Unintentional Pre-Juice Cleanse

After having a bout with the stomach bug this weekend, I’m gearing up for my 3-day juice cleanse /fasting / diet.    I think I’ve done one before but somehow I can’t remember the details of it.  The reason I think I have done one is because I read people saying how afterwards they don’t feel the need to run out and eat a burger, or anything for that matter and somehow I recall that feeling and I continued to juice for a few days after.  Weird that I can’t recall doing a juice fast.  Perhaps it was so good for me that I just regarded it as a typical day. 

I just told my husband I was gearing up for the juice-fast and his remark was “oh-oh”

Is it because he’s afraid I’ll be grumpy and lethargic?  He’s not doing it, why should he care.  I come to find out it’s because he worried about what he’s going to eat.  This is even before I told him the meal plan.  That makes me chuckle.  He’s right, the meals will be minimal—hot dogs,  frozen pot pie, breakfast for dinner and homemade macaroni and cheese.  These are food I don’t have a great desire to eat and won’t miss it while everyone else eats it in front of me while I sip my red juice (primary beet juice).

Right now, I consider myself doing a pre-juice-cleanse.  Mostly because my tummy cannot tolerate much.  I’m doing what we parents know as the BRAT diet—bananas, rice (white), applesauce and toast.  These are the foods given to sick children with gastrointestinal distress (during and post-illness), so it is appropriate for me too.  This is not the normal pre-juice-cleanse diet.  Pre-cleanse usually suggest minimizing processed foods, meats and dairy.  In my case, it works.

Golden Elixir

Currently, I’m making a game plan for the 3-days, which I will start on Tuesday or Wednesday and it will end on Friday, this will allow for weekend indulgency?

Here’s the game plan:

The MarthaStewart Golden Elixir each morning.  Something to warm me and start my morning.  I typically don’t drink coffee, I’ve been OFF of caffeine for 12-years now.  I do enjoy a cup of decaf with sweets (think cakes and cookies) and when I’m having a lazy morning, but I don’t need it to function.  I often wonder if I would be more functional if I reintroduced caffeine in my life.  Oh, I still indulge in chocolates, so I do have it in my life.

Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties so the Golden Elixir is good for my workouts.  Because it has lemon, honey and hot water, I associate it with a drink when I’m sick.  For me it has a medicinal quality about it but it’s not a bad taste.  It’s my own taste-sensory-memory that’s affecting my judgment.

There will be green juice in the morning, fruit juice for lunch, another green juice pre-dinner, red juice (that’s just something with beets) for dinner.  Night-cap will be a nut-milk based drink along with an nice warm relaxing salt bath (based on Dr. Oz’s 3-Day DetoxCleanse)

produce for my juicing

I will take my usual multi-vitamin, calcium-magnesium supplement and get my daily 112-ounces of water, and 2-oz of liquid probiotics.  I’m thinking I might need to throw in a smoothie—something like strawberry, kiwi, banana with coconut water.  I haven’t even started I’m already thinking what I need to add.  It’s good to have strategies and to be flexible.   I need to remember to add chia seeds to at least one of my juices.  I think that will help sustain me too.  I have to admit, I don’t care of the gel-coating of hydrated chia seeds.  I typically throw a tablespoon full into my yogurt and eat it quickly before it can hydrate.  There are always seeds stuck in my teeth and I can’t get them out because they already have the gel on it. 

Funny, how chia seeds have become this new health rage.  It reminds me of kale.  Kale use to be the stuff adorning salad bars (covering the ice below) when I was a child and now it’s a super food.  Chia seeds use to be use to create chia pets, now it’s a super food. 

Slow Down and Be Aware

This week, my two older children had the week off from Spring Break.  Unlike most of my friends, who leave town for an island vacation, Disney or skiing, we stay put.  It’s somewhat nice to be in Ann Arbor when most of the townies leave and the public and private schools are NOT in session.  Not because I want my friends to leave.  Generally speaking, there’s little traffic and I can find parking.

baby boy is much bigger now

As I am getting all my gear and kids out of the minivan for my morning Stroller Strides at Briarwood mall, as I’m strapping in baby boy into the stroller, there is a white-haired woman getting into her Red Ford Escape.  My stroller is right of her left tail-light.  Initially when I parked, no one was there and when I was unloading, no one was there.  My older kids were remaining close to the mini-van.  She must have saw us when she got in her vehicle.  As I was unlocking the stroller, I see her rear-light engaged in reverse.  I’m getting freaked out because my stroller is behind her—WITH my baby in it!  I can’t get the brake disengaged fast enough—I have to move and bang on her car.  I can’t bang hard enough because the stroller is in the way.  She stops but the lights are still on.  I finally get to a point where I can bang harder.  Finally, the lights are off and I disengaged the brakes and start walking with my older kids ahead of me.  The driver comes out of her car and my dander is up.  I can tell from her posture, she’s really to tell me off.  I’m imaging her say, “why were you hitting my car?”  We both pause and she tell me she didn’t know why I was knocking on her car.  “You knocked a couple of times, I didn’t know if that meant it was okay for me to go.”  I’m thinking to myself, “in what universe is knocking on a car a signal to go?” 

My reply, “I needed you to stop.  I have three children and my stroller was right behind your car.”

We aren’t letting each other finish our sentences.

She says, “My car doesn’t have one of those cameras that…”

I response, “I needed to knock twice because you kept going. I have three kids and…”

To my surprise, my voice is starting to crack, as if I’m getting ready to cry, but I’m not.  I’m just running out of air to speak.  I haven’t caught my breath!

We were being cordial, she was apologetic, we held each other’s hand, but I was still angry.   I needed to let it pass because my kids were safe and no need to cause unneeded hostility.

I don’t consider myself passive-aggressive, I typically just say what’s bothering me instead.  As we were crossing the “street” into the mall, my kids asked “why did she get out of her car?”  I made a snide comment in audible range of the woman, “she should have just stopped her car when little kids are around.”   That’s really what I should have told her.  One of those teachable Oprah moments—“I know you are in a hurry to get wherever you are going, you think you can just back up and get out of there, but when there are little kids around, maybe you should just stop and sit in your car for a few minutes longer.  Is the couple minutes you shave worth risking the lives of little kids?”

That’s true for so many people.  They are in a rush—taking shortcuts with their vehicle, swerving across the double yellow line to avoid slowing down and waiting for the bus/car off to the side; jetting through the school parking lot during drop-off and pick-up.

The lesson isn’t just for that woman in her red Escape, but for all of us, that includes me…to slow down and be aware.

On Lottie's Birthday

What a day Lottie had!   When she woke-up and snuggled into our bed, I wished her a Happy Birthday!  She said, “huh…I forgot that today is my birthday.”

This is Spring Break for Ann Arbor Public schools and probably other cities in Michigan also.  Scott got the kids breakfast as I tried to get myself out of bed.   We had to be out of the house by 8:30am for my Stroller Strides (which is now called Ann Arbor Fit 4 Mom) at the mall.  Luckily I can bring my two older children when school isn’t in session.  Fortunately, they are relatively well-behaved.  They do entertain the tots in the strollers and the tots seem to enjoy Chase & Lottie, so it works out.

We brought two dozen mini cupcakes from Cupcake Station Ann Arbor to share with the moms.  After our workout, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Lottie.  She was excited and eager for them to sing, but when they were actually singing, she felt shy and hung close to me.  It is somewhat embarrassing being the center of attention in that way.  Having it done to me on my 40^th birthday… you don’t know what you should do.  There was a lot of moms singing—about 15-to 18 of them and all the tots looking our way.  Hard not to feel awkward. 

Lottie and Chase went around offering up cupcakes.  I wondered if I should have told the kids to pick out the one they wanted and set it aside and then offer it to people.  I had this slight fear that what would remain wouldn’t be ones that my kids would want and there would be a fit of some kind.  I was preparing myself of telling them, mostly really telling Lottie, that we could get her a cupcake of her choice later. 

Luckily, they came back and picked one for themselves out of the cupcakes remaining.  What a moment!  That was a moment of real maturity—putting their desires and gratification aside.  It’s all those times, telling my children, “wait your turn” and for them to actually internalize it.  It’s one of those shining parenting moments for me.  I’m still astonished it happened and am so proud of them.  Perhaps they will become decent people.

We also have this huge “rehearsal” about what a birthday means and what it is not about.  I tell them it’s not a day where it’s all about them getting what they want.  It’s a special day to celebrate their birth.  There are special treats—gifts, cards, cake, and a special dinner.  They can’t boss people around or be rude.  This year, I wanted it low key.  I already had Easter egg coloring at my house.  Surprisingly many years we’ve hosted parties with about 25 - 30 kids at local spots.   Some have been the whole preschool class in my house.  This year, we were going out for dinner.  As my husband says, the discount birthday dinner seems to be the most expensive dinner of the year.  Lottie said she wanted to go to Real Seafood.  I think it’s because she doesn’t know what other places does the ‘birthday discount.’  In Ann Arbor, there are many establishments that give some kind of birthday discount-- free dessert with a full-price meal; discount on the birthday participant’s meal; free mini cupcake; free ice cream cone; free breakfast.  Check out http://arborwiki.org/Birthday_Deals  Lottie use to say McDonald’s and I have had to tell her we weren’t going there on her birthday because there is no discount.  This year she didn’t even bother suggesting it.

I don’t want birthdays to be all about the gifts and it was hard telling her that we weren’t going to get a bin at Learning Express this year.  Last month, she was saying how she was going to get a bin at Learning Express for all the toys she wanted.  For those who don’t know or have had the option of doing this, our local toy store, Learning Express, will give your child a big bin where they can fill it up with toys they want others to buy them for their birthday.  LE will put the name and birthday party date on the bin and guests can choose from the bin of toys.  While in many ways it feels tacky for you to do it with your child, I like it when people have it.  It doesn’t require me to interrogate my child for what gifts their friends would want or don’t already have.  We go to the bin and my child picks out something from the bin to give to the birthday boy or girl.  Super easy for me, more people should do that.

This year, I told Lottie we weren’t going to have a big party.  So far, she’s been fine with it.

liquid probiotics

After playing the mall for awhile, while I got my social time in with the other moms, we headed to the Brinery on the way home.  I wanted some liquid probiotics.  They didn’t have any at the Saturday Kerrytown Farmer’s Market and by some weird happenstance, I bumped into David Klingenberger at Mark’s Cart on Monday,  I didn’t know him but I had emailed him about getting some liquid probiotic.  Funny that the one day they didn’t take any liquid probiotics to the Farmer’s market, someone would ask for it.  Isn’t that how that always works?  So while I’m at Mark’s Carts—getting food from 3 different carts—San Street (for myself), A2 Pizza for Lottie, and Darcy’s for Chase, Dave asks Darcy’s cart if they needed kimchi.  I turned around and asked if he was with the Brinery.  Darcy’s cart said, “he is the Brinery”  I told him how we exchanged emails and well, I could pick-up some liquid probiotics 9am – 4pm in their shop Tuesday and Wednesday.  What is this liquid probiotics I’m talking about?   During the raw lacto fermentation process, lactobacteria, similar to yogurt, is created.  Lactobateria  helps the digestive system and supports the immune system.  It’s about the gut’s floral and keeping it healthy.  The Brinery makes raw fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and kimchi and those products themselves are probiotic, the liquid is also and it can be taken regularly.  I might not eat kimchi or sauerkraut daily, but I can drink a shot of the liquid probiotics everyday.  Once I got beet based one, but today I opted for the dill based one, since I plan to drink beet juice this week, I didn’t want to be all “beetened” up.

We stopped at Taco King for Chase’s lunch.  I’ve always wanted to go and we were near by.  Lottie had a minor protest.  This is when I reminded her that being her birthday didn’t allow her to dictate what other people were having for lunch.  She backed down.

Since I forgot my wallet and I spent more money at the Brinery than I expected, even though I knew that’s what would happen.  I have this mental expectation of “how much something should cost” and I knew that the last time I bought liquid probiotics, it cost more than I thought.  The cash that I had in the diaper bag was enough for 3 apple juices at the mall for the kids, a jar of liquid probiotic, and with loose change in the minivan, enough for a lunch special at Taco King.  I did have to get 9 cents from the penny dish at the register.

We had stayed at the mall playing too long, so Baby Boy was too tired for us to go to Learning Express for Lottie’s birthday gift.  I told her she could get a Beanie Boo.  What is a Beanie Boo?  Remember those Beanie Babies?  They are bigger Beanie babies, really isn’t plush animals with HUGE eyes.  They have a name, poem and birthdate.  Her friends have them and she wanted one too so they all could play Beanie Boo together.  It’s sweet.

Baby Boy went down for a long overdue nap.  I feared he might be too tired and cry, but he wasn’t.  He was just tired enough for a good nap.  Oh after a big poop that required me to change MY shirt.  Yes, I didn’t want you to think my life was filled with glamour of cupcakes, probiotics.

Older Boy was asked on a playdate, so I sent him off on his bicycle alone, through two-neighborhoods to his friend’s house. 

Little Girl loved having media time, which is watching Dinosaur Train as long as her baby brother remained asleep, unshared with her older brother. 

Ah, two hours of peace.

After nap we were back on the go.  Get Beanie Boo, pick up Scott from work and head off for birthday dinner.  Nice dinner and more cupcakes for dessert at home with Happy Birthday song to my Lottie-Girl by her family.  Happy 6^th Birthday!

Lottie's Birth

                            

hours old

Six years ago today, my daughter entered into our lives.  As with all my children, their birthday signifies another stage in MY life.  This is my blog, so everything is about ME.  Hence, even the births of my children are about me. 

This is Lottie’s birth.  It was a quick labor and delivery.   I woke-up around 4:22 am with contractions.  Scott was sleeping on the couch, due to my pregnancy snoring.  Luckily, I seem to only snore when I’m pregnant. 

I had about 4 contractions in 15-minutes and they were so painful, couldn't stand being alone, so I woke-up Scott.  

Around 6 am, we call our doula, Isabelle, who was with another client, so we ended up calling the back-up doula, Jodi.  We also called my girlfriend, Anne, who came over to watch a sleeping Chase. 

The contractions were so intense, I just wanted to go to the hospital for an epidural.  I rode in the car sitting backwards on my knees, holding on to the headrest because sitting on my butt seemed impossible.  I kept thinking, that’s what my girlfriend, Milly, did for her birth.  Luckily it was a short ride to the hospital and it was still early and no traffic.

We got to University of Michigan Mott’s Children Hospital around 7am and fortunately, I was 0-station, fully effaced and 6-cm.   My fear of going to the hospital is that I wouldn't be far enough along.  I was far enough along that they took me in from triage to the birthing room.  I had my eyes closed and it basically remained closed until it was all over.

At one point in triage, they asked what my pain management option was going to be.  My doula, Jodi, quickly spoke up and said, “I’m her pain management”  I loved that.  That’s exactly why she was there and I was glad to have her there.  We got into our room and to help things along, they suggested breaking my water.   I wondered if that would adversely affect things.  Would it be against my belief of natural childbirth, funny that came running through my mind then.  They said no, it would just speed things along.  Whew—the pain became more intense and what seemed unbearable.  Being somewhat delirious, I asked why it was so painful, and the nurse or midwife said, the bag of water served as a cushion for the baby’s head and now there was nothing.  I then regretted having my water broken.  Before I knew it and before I could really complain about the poor advice I was given, I was pushing... I recall my husband almost saying, “she’s almost here, just o-n-e…”  luckily he didn’t say it because 3-years earlier, he must have uttered that about 100-times and it wasn’t true until the 101-time.  In my mind or perhaps I did say it out loud, “don’t say that because it isn’t true.”  In about 6-pushes-- Lottie was here at 8:30am. 

Jodi (my doula) Lottie & me

She was more light-skinned than I expected and plumper.  She couldn’t regulate her body temperature, so she was on my chest, skin-to-skin contact.  That wasn’t enough, so they warmed her up.   She nursed like a champ.  We call her the ‘champion nurser of the family.’  Even though she hasn’t nursed in over 4-years, she is proud of that title, as she should be.

She weighed 7 lbs - 2 oz & 20 3/8" long. 

Lottie is short for Charlotte, but I’ve never called her that.  She’s always been our Lottie-Girl.   We wanted to give her to option of Charlotte and all it’s variation than getting stuck with a nickname.  We choose her name base on the nickname.  Thank you, Amy, who calls her daughter, Trixie, short for Beatrix, for giving me the insight to have fun nickname. 

Daddy, baby and big brother

My girlfriends, Anne and Sonia came to visit in the evening.   We chatted and laughed.  They brought me flowers.  These are women who I met in a moms group at Lamaze Family Center, when Chase was a baby.  Despite living away from Ann Arbor, I still consider them my dear friends.  Anne took Chase with her son to their preschool that morning.  Not until later, did I realize that Anne’s son’s birthday was the next day.   She had a delightful Easter birthday festivities for Noah on the weekend, which I didn’t attend, but Chase and Scott did.  I did get delicious food from the event.

If I could suggest a couple of things: hire a birth and a post-partum doula and join a mom’s group.  I feel like both those things kept my sanity.  Lamaze Family Center continues to have mom’s groups, which I did join after having Lottie and after Christopher’s birth.  It’s a group of women, who for the most part are experiencing a lot of the same things you at the exact same time.

Where has the 6-years gone?

Lottie 20-days old