HRM Parent Blog

To combine my last two posts on “Eating Local” and “Superfoods for Superkids”, let me introduce all you HRM families to kale, one of our all-star local superfoods!

I love kale because it is nutritionally-packed and grows locally in abundance, as it actually prefers a cooler climate.  You can even grow it in the backyard or in a large planter on the deck. 

Kale is a leafy-green cruciferous vegetable, descended from the wild cabbage.   It is loaded with beta-carotene, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, B vitamins, iron, calcium, manganese and potassium, along with lots of glucosinolates -- cancer-fighting compounds.  It is also a terrific source of fiber. 

Even with all of its innate goodness, most parents I speak to have yet to try it.  Why? Because no one has a clue what to do with it!  So, in the hopes of encouraging some of you to start incorporating this wonderful veggie into your family diet, I’m including some preparation tips and a simple recipe.

Kale is best enjoyed fresh, as the longer it is stored the more bitter it gets.  The smaller leaves are often less bitter than the larger ones, but the key is really to prepare it properly.  Before cooking kale, remove & discard the large rib or stem completely in each leaf, by slicing up either side with a knife (I also remove smaller branching ribs if they seem a little larger than usual).  Shred the leaves into smaller pieces (like you would romaine), or chop the kale finely if you are incorporating it into a kids’ soup or stew.  Kale can be steamed and served with a lemony dressing or soy-based sauce, or added to just about any one-pot dish for a nutritional boost. 

Here’s one, super-simple, recipe to try with your kids:

“Kalato Chips”

Please believe me – these are not awful!  Give these kale chips a chance and you will understand why my two urchins unflinchingly devour these.  They are crazily simple to make, and are so tasty they will not last the day out on the counter.  My kids call these “Kalato Chips” because potato chips are in short supply around this house, and if you close your eyes when you eat them your palette might just detect a hint of Frito Lay …

Oh come on, just try them, they take ten minutes to make and only have three ingredients!

Ingredients:

• large bunch fresh kale, de-stemmed and washed, then patted or spun as dry as possible
• olive oil (I keep some in a pump mister and just spray the leaves with that, otherwise 1 tbsp)
• sea salt
  

To prepare: Preheat oven to 300-325 F. Prep kale and shred into large pieces (they shrivel in the oven, so you don’t want to make them too small).  Either spread kale on a non-stick pan (or parchment covered pan) and then spray until coated with olive oil, or toss with a tablespoon of oil in a bowl and then spread on baking sheet.  The  first method uses less oil, if you are concerned about calories.  Sprinkle sparingly with sea salt (you can also experiment with other spices, or leave the salt out if you are trying avoid it, but of course that wouldn’t be very Frito-Lay-like).  Bake until crispy but NOT browned (watch the edges the first couple of times you make these to avoid browning, as this adversely affects flavour), about 10 minutes to 15 minutes, depending on oven temp.

For more easy kale recipes, visit the Simple Balance website, at www.simple-balance.ca .

Wendy McCallum, LLB, RHN, is passionate about providing busy parents with the tools & support they need to feed their families wholesome food, so everyone can play, learn, and feel better!  She is a mother of two terrific HRM kids, ages 6 & 7.  For information and recipe ideas, visit her website

by guest blogger Deanna Cogdon Miller (her photos by local photographer Kerianne Brown)

Last week as I sat holding my eight week old while he slept, I noticed him making sucking motions with his mouth in his sleep. As I watched and listened to him, memories of his two sisters doing the same thing as they slept in my arms as newborns filled my head. I realized then that even though I thought I'd soaked in, taken a picture of or written down every little detail about them when they were babies, there are a number of things about the newborn stage (like sucking in their sleep) that I'd forgotten.

Knowing that I was watching the last newborn I was going to be bringing into this world, I decided to make a list of the things I want to remember about newborns so that I never again forget. Here they are (in no particular order) -

The Wrinkles. Remember how they don't even fit into their skin in the early days? Our little guy was 8 lbs 11 oz when he was born and he still had back wrinkles and lots of room to grow into his skin.

The Baby Package. Remember how when you pull them out of a car seat, swing or bouncy chair, their legs stay all curled up in a seated position? It's like they're giving you a head start on a good cuddle because it's the perfect position to put your arm under their little bum and snuggle them into your chest.

The Startle Reflex. Remember how a sudden loud noise causes their arms and legs to fly straight out to the side as if they were doing a starfish jump into a pool? My husband and I got such a kick out of this with our first daughter that I'll admit we clapped a few times to see if we could make it happen.

The Razors. Remember how you could trim, clip, bite or file those nails and they were still as sharp as razor blades? This is my third baby and I still haven't mastered the art of the newborn manicure.

The Wild Arms. Remember the lack of control? Swatting themselves in the head, rubbing at their face and scratching their cheeks with the previously mentioned razor sharp nails.

The Peck. For those who nursed, remember how they'd start pecking at you when they were hungry? I still can't help but think of a chicken or rooster when my little man starts pecking at my shoulder and then starts tilting lower and lower until he gets close to the source of his nourishment.

The Irresistible Scent. Remember that wonderful smell? I think it's a combo of their newness and the light scents used in baby soaps, diapers and baby detergents. Whatever it is, it feels almost euphoric to breathe it in when you hold them close.

The Noises. Remember the coos and their first attempts at talking? My personal favourites are the sounds of contentment that come when they're nursing - sighing and making satisfied little noises as they do one of the things that makes them the happiest.

And finally, that first smile. There's nothing like it. Most of us have probably written down the date of the first smile or taken a picture of the first smiles but what we should remember is the feeling that first gummy grin gave us. A feeling of acknowledgment, a feeling of happiness and most importantly, a feeling of connection. That one smile says "you make me happy", "thank you for taking care of me" and "I love you".

If I were going to create my own expression from an old one, I'd say "take the time to stop and smell the newborn". It really is a magical time and it passes far too quickly.

Deanna lives in Dartmouth with her husband and three children. When she's not reading stories, dancing to ABBA or burping a baby, she works in communications for Bell Aliant.

Special thanks to Jen Partridge, a Halifax based photographer (and Mom)  for her contribution to this blog about creating better pics of the kids!

Your children are growing up fast. Are you capturing those precious moments? No matter what kind of camera you have, there are things you can do to improve the quality of your pictures. I want to share with you a few simple steps to help you take great photos of your kids.  You don’t have to have a fancy-schmancy camera to get great pictures! With some practice, you will find your pictures will get better. There is so much to tell, but here are a few pointers:

Tip #1: You know that little book that came with your camera? The one you tossed aside as soon as you opened the box, just before you started snapping away? Get that book out and read it! You will probably be amazed and catch yourself saying, "No way, my camera can do that!" ……at least twice.

Tip #2: Get Low: Don't be afraid to get your knees dirty! Get down to your child's level to snap a better photo. Get down on your knees or lay on your belly if you have to.

 Tip #3: Turn off your flash and see what happens. Natural light far outweighs flash in most situations. Play with your ISO setting. If you are unsure, take a picture at different ISO levels and see how each turns out. 

Tip #4: Have fun: Trying to pose your kids will only frustrate you. Capture your kids in their natural element, when they are playing, reading, or even sleeping. You may think to yourself, “I can’t get my kid to sit still long enough for a picture, let alone get them to look at me.”  Don’t worry about it!  You don’t necessarily need to have your child looking at you to get a great shot.  I have some great shots of my kids running away from me!

Tip #5: Experiment with other settings other than Auto: If your camera has a Sports or Child Mode, try using one of those instead. Those modes are designed to capture clear shots of a fast moving subject. We all know how fast moving our children can be, especially when you want them to sit still for one simple picture!!!

There is so much you can learn to take better pictures and I hope these tips get you started. The best thing is to experiment with all of your camera’s settings and see what happens. The greatest feature of a digital camera is the ability to shoot often and keep only the ones you like.

by guest blogger Katherine VanBuskirk

A favourite book at our house is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In it, a piece of cheese lies on the asphalt in the middle of a playground. It sits and festers, refusing to decompose. In typical middle school fashion, any kid that let’s their curiosity get the better of them and stoops to touch the disgusting thing is immediately labelled with the “Cheese Touch.” The cure for the Cheese Touch? Pass it on to some other unlucky pre-pubescent who lives in terror of just that.

Around these parts we have our own version. The Sick Touch. It seems that over the past two months we’ve generously shared the Sick Touch with those we love most. Just as one of us is nicely recovering from the illness of the week, another of us is stricken down - an exhausting carousel of sick.

This kind of inconvenience always begs the blame question and far be it from me to rise above some good speculation on who or what should take the rap. So I point my sanitizer-coated finger. At weather induced hibernation. The germ sweat shops, otherwise known as school and day care. A communal bowl of oh-so-addictive cinnamon hearts at the office. And that elevator button. I knew it looked suspicious.

But we’re coming out the other side these days. As I write this, the suns shines. A window somewhere in this house is open a crack letting fresh air and the sound of birds float through the house. We’re taking our lives back. One pasty, dry, cracked step at a time.

Though I definitely can’t say that I would do it all over again, one thing I know for sure is that there is nothing like being sick to make you appreciate your health. So no. I won’t wish this on us again, but if only there was a “Touch” that made us pause just for a minute once in a while to love the normal.

So tonight as I herd children in and out of baths and pajamas and bed, I’ll be grateful for this normal. These sweet simple things that go unnoticed most of the time but what really mean that we’re okay. We’re healthy and happy and taking care of business. So bring on the homework and the hockey practice, the lunch making and the story telling. I’ll take a touch of those any day of the week.

Katherine VanBuskirk is a communications professional in Halifax. She is rarely without a latte, a list and at least one of her two children. 

by guest blogger Deanna Cogdon Miller

If you’re anything like me, when you see your child’s daycare or school number pop up on your caller ID, you get a little lump in your throat. Two weeks ago, our daycare number popped up late on a Friday morning and I recognized the voice of our oldest daughter’s teacher. My first instinct was to ask if she was ok and her teacher replied that yes, she was ok but that there had been an “incident”.

Her class goes swimming most Fridays and for fun, she was trying to blow water through a pool noodle. Rather than blowing it, she sucked it in by mistake. She went completely blue, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t talk and according to her teacher, had panic in her eyes. The lifeguard got her out of the water and talked her through it – eventually getting a little cough out and as more came, her colour came back and she recovered fully.

From the moment I answered that phone call from daycare, our experience was nothing short of amazing.

Thank you to her amazing teachers who praised her for how great she did but knew not to make a huge a deal of it. I firmly believe that their supportive but easy going reaction is the reason she has had no problem getting back into the pool since this happened. 

Thank you to Kaitlyn – the lifeguard. As a former lifeguard, I know how scary it is when you realize you actually have to put your skills to work. She was calm, focused and praised and encouraged our daughter as she coughed. She also told the teachers to let us know we may want to get follow-up in case there was water in her lungs which could potentially be dangerous when she slept. Another lifeguard with different skills, a different level of confidence and a less calm demeanor could have meant an entirely different outcome for us. I don’t even know her, but I am ever so grateful to Kaitlyn.

Thank you to the incredibly nice nurse from 811 who did everything she could to find information for us on children who could potentially have water in their lungs. After not finding what we needed, she put me on to poison control.

Thank you to the unbelievable woman at poison control who was so supportive and because they’re located at the IWK, went and found someone in the IWK’s emergency department to find out what we should do (which ended up being to take her in).

Thank you to the IWK for having the policy that once your child has been in emerg, you can call and talk to someone for 48 hours afterwards. Her lungs were fine when we took her in on Friday and we were told to watch for signs of infection. When she developed a really high fever Saturday afternoon, we called for advice and ended up taking her back.

Thank you to our daycare for including us in the process of report-writing that has to happen after an incident like this. They were extremely supportive and wanted to make sure we were fine with all the details and everything that was submitted.

Thank you to the pool for actually calling us the next day to see how our daughter was doing. I was in shock when the woman said where she worked and why she was calling.

So the moral of the story? We have unbelievably great people in HRM and because of the skills, kindness and support of people we know and many complete strangers, I can sleep at night.

Deanna lives in Dartmouth with her husband and three children. When she's not reading stories, dancing to ABBA or burping a baby, she works in communications for Bell Aliant.