Christmas Break

Author: Sophia

Dec 28

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Hello Monday!

With Christmas falling on Friday, it feels like i should have had another extra day to get myself back to work mode,  i swear, but oh well it is a Monday and work crazy as usual.  I love hollidays, it gives me an excuse to cook huge meals, bake some goodies and of course pig out.

Winter doesn’t help much either.. There is something about Winter that just makes you want to bake, bake and bake, at least for me. I started baking cookies the beginning of last week. I tried several recipes and my husband loved the ” big fat chocolate chip and raisin cookies” that i made and has sworn to be the best cookies he has ever tasted.  Well, i have to agree :) Oh my goodness they were sinfully delicious!

Well, Christmas went well for us. It was a snowy day and  we made it a family day. Julian woke us up at 6:30am and i told him Santa came to see him that night and left him presents under the tree. He almost fell off the bed running to get to the tree. By the time the rest of us got there, he had ripped off  one of Eli’s presents and moved on to the rest. My husband got to record the whole thing for their yearly home movie. I got to admit,  just sitting there seeing how happy he was, and him yelling ” wow, beautiful, wow”  for me it was the perfect Christmas present!

Eli got to open up his presents too, just by watching his brother doing it and of course with mommy’s help. I got to cook Christmas dinner and with less pressure as it was just us this time.

Julian got a new book that is his favorite this week ” Are you my mother? by PD Eastmann i think… We have been reading it several times a day  so far since he got it and Eli enjoys it as well.  The next big thing for Julian was he got a sled and has been sledding on the snow. He thinks he is in heaven! He just loves it!

I hope everyone got to enjoy Christmas with their loved ones, lets hope the New year will bring more memories to treasure.

Happy Hollidays to you and yours!

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Eli and Wheat Allergy

Author: Sophia

Dec 22

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So, the good news is no peanut allergy but yes to wheat. Do you realize how many things contain wheat? Yes. So, i am back to the beginning where now one child can have wheat the other can’t plus i am going to cut wheat from my diet as well as am breastfeeding him.  

I am going to have to buy other flours in bulk now as i still want to keep up my baking. Julian and my husband can have wheat products, but Eli is at the stage where he wants and  cries for anything Julian is eating. Julian on the other hand  loves sharing his food with the baby.

Talking about Julian, his allergy lab results came back as well and milk is still 100 points, eggs is 86 points, peanut declined from 33 points to 11, and we found out he can have Cod fish and Tuna, but still no Tilapia and also just found out he can’t have catfish either.

Yes, my two  little boys confirmed this research African-American boys at highest risk for food allergies  is very true.

We can manage it.

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Dear Santa…

Author: Sophia

Dec 18

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This year has been tough, due to the economic crisis across the globe, so Santa this Christmas you have a lot of work to do and yeah, tough.  For starters how about  a Best buy gift card for my electronic junkie husband, and wait while you are on  it throw in one of my own as i need a good laptop so i  can stop waking up from bed to go use this desktop. Stop it Santa. The other laptop is strictly for work, plus i am writing my novel, i don’t want to use my work computer for that, that won’t be such a good idea.

Julian will have to tell you what he wants, plus this year he gets to pick something for his brother Eli  all by himself, so hang on for those two for now. Santa! I know they have plenty of stuff already, but it is Christmas and they were so excited to put up their Christmas tree, we definitely don’t want to disappoint them…we could use some beautifully wrapped boxes under  that tree, so Come on and get on it Santa!

On a more serious note…

I wish many things for my own family and many other families out there. I wish for the basic needs. I wish for those who have lost their homes, find shelter and a place to call home soon. For those who have lost their jobs, or on the verge of losing theirs, help them find a decent job soon. For the children without food and clothes on their back, i wish  that Santa will  deliver a hot meal and clean clothes for them. For those who have enough to share with the less fortunate, i hope that they get touched by spirit of giving and bless someone needy this Christmas.

Santa, i promise to do some good as well. I sit here writing about doing good deeds for others, and i promised to do this by example. This weekend i will cook a hot meal and feed the homeless. My husband told me  a good spot would be downtown Kansas City, around the evening. So Saturday evening we will drive out on a mission to make a little difference. I can cook, so i may as well share that with someone  that could use help.

So, if you are reading this, please note that there is a little Santa in everyone of us, the question is are you willing to give a gift to someone else , that you may not even know this Christmas? If you can, please go ahead and do so as there are a lot of families out there that are without just the basic needs.

Give a break!

Stay blessed and Thank you Santa!

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making baby’s food

Author: Sophia

Dec 16

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So Eli is officially 6 months and starting on solids.  Last week he was on rice cereal and oatmeal, and today we just upgraded to more home cooked foods. Yes, he has been wanting  a taste of what we eat for a while now.

What is it about first borns and foods? Most parents in my circle that have more than one child, for some reason the first child turns out to be picky compared to the rest.  I wonder whether it has something to do with moms and dads being nervous on what to feed them when starting out, or just parents going too much by the book  and not exposing them to more foods from the get go.

So whatever the case… I am on  a mission to feed Eli all the veggies and fruits that we eat daily and more :)

Today i made him potato vegetable soup.  I made enough for all 4 of us, well 3 minus picky Julian.

Ingredients
5 medium size potatoes peeled and cubed
1 whole carrot – diced
1/4  sliced Yellow bell pepper
1/4 sliced Red pepper
1/2 cup  sweet peas
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 sliced cucumber
Salt to taste – i used season all salt.
Water – enough to come same level with the mixture ( I normally use chicken broth)

I did not use any onions or tomatoes in the recipe as this was his first combination veggies, and i also left out the chicken broth as meat is probably going to be next week.

So i pretty much  washed and mixed all the ingredients above and put them on a medium size pot and bought to a boil on medium high. When the potatoes are  coooked  ( they  will soften enough to break with a spoon). I let stand for a good 15 min then i pureed in my blender.

Well, Eli loved it! He cleaned up his little bowl. He had that for lunch and dinner.  I plan on making my own baby food as much as i can. Of course, if you are on the go or busy you may have to buy the commercial jar foods, but if you can make the baby food yourself, i mean it is the best way to go. You can mix as many vegetables, fruits or meats as much as you would like, plus you control what goes in.

If you are confused on what to make for the baby,  see what the family is already eating now and start by makiing one ingredient at a time or do what i did,  and mix it all up.

Have fun!

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I miss my mom

Author: Sophia

Dec 12

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I haven’t talked to my mother for 2 weeks now and it feels like ages. I haven’t seen her for 4 years now and i feel terrible. I MISS HER SO MUCH! I miss her so much am on the verge of tears. I want to call her and talk to her right now, but i don’t want to wake up Eli. I am going to wake up early in the morning and call her and talk to her for as much as that calling card will take.  See she still lives in Africa, her and my entire family.

They have a decent life there. Other than health issues, she is doing good. I miss everything about her. I feel bad she hasn’t met her grandkids yet. I know she would love to, but my parents are so busy with work that them taking  a vacation to come here and visit is just not in the cards right now, so i am going to have to take the boys there this coming year to see them…Hopefully.

Have you ever sat down and thought about someone in your life, and you somehow think to yourself, or basically  have  a feeling that , there may be a possibility that  same  very minute they  may be  thinking about you too? That is how i am feeling this moment about my mom. So, If only  i could just see my mom right now, i would run to her, throw my arms around her and give her a big bear hug. I would laugh, jump with so much joy that i would just be in tears. I would look up in the sky and just thank Heavens for keeping her safe for me. I would tell her how much i have missed her, all those years, everyday. I will give her a big kiss and tell her how much i love her with all my heart and soul.

A letter to my mom

I would thank her for being my mom. I would sit and tell her everything about my days, my moments with the kids, and that i am happy, but just miss her and all my siblings and everyone else in the family very much. If only…

It is definitely the Holidays. There is just something about Christmas that makes you want to be around those you love dearest.

Well, i hope you will get to spend this Holiday season with those you love the most.

Happy Holidays!

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First Snow of the year in KC

Author: Sophia

Dec 10

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So we had our first snow on Tuesday and yesterday it was cold! I drove home and my windshield read 7 degrees F.  So yes it does get that cold even colder.  I grew up around Mt Kilimanjaro area, during the night and early mornings it would get cold, but not even remotely close to the American cold winters!

You wear layers of clothes to keep warm, must have a coat, hat, gloves, socks, pants and decent shoes/boots to keep your body warm.  Of course this time of year the gas and electric companies make their money! We bought an additional space heater so we can have that in the room that feels cooler.

I have been making soups for us, and hot teas and chocolate too, i mean just anything to combat the cold.

I love the snow, it is pretty  to look at , and  even love it more because of the children- the look on Julian’s face when he woke up and saw snow outside –  priceless! I don’t really  care  much about driving in this weather or worse having to watch other drivers drive like they  could care less about others around them, but it is winter and we will get to take in all the good and the bad, and wait for this to pass too!

On our list next is to build a snowman , when we get the next snow fall…now that would be fun!

We took beautiful pictures of  Julian out in the snow, but i can’t find the camera. I try to blame it on my husband, but he kinda reminded me, i had it last, lol. I am hoping i didn’t drop it in the snow.

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Buying bread for the allergic child

Author: Sophia

Dec 4

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Buying bread for anyone with milk, soy, egg, gluten allergies  can be a pain in the neck! You can spend time in the stores going through the ingredients on the back of the bread, hoping that they are safe before you buy, and  yes not fun!  Oh, and don’t always assume because last week that particular bread that you finally scored to be  safe, that it would be safe again this week, uh-ah- Always doublecheck the  ingredients as they do change!

Before i had my children, grocery shopping was  a breeze- i would get in a store and  grab  the bread or what i needed and get out. I never thought of  what ingredients were on what, let alone what the allergy warnings meant. I have to admit, i never really paid any attention of what was in anything.  Heck, i thought people from Africa never had food allergies! I mean, we ate everything.  While in Africa, i  never  met ANYONE that couldn’t eat a certain dish because they would have an allergic reaction to something in it. I knew people who were on  very strict diets due to other health issue like  high blood pressure or so, but food allergies? Nope.

My mother is still convinced my children are only allergic to the foods because they are abroad, and that if i take them to Kilimanjaro she can feed them all the things they can’t have and they would be ok. :)   I won’t let her do that though.

So on the bread issue, … Sara Lee  used to make breads that were milk free last year or beginning of this year… Yeah. She no longer does. There is a big bold warning now  on the breads saying contains Milk.  We switched back to  Oroweat they make  a really good potato bread and whole wheat bread that is milk free. You know not many bread makers make milk-free bread. Those that do make allergen free, some are not too tasty, so  i have decided enough of  searching for the perfect bread!  

I bought a bread maker today- The Breadman from Target.

I am going to start making my own bread in my own home.  A co-worker of mine has been making some really tasty homemade bread, and since i am  already good around the kitchen i may as well do this myself.  This is the perfect way to go , as i can definitely control pretty much what goes in that bread , and the greatest thing of all is  i will not have to worry about allergens.

So, if you are a mom out there dealing with food allergies in your home, try to learn how to cook, bake and pretty much make your own foods, it is less headache to deal with.

I will share any recipes that i try and  will definitely post a picture of  my first  loaf.

I have a feeling,  my breadmaker will definitely be worth every penny i spent on it!

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Massaging your baby

Author: Sophia

Dec 1

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I don’t massage my baby as often as i should, but when i do massage him, boy he loves it. I was reading on Doctoroz.com the benefits of massaging a baby and i have made a mental note to massage my baby daily. 

Benefits of massaging baby:

  • Helps  mom and dad bond with the baby
  •  Massage helps baby deal with stress
  •  Improves his immune function and stimulates the brain  for food absorption
  • Neurological development
  • Helps baby sleep well.

What you need:
A soft towel to lay baby on ,  oil, and you to talk to the baby and massage him.

How to massage baby:

  • Rub some oil on your hands and pour some drops on the baby’s thighs and legs. Wrap your hands on the thighs and move your hands down one after another , as if you are ” milking” her legs. Swith both legs and repeat .
  • Move to the feet. Take one foot at a time, rotating gently, making little circles on the bottom of the foot then finish off with pulling on the little toes, one after another between your fingers and repeat on all ten toes. Switch feet and repeat.
  • Progress to the arms  be sure to keep your hands oily so they can slide smoothly on the baby skin. Gently pull on the baby’s  hands one at a time , repeat the “milking ” motion move all the way from the armpits to the wrist. Pull on gently on the fingers and  gently rotate the wrists from each direction. Rub the palms with your thumb tracing little circles.
  • Move on to the chest. I usually put a few drops of oil on the chest and start moving my hands on an outward motion. Repeat several times and then move all the way down to the thighs and legs. Repeat several times, then turn the baby on his tummy.
  • Pour a couple of drops on the back,  stroke the baby’s back gently. Use your fingertips and work  on massaging gently on baby’s back  from the neck down to the butt. Trace some tiny circles with your fingers on either side of the spine . Massage the shoulders all the way to the feet.  Repeat several times, and baby should be ready for his diaper back and feeding if need be, and will probably sleep by now :)

I guess what is good for mom and dad, is surely good for the baby too. Have fun massaging that little one!

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Do you have a true friend?

Author: Sophia

Nov 24

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Sometime in life you can only depend on yourself and your immediate family for real support. Many times we let each other down or are first to judge, doubt others or even  mistake their intentions. You can easily see this, If you ever find yourself in a bind, see who will come to your rescue and i guarantee you those are your true friends and confidantes. It is funny when some friends hear you have hit a rough patch  and they  are quick to  dissappear and fast to spread all kind of rumors.  You may not even need their help,  or whatever your situation, there is no way they can even help you out , but somehow they just assume, you are going to ask them for God knows what and they just dissappear.

Well, c’est la vie! It is life! It is all part of rediscovering yourself and the people you surround yourself with.  I am the type of person if someone needed help and came to me, i would gladly help them out and keep it to myself. I think that is the right thing to do, and if a friend confides in me with a secret, i just keep it that way- a secret.  Now, i know a handful of people that won’t do the same. I have had calls where people will tell me all sorts of things that people i know are going through, and they would add ” could you please not  tell anyone, because so-so asked that i keep it a secret, but am just telling you”. Gossip. Jeez, sometime I wonder whether people really think through what they are going to say, or just take sometime to listen to themselves before they open their mouths.

I grew up in Tanzania-Africa, surrounded by lots of family.  I remember seeing other moms and just some members of our family just coming to talk to my mom about what they were going through.  We would have worked 10+ hours a day at the shop and you could tell my brother and i were just about ready to go home, but my mom would patiently stand there and listen to whoever that  showed up there that day and just talk to them. Most of the time she would end up  giving them a bag of groceries, corn, beans or potatoes. Never would my mom ever tell any of us what that person ever said to her.  She always used to say never let anyone go to bed hungry, it is just food.  Back then, i never really thought anything of it, but  truly her actions taught me a lot about  how to treat others, regardless of their walk of life.

How many times would you pay a full price of an item at a stranger’s shop but would refuse to go to your friend’s because he or she won’t give you that item for free or at a discount? I know , ridiculous concept, huh. You will be amazed how even some family members would rather take their business elsewhere instead of  family because somehow they think they are entitled  most of it free or if they do give you their business they would be benefitting you too much. What is it they say.. I am not going to make them rich while they sit there?.  I know. I know. Not everyone is like that, but try to open your own business and see how many people you know will be supportive.

So if you are out there and are going through  some ups and downs for one reason or another, stay strong that too shall pass. Remember, when one door closes another opens.  If you just went into business for yourself, look further, beyond the people you know, you will be surprised  to find that people don’t have to know you to need your services or goods.  For the friends and family stay positive, be there for each other, don’t be quick to judge and bring others down, Remember one day you may be up, but the next you may be down. It is part of life’s journey, so treat others like you would want to be treated.

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Your baby and Music

Author: Sophia

Nov 23

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Ever hear of pregnant mothers putting headphones around their bellies and letting their unborn child listen to their favorite music? Yep. I was that kind of mom. I know experts believe an unborn child can still hear through the amniotic fluid, even music playing on the background on your sterio and you may not necessarily have to put a headphone on your belly, or play music very loud either, but i still put a headphone on my belly while i worked during the day.

Experts do warn though don’t play for too long so you do not overstimulate your baby, they recommend playing about one hour straight then give the baby a break.

Most of us adults do enjoy unwinding down with our favorite songs, especially after a long busy day. You can imagine the relaxation you feel and some days your mind become so relaxed that you fall right to sleep. So, if  music can have that effect on adults, imagine what it can do to children.

I am a firm believer of introducing babies to music from 0- adulthood. Classical, soft R& B, gospel, and of course our African Tunes are a favorite in our home.  Julian is 3 1/2 years old  and is so used to sleeping with his classical music  that when we put him to bed and forget to turn the CD on he would ask for it.

I am not sure whether classical music really make your children smarter, but i believe it does stimulate their brains.  Some experts believe children that play an instrument become very good in math and reasoning skills, so that’s just something else for parents to consider.

So when do you really want to play music for your child? Just about anytime. Turn off the TV sometime during the day and put in a children’s CD for them to sing along, or even play your own favorite music and dance along with your children  and with time, you may hear them sing along and master  the lyrics.

While pregnant the boys listened to a lot of music, this year Beyonce’s Ave Maria was one of my favorites. Eli and I listened to that song at least once a day, then the rest was a mix of just about anything mama wanted.

So play some music today, and let your baby enjoy too.

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