Remembering Baby Sai

I was blessed with his presence for only a short while but thankful none the less. I rocked him and sang to him and told him stories with Madhava on my lap that was growing smaller and smaller. He kicked like a kung foo master and I could see his kicks and punches and flips amazingly bulging through my skin. For whatever reason the Universe had for him or for us, he wasn't supposed to stay here very long. He was born at almost 5 months gestation either because of incompetent cervix or from placental abruption. His little body was strong and perfect and he looked exactly like his little brother. We only held him for a moment watching his heart beat through his chest and watching him practice breathing before the cord was cut and he left.

We remember him during my favorite season. We remember him when we play in the leaves and wait for the pumpkins to ripen. When the summer finally cools off and we start preparing for the holidays. I do not remember him with sadness, I am thankful for the opportunity to be with him.

So for all my friends that also have Angel Babies and for all those sweet little Angel Babies....

Let the wind be behind you,

Angels dance with you

And your consciousness

Guide you to victory.

Let the Angels, The Great Souls, The Avatars,

And all Incarnations of God

Pray for you.

Walk tall and bless all,
In your innocence with your love,

For each one's peace

And prosperity.

Remember what time wants;

Serve the needs of the time and space.

You will be sacred, exalted,

Beautiful, bountiful and fulfilled

-Yogi Bhajan

The Eight Human Talents by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa

Fresno Fair - It was a Blast!

We had so much fun with Beckie and Fam today! We were at the Fair during education days with GAGY lol Gist Academy for Gifted Youngsters. Here is Shraddha after winning a ribbon for a bean bag toss and sporting her I love you Honey sticker. Something new I learned today, that almost all the honey bees/worker bees are female. Beckie and Danielle, after Danielle won a ribbon for the bean bag toss.
There was a great kids pavilion there this year with fabulous kaleidoscopes just ask Jack, he didn't ever want to leave them.

Shraddha's favorite was the Tree House and the Pirate Ship. It was scary and at time the optical illusion was overwhelming and she would scream and hold my hand. Funny thing is she INSISTED, begged and cried to go back. So we did, with less crying the second time, thankfully.

Police motorcycles are FUN! Shraddha in the mist.

OMG! are you SERIOUS? REALLY?

What are we up to?

Well it seems it is 11:51 and I am still very much awake. Why would that be? Could it be the GINORMOUS Pepsi I had at 5:30 this evening? Yeah, I thought I was cutting out caffine from my diet? So besides that I am working and Tweeting and Stumbling and Mothering Miss Shraddha.

Seems she might be spending too much time at Beckie's house because on the drive home she insited that her last name was Gist. ****sigh**** She is sooooo funny. But look at how much fun she has been having! at TOT SCHOOL. She loves spending time with Beckie and family. She is so excited in the morning when she asks where are we going, and I say to Beckies!

Shraddha asks, "To see Jack?" yep "He is my friend."

"and Danielle?" Yes Baby and Danielle "YAYYYY!"

"and Dean?" Yes "He brings me rice and beans."

"And Beckie?" LOL yes, and Beckie, of course! "She loves me and I love her too"

I have to blog this as a Blessing because we are so blessed to be able to have such good friends to hang out with and to play with Shraddha when I am at work. The hardest thing in the world for me is to not be with her and have to be at work. It is so much easier for me knowing she loves to hang out with you Beckie.

I do very much love my job/career/calling as a physical therapist. I love helping people, but if not for financial reasons people... don't make me choose. Seriously, I almost walked away from my house because it is not worth more to me than time with her. Mortgage companies are nice right now though, helping me to modify my loan and have smaller payments. I may hang out here for a little while until I can sell. Still up in the air though.

It's nice having a house, way out here with a forest across the street and a waterfall and creek. Lots of place to play and have chickens and dogs. Tons of butterflies to catch and flowers to watch grow... Beautiful sunsets and sunrises all of which I can see from my dining room table while I have breakfast and dinner with the light in my life.

At the same time the drive, the maintence, the expense... just isnt what I planned on when I moved here. I never planned on needing to work more than 1-2 days a week and the plan was only for a little while.

Amaranth compared to other grains

	Amaranth	Wheat	Corn	Rice	Oats
Protein (g)	19	12.8	9.4	5.6	15.8
Fiber (g)	5.6	2.3	3	.3	3
Fat (g)	6	1.7	4.7	.6	6.9
Carbs (g)	6	71	74	79.4	66
Calcium (mg)	250	29.4	7	9	54
Iron (mg)	15	4	2.7	4.4	5
Calories	414	334	365	360	389

For More complete info see the following sites:
Great Grains for Celiac Sprue / Glucose Intolerance - NetNutritionist.com
Goodbye wheat, hello amaranth, say consumers Alternative grains with higher fiber and protein move into the mainstream - MSNBC.com
Mexico's Grain of the Gods: Cooking with Amaranth - MexConnect.com
Popped Amaranth Cereal Recipe - MyRecipe.com

Jazz up your Oatmeal!

We love oatmeal around here and it is so nutritious, but sometimes its easy to get bored of the same ol' thing. We can have plain oatmeal with a little brown sugar and soymilk for most days and love it ... then all of a sudden. Shraddha won't eat a single bite. So, I jazz it up!

Some of our classic favorites Oatmeal toppings are:

• Brown sugar
• Cinnomin
• Sliced Almonds
• Raisins and dried fruit (blueberries are YUM!)
• Strawberry Jam
• Maple Syrup

But even more fun is:

Spiced Oatmeal for two

• 1 cup of Old Fashioned Oatmeal
• 1/3 cup of raisins
• 1 tsp of Pumkin Pie Spice* (or to taste)
• 1 3/4 cup of water
• Mix it all together in a microwave safe bowl. Cook for 5 minutes on 50% power. Sprinkle with some brown sugar and 1/4 cup of soy milk. ENJOY!

*Pumkin Pie Spice is a blend fo cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace and cloves.

To sneak in some extra nutrition and make it even healthier try:

• 1/4 cup of ground flax - (keep in fridge) mix it in before cooking and add a little more water.
• amaranth - the whole raw seed or ground (mix it in before cooking and water) or popped amaranth sprinkled on top after cooked. More info on why amaranth is so good for you.
• Agave Nectar - by Madhava (not my Madhava LOL) - It is a natural sweetener made from the juice of the Agave plant. This sweetener is more healthy than sugar/honey because of it's low glycemic index. And it's great in tea and on pancakes!
  
• Popped Amaranth Cereal Receipe - MyReceipe.com