Long & Lean - 15 Months

Just had the 15 month checkup today. It comes a surpise to me that our son is long & lean, because everyone keeps telling me he's so small all the way around. Weighing in at 21.5 lbs (15th percentile), he's hardly gained any weight in the past few months. However, he's 32 inches, which puts him in the 75% for height. Go figure. Also new this month - we've begun brushing teeth, which he LOVES. And his cutest word is "Bub-buh," for bubbles.

13.1

I’ve now knocked out one of my lifetime goals – I ran a half marathon today. In October, I had never run further than 3 miles. My original long-time goal really was to run the Boulevard Bolt, a 5-mile run on Thanksgiving Day. But running 4 miles was a HUGE mental & physical breakthrough for me. It really wasn’t that hard. So I ran 4. Then 5. Before too long, I was up to 8 mile runs!

So anyway, today I finally did it. 13.1 miles in 1:59. I’m very excited about my time. I didn’t really have a goal except to finish, but I thought it would be great to do it under 2 hrs, so I'm pleased. Mile 12 was very emotional for me - it was hard & I've trained so hard that it was a proud moment. I was close to tears a couple of times.

A BIG thanks to Mom & Lance, who gave me time away from Ethan so I could train. I so loved the time with my running partners – Rachelle, Renee, Kerry, Jen, Mason, & Josh. I’ve had the most honest conversations with those folks. Somehow, running with someone for an hour or more lends itself to some very frank chats. Thanks Rachelle for sticking with me throughout the run - I know you could have scurried on ahead.

I have had a blast running. But I’m also very glad to be taking a break. Much love & many thanks to those who have helped me accomplish this goal.

Identity Crisis

“What profession do you want to pursue?” My teacher asked at my public high school. “Well, I most want to be a mom,” I answer. [Insert Teacher Laughter here.] “You better marry someone rich!” To her, the idea seemed so old-fashioned & unreasonable.

Fast forward to today…I am now a stay-at-home mom. Despite my rugged exterior, I’ve always wanted to be a little June Cleaver.

But now, when someone asks what I do? I want to tell them I’m a successful marketing professional. Even though I haven’t worked full-time in a year & a half, I still attach this to my identity. It’s difficult to let it go…I loved my job. I was good at my job. I received accolades at my job.

I want to tell people what I did. I want to have a title, a business card & I want them to be impressed that I’ve achieved such greatness. For some reason, I want people to think I'm accomplished. Being a mom is the most important thing in the world, but for some crazy reason I also want the recognition that I feel a working professional gets.

Any of you moms go through this? You still see yourself as a nurse, an accountant, a teacher, although you have no intention of returning to this profession?

So here it is - I am Carrie. I am a housewife, a homemaker, a stay-at-home mom. Maybe I’ll create a business card with all of my new titles: Nanny, Cook, Seamstress, Professional Shopper, Food-Allergy-Specialist, Teacher, Driver. Hmm…I guess it’s a pretty lengthy list, huh?

Julia's Portrait of Ethan

I'm SO excited to show you guys the portrait that Julia Martin painted of Ethan. Isn't it FANTASTIC!!?? I -heart- Julia.

"I Love Thursdays"

I love…that Patty Griffin is loved by Emmylou Harris, Dixie Chicks, and even Kelly Clarkson. Did you hear Kelly's version of Patty’s “Up from the Mountains” last night?



And I love my perfect beach wares, which I'll be wearing all summer:
1) Patagonia’s Morning Glory Dress
2) Patagonia’s Highline Top
and 3) Beth Rodden’s Dream Catcher Hoodie

Today's Quote - Bono

"Look at what happened in Southeast Asia with the Tsunami. 150,000 lives lost to the greatest misnomer of all misnomers, "mother nature." Well, in Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it's a completely avoidable catastrophe."

Learn more about the ONE Campaign to end global poverty.

Ever heard of "Bakfiets?"

Have you ever seen anything like this? I saw this on a website, and have been trying to figure out what it is! I think it might be called a "bakfiet," but I can't tell...I may have just made that up. Anyway, I WANT ONE. Have any of you seen one of these or know anything about them???!!!

How to Live a Greener Life

Last week’s Newsweek featured an interesting article, called ”How to Live a Greener Life”. You can read the article, but here are a few highlights…

1) Sweat the small stuff: A faucet that leaks 60 drops per minute can add up to 192 gallons per month.
2) Do some green cleaning: Natural cleaners like borax and lemon juice are ecofriendly alternatives to regular chemical-based products. Check out eartheasy.com for basic household-cleaner recipes
3) Get rid of the excess: Companies can stop receiving mail meant for former employees by visiting ecologicalmail.org. For every former employee entered into the site's database, a company will avoid 100 pounds of waste in undeliverable mail. That's equivalent to one tree.

One Ingredient Foods – Recipes

When I first got married, I felt like I had to use a recipe and create some fancy elaborate food. (And most of the time it probably wasn’t even that great.) I could never find just a good way to cook fresh spinach – it was always some fancy recipe with 5 steps. But when I became a mom that all changed & I became fond of foods that were super-easy to prepare. Here are a few of my favorite ways to cook fruits & veggies. Just call for the main ingredient + something to spice it up…By the way, they are all good foods for little toddlers.

Steamed Spinach – 1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed, rinsed well but not dried. Place spinach in large pot. Cover tightly & cook over high heat until spinach begins to wilt, about 2 min. Toss with oil, season with salt & pepper.

Liz’s Applesauce – For a very large crowd, use 1 bag each of in-season apples (total of 3 bags). Golden Delicious, Jonathan & McIntosh make a good combination. Peel, core & quarter apples & place in a pot with about 1 inch water. Steam until soft (apprx 20 minutes) and then puree. For a smaller amount, add 2-3 apples into the bottom of a smaller pot. Then puree. Add cinnamon. Also, you can add sugar, but I never think it needs it.

Steamed Broccoli – Cut up broccoli & place in steamer basket. Steamer basket goes into a small pot filled about ½ inch with water. Bring to boil, lower heat & cover. Steam until it’s as tender as you like it. (10 minutes?). Ethan & I like it with a little salt & few drops of lemon juice. Lance likes it with ranch dressing.

Squash and/or Zucchini – Saute squash and/or zucchini in about 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Too much olive oil & it gets soggy. I usually do 2 squash & 1 zucchini for our little family. Flip occasionally until golden brown. Sprinkle in your favorite herbs, spices, garlic, or onion. I like garlic salt & onion powder.

Corn off the cob – Cut corn off the cob. (1 ear per person) Then sauté over medium heat in olive oil (or butter,) salt & pepper.

Ethan’s Sweet Potatoes – Poke holes with fork & cover with aluminum foil. Place it in a preheated 425 degree oven for about an hour, or until soft. Add a little OJ & coconut on top for your kiddo. Yumm….

Romans 12:3-8

In church yesterday, we discussed Romans 12:3-8, which talks about spiritual gifts & making sure we use them!

A while ago, I took a Spiritual Gifts Assessment test, which helps you identify your gifts by seeing what your natural talents & interests are. Here is a random one I found online.

Anyway, yesterday I was motivated to be more proactive. I feel like my gifts lend me more towards encouragement & serving. Take a look at the verse above. What are your gifts? How can we use them fir God & others?

Eric Volz on Dateline

Hey All. Just another Eric Volz update to tell you that he will be on Dateline. I think it's Sunday, but could possibly be Saturday.

Back in Blonde

Ladies & Gents, I'm pleased to announce that I'm Back to Blonde. Very excited, I might add. You might remember a couple of months ago how I posted (then deleted) all about my hair adventures, and how I was at that time sporting Color 5G. Well, today I've begun the transformation to blonde again. My favorite. I told you I'd be back. Remember? Ahh...feels so good. Next time you see me, I'll be gleaming with fake-blonde-girl-pride.

Climb Nashville – a funny YouTube skit

Since I’ve realized my BBFs consist mostly of people who I don’t own phone numbers or emails for, or haven’t spoken to in ages, I’ll start this post by telling you that we own a climbing & fitness center, Climb Nashville. In a very random series of events, we became business partners with Drew Sloss, who was a friend from college with whom I had lost touch. After lots of hard work & long hours, we opened in March 2005. The gym features lots of rock climbing, fitness equipment, abs & yoga classes.

Okay, so here’s the point of the post…Lance & Drew recorded a radio spot to promote an upcoming sale we’re doing for memberships. And Drew puts together the craziest little YouTube video to accompany the sound. Make sure to check it out…It's creepy when Lance winks.

Mexico

Where do I start? I’m now getting settled in from our vacation to Mexico, and I can’t wait to catch up on all of my BBF’s blogs. But first, here are a few highlights of our trip to Barcelo in Playa del Carmen.

Our trip to this all-inclusive resort was filled with great food and tons of sun. Since Lance is recovering from his 2nd surgery, we layed low off the water sports. But we did enjoy running on the beach, water aerobics, beachside yoga (okay, those were me), ocean big-wheels, good reads, holding lizards & exotic birds, and a trip to Coba. We had SUCH a great time.

As for traveling without our best little buddy? SO worth it. My sis-in-law kept E, and posted pictures on her (private) blog. That was SOOO nice to check in every couple of days & get updates. Yesterday E had the biggest smile on his face when we saw him. It made us super happy!!!

Anyway, it’s nice to be home. It’s also nice to be missed. No matter how great a vacation is, there’s no place like home.

strolling through playathose are our "ocean big-wheels," along w/some other ocean toys.here's us in the ocean for water aerobics - look close, you'll find mea home in coba that we visitedafter a dinner date, with our hotel in the background

Hola!

That's right, Laurie. We're fresh off the plane from Mexico. And we had the world's greatest reunion with our little baby boy!!! More to come later...

Quilting Circles

How cool would it be to put together a friendship quilt?

Neatly folded in my parents’ house is a quilt that my grandmother made with her friends. Her square is marked with her name, Jewell, & the year, 1943. Although I never met her, I can learn a lot about her by the fabrics she chose, by the way she wrote her name.

I would love to do this someday. Gather a group of ladies – each putting together a square & piecing together a beautiful quilt like this. Maybe my BBFs & I can do this someday!

I’ve really enjoyed the beginnings of my sewing career. And I am so inspired by the work of Denise Schmidt and Amy Butler . Burda Style is also a very interesting sewing site.

The Cutest Little Helper

I love it when this little boy helps around the house. He loves to follow us around & help us do big grown up things.
Here's another picture that Rich Kalonick took. E's eyes are so cool - blue with brown in the center. I don't know if it shows in the post, but trust me - they're the coolest.

Free Ben & Jerry's

Okay, here's another uncomfirmed good deal. I hear that next Tuesday the 17th, Ben & Jerry's has a Free Cone Day! Make sure to swing by your local ice cream shop & enjoy!

An Allergy Story

Since I am often asked questions about Ethan’s allergies, here’s a little bit about how I found out.

When I first Suspected: At 5 months, I started to slowly replace his feedings with formula. He immediately started breaking out in hives, so I stopped right away. Dr. said it wasn’t unusual, but to switch to soy formula. At 10+ months (I think), we tried again to start introducing more adult foods. When I gave him cottage cheese, he had the same sort of reaction. We stayed with foods I knew were okay until we could have him tested with an allergist at 1 year. I had no idea he was allergic to the eggs.

Why Me? I have no idea why it happened to us. Allergies are increasing dramatically & no one fully knows why. Allergist says it’s genetic, although neither of us have known allergies. From what I’ve read, more people have milk intolerances than they think. Some people just think it’s digestive problems or skin problems, when really it may be milk that’s the culprit.

Is there a food connection? Before pregnancy, I may have considered the option that allergies may have something to do with foods eaten by a pregnant mother. Now, I highly, highly doubt that is the case. I’m very interested in eating healthy & during pregnancy I still ate pretty well. Lots of fruits & veggies (although I did eat a good bit of cereal & developed a taste for coke floats near the end.) Other than that, I did not eat much processed, creamy, cheesy, heavy foods. We do not have processed foods like cokes, chips & cookies in our house at all.

Babys & Food: To answer Courtney’s question, E. ate store bought baby food. Doing my own would have been super easy. But I don’t know why I never gave it a shot. To answer other questions I’ve gotten about E’s eating, I think his allergies are partly why he is a pretty good eater. He hasn’t had exposure to grilled cheese & chocolate chip cookies, so he doesn’t know what he’s missing. So he gobbles up his healthy foods. I’ll be in really big trouble if he goes through a picky stage. Seriously.

What the Doctors say: The longer we can go without introducing his allergic foods, the better his chances of outgrowing them. That’s why I’m an extremist about not letting him have foods that have even a pad of butter in it. The rationale about delaying introduction seems counterintuitive to me. I would think that you would expose them to the foods, and they would develop a tolerance to it. Nope - not according to the “experts.”

80% of children with these types of allergies outgrow them by the time their 5. I’m very hopeful that he’ll be in the 80%, but that’s a long ways away. Also, I’m supposed to steer clear of these foods while I’m nursing any future kids, and other future kid(s) are supposed to also stay away from them.

My Dr. says, "You know, kids don't really have to have milk. It's the nutrition that's important." So for people who might think that dairy is causing their child problems, it certainly doesn't hurt to limit their intake, and replacing milk with the great qualities of foods like broccoli and black beans. But it definitely means a lifestyle change for many. And the road ahead of me will definitely not be the easiest one.

Allergy Alternatives

No Dairy, No Eggs, No Nuts, No Shellfish. Hmm…That cuts out a lot for a growing toddler. If you are in the same boat as me, you may be frustrated with the idea of discontinuing all use of your favorite ingredients. I anticipate having to bring food from home for every social occasion my son attends from here on out. I am conflicted when I think about things like Easter Egg Hunts and trick-or-treating. Do I allow him to enjoy these favorite childhood pastimes? Or am I welcoming disappointment by having him collect foods that I’ll have to take back from him when we get home. As a parent of a child with allergies, I’ve got lots to think about. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some of the information & great products I’ve discovered over the past few months…

Awesome Storebought Alternatives:
Earth Balance (Butter Alternative)
Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise (Mayo Alternative)
Tofutti (Sour Cream Alternative)
Ener-G (Egg Alternative for baking)
Alternative Baking Company’s Vegan Cookies - great sweets
Van’s Waffles (egg, dairy free)
Ian’s Chicken Nuggets (the wheat, nut, soy, egg, dairy free ones)
Plum Organics Super Greens baby food - a healthy little spinich puree
Enjoy Life Foods - more great sweets
Ezekial Bread - Cinnamon Raisin is Yummy.
o’Soy or Silk yogurt.

Here are some tips on avoiding milk. And since E’s missing his traditional calcium & protein sources, we work hard to make get his calcium and protein in other ways. And here’s some great basic infoabout how to get any toddler the nutrients he needs. If you'd like to read some more info just about allergies, click here.

Lastly, I am conflicted about our Milk Alternatives. Here’s an article about milk & kids. Right now, Ethan drinks Rice Milk because of the questions I have about too much soy in a child’s diet. We definitely do some soy, but I’m trying to balance out how much he gets.

Man, I wish we lived close to BabyCakes. Never been there, but it just sounds brilliant.

PS. If you are looking for some safe junk food, Moon Pies are egg & dairy-free. Who knew? Guess I know what I’ll be buying for Easter, Halloween & Christmas from here-on-out!

Hope this is helpful to others. I have taken quite a bit of time in research on this issue. If you have anything to add, please do!

Recipe - Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Why so many recipes lately? I'm trying to collect a bunch of stuff that my allergic child likes, to create an online reference for people who care for him. Also, these are some of our favorite recipes, so I'm sharing them with you! And thirdly, I've been slowly compiling a list of vegetarian/vegan recipes, because I think I will soon compile a cookbook to sell as a fundraiser for an African mission. Hopefully before too long, I will start a campaign for people from our gym & folks like you to submit recipes that fit the bill. Hope you like this one.

PUMPKIN BLACK BEAN SOUP
3 15-1/2 oz cans black beans (about 4 ½ c)
1 c drained canned tomatoes, chopped
1 ¼ c chopped onion
½ c minced shallot
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp + 2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ stick unsalted butter (1/4 c) [Olive Oil for my kid & other non-dairy eaters]
4 c beef broth (or veggie)
16 oz can pumpkin puree
½ c dry Sherry
½ lb cooked ham, cut into 1/8” dice (optional)
3-4 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar
Garnish: Sour Cream (optional for non-dairy eaters), Coarsley Chopped roasted pumpkin seeds.

In a food processor, coarsely puree beans and tomatoes. In a 6-qt. heavy kettle cook onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper in butter over moderate heat, stirring until onion is, softened & beginning to brown. Stir in bean puree. Stir in broth, pumpkin & sherry until combined & simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 min., or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Just before serving, add ham & vinegar & simmer soup, stirring until heated through. Season soup with salt & pepper. Serve soup garnished w/ sour cream & toasted pumpkin seeds. Makes about 9 cups.

PS. I never cook w/ham. And I can never find “Sherry Vinegar,” so I use red wine vinegar. Again, freezes great!

Bummer of the Year

SOO bummed. I decided to go with Rachel & Casey's suggestion to incorporate the back. I have taken in the sides & top and was presently recutting the neckline just a bit. I took these pics earlier to send to Rachel for her opinion about a few things. Anyway, working on the neck just now and RRIIPPPP! The neckline ripped!!! ARGH! I wanted to take this to the beach coming up shortly, but looks like that may not happen now. So sad. :(

Books

This is one of my VERY FAVORITE sights in the whole entire planet. It really fills my heart with joy and thankfulness for the blessings in my life.

Books are quite popular in our house right now. But you never can totally predict what books a child will love. For some reason, they just have their favorites. Presently, here are his favorite books:

"Duckling is Patient"
"Who’s There, Spot?"
"Jamberry"
"Tomie’s Little Mother Goose"

Two of these are his free books from Books from Birth. I guess Dolly Parton and VU know something I don’t.

Is it sad?

Is it sad that it's one of the highlight of my day when someone comments on my blog? Is it sad that I get super-excited when a brand new person says hello on my blog? Oh well. If you've ever posted, just know that somewhere, someday, you've made my day.

Beach Refashion?

I’ve recently become fascinated with a website called Wardrobe Refashion. They take take a pledge not to buy new clothes for a certain period of time, but they refashion old clothes & make them new! Anyway, I think it’s very interesting to see what they’ve come up with. While I’m not taking the pledge, I will undertake a refashion of my very own. But I NEED YOUR HELP!

I bought this dress at the trift store b/c I was drawn to the fabric! Girly & funky – a bit like me. I thought it would make a cute shirt, dress, or skirt for the summer. I need you to help me decide! I could make it out of the pattern I used for my last shirt. After all, I own the pattern & kind-of know what I’m doing now with that one. Or I could try something new. Here are some patterns I thought were cute. Pattern One, Pattern Two, Pattern Three, Pattern Four, and Five.

Any suggestions? I want it to be EASY, and suitable for this fabric. Anyone w/sewing skills know which of these would be easiest?

Buttons - On!

The buttons are on, and the shirt is done!!

I attempted shirt #2, but it is H-A-R-D to cut patterns out of silk! I'll pass on that one until I am more skilled.

Recipe - Vegan Banana Bread

Here’s another recipe. If you know a kid with allergies like E's, or just want a healthy treat, make these!!! Another great use for that healthy wheat germ. I freeze these too & pull out a couple at a time.

VEGAN BANANA BREAD

3 Very Ripe Bananas (1 cup mashed)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup oil
½ cup brown sugar
+ Cream. Together add:
1 ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ c wheat germ
1 c chopped dates - Optional
1 c chopped nuts – Optional (leave out if you make for my kid!)

Preheat to 375 degrees. Cook Muffins for 25 minutes, or loaf for 45 minutes.