The Babe has been in school since we moved in October. It's a private facility that is mostly childcare, ages 6 months to 6 years. They have a 4k group, and one kindergarten class. The kindergarten program is taught by a licensed educator with a Bachelor's degree in education. The Babe only goes part-time to the kindergarten class, as I pick her up before lunch is served. In the fall, she will be attending kindergarten in our local public school. Right now, she's learning sight words, working on penmanship, and other wonderful things. The afternoon focuses more on science and math, so she has less of that, but she does get some. Because she will be attending kindergarten next fall, our primary goal in this year's schooling was socialization. Everything else is a bonus.
Last night she decided to write a letter to her cousins. I did not get to read the letter, beyond her showing me her start of, "Dear Kasins". After she finished and put it in an envelope, she told me what she wrote. "Dear Cousins, I love you. I miss you. Love, __". As she was telling me the letter's contents, she told me where she had the greeting, the body, and the closing. I was highly impressed that she's already learned the format of a letter. There are these wonderful building blocks that she's learning at what seems an earlier age, but she gets it. I'm excited to see her educational development. As Dr. Seuss says, "Oh, the places you will go."
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Long, dark winter
Its been a long, dark winter, and spring has not been much better. I haven't written much in a while, because although the Babe has been doing well with school and other things, we've had a cloud over our house. There has been family illness, as well as major changes with my husband's employer.
Two weeks ago today we lost my husband's mother. There is so much to say about her that I cannot capture how truly wonderful a person she was. I was blessed to have a warm, loving, generous mother-in-law. Sadly, it was not for long enough. She died too young, at the age of 63. While I cannot go into the details, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer less than six months ago, that at that point was rapidly metastasizing. While there was hope, we also were very realistic. Reality still cannot prepare you for such a loss.
The Babe understands, but we aren't sure how much. She knows her Gram is gone. I think when she sees her grandfather she will feel the loss even more, because Papa and Gram go together.
My mother-in-law always put family first. Her parents, her husband, her children, and granddaughter were the most important people in her life. As she was eulogized, she had many friends, but she chose quality over quantity. While I know I was an in-law, she also took my interests to heart. Many times she would take my side in a discussion with her son, whether it was joking or serious. In fact, there will no longer be those chats where I start off with, "Well your son did...", to which she'd counter with, "Well your husband...". She was fun, and we had a lot of laughs.
Not to discount my sister-in-law or my husband, but I think one of her greatest joys was my daughter. She was thrilled to be a grandmother. The hardest part was probably not being able to see her every day due to geography. We did Facetime often, and she could see my daughter dance or wear interesting patterned clothing combinations. She always had something for my daughter. There were many things she would have loved to have done with my daughter, that due to allergies or age never happened. She would have loved to have taken her out for an ice cream cone, or go to Disney World with her. My daughter is now of an age where Disney is a possibility, but it will be sad for my husband and I if we go without Gram.
I learned many things from my mother-in-law. She was a gracious host, and had an ease with most people. Her neighbors were close friends, her friends were extended family. She always took an interest in others, be it work or extended family. Even while she was failing, and could barely talk due to a horrible cough, she'd still ask about others.
Its still hard to fathom her death, that she's not just a phone call away. However, we must continue to move forward. For while we mourn, we must not forget to live. Time cannot not stop. We will remember, and hopefully, continue to honor her life. May her memory be a blessing.
Two weeks ago today we lost my husband's mother. There is so much to say about her that I cannot capture how truly wonderful a person she was. I was blessed to have a warm, loving, generous mother-in-law. Sadly, it was not for long enough. She died too young, at the age of 63. While I cannot go into the details, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer less than six months ago, that at that point was rapidly metastasizing. While there was hope, we also were very realistic. Reality still cannot prepare you for such a loss.
The Babe understands, but we aren't sure how much. She knows her Gram is gone. I think when she sees her grandfather she will feel the loss even more, because Papa and Gram go together.
My mother-in-law always put family first. Her parents, her husband, her children, and granddaughter were the most important people in her life. As she was eulogized, she had many friends, but she chose quality over quantity. While I know I was an in-law, she also took my interests to heart. Many times she would take my side in a discussion with her son, whether it was joking or serious. In fact, there will no longer be those chats where I start off with, "Well your son did...", to which she'd counter with, "Well your husband...". She was fun, and we had a lot of laughs.
Not to discount my sister-in-law or my husband, but I think one of her greatest joys was my daughter. She was thrilled to be a grandmother. The hardest part was probably not being able to see her every day due to geography. We did Facetime often, and she could see my daughter dance or wear interesting patterned clothing combinations. She always had something for my daughter. There were many things she would have loved to have done with my daughter, that due to allergies or age never happened. She would have loved to have taken her out for an ice cream cone, or go to Disney World with her. My daughter is now of an age where Disney is a possibility, but it will be sad for my husband and I if we go without Gram.
I learned many things from my mother-in-law. She was a gracious host, and had an ease with most people. Her neighbors were close friends, her friends were extended family. She always took an interest in others, be it work or extended family. Even while she was failing, and could barely talk due to a horrible cough, she'd still ask about others.
Its still hard to fathom her death, that she's not just a phone call away. However, we must continue to move forward. For while we mourn, we must not forget to live. Time cannot not stop. We will remember, and hopefully, continue to honor her life. May her memory be a blessing.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
School Days
There seems to have been so much happening around here that I haven't had the motivation to write. The Babe is loving school. She goes in the morning, so we avoid lunch time. When I pick her up, she gestures for me to leave as she's never ready to go. Now in the morning when its time to get ready for school, forget it. Its not that she doesn't want to go to school; she just doesn't want to get up. I think she's the only child whose mother dresses her for school while she's either unconscious or semi-conscious. She'll nod in acknowledgement that I'm talking to her, but eyes are shut, and she's ducking for the covers as soon as I grab a leg or foot. However, once she's up and ready, she's happy to be going to school.
Today her class is celebrating the 100th day of school. Technically this doesn't apply to her as we started late due to when we moved. However, that doesn't matter. When I dropped her off, she said that it was the last day of class so now she can sleep in in the morning. I had to explain that no, she still has school.
We are all happy that she is able to attend this school. They have been wonderful to work with regarding her allergies. The only negative of having her in class is the exposure to colds. We are now getting over the second one in the past month and half. When I say we, I mean we. Child gets sick means mama gets sick. My husband's been traveling so much, that he's only just starting to show signs of what we've had for the past two weeks. I think his is more from travel and stress then whatever we have.
Despite having to get up early, and fight these lovely germs, its great that she can be with the other kids. She's getting the socialization that is so important. She's learning the fickleness of friendship, too. She went into class this morning complaining about one boy being a bully. She declared she wasn't going to be friends with him anymore or talk to him. Well, he blew her a bunch of kisses when she got in, so she decided she could be friends with him again. Little does she know that I think his bullying is because he "likes" her. She happens to be the new girl, in that most of these kids have been attending this school since infancy or toddlerhood, and she's only been there a few months. I suspect there are dynamics there that she's unaware of. She's happy to play with everyone, although is learning who is willing to play with whom in what type of groups, or who is the "boss" when there's independent play. Again, all things we must learn at some time if we are to play well with others.
Today her class is celebrating the 100th day of school. Technically this doesn't apply to her as we started late due to when we moved. However, that doesn't matter. When I dropped her off, she said that it was the last day of class so now she can sleep in in the morning. I had to explain that no, she still has school.
We are all happy that she is able to attend this school. They have been wonderful to work with regarding her allergies. The only negative of having her in class is the exposure to colds. We are now getting over the second one in the past month and half. When I say we, I mean we. Child gets sick means mama gets sick. My husband's been traveling so much, that he's only just starting to show signs of what we've had for the past two weeks. I think his is more from travel and stress then whatever we have.
Despite having to get up early, and fight these lovely germs, its great that she can be with the other kids. She's getting the socialization that is so important. She's learning the fickleness of friendship, too. She went into class this morning complaining about one boy being a bully. She declared she wasn't going to be friends with him anymore or talk to him. Well, he blew her a bunch of kisses when she got in, so she decided she could be friends with him again. Little does she know that I think his bullying is because he "likes" her. She happens to be the new girl, in that most of these kids have been attending this school since infancy or toddlerhood, and she's only been there a few months. I suspect there are dynamics there that she's unaware of. She's happy to play with everyone, although is learning who is willing to play with whom in what type of groups, or who is the "boss" when there's independent play. Again, all things we must learn at some time if we are to play well with others.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Not-quite Architecturally Sound "Gingerbread" House
This morning as I was dropping the Babe off at school, her teacher asked me if one of her planned activities would be safe for the Babe. They were making Gingerbread Houses from a kit. Definitely not safe, especially with the Babe's high level allergy to wheat, egg, and dairy. I think her teacher had that figured out, but wanted to make sure before excluding the Babe. Its not that she was actually excluded, its just that the activity was saved for the afternoon when the Babe wouldn't be present.
The Babe knew about the planned activity, probably because they spent the morning reading about the Gingerbread Man and gingerbread houses. So, as we left she asked if we could make one. I had planned to clean this afternoon, and really didn't feel like baking, but I didn't want to disappoint the Babe. So instead of cleaning some toilets and doing laundry, we baked and iced cookies. First, we made sugar cookies that we had to roll out and bake. For the house, I cut those shapes, but we had a lot of dough to make hearts and flowers out of. Then I made vanilla icing. The house is definitely not structurally sound, but it is so far holding together. Other than safe lollipops, we don't have candy, so its a very "vanilla" house without any gumdrop or other candy decoration. It still tastes good (based on all the cookies and frosting I already ate). Here's a photo of the house and some of the frosted cookies.
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1/2 C Sorghum
1/2 C Potato Starch
1/4 C Tapioca Starch
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/3 C Margarine (I prefer Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1/4 C Soy milk
2 tsp vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (unless planning to bake dough later).
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix rice flour, sorghum, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, margarine, soy milk and vanilla. Beat together with stand mixer or an electric mixer, until creamy.
4. Add in dry ingredients to mix, and beat until dough forms.
5. Wrap dough in wax paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or up to a couple of hours.
6. Take dough out of refrigerate. Take half of the dough and place between two large pieces of wax paper. Roll out dough, cut into shapes with cookie cutters, and put on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue process until fill cookie sheet (remember to leave some space between the cookies).
7. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes. They will not get brown.
8. Repeat process of rolling out and cutting dough and baking until you've used up the dough.
Eat and Enjoy!
The Babe knew about the planned activity, probably because they spent the morning reading about the Gingerbread Man and gingerbread houses. So, as we left she asked if we could make one. I had planned to clean this afternoon, and really didn't feel like baking, but I didn't want to disappoint the Babe. So instead of cleaning some toilets and doing laundry, we baked and iced cookies. First, we made sugar cookies that we had to roll out and bake. For the house, I cut those shapes, but we had a lot of dough to make hearts and flowers out of. Then I made vanilla icing. The house is definitely not structurally sound, but it is so far holding together. Other than safe lollipops, we don't have candy, so its a very "vanilla" house without any gumdrop or other candy decoration. It still tastes good (based on all the cookies and frosting I already ate). Here's a photo of the house and some of the frosted cookies.
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I have finally found, and modified, a sugar cookie recipe that results in cookies that taste decent and have normal texture. Here's my recipe for the cookies.
Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies
1 1/4 C White Rice Flour1/2 C Sorghum
1/2 C Potato Starch
1/4 C Tapioca Starch
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/3 C Margarine (I prefer Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1/4 C Soy milk
2 tsp vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (unless planning to bake dough later).
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix rice flour, sorghum, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, margarine, soy milk and vanilla. Beat together with stand mixer or an electric mixer, until creamy.
4. Add in dry ingredients to mix, and beat until dough forms.
5. Wrap dough in wax paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or up to a couple of hours.
6. Take dough out of refrigerate. Take half of the dough and place between two large pieces of wax paper. Roll out dough, cut into shapes with cookie cutters, and put on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue process until fill cookie sheet (remember to leave some space between the cookies).
7. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes. They will not get brown.
8. Repeat process of rolling out and cutting dough and baking until you've used up the dough.
Eat and Enjoy!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Another goodbye
Thanksgiving came and went not with a boom, but with a hiss. It was a quiet, uneventful day, that started with the three of us watching the Macy's Day Parade and reading the large, ad-filled newspaper. Throughout the day I worked on dinner, which included a whole turkey, gluten-free stuffing, dairy-free chocolate chip ice cream, and apple pie. It was the first day in about two weeks that we could really be together as a family, after my husband had been gone for business and to help his mother, who lives in Florida, post-surgery. Once he returned home he had a lot of work, so Thanksgiving really was our one day together. I had anticipated enjoying the rest of the weekend, but that was not meant to be.
Sadly, we received an early morning call that his grandfather had passed away Friday morning. The remainder of the day was focused on how to get to Florida for the funeral. My husband was able to leave Saturday morning. Unfortunately due to our location and time of year, it was virtually impossible for me to join him unless we either wanted to spend a fortune flying someone to us to watch the Babe, and then me to fly with him, or in the alternative, spend two long days driving with the Babe to Florida which would also require pulling her out of school for a week. We plan to make this drive in a couple of weeks, and didn't think it would be best to do that with her two times so close together.
The Babe and I won't be able to join everyone as they say goodbye to her great-grandfather. She still doesn't fully understand the concept of death, although she does bring it up every so often. I think when we see her great-grandmother without Pop, it may have more meaning in context that he's gone. For now, the Babe knows he died, but I'm sure questions will arise. In the meantime, we will remember a man who served his country, on the beach at D-Day, and loved his family. For him, family was very important. He will not be forgotten.
Sadly, we received an early morning call that his grandfather had passed away Friday morning. The remainder of the day was focused on how to get to Florida for the funeral. My husband was able to leave Saturday morning. Unfortunately due to our location and time of year, it was virtually impossible for me to join him unless we either wanted to spend a fortune flying someone to us to watch the Babe, and then me to fly with him, or in the alternative, spend two long days driving with the Babe to Florida which would also require pulling her out of school for a week. We plan to make this drive in a couple of weeks, and didn't think it would be best to do that with her two times so close together.
The Babe and I won't be able to join everyone as they say goodbye to her great-grandfather. She still doesn't fully understand the concept of death, although she does bring it up every so often. I think when we see her great-grandmother without Pop, it may have more meaning in context that he's gone. For now, the Babe knows he died, but I'm sure questions will arise. In the meantime, we will remember a man who served his country, on the beach at D-Day, and loved his family. For him, family was very important. He will not be forgotten.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thanfulness
As we approach Thanksgiving, I've tried to discuss with the Babe about what we're thankful for. This year Thanksgiving falls at the same time as Hanukkah (a unique occurrence on the calendar). With all the holiday adds, and soon to be gift receiving on her part, I anticipate a lot of greediness popping up. I want her to remember that we are very fortunate.
My daughter told me that at school yesterday they made a picture, and then were to write down what they were thankful for. My daughter is thankful for grocery stores. Now we don't live in a third-world country nor in an area with little industry. When I saw her paper this morning, I laughed with her teacher about it. Apparently its not so much the stores themselves, but the Babe is thankful for grocery stores because that is where we get food. That makes complete sense.
This year I am thankful for our health and that the Babe is able to attend school. Those are the big things in our lives. There are a lot more things I'm thankful for, such as our family and our new home. We have an abundance of things to be thankful for. While I have a lot to be thankful for, we are also hopeful that this season sees our extended family in continued good or improving health.
My daughter told me that at school yesterday they made a picture, and then were to write down what they were thankful for. My daughter is thankful for grocery stores. Now we don't live in a third-world country nor in an area with little industry. When I saw her paper this morning, I laughed with her teacher about it. Apparently its not so much the stores themselves, but the Babe is thankful for grocery stores because that is where we get food. That makes complete sense.
This year I am thankful for our health and that the Babe is able to attend school. Those are the big things in our lives. There are a lot more things I'm thankful for, such as our family and our new home. We have an abundance of things to be thankful for. While I have a lot to be thankful for, we are also hopeful that this season sees our extended family in continued good or improving health.
Friday, November 1, 2013
A Wonderful Halloween
Another Halloween has come and gone, and we survived. In fact, we did better than just survive. The Babe had a wonderful day for many reasons. In fact, it started a week or two prior when we were "Boo'd" by an anonymous neighbor. Apparently our fairly new subdivision was having some fun, where a mysterious Halloween bag would show up on your doorknob. One Sunday morning when my husband went to get the newspaper, he found our bag. Our initial thought was Uh Oh! Dreading the thought that it would be filled with candy, we were thrilled that everything in the bag was fun things for the Babe, and none of it involving food. I suspect whoever gave this gift was someone I had met recently, but whomever did it, it was great. When we had to "pay it forward", I made sure to keep it food-free, and gave it to a family that I knew was having some food intolerances or issues.
As for Halloween, it started with the Babe going to school. I haven't discussed this here yet, but she's been enrolled part-time in a private kindergarten. They have been wonderful, and have tried to be very conscious of the environment and any potential hazards. Its a small building, and they knew the classrooms that satellite off of hers were all having pizza delivered for lunch on Halloween. As they couldn't control the delivery time, we agreed that I would pick the Babe up by 10 a.m. to avoid the potential risk from airborne dairy.
When I dropped her off that morning, we gave out little goodie bags. I was able to tie in a little food allergy lesson, hopefully raising a little awareness and/or future tolerance. Basically, my message was that you can have fun without food. The message probably went over the 4 and 5 year old heads, but everyone was happy. After I picked up the Babe, we headed home where we made sugar cookies. I tried out a new recipe (to be posted at another time), and the Babe had fun rolling out the dough and cutting out pumpkin shaped cookies. Later, we decorated foam picture frames that were Halloween-themed.
Our neighborhood had trick-or-treating between 6-8 p.m. I had intended to speak to the families in my cul-de-sac in advance about having a safe treat that I would provide them to give her. I had bought a bunch of little items. Well, I didn't get a chance to talk to them, so I told the Babe that if she didn't get a safe treat, I'd have something to swap for it. The Babe insisted she'd get safe treats. Well, guess what? For the most part, she was right. It was wonderful.
In the afternoon, the family behind us dropped off a little goody bag with a non-food item, because the mom knew she couldn't give candy. Then once the Babe was ready to trick-or-treat, we headed off to the three nearest houses. House number one gave the Babe a bag with her name written on it filled with...no food! There were other treats like stickers, bubbles, slap bracelets and more. Truly wonderful! Then the next house the father said they had two different treats they were giving out but he wasn't sure which was safe. One was a possibility, so I took that one, which will be swapped. I appreciated the gesture though. The third house they gave the Babe a package of crayon rings and a little (3x5) princess coloring thing. Can we say totally amazing? I hadn't talked to any of these parents in advance, yet they all got it. The Babe was included. This was her first year we actually dared to trick-or-treat, and what a treat it was! All those things I got just-in-case, so she wouldn't be disappointed, weren't necessary. In fact, I gave her some at the end of the evening, and the rest are going to be saved for next year. The Babe had a fun-filled, totally safe Halloween.
We celebrate any thing that brings us closer to "normal", and while we may have tap-danced around a few potential hazards to make the day a success, we still got to dance.
As for Halloween, it started with the Babe going to school. I haven't discussed this here yet, but she's been enrolled part-time in a private kindergarten. They have been wonderful, and have tried to be very conscious of the environment and any potential hazards. Its a small building, and they knew the classrooms that satellite off of hers were all having pizza delivered for lunch on Halloween. As they couldn't control the delivery time, we agreed that I would pick the Babe up by 10 a.m. to avoid the potential risk from airborne dairy.
When I dropped her off that morning, we gave out little goodie bags. I was able to tie in a little food allergy lesson, hopefully raising a little awareness and/or future tolerance. Basically, my message was that you can have fun without food. The message probably went over the 4 and 5 year old heads, but everyone was happy. After I picked up the Babe, we headed home where we made sugar cookies. I tried out a new recipe (to be posted at another time), and the Babe had fun rolling out the dough and cutting out pumpkin shaped cookies. Later, we decorated foam picture frames that were Halloween-themed.
Our neighborhood had trick-or-treating between 6-8 p.m. I had intended to speak to the families in my cul-de-sac in advance about having a safe treat that I would provide them to give her. I had bought a bunch of little items. Well, I didn't get a chance to talk to them, so I told the Babe that if she didn't get a safe treat, I'd have something to swap for it. The Babe insisted she'd get safe treats. Well, guess what? For the most part, she was right. It was wonderful.
In the afternoon, the family behind us dropped off a little goody bag with a non-food item, because the mom knew she couldn't give candy. Then once the Babe was ready to trick-or-treat, we headed off to the three nearest houses. House number one gave the Babe a bag with her name written on it filled with...no food! There were other treats like stickers, bubbles, slap bracelets and more. Truly wonderful! Then the next house the father said they had two different treats they were giving out but he wasn't sure which was safe. One was a possibility, so I took that one, which will be swapped. I appreciated the gesture though. The third house they gave the Babe a package of crayon rings and a little (3x5) princess coloring thing. Can we say totally amazing? I hadn't talked to any of these parents in advance, yet they all got it. The Babe was included. This was her first year we actually dared to trick-or-treat, and what a treat it was! All those things I got just-in-case, so she wouldn't be disappointed, weren't necessary. In fact, I gave her some at the end of the evening, and the rest are going to be saved for next year. The Babe had a fun-filled, totally safe Halloween.
We celebrate any thing that brings us closer to "normal", and while we may have tap-danced around a few potential hazards to make the day a success, we still got to dance.
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