# Nov '05 babies, it's September!



## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

I'll start the thread then disappear! Happy September, everyone! Enjoy your harvest time/cooling down/whatever happens in September where you are!

Link to old thread.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Wellies and rain are normally what happens here: but term starts tomorrow!!! I get my life back! I get to go and spend time in a supportive and nurturing environment with other people who care about my feelings, make an effort not to whinge and actually seem to like me, unlike the current status quo.

I'm having dark, dark thoughts today


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## Queen of Cups (Aug 29, 2003)

Sorry, Helen - I hope things get better.

Spughy - you're probably gone by now, but I hope you have a wonderful trip!

I've discovered something new about my family - they all are crazy in love with cheddar grits. Who knew?









I got some great pics of the kids yesterday on the playground at my parents' church, you can see them here.

As for me, I've been sewing lately! I've made some new curtains for Ellie's room last night, and sewed myself a skirt last night, too! It was super easy and cheap, as a bonus. You can see it here.


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Sarah, have a great trip!







Good travel vibes for you and Rowan....
Helen,







mama! Hope you feel better soon. We love and admire you!
Jen, you and your kids are lovely - and your skirt is gorgeous!! Wow, that must feel great, to be able to make something like that.
Kavita, eeeewww! for the worm thing - it sounds cool, great idea, but I would have freaked too!







Hope it goes smoothly from here, and they stay put!!

Happy September, all!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Spughy, you may not get this (although if you are like me you will probably tune in for a last ddc fix/update before you leave, lol!) but I hope you have a great trip! Take lots of pictures, and especially make sure to take some pics for us of the first intercontinental Nov. 05 DDC meetup!!)









Gingerstar, the darn wormies did it again. It was really gross, but I think I have resolved that the problem is insufficient ventilation in the bottom of the bin, causing them to all crawl to the top for air when the lid is on. Of course, this time I was more prepared for the possibility that they might be on/around the lid, so although it was gross the suprise factor was not there and there were no worms injured in the process. And the fun part was that DH was home and downstairs with me at that time and after we herded the wormies back into the bottom of the bin (with plans to leave the lid off, of course, until more ventilation could be added) I was stirring up the bedding with a yardstick to check on what was going on at the bottom level and accidentally it sort of sprung back and flung a little bit of bedding in the direction of DH, so I got to witness him jumping out of the way and squealing like a girl, which made it all worthwhile! I couldn't help it, I was







even though I felt bad and knew I really shouldn't be laughing!









I am reading an interesting book right now entitled "A housekeeper is cheaper than a divorce." May post some thoughts later--although it has some points I don't agree with (she basically seems to think that household tasks are somewhat beneath you if you have higher education/skills and things that you could be doing otherwise that would be more lucrative and fulfilling) she also has some good points and good statistics. Like--the hours needed to manage a household (laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning) are pretty close to the hours of a full time job on top of childcare, and although you can streamline things to a degree, you can't just "organize away" what is basically close to a full time workweek. I am finding that to be true, and she points out that a previous generation of SAHM's or working mothers may have been able to manage it better in some respects because the parenting styles prevalent then didn't really present as much as a conflict--for example, confining your toddler to a playpen for hours or letting your older children watch a lot of TV so that you could clean or do laundry or cook was more acceptable to our own mothers than it probably is to us. No conclusions based on this yet, except validation of my own sense that it's really, really hard to run a household by yourself or even split all the tasks with a partner especially when you have a little mess maker running amok!


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## indigo_sue (Jan 2, 2007)

Not a member of your tribe, just lurking to wish Spughy a great trip!! Good luck on the airplane. I'm sending you happy toddler-snooze vibes.

Also, that book (housekeeper cheaper than divorce) sounds very interesting. I think I might pick it up, if just to read it and disagree with whatever is being said. I'm on a quest to find ways to achieve balance between being an attached mom, a passionate loving wife, a self-employed successful business consultant, and a competitive athlete. Unfortunately things around the house (cooking, cleaning) fall a distant fifth in priorities. Also unfortunately, right now we can't afford a housekeeper. There must be another way!


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Your poor DH, now women he doesn't even know are laughing about this! I hope you can get those critters situated!!









I need to read this book. But how can I make my DH read this book?
Of course, he seems to think it is easy - just get off the computer and clean the kitchen!


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

I happen to remember telling dh when we were just married that when we finally decided to have kids we would have to be doing well enough financially to afford a housekeeper to come in once a week. Hah. We were only "just married" for 6 months when we got pg so that requirement of mine sort of slipped through the cracks.

I actually have been doing a lot of housework lately. Sort of trying to make up for the slack job dh was doing to cover for me during my m/s month. I've got some major nesting urges going on and it's kind of surprising because they usually don't hit until the end of the second tri.


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

I am crazy but I love doing housework. I love when Jim comes home and the house is all clean, dinner is cooking, the children are all dressed and clean and happy. I have this wonderous sense of accomplishment, and he always tells me how much he appreciates all my hard work. I don't think it's beneath me at all.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Sharon, there is a chapter in the book specifically about how to deal with reluctant husbands! Haven't read it yet, but I'll let you know if there are any gems! I imagine that it probably involves providing them with hard facts, solid arguments, a well-thought out plan, and hints that with all the extra time and energy you will have they will get a lot more nookie if they agree to hiring a housekeeper!









I actually like doing some of the housekeeping too, but not to the exclusion of everything else in my life that I would enjoy pursuing and that's kind of how it feels like it's shaking down these days in my world. Although realistically I know that's not entirely true. We are coming up with a detailed task list and cleaning schedule, and we're going to try that for a while and see how that helps. The book actually has an exercise where you list your roles on a piece of paper each (like Mother, Wife, Professional Whatever, Dog Owner, Housecleaner, Volunteer Firefighter, etc.) and then you list the sub-roles you do under each. Like under mother you might put "Breastfeeder, referee of arguments, nutritionist, educator, health monitor, social director, chauffer, play date arranger, comforter" or whatever. Then you list the specific tasks associated with each sub-role--such as under chauffer you might put "drive to soccer practice" "pick up from school" etc. Then you estimate the times it takes you for each task. Like "pick up from school--20 minutes". Then you end up with a list of tasks that need to be done to run your household and the amount of time it takes to do each one, and then you can look them over and determine how much time it takes to do each, whether you like them or dread them, and if you dread a task, you can choose whether it's most appropriate to keep it, eliminate it entirely, delegate it to a family member, or pay someone else to do it. Part of my problem is that I feel like we don't have time or energy for each other, for individual pursuits, for much fun as a family, for doing some of the things that need to be done like yardwork and taking care of the dogs, without us ending up feeling like we're working all.the.time. DH helps a lot and I've decluttered, organized and simplified a lot, but you just can't simplify away some things, they just need to be done! Sigh. We'll see if I have any brilliant revolutions from this book.


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

happy safe, travels sarah and rowan!!

just a quick heello here..
my computer time has seemingly dwindled to near nothing these days.. but we are keeping happy and busy.
we have some new friends in town and a new puppy dog! he is black lab and border collie and just as sweet (and troublesome) as can be. summer isn't very summery here anymore.. we even had a fire in our wood stove the other morning to ward off the chill. i'm looking forward to autumn and winter now..
i started knitting again. i took a summer break but im back in full swing.
i think about you all lots and miss my time on here connecting. *sniff*
especially with you aubrey and helen (my pregnant mommas).. how is everything going?


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Oh, Fern, my love, I miss you too. I'm just blooming- life is calm and sweet and good and my boys are back at school







I love them, but I like them much more when I don't have to see them every day.
BTW, Fern, you're not reading closely enough. Zjande and Belleweather are due in December, Strawberryfields and I share a due date in Feb, Kaspirant is due in March and: are you ready? Bensmom, s kristina, Willemsmamma and someone else







: are due in April.







: That's got to be something in the water, surely?







How cool?
I'm knitting like a mad thing, trying to get a cardigan for myself finished before it starts getting cold.
Kavita mentioned this on the yahoo group, but does anyone fancy a 2nd birthday swap?


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
I'm just blooming- life is calm and sweet and good and my boys are back at school







I love them, but I like them much more when I don't have to see them every day.

I am so glad to hear you say that. With all the homeschoolers I always feel like such a heel to admit that life works better for all of us when Annette is in school. It's a holiday here in the states so she is home today and at some point or other I'm sure I'll wish she was at school. Probably about the time I'm trying to get Joseph down for a nap and usually fall asleep myself. I wish I could figure out how her little mind works, but she works so much better with her teachers and therapists then she does with me.

We need to work on cleaning issues around here. It seems Kyle and I have very different ideas of what clean is. I was very irritated with him last night over the dishes. He has washed them up in the morning and I had not messed with them all day thinking at some point he would put them up. Eventually he left to go get some work in on a friend's new editing system and I ended up going to put the dishes up. At least half of them were greasy or had food on them! I really don't see how that could look clean to anyone and was very annoyed that I had to rewash a big pile of dishes when I thought I was just going to be heating up left overs for dinner. He does try to help with other things, but I swear there are times when he does a bad job just so I'll tell him to stop messing with it and I'll care for it.

I've also been seduced to the dark side by bzzagent. They send me a big pack of pledge multi surface wipes in the mail and I plan to use them to clean today. They also send a disposable duster in the same pack. I usually don't use disposable cleaning products like that, but at the moment if it means things getting clean I'll use them. I just hope they don't stink too bad or they might end up dropped off at Goodwill or something.


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Thanks Kavita, that sounds really interesting....
DiD, I don't think it beneath me at all either, and I do love a clean house, it's just as indigo sue said, for me it falls at the bottom of a long list of priorities....
I probably need to get on a sort of schedule too, now that we are back at school.


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
are you ready? Bensmom, s kristina, Willemsmamma and someone else







: are due in April.







: That's got to be something in the water, surely?







How cool?

it's snugglebutter







she's is in our april ddc too









s_kristina - I know what you mean about feeling







: that you're glad that dd is in school. Well, not that I *know* because willem isn't in school yet. I never thought I'd be one of those moms who looked forward to her kids being in school but I am. It's bittersweet, knowing that I only have a couple more years like this with them and then it's a whole 'nother world with school and such. But I'm really looking forward to it. We've been talking a lot about the whole homeschooling vs traditional schooling issue lately and we are both so undecided. I just don't think I have the umph to want to homeschool right now. Maybe sometime in the future but we've got time to decide. Who knows. Maybe our kids will hate school. But don't most


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Kavita mentioned this on the yahoo group, but does anyone fancy a 2nd birthday swap?

Oh I would love a birthday swap!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Actually I can't take credit (or blame, depending on you perspective, lol!) for the birthday swap suggestion--I think it was Awaken although I can't be sure of that either.

Right now my thoughts of housework are somewhat diminished because of the upcoming week's schedule:

1. Tomorrow, Lunch with a new mama friend (as in she's new to motherhood, her baby is 6 weeks, she's a friend of a friend in AZ and I met her back in January or so.)

2. Thursday, We're having the neighbors over for dinner.

3. Friday, one of DH's work colleagues is hosting a cookout as his house. I am bringing a side dish casserole, Sweet Corn Casserole. (For anybody who is thinking, oooh, that sounds so delicious and healthy and wholesome, I want that recipe from her, trust me, you don't!







It's admittedly really tasty but involves canned cream corn, canned regular corn, a ton of butter and sour cream, and boxed jiffy corn bread mix as central ingredients!!) I may even bake a cake if I have time/energy. But I think painstakingly prepared and expensive organic foods are kind of a waste of energy for this particular occasion/crowd, so I'm quelling my purist, perfectionistic nature for this one.

4. Saturday--the Applebees nurse-out, which I am helping to coordinate.

So, that's my week! Guess not a lot of housework will be happening around here, lol!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

I had a feeling I knew what was in that casserole and I really should not have read the ingredients. I dislike creamed corn on a good day, but man I think you may have turned me off the corn on the cob I've been craving


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Kristina, I've got one for you. beef, sealed and dumped into the bottom of a casserole with onions, squash, red kidney beans (you probably have some pretty name for them over there) and slices of corn-on-the-cob and a load of paprika. Tip some stock, some beer and some thyme sprigs in and then stick it in the oven for half a day while you do something interesting and eat


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Helen, yours doesn't sound to bad. I normally have objections to creamed corn though as I can't deal with eating something that looks like it belongs in a diaper. No offense meant to anyone that loves creamed corn. I just personally can't deal with it. I do have other food issues if anyone would care to examine my strange and twisted mind


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *s_kristina* 
I normally have objections to creamed corn though as I can't deal with eating something that looks like it belongs in a diaper.









:

yuck.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Whoops, sorry there kristina! Don't want to be guilty for putting a pregnant lady off her corn!









There are other ingredients too, those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head. It's kind of like cornbread with a lot of corn in it, actually, but it's softer and tastier by far. It doesn't come out looking or tasting like creamed corn--I promise!

Oh, another detail of my life I did not mention is that my parents are apparently coming to visit not this week, but next Wednesday-Sunday. I'm glad, but there is also the stress factor there. But I know that Ella will love having them here, anytime I am on the phone she's grabbing for it and saying "Baba! Baba!" which is her word for grandma.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Kristina, come move here. We can't get creamed corn


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

oh boy, all this talk of corn...call me crazy, but i do not like corn! i never have. i do like cornbread, though. not too healthy, huh?

and ah, house cleaning...definitely at the bottom of my priority list. i try to keep up, and i'm lucky to have a husband who really does help around the house. i'd say we are even 50/50. but i do really love a clean house, and get irritated when things are messy. it's so tough to keep up, though. like you said, kavita, in order to stay on top of everything, it feels like you have to be working all.the.time.

helen, do you boys go to boarding school? i ask, since you said you wouldn't see them every day once school started. just curious.

DiD, how's wedding planning coming along?

americans, how was your labor day weekend?

and spughy, you probably aren't going to see this, but if you do, have a WONDERFUL trip!

it has been so incredibly hot here. unbearably so. the past few days, it's been 107, all day long. even at night! today, thank god, it has cooled down a bit, and this morning, it was only 90. i hope this is the last of the heat waves. i am so ready for fall, but am trying to prepare myself for fall in a very mild form. i've no doubt CA's version will be almost nothing compared to New York's. At least it'll be cool and pleasant instead of feeling like we're living in an African desert or a traumatic global warming crisis. I have been dreaming of snow, the north, sweaters, and small towns with old stone buildings.

i have good news, though!!! i got the "gig" i told you all about, where i thought i hadn't gotten it. i got a call the day after i posted saying i thought i must have not gotten it and was bummed. i am So excited!
it's a diversity talent showcase put on by ABC and Touchstone pictures. we, the 16 chosen, will be doing scenes with one other actor, working with directors from ABC, and then presenting them, in a theatre, to a bunch of industry people...casting directors, agents, and executives. the idea is that they want to get us jobs, so that minorities will be represented on TV and in movies. it's great, because i'll be getting instant exposure that would have been So hard for me to get otherwise.

so, i'm trying not to think of what will come of it, but rather, enjoy the process, and enjoy being able to act. orientation is tomorrow. we'll have rehearsals on and off til november, when the showcase will be.

after a pretty rough summer, the fall is looking up!

and DH is done researching for his project and will start his writing process in the coming weeks, which feels good, like progress, for all of us.

so, Kavita, I'm not going to do the kundalini teacher training thing now, since the ABC thing will be taking up all the time and conflicts with it. perhaps next year. i know at some point i will do it. in the meantime, i'm looking forward to continuing my practice and learning and growing in it. i am so new to it (kundalini, in particular), that i am sure another year's practice and growth will be good for me. that is so cool that your husband trained with the main guy himself (forgot his name now, but totally recognized it from the reading i've done). i'm going to class this evening.

oh, and tomorrow is our three year anniversary. i am so excited. i don't even think we'll be able to do much, except have a nice dinner together after finley's asleep...but we'll be together and make a point of really being together and celebrating the day.

more on that later, as well as questions about the ole sister in law.


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

barcelona - congrats on the gig and happy anniversary in advance!!!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Barcelona- congrats on the gig that sounds wonderful!

Helen - Moving there sounds good in some ways on not so good in others. I'm rather fond of sunlight. There is also no way I could convince Kyle to move there so it would be me and kidlets, not a fun idea.

Speaking of Kyle I'm more then a tad irritated with him over money issues at the moment. He spent 3 months barely working so money is beyond tight. I'm actually expecting a shut off notice on the electric and just hoping we can push it out until he gets paid on Friday. So on top of an already super tight money situation he screwed up twice and we no have no money until Friday and a very tiny amount of gas that we are hoping is enough to get him back and forth to work. That means I can't go by the health dept to get proof of pg, which costs all of $7 or pick up the WIC checks we could really use right now







: I'm hoping for an order to come through on my website, but not really expecting anything.


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Kristina,







I hope things look up for you soon and you can get the things you need. That must be hard.

Barcelona, congrats on the job and happy anniversary! Double YAY for you this week.









Everyone else, I've been reading along the past few days but SO busy. We had a really great labor day weekend - we went up to Bloomington IN to visit some friends and have a little vacay. We stayed at a B&B which had a huge spa bathtub in our own bathroom - that in itself made it seem like we were really on vacation!







We saw some of my good friends from grad school and watched a fair bit of college football (yay!) and went hiking at one of my favorite state parks in the world and just generally felt relaxed and happy. It was awesome.

But the main reason I've been so busy is because this past week we've really been hitting it hard on the house-hunting front and the good news is *we made an offer on a house last night*!! Which is why, in fact, I'm awake at 3:36am. Brynn woke up around 2:15 and I haven't been able to go back to sleep because I'm so excited!







: The house is a foreclosure so it is something that would otherwise be way out of our price range, but the asking price was about 35% less than market value and several thousand below our pre-approval amount, so we jumped on it! It is a *really* nice brick home in a nice new neighborhood; the house itself is 5 years old, so still under home warranty, and there are still new houses being built in the subdivision. It's about 15 minutes from DH's work so it's close enough for an easy commute, but it's still very "out in the country" feeling, which is what we wanted. Kavita, I almost called you at like 11:30 last night because I figured you would be up and I wanted to tell you all about it, but I talked myself out of it because calling anyone at 11:30 for a non-emergency is just poor form.









Anyway, the house needs some minor work: new flooring, new paint, and some cleaning - but that's it! It's ~1400 square feet on the ground level with an unfinished basement of probably an additional 1400 square feet, and a 2-car garage. It's 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and it has the big vaulted cielings in the living room and the master bedroom. Oh and it has a whirlpool bath in the master bathroom! I might go back up and take pictures tomorrow, so I will have something to share once our offer gets accepted (so keep your fingers crossed that it is!). So yeah, I've just been laying in bed thinking about what colors to paint it, and what it will feel like to live there, and how nice it will be to have friends over, etc. It's so fun!

OK, better go back to bed and try to get some sleep!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Barcelona, no, my boys don't go to boarding school







: I hope what I said was that I wouldn't be seeing them all day, every day- but saying that, Marlborough public school is just down the road...









Amy- yay house!!!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, but it sounds wonderful.


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Yay on the house Amy. Lots of positive thoughts that it all works out well for you this time. Pictures of the place would be great. Then we can all help you go crazy picking out colors curtains









I also wanted to add this after my last post. We have food and things here so we aren't going to starve or anything. The only real big issue at the moment is gas and if he has to dh can ask for a $20 advance to put gas in the truck. I'm just highly irritated with him that he let his account get overdrawn again. On the other hand just his breathing at night can irritate me so it's not like I'm in the best mood to start with. I think I'm already in the "you did this to me, you







" part of pg. I've mentioned to him a number of times about a vasectomy that was supposed to happen and didn't







: Not that I really need this little one to know about that, but I haven't found my happy place yet. If anyone sees my happy place you can send it my way.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

No bright words, just









I'm trying to email you, btw, have you got them?


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
No bright words, just









I'm trying to email you, btw, have you got them?

Yep got them and replied to the first last night. It's from a yahoo address so I'm not sure what happened to it. I should have a copy in my draft and will resend it. Quick answer on here is yes I can and I'm looking at patterns and material for ya. In between keeping Joseph from attempts at killing himself that is. When do they learn not to climb up to the top of a shelf and pull a box full of books off on their head????


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

no kidding!

i really am behind..
*sigh*

congrats to everyone expecting!

im in vancouver for a few days..on route to victoria..then we are headed home to little fort sunday. elwynn starts school monday morning!

im knitting socks these days. i love socks.. they are so quick and so lovely.
ak..gotta run. more later.

love you all.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Oh, Fern, my love, I miss you too. I'm just blooming- life is calm and sweet and good and my boys are back at school







I love them, but I like them much more when I don't have to see them every day.
BTW, Fern, you're not reading closely enough. Zjande and Belleweather are due in December, Strawberryfields and I share a due date in Feb, Kaspirant is due in March and: are you ready? Bensmom, s kristina, Willemsmamma and someone else







: are due in April.







: That's got to be something in the water, surely?







How cool?
I'm knitting like a mad thing, trying to get a cardigan for myself finished before it starts getting cold.
Kavita mentioned this on the yahoo group, but does anyone fancy a 2nd birthday swap?


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *s_kristina* 
When do they learn not to climb up to the top of a shelf and pull a box full of books off on their head????

I don't know, I was wondering the same thing. Ella is totally a mountain goat. (She comes by it honestly, I was the same way, I terrorized parents/babysitters by climbing on everything.) My biggest freakout right now about that is that our stove/oven here is the kind that has a drawer with an indent/groove thing instead of a handle--she grabs the oven handle and puts her toes into that groove and is climbing up the oven! I have two fears about this, one being that she is going to accidentally open the oven door (which is heavy) and go flying backwards and maybe get cracked on the head either by the floor or the door, and the second is the obvious one that she is able to reach the stove top that way. I had a plastic stove guard but the adhesive got gummy (probably from cooking oils) and fell off repeatedly. Not that that would have necessarily stopped the climbing either. Our stove is the glass/ceramic smooth top electric range, so it's not even like it's obvious where the hot part is--sometimes I have to remind myself not to get too close to the "burner"! We've told her no (sometimes in a rather freaked out way) and that seems to just make it more of a game for her. We've also told her that the stove is hot and could hurt her/give her an owie. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this? My evil thing that I did yesterday was that when she was climbing on the oven, I yanked the door slightly open and that kind of knocked her off of it (but gently and with me there to catch her if necessary.) It startled her, I don't think she realized it could do that. I also told her not to climb on the oven.

Well, I made my ethiopian feast (finally!) last night after weeks of securing/preparing the ingredients. I didn't like it, actually, probably because I was slaving away for about 4 hours and by the time we actually ate I had a raging headache and generally felt a little sick. Of course the one day that DD doesn't take a decent nap is the day that I have something complicated planned for dinner! I had made one of the dishes (a lentil dish) the night before late in the evening, but when I did it we ended up being so hungry that we ate most of it then just by itself!! So I remade it with modifications the next night, plus two other dishes (a vegetable stew and a collard green dish.) Anyway, DH looooved it. He is very appreciative of my cooking in general, but he really liked this one. I took a picture, so maybe I'll figure out how to post it on here for you all! I actually have been photographing at least some of our dinners for a couple of months now with the intent of starting a food blog, but I haven't gotten around to actually posting any photos or content!!! So I'll have to do that one of these days. It would be easier if my computer hadn't died. I'm actually pretty burned out on cooking right now and would like a day to recover, unfortunately I had previously invited the neighbors over for dinner tomorrow night. So I am going to start on that today so I don't end up frantic tomorrow night. Although my neighbor, who was a mom of 6 including twins and has a million grandkids, offered to come early and watch Ella while I cook. Which is both kind, wise, and validating that it's hard to cook with the little monsters running around!!

I'm very happy because my worms are doing very well right now. We got a much bigger bin and haven't gotten around to getting that set up for them, but they seem to be doing well where they are. I want to increase the size of my colony so that I can feed them more though and get more compost. I went and bought an electronic kitchen scale last night, which I was already considering pre-worm because I am getting tired of having recipes that say "1 pound of green beans" or "1 medium eggplant, around 1 pound" and not really having any idea of how much I am really putting in, but now definitely decided to get so that I can actually determine how much I am feeding them by weight so that I can give them the optimal amount of stuff so that the will reproduce. Yes, I am both perfectionistic and a tad OCD and a nerd! It's not wonder I married a scientist!!

*Amy*, sounds great about the house! You'll have to tell me more! Hope you get it. Sounds fancy! I will probably have another attack of house envy!







I am so weird about that. DH laughs at me because half of the time I wish we bought a bigger, newer, fancier house, half of the time I wish we bought a smaller, simpler house or no house at all and just got rid of all our crap and were living in an RV or something! So I guess since it's about evenly divided between those two extremes, it must mean that I'm in a good, middle of the road place for me!









Kristina, hope you get to your happy place soon! I think the happy place doesn't really set in for a lot of people until the end of the 1st trimester/somewhere in the 2nd, so I am sure that it is there in your future! One of the things I learned in midwifery studies is that the basic psychological characteristics of pregnancy are "ambivalence" for the first trimester, no matter how planned or wanted the pregnancy is, there is always some ambivalence or "what did I get myself into?" feelings and moments of wishing that you were not pregnant right at that moment. The second trimester is characterized by "acceptance" where you have accepted the pregnancy and are settled into the new identity as a pregnant person and usually feel pretty decent, and then "anticipation" in the 3rd trimester as you await the birth and the arrival of the baby (and the end of pregnancy!)

barcelona, congrats about the gig and happy anniversary!

Whoops, xposted with Fern! Hi there! socks sound cool! I honestly don't know how you manage to find the time to knit anything!!!! (I know that I spend time on the computer, but Ella can't unravel that, lol!)


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

We're back home after a while on the road and the trip to my sister's wedding went smoothly (though a few too many rounds of animal car songs by Sharon, Lois & Bram for my liking- but much nicer than screaming). Neela was a beautiful flower girl, too.

I'm the former worm composter (I didn't bring them across the border for a variety of reasons), but can offer some tips if anyone desires







I miss the satisfaction of a well run worm compost bin, and freaking people out about my "pets".

Hugs to everyone, and extra hugs for Kristina right now.


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

: I want to read and catch up and give







when needed but I'm barely keeping my head above water here...

I was in the hospital and missed work last friday for stress-induced migraines and dehydration. It was bad...It got to the point where I was even throwing up gatorade and water







: I don't know how to lessen the stress though because my boss is a UA violation and I have outrageous class sizes right now. There is little to no hope for establishing the necessary routines and procedures for a successful school year. I have 33 desks in my classroom...and my small classes have 42 and 43...and not to mention that I had a class today where EVERY student was present and there were over 50 bodies in my classroom built for no more than 30....I am having a hard time not crying every day this time of day.

Not to mention that the kiddo is getting his canines and has had a temp over 100.9 every day since last friday...
when it rains it pours...

PS please please please mama's get the beads to me so I can send them back out to everyone. If I don't have them in the next 2 weeks...I'm going to just send what I do have to the ones who have sent them in and will return the extra's to the mama's who sent them.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Have you got mine yet, Alicia?


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

no...but i know they were coming...I'm sure they will come soon ?!?!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Oh, I forgot to mention this but I did actually get beads and will mail them tomorrow. Sorry it's taken me so long . . . I've been a flake about this, so you all have my apologies. and helen, thank you for living across the pond so that your mail takes longer and I'm not the only one holding up the parade!









kaspirant, I hope you feel better! Take good care of yourself! that just sucks about the large class sizes. I worked in a public school environment the last 2 years before Ella was born, and I know how it is when you have crappy administrators and too many students with too few resources.







Especially in science if you are supposed to be teaching lab components. It can get to be madness. One of the things I used to do (I was the PO) was teach a forensic science curriculum where we did some labs, and especially with a large roomful of 9th graders it can get pretty wild.

On the teaching note--I am reading a book titled, "The Thread That Runs So True: A Mountain School Teacher Tells His Story." It's pretty interesting--as the title suggests it's written by a man who went to teach at a one-room schoolhouse in a poor, rural part of Kentucky in the early 1900s. I am not too far into it but I'm enjoying it.

Well I am officially done cooking for right now. I made three dishes today/tonight--one for tonight's dinner and two for tomorrow. I am so sick of cooking I could scream. And DH was home late from work and DD woke up from her nap and needed attention at a critical point in the cooking, so the process of tonight's dinner got screwed up. And then I didn't like what I made tonight either. (Note to Amy--don't bother with the vegetable not-sagna pasta toss recipe, it was bland and too much work for too little taste.)

Mel--fun that you used to worm compost too! Didn't Teresa also? If you have any tips I'd love to hear them.

I really must stop posting so much!!! I need to get out of the house and have some social contact with other grownups!!!


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Kavita, ITA about getting a life! At least you've got Amy IRL!! - but when Ella and I did go over to another mom's house, I don't know her well but she seems like friend material, she mentioned she is in DDC's online too (with babycenter - never heard of it, I'm sure it is mainstream) and that everyone thinks she is such a geek. I'm like, ME TOO!







But we did have fun.
It is funny, I am so mainstream compared to most mamas on MDC, but IRL I feel so crunchy! I finally made it to a local LLL, first time since we moved in 2001 when J was 4 mo old. (I heard about it on FYT, tee hee. They meet in the Starbucks at B & N, cool.) Most of the mamas there were first time mamas with about 4-6 mo old babes, and here I am with a nursing toddler in CDs, I felt like, just call me Lola Granola!









kaspirant, huge hugs. Please don't let our beads add to your stress!! Just push them to one side, and take care of your own life. I am looking forward to it but there is no need to let it make your life harder right now! I hope things improve, both school and teeth!









*Amy* - good house vibes! It sounds great!

Mel, welcome back!

kristina,







Hope things get better quick! I am sure you will do well once people find your business, just judging your talent from the dresses you made Ella!

willemsmama, hope you are feeling better too! glad you found a good practitioner - I'm sure that alone is a big relief.

barcelona,







for your anniversary and your gig! Tell us more when you can!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

I forgot to say, Alicia, big hugs and I hope you feel better soon







: Sorry, I can be such a cretinous potatohead sometimes. I'm starting to worry about the beads, though, because I posted them at the same time as a pair of socks that arrived in Vancouver (CA) last Wednesday. Hmm.

Kavita, you need a blog. Seriously. You have this cool worm-filled crunchy life and it's screaming out for a "my worm-filled crunchy life" blog to go with it.

Spughy sounds fine, btw







: I finally got to talk to one of you on the phone! How tragically excited am I? I, too, need a life, even if it lacks worm and crunch.


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Alicia







It sounds awful!! I'm sorry you are made to work in those conditions (and the kids too!). Don't even get me started on the state of public schools in the US.









Helen, I'm so excited for you that you get to see Spughy and Rowan! I can't wait to see pics of y'all together.









Mel, welcome back! Glad everything went well at the wedding and please share pics if you can!

Kavita - I agree with Helen: you need a blog!! Just do it!! They are so addictive once you get started.

Thanks for all of the positive vibes on the house front! They seem to be working, but we haven't gotten the official acceptance of our offer yet. I'm hoping we will hear today, so keep them coming!







:

My other news is that I'm feeling kind of sick, like I'm fighting something off. Brynn caught a cold last week that she's *still* getting over (but it's in her chest now, which means it's probably almost gone); I started feeling it last week too, but took Zycam and it seemed to have worked. I started feeling really bad again yesterday, and feel quite cruddy today, so I think I'm going to just take it easy and try to kick it for good. Being sick sucks!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Alicia that sounds like an awful situation for everyone. I hope something happens to make it easier for everyone. That's a bad situation for your to be teaching in and a bad environment for the kids to be learning in.

I just discovered we now have a Space Coast craig's list. It would have been nice to know about at the begining of August as someone had posted wanting help putting up some metal buildings. Would have been perfect timing for dh to pick up some work. The good thing is I know about it now and I have been checking it every couple days to keep an eye on what is up there.


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Yes, Kavita, the cyber-world needs a crunchy worm-filled blog with Ethiopian food and trips to India!!! (But no worm-filled Ethiopian food....







)








BLOG!!! Since we know you have so much time to kill....


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

i totally spaced on them! ill get some today and mail them. sorry! ill send them express so they get there fast.


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kavita* 
Mel--fun that you used to worm compost too! Didn't Teresa also? If you have any tips I'd love to hear them.

I don't remember if Teresa did. If any of you can recall, I was frantically trying to sort my worms and start a new batch of compost by 37 weeks, which was my self-imposed deadline. I also had an intense love of the smell of rich compost when I was pregnant, which was a little too pica-ish for my liking (but no, I never wanted to eat it, just open up the cupboard and sniff the composty scent).

My absolute best worm composting tip is for sorting the worms out and harvesting your compost. The mistake I made when pregnant was doing it according to the method in "worms eat my garbage" where you make little piles and shine a bright light so the worms retreat to the bottom then harvesting the compost from the piles. I spent *hours* hunched over piles of compost on a tarp picking through worms and almost killed my back. The new improved method that I learned was to not feed the worms for a couple of weeks, then put a bunch of their favourite foods (sweet things like melon rinds, mango peels) into an onion bag and bury it in the middle of your container. A few days later, pull out the bag and it should be full of enough worms for a new batch of compost. I hand sorted some of the worms from right around the bag, but it was waaaaay less energy.

Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion of things non-worm-related....

I didn't mention that though beautiful, my lovely flower girl daughter also said very clearly during my sister's wedding vows "I want some nursing". Luckily everyone either ignored it or thought it was cute







:

Alicia~ I hope you're feeling better soon and get your class sizes pared down. I'm horrified at the idea that they would consider classes even close to that big! And I agree to ignore the beads until you have the time- don't let it add to your stress.

Spughy & Helen~ Enjoy your visit! Neela is still talking about Sarah and Rowan and the baby goats, which were one of the highlights of our entire trip. Goats and wedding cake, of course...

Amy~ Wonderful house vibes coming your way!!!

gingerstar~ What a great role model you must be at the LLL meetings









My pregnant cousin was at my sister's wedding, and Neela was fascinated with the baby in her belly (actually uterus, we explained, but she understood and liked belly better). This morning at breakfast Neela told me she had a baby in her belly, but that it came out. When I asked where it was, she went looking for her baby doll to show me. She also told a lot of family about her "new baby sister"


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Bless








Well, MY daughter has a toy lion bag that she takes everywhere (with a unicorn backpack, she looks like something from Alice in Wonderland. But I digress...) and sits on top of things scrunching her nose up and roaring for hours on end. It's FAR more creative than words








Oh, and we're not having a baby any more. We're having three gerbils- it's been decided







Plus, of course, the fourth gerbil in mummy's tummy (this birth is going to hurt







)


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Have you got mine yet, Alicia?


...I have to tell ya...I have no clue when they came but I do have them. My wonderful loving amazing DH brought in the mail and just stuck yours in the pile...I just found them today...


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

He should get together with my DH- who writes down incredibly detailed messages for me and then puts them straight in the recycling







:


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## SoulJourney (Sep 26, 2005)

Hey all! Just wanted to pop in for what seems to be my once-a-month hello these days! Ahhhhhh...summer has been busy and I'm oh-so-looking forward to autumn. We are counting down the days til my sister gets married at the end of this month. Did I tell you guys that I'm the maid of honor AND the photographer?! Yes, it's true. Don't ask how I'll pull it off but dammit I will! Oh, speaking of photography...I FINALLY got a new digital camera!!!! YAY! That means that I am officially trying to get back into the photography business now. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Noah has been chatty, chatty, chatty lately and it's so cute! He is so much fun these days.
*Amy* and Kavita...we may be down in L'ville the end of October, I'd love to get together! Also, there is a really cool festival (Lotus Festival) in Bloomington the last weekend of Septmember. We are planning on going on that Sunday if you guys would like to meet up and join us. I'll try to link you to the festival soon. Right now the boys are begging for my attention.
Big hugs to all my mamas...I really miss you guys! Hopefully things will slow down enough soon that I can chat more. I've been working 45 hours a week at my normal (nanny) job, spending time in the evenings trying to do some work to restart a photography business, preparing for the wedding and knitting for my SIL's baby (GIRL!) that is due in January.
I would love to do a birthday swap if everyone else is interested! Heck, I'm still excited about the bead swap!








you guys!!!


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

hey everyone..









checkout my new sig..









helen, i finally told my family yesterday







so now i can tell the world.. and only 4 months to go!

i so wanted to tell you all from the moment i knew.. but it didnt feel right.


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaFern* 
hey everyone..









checkout my new sig..









helen, i finally told my family yesterday







so now i can tell the world.. and only 4 months to go!

i so wanted to tell you all from the moment i knew.. but it didnt feel right.









: yay! Congrats. I don't know how you kept it in...I couldn't do it!!


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

I'm so excited!!! I am going to a photo shoot tomorrow to model a new line of maternity clothes!!! I get to keep any of the clothes she shoots with me in them and a free 8x10 of me at the shoot....this sounds like it's going to be a LOT of fun!!!! The shoot is taking place on the beach too. I'm excited!!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Alicia, how are you going to do that? All my maternity trousers are falling off me (or as I put it, they're expecting a fast birth and are removing themselves in readiness) and I'm a month further along than you. Sniff, it's just NOT fair.

Fern, I'm so glad you told







I had surreal mental images of you going to family parties next year breastfeeding a newborn and just not mentioning it,and everyone being a little too polite to comment on this little symbiotic life form you're carrying around with you







How did the news go down?







: Are you still considering a UC, or ???

Michelle, love ya, mama







. Even if I DO forget your username from time to time- you've really got to post more









And, everyone, Fern's PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







:


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaFern* 
hey everyone..









checkout my new sig..









OMG!! Fern, that's wonderful!!!! I can't believe you've been pregnant for all this time and we didn't know!

I have good news too:

*WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!*

























































































































































































I went up and took more pictures of the outside but we weren't able to go in to take pics of the inside. I'll probably just wait to do that until we're done with the renovations anyway. I think our closing date is going to be around Sept. 24th, so we will be moved in by early October! Which means, *SoulJourney*, that we can't come up for Lotus Fest, but you can stay with us when you come down (the house is actually in Southern Indiana, so we'll be living in the same state!







).

I'll post links to the pics in a bit.

Yay!


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Alicia, how fun! You needed some good news.









OK, here are some pictures of the house.


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Wow! I hardly know who to congratulate first!!
Fern, what wonderful news! Blessings to you and your growing family!
*Amy* - the house is beautiful! That is very exciting!
kaspirant - how cool - not just for the clothes, which is nice, but to have pro photos of this time, that is very special!


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

*Amy* - Yay!!







: for the house!! that's so exciting!! It's amazing and beautiful.

flapjack - I'm not a *tiny* girl but my tummy is definitely showing baby now...my maternity clothes from Jacob are all too big for me...I lost quite a bit of weight from my pre-pregnancy weight with him...but I still *look* newly pregnant...I'll post pics after









gingerstar - I know I'm excited to have the pics...and I think it's just gonna be fun...taking Jacob out to the beach...gonna play


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

I have to admit that I've known Fern was pregnant for a long time. I've been absolutely bursting to tell you all but of course couldn't until she was ready.

Yay Fern I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay Amy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! New houses are so exciting!


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## SoulJourney (Sep 26, 2005)

*HOLY SMOKES!!!!!*















:







:







:









Congratulations *Fern*!!! How in the @&$(*^%@(*&$ did you keep it in for sooooooo long???????!!!!

YAY **Amy**!!! Congrats on the house!!! And YAY that you'll live in Southern Indiana!!! I would like to relocate south (Bloomington/Nashville area) sometime in the next few years...I just love it down there. Anyhoo...so glad to have you so close!

*Kaspirant:* How fun for you! And exciting, too!

*Helen:* I love ya back, mama!







And I know, I know...I definitely have been MIA much of the summer.







I promise to start posting more again!

Ok...I was trying to post some new pics of Noah earlier but it wasn't working for some reason so here we go!

Click on the link below and you can scroll through a handfull of recent pics I shot of my big boy!

NOAH

Be back later when I get some work done and Noah's asleep!

eta: the link is still not showing up for me...what about you guys?


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

it wasnt easy..let me tell you! and many many thanks for all of the congrats..

we just started telling people and its been so hard. i feel like this poor baby doesn't feel very wanted, even though it is (im not even showing as much as i did with my other 2).. its been hard to accept. it was a surprise and im kinda overwhelmed by the idea of having a 2 year old and a newborn. but ngaio is using the potty 99% of the time and she isnt nursing anymore







: not by my choice either..she is so verbal and soooo into babies.. maybe it wont be as hard as im expecting.
also im in mourning because the likelihood of this baby being born at home is small. its so weird.. both my kiddos were born at home and now where we live there is no midwife and tim is worried about UCing because of past bleeding/dystocia.. the hospital close by is very small and very nice but still. its like its all just not exactly how it was supposed to be. but baby is here and kicking like mad and i think *she* will come as she is meant to..

anyways.. im at my dads visting for a few days..so thats why im computering so much.. gotta get my mdc time in!


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## zjande (Nov 4, 2002)

So I had to spy on Fern & come over here to read her "coming out story".














I'm SO happy you finally let the secret out so we could all be excited for you & when Helen lists everyone of our group who's In The Family Way (lol), your name will be on the list.









So now do you guys all remember when Fern was complaining about being sick & someone pointed out that maybe it could be lyme (or something? from the water while you were camping I think?) & sneaky little Fern brushed it aside?







Now you know- it was morning sickness!! Teehee. I'm SO EXCITED for you Fern.







I am sorry that your birth might not be the home birth that you wish it could be. But I've had some absolutely wonderful hospital births, you really CAN have a peaceful delivery at a hospital, if that's where you end up delivering. I hope everything turns out fabulous for you & your super cute growing family.







:

I'm anxious to see if you are right *yet again* about the Teeny One's gender. We both thought we were having girls last pregnancies but only you turned out to be right.







I have girl feelings again this time but I've learned not to trust my intuition one bit!!









Yay for you and the little person living in your guts AND for your new signature.























Amy! Congratulations on your new house!!! I remember the excitement when we got our house last year.... SO FUN! Have tons of fun making it into Home.









Ok, I think I have abused the poor smilies quite enough for one post. I'd better go can the hordes of plums sitting in my kitchen.


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## Queen of Cups (Aug 29, 2003)

Well, congrats all around! I'm so excited for everyone!

I'm obsessively working on a crazy quilt I started this week. I'm almost finished with the 35 blocks, now I just have to sew them together and do the quilting. Its going to be an irregular shape, but I'm planning on it being a couch-quilt for watching movies under, instead of fitting a bed. It feels so good to be putting my energy into something creative (now that the melodrama is over).

Ellie's having a verbal explosion! All of a sudden she's talking in two- and three-word phrases all the time. I know that's behind where a lot of the other kiddos are, but its very exciting for me because Killy wasn't doing this till he was over two years old, and it was after a lot of work and speech therapy and constant attention. Yay for being able to just sit back and enjoy and not worry about speech development!


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## mama naturale (Aug 6, 2006)

Thought I would just pop in and say hello.
My bub is now 22 months. I can't believe he will be 2 in less than 2 months.
He hardly talks. But he is less clingy and loves to hang out with his big bro and sis.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Wow, I feel like my head is going to explode with all this news! No wonder Fern disappeared on us for a while there--so as not to spill the beans!!










(so I guess it wasn't giardia, ha ha!) Seriously, Fern, I am amazed that you handle all that you do with the energy and spirit and aplomb that you bring to it, and I'm sure that you can handle this next little person too even if it is a challenge for a while to have two bitty ones. I'm happy for you that you're getting the house full of kiddos that you want! BTW, the midwife I trained with is now "retired" which means that she is busy flying all over the place catching babies in different locations, and she will take on a lot of things that a lot of midwives won't because she has the skills and experience and the balls to deal with them. She's not the world's crunchiest midwife but she wouldn't bat an eye at the issues you've had with your previous kids, she could handle them, so if you wanted a homebirth there is a chance that she would possibly come to you. I am not sure what she charges or how she works and what she's up for these days or whether that would be something that would mesh with you, but I could probably put you in touch with her if you want to PM me.

zjande and DID--how come you guys get to be in on the secrets?

SoulJourney, it's good to hear from you too! I've been meaning to PM you, I was wondering if meeting us in real life scared you off of the Nov 05 thread for good!







But I figured you've been really super busy with getting back in the swing of things after your vacation break. Glad to hear that you got a new camera and you'll be able to get your photography business back underway! How did your camping trip go, btw?

Wow, now we only need a few mamas back (Ben's Mom, peacefulmommy, trumpetplaya, RainCoastMama, FlyingSpaghettiMama, babykaoss, samsmamma come to mind) and our whole DDC will be back together again!














: (Plus of course the addition of our beloved new moms who've joined us since our preggo days!) Sing it with me, people--"Reunited, and it feels so goo--ood . . . "









Amy--exciting about the house! Maybe we'll have to trade off painting services alternate weekends or something!

Next to all this exciting news my life is looking pretty boring now!







My husband is liking me a lot today because I woke him up for urgent, um, marital purposes at 2 am last night.














: My busy week is coming to an end, tomorrow I am going to Lexington to the nurse-out at the Applebee's that misbehaved itself and today I spend like hours composing a letter to the local Applebee's franchisee ownership group on behalf of the local AP mamas group. DH and I are now going to print out iron-on transfers of







and make t-shirts for all of us! I'm lucky to have such a supportive man! Tonight we went to DH's company cookout, schmoozed a little, and had a good time. And last night we had our neighbors over for dinner. The funny-embarrassing highlight was that right after dinner I excused myself abruptly to go to the bathroom. As I'm in the bathroom, I hear Ella in the living room sitting on "Grandma Mary's" lap (they are in their eighties) announcing happily, "Mommy poopies! Mommy potty! Mommy, go poopies potty!!"







The neighbors didn't really know what to say about that one, lol! Perhaps too much frank and open communication about bodily issues with a toddler isn't always such a good thing!


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Noah is beautiful. There is an extra http in your link, but this should work.

Fern







:







:







: I hope you find the perfect place for this baby's birth. And maybe Ngaio will take after Winter and start nursing again when the new baby comes. Any names for the new baby yet?

Amy, congrats on the house! Won't it be nice to move into a place where you plan to stay?

Hi mamanaturale!

With all of the returning members lately, would you guys like to do some re-introductions?


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Oh, I almost forgot--I sent my beads today! They should get there on Tuesday.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Zjande, if you check my pudding club lists, Fern's always been on there







There's always been "one more due in January but I can't remember the username..." Good to see you post here, btw








Fern, traditionally third labours are the odd ones- either very fast or very slow, so I'd brace yourself for the possibility of UC anyhow. I'm sorry your family don't see this kid for the blessing s/he is







There was a lot of good stuff about that on last months Moms of Many thread.
Kaspirant: did the chocolate arrive safely as well?









Amy







: Yay!!!!!


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Kaspirant: did the chocolate arrive safely as well?

















: yes!! thank you!!!!


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

we are leaving my dads today so my fun time of mdc is coming to a close. i will mail those beads as soon as i find some today in victoria..i know where the bead shop is! and hopefully then its all wrapped up.

amy congrats X 1000 on your new house.. im ever so jealous of you guys getting your dream house









and thank you all again for your love and words about the new baby. i feel like im just now getting excited about it..which is funny because last night she moved more than ever. i lay awake at like 4 am being pounded from the inside and grinning all big.







now i gett o really feel and be pregnant. yay!

i hope that i get to check in here again before too long.

and wish my little boy fun on his first day of school!







:


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

I will do, Fern







Happy schooldays to him.

Oh- go and read Birthing from Within. There was an article about it in the latest issue of Juno, and some comments Pam England made about birthing mindfully (I think I got the words right) struck a chord with me, they might help you with your dilemma. I'll put the rest of my thoughts down in UC.


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

I don't know who all was involved with the siggy that was given to me so I wanted to thank you to all of you.

When I don't have 2 kids growling and pretending to be meerkats I'll respond to the rest of the posts


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## Awaken (Oct 10, 2004)

Subbing- once again so late. I hope to catch up soon!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Kids are outside playing in the dirt and dh is fixing dinner. Yummy fajitas, tacos and nachos. I think he is just trying to find something that will agree with my stomach. I'm going to sit here and take time to respond to posts as I just had a brillant moment and stepped in the middle of an ant hill. I've got at least 5 bites all over my foot which is already swelling up. I'm going to hope it clears up without problems as I can't imagine the embarasment of going to the ER for a few ant bites! I'd probably have to wear a bag over my head or something









Fern congrats on the pg! I hope everything works out well for the birth. I've had both my kids in a hospital and unless there is a big change of plans this one will be as well.

Q of C - hear you on the verbal explosion thing and would love it if that happened around here. I think we are about to adjust Annette's IEP so she is going to speech more often. She just flat out refuses to work with us at home so more time at school it is.

Kavita - I hope the nurse out went well. I saw a little thread about it in lactivism. I hope the thread grows with more great stories.

Amy - big congrats on the house!


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## HoneyTree (Apr 5, 2005)

Hello, beautiful mamas of beautiful November '05 babies!

I just caught up on everyone's September posts, and may not remember to name and give proper comments, but here goes:

Fern, I am so incredibly happy for you! Thinking of your beautiful family growing again makes me smile. Big hugs to you!

Amy, so cool that you go the house!

Kaspirant, hugs and yay on the maternity clothes score!

Flapjack! Sneaky gal, knowing about Fern and giving your Heleny hints! I'm glad to hear things are going so well, and that the boys being in school gives you a bit of time to yourself to be pregnant. How's the knitting?

Michelle, oh my god is your child beautiful! Those pictures are stunning. You're so talented! My digital camera has been broken for a few weeks--any suggestions for a good one that isn't crazy expensive?

DiD, did I miss a wedding update post? What's the news?

Mel, my class is starting a worm compost bin in a few weeks, so I will definitely be taking you up on that offer to share expertise!

OK, that's all I can remember. But a big hug and hello to you all! Woody and I have been at school for three weeks now. It's gone pretty smoothly; I don't know if I told y'all, but one of the parent volunteers is playing with him for a couple of hours during the day in the room next to my classroom when I need really focused time with the kids, during writing and math. So far she and I are totally on the same page--Woody just comes walking back into the room when he's ready--I think she might try to distract him a bit if he asks for me when I'm working one-on-one with the kids, but if he's sad or insistent she walks him over to me--and then for the rest of the day we're together in the classroom. And I'm just in love with my students.

Who posted earlier about the housework and job book? Was that Kavita? That really struck a chord with me. My housework has slipped considerably, and no amount of organizing or smart containers is going to fix it! Dh's theory is that we do "damage control" cleaning when we're both working, which more or less works since neither of us is nutty about being neat. But I restocked all my homemade natural cleaning products in August, so it doesn't really feel like a chore to be scrubbing with sweet orange-smelling soft scrub or polishing with clove and olive oil!

Talk to y'all later!









--Teresa


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## SoulJourney (Sep 26, 2005)

Mel & Teresa: THANKS!!!







I think he's pretty amazing but, then again, I'm his mama! And Mel, thanks for noticing my oversight of the extra http! Tired eyes...that's my excuse!

Teresa: Thanks for the compliments on my shots! It's nice to know someone enjoys my work when I've not been serious about my work in so long. Check out the link in my new sigi (the "camera totin' link) to see the "finished" version of the pics...I like them MUCH better. What camera were you shooting with? What is your idea of a reasonable price? Are you looking for a point and shoot or a digital SLR? I just got a Nikon D80 with two new lenses. The body (without a lens) generally runs around $1,000. I tacked about $800 onto that with the lenses, which isn't bad. I plan to make money with this camera, though.

Kavita: Nooooo! You did NOT scare me off our DDC!







I have just been so focused on other things lately and trying to readjust to working a 45 hour work week again!







: Did I mention I very much dislike my job? I like being able to be with Noah 24/7 but I don't like my job. *shrugs shoulders* Noah and I actually camped several times over vacation and I must say he's a natural! We will actually be camping again in a couple of weeks but it will be at a bluegrass festival. YAY...can't wait! BTW...You must have missed the memo when I made my name change but *I* was formerly peacefulmommy!









Fern: I can't wait to find out what names you have in mind for this beautiful bean! Your little ones have the most amazing names. And I agree, a hospital birth can definitely be wonderful. I had a water birth at a hospital and I really would not change a thing about my birthing experience. You are a strong and amazing mama and I am confident you will make the best of any situation.

Kristina: OUCH! I hope your foot heals up nicely! I was just stung in the upper arm by a bee the other day so I can feel your pain! The area where I was stung swelled up to the size of my entire hand, was rock hard, hot and even blistered a bit. I took Claritan and kept Arnica on it. It took three days for it to be *mostly* normal again.

Zjande: Good to see you around, mama!


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Sorry I still don't really have a wedding update. Just thinking about stuff, looking at lots of websites and magazines and having absolutely no idea what to do. Planning is hard!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SoulJourney* 
BTW...You must have missed the memo when I made my name change but *I* was formerly peacefulmommy!









Whoops, I misspoke there, I actually do know that! I meant to say spiritmomma in my post, but your former username apparently slipped out instead! (I always used to have trouble keeping you two straight in my head because you both live in Indy and your usernames were really similar to each other in my mind. not that it was impossible but I would always have to pause a moment and remember which one of you was posting, etc.!)


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## mama naturale (Aug 6, 2006)

Bub isn't breastfeeding any more. He self weaned last month. He will sit on my lap sometimes and pull up my top and just laugh. *sigh*


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

What a day!!!!

We started out early and ran a bunch of errands and then met up a bunch of MDC mama's at the Applebee's in San Dimas. There were 47 mama's dadi's and kiddo's there! The manager was pretty cool...he brought us out a case of cold water bottles and said "I've got 5 kids and all of them were breastfed!" He was very understanding and though he didn't *show* support, he voiced it.

The modeling....Oy! Not something I want to do everyday that's for sure. I had a great time and met some other fun pregnant mama's from my area!! It was craziness. The designer lady was a complete nutcase!!!! She drove us ALL crazy including the photographer who also after it was all over comped us all a free sitting session and print from it that is good from now until our new babe's are 3 months old. We didn't get the clothes from yesterday because of a goof-up but we are going to get to choose from her production line so we get to pick the colors too...which in a way is better because some of our clothes from yesterday were very interesting colors. Here's her website. Goddessa I can tell you all the clothes we tried on yesterday which were samples not from actual production were amazingly comfortable and very flattering on all of us and there weren't many super tiny mama's there.

The woman in all her pictures so far is the designer herself. I'll have the pictures of me in the clothes in 2 weeks or so!


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## Queen of Cups (Aug 29, 2003)

Can I brag just a little? I made a mile-a-minute crazy quilt this week, and I'm so excited about how it turned out! Here's my blog entry about it. It has pieces of leftover fabric from slings I've made, skirts I've made for me and for Ellie, and fabric from both of the kid's baby quilts I sewed. I just love it, and the kids love it, too!

Killy started preschool last week and my goodness - its wonderful! He loves it there, I love having time with just Ellie, and I find that Killy and I do better with little breaks from each other. My parents confirm that Killy is basically a super-aggressive little version of me, so he and I tend to butt heads a lot. (actually, a psychic told me that he and I were connected in a past life, but that he was in a position of power over me and was somewhat abusive, and so part of my job as his mama in this life is to teach him love and kindness and work through our issues... but I don't know if any of ya'll buy into any of that kind of stuff, and I don't know if I believe it, but I thought it was interesting)

I'm off to bed, I've been obsessed with quilting lately (and started another quilt tonight!) and so I've been going on about 5 hours of sleep per night... I need to do a little better than that tonight!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Ooh, gorgeous quilt, Jen.

I'm planning on sending unflattering DDDDCs to everyone who posts regularly on MDC but not here (so Zjande, Trmptplaya, Ben'sMom, Belleweather, crsta33, you ARE being warned, if you're here to read this) next time I have a really bad day with Isaac. It could be today, it could be next week, it could be next month.... if I'm really lucky, it could be further away. After the weekend, he's being feingolded, chiropracticised and if that doesn't work, we're looking into the possibility of "diagnoses" to explain why he is as he is.

And, on another topic, where's Barcelona gone? I haven't seen her post in ages...

AND:

Today is Spughy day!!







:


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

My sweet little boy turned 4 as of 8:09pm September 9th. Sniff. He's so big and grown up.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

No he's not. He's always going to be your sweet little boy and think that you rock his world, even when he's a horrible stroppy pre-teen with his black t-shirts and his ripped jeans and his atrocious taste in music







They just get better at hiding their inner sweetness...


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Awww Helen you're so sweet!


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Oh, Helen, have lots of fun with spughy, and I hope Rowan and Skye are best of friends! I so wish we could join you... Take pics for us!

Jen, you rock! That is incredible.

DiD, my dd's birthdays always hit me hard too. Hope it's a great day!

kaspirant, those clothes look amazing - and getting to choose the color is very cool. Can't wait to see the pics! And that is a nice bonus, that you can get pro photos in the future!

SoulJourney, you are an amazing photographer - but I think you do have a very beautiful subject to work with!

Off to make lunch...


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

oh, have fun helen and sarah (skye and rowan!) what fun!

DID happy #4!!! its a hard one.. i cry every birthday *sigh*

jen, that quilt is just beautiful..and 3 days? that's insane.,. it must have 1000 pieces! im so badly wanting to quilt, but i havnt gotten out my stuff yet. i have one in pieces that i was going to make ngaio..and now i want to make one for this new babe too. so much too do!

SoulJourney: names.. yeah i have some ideas.. but timothy wants to name this one and he's already picked it! its a name that will work for a boy or girl.. it's Aru (ah-roo)..its not really a name that ive ever heard, i even did a search online and couldnt find anything.. he got the idea from the arucaria tree..i like it a lot actually (i'll call her Roo!)..and if its a girl i want her second or third name to be sabine..i also love the names juniper and olive. not sure about other boy names to go with Aru yet..im liking onyx though. so many choices..plus it really helps when i meet the kiddo to see how it really works









at my MIL's..should go.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

There's not many people who can handle feeding time at my zoo, but Spughy may (possibly) be one of them. Or, of course, she could be on an early plane out of the country tomorrow morning before my boys get up







:
DiD, I don't forget that our first-borns are comparable ages, and probably comparably stroppy...


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Neela's phrase of the week is "I don't like ___ very much". It started about a month ago, but this week whenever she is tired/bored/hungry or otherwise cranky she starts with it. I don't like pants/diapers/food, etc. Yesterday it was her finger, which was infuriating her enough to scream "I don't like my finger very much" as loud as a toddler can scream. And it made me giggle, which of course didn't help. It starts in the morning with clothing choices and breakfast options, then continues most of the day. Last night she woke up an hour after going to bed, and as I was getting ready to nurse her back to sleep she said "I don't like anything very much".

None of the usual "choices" are working- if I offer A or B, she doesn't like either. We spend a ridiculous amount of time negotiating her wardrobe daily- and I don't care what she wears, but I insist on some non-filthy clothing to leave the house. Sigh... at least it's not "I hate".

On the other hand, she has times of incredible sweetness. This morning (after the daily wardrobe meltdown) she asked for pigtails so she could pretend to be a bunny and hop around the house. Then she played "library" with the crack in the refridgerator and happily returned letter magnets and imaginary books for a long enough time for me to do the dishes.

My sister has gone home, so I am being a single mama until DH returns on Thursday. My childcare arrangements are complicated, but complete (and wonderful caregivers all around). We can do this


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MelW* 
Neela's phrase of the week is "I don't like ___ very much". Sigh... at least it's not "I hate".

Eek. Yeah...we get the "I hate" around here, but I totally take responsibility for it because I say, "I hate that!" all the time - not in a really dramatic way (which is how Brynn uses it) but I do say it all the time when I'm talking on the phone, like to empathize. So I really need to watch that, and my use of "That is so stupid!" At least I've pretty much been able to stop saying f-ing all the time!









Fern, I was wondering the same thing about names, too!







Roo is so cute! Oh, and "MIL's house"??? Did you and Timothy get married too!??

Helen and Spughy, I hope you are having a wonderful visit!

Teresa, glad to hear your year is starting off so well, and I didn't realize Woody would be going with you. That's awesome!

Jen, please stop being so damn fabulous and gorgeous; you are making the rest of us look like slugs!! Just kidding - but you do rock.

Thanks to everyone for the good house wishes.







I am so excited about it, but it is going to be a lot of work in a short amount of time. We STILL haven't gotten the signed contract back from the bank (they promise we'll get it tomorrow) so we don't yet know our closing date, but it's looking like September 27th. We gave notice to be out of our apartment on October 7th, so that gives us less than two weeks to install the new bamboo flooring, paint, and move!!







I feel pretty capable of handling it all and I know it will work out, but y'all will have to remind me of that in the coming weeks! One thing I am excited about is that we are going to have a house blessing after all the work is done and one of my friends is going to smudge it so that we can get any negative energy out before we move in. I'm assuming there is a lot of negative energy there: there are two holes punched through the walls! Anyway, I wish you all could come and bless it and cook out with us and let the kids all run around in the yard. And let me know if you want to come help us paint!!


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## HoneyTree (Apr 5, 2005)

Amy, I really am liking teaching with him this year; it's a more challenging stage of mummyhood, but it's a more relaxed group of students (and the latter is what really makes the difference!).

Mel, thanks for sharing Neela's play. I imagined such a sweet little scene between the two of you playing bunny and library, though I can totally relate to the not A, not B, but unoffered choice C scenario. And I'm a single working mama this week, too, as dh leaves for a conference tomorrow until Saturday. I plan on spending all of my energy on being relaxed and not caring much if everything goes to pot while he's gone!

Michelle, I did look at the N80, but I think the N40 is more my speed these days. I'd have to re-teach myself a ton to use all those features, and I got pretty used to my little cheapy point-and-shoot!

Woody got knocked flat when he walked in front of a swing today. The swinger was not going slow, and my boy's reflexes are nothing close to fast. It made my heart sink; he cried a LOT--loudly so that ten other children immediately surrounded us to rub his legs and tell him it would be OK. I think I cried, too, but just a little bit, hopefully while maintaining a semblance of calm and reassurance. And then later, when I was driving home, I turned around to look at him in his seat and realized that for a few seconds I had forgotten about him; at the red light, my mind wandered and I was totally somewhere else. And in looking at him I felt this tug, almost guilt but maybe more like conscientiousness, like I could never forget, or rather could never afford not to be remembering. Does this make any sense? It was kind of a revelation and a warning and a response to that moment of fear all in one. Damn, this mothering gig is tough.


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

Here I am! Helen, I'm so flattered that you asked about me. I have been reading along, but too damn exhausted to reply. I am WIPED. But because I was specifically asked for, I am pulling myself out of my exhaustion to write!

And, oh, what news I have missed out on! FERN!!! What Wonderful News!!!! I am ecstatic for you, and I cannot believe you held it in so long. How, oh how? I hope your family turns around in their enthusiasm for the miracle of life that you are carrying, and I am glad that you are excited about *her* arrival. I smiled imagining you smiling in bed as you felt her move. What a beautiful image.

And Amy, how very exciting about the house! It looks lovely, and I've no doubt, from past pictures I've seen, that you will make it into a beautiful home for your precious family.

Spughy and Helen, I'm so jealous of your spending time together, and can't wait to see pictures and hear more.

SoulJourney, so good to see you back! I just adore your photos...you have such an eye and truly, such soul, in your images. I can't wait to see more.

QofC, what a gorgeous quilt, and how impressive you continue to be.

So, why I am exhausted? I'm exhausted because of my ABC thingy, which has been oh so much fun, but yes, exhausting. I have gone all day every day for the past four days, not including Saturday and Sunday, two days which were also jam packed with activity (2 year old bday party, Finley's first, actually, a visit from an old highschool friend, Sunday was much-needed yoga class and then visit from SIL and a little date (GASP!) for me and DH for our anniversary)

...And, we were told today that they are adding last minute rehearsal days for us this week, being tomorrow through Thursday, again all day. They (the ABC executives) are so "big" that we are all magically able to rearrange our schedules for them. But truly, I am ecstatic to be doing it. I am getting to do what I love so much for a big chunk of my day, and then be with my little boy afterwards. I feel a little guilty about DH being with Finley all day without his usual mama milk and all...but amazingly, he's been doing fine without me and sleeping in the car! (I am usually done at 6, though tonight was later). I do miss him, though. I was also not mentally prepared for another big week of work/fun, but we'll all survive. I *think* I'll only have to go in a handful of days after this week, til November, when it'll be intense.

Oh, and Dh was going to do temp work so that we could have some $$ to not be quite as broke as we are, but alas, he's gotta be home with Finley while I do this thing. So, I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, I'm really not...it's just, these are the challenges as we face this journey. And we are figuring it out.

In the meantime, I am in love with both of my boys, and I am in love with acting all over again. (not that I ever fell out of love with it, but I am getting to do it a lot more than I have since I became a mama). I am also doing some scenes where I have to kiss actors, so that is always an odd feeling, kissing another man, being that close to another man, after only kissing my husband for all these years. It's a great group of people, though...12 of us. The women look like an ad for benetton: one asian woman, one black woman, one young hispanic woman, one older hispanic woman, one east indian/irish woman, and me (if you haven't seen my picture, i'm blonde). It's a "diversity" showcase, hence the well-represented ethnicities. I add a sprinkling of disability diversity to the group.

On the Finley Front: he is stringing two words together this week, a first for us! It's so exciting, and he is so proud of himself. He is such a sweetheart, and full of hugs and kisses. He is quite dramatic, but I can't say I'm surprised, given that both of his parents are pretty dramatic. He does this fake crying thing that is pretty hilarious, and hard to describe. And he loved playing with his aunt while we went out, which was such a joy to us. Hopefully, she'll want to come watch him again sometime soon.

I miss you ladies, though I am here in spirit, despite not posting as frequently. Hopefully after this crazy week, I'll be back in the groove of posting, as well as reading.

Off to collapse!


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## SoulJourney (Sep 26, 2005)

Fern: I love, love, LOVE Aru (Sabine if it's a girl!)!!! What a beautiful name! If would have been a girl he would have been Amelia Sabine.







Aru, though...just wow! I love it. And 'Roo is adorable, of course! I'm so confident that your family will see this child for the gift that (s)he is once they get to hold a tiny little babe in their arms. I think I've said this in the past but I'll say it again, if ANYONE in this world should have a quiverful of kiddos it should be you. I wish more people in this world would lead their children down the path you are leading yours. The world would be a much better place.

Gingerstar: Thanks! I think that Noah is defitely pretty photogenic...something he did NOT get from me! You know how us photographers like to stay *behind* the camera!

Teresa: If you are looking at the D40 and have the money to spend on a D80, I would highly recommend spending the extra money. The D40 does not have an internal motor drive which will limit what you can do later on. The D80 has automatic functions and preset options, too. Don't get me wrong, the D40 is a fine camera, as well, it just is missing a lot of nice features.

*Amy*: Let us know when you need help painting and when you will be blessing your home...we would love to come down to help if we can work it in with wedding and photography stuff!

Jen: Amazing quilt!!! I have wanted to learn how to quilt for some time now and just haven't found room in my schedule to do so. One day I want to make a quilt out of all of the pieces of Noah's clothing that I can bring myself to give away!

Helen & Spughy: I'm so jealous! Hopefully you guys have a great time together and post some pictures!

Mel: You have another Brynn, it sounds like! I am just amazed at the vocabulary of your children! Noah is just starting to string three words, sometimes four together. They are never complete sentences, though, for sure! They usually sound something like "Mama! Mike bike book!" which means he wants to read his Mike & His Bike book!

Barcelona: I've been meaning to e-mail you lately. Thank you so much for your kind words, I feel the same way about your photos. I lurk on your site every once in a while to see what you have posted. I think you have an amazing eye and your framing is always so creative. I'll be putting up some more photos very soon. And I already have two paid shoots lined up in the near future! I'm so excited! It's really good timing for this to happen because the lady I work for as a nanny just informed me last night that she is cutting my hours. I SO cannot afford to have my hours cut right now but I feel pretty positive and hopeful that things will all work out and I'll be happier in the long run.

Oh, and Teresa: I can totally relate to *those* moments. I was having a really bad day Sunday: one of those days when I'm ridiculously burnt out and am not really in the mood to be a mama because Noah was being SO demanding. I took him to the mall play area (it was raining outside) so that he could run off some energy and I could relax a bit. I started watching a young (16ish) girl playing with what looked to be her son (he looked JUST like her). She was so insanely happy to be playing with this little boy, I mean just glowing she was so happy. It was really moving just to watch her because she was so happy. I noticed that her parents (I think) were with her. You could tell that the family did not have much at all in the way of money but damn they were all happy for the moment. Well, then I happen to look over at one point and the girl looked very sad, like she was ready to cry. This was when she was handing the little boy over to another woman who had the boy's diaper bag and belongings in her hands ready to go. When the girl let go of the little boy, her own mother practically had to carry her out of the mall she was so hysterical. When she was leaving, we made eye contact and I immediately started crying for her. I just imagined in my mind that she had probably had to give the child up for adoption and it looked to me like she was being allowed to visit him. My heart just completely broke for this girl and I wanted so badly just to give her a hug. I obviously don't know the "real" story but this is, like I said, what I imagined what happening. It really shoved a piece of humble pie straight into my face. As soon as they all left and I could collect myself (stop crying) I swept Noah up and gave him a big hug and kiss. It definitely changed my mood for the rest of the day, especially towards Noah. It was one of those moments when I realized how fortunate I am to have Noah. Just incredibly fortunate.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Still here, but Rowan and Sarah wore me out







I'll post some pics tomorrow.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Okay, my parents are coming to visit me tomorrow and my house is a disaster!!

Honestly--does anyone else have a dog or multiple dogs that have just spiralled out of control with the onset of toddlerhood? Ella is feeding them everything, she has discovered it is hilarious to throw them cheddar bunnies and watch them scurry to get them. She tosses it and they go for it and she just laughs and laughs like a maniac. And she feeds them bananas--my girl dog has developed quite a taste for bananas lately, and DH had bought some, and for the second time today I came home and they had stolen the bananas off the counter and eaten them, leaving smushy peels and mess all over my house. I am telling you, they are wreaking havoc and destruction, they bark uncontrollably at every.freaking.thing and wake her up from naps, they jump the fence (our fence in this house is sort of rotting wood picket thing and is only about 4 feet high.) I am not in a happy dog-loving place right now--I don't wish them any ill will and would not take any action against them (such as finding them a new home) but most of the time I am finding them stinky and bothersome and just wish they were not around.







I probably need to do some obedience work and take some steps to revitalize our relationship for all our sake's. It just takes a lot of energy though, and time. Two commodities that are at a premium lately!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Fern--I was thinking that the name sounded somewhat new but also familiar, and then I suddenly realized that you are one (or 2, if it's a girl) letters off from an Indian name!

Arun, for a boy, means sun, and Aruna, for a girl, means dawn! So you are really close to an "actual" (as in preexisting) name from another language!

Battery's going to die in like one second, gotta go!


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Well, hello again everyone. I'm posting since Helen bashed me on the yahoo group for not checking in more often. I just caught up on all the posts and got all teary eyed with all the news. Yeah. Pregnancy at its best.

I'm feeling better (knock on wood). Still can't get dh to understand that he needs to do things to help prevent giving me a yeast infection everytime we dtd. But he's been so overworked these past few months, I'll let it slide.

I'm 12 weeks today. Missing my *original* ddc sooo much







. I don't know what Sara and Kristina think about our new ddc but it's just not the same (whine and rant). I still feel a little lost there but it's still early in the game.

Many congrats to Fern on her newly announced bean and Amy on the house. Amy, your house looks like a smaller version of my brother's house. Honestly, from the front, it looks exactly the same.

QoC, great quilt. I've yet to make one myself. I refuse to until I get a real cutting mat and guide though. I'm horrible with straight lines and fabric. I like how you used sentimental scraps in yours. It makes the quilts so much more heartful.

Gabriel is talking in stunted sentences. His syntax is hilarious and endearing. Dh and I are always imitating it. "Ah, daddee, uh poopees, uh ewww, stinkeee. Uh dipah. uh change." (you can tell who refuses to do much less change dipes in this house anymore...) He's using the potty probably about 70% of the time. I'd much rather wipe pee off the floor than change a poopy dipe. And he loves, loves, loves to sing. His favorite songs right now are the signing times ABC song, baa baa black sheep and We are the dinosaurs by laurie berkner. It is amazing to see how all our babies are developing at their own individual paces.
Not much else to say here. I've been knitting again. Started and finished an organic cotton baby hat on Monday and started on a sweater for dh. It was supposed to be his xmas present but I think I'll have to knit another one in secret for that because I consulted him on the pattern and color of yarn beforehand.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Monique, your dh just has to read yarn crafts to know what he's getting for Xmas







I can't be the only person whose kids stalk them on MDC to see what they're getting ,surely?

Okay, Spughy is probably at the airport by now (or at least, on her way there) and I think she enjoyed herself, although she seemed somewhat shellshocked by the reality of three children in a small house







: Then again, most of the time that's how I feel. Yesterday we did beer and boulders at Avebury (some pictures on the blog) which was cool, and Rowan is such a sweetheart! And so calm!!!!!! She also had an adorable knack of saying the right thing at the right time- Skye knocked a plate of (someone else's food) onto the floor, and just as her lip was going up ready to cry, I heard "no problem, no problem"








Oh, and Skye learnt Rowan's name. She was walking out of the station in tears going "no, rowan,byebye."







: I know what you mean, though, Monique, about the babies developing differently. It's been so strange because Rowan talks so much, but Skye actually seems more outgoing? she's certainly far noisier...

ETA: sorry, I forgot. Sarah asked me to say Hi to you all!


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

...and guess who was behind my shoulder while I was reading your post Helen


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

I guess I should be glad Annette is only reading simple words at this point and dh will only read something here if I ask him to. It's nice that we still have Santa here so Annette doesn't really expect me to be getting her anything anyway







On the holidays topic. Has anyone volunteered to head up the swap? I know most if not all of it took place on the yahoo group last year which worked well for me. Being able to pull up sizes and all was nice when I needed that info. It would also be nice to get stuff out prior to the birthdays starting.

On a speech note we are going in to see Annette's speech teacher and up her lessons per week on Friday. From what everyone says their little ones can say I think we are going to be getting Joseph an evaluation at least after his check up. He still doesn't say very many words and it's very rare for him to string words together. Having 2 kids in speech therapy is going to be so much fun


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

OK, I'm expressing an opinion here on the swap, which is that if everyone who wants to participate is on the yahoogroup then it doesn't matter where we do it. OTHERWISE, either an invitation to the yahoogroup membership is sent to the relevant parties or we do it here on MDC. And if you haven't got the criteria to post in the TP on MDC then you're out. Does that sound horrible? Probably, I guess...
Guess who's running the second tri swap for Feb08?







:
Kristina, from what my old health visitor said there's little benefit in doing a speech evaluation at 21 months. At least a third of the time when she repeats the evaluation before referring the talking thing has kicked in just because the little boy needed that extra 3 months to develop. I really would hang on a month or two in your shoes


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Thanks Helen. I'm not planning to do anything before his check up in November. Even then it will probably take several months before they can work us in like it did with Annette. I'm still thinking he just doesn't want to talk, but with one kid that has real speech problems I'm more likely to worry. Since I know what the evaluation entails it's not something I'm hugely worried about. I may even talk with Annette's speech teacher on Friday to see if he has an opinion on the matter. There are 3 year old classes at her school for special needs kids, but I'm not sure if he works with that age group. That's a big part of the reason we love her school because it is a mix of all sorts of kids with widely varying abilities.


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

Quote:

Fern: I love, love, LOVE Aru (Sabine if it's a girl!)!!! What a beautiful name! If would have been a girl he would have been Amelia Sabine.







Aru, though...just wow! I love it. And 'Roo is adorable, of course! I'm so confident that your family will see this child for the gift that (s)he is once they get to hold a tiny little babe in their arms. I think I've said this in the past but I'll say it again, if ANYONE in this world should have a quiverful of kiddos it should be you. I wish more people in this world would lead their children down the path you are leading yours. The world would be a much better place..
hehehe.. thanks mama.. that means a lot coming from you! i wasn't so sure about Aru but the more i've been talking to baby and calling her that the more right it feels.. i love sabine too. i would probably use it as a first name if tim wasnt so set on Aru.. i call this baby "bean" so much already..but Aru is original and im pretty big on names that havnt been used much before (hence elwynn and ngaio







)
weeeee..babies!


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SoulJourney* 
When she was leaving, we made eye contact and I immediately started crying for her. I just imagined in my mind that she had probably had to give the child up for adoption and it looked to me like she was being allowed to visit him. My heart just completely broke for this girl and I wanted so badly just to give her a hug. It was one of those moments when I realized how fortunate I am to have Noah. Just incredibly fortunate.









Just reading that made me cry.

Hey y'all. Just popped in to say hello. I've been reading but have been so busy and so tired this past week. Honestly if I didn't have an IUD, I would really be convinced that I'm pregnant! Just so tired and feeling so cruddy. Maybe it could be related to the fact that Brynn's been back in the habit of waking every 2 hours through the night. But don't get me started on that.

I just came to say that she is being so *funny* lately! She just talks all the time now, and asks questions constantly ("Mommy, is it OK to touch the car?" "Daddy, would you like some asparagus?" and on and on.







So, this is a bit TMI, but I was in the bathroom today, and she came in and kind of looked at my undies and said, "Mommy, do you need something in your panties?" and I was like huh? So I said, "What kind of something?" and she said, "Do you need a band-aid?"







I guess she's seen me put panty-liners in my undies so she figured they were band-aids. It cracked me up.

We still (STILL!!) don't have the closing date for our house, but we've started packing anyway. We have to be out of our apartment by October 7th, so I'm really putting my faith in the Universe that the timing is going to work out.

Big hugs to everyone - sorry I have to go to bed and don't have the brain power for personal replies right now.


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## Queen of Cups (Aug 29, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Kristina, from what my old health visitor said there's little benefit in doing a speech evaluation at 21 months. At least a third of the time when she repeats the evaluation before referring the talking thing has kicked in just because the little boy needed that extra 3 months to develop. I really would hang on a month or two in your shoes









I don't mean to sound disagreeable, but that's very different than what I've been told by every speech pathologist I've ever talked to. (FIL and SIL are both speech paths, and I've talked to several over the past couple years because of Killy's speech delays) He was evaluated at 20 months, and started therapy the month after that. At that point he had some serious whole language delays (was only using 4-6 words consistently) and now his whole language skills are well above average. Obviously, there's no way to know if he was just a late bloomer and the speech therapy didn't change anything, but I saw HUGE differences immediately after starting therapy. Every speech path I've talked to says that the earlier the better, and its soooo much easier to fix "problems" the younger kids are. So, I'm always in favor of getting evals early and starting therapy early if at all possible. Just my $0.02! (But, of course, every parent knows their child best and knows what their child needs, so I'm sure you'll know the right course of action to take for your little guy, Kristina!)


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

I don't think Joseph has that huge an issue, but if he does have an issue I'd rather get working on it now rather then later. A big part of the reason we are having to see Annette's speech teacher tomorrow is her refusal to work on speech issues with us at home. I have to admit to being irritated with some of the papers the teacher has sent home with notes to work on them. I'd love to work on the sounds at home, but she won't







: She insists that way she makes a sound is correct and throws a huge hissy fit if I try to get her to say the sound correctly. We don't push her on it or anything, but will ask her to repeat a word to try to get it right if she seems to be in a good mood. I'm hoping that a toddler who likes to be helpful would be easier to work with speech issues then a moody kindergarten. I swear sometimes she is 5 going on 15!


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

Fern, I meant to say I love the name Aru too! Beautiful!

Amy, I hope you get that date soon! I'm sure it's nerve-wrecking, but I am also sure that things will work out.

Kavita, hope you're having a great visit with your family.

Helen, can't wait to see pics of you and spughy and the babes.

And Kristina, wanted to chime in about the speech therapy thing, and just say that i understand where annette is coming from in not wanting to practice at home...having been through 14 years of speech therapy myself...i *hated* it, and i hated having it brought up at home. it's hard to explain, but there is something about it. i wanted a break at home, to be able to relax. and it feels bad, even though the intention is completely good, it feels bad to have people tell you you're not speaking correctly. i'm sure you already know that, but maybe hearing it from an adult who went through it can give you an extra renewed boost of understanding as you cope with her fits. hope it helps! and hang in there!

I am wiped, as they keep adding days to our ABC thing. It is fun, but I do miss my boys, and I am, again, EXHAUSTED. We go in again tomorrow and present for top executives, so I'm just a wee bit nervous







Ha! Hopefully it'll go well, though.

Finley is such a sweet boy these days, just so loving and a delight. I gave him a haircut last night, and he liked it! He looks pretty cute, too. (just a trim, but still.)

off to crash and more soon!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Skye reached a major milestone today

She can now make more noise than both of her brothers together







:


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Skye reached a major milestone today

She can now make more noise than both of her brothers together







:

I just spit orange juice all over my computer screen!! Haha. I am so sorry for you but that still made me LOL!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *barcelona* 

Kavita, hope you're having a great visit with your family.


Hey, just checking in quickly, thanks for thinking of me! I am in fact having a good visit with my parents! It's actually the first time in many years that I am around my parents without my sister and her family and it's actually kind of nice to have it be about me and my family for a change! (my sister lives in the same town with them so she gets this experience all the time, actually, but usually when I go there and or if we meet them somewhere for a family wedding or something my sister and company are there too.) I realized that this is the first time my mother has been to my home since I got married--our wedding was in October 2003! Not entirely through her own choice, after my dad's accident she had to be there taking care of him for a long time. Now he's able to drive, and is in actually ironically probably the best health he's ever had in his life (he quit smoking sort of inadvertently when he was on a respirator for months, so he got to be unconscious and sedated for all the nasty withdrawal symptoms and didn't start again when he got out of the hospital!) So things are going pretty well. My mom wanted to go clothes shopping for Ella, and we found her some nice fall clothes and a nice cloth doll that is not exactly a Waldorf doll (it's from Pottery Barn kids!) but is close enough for my taste, it's not plastic so I'm good with that! So she's enjoying the chance to sort of make up for lost time and spoiling, and Ella adores her and is enjoying the constant attention and admiration!

My dad is so funny--you may remember that after my his accident the injuries to his left hand were so severe that they had to amputate his hand and arm below the elbow. He is still in the long process of being able to wear and use a prosthesis, but mostly he wears a sort of sock-like thing over the stump. Anyway, last night we were going to dinner late and there weren't many places open, but we ended up passing this Japanese teppan-yaki place that has really great food, DH and I have eaten there in the past and it's been really awesome. So anyway, we went there. The chef came out to start cooking, and while he is introducing himself etc., my dad tells him, "Listen, be careful with those knives. I went to a Japanese restaurant once before, and look what happened!" and lifted his left arm up and with his right hand pointed to his amputation stump!







My dad just cracked up and the chef said, "Oh, you making my heart beat very very fast!" It was really funny, and it was good to see that my dad is able to have a sense of humor about it! I had a brief moment of panic when the guy started cooking, when they squirt whatever onto the grill and light it on fire and it flames up, because I started wondering if it was a good idea to take someone who has narrowly survived an accident in which he escaped a burning airplane with much of his body on fire to a teppan yaki place! (PTSD, anyone?!) But my dad really enjoyed watching him cooking and we all had a really good dinner.

Later, DH is glaring at me b/c I am hogging his computer, lol!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Bless, Laura, I'm glad the visit's gone so well for you.

BTW, Barcelona, there's the only picture I managed to get of Skye and Rowan together on my blog. It's not that they didn't play together, its that the super-special spidey sense came out whenever there was a camera turned on near them


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## Awaken (Oct 10, 2004)

Hi there,

I just spent so much time yesterday trying to read the whole thread, and remembering what I was going to respond to, then I didn't have time to write the reply and I can't remember everything I was going to say now!

Anyway- Fern- OMG! What big news. Congratulations!!!!!!!!







:

It'll be so fun to follow along the pregnancies in the group! I will have to start lurking in DDC's for vicarious thrills!

Mel- I keep thinking of Neela's comment in the wedding- "I want some nursing"- that is so cute!









Amy- congratulations on the house! I hope things can be settled soon! You always crack me up with the stuff Brynn says! Ezra is talking all the time now, too, not sentences or even 2 words together but copying everything we say, with the same inflections, the best he can, it is so adorable







I just love his little voice!

Kaspirant- I hope the school year gets off to an ok start and you're able to manage ok with the large class size.

barcelona- your project w/ ABC sounds so interesting!


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## Awaken (Oct 10, 2004)

Oh, and yay, what fun to read about your visit with Spughy, Helen! Thanks for posting the picture. I'm so glad you all got to meet, and Spughy I hope you had, or are having, a great rest of your vacation!


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

I should be working...I know that...*but* we decided on names and I was so excited I just had to share!!

We do family names *as much as we can* which really can get difficult at times. Jacob is named after DH's dad Jack and his middle name is Aaron for my paternal grandfather.

If the bean is a boy he is Simon Edwin *simon was DH's paternal grandfather and is his mother's maiden name* Edwin is my maternal grandfather.

If the bean is a girl her name will be Leah Karlin :beams: Leah really isn't a derivitive of any family member but it just seems to be her name regardless and Karlin is DH's maternal grandmother's maiden name.

I'm in love!


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

hello all, quick post from Portugal to say we're having a great time and we LOVED visiting with Helen and co. they are a fantastic family and Helen is just as wonderful if not more so in person than digitally







And I wasn't shell-shocked so much as chagrined at adding another 2 people to her responsibilities! She really is a great mum though, her children are all lovely especially the infamous Isaac who is really a very nice sweet boy. They were very good with Rowan. And Skye is just adorable and such a little imp!

Portugal is fun even though I have to look in my phrasebook to say absolutely anything because my usual method of mangling French and Latin with the local accent doesn't work here like it did in Italy.







: But we're having a good time although Rowan and my friends' son are having some sharing issues.
Ok gotta go, sleepy-time for us now! Oh and official congrats Fern!


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

My computer ate a post a few days ago, and I hadn't worked up the energy to try to re-create it.

Helen & Spughy~ I'm glad your visit went well, and thanks for th photos and updates. Good luck with the rest of your trip, Spughy.

Kavita~







at your dad in the restaurant. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that my sister's husband (the one whose wedding we just came back from) had one leg amputated below the knee a year ago. It was really touching to see them do their first dance, since he had been practicing to be able to dance with her. And he's starting to come around to the pirate jokes...

Kaspirant~ I :heart your names. Thanks for sharing!

My DH is home from Australia, and I'm loving not being a single parent. I was worried that Neela might be angry with him, but she was just so thrilled to see him and talk about kangaroos. He brought back a lovely corduroy stuffed kanagaroo with a joey, which she has named "Pouch". DH is amazed by how much she has changed in just two weeks.


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

We were watching a rerun of Blue's Clues and the clue was chalk. The little kids on the show yelled "Chalk! Chalk!" and Winter proudly proclaims "Cock! Cock!" Unfortunately, I laughed so hard now he won't stop saying it. Uh oh.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Spughy







I'm glad you had fun with us, I was worried









DiD- bwahahahah. He'll grow out of it.

Kaspirant, do you think this one's a girl? Just curious... I love the names, btw. We still haven't got a definite boys name yet, and I feel like we should have one before the scan- is this weird?
We had a good day, a red-letter parenting day







We were in the car on the way to a horrendous shopping centre to go to Build A Bear and buy yarn, and instead we went to Bristol zoo, which is fantastic and brilliant for toddlers. We saw animals, we remembered to go at a child's pace and smell the flowers, and everyone had fun







We're proud proud parents tonight. I also spent yesterday playing with vinegar and a toothbrush and my kids now have very clean school uniforms







(the before picture is on the new blog, link under LIVING.)
Oh, and I'm currently boiling rosehips for jelly, Spughy. I thought you'd want to know


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DreamsInDigital* 
We were watching a rerun of Blue's Clues and the clue was chalk. The little kids on the show yelled "Chalk! Chalk!" and Winter proudly proclaims "Cock! Cock!" Unfortunately, I laughed so hard now he won't stop saying it. Uh oh.

oooo.. I remember when Willem first started saying the word "truck"... It came out "cock" everytime







:
"look mama, a "cock!!!"







:


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## Queen of Cups (Aug 29, 2003)

So, I'll admit to being the worst mommy in the world and saying that I LOVE preschool! Killy's been in school for 1.5 weeks (six hours a day, four days a week). He loves every minute of it, his teacher and the other kids love him, and he's just thriving. As my dad always says, "Killy needs a big room!" (he loves an audience) My house is cleaner than its been in three years, I'm actually caught up on laundry, and I just finished my second quilt since he started! (I know, I'm getting a bit obsessed with quilting, but I just finished this one for the master bedroom and I LOOOOOOOVE it!) I don't mean to sound like a downer, but I've come to the conclusion that I would never, ever recommend having your kids 17.5 months apart in age. Its been a really exhausting last 2.5 years, since I got pregnant with Ellie. Having just one child in the house for a few hours a day has made me realize how I never have had much time with either of my kids one-on-one.







But, to look on the bright side, I'm glad that Killy and Ellie will be close to each other their whole lives, and they play together all the time already, and they obviously love each other very much. So, I wouldn't change anything - I just wouldn't recommend it, and if David and I ever have more children there will most definitely be a much bigger gap between them, age-wise.

My grandmother was convinced Ellie would be miserable with Killy away every day. But, she's so independent she seems to really enjoy having several hours without him every day. She and I run errands, hang around the house, work in the garden, she helps me sew... we're having a lovely time, and its a good six hours everyday where no one knocks her down, punches her, or takes toys away from her. What's not to like?







(On that front, things have gotten a bit better, but it still drives me bonkers when Killy walks by and punches her for no reason other than to watch the reaction.







: )


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

I know what you mean, Jen. I have to say that having pregnancies close together was a heck of a lot easier when I was 22, had abs of steel, back muscles in my back and not my ankles and a bit more energy than I do now. And yes, this pregnancy has been my easiest yet, but I'm still knackered all the time.


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## SoulJourney (Sep 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *willemsmamma* 
oooo.. I remember when Willem first started saying the word "truck"... It came out "cock" everytime







:
"look mama, a "cock!!!"







:

Ummm...trucks are F*CK around here!!! "biiiiig f*ck, mama!!!" and rocks & socks are cocks!







That's my boy!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
I know what you mean, Jen. I have to say that having pregnancies close together was a heck of a lot easier when I was 22, had abs of steel, back muscles in my back and not my ankles and a bit more energy than I do now. And yes, this pregnancy has been my easiest yet, but I'm still knackered all the time.

And that, my friends, is why *this* old lady (36 is 19 days!) has been waiting before going for #2, even though my chromosomes are probably aging at a terrifyingly brisk pace!!

I am enjoying Ella so much, and frankly, although I definitely want another baby, I am not very excited about the prospect of being pregnant again and having life be filled with chaos and exhaustion and that much work. (I got heartburn last night from something I ate and it reminded me about how much I hated that and how pervasive it was throughout the entire second half of my pregnancy.) Thinking about the whole thing a lot lately, as I am just starting to feel like I'm on top of things (cooking, the house, finances, being able to take care of myself, settling into this totally new climate and community, etc.) and have a little bit of freedom to do things once in a while--I can leave Ella with DH or a babysitter and not worry that she'll starve to death without nursing for ten minutes! Last weekend I got some athletic shoes (can you believe I didn't even own even one pair?!) and this past week I did my first workout at the gym affiliated with DH's work where I now have a membership. It was nice.

My parents left this morning. It was a really good visit--remarkably nobody got into a huge fight, everyone enjoyed themselves, etc. That makes a first, I think! Ella really enjoyed her grandparents being there, and vice versa. I also realized just how much difference it makes just having someone else there even playing with her and watching her for a few minutes, even if it's not babysitting! And DH took friday off, so it was kind of a nice vacation for us too. Also, it was nice because my parents insist on paying for meals out, etc., although we did pay for a couple of things, it was kind of a treat for us in that way to get to eat out without feeling guilty or worried about it! We did take them for a lunch cruise on the river--the oldest working steamboat in the US is right here, and we all really enjoyed that. so that's life here. Meanwhile, tomorrow it's back to the grind. (sniff, sniff) and I hope ella will not be too cranky as she goes through withdrawal from having constant attention lavished on her from 4 adults, and is back to her mom who is desperately trying to keep afloat in the sea of meals, housework, dog care, laundry, etc.!


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

I'm taking a break from packing to say hi! We are moving out sometime before October 7th, but STILL don't have our closing date yet.







Can I just say that there is a reason why Countrywide has such a sucktacular reputation. So we're just going ahead like our closing date is what we put on our contract - September 27th - and we'll juggle as needed if that changes. The good news is that it feels really good to pack, even though we just moved in to this apartment 4 moths ago!







: Surprisingly, it's a lot less stressful doing it ourselves than it was when the moving company came and packed us all up. We can do it at a leisurely pace and I can sort through things as I pack, organize as needed, etc. When the movers packed us, it was like this insane whirlwind of items being thrown into boxes, and then dumped out onto the floor once we got here. It was awful! At least in our new house, we'll have plenty of garage and basement room and can unpack as we need things, and I'm sure we'll be leaving a lot of this crap in boxes, at least for a while.

We've been really busy lately, but happy. I've been spending a lot of time at the Waldorf School doing the parent/child class and volunteering. They've also started a craft circle on Monday mornings, starting tomorrow; our first craft is going to be to make a heavy doll. I'm excited about that, and excited to get back into knitting at some point. Y'all are so inspirational with your knitting and quilting!!!!









The weather's gotten MUCH cooler so we've been spending a lot of time outside. Yesterday we went to a "family farm" - I don't know if they have them all over the US, but they are pretty common here in the Midwest. Anyway, we fed the goats and Brynn went on a pony ride and we had just about the best peach I've ever tasted and generally had a splendid relaxing day outside. It was lovely!! Today we met some of our good friends from back in Ohio for lunch; they were driving through on their way back from a wedding. It was fun to see them and catch up on all of the news from our former home and it made me miss living there a lot.

ITA with what you are saying about having family around, Kavita. Whenever we have the grandparents around, it's just SO MUCH easier for me to get things done or even have a moment to sit on the couch and catch my breath. It's really hard to live someplace without any family around, which is why we really think that we are going to head down to Austin in about 5 years. Brynn needs to know her grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins-by-proxy, and our life-long friends.

That reminds me of the multiple children conversation that y'all have been having. Jason and I just had a conversation today about how we are still totally happy with just one child and I don't think that is going to change for us. We have friends who have a 3-year old and a newborn, and the dad was telling Jason that their life is SO much harder now, it's like hard to believe how different things are. Granted, it's always hard with a newborn, but the whole idea of trying to parent two kids totally freaks us out! (Not to take anything away from those of you with more than one child - it's just not for us!)

I'm reading along and thinking about y'all a lot - just never seem to have more than 20 seconds at the computer these days.

Have a great week everyone!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Child spacing ugh. I'm still freaked out that Joseph won't even be 2.5 when this one comes. I was only just starting to think a 2nd child might be a good idea when Annette was 2.5 years old and she was almost 4 when Joseph was born. I've always been for larger age gaps rather then smaller so maybe that's the universe laughter that I'm hearing. One way or another this will be our last child. If Kyle doesn't get fixed I will. I'd already been looking in to permenant bc before getting pg so this just made my mind up.

On that note I found out my sister is pg with #6 due around the same time I am according to my dad. My mom is at her place right now basically doing everything for her. I can't really even go any further in to that as a ton of issues might come bubbling up and I could easily start ranting.

Good notes Annette's IEP meeting went great and she will now have a good deal more time at speech in school. Thankfully her teacher has also seen the refusal to attempt to say things correctly. I swear sometimes people think I am making this up because she works so well with her speech teacher. I did have some irritation with the head speech teacher, but she does not see Annette and really does not seem to get what all is going on. Thankfully the teacher she sees understands her and was more then happy to spend more time working with her. We also talked about summer school so she can have even more time working with her speech teacher.


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## HoneyTree (Apr 5, 2005)

Amy, bah to Countrywide (for your reasons as well as my own!), but sounds like the trip to the farm was fun!

Jen, the quilt is gorgeous! What a perfect time of year to be addicted to quilting.









Flapjack, I had to laugh at your pregnant-at-22-vs.-now scenario. I WISH, WISH I had gotten pregnant when my body had "bouncing back" potential. Now there's nowhere else to go but further down! (Of course I care less now, too, so that helps.) I don't know what I would have done without my daily naps while pregnant with Woody, though. I worked half-days and was taking ONE class, and that's all I could manage. Hugs and zippy energy to you!

I have been glad to be reading the child spacing convo, too. I tend to think there is not much science to matters involving children, only personal choices made in the circumstances of the moment (which go quickly to the wind, making most of _those_ choices precariously founded at best), but I always like to hear where others were and are when making the same decisions I am or will be making! Meanwhile each month I'm half-hoping AF will stay at bay and half-glad when she shows up, allowing me to keep my very pleasant status quo. Biological clocks are funny things.

I just knit Woody perhaps the cutest thing I have ever turned off the needles, but my digital camera, as I previously mentioned, is broken. So I will just share with you my joy at a cool-weather garment finished and I'll promise to post pictures later.

Barcelona, I was thinking about you, too, but thought I had just missed your post. Glad to hear all is well and that you're "back in love" with acting!

--Teresa


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## mama naturale (Aug 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SoulJourney* 
Ummm...trucks are F*CK around here!!! "biiiiig f*ck, mama!!!" and rocks & socks are cocks!







That's my boy!

OH my! Bub doesn't talk much but he loves trucks. He says prefixes so truck is "trahh" as is bus and train.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Teresa, I actually wasn't joking. Of course, part of it is that I'm carrying a bit of additional extra weight now, as opposed to then, but my pregnancy with Skye was harder than with Alex (21) as well.

Can I suggest for a moment that there's a reason why Brits have lorries?


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

sorry to have been MIA this month. way busy attending births and then took a vacation up to the coast of bali for almost a week. then, been too busy since we got back and my internet connection has been so shoddy.

i have to catch up on what is happening with you all, in addition to the baby cussing going on.









i am totally overwhelmed by nursing ez these days.







it irritates me and i want to stop it completely. i am trying to hold out a few more months. she absolutely loves nursing and claws my shirt for it if i ask her to wait a second. i am trying to keep going b/c we are traveling for a few more months, at least and it's so good for her immunity and familiarity (when other things are not). mostly, i want to honor her needs (aka the whole child led weaning bit) but i am so firggin over it. and, yes, i do have horrible mommy guilt in my head about not being able to tolerate it right now. i'd love your thoughts.

we have to either renew our visas or get out of the country in less than two weeks. we have an open-ended slight into singapore so we will probably go there for a couple of weeks, at least. life seems to complicated for me right now...too many decisions to make. change is probably coming and i am just not real excited about it. i'd rather just stay on my balcony and chat with you all then go help some mamas easily get through their labors and gentle births.







:


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Gunter, I'm not a big believer in CLW: I think that it's OK to keep going as long as both you and she want, but if she's nursing to the point where you feel resentful and irritated then it's time to look for a win-win situation. I don't mean full-on weaning, but I think there's room for manoeuvre in here.


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Awfully quiet around here today, ladies.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gunter*
i am totally overwhelmed by nursing ez these days. it irritates me and i want to stop it completely. i am trying to hold out a few more months. she absolutely loves nursing and claws my shirt for it if i ask her to wait a second. i am trying to keep going b/c we are traveling for a few more months, at least and it's so good for her immunity and familiarity (when other things are not). mostly, i want to honor her needs (aka the whole child led weaning bit) but i am so firggin over it. and, yes, i do have horrible mommy guilt in my head about not being able to tolerate it right now. i'd love your thoughts.

I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone, Gunter. I am very ready to wean, but like Ez, Brynn is completely a boobie girl. I think if I let her, she'd be one of those 6-year old nursers that they do documentary pieces about.







I think it is hard to be on MDC and be feeling this way because there is very little support for MLW (Mama-led weaning), even for babes approaching 2 years old. I looked in all of the breastfeeding forums and found nothing; I tried to find books, but even those published by LLL with titles that seem to be about weaning are actually covertly books about trying to convince you to continue extended BF'ing!

Our temporary solution is basically what Helen suggested: serious limitations on when and where. We don't nurse in public much at all anymore, and I usually try to limit it to when she is going down for a nap, or before bed. And then of course there are usually 2-3 nursings per night, but I *really* want to get her night weaned in the next couple of months and see if that will help her to sleep a little better. With our move coming up in a couple of weeks though, I'm reluctant to go cold turkey on anything...but I will say that for me, I want her to be weaned by the time she's 2, for sure.


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

just wanted to pop on and say hi! don't have much to report, but today was a lovely day. it made me realize how chaotic it has been around here lately, with my stint with abc. (i'm not complaining, but...it was nice to have a calm day) we went to this wonderful exhibit of old trains where they have a little train for the kids to ride, and you can explore the old trains. and best of all, it's free! i'm hoping to post some pictures on my site soon, so you can see how charming it is







finley adores it there! alex (DH) has taken him often these past few weeks, while i've been working, as it's near abc, and free, and fun, and all.

it's going to feel good to get caught up on life and house stuff this week, before i return next week to work some more on scenes.

amy and gunter, i hope that you find support and solutions as you try limit and/or stop nursing.

i have moments when i am tired of it, but for the most part, i am happy with it. and i can't imagine weaning finley right now...he is SUCH a boobie man. i might consider limiting how often we nurse when he's two, perhaps to mornings, pre-nap, and pre-bed. we'll see. he's doing pretty well at night these days, only waking up when the sun is out, wanting to nurse, til he's up for the day.

Q of C, i'm so glad you're enjoying your time with ellie, and that killy loves pre school. sounds like such a relief and a breath of air for you!

i can't imagine having two so close together, although i have had a few "scares" (as you know), and imagined what it would be like. i do think there are pros and cons to different kinds of spacing, but i am happy about doing more than fewer years of spacing for now.

hope everyone is having a nice start to the week!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Weaning and night weaning are not something I have ever done. Annette was past 2 when she was ready to sleep through the night on her own and I really think she needed the calories before then. Now that my milk supply is tanking Joseph is waking up more often to nurse at night. He has also woken up several times at 4 or 5 am and won't go back to sleep until he gets something to eat. I really wish I could just nurse him back to sleep. So much easier then having to get up and figure out what the toddler wants to eat. Joseph has always been a big eater so trying to get more food in during the day would just drive me nuts. The one meal he has picked up on is lunch. That used to be hit or miss as he would often just snack his way through his nap and drain both breasts in the process. I highly doubt he will wean during this pg as I encourage bfing until at least age 2, but we will see what happens. There have already been a few times when he pulls off and tells me the milk is icky, but then he goes right back to it







The one thing that has become even more important to me is nursing manners. I have never allowed either of my children to pull on my clothes or twiddle the other side as it makes me insane. At the moment even rough lovings can make me cringe so Joseph is being constantly told to be nice to the mmm mmmies. That applies to my stomach too, but he doesn't understand how rough he is being. That ended up with dh taking him out of the room while I was trying not to cry this morning after an accidental knee to the lower abdomen.


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Neela has been pretty needy in the past week, so I haven't been able to post as much. We're working on getting back into our regular routine with daddy home and back to work/school, but she's been a handful. She's at daycare this afternoon and I have the day off work, and I just slept for almost two hours. Obviously all of the night-waking and extra energy that she's needed have been taking their toll!

To the child-spacing discussion: I've just had my second PPAF, and my fertility is just returning. Obviously I'm not physically cut out to have children closely-spaced. And life-style-wise this works for us right now, too. We're still in discussion about whether, not when, we'll have a second child. If we do we're waiting until DH finishes school in the spring AND for Neela to sleep somewhat more consistently at night, need nursing and mama a little less intensely, etc. So realistically we would have a 3 1/2 or 4 year spacing. Neela has told our family about her "new baby sister" already, though. A friend of hers has a sister, and she wants one too.

And a question that I'm both too lazy and too intimidated to post on it's own thread- where do you draw the line in letting your kids dress themselves? I don't care what Neela chooses within the realm of weather appropriate, but she can't wear a sleeveless dress on a cold rainy day. And she wants to wear a sleeveless dress every day. Without a sweater or other shirt underneath, and no pants or tights ("I don't like tights very much"). It's become a daily battle, and I want to stop it. Should I just shut up, pack the sweater and let her wear whatever? Hide the sleeveless stuff and hope she eventually forgets about it?
She and I are both getting worked up about it- the first thing she said when we woke up this morning was "I need a dress".


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

ngaio isnt nursing anymore







we try once in a while but she says its "ucky duckie" im hoping when baby comes she will nurse a bit, but im not sure whats going to happen. she still asks often but then doesnt like the taste i guess.. so its hopeful. its kind of nice at the same time to have a few months to myself (as much as you can being 6 months pregnant and with a toddler and 4 year old) but i like my space, especially at night. on other news.. ngaio has a bed in her brothers room now. im camped out on the floor beside her







but just until she gets settled.
and yesterday i was cuddling her and she said "dont kiss me!" first time


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

kaspirant-that's me I got em!
spughy-recieved
*MamaFern* -en route-
SoulJourney -recieved
flapjack-recieved
HoneyTree-recieved
*Amy*-withdrew
Susannah M-recieved
Kavita-recieved
*spiritmomma*
*barcelona*-pick-up arrangements pending
MelW-recieved
DreamsInDigital-taken care of








gingerstar-recieved

Anybody hear from or talk to spiritmomma? If I don't hear from her by the time I meet up with barcelona again to pick up beads I'll just send them out without hers...if everyone thinks that's best!~

*hugs*

I'm sooo soo sooo sorry this has taken so long.







: to say it's been crazy around here is quite the understatement.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

I know spiritmomma's life went kind of crazy... but Alicia, you're growing a baby.

I had that special kind of sleepless night last night where I was convinced that today's scan is going to show major abnormalities







4pm this afternoon, and yes, if baby wants to show us his genitalia, we're going to look.

Mel, could you not just go shopping for a stash of comfortable swing dresses with arms in? (you know, if money were no object?) I've never had a child who had an opinion on clothing, so I have no idea other than that.

Amy: seeing as we're talking about it, when Isaac weaned/ was weaned, we did don't offer, don't refuse and for us, that worked well. I'd suggest reading "mothering your nursing toddler" by Norma Jean Baumgarner (sp?) if you haven't already, that helped me a lot with both boys.

So, where are we at with the birthday swap? I know Monique volunteered to organise- anyone in?


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

I tend to just go with the clothes they pick out unless they are wildly inappropriate like cordury overalls for August in FL. Nope sorry little man you can't give yourself a heat stroke just to look cool







Most of the year we don't have to worry about it being too cool for things so it was fine when Annette wanted to live in sundresses. I think the winter she was 2 going on 3 she only had 3 or 4 pairs of pants and wore dresses the rest of the time. I had my mom find some heavy knit tights and she was happy. If we were at home I didn't even mess with the tights most of the time. If she was cold she would get something else out of her dresser or closet. As we lived out in the middle of nowhere and didn't often go places at that time it wasn't hard to get her dressed in warmer clothes when we left the house. Sometimes that meant putting on pants and other times it was a dress with warm tights. I think with Joseph our bigger issue is just going to be getting him to wear clothes. We don't have a working heater here so we use space heaters and only in the rooms we will be in when it's cold. Since he has run around naked most of the time for months this might be interesting.

On the swap subject I've mentioned before I'm in. Mel if you in and like the idea of dresses with sleeves you might have given your swap partner ideas already


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Mel, I was thinking about this at the bus stop. She has a ritual of wearing sleeveless dresses, right? Well, what about creating a seasonal ritual of putting summer clothes away and getting the warmer ones out and making it a celebration of the passing of times and the turning of the circle of the seasons? Preferably involving warm autumn food, delicious food and vacuum bags, all of which go down well with our lot.

We had the scan this afternoon, and we're having another boy. I think I'm happy?


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Congrats Helen!! (I was secretly wishing you a girl, so you weren't so outnumbered and Skye would have a sister!) But I am very happy for you!

Good suggestion for Neela's dresses! I have to hide unseasonable clothes. My eldest (being on the spectrum) could care less about clothes, but will wear anything in her closet/drawers, so I have to rotate her clothes. My 6 yo is a bit of a diva, and very particular. She adored a certain sleeveless HA dress, and I had to hide it. Some clothes I could have her layer, but for some reason, not that one. Ella, luckily, is blissfully unaware of where her clothes live, and so she doesn't choose her clothes, I do.

Kristina, I think we have your weather! It was over 90 yesterday, all week is supposed to be 80's or above. This, after we got a frost last Fri, had to have the furnace on!







:

Birthday swap - I'm in!


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Yay for a boy Helen!

Did I already say count me in for the birthday swap?


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

I'm in for the birthday swap!

Does anyone know where spiritmomma has gone?...helen, since you know that her life has gone crazy?

And Helen, congratulations!!!! Let that news sink in...and see your family forming before you. I thought it would be a girl, so I am surprised. But think of it this way...you and Skye's connection will be all that much more extra-special, and she will be the treasured special little girl that all her brothers dote on. And this little boy will have the priviledge of having a big sister so close in age to teach him sensitivity.

Today it is actually cloudy, and I am ecstatic! I might rain tomorrow, which would send me into pure joy.

Happy Wednesday everyone!


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## Phoenix_Rising (Jun 27, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
So, where are we at with the birthday swap? I know Monique volunteered to organise- anyone in?

Can someone explain this for me?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
We had the scan this afternoon, and we're having another boy. I think I'm happy?

Yay for little boys









Oh, and I've been reading along, just not posting. I'm kinda in a funk and don't want it to spread


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Mel, I was thinking about this at the bus stop. She has a ritual of wearing sleeveless dresses, right? Well, what about creating a seasonal ritual of putting summer clothes away and getting the warmer ones out and making it a celebration of the passing of times and the turning of the circle of the seasons? Preferably involving warm autumn food, delicious food and vacuum bags, all of which go down well with our lot.

We had the scan this afternoon, and we're having another boy. I think I'm happy?

First of all, congratulations!

And thanks for the ritual idea. I think that may be the key- we have some lovely dresses with sleeves which will hopefully work when the idea of sleeveless fades. And we went to the fabric store yesterday and she chose the fabric and pattern for her new "winter dress".

Today of course she is wearing a sleeveless dress again, but in her shivers I convinced her to add a sweater on top and pants underneath.







And as soon as she got to daycare she started the hunt for "princess shoes". I love how she defies some gender stereotypes, because she insists on a dress and princess shoes to go out an play with dumptrucks in the mud









Susannah~ I hope your funk fades soon


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Yeah, I was there earlier.

I feel calmer







Barcelona, Skye is not the person to teach anyone sensitivity-assertiveness and diva-hood, yes. Sensitivity, prolly not. Her preferred methods of communication are screaming and headbanging. We have agreed that the name I didn't like isn't happening







(Logan, the one my bastard ex-husband co-opted) and I think we've agreed on one that we do like instead.

Susannah







May the funk go away.


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

Hey mamas,

Big congrats to you, Amy about the house! I am so happy that you found a place. If you are looking for paint suggestions, we used the no VOC kind from Olympic which was very affordable and much less toxic. No one who worked at the store knew what i needed when I asked or even what VOC is (as they mixed the paint, i helped tell them). That kinda disturbed me to think of those people working around toxic stuff and not even knowing about it. Anyway, it's easily available and affordable.

MamaFern- Congrats to you on your growing babe! I hope that you have a great birth and I am a fan of UC. Do you have close friends or know a doula or anyone who you would trust to be there for support? You are resourceful and so in charge of making things happen however they need to so you get the birth you and your babe want. Having lived in India, Aru sounded familiar to me and i am glad kavita chimed in with the meaning.

Kavita- what is up with your india trip? we are leaving for singapore in about 10 days. one area is called little india and we plan to start our stay there in one of the hostels or hotels. we are so freaking stoked. there is an indian restaraunt here but people rave about the indian food in singapore.

Thanks for the ideas and empathy about nursing. My nipples are peeling like the newborn days; they are so raw that it hurts. Ez has been falling asleep on her dad's shoulder or in the bed as he sings to her. But, she wants to nurse when she wakes up and for a long time.

susannah- i am with you in that funkville right now, too. except i may live closer to irritableville.

in addition to nursing being overwhelming, i fell down the outside stairs (made or rock and concrete) the night before last...while holding ez. we are banged up with scrapes and bruises but i am thankful that is the worst of it. the stairs are really treacherous and we have been worried about them since we moved in here. well, i fell down half a flight until the half wall and a tree broke our fall. i was so worried that the tree limb poked ez in the eye as we came crashing down and the impact, oh my...but she just scraped her head and her knee pretty bad. We are on the mend though!


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Gunter how scary for you! I'm glad you both weren't more badly injured!
I was thinking about you with this earthquake that just happened - did that affect your area at all?


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

Susannah, another hug to hoping that your funk passes soon. And if you need to vent, to get that funk out, we are here for ya









Gunter, that sounds So scary! I'm so relieved that neither of you are more seriously hurt. I'm so sorry your breasts are in such pain, too. Singapore, and the Indian food, sounds amazing. I love hearing about your travels. How great that you guys are exploring.

Helen, any chance you'll share the name you like?? I, for one, am dying to know. And as for Skye's communication and diva vibes, well, perhaps it'll work the other way around and the baby boy will be incredibly mellow and sensitive and teach her about sensitivity. Or perhaps they'll scream together and bang heads together! Regardless, he's a beautiful little soul who is meant to join your family and our world. Are you feeling him move?

And Fern, how lovely that you get a wee break from nursing, as you prep for a busy time ahead with your beautiful growing family.

Mel, I just love the paradox of gender Neela embodies! How freakin adorable. I hope you're taking pictures of her in princess clothes on dump trucks.

Amy, any word on the house???

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's all I can manage now.

I just had a lovely few hours of doing laundry and cleaning and getting organized. I feel so much clearer and lighter! DH took Finley out on an outing, so it has been a lovely breath of quiet and productivity.

The madness at ABC starts again tomorrow, so I'm glad I can at least go into it feeling fairly caught up.

Thinking of you all!


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gunter* 
in addition to nursing being overwhelming, i fell down the outside stairs (made or rock and concrete) the night before last...while holding ez.

Oh Mama!! That happened to me when Brynn was 13 months old, at our old house. I was wearing socks and lost my footing on the top step and fell down the whole flight, 16 steps, while holding Brynn. I just remember being terrified that she would get hurt as it happened. She was OK, but I fractured my coccyx, which was hell for about 4 months. So I am really glad you are both OK. Things like that - God....just so scary!! Oh, and thanks for the tip on the paint. My mom mentioned that too, but I assumed it would be more expensive so it's good to know it's affordable. We'll definitely do that. And I hope you enjoy Singapore! Jason went there right after the tsunami of 2004 and said it was the cleanest place he'd ever been. Cleaner than Disneyland.

Speaking of the house, the deal is finally FINALIZED!!! Our closing will be sometime between the 27th and October 3rd (we'll find out tomorrow), but it's just SUCH a relief to have everything signed and ready to go. We are so friggin excited!! I've already got the apartment about 1/2 packed up, so that part won't be too stressful, and I am looking forward to getting into the house and starting the renovations! It's just so crazy to think that in a few weeks, we'll be in our new home.









*Helen*, congratulations on your healthy *baby boy*!! I'm glad that your hunch (about abnormalities) was wrong!







And by the way, did you even realize in your post (pre-scan) that you said "his" when referring to the baby? Oh, and as for the "don't offer - don't refuse" weaning tactic: if we did that, Brynn would nurse every hour, or more, which is how often she asks. For reals.

Mel, I'm all about rituals + firm limits. That combo works pretty well for us.

barcelona, I hear you on the rain thing.







: (Except I would be smiling instead of frowning.) Hope you have a good work week!

Fern, just thinking about you and hope your little fam is doing well! I can relate to the whole "don't kiss me!" thing that you are going through with Ngaio. Brynn *rarely* shows me affection, and if I ask her if she'd like a kiss, or if she'll give me one, she will usually say, "no." Somtimes I get a "Hmmm...just a hug."







Of course Daddy (aka, The Good Cop) gets hugs and kisses and nose rubs on demand. Totally not fair.

So now we're all in suspense...is Spiritmomma OK? She's on my Myspace but hasn't logged in for a while.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Amy, have you tried don't offer, don't refuse, and spend all day at the playground?

Okay. Nameswise I think we're settled on Sam. Probably not short for anything, just Sam, and yes, named after both a hobbit and a Terry Pratchett character. I do like Gareth as well, but DH isn't convinced







And yes, Amy, I call all unborn babies "he" because generally, they live inside pregnant women - "she" and it makes it easy to differentiate between mum and baby. We were pretty sure it was a boy anyhow because of the timing- fertile CF started drying up a whole day before O, and we knew that it was the post-O bd that did it. Steve actually really likes the name River, but I'm really not convinced- any thoughts?


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Helen... I **know** how you feel about the 'nother boy issue. Willem went from being completely positive that I was having a baby girl to now (as of yesterday), I'm having two babies and they are both boys. And I've had a couple of people joke about twins too. Which would be fine with me because I don't think I will ever want to be pregnant again after this one. I would really like a girl because our household really needs that balance. But as long as s/he is healthy I'll be happy. I just don't know how much more yelling and screaming and wrestling I can take (though I have my doubts about how calm a girl with two older brothers can ever be). Just that stage of motherhood for me I guess. I keep remembering lifting Gabriel up out of the water on my belly to find out he was a boy. It was mixed feelings for me. A bit of relief -because of my experience with my brother- and sadness. I was happy to have two older boys and hoping they would grow to be chums.

Susanah, I think I'm in that funk too...

Gunter, I fell down the basement steps a couple of days ago. It's times like these that it's nice to be married to a chiro







. He said it was very noble of me to try and do the laundry after all this time (the basement smell makes me instantly sick) and I deserved it for trying to do to much (said in jest of course). Hope you're both taking arnica.

Amy, congrats on the house!

And as for me... I thought I was over m/s but alas, I'm back at the toilet and very acquainted with the dust behind it. If I get up out of bed for any other reason then emptying my bladder at night, I'm vomitous then next day no matter how much protein I've eaten, how much milk thistle I've taken, how much anything I've done. I do my kegels constantly and it's still not enough to keep me from peeing on myself when I retch. TMI, but still. No fun. On a good note, I've tried not to let it keep me down. i made an awesome mongolian chicken stew last night with tumeric-fennel-cashew rice pilaf and then baked a double batch of zucchini-apple-carrot muffins today. My Gabriel is such a muffin man. That's what he always asks for when i ask what he wants for a snack. I think we came out with 40+ muffins today but I'll bet you anything at least 2/3 of them will be gone by the time I get home (I'm at the office).
Oh, and while I was measuring and sifting and mixing away, Gabriel decided to raid the jar shelf and made an assortment of standing up potty receptacles for himself (that he then had to go dump in the real potty). He's been diaperless all day (and will use thepotty when he is but put a pair of undies on and he instantly wets them) and the next time he had to go, he refused to sit!!! So I guess he self taught himself to go pee standing up







We'll see how long that will last.
Well, I'm all done seeing patients today so I'm headed home. They boys *should* be napping right now and I want to try and finish up the fleecies I was making them. JoAnns' has all their anti pill fleece on sale and I grabbed a few remnants last night so am pulling out the sewing machine today and trying my hand at it. When it comes to sewing, I'm no QoC, but I can cut patterns and follow directions alright


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Oh, and helen, i love sam!
My brother was going to name his youngest Samuel Oliver and i was disappointed because i really like the name (he ended up being William Thomas).


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

I love Sam too. We really wanted to choose that for our boy name when I was pregnant, but it sounded ridiculous with our last name. I think there's a famous actor named Sam [flapjack's last name] isn't there?

Wow, I can't believe all of the falling down stairs going on round here. I'm glad you are OK too, Monique!

I posted a few new video clips of Brynn talking about our new house. She's excited.


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

Who knew all of us were falling down the stairs in the DDC? I am so thankful that we are okay! Monique, sorry to hear that you fell, too. We are taking arnica, well, i am b/c ez spits it out. i really am feeling better today. there is a chiro here who i will see either today or tomorrow. He used to be our housemate and was here right after i fell. Congrats on being preggo, too! I don't think i ever said that. I think i bought a pink nursing top from you right after our babes were born...is that right? If so, it's here with me in bali, the land of perpetual summer.

i miss the fall time so much right now. it's mid-sept and feels like mid-july here. i dream about going to the fair and leaves changing color. i miss seasons. i read a blog and the woman went to the oregon state fair about two weeks ago and i have drooled over her pictures.

helen- forgive me for not saying yay for your babe boy! (i meant to in each of my last posts.) clearly, the universe knows you are supposed to be this boy's mama and i am glad he has come to you.

i can relate to the talk of child spacing that you all have been having in that it scares me to think of having two kids within two years. i so often feel overwhelmed by ezra's need of me as here mama. she's a happy babe and can tell us what she needs but i just want to be so much less selfish and there for her in more ways. having to split that up is going to be hard for me when those days come.

don't offer, don't refuse probably wouldn't work for us if i needed to nurse her less b/c sh asks all the time, crawls in my lap, screams for it or pulls on my shirt if i am trying to hold her but not nurse her. she is an addict.







we have upped the distractions and dh takes her out of the room for a little walk or exploring what is outside our deck. (we have rice patties with ducks that entertain her behind our deck.) it's this weird cycle then b/c i feel bad for her (or me) leaving each other' company. i am coming to terms with there not being a simple solution. just hoping i have the patience to continue to endure it and will respond appropriately to her needs regardless of my own, at times. thanks so much for all the support; i soooo need it right now!


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## SoulJourney (Sep 26, 2005)

Hey guys!

A quick drive by to bump up the thread and mention that I'm *in on the birthday swap, too!*

I'll try to give spiritmomma a buzz today to see how she's doing. I haven't seen her in a while so I don't know what's going on in her life. I'll give y'all an update if I get one!


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Gunter, I've been meaning to post (tried but got deleted several times actually for various reasons) and say--do you think you have thrush? FWIW I've had it with no outward symptoms except pain while nursing, so you might not have the white patches or other stuff. It would make sense given that you both had bouts of diarrhea recently, that can get your intestinal flora out of whack and make you more susceptible to thrush, especially in a hot/tropical climate. Your nipples should really not be raw and peeling and sore!!! Hope things get better soon, anyway.

That's all I really want to say right now--things are fine here, but I'm in a more introspective place and don't really feel chatty.

Best to all!


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

kavita,

thanks for the insight. i had that same thought myself but w/o the white bumps or anything else, i didn't think that would be it. i will read up on it ore thoroughly now.

I would love to be in on the birthday swap. I will ship from singapore but my person can ship to me in north carolina. I won't be back there for a bit but it would be cheaper than s/h intl and i won't know my singapore addy. there are some really cool toddler clothes and toys here in bali. lots of hand carved wood toys. someone gave ez a cloth elephant that turns into a purse...it's so freaking cool and i have never seen anything like it.


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Oooh ooh, I wanna swap with Gunter & Ez!!!








BTW, Gunter, my dad's from NC - Marion, near Asheville. My cousin lives in the mountains outside Burnsville, and most of my relative are in Marion or Spruce Pine. (Yes, I'm half hillbilly, half English! I have biscuits 'n' gravy with a nice cuppa tea!)


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gingerstar* 
(Yes, I'm half hillbilly, half English! I have biscuits 'n' gravy with a nice cuppa tea!)

That reminds me of that Billy Bragg song, "England - Half English." He says, "I have a plate of marmalade soldiers/washed down with a cappucino." Whatever marmalade soldiers are.


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Hee Hee! That means toast with marmalade on, cut up into "fingers" or my mom called them "soldiers" too.

That is like the Pink Floyd song, where he says "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!?" Most Americans don't know that "pudding" in that context just means dessert - as kids, we used to ask my mom "What's for pudding?" and our friends laughed at us - but we might have ice cream for pudding, or a cookie, etc.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Snort. Pudding rocks. Dessert is for pansies- nowhere near enough calories or custard. I didn't think you had marmelade over there, though?

Thanks for the good wishes, mamas







I'm feeling a lot calmer about the whole boy thing- part of me is worried about the implications on my daughter for growing up in a house full of men- are we going to try to inadvertently turn her into a 2yo mother for her younger brother, dressed in princess dresses and maude only knows what else? I'm glad to have had one girl though- it means that there is someone in our family to hand my great-grannies midwifery notebooks on to. Oh, she's back on the boob, btw







Not with the intensity she was, but as a "now and then" measure- tantrums, nightwaking, that kind of stuff.

Oh, Amy, Barcelona, I've always been pretty sure that this was a boy. We felt conception, knew it was probably post-ovulation and my EWCM had already started drying up, so knew that the odds were it was going to be a boy.

Gunter, I'm so sorry for your poor aching bones and boobs







I'm with Kavita, it really does sound like a yeast infection, which may not show signs on your boob. Have you checked Ezra's mouth?

Mel, your daughter, as ever, kicks ass. I keep meaning to say this and keep forgetting.







:
Monique, I think life is a heck of a lot easier with a boy who can pee standing up- it makes it so much easier if you get caught out and about without a potty. I have major, major, pee-standing-up envy







:


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

gingerstar, I love NC!!! I did not know your dad is from there. Does he still live there and if so, we have to meet up the next time you visit him. I love asheville and would love to live there but the two times i tried, it didn't work out. maybe next time. we have such a great set up (solar house, acre, 2 miles from the mall and walking trails, good friends, etc) that i sometimes don't want to give it up to move. our community is really great where we live. but asheville calls us...

toast and marmalade sounds yummy to me right now. and, bring on any and all desserts and puddings and the like. i have a mouth full of sweet teeth, thankfully not too many cavities though.

i did check ez's mouth last week and no white bumps or anything. she's nursed today about four times and it hurts less for some reason. uhm, well, here is one other potential contributor:

i need to pull a mamafern and tell you all...









i am pregnant. has been hard, so hard to come to terms with







: and we are only beginning to tell people (other than the ones at the birth center here in indo who all know b/c they do my pre-natals!). otherwise, only my BFF and our moms know. just told MIL yesterday even. so, yeah, i am about 17 weeks, probably if i had to think hard to pick a EDD it would be feb 29th, leap year baby! not for sure though. being preggo is probably one huge reason my nips are sore, eh? anyone else go through that? i have no idea where this babe will be born; i am just waiting for it to tell me when and where. and i'll be there to respond.







not planned or expected or been as easy as my nov 05 babe was. more on that later...i want to join the feb DDC so i can get excited about this. see you there, helen!


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## Onemagicmummy (Jul 27, 2007)

hello all. i have a Nov 05 baby too. DS2 was born on 11/11/05. hes a chubby little tyke. 22 months old now and i can see the little man in him coming out more and more each day. he is starting to talk more and i can understand him more and more. he is still high manitaince but he alway has been btu now he can communicate its getting better.

hes jsut become a big brother this past week adn he is loving it. he is besoted with baby (well untill the next cartoon starts or he spys a toy hed rather play with lol)

i find it hard to comprihend tht i am now the mother of 4 kids under 6. 3 of those are under 3 and 2 of those are under 2
DS1 is 5 DD is 34.5 Months DS2 is 22 months and DD2 is 5 days

so far i have covered July, September, October and November now lol

hope your all well and your LOs are well too

Kiz


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Gunter, congratulations!!!!!














All of you covertly pregnant Mamas - I don't know how you've kept your secrets! Gunter, I have to say, you are so brave and amazing for having embarked upon your journey not even knowing where this babe will be born. I think you have an awesome family unit!

Welcome to our group, Onemagicmummy, and congratulations on your new arrival!


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Congratulations Gunter! FWIW when I had thrush Annette never had any signs of it. If your nipples are peeling I would still consider that a big possiblity even with the pg. I've been very lucky this time as my nipples aren't bothering me at all. I do know someone that swore by using lanolin every time she bf when she was pg with #2 and her #1 was still bfing tons. I don't think that would be the best idea if there is a possibility of thrush though. Lanolin is great for thrush to breed in so maybe try something like olive oil to help make the nips less tender. It's also an antifungal so it might help with the thrush too.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Hey Kiz







Congratulations on the new arrival, and







to the Nov05 thread.

Bwahahahahah, Gunter. Congratulations, and absolutely come and play in Feb DDC. I think kaspirant is due within a couple of days of you as well







I take my hat off to you for nursing this long through pregnancy at the intensity that Ezra does- I couldn't. I know there are a few other mamas in February with boob-obsessed toddlers, though, so you'd have support and someone who's btdt. And yes, my nipples were extremely, agonisingly sore especially at the point where the mature milk was drying up- it's almost totally back to normal now that the colostrum has come in, but those weeks that my boobs were dry was excrutiating. TMI? Probably.

ETA: come on, ladies, keep those bfp's coming. We need a mole in May DDC still


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Gunter - CONGRATS!! YAY for more 11/05 mamas in 02/08!
That must have been especially scary to fall down the stairs, then! I am glad everyone is ok. I would love to meet up in NC!

Helen, don't wish that at me!! I am enviously watching all you pg mamas, but I am quite done here! (Mmmmmmm, custard....!And yes, one can get marmelade here, pricey but worth it! We even eat Weetabix. Now if I could just get Bournemouth bars.....) Glad Skye is willing to nurse at times - I always wonder how to parent at those difficult times, if you can't nurse; that is my cure-all!

Kiz, welcome! Sounds like your hands, heart and home are full! What a blessing. It is nice to have a growing UK contingent, too!


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Oh wow Gunter, that's awesome. I wish I had a secret pregnancy to reveal myself but no such luck.


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Welcome, Kiz!

And congrats, Gunter! I hope that you find the perfect birthplace for this growing babe









I've joined the falling November mamas group last night when my attempted hurdle of the baby gate failed miserably. Luckily Neela was in bed, not in arms. My foot landed under both me and the gate is sore and bruised today, but I'm otherwise okay. Blah... just yesterday we were celebrating our seventh month of running and how it was finally getting easy, but I cancelled this morning's run, and may be off it for a while yet.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Lydia, it'll happen







Better late than not sticky, you know?

Mel







Gentle healing and virtual arnica to you.


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Aw Helen thanks. I know, and I shouldn't be so blasted impatient but I am and I can't help it.
We watched Hot Fuzz last night and I thought of you. It was a really funny movie (and it helped that I'd had a couple of pina coladas)


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Thanks- I think? I think both Simon Pegg and Bill Nighy are extremely sexy, in a "they make me laugh my knickers off" kind of way, but I haven't seen the film yet.


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

_Happy first day of *Autumn*, everyone!_


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

Halllooooooo everybody! We're back from our adventuring and we had a fabulous time. I really need to figure out some sort of gratitude ritual for any and every god of travelers because they really did smile on us. We had a perfectly smooth trip everywhere with the minor exception of certain train transfers in London that involved stations with no handicap access (ie, no mama-with-child-and-30kg-of-luggage access), however passers-by were inevitably helpful and gracious and nobody once told me I was completely insane for doing what I was doing.

We had a great time in Portugal with our friends, then a lovely, if quick, visit to Paris where we learned that the regular folks in Paris are extremely friendly and helpful but the people who are employed to serve tourists, not so much. Like cab drivers, although that may have been due to the fact that he was called out at 6 am for a 6-block drive. Anyway, that was the only sour note in our Paris trip. We played in a lovely Parisien park and snooped around various extremely high-end stores (actually Rowan slept through that bit) and ate wonderful food and rode the metro all over and I discovered that my high-school french was actually pretty sufficient for getting around and basic conversations. Thanks, Govenment of Canada.

And then we went back to England, and then the next day we took a train to Manchester (which was a surprisingly scenic, lovely journey in which Rowan alternately slept and charmed other travellers on the train) and then the next morning we flew home. Then took a taxi, then a ferry, then a bus, and THEN we were home.

And throughout it all Rowan was cheerful and wonderful. Actually, with the exception of a few days near the end when she had a bit of a cold and wasn't feeling great, she was absolutely the best little travelling companion ever. She slept well (except when she had a cold), she was eager to see new things, she LOVED going on buses and trains and pretty much slept through all the plane trips, she was SO well-behaved in restaurants, she ate well for the most part, accepted it when she couldn't have boobies in certain places (like standing-room-only trains), and was just about as perfect as one could expect a nearly two-year-old to be. I am truly blessed.

I'm also feeling MUCH more confident as a mother. If I can not only survive Europe on my own with a toddler but actually ENJOY it, then I can manage pretty much anything, I think!

DH was very happy to see us and Rowan was soooo happy to see him too. She jumped up and down and smiled and laughed when she saw him, gave him lots of cuddles - even got off my lap at one point last evening and went over to him and gave him a big spontaneous hug, which was so beautiful I actually started to cry (gotta love jet-lag). And the dog was happy to see us and vice-versa, and all in all it's lovely to be home. Especially since this morning I had a loooong shower ALL BY MYSELF with no child in the bathroom saying "hurry up mummy".

Anyway, enough about that. I'll post some pictures from our trip (including some of Helen and Skye) in the next few days.

I think I've caught up mostly on the thread. Gunter - congrats on the pregnancy! Are you going to come back to the States for the birth or figure he/she will just land wherever? Helen - I think a boy will be perfect. Skye will thrive being the only girl and I think the balance of your house will be better maintained with another boy than a girl. There is such a happy boisterous vibe in your place, a sweet retiring little girl would be quite lost I think! Amy, congrats on the new house, I hope the move goes smoothly... Kiz, welcome! Mel, I hope you heal quickly... I'm sure I'm forgetting people and I'm sorry, I'll catch up entirely soon.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Hey, good to see you back







I'm glad you had a safe trip, and Alex wants you to post a picture of a transparent apple when you get a chance...

Amy, wasn't the first day of Autumn two days ago? Not wanting to dampen any spirits (and heck, any excuse for a party) but we definitely did the whole autumnal feast thing on Friday.


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

Gunter,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! I hope that you are feeling more and more excited about the new baby growing inside of you. I have no doubt that your birth experience will be beautiful, especially after you have spent so much time assisting births overseas. I hope you and yours are feeling well. What wonderful news!!!!

spughy, welcome back! i can't wait to see pictures. it sounds like it was such a wonderful trip. and isn't it always so lovely to return home?

mel, feel better soon! that is the worse...setbacks right when you're ready to start something anew.

and welcome kiz!

i am in bed presently, hoping to rest off the almost-sick feeling i have. i think i am going to be okay. thankfully, DH has graciously taken finley for the most part today and yesterday. i am drinking lots of fluids and tea and vitamins. i need to be well by tomorrow, as it's our big day at ABC where we'll be presenting our scenes to this top executive. it shouldn't be that nerve-wrecking, but for some reason it is..i'm nervous as i type about it! but, hopefully, it'll be more fun than anything. once i get over the initial nerves of showing her one of my scenes, i'll be okay (i have five to show her).

finley has been too cute for words. he is signing and saying I love you, when he leaves, and is lavishing us with hugs and kisses. and he is trying so hard to say everything. it's heartbreaking when he can't really do it, but he is close! you can see that it's in his mind, but he just can't quite get the words out of his mouth. and i have to say, amidst his incredible cute-ness, he has had his moments of freaking out at the drop of a hat. we're not exactly sure what is going on, but thankfully, he is fairly easily calmed and /or distracted, and back into his adorably cute mood.

my SIL and her boyfriend, who i've told you all about (left daughter, cheated on wife, attempted suicide, kleptomaniac...), are coming over in half an hour. i hope i can be compassionate, and that my discomfort around them doesn't show too much! it is quite a challenge. at least i have the excuse that i don't feel well to mask as an excuse for not being myself.

oh! and i don't think i told you all, but it actually RAINED here!!! the first drops since we moved. it rained yesterday morning, and throughout the day, and i was in absolute heaven.

okay, i think that's all from me! hope everyone is having a lovely sunday with your sweet families.


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 

Amy, wasn't the first day of Autumn two days ago? Not wanting to dampen any spirits (and heck, any excuse for a party) but we definitely did the whole autumnal feast thing on Friday.

Gah, picky picky!!







I know, you are probably right. I think solstice was Friday, so Saturday was officially the first *full* day of fall, but for some reason my calendar (Canadian/American) said today is. Maybe yours is earlier because you're closer to the prime meridian.









Oh and Helen, you'd be so proud: I finished knitting my first scarf tonight!! You know - the one I started when I was pregnant? I'm so stoked!


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Happy Autumn to you too Amy! I have been waiting for it, just as I know you have, and it is supposed to be 90 tomorrow. I am *not* amused!!

Sarah (and Rowan!) Welcome Home! I am so glad your trip went so well!! Looking forward to pics!!

Mel, I hope you heal soon (all the falling mamas!) and are back running again quickly. I used to run cross-country in college, and I miss it.

barcelona, hope you are feeling your best and your scene goes well!! Finley sounds soooo sweet! It sounds like he is just having his "two" moments, like all our little ones, but like his basic nature is sweet!


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

It feels so good to finally share my pregnancy with you all. It makes it more real and way more approachable and exciting. I joined my due date club, too. I am so not sure where we will be when the baby is born. We'll be in singapore for a while (2 weeks -3 months) then don't know from there. Could head up to Malaysia, Thailand or out to the Philippines. I will keep you all posted and anyone who wants to see my blog, just PM me for the addy. I love reading your blogs!

The most exciting news i have right now is that I caught my first baby this morning!!! The MW who runs the birth center told me to glove up and i did, nervously asking questions. The mw just told me to follow my hands and that is was intuitive. She reminded me that i had given birth and said, "That gives you more spiritual authority than half the midwives on these islands." The mom pushed for a short while. I supported it's head/ear area and unlooped the cord from baby's neck. I no sooner had asked about the arm that was up by it's head than the rest of the babe's body slipped right out into my hands. I lifted it up to the mom's chest. The placenta came about 12 minutes later and she needed to be sutured, which i did not do. My heart was beating so fast after catching my first lil lump of love. I was so nervous that i clenched my teeth up and had to open my jaw and move it around a few times as i caught myself. I am on cloud nine today.


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Amy got fall right although I would have sworn it was Friday also until this was shared elsewhere http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/equinoxes.php and then I checked this out http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astr...alEquinox.html I really have no clue why it's off this year.

Welcome back, congrats and get better feelings to pass around. I'm only up here at the moment because I had to call dd's school firs thing. She was running a nasty fever yesterday and it's still up today. Since I've more then likely got a sinus infection I'm guessing something similar is going on with her. If she ends up at the ped's I'll be getting both monkeys checked out as Joseph has been a disgusting snot factory for over a week and the wheezing at night isn't pleasant.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gunter* 
The most exciting news i have right now is that I caught my first baby this morning!!! The MW who runs the birth center told me to glove up and i did, nervously asking questions. The mw just told me to follow my hands and that is was intuitive. She reminded me that i had given birth and said, "That gives you more spiritual authority than half the midwives on these islands." The mom pushed for a short while. I supported it's head/ear area and unlooped the cord from baby's neck. I no sooner had asked about the arm that was up by it's head than the rest of the babe's body slipped right out into my hands. I lifted it up to the mom's chest. The placenta came about 12 minutes later and she needed to be sutured, which i did not do. My heart was beating so fast after catching my first lil lump of love. I was so nervous that i clenched my teeth up and had to open my jaw and move it around a few times as i caught myself. I am on cloud nine today.

Wow--isn't it an awesome feeling????!!!!!! Congratulations! You are making me want to do midwifery again! (Although then thought of jail time in this ass-backwards state where it's illegal then tends to settle me down really fast! Lately I have been sort of wishing at times I'd never moved here. But that's another story.) I very well may have to come visit you in Bali!

The compound arm (hand up by the head) was my special little curse in my apprenticeship. My preceptor midwives used to joke about it because it seemed like half of the babies I caught had their arms up! The way to deal with that is to grab the hand and pull the arm straight out while supporting the perineum with your other hand. However, I didn't always have much luck with that--I found that it often seemed to work better for me when I wasn't able to bring the hand out first, to just hold the baby's arm in against its body firmly (but gently, of course) as the rest of the body is coming out. If that elbow flaps out uncontrolled as the body is coming out it can give the mom a wicked tear, often labial or periurethral which is going to be much more difficult and painful in terms of suturing/further healing (for both the mom *and* you, lol!)

Well, enough shop talk from me!!









I've been having a kind of crappy week. I don't know if I posted this but I went to a meeting of a birth advocacy organization here last week. I was really, really dismayed at what I heard there about how things are here in the hospitals. And there is no viable alternative for most women. There are a couple of midwives practicing illegally, that's it. Not more than a couple of CNM's in the hospitals and they are employed by physician practices, not practicing independently. No birth center. Direct entry midwifery is illegal. The standard practice at the friendliest/grooviest hospital is to keep the baby separated from the mom, in the transitional nursery for 4-5 hours!!! I could not believe that! I mean, that is normal healthy newborns, not sick babies or NICU candidates or anything else. That is just ridiculous--even the crappy hospital I worked in before in AZ only kept the babies in the trans nursery for 2 hours before sending them out to their moms. No wonder there is one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the country here in this state! That is a huge sabotaging factor. This city is seriously about 20 years behind a lot of the rest of the country in birth practices. The more I learn about how things are here the more I am completely appalled and depressed about it. But I also don't know if I have the energy to fight the same stupid battles over and over again. There have been a few other issues more personal in nature that have been making me sort of question whether I actually like it here, and I have seriously been missing my friends, the climate and the culture back home and sort of wishing in some ways that we hadn't moved and that we were back there.







There are things I do like here, so I guess I just have to focus on the positive. Financially and career-wise for DH things are much better here, which is the only reason we were willing to move here in the first place. I guess I need to go hit a cider mill one of these days to make me appreciate that I'm in a place with seasons!

On a happier note, Ella is just so fun and wonderful to be with these days. She is climbing everything and getting into everything, some of which is potentially dangerous to either herself or my stuff or both, so I have to constantly watch her and curtail some of her adventures, but she is just so happy and sweet. She'll just throw her arms around my legs and yell, "Huggies!!!" and hug me, and occasionally when she is nursing she'll pop off to give me a big kiss and hug me or put her head on my shoulder, and then she'll wriggle back down and resume nursing! She is really, really affectionate. Tonight we all went to a store and when we left I was putting her into her carseat, and as I was looking down and buckling her in, she reached up and put her hand on my cheek very tenderly and said, "Face!" and pulled me toward her and gave me a big long kiss on the lips!







She is talking lots more lately and talks in phrases and some sentences a lot, and she says and does the funniest things sometimes. She just keeps us laughing a lot! I've realized that I tend to tell her that we have to say goodbye (to whoever or whatever) and we'll see (whoever or whatever) later, because now everything is, "Bye, bye! See-you Wader!" It's especially hilarious when we flush the toilet and she stands there watching it go down and says, "Bye bye, poopy! Wader!" while waving goodbye to the pee or poop!







While my mom was here we got her a cloth doll, and she really likes her "baby" and if you ask her who the baby's mommy is she'll point to herself or say, "Me!" Watching her patting her doll, talking to her doll, taking it's jammies off or checking it's diaper while talking to it in this singsong little voice or giving it hugs is so sweet and funny! She's really very gentle and motherly with the doll most of the time, but of course sometimes she tosses it or drops it or whatever, but the funniest is that she seems a little unsure about how the doll should be fed. She nursed it once, but mostly you can tell that she thinks that I'm the baby nurser around here, but there is this visible level of trepidation about whether it's a good idea to let this interloper share her num-nums!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Laura. Bless your girl for bringing so much joy and light and good stuff into your life when you need it







I get some of what you mean about the advocacy- I'm really struggling because I can see that locally, we need to do something about the local hospital but that right now, this isn't the best time for me to try to do it.









BTW, is a compound arm presentation a risk for shoulder dystocia? Of my three kids, I've only caught one of them myself. I'm seriously thinking of UC this time, but first with Isaac's SD and then Skye's compound arm, I'm second guessing myself.

Kristina, I'm so sorry you're feeling poorly







Gentle but incredibly speedy healing to you, mama.

Gunter







congratulations!

Amy, yay for finished objects! You need to post a picture, it's the rules


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Amy, yay for finished objects! You need to post a picture, it's the rules









K. Here are a couple!

Kavita, that is so sweet! Brynn is pretty much not affectionate with me, so I'm feeling something like unrequited love a lot of the time.









Gunter, that is so awesome that you had such a powerful experience! I hope they continue to be positive and wonderful for you.

Barcelona, are you feeling better? How's your work week going?

Kristina, hope you and the kiddos are all doing OK too.

Gingerstar, here too, and I'm with you. Not amused!

No news really on the house. Our proposed closing date (in our offer letter) was September 28th, so I guess in theory we could still do it on Friday, although no one seems to know what is going on. This whole experience has been ah-NOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-ing! I'll be so happy to just have the damn key so we can get to work and move on in!

Gotta go, Brynn's on the potty yelling, "I'm all finished, Mama!"


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Cool scarf







NOW you know why knitters always tell people to start with dishcloths...

My daughter has just done 13 normal sized, non-diarrhoea-y poos in 12 hours. Is this some kind of record she's going for? I'm running out of nappies...


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

No Helen, I don't think a compound presentation is a risk for shoulder dystocia. As long as you remain upright and not compressing your tailbone your risk of a repeat shoulder dystocia is very small. As in, you're more likely to be hit by lightning.


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

Amy, what a beautiful scarf!!!! Isn't it fun?
I had a knitting phase a few years ago, though I don't think I was naturally gifted. I know one day I will take it up again, but it's not happening right now.

My work week is, of course, busy busy, and they are keeping us long hours. Thankfully today we have a late start. I am hoping we will know our scenes soon, so we can all relax a bit. We all saw the big top executive lady yesterday, and I am glad that is over...we will keep seeing her, but at least the mysticism surrounding her is gone. She is not very friendly, and viewing what I think should be fun as purely a business decision. But ah well. I guess that is the industry. Just trying to stay focused on what I love and what I do.

Finley is a doll. We have been having a lovely morning together. Ran a bunch of errands and now hanging out at home. We'll wake DH soon, who's been up all night every night writing his script! Life is crazy crazy right now.

As for my health, thanks for asking! I definitely feel like I am out of the sick-zone and feeling back to myself. Still a bit tired, but that is all, and to be expected.

Kavita, I am so sorry you have been having such a hard time...and I hope that soon you start to enjoy your new home better. I understand, at least on some level, as we are still not crazy about the city itself here. Sending hugs and happy vibes your way this week!

More soon...
Off to make some lunch with Finley.


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Gunter, wow! Congratulations!!!! 17 weeks, huh? I'm 14 weeks tomorrow. I very literally felt the baby kick for *real* for the first time as I was catching up on reading posts here (I think it was Kavita's post about the birthing situation in KY).







none of this, is it the baby or is it gas nonsense. awww... how sentimental







I told dh and he said, Which one?








gunter, did you ever get to see that chiro after your fall? I keep imagining you as an eight month preggers but you're only 3 weeks ahead of me. As I've mentioned before I'm in the April ddc but my real edd in in march. Anyway, glad to know your pink nursing tank is getting global use









So my mw told me my quickening date should be around october 16th... would this push my edd ahead?

Dh and I celebrated our fifth anniversary over the weekend, childless (virtually) and nearly alone in the woods. We went camping and fishing (I opted out for reading and knitting) and had a very relaxing time. I didn't get sick but I was pretty dizzy at times so it was nice to take it easy. Dh set up a hammock, which I promptly fell out of. So though rested and relaxed, I'm still sore and have a headache. Other than that, things are good here.

Gabriel's newest fascination is running up to me and saying "I sad" in order to cuddle. It's almost like he wants an excuse for cuddling







Cute but I hope it's not a sign of an emotional complex







:

Off to run a bath for my stinky, sweaty boys


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Monique, do NOT start moving your EDD. Remember what happened last time, huh?









My dh has got to the point where every time he sees me on MDC he asks who announced their pregnancy today
















Barcelona, I'm glad life is going well for you.


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Monique, how exciting that you felt the Human Bean kicking around!







I still remember vividly the first time I felt Brynn move. It's so special.









Guess what? I finally got word: WE'RE CLOSING ON FRIDAY!!!!!






















:

OMG, I am just so excited, I can't even tell y'all!!


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Yay Amy!!!!!!!!!!


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

congrats gunter!!







another new baby growing..eep.

all is well here. im actually in the city for my 1st prenatal midwife apt today.







yeah.. im 24 weeks ?! i think.. im losing track..
but ive finally decided that im going to come back to vancouver for a few weeks, have the baby here, at home (my moms..elwynn was born here too) with suzie, my midwife that attended both elwynn and ngaio's births (im so happy about it!) and it will be perfect and fine.. no dr.s. no hospitals.

im kinda nervous about my midwife apt today, which is so silly because ive done it so many times before.. but im trying to remember what they do in the 1st time.. blood tests and all that. im still partial to UPing.








anyways.. i wanted to check in here since i have a few minutes before my sister and i go buy some much needed maternity clothes for me. im huge already and i have 3-4 more months to go







:

ngaio is just pretty much the cutest sweetest child in the whole world these days. she eats well, she sleeps well, she does crafts and reads books and plays with her toys happily alone or with me or elwynn or tim.. she is so well spoken and confident to do things that blow me away.
she rarely cries or gets mad but when she does, watch out. im so loving this age!


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Oh thank goodness Fern. I couldn't imagine you having a hospital birth and I know you were a little scared about the idea of UCing. I am so glad you got something worked out. I was about ready to fly my midwife up to you


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## 3for3hb (Jan 13, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
Monique, do NOT start moving your EDD. Remember what happened last time, huh?










which is why I'm in the april ddc









Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
My dh has got to the point where every time he sees me on MDC he asks who announced their pregnancy today









I know! It's almost surreal


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Well, the run is broken... I don't see a November mama in the May DDC?

Fern, I know I said this over in UC, but I'm glad you found the win-win situation. I know it isn't ideal, but looking at what one of the other Canadian mamas over there is going through, I think it's a sensible decision.


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## Phoenix_Rising (Jun 27, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DreamsInDigital* 
As in, you're more likely to be hit by lightning.











Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaFern* 
but ive finally decided that im going to come back to vancouver for a few weeks, have the baby here, at home (my moms..elwynn was born here too) with suzie, my midwife that attended both elwynn and ngaio's births (im so happy about it!) and it will be perfect and fine.. no dr.s. no hospitals.

I'm so happy for you. What a blessing to have the same midwife with you and be able to birth another babe at your mom's home


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

so my midwife apt. went swimmingly..except that im measuring 30 weeks at 24.. not sure what to think. suzie asked if i think im having twins and i really dont but im considering having an ultrasound now.. any wise words of advice?


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## Queen of Cups (Aug 29, 2003)

Didn't you measure ahead last time, too? (I remember being jealous of your beautiful big baby belly everytime you shared pics last time!)


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

*fern-* you have probably already thought about these things but here are my thoughts, too. are you sure about dates? what about listening for two heart beats? your girl was about 10 lbs when born, too, right? so, i wouldn't be as concerned about measuring big if this one is as big and your date is a week sooner. i have lost a bunch of weight and am still measuring one week ahead with doubt that my dates are sooner. i am not worried about it; kinda glad to know babe is growing with all the weight i have been losing. and, it's nice to be on the larger babe size when ez was only 5 lbs (but three weeks early). i was a fan of the UC idea but think this sounds even better. so glad you can rest knowing you have a plan now.

helen-maybe the May DDC mama is struggling to come to terms and will surprise us like fern and me. your DH is too funny. how is skye's pooping today?

amy- i still have projects to complete from pregnancy. ugh. if ever? glad you got that scarf done. i don't care which day you wished us a happy autumn, i am so jealous that you all are actually experiencing it!!!! well, but it is nice to be swimming these days. i love fall time in NC and i love the fair!!! yay for a firm closing. i hope that it goes off w/o a hitch. when we bought our first house, we did not bring a certified check for our down payment (just a regular old check) as no one told us to do that. we figured after loan approval, why would they need a certified check? anyway, it muddled up the closing date and we had to come back the next day. the next one was a heck of a lot easier, even with a babe in arms through the closing. i would be a nervous wreck if i was a realtor or a mortgage broker. it can be stressful enough buying a house. so, here's easy closing vibes coming your way!!!

monique- i felt movement so friggin early with this one compared to ez. i think it was around 15 weeks and then at 16 weeks, i SAW movement. whoa. DH felt the baby move at 16 weeks, too and that is so great b/c he felt so left out last time when i felt it for so long before he could. today, i am 18 weeks and loving the pool here! it's so fun to get to swim around as a preggo. we're running out of sunscreen though. i bought a couple of things from you and am excited to use them for this babe come next year! RE: dates...there are more indicators than just movement, eh? and, you are more intuitive to feel your babe this time around. you know your body and how babes live in it!

barcelona- i am glad that you are feeling better and that maybe it won't be as busy or intense now that you have presented for that big wig.

kavita- thanks, mama. i, too live in a very unfriendly state but i do not have the desire to be the primary care person, either. so, being a doula there seems less intense as far as getting fined/arrested. i was nervous to transfer from a HB to the hospital but i just nodded in agreement with what my client said and we didn't mention the HB or the MW. so, i feel more confident about that situation now. come to bali...or nc! let's work together and take breaks and eat indian food. did i tell you we are staying in "little india" in singapore? i am so flippin ready to eat my weight in dahl.

gingerstar- it's 90 here, too but we're in the land of perpetual summer so it's normal. like i told amy, i miss the fall time so much! i am so jealous that you all can go to your local or state fair, even if you will be wearing shorts.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Fern, a one-off measurement isn't cause for concern- which is what this is. It could be that this is actually another November/December babe- I seem to remember you going through a major broody spell back in March which for me, normally equals conception. It could be that this is twins. Listen to your instinct: and Tim's instinct. You both KNEW that UC wasn't right for you this time, for some reason. What's that reason? Is it twins? Or is it something else?

Gunter, poop is normal. I have to say, I envy you the weather today- it's very autumnal, cold and blowy. Skye grew out of last winter's jacket and I haven't got her a new one yet, so she's wearing an old one of Isaac's that I couldn't bear to part with. It's too big on her and she just looks like such an imp in it







It's strange, too, because she looks so much like the boys but so different, too.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

It's very weird here--the dogs are at the vet getting their teeth cleaned today. it's very quiet, peaceful, but that's also kind of disconcerting because it's such a change from normal! I keep getting startled, thinking, oh, the dogs are still outside, I have to go let them in, and then realizing that they aren't here. I hope they are doing okay. DH took them this morning before I got up--they had to be there at 7:30. I called a little while ago, and one of them (the younger one) is done, he is still under anesthetic and then they are going to do the older one when their appointments are done. I'm more concerned about her--she's been having bad breath and bleeding gum issues, so hopefully her teeth are all okay and cleaning will resolve it. Also, she's 9, so they have to monitor her more closely (they'll have her on an EKG the whole time she's under anesthesia.) I should have had her teeth at least cleaned before now, but luckily the vet that DH found here is charging about half for both dogs what our previous vet was going to charge for one dog.

Gunter, one of my IRL friends was telling me the other day that she could eat Indian food every day--I just laughed and said that I had thought the same thing before I married an Indian man and had the chance to put that to the test!! I am thoroughly sick and tired of Indian food by now!! Partly, I tend to make the same things over and over again because those are the things that DH likes. I like them too okay, but I don't crave them, iykwim. I will eat and more or less enjoy them once I've made them, but I wouldn't necessarily make them on my own for myself at this point. My absolute favorite Indian thing is palak paneer, but it is highly variable depending on where you get it, and I had a place back in MI that I loooooved. In AZ, there was one place that usually made it how I like it. and here--zip, zilch, nada. I don't really like it at any of the places I've had it here, and it's the one thing I have never been able to replicate to my standards either! I hope you enjoy singapore. I really liked the very brief time I spent there. I think it's highly possible that it's one of the cleanest places on earth! As far as the doula thing--I just really have no desire at all whatsoever to go into the hospital with people. It's kind of crazy, because I've been to so many home and birth center births, and I've only actually been to one hospital birth!!! (Seen more on video, of course.) So my sense of normal birth is very alive and intact, and I want to keep it that way. Unlike the majority of America, that is my concept of routine, standard, and normal. I'm not trying to bash on doulas, I think it's a noble thing to do but one which I just can't bring myself to do for my own emotional/mental health. I really respect doulas and think that they are really a benefit for women who have to go to the hospital for whatever reason. I also might get one myself for a homebirth with the next baby, because I don't have my best friend here with me and there isn't anyone who leaps to mind as someone I want to have with me while I'm birthing. And that was soooo important to me last time. My friend (who's a midwife, but wasn't my primary midwife) was with me for the last 12 hours of my insanely long labor with Ella, and it just made all the difference in the world to me.

We are having some poopy/tummy issues here too, although I am not sure what is going on. Part of it with Ella is probably that she's in the long process of getting a molar, and seems a bit more spitty than usual. Part of it was split pea soup, which was pretty much appearing in the diapers in slightly modified form. But then the same thing with some nachos we had the day before yesterday, and generally she is pooping like 3-7 times a day instead of her usual one time. and she smells bad--sort of on her head in the fontanel area, smells kind of vomity. Which could be what is making MY tummy sort of touchy. But I woke up yesterday with an upset stomach/crampy intestines. And then when I mentioned it to DH, he started noticing that HIS tummy was a bit touchy as well! so we're either having a very mild stomach thing or we're all totally psychosomatic freaks.

barcelona, glad that you are getting to a good place with the ABC thing! It sounds exciting. I've never done any acting whatsoever--no being a tree in a high school play, nothing, and have never really even considered it to be a choice of career for myself. (As in, I could imagine me being a lawyer or a physician or a teacher as a realistic possibility with the relevant schooling, but not an astronaut or politician or actor!) So it's so far from my experience that it's hard to even imagine!! But it makes it even more fun for me to hear about your work and adventures!!

Fern, it's hard for me to really give any input on the size and whether it might be twins. You DID have a really big baby the last time, so it makes sense to think that you would have one large one this time too. OTOH, a sudden leap up in measurement at about this stage of gestation is a "red flag" for twins. But it depends too on whether you were measuring more on track for dates previously in this pregnancy and have had a sudden leap up in growth, or have been consistently big for dates all along, which is not info I have, and I'm don't know if it's info that you have. Different people measuring will give you a difference of one or two cms sometimes, but not 6! It's good that you are seeing your previous midwife, she should have your previous prenatal records and can compare with this pregnancy. How sure are you about your dates? Are you feeling more movement than in previous pregnancies? Does the movement "make sense" as in, there's the butt, there's a leg, that feels like an arm over there, or is is just arms and legs everywhere? those are all things I'd look at, as well as where the heartbeat can be heard relative to the position of the baby.

Willemsmama, also not sure what to tell you! On one hand, that is a bit early for a big kick, but on the other hand, you will feel movement earlier with a second or subsequent baby. I don't even remember exactly when I felt movement with Ella, but I remember it was kind of on the early side for a first baby. But I remember that the first little movements after the fluttery, flippy feelings were like being poked with a pencil eraser!







And that DH felt her for the first time on Father's day! My midwife who trained me said that she estimated 20 weeks to the day from the first really good thump. All I can really tell you is to make sure to write down the date in your calendar, because inevitably you will get to the end and be doing the due-date-shuffle and you'll want your data to be accurate when you are obsessively going over it again and again!!  I have to say, that after going through this with a lot of women and trying to piece together an accurate date range, I understand a little more why the docs want to just sono everyone early on!! I still don't believe in that practice and would never want to do it, but I can understand the desire to get an answer and eliminate the "what-if's".

I am really going to have to start working out in a very serious way. I am about 20 lbs over my starting weight when I got pregnant with Ella, and I feel like my muscles are all just shot. Seriously, that is one of my biggest reservations about getting pregnant--I am worried that even the normal pregnancy discomforts and symptoms would about totally finish me off. I feel like, I just can't have my life or my body fall apart on me right now. Did I mention that I will turn 36 in exactly a week??!! EEK!!

Amy, glad that you got the closing date on the house! It's so stressful! Just be happy that you're not the buyer AND trying to sell your previous house, so all you have to worry about is just getting one house ready and then your stuff moved in.


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

Hello all! We seem to have settled into our normal routine. Rowan slept all night last night which was nice, especially since I was out gallavanting (not really, I was learning how to hunt bullfrogs) so DH put her to bed. She even slept in til nearly 8! I guess the jet lag is truly gone now.

I just made doughnuts and now I feel slightly ill because I had to "sample" a few too many. Urk.... but I deserve a treat because I went to the dentist for a cleaning and a checkup the other day and my teeth barely needed cleaning and there were no signs of cavities, in fact my mouth overall looked much better than the last time I went (which was about 4 years ago I think














so yay me! My doughnuts btw have no refined sugar and are mostly whole wheat, but they are still very very tasty.

Fern, I bet you're having just another big kid. You're what they call a "strapping lass" (and I mean that in an admiring way, I would love to have your height and bone structure!) and despite Elwynn's stature I don't think you can really expect teenytiny babies, kwim? Also it's your third, and probably your abdomen's just like "oh we can do THAT" and popping out enthusiastically.

Helen, we've been having a bit of the other kind of poop issue - Rowan was pretty constipated for most of our trip but since we've been back she's been ok. Still, I'd like her to go a little more frequently.

Also - general poop question - she's totally telling me when she's going to poop now ("mummy change Rowan!") but steadfastly refuses to consider taking her pants off to sit on the potty to do it. What's the deal? How can I convice her it's fun to poop on the potty? She'll sit on it quite happily *wearing* pants but not naked. I rather suspect I need a smaller potty, because she's got a skinny little bum, but I don't think that's all there is to it.

Kavita, I hear you on feeling like you're not in good enough shape to have another baby. That's EXACTLY where I am right now. I've given myself a week to relax after the vacay then this coming Sunday, it's diet + exercise time again. And I don't care what happens to my milk supply. We'll deal. But now, it's more important for me to get down to a healthy weight and get back in shape. Then we can talk more babies.


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

I finally found a moment to post instead of just read- yeah!!!

Fern~ I was going to search the Nov 05 DDC archives to see if I could find posts talking about your measurements from last time, since I seem to remember you measuring ahead and wondering about twins then, too. I'm glad that you figured out your plans for the birth, too









Amy~ Yay for closing tomorrow! Good luck with the rest of your renovations and moving plans!

spughy~ Will she wear a dress on the potty? It gives a bit more privacy if that might be the issue. Neela won't use the potty unless I take her pants all the way off, since she is bothered by the pants around the ankles. That and she's just bothered by pants, and it seems like an easy way to convince me to take them off







And bullfrog hunting? Tell us more...

Kavita~ Healing tummy and normal pooping vibes to your family

And to any sleepless mamas and toddlers... Neela had craniosacral therapy for her teething/sleeplessness, etc. on Tuesday. Last night was a very good sleep night for us, and her latch seemed a bit better too. I'm not 100% convinced yet, but so far it seems promising!!!


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kavita* 
Fern, it's hard for me to really give any input on the size and whether it might be twins. You DID have a really big baby the last time, so it makes sense to think that you would have one large one this time too. OTOH, a sudden leap up in measurement at about this stage of gestation is a "red flag" for twins. But it depends too on whether you were measuring more on track for dates previously in this pregnancy and have had a sudden leap up in growth, or have been consistently big for dates all along, which is not info I have, and I'm don't know if it's info that you have. Different people measuring will give you a difference of one or two cms sometimes, but not 6! It's good that you are seeing your previous midwife, she should have your previous prenatal records and can compare with this pregnancy. How sure are you about your dates? Are you feeling more movement than in previous pregnancies? Does the movement "make sense" as in, there's the butt, there's a leg, that feels like an arm over there, or is is just arms and legs everywhere? those are all things I'd look at, as well as where the heartbeat can be heard relative to the position of the baby.


its actually 7 cm..







: i just got off the phone with my mw.. she looked up ngaios chart and at 20 weeks i was right on..then from that point on i was measuring 2 or 3 weeks ahead ending with 42 cm at 2 weeks past my edd. she said it never caused her concern. this time however it does and she said that she wanted to call again and defend the reason why she suggested an ultrasound. the thing is i love this woman and i seriously trust my life with her. i believe that she wouldnt ask or recommend me check it out if she really didnt think there was a reason. and since i dont have any previous measurements to go by (i thought that i was pretty right on checking myself, but i didnt use a tape measure and obviously im crazy because i actually thought i was measuring small







) we cant say "oh at 20 weeks you were measuring fine and now you are 7 cm ahead. if its not twins or a huge baby (yikes) it could be other things (i dont want to worry myself with the details) so i'd rather find out now and deal with whatever it is, or isn't.. if im going to have a US im going to find out the sex though..just for fun since im 99% sure its a girl and since ive never had an US before (well, at 10 weeks with E). is that totally unorganic or what















:

on movement..it seems like i had not much early movement but then it went from quiet to a totally crazy moving all the time monster baby. i do remember feeling lots with the other two though.. its so hard to remember for sure.

yikes.. im just trying not to freak out. my BP went through the roof after she measured and tried to find 2 HB's









and helen.. im like 110% sure on my dates. i had a period april 6th.. it was like 5 days long and we dtd on the last day.. thats when im sure i concieved.. or soon after anyways.


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

im a thread killer! good thing im only on line like 4 times a month
















:


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Fern I am so excited for your ultrasound. How's this for unorganic: Jim and I are planning a UP/UC for the next baby, whenever that may be, and we *still* plan to have an ultrasound just to find out the gender.

I also like to peek in my Christmas presents long before the day. I am not good at suspense.


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## barcelona (May 1, 2006)

Fern, when will your US be? Let us know/keep us posted!!! I'm sure it'll be nice to put your and your MW's mind at ease.

Amy, YAY!!!!!! I hope the move goes smoothly and happily, and I know how excited you are to get set up in your new home. How exciting to know that it is yours!

Mel, is Neela still sleeping well?? I hope so!

spughy, i'm so glad you guys are back on schedule, and all seems well. Those donuts sound delicious. I'm so impressed by all of your domestic skills. I have so much to learn.

Helen, I envy YOU your weather...cold and windy and autumnal sounds glorious right now. I love snuggling up in sweaters and jackets and with sturdy mugs of warm tea and smelling the earth after a cold rain. I do sometimes fantasize about living in a little cottage in the English countryside...maybe one day.

Gunter, how are you feeling? When do you leave for Singapore? What an exciting year you are having!

Kavita, I hope all of your tummies are feeling better. And thanks for listening to me share/vent my ABC thing stories, even though it is so far from your experience, and also from mothering!

I hope that is okay, everyone, that I am talking about that, even though it has very little to do with my life as a mother. But then again, it does, because it is a big part of me, and if that part of me is fullfilled, I"m a better person and therefore a better mama. The schedule is also definitely affecting my role as a mother, as Finley is seeing me much less...and I miss him!!!! But he has adjusted beautifully, and hasn't seemed to need nursing when he's not with me. But, when we are together he nurses a ton. This week was another crazy-intense week, and we met with the big-wig, and she was intimidating as all hell. But after a few times, at least it was a bit easier not to take it personally, as it was obviously just her. I sometimes wonder how people who are so unfriendly/cold get so far in the world. Anyway, they are STILL working on finding scenes for us, but hopefully (!!) they will be done next week. I had yesterday and today off, so that is good...I'm resting up and trying not to get sick again. I go back in Monday, and then hopefully we'll be done by the end of next week.

And then we go to Canada (ottawa) for Thanksgiving!!! I'm so excited. It'll be great to be in the cool crisp autumnal weather, and see the leaves, and drink warm things, and all that good stuff. We'll be staying with my MIL for four days and nights.

And then I think October will slow down and I can try to pick up on my continued journey as a domestic being, til November, when the ABC thing will get crazy again. I'm both loving the creative challenge and outlet, and also looking forward to a bit of a break.

DH finished his script!!!! We're so excited. I read it, and I think it's great. Of course, he'll probably keep working on it some, but not much. Soon, we'll be on to the next steps in the process.

Reading along as ever, and sorry if I am missing a bunch of updates!
Hope everyone has a delightful start to the weekend.


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## Kavita (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *barcelona* 
And thanks for listening to me share/vent my ABC thing stories, even though it is so far from your experience, and also from mothering!

I hope that is okay, everyone, that I am talking about that, even though it has very little to do with my life as a mother.

Are you kidding????!!!! I'm living vicariously through you!







So your DH is a writer? Did I know this?

Fern, you're not a thread killer. It just needed a little rest.









I am feeling the desire to get back into the world outside the home more--wanting to do some part time work or school or something. I'm just not sure I know what I want to be when I grow up!







I feel like I'm at somewhat of a crossroads right now in that regard.


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## Gunter (May 5, 2005)

we're flying to singapore later this afternoon. it's a pretty short flight compared to our original flight from the usa to austrlia that ended up taking 3 days with layovers and delays! we're really excited to explore singapore and to stay in little india. we're not sure how long we will be there. it depends on what opportunities i have to volunteer, mainly.

i will try to hook up with the local La Leche League. Also, there is a doula group that i e-mailed to volunteer for but haven't heard back, yet. I did exchange a few e-mails with some MDC singapore mamas and one other doula/hypnobabies instructor.

Pray that we have safe travel and that ez is content. we had so much fun yesterday; she stayed busy playing in the water the entire day. after a morning fuel at 5am, she didn't even nurse until later that evening when she woke up in a thai restaurant. sitting in my lap on a plane, i am certain she will make up for the lack of yesterday's nursing, no doubt! how thankful i am to be able to soothe her ears as we take off and land.


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Sending you smooth travel vibes, Gunter!

Fern~ I'm thinking of you, too. I know you'll handle either one or two new babe(s) with so much love and grace









barcelona~ I love hearing about your project. And congrats to your dh on finishing his script. My dh is a writer, and it's always a big celebration for me when he finishes a project and fully returns to the "real" world again.

Okay, so back to worm composting... I co-ordinate the community gardens for the student-family apartment housing complex that we live in. A couple of days after our worm conversation here, I had a woman contact me asking about composting options and I sent her a bunch of info about worm composting. And when I lived in Vancouver I did a terrific workshop that was subsidized by the city that taught the basics of worm composting and gave me a terrific composting container, worms, bedding material and a book for only $25! The aspiring community health nurse and development worker in me thinks that it would be a great project to undertake here- a little grant proposal to the university to set up something similar. The benefits would be less garbage, improved soil in our community gardens, and terrific community building. Now I keep thinking about the possibilities, and may be contacting the community programmer, master gardeners, environmental groups on campus, etc. But I'm also already very busy, and may be in way over my head here







:


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## flyingspaghettimama (Dec 18, 2001)

Hello. Trolling. I am not caught up with life events! Therefore, I am troll-like, hairy and beastly. You may curse me and my fickle dedication to MDC.

But, after you do that, think waaay back to those infant days. Can anyone in our DDC who took one of these approaches with their babes (under 12 mos) contact me through e-mail:
1) Fed your baby spiceful foods
2) Self-led feeding (y'know, the big hunk of pear, feeding themselves)

Thanks! I am a writerly type now, and am thinking about writing up one of these topics fer yer readin' pleasuring.

I will also probably return to edit this comment (writers are super-sneaky, too, you know, all of those other writerlies trying to steal your fab ideas) so just write me back.

Talk to you soon!


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## *Amy* (Jun 16, 2004)

Hey FSM! Good to see you. Brynn didn't really eat til she was 12mo +, so I don't have any input for your topic.

Barcelona, sounds like things are busy but happy for you & yours.









Fern, I am so glad things are working out for the birth that you feel comfortable with and I'm hoping your anxiety is eased by doing the US.

Gunter, safe and easy travels for you & Ez!!!

Mel, how's the sleep going? Brynn has been sleeping *horribly* for the past couple of weeks (like back to waking every couple of hours or so) but she had two colds and two teeth in the past month, so...







: Last night was better (just two wakings) but I am so wishing that things settle down once we get moved and into our new space and routine.

Well we are making serious progress on the house. We've been working for like 12 hours a day since we got the keys, and thank goodness my MIL got here yesterday to help! She's going to be responsible for keeping Brynn occupied, for the most part, and she's so happy to do it so I feel really relieved. Today we are going to paint, and then tomorrow we're laying the bamboo flooring, so by tomorrow night the house is going to look completely different. I can't wait to share the before & after pics with y'all!

One thing I will say is that the people who lived in this house were absolutely the most filthy people I can possibly imagine. Not only were the humans appallingly disgusting, by we learned yesterday that they had 3 dogs and 6 cats, none of which were house trained from what we can tell!!!







So we've spent a good deal of time just trying to get rid of the smell. I think by today it should be under control though. But we are soooooo happy with everything else, and it's just crazy and exciting and overwhelming to think we are going to be *living* there by the end of the week!


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## MelW (Jan 13, 2005)

Amy~ I can't wait to see the before and after photos! Good luck with the rest of your improvments. And sleep was pretty good until last night, but she has a wicked cough that kept her up. And yesterday's nap was long enough that I went to check on her a couple of times because I couldn't believe that she was still alive and asleep. I feel like the craniosacral has helped. And it is also supposed to help with transitions and stress, so it could be something worth checking out for Brynn.

Hi FSM! I don't think it's fair to come and troll for story ideas without even a tiny update about the FSfamily


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Mel, glad to hear that the CST made a difference! Speaking of worms, my first-grader's class has a vermicomposting bin, and she is soooo excited to take our scraps in to feed them! But her teacher told me it will be a couple weeks before she needs to feed them. J can't wait!

Amy YAY for your house! It sounds like a lot of work, but I'm sure it is a labor of love to get it ready to move in. Can't wait to see the "after" pics!

FSM - your ears must be burning, your name just came up in the Yahoo group, of non-posters we miss. How's the fam? If you are writing, where can we read you? Book, magazine, blog, HERE? hint hint


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

Amy - yay on the house! I hope you can get the animal stinkies out.

Mel - interesting about the cs therapy. How does Neela do during the session? Is she cool with it?

Gunter - have fun in Singapore! I've been there and I LOVED it. The people are so friendly and it's such a nice comfortable relaxed feeling city. And the food is FANTASTIC.

Rowan is on a major eating binge at the moment. She's cleaned her plate every single meal for the last couple days and asked for more, and it hasn't been exactly "lite" fare either - cassoulet, rabbit & squash coconut curry, scrambled eggs... and she's been going through the frozen blueberries like there's no tomorrow. This morning she felt heavier when I picked her up.







But she's so cute about her gluttony. She brings me the little ramekin bowl I put her blueberries in saying "I want some more I want some more I want some more" and I just look at her, and she yells "PLEEEEEEEEEEEEESE" and then I say "ok, I'll get you some more" at which point she jumps around chanting "happy happy happy happy happy" until I actually give her the blueberries, then she says "thank you very much" and takes them to the coffee table and chows down until her mouth goes numb (because they're still frozen of course). She has had a permanent bluish tint to much of her face for the last few days.

Unfortunately she's taken to trying to stuff as much food as possible in her mouth at one time. For things like scrambled eggs, which go down easily, that's fine - if it can fit in, she can manage. But ham is a different matter. It's a good thing she has yet to draw a distinction between food that's been chewed and food that hasn't - it all goes back in eventually (except yesterday we were at a bakery and she came up to me and spat a mouthful of chewed carrot into my hand - that just went in the garbage.)

Do any of you actively discourage huge mouthfuls of food, or do you figure that a couple good gags will illustrate the concept? Rowan's never choked on food, so I'm not really worried about that (but maybe I should be? I have had to deal with a toddler choking on carrots before, it wasn't pleasant.)


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## gingerstar (Jun 10, 2005)

Sarah, the mouthfuls of food - we have that here, too. Ella has been so big on eating independently, she does really well with her spoon or fork, but she has no restraint; instead of bite, chew, swallow, she just wants to keep shoveling it in, and like you said, that is ok with, say, couscous, but she actually kind of vomited her chicken, and I think it was because she had too much in her mouth, and gagged when she went to swallow. Choking is a scary thing for me too - my eldest choked on a grape half as a toddler, luckily I got it out with no trouble, but we were both terrified. I feel better when DH is here, Mr Paramedic-certified-to-teach-CPR-classes! (He was feeding her popcorn yesterday. I'm like, isn't that a choking hazard? He said, not if I feed it to her!







) She has slowed down a little since the chicken, but we also try to tell her, wait, chew first, then another bite. Not sure if that is going to work, yk?
Soooo cute about the blueberries! And bleah about the carrot!


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

FSM, it always helps if you post an email address to contact you to. We did spicy food with all kiddos but especially Alex and baby-led weaning with Isaac and Skye- in Isaac's case, he started on the spoon, was stopped due to allergic reactions and restarted doing it HIS way. (cue sex pistols track in the background.)

Spughy, we have been known to comment on table manners when she's really not thinking about HOW she's eating in the same way that we would with an older child.

Amy, happy homemaking!

Safe travelling, Gunter!

DiD, you can't get pregnant now, you won't fit in your wedding dress







Seriously, how are the wedding plans going? Having found out the gender in advance this time, I never want to do it again- it really feels like a big fat anticlimax









Fern, I think everything is going to be OK. I'm not saying you're not having twins (personally I am TOTALLY convinced your dates are wrong) but I think it's all going to be fine. Just take it one breath at a time, OK?

Sorry, i'm knackered. We did a flying visit up to Durham for the weekend, and I SO wish we hadn't. 72 hours away, 10 of which were spent in the car







: we must be mad. It was good to see everyone though.


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flapjack* 
DiD, you can't get pregnant now, you won't fit in your wedding dress







Seriously, how are the wedding plans going? Having found out the gender in advance this time, I never want to do it again- it really feels like a big fat anticlimax









Oh but if I got pregnant now I could still fit into my dress. It has a lace up back so it can go up or down 2 or more sizes. Convenient, no?
Anyway I'm on CD72 with no sign of O so I'm pretty sure I'm not fertile right now.
I've always found out the gender of my babes ahead of time and for me, I got to enjoy the second half of my pregnancy being able to plan accordingly, and shop for clothes of course. Especially when I was expecting Suriya, I was aglow for the entire second 20 weeks dreaming of having a baby girl. It was the opposite of anticlimactic for me. But it's a personal decision and I can't wait to find out what Fern is having!


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DreamsInDigital* 
I've always found out the gender of my babes ahead of time and for me, I got to enjoy the second half of my pregnancy being able to plan accordingly, and shop for clothes of course.

This is *exactly* why I found out with Rowan. It certainly made shopping a LOT easier. For the next one (assuming there is one) I'll probably find out too, so I know whether I'm set for clothes or not. Frankly I'm hoping to have another girl







: so I don't have to buy much. Yes, it's a horribly practical approach to something quite magical, but there you go.

Oh and Helen I forgot to mention it but I LOVE the name Sam. And I just got sucked in by Terry Pratchett too, damn him. Like I don't have enough books to read.

But really the reason DiD can't get pregnant now is because how much would it suck to be running to the loo (either to pee or commune more closely with the toilet) every 5 minutes on your wedding day?







Just kidding Lydia, you get yourself knocked up if you want.


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

Things aren't getting better. I've been trying to follow along but I can't seem to find time to post and respond. My class sizes are slimming down. My biggest class now only has 38 students







: Friday one of my lovely cherubs







:







: took off with my cell phone. I am thinking some seriously un teacherly thoughts about my students this year...I just want to maime some of them.

I am going to see barcelona soon and seeing that I haven't heard back from spiritmomma will be sending beads off as soon as barcelona and I meet up. I refuse to let her mail them to me since we are so close and *need* to see each other. So expect them within the next month (hoping to send them out in the next few weeks) ladies...especially you out of this country folks it will prolly be that long.

I finally got the links to the pics of me modeling.

It's a crazy round about way you have to go to see the pictures.
But if you go to http://auntbetsy.lifepics.com/index.cfm and put Goddessa in the password line it will bring you to the log-in. You can use my email address to see the pics [email protected]

*My* solo pictures are on page 3 picture numbers 65-69. I'm the one in the coraly/pink color. I am not sure which one we are going to get yet, feel free to give me your recommendations!! I'm 14 weeks pregnant in these pictures...*I* think I look HUGE. Then there are a gazillion of all the girls and such that I'm *in* Enjoy


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

peek-a-boo!

wow..it's quiet in here!

well, im having a dr's apt today to get the ultrasound recquisition.. the one my midwife sent me home with doesnt work here (grr) and i dont know how much longer im goin gto have to wait. its frustrating.

helen, i know that you are convinced my dates are wrong, but im so so sure. i had my LMP april 6th. i remember feeling when my uturus reached over my pubic bone (right when it should have) and at 20 weeks it was just at my navel. now im feeling movement waaaaay high up. so i dont know what to think. but im sure im right on my dates. tim said something sweet yesterday. he said " i would rather have 2 healthy babies than one unhealthy one" i agree 100% im not hoping for twins but the more i think on it the more likely i think it is.. scary thoughts.

ill post as soon as i find out anything more.


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaFern* 
peek-a-boo!

wow..it's quiet in here!

heehee....that's cuz it's October now















new thread for October


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