Conscious Mom

Monkeys in Awassa, Ethiopia

After a while even pattycake and peek a boo get old, so we've come up with some new ways to have fun. Making noise is one of Maia's favorites. She drums on the kitchen floor laughing like she's watching an old Monty Python movie. She can even imitate our rhythms. Occasionally we add vocalizations - 'huh' is her syllable of choice, at various inflections, pitches, and volumes. Then there's blocks. I stack them, she knocks them over. This one gets tedious very quickly (for me, she could go on for hours). I figure it is practice for endless games of Candy Land. She's learning 'catch'. I sit her up in her boppy and roll things ...

Today it was very hot so I wanted a light meal we could eat cold. I also wanted to take advantage of the delicious fruit that is in season right now. Raspberry-chocolate chip muffins This is adapted from a Wild Oats recipe. Mix these together: 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups white flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice 1/2 teaspoon salt In a separate bowl, mix: 1/2 cup sunflower or canola oil 3/4 cup maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 1 cup unsweetened soy milk Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in: 1 1/2 cups raspberries and 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli semisweet) Spoon into greased muffin tins, or tins with cupcake liners ...

For the past three years I have sponsored a girl in Andra Pradesh, India through Plan USA. We pay $24 per month and get yearly updates about how she, her family, and village are doing. The money doesn't go directly to her; it would cause a lot of village conflict if one family received the Indian equivalent of $24 per month while the rest remained impoverished. Plan uses the money to improve education, providing books, teacher training, and health education programs for the village. My sponsor daughter, Balakoteswaramma, and I correspond. At first she couldn't write well so she drew me an elaborate picture of a face, possibly her own. As she's gotten older she has been writing letters ...

I did have Maia get the second in the series of HIB, Prevnar, and Pediarix. I decided that since I will be working in a school all fall and winter, I'll be a big walking, talking germ bag, and Maia will need as much protection as she can get. All went as well as can be expected. She screamed during them, but was OK afterwards. No redness or swelling this time either, but her legs are obviously sore. She's moving less and occasionally cries and rubs her thigh.

At the fish market in Awassa, Ethiopia

So why Sunday brunch? I like the idea of breaking bread together. My favorite memories of my childhood (and of community-living in my early adulthood) were of eating together. No matter how disparate and hectic our days were, we'd come together over a meal, relax, and reconnect with one another. My grandparents had a huge kitchen table and it was routine for family and friends to stop by and join a meal. As I got older I'd help my grandmother by setting the table and doing some of the cooking (mainly dessert, I had my priorities). Now my little family always eats dinner together, but only rarely do people join us, such is modern life. And we eat baked potatoes ...

It is almost time for Maia's second round of immunizations. Already she has had Pediarix (Hep B, Polio, Diptheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus), Prevnar (Pneumococcal pneumonia), and HIB (the most common cause of meninigitis in infants). Despite the tone of the rest of this post, I am actually pro-vaccine. They are a wonderful public health measure and I am forever grateful that we no longer have outbreaks of smallpox and polio. I'm up to date on all my immunizations. No, it is not vaccines in general I am concerned about, certainly not vaccines for adults and older children. It's the 20+ vaccines for infants that I'm uncomfortable with. Why? 1. Preservatives and other chemicals injected into tiny bodies with still-developing organs: After ...

A friend recently returned from Ghana where she helped in a school for Liberian refugees. The school is funded by a charity called Unite for Sight, which also helps provide eye care for the refugees (and other people around the world). Here's the link to find out more or make a contribution,

Gelada baboons, Ethiopia