Panda & Ananaso

An Open Letter to my Baby Daddy this Father's Day

2013-06-15T16:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Father of my Child,

I hope this finds you well. Happy Father's Day!

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Panda & Ananaso

2013-06-12T12:21:00.000-04:00

I changed my name. Do you mind? I hope not.

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Wordless Wednesday - 20130612 - First Fruit

2013-06-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

It's no secret - Niko loves him some strawberries. I love having strawberries flourishing in my garden - this morning's breakfast was super simple to grab!

Do you Wordless Wednesday? Share a link in the comments or on the FaceBook.

Eh-Eh-Hem. Hey.

2013-06-10T23:24:00.000-04:00

So, my dear blog, it's been a minute. How are you? Well, I trust.

Sometimes life is, well, you know.. life, and we get a little.. distracted.. tangled up elsewhere. That's where I've been.

My babies, May 2013.

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The Family Garden

2012-07-10T01:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the July 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Creations

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared crafts, recipes, and philosophies of creativity. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

Since purchasing a house in 2010 (less than two months prior to having my son), each year has been an opportunity to expand upon the meager gardening space my 0.145 acre lot allows. The first summer (I moved into the house in late June) was spent clearing the dense jungle that was the backyard - overgrown Rose-of-Sharon, droves of Raspberries that had crept under and through the fence, an abundance of seedling Maples, tall grasses, creepy Cleome; you name it, it was probably there. My first year, my mother helped clear the overgrowth and helped me haul my apartment-stairwell planters, which did moderately better once given open air and free access to all of the sunshine they could handle, plus more. I had a modest yield of tomatoes and peppers, a few assorted herbs. We were able to get a small vegetable garden in with more tomatoes, more peppers, peas, beans, and zucchini (yuck...). The following year, we expanded the garden, continued to clean-up, and prettied everything up, laying bricks to line the plots and planting a multitude more of variegated edibles and florals alike, with equally variegated results.

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Wordless Wednesdays: BFFs

2012-07-04T02:33:00.003-04:00

Best Friends, Nikola and Ginger

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A Meme from Me to You

2012-02-16T00:59:00.001-05:00

I am currently engaged in *THE* Period from Hell.

Here are my thoughts...

How are you digging the memes making their way around? Share with me your favorite ones! Hop on over to the FaceBook!

Peacefully Keeping My Cool: Quotes from Ana

2012-02-14T00:01:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the February 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Respectful Interactions With Other Parents

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have focused on how we can communicate with other parents compassionately.

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It's a fact. At numerous points in being a parent - from the period of trying-to-conceive (or if you skipped the "trying" part and "oops"ed it...) to the prenatal period to any given point in rearing your little one - someone will inevitably ask you "Why do you do that?" The tone with which this weighted question will vary - from the curious to the dubious to the skeptical, incriminating, brash, and down-right rude. Instead of putting up your defenses, explain your logic and reasoning clearly, respectfully, and conversationally. How does one do that? Let me give you some examples of how I tend to respond to my parenting ethos coming into question...

read on...

A Follow-Up: Opening Dialogue with Your HealthCare Provider

2012-01-27T22:42:00.004-05:00

Earlier today, I posted about my somewhat disappointing annual appointment with my OB/GYN. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I'm a moderate-to-highly assertive person. You could change my name to Frank because that's just what I am.

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The Good, The Bad and The Indifferent of My Annual...

2012-01-27T03:30:00.002-05:00

I had my annual last Friday. You know, that annual. The legs-in-the-stirrups-scoot-down-a-little-poking-and-prodding annual. It wasn't bad, but it really never is.

I feel like post-baby, my relationship with my doctor has changed. I liked her a lot before I was pregnant - she was originally at the practice I went to for that sort of stuff, and when my doctor retired (he was actually the one who delivered me... Fancy that!), I began seeing her. When she moved to a location much closer to where I lived, it was a sealed deal - she was my doctor. I loved her while I was pregnant. I had a so-so pregnancy, filled with ups and downs (I touch on some of it here in my birth adventure story). She was emotionally supportive, especially when I needed it most; she was very knowledgeable and compassionate; she took really great care of me. In the first months post-partem, she was a God-send and really restored my slightly wavering faith in the medical community (I realize not all doctors are like her, but she was/is great).

OMG... Remember when he was that little?!

But now... I feel like that bond is lacking. I haven't seen her in almost a year. Obviously she knows me - she's been my doctor for over six years now. I went in for my appointment last week optimistic about seeing her but ended up leaving feeling slighted... Unhappy, even, of all things!

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OMG Mom is Home... All Day Everyday: A Week-Long Experiment in Connecting

2012-01-10T00:01:00.036-05:00

Welcome to the January 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Experiments in Natural Family Living

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have reported on weeklong trials to make their lives a little greener and gentler. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

This month's Carnival of Natural Parenting is pretty cool. Take a crunchy concept, seemingly somewhat foreign, something that piques the interest, and go with it for a week. We're moderately crunchy as it is, and with winter settling into full force, some of our "let's try that!" options were a little... eh... bleh. So, perfectly coinciding with my week off, I decided to "reconnect" with my son in an experiment we called "OHMIGAWD MOM IS HOME ALL DAY EVERYDAY!" I will preface all this with this - I just wanted to do Mama Cloth. Thank you, Breastfeeding, for my immaculately difficult-to-track, non-schedule-adhering menses, yielding not so much as a drop in the 7 weeks I thought about doing this. Of course, I'm sure as I type this, to spite me, my period is on its way shortly - more fodder for a later post, I suppose.

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It's Oh So Quiet... Until!

2011-12-14T11:04:00.000-05:00

I have been on a pretty hardcore break as of late... Why, you ask? Between Niko's insatiable curiosity (which is great, no doubt, yet tiresome nonetheless), business at my nine-to-five picking up, and the "joys" of home-ownership, I've been pretty busy outside of the FaceBook and Blogosphere. Oh, there's another thing eating my time - I started selling little tidbits online!

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Choosing Honey

2011-11-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

There's an anecdote that often rings pertinent - "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Here's a fact: it's not just an anecdote - it's true.

Preferably, You'll employ Local, Raw Honey

I peruse and engage in a gaggle of communities and pages on the FaceBook - Natural Parents Network, The Leaky B@@b, The Feminist Breeder, The Whole Network, amongst others and many a-blogger. I have a very diverse group of friends - some married, many single, some with children, some trying to conceive, some with children no where in their future, some with college educations, some who dropped out or never had it in their plans to go... You get it, I have a bunch of friends. Point being, I've seen some disconcerting behaviour as of late, ranging from mildly humourous yet mildly offensive to downright inappropriate for humane discourse, both online in various forums and in "real life" with my friends.

For the April Carnival of Natural Parenting, I wrote about what I called "The Three R's of Effective and Gentle Advocacy." I would like to reiterate what I posted before - Whenever we are engaged in advocating and standing up for our beliefs, respect is immensely crucial. It is central. Of course, having sound reason and practicing your preachings are important, also.

The internet is a difficult medium to transcribe feelings and conversational intent. A comment in jest can quickly take a turn for the worse and end up seriously offending someone. A statement meant in good faith can seriously hurt someone's feelings. Banter does not help one's cause, nor does name-calling, making personal attacks, putting people in the spotlight, or creating non sequitur arguments. Sometimes the truth of a matter can be harsh, and there are many hot button issues that are constantly pressed (Cesarean Sections, Discipline of Children, Circumcision, Home Births, Animal Cruelty, Responsible Living).

We're all adults, right? We all have beliefs, arguments, knowledge, and value, right? We all have feelings, right? Let's try to be mindful of what we say and maintain an air of respect above all. Speak (or type, as it may be) with intent to add value, not degrade. Seek opportunities to educate, not argue. Turn your cheek, take the high road, gently and respectfully discuss. When you are offended, avoid creating a blowout. Opinions and personal knowledge are crucial to further discussions, but without respect, a discussion can easily turn into a one-way street, leading to frustration, hurt feelings, and anger for those involved. Let's try to use a little honey when getting our points across instead of relying on the acidic bite of vinegar to scar it in.

As Thumper recanted, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all." (Despite the double - triple? - negative, the point rings clearly).

Foster communities. Foster discussion. Foster respect.

Let's get along. What do you think? Tell me what we can do to foster discussion and respect. Share in the comments or on the FaceBook.

The Phantastically Multipurposed Phyllo!

2011-11-08T00:01:00.008-05:00

Welcome to the November Carnival of Natural Parenting: Kids in the Kitchen

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how kids get involved in cooking and feeding. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

Cooking with my child is a daunting task I have yet to fully embrace. Cooking for my child - different story. I have an exceptional eater on my hands, who loves fresh fruit, meats and cheeses, vegetables in many a form, and savors consciously-concocted sweets. Easily my favorite ingredient to cook with for myself and my son is Phyllo (sometimes also seen as Phylo, Fylo, Fyllo, Filo, Fillo... it's that sheet dough probably sold in your grocer's frozen doughs and desserts section near the pie... Also know as near-impossible to make at home).

Phyllo dough? Like the stuff you make struedel with? Yep!

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Wordless Wednesdays 02 November 2011 Baby's SECOND Halloween!

2011-11-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

I'm going to split this into two parts...

Part I - Boo at the Zoo on Friday 28 October 2011 at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo!

Part II - Passing Out Candy on Monday 31 October 2011 at The Panda Residence!

Do you WW? Did you do anything fun for Halloween? Share in the comments or on the FaceBook.

Wordless Wednesdays: 05 October 2011: Big Boy Bath Time!

2011-10-05T08:23:00.004-04:00

[Reminiscent of another Wordless Wednesday post from six months ago, here's a look at how Bath Time has grown!]

Big Boy Bath Tub! (aka The Bath Tub!)

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Tagging Tuesday: Blog Edition

2011-10-04T20:04:00.000-04:00

On the FaceBook and Twitter, Tuesdays are reserved for tagging. This week, I'll do it as a blog post. Some people have Sunday Surfs, sharing great articles from the last week; I'll include it in my Tagging Tuesday.

Here are some of my favorite posts from my favorite bloggers from this last week (or so)...

Nurturing Nature: Back to Basics This is my friend Meagan, who has a beautiful family, lives on a quaint ever-growing mini-farm (chickens and bees and all!), and is starting out as one of NorthEast Ohio's most recommended Birth Doulas. Last week she cleaned house to create a more pleasant environment for learning; she's been learning herself, too, how to cook; and she's made the decision to work towards becoming a Certified Birth Educator (she has a sure-to-be awesome class going on now in Perry, OH, and more to come if you're interested!)	Photo Credit
Monkey Butt Junction: Return of the Toddler Busy Bags Some really cute ideas from Jenn for "Busy Bags" (with some bonus cool links to other ideas) for toddlers who need their hands and minds occupied! All of these busy bags teach sensory and problem-solving skills and a multi-level so they can be used again and again as your child gets older and more skilled. Cool!	Photo Credit
Peach & Pimento: It's Happening Monica (my very best friend ever) has a couple of wonderful girls, the younger of which is just a pinch younger than Niko. Little Pimento has been hitting those Milestones hard and is on the cusp of initial self-actualization and becoming fully mobile. Exciting times!	Hmmm... No photo available, but I have one from my personal stash I can add later...
Let's Take the Metro: How to Eat Vegetables that You Don't Like Not everyone (read as a lot of people) like to eat their veggies. Amanda has some great tips on how to make vegetables more palatable (or hidden) in some dishes you probably make at home already. From a sly avocado dressing to zucchini latke, she has some great tips on adding some green to your plate in an inconspicuous way!	Photo Credit

So that's it for now. These are some posts I've enjoyed reading over the last week! I hope you like them as much as I have : )

What are some of your favorites from the last week? Share in the comments or on the FaceBook.

What is Genital Autonomy?

2011-09-29T07:05:00.000-04:00

I like to occasionally peruse the traffic sources that bring people to my blog. Aside from some humourous searches, most are looking for me by name or searching for some aspect of Natural Parenting (and, as a note, most are from Google searches - YAY Google!).

I had one person visit during this last week searching for, "What is Genital Autonomy?"

I have one post that I wrote earlier this year for Genital Integrity Awareness Week, but I'd like to expound a little and explain what exactly I mean by the phrase "Genital Autonomy."

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Wordless Wednesdays: 14 September 2011: Birthday Party Bliss

2011-09-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

So... Baby Niko's Birthday Party was a few weeks ago, and I have failed to provide an update. I'm working on a post on how the party went with some fun deets, but in the meantime, here are some pictures from the party. Good times! Party on! Excellent!

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The Essential Art of Play

2011-09-13T00:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the September Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting Through Play

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how challenging discipline situations can be met with play. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

Most parents realize that "play" time is integral to a developing child, but why? Playing is an art that every animal engages in and provides opportunities to explore, interact, vent & converse, learn, improvise & create*, and be.

So how does one parent through play? Easy! The same way one parents any other time! Teaching children how to play and take advantage of the nothingness on their schedules should be a priority.

Play certainly does not have to be, nor should be, a rigorous exercise. Nonetheless, lessons, of sorts, can be incorporated into playing so that "nothingness" turns into "somethingness."

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Wordless Wednesdays: 31 August 2011: How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-08-31T13:14:00.000-04:00

[The following are some photos from my garden this year, unretouched and raw!]

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How Messes are Made

2011-08-27T09:02:00.002-04:00

[The following is an instruction course, courtesy of Nikkolo Pikkolo, on the fine art of mess-making. Grab your toddler for a quick lesson!]

*These photos were taken by my sister while watching Niko one Saturday.

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Uma Nova Conquista

2011-08-25T00:45:00.000-04:00

I feel as though some serious stagnation has overcome me.

For me, stagnation often yields wildly infeasible projects that I envision undertaking. Today, I have chosen a more feasible project with realistically attainable results: Learn Portuguese.

Why Portuguese? Have you ever heard Portuguese? It's beautiful. Favorably, it is also a Romantic language, y hay nada mas que me encantar tan un idioma Romantico! I was once fairly fluent in Spanish, still having retained a great amount of that knowledge, albeit I will need a lot of Coca-Cola to remove that rust... I have studied Latin, the basis for the Romantic (get it, Roman...) languages (ie. Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French in a small but recognizable way, and many words in my native English). Portuguese and Spanish share many similarities (moreso than any other two of the languages) but will require some tricks of the tongue in blending and lots of memory to differentiate between the similar but oh so different spellings and pronunciations.

For quite some time now, I have been enamoured with The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions recorded by Seu Jorge for the movie The Life Aquatic. He is also featured in the film playing these songs, sultry covers of David Bowie, on an acoustic guitar, cigarette in mouth, beanie capping his beautiful Black Brazilian hair. I swoon! Below is a song from the captivating album, serving as my inspiration to venture into this conquest, which will hopefully prove easier than I have expected and will assist in removing me from this rut. Additionally, the multilingual exposure for Niko will be awesome. Lastly, maybe I'll meet a smokin' hot Brazilian and can impress him with my lingual stylings.

My Inspiration/Minha Inspiração

♥

Sempre em frente, nunca pra trás

♥

What do you do when you are in a rut? Share in the comments or on the FaceBook.

Wordless Wednesday 17 August 2011: The Beginning

2011-08-17T08:14:00.000-04:00

Nikola's Birthday is tomorrow... Here are some photos from the beginning...

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Wordless Wednesdays: 10 August 2011 Funny Face

2011-08-10T09:01:00.000-04:00

Niko is prone to make an assortment of funny faces. Here are some of my favorites from the last week or so...

Do you Wordless Wednesday? Link up! Share in the comments or on the FaceBook.