29.11.13

Mommy Yoga: Holding Object Out of Reach

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Useful for: holding objects out of reach of a toddler (one who can stand)

Strengthens: Core, arm muscles, patience

Method: Sitting gracefully cross-legged in front of whatever you are working on, raise either both arms or one at a time above your head, holding the object of the toddler's desire out of his/her reach. Usually a sharp, breakable, or valuable item. So don't drop it.

I have found myself executing this move more recently, as my son has mastered the fine art of "pulling up." "Pulling up" is exactly that-- using some object as a steadying point, upon which he braces as he pulls himself into a standing position. And then continues to pull on as he keeps himself in said position.

Usually the "pulling up" brace of choice is Mommy. Mommy's legs if she stands still too long (it's like quicksand, you have to keep moving), Mommy's shoulders if she is sitting down.

If I happen to be working on something which I would rather my son not chew on (say, a drawing), then said object must be held out of said toddler's grasp, as he climbs all around me, and pulls on my arms, until he loses interest. My son does not lose interest easily. My arms get tired.

22.11.13

Mommy Yoga: Dropped Diaper Cream Bend

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Useful for: Picking up dropped diaper cream while holding squirming baby steady on changing table.

Strengthens: Core muscles, good stretch for sides.

Method: Place on hand on baby's stomach. Keeping hand firmly in place, slowly bend to one side, reaching with your other hand for the dropped object. Make sure to keep hand on baby at all times.

This is a pose I find myself executing quite often, as I am rather clumsy and drop objects frequently. The difficulty level of this move increases with the age of the child, as a larger child will begin to perform gymnastics under your hand in an attempt to jump off the changing table, and your job is to prevent them from doing so. The sound track to this move usually is an angry, screaming child who wants very badly to attempt to fly. He is just sure he can, if Mommy would JUST.LET.GO!
You must not let go.

Oh, also, you often cannot actually see where the diaper cream rolled to. It is usually under the changing table, just out of reach of your groping hand.

Sometimes, the best resolution to this particular pose is to gracefully give up and diaper the child sans diaper cream, just this once. Or twice. Ok, it happened a lot. No judging.

15.11.13

Mulled Cider

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I have had quite a few people ask me for the recipe for our mulled cider, which we drink rather obsessively as soon as the weather even thinks about becoming "fall"ish. So, I thought I'd go ahead and post it... although it isn't so much a recipe as a list of ingredients. There will be another "mommy yoga" post next week, but for now, enjoy some cider!

We use whole spices in our cider, partly because whole spices are very pretty, and partly because when you use whole spices you don't end up with the "sludge" in the bottom of the cider that powdered spices give you. I like to get a bunch of spices at the beginning of fall, and make a jar of mulling spices. Then, I can just pull a little out of that jar whenever I want to make cider! So, I'll give you the list of spices and the approximate proportions I use to make the mulling spices -- keep in mind, this isn't an exact science. Change it up depending on what you like!


Cinnamon - Obviously, the most prominent flavor in many autumn dishes. Also the most prominent here! I'll base the proportions of the rest of my spices off of the cinnamon -- 4 cinnamon sticks will make a gallon of cider. I also really like to use cinnamon "chips" instead of sticks, the flavor is stronger. 4 sticks equals about 2Tbs of chips.

Star anise - This spice is a lot like regular anise in flavor: it kind of tastes like licorice. I like it as an underlying taste in the cider, so I don't go overboard with these. Also, they make me sleepy (regular anise does this too). So, again, not too many! For every 4 cinnamon sticks in my mulling spice jar, I put about 4 star anise.

Cloves - You probably know what cloves taste like. They are also VERY strong, and have a kind of numbing effect. Also best not to go overboard with. For every 4 cinnamon sticks, I use 6 cloves.

Allspice - Kind of taste like cloves, but without the numbing effect and with a little more peppery undertone. For every 4 cinnamon sticks, I use 8 allspice.

Nutmeg - The most common place you would taste nutmeg is the distinct flavor of eggnog. It is also prominent in pumpkin pie spice.  I LOVE nutmeg, so I sometimes go overboard with it. For ever 4 cinnamon sticks, I use 1 whole nutmeg, but I usually crush it a little, at least in half, so that the flavor can come out more.


As I said at the beginning, this mulling spice jar will make a gallon of cider. If you are only making a half-gallon, cut the measurements in half. If you want to make a jar for the whole autumn season, increase your measurements accordingly!

I usually get regular apple juice at the store, no need to get fancy expensive cider stuff unless you really want to. Just make sure it is 100% apple juice, not "cocktail" or something like that with high fructose corn syrup or sugar or something. When I get home, I unscrew the lid of the apple juice jar, dump in the right amount of spices, put the lid back on, and shake it up. Then I put the apple juice in the fridge until I want hot cider. The fridge is better than the counter top, because if you put it on the counter top for too long, you are liable to have "hard" cider! =]



When I am ready for hot cider, I pour the jug of apple juice and spices into a pot on the stove, and bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer merrily away for a few minutes, or until you are ready to serve it, and bingo! Hot mulled cider. Happy fall!





8.11.13

Mommy Yoga: Baby Squat

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Useful for: Loading the dishwasher while holding the baby. Picking up dropped objects while holding the baby.

Strengthens: Upper thighs, balance, core muscles

Method: While holding the baby in one arm, slowly squat down, keeping the torso straight, until you can reach whatever you are going for. Use your free arm to perform task. Stand back up, still keeping torso straight so as not to crush the baby.
Alternatively, put baby in ring sling or Moby wrap in front of chest. Use one arm to steady baby while performing Squat.

For the first post in the new series, I would like to present the Baby Squat. This move is useful for reaching anything lower than your knees while holding a small baby. The idea is that, while bringing one hand low enough to perform the task at hand, you cannot bend your waist at all lest you crush the baby. I most often found myself using this particular handy pose when loading or unloading the dishwasher with a small baby asleep in a ring sling. Oh, you also can't move too quickly or the baby wakes up.

1.11.13

Mommy Yoga - Living gracefully in the chaos.

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Every once in a while I realize I'm hyperventilating. Not a lot. Just a little.
The baby woke up early, the husband had to go to work and I didn't have a plan for breakfast and the coffee took just a little longer than I thought it would and the baby is crying and the kitchen is dirty and I need to do twenty things in the next five minutes.
And I panic. Just a little.

Sometimes the idea of peace and quiet and grace seems so far removed from my present toddler-saturated reality that I think I will never be able to breathe deeply again.

I see my chubby got-pregnant-before-recovering-from-the-last-baby tummy and my face devoid of makeup because, really, who has time for that? and I'm juggling a toddler who insists on being held RIGHT NOW and a whisk and something that is about to burn and I feel the farthest possible thing from graceful or lovely.



I think of the days when I took 45 minutes in the morning to drink a cup of tea and do yoga to soft piano music, and I just want to laugh. Or cry. Or possibly both. Because THAT me thought I was busy and overwhelmed. Ha. Silly past me with the gobs of time and silence and peace.

And yet... is that peace and grace truly lost to me? Or am I merely blinded to the new form that it has taken in my life? Will the me of 20 years from now look back on this time and laugh because I didn't realize how good I had it?

I was chopping apples on the countertop for a pie. My son was inventing new ways to wrap himself thoroughly around my feet while whining incessantly at an ear-hurting pitch. I grabbed a piece of apple and offered it to him, twisting around backwards and bending over to get it within his reach. When I stood back up, my husband was laughing, and when I asked him what was so funny, he told me that it looked like I was inventing a new yoga pose: "hand-the-baby-an-apple."

I laughed too, but as I finished chopping the apples, I was thinking -- that is what I am doing. Every day: inventing the new way that grace and peace looks in my current life. Mommy yoga. It is still graceful, and even peaceful, in it's own way. But I have to take the time and effort to search those moments out.  I have to be willing to recognize and accept the moments when they come -- whether or not they look like I think they should, or prefer they would.

I am still lovely and graceful even in my new, squishier, curvier, busier form.

So, as I contemplated this idea, I decided to do a new series of posts called "mommy yoga," in which I outline a "yoga pose" that I have found myself using in my role as a mommy, and under what circumstances such a pose might be useful. Come back next week for the first one! And I hope you find the idea of "mommy yoga" both as humorous and inspiring as I do.