Pumpkin Patch Preschool @pumpkinpatch-preschool - Tumblr Blog

Summer Break

The daycare will be closed the next couple weeks while the owners are on vacation.

Picking Clothing: Trans and non-binary chests

Starting that journey into transitioning can be daunting. There’s so many unknowns and new ground to cover. First off I want to applaud you for starting your journey. You are brave and beautiful.

Let’s discuss some tips for your chest! You either have boobs or you don’t. If you have them they can be troublesome. If you don’t let’s talk about how to get them!

Boobs are great when transitioning to a more feminine figure. They help you appear more feminine and fill out clothing better. They give you those curves you might bectrying to achieve. When starting out find a nice padded bra. Here’s a link to measure your chest at home to get correct band and cup size. THIS WORKS ON EVERYONE! It’s the best measurement tool ever! Flawless fit every time! Once you know your band size you can work on cup size.

Happy Boobs

Cup is a little harder. A padded bra will give you some definition but is still usually small. There are silicone inserts that you can place under your breasts to help push them up and give them the appearance of fullness. These are great if your breasts are already forming and growing. But what if they aren’t? There are pads that you can place into your bra. They come in several different sizes and are very comfortable. You can research more for custom ones or more form fitting but I feel this is a cheap and great start.

There's more at Gap.com including Petites and Tall sizes, kids slim and husky sizes, and baby bedding. You'll also find your favorite T-shir

Clothing also makes a difference in drawing attention to your chest. Own it! You got the boobs! Horizontal stripes or patterns that draw the eye to the chest will make it appear larger. Avoid v necks and tight clothing. This will only make your chest appear smaller and flatter. That is NOT what we are going for. A few other non clothing tricks are to practice good posture. This will push your chest out and shoulders back giving you a larger chest. There are clips you can get to turn your bra straps into a sports bra style or racerback style. Doing this pushes the breasts together and up.

Buy RAZOR Racerback Bra Strap Clips-Conceal Straps-Cleavage Control and other Everyday Bras at Amazon.com. Our wide selection is elegible fo

Now lets talk talk about how to mask those breasts if you’re wanting to appear more masculine. Binders are the best course of action these are tighter than sports bras and their job is to flatten and smooth for short periods of time. Now be very careful. Do not make your own, layer, or tape your chest in any way. This can cause serious damage. Damage from doing this could leave you disfigured or impair your eligibility to get top surgery if you decide. Respect your body and its limits. Alter it healthily and safely.

If you’re under 24 there are several companies that work to provide your with binders. The company below works by application and randomly selects people each month to receive a binder. There are lots of great companies to buy from as well if you’re able to take that route.

FtM Essentials and our parent company, Early to Bed, are happy to announce their Free Youth Binder Program. Designed for folks 24 and under

Although geared towards non trans woman this is some great advice on how to minimize your chest without a binder. Perfect for starting out, waiting for a binder, or days your chest needs to rest from a binder. Another good option is a compression shirt. These are usually in the sports section.

Let’s discuss briefly clothing to help you look masculine. To help your chest appear flatter wear darker colors like navy and black. Dark colors are slimming and help conceal curves. Avoid horizontal patterns. No horizontal stripes or checkered plaid patters. Vertical stripes are good though. Try to avoid knit fabrics like sweaters and most cotton T-shirt’s. These tend to cling more and show curves. Instead opt for woven fabrics like a button up shirt. You can absolutely wear T-shirts just make sure to get a good fit and layer it under a denim or leather jacket to lower focus on your chest and draw attention to your shoulders instead. A nice dress shirt and fitted vest will help you bring your whole look together and conceal your chest.

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Nutrition and Hydration

Today’s will be a simple run down of basics. We plan on going more in depth in the future with healthy meals and healthy snacks so stay tuned!

Nutrition and hydration and a super important part of being a human. As a little it can be daunting to try and think of things that are cute and healthy. So let’s talk about some basics! Nutrition is the stuff we put in our body that has healthy vitamins and minerals to help our body function. Simple! Notice how I didn’t say foods? That’s because some people have troubles eating. I use to have a tube that I ate through. That’s okay! Everyone struggles and everyone battles something. ❤️

Hydration is making sure your body gets enough healthy fluids to work correctly. It helps with headaches and tiredness and lots of other things. It’s very very important to stay hydrated. Never deny yourself hydration or nutrients or that can be extremely dangerous.

‎Water is essential for life, but drinking enough of it is also one of the easiest things to neglect. Plant Nanny² keeps track of how much w

We are going to do a quick run down of some simple things you can do for both nutrition and hydration! I don’t like drinking water. I’m so picky about the taste of it. But I know to be a good little I must stay hydrated. I like to make some mint black tea in a big pitcher each day. This not only ensures I’m drinking my full of water and staying hydrated but it tastes good and that helps me drink a lot more! We also like body armor drinks because they are packed with nutrients and taste like juice! Try to stay away from artificial juices and Gatorade. Those aren’t good for your body and can dehydrate you. One of our team members loves water add ins like mio or orange crush. These flavor the water naturally while being healthier than their sugar filled counterparts. I get juice as a treat and we really like honest juice boxes! They come in several flavors and are 100% juice but watered down to cut out the sugar content and intensity of the juice. Perfect for kids and littles alike. If you’re buying juice make sure it’s 100% juice!

If you have a hard time eating a good medium ground are shakes or pedisure. These are packed full of vitamins you need while still making sure you’re getting the calories your body needs to function. It’s really fun to experiment with shakes and try different flavors. Our favorite is frozen banana peanut butter chocolate chip with vanilla almond milk! That was a mouth full! 😂 It is so tasty though and perfect for a snack or breakfast. If you need extra nutrients there are also protein powders you can add into milk, water, shakes, and yogurt!

Now for a simple but super healthy meal that can be made gluten free and is vegetarian. Homemade spaghetti sauce! I love making my own sauce because it allows me to control what is in it and is a lot fresher. You can even go a step further and make homemade tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes.

HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE

2 large cans of plain tomato sauce

½ cup of heavy cream

½ large white onion

Several large spoonfuls of minced garlic

Several tablespoons of Italian seasoning to taste

½-1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning or less to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Pasta of any kind

Start by cutting the onion. The smaller the better. This is mincing. Add a little oil to your pot and set the stove to about medium heat or a 6. Let it heat up a little and add the onion. Once the onion becomes more see through and a little browned add the garlic in. If you need more oil add some more.

We use a separate frying pan because we added some meat to ours.

From heat open both cans of sauce and add them into your pan with the onion and garlic. Stir everything together and keep the heat at low medium around 4. Add in all the seasoning and let simmer (this is a low boil that makes bubbles) you’ll want to stir often so all those herbs soak into the sauce.

From here let’s add the cream! This makes the sauce taste so much better! Adding cream add another layer to the sauce and helps reduce the acidity. Stir it all together and let it cook for about 20 min on that same medium low. Make sure to keep stiring so it doesn’t burn. From here carefully try a taste. Make sure to blow on it first. See if it needs more seasoning. If it’s good to go turn the heat down to low and let it slow cook while you boil noodles.

You can use noodles of any kind from straight noodles, to rotini, to dinosaur noodles! Fill a separate pot with water and set it on the stove. Turn the heat on medium high. Add a little salt to the water. Now wait until the water is boiling with lots of bubbles and carefully add in your pasta. Follow the box instruction and set a timer. Most pasta takes 5-11 min to cook. Once done drain the water carefully and serve up your meal!

I love this sauce! We use it for spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, and more! It feeds a lot and reheats well. It’s also awesome to know a simple recipe to impress friends, family, and loved ones.

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Therapy and Mental Health

It can be so scary to take those first steps and make a therapy appointment! Even before that it can become overwhelming trying to search for help and getting all these new terms and reviews popping up. You can feel overwhelmed before you even started. That’s okay. Take a step back and let us help you!

The biggest thing to understand is that therapy is for ANYONE! You don’t need to have a diagnosed mental health problem or suffered trauma to go to one. Everyone needs to talk and getting a neutral opinion on your life can really help you with decisions.

But who do I choose? That’s a great question! The easiest route is to get a referral from you general practitioner. They will usually send you to a councilor to talk to. Councilors are great for day to day talk about our lives. They can also introduce you to the wonderful world of animal therapy! Did you know riding horses or playing with puppies was considered therapy? It’s been proven to help improve mood and boost happiness. Animals are great!

Along with animals there are so many other types of therapies to try as alternative to medications like art therapy, music therapy, play therapy, naturopathic, and many more! Did you know little space is a tyler of therapy? It’s closely related to play therapy. Don’t be scared to mention it to your councilor our therapist! It’s actually really healthy and most have heard of age regression as a form or coping.

You’ve made the choice to seek out a councilor and have made the appointment. Now you might be feeling scared to go. That’s totally normal! Talking to a stranger isn’t easy, but with time and effort it does work and gets easier. Before too long you’ll be excited to go and decompress. If you’re nervous try bringing a stuffie with you. Big or small they won’t care. A good therapist will understand your hesitation and anxiety and help you work through that. They will just be happy you showed up to better yourself whether that is with a stuffie or not.

Some therapist do medications some don’t. Medication is great. Never be ashamed to need any type of medication that is prescribed to you! Without medications I wouldn’t be here today! I’m very proud of the medications I needed. Over time with proper therapy and support I was able to move to a more natural path that allowed me to maintain my needs in a different way. Natural is just as great too! There’s a lot of stigma with medications and therapy but please don’t let that stop you from seeking either out. We love this app to help us with reminders and therapy.

BoosterBuddy by Island Health https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boosterbuddy/id906538988?mt=8

If you don’t have insurance there are a lot of public therapy groups and low income doctors that can help refer you to organizations that can help. Never let that stop you.

https://youtu.be/cDoaQIQZU1k

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Coping With Grieve and Loss

An unfortunate part of life is losing someone close to us. This can be a really difficult time to work past. Today we are going to talk about healthy ways to cope.

Writing is always a great way to work out your feelings of anger and sadness. We like to get a special notebook or journal for just coping enteries. This helps keep it all in one area and you can also pick out a journal that reminds you of the person you lost. It’s good to write daily even on good days to say you had a happier day and what went on to make you happy. A good activity to include is to write a goodbye letter. Below is a worksheet to help you start your own.

It’s also important to remember that everyone grieves differently. Many people will be sad and angry but others cope differently. They may feel relieved or hide their feelings to others. There is no wrong way to cope as long as it’s not hurting you or those around you. How one person copes may not work for you. It may take a bit to find something that really works for you.

There are many different ways to cope with grieve. Some of our favorites are listed below. Take a look and see if something helps you channel your feelings and helps you make sense of your loss.

The most important thing to remember is you’re not alone. Talk with your friends, family, or trusted therapists about your feelings. Never be ashamed to admit you aren’t doing well. Loss is very hard and you shouldn’t deal with it alone!

https://youtu.be/FVGKVGEq6EY

Self Care Action Plan

https://youtu.be/w0iVTQS8ftg

Self Care Week

This week will be a bit different. We will be discussing more adult themes instead of preschool coloring pages. My team and I have noticed a large need for knowledge over self care both mentally and physically. Each day we will try to do a different topic we feel if helpful adult knowledge to make you a happier healthier little.