down he pounced on it, and even offered me some of his food. Snack trays became a hit in our household.



Here we have bread with peanut butter, olives, celery sticks, leftover Field Roast, honey tangerines, dried apricots, sauteed tofu, garbanzo beans, and something so obviously delicious it didn't make it to the photo shoot.

On benefit to having a free-access snack tray is BuggaBoo has a better mood most the day. He still has a hard time articulating when he's hungry and I'm so bad about preparing food on a set schedule. I eat whenever I'm hungry and it's not always when he's hungry, but I forget that he'll get hungry before me. I know, bad mommy. By the time he's hungry his mood has deteriorated to a point of nuclear war and trying to make something for him during the meltdown is difficult. So a snack tray circumvents all that! Also, I love to share with him, there's something about eating food that is bite-sized.



Olives (BuggaBoo adores them), pear chunks, canned peaches, pretzel sticks, cooked pasta, zucchini sticks, and sauteed tofu. Dipping unknown, something creamy.

So in conclusion I want to start making these again. They're fun, easy to put together, and the rewards are, well, rewarding. And I sometimes find little treasures like these:


This is, of course, and animal cracker drowning in peanut butter-apple sauce dip. He was delicious.

Dust, Go To Sleep...

Doozer's first bath

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

BuggaBoo and Mommy, a few weeks before Doozer was born


Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Mommy and Doozer, a few weeks old


Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

BuggaBoo, 2.5 years old


The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

Mommy and Doozer, heading to a postpartum checkup

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

BuggaBoo, having fun with Mommy's lipstick

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Mommy, Daddy, BuggaBoo, and Doozer

The Funness in My Life

Funness: (noun) 1. Amazing junk (There's a lot of funness going on right now at the Krunkle's.)

Remember this post I wrote way back in...May? My goodness, what have I been doing? Obviously not keeping up on my polls. Poll, I guess, singular, I've only done one. Well, I know I promised that ya'll could have a say in my life, and I even let you vote. But, gol darn, this isn't a democracy and sometimes there are extenuating circumstances that turn my life into a military state.

So even though Sew-a-Seam-a-Day won the poll by a landslide I'm focusing more on sprouting, fermenting, and EC. I'm sprouting because we need more antioxidants in our life to help combat Doozer's wheezing and sprouts are cheap. We're fermenting with water kefir grains because the probiotics are supposed to help Doozer's and mine immune systems to keep her from catching viruses and aggravating her Reactive Airway Disease. And the EC helps with keeping her yeast diaper rash from coming back since she sitting in less wet/soiled diapers.

It's actually pretty fun. Well, I'm getting tired of having to rinse my sprouts all the time, but that's just because my kitchen is a disaster. Making water kefir is REALLY fun and yummy, and that's a whole other post in itself. (Sidenote: How many times have I mentioned "whole other posts" and I haven't followed up on that? Slacker!) And I really like practicing EC and all the astonished praise about my "genius" daughter. I'll let you in on a secret: She's not a genius (about pottying) or a "good" baby, or anything mutant. Elimination communication can work for every baby! So don't be intimidated.

So there ya go, that's what's going on in my life. And here's a parting picture of something that has nothing to do with this post but is precious nonetheless:

Hi, My Name is Krista...

And I have a Facebook and other asinine-internet-wasters addiction. Seriously, guys, what the heck. I get on Facebook um, *counting* ten times a day, at least.

I have enough real stuff to do during the day I don't need to get on the time-sucker every hour or so. The only thing is I don't want to deal with real life so I get suck into virtually real life. Right now my kitchen is a bio-hazard waste dump, but it needs to be cleaned before I can process jam tonight. If I don't do jam then all the hard work The Hubby and I did picking raspberries on Monday is going to go to waste, not to mention the $12 we spent on the berries.

By the way, that's not the only thing I need to do, just the most pressing.

Also by the way, happy 50th post to me!

Okay, back to the real business at hand: trying to kick the Facebook habit. Here's general musings I've had on the subject matter, and also another colon:

Get rid of my Facebook account

That would fix things, and in a hurry. But I've come to depend on Facebook for sharing all the latest news with my friends & family and seeing what they're up to in their lives. But now that I'm blogging maybe I can shift my focus to reading blogs and having people read my blog and be done with it all. Hmm, tempting...

Turn off the computer

This would also work well. But we just changed our phone system to magicJack and the computer has to be on for calls to come in. So I really don't think that would work for the bigger picture. We already don't use a cell phone, so we have to have our home phone in case of emergencies.

Delete a ton of Facebook friends

This would help a lot. I wouldn't have to try to keep up with everyone's status updates and whatnot. It would be cozy to just have a few friends. I mean, right now I have 390 friends, but I don't even know some of these people. So deleting would be a great course of action, but it makes me feel so guilty. I want to delete some family members, but can I do that? Is that allowed? Do I have to be friends with family? And what about friends from high school that aren't really intimate friends because our lives have taken different directions, that's guilt-inducing to delete them. But I think I'm going to go this route because I think after it's done it'll feel soooo good.

Replace the habit of getting onto Facebook with a better habit

This is what I'm trying now. I decided today that every time I have an overwhelming urge to get online I'm going to give Doozer a nebulizer treatment. She needs to have the several times a day, it takes about 15 minutes to do one, and once I"m done hopefully I won't have the urge anymore. Hopefully.

I think what this all comes down to is wanting to know what people are saying about me. Like cyber-narcissism. But, really, checking for comments all the time just stresses me out. Because then I have to sometimes defend myself, and at other times there aren't any comments and that just makes me feel bad, and at other times they're sweet but not easily responded to but I have to respond so everyone knows I like them. *sigh*

Okay, if you're still with me after all those bold-titled lists and rambling thoughts, I would like to know your thoughts. Do you have any problems function in real life due to being on the computer too much? Do you have any ideas? If so, share, because I could really use some good ideas.

Out of Necessity

Those who have been reading my blog for a while know of Doozer's breathing difficulties. Those who have not been reading my blog are missing out on some amazing literature. Anyway, today we're going to talk about Doozer's health journey up to this point, which is culminating in a difficult decision for me.

I was visiting my family in Washington for three weeks for my brother's graduation plus some. I was hoping that Doozer's breathing would do better while I was there since we would be away from the mold present in our apartment.

Mold? MOLD? Yes, we have a moldy apartment. My manager and landlord try to pish-posh it off on Oregon weather, but that's only true if you consider that weather used to have direct access into my home through the rotten roof the winter BuggaBoo was born. That's when the mold started, when our apartment was drenched with Northwester rain. And it hasn't ended because getting anything done with the manager and landlord is like pulling teeth.

Right, Doozer's health. Well, she didn't get better, she actually got worse. We went to the ER one night where she received a chest x-ray (clear), an Albuterol treatment, and an oral dose of dexamethasone. She was wheezing again by the time we made it back to the car.

While we were in Washington I had Doozer scanned with a Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner to test her antioxidant levels. Here is an article that talks about the importance of the level of antioxidants in the skin, about halfway down. My level is 40,000. Not bad but room for improvement. Doozer's level is 28,000, not good at all for a breastfed baby. Everyone I've talked to about her levels says that Doozer is burning through her antioxidants dealing with all her health issues.

The Monday we were to head back to Oregon we did two things. First, we visited my childhood chiropractor to see if he could help with Doozer's wheezing and yeast diaper rash. Then we talked to one of my sister's midwives that is knowledgeable in herbs to see what she would do.

My chiropractor sensed energy blocks in Doozer's crown, sinus and jaw. He then adjusted those areas. Then he tested me for some things, since my health affects hers. He detected a B12 deficiency. Not good.

The midwife advised the use of mullein tea, colloidal silver, and tea tree oil. The mullein and silver were to be both orally and used in the nebulizer, the tea tree oil was to be used in the nebulizer only.

We drove home Monday night. Tuesday morning The Hubby and I took Doozer to her four-month well back check up. Our pediatrician did not like the sound of her wheezing, but she's growing well and has a happy disposition. He then diagnosed her with Reactive Airways Disease, or RAD. The pediatrician said this is because she had RSV at such a young age. He took her off the Albuterol, which made us happy since it gave Doozer the shakes and didn't do much for her wheezing. Then he prescribed Pulmicort, an inhaled steroid, which didn't make us happy.

The Hubby and I made this decision: We would try the natural method first, giving it until Wednesday night to work. If it didn't work by then we would put her on the steroids. We started nebulizing the mullein, silver, and tea tree oil several times a day. We saw a major improvement, so we decided to stick with the regime. By Thursday her breathing was amazing, beautiful, and perfect. Her little tummy was so rounded with each breath, I wanted to cup it with my hand.

Thursday afternoon BuggaBoo shoved the garden hose in Doozer's face, causing her to inhale some water. Every symptom came back with a vengance. The natural treatments were not working, and she was coughing so hard, working on getting that water up. Saturday morning, during a nebulizer treatment, she coughed up foamy, slimy mucus. I became very worried about that. I called our pediatrician's office and made an appointment with another doctor in the practice.

I took Doozer in to see the doctor, and the doctor wasn't happy with us. She listened to Doozer's lungs and decided that this wheezing episode was the same as all her others and had nothing to do with getting a face full of water. She wanted us to "stop that natural stuff" right away and put her on the Albuterol and Pulmicort. She didn't even tell me if she had heard water in Doozer's lungs until I asked at the end of the appointment.

After the appointment I did some research and found articles supporting my beliefs about dexamethason being ineffective in the treatment of infant wheezing and corticosteroids being ineffective in the treatment of childhood asthma symptoms.

Overall I was upset about the appointment and feeling very chastised for following my instincts. So I made an appointment with a pediatric naturopath. We had that appointment this last Thursday and I was very pleased with the outcome.

The naturopath was also unhappy with the allopathic pediatrician prescribing a steroid. We talked a lot about my diet, since I'm breastfeeding and whatever I do affects Doozer. The naturopath suggested upping our DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids to help combat inflammation. She told us to use probiotics to help strengthen our immune systems, including fermenting kefir at home. She told us to continue the use of mullein and colloidal silver but had us substitute lemon oil for the tea tree oil. She wants me to eat more antioxidant-rich foods like berries and leafy greens to help combat Doozer's free radical problem. She told us to help BuggaBoo's immune system so he stops bringing colds home.

And then she told me to eat eggs to improve my B12 levels, especially since I'm tandem nursing..

I felt this was going to happen, and I've been feeling the need to add eggs to my diet. But this is hard, guys. I mean, I really don't want to eat baby chickens, which is what I'll be doing because I strongly feel for eggs to have benefit for me they have to be fertile. But I don't want to do this.

The Hubby and I have always said that if things reach a point that we need to eat animals we will, but now that this time is here I am sad. I feel grief. I keep telling myself that this is needed, but a little voice is telling me that she must be wrong, that being vegan is always healthy, always. That anybody who says differently must be uneducated in the matter.

But I take my supplements nearly every day. I'm taking 16,000% of my B12 a day. I eat my nutritional yeast. I'm doing all the right vegan things. I have to come to peace with myself knowing I'm doing everything right but it's not enough. That it's okay to add eggs back in.

I will do this. I will do this for my babies.

This is a hard thing.

Dinner Recipe of Speed

Are you hungry now? Hungry for something delicious that uses up that questionable produce? Hungry for something that is easy to adapt to use that questionable produce? Hungry for a vague recipe?

This recipe is for you.

Greens-Carbs-Protein Extravaganza

Oil-type food (olive, coconut, canola, etc.)
Onion-type food (garlic, shallots, leeks, or onions)
Carb-type food (cubed potatoes, mashed potatoes, cooked pasta, cooked grain, etc.)
Greens-type food (cabbage, kale, collards, bok choy, mustard, chard, beet tops, broccoli, etc.)
Protein-type food (cooked beans, tofu, seitan, rehydrated TVP, or for non-vegans, hard boiled eggs, cooked meat)
Seasoning-type food (tomato paste, season salt, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, etc.)
Optional Vegetable-type food (carrots, green beans, peas, bamboo shoots, etc.)

1. Put oil in pan of choice, add chopped onion-type food.

2. Add carb-type food if it needs longer cooking, like cubed potatoes. I like to nuke my whole potatoes for a minute or two to precook, ensuring full cooking in rapid time. If it's something like cooked pasta then add it later so it doesn't fall apart. If it's mashed potatoes add at the end of it all.

3. Add optional vegetable-type food if it needs longer cooking, like carrots.

4. Add greens-type food, protein-type food, and other optional vegetable-type food. Add seasoning-type food to taste. Cook together until greens are cooked to liking. If you're using broccoli as your greens then add them earlier than this stage.

5. Eat like the hungry animal you are. Raahr!

Breastfeeding and the LDS Church

Since I started sharing my Red Robin incident I've received a few comments about my "modesty issues". It's been said before, but I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. Modesty is a big thing for us. The guideline is to wear clothes that cover your legs to the knee, cover your midriff, cover your shoulders, and have a modest neckline.

Some have felt that because my breast was showing while nursing meant I was breaking the LDS Church's standard of modesty, meaning it was somewhat sinful.

So this is what the LDS Church has to say on the matter:

"Mother’s Milk Is Usually Best for Small Babies

Our Heavenly Father made the mother’s body so it could produce milk. This milk is made especially for human babies to drink. It is better for babies than milk from animals. The first fluid that comes from the mother’s breasts after a new baby is born is also important. It contains substances that help protect the baby from diseases for the first few months.

Sometimes for health reasons a mother cannot breast-feed her baby. Milk from cows or goats or prepared formulas can also be used, but the mother must take greater care to keep the milk sanitary. A mother should breast-feed her baby if she can. The mother’s diet influences how much milk she produces for the baby. A mother who eats enough good foods and drinks enough water can usually produce enough milk for her baby."

Annnd, that's it. The LDS Church has taken no official stance on HOW breastfeeding is to take place, just that they encourage that it happens.

Now the LDS Church has a lot of wonderful things to say about modesty, but I want to focus on what it says about situational modesty (found at the bottom of the link):

“Are Latter-day Saint girls exempt from standards of modesty in dress while they are performing in marching or cheerleading groups?”

Marilyn Arnold, “Q&A: Questions and Answers,” New Era, Feb. 1975, 10

Answer/Sister Marilyn Arnold

My first reaction to this question is to ask another question: Are we, can we ever be, exempt from Church standards, whether in dress or behavior? Can we expect the Lord to bend his principles or put them aside for certain occasions? I think the answer has to be no to the general question, but there are some aspects of the specific question about marchers and cheerleaders that we need to examine. For example, does adherence to LDS standards mean a girl in a marching group has to wear a knee-length costume? Perhaps the answer to this question can also be suggested by another question: Should an LDS girl wear a knee-length bathing suit when she goes swimming or a turtleneck gown to a dance? Is a ballerina immodest if she performs in standard ballet attire? Modesty in dress is at least partly dependent upon the appropriateness of a particular costume to the occasion or activity for which it is worn. What is appropriate and modest for one activity may not be for another. We have to exercise judgment and make every effort to obey the spirit of the law.

A shorter-than-knee-length skirt can be appropriate for a marching group or for cheerleaders. But even so, the costume need not be immodest. In fact, a Latter-day Saint girl who is a member of such a group can be a strong voice in the choice of costumes. And she should speak up, insisting that the costume be in good taste, appropriate, and modest. Marchers and cheerleaders are in a very real sense on display. I am sure there is no relationship between the brevity of costume and the excellence of a performance. If her performing group, over her protests, selects an immodest (and hence, inappropriate) costume, a Latter-day Saint girl should most certainly choose in favor of the eternal principle."

You can have situational modesty during swimming, professional dancing and sports, doctor's visits, and birth.

************************DISCLAIMER*************************

The following is MY opinion based of the information given to me. It is NOT the view of the LDS Church. If you have any fault with what I'm going to say it is MY fault and not the Church's.

*************************************************************

I feel that breastfeeding in public is a situational modesty issue. I don't walk around with my breasts hanging out, but if my baby is hungry I will feed my baby the best way I see fit. I will strive to be discreet in most situations but if I cannot be 100% discreet I don't worry about it because of the situation I'm in.

So, let's talk about this. How do other LDS members feel? How do other of not our faith feel?

All of those LDS members who will be posting, please remember to NOT talk about things that we're not supposed to talk about. If you bring up sacred things I will delete your comment. This discussion can be had without bringing up those things we hold sacred.