Baby Weight. Calorease.

Baby Weight

 shouldn't be hard to loose. I mean, it's just recent something extra, right? Camilla will be 2 years old soon; and I still need to loose the same 50+ lbs, finally.

Here is my dirty secret: I was never on a diet before. I was the lucky one to eat everything I want and remain skinny. I actually lost some weight after my first child was born. Here is an old picture of me from the time of my baby boy being a baby.

These 50 lbs. is not for returning to the look on this picture. It's only for getting back at least a decent size of the cloths. So sad.

I did some research and asked around. Staying on a diet is very difficult and stressful. It is not only a change in the lifestyle, it interferes with all aspects of the family life. And the worse yet is that as soon as you are off the diet, you can easily gain all the lost pounds back. I've decided I wouldn't be able to concentrate on all of these for the usual reasons:

• there is no time (even if I stay at home, this toddler and other family issues, always keep me very busy - no time for myself is a correct description, LOL)
• I am not sure that I would have enough will power to stay on a strict diet and stay happy
• I am still breastfeeding, which means I cannot use any stimulants or medications that might be dangerous, or are not research well for use while breastfeeding. 

Sick Camilla kept me busy the whole day yesterday. Nothing serious, she is completely normal today. I am not sure what it was...

Proteins to loose weight

For the reasons stated above, I've decided to make lots of smaller changes and see where it'll take me. This way I actually will stick to this plan, and it might help me not to gain weight in the future (which is a key!).

Proteins are an important part. They keep you from feeling hungry, keep the blood sugar levels more constant throughout the day, and give you good energy. I am not going vegan. I need my proteins from meat, they are natural, good proteins :) I will switch to snacking tiny portions every 2-3 hours which will give me 5-6 meals a day. Each of this meals have to have some protein in it. The difficult part for me is to eat something for the early breakfast. And I and Camilla will eat from the same size of the plates, LOL.

Carbohydrates to loose weight

Carbs are the hardest part. I need my sugary drinks - they are the fastest to make me happy and running again. Ideally, the only sugar should come from fruits and vegetables. I've noticed several tips that I really liked:

• Drink vegetable broth, especially before the main meal: it'll make you less hungry in its own way.
• Keep a jar of water with lemon or orange wedges in refrigerator.
• Have a bottle of water close by at all times to sip your daily norm. It's important to stay well hydrated, and keeps you from feeling hungry.
• Put some cinnamon into your cup of coffee instead of sugar
• Guilt free snack: yummy! Hail Marry Macaroons: they are tiny, healthy, and expensive, hmmm...
• Does anybody have tips? I'd be very interested to read your comments!

Fats to loose weight

• We do need some of good fats. We need our good cholesterol. And some vitamins are absorbed by the body only in the presence of fats. This is about it: we don't need the rest of those fats. I thought about it. If I am going to fight for a low carb diet, I don't want to add a low fat diet on top of it. I mean, I do try to decrease the amount of fats in the diet, but that's only half of the solution.

The other half is fiber. When you consume fat TOGETHER with fiber, the fiber coats the droplets of fat and prevents that fat to be absorbed by the body. To make a difference for loosing weight, I would need to eat A LOT of fiber. Which is fine with me, but apparently is not enough to loose any weight.

That's how I fell in love with Calorease

 Calorease

According to SFI Natural Medicines USA Inc., Calorease is stimulant free and heart healthy. It is naturally sourced and clinically researched. Basically, it is fiber derived from corn, which is called FBCx. The natural fiber from our diet binds to fat at 1:1 ratio. What makes Calorease special is it binds and eliminates up to 9 times its weight in fat.

Math behind Calorease. It reduces up to 500 calories a day from the fat in foods. Each serving can eliminate 18 grams of fat. Recommended 3 doses a day with main meals eliminates 54 grams of fat a day. Most of us consume 100 grams of fat a day. So with recommended doses, you may loose half of the fat if you are on a regular fat diet. Which is good because we still need some of our fat. It all adds up to "a whole pant or dress size".

There are many different types and brands of supplement that contain fiber in them. What makes Calorease special is its FBX complex is natural and SOLUBLE. Soluble is important! According to Mayo Clinic, soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium. In people with diabetes, fiber — particularly soluble fiber — can slow the absorption of sugar and help improve blood sugar levels.

 The interesting thing to notice: any fiber, even that from vegetables in the diet, is a laxative. That means if consumed in large amounts, it can cause bloating and/ or "upset". "Upset" is a term I saw many times when reading about fiber supplements in different sources. LOL. It actually is constipation or diarrhea. Fiber is all about how fast the stuff moves through the intestines. If it moves too fast, that can cause diarrhea. If it causes obstruction, that's the opposite (sorry for the details).

How much is too much is different for different people. And here is my funny story. The first day I started on the recommended doses with main meals. LOL. To say it tenderly, I had some cleansing when I didn't intend to. No major discomfort. And I lost 2 lbs that day.

Here is a recommendation from Mayo Clinic, "High-fiber foods are good for your health. But adding too much fiber too quickly can promote intestinal gas, abdominal bloating and cramping. Increase fiber in your diet gradually over a period of a few weeks. This allows the natural bacteria in your digestive system to adjust to the change. Also, drink plenty of water. Fiber works best when it absorbs water, making your stool soft and bulky."

They offer a 50% discount. $14.99 for a 90-tablet pack. Visit calorease.com/buy and enter code 4MOMS. You can also like Calorease on Facebook to stay updated on offers and promotions.

Disclaimer. I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC. or the manufacturer of the product.

Lacing Cards for Toddlers

Lacing for Toddlers

This was a great idea for us! Lacing helps to develop fine motor skills, color recognition, attention and following simple directions, new vocabulary, creativity, sense of accomplishment because the final result is nice; and Camilla was engaged in meaningful activities for a long time (short periods over several days). I love it!

Painting and making a card, 22 months old

I printed out coloring pages for painting. First we used finger paints for a couple of them. I put a little of each color, one color at a time, onto the different areas of the picture, and she had to spread it out. This experience changed for her: she doesn't like that her fingers are "dirty" and that destructs her from the painting.

She looked so cute when she rubbed her little fingers with some paint on them - her way of telling me, "Mom, come on, I am ready for the painting tools. And that's when we started having real fun with painting. We tried out brushes of different sizes, sponges, cotton balls, and Q-tips. Well, it wasn't as much for painting as just for introducing to different painting technics. I love having new experiences with her. It feels refreshing and exciting. Thank you, Camilla.

I guess, she likes the sponges so far. They are also the fastest to cover large areas of paper with color. For the dolphin, we tried to dab the sponge to make spots, waited for a minute for the paint to dry, and then painted over with the next color. That made an interesting effect that is easily accomplished by the little hands.

Laminating at home

was awesome! I used my brand new, beloved laminator for the first time.

Yes, I've just splurged to buy a laminator. I thought it can be used in so many ways with our activities and crafts: preserving the crafts, making easy props for the learning activities (we are into learning to match and 2-piece puzzles now), DIY dry-erase boards, and who know what else :)

Yes, I fell in love with it. It was very affordable. It is very easy to use. The cards looked great. Just in time for a grandparents' day.

Of course, Camilla painted all over the paper. The paint was everywhere over the edges of the picture. After the paint dried, I cut out the actual picture and laminated it. Then I cut out the picture again leaving the margins of clear plastic.

Making lacing cards

The only thing left to do is to cut wholes with the puncher. I bought 1/8 in ribbon (depending on the size of the wholes, the ribbon can be wider). The "needle" is made from the short piece of chenille stem.  I rapped the ribbon around the end of the stem, and bend the stem to hold my ribbon in place. Then I tied the other side of the ribbon to the whole in the card. Ready for fun!

I liked our awesome new lacing cards so much that I made a party for our toddler friends out of this idea. It was a huge success, yay! I might write about it next time.

I am posting the links for the laminator and laminating pouches I bought just in case somebody would be interested. If you'd decide to buy them, I would greatly appreciate you using my links to buy them. This way I'd actually receive a little chunk of money from Amazon (which we'd love to use to organize our next play date, He-he!)

Goldilocks and Three Bears for Toddlers

 Goldilocks

I am very grateful to Camilla for the excuse for playing princesses and fairytales again. These are the most relaxing and enjoyable activities! For her first real fairy tale I chose Goldilocks and the three bears. This fairytale has repetitions (which are easy for understanding the whole story) and vocabulary used every day (which she's already learned or needs to learn ASAP).

First, we had to choose a book. There are many different versions and levels of difficulty for this book.  After looking around, I chose "The Three Bears" by Paul Galdone. This is an older version with great illustrations: all are very realistic, but not too scary; simple and humorous at the same time. I also liked that Goldilocks is wearing her classic blue dress.

The Three Bears

Besides the great vocabulary, this book is a wonderful opportunity for sorting by size and counting. And that's why it takes some preparation before the play. If we want to count to 3, we need the 3 of everything important at the house: 3 bowls and spoons, 3 beds and bedding sets, and of course, the 3 bears of different sizes, 3 chairs.

DIY bed for a doll or a bear

To make a bed, I cut a portion of the box. I've decided to use the leftover wall paper to cover the box. It supposed to be quick and easy since the wallpaper is prepasted. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way: the box absorbed all the moisture from the paper too fast. I had to use the glue: the cheapest school glue worked just fine. I had to use the glue (sometimes even on both surfaces) to make sure it would stay put.

After the boxes dried, I cut the head board and the foot board of the bed to the pattern on my wall paper. If I'd have a little more time, there are many ways to improve them: use decorative duct tape around the edges and corners, use wall paper with different patterns, cut patterns inside the walls with a pincher. This is a cool activity to use imagination which is totally worse it: the beds can be used forever since they are steady and the wallpaper can be washed with soap and water.

I am planning to buy the door nobs to make the legs for beds and to make good, realistic-looking mattresses and pillows. How can I find extra time to do all that? - that is always a question.

Sorting, learning opposites, and counting for toddlers

There are 3 sizes in the book: big, middle-sized, and little (that one is "just right" - Camilla's favorite already - LOL). She started to pick up big and little, hot and cold, hard and soft, high and low. For sorting, we tried to put a correct spoon in each bowl, a bear in each bed, a bear or Goldilocks into the smallest chair. And we counted to three again and again. She loves counting!

Goldilocks - playing with a toddler

It is so cute to watch the beginnings of pretend play in her. She fed the doll and the bears, put them to sleep, woke them up, tried to talk to them. These were all so cute!

In our local library there are 2 old rocking chairs donated for kids' play. She loves to sit in each of them every time she sees them now. For the big chair is "too big" and the little chair is "just right". We are both enjoying this fairy tale. I am thinking that we need to share the joy with friends and make a play date out of this. I am considering the theme for a birthday party since it's her favorite now. We'll see...

Rakhi/ Friendship Band Activity

Rakhi

I am in love with this tradition from India. A little knot with big values - that's how I would describe Rakhi. I didn't know about this before. It is always so exciting to learn something new about a different culture. Even though the play date we had was for the little ones (of course, :) ), I thoroughly enjoyed it (maybe even more than Camilla).

So, for those who, like me, don't know about this festival: A person buys or makes a bracelet and gives it to his loved-one as a warm thought straight from the heart. The original Rakhi is red and gold. It is given by a sister to her brother and symbolizes the love and respect. In return, a brother promises to always support and protect his sister.  By following this ritual every year, brothers and sisters are able to keep and cherish their special bond.

I love it! My brother lives far away. He is always very busy with his job and his family, barely finding time to talk to me. That's it: I need to send him a bracelet!

Our toddlers watched a Sesame Street episode about Rakhi. The old tradition is getting a new meaning. Not only sisters give their brothers bracelets, but everyone can give it to a loved one. A nice way to say that you are glad this person is around.

 

Friendship Band Activity

We had to get ready for this play date beforehand. I bought different kinds of beads, but tried to choose the ones with bigger, 4-5 mm whole. Camilla was mesmerized by the view of different colorful beads when she saw them for the first time. I did buy the glass ones and watched her very closely at all times she had access to them!

I thought, the easiest would be to use chenille stems. They were very easy to get the beads on. I had to hold the end of the stem steady for my 21 months old. She learned to get the bead on and move it further along the stem very fast. She really enjoyed the process (but not the end result - that one she could care less). She put the beads on and took them off the stem again and again... until I was tired.

Here is a nice tip we are going to use for our new lacing cards. Make a "needle" from the piece of a chenille stem. Attach the needle to a piece of lace or ribbon for your toddler's beading or lacing activity. These are great activities for fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination. 

At the play date, we watched the Sesame Street episode about Rakhi, made bracelets, and had some Indian food. At home, we made a bracelet for Camilla's big brother. I gave her one bead at a time for that one to keep a pattern on the bracelet. We used a metal string with specially made lock that allows you to get the beads through. The drawback: it can be unscrewed easily by accident. If that happens, all the beads would be lost.

 It happened, that she gave her brother a bracelet for his first day of school; together with the tickets for the hockey pre-game that she won for him (that is a completely different story - a cool one - the girl has a lucky hand!). 

Indian dishes

Fruit. They have different kinds of fruit there: tasty and naturally ripped, fresh and sweet.

• Spices and teas
• Pineapple and chicken skewers, my favorite dish.  The perfect things used: pineapple, bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, and chicken. Spices and yogurt for marinade. Oh, so delicious, spicy, and sweet, and hearty, and yummy... I need to learn how to make it. Anybody has a good recipe?
• Mango Lassi. It needs a good, ripped mango! I'd love to know where one can find it here in this country. Blend it in a blender together with some yogurt or buttermilk, ice cubes and ice water, if desired. Again, the key is a perfect mango which I couldn't find, bummer.
• Indian Trail Mix from Whole Foods, kids' favorite!

Treasure Box - 2 Years Old

Treasure hunt for 2 year olds.

My Mom is visiting now. She is going home this week and will be able to take a present with her for my 2 and a half year old niece. So I've decided to make a surprise treasure box for her. I am not sure how my SIL will take it. I've bought this pretty metal box in Michaels - hence an idea of a creative summer treasure box.

I started filling it with stickers, goggle eyes, and a pony mirror.

My niece loves crafts. I tried to fill the box with colors and textures.



Sensory play

There are a couple of surprise small toys, a light, a tiny car, crayons, markers, beads, card stock of different colors and shapes, giant buttons, playdoh, foam shapes, wooden sticks... Should be plenty of things for the open play and creativity.

I decorated all that with confetti and a flower. Isn't it interesting to dig in and discover?

And finally, I covered all the treasures with the feathers. The real treasures are always hidden which makes it more fun to explore and find it (I guess, :) :) :) ).

Curiosity: Toddler

Adults and Toddlers: two different agendas

Camilla and I are on two different schedules throughout the day. I've recently realized  that is our main reason for arguing. I plan and organize the day to be able to manage all the things that has to be done. I try to push the agenda to make it done, and done quickly to free the time to spend with her. She has something completely different on her mind. She doesn't care about past or future. All she cares about is the present moment: all the exciting, new, and very interesting this second and this spot of the planet. I thought about it - it is very simple. It is her excellent toddler curiosity that pushes her to Mommy's keyboard when Mom appears to be so busy typing, and that pulls her to close the drier when Mommy's trying to do the laundry quickly (doesn't matter that the phone rings right now, and that's why I am in a hurry).

Curiosity: The Fuel of Development   I've decided to record some of my baby's discoveries. Have to learn from them how to be mindful and live in the moment, how to be curios about the world around you, notice it and learn from it. She started singing songs this week (21 months old). They are made up songs with the made up tunes: very pretty. She doesn't like it when I say "sleep" unless she knows it is a game. She would lay down saying "see, see" for "sleep" until we call together, "wake up", when she would jump up and start laughing. Is it so funny that this "sleep" is not for real? She discovered she could make circles with finger paints by touching the paper with her finger tips, and then drew her first real picture: flowers on grass. That was a puzzle for her - has she really made up flowers and grass all by herself? She finally was interested to watch the animals at the zoo. I could imagine there were so many questions to ponder. Are those huge dinosaurs scary or nice? Is the kangaroo not a horse, they looked pretty much alike on the pictures? Why can't I get to the horses on the carousel at once, they are here and I want them? Oh, that long tube slide is fun, why was I scared to go down before? So many questions every day. How could our little ones make it through every single day just fine? What are your little ones favorite discoveries this week?   Brain Development

by Dr. Bruce Perry

from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/curiosity.htm

Curiosity………leads to Exploration
Exploration…..leads to Discovery
Discovery…….leads to Pleasure
Pleasure………leads to Repetition
Repetition…….leads to Mastery
Mastery……….leads to New Skills
New Skills…….lead to Confidence
Confidence…..leads to Self Esteem
Self Esteem….leads to Sense of Security
Security……….leads to More Exploration

Keep their curiosity running. Slow down, live the moment in full, and give them that extra chance to explore. It is so hard sometimes. The other day we were walking down the street and Camilla wanted to explore the puddle she saw. So I thought, "I have to give her a couple of minutes to explore this puddle, it looks shallow and harmless". Of course, Camilla was wearing a white dress at that time. She carefully stepped into the puddle, stood still there looking around, then stomped in it for a while, then suddenly put her hands into the water. I thought if that's all she could do, we still were fine and could make it through the puddle OK. But then she sat down. So much for the beautiful white dress and her newest discovery.

Sand Art? Colored Rice.

Sand Art

I loved the idea. It is about

working with colors and sensory play with textures

at the same time. So I bought some colored sand and bottles for our next craft project with my 20 months old. The bottles are great. They are made of clear plastic, have texture to them, colorful caps and strings to wear them as decorations. They are small: would have to fill them just enough for the project not to get boring. I've got an ice-cream cone and a tropical fish bottles. We are still to make the tropical fish.

Colored Rice.

Then I thought to use rice instead of sand. Camilla picked rice with her fingers (great for fine motor skills!) Rice is bigger than sand, which makes it faster to fill the bottle.

But not that fast. She has been filling that bottle for 3 days. A very hard working girl. She loved it first, seemed to be interested after several minutes, but wanted to play with pretty rice in different ways too. All that took time.

It is easy to color rice. Put some in a zip-lock bag with several drops of hand sanitizer and food coloring, seal the bag, and mix the rice with color for a couple of minutes. The rice should be dried before use. It appeared it was ready for use almost immediately though. The food coloring didn't stain the fingers. The smell of the hand sanitizer was gone fairly quickly too.

The final product looked very pretty. And we both were very proud of the accomplishments. It was a great stress relief for me too:

Art project - the best stress relief strategy ever!

What else do you like to do to decrease your stress level? I am in need for some advice with this recently :(