Sunday, September 18, 2011

Patiperra makes another brain release....

Just because I am off my blog, doesn't mean I've stopped thinking about things... So as hubby is off to yet another far away land, I grab my keyboard and let myself be inspired by some recent brain activity on topics that annoy me...

* Food for children; see Harriet Strandvik's letter to editor in today's HBL, I could not agree more on this one. Or yes I would add some issues on empty calories, margarine and fat free milk... I do not see the point in keeping the kids bloodsugar jumping up and down and with low fat keeping them hungry between meals, or actually satisfying their hunger with quick carbs so that they definatelly will be screaming for mor "fast" food 2-3 hours later. Insane.

* Racism; see today's column on "Peruspelkurit", I agree on many things here. Monsieur Halla-aho got himself into trouble saying Greece needs a military regime to clean things up. Is it so surprising? Coming from him, I mean. What is surprising to me is that this guy, and his party, can ride through any kind of storm well supported by many Finns. Insane. Which actually brings me to the next topic...

* This Greece business, or actually the whole world financial market - what is wrong with this place?!?! Can't the politicians just get it right for once? And my other question is:  Do we really need to further increase our debt to sort things out?  Or be indebted to the Chinese to be able to buy their stuff? I actually walk around trying to figure out who will win at the end. Is  "the West" ready to see the end of their era - or will they invent another way out of their debt to China without having to hand over the power to the lender? When I have been thinking too long I get myself in to the "Property for Sales" pages on the internet to look for my own piece of land. You see once the crisis hit, the best thing you can do is to be self-sufficient. Buy land, plant veggies, collect wood for the heating in the winter, in short: be ready. But I would have to buy land on credit... is that wise?!? Better just emigrate to March. This world is insane.

* My kids, they always manage to press the button. The red one, you know, the one from the ages of cold war, arming a nuclear world war right here in our house, or actually usually our stairways - I feel sorry for our neighbours, yet another reason for that property idea I had, we better give them long lasting peace already. But lucky for me these kids are the best I've got. Without them I would probably go crazy with all the activity up in my brain office these days. They keep me focused on what really matters, which is this:



Monday, September 12, 2011

Break from standby mode...

... just to tell you some breaking news:

1. A bikes everywhere she can nowadays. And G is ever so happy to have moved from the bike-wagon up to the bikeseat on my bike. We are training left and right with A - which I have to admit is rather difficult for this mother who has never been clear on what is right and what is left... but as said, we are working on it and until we get it right we stop 5 meters before the crossover, look like 5 times and then we cross.

2. We went to the 4 year health check today. This is revolutionary stuff. We were only -5 on the weight curve!!! I know, you are not supposed to be obsessed with the curves but for a mother that has felt the knife on the throught with a weight curve around -13- - 17 ever since the first born was 3 months old, this is worth celebrating. And thus we continue with our freaking sugarfree diet here at home. Which by the way is not a challenge anymore, it is our day-to-day life. And I love it.

Over and out.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Patiperra goes standby

It's been a while since I decided this. It should not come as a surprise but I am going to take a break from my second me. Patiperra will have to go into standby mode as the real me starts her new life.

I need to be focused on my tasks ahead, and walking around thinking of funny anecdotes to post on my blog just does not do the trick. Besides, my thoughts are getting far more involved in finding out the true story about what we eat than what my brain capacity can keep up with. I am thrilled and at the same time agonized by what I have discovered not only through our family's own experience of a "wise choice" life but also through similar blogs and scientific studies that I have come across, by accident or by real research. This stuff is heavy. It keeps me up at night, together with G, who suddenly decided to go into some sort of development stage - just in time for when the big ditch at daycare will take place. Talk about bad timing, this mother is feeling the guilt instincts, small children are not supposed to be separated from their mothers, I know. And he is still so small. Tiny, tiny.

Still, the ambitious vein in my blood is pumping. Who would have ever thought that I would survive even this long as a staying at home mom? First 13 months with the first one and now 22 months with the second.  I feel proud of my accomplishments. Why? Because I am not the staying at home kind of mother. I grew up firmly convinced that my adult life would be spent in a stressful environment with many job related challenges. I never ever thought of myself rocking the swing, building sand castles, preparing five meals a day. And those of you who know me before I became a mother can probably agree on this one. Seing myself turning into a "domestic goddess" has so far been the biggest surprise of my life (even bigger than marrying a latino, which should say a lot about how big of a surprise this was). And no, my priorities have not changed (which many have insinuated when asking about my preferences). I still believe that my life needs to be in balance between the home and the outside world. Its just that it was simplier this way and we all gained from this arrangement.

But time has come for me to embrace new challenges. And for me to do that I have get a distance to Patiperra, and to Facebook. At least for a while. Then, once I get the hang of my new life, I might return.

Until then, hasta la vista baby!

The c-vitamine smoothie (and a lot more)

I tried mixing some new ingredients into an exotic colorful smoothie yesterday. Since the result was more than a success (remember, successful smoothie = G drinks two glasses, A drinks one) - I had to make an extra batch to satisfy the demand - I will share this new recipee with those of you who would like to try.



Ingredients:
4 dl rice milk
2 table spoons protein powder
2 table spoons flaxseed oil
4 carrots
0,5 dl sea buckthornberry juice
1-1,5 bananas
2 table spoons sesame seeds

Peel and shred the carrots into raw mashed carrots, using the smallest shredder you have. Mix all ingredients in a mixer for over one minute (so that the sesame seeds are well mixed into the smoothie). The amount of banans needed will depend on the amount of buckthorn juice added to the mixture, as buckthorn is quite sour.

Enjoy!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Crazy!

Ok, so there are a lot of obese kids in this world nowadays. But is it really necessary to write a children's book about how to go on a diet?

What signals does that give all those skinny girls that think that they are fat and overdo it? The thought scares me.

One thing that I do worry about (yes, the hysterical mother syndrome - HMS - even I suffer from it) is what my kids will do once they hit their teens. This book does not bring any comfort. Crazy adults that buy such book to kids!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Läs instruktionerna.

Argh, om man sku läsa instruktionerna så sku man inte slösa bort en hel produktiv dag på att göra fel saker!!!

Men ok, i alla fall har jag ju fixat ett par regnbyxor. Får väl vara nöjd med det. Är ju ändå fortfarande hemmamamma och inget annat. Ett par dagar till.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Nuförtiden...

...kan jag stoltsera med inte bara ett men TVÅ trotsande barn. Det ni, det kräver nerver. Och muskler. I båda armarna.

Hujedamej.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Stora saker...


...är på gång i vår familjs andra hemland. Och jag har länge undrat varför finsk media inte klarat av att bevaka händelserna. Stum av förvåning egentligen. Tänk så mycket medial uppmärksamhet 33 gruvarbetare fick. Nu har hundratusentals studenter protesterat i över tre månader, och inte ens en notis. Smått suspekt, eller hur?

Igår samlades 600.000 personer i en park i Santiago. Orsaken? Man vill ha ett jämlikare skolsystem. Helt rätt, säger en som analyserat fördelarna att bilda familj i Chile och Finland. Slutresultaten var ju som känt Finland och en av de största stötestenarna var just utbildningen. Orimligt dyrt där i vårt andra hemland, där vinstmarginalen, inte kunskap, är kärnan i många universitets verksamhet.

Demostrationen igår påminner mig om folkmassorna från Madonnas konsert i Helsinfors för två år sedan. Jo jag vet, jämförelsen är absurd. Men det är enda gången jag varit med om en liknande folksamling. Och då var vi ju bara 80.000. Men det här, vilken happening! Och mer är på kommande, det kan jag nästan slå mig i backen på. Chile är Molotov-cocktailens och tårgasens förlovade land. Men igår tycks det ha gått fredligt till.

Här ännu ett clip från youtube:






Med risk för att bli tjatig...

Ok, jag vet att jag håller på att bli tjatig. Men om ni inte är intresserade, så läs inte!

Surfade just av en händelse in på Anna Halléns blog. Hon var den som inspirerade mig till LCHF dieten i höstas när jag första gången testade (gick ju om intet efter någon månad då julen och julchokon kom lite olägligt). Hennes story inspirerade mig något alldeles oerhört. Trots att jag aldrig jojo-bantat eller behövt gå med i viktväktarna för att bli av med mina extra kilon kunde jag identifiera mig i mycket av det hon sa om hennes beroende till socker och snabba kolhydrater i unga år.

Nu har hon en nyt bok: LCHF för kvinnor. Fast jag inte är en LCHF:are mera så skulle jag bra gärna vilja veta vad hon har för recept i den boken. Hennes blomkålsmos har nästan helt ersatt potatismos hemma hos oss och jag är säker på att hon har fler smarta tips.

Det som verkligen fångade min uppmärksamhet är att hon verkar vara något av "stor" på att föreläsa om socker och speciellt socker och barn. Alltså det jag bloggade om igår. Det min hjärna inte vill släppa, trots att jag försöker. Detta med socker och barn.

Här två mycket läsvärda blogginlägg från Anna Hallén (som på samma gång åker in på min blogglista):
- Är socker farligt?
- Vad kan socker heta

Det är just detta om sockrets bedragande beroendeframkallning som oroar mig. Vår överkonsumtion för att våra kroppar inte tål bara lite. Detta gäller vuxna och barn. Och som ni ser i hennes andra blogginlägg tar sockret många skäpnader på innehållsförteckningen.

Idag sprang jag in till Alepa och hämtade en nedfryst fisksoppa till lunch för mig och G. Visste att det inte fanns något hemma och att det skulle bli katastrof om jag började röra ihop något snabbt just före kl tolv. Jag lade i lite extra vatten och några dagar gammal quinoa för att jämna ut den eventuella effekten av saltig och näringsfatting industrisoppa. Tänkte, det är ok, soppan smakade ju absolut inte sött och lite potis tål väl vem som helst. När vi ätit kollade jag innehållsförteckningen. Två suspekta ingredienser: modifierad majsstärkelse och förtjockningsmedel i form av fruktkärnmjöl. Ja och sen mjölkpulver, även det suspekt. Majsstärkelse är socker. Kollar ni innehållsförteckningar så kommer ni att märka att mycket innehåller majsstärkelse. Och de som vill låtsas vara sockerfria brukar använda sig av "fruktjuice" - kanske t.o.m. "fruktens egen juice" (som konserverad ananas) - det är ändå en form av socker, precis som Anna Hallen konstaterar.

Jag är överlycklig att vi äntligen ska storkoka nyttig vardagsmat med ett gäng mammor - äntligen får man en stor dos nyttig mat att frysa ner för just dessa tillfällen av vardagsstress! Min countdown har börjat. Om en vecka är jag inte mera mamma på heltid. Drömmen om ett annat liv utanför hemmet ska äntligen bli sann. För att jag ska kunna genomföra den och för att vi ska kunna fortsätta äta sockerfritt utan katastrofer behöver vi fylla frysen med näringsrik hemlagad mat.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Getting rid of stuff

My, oh my! This thing about getting rid of stuff! Yesterday morning, at 6:45 a.m. I left home with an overfilled car filled with what I would consider useless stuff, served their purpose, throw'em out. But I didn't. Instead I gave the useless stuff the opportunity to lengthen their lives just a little bit longer. Me and my stuff went to the flee market. Since I had A LOT of stuff, I had reserved both Saturday AND Sunday for this. So also today I left home early (with another load of stuff).

My observations from two days at the market:
1. There is an obnouxious amount of blue Ikea bag owners in this city.
2. To imagine the shopping frenzy that previously must have taken place to cause such amount of Ikea bags filled with useless stuff makes me dizzy.
3. In the future, I will think twice about buying things that nobody else is interested in having after it has served its purpose in our home... (At the end, I even had the desperate feeling of wanting to donate everything that anyone just touched, just to get rid of it all).

The result? Some nice cash inflow to my monthly spendings account (hoooray, more shopping for useless stuff!!!). Some 5-6 bags less of stuff. One bag of children's clothes to be donated to children in Chile when hubby goes next time. Two bags to be dropped of at the recycling center (or UFF). One big bag in storage for the next flee market venture. Because really, despite the early mornings and the hard work, selling at flea markets is great fun!

Friday, August 19, 2011

"Today I can have juice - because today is a party!"

Its a holy cow this thing about feeding sugar to kids. Or if it is not holy, then it is at least invisible. Wherever you go in our world, sugar will be present in kids daily intake of food. Some places less (I am very grateful that Finland can be considered such place - even attitudes here are quite sane towards sugar and crappy food), some places far more (won't mention places, but let's just say in many parts of the world this is the case). And still, although authorities, parents and other adults here in the north are cautious with feeding their kids pure sugar everyday - sadly enough many still do - and many times without even knowing about it. Or simply because there are no easily available options.

The last thing I want to do is to blame the parents. No way do I want to increase the sense of guilt in any parents. But that's just it! We parents are so busy trying to combine a hectic working life with a family life that when it comes to food, most of us just choose the alternatives that have a proven track record and that do not cause fuzz in our lives. We seldomly have the time to analyze the whole chunk - how we eat, what we eat, and what are the consequences in the long run. This got me thinking the other day...
On Friday, I was sitting in the library's study hall. It's quite empty now - all entrance exams have passed and students are more in mode of entrance party than studying for exams. But there was an exception. Two high school students (boy and girl) preparing for finals (Swedish - hoooray for their wise selection!). What shocked me was the following: It was 9:30 in the morning and they had some readings in front of them AND lollypops, soft drinks and some chocolates. My goodness! I used to be addicted to sugar when in school, but I never had candies before lunch! Not even when preparing for finals. Neither did I drink soft drinks other than at parties. It just did not work like that some 15 years ago...

The same morning there was also an article in the newspaper about the tax increases ahead next year (the debt crisis you know). Not surprisingly, I think the best option for tax increase is the one on candies, icecream and soft drinks. But the article also mentioned how much of these products Finns eat: 14 litres of icecream, 60 litres of softdrinks or juice, and 13,5 kilos of candies - per person. Per person. I can still cope with those 14 litres of icecream, and if chocolate is included in candies I still remotely understand that as well. But 60 litres of soft drinks! And that is an average.. I am quite sure most families and older people of the population do not consume such quantities (we do not drink coke with our dinner, we drink milk or water) , which pretty much leaves one segment of the population having far more than 60 litres of soft drinks per person: those in the age 15-25 years. My logic says that if they are hooked on the sugar already now, consumption can only go up as they hit the reproduction age. Maybe it will not be so uncommon with sweet drinks at the dinner table in a few years...

Where am I going with all this? The other day, I was surprised to hear that the kids sometimes receive juice to their afternoon sandwich at daycare. Both the small and the less small kids. This must be something that the service provider of the daycare food is including in their offering, and since juice for kids is so common, it has not been questioned whether it is ok or not. My wild guess is that juice is cheaper than milk and water would be "too plain" to go with a simple sandwich. This is my wildest guess and I myself do not think water is too plain, it is the best drink we have!

Dentist recommendation in this country is that no younger than three year old should drink sugar sweetened drinks (be it juice or soft drinks)! My own kids have not received juice at home before they started to understand to make a scene out of it. They have received water or milk, and they have been happy with that. Now at 1 year and 8 months G is starting to catch the drill. Note, this would have been our policy me being a anti-sugar freak or not. It is quite common to not to serve juice to small children. And still, municipal daycare can serve juice to our kids without us knowing about it.

Many times, sugar is included in the children's diet so that we make sure that they eat - because otherwise they will not eat. At least that is what we think.  They will not eat. Hello! Wake up everyone! They won't eat because they know they can have something sweeter! If you give your kid two options: sandwich and juice or sandwich and water. What will your kid choose? The juice option obviously. Mine would as well. What will your kid actually put in their mouth? Well bet you that at least the juice. Sandwich? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not if juice fills the tummy and apetite is small anyway. What if only sandwich and water was served? Your kid eats the sandwich and drinks the water needed to rinse it down.

Sugar is such an institution in our society that we do not even reflect on its  "to be or not to be". It just is. There. Always available. If it isn't the juice, its the jam. If it isn't the jam, its the industrial blueberry or raspberry soup. If it isn't the soup, it's the fruity yoghurts. If it isn't the yoghurt, its the hot (or cold) chocolate. And on top of that, what parents and other adults really consider being sugar: cookies, candies, icecream - served at special occasions or when having friends over at home. I bet you, the average kid in this enlighted anti-sugar country still consumes some sort of pure sugar every single day of the year.

With a sugar-filled childhood, is it then so strange that these kids go "overboard" once they hit their teens? Is it so strange that kids become obese already in primary school, and loose their will to be physically active? Is it strange that there are more kids with concentration problems in our school today than ever before? And it it so strange that both diabetes 1 and 2 are on the increase. And is it so strange that we consume 60 liters of soft drinks each year?

You might think I am overreacting here.  In fact, even I can see that I am overreacting. A glass of juice once in a while will not hurt any child. I agree. However, it's not just that glass of juice, and we all know it. Thus, despite recognizing the overreaction, I can do nothing else when my instincts combined with my accumulated first hand observations just say unanimously: less sugar to kids - cut it out where its unecessary and leave it to really specially occations!

I still remember some years a go a girl in my vecinity, she was two or three, her face used to be a big big smile at parties and she used to tell me with sincerity in her voice: "Today I can have juice - because today is a party". That child had got it all right (compliments to her wise parents). In my world, afternoon snack is consumed everyday, its not part of any festivities, no special occation - it is what I would call "everyday routine".

If you want to know more, have a look at the movie clip "Sugar Trap" from 1986 (!).  It's quite spacy as far as the images go - hey, it's from the time when I was a kid... - but the message is more than clear. And sadly enough, nothing has changed, or if it has - it has only gone worse, both here and in the rest of the world...

Sugar trap - Episode 1
Sugar trap - Episode 2
Sugar trap - Episode 3
Sugar trap - Episode 4
Sugar Trap - Episode 5
Sugar Trap - Episode 6

Ice Age

The nice thing about having visited the Natural History Museum yesterday is that I have no bad concious to play the Ice Age dvd in the afternoon. None whatsoever. There is a pedagogical purpose behind it all, we now connect those sceletons and stuffed animals with the true story. Because as much as I would have liked to say yes, we had those animals on our balcony when I was a kid, when A asked if I have ever seen a real dinousaur, they did go extinct just a couple of years before my birth date. Just a couple, yes I am getting old.

And since on the bus back home yesterday I was not able to explain in detail how those animals in the Museum had died, its better that she figures it our herself.

Maybe she'll get the message:
1.  Humans are evil.
2.  Sid lacks intelligence but he has a warm heart.
3.  Manny is a soft macho.
4.  Squirrels never loose hope.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Patiperrando en Helsinki (pics in English)

Decidí hacer un poco de turismo en nuestra propia ciudad hoy. Llevé los niños al museo historico natural, que tesoro!!! Digo lo mejor que hay en el centro de Helsinki para niños. 


Primero:  
Un poco asustador, pero los niños no mostraban ser afectados (no han visto las peliculas de terror de los Zombies aun...)

Adivina el animal!


Eeeelepanttteeee - como dice G.

This one was underneath the bridge in the Africa wild!

Eeeele Wuaaaaaah (citando G)

A preguntó si alguna vez he visto uno de esos. Qué pregunta! Cuantos años piensa que tengo?!?!

Estos dinos bebes estaban "jugando en la caja de arena", según A. Pero clarísimo!

Y al final salieron (no salimos, yo pase por otra parte) por un tunel de  nieve.

Chao pescao!

Excelente el recorrido. Patiperros chicos felices!

Toy Nostalgy (and a small correction)

Look what I found in my toy treasures during our visit in the wild wild west (Actually, Österö - as in "Eastern Island" - hah, never thought about that connection with Rapa Nui, funny!):

I count 1,2,3,4,5 members of the Barbie Family and two bonus kids (a crippled baby boy and punked Daisy - Biggie, you're guilty as well!). So whatever I said earlier about not having had five Barbies when I was a kid, I was lying. I did have them. Only that I got them after a lot of nagging and I was in my pre-teens when I got the first one (the pink business woman, did she influence me in my choice of studies later?!?) 

Ok, here is the real nostalgy trip: RESAN!!! (translated into "the trip"). Anyone remembers? It was when traveling in the Nordic countries was common and airplane scares. Check; there are only two routes of flying in the game. Nice that Helsinki is connected, but not to Stockholm, rather to a place closer to the Ryanair airport nowadays... Other funny thing was that the only option to get to Vasa from Tampere was by walking first to Pori and then take a bus. Talk about stone age!


And then this... What game is this?!?! It looks fun and suitable for the audience in our family - but my mother had only saved the board and the cards - no rules. So if anyone out there knows how to play the Paddington game, please leave me a comment below! We will need it by Easter next year - so no hurry.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

3 days...

...that's what it took us to be out of balance in the evening after having started new routines after summer break. Good thing A is home from daycare tomorrow and Friday. Planning to take the kids to the Natural History Museum tomorrow. There is an exhibition about the treasures of Africa. I think they will like it.

Treasures of Africa

Today I promise myself I will go to sleep right after the kids. G woke up at 4:30 this morning and I did not manage to go back to sleep - although hubby was the one that did the calming (my kind mother instinct does not work in the night -it's really safer that hubby uses his "magic touch").

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Party food pics


Party number 1: 7 girls, age 4 to 5.





Party number 2: 9 adults, 7 kids age 9 months to 6 years (mean kids age 4).


Two days...

...of getting up at 6 a.m. and I am completely beat. Guess I have to go bed at 10 p.m. to make it work. But running between 6 and 7 is AMAZING!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Enjoying the silence!

After 10 weeks of constant noise and abruptions its wonderful to sit in a quite house. This must be like being on some kind of euforian drug - but its real! And I won't spoil the moment with writing a long post on my blog - I have 10 weeks of concentration catching up to do. I just wanted to report that the two birthday parties held for the 4 year old yesterday were more than successful. We agreed with A yesterday evening that it was the best day in her life so far. And the rest of us enjoyed it as well. I will try to add some wise choice pics and recipies later, when I have time. Right now - back to concentration mode - you never know when G decides to wake up.

This is what my hun'buns looked like this morning, ready for daycare (and softlanding):

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Kitchen helpers

I've been preparing all day. It would have taken me no more than three hours, but Santa's little helpers were not really helping - and my nerves cut short of their job as well. We actually had to go outside to calm down a bit - the three of us. Otherwise I am not sure what would have happened...dangerous place, the home...

Oh oh,  this motherhood business. How do you survive without becoming insane? They say, let the children help in the kitchen. That is what a real Martha does. This Martha does not have such nerves. I get really annoyed everytime I hear or read about how children can help in the kitchen. How? How do you actually do that? My kids only want to play with knives, put their hands on the stove and taste all the ingredients and accidentally dropping them to the floor.

I kind of feel what uncle Melker must have felt when he was babysitting his granddaughter Skrållan: Check this clip - you do not need to understand Swedish to understand his frustration (Relevant part between 9:00 and 11:30):

Transition mode

On Monday I'll go into a transition mode. I will start structuring my life according to other than children's rythm. I will put on my alarm clock and get up before I really have to. And I will go out and run. There said it. Now I also have to pull it through.... But before that there are two Birthday Parties to attend to... Sugarfree. Or almost.

Friday, August 12, 2011

The sugar guy

Here is another clip of the sugar guy, Robert Lustig.

I wrote about him as I am among the 1,5 million people that saw his 90 minute long clip on youtube called "Sugar - the bitter truth".
I can't follow his scientific talk but those things that I do understand are interesting. Like: Kids go sugarhigh on cookies, its good, then their leptin is working as it should. Obese kids never go sugar high - they go to the cupboard to look for more cookies...Their hormones are not working as they should...

Another great observation:
"when your insuline goes down, you don't crave carbs!" - Excellent hearing an expert saying that, it is my personal experience as well.

By the way, away from Lustig and to my own health....I feel like crap today - we went to eat Indian food. I though I would manage it BUT I had some nan bread and I suspect the different dishes contained wheat flour and other undigestable stuff... bad, bad, bad. Then I craved sweets and unfortunately I made the bad decision today to buy chocolate almonds for the festivities on Sunday. I thought they were low in sugar. Turns out they were very sweet. And that of course made me feel even worse. Still, it was nice to eat out for once and not having to cook... Tomorrow I will wake up with a sugar hangover. Body swelled and headache. Only nuts, avocado and eggs for this lady tomorrow!


The biking girl

I just remembered that I forgot to blog about the succesful first biking ride.

First of all, she loved her new RED bike. And her new helmet.

Second, she got on the bike, her dad let go, and she biked. Simple as that. We thank the balancing bike for not having to teach her anything else than braking and getting started.

Here a blurry picture (its the speed!):

Thursday, August 11, 2011

La nacion de Bilz y Pap llegando al fin del camino?

Hasta acá llegan las vibraciones de esperanza, despertando despues de años congeladas en una Narnia indefinida.
He conocido Chile en plena democracia. O en algo que los politicos querían llamar democracia. Pero realmente todos saben que lo que se denominaba democracia solo era una fachada. El pueblo unido jamás iba a ser vencido pero se tuvo que calmar contra su voluntad durante más de una década de gobierno militar. Despues supuestamente llegó la democracia, pero una democracia arreglada según reglas de los poderosos de la epoca. Marcaron el terreno y se aseguraron de que el sistema político se mantenia favoreciendo a la derecha. El pueblo se mantenía contento con crecimiento contínuo, con una fiesta de consumo sustituyendo los encuentros en las plazas con malls gigantes y con noticias de fárandula llenando tanto los canales de television y la prensa escrita. Convertiendo la salud, la educacion, y la jubilacion en negocios, obligaron a cada ciudadano olvidarse de sus derechos y concentrarse en ganarse la vida.

Pero ahora llega una nueva generación, una generación que nunca usó su derecho de votar, no porque no le interesaba sino porque no creían el cuento. Esta generación está ahora mostrando el camino. Narnia está descongelando, llegó Aslan.

Estoy segura que no se trata solamente de educación gratuita. Se trata de las esperanzas de una sociedad olvidada. Mi pregunta del día es; Hacia donde va el trén? Ya se acaba la fiesta de Bilz y Pap? Pero que viene ahora? Sigo atenta a los acontecimientos en el país de las maravillas.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Lyckopiller

Det finns många nyheter som får mig att fundera vart vi är på väg egentligen.

Som den här till exempel: "Finländska barn får för mycket medicin mot adhd".

ADHD måste vara jätte jobbigt för föräldrar och barn, och alla runt omkring. Vi har bara kännt av extremt tunga trotsperioder som sugit musten ur oss totalt. Jag har suttit matt på soffan och undrat hur det blivit så här. Men det är ändå inget i jämförelse med vad föräldrar till barn med adhd måste känna. Sådan maktlöshet, sådan frustration.

Men är ett piller verkligen den bästa lösningen för dessa barn? Den här artikeln tar inte upp kostens betydelse. Jag är själv övertygad om att kosten är A och O för hur ett barn klarar av att behärska sig, koncentrera sig, och umgås med omgivningen. Varför ordinerar inte läkare att man först att man eliminerar sockret och de snabba kolhydraterna? Det kanske räcker. Eller är det för svårt? Sockret finns ju överallt nuförtiden. Kanske det är lättare med ett piller, så slipper man ta itu med kosten...

La gringa pesada

Reconozco que estoy convirtiéndome en una gringa pesada que lee demasiado tonteras en Internet y que además cree el cuento, y aún mas grave que esa gringa después sale a hablar con personas que no tienen ni el remoto interés de saber del tema. Ay! Que soy desubicada y pesada. Aún así, hay cosas que necesito ventilar también en español para mis lectores al otro lado del mundo.

Por ejemplo... El tema del sabor dulce.  Para comenzar muchos endulzantes son un fraude. Son más tóxicos que el azucar puro y es cuestionable si debieramos consumir estos productos. Aspartame, Nutra sweet, etc, todos tienen estudios que apuntan a que no son buenos para la salud. Me pregunto, porque seguimos envenenándonos? Si quieres algo dulce en tu café o una bebida - yo diría que azucar natural es preferible. Pero realmente lo necesitas? Mi experiencia personal muestra que azucar es adictivo, afecta tu estado de ánimo, te hace comer más de lo que tu cuerpo realmente pide (con la consecuencia de sobrepeso en el largo plazo) y te deja cansado...y con un montón de problemas de salud en caso de uso excesivo - lo que nunca he llegado a tener, logré parar el tren antes... En la tierra prometida de las bebidas y cafés dulces, creo que este mensaje es dificil digerir. Puedes vivir una semana sin bebidas gaseosas y sin el sabor dulce en tu café (saca la leche también, está lleno de lactosa)?

La bebida gaseosa está evidentemente llena de azucar o endulzantes. Eso no debería ser sorpresa para nadie, ni que las galletas y dulces obviamente también. Pero como es con el yogurt que comes? Sí, muchas veces contiene más azucar que una bebida. Ketchup? También, un tercio es puro azucar. Pan blanco - la famosa marraqueta? Harina blanca se convierte casi tan rápido a glucosa como el azucar. El efecto es igual en tu cuerpo. Salsas de ensaladas - te apuesto que encuentras azucar como el tercer ingrediente de la lista de contenido (acompañada de aditivos de nombres que cuesta pronunciar). Frutas conservadas - llenas de azucar. Mermelada - ni pensar (y acuerda, la mermelada de otro tipo de endulzante es probablemente más venenoso, así que si absolutamente quieres comer mermelada, yo iría con lo más natural)....

Entonces que comer? Yougurt natural con canela, semillas de linaza, nueces, frutas frescas. Aaaah que rico el sabor! Una vez que se saca el sabor dulce del sistema, se puede realmente disfrutar todos tipos de sabores, sabores naturales! Un jugo natural, recien hecho, sin azucar agregado, obviamente. Huevos en todas formas - fritos o cocidos, con un poquitín de crema natural o con mayonesa. Palta, que rica la palta! Qué suerte que tienen en Chile de poder disfrutar esa nuez fresca. Acá la palta llega desde allá - me pregunto cuantos qiumicos hechan encima para que dure...

Bueno, allí llegamos al otro tema de mis pesadeses: el tema de los tóxicos. Vi el video de "Story of Stuff" en Youtube y me dejó marcada. Usa el refran "Toxins in - toxins out" (traducido "toxina entra - toxina sale"). El mundo está lleno de quimicos inventados por el hombre. Si creen que son vigilados, y que son seguros - olvídalo, muchos de ellos entran nuestros cuerpos y nunca salen de allí. O sí salen es atraves de la leche de la madre amamantando - traspasando esos materias toxicos de una generación a otra. Una vez inventado y llevado a la producción masiva - esos productos quedan aquí, acompañondonos por siempre. Pastas de dientes, shampoos, jabon, desoderantes, fragancias del perfumen, liquidos de limpieza (piensa, encima de los cual nuestros hijos aprenden gatear) - todos con un coctail de posibles carcinogenos. Porque arriesgarlo? Hay alternativas.

También ando metida en el pensamiento de "vivir simple", en fondo buscar el camino de vuelta a lo básico. He llegado al punto donde encuentro que el consumismo (muchas veces en crédito) es asquerozo. Odio el mall y trato a evitar grandes tiendas con grandes tentaciones. Prefiero pasar mi tiempo junto con la familia en un parque de juegos o en el bosque, en la playa que en un shopping. Si llueve o si hace demasiado calor, buscamos actividades en bibliotecas o centros culturales, en vez de llenar el día con conflictos en el mall. Y saben que? Es mucho menos lo que se necesita en la casa cuando uno no sabe lo que se ofrece en las grandes tiendas.

Pero cada uno vive su vida, a base de sus convicciones. Yo solamente me puse un poco crítica a lo que la sociedad nos propone como vida. Quiero algo más que deudas con el banco, quimicos en mi sangre y sobrepeso por la comida. Y loco como puede parecer, cuesta un poquito hoy en día encontrar las soluciones para una vida así. Loco, no? 

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

About commenting on blogspot

Here is the issue:

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2011/06/cookie-filtering-and-commenting-ability.html


Its all about the cookies. But I am too tired to make sense out of it tonight.

Really sad though that it must be so difficult technically to leave a comment. I would like more interactivity on my blog!!! And I know many of you have tried to leave a comment. So have I, on other blogs, and it is really frustrating!

Cinderella ate my daughter (and myself)

I just surfed around and stumbled upon this book: Cinderella ate my daughter.



Based on the preview, this is a must have. A handbook for all mothers. I need to have it now!!! Hope Helmet can assist or else I'll turn to my book supplier Amazon...

To round off the day I will aslo confess that I did some serious sinning while up on the west coast. My daughter received a pink castle and four Disney princesses to go with it. Yes, I bought the stuff. Yes, I made the decision to buy - I was all alone on the Sunday flea market on the square of Vaasa (lovely invention by the way - gives Vaasa a completely new and friendly image!). The pink castle was sitting on the seat next to driver's seat all the way out to the cottage - staring at me, saying "haha, the pink princess dream won at last, you are weak!". Somewhere halfway there I decided that the pink castle was going back to the fleamarket without my daughter knowing about its existance. I hid it back in the trunk of the car. Yes I did. And my plan was to smuggle it back to Helsinki and sell it off for a higher price here.... well, that was until I met my daughter that sunny day. My heart melted and I heard myself saying: "A, come along with me, I have something to show you!". And so I took her hand, walked back to the car and opened the trunk to show her. She saw the castle, looked at me with her suspicious eyes and said "Mom, is that castle for ME?!?". You should have seen how happy she was when the answer was affirmative. It was sooooo worth it.

This is why I need to read the book about how Cinderella ate my daughter. This cannot be. I need to get equipped for future temptations!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Food revolution and breakfast routines

We are back home after a week in the wild. And I see that the author to the book "food revolution" (only in Swedish so far, Matrevolutionen) is doing his breakthrough on the international stage. See his blog on his blog Diet Doctor. I wrote about this book in Spanish back in February when I just started blogging, check the post Comida revolucionaria.

My own policy nowadays is to keep the bloodsugar stable, no peaks, no deep dips.  And this goes for all the family members. As long as we stay on line, we're having a blast, a balanced blast!

My biggest concern now is how to handle the morning routines as from next Monday. Real life approaching and we cannot sit at breacky table for an hour with a no-apetite four year old. Its a definite no-no to go to daycare without a bloodsugar friendly breakfast. Eating breakfast at daycare is not an option (so far), there'll be a dip in bloodsugar before we get there and most probably their offerings include some amout of quick carbs - that would affect her afternoon mood and back fire when we pick up the kids. So the question of the day: How to get breakfast into the body of a four year old in less than 20 minutes? Anything allowed, except force and sugar.

Today I did it by dancing to Juanes' "Tengo la camisa negra" and a porridge spoon in my hand. She did not even notice how the plate was emptied....

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Helsingfors ute och cyklar

Läser artikeln om hur 30-åringarna flyttar från Helsingfors längre ut till kranskommunerna. Tycker att både arkitekten och speciellt Helsingfors stads byggnadschef är ute och cyklar.

Kära planeringsmänniskor, barnfamiljer vill gärna bo kvar i Helsingfors. Men inte på grund av varken kulturutbud eller utmärkt kollektiv trafik. Kulturutbudet är tillför singlar eller tonårsföräldrar, vi med små barn har sällan tid för annan verksamhet än social samvaro i stadens lekparker (tack för sommarens varma lunch i lekparkerna). Kollektivtrafiken är bättre än i grannkommunerna men på de områden där det finns lite större lägenheter till ett rimligt pris i Helsingfors finns det vanligtvis inte mer än en busslinje in till stan - vilken är skillnaden till grannkommunerna nu igen? Största delen av tiden sitter man ju fast i rusningstrafiken ändå, oberoende om man sitter på buss från Olars eller Staffanslätten (är det kanske t.o.m. snabbare från Olars?).

Vi bor bra där vi bor. Ett härligt lummig höghusområde från tiderna när planerana ännu satte vikt på trivsel och inte endast funktionalitet och byggkostnader. Att ta sig till stan tar 20 minuter med cykel, 10 minuter med tåg och mellan 20 och 40 minuter med bil och buss (gör något åt Mannerheimvägen!). Den svenskpråkiga servicen är bra och gemenskapen med andra barnfamiljer är mer än utmärkt.

Problemet? Om vi vill bo kvar i det här området när vi flyttar nästa gång hamnar vi betala nästan det tre-dubbla för några fjuttiga kvadratmeter till, åtminstone om vi villa ha en pytteliten gård men även på högre höjder blir det orealistiskt dyrt. Om vi flyttar till en närbeläget område kanske cykelvägen in till stan bara blir 10 minuter längre. Men på vintern måste vi ty oss till de oplogade vägarna, inget tåg i sikte, och då blir rusningstrafiken ett problem oberoende om man sitter i sin egen bil eller på Helsingfors stads bussar. Priset för de kvadratmetrarna är fortfarande orimligt högt.

När man kör runt i Helsingfors bostadsområden slås man ofta av den gröna omgivningen, många förorter är gröna och det är fint. Men lika ofta blir jag bedrövad över den otroligt fula byggnadsstrukturen och de billiga byggnadsmaterialen som använts och blivit fula på mindre än 10 år. Bredvid den lokala Alepan ligger A-oikeudet restaurangerna tätt (så gott som alla förortsrestauranger använder hellre ölreklam som dragplåster än trivsam miljö och god mat). Gatorna är folktomma med undantag av en och annan påstruken restaurangbesökare. Dessa områden är på vettigt avstånd till centrum, de har ofta goda förbindelser och skulle vara perfekta barnfamiljsoaser... Om det inte var för dessa nackdelar som jag beskriver ovan.

Min önskeförort ser ut ungefär så här; flera alternativa förbindelser in till stan (som kan varieras beroende på väder), grönt så det förslår, aktiv "byaverksamhet", bra matbutiker och andra servicepunkter (apotek, bibliotek, gym, bank, post och kiosk) så man slipper stressen att gå in i en stormarknad eller ta sig in till stan. Dessutom ska skola och dagis (förutsättning att kvaliteten är god och mina barn ryms med) finnas på gångavstånd till hem och kollektivtrafiken. Just nu bor vi ungefär på ett sånt område (med undantaget att Prisman effektiv suger ut all vår lokala service - fy fy!). Många av den sorten förorter finns det inte i Helsingfors- alla ungefär byggda på samma gång och på samma avstånd in till stan. Alla med obeskrivligt dyra stora bostäder, få med egen gård.

Om man sen ändå blir tvungen att köpa den där andra bilen när man flyttar till något större, ja då kan man ju lika gärna flytta ut till billigare orter med öppnare landskap. Tiden i bilen blir ju inte mycket längre ändå -det som tar tid är rusningen inom Helsingfors stads gränser.

Skärpning planeringskontoret!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Becoming a mother

Exactly four years ago, I had enterd into the final countdown. In a matter of minutes I was going to become a mother. Like it or not.

I still remember that first look at my baby girl. The news about our baby being a girl sinking in. Her outrageous cry (we would get more of that later on in life, much more) which got my mother instincts to pump out hormones in my blood. The birth of a mother, in just a few seconds after the birth of a baby girl.

Its been a beautiful road traveled so far during the past four years together. Many anecdotes, many challenges. But I will not ventilate those here, it would not be fare to our girl. I'll just tell you that our girl is simply the best in the world and I am proud to get to celebrate her 4th birthday tomorrow together with her. A, you rock this planet!

For myself the motherhood has taken me into completely new dimensions of life, which also can be noted in this blog. Starting from cloth diapers (thanks to a friend that introduced me to the concept, those were not so common four years ago), breastfeeding techniques, how to make a baby eat (still haven't figured that one out, will I ever?), how to make a child eat healthy stuff, how to combine family with work, and becoming a networking mother in a local Martha association (never ever saw that coming).

Now four years later motherhood is the most natural thing in the world to me. I have learned how to deal with the role and I have also learned a lot about myself (especially about my own temper, anger management!). But I remember those early days with an infant in my arms - so unsecure. Calling friends to ask if the pacifier should stay in the mouth or should I take it out once she had fallen asleep? Changing those first diapers, learning how to do it. Or just how to hold a baby, my own baby!

As a woman, you're not born to be a mother. It is your child that teaches you. I've read countless books on how to bring up a child, and still, the best teacher as always been my own child. No book in the world can explain what works and what not in the way my own child does. Direct response. No mercy. But also appreciation and a lot of happiness!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The chemicals in our skin

For those of you that were interested in the movie I had seen on how much chemicals we have in our body (Submission) - this is kind of an introduction to the subject.

http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/

Finally alone

Finally alone. The apartment goes silent, no background buzz, no kids fight, nor laughter for that matter. Only silence and my own thoughts. I can focus, I can think...it's so nice to be ditched at home after a hot and rainy day inside with two kamikazee.

I read all this reports on how we have to learn how deconnect, shut off the radio, shut off the computer and just let the brain relax during the summer... I say; bullshit. Anyone with kids knows that the real brain buzz has nothing with outside world interferance. Its all about the kids - and you cannot really shut them off for a month. So my question: At what age do they start to go to summer camp? Or maybe I just need a break, back to the outside world, sit there in front of a computer; only me, my coffee and my computer (and some 200 unread emails) - seems like a dream vacation to me.

Being connected to the outside world would probably boost my spiritual balance more than this "relaxing holiday" at home. Do not take me wrong, instead let me express it as my wise words of the day: Its been lovely but I have to scream now.

No more rainy days before August 15, please.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Generation Abundance - Priorities my Dear, Priorities!

In my pedagogics courses this spring I learned that each generation has its own caracteristics due to the influence they've received from the surroundings of the time when they grew up. I take this generation thinking a bit further...how has each generation been marked by their time in relation to material things?
My grandparents generation were marked by the war and the total lack of material things. We still have some "towels" used back in the 40's that I rescued from my grandparents summer cottage before it was sold some years ago. My mom would not touch the cloth, stiff and ugly, she said. For me the old cotton white-greyish towels served as excellent protection on the sauna bench. But trying to imagine how it must have been back then, it just shows that my own parents have not maybe been blessed with many imported Christmas presents and birthday gifts back in their days as child. My mom even talk about the day when the banana's made their apperance in Vasa. What a delicious taste! That was the Generation babyboomer's childhood. They knew that things did not come cheap, and that you had to work to pay for what you needed.

Then came my own generation, which in respect to material things seems like a five star luxury hotel compared to my parent's reality back in the 50's. I was born late enough in the 70's to skip the whole political revolution that those born in late 60's must have experienced. Instead, I was in the perfect age to enjoy the happy 80's as a small child. Plastic toys accesible to all: barbies, monchichis, smurfs, my little ponies, all those must-haves, in a wrapped package every Chirstmas or birthday. But still, I have the feeling that the consumerism in the 80's was rather innocent in comparison to what spurged after the great depression in the 90's. There were both financial restraints (imported stuff was still expensive) and a notion of that one is enough. One Barbie was enough, you did not need five of them, and most certainly not at the age of four. I still got handmade Barbie clothes for Christmas - not because it was cool but because it was cheaper and because there were not many options out in the stores. I think my own generation was brought up in a mixed world, influenced by our parents ideological convictions from the early 70's but still embracing the benefits of development and all those new cool things.

30 years later and what do we have? A world that has gone completely crazy on consuming. Consuming has become the meaning of life. One is never enough. If it breaks, you throw it away and get it happily replaced by upgraded cooler version. Material things are overwhelmingly present, everywhere: both in the hyper markets and in our overcrowded homes. Things have completely invaded our spare life. The children drown in both toys and clothes. There are so many toys in their room that they loose focus on what they are doing. There are so much clothes in the closet that every morning is a nightmare when debating what dress is suitable for the day. Do we really want them to learn that wanting more is a virtue? How much more before its enough? Wouldn't the best lesson be to learn how to pick just the necessary? Teach them to identify their real needs and not only how to fulfill their inner decire for more more more?

Then I start planning the birthday gift for the four year old... We've decided that she'll get a bike. But I feel its not enough. She would be so happy to receive something else as well. And I think she really deserves it, my beautiful wonderful lovely first born. Well, she needs a new helmet. Done. New helmet it is - bought in the closest shopping mall. But something else, a toy or a dress...something that reeeally will make her happy and that she can take with her to daycare in the fall... I stop right there and tell myself: Priorities, my dear, priorities! Learn how to prioritize. The bike is enough, she will be delighted and we will spend time teaching her how to bike. That is absolutely enough!

Tendencias royales

G, 1 año y 7 meses, ha aprendido dos palabras nuevas en los últimos días.
La primera: "Helo Titi". La pronunciación está marcada por su hermana. Que riiico que A no haya aprendido pronunciarlo correcto todavia y que además trasfiere su interpretación del gato a su hermanito! Eso es la uniquísima fascinación que tengo con el gato japonés - Helo Titi.

La segunda palabra proncuncia "Sssesa". Anda apuntando a todas las princesas de nuestra casa (son varias a esta altura) repetiendo "ssssesa", "ssssesa". El feliz de la vida de haber también entrado en la mísitca de las princesas.

Ah, y si pasan tiempo con mi hijo y llega a decir "bssssssss" no es ni la palabra princesa, ni el sonido del serpiente que está tratando a pronunciar. El está obviamente observando un bus! "bsssssssssssssssss". Obvio, cierto?

Otras palabras ricas en esta epoca:
"ele wuaaa"= pájaro (por el sonido que nuestros niños hacen para hacer los pájaros volar - para mayor información pueden leer el post "Bird scarers to let" anteriormente en mi blog)
"iiijajaja"=caballo (claro) pero también zebras. Astuto él, cierto?
"Iaiaiai"=su tractor por el huaso del tractor que canta "ol' mcdonald had a farm, iaiaiaiaou" cuando lo apreta.
"piiiipa"=todos vehiculos con ruedas, no importa si tienen sonido o no, son "piiiipa".

Como ven las palabras nuevas son una excepción a su vocabulario anterior que se enfocaba en la granja y en los automóviles. Será que nuestro hijo está al punto de desarrollar su lado feminino ahora? Espero no tener que comprar una mochila "Hello Kitty" para la entrada al jardin en septiembre. Hasta ahora hemos logrado evitar el gato bastante bien. Viene la segunda ronda?

Hablando de...hoy fui a comprarle un regalo a A y pasé por una tienda de ropa con rebajas. Tenían una polera rosada en venta, para niños, no niñas. Casi la compré. Aprendí este verano del primo de tres años que niños también pueden querer vestirse en rosado. Los en más peligro de caer en la tentación parece ser los niñitos con hermanas mayores "de tendencias royales".

Chinchin por unisex!

Monday, July 25, 2011

El hombre tonto...

...asi nombre el noruego loco cuando mi hija me preguntó porque tuvimos que estar silenciosos y no se podia entrar a la piscina pública de Kumpula.

La mamá sentada a mi lado mencionó algo de muertos a su hija. Mi hija preguntó si algiuén había muerto en "la playa" (referiendose a la piscina).

En fin, muchas preguntas, pocas respuestas y un lugar muy mal escogido para pasar el minuto de silencio en memoria de lo que pasó en Noruega.

The silent minute beside the pool

How do you explain what happened in Norway to a four year old? I still do not know how to do it. I tried today, but I felt I did terribly bad and that my answers to her questions only gave her all the reasons in this world to pronounce yet another why.

We happened to get to the Helsinki city outdoor poor just as the clock turned one today. The place turned silent, no people in the pool. Until then my daughter has been happily unaware of the news storm pooring in from from west.

In the name of childhood innosence, I would say that the normally so noicy and cheerful pool in Kumpula was maybe not exactly the best pick for the national silent minute. Quite shocking to see all those sad faces on parents and the question marks in their kids eyes. Lets put it this way, I was not the only one to have a lot of explaining to do afterwards.

Changing lifestyle - part two

Ok, so I have now read two books on how to live a rich, healthy and energetic life as a mother of small children (or how the whole family can do this). Both books are excellent and have much wisdom in their message.

The food part is starting to be under control. And I would say that this is really the starting point - because with sugar overload everything seems impossible. Now, I only need to get hubby introduced to some of the new cookings, but that should be rather easy as I have come to realize that this is surprisingly easy, once the ingredients are readily available at home.

What about the rest? Focus on what I am doing, not do 100 things at the same time, let go of the control, less time in front of telly/on internet, more time sleeping, more time connected with kids and hubby, and more time out in the track, running.

After having read the chapter on "family training" in Mauritson's book Kärnfrisk familj and the chapter on "booth camp for mothers" in Hoffer's Wise Choice, there is really no excuse to why I should not go out running tomorrow evening. So my goal is to run to Pilates and back - there, 4 km running and 1 hour heavy deep abdominal training. Just what I need... and then for the rest of the week, I'd better start making work out plans as well. Get my mind mentalized.

Now, I also need to get deconnected from here. This will be done by shifting back to an old telephone of mine. You see, I am the first to admit being addicted to surfing on my telephone. The timing of wireless and smart phone could not have come at a more convenient time for me. Just as I became a mother of two and was sentenced to a life at home, the world opened itself virtually, where ever I was. Its been a lifesaver for this ultra-social mother, to stay connected with friends outside the home through Facebook and other places. But it is time to let go. And I hope switching telephones will get me off this addiction. I sense true freedom in the air!

I would also like to get rid of the telly. I have come to hate the nagging discussions on watching kids programs instead of eating breakfast in the morning... But here I cannot decide alone. Hubby has the right to watch what he wants, after all he pays the tv license. No, I will have to deal with that temptation without getting rid of the source.

Then the rest; letting go of the control etc will have to wait until I let go of the kids (daycare in the fall and me off on own adventures, savior!) Then I will work on not watching hubby's back 24-7. Well, in my defense I have to say that I do not check if his toothbrush has been used (as did one of the books' author).... that must mean that I am not a complete control freak, right?

I have also come to learn about chemicals and what they can do to our body. Thanks to a FB-discussion back in November, I have already cleared most harmful cosmetics and hairproducts of the shelf. And believe it or not, but there are fewer products needed when the chemicals are less... Kind of like the carbs, they get you hooked so that you'll consume more. And on top of it all, its harmful. I still have to do something about our cleaning gear but on the other hand, as we rarely get as far as deep cleaning our floor or wiping off our silver, its not maybe that bad when the dosis is small...And I have the knowledge on lemon, baking powder and vinegar cleaning, I just have not come around to it yet.

The sleep part is also on top of the list. In bed by 10 p.m. I will try my best and it should be doable once I get the telly and the internet out of my system. Which reminds me... I am already 2 hours late. Good night you all! I'll go and sleep tight now.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Norway

Shocked about the news from Norway. Today the flags are on half-mast here in Finland. It is a painful sight to see all those blue and white flags all around the city. We have also today found out that our own new member of parliament Mr. Jussi Halla-aho is cited in the psykopat's manifesto. Mr. Halla-aho is the person that has become known in Finland through his blog, which is outspokenly anti-Swedish speaking and anti-foreigners, anti-multiculture in Finland. It was mostly his statements that made me concerned when I wrote my reflections after the elections here in April (read for example: Pandora's box, Junttilandia).

In my blog post about Junttilandia I note that the public's anger towards minorities can already be noted as violent acts by those who think that the True Finn's victory in the elections justified direct action on the street. What happened in Norway on Friday is like taken from a horror movie about how far the hatred can go. My heart bleed for all affected families.

The only good thing that I can see coming out of this is that this is a serious wake up call for everyone up here in the north. Those who voted for True Finns in April, and especially those who got Halla-Aho into the government: On which side of the line do you stand? Are you going to continue to support this insanity? If it happened in Norway, it can happen here as well. We have already two school shootings in our records. And the recipee for a repition of Norway is now effectively being spread over the fabulous almighty world-wibe-web - just a clic away for all psycopats in this world. Exactly like the perpetrator wanted it - efficiently spread with the news frenzy following such deed.

Another point which is very sad is that when something unexpected and tragic like this happens, the media goes crazy and the evening press profitability skyrockets. I have a really hard time accepting the sensationality spread in the evening press; big headlines, shocking pictures, the stuff. And it is even worse when I note that the whole edition is sold out on a Saturday afternoon in the big hypermarket. Tragedy sells. This time, I have deliberately avoided tv-news (and evening press) - both for my own and the kids sake. Live pictures are just too much to handle. That is why I like the flag on half mast today, it gives a solemn counterposition to the sensations in the evening press. It gives us the possibility to personal reflections, without intermediaries from the press.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Nej nu stänger jag datorn. inte blir det ju något av det här annars. Detta är min lediga dag. MIN. LEDIGA. DAG.

About changing lifestyle

Here I am. Alone in the house as I asked for a day off today. The rest of the family went to check out the animals at the zoo. And I have been trying to get a grip of the new lifestyle. The lifestyle without sugar and starch. Yesterday I threw all our sugar products in the garbage. I packed away all pasta and wheat flour in a plastic bag, cannot throw away yet - will try to donate to someone who uses these ingredients.

While investigating internet stores that sell seeds, nuts, oils and special flour I receive a message from the zoo. It is a picture of A, eating an immense icecream. Define irony. I feel a bit deceived by hubby and after a bitchy response from my side I do calm down. In my defense I tell myself that I would not be me if I would not overreact and let hubby know about it as well.

I get my head out of the radical no-sugar lifestyle literature and start boiling the cheak peas (2 kilos of them, yes I am nuts...) and I start defining a manifesto that would work for us - a family that after all is quite normal, no allergies, no dysfunctions, no special needs. We do not need to be radical, as long as we eat healthy non-starch and no-sugar based food at home and we minimize the days when we eat products containing sugar. This should be enough to maintain a good bloodsugar level. At home we will eat and offer sweets with natural sweetners (dates and bananas etc) while in other social constellations we will continue being normal, no freaks... I think hubby can accept this way of thinking as well.

To have that healthy food and the sweets always readily available when needed will be a challenge in itself. Avoiding sugar basically means that you do everything yourself. My relation with the kitchen will have to change. It must become a joy to stand there next to the stove, although it never has been. And it must be shared with hubby, otherwise it will never work. To make it work the key word is PLANNING. And that is what I am trying to do, plan ahead. But instead of making myself useful on internet I surf around without a specific goal.

I do not think this is absolutely hopeless. It just takes time to get a hang of it. And looking back two months, we've been doing fairly well. Oatmeal porridge for breakfast, sometimes combined with a smoothie, healthy lunch, nuts and fruits in the afternoon, healthy dinner and then a smoothie before bed. Still, I need more inspiration and support. I need a cooperative of people doing the same, giving support. Because it would just be so easy to sit back and continue with the old life... on the otherhand, I would never ever like to go back to those mood swings of mine. No, there is no way back, so this better work.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Operation dagismat

Jag borde väl vara nöjd. Jag har själv gått skola i USA och sett deras skolmat. Jag har ätit skolmat både i Tyskland och Frankrike. Och jag har alltid tyckt att "nog har vi ju det ändå bra bra där hemma i Finland med vår skolmat". För jag var inte den som klagade på skolmaten. Jag åt den med god aptit.

Men något har hänt. Visst hade jag tidigare läst om hur lite skolmaten får kosta nuförtiden. Visst har jag hört ryktas att maten är såsig, mjölig och oaptitlig. Men på något sätt ville jag inte ta till mig den informationen. En orsak till det var att jag kände en otrolig lättnad över att någon annan också tar på sig ansvaret att servera mitt barn varm mat varje dag. Så skönt, ett problem mindre. För tänk om jag skulle vara tvungen att skicka med en matsäck varje morgon i dotterns dagisryggsäck. Nej hujedamej. Tanken får mig att flippa nästa lika mycket som tanken på att ha en hund som man måste valla varje dag, utöver småbarnsstressen. Dessutom var jag rent utsagt i sjunde himlen när dottern började på dagis. Efter ett halvårs envist matvägrande började hon plötsligt öppna munnen vid lunch. Personalen rapporterade att hon åt dubbla portionen. Hon var duktig på att äta, sa de. Jag trodde inte mina öron. Men de fick rätt, för vid extra rådgivningskollen efter 2 månader på dagis hade hon gått upp mer i vikt än på ett halvår innan. Dottern åt på dagis, vilken lättnad. I något skede nämde jag saken till min chef, att vi alltid har enorma problem med dotterns aptit under semester och att dottern faktiskt åt bäst med sina kompisar på dagis. Chefen utbrast: men det är ju ypperligt för företaget, du kan aldrig ta alltför långa semestrar då maten på dagis är så eftertraktad! Och just så kändes det när jag var som mest stressad; skönt att hon tankar på dagis, då är det inte så farligt att hon kniper ihop hemma.

Men jag har ändrat mig. Den ursprungliga orsaken till att jag kom att tänka på det här var att Helsingfors stad för ett år sedan slutade producera dagismat i egen regi. Istället utlokaliserades maten till företaget Palmia, som också sköter skolmaten. Det fick mig att bli orolig. Tänk om ryktena var sanna. Tänk om maten var oaptitlig. Betydde det att dotterns skulle sluta äta även på dagis? När jag spann vidare på tanken blev jag smått förargad. Alltså nog är det ju höjden, att det stället där dottern självmant gapar efter mat ska vara det stället där maten är minst näringsrik. Det borde ju definitivt vara tvärtom. De vet nog inte vad matvägrarföräldrar tampas med de där beslutsfattarna.

Sedan dess har jag låtit tankarna ligga. Jag har följt upp ätandet med jämna mellanrum och oroat mig i mitt stilla sinne. Men framförallt har jag under det senaste halvåret koncentrerat mig på maten som serveras här hemma. För inte kan jag väl gå ut och kritisera dagismaten som består av spenatplättar med potatismos och samma kväll servera mikrovärmda spenatplättar med grynost här hemma? Nej det går ju inte. Men i min lättja förmådde jag inte mig själv ändra på köpvanorna; veckans huvudingrediens bestod av maletkött (med pasta) och laxmedaljonger (med mos) och när den orken för att tillräda mat tog slut fyllde vi på med leverlåda, fiskpinnar och spenatsoppa. Grönsakerna bestod av färdigt kokta morötter, rårivna morötter, gurka och tomat. Ibland lite avokado.

I våras hade vi en längre period av tufft trotsmotstånd från dottern. Underligt tyckte jag. Trodde faktiskt att förra sommarens maktkamp hade avslutats och vi hade gått vidare. Eftersom jag just läst boken Råsmart Familj kopplade jag ihop humöret med maten och bestämde mig för att nu får det vara nog. Som ni kanske läst här tidigare så slängde vi över en natt ut pastan, brödet, mjölken och så gott som allt rött kött. Socker blev bannlyst här hemma. Hör och häpna: aptiten hos vår lilla matvägrare ökade, nästan över en natt. Trotset försvann och istället fick vi en härlig mat- (och prat-)glad liten tös. Visst kan hon visa sin vilja fortfarande, sin härliga bestämda vilja som driver oss till vansinne, men det är definitivt inte vardag hos oss mera utan det är kryddan som gör det spännande (och utmanande) att vara förälder.

Jag trodde att jag inbillade mig. Att det inte kan vara så här enkelt. Men även hubben har märkt skillnaden. När vi är bortbjudna och det serveras sötsaker (bulla, kex, glass) kan vi räkna med antingen en jobbig kväll eller en tuff nästa dag. Vi har inte tänkt göra något åt den saken. Det tycker vi att är okej, för vi vill att vår dotter ska kunna vara bortbjuden utan att vi förbjuder henne att äta vad de andra äter. Annat skulle det ju vara om hon var allergisk (går förvisso att debatera, är man allergisk om reaktionen inte ligger i hudutslagen utan i temperamentet?). Men vad som oroar mig så där på allvar är dagismaten. Nu har vi varit hemma i nästan två månader och sockret har inte funnits i vår vardagliga diet. Vad händer när det blir morgonmål, lunch och mellanmål i Palmias regi? Ska vi tillbaka till blodsockerpendlandet i höst igen?

Jag är också förbryllad över en sak. Hur kan det vara så att parkmaten som serveras i Helsinfors parker är mer näringsrik än den mat som serveras året om i staden dagisar? Vad är det för fel på våra beslutsfattare? Fattar de inte att mer grönt och näringsrikt och mindre (hormonberikat) kött/mjölk och tomma kolhydrater leder endast till bättre resultat. Jag skulle tro att barnen inte blir lika lätt sjuka (på min läslista har jag boken Kärnfrisk familj som behandlar den saken), att deras humör på dagis är bättre och det blir lättare för personalen att ta hand om dem, att de har bättre koncentrationsförmåga och orkar mer även där hemma. Alla vinner ju på ett sådan koncept, även stadens beslutsfattare som är föräldrar till dagis och skolbarn!!! Och i min mammalogik kombinerat med ekonomlogiken så skulle ju mindre sjuka barn leda till mindre frånvaro på arbetsplatserna, mindre inhoppare på dagis, dvs även lägre kostnader.

Kolla in bilden nedan som jag hittade på sidan "Operation skolmat". Vilken skulle du välja om du fick?
Skolmatsalternativ

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sweet treats without sugar, flour and milk products!

Some inspiration for those of you out there thinking about how get rid of pure sugar in your food:

Smoothies:

Ruby Red
2 cups of soy, rice or oatmeal milk
1 cup of frozen strawberries or raspberry (no sugar added)
water melon
peppermint herbal leaves
1 spoon of protein powder (without aspartame)
5 cashew nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients, and enjoy!

Sweet dreams
2 cups soy, rice, oatmeal milk
1 banana
5 almonds
5 pieces of frozen spinach
some cinnamon
Flaxseed oil (aceite de linaza) (optional)

Mix all ingredients, and enjoy!

Think toffee
2 cups soy, rice or oatmeal milk
1 banana
5 dates (without seeds)
10 cashew nuts
cinnamon
protein powder (without aspartame!)
Vanilla powder (without sugar, only the powder)
Flaxseedoil

Mix all ingredients, and enjoy!

If you want to make icecreams, just get those icecream forms that you can make juice ice cream in and poor the smoothie into them. Takes about 1-2 h to freeze. Yam!



Other Wise Choice success stories in our house have been:

Waffles or pancakes
1 cup almonds
1 cup coco nut flakes
1 cup oatmeal or soy cream
4 egg
coco nut oil

Mix almonds and coco flakes to powder, add cream and eggs. Suggested waffle iron for frying but I have used a normal frying pan with a little bit more of coco nut oil to not make it stick. Don't flip the pancakes too fast as they will then fall apart.
You can serve with (unsweetened) berries, bananas or chopped dark chocolate and some agave syrup if you want it to be sweeter (I skip the syrup).

Banana and almond muffin (10-12 muffins)
200 gram almonds
1 small cup (dl) of buckwheat (bovete) flour/flakes (if you can't find buckwheat, use oatmeal instead)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg
1 fine shredded apple
2 mashed bananas
cinnamon

Oven on 200 degrees celsius. Mix almonds and buckwheat to flour. Add baking powder. Add eggs and fruits and cinnamon. Blend to an even batter and distribute in muffin forms. Decorate with bananas or walnuts on top (I normally skip this). Bake 15 minutes in oven.

Chocolate muffins (8 muffins)
100 gram almonds
1,5 dl dates without seeds
0,5 dl cacao (more if you like chocolate)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 eggs

Oven on 200 degrees celsius. Mix almonds to flour. Add dates and mix. Add cacao and oil. Whip eggs separately so that they become white and fluffy. Add eggs to flour mix.  Distribute in muffin forms and bake in middle of oven in 15 minutes.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Making way

I have started the annual "make way" project. The mission, rather impossible at times, is to reduce the junk and useless crap that we have gathered in our wardrobes, closets, bookshelves, children's boxes. This project might be annual but in the sense that only once a year I actually manage to reduce the montain of junk by carrying it out from our apartment, and if we are lucky I even get rid of it (instead of storing in the garage or in the cellar). The rest of the year the junk get stacked up in our extra bedroom, and if visitors come to stay the night I nicely ask hubby to get the junk up to the attict storage. But getting rid of junk is my way of not getting too hooked on the idea that we need a bigger apartment. Every cleared bookshelf gives us another month of wellbeing in this lovely apartment.

Since child I have been a master on this task. I can continue for hours. Usually I get so caught up in an old interesting book that I had completely forgot about, a cd with excellent music that I have not listened to for ages, or looking at old pictures remembering the good days. Yesterday I found Plantley's "No-cry discipline solution" - it must be the best handbook ever written on children with a temper. Unfortunately I have never found the time to read it, though. Today I found our wedding pictures, those that were never included in the photo album. A and I had a good look at the pics together. I even promised her that she'll get my brides gown once she gets married....In lack of other hobbies, I would say that this spare time venture is one of the most fullfilling that I have, if results are not measured....

But as said, this is the time of the year when I actually do get things done although I momentarily get stuck somewhere else. Yesterday I managed to fill a huge bag with old childrens clothes, going to the flea market to sell in August. Organizing children's outgrown clothes just shows how hooked we are on consuming. I have one bag of stuff to be preserved for the children themselves. Then another bag with clothes to be sold on Huuto.net (Finnish version of eBay). A third bag of Polarn och Pyret clothes, to be sold at Po.P second hand market in October. And then finally a humagous bag to be sold at the ordinary flea market, as cheap as possible, just to get rid of it. As you can see, getting this straightened out takes me hours, if not days (you could even say years as I have not been at the fleamarket since A was 9 months old....).

Today, rainy day, I was on it again. I got all childrens toys organized in their right box. I sorted out plastic pieces, broken toys, numerous artistic drawings and those went straight to the garbage bin (the trick here is to do it in such a cool manner that the kids do not notices...otherwise the junk will just be back were it was in the first place). The day was really rainy, and the kids were really in need for a sibling fight judge in their room so I managed to go through all their toy boxes (aprox 10 boxes) and sort out toys that where in the wrong box. As A is getting bigger it was also time to make way for her Barbies in a separate box (she is turning 4 in another week and she is already the owner of no less than five (!) Barbie dolls). Out goes baby toys that take too much space and toys that have lost their meaning and in comes the girly stuff. I even managed to find almost all the missing coins to the cashier and Farmer Old McDonald got all his lost animals back on the tractor (G learned today to refer to the tractor "Eeeaiaiou"-because of the song that the tractor sings). I also got a box for G's increasingly impressive car collection. The box is still the smallest in the room but I gather that by the time he hits 4, it will be the biggest.

Once hubby gets home and we sit down to eat dinner I inform him about the big job that I have got done today - the excercise could be describe as the annual budgeting in corporate terminology. He looks at me in a very weird way. I continue to explain: "and so the Barbies goes in the green box, and the cars goes in the transparent box, the animals in the box on the bookshelf..." Then I suddenly hear Paula Abdul singing "I take one step forward, you take two steps back"....Oh dear. While I was preparing dinner, hubby was getting rid of the temporary playground that the kids had parked in the living room (note, after me organizing). So the stuff had been stuck in whatever box with free space in it... Come to think of it, have you ever heard of a company where budgeting was done in one day? To be successful and have a good view of what is to come in the following year, companies usually involve the whole organization in annual budgeting. My mistake today was that I didn't.

Tomorrow is another (sunny) day. Hence, we will stay outside and leave the mess for another rainy day...maybe then involving the whole bunch. Just maybe. Because just as in budgeting, it is awfully much faster, and you save yourself from a great deal of fuzz, when only one person takes care of the task.