Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Almost 7

It's hard to believe that next week Alanna will be 7 and that she's already in First Grade. We've gone from having super cute moments daily where she *discovers* something new (although we still have some) to having moments where she's asking questions beyond her years but interpreting them with her own blend of 6-7 year old logic.

Some of the gems from this summer are below. Enjoy!

Grasshoppers and World Hunger
Alanna spent a couple weeks with Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa Joe this past summer and some time out at the ranch which she loved. She noticed that there were a LOT of grasshoppers at the ranch and after some encouragement from Grandma and Grandpa tried to "help" by squishing grasshoppers. Once she got home, she informed me of the following solution to help end world hunger-

A: We need to create a HUGE vaccuum cleaner to suck up all the grasshoppers on all the farms and ranches to help the farmers. In some countries people like to eat grasshoppers! So we could package them all up and ship them to other countries so those people will have food.


Pain in the Butt
Alanna is great around other children, but we learned after the visit with Grandma and Grandpa that she has a bit of trouble after about a day with no longer being the center of attention. Her little cousin spent a few days there with her and upon her return she had a new world view on wanting a little brother or sister.

We were in Kohls and I saw a mother holding a newborn baby girl. I pointed them out to Alanna and remarked, "You looked just like that when you were little, isn't she cute!"
A: Yes. But Mommy, I'm so glad you don't have a baby in your tummy.
M: Why's that?
A: Because then you'd be PREGNANT.
M: Well, yes, that's how it worked. Are you saying you don't want a little brother or sister?
A: Not so much.

She then paused a moment and looked chagrinned like she had said something that could be considered not very polite. She followed up with...
A: Well, Mommy if you had another baby you'd have to start all over!
A: And raising TWO kids would just be a pain in the butt!

I found it interesting that the logic turned on and she decided to turn it into concern for my well-being rather than admitting that she simply didn't like the idea of sharing her world.

Political Views
Overall, my husband and I have tried to be very conscientious of not bringing political views home with us within earshot of Alanna. He does however listen to a lot of NPR in the car and Alanna asks questions when she hears the commentary or when she's in my car and the news mentions something. We've tried to be impartial and answer the questions without going too far into detail. This is where the complexity of the questions don't always match up well with the logic she uses to interpret the answers.

The other day after the bus dropped her off, she looked to Jeb and asked:
A: Daddy, do you like Obama?
D: Yes.
A: Mommy doesn't.
A: Obama's health plan is going to KILL people!

Ok, Mommy never said any such thing. With all of the discussion on the news/radio about the health plan, Alanna has asked if I think the health plan is a good thing. I had told her that Mommy thinks the idea of health care for everyone is a great idea, but that I'm not sure this is the right plan. She then of course will ask why, to which I responded that I think they needed to take a little more time to think about it and make sure it will give everyone access to the care they need.

Her little logic interepreted:
People don't get care they need = People die = Obama is going to kill people = Mommy doesn't like him

This parenting thing while trying to take moments to teach and raise a child who has well-thought out ideas/opinions is not easy stuff!!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Priorities

Jeb was notified on Friday that he would be laid off and his position eliminated June 30th. We'd been semi-prepared for this, but the reality of it still always seems to catch one off guard.

Over the weekend I had explained to Alanna that we were going to be just fine and tried my best to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about. I told her that Daddy was going to get to stay home with her for the summer and wouldn't that be fun! I told her that we'd need to be more careful with our money, but that she didn't need to worry about a place to live, food to eat, or clothes.

She looked up at me and said, "What about toys???"
I explained that we could still buy toys, but we probably wouldn't buy things as often and we'd really need to think about the toys we want and budget them in.

She looked panicked and asked, "What about Happy Meals!!???"
I explained that we probably wouldn't go out to eat as often, but that many times Mommy has a coupon for McDonald's and that she could still get a Happy Meal once in a while.

She looked downcast and declared, "We're POOR!!"
*sigh* No, honey we're not poor, we're just fine.

I suppose though it's all a matter of perception. When you're six, those happy meals can seem pretty important even if she's only getting one maybe 2-3 times a month. It's a treat, and she is not happy about that treat possibly going away.

Yesterday, she announced that she had packed her own lunch to help save us money. I told her that she didn't need to worry about that and that her lunches were all paid for through the school year. She declared that it was ok, she still wanted to take her lunch because "then I get to be in the front of the lunch line!!!"

Again...it's all about priorities.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Thoughts about God

The other day Alanna was thinking about God and made a couple observations out of the blue.

"I think God and the angels come down and sit in empty movie seats."

"Technically there's only one boss and that's God."

Random Acts of Kindness

I just absolutely love this photo.  At first blush, it looks like she made out like a bandit with Easter baskets.  But the truth behind the photo just makes me so proud...

Alanna had another follow-up appointment scheduled for the week of Easter and the week prior to her appointment she told me that she wanted to make Easter baskets and take them with her to the Children's Hospital for children that may be having surgery over Easter or have to stay in the hospital rather than being home.  She never ceases to amaze me with her kind heart.  I told her I thought it was a wonderful idea and that we could certainly go shopping to get things for Easter baskets.  She picked out all kinds of goodies and was grinning ear to ear when they were put together.  She's wearing her Daisy Girl Scout vest because we thought it was also a great opportunity for her to earn her caring and considerate petal.

She was so excited to deliver the baskets and practically bounced in to her appointment.  

On the way home we saw a man holding a cardboard sign.  Now that Alanna is beginning to read, she saw the word "hungry" on the sign and asked me why he was holding it up.  I read the sign to her and she immediately responded with concern, "Mommy, can we give him the strawberries you bought at Costco?"  There was a container in the car from when I'd run an errand at lunch.  My heart broke as I had to explain to my caring little girl that I couldn't stop the car but that we would continue to help by giving to food shelves and helping where we could.  

She wanted to know other ways we could help so the following day we learned about Random Acts of Kindness and took chocolate bunnies to the firemen at the firestation near our home as well as handed out a plethora of bunnies at the Post Office.  The lady at the Post Office behind the counter said she never knew the Easter bunny was blonde with piggy tails!  

Afterwards, we reviewed what random acts of kindness are and I asked Alanna what her favorite part was.  Her reply?

"Seeing people smile."

Monday, April 06, 2009

Pony Cars

Another from the Daddy files:

So there Alanna and I were driving to Nana’s. And she started talking about cars. So I said “what kind of car would you like our family to have?”
To which she replied with a beaming (and mischievous smile on her face) ”…A Pony Car!”


“Well what kind of car is that honey?”
“You know, a Pony car.”
“I am sorry darlin’, I don’t know what a Pony Car is.”
“Yes you do…like on the internet.”
“Ah, Alanna I see so many things on the internet that I can’t possibly remember them all.”
“Daddy, you know what a Pony Car is.”
Is that like a carriage? Like in Cinerella?”
“No.”
“Is it a My Lil Pony Car?”
“NO.”
“Well can you explain instead of raising your voice?”
“Ok…Like on the test.”
“What test?”
“The internet test.”
“The Internet Test?”
“Yes the one on Facebook.”
“You mean the Logo test on Facebook?”
“Yes! The test we took together!”
“Pony Car huh?... You mean a Porsche of a Ferrari??!!”
“Yes! That would be a nice car wouldn’t it daddy?”

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Africa

Straight from the Daddy files from this morning's car ride to daycare:

So MPR was on the radio, and they were talking about the young men that have been missing and turned up in Africa.

Alanna fixated on this and I reassured her that she was safe as the kids they were talking about:
1-are boys
2-are about 18-20 years old
3-All went to a church in Minneapolis (actually a mosque, but I did not want to have to define that also this morning)

To which she replied…”oh good, we are never going to a church in Minneapolis right?”

I then said “no its not Minneapolis’s fault, its just that Africa needs soldiers and they are trying to get them wherever they can.”

To which she said “Oh yeah, they don’t even have enough to eat, but at least they can play games, and mini-games right?”

And I said “what?!”

A: “Like the Mommy show.”

D: “What Mommy show?”

A: “The Africa mommy show where they don’t have any food and play games…”

D: “You mean, Survivor?”

A: “Yeah Survivor!”

Monday, March 02, 2009

Alanna's Snowy Butt

Alanna's helping me write this update and decided on the title of the post all by herself.

Tonight when we got home, I went down to the curb to get the garbage cans.  I turned and looked up the driveway to see Alanna intentionally and enthusiastically plop down into a huge snowbank.  No snowpants on, bottom first.

I hollered up the drive, "Alanna!  Why are you sitting in the snowbank?"

She replied at the top of her lungs so the whole neighborhood could hear, "Because my butt likes snow!"

Saturday, February 28, 2009

I Won!

Without fail when our evening babysitter is over, Alanna is bound to say something noteworthy.

Last night was date night and sure enough, Andrea had a pretty cute quote from Alanna to share.

Alanna likes to play Pokemon, a LOT and often she'll actually play against herself to try out her decks.  Last night, she was playing and told Andrea, "I was playing against myself and guess what!!??" (pure excitement in her voice)  "I WON!"


Sunday, February 22, 2009

Difficult Conversations

We had a couple difficult conversations yesterday with Alanna.

On the way out the door to Pokemon League she asked, "Is the Easter Bunny a person in a bunny costume?" Needless to say both Jeb and I looked at each other with our jaws dropped open.  After a momentary pause to quickly put together how I should respond I asked her why she was wondering and what she thought.  

She said she was just wondering.  I explained that yes, the bunny we go see at the Community Center or the mall is a person who is a "helper" and is dressed up in a costume.  I asked her though how she thought the eggs got delivered to Grandma Jackie's house.  She replied that they were put there by the real bunny, so I think we're still good through this year anyway.  

She followed this up with a question about Santa Claus which we answered in much the same fashion.  That both he and the Easter Bunny are as real as she believes they are and that they need lots and lots of helpers to make every child happy.  She seemed content with this.

This evening was even harder.  At bedtime she started crying and declared, "I don't want to die."

After about literally 2 hours of reassuring and answering questions between Jeb and I she finally calmed down and was ready to go to sleep.  We still don't know quite what brought that on, but I suppose eventually every child asks about death.

At one point in the discussion she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I think it's like a cocoon.  This is our old body and once we die we shed our cocoon and get our new body in heaven."

I was stunned and told her that was exactly right and a very nice way to describe it.  I also asked where she had heard that (I thought maybe at Sunday School). She said she had just decided that was what it was like and hadn't heard it before anywhere.  Very insightful.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Playdough


Our wonderful evening babysitter made playdough with Alanna the last time she was here. I had to get the recipe from her because it's such a good playdough! It keeps well either in the refrigerator or out and personally I think it's better than the commercial stuff.

Here's the recipe:
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Food coloring as desired
1/2 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Salt
1 Tsp cream of tartar

Heat the water so it is hot, but not boiling. Add the food coloring and vegetable oil. Combine the dry ingredients, then add slowly to the water mixture keeping it at medium or low heat and stirring until it is a good texture (about when it starts to ball up and come away from the sides of the pot). Knead the dough on the counter as it cools.

This made a nice amount for each color that fits well within a snack sized ziplock bag. A couple notes: The water got a little too hot even on medium and the playdough mixture started to get crumbly in the pan pretty quickly. I simply dumped it out on the counter and kneaded it and it still turned out just fine. Also the dough is HOT when it comes out of the pan, so be prepared that your hands are going to be rather warm for the initial little while of kneading--I would not have a child knead the dough until it's cooled off to warmish.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Furry Kids

It's a rare occasion that the furry kids in our family are in the same place at the same time and stay still enough for a photo. Here are my other kids, Frankie (blue tag) and Dippy (red tag). Frankie is short for Frankenstein and Dippy is short for Serendipity.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Magic Car

Last night on the way home, an interesting conversation with my inquisitive daughter took place:

Alanna: Mommy, are we in the Mazda?
Mommy: Yes
A: Does the Versa start the same way the Mazda does?
M: Yes.
A: But you don't have to put the key in the Versa.
M: Oh. No, you're right. The Versa doesn't need the key in the ignition to start, but you do have to have the key with you in order for it to start.
A: (Pause) How does it KNOW you have the key? (Serious tone) Can it see into your pocket?

Truth be told, I don't really know how the car recognizes that the key is in proximity. I resisted my urge to reply that it was simply "magic" and told her that it has something in it that recognizes the key is close. It is a good question though. I guess like many things that are way past my understanding technologically speaking, I just accept that they work without questioning how. I love that she questions the how.

Thank goodness for the power of google:
"Each key contains a chip with an ID code that the car must recognize. In addition, there is a random code that each key receives when the engine is shut off. The vehicle will read and match both codes. If the car cannot match the ID code to the last random code sent to the key in question, it won't start."

Source: http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/audio/articles/106651/article.html

See, I'm getting smarter too in this process!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Squishable

One of my very good friends, Zazzy, surprised us today with a package for Alanna.  When we opened the box, this HUGE squishy bunny literally popped out.  Alanna absolutely ADORES it and was having a lot of fun smooshing it and watching it regain its shape.





Sunday, February 01, 2009

First Communion

Alanna had her first communion today.  In our church, the school-age children just sit with their parents through the whole service on communion Sundays and partake in the bread and juice.  Since Alanna started Kindergarten, for whatever reason it's never seemed to work out that she was at church on communion Sunday until today.

She asked several times in whispers if it was time to eat the bread yet and we told her repeatedly to "shhh" and that it would be soon.  In whispers I explained that the bread and juice represented Jesus' Last Supper with his Disciples and that we ate the bread and juice to remind ourselves that Jesus gave up his body and blood/life for us.  

When the time came, she smooshed her little piece of bread in her hands trying to wait patiently for the prayer to be said so she could eat it, then drank her little juice in three loud sips.

After church, we saw Pastor Richard and Alanna exclaimed, "That was a YUMMY snack!!!"  

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Nasty

Tonight we were playing with Alanna and at one point we'd finally reached the parental maximum allotment of "why questions" from her.  

We told her that there were enough "Whys" for one night (trust me there were ALOT!).  She naturally responded with, "Why?"

Daddy replied, "Because the last child we had that continued to ask why, we ate."

Alanna yelled at the top of her lungs, "BUT I TASTE NASTY!!!"

Guess we won't be eating her after all.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Surgery Schedule

Alanna's surgery is scheduled for Thursday, January 29th. We had the option of scheduling it for this Thursday but that's Alanna's first Kindergarten field trip, so we'll wait a week.

Honestly, I was surprised they're getting her in so soon, but I'm thankful. It makes the waiting a little easier.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Wishes

Tonight is a Mommy/Daughter night.  About once a month Jeb goes to game with his friends for a night.  

Earlier I asked Alanna what she wanted for supper.  She said, "Anything?"  I replied, "Well, what did you have in mind?"  She answered, "Shells and Cheese....and ice cream".  I said that would be fine.

She was so surprised and her eyes lit up. She exclaimed, "That's exactly what I was wishing for!!"

I need to remind myself to sometimes wish for just little things and be ecstatic when the wishes come true.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Surgery

Alanna had her appointment with Dr. Wood this morning. Over the years he's never been a proponent of surgery for her as long as the venous malformation stays about the same and doesn't change. This morning, he stated that he doesn't feel that way any longer. The malformation has changed and gotten larger as well as formed a more solid mass. He suggested that surgery rather than sclero treatments would be his suggested course of treatment.

We're waiting for the scheduling nurse to call and the surgery will likely be in the next month or two whenever they have availability.

It's not like we didn't know this would eventually be coming, but it's hard to hear. I think it makes it harder to know that we had just started to get comfortable with the watch and wait strategy and now have to switch our thinking over to being ok with surgery.

I do trust Dr. Wood and I know that she's in good hands, just wish I could trade places with her.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Corn Chowder

Today's menu item was corn chowder.  After we were finished Alanna declared, "It looks just like the picture in the book!!"  Whew!  We seem to be on the right track now for matching the pictures LOL.  Actually, this soup was really good and definitely hearty.  We made a double recipe which serves 16 so we'd have plenty of leftovers and be able to share with Aunt Lori.  We tweaked the recipe just slightly and here's what we came up with:

3 Cups Water
4 cups Frozen loose-pack shredded hash brown potatoes (we used Simply Potatoes)
4 medium carrots - peeled and diced
2 stalks celery - diced
2  10 3/4oz cans Condensed Cheese soup
1 15oz can cream style corn
1 small can corn
2 1/2 Cups Skim Milk
3 Cups diced cooked ham
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by adding the water and vegetables (including hash browns) to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to Low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add in remaining ingredients and heat until warm--do not bring to boil.  Approximately 246 calories per serving.








Saturday, January 10, 2009

Lasagna

Alanna decided that her New Year's resolution would be to help cook dinner.  She's always been quite the little helper in the kitchen, but in the past year has wanted to do more and more.  She even used some of her birthday money to buy the Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cook Book.  

In light of the resolution, Mommy made a point to pick up the ingredients for several recipes in the cookbook.  Tonight she chose to make lasagna.

Ingredients:
12 ounces ground beef
2 1/2 Cups Spaghetti Sauce
6-8 Lasagna Noodles
1 1/2 Cups Cottage Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Brown the hamburger.  Spoon 1 cup spaghetti sauce into the bottom of an 8x8 pan.  Then mix the remainder of the sauce with the hamburger.  Layer noodles, hamburger mixture, cottage cheese and mozzarella, then repeat three times.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

We modified this slightly to include more mozzarella and used lean beef and fat free cottage cheese.  We also used a bit more parmesan.

Upsides:  Easy recipe and no boiling of the noodles required.  Also pretty filling for the 273 calories per serving (8 servings).

Downside:  Turned out a bit runny.  Next time I think we'll go a little easier on the spaghetti sauce.  Also seemed a little greasy.  I may actually have to rinse the hamburger next time too.  I normally don't like doing that because you lose some of the flavor and typically favor just draining off the grease instead, but it seems like we ended up with a greasy layer left or more baked out of it.

Alanna was so proud of herself after she'd done all of the layering and she declared it would be the best lasagna "in all of Minnesota!"  When it came out of the oven though she looked a little confused and remarked that it didn't look like the picture.  I think that's because it wasn't holding it's nice layered shape that traditionally defines lasagna and reducing some of the liquid next time should help.








Friday, January 09, 2009

My Special Bump

I've mentioned in the past that Alanna has a vascular malformation, specifically a venous malformation, on her right cheek. We've been under the care of Dr. Robert Wood since shortly after she was born and for now we've taken the observation route of care. She has another appointment with Dr. Wood next week and we'll discuss where we go from here.

We were very blessed in that Alanna's venous malformation is relatively small (about the size of a 50 cent piece) and is located on the side of her cheek so it is normally pretty unnoticeable. From her MRI a few years back, it is also very contained which makes her potentially a good candidate for surgery at some point.

The venous malformation does have a tendency during the cold snaps to turn a bright bruise-colored blue. This is the time that in the past years we run into questions like, "Oh, honey did you fall?" or "What's that bump on your cheek?" or occasionally the raised eyebrow like one of us smacked her across her face.

We've tried very hard to simply explain to Alanna that it's a bump she was born with and that we have a wonderful doctor who makes sure she's taken care of. We've also gotten a second opinion from the Boston Children's Hospital where there is a vascular anomalies conference. We keep an eye on it and check in with her to make sure it's not causing any pain.

Now that she's started school and it's currently bright blue, I've spoken with her teacher but knew the inevitable questions would start. So we talked about it earlier this week when it started turning color. She asked why it was blue sometimes and I told her it was a good question for us to ask Dr. Wood next week, but that the blue was the blood vessels showing through the skin and compared it to the veins in the back of my hand which are also blue.

Today she came home and told me that another teacher had asked about her "special bump". She told the teacher she was born with it and the teacher had responded, "but you didn't have it last week". My wonderful mature little girl informed her that "it changes color".

She and I talked about it tonight and I told her she'd done everything just right and that if people had additional questions she could tell them to talk to her teacher or to her mommy.

I know that teachers and other adults who inquire are simply concerned about her well-being and on some level I would certainly want them to ask if something were happening, but it still kills me just a little inside to know that others would not trust her answer or believe that Jeb or I hit her.


Some pictures from this week. It's hard to capture on film with good detail:



Thursday, January 01, 2009

Christmas Cocoa

We decided on homemade gifts for the grandparents this year.  Alanna made Christmas Cocoa "all by herself".  Here are the photos of our efforts.

Alanna started by putting her handprint on each jar.  We used green acrylic paint (available from Michaels--Apple Barrel brand is normally what we get).  Acrylics are great for using on glass because once the paint is dry it won't wash off the glass, but it washes off skin well with some soap and water.

Then we gathered our ingredients multiplied by enough to make 24!! jars (12 large and 12 small--they ended up being great teacher gifts as well)
2 Cups Dry Milk
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Baking Cocoa
1/2 Cup Flavored Non-Dairy Creamer (the CoffeeMate creamers come in a lot of different flavors and worked great.  We ended up with Hazelnut, Vanilla Caramel, and our favorite Vanilla Cinnamon)
Dash of Salt
Mini Chocolate Chips
Mini Marshmallows
and LOTS of Love!

Alanna did all of the whisking herself once I measured in the ingredients.  We found a whisk actually worked better than a spoon to distribute the powders more evenly.


Once the ingredients were mixed the next step was layering the jars.  We used a cup to scoop with and a funnel to pour the powder into the jar.  

We added in a layer of mini chocolate chips followed by a layer of mini marshmallows about a third of the way up the jar, and then again near the top.  For the larger jars we had three layers, the smaller had two.

Of course we had to taste each flavor after we made a batch just for quality control purposes ;)


The finished product included a ribbon around the lid, a label on the top and was accompanied by a recipe sheet which included mini photos of the process so everyone could see how Alanna had made it just for them.