Lucky Foods for the New Year

In the past years I've always had a more Southern United States diet for New Year's Eve and day.  The menu has always been black-eyed peas, pork, cornbread and some collard greens.   It's interesting to see the different foods used in the celebrations around the world and would be interesting to incorporate some of them into our traditions.
In many different cultures around the world there are different foods that are eaten around the New Year to bring luck, prosperity and wealth into the next year here are a few.

Lucky Foods around the World for the New Year

• In Spain revelers eat 12 grapes at midnight.  The grapes are said to predict the coming year.  Each grape symbolizes a different month of the year.  Sweet grapes represent a good month, but a sour grape is a less than lucky month.  Your 5th grape turned out sour?  May will be a unlucky month for you.
• In the Southern United States black eyed peas are eaten to show your humility which is said to bring good fortune in the new year.  Greens are also eaten because they look like paper currency themselves. They represent prosperity into the year.  It is believed that the more greens one eats the larger your fortune will be.  Greens are not just served on New Years in the South, but different types are part of the New Year's cuisine around the world.  In the South collard greens are usually served, in Germany they consume sauerkraut (cabbage), and the Danish eat stewed Kale sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
• In Italy they serve lentils, the abundance of these tiny legumes are said to symbolize bringing in wealth in the following year.  It is because the lentil represents coins
• All over the world foods that are in a circular shape are served in abundance.  It not only represents coins to bring prosperity to those who eat the circular foods but also the meaning of everything coming full circle.  With one year ending and another beginning the cycle of the seasons starts again.  
• The Greek bake silver coin into a round loaf of bread called a vasilopita. At midnight you cut the brad into enough slices for every member of the household, including a slice for the house itself.  Whoever is to find the coin will receive extra good luck for the next year.
• In Japan they eat Soba (buckwheat noodles) at the chime of midnight.  The noodles are then called toshi-koshi (meaning "from one year to another") Soba In the Far East noodles symbolize longevity, so the longer the noodle the better the omen.
• Pork is served in many dishes on New Year's eve, because the fatty meat is said to bring a year rich with wealth and prosperity.  The pig is also said to represent progress. A side of cornbread is said to represent the gold you wish to gain in the new year.
• In Japan herring roe is consumed for fertility, dried sardines for a good harvest and shrimp for a long life.

What not to eat for the New Year

Lobster should be avoid since they walk backwards and may signify a setback.  Chicken should be avoided as well because they scratch the ground backwards.  They are believed to cause regrets and dwelling on the past.  Another belief is to avoid any wings fowl completely because good fortune could fly away.  In the Philippines and Germany it is important to have food on the table at midnight. Which is said to guarantee a full pantry in the new year.

Medicate that Mama!

I no longer wonder why my hair is streaked with so many strands of silvery grey.  After any kind of experience with my kids I am always left with that feeling of panic brewing in the pit of my belly.  As I sit and cuddle up in a comfy chair to feed Maxx I can't help but worry about Nadia now.  Are her sisters being too rough with her?  I guess Nadia has already become used to my paranoia because she has begun calling out, " I'm alright Mama!".  Even with her reassurance I feel the dread and sick feeling bubbling back up soon after she falls silent again.

This isn't the first traumatic experience I've had with my kids.  Let's revisit some of my lowest moment of motherhood.  There was the time I was sitting on the bathroom floor getting ready for church on Easter Sunday.  Dan had already gone to church to help set up for the special services.  I was home alone with Lauryn and 7 months pregnant with Morgan at the time.  Lauryn was sitting next to me in full Easter dress as I was finishing putting my makeup on.  She had found my stash of tearjerker candy and stuffed one into her mouth and was choking on it before I could get it away from her.  I could even panic I went into auto pilot and plopped her into what little lap I had left and gave her a mini Heimlich maneuver.  The candy went shooting out of her mouth and skittered across the area rug.  I didn't even get a relieved sigh out, when she lunges for the still bouncing candy, and I am left wrestling her little grasping hands for the candy she had just choked on.   I finally pry it from her sticky fingers and flush it down the toilet as she watches me indignantly.

There was also the scare during my pregnancy with Maxx. To start there was the early belief that his pregnancy was actually twins since I was measuring so much larger than for a single pregnancy.  (I wanted to scream it's not twins I'm just fat!!)  An early ultrasound proved that false.  At a later appointment I agreed to the quad screen blood test to test for genetic problems. That choice added another 2 weeks to the most stressful times of my life list.  (it's a mental list.. my list making obsession isn't that bad.. yet)  My doctor called me to tell me that the results were positive for Trisomy 21 or in more common words Down Syndrome.  It wasn't even the selfish thoughts that raced through my mind of how my life would be changed by this.  The worries that haunted me were the common health problems that occur with down syndrome.  The scariest for me was heart abnormalities.  With a long family history of heart disease this broke my heart anytime I let myself dwell on it.  We had to attend a counseling session with a genetic counselor before they would even begin my scan.  I was on the edge of tears all morning after spending the previous two weeks praying and crying for the little being being carried inside my body.  I knew that no matter what the little one would be loved.  We just wanted to be prepared for what would come.  Sitting through the scan I couldn't even sit in awe of seeing him move and could barely muster a giggle when the baby stubbornly refused to stay in position for measuring, making the whole process take twice as long.  After a second check by the doctor we finally received the news that we not only had a healthy baby but it was a little boy.  I was told that it was just a false positive on the quad test.  My due date was off by a few short weeks which caused the timing of the blood test to be off. (there is only a short window when you can have the test and the results be even remotely accurate.)

That wasn't the worst of my trials.  There was the week before Morgan's 3rd birthday when she almost died.  I still have nightmares about this period in my life.  I feel my hands begin to shake and palms sweating just thinking about it.  I'll just leave it at, my children are not allowed to have any kind of jump rope or long ribbon or even any long strings.  There will also never be a set of bunk beds in our house ever again.  I'm left with the trauma that whenever a movie or TV show depicts a person hanging lifelessly I feel the bile rise into my throat and tears spring to my eyes.  Even though it happened over 7 years ago I still flash back to that moment of discovering my little girl not breathing with the strap tied around her neck.  Then the doctors repeatedly telling me over the next 5 days that I am lucky I found her when I did or she would not have survived or could have been left seriously harmed.

When people call me a paranoid parent or a helicopter mama for hovering nervously over my children, I just look at them with eyes glazed over with the horrors of my parenting experiences flashing behind them.  They will never understand what I have been through until they have walked a while in my shoes.  Call me a worrywart or whatever you will, but my kids will survive and thrive into adulthood.  Despite their best efforts to do themselves and each other serious injury.

Long into the future when I am a crazy old lady sitting on my porch rocking away in a chair that isn't a rocker and holding conversations with people who aren't there.  Just look at me kindly and remember the horrors that this mother has experienced on her road to raise her children to adulthood.

A Dose of Radiation

There is nothing like a late night trip to the Urgent Care to give any normal person insomnia.  Add that kind of late night excitement to the life of a nut case like me and I may never get to sleep again.

My long night began as it usually does.  The three girls had been sent off to bed and I had just finished my workout.  I was finally settling on the couch to watch a movie cuddled up with Maxx.  Suddenly this horrifying scream pierces through the air.  I burst into their bedroom to find Nadia already clutching a towel to her face.  (worst case scenarios stampede through my head)  After quickly gathering my nerves I look under the towel in horror to find my sweet faced little girl growing the biggest bump I have ever seen right between her eyes and an ugly 1/2 inch gash right in the middle of it.  I gathered her up in my arms and quickly got an icepack for her to hold on her face as I put out the phone calls for help.

Grandpa was asleep when I called but he came over in such a hurry he didn't even put on socks.  He thankfully brought Grandma as well to help watch the other kids. Daddy was all ready to go go with me until I reminded him about his early schedule and the fact he should have been asleep hours ago.

After getting lost due to not remembering that the Rancho urgent care was on Rancho of all streets.  (still trying to shake the haze left from the adrenaline rush.)  Once inside it only took 10 minutes before we were pulled back into triage. Maybe it was the 4 yr old trying her best to look her most pitiful or the mommy pacing frantically, but we got back very quickly.

They took her vitals and we were sent straight to the suture room where we waited for the doctor.  Nadia was so well behaved during the whole process. The only time she really squirmed was when the doctor was poking at her wound.  When she was all cleaned up and the extra hole in head was glued shut she had to get a cat scan do to the immense amount of swelling. (liquid stitches thank you whoever invented you!)

The woman Nikki who did our cat scan was very excellent.  She explained to Nadia that we were going to take a picture of inside her head and she needed to stay very still.  Thankfully it was one of the new light speed cat scan machines by GE.  It moves around the patient a lot more than just the table moving you into it.  Nadia called it the donut camera and at one point smiled and said cheese when I told her to stay still so it could get a picture.  The cat scan went well it only took 5 minutes because she did so well "playing statue".  I stood by her side the entire time.  Now I'm good on my booster dose of radiation. It had almost wore off from the last time I needed x-rays.

Then back to the exam room for us.  The nurses were in love with Nadia. I heard them all talking about the cute little girl with the slippers and big bump with the little cut. As soon as Nadia saw them she waved and told them all Merry Christmas which they all started giggling and waving to her.  (She had charmed 6 stickers out of random nurses before we left.)

Next began the long wait with only my 4 yr old for company.  Let me tell you, kid's say the darnedest things.  Nadia was trying anything to talk her way off the table.  "I really want to hug you mommy."  ::get up and hug her::  " No I want to hug you over there by the door." At one point she almost fell off, so I had to tell her to sit still or she could fall and get even more hurt.  She nodded very seriously and told me she didn't want to fall and get hurt because she didn't want to grow a mustache like Grandpa and Daddy.  "Wait what?! A moustache? "   Nadia replies,"Yeah, Grandpa must fall down a lot because he has a BIG moustache." She repeatedly kept asking to go home so I had to tell her we were waiting for her cat scan. Immediately she starts looking around the room frantically.  I ask her if she dropped her toy.  "Nope, looking for that cat that needs a scan."

Our results finally came back and she has no fractures or any other problems.  I just have one resilient bruised little pumpkin.  Now my night has just begun.  I have to wake her every 4 hours to check for behaviour changes, like grogginess or listlessness.  This should be fun ::sarcasm::  Who isn't groggy and listless at 4 am?  I know I will be.

This whole ordeal left me very thankful for so much.
I am Thankful for:
My husband for working so hard at job he doesn't enjoy to provide us with excellent health care.
Nadia for being such a big girl throughout the whole process and keeping her good humor.
My parents for being able and willing for me to lean on in an emergency.
My daughter not being hurt more severely than she was.

I could go on for hours about the many things I am grateful for, but my adrenaline is wearing off and I am crashing fast.  I'm gonna go cuddle on the couch with my little sweetheart and whisper another prayer thanking a higher power for my many blessings.

Here is the pictures of the damage done but it is once most the swelling had gone down and we were back from the doctors.

It doesn't do the swollen lump between her eyes justice though.
Her pictures on Christmas morning are going to be colorful thats for sure.

BabyLegs Review

I just recently purchased my first set of BabyLegs leggings.  They had a great sale and I was able to convince my hubby to buy some. Once he saw that you could use it on the kid's arms when they got bigger he was sold.  The fact that they had a great sale really helped to seal the deal.  Now Maxx's knee's get a break from crawling on the hard wooden floors.  Plus when I wear him in a carrier  I wont have to wrestle with his pants to cover his ankles. Those are just a few of the added bonuses of having BabyLegs.

Within an hour of wearing Maxx wearing them all three of his big sisters were jealous of them and wanted a pair for themselves. I didn't think the older two would like them so I just ordered some for the youngest pair.  Looks like I'm gonna have to place another order after the holiday craziness is over.

As I type this Maxx is laying cuddled up next to me toasty as can be without a blanket, pants or socks.  The BabyLegs are keeping his legs warmer than any pair of pants I've ever put on him.  They haven't crept up or slipped down at all even after being picked up repeatedly, playing with his sisters, crawling up and down the hallways, and climbing up onto whatever he can reach.  I'm shocked he hasn't tried to pull them off like he does with pants.
I would recommend them for anyone not just for babies.  They have such a huge multitude of uses for all ages. The same pair Maxx is wearing I could fit on the arms and legs of ALL his sisters.  Sure, the oldest two aren't pulling them thigh high but they are still nice leg warmers and cute too.
I did not get a pair free or at discount for writing this. This is just me sharing my love of a great product.

GOAL!... kinda

Today is my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!!) and the date I gave myself to fit into the jeans I had ordered off EBay in with a big bunch of jeans for my older girls. I tried them on in dismay months ago unable to button them.  No pictures were taken, I was too horrified at the extra "fluff" hanging out making it so I couldn't button my jeans, forget about zipping them fully.

That day I vowed to whip my ass into shape.  Yes, I know round is A Shape but I want to be in a healthy, sexier shape.  After 2 trips through the 30 day shred (not fully completed one of those times)  I have noticed changes.  I definitely feel a change in my ability to keep up with my energetic children.  I will continue to have that evil woman Jillian Michaels kick my ass and keep me motivated to keep kicking back.  I haven't been the only one enjoying the changes in my body.  My husband has noticed the changes in places I couldn't see without a mirror or a silly dance.

With a family history heavy in heart disease and diabetes I didn't want my life to be affected so negatively by my weight.  I started out this weight loss journey at a size 16 (and getting disturbingly tight)  When I woke up this morning I was apprehensive that I would even fit in the jeans.  My thoughts were filled with a replay of my fall off the healthy wagon recently and straight into a big pile of cookies and sweets.  I had stayed and wallowed a while in those sweets and my lack of weight loss results recently shows it.

This morning I just stood there glaring at those jeans for a good five minutes before attempting to plunge in.  I was pleasantly surprised it only required a small wiggle to get them up over my overly ample hips, no full blown hopping or dancing around needed.  ::mini victory dance::   As I buttoned them and slid the zipper up into place I almost began to cry.  They actually fit. I did it, kinda.  Sure I do have a mini muffin top. In all fairness it's more like a corn bread muffin top and no longer a Starbucks mega muffin top.

Pardon the bragging post but I am very proud of myself for achieving my goal (kinda) and during the holiday season no less. (the season of weakness for me)   I wont be stopping here though.  I'll stop wanting to lose weight once my Wii fit stops calling me fat or groaning when I step on it.  That would be around 30 more lbs to lose.  OK so it doesn't straight out call me fat but I don't like the weigh in and watching my Mii plump up to match my plumper proportions.

What is one of your favorite exercise routines to use?  Healthy snack ideas?  My favorite craving buster is any bar of really good dark chocolate.  Dark Chocolate has been proven to be an appetite suppressant.  Even stranger you don't even have to eat it. Smelling the dark chocolate is not enough for me though.  I prefer ingesting my chocolate to just smelling it.  My willpower isn't strong enough to bring chocolate so close to my mouth and not sample even just a small morsel.

Wistful for the White Stuff (Snow!?)

Recently I caught myself watching yet another Lifetime movie even though I swore to kick that addiction. (I usually end up a blubbering mess by the second commercial break)  In this current hormone fix the scene they depicted was of a beautiful snowfall.  I was lost in the moment and found myself yearning for that exhilarating yet almost dizzying feeling of standing in the snow as it falls around you.  Reaching out to catch a big fluffy snowflake in my hand and coming up short remembering it is just a tv show.  (I think I need to get out of the house more often.)

Before you snowbound fellows jump on me, know that I have experienced living with snow on a day to day basis. I am not one of those loonies that says how much they love snow but has never had to shovel a path for your too short wiener dog to go to the bathroom, or clear the porch roof of snow or experience a personal avalanche or the much worse collapsed roof, or remember to salt the walkway and steps so you don't end up spliting the crack on your hind quarters further.  I didn't always live in the dry desert that is Las Vegas.  (Where you have a better chance of winning big on slots than getting snow in the Las Vegas valley around Christmas)  I lived in Northern Utah for the first 10 years of my life and another 3 years of my adult life in Northwest Tennessee.

 

I love the versatility of snow.  With snow all you need is some imagination and you have a day of fun.  Snow is like ready made natures dough.  Form it into whatever you want.  Build a fort and have an intense snowball fight.  Create a snowman or a whole family of them.  Build an igloo and have a winter picnic inside the outdoors.  It's not just the standard fun snow activities I enjoy.  I loved shoveling snow as well. I don't know what it is but there is something about that chore that leaves me feeling self satisfied.  (I enjoy mowing the grass and raking leaves too)

I will always fondly remember the year we spent the entire day building an igloo only to come back inside and find out our pipes were frozen.  The igloo was still worth it. I had such a blast building it with my husband and sitting inside it with my two oldest girl (they were only 2 and 3yrs old at the time)  We had used old wipes containers and packed them tightly with snow to make snow bricks.  Then we got a little obsessive compulsive and used a spray bottle filled with water and a few drops of blue and green food die to make them look like ice blocks.   I wish we would have had a camera with film at the time.  (I don't know how I ever lived without all my current gadgets.. ::shudder:: just barbaric)

What are some of your favorite snow activities?  My favorite thing about snow is the crunch sound of fresh snow beneath your boots.   I love huge snow drifts with the ability to hide a car or just those little piles of snow that pile up around the window sills.

Get the Duct Tape!!

I have been a bad blogger recently.  Not by choice though.  As I was editing my newest blog post my screen suddenly shuttered to black and the PC restarts.  Only this time it doesn't want to start into windows.  ::panic::  I quickly go and google my problem id number and attempt to repair it with my windows CD. 

This is when it got REALLY ugly.  After doing a quick format I go to partition the drive off again and suddenly it doesn't recognize me as having a hard drive at all.  The only work around I have found involve hooking a floppy drive to my PC.  (who has those dinosaurs hanging around unless they are deserving a spot on hoarding buried alive?)  There was another workaround involving nlite but I couldn't get my stupid drives on it either. This poor dinosaur laptop I am currently stuck with for use can't unzip the stupid file for my drivers so I can load them onto a disc and force my PC to recognize it's own hard drive.  Problem still not solved, but I couldn't go another day without blogging.  Blogging has become like an addiction.  Just ask my dear sweet understanding husband.

I'm sorry for those people that have no freaking clue what I just said.  I really wish I was still one of those blissfully unaware of the little magical things that go on inside my computer to make it do all the fun things I ask.  ::clicks heels with eyes tightly shut::