# Good things are happening in February, May '04 Mamas!!!



## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Yes, yes, February will be a better month!!!!

Link to old thread:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=819911


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

megan-sorry about feeling left out. I get ya on that one....









renae-sorry you feel sicko. hopefully a day on the couch will do you good.

elsanne-glad you're feeling better

who else???







to all my May Mamas!!!!

Had A's 6-month pics taken yesterday. So cute! I'll post the link OY when they come in. Also found her a sweet white dress for her Easter Eve baptism! I love the girls section. So fun after boy stuff.

Snowing here...again. I'm so over winter.

More later, baby fussing.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

happy february to all my MMF!

may february bring you all continuing peace, strength, wisdom, clarity, prosperity (Lakshmi: you hear that?) and of course, love (if from no where else, love for one's self and from those own MMF babes and siblings and certainly love from the MMF themselves).









~claudia


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Checking in and subbing. What up, yo?

Feeling a bit better today. John got home last night and we talked and it helped. He read me some quotes from a book he reads for inspiration and it made me feel slightly better, but at the same time, also made me feel a bit trapped, because while YES, I know I will have more me time and more social time in the future, I don't and can't have it now and it sucks. I am VERY social by nature, so going for weeks on end without getting together with friends is hard for me.

But I do have plans to see some girlfriends (my bffs) on Sunday. Shopping and lunch. Yay.









Also feeling kinda carpy about my status at the winery. They are going on their big ski trip next week and I didn't get invited. I am "only seasonal" (which means I work 8 out of 12 months of the year) and I know they are trying to cut corners ($) but it really feels sucky to be left out of what is supposed to be a fun, bonding, team building thing. I suspect that the winemaker played a role in me not being invited - she and I don't get along and she's a central figure over there. Needless to say, I'm not feeling all that motivated to sell wine for people who don't appreciate me, so I'm going to be looking for other work. Bah.

Anyway, I'm just griping. Argh. (Is there a pirate smilie?







)


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

there SHOULD be a pirate smilie.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

:







:







:


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

meg - that sucks about girls night out AND the winery ski thing. i've gone out very rarely. maybe once every other month. and it feels like just *barely* enough time for me to not be responsible for ANYTHING or anyone. i get work time without kids but that doesn't give me the feeling that 'hey! i'm a free unit for a couple of hours!' if anything i realize how perpetually behind i am everytime i try to get things done









well i better scrub the comet off my tub before the paint dissolves. i don't usually use comet but it was getting that stained look.

i just got an email from MIL that SIL and her bf broke up. oh nooooo


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

ok babe is down and isaac is mopping. i like this plan! he looooves to clean.

the thing with doug and drinking is that it isn't always a problem. that is what he turns to in times of stress (and his business goes through periodic stress cycles and having a baby or whatever). i think that is what i find fascinating about celebrity rehab. dr. drew said binge drinking is harder to treat because it isn't like a bottle of vodka a day kind of drinking. if it is only periodic it is really easy to convince yourself it is ok.

ok. i'm getting ready to totally rewire our stereo and speakers to incorporate a new turntable we got for christmas and hook up my speakers in the basement. not something i love to do -- but i have far more patience than that man!!!

oh wait...lunch calls







:


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Just want to say how much I appreciate you all. Kind of a down day today, but overall life is good, things are good.

sooooooo uhhhh can't think of much else to say. eh.

Where's Heather? How is HJ?

Here, here for February being MUCH better than January.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Here's to February being a better month! Since we've been hibernating so much, everyone wants to get together this weekend. We have so many plans it's making me dizzy. It should be fun though. I just agreed to host a superbowl party at our house. I don't even watch football or know what teams are playing








I need to clean my house and start making all the food I'm supposed to be making!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Also just want to comment on the fun-ness of girl things, Jacqueline. They are like little dolls, it's fun. Fun until they get minds of their own about whether or not they are into being dressed.

jstar--cuteness about the cleaning. Sol has no such proclivities. Well, very occasionally she'll sweep. Takes after her mother.
Also, bummah about the binge drinking. Indeed I'd say it's harder to treat, the little I know of such things.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

I was just thinking of Heather and HJ this morning as I woke up, wondering what's happenin. I think last she said was they had to wait a month and see if he ate better, so she's probably in wait-and-see mode with that.

Renae, that was really amazing about your sympathetic late ouchie period.

Both kids have had the stomach flu. It wasn't that bad, though. One night of barfing, night before last. Dh is getting it now. I had grumbly tummy for a night but think I've escaped. I've said it before and I'll say it again, how amazing it is to deal with run-of-the-mill sickness after the worry worry worry I went through with L when he was little. Now, even when he's sick, he'll actually SIP WATER. It's so cool. I don't have to think, "ok, how deydrated do I let him get before we go to the ER for IV fluids?" Yesterday my babysitter (who GAVE the kids the bug), was scheduled to be here 7 hrs while I taught CPR. I had so many no-shows I cancelled the class, but kept the babysitter anyway.







So I had 7 hrs of help with the laundry and sick kids. I totally can't afford this kind of luxury, but it _rawked_. I get to go to work tonight and sleep.









Megan, next time they'll think about whether saving a bit of $ is worth losing a valued employee. Hope you find something else you like.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Well good grief, I thought y'all were just quiet today! Oops! Totally didn't catch on to the new thread.

We're here. Eating, choking, gaining weight all the while. So that is good. Big feeding eval is next week and need to sort out his issues and the possibility of respiratory things complicating his swallow. See blog. Won't rehash here. Just tired. Thanks for thinking of us. Answers. I want answers. Easy ones preferably. Ha!

/end itsallaboutmepost

thinking of you all even if I'm too flaky to say so in more words than that.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Hi all.

Heather, glad things are at least in a holding pattern and not getting worse. I hope you get easy answers, too.

Lily does not get excited about cleaning. Occasionally will want to wipe up a spill or mess she has made, but that's it.

She also has never been willful about what she wants to wear *knock on wood*. We pick out her clothes every day without comment. She does often refuse to change into her day clothes from pajamas, but we have always been pretty strict about that so usually it's just the habitual, initial refusal and running away, then she comes back and pouts while we do it. Do all your babes put on their own clothes by now? I've wondered if she's behind in that. She can take off pants and underpants, sometimes her shirt but often gets frustrated with that. Can put on some shoes and sometimes underpants but not pants or shirt. I think the frustration factor is the problem - she has the motor skills to do it but gets frustrated at the first sign of getting it wrong (backwards or inside out). The girl has very little patience with herself in that way. She can color inside the lines of the most intricate little coloring page, but take the time to carefully put her arms in the correct sleeves? Forget it.

Fiddle - I'm glad you had help when you needed it. Tummy bugs are no fun. Hope everyone, including DH, is on the mend soon.

Meesa - good luck with the SB party! I have no idea what teams are playing, either. Yesterday DH said, "I think the SB is this weekend," and that's the first I'd heard of it.

jstar - glad DH is making an effort r/t drinking. I have more to say about "binge" drinking and stress but prefer to do it oy. Maybe later.

S.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i'm sneaking oh so quietly onto the puter because the whole house is still sleeping. left boob is going to pop! ebin woke up every 2 hours all night and i think i fed twice on the wrong boob and then he slept from 5:30 onwards. yay for a good sleep stretch!

i still mostly pick isaac's clothes. he'll sometimes express an opinion but it is usually about which shoes he wants to wear. he sounds almost exactly like lily. he can do pants, underwear and socks but he hates shirts even though i have seen him put them on. he definitely can't get them off very easily. his thing with shoes is only wearing ones he can put on by himself at school (no laces). he had these velcro vans which i kept saying were too small but he *insisted* on wearing them despite me buying him other (cute!) shoes. so he wore those on vacation and i thought if i had time i would shop for new velcro shoes. well then he had a poop accident, stepped in it, tromped it all over the part of my mom's bathroom that has carpet...and i just threw the vans in the trash.

so then it was shoe buying under pressure. in portland i more have the problem of seeing too many things i like. in bakersfield there was ....nuthin! luckily a friend came to my rescue and gave me 2 handmedown pairs of sneakers. (both wirh laces though). then my mom bought him spiderman velcro sneaks with lights. can i just say BLECH. of course these are now the only shoes he will wear







he had seen them before and i told him they didn't have his size







:









now dh is up and wanting the blueberry buttermilk pancakes i said i was making this morning









my question: elsanne said she didn't keep a paper journal. does anyone? i do but write in it so sporadically. internet typing has definitely taken the place of that in so many ways.

hf - the eating, choking and growing thing made me go 'awww!' it sounds so rough. i hope you find answers. on the growing side of things let me know when he starts moving up in sizes if you ever want more clothes. i've got a bunch and i haven't gotten rid of anything yet. some part of me can't bear to!

beth - the luxurious babysitter help sounds like a GREAT treat







and i'm so glad the sickies are just run of the mill for you guys now. i bet W has changed a ton since i saw you last.

jacq - i would be *out of control* with respect to girl shopping







so fun. i saw some super cute girly eastery clothes last night. sweetness!

has anyone read jessica seinfeld's deliciously deceptive cookbook? my mom gave it to me. in the last few days i've tried pureed spinach hidden on pita pizzas, pureed cauliflower in tuna salad and then last night i made chicken tenders dipped in a mix of pureed sweet potato, pureed pineapple, coconut flakes and then breadcrumbs (aloha chicken tenders). and isaac has been eating all of it! i want to try the spinach brownies. it is totally handy for feeding ebin too!

babe is awake.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

jstar~I just borrowed The Sneaky Chef from the library yesterday. It's the same idea as deliciously deceptive. I made the chocolate chip pancakes this morning and they were really good. They have applesauce, wheat germ, yogurt, wheat flour and a bunch of other healthy stuff in them. I was pleasantly surprised







I was going to make the fried chicken tonight but ended up going out instead.
I'm anxious to try the spinach brownies too


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Mia had her dance recital yesterday and the cuteness was completely overwhelming. She stole the show! During her group's performance anyway. The REAL show stealer of the whole thing was the tiniest little tap dancer who was barely 2 years old and cutest thing evah! But Mia was pretty darned adorable, too. She was totally consumed with finding us in the audience, so during the whole performance, she was about 2 feet in front of the rest of the girls, near the front of the stage, scanning the front rows with a very intent look on her face. Then every once in a while she would wave at someone (we knew a lot of people there). And at the end of their number, when all the other girls had gone off stage, Mia remained all by herself, still trying to find us in the crowd. SO CUTE! The tutu, the hair piece, the glitter make-up (very minimal), it was all too much. I almost died from my heart swelling out of my chest. We took some pics, but I can't find the dang cord to get them out of the camera and into the computer. Bah.

Re clothing, Mia picks out her own clothes. She never used to care and then one day a few months ago, she started insisting on picking them out. As long as they are weather appropriate, I let her wear whatever. As for putting them on herself, she just needs help getting the underwear or pants facing the right way and then she puts them on herself. Shirts, she lays them out and flips them around and gets them on herself, too. She still needs help putting on a dress, and taking off a shirt (over the head gets frustrating), but other than that, she's pretty self sufficient. Yay!

jess, that book sounds interesting, even if she is being sued for ripping it off.









Hope all the sick people are feeling better today.

I gotta go start getting ready for my day of shopping (more like _window_ shopping for me, but whatever, it's girl time!).


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

jstar- I've got that book on my wishlist. My FIL is coming to town next weekend to give us belated winter gifts, so I'm hoping that will be one of the gifts. I saw her on Oprah and the recipes looked so good.

Ah, dance recitals. I tried to get the lentil to agree to take ballet classes, but he insisted that ballet is for girls and refused. Maybe the peanut will go for it. I will appreciate the cuteness from afar, moms.

oop- baby's up.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Em, have you tried suggesting tap classes? At the recital, there were several boys who did break dancing and that was awesome, but even cooler was a boy about 12 yrs old doing a tap duet with a girl about the same age. It was so great! Actually, the boy was better than the girl.







I think the popularity of tv shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars are showing boys that it IS cool to dance, so maybe the trend of "its only for girls" is passing. I can't recall if you guys watch tv or not, but if you do, maybe exposing the lentil to men dancing will change his tune. Maybe not, and that's okay too.


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Hey Maymamas! Lots to say and respond to, but I only have time for one super-quick question - does anyone have a worm bin? I feel like I read something about it a loooooong time ago, but I could be hallucinating.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

I have a worm bin. A wriggly wranch to be exact. Still working out some bugs :LOL but I think it works great.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

need some mmf! virtual hugs for HJ---headed to the ER with him. He's breathing fast and noisy so not sure if he just aspirated again or what. Will update later if we come home or tomorrow if not.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Oh gawd Heather - hugs hugs and more hugs. I hope it's nothing major and you all are home again quick as a wink.

S.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

heath: thinking of you and hj... update when you can.

~c

p.s. frikka frakka dumb server...


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Oh, Heather. I sure hope it's nothing big. Thinking about you makes me want to cry with the dedication and "unsung praises" of motherhood. I'm thinking of you and your children.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

home soon as requested by sarah...

ped concluded twas likely his reflux causing the funky breathing episode. xray looked good. no other pokes or prods.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

*whew* HF, glad things turned out to be fine.

Now... UNIVERSE! LISTEN UP, YO! Cut Heather some slack NOW! Grrrrrr......


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

yes, whew, indeed, heath. so the phrase reflux sux is appropriate, right? stop scaring the crap outta your mom, hj!!!

trying to get rid of the *bug* that's been going around here. i feel much better overall today, just a slightly stuffy head feeling. poor stefan, puked a bit of dinner tonight, but i think it may have been the texture of the noodles he wasn't used to. and his poopy dipes are stinky and mucousy from the cold/bug he's had. blech.

off to check on the bigger boy and daddy finishing up the evening thomas-on-tivo-watching-before-bed...

~claudia


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Heather, I'm so glad he's OK! Enough is enough already, right?








sickies and snotties and colds BEGONE.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

I am SO glad hj is ok!

Dance recitals are fun. Saige had one back in June. I thought she would get terrified and just stand there or cry, but she danced and everything. It was so cute. We had to stop her lessons when K's medical bills came







but I'm hoping to get her into something again soon.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

heath-so glad you were able to come home.









megan-the dance recital sounds so fun! Glad Mia had such a good time, too.

re: dressing himself: G CAN do it, I think, but doesn't really. He can take most things off pretty easily, but he still wants us to do it for him most of the time...even to go potty. He can sorta put things on, but I haven't really pushed it too much, because it would take more time, and often I'm trying to get him dressed super fast so I can get in the shower before A wakes up







It's something I know we need to encourage more of though.

Yeah, the girl clothes are so tempting to me. Good thing we're on a super tight budget, or I'd go a little nuts. However, I just checked out her stash of 6-9 month clothes and she's lacking quite a few things, mostly because it's still so dang cold and snowy here. She's got several of G's things to wear that don't yell out BOY but they aren't so cute. So, we'll probably have to do a little shopping so she doesn't freeze!

Major growth spurt here for Miss A, too. Her 6-month WBV is Wednesday, so we'll get all her stats then. She's pretty much out of many of her 3-6 month sized stuff, especially with the cloth diaper crotch!

Don't think I've mentioned here, but we got a totally free 3-in-1 crib and mattress from our local freecycle group (G never had a crib..went from co-sleeper to our bed to twin mattress on floor.) We set the crib up a little over a week ago in our office/baby changing room and have been putting her in it for her 1st big sleep stretch at night. She was sleeping shorter stretches in the co-sleeper and it was seeming too small for her (it's a mini), so we thought we'd see if she might sleep longer away from our noise and in a bigger space to stretch out (we try to be quiet, but she's so aware of things right now, I felt we were bothering her each night when we got in bed). So, for the first week of operation crib, she would sleep 3-4 hours in it (from 8-8:30 to 11:30 or 12). This was okay, but due to the growth spurt, once she was in our bed, it was very short sleep stretches and I was getting pretty tired. Last night, though, she slept in her crib from 8:15 until 3:40! That was exciting. We'll see if the growth spurt has stopped or she's just more comfortable in her bed. We're okay with her being in our bed as G was, we just thought this was a risk-free way of trying it out. We can always do same ol, same ol if we need to! I have to admit, having our bedroom to ourselves again, if only for a couple hours, is pretty cool. I can read in bed! We can watch Letterman! And other things








!

Okay, off the eat breakfast. Today's dh's day off, so it's like our Saturday/Sunday.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Meg, your recounting the dance recital would have made tears come to my eyes, if I was that kinda gal. I have felt that mama-heart-fit-to-burst and I bet she was KYOOOT. Cute squared.

Jacqueline, I wish I was in your country, so I could send you Amara's old clothes. Maybe next trip up there, I'll bring a suitcase full, because usually I bring an empty suitcase to schlep stuff back here.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Jacquie--I'm totally going to go through stuff and see what I have. I know at least I have some soft-soled shoes and plenty o' summer stuff! Give me her stats so I cab guesstimate what would fit.

I'm laying low til the feeding eval. Just so worn out from the stress...


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Just subscribin'. Still sick, getting better, but right now I'm in the "Mama? Honey? Meow!" portion of our program,







: so I gotta go.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

i'm feelin' sad... more oy...


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Sol says, "I'm thinkin', ___________" and it's hilarious. I'd like to use her words (maybe she got them from me in the first place?) to say, I'm thinkin', that mercury must be in retrograde. Not lovin' life at the moment.

I'm thinkin' there's just too much carp happening in life. I often feel lately that my life kind of sucks, which is a new feeling for me, and not one I want to cultivate. I think life with small children kind of sucks. The cuteness and wonder of childhood notwithstanding.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

And with that happy post, she kills the thread....


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Feeling pretty good (considering), subbing.

I have a worm bin.

Oh HJ! Don't torment your mama!

Ms. Jacq, lemme look through my clothing stash. PM me any special requests, and I'll mail over a box. Yeah, give me sizes.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

*after having a moment to catch up*
Holy moly.







: ENOUGH, already!







:
Still sick, and now I can't sleep. Poop.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Meow!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

or as marek would say,
"Jorja kitty says 'Meow!' But Turbo says 'Mrrrrrrrrrrow.'"

i







the MMF!

~claudia


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

3am party...anyone want to join?







:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TurboClaudia* 
or as marek would say,
"Jorja kitty says 'Meow!' But Turbo says 'Mrrrrrrrrrrow.'"

i







the MMF!

~claudia


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Aw, Heather, I wish I'd known! We were totally up at 3am. From 2:30 to 5:30, actually







: though we wouldn't have been much fun - Ethan and I were having a disagreement about how many times it is acceptable to nurse in an hour. I was pushing for less than four. And no biting. So now, of course, he is out cold and I have to go haul him out of bed so I can go to work.

Is it raining at your house like it is here? I remember when I lived in New Mexico, it would start snowing in Novemberish and it wouldn't rain again until spring. This winter rain is not my favorite.

Off to work. Smooches.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

hey mamas-
thanks for the clothing offers....that's not why I posted about it, BTW, but I'll take advantage of your good will anyway







I'll PM with sizes after the well-visit tomorrow.

The night before with A sleeping until 3:40 must have been a fluke. Last night she was up again at 12:30. I still got 2 hours before she awoke, but man, she's waking/eating so much once she comes in our bed.

but, boo on the 3 a.m. parties HJ makes you participate in Heather!

This morning G starts a mini-sports class at the community center. It's kinda like the soccer he did last summer with t-ball thrown in and it's all inside the gym. He's excited about it and we got him some new tennis shoes just for it! I'm hoping he participates okay....I'll be watching on the sidelines with A, but won't be able to be much help. I've read your experiences with classes for M, Claudia, and my boy has been quite similar socially to M for a while, so I'm trying to be prepared for anything. G has recently seemed to become much more outgoing during these kinds of things, though, so it might go just fine.

okay, off to breakfast with my boys while A is still sleeping.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

jacquie--I really just need to declutter and will stalk any takers I can find! I think HJ wasn't even 2wks old when I found someone for my maternity clothes! Can we say DONE!







That sounds kind of like the sports class our Y has, but it's always full! Hope he has fun!

forgot what else I was going to say...


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i'm thinking my post from yesterday got eaten

i'm thinking i feel crazy behind on *everything*

i'm thinking of Kk and claudia and HJ (and everyone else too







)


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

hj having a nak attack, but I need to wake, snack, dress the girls and get to music therapy... where's the robot when you need it!!

damn mercury!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jacqueline* 
hey mamas-
thanks for the clothing offers....that's not why I posted about it, BTW, but I'll take advantage of your good will anyway







I'll PM with sizes after the well-visit tomorrow.

Eh, I would have unloaded on you at TG, but didn't happen then, and as you know, life has been a little chaotic.







Your post jogged my memory.

What was the worm bin question, anyway?







:







:


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Hi there everybuggy.

Okay, I think life is going to be okay...just had a meal with a friend who is mama to 4 kids, and she said that by far the worst time in her mothering experience was when her oldest two were 3 and 1.5...for the same reasons I complain about. So now I know: This Too Shall Pass! She says, if you can get through it without scarring your relationship with your kids, the end result is totally worth any work, and that's what it is now: work. Roll up the sleeves, and get to it. Just wish I didn't have to work otherwise as well, or just not so much. This week is crazy.

I love you all. So glad this little group exists.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i'm glad to hear that. i've been pretty discouraged about the 3yo lately. he is DIFFICULT. i waffle between 'what happened to my sweet baby?' 'where did i go wrong? or is this genetic?' 'am i going to be as disgruntled with ebin when he is 3?'







it kind of sucks. there are just too many battles about seemingly trivial situations. and so much begging for toys and whatnot. screeching in the grocery store for candy from the candy tower that *i* didn't introduce him to but our friend did. doug actually went to the grocery store with us and was like WHOA! yes he want want want wants everything. i sooooooo prefer to go without him. again 'did i create this want-y creature? or is this just a phase?' how many times can i say no about x, y or z?

in any case i am going to miss the little booger since i am leaving for several days!

ebin is just rolling rolling rolling. there is no need to crawl. yesterday isaac was in the bathroom so ebin just rolled through the kitchen and ba-dump down the step into the bathroom.









i babysat a 9 month old yesterday (or i should more correctly state that isaac and i babysat 2 babies). I AM SO GLAD I DID NOT HAVE TWINS. the mama leaves. Z has poopy pants. clean pants. ebin chews on wipes. Z starts fussing so i get his bottle. ebin sees baby on my lap with bottle and starts fussing. lap is not big enough. i make ebin a bottle because he seems jealous. he is briefly entertained chewing on his own bottle. i get Z to sleep upstairs. phew.

ok. must get going.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

i knew something was suspicious.. there's no way my mmf's haven't been on for a week! i lost my updates and am catching up.









midterm week, tj gone on another training.... first corporate meeting tomorrow to see about promotion... bare with me....


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Hi everybuggy!







Just bumping us back up. Been a little quiet lately....

Thinking of Heather this AM.

Wow, I'm feeling so blah. I can't even think of anything to say!









Anyone have any recommendations for a good read? Thinking of heading to the library tomorrow and want a realllllly good book. Hit me with your fave books!

Ducette, I hope you pass your exams with flying colors!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

KK, I was asking about worm bins because Cailtyn has talked us into getting one. We just ordered it, and it will be a little while before the worms get here.

Where do you keep yours? How cold can they get? Any tips or insights would be appreciated







:

Else, I concur with your friend. 3.5 is a tough age, and 1.5 is a tough age, and the two together are immensely trying, in my opinion. Five and six, though - they ROCK. Caitlyn actually changed her brother's diaper the other day (completely unbidden) and did a better job of it than DH regularly does.

I'm still amazed that three year olds live to be four, though. Allison's latest charming behavior - no matter what we put in front of her for dinner, she instantly bursts into tears and screams, "I don't want this! I want a burrito!"

jstar, for me the first three year old was much more trying than the second. While Allison's behavior is probably just as crazymaking as Caitlyn's was, I'm truly less bothered by it. I think there are several factors at work here - there's more going on in general so I can't pay as much attention to it, if that makes any sense. Also, she has someone bigger than her to follow and look up to, and her older sister does help keep things moving. So no, I don't think you'll be as disgruntled with ebin







and while I know it's natural for us to wonder if we've created this, if it's genetic, if it's some horrible test or joke the universe is playing on us, I think a lot of it just IS. And, as always, it WILL pass.

I said something to my MIL the other day which is still sitting with me - "It's really difficult sometimes not to take my children personally."

Well, I'm a ramblin' when I should be scramblin'.


----------



## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Sherri! If you haven't read it, I highly recommend "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Miss Juice* 

I said something to my MIL the other day which is still sitting with me - "It's really difficult sometimes not to take my children personally."


ITA and am having an extremely (on the verge of breakdown) time with this.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DucetteMama21842* 
ITA and am having an extremely (on the verge of breakdown) time with this.

Just wanted to add in: ME *freakin'* TOO!!!!!
I don't have a lot to contribute...kinda moody today and I finally go back to work this afternoon (sans the kiddo, which will be nice) I am trying to take every day as it comes, and not beat myself up over things like PBS all morning, every morning. To name just ONE thing I threw my hands up and said "WHATEVER!" to recently.









Sorry if I'm not making much sense. I'm...okay, I guess, just kinda overwhelmed and shutting down, still at the end of my cold. DH and Rowan are fine, but of course MY cold longers longest. Hah.

Have a good day, everyone.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Juice, wasn't it you who shared with us the mantra of "This is not a deliberate assault on my sanity" ? I use that one DAILY.

I'm over here reeling about the primary. I voted Obama and I am a bit annoyed that he didn't blast Hilary out of the water. Guess we have to wait and see for sure, but it's not looking good for him. Bah.

Yesterday was challenging. A million errands, lots of running around. And in the afternoon/evening, Jett was completely losing his shit over and over and over again. The makings of crazy.

Uh oh. Kids are needing me to focus the energy. Things just erupted.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

have you seen this, Meg? http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/yeswecanvideo Gave me chills. I've never been moved by a politician the way I am by Obama. Think I'll get the thread shut down for talking politics?






















:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

maybe sherri, but only if we start arguing! and you know us...









books... khaleid hosseini ... kite runner or a thousand splendid suns

jhumpa lahiri's the namesake or eat pray love..... the last two I can send you if you want!

feeding eval.... huge







... they got us in to see the awesome ENT---- tomorrow!! more later on the blogoy.









so very tired and hungry....off to scavenge lunch


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Yay SuperFeather for the speedy appointment! Tell me about The Namesake - I haven't heard of it (but I live in a cave and never hear of anything!)

Meg, my DH came up with "not a deliberate assault" and that's just one of the many reasons I love him.

Sherri - I watched that video (you were the magical third person to mention it in a short period of time, so I listened) and wow, it did amazing things to my heart.







:


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I watched that video this morning, too (different source - it's viral!) and loved it.

Hugs to challenged mamas.

I am feeling challenged by school and call. Pretty hairy birth on Saturday kind of rocked me. Great experience, but wow, intense. Still reeling a bit.

Lily's latest thing is asking us to pretend strange things...e.g., "Mama, pretend you don't know where the living room is." And then she'll lead me there and I have to be amazed. Or "Pretend you don't know what a fork is" and I have to watch her use a fork like it's the first time I've seen such an amazing tool. I don't get it.

Today I have an exam in my Newborn class. Luckily I know most of it already.









S.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

wanna share more about the amazing birth?? (*curious*)

good news hf









now the day of my departure is here isaac wants to go with (of course!). so i'm packing our bags. it was really me wanting a lower stress weekend (a break from that whole 3 year old thing). but my mom is coming up and staying in a hotel and SIL said she would come and get him for a sleepover tomorrow night. it would be his first sleepover away from us! so my weekend with friends turns into yet another.....family trip!







this is good and bad. obviously there are perks to that. but my mom wants me to stay in her hotel with her instead of with my friend. ah well...i'm going with the flow. next time i fly to CA it is going to be a SECRET!!

i want to read all of those books. i've only read kite runner


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb* 
Lily's latest thing is asking us to pretend strange things...e.g., "Mama, pretend you don't know where the living room is." And then she'll lead me there and I have to be amazed. Or "Pretend you don't know what a fork is" and I have to watch her use a fork like it's the first time I've seen such an amazing tool. I don't get it.

This really made me laugh, hard. It's not easy to make me laugh, so I have a hunch I'm gonna really like this kid.

I would love to hear about the birth too. Maybe would help for you to process it? Could do oy for greater privacy.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

just saying hi. had a great convo with an old friend who i just felt the need to call and process my dilemma with. now left wondering why he and i never got together early in our friendship... hmm... could be the, umm, boyfriend i had at the time. and oh yeah, he was technically an employee of the university i attended. so yeah, that's why. but a great friend. yay for great friends!

feeling really good right now. i







friends, really, i do.

excited about change looming in the political arena, too. and btw, it's okay to talk about politics in the course of everyday chatty kinds of things in this thread. this from a mod on the portland thread when the politics issue came up over there since yesterday was such a big primaries voting day and it's likely to come up.

more later oy...

~claudia


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Funny you should mention the Kite Runner, heather, 'cuz I checked that one out today. I put Eat, Pray, Love on hold to be delivered from another library per your suggestion jus. I also put "Hold on to your Kids" on hold because TC is reading it and liking it, and it's been on my mental list to read for awhile. I also got a fiction book, can't think of the name or author at the moment.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide, Jstar!

Jacquie-great Annie pix! Those eyes....

Renae, sending cold-be-gone :vibes


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

I *loved* Eat, Pray, Love.
Made me jones to be a travellin' single woman, but hey. Most anything brings out that jones these days.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Someone tell me to get to bed and stop worrying already.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

I also really enjoyed Eat Pray Love. Sometimes Oprah does get it right, you know? Actually, she gets it right so much, it's uncanny. late night tivo can be so fulfilling.

I listened/watched that obama video about ten times yesterday. I was even humming it when I went to vote. Or caucus. or whatever it was where I stood in line then marked a box for Obama with all the optimism of a boy at his senior prom.

Moms, I'm having a difficult time these days. I co-facilitate a support group and my other facilitator wigged out and "terminated" the group. But see, the group is for women with cancer, and you can't just pull the rug out like that. So they came to me and we decided to start a new group but since it's a group process sort of thing I had to go to my co-facilitator and tell her she was on crack. So the whole day has been phone calls from women trying to figure out this whole thing. I don't want to be in the middle of this, I just want to serve these women so they don't feel totally abandoned.

Aaaaand I'm still struggling to get my work done on this damn dissertation. Will it EVER end?

Aaaaand my grandmother cut us off, so we're short a few thousand bucks this month. Tomorrow I get to grovel and try to convince her that this dissertation isn't just about me, it's about helping people all over the damn place get better care for their cancer pain. and that she has to help us because we have been depending on her and she can't just cut us off without any warning. Seriously- no warning. This morning I looked at my bank account and realized that the automatic deposit hadn't happened and we're totally screwed financially after the great appliance fiasco of January ought eight. wah wah wah, I know. We've been talking about what if this were to happen, but we never expected it to happen just like that for no reason. We expected there would be some sort of warning.

Oh, I'm so glad to have you, friends. I need some sort of friendly happy support these days, and just seeing how everyone supports everyone else makes me all warm and fuzzy.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

Heather, get to bed and stop worrying already!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Heather, get to bed and stop worrying already! Everything's gonna be fine!

And you too, Emmalola.







Glad to see you 'round these parts. I am so sorry that a major source of funding has pulled the plug for NO APPARENT REASON. I mean, if you'd had a few months to prepare, that's one thing. Money worries are so horrible, and they age me tremendously. Mommy's no fun if mommy's stressing about how to pay the bills.
Hm. I'd like to work on that, maybe have mommy be fun anyway, even if she po'.


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Hi guys, I am sorry I fell out of the thread. I have the flu and I now understand why people actually die from the flu as I have never been so sick in my life. Three days of 101+ fever and delirium is pretty horrible and it's showing no signs of lightening up. Good god, mercury. Thankfully the girls and Alison have been spared so far.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Lisa, I am sorry you have been so sick! It sounds like it's done a number on you mentally and physically.

I started Eat, Pray, Love, but just when I got over my bad attitude and started allowing her to enjoy Italy, she went to India and pissed me off because she reminded me of the mom of a kid in my life, who is too busy following her Teacher to take care of her kid. Which is silly, because the author wisely decided NOT to have a kid, so as to have time to do things like follow a Teacher. But I seem to have it out for the author, so I've put down the book for awhile.

Heather, I hope the appt goes well tomorrow.

Claudia- glad you are feelin good after a great convo with an old friend.









Emily- is it possible granny just forgot to deposit? If not, that it really terrible not to communicate FIRST.

My babysitter is homeschooled (sorta), and I've been tutoring her in math when I get the chance (which has been rare). She's now wanting help in math AND science, and I could use the extra cash, plus I care about her and want to help her, but I'm not really thrilled about losing my hour or so before bedtime, my only personal/dh time. le sigh.

I had my big meeting today with the executive director at work, and may soon be FINALLY switching hours/ job descriptions. It looks like I'll do part-time behavior plan writing, and part time employee training and records. Dh will have to spend an extra day at home and the kids will have to go to the nanny one day a week, but these are transitions I can live with.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Please pray for my nephew(a micropreemie with cp). He's in the icu on a ventilator, not breathing on his own. I got a text from my sister this morning saying this and I can't get anyone to answer their phone to tell me whats going on.

...and my breast pump isn't working right so my milk supply is low, I thought I had fixed it, but no and I'm 99% sure I have a uti, i'll spare you the details.


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

First, let me share that I JUST figured out oy.







Yeah, I'm a slacker.









Secondly, hi.







Sickies are pretty much gone, went back to the "regular" routine yesterday, with my friend M. and her DS coming over to hang out with Rowan while I went to work in the afternoon. All went well with that, Rowan was SO HAPPY to see L., it was so sweet. M. sent me a pic on my phone and it warmed the heart.

This morning, Rowan has expressed his express desire to NOT go to the library for story hour.







And here is my dilemma, please tell me going with my instincts is the way to do it with this;
Dude, *I* don't wanna go to the damn library this morning either! He wants to sit and watch PBS and relax, I want to sit here and catch up with my May Mamas, read a blog or three, and drink my tea. Tomorrow, since we're back on our regular schedule, we leave the house at 9:30 and do not return until early evening. And we HAVE TO do that (swap with M. and then work).
I called DH with all my various insecurities and worries and doubts, and he said, simply: "Keep the baby happy. Who cares how we do this if it isn't hurting anyone?"
He's SO right, I know it. But I am just bombarded with my obsessive doubts like "oh god, he's an only child what if he never learns how to be social?" (DH says, "Look at US...he's never going to be that social!"







)

And then add to that my own really weird mood the past couple of days (THANK YOU, Lisa, for reminding me about Mercury!







) where I feel like my house is a mess, my cat is a jerk, and I am lazy, fat and miserable and not raising my kid "right"...whatEVER *that* is!








Okay, enough of my whining. Sorry.

Meesa, so totally sending thoughts to your nephew!







Hope you get some sort of update soon!
Lisa, SO glad you're feeling better...yeah, we just got a bad cold over here and UGH, so the flu? Yeah. I'm feeling you. Take care, mama!

Books/movies: I put them together because I SAW the Namesake a while back, whenever it came out. I







Kal Penn (who played the lead in the movie) and I really enjoyed the movie and I KNOW it's a book, I just haven't read it yet.







: I don't usually listen to Oprah's book picks much.








Everyone keeps talking about Eat, Pray, Love so I guess I may as well pick it up!








It would probably do me some good to put down the Chuck Pahlniuk (or however you spell it--he wrote Fight Club, and I've read a bunch of his other stuff--currently in the middle of "Haunted"...I cannot even TELL you how f'ed up his writing is! It's NOT something to read if you want a feel-good book, TRUST me...hey, maybe THAT'S my problem!







) and pick up something less...dark.
DH has also recommended that I read this Love & Rockets (comic book/graphic novel) compilation he has that he thinks I would really like. I haven't read a graphic novel in FOREVER.

I am going to echo EL with the needing happy fuzzy support these days. I am SO in a funk, and it hit me without warning.







: Sucks to be me.

I will stop whining now, chances are we're staying home and being lumps all day, but hey, maybe we need it. I dunno anymore.
Have a good day, everyone.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Lisa, I am SOOO SORRY to hear you've been ill. That SUCKS. Being that sick is no fun for anyone, let alone a mother of two.

Renae, I agree with dh. TAke a load off of your poor brain! Relax and enjoy life as much as you can.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Lisa, I am SOOO SORRY to hear you've been ill. That SUCKS. Being that sick is no fun for anyone, let alone a mother of two.

Renae, I agree with dh. TAke a load off of your poor brain! Relax and enjoy life as much as you can.

Meesa, thinking about your sweet nephew.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Lisa, I am SOOO SORRY to hear you've been ill. That SUCKS. Being that sick is no fun for anyone, let alone a mother of two.

Renae, I agree with dh. TAke a load off of your poor brain! Relax and enjoy life as much as you can.

Meesa, thinking about your sweet nephew.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

A little hometime and pbs never hurt anyone.









Praying for ur family Meesa.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

thinking of heath and hj...









lisa: sickies be gone!

EL: poop abt the $$$. but what fernie said, is it possible that she actually just forgot?

sarah: thanks for sharing oy. wowza.

renae: you just got oy.







: that's funny. and you are clever.

meesa: thinking of your nephew...









i need









~claudia

p.s. are anyone else's smilies and buttons looking broken with little x's where the pics should be? hmmm... dang server...


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

It turns out my nephew has either rsv(which I'm hoping he didn't catch from K *crosses fingers*) or pneumonia. His body handles it by going into seizures. They couldn't stop the seizing so they sedated him, which is why he is not breathing on his own. They told my sis that he should be ok. They are waiting for a neurologist to look at him this morning.

MamaFaery~I feel that way too sometimes. It looks like your lo is telling you he needs a day of relaxation. I would totally go for it, you sound like you need it. Turn the bad thoughts off in your brain!!









Quote:


Originally Posted by *A&L+1* 
Hi guys, I am sorry I fell out of the thread. I have the flu and I now understand why people actually die from the flu as I have never been so sick in my life.

I hope you feel better and your kids stay healthy.


----------



## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

completely perplexed by server things... it says meesa made a post at 914am PST but mine is the last post i see from 809am PST???!!!???

meesa, i hope things are okay... try to post again!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

ok, now i can see it. i thought i was imagining things.

meesa: scary, scary. sending him lots of get well vibes.







glad you were able to get more info from your sis instead of worrying about who-knows-what.

please know i'll be thinking of them.

~claudia


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

I am going to the midwife's for my six week checkup... I've found two masses in my breasts, one on each side. Figuring they were breastfeeding related I thought I would test the theory and pumped one side until drained. The mass didn't change in size. I don't thing I would have ever noticed before because the lumps are trickily hidden. I'm nervous girls...

And it looks like we're heading to Vancouver.... maybe in a couple weeks... maybe in a couple months. Any of you ladies have doc recommendations in that area? ie: no circ, no/delayed vax, bf friendly, rarely prescribe unless truly necessary?


----------



## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Oh, danile, I'm hoping the masses are nothing....but you'll be in my thoughts, anyway. So, Vancouver. Don't know anything about it, but I know it will be a tough move for you to leave family.









meesa-thinking of your nephew.

Okay, I thought our January woes were going to get better....what's up?

Just found out we have to spend another $500 on our other car to get fixed. This is before we've even started paying on the other car's charges and our Phoenix trip! Yuck, yuck, and double yuck.

A is having trouble napping right now, but I left her asleep in our bed. She woke as soon as I got out, but isn't upset so I'm taking a little break. Napping has been an issue lately. She did sleep last night in her crib from 9 until 4:50. That was cool. But rare and I'm not relying on it.

She weighed 15 lb. 14 oz. and is 26 1/4" long at her visit yesterday. I love my ped. She doesn't even ask about starting solids....says she's perfect. We have started solids, BTW, but nice not to have to get the typical talk and recommendation for rice cereal.

Oh, G did great at the mini-sports class on Tuesday. I was so proud of him! He's really been stepping out of his box since A was born and I know it's not easy for him. He's still not the most involved kid, but he sits in the circle during stretches (doesn't actually stretch) and follows the teacher's instructions and actually throws a ball here and there. It helps that we got him fast tennis shoes, ya know


----------



## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

oh, and I meant to say something about Super Tuesday, too. DH went to caucus on Tuesday night and gave me the full report. I wanted to go too, but caucuses don't really lend themselves to having young children. Next time I get to go. Though, it won't be nearly as interesting probably. Anyway, dh said it was an interesting process. We also saw that cool "We Can" video and G even liked it. It is nice to feel inspired for once....


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Quick ENT recap.... he does in fact have laryngomalacia, but she says it is mild and not anything to worry about unless he gets a croupy cold. Phew! But there is still redness from the reflux so concerned about that and annoyed at the lackluster response from the GI's office. But no matter, the feeding eval team has a good plan.

I'll be back to normal one of these days....until then itsallaboutmeandhj

for the blog readers....my mom called me this morning while we were at the zoo (went after the appt). phew.


----------



## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

A lot to reply to, very little time, and I'm tired...

Danile, I've gotten plugs that were really, really, REALLY hard to unplug. I'm hoping that's what's going on. Moist heat and taking some lecithin might help (go to the bf'ing problems subforum or kellymom.com). Sorry for the fly-by advice slinging, but what *I* am thinking is "oh no, don't get mastitis", not the other scary thing with lumps. (no, not lumpy mashed potatoes)

Thinking about all of you, especially the ones having uh... *challenges*.







I'm listing you off in my head and hugging you, but now I have to go to the 1st grade science fair.


----------



## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Quote:



Originally Posted by *emmalola*


Moms, I'm having a difficult time these days. I co-facilitate a support group and my other facilitator wigged out and "terminated" the group. But see, the group is for women with cancer, and you can't just pull the rug out like that. So they came to me and we decided to start a new group but since it's a group process sort of thing I had to go to my co-facilitator and tell her she was on crack. So the whole day has been phone calls from women trying to figure out this whole thing. I don't want to be in the middle of this, I just want to serve these women so they don't feel totally abandoned.

Aaaaand I'm still struggling to get my work done on this damn dissertation. Will it EVER end?

Aaaaand my grandmother cut us off, so we're short a few thousand bucks this month. Tomorrow I get to grovel and try to convince her that this dissertation isn't just about me, it's about helping people all over the damn place get better care for their cancer pain. and that she has to help us because we have been depending on her and she can't just cut us off without any warning. Seriously- no warning. This morning I looked at my bank account and realized that the automatic deposit hadn't happened and we're totally screwed financially after the great appliance fiasco of January ought eight. wah wah wah, I know. We've been talking about what if this were to happen, but we never expected it to happen just like that for no reason. We expected there would be some sort of warning.


awww, elola. Sorry you're having such a rough time of it. Hopefully there's a good reason Gma left you high and dry this month. I hope something works out. Talk about stressful and no notice.







And I hope you can get a group going with your cancer group. They most certainly need all the support and community they can get.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *A&L+1*


Hi guys, I am sorry I fell out of the thread. I have the flu and I now understand why people actually die from the flu as I have never been so sick in my life. Three days of 101+ fever and delirium is pretty horrible and it's showing no signs of lightening up. Good god, mercury. Thankfully the girls and Alison have been spared so far.


Hope you are feeling tip-top soon.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *fiddlefern*


My babysitter is homeschooled (sorta), and I've been tutoring her in math when I get the chance (which has been rare). She's now wanting help in math AND science, and I could use the extra cash, plus I care about her and want to help her, but I'm not really thrilled about losing my hour or so before bedtime, my only personal/dh time. le sigh.

I had my big meeting today with the executive director at work, and may soon be FINALLY switching hours/ job descriptions. It looks like I'll do part-time behavior plan writing, and part time employee training and records. Dh will have to spend an extra day at home and the kids will have to go to the nanny one day a week, but these are transitions I can live with.


I hope the job switch/hours is a positive switch. You must be a rockin' tutor!

Quote:



Originally Posted by *meesa143*


Please pray for my nephew(a micropreemie with cp). He's in the icu on a ventilator, not breathing on his own. I got a text from my sister this morning saying this and I can't get anyone to answer their phone to tell me whats going on.

...and my breast pump isn't working right so my milk supply is low, I thought I had fixed it, but no and I'm 99% sure I have a uti, i'll spare you the details.


dang, meesa, I hope your uti gets resolved. And big big vibes heading out to your nephew.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Mama Faery*


This morning, Rowan has expressed his express desire to NOT go to the library for story hour.







And here is my dilemma, please tell me going with my instincts is the way to do it with this; 
Dude, *I* don't wanna go to the damn library this morning either! He wants to sit and watch PBS and relax, I want to sit here and catch up with my May Mamas, read a blog or three, and drink my tea. Tomorrow, since we're back on our regular schedule, we leave the house at 9:30 and do not return until early evening. And we HAVE TO do that (swap with M. and then work).
I called DH with all my various insecurities and worries and doubts, and he said, simply: "Keep the baby happy. Who cares how we do this if it isn't hurting anyone?"
He's SO right, I know it. But I am just bombarded with my obsessive doubts like "oh god, he's an only child what if he never learns how to be social?" (DH says, "Look at US...he's never going to be that social!"







)

And then add to that my own really weird mood the past couple of days (THANK YOU, Lisa, for reminding me about Mercury!







) where I feel like my house is a mess, my cat is a jerk, and I am lazy, fat and miserable and not raising my kid "right"...whatEVER *that* is!








Okay, enough of my whining. Sorry.


Hope you had a nice day in Renae!

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DucetteMama21842*


I am going to the midwife's for my six week checkup... I've found two masses in my breasts, one on each side. Figuring they were breastfeeding related I thought I would test the theory and pumped one side until drained. The mass didn't change in size. I don't thing I would have ever noticed before because the lumps are trickily hidden. I'm nervous girls...

And it looks like we're heading to Vancouver.... maybe in a couple weeks... maybe in a couple months. Any of you ladies have doc recommendations in that area? ie: no circ, no/delayed vax, bf friendly, rarely prescribe unless truly necessary?


Let us know what the mw said about the lumps! I'm worried about you. And







on the move to the 'couv. I don't think that's too terribly far from our PDX mamas, but I may be wrong. It is still hard to be far away from my mom, and it's been almost six years since we moved out of state.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jacqueline*


Just found out we have to spend another $500 on our other car to get fixed. This is before we've even started paying on the other car's charges and our Phoenix trip! Yuck, yuck, and double yuck.

Oh, G did great at the mini-sports class on Tuesday. I was so proud of him! He's really been stepping out of his box since A was born and I know it's not easy for him. He's still not the most involved kid, but he sits in the circle during stretches (doesn't actually stretch) and follows the teacher's instructions and actually throws a ball here and there. It helps that we got him fast tennis shoes, ya know


















on the car, but







for the sports class for G! I love watching the kids in action. So darn cute and heartwarming to see them enjoying themselves.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *heatherfeather*


Quick ENT recap.... he does in fact have laryngomalacia, but she says it is mild and not anything to worry about unless he gets a croupy cold. Phew! But there is still redness from the reflux so concerned about that and annoyed at the lackluster response from the GI's office. But no matter, the feeding eval team has a good plan.

I'll be back to normal one of these days....until then itsallaboutmeandhj

for the blog readers....my mom called me this morning while we were at the zoo (went after the appt). phew.


double *wipesbackofhandonbrowandshakes*

MDC better not eat this post!


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

one more thing I forgot to mention...Els.. I can't post to your blog so here it is. The picture of Sol!!!! Wowsers! She's a mini-you! What a beautiful mama and her two girls....I'll also echo what your friend told you...1.5 and 3.5 was extreeeeemely difficult for me, too. The busy making of the 1.5 yo and the insecurities of the 3.5 yo is draining. I feel as if I'm on the other side now, and it's FUN! So hang in there...the hardest part is over IMO, you're doing great.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Thanks for the compliments, Sarah, and the support about the age. This too shall pass. right? riiiight.

overwhelm mode right now, more when I can swim...


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Still really sick, but it cheered me up a bit to read here about all of you even though we seem to all be going through tough stuff right now. Sending especially strong hugs to KK, meesa's nephew, danile, Els - heck all of us. Big, big hugs all around.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

I've got it! The May Mamas need a strong infusion of Good News. Tell us your good news! Not half-sarcastic, "I'm awake with coffee and the children are not suffering at my hand" kind of news, but authentic gratitude, people. Alright. I guess half-sarcastic is okay because mine, right now, is the above.

also, that I went to Queretaro (nearest big city, 1 hr away) all by myself yesterday, to shop for bedding for the big house I manage, and had a lovely lunch in a big city mall and enjoyed the brief sensation of being alone, on the road.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Good News! Just moments ago (this is breaking news, people!), I found two little envelopes under my desk, unopened mail the kids must have thrown around. I noticed they said Important Tax Document. Whoops! Better keep those, right? Opened them, and they are notices of tax refunds owed to us from the state, one for $936 and one for $3347! YIZZAH!!!!!!!!!

Dead Dog Tired. Will be back after coffee.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Other good news: Mia is staying the night at my parents house tonight. With only two kids in the house, John and I will practically be alone!


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Meg---guuhhreat...now how am I supposed to top that good news??!







That so totally rocks! I'd be tempted to put half of it on a Starbucks card!









Good news...hmmm...well took pissycat to the vet today and she looks good so we only have to do the fluids 2x a week and go back in three months!

It's Friday! That's good news enough for me!


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

I had a deja vu moment this morning when Saige told me she didn't want to go to story time. She wanted to "stay home and watch her shows" (pbs) Hmmm....I've heard this story before. :nana: <---I just notice this smilie, it's kind of cute.

My good news...My nephew is being released from the hospital as I am typing. It's such a relief. He is still pretty sick, but he's doing a lot better.

I did get S to agree to go to the children's museum this afternoon







They have a new exhibit about the body that has all the sesame street characters. Should be fun.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

about the starbucks card! Is that the presidential economic stimulus plan?

Good News: I cleared up the whole money mess. It went easier than I had hoped. And in the world of ambiguous good news, the whole shake up of the support group forced my co-facilitator to do some heavy introspection and she came to the realization that she royally screwed up. whew.

Other Good News! All this trouble in work and money has forced me to slow down and appreciate the amazing luck I have with these two healthy, happy boys. We may all be sick and simmering up some good cold germs, but we're good.

Lisa, I'm sorry you're so sick. blech! Get well soon!

Els, beautiful babes.

Danile- good thoughts on the lumps. keep us posted!

can't respond to everyone...


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

EL, I'm so relieved to hear your good news. Really. And I hope your appliances are holding up.









Meesa, major







on your news.

Meg, I think your $$ should go for the collective iCoffeePod (though I'd prefer the tea version).









Danile, what's up with the lumps?

Sicky recovery vibes to Lisa and everyone else. Also nospreadum vibes.

Doing pretty good here, considering. Beautiful sunny day... for a funeral. The 3 yr old son of some friends died Wed. T is good friends with their older boy. He's been suffering since the day he was born, so in some ways, there is some relief--he is finally at peace--but still sad nonetheless. Makes me hug my kids a little tighter.

Bit of good news for me oy.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Still not up to speed on personals, but yay kk!

clothes....oh do I have girl clothes!









supply issues are confusing me...wiser mamas ...can one have pseudo-af fluctuations before af returns? it was 8.5 mos w/ C and 4.5 mos w/ E and pumping. Scratching my head over here.. hmmmm...

okay...must go check on dinner







: Tonight's special is roast, carrots, potatoes and onions a la Sherri.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh, I stopped in at the wrong time.







: I am in a grumpy mood and not able to think of any good news. GROWL.
Wait, wait, at least I will come and offer







s to all who need them, including ME.









Actually, this isn't being sarcastic, I swear, but I got this truly awesome candle from Yankee Candle, it's a pillar with three layers, the top is Fresh Cut Roses, the middle is Vanilla Cupcake, and the bottom is Strawberry...something.







And it has been burning for HOURS and it smells SO GOOD.

Also, our Monsieur Chat (Julio














) was brought to his yearly checkup and he is totally healthy. Yay.

Have a good night, mamas.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Julio goes to *yearly checkups*???? Wow. You are one fastidious kitty mama.

I'm like, aaagh, because the difficulty sleeping-thing of Amara's age & stage has got me totally bonkers. I'm flyin' solo tonight as Viet is in San Luis Potosi with his brother and he really does the majority of Amara-nighttime-soothing, because with me it's a freakin' circus. I had to stop spiteful, hateful, hurt-child thoughts and wonder who this evil person is thinking these things. She just does not go down and I am on last shaky legs.

Pray for no wakies until morning.

Good news: I went "out" tonight with some great girlfriends and really cut a rug dancin'. Also, did some badass white girl salsa dancin' too. I was told, hey, you really dance well for a gringa.







Uh, YEAH. I DO.

The nice part of Viet being gone, is that, well, he's gone. No haranguing me for attention. I can internet all I want.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Renae- Glad you're candle smells great. Sorry it was a rough day for you.

Els- So glad that you got to go dancing and I hope your night went very sleepily.

Heath- I'm not much help in that department... but my af returns almost the instant I opened a jar of babyfood/make my own...







:

And ya'll- The lumps are cystic. Mostly milk production tissue. Told to keep an eye on them and to watch out for a "piece of gravel, pea, etc." type feeling in any of them.... And to see if the masses go down when I introduce solids in six months or so, wean, etc. In short, I'm sure I'll be fine.

Thanks for the support ladies. That really freaked me out. I know this sounds totally vain, but I just wouldn't feel like a girl anymore if I had to lose my breasts.... that my husband's favorite body part...







And my great grandma had a double mastectomy and died... so that was the main reason I wanted it checked out...

Just glad that's not it. Now to get all three kids fed, ready and seated in church before 11.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Danile, good to know you're gonna be fine.








And, ahem. DH and Rowan went to church this morning...and I did not.







: I really enjoyed having the house to myself, and a good friend from Canada called me and we got to talk for a good hour or so. MUCH nicer for my emotional well-being than church today, I must say.








And then Rowan came home and jumped in my lap and said "Hi Mama! I missed you!"







Awww.

Oh, and YES, Elsanne, Julio goes for YEARLY checkups!







He's my baby too...and they send me reminders.







Sounds like you had a good time dancin'...I'm still trying to decide whether I will be going out dancing myself tonight...we'll see. I'm so lazy.







:

Lunchtime now







:, so, happy Sunday, y'all.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

renae--I did the opposite---left all three w/ DH and went to church! Good thing because it was a meditation service and that might've been tricky with one or two kiddos in my lap!









danile--phew!

okay...off to do more productive stuff while naps ensue!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

I swear, I'm gonna snap one of these days. Last night Amara DID finally sleep all night, but then we got up, and daddy had not arrived home. Stayed in San luis with his brother. whatever, would have been nice to know and plan accordingly, especially when he did not arrive until 7.30 pm tonight, and the girls were already going to sleep. He is SUCH AN ASS. yesterday I had an arrival at the big house I manage and *freak out* not enough towels, so today I drove an hour to that big city again, with the girls, hauled them around the mall, which went okay, although it's just a lot of work and tolerance and toddler slinging, and I was okay with it, but then I got more freakout phone calls from the rentees, why is the pool not hot yet? three of these. the guy in charge of the pool was mysteriously absent, S.T.R.E.S.S. People want answers, now. Amara wants whatever she wants, NOW. Especially she wants to not be in the car seat. So, very stressy time for me, get out to the house finally with 16 new towels and girls running rampant, not having eaten, arriving home still no Viet, waiting waiting his cell is out of battery...his bro tells me he left approx. 5.30 pm, after knowing I was already almost to freak out point myself at 2 pm.....
A horrible afternoon of me NEEDING some stress relief and getting none, kept waiting for that door to open so I could go for a run, on edge with Sol and worse with Amara, yelling and crying out of just-can't-do-this-anymore-ness, as yesterday I had the girls all day myself as well and nighttime, yes went out and that was fun, but still no break to speak of, for whatever reason (well, part of the going out last night was receiving the group at the house, running around, turning things on, procuring sheets, or heaters, or getting staff organized). I cannot work seven days a week and have total kid responsibility for two of them, two extremely delicate rental-arrival days...yesterday I dragged them around downtown picking up extra bowls, mugs, plates, in the market which is not easy. Very worksome with lots of stairs and one stalker kid who freaked me out until I yelled at him, and navigating the stroller on uneven sidewalks and roads is not for the weak.

I just feel like I'm about to snap. I told Viet that his non-communication about his intentions of his trip to san luis (which I thought would be up and back in one night) really messed me up, and he got defensive and has now just left. I am totally wrought with back tension and am so very, very tired. I am so sick of this. At the very least, if I had KNOWN what I was in for, I could have planned accordingly. The expecting relief and not getting it was the worst. Now, I am utterly spent, exhausted, and frustrated and feel myself getting older by the minute. I hate this. I hate this life sometimes. I can't work so hard, I just can't. It's killing me.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Oh Els....I just want to smother you with hugs and help and give that Viet another swift kick to the nads. Yes, I will again say nads. Thoughtless that boy. Self-absorbed. So wish you could have been there with me at church today for the meditation. It was so centering and all that jazz. Going to send some of that energy your way, my dear. .....all around you, peaceful ....all within you, peaceful ..... much love!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Oh, elsanne, I feel your stress all the way up here in the snowy north! I'm familiar with the feeling, and you are so right - there is nothing worse than expecting relief, waiting for it, counting the minutes... and getting nuthin'. Yes, if you know in advance you can plan accordingly, but it's still SO MUCH to do, so much to handle, and so incredibly unforgiving.

I hope you've had a moment's rest! And that this week is easier. And that Viet pulls his head from his netherregions and gets a clue.

I'm running a similar morning this morning, as schools are closed - which I found out after I already pulled everyone physically from their beds, got them dressed and fed. It's a logistical nightmare, starting with how and when will I shower? Fortunately it's Monday, so MIL is on duty starting at noon and I will go to work as planned. I had a whole slew of menial tasks to manage this morning that will wait yet another day, as there's no way I can accomplish most of it with all three kiddos cooped up in the house.








all.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Oh, Els. I was sitting here feeling tension in my back just reading about your perilous weekend. Damn mercury.







: That is just so much for one person to do alone. I am also sending your vibes of endurance and patience. And extra big vibes for some alone time.

Glad to hear everything looks OK ducette.

Meesa, how's the nephew? Still thinking of him.

Juice, I got out of bed and had the brilliant idea before getting kids up to check the telly for delays. Sure enough. One hour delay. ahhhh. laid in bed watching the news until the little ones padded in on their own. Was hoping for two hour delay, but had to settle for one.

Renae, indeed, you are the model kitty mama.









sitting here slightly dizzy from shoveling the driveway. Not only is it long, it's wiiiiide. Poor dh had a killer night on call last night and neither of us slept due to constant pages. He's working 7am-7pm today, and has a meeting afterwards, so no rest for the poor guy. so here on the homestead its a lazy, stay home day.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh Els, I am so sorry things are letting up for you. they need to... BIG TIME. Sending lots of *easy life* vibes so that hopefully things just start going your way and people will just GET OFF YOUR BACK already! Major Hugs!

Boo on unexpected snow days when mama has to get stuff done!

Hoping Meesa's nephew is doing good also.

Hoping HJ is







: beautifully.

And Boo on constant pages that leave us no rest, except- maybe your dh was a blessing in others lives...

GOtta run and attend to the crabby kids...


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh, Elsanne.







I wish wish wish I lived nearby to come over and offer help and love and a playmate for the girls--maybe they'd play together and leave us ALONE...haha!
Seriously though, I am so sorry you're having such a rough go.









I am actually kinda freaking out this morning, I had to bathe Rowan (the next two nights have something on the menu so NO TIME for a bath, and he hadn't bathed since oh, Thursday?








: Stinky pigeon!) So anyway, I got yelled at because I didn't bathe him the way DADDY does it, until I finally yelled "WELL I'M NOT DADDY!!" and he looked at me and said "I KNOW!"







Damn, dude.
And he's eaten like 20 pieces of toast with jam and THAT'S IT. The pizza he happily ate for dinner last night? Yucky today. And I have to pack the diaper bag for work in a couple of hours, and then DH comes to get him and they have a church meeting to go to and I work, work work till probably 7. ANd that's if I get out EARLY.

And this is all compounded by the fact that I called a local school that said they had a pre-K program to ask about it--remember, I have ONE KID. I am a total n00b when it comes to this--and the woman I speak to is extremely rude as she tells me that it's "placement-only", not open to the public. I know now what "placement-only" means, but I didn't when I spoke to her, so I asked and she just blew air out of her nostrils and asks exasperately, "What is the PROBLEM?!" I'm like, "There is NO PROBLEM, I was just thinking of sending my kid to PRESCHOOL." And finally she gives me a phone number to ANOTHER school that supposedly has a program that is open to the public. I didn't call because I don't want to DEAL.
Like I said, upon thinking of what the rude woman on the phone said, I realize what she means by "placement-only"--special needs. But WHY couldn't she have TOLD me that, NICELY??

And then I thought back about how when I was a daycare teacher and nanny and all the terrible things I said about the parents of the kids in my care, and how we all treated those POOR, POOR parents, and I realize that karma, it is kicking me in the a$$. And I suck.








Luckily, now that I myself am a parent AND a nanny, I have been nothing but kind to the parents and kiddo in my care...so hopefully I can rework that karma. Yeesh.
Anyway, this is my morning, and I vacuumed and then my child freaked out because it was TOO LOUD, even though he never said anything about it before, and that couple with how he acted at the mall this past weekend, refusing to play anywhere there were GASP PEOPLE!! around, not to mention how much he's been freaking at music class lately, seemingly out of nowhere, and I began to truly worry that my child is going to be completely neurotic and a social outcast because OH HAI LOOK AT HIS MAMA.







:

And I don't have TIME or energy this Winter to try and enroll in any other kids' programs, I work four days a week and I don't want to overschedule. Ugh ugh ugh. I am sorry I'm such a neurotic mess today. And oh hey, MEMEME post!







: I don't really need solutions or anything, I am just needing to be heard. I feel like I am not a good parent at the moment and I just want to go back to bed. Ugh.

Well, rest time is soon (and then work-blah)...maybe I'll nap too.

Have a good day, mamas.







Sorry for unloading all this on you...


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Danile~What a relief that has to be...I'm glad you're ok

Els~I'm sorry, you just can't seem to get a break. It has to come soon...right?

Mamafaery~People are so rude sometimes







They think you should automatically know everything. Don't give up on the preschool thing, if they are that rude to you on the phone, you probably don't want your kids there anyway. I hope you get some rest today, that always makes me see things differently









My nephew is doing good. He's home and doing better. We found out what he has is what we all just got over. It's adenovirus Every symptom we had is explained, even down to my uti. It's crazy. I feel awful that he caught it from us, but like my sister said, his body handles things differently. They think the seizure was caused by his fever.

We have been going, going going all weekend, so I'm taking a well needed catch up/rest day at home today. I had to put K in a onesie and pants last night because he didn't have any clean jammies







: I guess it could be worse....


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

hey renae, you ROCK!!!
in those I need help moments, or I am a sucktastic mama moments, or my child is gonna be so screwed up because I am a horrible parent moments, just remember, you're MMF, and we will always







you.

~c


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

It might be a couple of days before I am back in the swing of things, but I am back at work today. Feeling a bit woozy.

Loving all of you though.

Lisa

p.s. I had an idea while sick that the MMFs should write one of those chic-lit novels about women's friendships - something about an online friendship circle with drama and suspense. And then we use the proceeds to go hang out at Els Mexico house.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *A&L+1* 
p.s. I had an idea while sick that the MMFs should write one of those chic-lit novels about women's friendships - something about an online friendship circle with drama and suspense. And then we use the proceeds to go hang out at Els Mexico house.

Renae, our resident author - get to it!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Sounds like fun, this chic-lit novel!

We could all write a chapter.

Renae, that "placement-only" thing would confuse the heck outta me.

So I'm out here at this big house, sucking up to these people on a spiritual retreat, there is woo-woo female vocal music playing, and a guy speaking loudly French on his cell phone, pacing.
People are getting massages in one corner of the house, ringing bells and burning incense in another, and sitting and writing in another.

I'm a bit calmer than I was earlier, mainly because I don't have children hanging off of me. Sol scratched her retina somehow last night and has done nothing but whine and want to be with me and clutch her eye. Poor baby. However, on top of the last two days, mama's patience is about *this* big.

Thank you all for the sympathy, every bit is nourishment to my soul. I just hope hope hope that all this stress is for a greater good, that I will learn and grow, not just have a stressful horrible life. I wouldn't mind working so hard if I had a strong home team, but I don't, and I couldn't have imagined I'd work so hard every little minute, which extends into interminable minutes, with so little support in my life. I really do *need* youguys, and I get on here eager for the support I know I will find, and I have that and my parents, and some good girlfriends irl.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Tired here. Beautifully sunny day, and it's windy, which I generally don't like, but it's kind of feeding my house-cleaning energy.

I totally







Lisa's idea (and that Renae should spearhead it). Awesome! (Ug on the flu, BTW... did no one else get it, I hope?)

Renae, feel free to dump. That's what we're here for! I think your pre-K error was an honest mistake (and I hope you don't mind if it made me giggle, if only because I could totally see myself doing the same thing).

Danile, relieved about your news, totally get why you'd be worried.

Meesa,







about your nephew. And you didn't infect him on purpose... it's not like you can really control germs, anyway.

Yes, thinking of you as always, Els.







Line me in the nads kick. I've squeezed into T's soccer cleats just for this. If it would help, I'll also take the whistle that L and Z have been blasting all morning and give him a blast to the ol' eardrum, too.

As sad as the memorial was, it was also very good, as far as those things can go. I feel for the whole family.

I have a good friend IRL who has recently resurfaced and he is in dire need. (IMO, what he needs is strong pyschiatric meds, unfortunately.) I feel so tapped out and so unable to help, but "helping" is what I do. But I'm not jumping into this one. I think all I can muster is an attempt to give him an honest reflection of where he's at, and that's about it. I feel kind of







:, but there it is.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

KK sometimes, an honest reflection of where he's at is all you can do, and all you should do.

I'll never forget one particular ass-kickin' therapist I had, who said that as my friend, there is only so much sympathy she can or should give me (esp. wrt to Viet), because once you hear me singin' the same song umpteen times, it is not helpful to give support because there is no growth.

Now, that was about 3 years ago, and I'm singing different stanzas, but the same song, yes indeedy....I am not at all saying, please stop supporting me, but I am also well aware of the choices I made/am making that contribute to me singing this song. I am the first to withdraw support from myself, unfortunately. Need a bit more self-love...

Over this weekend, when I just about *had it* with the girls especially Amara, I sadly realized how very much I need Viet during this stage of the girls' lives. This contributes to me feeling stuck. Who knows--if I were to strike out on my own (a) would it be any different? quien sabe and b) maybe just knowing there IS no one else would create different expectations, more ability to deal. But truthfully, it frightens me deeply to not have live-in help with toddlerhood.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

I'll be ready to kick your ass about Viet at some point, but not now. I have the sense that right now, what you need is tenderness and gentleness and healing.







Yeah, you should be looking down the road (and maybe not liking what you see), but there is a great deal of validity in dealing with the very big stuff going on right this very moment.







So sit down, have a cup of tea, pull on your MM socks, and chill out.

I came back to share some very dorky good news. I got a fairly recent Tassajara cookbook (about lunches, basically) from the library, and the cookie recipes totally rock. There's a whole chapter of vegan cookies, most with very crunchy or very crunchable ingredients, and they actually TASTE REALLY GOOD. So yes, part of how I'm trying to take care of the kids (and me, of course) is with some very yummy cookies.







Preparing to make almond/oatmeal thumbprint cookies this afternoon, if I can get the house clean enough.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Hey everyone,
G woke up in the middle of the night burning up and with a tummy ache. DH took care of him since I was nursing A in bed. Came back to tell me what was going on and said G was probably hungry cause we had an early dinner/late lunch, so that may be why he woke. DH made eggs and toast which G proceeded to throw up. G went back to sleep but still has fever. He's napping now after spending the morning in front of the TV. I've been giving him some homeopathic stuff for fever and he usually responds well to it, so we'll see. He's just quite pathetic. He hasn't thrown up since the egg incident, but he's also not eaten much.

To top it all off, dh is getting ready to leave early in the morning for an interview in Massachusetts and will be gone until Friday afternoon. I'm hoping G can bounce back from this quickly as I don't know how I'll deal with a baby and sick preschooler without help. Ack!

But....on to you all....

danile--glad it turned out to be something manageable.









elsanne--just more and more









KK--cookies heal all wounds in my book, so I'm hoping you manage to make some more. Another reason I'm hoping G gets better is that I wanted to make valentine cookies with him later this week...and not the healthy kinds you're making!

heather--your sunday service sounds wonderful. That would be so great to go without kids just once!

renae--and staying home from church by yourself sounds great, too!

Lisa--hope you come out of your fog soon.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

I am at work now, in the three seconds of relative calm I get (babe is sorta-sleeping on the big bed in the parents' room, and Rowan is watching Pingu--OMG Pingu RULES.







Even *I* find it entertaining!)

But I wanted to say that I am blushing and flattered that you all think *I* should write our chick-lit novel!







That warms my heart in so many ways...and seeing what I *HAVE* written in the past few months (you don't even WANT to know!














maybe I ought to, ahem, focus my energies on something more productive!








For real. Lemme think on it some.









And seriously, thank you all for being so awesome.
Back to work. Blah.







MMF!


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

A bit frazzled from HJ not







: very well and having a scary choking spell this morning. Better this afternoon. Girls theoretically napping and HJ and I have some work to do upstairs....rather I work and he watches....

Jacquie---if it starts coming out the other end for G....run for the acidophilus/probiotics as that can help it not last as long. My DH always feeds too soon, but I think he's learning.

More to say, but feeling kinda flaky. I'll blame it on Claudia's iPhone glitch!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Heather, sending you lots of support for feeding HJ and sorry you had a scary choking spell! Every single day I think of you and am inspired to keep on keepin' on, because Heath is up there doin' it too.

Need to go get my mm socks on, my feets be cold.

Just treading water, here...

Danile I've been wanting to mention that I am also soooo glad it appears to be no biggie in your breasts, so to speak. Thank heaven for that.

I think I'm going to go collapse now...


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

My turn for some good news! You mamas may remember various times I've bemoaned my procrastination on paying various bills, including avoiding confusing medical bills. Well, I spent a month paying my babysitter 2 hrs every Monday, getting my sh*& together, and today I went in and spoke to a membership services representative at my local Kaiser clinic. We owed over $2000 in medical stuff, and after today, I'm down to about $800 !!! First there was a bunch of stuff that I was pretty sure I didn't really owe, and it turns out I'm probably right, but then there was almost $300 that we really DID owe, and apparently 2 weeks ago, Kaiser decided we were poor and unable to pay, and they just WROTE IT OFF, as a charitable contribution or whatever! I feel like God is smiling on me, and I feel so humbled and blessed. I almost want to cry I'm so happy. My dad gave me money to pay all the bills for Christmas (yes, and paid for that trip to Cali- bless him!), so after I subtract my babysitter's wages and the money we actually owe to insurance, I'm stuck with the wonderful problem of checking with my dad before I spend the rest of the money on groceries and maybe even a bit into educational savings for the boys. Hooray!

Tomorrow is hopefully Luke's last feeding clinic ever. We gave the pump back last week. I'm stuck with another wonderful problem of what to do with all the yucky hi-cal formula he won't drink (he's drinking choc. pediasure, which is finally being covered by insurance).

Yesterday, Will's birthday party, was stressful and full of family drama and two headbumps for the birthday boy (one self-inflicted in a tantrum, the other because I wasn't watching him well enough














, but today's good news definitely helps.

babe up- gotta go.

love to all, and yes, let's write that chic-lit.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

That is AWESOME, Fern! Great news.

Meg, also wanted to comment on how supremely awesome your surprise money is! What are you going to do with it?


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Fiddle, how awesome is that news! Yay for you!
Hi Elsanne!














I hope you have a good day.









Okay, so let's see how much time I have to post before Rowan demands something else from the kitchen.









So it's our customary Tuesday in front of laptop/television







: And this is my dilemma for the morning: how do you *encourage* a 3.75 year-old to do anything other than EXACTLY what he wants, especially when that something is HOURS and HOURS of TV???







:
You know that just turning the stupid thing off and saying a firm "no more" will get you a full-on, screaming tantrum...of course.
But what about when gently explaining the myriad reasons you can come up with (tv is tired, it needs a rest, we need to do something else--even when there are no concrete plans--hey! Let's do a puzzle/art project/ANYTHING ELSE) will bring the VERY SAME screaming tantrum???
What if just throwing up your hands and saying "FINE, whatever you want" is the only, and I MEAN THE ONLY, way to keep the tenuous peace in the morning?

So guess what we're doing this morning?







Yeah.

At least rest time will be here soon and then in the afternoon for some reason, it's generally easier to keep the damn television off.
And at least we're not watching "bad" TV...ah heck, at this point I'm grasping at straws. Yay.

I'm not even upset/guilty/angry. I'm just...apathetic, at this point. *sigh*


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

If it were up to me and only me, Sol would watch TV sometimes. If it were up to her, she would watch TV all day. Since Viet is adamantly anti-tv and will do the work involved in not watching tv, I can do it. The "other thing" has to be better than TV, planned, ready to go. Or, you can sit there and paint, and wait for him to come join you.

The Path of Least Resistance is sounding really good about now. So, so tired of resistance. Yesterday would have been a tv day if I was in charge of the kids.

my .02....probably an excursion is the only thing better than tv in his world?


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

I am the QUEEN of the Path of Least Resistance lately. The Patron Saint. The veritable GODDESS.







: Yup.
Thanks for the thoughts, Els.








I forgot to mention that another hinder in our thoughts to do anything else, is the fact that it. is. FREEZING! Sooooo cold, so getting the diaper bag packed, then the kid sufficiently suited for the cold, plus myself, then to the car and...wherever we end up (I have NO PLANS. Ack!) well...it glues my ass to the couch. I admit it.

Yeah...post-rest-time (for us both) will bring more action. I hope. We have to go to music class tonight, at the very least. Wheeeeee. I am not fond of music class...DH usually takes him, but every class has gotten harder and harder for DH or Rowan to deal with, so we're pretty sure this session will be the last. Times, they are a changin'. But anyway, Rowan requested Mama to come with him and DH this week. So, though I REALLY REALLY don't wanna go (don't WANNA!







) I'm going.
Path of Least Resistance, you see. *sigh*


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Heather, how did the milkscan go? Or, how did the 4 hrs pre-scan go, more specifically?


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

sorry i haven't been posting much lately... been reading, but the long replies don't work when stefan is awake, and marek doesn't take naps anymore so i'm S.O.L. for staying in the mdc posting groove.

i think of you all often and check in with you whenever i see a new post.

MMF!

~claudia


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

hi mamajammas i'm hooooome. it was so stinkin nice down in cali i called doug and told him i wasn't coming home until JUNE when it would possibly be warm in portland. it was luverly and sunny and we wore *gasp* tshirts outside the house without coats. oh the BLISSSSSS! and i just love the bay area. looooooove it. i realize now how much time i spent there in college and boy was that a long time ago. i also love old friends









sorry lisa i should have PMd you my cell before i left. but checking in now i see you were deathly ill and were probably recuperating all weekend! yikes - that sounds like a scary sickness.

fernie - great news from kaiser
















renae - i have a tv-obsessed kiddo here too (one of those self-inflicted things where i let it get to this point). i put the kitchen timer on if i can tell it is going to be tricky to turn the tube off. pick your time limit and explain it and then stick with it come hell or high water. after a tantrum or 2 he'll get the picture. if we have nothing going on i usually let isaac watch and hour and a half in a day. that sounds horrible. i wish it were a half hour max but it isn't. he gets to pick one movie or it is like 3 shows (not usually all at once). well on school days he usually gets a half hour in the morning while i shower so it is less. but if we are home and i am trying to answer work emails or whatever....it is frequently tv time.

elsanne - oh mama. shopping for dishes in a market with 2 kiddos in tow on cobbled streets sounds like enough to send me to the BRINK. starting with how do you even carry the dishes when your arms are full!!!???







i hope your 'groove' gets a little easier and well....more groovy. SOON! like TODAY!! one piece of advice i took to heart out of the pdx thread is 2 mamas expressed they enjoyed single parenting more than parenting in an unsupportive relationship. it kind of surprised me because you would think *some* help would be better than no help. but there's that whole expectation and getting let down thing which bites the big one. and i think if you really ARE a single mama you find other support resources. not sayin you should leave viet or whatever.....just sayin. i put it in my mental coffers in case i should find myself feeling unsupported in the future.

danile - i'm glad your boobage is ok.

ebin figured out how to crawl (jerkily) and popped out 2 more teeth yesterday.

ok. more to respond to but i should work and/or eat lunch. and i'll probably post again later


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jstar* 
danile - i'm glad your boobage is ok.









:







:







:

Thanks for that Jstar... I needed that laugh today.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

test went swimmingly....hj being a super cool rock star baby and all. He actually wasn't even hungry/fussy until right before the test. Bad part is he would only drink 1.5oz in the allotted 10 minutes so that might not yield helpful results. But another hoop jumped through and on from there...

doing the same as claudia....

boobage!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Isn't it boobages, not boobage? After all it was both sides (IIRC).


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Boobage









Heather~good job hj! I hope you get some answers, that has to be frustrating.

The weather is so nice today, I love it! I took the kids outside and Saige rode her scooter around with her friends. I hear we're going to get more snow tomorrow though








I decided to put Saige in a tumbling class at the community center. It doesn't start until March, but she is way excited.
That is a good idea about the timer, I'm going to have to try that.
I should be starting dinner instead of sitting here, but I've been so burnt out the last couple days, I actually played guitar hero yesterday instead of folding laundry







:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

boobage refers to the collective, KK....get it straight!









the weather here is decidedly not nice today....getting icy out and waiting on DH and the girls to get home. Meesa...I'll come visit you instead!

okay....my late napping boy-o is waking....time to







:


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Yours might be collectable, but mine are not. (Envision the wandering boob.)







:


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

I know I've done my fair share of whining... but can I whine just one more time? *Hopefully*


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

TC- I think we're living the same life.

Danile, whine away.









And







: all around, though I don't have hands-free time to post. Is is terrible that I really, really, really hate nursing my 18mo? I mean, hate it. Like, the way a guy's nads run away from cold water (or Heath's boots) my nips run when they see the babe coming. I feel so awful, but I just hate. it. so. much. I was talking to a friend with a babe the same age, and I asked if she ever just recoiled at the thought of nursing, and she said, very calmly, "No, I don't mind at all." What's wrong with me?


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

whine away!

boobage being plural









thanks for the ideas on the office thang oy. i try not to work with kids around but do have them mondays and fridays. and wednesdays i have ebin alone. i do the bulk of my work on tu/th but envision needing to work for an hour or so here or there when i have deadlines. so i was thinking a place with room for a play area might work for those instances where i have to run in and do edits and email out something on a deadline. right now i use king tv during those instances and just work from the couch







: once i actually get an office i plan to have all my paper&crap at the office so i don't know how much the couch thing will work

today has been productive so i feel pretty good. very lackluster billings with all this vacationing







: (i'm doing invoices) tsk tsk on me

i now have no plans to go anywhere...and that bums me out. i'm the kind of person that needs that vacation carrot out there.

i'm ready for some nice weather. i'm REALLY craving working in the yard and planting some things.

i think i'll head out and get big boy at school. i did take him on the trip btw. (i can't remember if i posted that i was taking him or just that he wanted to go). flying was smooth and he actually went and stayed the night with SIL in sacramento on thursday. his first sleepover! with nary a pause for separation anxiety. it was more like 'can we go NOW aunty???'







she took him to fairytaleland park which he loved. and then he stayed at the hotel the last night with my mom and i went back to staying with my friend. (i stayed 2 nights with her. ebin woke so much the first night all she could say was 'WOW!')

ok. my boobage is going to *explode* with milk right now. usually i can make it through the day without pumping (didn't bring the pump). but mr. teether has been a MILK MONSTAHHHHHHHH


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Whine away, Danile (but not in a shrill voice, pretty please







).

Juice, the answer is that clearly you are a Bad Mother.







Or maybe you're just pregnant. (Okay, I need to stop before you deck me.) I sometimes hide from L, and she's older than yours (hmm... can't quite figure out with my addled brain if that makes me a Worse Mother or a Better Mother














. I think it's so so so normal with toddler nursing. And







to you. (Lately, L has been coming up to me, patting me on the boob--oh, how I hate to be felt up by a demented dwarf--and saying, "nursing pillow"--to which I respond, "No, it's a breast" and then she shrieks "BEST!!!" and then I have the nipple shrinkage you mentioned.)


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Dominic has been diagnosed with motor delays, specifically pertaining to his hands and feet..

I'm devastated. My heart feels broken. He's absolutely beautiful and when i get told this it feels like "how did i let that happen? what did i do to cause that? was it his awful birth? was it me not spending enough time developing those muscles with him?" i just want to cry.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

And Juice- I totally understand that feeling. At that point nursing was a love/hate relationship for us. SOmetimes I loved it and never wanted it to go, other times I hated it and tried to remain calm during a nursing session. Funnily enough... KK was pretty close with how it was for us. I was either pregnant or about to become pregnant when we got to that stage. Good luck!







I hope it gets easier for ya!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

How many of us here have kids who have or have had some kind of delay? (Raise your hands, chicas; Danile, my hand is raised... Danile, you are not alone in this, so whine away.







) Not that I'm minimizing what you're going through, because I was definitely there with Z. You didn't "let it happen". (Easier for me to say; it's easier to realize that it's not Mama's fault when the kid with the delays is #2 rather than #1.) I assume he's going to be getting either PT or OT, and it can be amazingly incredibly helpful (and it will help *you* see that you're an awesome mom and that you can help tremendously in helping him overcome his delays).























(The "older" May Mamas know this, but you may not: Z had oral motor and gross motor delays, and he was unable to take in enough calories independently and had to have naso-gastric feeding supplementation for about 2 months and also had about 2 years of occupational therapy to deal with his delays. We're lucky, because he's all caught up now, and he's been done with OT for over a year. We had a very "happy ending", and I wanted to share that with you so you don't feel like Dom's situation is the end of the world; it's not. Kids are amazingly adaptable at this age, and the various therapies can be incredibly helpful.)


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Thank you KK. Beyond words, thank you.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

danile--the one thing I love about this group is that we see each other through everything. I'm three for three with reflux kiddos *and* qualifying for early intervention. We're the rock stars of developmental delays.







**hugs** It is hard on a mama's heart though to want to make things easier for them. Share more when you're ready!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Danile, it is in the nature of a mama to wonder what was WRONG WITH HER that this could happen to her child.







Please don't be hard on yourself - congratulate yourself for being aware of what's going on and helping and supporting him in any way you can. That's what mothering is all about.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
Juice, the answer is that clearly you are a Bad Mother.







Or maybe you're just pregnant. (Okay, I need to stop before you deck me.) I sometimes hide from L, and she's older than yours (hmm... can't quite figure out with my addled brain if that makes me a Worse Mother or a Better Mother














. I think it's so so so normal with toddler nursing. And







to you. (Lately, L has been coming up to me, patting me on the boob--oh, how I hate to be felt up by a demented dwarf--and saying, "nursing pillow"--to which I respond, "No, it's a breast" and then she shrieks "BEST!!!" and then I have the nipple shrinkage you mentioned.)

KK,







:







: thank you so, so much for the chuckle (which was typed 'chickle', which I think is appropriate with the current chick lit theme) and for the understanding. Demented dwarf, indeed. In the past, when I've felt this way, I assumed it WAS because I was pregnant, but since we've had the big 'ole V, I'm pretty sure I'm not. My body just despises nursing anyone past 18 months. As much as I wish it weren't true. It's even worse at night... I'm feeling sad that I know his nursing days are numbered. I spend all my days at work telling people to listen to their bodies, and I know it holds true for me as well. I don't want our relationship to be poisoned by my resentment, which I KNOW he feels... *sigh*

Renae, I still haven't figured out why you kick yourself so for the TV watching. I try to limit my kids' TV, ONLY because they are little monsters if they watch too much. But if everyone is happy, and if you're still doing things together and as a family, whose business is it but your own? You're not abandoning him. Don't know if you've seen this love letter to spongebob, but I think there are some good points there.

Heather, I've been meaning to say for days that GO YOU, there are so many reasons I want to call you SuperFeather.

Many, many more thoughts, and hugs to all the MMF. But I have to go nurse the Demented Dwarf. (at least I'll do it with a smile)


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Reading, thinking, hugging, laughing...no time to post.

Love to all-

Sarah


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Danile- My hand is raised too. You probably know L had a feeding tube for almost 2 years. He also has a receptive communication delay (so he doesn't understand what's said/asked of him at the level of other kids his age), a social delay (doesn't interact with his peers at the same level), a cognitive delay (mostly relating to not being able to perform tasks, not that he's not smart enough, but he's unable to focus on what's asked of him), and an adaptive delay (relating to the feeding- that's pretty much caught up now). I SO understand the questioning of self. Even now, 3 years after we first noticed delays/ failure to thrive, I still sometimes bounce back and forth between (a) I'm a bad mother because I decided to do the feeding tube- he's just who he is and I have tortured him needlessly, and (b) I'm a bad mother because I didn't nurse him the "right way" and I didn't get the tube soon enough and I didn't work hard enough to figure out WHY he had reflux and and and. This is on a bad day. On good days, I am proud of how hard I have worked to help him be all he can be. And L is slowly catching up. And while the diagnosis IS devestating in the beginning, it's the first step in getting help. I agree with KK that therapy can be incredibly positive, helpful, and empowering.

For a while you'll probably see Dom through his new label, but pretty soon you'll be able to remember that the label is just that- a description of the Dom you've known and loved all along.









Juice- I really don't think it would be horrible for you to wean. I don't believe in child-led weaning, because I believe there are TWO people in a nursing relationship (at least







) and both of them get a say. I nursed L until he was almost 3, and wanted to stop, but during my pregnancy he got to nurse about 2 minutes, once a day. Cause that's all I could willingly give him. So follow your heart and listen to your body (and hopefully get the two of them to agree







)

W is sick with _another_ tummy bug. Pukies last night and tonight, fever, lots of runny dipes. He's still nursing well, so I'm not worried. His lil head barely has a bump from his head-dive onto the vacume cleaner that I wasn't close enough to prevent (







) Thank goodness for Arnica oil!

We had our





















last feeding team appointment EVER





















today. L is "graduated." He's kept a growth curve with about a 17% bmi for almost a year. His bmi when we started was -3%, so I have to remember that on my self-inflicted-guilt days.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

holy cannoli FF ---that rocks!!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Yay FF!! What cause for celebration!

Renae, I want to clarify that up there a coupla posts ago I wasn't meaning to give you a hard time for giving yourself a hard time. I just mean you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, and I wasn't sure that came across. Not like this post is working out much better







:


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Big







s Danile. Whine away all you want, we're all here for you and will whine and stomp our feet along with you. i"m sorry to hear of the guilt you are experiencing. Just remember what a lovely boy Dom is and always will be. Let him be your light. Don't be so hard on yourself mama!

FF!!! Yay for no more feeding team! And I can't believe W's first birthday passed already! And Annabel's for that matter too. Happy first birthday to our feb. babes! And hiphiphooray for no more feeding team!!!! What a weight off your shoulders that must be. Hoping the tummy bug passes soon, and leaves your house for good

Juice, hoping you can find a middle ground both you and Ethan can tolerate wrt nursing.

Ducette, thought of you last night. Was at a matchbox twenty concert and one of the guitar players was announced and his last name was ducette. Renae, I know, my concerts aren't nearly as cool as yours.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
--oh, how I hate to be felt up by a demented dwarf--









I call my kids munchkins all the time.

FF~yay! I bet that is a huge relief.

Developmental delays here too, at least in the beginning. Saige had/has torticollis(sp?), where her neck ligaments and muscles are shorter on one side making it hard to turn her head and plagiocephaly, a flat spot on her head caused by the torticollis. She also had reflux really bad. I am left with guilt because I only nursed her for 3 months. I couldn't stand watching her be so sick and I wasn't getting any help or encouragement from anyone, including her pedi. It was only when I stopped bf that she started laughing and rolling over and doing all the things she was supposed to be doing. I wonder what she is going to think of me when she finds out how long her brother nursed. We went to pt for her neck for a year, she was in a helmet for a while too. I'm lucky she is doing so well now.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Hey there!

fiddle-yay on the last appt.!!!! Lots of dancing produce for you!!!

Danile-all the ladies here who've dealt with developmental stuff are wise beyond their years, so heed their wisdom! And, it's not whining. You're just sharing your life, which is what we all do.







to you

A reminder that the May Mama Forum is a Guilt-Free Zone...we all know we're doing the best we can for each of our little families. That's a given.

jstar-glad you enjoyed the sun. I could use some, too! I'm glad you had good travelers, too.

DH left yesterday morning before G got up. G's feeling much better, but we still cancelled our Tuesday activities so he could totally recoup. He's back to his normal self...when I was undressing A last night before their bathtimes, G said "mommy, there's her nipples...I love her nipples." He then proceeded to dance around the house, naked, while singing "I love A's nipples."

That's what nursing till 2 3/4 years will get ya







boobage...funny word! I, too, didn't enjoy the last months of G's nursing, but I was also pregnant so weaning was really no biggie.

DH had an awful day of travel yesterday...missed a connecting flight, his luggage didn't show up, he had to drive from the airport to the hotel in a snow/ice storm and apparently they don't treat the roads the same way up there so it was pretty bad. Then, he awoke to a rainy day, drenched his shoes, had to go to Wal-mart to get new ones, our Amex was denied because he put in the wrong zip code on the key pad, his tooth filling is coming out, and his hotel room started to leak. Good news: they upgraded him to a bigger room. He now has his bags and his interview in this evening. And, G missed him horribly. He cried himself to sleep last night while saying "I want my daddy" over and over. It's a little better today since he feels better...a la "nipple dance" but he still just misses daddy. TG for Facebook video messages...DH has recorded himself twice with his laptop camera in short emails so we can see him.

Okay, better do something productive since I *think* they're both napping.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

MDC ate my post!







:

be back later with all my mushiness....


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

the nipple dance














i love it

my wee one is napping but we were supposed to have an appt at 2 for 2 more shots for him. he didn't go down until 12:30 for his first nap of the day (too much coffee??)







so i didn't want to wake him up. i'm trying to speed sew in the basement a baby gift for a shower i'm going to on sunday. deadline pressure! so many babies, so little time!!!!!!!!

and i'm tidying up around here. doug is on this campaign that we must.vacuum.daily. all this does is make me not want to vacuum







of course he says we can take turns. today is my turn. le sigh

beth - that is so groovy about the last feeding team appointment














:







wooo wooo!!

danile - i can imagine the emotions rolled up in getting a diagnosis about something. the what ifs? the whys? the we can do this! i think it is always better to know about something so you can find out more and figure out a gameplan. even if it is something that makes you sad to hear









any v-day plans? i'm trying to think of something to make for dinner. nothing major ...i'm just stuck for food ideas lately. and i think i'll make some coconut bar thingies because i have an opened bag of coconut in the fridge.

which reminds me i should probably go count how many valentine day cards i have in the basement for isaac's party tomorrow. i bought some vintage-y looking ones for scrapping but maybe i'll have enough to hand out.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Beth, major







to L and you for being done with the feeding team. I'm *so* glad it's done.

My excitement for the day: At school, T has been learning about anatomy, physiology, etc (1st grade version, of course). Today, they looked at some real hearts. And T fainted.







They called me, and I rushed right over. The nurse was concerned about how pale he was (dude, that's what redheads look like). He told me it was yucky. I told him he came by his feelings honestly.







: I was reminded that even though he's "big" now, sometimes, Mama makes everything better.









It was incredibly sunny and warm today... I'm longing for crocuses and daffodils, but it's still too early. (And if *you* have them in your neck of the woods, I might not want to hear about it.







)


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Just when I think I can't handle any more mercury madness, things start to turn to the good.
A) I did my own taxes online, and I should be getting a great return. I did my own taxes! For self-employment! This is huge.
B) This woman who was my bellydance student and had become the hugest thorn in my hide EVAR, for myriad and only-interesting-to-me-or-drama-queens reasons, wrote me a LETTER OF APOLOGY TODAY. This is kind of amazing.
C) Viet is finally cooking (contributing to the household), a, and b, WORKING. Yes, the lad got himself a tiny part time JOB. This, amigas, is truly amazing. I'm not holding my breath for it lasting very long, but it's something. He's doing something related to preparing the space for the new Starbucks....painting the walls or something like that...Starbucks...*sigh*....kind of an "end of an era" sort of feeling about that.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Nope, no crocuses here, nope, nothing to see, nothing to see...

I stooped to store-bought cookie dough today to make our Valentine's Day cookies, but hey, I made the icing. Does that count??

Fiddle - great news! How exciting for you.

Els - Those are definite signs of things improving. Hope it continues.

KK - wow, fainting! Has he ever done that before? Real hearts in first grade is a bit much, though, I think, for many kids. Hmm.

Everyone else, I'm reading and thinking of you all.

S.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Yes, Hello, wow on the fainting! What do you think it was all about? The impact of seeing the heart, nothing physical?

What kind of real heart did they see? First grade...shouldn't they still be like cutting and pasting valentines or something?


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elsanne* 
What kind of real heart did they see? First grade...shouldn't they still be like cutting and pasting valentines or something?

Yeah, um, first grade=PAPER HEARTS, in my opinion!







: WTF??
Wow, KK. That is some intense stuff! I think *I* would have fainted. Okay, I KNOW I would have. A strong stomach is not something I have anymore.







:

I just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and advice...no one came off offensively, no worries...or at least, I didn't take it that way.








I guess I'd been beating myself up over all sorts of dealing-with-three-and-some-odd-months stuff...I yell, threaten, bribe, let him watch too much TV, get angry, take things personally...my faith in myself as a mama hasn't been too good lately.







I'm just feeling at a loss, like at a REAL loss, for the first time in, well, a while, with Rowan. He's just been so...(DH would say "batsh*t INSANE") so...three.







The whining and the tantrums and the not using the potty AT ALL (let's talk about those "developmental delays", shall we?







) and the refusal of anything remotely social (tomorrow I KNOW he's not going to want to go to the library story hour. *sigh*) has just really got me on my last threads.
I've also been working all evening so I am extra-tired and worn out and I ought to go to BED. Hah.

The love letter to Spongebob was an eye-opener, though, thank you.









Anyway, thank you thank you and I am reading and trying to stay caught up. I'm present. Mostly.









Have a good night, mamas.
I really







you guys.









Oh, speaking of







...VDay plans? None. Going to work tomorrow night. Oh, but I know DH ordered me a heart-shaped box of See's chocolate! That's all I need. Hah. We'll also all go out to lunch tomorrow, Rowan, DH and I. Aww.
Okay, good night.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

my first fainting occurance at school was in 3rd grade. and well....i am still a fainter. or maybe childbirth cured me. real hearts in 1st grade....that's zany!

els- good news all around!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

my little guy has the pukes. he is sleeping here on the couch next to me because I can't hear him if he was in... interrupted by puking session...

not good not good

~c


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh No, TC.







Here's to a quick recovery!
More later, gotta go convince my child it might be a good idea to get dressed and go to story hour.









Love to you all on this ahem, day of love.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

TC SO sorry for the pukies my friend! I sure hope they go away soon. That sucks for us mommies.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Pukies are the worst. Hope he (and you!) can get some rest soon!


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Oh, TC.







I hate the pukes with every fiber of my being. I am sending tummy-settling vibes to S.


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Here's my bad mama moment of the day: When Annie woke up this morning she had a cough and a fever (100.4). So, what did we do given I missed a week of work last week? Well, gave her Tylenol and dropped her off at day care, of course!







: In my defense, she was really cheerful and didn't _seem_ sick. I am expecting a call from her school any minute.

TC- I hope the pukies pass quickly.

Renae - I have been thinking about you and your struggles with Rowan. It seems so hard and frustrating for you. All I can do is send you big hugs









KK - The heart seems a bit extreme for first grade, but it is something I can totally see myself doing if I were a teacher. I love that sort of thing and kids are ususally very funny about it. How does T feel about it now? Was he embarassed or get angry with the teacher for putting him in that position?

Els- It is always good to hear about things looking up in your corner of the world.









Off to get _something_ done here at work...


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

els~yay for good news! You deserve it









KK~ I think real hearts is a bit much too

Claudia~I hope the pukies are gone soon.

VDay~I left little presents on the kid's pillows this morning before going to work. Saige wants to make daddy dinner. She wants to do fettuccini alfredo
and peanut butter bars for dessert. Other than that, I have no idea. DH asked me what I wanted to do and I told him I didn't know and that he could plan something if he wanted. Honestly, I wish he would plan something. I usually do it and I decided I'm not going to this year.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Oh no, pukies, go away!

DH's stepmother is having cupcakes delivered here for Lily today, so that will be the extent of our Valentine's celebration. I did kind of want to go out tonight because DH's name change (he took my last name) officially went through today, but that is not to be.

Lily woke up last night at 2 am crying and saying her left ear hurt deep inside. So I gave her ibuprofen, and it seems much better this morning. When I press on her jaw she says it still hurts a little bit, but she seems better overall. She has had a nasty cough and snotty cold for a week, so I'm sure it's an infection, but at this point, there's not much I can do. I hope it resolves on its own.

S.


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb* 
I did kind of want to go out tonight because DH's name change (he took my last name) officially went through today, but that is not to be.























You and your husband are so cool! When I took Alison's name we didn't do much celebrating and I wish we had. I hope you get to do something soon to celebrate the name change even if it is not today!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

thanks for the get better vibes everyone.

no puking during the night after I nursed him to sleep, but he did cough and puke son breastmilk after I nursed him. but then he was jonesing for some graham crackers so I gave him one and he sucked down a bunch of water and now he is napping curled up on a pillow on the couch... so sad... and I'm kind of freaking because I learned on Tuesday that an acquaintance lost one of her twin 6 year old boys from a cold turned lung infection in a matter of 2 days... heartbreaking... hug those little ones, mamas...

~c


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Well for once I can dole out hugs!

*HUGS* to all my mmf's!

TC- Hope the pukies go away.

Lisa- Hope the fever goes away.

Thankyou so much to all my may mamas who backed me up and gave me hugs, made me laugh, made me cry from true understanding and just plain dealing with all the emotions of all of this. She's set him up for special classes to go to three times a week... but he has to get approved. It will give him one on one time with a teacher working specifically to try and improve those delays. I'm just so worried for him. I know its not my fault, but I still FEEL like it is... and I'm worried about what will happen when he's older and bigger and what other kids will say when he's playing with them if it doesn't get corrected. Cuz dude... kids ARE mean. Some intentionally, some not. I just wish I could save him from everything... that's just part of being a mom though right? *Sigh* I know.. I said enough whining. At least my kids aren't sick. AND I found a cute valentine's dress for Jaz at the consignment store. Children's Place no less... and only $5! I'll have to wash it and put her in it to take pics.

HOpe all of you start having better days.

And Els- that is a way big deal! So excited that Viet took that initiative for you! That's a sweet Valentine's present.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh- and PAPER hearts. Paper hearts ONLY people. Wowza. Some things just need to be a little more mellow... Hope he gets over the scare pretty quickly!


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh...I just wanted to share this thing with you in honor of Valentine's Day:
It is also the two-year anniversary of the day DH got the BIG snip-snip!








We didn't PLAN for it to be on VALENTINE'S DAY, but since DH faints easily (the heart TOTALLY would have made him hit the floor!) they had to do it at the hospital as a minor surgical procedure!









So happy V-Day, in so many ways!









Much







to you ALL!!


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

I actually thought of that the other day as I'm still waiting for mine to make the call to the V-doctor. He's likewise squeamish.

Is it bad that E is running around covered in playsilks shouting "superhero is on the case" and I don't know what show it's from?







:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Why does my name say MDC Supporter in pink?? Supporter makes me think athletic supporter/jock strap. Confused!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Probably just boobage holders, since it's pink and this is mdc.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

KK, you are a supporter as well! I'm posting to see if I am too.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Hey--me too! I think they're just trying to promo a bit their wonderful cause. The cause being, of course, mdc. MDC 4 U & ME!

Anyone understand this nonsense?
An airline ticket to abq one adult is $489 (good price).
" " " one adult and a lap child is $717. (bad price).

Seems like outright discrimination to me. What if I just show up with said lap child after booking the ticket for one adult?


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Heath--bad? No. (the playsilks superheroine) Maybe it's from her own head!

Sarah--fully agreed that dh is way cool for taking your last name. A friend of mine and her dh merged their names into one, which I thought was cool. Hart + Reeves = Hartreeve.

Renae--"V-day"!!! I remember that it was on valentine's day two years ago. Two years!!

Developmental question of the day: Since Sol isn't going to "school" this year, I'm just sort of guessing what she should be "working on"--cutting out shapes, identifying shapes, gluing, counting, alphabet-identification....we do some of these things, and wondered if youguys have anything you "teach" in a more concerted way, appropriate for their age, or what have you seen the teachers doing in their "school", etc?


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i've never let them know there would be a lap child until i got to the airport to check in because i always buy my tickets online. go for it! i was stoked i did get a 'free' extra seat on my flight home monday and ebin could actually sit up in it with the seatbelt on to give me free hands for part of the ride. nice!

i contemplated the V appt for v-day but still think i might want to wait a while. i'm deep in the DEFINITELY NO BABY EVER AGAIN because of that &^*&%^% sleep thing. i hate it. i'm so freakin tired.

i tried to get dh to take my name but no dice. that's cool









i never posted about the shrinking nipples/nursing toddler thing. yep. that was me. ebin still has free reign but by the time isaac was 18 months i was heavily into distraction modes. after a while it was nursing at nap and bedtime and wakeup only.

i have no idea what isaac is working on at 'school'







i know he isn't overly interested in the alphabet.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Baby needs to go to sleep! There's a sneak peek to her photographer pics on my blog.

So fri we find out FOR SURE about the job/move. PDX MMF's tell me that you'll be around to hang with so I won't get so lonely! It's hard moving to a place where you don't know everyone.









Els- I'll post about school stuff later.

Grumpy jaz's social hasn't come yet... need our taxes done...







: a friend's baby born a week after mine in the same county got hers two weks ago! Is that normal??


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

My thoughts re school are v. much geared toward Z (in terms of his strengths and what he needs to work on): we do plenty of singing/doing the motions to stuff/playing with noisemaking stuff (he *loves* music, all the other stuff is good gross motor stuff). I can see that Z needs work with cutting, painting, coloring, drawing, writing (arm/hand strength stuff; we need to keep at it). He *loves* stringing beads, manipulating small stuff (and puzzles). According to our preschool teachers, social skills and attention span in groups are *the* 2 really big things to work on. Is there a library story time there you can take advantage of? (Our library also has a lot of really neat free programs on Saturdays, convenient to send Daddy.) We do a lot of playgroups, too, which is not school but def. seeing the same kids over and over again and practicing social skills. You might check out the home-schooling subforum, because there's a lot of info out on the web for home-schooling preschoolers (I did more of this with T







: because I had so much more "free time").

On a lark, I got my hair cut, and I feel really good.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Ooooh KK! Post pics! I wanna see! Glad you feel great. Pampering always is a nice break in mamahood.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

danile: I will speak on behalf of the PDX mmf's and say of course we will be around. I will introduce you to some very cool and awesome Vancouver mdc mamas too!

s still snuggly and feeling fevery but just some spit size pukes since early morning. he looks very forlorn.

m demands snack.

~c


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Aww.. TC- I hope S feels better soon. Hopefully M is making your day a little easier on you. Sick babies are such a sad thing.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Heath- Supersleuths are on the case is from My friends Tigger and Pooh on the Disney channel. Maybe this is what she's saying?

bbl, kids climbing...


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Sherri---ahhh...that might be it! She watched that yesterday morning.









*yawn*


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Ug... just had a confrontation with the friend I mentioned earlier in the week. A mutual friend confided in me that our friend has an untreated brain tumor and that she's afraid *that* is what is causing his erratic behavior. Of course, if you're being erratic and crazy, you don't want to hear about it, no matter how gentle it is, and you don't want your secret tumor mentioned. So I'm done.

I think I need some karma cleansing, goils. It's getting a little ridiculous.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

KK~I wanna see pics!







about your friend.

Danile~Way cute pic







: , I can't wait to see more!

DH made me the best video EVER! Made me cry happy tears. I love that man.

We left Saige's lovey at the babysitter, now she's freaking out and I'm trying to get her to go for something else for tonight. yuck.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i hope little S perks up soon. poor sickie-boy. it is hard on mama too!

kk - that sounds really wierd (your friend's behavior). your list of things you do with Z made me think of yesterday when i got there to pick up isaac. he was wearing a fruit-loop necklace and he had filled the WHOLE THING. (usually he'll have about 15 loops at the bottom of the string. this time it was continuous.....he was a stringing machine)









doug picked up isaac today and i was really excited for him to get home so i could look in his valentine goody bag!







i feel like i went to a valentine's party too. i guess that is that reliving childhood vicariously through your kids thing







fun!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

KK- untreated brain tumor, erratic behavior rang huge bells for me--my grandmother, who died before I was born, had a brain tumor that created such erratic behavior, that it turned tragic--or almost--she would be sort of Jekyll/Hyde, and thought her kids were out to "get her" and would chase them around with knives, tried to kill my uncle several times, but never my mother. And then, when she was normal, all was ducky. That's extreme, but I'm sure her behavior started somewhere. The tumor pressed on her pituitary and she died young. Sorry that the confrontation you had with your friend turned yucky. I think it's yours and Heather's turn for some GOOD NEWS about now.

Had a mini-gig last night, that was pretty fun. I think I got another gig from that one, so that's awesome. And I have lost 9 pounds of the 50 extra I was carrying. My main bellydance podner is a 64 year old woman...she's so cool. The other one, I can't remember if I told youguys about her dh being kidnapped? He's back now, 9 months later, in a terrible state (something like 85 pounds, he weighs?) and they kidnapped the money courier guy for more money. Something sordid like, my friend's dh said just let me go (and he was close to death anyway, so the kidnappers probably relented on that point) and I can get you more money (my friend, who has had to deal with the negotiation, would not budge on certain financial points) and you can take this guy for ransom....
Let's just say, it's a life that none of us here can even imagine having to live. I haven't seen her since he returned and they're in hiding somewhere, I think he's in a hospital.

I have tons going on these days and happily today has been freed up considerably by a cancellation. Lots of little "side jobs" (doing the books for so and so, private lesson for so and so, meeting a woman to organize movement classes for a recovery program, organizing a bellydance course for sunday, gig sunday afternoon, then the regular job of the big house, etc). Viet and I continue on the upward trend thank gods.

Meesa coolness about the video. Makes my heart glad to hear of happy, loving relationships. What is Saige's lovey? Sol doesn't have one. Who else on here has kids with loveys? Describe them!

KK rock on with the haircut. Pic on blog, please!

Must go refill coffee. Still have funny spots on my face from last night's bellydance makeup.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Her lovey is this little stuffed lamb that she calls her rat. It looks more like a rat than a lamb. My grandparents gave it to her for Christmas. It's weird what they attach themselves to. Rat has been replaced with elmo temporarily.
I didn't know brain tumors could do such things, but it makes sense if you think about it.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Interesting that you mention the weight, Els, because I think you look really good, really luscious (at least in pix







). You may be carrying extra weight, you may not be where you want to be, but I can't say that it looks bad, to be honest. (I am built like a boy, no boobs, no waist, no hips, and any extra weight does *not* give me curves, just makes me look more tube-like rather than board-like. So in that regard, I'm jealous.)

Jess, I have to admit that I love looking through their valentines, esp. appreciate the homemade ones (but I'm also amused at how Spiderman can be manipulated into this holiday, with nary a heart on the card).

Wow SCARY on your friend's dh, Els.

Little spacey here, but vegan-nun-approved (vegan) muffins in the oven. Must go check.

I will whine again... I'm ready for the germy season to be over.







:


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

yes - i was feeling like a slacker for not making the valentine's this year. but we did last year! hopefully next year i'll get my act together.

kk - i sound like you. no waist or curves to speak of here







somehow my a$$ is shrinking away to nothing (flat as a board) while my pregnancy weight around my waist is not going anywhere. hence i have the butt-smaller-than-waist phenom going on now which serves to make PANTS FALL DOWN constantly. as i was with isaac around 9 months i am skinnier than pre-preg right now. that's what 24hr nursing of a 25 pounder does. he's sucking the life outta me. and boy am i consuming some calories.

nap time for the wee one.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

OK, just reading after a few days away, skipping to post and say,

Claudia, I am SO SORRY. I am sure we gave you that bug. W caught it Sunday at church, but of course these things take 24-48 hours for symptoms, and he first puked Monday night. S puking Wednesday is the exact timeline one would expect from exposure on Monday. Sorry sorry sorry!!! DH has it and L is coming down with it. I so far have been spared, but have to take off work to take care of my three guys. W is still having diahrea, but eating well now and on probiotics.







:







:







: hope everyone in your household is well soon- wash your hands a ton.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Reading not very carefully, and without caffeine, I read FF saying to TC that she's sorry, she's sure she gave them that hug. And I wonder to myself why she's apologizing....







Off to make tea.

I feel a little dorky reporting this, but I think I told you guys that I freecycle requested (and received) a bunch of plant cuttings in January. One lady gave me ~6 different African violet leaves to root. They've all rooted out, and I'm going to pot them up this weekend. They seem like such a little old lady plant, but I've never had any, so I'm actually pretty excited to see them grow and bloom. (That's my good news for the day.







)


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

That's a MG dork, really.







I love them too and always ruin them overwatering.

FF--sometimes you just don't know til it's too late!

birthday festivities continue this weekend. going out to lunch at PF Chang's when my sister gets here.







:







:







:







:


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Layin' low today after bleeding myself silly last night. I wanted to write, 'almost bleeding to death', but that sounds so dramatic. I never felt near death. 5.30 pm, I had a sudden, bright red gush, followed by copious, copious amounts of bright red blood and HUGE amounts of blood clots, until the doc/mw came and injected me with some drug that stops that kind of bleeding, at midnight.

It's been 2.5 weeks since the "procedure", and during those weeks I've had VERY light spotting, only requiring a pantiliner, if even that, most days. I have no pain or fever or lightheadedness, which would require going to the hospital and having the procedure again. The mw who performed the thing is out of town, and her backup (my mw from the girls' births) is who came out. She asked why I hadn't asked her to do it, and I responded that I didn't think she did those. She said, if a woman is in need, she does it. Wow--a whole underworld of abortions down here. I had no idea.

This is like the abortion that just won't quit. It's getting ridiculous.

I feel fine today, if not kinda wiped.
Viet took the girls out and I have some blessed alone time here in my own house. yay!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elsanne* 
Layin' low today after bleeding myself silly last night. I wanted to write, 'almost bleeding to death', but that sounds so dramatic. I never felt near death. 5.30 pm, I had a sudden, bright red gush, followed by copious, copious amounts of bright red blood and HUGE amounts of blood clots, until the doc/mw came and injected me with some drug that stops that kind of bleeding, at midnight.

It's been 2.5 weeks since the "procedure", and during those weeks I've had VERY light spotting, only requiring a pantiliner, if even that, most days. I have no pain or fever or lightheadedness, which would require going to the hospital and having the procedure again. The mw who performed the thing is out of town, and her backup (my mw from the girls' births) is who came out. She asked why I hadn't asked her to do it, and I responded that I didn't think she did those. She said, if a woman is in need, she does it. Wow--a whole underworld of abortions down here. I had no idea.

This is like the abortion that just won't quit. It's getting ridiculous.

I feel fine today, if not kinda wiped.
Viet took the girls out and I have some blessed alone time here in my own house. yay!

Wow. I am so sorry. I really hope this is the end of it all.





















Yeah, it *won't* quit. Ug.

The underworld part of it... this is why I'm adamantly pro-choice (not that I want to start a debate, and not that I don't respect people who don't agree)... I don't think making it illegal makes it stop happening at all, and I want it to be as safe as possible.

Please rest, rest, rest--not just today, not just tomorrow. Taking the girls is something Viet can do to help you get through this, because really, he hasn't had a whole lot to do with it (beyond helping create the situation in the first place). I mean it; I want your girlie parts to be okay.


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

I'm worried about you, elsanne! Really, really, really, you HAVE to rest and take care of yourself. I'm glad Viet has the girls - the least he can do is give you a chance to rest. I'm thinking warm healing thoughts for you. Heck, I'm going to go make you some chamomile tea right now.

Had a dream last night that I went to the local outdoor pool to sign the girls up for swim lessons, but couldn't figure out where to go or what to do. Never fear, guess who showed up to help me? SuperKK! Talked me through the whole process. Then she suggested that since we were here, maybe we should swim some laps. I agreed, and was ready to jump in but felt like something was missing. KK said, very gently, that I should probably locate my children. So we did that, and then I woke up. Thanks for all the help, KK! (Anybody good with dreams?)

Took the kids to the rainforest exhibit at the zoo today - much fun. It's like a little blast of Costa Rica in the midst of a Cleveland winter. On the way back, in a moment of complete quiet in the car, Allison asked her dad, "Why does your butt have to be closed? Why can't we walk with our butts open?" I didn't hear his answer because I was laughing so hard tears were rolling down my face.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

carp. sending els lotsa love today and every day.

in more all about me news, our hot water heater crapped out on us and is leaking from the anode tube plug at the top. mercury be damned, oh carp almighty... repair is maybe possible, but the cost ($180+driving time (we live at the edge of suburbia and far away from the repair place) +parts) is getting close to cost of new tank water heater AND this one is 11 years old and water heaters are 10-15 year lifespan, so we are headed to hot water heater store to shop for a new one they can install tomorrow. carp indeed.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Juice: that butt comment made me guffaw aloud, really loudly. I love Allison.

SuperKK indeed. Loved your dream.

I had a "realization" just now while I was sunning my buns outside (yes, taking to heart that "take care of myself" thing, moms). This lifestyle (working too hard with too little support) could quite literally kill me! The body is so wise, if we but listen to it. I have said numerous times in the past few weeks that I truly can't take any more than I am dealing with, to myself, to you, to anyone who will listen. At several points I have had maximum work stress, maximum partner stress, and maximum child stress, occasionally all at the same time. And the whole physical/emotional muck and mire of the abortion. I wish I could promise myself an extended time to take care of myself, or being taken care of, but that's a lofty notion. I can only take it moment by moment.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Holy cow.








I haven't been online much in the past couple of days and then all this craziness!



































*OMFGHUGS*!!! Elsanne! I understand only being able to take it moment by moment, but I will not lie and say I am not extremely worried about you, Mama.















: I am sending as much love and healing energy as I can down your way.







:

All about me? Eh, not much. Had a ROUGH Friday with Rowan (and two other kinds I was taking care of at various points of the day) and then went to the mall on the way home from work. We got our return so we have a *little* bit we can splurge with...and I finally found a good pair of black lace-up Doc Martenish boots...for LESS than $50! It's the little things. Hah.

And right now it's kinda late and I am tired, so I just wanted to say I was present.









The butt comment killed me btw.
















P.S. Pulled "The Indigo Child" (at least I think that's what it's called) off my shelf in a fit of "OMG ANYTHING TO HELP!" last week, and though much of it makes me roll my eyes either in disbelief or amusement, I am getting some really good reminders and thoughts. It's helping. I think finding anything that tells us we're not ALONE in all this a comforting thing...yeah. My deep thought for the night.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

elsanne~omg! That can be scary. You need to rest NOW!








about the butt comment.

There has been way too much stress in my life the last week. Work is such a pita right now. I'm waiting to see how much of a raise I got to see if it's worth it to stay there. Otherwise, I'm out. K hasn't been sleeping well and Saige is in the middle of a huge power struggle. All of a sudden she thinks it's ok to tell us "no" and "I don't want to" like it's going to get her out of it.







Tomorrow, we're taking the kids to grandma's and going snowboarding! Yay!


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

have fun snowboarding! i'm jealous. we have so much snow here and we haven't.gone.once. (dh and i together).

i'm going to a babyshower tomorrow and i am definitely looking forward to a ZERO child getaway tomorrow. kind of the opposite of the no child left behind. all children will get left behind for a few blessed hours! (not that they were overly difficult today or anything. it is just that i had ebin at the shower i went to in the bay area and there is a whole lot of baby-coddling that entails rather than "relaxing"). i'm ready for some relaxing!!

we had a grrrrrrreat productive day here. yayhooty! we took out the door that was never working properly and we'll have to try again. meanwhile doug put the subfloor down today. i moved a pile of leftover scrap firewood. we burned the christmas tree







: we picked up a ton and a half of downed twigs and i cleared and pruned dead perrenials. it has been a windy winter and this is the first day it was pleasant enough to be outside! doug and our friend 'drunkle' organized the garage. sweet! isaac ran around the back yard and killed worms. i uncovered some mating beetles and he wanted to kill those too







how long does this death death kill phase last??? i'm trying to infuse some more buddhist phisophies into his reality but it is slow-going.

i am realllllllly craving warmth and signs of spring and digging outside. this is serious 'move south' season for me because spring has not really sprung despite the 3 days of warmish weather. i planted some tulip bulbs today and have no idea if they'll bloom. our daffodil shoots are only about 5". i bought 4 bare-root roses to plant but need to dig up some grass to put them in a nice sunny spot.

ebin rolled around and ate some dirt off the kitchen floor this afternoon







: this mobile 2nd baby thing is HARD to monitor. he is heavily into eating everythign right now. this evening he put some other tiny leaf or something in his mouth and started choking. so i jump down and start to help him and he gags&barfs. and then by the time i put the cleanup rag in the kitchen i come back to find he has my thimble in his mouth!! (i had been sewing and just dropped it when he was choking).

geesh.

elsanne - that sucks your body is sending you the stress signals. it sounds hard (life in general). sunning your buns sounds like a good start to taking it easy whenever you can

that is carpity carpy about the water heater, claudia. that is one of those things i expect will happen at some inopportune moment. who knows how old ours is.

i found an office i'm going to apply for. it is at the end of our street...nice and convenient. my parents said they'll sleep there when they visit







perfect! ha.

time to hit the hay


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Els, please give us an update when you can. I'm concerned about you, too, and am thinking good thoughts for you.

jstar-enjoy the baby free time! I went out for a movie and drinks with a friend I don't see nearly enough. We saw "The Bucket List." Whatta movie! We laughed, we cried, it was a really really good movie. Of course, I love any movie with Morgan Freeman. He's da man!

Meesa, I hope your work sitch rights itself. Sorry you're not happy there.









TC, hope you found the proper H2O heater.

KK, for the last few years I have always had an African Violet on my kitchen windowsill. They've done quite well for me, and I look forward to the blooms. I do the opposite of Heather, I forget to water it, but I think it suits it just fine.

mamameg-where are you mama? And Jacquie, I hope everything went OK until your honey got home. And LIsa, how's the plague at your house?


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Hi guys--

jstar that sounds like a supah-productive day...glad you'll get a good office and a good day today.

likewise meesa have so much fun 'boardin'!!!!

renae, yay for new cool boots and $ to buy them with!

update: started bleeding great guns again (I believe they call this "hemorraghing") last night and the mw said, come on in to the hospital, we need to do the procedure again. *sigh* drove myself, bleeding, had it all done, myself, crying, pain ouch ouch; drove myself home afterward. do you see a theme here? v was with the girls, who were "too tired" to go to the babysitter according to him.
There were 3 largeish chunks of "stuff" not properly evacuated by the first mw, and this one is the one i had in the girls' births, so i felt great with her--i trust her with my life.

hopefully now, this is really over.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Hopefully you could feel the MMF love surrounding you and holding you close, even if we weren't physically present. I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone. I'm glad you were comfortable with the MW.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

els: making you my delicious lentil soup and cutting up some fresh bread then slathering it with butter... some hot tea, all served to you while you are snuggled on the couch, reading a fabulous light hearted novel...

water heater purchased, installation scheduled for later today so no hot water since early yesterday but we can deal. thank g*ddess for work bonuses that pay for unexpected things... sheesh...

keep







: for stefan keeping food down since yesterday morning...

~c


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elsanne* 
hopefully now, this is really over.

I hope so too. Please, please, please take care of yourself. I am fretting over you up here.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I am, too. I hope this is the last of it. Rest, mama, rest.

S.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Els--**hugs** Do you need a supah quick shipment of any special irons, herbs or the like?? lmk and I'll send something out, k? I know I lost a fair bit from the section and sure felt like carp for a while afterwards.

almost time to dive into part 2 of the birthday cake extravaganza!







:


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Hey els....sending you hugs and lots of love. I've been thinking of you so much lately. Please rest up if you can. Oh, what i"m writing sounds so trite...I just want you to be better! My words are failing me right now.

We've got some interesting things a-happening over here. More OY....

love to all y'all (one of my old Texas phrases...)


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

And, if I post now, I've got 500 posts!!! woo hooo! It's only taken me 4 years to get here.

BTW, yes, sherri, we made it through dh's absence. It was tough, but with a lot of baking and some extraordinary patience on my part, we made it.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Elsanne, just offering warm thoughts and







s and love to you, mama. If there is anything you need that I can possibly provide, please let me know.







Try and rest, honey.

More later. I have to get out of the house tonight. I should probably go shower or something.








All in all, a nice weekend. We're navigating our "Indigo" three-year-old. Yup yup. DH refuses to read the book (he claims it'll make his eyes roll out of his head, they'll roll so much.














) but he is listening to the things I am telling him and learning from reading it.

Anyway. It's already Sunday, OMG.







Have a good night, mamas.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

it is unfair to have to go through the procedure once and twice is just off the scale unfair! more hugs from me. i hope you heal up quickly and take it easy.

my girl-time was nice. there were lots of other ladies with 8-12 month olds and i helped hold one while her mama ate. it was kind of neat the shower was at g-diapers headquarters. i love their mama-centric work ethics! they have onsite daycare and it is totally about making it work for working mamas







i wish there were more places like that


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

elsanne, my heart is hurting for you right now. I wish there was something better than a cyberhug I could offer. I try (very hard) to keep in mind that you and Viet have been doing this dance for many years and that obviously there are forces at work that I don't understand, but right now I'm ready to borrow Heather's boots and get in line...

I'm feeling rather petty and grumpy at the moment - DH got up this morning to check his alarm clock and woke up Ethan, which meant I was getting up







and then, 10 minutes later, came downstairs, announced that he has a sore throat and was planning to stay home today, and went back to bed. Good for him, if he's not feeling well he SHOULD go back to bed, but WOW am I bitter about it. It's really not anything about this morning, I don't think, just a general resentment of the fact that I do not ever, ever, ever get to just go back to bed. And he'll get plenty of rest because I'll manage the kids and take them to his mom's house and then I'll go to work. Grumble, sigh, pull my head out of my arse and just pretend he's at work







Thanks for listening to my very petty ramble.

On a cooler note, we got a worm bin ;D the challenge is keeping the kids out of it! They want to check on the worms every other minute.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Aww, sorry juice. I wish you could play hooky today and just do whatever you wanted to do.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Thank you for all the love and support, ladies. I can't believe how much life can suck sometimes. Thistooshallpass.

Yummy soup, there, TC.!

My uterus was in exquisite pain last night, just called the mw about it. Could be that I was rampin' up a nice infection, but started abx yesterday afternoon so hopefully circumvented that. My poor, poor uterus. The pains were almost like cellular memory pains, because they felt like a sharp instrument jabbing up into that region. Could not find a hot water bottle or heating pad to save my life, and I was crying loudly and throwing things around looking for it trying to spur Viet into some kind of action to take a wee bit of care of me, and when I went in to the bedroom ready to slit his throat (I had all sorts of violent fantasies, I couldn't believe he could be so horrible) he groggily and caringly asked me what was wrong, and got up to help me. Then he was very kind and did all the right things.

Sol just threw herself on me and saying, "yo quiero tu mucho, mami"...(I love you mucho)...
sweeet!


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

ugh that sounds so painful. i'm heading towards antibiotics myself. i have mastitis (so wierd i should get it now randomly 8 months into the game!!). i had the chills and sweats and fever dreams all night and then ebin has something going on too becuase he was SHRIEKING and not sleeping from 12-1:30. i think he was burning up but i couldn't tell because i was such a wreck. i dragged him in bed with me and then tried to WILL doug mentally to come up and help. isaac was coughing all night and needed water and i couldn't even drag my ass out of bed far enough to call him or get the water. and he didn't get my telepathic messages. he did stay home today to help me though. he's got stabbing ear pain and i think that might be what is wrong with ebin too. so this afternoon we are going to the ped and i'm going to my ob.

ebin finally went down for a nap and doug took isaac out. so i am going to nap and try not to think about what a lovely day it is outside getting wasted by me staying on the couch. i feel like ---->







:

juice - men are the biggest sickie babies ever. if doug is sick the whole planet needs to stop revolving so we can all stop to pat him on the head. his mom pampered him soooo much i can never get it right.

i hope the sicky season passes soon. our friend's daughter is in the hospital right now with pneumonia and she's on oxygen and scary scary.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Oh jstar, mastitis sucks the big one. I am sooo sorry to hear you have it. I will never forget when mastitis took me in the night like no one else has. You have all my sympathies.

I am trying desperately to get the girls away from me, and Viet is dragging his feet. He can't do anything right, and he won't listen otherwise I'd tell him, kindly and clearly, exactly what it is that needs doing.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Els and Jstar


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

oh poop, els... let me pack up my blunnies (Australian sh*zkicker farm boots) and get on down there to make that soup and boot some sense into that boy (I would say man if he acted like one even half the time but that hasn't been happening much lately, eh?) peace vibes to your uterus and your soul...

jess: you guys in need of food? mastitis is the suck.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Hey Claudia, do you know how to get my mood back? I don't have the drop down mood menu anymore, but it still says my mood: then nada. zip. zilch.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

I'm feeling carpy... more explanation oy. Got my first comment today on HJ being small for his age.







Swallow study Wednesday afternoon, GI Thurs... I'm in the reading along and replying in my head club...sorry mamas...


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Well, heck - antibiotics for everyone!








Ya know, Mercury is supposed to go direct today. I'm hoping the effects are just slow to show up, and expect a better frickin' day tomorrow.

So, 10 days ago Allison woke up with her right eye glued shut. She'd had a cold (everyone has) and she'd complained about her ear once. We usually do really well with ears and adjustments







and she wasn't fevery or anything. Her eye was just oozing green goo, though, so I took her to her ped. She had a double ear infection and it had settled into her right eye. So for the first time ever, I put her on antibiotics - infections in two ears and one eye are all a little too close to the brain, ya know? Plus, I had to go to work the next day







So anyway, 10 days of abx, and she took the last dose this morning. Oh, happy dance! Until precisely 11:30, when she announced she had to pee, then screamed bloody murder and said she had a rash. I got her a washcloth and let her clean up, but she said it still hurt (looked slightly red but not very) and then proceeded to pee every 2 minutes or so, complaining the whole time. I, of course, am trying to get three kids out the door to go to Grandma's house so I can go to work. I tell DH (home sick, remember?) that he may need to take Allison to the doctor, and his response is "I really don't feel up to that." Well, shall I just take the day off, then? So I called the ped and he couldn't see her until 5:15 anyway, so I put them in the car and drove to MILs. By the time we got there, Allison was screaming in pain







so I called the ped back and said we were coming NOW. I called DH to meet us there (because I really did have to go to work) and by the time we got there she was burning up and getting lethargic. Poor babe! Anyway, the dx is a urinary tract infection, probably the result of some itching down there from the first abx, and the resultant "digging." SO now we have ANOTHER 10 days of abx. I just want to cry - this is exactly the cycle I've never wanted to get into. Major mama-guilt happening here. And of course I went from the ped's office straight to the office, to Whole foods to get some probiotics for her, and some propolis for DH (whose eye really looks bad) and now I'm home, sitting for 5 seconds before the bedtime rush. And I haven't had lunch yet (waaah waaaah waaaaah)

jstar, huge hugs! I'm sending MastitisBeGone vibes. And to have your kiddos not feeling well at the same time, that's just extra cruel. You need to rest! You need to take care of people who need to rest! How to reconcile the two?

els, I'm still thinking of you. Worrying about you, to be precise. I would like you to update on the hour, please. (just kiddin' but I'm thinking of you at least that often.)


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

well 3 out of 4 of us will be starting abx as soon as doug gets home. ebin had 2 ears full of pus. doug has some weak spots on his ear drum that are protruding like bubbles and very painful. and i have the sucky mastitis.







thankfully isaac is a-ok.

so that explains the shriek-a-thon last night and i hope ebin perks up quickly. i really am not feeling the energy to help a sick baby very much right now. i kind of wonder if whatever bad strep/staph bug got into my breast is also what got into his ears....it seems a little coincidental (?)

thanks for the food offer. by some stroke of luck today was a dinner-to-go fundraiser at daycare and we stopped after the doctor-a-thon and picked up our food.

heather - it has to be hard to hear comments. i saw a friend yesterday whose little girl is petite. and someone at the shower asked if she was petite for her age. she answered 'yes and i'm a little sensitive about it!' then i was feeling AWFUL because i had been holding her and commented how easy she was to carry around. but then again her baby is crawling like a whizz, pulling up and practically walking and ebin is *barely* crawling and it is more of a bunny hop. i still felt like open mouth, insert foot







:

i've been reading along and replying in my head oy. just thinking about 'all ya'll' coloradians.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Miss Juice* 
Well, heck - antibiotics for everyone!










you can say that again! poor allison - utis are SO painful.

juice - in my shivering anguish last night i put on my purple fuzzy socks IN bed. and usually i hate socks in bed. they were very comforting


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Thinkin' bout my maymama friends.

Juice--I would be GRRRR that the abx did not do a durn thing for the budding uti. I mean, I know there are different ones for different things, but not a darn thing did it do! That is truly awful. And you are making the choices a good parent makes, and now you have the ill luck of having to make this unfortunate choice of abx courses so close to one another. I am so sorry.

Heather, Amara was smallish, and it does sting a bit when people comment how small your child is. HJ is fabulous, smiley, and just darn perfectly himself. *note to self* never, ever comment on a child unless to say how great and beautiful s/he is.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Jstar--purple fuzzy socks--made me remember that I put those ones on very specifically to comfort myself as I was getting dressed to go to the hospital. They were the only garment I wore besides a hospital robe as mayhem occurred in my uterus, feets dangling from those knee holder thingies.

I'm feeling okay. Very depleted, very tired, very edgy with the girls, but okay. On the mend.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Holy moly, yes, antibiotics for everyone. Ug, sending mega WELL VIBES *everywhere*. I think we all need fuzzy sock power. Hugs on all the sick Juicies and Jessies.
HF, I remember being so sensitive about that kind of comment (and hug re oy).

Oh Els, I just wish the whole [email protected] thing could have been straightforward and *EASIER*. I figger Viet is pretty much a eunuch, with all the kicking we've been doing.

Sherri has lost her MOOD! (What mood are you right now? curious...) It sounds funny, doesn't it? She's not in the mood.














:

Jacquie, if you start posting in a series of single words, you'll get to 1000 faster.







:

Very







about Juice's dream.

Why *can't* we walk with our butts open?


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

send us some stefan healing vibes and some mama be strong vibes, please, mamas... going to ped tonight at the rec of our naturopath since he's just been lethargic and not wanting to eat or drink at all today after seeming better yesterday. send us good thoughts.
~c


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Sending good thoughts for the all the Turbos. *shaking fist in air* Enough is enough already!!

jstar, your sock comment made me







: and also







because I put on fern's socks this afternoon, while I was freaking out about Allison and trying to get three kids out the door and I saw the sockies and said to myself, "YES I can wear purple socks to work with my green shirt and black pants. So there." And I did


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
Jacquie, if you start posting in a series of single words, you'll get to 1000 faster.







:

What are you trying to say, KK....my posts are WORDY???





















Yeah, that's what happens when I try to fit everything into one post....
















elsanne-oh, that all sounds so ouchy. I'm hoping you're on the mend and the worst of it is over.









to all who are taking antibiotics and/or giving out antibiotics...I hope you're feeling better soon.

TC-Hoping S ended up okay.

February was supposed to be better.....there are still almost 11 days left in the month. Let's hope it starts looking up.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

I feel the huge weight right now of all these May families dealing with sickness, and not just the usual kind, but the too-sick-to-take-care-of-sick-kids kind, and the scary-sick kind. I'm going to stop typing and go light a candle for everyone and say a prayer....










....decided to light a bunch of small ones instead, some of which I got from MMF at my blessingway.

Elsanne, I must admit I'm most worried about you, and am sending my desires for your wellness, in every sense of the word, that I think God intended when she got this whole universe rolling.

We're dealing with the sickies here, too, but they're of the garden-variety type. Sometimes I think green jealous thoughts of families who can afford to have one parent home, but at the moment I am feeling soooooooo thankful that my partner's super low-paying job comes with lots of time off, and he can stay home and help take care of me or the kiddos when we're sick. I used up all my remaining time off this weekend to stay home and take care of dh and the boys, but dh has also taken the day off several times recently to help me out.

Be well, mamas. Be well! Take care of yourselves, and ask your partners for what you need. (You may not get it, but hey, you can ask!). Much love and concern and prayer sent out to all.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

ear infection in one ear. have script for antibiotics but we're seeing the chiro tomorrow morning and will decide if we are going to use them then.

thanks for the call, fernie.







and for all the loves.

and note to the universe: mercury is now DIRECT, not retrograde so enough with the crap already, sheesh...

MMF!!!

~claudia


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

All is well in my corner right now, but I am still feeling all jumpy and defensive about the battering the MMF crew and kids are getting right now. BIG hugs for all the families. I am so sorry so many of you are sick.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Els~







I'm glad you're feeling better.








For all of you who are sick or have sick kids. I've btdt and it totally SUCKS! Get better soon!

Heather~That has to be hard, it's a sensitive issue, especially with everything you two are dealing with. You are trying so hard, you are a great mama









Yay for mismatched socks!!


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

wow the socks really have come in handy! the small things make a big difference sometimes

my fever broke last night. i felt on the cusp of death after dinner and took my temp. 103.8. i don't know if i trust our thermometer but i did feel pretty carpy. two tylenol and another abx pill and i dragged myself off to bed where the fever broke and i started sweating. yay! the aches and pains are gone. my boob still hurts a lot but it isn't the pulsating type pain. just the 'i might die if my jumpy 3 year old hits it' kind.

thanks for the call ff. i'm going to give you a call back in a minute









i hope stefan feels better soon! poor little guy. i have to admit i'm feeling a bit







: about ebin's ear infection. i really only took them in yesterday because doug argued with me that i 'never take the kids to the doctor' but when *i* get sick, off i go. so i'm glad i went. in hindsight our babysitter said he had been really fussy both days last week. i just figured he was feeling bad from his cold and getting 3 more teeth at once. but i guess the shrieking was the thing that convinced me maybe there was something going on. he's still eating normally. it is so hard to tell.

i never answered the lovey question and i was thinking about it this morning. isaac has one baby blanket he is pretty attached to. (baseball beenket). and he is now really attached to this very large and soft elephant that we got at ikea. he named it 'ephalent trunk'. he sleeps on it like a pillow and takes it in the car a lot. but if it spends the night in the car it isn't a big deal. last night he wanted to sleep in my bed and i went up there to find him asleep next to his elephant who was covered by the baseball blanket. awww







this morning he told me his elephant and he really like each other







he also randomly cycles through other stuffed toys which he wants to sleep with and/or take to daycare to sleep with. mickey mouse, minnie mouse, garfield. nemo.

with ebin it is too early to tell. i'm trying to get him attached to a soft small giraffe blankie lovey thing which i call 'love love'. i always give it to him in bed. and his little blue waldorf baby thing which i call 'baby'. (one of those velour ones with the cone hat.) sweet









doug was a champ last night. our house was a wreck. the dipes were long overdue for a washing (and he has never washed dipes before). but he did! and did the dishes. and cooked dinner (well, heated the dinner). did all the kid changing, poopy dipe changing. and went to the store. i feel bad because he was supposed to go to a class yesterday to get his forklift card. he really should have gone. but i soooo needed the help.

i'm off to check oy to see why we're giving hf hugs. here's a hug from me too.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

threadkillah







:








:







:







:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

no, no --let me!







: Where's that @ss chapping cold smiley? I can't take the mid 60's to mid 30's in a day shift!


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Wow! we got some sickies!







That's supah dupah scary 'bout the UTI, Juice. And the pain, els, I hope is gone gone gone. And jstar has a 75% family score for abx, that's impressive.







And I'm glad to hear Stefan's is nothing worse than an EI, though that feels bad, too. I woke up this morning and checked right away wondering how your appointment went last night.








: Germs, be gone!







:

Not much else to report, but wanted to say howdy doody!







:







:


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

FUUUUdge.

How can it keep getting worse? I mean, it just shouldn't be possible. And no Mercury to blame, or anything.

Dh tried to go to work today - I took one look at him and sent him to Urgent Care. His eye was bright red and just oozing. Ick. Allison was better this morning, clingy and whiny (but that's usual, so nothing new) All was well-ish until I picked them up from school - Allison's teacher said she'd thrown up this morning just after arriving, but since she knew A was on the abx, and since said vomit was nice and pink, she knew A was OK, just having a tummy reaction to the meds. She really didn't feel the need to call me. I appreciate that, but hate that A was feeling so lousy all day. Not that there was much I could have done. She did eat her lunch, and said she was hungry when she got home. But by 5:00 she was getting hot again, and her voice was very froggy. She's not complaining of pain while peeing, yay, but she's now got some *new* upper resp bug. Her glands are swollen like crazy, she's been warm all evening even with Tylenol in her, and she just looks like hell. I feel *so* bad for her - her poor immune system is just wracked, and I'm at a loss for what to do. We're doing probiotics and a bunch of whole food supplements, especially since she isn't eating again this evening. But I feel like she's got at least three things going on (UTI, possible yeast, and now new cold-ish seeming virus) it's just too much!

DH is definitely on the upswing, though, YAY. Urgent Care was ridiculously unhelpful, said that he probably had "flu virus in his eye" and that while it was almost definitely viral he should take abx anyway. He's smart enough to just take the script and walk away, and with another day's rest in him he's looking much better. It does help me to know that there isn't anything else brewing, he isn't likely to have a seizure or anything, and he can just go about his business. Yay.

Late this afternoon I was hit by a serious wave of fatigue - I just suddenly felt like I'd been hit by a truck. And now my left eye is burning and watering... carp! I don't have time to be sick right now. Really, really, really I don't. And I'm nursing this fanged toddler and it's really, really painful and like nails on chalkboard. I'm seriously working toward weaning, but slowly.

Calgon, take me away. Oh, that reminds me of a very funny post from the Yarn Harlot. At least I can still laugh until I wet myself.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

quick post to say wow....just wow for the juice fam. allison needs to catch a break soon! and i will pray that your eye does not get any worse. someone needs to hold your ship together! one eye-d or not!


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Of COURSE I come here at midnight, when DH is like "dude, you NEED to go to bed!"








I am also feeling kinda freaked the eff out about all the MMF drama!







We need to huddle together and feel the warmth of our communal love. For real.

I will type out more soon as I can...but I wanted to talk about the lovey thing, because ROWAN HAS ONE.







I didn't expect it to happen and I'm still not sure HOW it happened but.

His name is Toby, and he's a floppy white (ish, now







) little stuffed dog that I actually got for DH once upon a time, like early in our marriage. I have no idea why I got it for DH, maybe because he likes those little frou-frou dogs and since we'll never have a REAL one...








Anyway, the dog was in a trunk of other stuffed toys, and somehow Rowan got a hold of it a while back. Maybe 6 months? Yeah.
So one day, after rest time, when most of the stuffed toys in his room had made it to his crib, when I came up to get him he held Toby aloft and said "His name is Toby! I'm taking him downstairs!"
And now, well, Toby comes with us EVERYWHERE. I kinda like it. Heehee.

More on Toby and other various and sundries when DH is NOW practically pulling the laptop off of me!









Have peaceful nights, mamas. I think of you every single day. with


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

hi mmfs!

my boys are sleeping, bill is at hockey, and I'm watching the ellen show on the TiVo. (dude, this fancy iPhone knows to capitalize the t and the v in TiVo, and the p in iPhone. crazy.) I even read a chapter of hold on to your kids. whoah. intense stuff.

mmm beer...









stefan seems much better today. still not quite fully himself, not drinking as much as he usualy does, not eating quite as much as he usually does, was really mad our chiro when she tried to touch him and then mad at her when she was adjusting me and then mad at me when I was talking with her and not talking with him







we're going back tomorrow afternoon and I'm hoping he'll be in a better mood. I'm holding off on the antibiotics for right now but will reassess again tomorrow and if necessary the next day and next, too.

ooh, so mercury has gone direct and tomorrow evening there is a total lunar eclipse. hoping for the timing to be right and wishing for no clouds.

~c


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

REALLY hoping today dawns brighter for all maymamas, sounds like it has for TC, and hoping it has for jus, and Heather, and all y'all.

It has for me...last night I almost felt normal until collapsing into a heap, like hitting a wall, I was fine and then I was NOT FINE and wanted to go to bed immediately, and my bed was not made, and the sheets for it were dry but on the fence around the swimming pool (which is not full, except by rainwater at the very bottom, which is filthy) and had dragged their edge into that muck, which enraged me, and threw me into a tailspin. I crawled into a different bed and just slept there.

But today dawns well. I have a buncha stuff I gotta do today and tomorrow because Friday I go to the States! Yay! I am going for a quickie fri-wed trip for a little family luuuurve and also to buy bellydance stuff, because I have several big workshops coming up around Mexico and they are excellent opportunities for sales.
I really tried to rest up the last two days and that is all I can budget for myself--hope it's enough. I keep pumpin' the juices and liquids and iron food and pills.


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

It does sound like the Turbos are on the mend. Yay for a few quiet minutes! And a phone that can capitalize.

Els, I'm glad you're feeling a bit better too. I hope your trip goes smoothly - are you taking anyone with you? Kid-wise, I mean.

I've just surrendered to the universe, and it's much easier this way. Last night I send DH to bed in the spare bed so I wouldn't have to worry about him while wrestling the toddler and the fevery three year old. So at least he got some rest. He's better today and went to work. Caitlyn went to school without a moment's fussing, and Ethan is at his daycare. Allison and I are staying home on the couch. I'm feeling fine, though I was worried about sickness last night - I think that was just stress and hypochondria and "I don't have time to be sick" wah wah. So I'm not sick, but I'm taking the day off anyway. And while I thought about all the things I can do, home unexpectedly and feeling well, I'm choosing to sit on the couch watching The Little Mermaid instead.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

boobage holder!!







I needed that laugh, juice.

okay...off to tackle the day....


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Here's hoping that everyone keeps getting better...

Claudia~you make me want an iphone...badly!

Work is better this week. My boss is out of town, yay!! Today is a much more manageable schedule for me. Otherwise, there is not much going on. I've been getting a little head start on spring cleaning. I'm sick of looking at all of our stuff. It's driving me crazy, so I'm finally doing something about it.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

stefan doing much better. me, not so much. woke a couple of times during the night to pee, stood up and felt queasy. made bill stay home for part of this morning and crawled off to bed to see if more sleep would help. it does, but only until I get up. also having cycle right now and the poops are always challenging (sorry tmi) during the first few days. so went to bathroom to see if it would help. maybe kinda sorta did. couldn't stay in bed any longer (body was just done) and now sipping raspberry ginger tea that's supposed to help with upset stomach/ nausea and trying to keep as still as possible. not good not good. can't be sick. can't be sick.

~c


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I'm so sorry to hear of all the sickness. I truly hope everyone is on the mend and all better soon.

I feel like wrapping myself in a protective bubble. If anything else remotely negative happens in my life right now I just might collapse. I am right at the end of my little rope and trying not to have panic attacks. Seriously. School is so intense. It's not like a separate thing - school is my life, almost 24-7 because I'm on call so much, and there is so.much.to.do. And call has not exactly been easy lately. OK, must stop thinking about it, breathe, breathe.

Lily is getting over her horrible cough and snot. I think she has gone through two whole boxes of tissues just by herself. Nutty.

DH and a friend are working on our new deck today. He is hoping it will be done this weekend. We'll see. I am excited for it to happen, in time for warm weather and eating outside season.

OK, back to work. Writing a paper on depression guidelines in primary care.

Love to all. I am reading and thinking, but had to write an all-about-me post 'cause it's just too much. We must all will March to be better. We deserve it.

S.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i feel kinda like claudia! my breast is not so tender but i woke up with a headache and feeling nauseous and just yukky. i am thankfully in my pjs still as doug took isaac to school for me. (phew). i'm hoping lil ebin takes his nap soon because i *need* to get some work done. i really should clean this dusty dirty doghairy house but i need some billable hours more critically. i also need to eat something and nothing sounds appealing

ebin slept from 11:30 until 4:45am last night. it makes me wonder how long he's had this ear infection! he has been waking every 1-2 hrs for weeks now. he also did the screeching in the middle of the night thing when we were in bakersfield and both my parents ended up on antibiotics from the bug the kids brought down. so maybe he's had it the whole past month. i know ear infections can clear up on their own so now i'm thinking maybe he had one and it waned and then came back again this week. no way to know!

i spoke too soon about the 'ephalent'! i had to retrieve him from the car last night for bedtime

sarah - being on call that much sounds really really taxing. i hope you can just hang tight day by day! i'm really looking forward to the eat outside days too

ok. naptime 4 babies!!


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

: sickies be gone! Yes, I'm talking to you, Claudia's virus.







:


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

bill asked me if I wanted him to stay home for the rest of the morning and I said yes so he rescheduled his meeting he was supposed to chair until tomorrow. then he says "well next time I get sick I hope I get to stay in bed all day." WTF? ummm... you do anyway. thanks for the guilt trip. but then he cancelled the rest of his day, too, and just took the boys for a drive (nap for stefan, late lunch for marek) omg my whole body hurts. I am drinking fluids again so that is good. no puking but I sure feel like it might happen at any time. back to sleeping/ resting.
~c


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Feel a little guilty because I just woke up from a 3 hr nap.







L had a monstrously bad night (didn't help that we were up really late having very useful heart to heart talking immediately prior).

Sending big healing vibes to EVERYONE. Seriously, I'm having trouble deciding who is the worst, so I'm not going to rank you.














: I swear, this has been the germiest winter ever. (And I say poop on partners who coddle themselves when sick and/or *don't* coddle the mama when she's sick














.

Re loveys... Z has a teddy bear which he drags everywhere (and forgets everywhere). I think for him, it's not so much necessarily that he loves the bear but more that he senses that he can drive us crazy by dragging it along everywhere.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh man Claudia... I hope you feel better. Shrug off what Bill said.. Men are such babies when it come to sickness... then they expect us to just suck it up cuz we're the moms and that's what we do.







: They just don't get it. I don't think it is meant as mean.. merely ignorance.









Hugs to Els, Heather, Sarah, Sherri, Renae, Juice, Jacquie and Jstar...

It seems everyone is having problems and I don't have enough time for individual hugs.. Sorry! Babe is FUSSY.

Every single member of my family EXCEPT TJ has strep throat. (I'm glad he doesn't have it. See above for reason why. We can have the exact same sickness and his just HAS to feel worse than mine.







) Even Jaz. She's just about lost her little voice... it's so cute and so sad all at the same time.

I'm taking Dom to counseling again. His vindictive/trantruming/violent behavior starting back up and I just CAN. NOT. LIVE. WITH. IT. It's been like twice this week I've been balling my eyes out because I just want to know where in the world my baby went. He was my best little buddy... and while I understand the changes and stress and sickness... I just cannot live with this and there HAS to be a solution.

Plus school on top of this all. I'm working on finals... and it's a pain in my derrier. I only have two and a half weeks left and I am SO bored and stressed. I failed a chem exam last night and was just so MAD at myself for not being prepared. It's online and open book for cripes sake! It's the mathematical concepts of it that confuse me though. Mass x Moles x Actual Yield x Percentage Yield = i don't care how many ions.







:







I WON'T be taking chemistry again until Jaz is like a year. I swear it. Or I have to take it all by itself. Definitely NOT online where I have no tutor and have to teach myself.

Well... Love you all and hope you are all doing good. Packing unimportant things in anticipation of moving in two weeks. Bleh.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

I missed the loveys question.... C has a bedtime bear care bear that plays 'hey diddle diddle' when you squeeze the belly....his name is 'diddle roo' and there are actually 3 spares (shhh...don't tell her!) because they were oft-puked upon in her younger days.

hj's swallow study was great. no aspirating, but also no answers. He didn't do his choking thing during the study so I'm not surprised. We see the GI tomorrow though.

Sarah---sounds like you're running a marathon at a sprint pace. phew!

more later when my head isn't full of a zillion worries...


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh man... sorry for the allaboutme post!

It really wasn't supposed to be like that..


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Danile, sorry- I've been meaning to say that _of course_ I would love to hang out with you when you move down to Vancouver. (On a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday during the day, when our kids aren't sick







) I'll bet it is hard to be moving, especially away from family, especially when you're going to school! I hope all your credits transfer.

Sarah- I wish there was something I could do







. I miss you hanging out with you, and I often wish that we didn't have to wait for school breaks to grab a quick visit. I even feel like I shouldn't call because that would take you away from schoolwork. Once we're all not desperately sick, perhaps I could come and have the boys play with Lily some time while you do some schoolwork. Let me know.







.

HF- it's too bad HJ _didn't_ do his choking thing during the swallow study. I learned all about the reflux/choking/aspirating connection during a training for work a few years ago. It can be serious. Sorry you have to worry so much. Blah. I hope good things are around the corner for your sweet babe. Hooray for the GI appt- I hope it's helpful.

Okey dokey, gotta get off the internet and call my friend and tell her the kids are too sick for her to care for them Friday.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i'll be able to hang out too danile. AND help you with chemistry









speaking of hanging out...i definitely want to do JUST THAT once we are all feeling better









heather, i hope the GI appt is helpful tomorrow. and i just clicked your HJ link and he is such a cutie (and what a cool pic). so much hair!

tonight was bath night and i swear that snuggling a sweet smelling soft baby (or 3 year old) head is the best.thing.evar.





















le sigh. it is even so much better when they just go right to sleep after a bath


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

I'm feeling a bit better, still achy, still not sure how much I want to eat but I did have some chicken soup earlier and I liked the saltiness and it felt good to eat. hopefully some good sleep tonight will continue to ward this thing off. going to sleep now.
~c


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

TC, hopefully you'll have a good night's sleep and that will make all the difference.

My clan seems on the mend (knock on any available hard surface). I have a massage scheduled for myself (myself! me! the mom!) this afternoon, and then tomorrow I've arranged for Ethan to go to his dcp so I can have a few hours alone (alone! me! the mom!) to get some things done that have gotten sorely overdue. And probably sit on the couch with a book for an hour, but don't tell anyone that part.

Oh, yay. Allison just got up and has no fever. This is good.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

jstar--reminds me it's probably time to give hj a bath! I love snuggling with the girls after bath!

danile---is the move imminent? I've been flaky about my reading. And just so you know, next time you apologize for an allaboutme post, I'll have to give you a demerit.







I think it's the mark of a true MMF! to take the stage when needed! I not so fondly remember a semester of organic chemistry myself! You'll get through!

claudia--really hope things are on the upswing!

juice--ooooh! a massage sounds heavenly!

nothing on the calendar except for GI this afternoon and avoiding







: ....that one 60 degree day totally made me a winter wimp again!


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Been up all night with Isaac. I took him into our bed for the first time since he was like 5 months old. The kid just never has slept well with anyone else in the bed with him. He kicks and stretches and whines. And hits. But him being up all night has been due to this horrible fever and horrible coughing. I feel so bad for him. And I am soo tired.

The move is fairly immenent. It's just a chain process. He aced the first interview... but that supervisor has to bring it to another higher up that has to approve his hiring. So he may have another interview- or they may just tell him to hurry up and get down there because the big guy just told him to go ahead and hire him. I'm nervous because statistically this COULD be a big paycut... but it is BIG advancement opportunity. Taking this position will make him look really good and allow them to see him as a potential area manager. I'm just scared about possibly cutting our finances. And finding renters for our house.

Oh heather... I'm thinking of you... worrying about HJ... but also being confident he'll be okay. Mostly because he has a mama like you.









Juice- I think it goes without words to say that I'm totally jealous of your upcoming mama massage.









I love all you May Mamas so much. For all the support (and possible future chemistry tutoring..)







and so much more. Sometimes this group reminds me of "the sisterhood of the traveling pants" (







Yes... I watched that movie) Only it seems like "the sisterhood of the traveling mmf socks" without the traveling... LOL

If I make any sense at this hour of the morning with this little of sleep... it's a miracle.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Juice, rock on for the "taking care of mama". Well done! *insert clapping smilie here* I am psyched that things are on the upswing. Also for TC! Hope you got a good night's sleep.

Agh--more to say but am being pulled. must run!


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

bathed babies are the best. i am pretty lax on the bath front in the winter when there isn't as much sweaty-head funk going on. it all seems like a lot of work sometimes







ebin just loooves water. he'll probably learn to swim before isaac









i hope your little isaac feels better ducette!

coffee in hand -- i am at work.

i have a massage certificate i need to book that doug gave me for christmas. i think i'm waiting for some moment where i feel like i *need* a massage. but since i likely have to book out in advance i was thinking i should schedule it around my b-day

sitting on the couch with a book sounds AWESOME (and well deserved for you! the mom! who manages all!)

claudia - i hope the aches are gone for you this morning. when doug took off on monday and i had a totally quiet house i tried to lay down to nap and i couldn't even sleep because all i could think about was how achey my back and legs were! so unfair.

i'm a winter wimp now too. we have had several days in a row of sun, glorious, sun! and even saw the lunar eclipse last night. neato frito. and now i think it will start raining again tonight or something. i have spring fever.

i'm on an online hunt for vintage ski posters for my dad's 60th birthday march 3rd. kinda fun! decorations for his new cabin. i'm looking for villages in europe where we all learned to ski when i was a kid and we lived in england and used to do cool things like that







we all got our butts kicked in militaristic swiss ski school. i remember crying a lot. my sister just plain refused to go. my dad would wear the same stinky socks all week. good times!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Well, now that I've made you all fantastically jealous







:

my massage therapist had to cancel because her daughter was complaining of ear pain and needed to be picked up at school. It's fine - we've rescheduled for next week. And in the meantime, I'm enjoying some quiet solitude in my living room and a yummy calzone from Whole Foods Market. And I'm not even looking at the To Do Pile in the other room.

Just have to figure out what on earth to have for dinner. We had crock pot italian brisket on the menu, but that only works if you get it set up and turned on before you leave the house. If I start it now, it should be ready around... midnight


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Isaac has a double ear infection and Jaz has rsv...


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh, Danile...








I'm sorry, I don't have a lot to say right now, I haven't felt so lost in the way I parent since Rowan was an INFANT...I have spent the past hour while he's been upstairs sobbing on the couch. I can't get him to do anything except what HE wants to do AT THAT MOMENT, including change a poopy diaper, which is just adding insult to injury when HE WON'T USE THE POTTY!!!!








I don't want advice on what to do, because. Seriously. NOTHING WORKS. NOTHING!

I'm sorry for "shouting". All I want to do is escape, and I can't.
He's going to Gramma's next weekend, but I want to call and beg her to take him this weekend, and EVERY WEEKEND FOREVER.

I feel horrible, I am utterly failing and I just want to crawl into bed but I can't because I have to bring the devil-child downstairs and pretend I'm a good mother and actually know what I am doing.

I shouldn't be posting this here but I just need a hug or some sort of understanding.







I'm sorry. I suck so much.
I just...ugh. What a crappy day.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

let's try this again...

oh carp danile... serious get well vibes coming atcha from down a little south...







: and when your head can get there i.e. when the family sicknesses leave, let me know how I can help with the moving down here sitch.

renae: can I call you? I need some friendly talk and it sounds like you do, too. feels lame but







and







: (you are the tree)

~c

p.s. American idol is laaaaaaaaaaaaaame so far. bleh except for like 4 people out of the whole top 24. that is all.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

this illness stuff is out of hand!!!!! my gawd!

renae -







: hon i can just feel you hurting through the pixels of my screen


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Danile and Renae


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

jstar-A loooooves water too, so much more than G did/does. She loves baths, but we don't do it every night. Just 2-3 times a week. She's still a little wobbly to hold onto in the water. She loves to kick and splash and get G wet...which he thinks is funny up to a point. We took them both swimming on Saturday (a friend gave us a too-cute swimming suit for A) and I think she's a real water lover. She was born in the tub, after all.

She's been a major waker the last few nights, though. However, I just saw a tooth on the bottom that seems to have just poked through in the last day, so that could explain it. This is so early...G didn't get his first tooth till 10 months! But, I was so excited when I saw it.

danile-sorry 2 kids are sick!









TC-sounds like you're on your way back. Good! And, I agree about American Idol. Pretty pathetic so far.

Renae-







for you

I have a massage gift cert. too. Must book that!


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh Renae-

No advice, just hugs. And complete understanding. Thus we are taking Dom to psychiatry cuz I'm *THAT* close to the end of my rope.

Gotta go... I'm supposed to be monitoring Jaz' breathing... she might have to go in for oxygen treatments at the hospital if it gets worse. Bleh.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Whoa, I can't believe the crazy germies. (We only have garden variety colds around here, feel sheepish even mentioning it.) GERMS BE GONE!!!







I'm sure *that* will do the trick.









Hugs esp to Danile and Renae. (Please know that you're not the only ones with challenging 3 yr olds, btw... I just haven't shared what Z has been up to lately.







)


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

one more post, now from a real actual keyboard instead of the fancy schmancy iphone, which is great for the reading wherever in the house, but a p.i.t.a. to type on. touch screen keyboard, too. tiny tiny. and internet wherever. but tiny.

still no internet on my computer. bill is probably going to have rebuild it, so i made him give me an account on his computer since he is POH-SESS-IVE about his passwords and "shtuff". the security geek in him. dude, i'm like, your partner for life and we have children and all sorts of worldly possessions together. lay off on the password posessiveness.

danile, seriously, let me know what i can help with in and around the portland/vancouver area with regards to moving. as you can see from my ddddc, i know everything. well, not really, but i know people, so collectively, *we* know everything. more healing vibes to your littles...







:







and a







: (you are the tree)

renae: i'm serious about the phone message i left. call me. anytime. i'm 3 hours behind, so even if it's late there, it's still early here! call me! i'm nice! really! ask fiddle! and sarah-bee! and jstar! and els and lisa, too. kk, you gotta come back to portland so i can meet you, too, since i missed you that one time. maybe when your friend has her babe...???

ok, too quiet in kitchen... must go check what disaster lunch has turned into...

mmf!

~claudia

p.s. typing on a keyboard is exercise for the fingers.







:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

this is just a crazy funky winter for everything....forgot to mention that last weekend we had a skunk come and spray right under our porch by the front door. omg does that smell good!!







A zillion dollars later, we have an emptry trap out front and I'm sure pepe le peu will come will come back as soon as the trap is gone. Apparently it's skunk mating season...joy!

juice----at first I read that as a 'to do pie' and I thought oh yum! I could use some pie right about now!

GI visit was useless....utterly useless. Time to get a new GI. But really I give up. The boy can starve. Only half kidding....I'm just that spent from trying to sort this out.

danile---imagine yourself surrounded by a pile of fluffy socks from all the warm thoughts being showered upon you and your crew.

renae---C goes through hellacious phases and they seem to coincide with her growth spurts. My hugest sympathies. Seriously some days duct tape is the only thing that looks like a viable solution, yk?


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Danile~ Big hugs, I hope she gets better soon.

Renae~It must be a growth spurt thing. Saige has been a complete clutz lately. She has also been a drama queen from hell.







All I can give you is a ton of sympathy, because I have no idea what I'm doing either









It was X day for show and tell today, so I borrowed an x-ray from work that showed a dog that had swallowed marbles. She thought it was totally cool.









It's nap time...finally


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

note to self: don't do a facility tour in october and then think you can write about it intelligently in february







i'm looking at my field notes and they look like isaac wrote them







: mmmm soooo helpful.

i love the skunk smell. but that's when i'm driving in the car and smell MMM skunk in a driveby. not by my front door. i'm sure that is more skunk smell than anyone would want. when a skunk was bothering my parents cabin my dad poured his urine around the place to keep em out. (same thing...they were liking the area under the porch by the front door.) you can either have your man walk around in the middle of the night peeing. or he can go in a cup and pour it around. his choice









i want to hear what Z has been up to. i think it would make me feel better


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Egads everybuggy. Danile, huuugest hug to you because I know you are under max stress. Next hugest hug to Renae, because I get these scary "I suck so badly" moments, and I just don't know how to deal with them except by going to sleep, and I hear you at that place and I'm so sorry.

There were more hugs, one to tc, because her exercise plan includes fingertyping on a keyboard, and that's cool, and one to juice, who eats more piggies than a woman should have a right to, and who didn't get the massage she so richly deserves, and one to heather, whose daily existence inspires me, and jstar because she's working, and she likes coffee too.

And there is so much more but suddenly much crying from down yonder.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jstar* 
i want to hear what Z has been up to. i think it would make me feel better









Okay, taking a deep breath... he's just been a complete little sh!t. I really can't describe it any other way.







: Eg, I'm loading dirty clothes in the washing machine, he finds a pencil somewhere, and completely redecorated our stairway (it looks *FANTASTIC* as you can imagine







). I get diplomatic reports from preschool like "Z seemed completely energized today!" and "Z would benefit from spending a couple of hours outside this afternoon!" (translate *that* mamas!







). He refuses to do *anything* asked of him. He willfully torments his older sib and his younger sib. I have *never* met another child with anything near the same staying power with stubborness. Etc. In his case, he's so obviously growing (you can practically watch) that I know that is a factor. He's resisting his nap, too, which doesn't figure into the growth well (finally, yesterday, he fell asleep ~2 pm and didn't wake up till 6:30 this morning). He's going through the "next" developmental phase, too... I knew the "angelic" phase wasn't going to last forever. He's testing boundaries left and right and driving me crazy. (And uh, yeah... the tension at home is probably not helping any of the kids, but I'd say that mostly, they're seeing us work through things, but they're all getting a little shafted in the one-on-one attention dept. I guess I chalk that up to a "better to have the parents focus on the marriage rather than the kids once in a while because staying married is a worthy goal and will somehow benefit the kids" kind of thing).







:







:







: all around, but honestly, I really don't have energy to care.







:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DucetteMama21842* 
The move is fairly immenent. It's just a chain process. He aced the first interview... but that supervisor has to bring it to another higher up that has to approve his hiring. So he may have another interview- or they may just tell him to hurry up and get down there because the big guy just told him to go ahead and hire him. I'm nervous because statistically this COULD be a big paycut... but it is BIG advancement opportunity. Taking this position will make him look really good and allow them to see him as a potential area manager. I'm just scared about possibly cutting our finances. And finding renters for our house.

I just wanted to give multiple hugs here. Personally, I loathe moving, and I so feel for you. I've never had to do it with a newborn, let alone with 3 kids, let alone what seems to be such short notice (and while in school!). I really hope it goes smoothly. Re Dom...







. I feel for you on this, too, no advice, just







s. Maybe check out some of the lit on spirited kids. It can't last forever (this too shall pass). Try not to take it personally (easier said than done!). And re chemistry... I hated hated hated chemistry myself. It's often used/taught as a weed-out class (ie, to cull whoever they can from the chemistry, biology, geology, etc programs). Ie, it's often taught *very* badly. Ironically, I had total chemistry anxiety myself until grad school when I took the hardest chemistry classes of my academic history (soil chemistry, soil physical chemistry), and I *aced* them. The difference was in the quality of instruction (obviously, the grad school professor was both a chemistry god and a teaching god, and a really nice man to boot). If you can take an incomplete, I'd do it; you have too much other stress going on. And/or get a tutor. And/or take it again with someone who has an excellent reputation for teaching. Whatever you do, don't take it personally.









One last word







to Jacquie... when I suggested you post one word at a time, I meant that you should write posts of the usual length, just break them into say, 50 posts of 1 word each.







50 easy posts to add to your tally!


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

KK-

From your post I just cannot be sure my Dom has not been masquerading as your Z. Truly. Unbelievable same descriptions... and more... as I'm sure you didn't have the time to include everything our babes have been doing.















And thanks for the advice about schooling. I only have two weeks left... so I think I am going to bust my butt and try to make it. I did so well for a large portion of the class that I think I could still live the class with a C. However, she does grade on a curve... so maybe it could be better if everyone else was doing as badly? I don't know... I have never experienced the "grading on a curve" thing.

I figure if I slam out classes and move in a couple days... I can time it with perfectness that I will be able to do it all on a my couple weeks off from school. Maybe. To be truthful, I'm the master boxer-upper and my DH does 98% of the actual moving. Most of our moves I am either pregnant or just had a baby... and so I am not asked to do much of anything but be the foreman.
















To much screaming and banging going on at the other end of the house.. must go see....


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

kk--you're scaring me...mark my word, that'll be E in a year.









Danile...you rock. that is all.







:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Send some good thoughts for baby Jaz! Just read Danile's blog update and they were headed to the ER.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Oh no! Thinking good thoughts for baby Jaz. Danile, hope you're holding up alright, mama. Update when you can.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

We're back. I don't have much time to post...

Mad at the same idiot on call doc that we went to yesterday morning.







:

I'll give a better update later...


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

We're back. I don't have much time to post...

I'll give an update later...


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Totally agree about chemistry needing a good teacher. I went from a bio/chem double major to a bio major because of a horrific weeding-people-out lecture based chem class. Not worth it.

All is well here so I am using my energy to send positive thoughts to all the sick and down-and-out may mamas. This has been a deeply unfair period in our history.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

This (germy) aggression will not stand, man.







:


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

NONE of this aggression will stand, man!!







:
Hello. I'm back, after airing all my poop oy, I am feeling much improved. That's so crazy, it really does make me pause and decide okay, I need to either write constantly (hey, time for the mama-chick-lit novel! I am so seriously thinking of starting to brainstorm it tonight, be afraid!







) or be drugged constantly. So um, maybe the writing is a good place to start.









KK, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for telling us a little about Z. Because, when you said

Quote:

I have *never* met another child with anything near the same staying power with stubborness.
I immediately thought, "OH YEAH? Lemme introduce you to ROWAN."








We just had a tantrum over wiping his SUPER-runny nose. And I am







:ing myself to say I held him down and wiped...but then I laughed and tickled him, and LO! The distraction WORKED!!! He giggled and then said "DON'T WIPE MY NOSE!!!" And I said "oh okay!"








Sometimes when I win even the little things, it makes me feel just *that* much better. And that much like a bad mama, but right now, I, too, have little energy to care.







:

So. On a more serious note, yes, I was a mess yesterday. And heck, I was (am?) kind of a mess today, with but a few adjustments; one, I asked DH to UNPLUG the television last night before he went to bed (I was working last night so I didn't get home till everyone was in bed) and so this morning when Rowan said "I wanna watch something!" I said "Oh, the TV's not working today" and when he tried to turn it on a few times, he just said something about it being broken and went off to play.
It's snowing mightily today, and DH came home with sickies, and I am waiting on the family I nanny for to call me to let me know whether I am going to have to suck it up and go out there to work, but I think they are edging toward not needing me, which is a load of stress off my mind--and now they just called. No work for me! Which does suck because of the lack of money but I do NOT want to drive in this.

Anyway. while doing things OTHER than television kinda taxed my brain, I could absolutely see a difference, at least in the interaction between Rowan and I. I know Elsanne mentioned this before, but I admit it took me a while to get with the program, so to speak.







I am going to try and keep it off for at least a week, and then LIMIT. I know screaming will occur. If I have to, I will take an Ativan and just SUCK IT UP.








We cut out snowflakes (he can use scissors! Who knew? But I'm the one who actually cut actual snowflakes) we read books, we drew, we ate breakfast and lunch together. DH is taking him for some of the afternoon despite being sick and I am napping. I will then return phone calls (I KNOW you're nice, TC!







Thank you for the sweet voicemail, I am the dork when it comes to making phone calls but I am working on it. I promise!)
I have some other things to ramble about but this is becoming a novel and I think I will get on it oy, later.

Again, I am sending out such thoughts of gratitude and LOVE to all of you, and







s to all that need it, and just, really. Thanks.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Faery* 
KK, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for telling us a little about Z. Because, when you said

I immediately thought, "OH YEAH? Lemme introduce you to ROWAN."









I hope you all know that by no means have I shared everything. It was just a taste.







He's really feeling his 3s, living his 3s with a passion and a vengeance.














:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Anyone else find the google ads at the bottom hilarious....just now it was children's yoga and 'find a wife for free' ....and I was immediately jealous of elsanne's wife.

so what if we started typing like bologna, carburetor, river boat .... would google get a headache trying to figure that out?


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

nope, apparently it just reverts to the same four toy ads.









bologna, bologna, bologna

can you tell I'm bored....all this free time on a Friday night and nothing to do!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

Heath: is that bologna or baloney? maybe bologna sandwiches? or bologna Italy? or just full of baloney?

by the way, I have some ped gi recs for you from bill's dad. if I can just decipher bill's handwriting on the dry erase board... hmmm...


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

oh cool! thank you turbobill's dad!









jstar--I think you sent some tall boy vibes along w/ the clothes...his weight may be puny, but he was 90 something for height!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

ABALONE!!!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
He's really feeling his 3s, living his 3s with a passion and a vengeance.














:

I like to say, whenever anyone is silly enough to ask how old my kids are, that Allison is three and a half, and that she really, really means it. She takes her job very seriously.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Hey guys!

Hoping everythings going good for all of you! Thanks for all the support. MMF's rule!!! (Now if we could just control life's circumstances...







)

I only have a minute.. so it's all about me again...

Jaz quit breathing on us twice last night in just a half hour. She choked and turned blue and that was the last straw for me. She's so congested and her chest is so rattley that when she has a coughing attack she just chokes and gags. We went straight to the E.R. and they gave me a whole bunch of useful information. (Not to mention harassment about not being current on her vax- what the heck?! She's only 8 weeks old!) They put her on a nebulizer with saline to try and moisten her up so she could breathe better. Then they asked me when that same on call doc we had problems with last time diagnosed the RSV. I told them that day and they asked what swab he had done. Uh... no swab.







: So they did the nasal swab on her and monitored her. We made it home early (or is it truly classified as late?) last night. Today she projectile puking... which includes some mucous in it... but- that's a good thing. Essentially she has to clear it all out of her lungs. Really scary to watch and experience though. Poor baby. Thank you all for all of your prayers... I appreciate the support. Forgive my rambling... I have only two hours of sleep in me.

Off to make dinner for the kids...


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Miss Juice* 
ABALONE!!!

I like to say, whenever anyone is silly enough to ask how old my kids are, that Allison is three and a half, and that she really, really means it. She takes her job very seriously.

Thanks for the giggle Juice.

And Dominic definitely is living his threes "with a vengeance"







:


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Danile.








river boats! (I can't even spell baloney! Bologna? There.








)


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

So... we're moving.

He got the call today. We have to be there by the 16th. HELP!!!!!







:


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Wow, Danile, that's a LOT of things to have on one's plate.







: How are the kiddos today?


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Danile---phew! Sounds like in the end it will be a great career move for him, but yikes! This will definitely call for all your teamwork skills! Keep asking for anything and everything you might need and accept any help offered! We moved into a fixer upper when I was veeeeery pregnant w/ C and it was a lifesaver to have people jump in for every odd task that needed doing. Jealous that you'll be closer to the PDX MMF crowd!

Need to stop futzing around here and go do some toy organizing/rearranging!


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

must clean filthy house before bed, since we've got guests coming tomorrow for brunch (a college friend and his new wife). Dh rocks as a poppa, taking good care of 2 snot-nosed kids for 27 hours straight, but goodness we have a lot to cleaning up to do.

Danile- sorry that Jaz is so sick! Hey, if the timing works, (MTW, mid-afternoon), when you move in I could watch your older kiddos while you watch Jaz and direct moving traffic. Let me know. I'll pm my phone number.









balogna balony abalone !!! take that google!


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Totally overwhelmed. I cannot believe we are doing this.







I can't stand looking for places to rent. It's so hard... and SO MUCH MONEY to come up with all at once. Especially after just having had Jasmine. We'll be down there next weekend to look at places... My mom is going to have the boys. We are looking for a place very close to Vancouver. He's going to be working in between 4th plain and Mill plain- whatever those words mean.









I'm supposed to be taking yet another chemistry test. Blah... haven't even studied. Been overwhelmed grocery shopping, helping Jaz clear out her lungs... and doing morning and nightly nebulizer treatments for her. It's been helping so much. The poor dear hated us this morning when we were using the bulb syringe to clear her nasal passages out to avoiding those *oh too fun* choking moments. She's doing great today. Really coughing it out. You can hear her breaking it apart in her lungs and making progress. I'm hoping she'll be better by next weekend so we don't have to take a trip with a sick babe.

Oh.. btw you pdx/vancouver mamas... His work offered to pay for a hotel of our choice for a month when we first get down there. They usually reserve five star hotels for TJ the rest of the time... so can I get some recommendations of REALLY nice hotels that you guys have been to/heard about and wouldn't mind living in for a month if you had to? And *hint hint* maybe would be excited to come visit at and take a swim/go do a fun activity...?

Off to fake a chem exam...


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Fern- Thanks for the PM. I'll call you when I get things a little more figured out. Maybe next weekend? We'll see how it goes. And thanks for putting your name at the bottom. I would have been mortified to call and ask for Fern...


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

danile: www.heathmanlodge.com

and I posted in the Vancouver tribe thread in the Washington / Oregon / Idaho forum in finding your tribe that you are moving down here really really soon, so when you have minute go make an intro post there. will post linky tomorrow. and don't worry, I mentioned you have a lot on your plate with sick children, sick new little baby, packing and planning a move, so they will understand if you only post occasionally. they are awesome mamas.

~c


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Sweet lodge TC. Trying to get TJ to look at it... but he's way too into his Halo 3 Xbox Live match...







:

I'll head on over and introduce myself... short intro I suppose.


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## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

TC - that lodge looks wonderful. I think I need a vacation.

Danile - I am so sorry that your wee babe is sick. We did nebulizer treatments on Annie when she was 6 months old and she HATED it. It did help though. So







for clearing out your lungs, Jaz! AND super-strong energizing vibes for you all for the move. What a whirlwind! What does your husband do?

We had a playdate/party at our house yesterday with 10 three-year-olds and thier younger siblings. It actually went really, really well and made Alison and I feel kind of dopey for not being willing to host until now. The kids did crafts, played with Eleanors toys (*she shared*), and ate yummy food. The house wasn't even too trashed afterwards.

I am at work now and all these little things that I should have done a long time ago are rearing thier ugly procrastinated heads. Annoying and annoyed with myself...off to see if I can redeem myself.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

He works for Lincare Inc. , the oxygen/home health care company. He's now the Center Manager of the new Vancouver location.

I am excited! The Uhaul is only going to cost us $215! Usually (when we lived in PDX before) it cost us about 400-600 dollars for a one way uhaul up here. Going to down there is cheaper this time. So glad we can save some money that way.

Shoot.. wanted to post more and the kids are getting crabby... Must go help DH who woke up with Isaac at 5:30 to let me sleep an hour more till Jaz woke.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

happy sunday!

my last post got eaten by server timeout. grrr

we had a friend from eugene come stay the night friday. i cleaned and cleaned on friday to get ready. she has a (*freakin adorable*) 2 year old DD and a DS a year older than our may babes. it was lotsa fun







....isaac's first real sleepover! then we all went to omsi yesterday (the reason they came up to pdx)

i made doug admit girls ARE cuter







he was carrying her around to see the dinosaurs and it was so sweet.

right now i need to do a PILE o dishes. and then i want to go look at some lady's plant collection that she's selling. i'm hoping for some good bargains on big shrubs

i drew a blank on places to stay on the washington side but the heathman lodge looks awesome! moving is such a drag. but you'll be closer!!!! yay


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
This (germy) aggression will not stand, man.







:











Thank you for this.

I made it to Albuquerque, and things are just,,,,,oh. well. Abalone.

Things are okay, but my dad (who was full on board with nurture-elsanne-plan) is laid completely low by sciatica. Like, he can't sleep, can't stand the pain, can't sit. So, who's taking care of whom? I'm still, continually, exhausted. Someone please tell me that this too shall pass, and in a few years I will be my vibrant self again? Please?
I'm close to tears every single day. This is most un-elsanne-like.

But screw that, abalone, because poor lil Jaz is in a bad place, and her mother more so. I'm thinking of you Danile. Prayers heading your way.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh Elsanne! This too shall pass! I promise!! And don't be thinking of me... I'm worried about you!! *HUGS*!!!!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

elsanne, this too shall definitely pass. And you will be your vibrant self again in much less than a few years. Give yourself some slack - you've been through A LOT recently, and you haven't had time to heal. How long are you in ABQ?

Will your dad see a chiro?? He sound like he's in bad shape.








: I have more to say, but I sat down, which is obviously an invitation to nurse







: and be climbed upon by kidlets....


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Oh, elsie....sorry you're so down. This too shall pass, but dangit if it doesn't seem like a lifetime away. You need any care packages now that you're stateside?

Ducette, a whirlwind indeed! I hope you can find a nice place to live and everything just falls into place for once. I think the pdx mamas will be a great resource for you! How long of a trip would it be from pdx-couv? roughly?

Had a good day today. went shopping with my sil and found the most awesomest, fittingest, coolioest pair of jeans. Put em on and fit like they were made for me. Yay for new jeans! I also got the girls a new swimsuit they were tickled pink. Of course they had to put them on (underwear underneath of course) and run around the house in them. cute cute cute.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

mornin!

lets hope this week dawns brighter for everyone!!! i think it *has* to right???

new jeans are the bomb. i got a couple of pairs when i went down to the bay area (H&M fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

from my house it is about a 15 or 20 minute drive to vancouver without traffic. there are horribly long peak hours though to get across the bridges. so it can take an hour or more after 3pm.

elsanne - i hope you get a break sista!

i forgot to say also that HJ did get some tall vibes!! i wish i could send the chunky vibes his way.

ebin is pulling up to standing now. it is amazing how fast the progression is. he only figured out crawling 2 weeks ago. now he's SUPER proud of himself pulling up to stand in his crib and on the couch. he's really starting to come out of the 'blob' stage of babyhood







he's been getting around (rolling) for a while now but he's doing this CUTE thing where he is pointing or touching everything with his index finger. like everytime i pick him up he pauses to point his little finger and touch my teeth. so i play bite him. i think he's trying to tell me his teeth hurt. he keeps grinding them and last night he bit my arm so hard it left a mark. poor teether. i yelped and he cried....he's a sensitive boy.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Howdy all. Germy weekend for us....









Els, I really hope you *can* manage to wrangle in some rest. And if you *do* need to fall apart... well, I think you're probably in a safe place to do it, no?









Danile, hoping everything germy and moving for you is moving along...









I have to say, finding great jeans really does something for the self-image.























I have lost my voice. I have a quiet whisper, and that is all. (And I keep straining even *that*, because dude, it's hard to get your first grader off to school without barking at him a time or two.







: ) On the bright side, while I got almost every *other* symptom everyone else got from this bug, I did *not* get the "snot pouring out of eyes" symptom.







(Dh is very jealous, as he is still in conjunctivitis land.) I will take the good, no matter how silly.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

First of all, Elsanne, this too shall pass.






















I remember many a day (hmm, just last week?







) where I felt close to or in tears every single day. I feel you mama.








And then, all three of us got sick!
This aggression WILL NOT STAND, man!!!







:

DH came home early Friday with a fever and chills and it turned into a cough and by Friday night, I was feeling it too. Not feverish yet--I was hoping I'd just have a cold. Rowan had had a runny nose pretty much all week, but by Saturday night he was coughing. But only in the middle of the night.








Well, Sunday I woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck, and today, the same. UGH. This sucks. Luckily I didn't have to work and DH called in today so we've been resting as much as we can...with a child who still has pretty high energy despite a runny nose.







We deal.

But GOOD LORD. When do we catch a break? When will ALL of us catch a break?!?!

In other news, we started the potty journey Saturday. I cannot believe how well it's going so I am not going to say much more than that right now!

Have a good day, mamas.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Renae-

Hoping the potty adventure goes great!!!

So when we talked to Dom about the move he informed us we needed to move because there were too many toys in this house.







:

And I did good on my chem exam... now for my three history essays...


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

the potty journey is bound to have some setbacks. but i think when they wait until they really feel ready it is a smoother process overall







i'm betting he just wanted to wait until he was feeling pretty confident. that's how isaac was with the peeing. he's had very few pee accidents. and well his approach to potty-pooping was to just stop pooping







: we're still on *that* journey. the smooth-move journey







he still just hates to poop. and i think at this point his colon is super stretched out.

today has been a good day. not a thrifty day mind you....but fun! it is not raining for yet another glorious day. (good in my book). i took the boys to hanna and got cute coordinating outfits to take them for easter pics. i bought ebin a shorts romper which is completely a one-time wear item because he will grow out of it by the time we can wear shorts here probably. but pictures!! cute!!! pretend it;s warm!!!









then we went to the nursery and dawdled about...which i love. i'm amazed isaac knows his left and right. i don't think i knew mine until kindergarten. he was leading us 'turn right!' turn left! turn left! (he does not however know any ABCs besides I and J...the two most important letters







)

i got a few plants. two types of currant, a purple smoke tree which was $9 instead of $60 because it currently looks like a tiny twig stuck in a pot. and a pink scented forsythia i've never seen before. i went there for a witch hazel but they were all 5gal huge spendy ones. they're blooming now and i waaaant one







i also got mulch and a couple of primroses and hyacinths at freds.

ebin obliged by going down for a nap and isaac helped me work in the yard. i planted the 4 rose bushes i bought last week and i am attempting the supermulch method of creating the new bed instead of digging grass. so we'll see if i have a rose bed surrounded by grass or not. i got all but 2 things planted. and i really need to seed the lawn (errr giant mud patch that used to be a lawn before the new patio went in). but that is going to take a good couple of hours of hoeing.

thats cute about dom


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Thanks guys for the good thoughts...I think they worked. I actually received my tax return I was banking on, and my dad is feeling better, and got a referral from Big Brother Health Care for chiropractic, which he's willing to try! Yay! And I'm going to get a neck fix tomorrow as a "transient" patient from a chiropractor, I'm so happy. It went out last week and has been hurting ever since. I had most of the day alone (after reaching ACK point with Amara), with my brother, we went out to Indian food







: and hiking in the Sandia foothills, and to a park with his daughter my 5 y.o. niece to play frisbee.
Tomorrow is big shopping day! Costco, Thrift stores for books for Sol, and Bellydance Bonanza shopping, the whole purpose of this trip! My tax $$ will be invested in that, which will duplicate itself. Yay! I'm feeling all positive now.
Just feeling grossly overstuffed as I tend to do around family....two huge breakfasts, and a huge Indian buffet lunch...and my dad always has yummy chocolate...mmmm...


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

And Sherri, you sweet thoughtful cute-jean-wearin' girl, I leave day after tomorrow...no time for fun package, waaah!


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

els, I'm glad things are on the up for the moment. I hope you get your neck adjusted and I hope your dad feels much much better.

KK, I think we have the same family and we're working through the same germs! I have very little voice left, dh is working through the last of his conjunctivitis... Ethan was restless and fussy and snotty all night long (read: nursed at least every hour and sometimes on the half hour) and egads, I hate to admit it, but I should really stay home today and I won't. Part of the problem is that today I see a bunch of people I had to reschedule from last Wednesday when I stayed home with Allison, and if you reschedule the same people too many times it's just bad. But I should be done in the office around noon, and be able to squeeze in a nap before I pick up the kids.

Or something. I'm not thinking clearly.

jstar, kudos on your planting! I can't imagine planting anything anytime soon - there are several inches of snow out there today, and we're supposed to get another 6 to 8 this afternoon.







:


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

That is kind of odd, Juice....

Yesterday, I made a crack on my blog about how losing my voice prevented me from yelling at the kids. I just checked comments, and my bossy aunt who we very rarely see (who never had any kids, but taught HS English for many years, which in her mind makes her an expert on all children) submitted a snarky comment about my parenting. Uh, not going to approve that one.







: (Guess she took it at face value, doesn't understand sarcasm, etc. I'm just going to ignore it.)

I'd *love to get out there and get planting, but it's way, way too early yet. I was at Costco Sunday (














and people were snapping up bare root lilac bushes etc. I was thinking, "Hello??? The *crocuses* aren't even up yet. Do you people feel competent to keep these things alive for the next two months until you can plant them???" (But I was eyeing some columbines rather hungrily...)


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

it's still pretty early here too. it might not even be worth me doing the grass seed yet because a frost might zap it if it sprouts. but i figure if i can do it a couple of times it will hopefully take. and walking around the nursery was mostly for looking at bare twigs







you know what i really want? a contorted filbert. i had one at the old house and they are GREAT in the winter when bare. they used to be outlawed in oregon for some fungus and i bought mine in washington. but now they have them here so the law must have changed. it was $45 though and i'm sure i didn't pay that much before.

i just washed dishes and doug took a long shower so i'm killing a few minutes for the water heater to regenerate. doug took isaac out to breakfast so i don't have to do the getting dressed wrangling. woot!

i think doug is going to work on the house today. bonus points.

i'm going to work at my old bosses office to use some of her files. i miss her! and i have to call and get some insurance to be able to sign the lease for my office







i can't wait. i have this vision of ultra-moderne zen office furnishings. and it will proabably end up being a hodge-podge mix of carp from my house







ha

this is hilarious that your families have had the same germs cross-state. well NOT hilarious if kwim. but still


----------



## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Soooo, which office did you go with Jstar? Dish please!









Snooowy day here today! No chance of planting nothin' in the near future.









Safe travels tomorrow, els!

Need to go pick up the kidlet from school.








:


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Glad to hear of things being on the up for now, Els!








All the sickie carp is just not okay. Blah.
All this talk of planting is making me jealous! We got dumped with snow on Friday, so nothing is happenin' here..not like we do much planting anyway.







That's one of those things I *want* to be into...but am just...not.







: Rowan has been asking to make a garden though, so DH and I are going to make an effort this spring. I think. Wish us luck!

I would write more but Rowan is upstairs being veeeerrrry quiet; gotta go see if I have to plop him on the potty!

*coughHACK* Yeah, still sick here but at least I'm not wishing for death anymore.







Man, I felt awful yesterday!
Have a good day mamas!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Just got my neck adjusted....thank GAWDS....it was so out of place it wasn't funny. Now my neck hurts residually from being so out of whack and is now in whack.

Must go run spend money. things are good...


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

feeling preoccupied, mind befuddled, and that's WITH coffee...







meg found my post in TAO from a couple days ago but it's purposefully cryptic because of... well, you know. :halfsmile: but I'm an abstract kinda gal and the responses have been helpful. anyway, thinking of you all, sending you all love, hopefully will get the chance (and hopefully will feel more inspired and less heavy-hearted) to write more soon.
~c


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

TC, if the TAO/sig regards that earlier stuff (I hope you get my vague ref), I'm really sorry. I really don't think you should spend anymore energy on it, because you're above it. If it's something else, then







. (Well,







anyway.)

Jess, I've been obsessing about filberts myself, have not heard of a contorted filbert, now I think I'm pining for something which is unavailable here.... (and actually, I feel pretty







about your other choices, too.)

An afternoon of applying for jobs, incl. trying to network/burrow my way in on two jobs that I've applied for, haven't heard back on, and *really* want. (Feel a little







:







about it, but I guess all they can do is tell me to go away!)

L has made huge strides in her speech, and ST will be wrapping up by her bday, if not sooner. A recent example: shrieking "GIVE IT TO ME!" (a four word sentence!). Once she transitions to reliably using 3+ word phrases, she's done.


----------



## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TurboClaudia* 
meg found my post in TAO from a couple days ago

Yizzah! Where's my prize?


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

I have such a hard time figuring out who I am from one moment to the next that I have nothing constructive to say!















But I do offer







s and support down yonder.
Rowan is standing next to me commenting on all the smilies.







Heehee.

Potty stuff is going fairly well, though I am worrying that Rowan is going the "no-poop!" way of things







: I don't want to force him, I want him to feel the urge to go on his own, but I also REALLY don't want any accidents!







: There have been, don't think I'm being naive about it, he pooped in his underwear (luckily DH had to deal with that one!







) and he's peed a couple times too. Also, I put him in a pull-up at rest and bedtimes, and yesterday he pooped in the pull up, and he's wet occasionally some mornings.

But I can't turn back from it now. Going back to diapers at this point would be bad for everyone, wouldn't it? I mean, accidents are par for the course and he'll eventually figure it out, right???
Potty stuff is stressful, eh?







I ask him probably to the point of annoyance if he has to go, but I don't want to be the one to put him on the potty every single time. I want him to figure out the urge on his own. Ack. I'm going in circles, sorry. I don't know what I'm doing.
I wish I could be more okay with not knowing what I'm doing more often!







I had this real Zen going on for a while, DH was getting all stressed out about things and I was like "It'll pass, all will be well, yeah..." like a darn hippie!







But I lost it somehow.

Being stuck with this flu hasn't helped either.







: I feel like I've been hit by a truck, Els, you got the right idea with the chiro; we have an appointment this morning, all three of us (DH is meeting us there and I may talk him into going to lunch with us.







: Even though we really don't have money














and I NEED the adjustment. Every part of my body HURTS. EVERY PART. My SKIN hurts. Rowan also needs it, he refused to let her touch him last week but this week I told him he's been sick so he HAS to let her help him. Hah. We'll see how THAT goes.

I do slowly feel my mood improving, whether it be the weather SLOWLY getting nicer (SLOWLY) and eventually getting healthier. Or maybe the birth control pills are finally kicking in--I dunno. Or maybe it's just another mood swing. Dude. My brain sucks sometimes.

And with that, I will leave you with







s and







and thoughts of good things. I am trying to be less worried about whether I'm parenting "the right way" or not.

My thoughts are all over the place this morning (obviously







) so I will just sit back and try and finally catch up. Holy heck, is it really almost the END OF THE MONTH already?!?!







:

Have a good day, mamas.







:


----------



## A&L+1 (Dec 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Faery* 
Holy heck, is it really almost the END OF THE MONTH already?!?!







:
:

Why yes, it is.







To celebrate Annie has a 104 fever/ear infection and Ellie has conjunctivitis, and I have a cold. Because it is going around with the May Mamas, and my whole damn family is suggestable, we got it. Basically, February 08+MMF+any germ=BAD, bad Leroy Brown of a sickness for all







:

I have to get ready to go to work, so i hope to respond to some things later. Claudia, I was a little confused by your TAO post but now it is roaming my head at random times of the day. Maybe I will come up with something - in the meantime


----------



## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Hugs to all- I'm a crazy whirlwind and won't be able to post much!

Finals and packing leave me NO time.

Renae- YEs.. there will be accidents. Yes... it will get better. THis too shall pass... remember?

A+L- SO sorry that Annie is sick. Hope she starts feeling better. Thanks for the laugh about bad, bad, leroy brown. Now it will be stuck in my head all day.







:

And Claudia- I don't have a spare second to try and dig in TAO... but I hope that you are doing okay and that whatever is bothering you comes to be resolved. Major *HUGS* from me for the all knowing TC.

We all just NEED a beautiful, calm, peaceful March.

After I move that is...


----------



## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

thanks for the thoughts elsewhere. I've been thinking a lot, and talking it about it some, and reading some, and well, time is just passing and that always helps me find another perspective, so I'm starting to feel a little more at peace with the whole situation. not totally resolved in my mind yet, but starting to possibly see that in my future...

stefan is really throwing me for a loop in his toddlerhood moments now. he understands a lot of what we say, can and doesvfollow a simple instruction ( at his discretion, of course) but he wants to talk so badly and *thinks* he is saying what he means when it's really just sounds and pointing. we've been signing with him for close to a year now but the only one he has duplicated back is diaper (change) when he's getting a clean one. no "eat" or "more" or "drink" or "shoes" or anything. but trying to talk, oh yes, that's there. and stefan's tantrums, who's baby, that boy gets mad when things don't go his way. sheesh.

ok, breakfast calls...

~c


----------



## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

The germy aggression is out of control! Hugs all around - Lisa, you've had more than your fair share already!

Remember that move I pulled yesterday where I went to work even though I thought I should probably stay home? Yeah, that was dumb. Dumber than dumb, really, but I have this crazy brain short-circuit that says I can't *let people down* by missing a day in the office (there's also the financial aspect, which ain't pretty either). So I went to work and to be fair I felt pretty good for the first three hours. Then all of a sudden I was hit by some crazy truck and my nose turned into a fountain and my voice left completely. By 2:00 I was home shivering on the couch with a fever of 103. When, when, when will I learn???

So I arranged to take today off, so I could do the smart thing for once and just stay home and sleeeeep, and wouldn't you know school was canceled today. Excuse me, universe, but how is a sick mama to get any rest with three kids home with her? Le sigh.

But enuff whining from me. Thinking of all the maymamas and fully knowing March will be better. Really.


----------



## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

TC I felt like I was "signing into the abyss" with Sol for the longest time, and at about a year + she signed back.

My love to Lisa and her sickies, and Renae and her spine, may it be a happier one after your appt!

On the road today...think good thoughts because this toddler biz is for the birds. I am so over toddlerhood.


----------



## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

contorted filbert

this is not the best pic but it is an awesome plant. (usually called harry lauder's walking stick). i need one.

i was having mdc withdrawals yesterday







:

juice - not.fair. just.not.fair!

claudia







s

beth - i hope you had a fun date last night









renae - stick with it and carry some extra underwear & pants for a while. he'll figure it out







poo pants are the worst....but it will pass!

els - i hope you had fun spendin money!!!

the office. i'm going with the one right down the street from me. it is available at the end of march. and i got the lease in the mail and it requires me to have insurance. so now i'm applying for insurance. i was just going to get general liability and hold off on professional liabiltiy but THE MAN is screwing with me. it turns out you can't just get GI...you have to get both







: so instead of spending $500 i will be forking out like $3500. mega bummer. but i got a call yesterday for a job in april (writing a 'white paper' on tolling and air quality....sounds a little intimidating). so i guess it is all for the best. this is not going to leave me with any cash for my awesome moderne office furnishings though









ok. time to do something constructive around here







progress is finally happening on the laundry room! yesterday doug installed a window. and today he's going to get siding and hopefully install the door







YAY


----------



## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

where are my may mama peeps????







:


----------



## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I am here, reading with no time to post these days. Thinking of all the sick mamas and babes and DHs. Thinking of you, Danile, packing and in school. Whew.

I got the big news yesterday that I will be doing my integration on time and thus graduating in June with everyone else. It is such good news, youo totally don't understand. I feel 300% better - it's like a huge black cloud has lifted. The actual sun here helps, too.







But I am just so relieved, and think the whole waiting and wondering really hurt my self-esteem - it was so strange when the clinical coordinator told me she thouoght I was fine and could go, I got this rush of pride and satisfaction. I didn't even realize how badly I was feeling about it until I felt good, you know?

Anyway, I am happy about that. Also my birthday is coming up and we're going to see Cirque du Soleil on the 8th. I've never seen them and I'm excited. Also I get to hang with Lily this afternoon and we're going to do something fun, don't know what yet. Maybe just a nice long walk down Alberta (fun street close to my house with coffee shops, restaurants, a toy store, etc.).

Also a friend of mine pregnant with twins found out some good news about having a vaginal birth, so that is making me happy with the world.

Love that filbert, jstar! My yard is looking nice - all the crocuses I planted last Fall are blooming, the daphne is budding, and everything else is leafing out. Jstar, do you want some bright red crocosmia? A friend of mine gave me tons and I don't want it all.









Sarah


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

May Mom Peep checking in..

Boxes boxes everywhere. Writing my final theses in History, Anthropology and studying my butt off for the final chem exam. It's a whopper... hopefully I get through.

BUT... we get to stay at the Heathman and then Homewood Suites this weekend. We are going down to look at a bunch of places. Wish me luck!


----------



## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

Here. replying in my head.







tired on top of tired!


----------



## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

me too. our dog was running around crying from 3 to 4am because something was in our yard. and ebin who had already been up at 2 and probably 2:30 and then 3 until 4 just would not go back to sleep. and i was







: and thank gawd doug took him downstairs for me and i slept til 8.

sarah that is SO GREAT. i can imagine what a stress and potential let-down that would have been. and yep - i'll take any and all plants (even though i don't know what crocosmia are...i might if i saw them). i have a ton of bed space to fill.

this nice weather is DEFINITELY helping my badditude.

good luck looking at places ducette


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Crocosmia

They might be a bit more orange than that, not such a deep red. Maybe more like this:

Close-up

They're bulbs, and they spread like crazy - you have to separate them every few years if you don't want them everywhere. But they're gorgeous.


----------



## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

renae---maybe rowan just needs the proper motivation!


----------



## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

omg isaac needs those!! he IS growing out of undies









oh yes - those are really pretty sarah. i'm all for spready. less space for weeds!

claudia - i could make you feel better by filling you in on my friend drama. it is peeving me deeply. my closest friend is mad and jealous about me befriending a former friend of hers. like so jealous she just didn't talk to me for the whole month of february







she finally called 2 nights ago to yell at me for being so nonconfrontational and not calling her to just get it all out. hello she was the one that got mad in the first place and i decided to embrace this silent treatment and move on & get away from the whole (dumb) scene. this is such 7th grade carp! but meanwhile i still am hanging out with friend number 2 but very rarely...maybe i see her once a month if that but she has a baby and herein lies the problem (the root of the jealousy that we have something in common now). so i feel totally trapped in this drama/rock and hard place







why can't we all just get along, man???????







:







:







: it is just killing me. i.hate.conflict!

and there is your daily drama digest







i'll keep you updated


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *heatherfeather* 
renae---maybe rowan just needs the proper motivation!










Okay, Heather? You have NO IDEA how my heart skipped a beat, and a teeny little *squeal* left my lips as I FLEW to my purse for my wallet!! For REAL!








And holy CARP, the OTHER stuff on that website! When DH freaks OUT, I will blame you!!







J/K honey!
THANK YOU. This is amazing...and I am going to resist buying everything ELSE on that site. Dude.
The "A if for Audrey" t-shirt is AMAZING.









Okay. Whew! Way too excited. Part of that excitement is the fact that for the first time ever, Rowan has napped. A MARATHON, mamas...like, he went down at about 11:40, and is JUST making noise up there NOW. He needed it, and by the goddesses and gods, I needed it too! I feel utterly refreshed in ways I never do when he just "rests".

But of course, since I am just getting to the internets now, he is waking up and I have to go. But I wanted to check in.







I've been sick for almost a week, remember. I was barely online yesterday.
The pottying is...going. And that's about all I can say about it. Only one poopy accident though...and I am fearful that he is going to deal with the pooping on the potty by...not pooping.







: So I put him in our very last diaper when he went down for his nap...and unless he calls to "go"...I am going to leave him up there to do what he needs to do and I will deal with it when I get him.







: I would rather clean a poopy diaper or pull-up, I think, than have to handle a willfully constipated toddler. We'll see. Peeing on the potty's been pretty okay though. We constantly have extra under/pants on hand!

And now we will have even COOLER ones, thanks to Heather's link! Hee.

Have a good day, mamas, I read, and am present.







:

(yeah, see, this is me posting on an upswing. Go me.







)

p.s. The chiro ruled us all yesterday...but I wish I had that woman on retainer, for like, minute-by-minute adjustments. A masseuse would be nice, too, while I'm wishing.








And a pony.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Where? Out enjoying the sun. (Actually, I feel like pulling a Toad and reading, singing, etc. to my crocuses, because I feel like they're *never* going to come up.)

Longer reply later.


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh Jstar... I am so sorry for the "mama drama" that you are dealing with. I have been there a thousand times over. I have one friend in particular that it ALWAYS happens with. But we've known each other FOREVA and our kids LOVE hanging out... so I feel bad just dropping communication. I find myself apologizing for things I didn't even do... she's over sensitive and I just don't want to deal with the fight. For example... If I don't call often enough, ie: every other day or more.







She just stays at home and makes bows... so I don't think she gets that people can be more busy than that even if that is busy. ANyways... not to take over your post.... just know I understand and hope that it just goes away for you.

Renae- So excited for your pottytraining expedition! It'll be great before you know it! Just hang on there!

KK- Totally jealous of your time in the sun. And don't worry... I do talk to plants. (ONly the ones that I own. In my own defense.







: )


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
Where? Out enjoying the sun. (Actually, I feel like pulling a Toad and reading, singing, etc. to my crocuses, because I feel like they're *never* going to come up.)

Longer reply later.









Wow, it's like 20 degrees here. I'm jealous but your Toad reference made me happy. That's one of our favorite stories here.









And jstar, I am so sorry for your mama drama (meant to say before but the cute underpants totally distracted me!







) and I offer you







s and "no more mama-drama carp!"









Oh, another possible reason for my upswing is holy heck, dude, it's almost 5pm and the SUN'S STILL OUT! Even though it's cold.







: Yo dude, I will take what I can get!
Okay, time to make dinner. Grilled cheese and tomato soup from a can, baby! Oh yes.


----------



## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

That dark coldness of winter really gets to me too, Renae.

I'm back in SMA and tired. When does the tired thing end? Ever?

I'm happy because the travel went purty smoothly....and it could definitely have not. so, yaaaay and customs no problem....phew...
Viet's all distant and yegads I needs me some lovin'...but hey. whatever. he also went somewhere with some female friends while I was gone and a) he has no female friends that I know of and b) whatever. Sol told me about it. I almost want him to cheat on me so that I can finally, unequivocally say, okay then, you're free! Buh-bye!!!!

I got some great puzzles from target up yonder and we're having fun playing with them.

gah.

too much to do, too little time.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

just a drive by to let you know I'm here and reading and thinking of you all... had a fabulous day yesterday with some friends... ahhh, good friends, the kind you can just BE with. and we had a lovefest over email late last night about our mutual respect and love for one another and that ability to just be together. ahhh...
sun shining, children snacking, quiet in the house, for the moment anyway...








~c


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Oh Els! I am so sorry. I'm hoping it is not what it seems like... but in my case it usually was. You already know my experiences. So... just *major hugs* ...









And TC- Glad everything is going well for you.


----------



## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

Poking my head out of the covers for long enough to say Hi Everymama. I'm finally turning the corner on this bug, but I've been sicker than I remember in a long time! Fortunately DH took all three kids to their respective daycare/schools and I spent the day literally in bed, which was very helpful. I no longer wish for death. I think tomorrow I may even have the energy to shower









I really like the contorted filbert. It's ridiculously cool, and I just think contorted is awesome.

jstar, I would love to see pics of your house and your plants and everything. It sounds like there's a lot of progress being made, and progress is fun! And inspiring for those of us still under two feet of snow.

Thinking of the danile and the packing and the studying... oh, my head hurts too much already









hugs on all the mamadrama fronts... plenty of BTDT's over here, and it's just so exhausting.

els, glad you're back safe and sound. You give the word, and a whole bunch of maymamas will gladly line up for some kicking of the appropriate parts.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

I'm here. Doing what I do best - stressing about money. Gah. I was mistaken about that tax refund stuff, btw. What I saw was just some tax records, not an indication of a refund. Boo Hoo for me.

*sigh* I really need to get a job. The thought alone is depressing because I need to either a) get a part time job where I am working at least part of the weekend (I HATE working weekends, it messes with our family mojo big time) and not making great money, but my mom can watch the kids for 2 days during the week or b) go the full time job route and put the kids in daycare. Neither option is optimal because neither options allows me to end up bringing home very much money. And honestly, going the full time office somethingorother route is soooooo unappealing to me. I haven't done that in over 4 years and I hated it then, so I know I"ll hate it now. Plus, that's $ for clothes and all the other things that come with having a real job.

Depressing as all that is, I have to say, life has been pretty good lately. The kids are driving me a little bonkers with the no listening (Mia) and the onset of the terrible twos (Jett). Sultan has been acting a bit of a fool, but I'm not taking it personally (huge progress for me!) and I am just swooping in with consequences with the quickness, all whilst keeping my cool. Feels pretty good.

I know that part of Mia's issue with listening is that she's tired. She's gone back to napping (asking for it one her own!) and during the week, she really needs a nap, but taking one at 3:30 (after school) isn't really ideal, so I don't encourage it. But the past couple of days, she's been a mess, so today I told her to go lay down and she did. Snoozing as I type. Just gotta wake her up before too long or it will be late night party time.

All. About. Me.







:


----------



## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

outside is a great place to be!

i'm stressing about money too. i spent today filling out an app for professional liability insurance. i'm expecting that to be $2000 - 3000. plus general liability will be $500. all this is required by the stupid office lease







but i need to get legit anyway at some point. meanwhile i am waiting like a fidgity 3 year old to hear back from our accountant on our tax bill for the year (and expecting to owe). needless to say there will likely not be enough cash to go around









the working thing does seem stupid sometimes. the net gain with the childcare thing. my babysitter has freed herself up by quitting housecleaning. and i know i am going to need more days from her whenever i get a workload crunch. but at some point i am going to be paying her WAY more than if i just put ebin in daycare because he is getting older and that option is getting cheaper. plus i only pay her $1/hr more to watch isaac at the same time so it would really be cheaper if i pulled him out and just had him stay with A too. but him in the house too much = crazy. so yeah.

that's an all-about-me way of saying i hear what you're sayin!









claudia - i'm glad you had some GOOD friend mojo!

juice - i'm so glad you got to stay in bed!

els - i don't know why it made me giggle that sol mentioned V hanging out with some chicks. i shouldn't laugh but that way of finding out.....ha!


----------



## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Faery* 
Wow, it's like 20 degrees here. I'm jealous but your Toad reference made me happy. That's one of our favorite stories here.










I should do serious, substantive replying







, but just popping in to say that we (incl. the adults) have "arguments" about whether each of us is Frog or Toad (generally "I want to be Frog, but unfortunately, I am Toad"







)


----------



## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Claudia, glad you have some good friends at the ready for when you need them. After spending time with good friends, I always feel so refreshed, and even a bit intoxicated if that makes any sense.

Juice, glad to see you back in the land of the living. I'll go kung fu on your virus if you want.

Ducette, wow, just thinking of you, mama. You ahve so much on your plate right now. I hope you find a good living solution easily this weekend. Update us when you can!

Meesa, where are you, Mama?

Els, glad the trip was OK-ish. Sorry to hear about Viet. *puttingonmyarsekickingbootssmilie*

I'm soooo jealous of you'uns with crocuses and such. Dude, we've got over a foot of snow, too. to my faithful blog readers I'll be uploading pix of the girls playing in the snow from our recent storm. But I'll be the first to say I'm looking forward to spring ahead next weekend! More sunlight in the day helps my mood mucho.

Just plow through on the potty front, Renae. Just roll up your sleeves, both literally and figuratively and plow through. He'll get the hang of it! Especially with the uber cool undies Heather linked for ya!

Mamameg, I've been wondering about you, too! Glad to hear you're in a good mama groove. But sorry 'bout the money sitch. Stressful stressful. bah.

Sarah! I'm so excited for you on your good news! SOOOOO glad you can gradjutate with your MW peeps! Funny how you should offer jstar some of your plants. Never heard of that particular plant until today from you. Then Sarah came home with a brochure, her school is selling bulbs, and there they were, right in the catalog! I might get some to try here, too.

I'm so happy right now. I just booked a place for us to stay in August when we head to coastal Maine! Yippee! Summer can't come soon enough in my book.


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
I should do serious, substantive replying







, but just popping in to say that we (incl. the adults) have "arguments" about whether each of us is Frog or Toad (generally "I want to be Frog, but unfortunately, I am Toad"







)

Uhm YEAH. GUESS who's Toad around here?? ....BLAH!








Okay, gotta go to BED. Night night everymama!


----------



## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Ugghh to money, friend, moving and unappreciative dp issues









Danile~ Your life makes my head spin!







I hope things settle down for you

mf~I was going to reply to your potty training post, but didn't have time. It will get better, kids this age are stubborn. Once I told Saige that I wasn't buying diapers anymore, she really started to take it seriously. Once I did that, she wouldn't even wear them while sleeping and trained herself to hold it at night









I haven't posted in a while, I have been reading though. I've been down the last few days with horrible back pain. I thought it might be kidney stones, but I did an u/s at work







and there is nothing. Then, af showed up yesterday and today I feel better *shrug* I have endometriosis, so I'm thinking maybe it's something connected with that, but who knows.


----------



## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *meesa143* 
I haven't posted in a while, I have been reading though. I've been down the last few days with horrible back pain. I thought it might be kidney stones, but I did an u/s at work







and there is nothing. Then, af showed up yesterday and today I feel better *shrug* I have endometriosis, so I'm thinking maybe it's something connected with that, but who knows.

Low back pain is a very common symptom of that. I'm sorry you are dealing with it. Hope it resolves for you somehow.


----------



## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Sarah, I am very happy to hear that your stress level is reduced. I've been thinking about you a lot lately. You're normally pretty even-keeled, and your posts have been way stressed- out. So hooray for some good news.

My work sitch is STILL in flux, and I am sick of it. I hope I don't end up jobless, and lose my health insurance. Blah. Another part-time working mom at our office just got laid off today. Her kids are the same ages as mine. Double blah. So the good weather hasn't really made a dent in my mood. At least for today, I have a job, and I like it.

OK, dh needs phone. Ta ta!


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Ah, mamas, I caved. We may not be buying diapers anymore...but we DO have pull-ups (for rest and bed times) and...the kid hasn't pooped in DAYS. He's wearing the damn pull-up now.







:
We have to go to my friend's house this morning and I will have a two year old AND Rowan to watch, and then he's going to Gramma's this weekend. The kid HAS TO POOP!







:

I'm not THAT concerned. Really! I know there will be setbacks and accidents. I just really don't want a HUGE potty accident right now.







:







:







:
And I admit that the willful constipation kinda freaks me out.







:

Anyway, yeah. It's going. I'm too tired to worry about it that much. Our lovely kitty destroyed the dining room last night and we were up wayyyy past our bedtimes cleaning THAT up (he shattered a big snowglobe that was WAY up on a high shelf. That jerk.







) so yeah.

Meesa, glad to see you back! I had that terrible low-back pain with AF this week too. Got it Wednesday, started feeling like carp yesterday morning. Awesome.








Elsanne, I hope things with Viet work out. So many







s, mama. *sigh* I want to be able to teleport, so I can go to Mexico and at least HUG you for real!
I know there was more...Meg, TOTALLY hear you on the money, OF COURSE. And OMG! Rowan took an EPIC nap for the first time in ages yesterday and he was a freakin' JOY in the afternoon...minus the non-pooping thing. Hah.

Juice, Holy heck do I hear you on the sickies. I hadn't been this sick in ages myself. Still having coughing fits on occasion. *sigh* Feel better, mama!

Okay, I gotta go, dishes need to be washed before we head out. If I don't poke my head back in this weekend (Like I WON'T.







) have a great one!


----------



## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

mornin!

no coffee here so i'm drinking tea this morning. mmm tasty









ha. ebin is playing the keyboard right now. i am A-mazed at his progress right now. he was barely crawling 2 weeks ago and now he is moving and grooving and pulling up on everything. and he can't climb the stairs yet (thankfully) but he gets up on the bottom step and shrieks at isaac

and he keeps shaking his head. i don't know if it is teeth or his ear infection still lingering







:

beth - that's scary about the work stuff! your poor coworker--very unfair.

it is hard to imagine so much snow







:







:







:

willful constipation is tricky. there's only so much you can do to make someone poop kwim. i have given isaac laxative and he still won't poop sometimes! i think we are turning the corner a little bit though with that. he has been going more often and it is not quite so traumatic. he still fights getting on the potty (we have to physically carry him in there). but then he'll go pretty quickly once he's situated.

ok. i should probably do some cleaning around here.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Renae, if he's digging his heels in, esp. wrt poop, I'd just let it go. It's not worth it (constipatio is esp. not worth it). He'll get a clue sooner or later that going potty benefits *him*.

Ferny, UG on work flux.

And Meesa, UG on back pain.

Sherri, so *not* jealous of your foot of snow.









Jess, I have to say, the whole working/childcare/balance/affording it thing sounds crazy and hard (esp. for someone who hasn't had to do it







: but we may get there yet). Egad, we should have universal healthcare, universal preschool, and the kind of childcare and family leave benefits other "advanced" nations enjoy.









Meg, UG on the tax refund mistake. Sounds like Mia is growing.

Juice, let's race to see who gets well first.










TC, thinking of you.









Els... I almost want him to cheat, too.







: But glad the trip was good and that you're home again.

Sarah, I'm so *glad* you're getting to finish when everyone else is.
Major







It seems like you've been working your butt off and that you should get credit for it.

Heath, hope everything is going well with eating, growth, etc.

Danile, good luck with the studies, the packing, etc. Hope your head doesn't explode.









Jacquie, Jacquie, wherefore art thou, Jacquie?

(And a random vibe to Emmalola, hope things are going well, esp. wrt to the diss and appliances.)


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

renae: on poop, I may have talked about marek's love of the "race" to be the first one to go to the bathroom.

sample conversation:
me: marek, you look like you're doing the crazy poop dance. do you want to go first? or wait, I think I'm going to go first... [standing up to move towards the bathroom]
M: no, no, NO! I have to go first, I want to go first, I want to go first!
me: okay, then...

even for the mostly non-competitive seeming marek, this seems to spur him to get to the toilet sometimes. and we got a book from the library not long ago about learning to use the potty and it reinforced our previous statements of "if your body feels like it has to go poop (or pee) then you should do what your body tells you do" and also that it's okay to have to leave your toys to go potty and then you can come back and they will still be there. just keep plowing through.

no sunshine yet this morning, but we are going to the zoo with some friends anyway since it's not raining and not too cold.

oh, and happy leap day!

~claudia


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

renae---w/ c I even would let her plunk the potty chair in the middle of the living room and watch tv whilst doing the biz. You don't want to mess with a stretched colon from holding the poo. sneak loads of ground flax seed in his food and he will go.







Or just take him somewhere without an extra change of clothes/dipes and then he'll really go.







btdt!

tgif! the end.

went to the doctor today re: vitamins and then to the chiro. E got her freebie bday adjustment and eek....does her sacrum pop! I know it's from her abnormal gait, but ouchy! Everyone in the office always loves to see the babies get adjusted and her office has an open adjusting area so HJ is always the star of the show.









okay...must wrangle E and get C from school. Poor HJ is so over the car seat these days. But he has many pounds to go before he outgrows it so....


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Sorry to hear about the no-pooping going on with Rowan. I feel a bit







about my earlier advice. I guess I missed the part about him withholding the poo. Hope he realizes it's not as scary as it seems.

Yay for good chiro visits!


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

TC~I'm going to have to try that with S. She waits until she is literally going to explode before she heads to the bathroom.
I did the potty chair in the living room too and it worked out well. She spent a lot of days naked watching cartoons on the potty









Happy Leap Day










My back pain is *right* where my left kidney is, so I'm not sure it's endo related. Seems too high. It came back this morning, so I took more drugs, now I'm


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Meesa-hope its not another uti for you.







Are you drinking enough? Just hoping it's not pyelonephritis. I've had that and it sux0rs big time.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Drive-by bag post because I can't respond to all wonderful women who warrant wise words with warmth.

That was a fun "w" thing.

Packing for a trip to Morelia tonight to go give a workshop, very fun and exciting thought, because hear this mamas: I'm goin' ALONE. Alone! Two days, of aloneness, in aloneville! Alone is starting to take on that "weird is that really a word, it looks strange" quality after writing it that many times.

Viet and I had a "talk" last night where we tried to "communicate", both those words stretched to the edges of their possible meanings. Anyway it "worked" because now we're being kind and all is well and he is watching the girls for two days. There is no other woman. *disappointed sigh*

Okay. Off I go to pack. I have SO MANY thoughts for each of you that it overwhelms me and instead of not posting out of bagness, it's just an all-about-me'er.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo to you all.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

bag post --lmbo!

Alone never sounded so sweet, hon. Enjoy to the fullest!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

I'm in a bit of a pissy mood. But wanted to share some goodish (I hope) news (keep yer fimmers crossed): dh just had an interview and it sounds like it went *really* well. (Here's the snark: I bullied him into wearing a jacket and tie; *yes*, he's been reluctant to do that at previous interviews.







They apparently said they're considering him for a sr. position. I'm sure that looking more "sr." has *nothing* to do with how things went.





















) There will be a (bus) commute, which sucks (compared with a biking commute), but it sounds like it would be both a good fit and a step up.

I have a master gardener writing workshop all day tomorrow... after that, I'll be allowed to periodically write a MG column in local papers. I'm very







about it (also the ALONE part of it, though I'll be "alone" with other adults).

Also, I have an interview for another volunteer board (advises the city council on environmental stuff) on Monday. I wish *my* interviews would be for something which actually paid $$$, but the other stuff is good for my resume, networking, etc.


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## meesa143 (Jul 3, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Sarah'sMama* 
Meesa-hope its not another uti for you.







Are you drinking enough? Just hoping it's not pyelonephritis. I've had that and it sux0rs big time.

I had a u/a on monday and everything was normal. I have been really conscious of how much I'm drinking and making sure I drink lots of water, blah blah. I'm going to do a google search, because i don't know what that is









KK~I hope it goes well, keeping my fingers crossed.

DH has been working late ALL week saying he would be able to take most of today off. Guess who is still working?! Oh well.


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

meesa---hope you can figure it out *and* feel better!

kk--







indeed! hope the results are good! any thoughts MMFMG! on how to initiate a children's garden?? C is just chomping at the bit to have her own garden space this year and I haven't a clue. Are there any garden teaching kid level books/pamphlets out there?

okay....stealing just stealing a moment here since I NAPPED during my usual computer time. Included a snuggle post HJ nap nursing *in* bed in a horizontal position....almost never happens! No choking while nursing from him so hopefully we can do more of that in the future. You have no idea how exhausting it is to have to sit up and nurse/rock a babe multiple times a night for 45+ minutes at a time.

...........off...........................


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *heatherfeather* 
meesa---hope you can figure it out *and* feel better!

kk--







indeed! hope the results are good! any thoughts MMFMG! on how to initiate a children's garden?? C is just chomping at the bit to have her own garden space this year and I haven't a clue. Are there any garden teaching kid level books/pamphlets out there?

A couple of things I can suggest (which I think are google-able):

sunflower house
bean tepee

(both of these are very good for this age, and the seeds are very large and easy for little hands to manipulate).

Do you think flowers or veggies are more up her alley? Butterfly gardens are also a popular kid thing. Cherry tomatoes are *great* for kids. If you can lay your hands on Square Foot Gardening, I'm pretty sure there's info in there about veggie gardening and little ones (raised bed stuff, and with kids, one thing you do is make the bed much narrower).


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## Miss Juice (Jun 9, 2005)

KK, I







your new title









dinnertime mania here, must run


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

march thread here, courtesy of smilie queen sherri


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