# ***May04 Mamas in September***



## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

I'm so not into being creative tonight, and also so not into advertising that you're all going to be secretly stalking me as the month progresses...









So really this is just a boring thread title to start off the not-so-boring month of September.

!!!!! MMF !!!!!

~claudia


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Woohoo!!!!! I'm first to subscribe! YAY!!!
Wow, I can't believe it's already time to stalk you, Claudia! The time, she flies!







I won't bug you too much...









Rowan is sitting in my lap pointing to the smilies going, "smile, smile!" So, these are for him:








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He likes the sheep one a LOT!







And the laundry, yeah...I should be doing that today.

Anyway, I gotta get us ready to go to a friend's to watch her son (we're starting a childcare swap this week for the semester she's teaching at the local college)...wish us luck! Who knows whether Rowan will nap there!









Much love to all you wonderful mamas!







Happy September!!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

So my question for the month is, did tc get knocked up right at christmas, or at new year's? Or shortly thereafter? Whaddya doin makin babies when there's holidays to stress over??????

I cannot believe it is September. Hijole.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

actually, it was the days between christmas and new year's.

and it was in the guest room at bill's parents' house.








:


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Subbin'!

I'm off with the kiddos to a new playspace/organic cafe. Fun!







:


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TurboClaudia*
actually, it was the days between christmas and new year's.

and it was in the guest room at bill's parents' house.








:

At least it wasn't with Colonel Mustard OR a candlestick.








:

I crack myself up.


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## Defenestrator (Oct 10, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TurboClaudia*
actually, it was the days between christmas and new year's.

and it was in the guest room at bill's parents' house.








:

That's the holiday spirit!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Subscribing.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

She wouldn't be having a baby with a candlestick, now would she?








(A little too much potty talk here recently, no?)







:


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Okay, this is the *last* post, I promise, but didja all see Renae's new sr. title? Dude, I wish *I* had thought of that.






























(Not that anyone who *needs* to read it will see it.)


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Sarah, you crack myself up too! Candlesticks could be fun, you never know!!! And the colonel, well, there's something to be said for older men. Too much potty talk? Not enough!!!









Agreed kk about Renae's title! Rock on, mama! Way to make mdc a kinder gentler nation.

Second day of school, thumbs up







. Both girls napping at the moment, miraculously. Good day today but need to get some work done. Too much partyin'. I had a MamaCitas 'meeting' (get together, ooh n aah over babies, eat food) at yet another sumptuous palace, I mean home. It is incredible what the money your house is worth up yonder will get you down here. This mama owned a B & B in Napa (ca) so you know she n dh did alright when they sold it and moved down here. Sol & I swam, swam swam in her pool and had a great time.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

fiddle (or heather or kk): can you help this mama out? http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=512978

~c


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

subscribing, laughing at the candlesticks, heee heee!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

dang, you mamas have your minds in the gutter... candlesticks, sheesh... next thing i know, you'll be talking about cucumbers...










~c


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

You guys are all so freakin' awesome!!








Yeah, I figured I needed a new Senior Title...and well, since I paid for a couple months to get an avatar and the right to change my title anytime I want, what the heck??









And yeah, maybe the people who NEED to see it won't...kinda like the bumper sticker DH got for his car:
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!! Not that it matters

Woohoo!

Okay, it's like 12:30am...bedtime!
Love to you all!







:


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TurboClaudia*
next thing i know, you'll be talking about cucumbers...

~c

You said it! Not me!!!














:


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

e does have a uti...trying our second antibiotic, but thankfully at home and not in the hospital. though obviously not in AZ. so hard to keep up...thinking of you all and schtuff.







:


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Aw Heath. I would just like to give you a big ol hug and a big ol day off from everything. I am so sorry it keeps comin at ya







:

much love to you, Heather.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

(((((HEATHER))))) Not fair. Sooo not fair.

Ok guys, how do I get a senior title?? Is there someone I PM or something?

S.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Subbing.

OK so I lose touch and there are new member titles, talk about cucumbers and it makes me wonder what I missed.

N is in Kindergarden and I am excited about her school. She is TIRED! though.
We had a great vacation and it was lovely meeting the PDX may mamas.

Then we spent the last week of freedom, before school every day started, playing in the street with the neighbors. THen the first two weeks of school were totally busy because I was asked to revamp a website that had gone wrong and then I was learning the ropes at school. Whoohoo.

Just so you know.

Sounds like Heather had a hard time recently - I hope the AB work soon and everyone feels better


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Jacqueline are you a website designer????
We just found one but were looking for one for a spell...for the new biz I am creating with the old boss...

mcsarah, bee, I do think you have to pm someone. I wonder the same thing...what's it gonna be for you? I haven't a clue because my whimsy changes moment by moment...right now it would be something like 'politely get the f- out of my way'...
That's what I get for navigating the boat of a jogging stroller through the tiny cobbled sidewalks of san miguel.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

you guys are so funny









we were gone for a couple of days to southern colorado to see dh's mom and stepdad. it was fun but we feel like we drove all over southwestern colorado in the past 48 hours, so are tired of the car. beautiful scenery, though. geesh. almost too beautiful, if that's possible.

we went on a hot air balloon ride while g stayed with grandma, so that was fun.

gotta go through our mail now. maybe i'll feel like using capital letters later...after all the tall peaks i've seen, i just feel smaller i guess. that, and who wants to push down the shift key?

heather....i meant to send you a hug last message. you've been in my thoughts


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

I need a sr. title too (I think I became a sr. member ~2 yrs ago... just haven't been able to think of a good one). Hmm. Obviously, not clever enough...









Ooh Jacqueline, where'd you go? Which passes did you go over? I love the San Juan Mts.... personally, I think that's about the most beautiful area anywhere.

I think E has had her quota of UTIs for the rest of her life. She shouldn't have to ever get another one ever, ever again.









We had a mishap in which one of T's Goodnites (superabsorbant nighttime pullup... he's such a sound sleeper, that many nights, he'd wet the bed if he weren't wearing them, and he's such a big kid now that I could prolly only get cloth dipes from fetishists--just kidding... really, I need to find a WAHM to make some custom humongo superabsorbant cotton things for him) accidentally got in the washer with a load of wash. Holy exploding diapers, Batman. I read on the net that salt will dissolve the goo, so we're re-running the load with it... I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

L's hair is now long enough that I got some tiny little hair clips to keep it out of her eyes. Cute cute cute!

Z uses a goofy affected voice sometimes. Any other 2 yr olds do that? Also, his language skills have been improving dramatically in the last month or 2. "Mommy, I want a mango in my bowl. Mommy, I found a mango for me. I have a mango right here." (I think on his birthday, he was only stringing 2 words together.)


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jacqueline*
gotta go through our mail now. maybe i'll feel like using capital letters later...after all the tall peaks i've seen, i just feel smaller i guess. that, and who wants to push down the shift key?









Jacqueline, no offense, but you sound slightly under the influence with that last statement.







Or maybe that's just becasue I'm slightly under the influence.







We bought some really good tequila for Labor Day and opened it just a smidge early...

Lily is running around naked eating frozen peas one by one and offering every other one to me or DH.

Yes, KK, Lily talks in an affected voice a lot. And makes these silly faces sometimes, in different characters. She has her "baby" face, "mad" face, and what I call her " disgusted" face - basically the Valley Girl "Oh Mah Gawd" face with furrowed brows and chin into the neck.

Ooooooh, I really want to be done with this paper. It is so totally uninteresting to me. Can't wait 'til I'm into the midwifery stuff full time.

OK, enough procrastination. I think my senior title should be Queen of Procrastination.

*MWAH*

S.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

KK-we went to Pagosa Springs. We went over Independence Pass on the way there (and Wolf Creek Pass). On the way back we took a more scenic drive, but it was longer....through Durango, Molas Divide, through Silverton and over Red Mountain Pass, through Ouray, Montrose and back from Grand Junction to Glenwood! Six passes total, so we're starting to feel like real Coloradoans again!

Had a good birthday today....thanks for all your well wishes on the YG. It was a quiet day....went out for Italian food at lunch (had eggplant parmigiana) with chocolate decadence for dessert (and a happy birthday sung to me by the wait staff) followed by a nice nap (yes, G actually took one so dh and I could too!) and then we went out for ice cream for dinner! All my siblings and parents called (it's a tradition that my dad call me on my bday and sing me "happy birthday") and I got some great email cards. Now I'm going to read the newspaper and watch something from TiVo. All in all, a pretty good way to turn 35. (ack, how did I get to be 35?)

Oh yeah, and Gabriel gave me the best present of all...he said "I love mama" at lunch! We've been working on it with him, but today's the first day he said it, and he said it twice!!!














He said he loved dadda later, and he's just so great. This is the good stuff. Pretty rewarding after the last two years.

Good night all. Happy Labor Day!!!!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Jacq, that is indeed the greatest gift your son could give you! I am looking so forward to that moment myself!
And...nyah nyah! You're older than me!!!! But just barely...I'll be 35 next April.
Glad you had a nice, flowing day. Today has been a good one for me too except for the dang bee sting on my forehead...







:


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Hi everyone!

Hugs to Heather and bee-stung Elsanne.









Sarah- hope that paper is done post-haste so you can have some well-deserved R&R.

I'm procrastinating too- supposed to be packing for our yurt-camping trip. Been saving up for this one for a year, and pulled a double shift this weekend at work so I can take next weekend off.

Mamas, if you ever get the yeasties, I HIGHLY recommend acidopholus in your mouth and boric acid up your you-know-what. After more than two months, I'm finally itchy free. (Thanks Stacia, etc.)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhh.









Jacqueline- you're making me jealous. My family used to vacation regularly in Estes Park but I'm too poor to drive out for a visit. I'm glad you're getting a chance to see all that beauty, though.









KK- tell us how the salt works. Ickie.

nuggetsmom- sounds like you've been busy having fun. Hooray. That's the best kind of busy.









Stalking Claudia now: thou must post every several days this month. Bwa ha ha. And seriously, I'm glad you're feeling a little more prepared. I hope you are able to have the burly discussion with dh that you're anticipating, and I hope you two are able to hear each other and go into this birth as a team. 'cause you don't need to poopy-heads attending your birth.







You're so good at taking care of others, and you deserve to be nurtured too, mama.

Hallooo to Renae and Emily and all my other may mamas. Happy September- one of my favorite months.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Just wanted to add that dh and I had a wonderful meeting with the members of the "commune" this morning about our current living situation and needs. We agreed to do some meal-sharing with them, and they want to pass on some of their extra produce and leftovers to us, as they often have to throw out food 'cause there's too much. (They host lots of events including weddings for people of the same sex, and usually the participants donate the extra food from the event, so the house is usually overflowing with food). It won't all be organic, but at least some of it will be.

Also, we talked about our medical needs. I had never sat down and done the math, to realize that once baby #2 is born, we'll be spending about $550 a month out-of-pocket for medical expenses, and that's with both dh and I covered by our work, and paying for the kids through our work plan, and co-pays. Hot [email protected]&%. The income-sharing community reminded us that the spiritual community which meets in their house (and of which we are a part) has a sizalbe community needs fund. They encouraged us to make use of it more often for medical stuff.

Sooo... that was more detail than any of you probably cared for, but basically, after feeling really sad that we couldn't join the income-sharing community, I'm feeling very cared for and supported by these friends of ours who we've spent the last 8 years hanging out with.







. This pregnancy, building my nest is a lot less about cute baby stuff or a clean house, and a lot more about building a network of love for my baby.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fiddlefern*

Sarah- hope that paper is done post-haste so you can have some well-deserved R&R.

Okay, back to the whole barflies thing: I was reading this post really quickly, and I saw "...so you can have some well-deserved BAR"








! Okay, that's really it. I hope you all are well. I am extremely tired, we've had a long day so I will most more tomorrow, coffee cup in hand.









have a great night, sweet mamas.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Elsanne- I am not really a webdesigner but I can kinda sorta do them. It depends on what needs to be done. It was my friends mom who needed a site right befoer Julia was born and I agreed to do it since she wanted something simple. Then she let someone who worked with her change it and then it needed to be changed back. An ancient trick by us webdesigners is to make it easy to mess upa website so you have to grovel back to us and pay us lots to get it working again. I am only kidding of course. My code was very basic and straightforward but the guy who made the changes wasn't working there anymore.
I guess the bee sting is right where you can keep an eye one it.









Fiddlefern- I am confused about where you live right now (well PDX) but this commune sounds very interesting. Did you already say why you couldn't join?

KK- the tiny hairclips on the tiny girlies is too cute. My girls waited to grow their hair out, but J now likes hairclips in her hair. In fact she ripped off one from mcsrahb when we were at her house.

OK, I am super tired and almost done with a vest I am knitting so I gotta go.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

FriskyFiddle, doin' the long post thang!!! Right on! Bout time you got some blab on.














:

Also ff want to say what the ??? about the high medical bills! Egads!!!! And that's WITH insurance? *sigh*
Soooo glad you feel supported and loved by your irl community. That is awesome.









Jacqueline, neato! Tomorrow we meet with our web designer and now that I know her secret...I don't know what I can possibly do except stand tall and adjust my pantalones and say, HEY GIRL, I know what you webdesigners do, and you AIN'T GONNA GO PULL ANY OF THAT CRAP NOW ARE YA????


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Faery*
Okay, back to the whole barflies thing: I was reading this post really quickly, and I saw "...so you can have some well-deserved BAR"

I DID finish my paper today, and I DID get some well-deserved BAR! Actually, 2 scrumptious sangrias and some girly mixed drink that was waaaaay too gingery! But happy-inducing nonetheless. MIL watch DD while DH and I went out and drank and chatted for 3 hours. Heaven.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nuggetsmom*
In fact she ripped off one from mcsrahb when we were at her house.









: How dare you?! Just kidding. We have like 50-11 of those things. I hope you got a cute one.









Speaking of hair, I did some bright red highlights again. Must be that 30th birthday approaching. And here I am hanging out with you old broads.









And now I am off to watch a movie with DH.

Love to all!

Sarah


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Quote:

And here I am hanging out with you old broads.
Hey, Sarah, I resemble that remark!!! I am sooooo glad you and dh had a good time tonight. Woo hoo, go BAR! (you are so funny, M Faery!)

Nuggetsmom- right now we live in a very sensible 2 bedroom apartment in SE Portland like "normal" people. We were thinking about moving into an apartment within a few blocks of the Peace House. In this building are most of the members of an intentional living community/ income sharing community (the rest of the living community live here and there, but nearby). My spiritual community meets in the Peace House, but they are separate entities (not all in the living community attend the church, and the church has many more members than the living community). The living community decided they were in too much transition to think about having a whole family join them right now, and we can't afford to live in the neighborhood "on our own," so we're staying put. I know, complicated.

And sorry about the long posties- I'm feeling chatty today, as I put off packing for our camping trip.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

quick post to say that i'm still pregnant, kinda grumpy today, and having the no poop issues again these past few days... grrrr... the grumpy and no poop are probably somewhat related.

also, just wondering when it's become acceptable for someone to say "wow, you look like you're going to... umm... err... explode..." to a pregnant woman... does that sound nice? it reminds me of that sigourney weaver alien movie thing from the 80s where the creature bursts out of someone's chest or something. never actually saw it, just references to it. can i slap the next person who says something like that in my presence, regardless of if i'm pregnant or not?

g'night, mamas...

~claudia


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

Miss Caude - You have my permission, support, and back up if you slap someone. When I was pregnant *and only 8 months so* a coworker said, "wow, you look ready to pop." I responded with total seriousness, "yes, I am going to pop you." Of course that just made my coworkers laugh which pissed me off so much I clenched up ever muscle in body and then peed myself a little. It was not a high point.

Els - I am terrified of bees because I am borderline allergic and the doctor told me that if I am stung again it could get bad. So sorry that you have a sting on your face!!! I hope it's all okay now. How did it happen?

Heather - thinking of you and your girls and the injustice of another UTI. Just thinking of you&#8230;right&#8230;now.

Sarah - Yay! You did it - your paper is done! I am so interested in how things go from here on out! Big celebratory hug headed your way from me.

Fiddle - I love what you said about building a network of love for this new baby. I think it is great that you have opened your family to more from the community and although it didn't go as you would hope housing-wise, it's bringing you other gifts. Have fun yurt camping. I have always wanted to do that.

Jacquie - Hmmm, I have a good friend in Durango. And a Colorado trip would be nice. Hmmm.

Nuggets - How's school for your oldest going? My nephew Max is the same age and he loves going to school but it has brought on some tough developmental moments too.

Hey all, tell me about your child's aggression/rejection of you or your DH. Eleanor has been pretty hard on Alison lately. Saying things like, "I am going to hit you." "I don't want you" and telling her that she can't come with us on a walk. Yesterday was bad because Eleanor actually sobbed that she did not want Alison to come with us to the park. It hurts Alison and I feel so angry with Eleanor which just increases the intensity of the moment. Any thoughts?


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *A&L+1*
I clenched up ever muscle in body and then peed myself a little. It was not a high point.


Lisa, this made me laugh out loud. I am sorry it happened but your wit is hilarious.

The bee friccin' came up and bounced off my face, no biggie, that happens and you just move along but this one couldn't get over it and as I swatted it away it STUNG ME right above my right eyebrow! It was sooooo painful and I was about 3 blocks uphill pushing stroller from my house, so I got out my water bottle and drizzled water poco a poco constantly until I got home. It sucked badly.

Hmmm...about Eleanor & Alison...I wish I knew on a psychology level what was going on but all I can think of is this: Viet & I do our toddler care separately so each is one on one with her (well, one on two in my case). She appears to always prefer me, the mama, and is always the worst behaved for me. She will ask for daddy sometimes but only if I'm taking her to Laura's house (the nanny/wife/maid/wonderwoman) or something else she doesn't like as much. I think what Eleanor is doing is pretty normal, but I don't know the why or the what-to-do. Hope some other mamas here have some of that.

Fiddle I LIKE IT when you are longposty! Please do it all you like!

Heather, I think of you so much. I looove the dipes n stuff you sent, and think of you every time I put one on.
Which is actually true of everyone who sent stuff...like the fun kitchen towel, jessica...
I could go on n on but it is sure fun to have such tangible maymama love all around.

Must. Work. Now.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

I was totally going to post but I have a splitting headache.







:
We started "school" this morning, after I dropped off my car for $450 in repairs down the street.







: I decided that Rowan isn't going to preschool, and since I have a certificate to teach daycare, why not use it to homeschool?







Nothing much (especially at this age), I mean, we just made a space down in the studio/finished part of the basement and he colored while I hung letters and numbers on the wall. Hehe. I am actually doing a "curriculum" of sorts though, just putting activity ideas down for each day, maybe having a themed week (the ocean, transportation, seasonal stuff)...I think it'll be fun!
Or at least, give us stuff to do when we're bored.









Right, so, even though I have mucho things to do, I need a nap.







I have one of those headaches that only sleep will cure. Ugh.

Have a great day, mamas, thinking of you all.









p.s. Once, I got stung by a bee on my TOE. It HURT! It was at DH's work, outside, and Rowan was teeny. I've only been stung a couple of times...by bees...once, though, at an old job, a BIG, BLACK WASP was on the back of my chair, and I didn't know, and I LEANED BACK.







: I actually cried that time.









p.p.s Rowan prefers me most of the time still, and, he is the worst behaved for me.







DH is trying to deal, but sometimes it still upsets him. I don't know what to do except ride it out. I have noticed that Rowan does have days where he wants "Daddy do it too!!" and not me. Then, I lean back and smile. Welcome to my world, bud.
















Ugh, okay. Nap.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

It sure seems like the salt worked, but maybe it was just running the washer again (salt or no)? I got started thinking about it, and isn't there a fair amount of salt in urine? So why wouldn't urine dissolve the gel goo, too???

Jacqueline, I am very familiar with all of those passes (grew up in Mon'rose... if you're a real *******, the T kind of disappears... dunno if you know what I'm talking about). Your b'day sounded *great*.

Ff, I'm glad that you're getting support. You *deserve* support. And don't get me started about how insurance/medical care in this country works (or doesn't work).

Old broads??? IIRC, Nuggetsmom is the oldest. I am the next oldest. Nugget, aren't you due to turn 37 pretty soon??

TC,







s to you. I hate Hate HATE comments about my appearance when I am pg. I *loved* Lisa's response.

Aggression/rejection... around here, it has to do mostly with being hungry/tired/overstimulated. Not much parental preference.









Els, the beesting sounded painful.

L's 4 mo. WCC is tomorrow. I haven't really talked about it, but her fused labia situation looks pretty, well, closed. I think she was getting to the "completely sealed shut" point until we started totally greasing her with vaseline after *every* *single* *change*. (Yeah, a big glob of goo up there.







) I think we may have no choice about using the estrogen whether we like it or not, because being able to pee is kinda important. And she also seems prone to be a little rashy unless we do a wipe every single time, too, and grease her up totally. (Yes, we're going through a lot of vaseline.) And I think I saw a patch of eczema on her arm. I guess at least we're used to sensitive skin, and we're hooked in to an allergist, ped. dermatologist, etc. if it gets to that point, but I hope it doesn't.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quick other thing... my good ol' ovarian cysts have been bugging me more and more, and I'm getting kind of frustrated. I don't really want to see my OB about them, because that will just start me down the road to surgery. I posted elsewhere on MDC a while back, but I don't really think that I got much help (I think a lot of other women's cyst problems are a little different from mine, and how much help can you get from strangers on the internet?







)

I was getting all gung-ho to start on an herbal course of treatment (in Rosemary Gladstar's book), then I realized that I probably really need to talk to an alternative care person, since I'm bf'ing, and I need to be careful that whatever I do doesn't impact my supply and doesn't enter my milk.

So I'm going to call my doula and see if she has any recs about who to see/what type of treatment to seek. I'm wondering if any of *you* have suggestions. I like my acupuncturist a lot, but to be perfectly honest, I don't think she's very effective (just doesn't seem as skilled as the one I saw back in the Bay Area, but really, a wonderful woman). I'm leery of chiropractic, and that's probably the last avenue I'd pursue. I guess I'm kind of wondering about an herbalist (and/or a naturopath)... I've heard/read that ovarian cysts are either (1) a wish for a baby (ha! mine always start when I'm already pg) or (2) all the toxic stuff in your body, and you need to detox (but there ain't a whole lot of "tox" in my diet, since I'm vegan etc.).

Anyway...


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Hey, KK...just wanted to give you some HUGE





















s, mama.


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

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama*
Quick other thing... my good ol' ovarian cysts have been bugging me more and more, and I'm getting kind of frustrated. I'm wondering if any of *you* have suggestions.




My thought - a good experienced reproductive health focused acupuncturist is what I would suggest. There has been some studies that have suggested that this type of work can be helpful with cysts...I could dig them up if you would like. Also diet - more good fats/whole foods balance - rather than reducing toxins per se was presented as a good course of action by Claudia at http://www.wellnesswithin.com her website may have info.

More







s to you!


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Claudia- Just imagine finally passing that gol durn poo- right on the person who wants you to burst. Bwa ha ha ha ha.

Lisa- Eleanor's behavior actually sounds like 3-year-old behavior to me (I love the 2's and am dreading the 3's). It's very relationship-oriented. Does it help any to know that she's at least advanced in her obnoxiousness?

Since I don't have any actual experience, I looked in my favorite book (Becoming the parent you want to be), and it says:

Quote:

"When you are parenting with a partner, one, if not both, of you will eventually end up in the less preferred position. That experience, although it can feel terrible, actually gives you a unique opportunity- the chance to demonstrate unconditional love to your child. As the person who has to hang in their when your child really wants to be with the other parent, you get to say, "I know you're sad. I know you want to be with your _____, but I'm still going to be with you. I'm still going to be here." Even when your [daughter] spends the whole time with you crying for the other parent, staying present and consistant with [her] is significant. As adults, we know the depth and breadth of the relationship we have with our children, but our children don't automatically know the depth and permanence of their connection with us."

It also says to set limits on what kids can and can't control, such as, "I want to be close to you and _____ right now. So I'm going to sit right here. Would you like to stay with us?"
So says my parenting bible.









Elsanne- awe shucks.







Careful what you wish for. Ooh and that bee story- HORRIBLE! I hope it's healing quickly.

Renae- how totally cool that you are "homeschooling." I subversively teach L music, and we actively work on the speech therapy, but other than that I'm not very intentional about any learning around here yet. Your plan sounds really FUN. Can I come to your school too?

KK- no wisdom here about salty washes or fused labia or ovarian cysts. It sounds like you're already pursuing the allergy thing for your lil missy, and doing all that can be done.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

tryin to keep my posts limited right now but i have to say that i am hands down the favorite parent and it really does (and always has) hurt doug's feelings. in the beginning it was the nursing-is-the-only-solution for the fussy baby approach which was all mama mama mama. now it is mama is the softie pushover and dad is the more gruff disciplinarian. doug gets lots of NOOOOO! when he wants hugs or kisses. or 'sit by mama' when he sets isaac down next to him or whatever. doug sometimes reacts in a really childish (like 'fine then') and sometimes a better way which is 'i will give you kisses anyway.' and isaac doesn't constantly reject him but it is evident who his favorite is. my personal silent assessment of it is that it would change somewhat if he did more of the mundane care activities which i have pointed out a couple of times and he has to figure out for himself. i've also read that typically boys will be all about mama til ~ age 5 and then dad becomes the center of the universe.

it is interesting though that E would do that when she has 2 moms and you both probably both do a lot of the caretaking security-inducing activities. do you think it is the nursing relationship that makes you the fave? is alison more the disciplinarian? i think it is totally normal.

gotta run. more lata


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Hey Lisa, that site looks intriguing, basically like what I'm looking for. Yes, I'd appreciate any info you've got. I do eat a pretty darned whole foods/home-cooked diet, lots of produce, no meat (occasional fish though), no dairy, no eggs, some caffeine through black tea, supplement healthy fats (flax oil and fish oil) and do probiotics. Very little sweetened anything, and *that* is generally the occasional use of honey or sucanat (despite my talk about chocolate, I rarely eat it). (I get a fair amount of soy, however, because of the avoidance of eggs and dairy... I really don't want to think that it's causing me problems, because it makes my diet more interesting.) I guess my very proper diet is the reason I want to see someone; others have suggested dietary modification, and really, I don't think there's a lot of room for improvement. Maybe I still have the cysts because I'm having a hard time believing L will be my last baby? ha ha ha









Hey ff, I liked that blurb, and I have lived it.







Out of curiosity, where is the blurb from?

I suspect that if L has eczema, it's because I'm still eating nuts. (Because I'm **HUNGRY** and I'm more or less vegan and I'm nursing and pumping.) This phase--the "pp so hungry but have to avoid certain foods for my kids" period--really sucks, and I get to the point of having absolutely no enjoyment from eating. It's basically about trying to take in enough calories to cover the bases, which just amounts to work. I guess that's why my pp weight magically comes off by 6 mos pp (because right about now, I get super bored with food and eat less, even though I'm hungry).

Sorry. I'm crabby today. Can anyone tell?







:














:


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

kk: have you read christiane northrup's book Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom? I wonder if you might find something in there that would resonate with you about healing your cysts... just a quick perusal of the ovarian cyst section talks about energy blockages, honoring the creative flow deep within us, the left side of the body representing the female, artistic, reflective side, the right side of the body is the more analytic, male side, that cysts less than 4 cms in diameter are considered normal, then she discusses 3 different types of ovarian cysts. the section on ovaries is about 30 pages (out of 800+ pages in the entire book) so borrow a new edition from the library to see if you like it and it resonates with you first.

two poops today for me!!! wahoo!!! and baby's head is *right there*, so it's kind of rejuvenating but not really, if you know what i mean...

~claudia


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Yay for poop TC!!!


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

hooray for poop!

Aggression: the lentil is definitely preferring to spend time with me, 24/7 if possible. He tantrums like crazy when sweets tries to step in and give me some relief, so the sad solution for us has been for me to try to leave as quickly as possible so the split isn't too drawn out. He screams and cries and rages, but it always passes as soon as I'm out of the picture. He also hits his dad, which we are definitely against. When that happens we have to stop him and remind him that hitting is not appropriate behavior, and we require him to apologize. Sometimes it takes a little while, but he usually will apologize eventually. My husband gets pretty frustrated with this, so I try to extricate myself as quickly as I can so we avoid a MAJOR blowout.

KK, I have no experience with cysts, but I can give a hug and hope you find resolution soon.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

I AM the oldest. Wow, and I will turn 37 in September. KK, I know you are not far behind LOL.

Claudia - Yeah for pooping!

KK- I hope you find a solution for the cysts. I hope it is not the soy, though I admit that it does not agree with me. But then I think something like that is very individual. And I can't eat it a LOT, but I can have some regularly, even daily. For a while I was eating tons though and I had some trouble with my thyroid being unstable. Which is not related to ovaries at all.

Lisa- I am also the favorite though J cries when Daddy leaves too., But tonight I got a call from our tax accountant and she flipped when I had to answer it. I think DH's feelings get bruised too.

N does have all sorts of new behavioral issues that have come with her new status as the little big Kindergartener. (the rest of the school is all bigger than her) She worries about what J plays with while she is gone. She bites J which just earns her a time out because I am at the end of my rope with it. I always seem to have a kneejerk reaction of punishment before I figure out how to deal with it wholistically. Mmm, I will probably shut this thread down for mentioning punishment...
But the GD way just does not seem to come naturally to me all the time. I mean, I am doing laundry and stuff and then I have to go mediate something that makes me crazy.
I need to organize the field trip for next week.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i am the favorite but isaac hits me a LOT lately (and still occasionally tries to bite). he won't hit doug at all. if i am not around he is a little angel for doug. all the limits testing is with me.

i keep thinking right now that a sibling would be great so isaac would have a buddy to play with but it is so easy to forget that really it would just give isaac a buddy to fight with














:

he'll be coming downstairs any minute. i just poured my coffee and i'm cleaning up the house. we have a structural engineer coming by this afternoon to talk about our sagging house. dh is putting soooooooo much pressure on me to move out to the boonies. i just want to fix this house. i love it here <3 he drives me batty and this is part of our struggle. city mouse vs. country mouse.

i have a friend (not close) who is young and has had major drug problems in the last 3 years. and she's now pregnant. and part of me is happy and thinks this will give her some purpose and she is excited. and part of me is scared because i have serious doubts about her cleaning up her act. i saw her last weekend at a wedding and she told me and said i should call her because she doesn't know anyone else doin' the kid thing. and i feel like i probably should. she hasn't been doing hard drugs but she's only maybe 60 days off it. which in my mind is a precipitous edge to be on. sarah - it makes me think about your program you were in this semester with the recovering moms. this is troubling me......

oh good - doug just got poopy diaper privileges







:







:

kk i hope those cysts go away!!!!!!!!

claudia - i hope things keep movin'









ff - that is SO much money to pay in medical expenses every month







i'm glad the spiritual community has some resources and i really hope they are able to help you. that would be such a relief

ok gotta move here. verrrrrrrrrrry late to work today.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Quickie post (I hope)...

We're going to have to do the estrogen cream with L.







I haven't shared some of this with you guys... She's dropped a little in her growth chart (my observation is that when it seems like she can't pee, she won't eat--I'm 100% sure that is what is going on, and it concerns me), and her ped is concerned about the fevers she's had. And yeah, everything down there is *so* stuck together. If she gets another fever, he wants her in immediately to culture it. (And if she gets a UTI, we'll wind up going to a ped urologist, and if we can't get some resolution soon with getting her able to pee easily every time, then we're really between a rock and a hard place with the adhesions... you know where I'm going with this.) Sigh. But otherwise, she's doing super. She's 26.5" long and very, very active. (Ped said that the floor is the safest place for her.







)

TC, I really appreciate your suggestion--that sounds like more info on cysts than in any other book I've looked at. I checked at the library today, and they don't have it (our library has a crappy collection, because all our tax money is spent buying up open space to keep Denver's suburbs at bay). I will see if I can get in on interlibrary loan. My cysts are on my right side... maybe my blockage is about not getting my diss done.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

still pregnant... feeling huge and really uncomfortable today... belly really hard for a lot of the day... but babe is kicking and moving around a good bit, so reassuring.

kk: to clarify, the section on ovarian cysts is only a few pages long, but the section about ovaries is about 30 pages. but the intro stuff in the ovaries section will probably be of interest and useful, too. at least a few pages. it's a fascinating book. the whole introduction and how she came to write the book is really helpful, too. i wonder if the right sided-ness of the cysts *does* indeed have something to do with the incomplete dissertation...









~claudia


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i love that book. it was one of the first i pulled off my shelf when i found out i was pregnant. i remembered reading the part about her crawling around on her kitchen floor in labor

maybe you better finish that dissertation. i mean pshaw really...what HAVE you been doing with your time??????


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

E on the mend and back to being the smiliest baby ever. Also talked to the uro's office and she can stay on the same antibiotic that she's been tolerating since it was only a minor infection. Not sure I understand that line of thinking, but not going to get into it with the NP again.

Lisa--C does that all the time....and it's usually me she tells to go away when she's playing with daddy and E. In the Ilg/Ames "your two year old" book they had a good explanation of that and similar behaviors and letting them have control in benign situations or something like that...my brain is mush and just wanted to give Alison some hugs because it does sting when they are so vehement about it!

Well post workout email/may mamas check is about over...have to get back and get C to bed. Computer going to get fixed tomorrow (i sure as he!! hope!)

miss you guys and hate this 5 minute rush read/catch up stuff w/ no time to respond. my house is pretty clean though and have been doing some crazy rearranging/organizing w/o the internet a calling me.

*mwah*


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

page 3 ladies????? we sure are quiet today







:

i have a major lack of focus today







: tsk tsk on me

i hope your computer gets fixed heather!

claudia i can't believe that the next time i see you you will probably have 2 kids in tow. wowzers. do you have any insane nesting stories? or do you get too tired to freak out and wash the bathroom ceilings with ammonia on baby number 2? i looooooooove the natural urge to nest. biology is amazing


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

hmmm... i don't have any nesting stories from when i was pregnant with marek, and i certainly don't have any nesting urges this time. just feeling too big. i have desires for other people to do things, like clean all the dishes in the sink and then actually put them away instead of just leaving them in the drying rack, to clean out the fridge on a regular basis weekly instead of just when it gets too full that we can't fit anything else in it, and to throw out all the junk mail that's been sitting on the desk and the coffee table in the back and the floor in the office and my desk in the office that i didn't put there. oh, and for someone else to fold and put away all our laundry so it's not on the floor. if i start doing any of these things, i will know something biochemical is going on.

still pregnant. yesterday afternoon i felt soooooooooooo crappy i almost called bill up at 3 o'clock to tell him that he had to come home right away because i just couldn't do anything other than lay on the couch.

oh, and bill and i kind of had a talk at 530 this morning. not everything, but some things. i still feel sad, though. there is more to talk about with him.

~claudia


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Aw, C. Sure wish I could take some of that away for you...at least send you a wife...I know you know this but largely pregnant women really ARE intensely emotional and it will soon pass. I can't tell you how different (energetic, stable) I feel most of the time. I was a complete mess at your stage of the game. Hey, full moon is tonight....
p.s. I never got the nesting urges either.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

It is quiet here today.

N has a cold and developed an acute ear infection last night. We had to go to urgent care last night. DH was too worried about her although I feel like she will just get over it. I just have thicker skin for the crying and whining.
J has stopped napping which is good and bad. At least she goes to bed a little earlier, but she is just fussy in the late afternoon.

I am considering getting a daycare situation for J one morning a week. As opposed to having a sitter come. It seems like the sitter situation is very inconsistent as they keep getting jobs, and I can't really blame them, because they need to work. But it is hard to get a situation that will take J for just a morning so I can go to a class, run a couple errrands, see the chiropractor (though I am sort of tired of going there anyway-but I have just one spot in my back that hurts and he fixes that). Then I am doing child care exchange to work in N's classroom, and I need childcare to go on the fieldtrips. Oh, and I need to keep up with the treasurer stuff for J's mommy and me program (how did I get this much to do? I want to watch Oprah and eat bonbons!!) But I think it is hard to get a place that will do just one morning a week.
OK, I am going to knit some crazy lace scarf out of vegan soy silk (well I assume it is vegan). My moms christmas pressie. Heather got me inspired to start knitting again when she taught herself two years ago.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Hi everybuggy-

Not much time to post. Thinkin' of you all.

I got a big new tattoo today! Yeeeeowch! Don't know quite how I will sleep tonight, as it is on my upper back...

Love to all, esp. Claudia, Heather, Beth, KK, Lisa and Allison...heck, mucho love to everyone!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

: Whoa I am reeling from a sh!tty morning...literally...I got up and Sol goes into the bathroom and starts pooping in her dipe, no biggie. I go downstairs to make coffee. Suddenly I too have to go, but Amara is screaming on her belly unable to roll over upstairs. I cannot interrupt so I finish, and run upstairs and flip her over. She's hungry, and needs to eat, but in that time Sol has started to scream and I know she's got diarrhea in her dipe because I heard it happening (and she's had it the last couple of days)...she is really, desperately unhappy so I put her on the bed to change her. It comes gushing out of the back and up her back, and all over my bedding. Greeeeeaaaat. Meanwhile Amara is still screaming, she's still hungry. We move to the bathroom and do cleanup, Sol still crying, me consoling. Finally we get her cleaned up and parked in front of a dvd (! hate this) and I nurse Amara. Then, she is content and sitting in my lap and starts to poop. IN her diaper. So, here we go with another cleanup. *sigh*


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Also want to see SArah's new tattoo whenever it stops looking ouchy.

Jacqu I sure hope N's ear infection stops hurting her asap!!! I bet the scarf will be lovely...silk? Really? Wowee!

TC, how ya doing today?


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

new tattooooooooooo??? do tell more. my friend has an appointment with dan at atlas tomorrow and she doens't have the money and i think i should take it







because his waiting list is months and months long and he does the most amazing tattoos. but i am so chicken.







she has a grapevine on her shoulders by dan and i think it is one of the best tattoos i have ever seen. loooove it.

oh els - that IS a poopy morning. literally. we started this morning with a poopy one too.

nuggetsmom - you should look into it. i know most of the daycares/preschools here offer a however many days a week you want option. usually you don't get much choice on which day you get to go because they try to keep 8 to 10 kids max daily (or whatever) so there will only be certain slots open. isaac's school does a full single day option. my friend that works at another more-preschooly less-daycareish place says the kids that only come one half day a week usually throw a fit when they have to leave because they feel like they are missing out. they do have the full-day option there though so you wouldn't have that problem if ALL the kids left at the same time. if i get my way with this whole have-another-baby-and-quit-my job thing i want to keep isaac at his same school at least one day a week. i honestly think at this point he would miss it if i pulled him out completely. he's spent LOTS of time there in his short little life. it was cute because there is this AMAZING gentle woman lynda in the baby room. and she is just a blessing for isaac. sooo sweet and attentive to him. so i said 'this is his home away from home' because he doesn't want to leave when i go get him. (he wants to run around and go in all the other bigger kid classrooms) and she said 'it's my home away from home too' which just made me feel so good. i <3 her. at the end of the day she lets isaac sweep the baby room and she said he'll hand her the dustpan 10 times with one little cheerio or something in it each time







cute

NO NESTING Stories????????? wow. i was insane with the nesting when pregnant way back when. we totally installed wainscoating and re-trimmed out all the windows in our upstairs at the old house. painted the whole thing and made one nook of our bedroom into a nursery. drove to ikea and bought a bedroom set because all of a sudden we needed one NOW. cleaned and scrubbed and cleaned and scrubbed. and crawled around dangling huge belly pulling weeds. it wasn't like the dishes got done more or anything but cleaning lightfixtures with toothbrushes and that kind of insanity got out of hand. dirt i had never noticed before became critical









i still can hardly get the dishes out of the drainer and i've already told about my loathing of putting clean laundry away. and i'm not even preg









im glad you got to talk to bill a bit.

ok i have to focus today :blab:


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

blech... poopy mornings suck... literally poopy mornings suck even more...







els and jstar...

still pregnant.










~claudia


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

bad poopy morning. that stinks! I am so sorry you had to deal with so much poop, all at once.

tattoo? photos, please?

I wasn't the nesting sort either. unless you count folding baby clothes and getting all dreamy....


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Alrighty, I put a tattoo pic on the YG for all ya'll's viewing pleasures. Yes, it is a tigerlily.









Elsanne, sorry about the poops. Sounds stiiiinky. Do you have any yummy essential oils you can stick your nose in to get the memory out of your nostrils?









jstar - thinking about you and the DH/new baby issues. It must be hard when you are feeling so ready. My DH is soooooo done; he would get a V tomorrow if he had the insurance coverage. I am thinking that I maybe maybe maybe might want another in a few years - like 3 - but he is so vehemently against it. He still humors me and lets me talk about it, but I think if I did really want one now it would be a BIIIIIG deal for our relationship.







s, mama.

As for nesting, yeah, maybe a little, but I was like emmalola - more into buying and washing folding baby clothes, diapers, and slings, etc. than cleaning.

nugget - I hope N. feels better soon. I tend to be pretty laid-back about illness, but DH is even more so. It is hard when you are odds about how much to freak out.

Heather - so glad that E is on the mend. Here's hoping that you get your computer fixed pronto!

Jacqueline - just a







. Thinking about you in your new place.

Sherri -







to you, too. Hope things are moving along well. You must be busy!

OK, off to see if I can interest Lily in a nap. She's pretty much dropped the nap, at least for me, but every now and then she'll fall asleep nursing if it's timed juuuuust right.

Sarah


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Awwwww, thanks for thinking of me, Sarah. I've been reading along and keeping you all in my thoughts, but I'm just not in a posting mood lately, I suppose. I've got so much on my mind right now, and so I think I mentally shut down to cope. Last week we had two showings on our house, and we were so excited, because one couple was veeeeeeeery interested in the house. Then yesterday my realtor calls me up and said, that they decided they should sell their house first. The guy got all freaked out about adding a second mortgage. So now I'm all pissed, because it is sooooo hard to get the house in tiptop shape and out the door with the kids, and I did it twice for them. Plus I'm super disappointed on top of it all. Aaack. I just wish selling homes was easier.







House has only been on the market for two weeks, and I'm already obsessed that it hasn't sold yet.

Els-soooo sorry about the poopy morning. Wish I could come lend you a hand. Hope miss Sol gets rid of the poops really soon.

Hope your computer is fixed and E's UTI too, Heather!

BIg hugs about the cyst and L's labial issues. Hopefully you have caught it in time to stave off bigger problems.

I know I'm missing a ton of you, but know I think of you and check here alot. I gotta get outta my funk!


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Get outta my funk, funk, get outta-ta-ta-ta my fuuu-unk. (Sorry, sounded like a techno song to me).









Sigh. I am feeling a little bipolar right now. Moments of intense happiness with the world and then sinking into the depths because of stupid things like not having a proper kitchen floor. Sigh.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

still pregnant.

feeling kind of disengaged from the world right now. uncomfortable feeling for moonchild me... *sigh*

another very pregnant mama friend said to me the other day how strange it is to think that today we are pregnant and tomorrow at this time we could be caring for a newborn babe. struck me as odd when she said that. not really real yet that we are getting ready to be a family of four...

wish i could eat chocolate but i think that would make me sick right now...

~claudia


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Aw Claud.

Thinking of you pregnant mama. I have a friend here who was due day before yesterday and we are all excited about her child as well.

If they are born nowish, what sign will they be? Are we in Virgo or Libra?

Yesterday was another friccin' palatial home...I had a private bellydance lesson (teaching) which was about 3 blocks from Viet's mom's house (where he is now living) and they asked me to return with my babies for a swim and some lunch, so I did. And in this house, with a billion pairs of willing arms, it was still allll about mama and still lots and lots of work. All was well: Amara asleep, Sol & I swimming, until A woke up and needed to nurse. Then, suddenly, Sol starts having more diarrhea--IN the pool. Then out of the pool. Both girls crying (what IS it? I swear they are psychically connected, because this happened (not the diarrhea, but the simultaneous cryfests) two more times while I was there. It probably happens all the time but I was really aware of it while visiting someone else's house). I have to strip Sol down and hose her off, and somehow also nurse Amara, and Sol will not be with anyone else because she doesn't know them. I am mortified but also humbled because all I can do is my best. They didn't see the diarrhea in the pool, thank GOD.

*sigh*

The meal was lovely, the tequila was lovelier, and one weekend day survived.

Now for today. Another private lesson, same house. Not sure what happens after that.

happy sundays everyone!


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

computer still on the fritz....bah!

C had her first Y swim lesson yesterday and LOVED it. She cried when it was time to get out. Tomorrow is the first day of our mom and tot gym class at the Y. I'm hoping it'll be good for her gross motor issues though it's always hard for me to see how clumsy she is in comparison with the normal toddler jumping/running stuff. E on the mend and also sporting two itty bitty teeth now---cuteness!

Elsanne---much love mama...just read up on your bloggy quick and thinking of you as you navigate poopy calamities! I so remember and still have days like that.

Sarah--the tigerlily is beautiful!

Sherri-- *hugs* I've been wondering how all the housey/work/practice stuff is going. Move still looking Octoberish?

Claudia--thinking of you mama! The end of E's pregnancy was not an easy time for me and until she arrived I still couldn't mentally wrap my head around the idea of two.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Happy Sunday to all ya'll. I just made a big pasta-fresh tomato sauce-turkey sausage casserole; we'll see how it turns out. Sometimes when I don't use a recipe...









Thinking of MEGAN...how are you doing, mama?

So I have been studying for the board exam and I keep getting like 55% on the practice tests. Yeeeouch! And I've been getting A's in all my classes this whole year. What gives?!







: I hope the real test is easier than the practice ones.

Lily just figured out how to pedal her tricycle this morning. It was so cute. She would pedal it down the 15 feet of garage concrete to the grass, then get off, push it back up backwards, and get on again to pedal it down again. Hee.

I think I hear the pitter patter of little feet upstairs (and the thud of big Papa feet). Byyyyyeeee.

Sarah


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

mmmm sounds good, sarah! I hope you have an easier time on the test too.
Sol has been workin' the trike these last few weeks as well...she can do it now but not with mastery (uphill or on cobblestones, no).

Heather SO glad to hear E is on the mend...and two toofies! How toot!

Life is good, it's Monday. *phew* (<--never thought I'd be saying THAT).

How are you TC?


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Just checking in here. I am also wondering how Megan is doing.

Busy weekend with many birthday parties, school events and whatnot so I too say Phew Monday!

OK, gotta go


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

still pregnant. baby not moving as much as before, but then again, not much room for movement *IN* my belly.

don't feel like typing much else right now... maybe later...

~claudia


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Here, around, just skimmed the posts,





















(seems like we all need a bit of it)

I've been in a really yucky funk myself. I totally lost my shiznit on the way home from work Friday night. It's a long story and maybe I will tell y'all on the YG when I feel up to sharing...but I'm not sleeping too well and um, I guess stuff just sucks right now. That sounds so lame. Ugh.
DH is sick with a cold, and I swear if Rowan or I get it I will just DIE.







:







:

Strangely, through the funk, DH and I have been having some really good, um...you know...







Maybe I am just starved for the connection? I dunno.

Okay, so, I'll post more fully soonish. I am thinking of you all with MUCH
























I hope you have a great week, everyone.

I mentioned this already, but the tattoo is GORGEOUSNESS, Sarah!







I should take some pics of mine sometime...when it's less flaky.

Good night, mamas.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Faery*

Strangely, through the funk, DH and I have been having some really good, um...you know...










Emmalola's dishandspoon site has an informative forum related to this...


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

hiya mamas.

harrowing day yesterday. my (pretty much) best friend's sister died in a car accident on sunday







: it was her oldest sister who is my same age and who has been living in philly until a few months ago. i only met her 3 times but have been to so many of their family functions i really feel like they are our adopted family up here since we have none of our own. (my bosses family is our other adopted family). so we took isaac down to her mom's house in salem yesterday. i think there is no medicine like an optimistic 2 year old to soothe the nerves. their poor mom. being a mom now i have a better grasp of what that would feel like. i felt a little useless and in the evening we were the only non-family but also knew it would be awkward if we left. relatives started arriving from the midwest. sadly their middle sister got married aug 25th so everyone was just here









their mom has horses and ponies and a donkey and 983274983748 dogs. she breeds golden retrievers out on a farm. isaac got to sit on one of the ponies and he was one stoked little dood. there were 2 foals too. he thought the donkey was from shrek

memorial on friday. i don't want to take isaac. i didnt really tell him anything but he told me 'casey all gone' i said she's gone to heaven and he said 'babysitting'







: so i guess you can die to your mommy OR go babysitting

i spose i should shower and get going. time to work work work work. and rouse the sleeping pony-rider

sherri - showing a house is the WORST. i felt like we couldn't even cook at our house at all because you might have to clean it up in 5 minutes' notice. and we had people come every day after work so we couldn't go home. i would meet dh in the park or we'd go to dinner or something. it is really hard and unrealistic when you have kids! keep up the good work and i hope you can sign an offer soon so you can breathe easy. i vowed we would move out of our house before selling it next time but i highly doubt we would ever have that luxury

i hope your funk lifts renae. hugs, mama (you too sarah)

sarah - i think elsanne is right about the 2 unopened buds














:

TC - thinkin o that belly

els - readin your trials of diahrrea. oh man oh man.

hf - swim lessons sound like a success. i need to sign isaac up again this fall. he still says 'pool' every time i say saturday.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

oops, I'll post later


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

Jstar - I am sorry about your friend's sister. What a terrible shock it must be to lose a loved one in an accident. I will be thinking of the family and you (and all those sweet animals).

Claudia - Thinking of you lots these days. I hope that pre-birth euphoria hits and you can revel in your roundness. Easy does it.

Ranae and Sarah, the funksters - I can totally relate to your bipolarishness at times. I find that the best thing for me to do when I am in a funk is to get in some water and/or go out in nature. I hope you both find the exact comfort you need to move through this.







and









Els - I missed posting about you poopy day, but damn, that was poopy!

Heather - wah? Teeth??? I am shocked that Miss E is old enough. How time flies. I am glad to hear she's doing better. Eleanor loves her swim classes too. She won't lay on her back in the water though she doesn't mind going under too much.

Sherri - we're listing our townhouse this month if we can get it ready. It's too overwhelming to think about (especially with the market dropping). I wish you a fast, easy sale. Come on, buyer, come on.

Alison and Eleanor continue to have issues at times, but Eleanor has been in such a good mood these days that it helps. We figure that E is mad because Alison went back to work after the whole summer off, E went back to daycare, and Alison is pregnant. Also, we're prepping to sell our house, buy a house, and move with a vengeance - all insecurity and turmoil for a two-year old.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

still pregnant.

we ordered a new couch today. we fell in love with this couch like 3 months ago and finally decided we simply needed to buy it. arrives in early october. and we're ordering a new sleeper sofa for the other room sometime later this week, too, so we have enough places for people to sleep when everyone comes to visit this christmas. now to figure out how to sell all our useless pieces of furniture that are cluttering up the other rooms... craigslist seems the most promising option at this point. must take pics of the actual pieces of furniture this week.

thanks for making the poll, sherri! now i can start thinking about actually giving birth to this baby.









eta: just heard rumor that britney spears had her baby earlier today, so now i can rest easy knowing that spears-federline child #2 will not share a birthday with this baby... ahhh... don't laugh at me, but i was seriously worried about that one. dunno why. weird pregnancy thing.

~claudia


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

claudia -- new couch qualifies as nesting!!!! yay









supposed to pick the kidlet up and be in hillsboro by 6pm for dinner. sounds highly unlikely since i need to work until 5.







: traffic is going to suck.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

jstar - I am really sorry to hear about your friend's sister. That must be hard. On a happier note, did I read in the PDX thread that you are officially TTC? (sorry to out you, but you know you're supposed to tell US first, honey).







So DH got on board, finally?

Sarah


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

OK, so I just got the dish running away with the spoon thing.
DUH!
We have a field trip tomorrow and I am looking forward to going on that.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Somebody needs to send sarah some mint and jacqueline some coffee. Check out their locations, poor dears.

uh oh. sol's constant and everchanging needs abound.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Jstar--very sorry to hear about the tragedy. That really bites.







:
Very excited to hear about possible new punkins.

TC is it not so much fun to order new furniture??? And I agree, that qualifies as nesting!!!! Hope you are feeling okay today. My friend Lydia irl is due, well last week, and yesterday did not answer her phone. ??? I am about to call.

Lisa your ideas about in water or out in nature are just about what the doctor ordered...to deliver one from funk...for me a walk, by myself, in nature is great. I was thinking about A & E...down here the belief is that when mama gets pregnant, toddlers somehow *know* and become suuuper whiney, clingy and obnoxious for her. I needed Viet to really take over toddler care in a big way because it was too much for me.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

Good Luck, mcsarahb! I hope you get good questions and not too many! yay! You'll be out of there in no time!


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb*
did I read in the PDX thread that you are officially TTC? (sorry to out you, but you know you're supposed to tell US first, honey).







So DH got on board, finally?

Sarah

it's TWUE!!! sorry i didn't post it here first. i got caught up in the 'everybody's doin it' with the pdx mamas







doug came around. i love trying. so fun & exciting. of course i'm having total 'i must be pregnant' reading into symptoms. which are purely imagination at this point. WISHFUL THINKING

i keep getting a lil weepy about this death but i think it is more like thinking what it will be like when i lose someone really close to me. and just sad that this beautiful person is gone. and so sad for their family. they had visitation and cremated her body yesterday so i think that helped them come to terms that it was real. on a lighter note i saw the pregnant friend who i had talked about recently (worried about). she is the girlfriend of the brother of the one who died. she looked good. she wasn't smoking. i was happy. part of me really wants to get pregnant soon so that we can do the 'infant' thing at the same time so she has someone in the same boat.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Awwww.... so sweet to be thought of.







: I'm actually doing quite well. Personally, things are on a BIG upswing. DH and I are doing better than we've been in a long time. More on that later on the yg.









Mia is getting settled in preschool and she loves it. She's expressed a bit of anxiety this week (she caught me off guard and all out cried yesterday when I dropped her off... "i don't want you to go" it was hard.







) but I'm hoping that passes. There are some children who cry HARD at every drop off, and even some pickups, and I don't know how I would deal with that if that were my child. I think I would think, "my kid's not ready for this", yk? It's a werid energy and it definitely is what set Mia's crying off yesterday. Trying to avoid it as much as possible and keep my girl in her "i love school" mode, which she is in 99% of the time. I know they want us there on time (8:30) but maybe I'll just start running late so we miss all of that drama.

Jsatr, congrats on your TTC status! That's so exciting! Both DH and I feel like we are done, but I've already had "I want another newborn" lust.







Babies... LOVE THEM!









Also, sorry for your loss. That's very sad.









Sarah, your tattoo is GORGEOUS. I love love love it. I've never been able to decide on a design for a tattoo, so I have none. I also was feeling wimpy about how I would handle the pain, but after going through my natural labor (expect no pushing) with Jett, I am pretty sure I would handle it okay. I mean, it can't hurt worse than that, right? RIGHT????









Claudia, big hugs, mama! Your time will come... wishing you patience and comfort while you wait.









Lisa, you have so much going on right now! Here's to smooth toddler transitioning.









Gotta go pick up Mia from school. Word to the mamas.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Jess is TTC because I sent TTC vibes at Doug so hard it almost fried his nads off.







And big







s to you. So sorry about your BF's sis. It's so hard when someone dies young.

Yes, yes, yes on all the compliments on Sarah's tattoo. I wouldn't mind seeing a photo album of all the MM's tats.









TC, my pg friend IRL just had her baby this morning, like 2 1/2 wks earlier and pretty unexpected. If it can happen for her, maybe you too.









Having a house on the mkt with a kid (well, a toddler, really) is absolutely the WORST. We did it in Berkeley with T, and I swear we lived at the playground till it sold.

Els, the poop over yet?

I'm kind of exhausted because (1) kindergarten is kicking my a$$ (dude, who knew it would make the *mama* feel all busy and tired???), and (2) L is eating WAY MORE (which I see as a sign that the est. cream is helping, and she's peeing *way* more, ergo she's way hungrier). I'm pretty sure it's not "just a growth spurt" because it's been going on for 5 days straight. Seriously, from sleeping through the night every night to 2-3 dipes every night. (The good news about all of this is that I am back into my regular pants, though still flaccid and untoned. But I got my new orthotics, and my foot pain is nearly all gone, so won't be flaccid too much longer.)

Got our new fridge. It rocks. Z doesn't like it, because the old one blew warm air out at the bottom and this one doesn't. (Yes, my 2 yr old is like a little puppy who sleeps in front of the fridge.
















Gotta go. I'm trying to finish up the housepainting that got interrupted when L was conceived last summer.







:


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

: KK said "nads"







:







:







:
























dunno why but that is really funny...

more in a minute...


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

still pregnant.

baby's head at the level of my sacrum and this makes sitting very uncomfortable most of the time.

hungry almost every 1.5-2 hours now. can only eat small amounts. and mad about it being tomato season because they are so delish but i can only eat them early in the day because late in the day they give me hours of heartburn and i hate downing like... 6 papaya enzyme pills in an hour... grrr...

also must pee like every hour during the day but in order to be able to do that must lift the belly out of the way. hate that. and water tastes awful. so does sprite. and iced tea. and milk. and soy milk. and rice milk. so mostly just about every beverage tastes bad. usually drink something with enough ice in it so that i don't actually have to taste it since it almost freezes my mouth instead.

now the proud owner of two carseats. bill put the second one in the car this morning because he got all excited this weekend talking to other friends who told him they put theirs in the car a few weeks before second baby was due and put a baby doll in it to get older child used to the idea of someone else back there. then bill strapped marek into his seat since we were also headed out to meet some friends for a playgroup, and marek looks over and says, "Oh, that's baby's carseat. It's too small for me. It's for baby."

still not feeling emotionally ready for this babe. i think a lot of it has to do with bill hedging on what i previously thought was all arranged about taking a big chunk of time off work. so if baby is born before my dad arrives on the 30th, i know bill will be at home at least until my dad gets here, but i think he thinks it will be okay with me if he goes back to work and THAT'S NOT OKAY!!! my dad is good with marek but will still need to be introduced to how we do things here. i don't need yet another different pattern of doing things introduced.

jstar: forgot to say the other day that i was sad to hear about your friend's loss... i'd be a total mess if i were in your situation...







and more







on the ttc...









megan: glad things are going well for you... thinking about you...

ok, off to laugh some more about KK saying "nads"...







:

~claudia


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Nads.







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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama*
Jess is TTC because I sent TTC vibes at Doug so hard it almost fried his nads off.

















thanks KK!! it was necessary.

ahh claudia remembering that heartburn makes me reconsider the TTC. eeeeek. so many discomforts near the end there. and then birthing is one mighty large discomfort. but eyes on the prize. marek's comments are SO CUTE

i hope the timing of the birth and your dad arriving and bill's time off all work out well. i'm sure he is stressed about being absent too long. corporate pressure is crazy. (this country is completely *insane* about working and family leave and support for the family, etc.) you are entitled to leave but the company better not suffer by golly







: and oh would you actually need money to survive? i had a 12 week unpaid maternity leave. how are you supposed to pay your mortgage? and why don't i live in sweden?? (steps off soapbox)


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

: kk said nads again...







:


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

and again and again and again

humoring the pregnant lady...


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Thinking here about Doug's nads







:

kk your post was art. Pure art in a posting forum.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elsanne*
Thinking here about Doug's nads







:

kk your post was art. Pure art in a posting forum.

and els, you haven't even met doug! jstar, if they are anything like the rest of doug's sheet metal worker toned self... well...







: lucky you, girl...








: still laughing... (why is that so frikkin' funny? i have no idea... thanks for humoring me, though.







)

~claudia


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

that is what i thought too. NOW EVERYONE WILL BE THINKING OF DOUG"S NADS














: i won't tell him. i'm blushing for him







hahahah they're uhhh....pretty much like the rest of him (blushing some more now). he is cute but MAN he can be a stinker. and then he wonders why isaac is a stinker and i have to point out it is genetic!! (i'm sure i have nothing to do with it







: ) feisty taurus. i feel blessed the child is a gemini at least. 2 tauruses would be 2 much. isaac was due 1 day after doug's bday though.

but yes that was verrrrrrrrry artistic posting KK. lets just hope those nads do their thang









off to get my boy. toodles you funny ladies *mwah*


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

thinking more. are nads ever cute? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)




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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Gotta agree with you, jstar. Nads are NOT cute. Ugh.

UGH! Stop making me think about it! YUCK.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Hey--Tauruses are not ALL bad!







We're just rather stuck in our ways nad whoops-I mean and- a wee bit stubborn.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

HA! nads.

thinking good thoughts for all our TTC nads. And nobaby thoughts for the rest of us.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

ew ew EW!!!

ok enough of that. change of subject. nuggetsmom - where did you go for your field trip???????????????????










speaking of NADS though (gawd i can't drop it). we were all in the kitchen the other day and something was being said about 'balls' doug says 'does isaac even know where his balls are?' and isaac looks down at the correct area. and we laughed. i guess so! so i decided it was time for the 'testicle' talk. a 2 year old saying the word testicle is realllllllllllllly cute







it sounds more like icicle


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

"icicle"







:

kind of like elevator and escalator currently being thought of as "alligator"

okay, i'm over the thinking of kk saying the n-word now. i apologize for my immature behavior yesterday. maybe it's a sign that this baby *IS* a boy, as marek has been insisting it is.

yesterday's cuteness: so the new carseat is in the car, and yesterday we took "baby" (his baby doll) for a ride to my friend nancy's house. i made the HUGE mistake of leaving baby in the car after i brought sleeping marek inside. he woke up from nap totally distraught and looking for his baby and made me go get it from the car. then last night, we had to go buy cat food and then go out for gooey, warm chocolate brownie dessert from bugatti's, and baby *HAD* to come with us in the car, *HAD* to come with us into the pet store, and *HAD* to come with us into the restaurant.







: on another note, i really need to get that baby doll some new clothes, as it only cost me a $1 at the rummage sale last year and has this disturbing red spot on its cloth back. where do i find tiny baby doll clothes for cheap?

oh, still pregnant, by the way.









~claudia


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Man, I'm offline for 12 hours and all this talk of nads!







Sorry. Had to say it one more time.
DH and I have a joke involving "Deez Nuts"...oh god! I have to stop now!








We actually say "testicles" around here, i think...DH might say "balls"...ooh! Am I violating the UA?!?









ANYWAY! I just wanted to say I love you guys. I am gonna post new pics to the YG soon!

I had an epiphany regarding the d-rama in CA. More later, the phone's ringing.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Okay, more nads I guess:

Z is very fond these days of classifying people by their privates. "I have a penis. T-O have a penis. Daddy have a penis. Mommy have a bull-ba." etc. Early this a.m., I was talking to L... "Who's my fluffy girl?" Z climbed into our bed and said, "I'm a fluffy girl!" I told him he wasn't a girl, that he didn't have a vulva, he had a penis, and he said, "I have a bull-ba, too!"


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Bull-Ba!!!

omg...


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

So we went out today to go to the toy store, then to lunch with a friend, then to a new little bakery that makes delicious cupcakes. Lily was a bit whiny all morning and had a minor poop accident in her pants at the toy store. OK, no biggie. SO we get home, she say she's tired and wants to take a nap (very strange - she never says this). We go upstairs, lie down on her bed to nurse, she VOMITS all over me and herself and the bed. She's hardly eaten anything all day except breastmilk, so it's basically sour milk and curds. But TONS of it - she heaved three times and it POURED out each time. Yuck. We transferred to the big bed while DH cleaned up, she nursed for 5 minutes and fell asleep. Now she's asleep right next to me while I type. Sheesh. I hope it's nothing serious. I've never seen so much puke. And let's really hope she doesn't get sick again, on my bed this time.







And I also hope our friend and her 1-year-old don't get sick, too.







Luckily they didn't share any food.

Anyway, hope I didn't ruin anyone's dinner.







In other news, I can find out whether I passed my NCLEX tomorrow, hopefully, so I'm on pins and needles now. But then we go to the beach for three days!








It will be coooold but fun.

Sarah


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Oh Sarah, yucky!!! I am soooooo sorry to hear L feels poorly. Believe me when I say I know how much it suxors! Hang in there. And I am keeping my fingers crossed for your results! And gather some beautiful rocks n shells at the beach!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Awww just noticed my ddddc went away.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I'll put my rocks...in a box, and my shells...on a shelf, and I'll keeeeep col-lec-ting bottlecaps, bottlecaps, bottlecaps, bottlecaps, every one I see.


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Ohhhhh, poor Lily!







I've done the being barfed on thing. Grossorama. And I'm sure you passed, ya brainiac.







And the beach? I'm officailly jealous.









The nads things.







You guys are crazy.

Jess, I must admit, after all the hype about Doug's hotness, I went searching in the yg for a photo of him.







No luck. Bummer.









Sherri, your new pics on the yg are so cute!

I need to get some new photos up. All these kids are gettin so dern big!

Claudia.... disturbing red spot on the doll? I'm intruiged.







Distrubing in a "you're just anal about doll cleanliess" way or is it more that like someone tried to draw a big open wound on the doll?







Something about how you wrote that made me crack up. But really. What's with the red spot? Inquiring minds wanna know.

BTW, how are you today?









Gotta run. The world of teenager and toddler are converging.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

nothing is worse than copious amounts of vomit. i hope she's ok after the nap!! did you go to the saint cupcake place?? i keep reading about those cupcakes and i.want.to.try have fun at the beach









bull-ba







i debated the bull-ba convo when we had the icicle convo but just stuck with 'mama does not have a penis' we haven't gotten to the 'why' phase of life yet

time for me to update with some pictures of doug i guess







or check out my myspace
www.myspace.com/math_is_the_new_cool

<yes i'm a myspace dork!!!> i think you have to register to look at pictures
funny about doug though. we have a gay friend who has no qualms about sharing how hot and in love with doug he is. and he dubbed him 'the clydesdale' so that's our nickname for him round here







i'm like back off the clydesdale is miiiiiine!


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb*
I'll put my rocks...in a box, and my shells...on a shelf, and I'll keeeeep col-lec-ting bottlecaps, bottlecaps, bottlecaps, bottlecaps, every one I see.









OMG. We were JUST listening to this CD today!








Sorry about the pukies!







Rowan was acting like a freak tonight but it might have been the cookie we gave him.







:

Bull-ba!









And um, someone's IMing me...back later!


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Okay, so the truth comes out. I'm on myspace, too.







:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=101057153

Oh, the shame!







Now add me as your friend!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

totally nesting this afternoon after marek had a complete freak out after napping for... oh, about 20 minutes. he just screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed and i couldn't take it and i called up bill and said you need to come home right now and then lay down on our bed and put the pillow over my head and marek kept on screaming and screaming and bapping the pillow and drinking from his water cup and screaming and bapping the pillow some more. bill finally came home about 30 minutes later and i said just take him away and i took a really, really long shower and then scrubbed the shower clean and then got a huge garbage bag and cleaned out the bathroom cabinet and the drawers and the wall cabinet of all the useless sh*t that's been accumulating in there that we don't use. oh, and i started to reinstall the toilet paper holder back on the wall from when we painted our bathroom like 4 years ago and then made bill finish doing it when i went looking for a screwdriver.

hungry for dinner now...

~claudia


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Um...I'm on myspace too.







:
http://www.myspace.com/faerymama

Oh my goodness! I'm so embarrassed!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Youguys on myspace are officially dorks. And, officially younger than me. And, meg and renae, you both seriously need to update your pics on there because your babies are no longer babies.

Alrighty, aphrodite?

And, I thought Sarah made up that song, and I was like ooooh wooow this creative mama just comes up with a great song like that on the spot....

Pshaw! Grumpy elsanne has nothing good to say. She should just go away.

BUT- am excited about nesting claudia. Lydia irl pg friend did not have her baby.

Lisa--I laid in bed remembering that oh so long ago you had asked if I ever cut Sol's hair. No. By the way.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama*


I'm kind of exhausted because (1) kindergarten is kicking my a$$ (dude, who knew it would make the *mama* feel all busy and tired???), and




YES!
What is with that? And I do NOT like working in this classroom. I mean, I said that we were going to write the word DUCK. The answer to what the first sound is is not "is it lunchtime yet?" Or "what time is lunch" or "quack". I was so lame that for the word turkey I wrote it for them.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jstar*
ew ew EW!!!

ok enough of that. change of subject. nuggetsmom - where did you go for your field trip???????????????????


The library! We walked there with a police escort. Two motorcycle cops and an officer (officer Rhonda) on foot. She handed out stickers at the end for the kids being so safe!

It was really fun and the kids did great.

I have decided that since I am involved in a real way with this school, as I want to be, that I will do a part time daycare situation for J. Someone was reccomended to me and I will start her next week. Because this week, with the field trip and working in the classroom and stuff I spent a crazy amount of money on sitters. And it is just hard to get them, and then I have the tiers of sitters. Anyway, I am not philosophically opposed to daycare in any way. N was at a great place till I stopped working, but it is not going to work for J. Anyway, this place was clean, had toys, other kids, trips to the park, and loving adults, healthy food and it is close to school.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Well, that is what I get for trying to catch up reading.

Els-sorry you are feeling sort of blah

Sarah- I hope lily feels better, and have a great time at the beach

Renae and Meg and Jess
You guys are too funny

Megan - good to see you here. I was wondering how you were and if you needed anything.

OK, I will make lunches and brace myself for tomorrows big babysitting expenditure...


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

YO Els, that's a pic of JETT, not Mia, and he is, as a matter of fact, still a baby. So there.







Never mind that it's the only photo I have up there.









And yes, I am a dork. But in my defense, I only signed up a few weeks ago so I could view other people's photos. Plus, my friend started gossiping about old school people and who is going out with who (speculation based on reading myspace pages







: ) and I got sucked in. So now you know... I'm not only a dork, but I'm a gossip.







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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

OMG THAT IS JETT???? Holy Mackerel, time flies. Sorry then 'bout gittin all up in yo face about it. Anyway, dorkiness is totally okay. I was really tempted to sign up to see jstar's photos but I just didn't have the time or energy at the moment.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Hope the pukies are already over for your little Love, Sarah! Can't wait to hear that you passed your NCLEX!

gotta run, dd and puzzles are calling


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Thanks for all the well-wishes, mamas. Lily puked every time she ate yesterday, which wasn't very much, but even breastmilk came back up. So four or five times total, I guess. THEN DH got it.







So he was up in the middle of the night puking, too. I am either really lucky, or it's just around the corner for me...









They both got up early this morning and went for a walk, though, and now they're crashed on the couch in the office, so I'm assuming they feel better now. We'll see. My boobs ache from not nursing all night - DH took care of Lily so she wouldn't nurse and then puke on the bed...what a guy. I felt horrible denying her nursing last night right before bed, but she freaked out so much with each previous puke that we thought it better if she didn't have anything in her stomach.

ANYWAY, enough of that. Hopefully we can still go to the beach tomorrow. Eek. I know it's really petty, but we'd be out of a pretty penny if we cancelled now!

Erp, gotta go.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Ugh. More puke this morning after nursing. But then she ate one cracker and a few sips of juice and is back asleep. I hope she is not getting too dehydrated. I guess the juice is a good sign.

In GOOD news, I passed my exam! I am now an RN. It is strange to me - I never thought I'd be a nurse. Now, on to midwifery! Yay!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

yahooey on the RN!!! pooey on the pukeys... hope they pass soon and pass you by completely, sarah.

still pregnant.

~c


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

oh man. we had a bug like that last year. i puked in the middle of the night. and isaac puked waaaay too much all night long. i decided 2 waterproof mattress pads were not enough. i hope it skips you.

and m ceee sarah beeeeeeeee is a NURSE














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so happy for you!

um. all of your mental NAD visualizations were apparently very effective







!!!!!!







: it is obviously very early to share the news but i am HORRIBLE at keeping quiet. i'm not even late yet. so i won't really get too crazy with believing this will happen. but the sore boobs were not just super severe pms i guess. i'm not tellin family (or most people) yet. but you guys are special







i wrote 'kiss the baby' with an arrow on my stomach last night to show doug when he got home







of course my grand plan was 'start trying in september so i would get pregnant in nov/dec/jan and have a baby NOT in may. but uh. edd would be late may. wierd

i am so scared something has to come out the vadge again


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Check out pix of the kids here: link

Y'all are making me feel OLD with all this MySpace talk. (Just might have to register to go and look, though...
















So sorry about Lily's barfing. We do copious handwashing and laundering when barfing happens around our house.... you can never be too paranoid. But I assume RNs know how to handle that.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

omigosh jstar







and nad visualizations...







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have to get the monkey off to nap...

~c


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Ooh, x-posted with Jess! So I get to be the first to say congrats!!!!







It was my Super Duper NadRay, I promise.

T and Z are just about 3 years apart. It's great spacing, IMO. (Better than the 2 yr spacing for Z and L.)

In honor of the BFP, I'll post my latest weird baby dream. I dreamt that I had another baby girl (and I was thinking, "Oh no, what is dh going to think?" Like he wouldn't have noticed that I was pg, etc. before I gave birth.) Z's occupational therapist delivered her, at our house, and we named her Evangeline. (And no, that was not ever a name contender, nor will it ever, ever, ever, ever be.)

Maybe it's a good sign for Jess, though?


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

The VADGE??? Dude.

I meant to say this in response earlier... We are empowered when we call our body parts by their proper names. And our children are empowered when they learn the proper names. So even if it makes you or Grammie cringe when they scream it at the grocery story, the library, or the Very Proper Adult Restaurant, we should honor our bodies (and theirs) by foregoing the cutesy names.
















Also, it seems like 2nd vaginal births are much easier/faster/etc than 1sts.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i have a problem saying vagina out loud







: my friend says 'say vagina! vagina vagina VAGINA!!!' and i blush. must be my quaker mom. you cant utter these things out loud. but i'll try. va-giiiiin-aaaaahhhhhhh

chinese gender calendar looks girl for most of the year for me so believe me i am praying. claudia - what does the chinese calendar say for you??

and i thought 3 years would be perfect. i was still too twitchy when isaac was under 2 to even think of having another. i was five years older than my sister and i thought it was too long.

i am off to the funeral in a bit. i need to get flowers. i'm so distracted today i have done almost nothing. gah.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

still pregnant, but water just broke. was laying down putting marek to sleep and all of sudden felt this popping kick way down low and said to myself... hmmm... that was odd... i wonder if that was my membranes breaking... no gushing, though, just a slow leak. midwife's assistant coming out to listen to baby and check if it's actually water but i'm pretty sure it is.

send me easy labor vibes, mamas...

love you all and thinking of you...

~claudia


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

AAAAAAAGH TC LABORING AND JSTAR KNOCKED UP AND KK REMINDING US ALL TO SAY VULVA!!!!!!

I am sooo excited. Tc i am sooo excited!! aaaaaack!

Jstar EVERYONE said amara'd be a boy, except the chinese calendar said girl.


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

HOOOOOOOOOOOOBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY! I haven't been online since yesterday early in the afternoon, and I log on to find such great news!!

Congratulations EM CEE SARAH B RN!!!!







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And whoa! I just found out about two days ago about jstar ttc, and she's already pg? Damn, those are powerful nads! Congratulations Jess and family!


















































































































And Claudia-don't ya know you're supposed to wait until the 17th like I predicted?







I stalked you and last you were online was about midnight EST, so that must mean good things, right? Here's some super peaceful labor dust

















































I hope your birth is everything you dreamed it could be and more! Big hugs to you!


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## mamameg (Feb 10, 2004)

Congratulations Jess! That's so exciting! All the best to you during your pregnancy.

But I have to say, I'm a bit insulted you didn't learn more from me and my pregnancy awareness techniques. Delaying knowledge of one's knockedupedness makes for a muuuuuuuuch shorter pregnancy, if you can swing it. In some extreme cases, like mine, a person can gestate a baby in a mere 20 weeks. I highly recommend it.








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BTW, I predict another boy for you.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

we have a baby! deets on the yg.
oht so gotta go
~c


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Oh Claudia! I'm so excited for you! Congratulations on a job well done. Enjoy all the newborness and I can't wait to hear your birth story and see pictures.

Much love to you,
Sherri

eta: welcome to the club of the same-gendered siblings, LOL!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

ack ack ack!!!! that was so fast!!! cnnot WAIT for deets.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh my god oh my god OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another case of me being offline for 12 hours and what the heck?!?!? Jess is pregnant (!!!





















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), Claudia had her baby, and Ms. MCSarahB is a NURSE!!!!!!!!! How freakin' awesome!!!









WOW!!! So much YAY I cannot even contain it!






















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*The whole contingent of dancing produce is here to congratulate you ALL!!!!
*
This is what happens when I have to work Friday nights.







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CONGRATULATIONS to every one of you!!! Eeee!!

p.s. I kind of like the term "vadge".







I always forget about it though. Heehee.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Wow, ditto what Renae said. I go to work over the weekend, and come back to all this exciting news!

Claudia- I am so happy for you and the fam. Wow that was fast! Thursday: mad nesting. Friday: water breaks. Saturday: hello sweet little baby, welcome to the world!

Jess- Like I said a moment before, Wow that was fast! You HAVE to have another boy too, since Claudia just had one and ultrasound says quite clearly that I will be too. So join the croud of two-of-the-same-sexers. But seriously, I hope that you get a happy healthy baby of whatever gender.









Sarah- I really hope Lily is better, and wahoo on becoming a nurse! Just think that in the not too distant future you'll be able to add "midwife" to that title. Wahoo!

I am soooooooooooooo behind on my e-mail, so I'll just have to just give a shout out to the other may mamas.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

I was gone too and everyone is having all sorts of happy events. Congratulations to all the great may mommas! now pass some of that supernadpower over here so we can get knocked up!

Yay Nurse Sarah!

Yay MommaJess!

Yay MommaClaudia!

Yay Everyone else!

(and I hope I get the 20 week gestation too!)


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Well, the whole contingent of dancing produce mesmerized me for a while.
It is quite disturbing.

I am so happy to hear so much happy news!

A new baby- aaaawwwwwww
Congratulations Claudia and her boys

A baby on the way - Hooray Jess

Sarah is an RN - Whooohooo


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Did anyone else notice that Beth is having a boy? Have you told us that before? (yea!)


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

i didn't know beth was having a boy until just now







a baby brudda for luke! we seem to be on a trend of same-sex kiddos here. wonder what that bodes for us?

i wish i had the 20 week gestation down but no way. AF has been back for too long and on too regular of a schedule for me not to notice







boy am i happy i won't have to deal with *that* for a while. (hopefully...i'm still hesitant about believing this is going to be for sure).

claudia _ how goes it mama?? i've been thinking about you and that sweet little baby bean. if you want a dinner delivery i could do next sunday.

sarah _ how was the beach?


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Yay, a brother for Luke! Fun, fun.

The beach was pretty good. Mostly fun with pockets of whiny end-of-sickies toddlerness. It was chilly but nice enough to walk on the beach a bit. Didn't see any whales, but Lily wouldn't have enjoyed that much anyway so the annoying seagulls were more fun for her.

Now she is still getting over her intestinal issues and also getting some molars, so this day is a clingfest. Sigh. DH just took her to the bank so I could have a break.

I reeeeally hope AF comes soon for me. I am in a Funk with a capital F, lemme tell yous.

Sarah


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Aw Jeez Sarah. Hope da funk goes away soon. I'm kind of in one too, although I hope to be more normal shortly. Having kids this age is so hard. I just read something in "The Tao of Motherhood":

Ask yourself, "What is my child telling me about his needs at this moment?" This is not always easy. One child's needs may be more obvious--or more acceptable--than another's.

This rung a bell with having Amara's needs be so clear, and from such a defenseless creature--whereas Sol's needs involve being whiny and obnoxious--you tell ME which child's needs are more acceptable to me!!

IT goes on to say this:
Meeting needs and obeying commands are not the same. The wise obey the Divine Law [could someone help me out with that part? -e] and thus fulfill the need of the moment through action or non-action. They are responsive, not tyrannized. This has nothing to do with what society says is proper. It has everything to do with the Infinite Good as it flows through the here and now.

food for thought....

*munch munch*


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

els: that stuff is way too intricate and deep for this 4 day postpartum mama to think on right now... but i am intrigued... *mental note to file away Tao of Motherhood for a later read*

Bill is baby watching for a few minutes while I typed a couple of emails. so far, everything seems to be going well. i'm tired, but i didn't really expect to not be so. a friend brought us dinner for tonight, another is bringing some tomorrow or thursday, our neighbor is bringing dinner on friday, and then two more over the weekend. now if i could just afford (and find a really nice and good) wife, i would be set...







my tailbone is really, really sore when i sit for a while, but other than that, i feel really good. my bleeding is really, really light already, my afterpains are now just tightness in my belly occasionally and aside from needing to move much slower sometimes, i don't feel like i just birthed an 8lb baby less than 4 days ago.

emotionally, i know i'm coming to that hormonal crashpoint soon, so i'm going to have to watch myself carefully and not do too much. it's so weird, though, because bill really does not have a head for being at home all day every day. he gets way too wrapped up in one task at a time and loses track of time and before he knows it, it's 3pm and marek is only just barely finishing lunch and so desperately needing a nap that he may be beyond the nap window. it's also ticking me off because he still doesn't get that when i ask him to do something, i mean do it right now, not in 5 minutes (when i will just have to remind him to do it again because he has forgotten about it already), not when he's done writing his email, not when he's done futzing around on the guitar with marek or playing with trains with marek or whatever with marek, just simply right now. so i keep finding myself doing the things i have asked him to do and i think maybe it's too much sometimes, too. *sigh* i really need a wife. or at least my sister or my mom.

the new little one is too cute for words, with really soft fuzzy hair. he seems to be a much better nurser than marek was, although i am still learning his patterns. he seems to sleep better with noise around right now, which might have been what kept him awake from 4-630 this morning instead of actually staying asleep. i was losing it after the first hour and had to wake bill up so i could get at least a few minutes of rest and stretch out my back and my tailbone. when i do sleep, i'm crashing so hard i don't hear anything, not even bill coming to bed after tending to a marek middle of the night wake up.

okay, need to go check on my boys as i'm missing them.

love,
claudia

p.s. jess: thanks for coming by on sunday and taking marek to the park. if you are free this weekend, i'm sure marek would be up for another playdate with isaac (or if the weather's nice, a trip to the park again). and dinner is always welcome, too. whichever day works better for you. oh, and i think i spilled the beans about you being pregnant to sandra (shockels) without thinking about it today when she dropped off dinner today...







: sorry... i told her that you haven't really told anyone yet, though...


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

Claudia, thanks for sharing that moment with us. It's hard to get a coherent thought on screen for me- I can't imagine doing it four days post-partum. Your insight and clarity amaze me.

elsanne- thanks for the food for thought. Today has been a struggle with the lentil. He has a cold, he's cranky, he's on the verge of potty learning/training (does anyone else's kid get cranky when they're in the process of achieving a major landmark?), his dad is out of town... there are a million things awry right now and he was completely unpredictable all afternoon. I had several moments when I had to weigh whether the next task was worth arguing over and whether I wanted to do these things because I needed them or he needed them. I needed to get dinner on the table but he wanted to climb on the truck. I won. I needed to have a peaceful dinner but he needed television distraction. he won. I want him to have good teeth but he wanted to drink juice all night in his sippy cup. I won. back and forth, back and forth all afternoon. There were two occasions when I just picked him up and hauled him, kicking and screaming, on to the next task. And for the first time, I didn't feel totally horrible about it. Because I knew he wasn't feeling well, and I needed to be the parent. Sometimes I have trouble with asserting my authority over him- I want him to be autonomous and I want to respect his decision-making, but at the same time he's only two and I also want him to listen to me and (dare I say it) obey me. So the infinite good? keeping my son healthy, safe, and secure. Not always happy, I'm afraid. But safe. I would trade safe and healthy over happy any day.

bleh. So there you have it. I guess I need to go take a bath and let some of this stuff waft off me in the dark warm womb of my tubby.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Claudia- when does Bill go back to work? If it's ok with you, I would like to come by on one of those mornings, bring ya some food, and have the big boys play while you and the little one get some quiet time. You could consider me your wife for the morning.









Sarah- I'm glad you were able to go to the beach, even if you had to have fussy sickish toddler in tow.

Elsanne- I love your topic-of-the-hour. I currently am learning that the Divine wants me to lean on Her a little bit more, and not stress out QUITE so much about how the he!! I'm going to manage two kiddos, and accept that sometimes, I won't be able to manage it, and that's that.

Emily- Sending you any extra nad-power still swirling around Portland. I know I SURE as HECK don't want more than two bio kids, and Sarah is in the middle of school and it would just not be fair if the nad-power that seems to have hit the PDX mamas snuck her way. So I'm sending it ALL to you.
















KK- awe, thanks for noticing. I kinda snuck the I'm-havin-a-boy info into a post to Jess, mostly because everybody else's news just seemed bigger at that moment and I didn't want to steal any thunder. Two boys. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Family gatherings: FIL, DH, DS1, DS2, Uncle-in-law, me. Males everywhere. Oh, then there's my family: brother, other brother, dad, DH, DS1, DS2. Unless we're visiting my mom, my only female relative (except a few aunts and cousins that live out of state.) Good thing I have all of you.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

I have a pretty busy day ahead of me but I wanted to say:
Yay! Beth's having another boy! I was always 100% positive (okay, maybe 98%) that if I were ever to get preggers again, it would be a boy. MIL wanted at least ONE girl...and she got THREE boys.







She was so sure the thrid was a girl too, she said she carried him SO differently! hehehe.
I still remember being worried about having a boy, but now...I can't imagine anyone else in my life but Rowan.









My friend out here (the one who won't let her DD eat raisins, actually uses them as a TREAT!







) has two girls (the second born in July). Cute cute.

Okay, more later. Nad power.









Oh, let me leave you with this! 




Do I get to do that?? It's Weird Al Yankovic's new video, "White and Nerdy"...







You have NO idea how many people I know who are just like this! Heehee!

Have a great day, mamas.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

I just want to sneak in a quick post... I don't think I mentioned (because of all the *big* news last week), but about a week ago, we finally managed to get Z off the Peptamen Jr. I'm mixing Pero (hint: the Vegan Nuns know what it is







) in with soy milk, and he likes it. So he drinks ~16 oz of that every day, and he's been eating a *ton*, just like we hoped he would once he finally got off the stuff. (Eg, for his snack this a.m., he had half a pound of tofu, sauted in olive oil, with a little Bragg's aminos and nutritional yeast.)

He happened to have one of his periodic reevaluations today, and he's done. Completely done with Early Intervention. He's met all of his therapy goals, and he's up to age level in all his areas. I'm feeling all happy and mushy etc.







I think his therapists were getting a little misty, too. I can't believe we won't be seeing them anymore.

And to end on a funny note... T told me that in K this morning, he learned that "hi" in Chinese is "Guten taco."







(He *did* get the Japanese greeting correct though... I have no idea why they were talking about this stuff, other than maybe they're doing diversity stuff because his school is pretty diverse for our lily white community.)


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

Just catching my breath from a whole house attack of the stomach flu - chiming in to cheer my may mamas on:

RN (!!!!) Sarah
Baby boy born (so so sweet)
boy fetus confirmed (oh my - two of same gender is what we are kinda hoping for too - you mamas-to-boys will have to help me out if you we have a boy-child)
Growth and eating achieved (KK! Your kid rocks!!)
Jess is pregnant (Eee gads, those nads!)!!! So, so happy for you.

All this good news is great.

Emmalola - I could have written your post about sickness and potty learning and having to drag my child kicking and screaming and how hard it is. Thanks for putting it in words and sharing.

love to all y'all.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Speaking of aliens abducting our children...who is this wild banshee in my house all of a sudden? I have never heard such ear-piercing shrieks in my life. So THIS is what they mean by tantrum...







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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

ugh. isaac has discovered that shrieking (not screaming) at high volume is highly annoying







: he thinks it is fun. i think it makes my toenails curl.

there is way too much stomach flu going around these days







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yay for Z all done with early intervention!!! big eater









i don't even feel bad for picking up the screaming toddler and moving on to the next task. am i supposed to?







(just kiddin) i can't say i have very much control over him though. that's a big beef with the dh. i think he does actually listen to me when it is important and my tone of voice shows that. ie. i think *knock on wood* we are past the stage where he was running out into the street just to get my goat. he does look for cars now. i'm just too laid back. my tone of voice doesn't get intense very often.

i think it is a good thing the new one sleeps better with noise claudia. he'll be used to it. our 2 boys were making enough racket for 4







does baby boy have a name yet besides two-five? i'd be happy to come on sunday. does that work for you? i have a friend from cali here saturday.

i don't know what the divine law is. *munch munch* my inner divine law i guess? had a great convo with my client today about how i got into this field wanting to do good for the environment. and it doesn't always FEEL like i am. but in many ways i actually am. so that is good. but maybe the ethics of how it happens might not always seem like the best but if the net benefit is good what is the difference? not that i am doing anything unethical because i'm not but it is like we try to squeeze in more and more production equipment under the same amount of emissions so the public sees no change in emissions but you are producing more. and you put controls on old dirty equipment in order to put in the new equipment. so it IS good for the environment. anyway. i think i get to go to colorado for work







AND i signed up for a conference in november and i'm leavin baby home with daddy







: can't wait. daddy is already telling isaac about when mama is going to leave for 4 days. i don't know when i'll be going to colorado though. the conference is in victoria, bc. and i've never been there!

isaac's needs are far more clear and easy these days. did you know you can grow a toddler solely on bagels and cream cheese?????????????????????







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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

I will have to try the cream cheese and bagels! That sounds like the perfect solution to our all macaroni and cheese diet!

a quick happy produce note: the lentil went from 5:30 until bedtime tonight in "big boy underwear" without a single accident. And he was so proud of himself. It was sweet.


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb* 
Speaking of aliens abducting our children...who is this wild banshee in my house all of a sudden? I have never heard such ear-piercing shrieks in my life. So THIS is what they mean by tantrum...







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Only if it lasts long enough for the neighbors to come check out what is going on. LOL


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

I will never get to a 1000...

Well, a lot going on here.

Emmalola, your post about having to be the parent sometimes struck a cord with me. I agree and I think sometimes people are trying so hard to be great that they forget that. Someone in particular comes to mind actually. Then some mothers are so upset that their child does anything that they are both stifled. This is what the coop environmnet is so great for. Getting some of the moms to relax a little and some other to actually step up to the plate. Of course the question is still if they will actually pick up the bat.

I dropped J at the sitters on Tuesday and they called me after 2 1/2 hours that she was not happy, and had been crying. I wonder if part of it was the sheer number of sitters we had to go through to meet commitments in the past two weeks. I am supposed to drop her tomorrow and hopefully that will go better. I will only take her for a couple of hours then. I will elaborate and update as this situation develops.

I really need to fix lunch for N now, (PB on WW bread) but I make really great lunch notes. All my creativity is going into that these days.














I make thumbprint pictures on her note and this week there is a plot from day to day.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb* 
Speaking of aliens abducting our children...who is this wild banshee in my house all of a sudden? I have never heard such ear-piercing shrieks in my life. So THIS is what they mean by tantrum...







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I was just reading all the posts since yesterday morning and I had to stop at this to say YES!!!! THANK YOU!!














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Good LORD. He's a freak!







I can't even begin to describe what goes on here some days...bedtimes have been sort of crazy-making. All of a sudden, he wakes at 2am screaming for MAMA!!!! We thought he was having night terrors at first, but no, oh no, he was having night TANTRUMS, where DH would go through all the questions:
DH: "Are you in pain? Does something hurt??"
Rowan: "NO!!!"
DH: "Did you have a bad dream? Are you scared?"
Rowan: "NOOOOOO!!!"
(stop for a sip of water)
DH: "Well, what do you need?"
Rowan: "I WANT MAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAA!!!!"
(commence kicking and screaming--like, make-your-throat-sore screaming--, and refusing to lie down for DH)
And then, when I FINALLY come in to relieve us all of the screaming...it takes him TWO HOURS to go back to sleep. Two hours of me sitting (no, STANDING) there, patting his back.







<---that's ME throwing a tantrum!









We don't know what to do. DH decided I'm not allowed in there till about 5am again, so we had a night of drama, but then he slept from 8:30-5:30...but then it took 1/2 hour of MORE patting to get him to get back to sleep. AFTER the nursing. Sorry, dude, waking up at 5:45 for the day is NOT OKAY!
He's been waking earlier and earlier, napping later and later and whoo...I try to get him down by 12:30 but it takes till 1 to get him SLEEPING. Then he sleeps till 3:30, goes to bed at 8:30 and the drama commences again.
(forgive me if your kid wakes at 5:45 as a matter of course...we were getting him to sleep till 7-7:30...even 6:30 was okay. Anytime before that...I am just annoyed.







: I know, I know, once upon a time he didn't sleep AT ALL...I should feel blessed. And I do...most days)

Yeah, my child is in-sane. It's not just confined to sleeping either. And that is what's REALLY getting me. I sometimes feel like I'm stepping around landmines ALL. DAY. LONG!
Just wanted to commisserate on the shrieking.









I will write more after I go up and get him. He just woke up.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Okay, now that I have a moment to think (Rowan is eating a bagel and cream cheese w/ banana







and watching Sesame Street







: )

So...when we bow down to our children, we're obeying Divine Law and not just a bunch of mercurial, inconstant, crazy toddlers??







That makes it SO much easier!








Seriously, when my brain tries to wrap about the metaphysical (Elsanne, way to make me try to use my BRAIN this early in the morning!














) I see this as us doing what we can to meet the needs of our children, despite what society as a whole says we "should" do, and in that, we are doing something sacred.
But that's just my interpretation of the whole thing. I should check out that book!









I wish I could keep some of this in mind when I am about to scream because Rowan will NOT keep still during a diaper change, when he kicks me and writhes and I have to hold him down and he screams "MAMA HURT!" (and I didn't!) and I feel terrible but then he makes a fist and SOCKS me in the arm, and totally ignores me when I say "ROWAN HURT!" (and he did!)







*sigh* This was the morning. Since then I have gotten about a million hugs, kisses, baby-morning-breath in my face, and a request for breakfast, followed by a very sweet "thank you mama!" as I placed it in front of him. How do things take 180's like that??

Some days I feel like an absolutely terrible mother, and I feel like I cannot even begin to complain about the stress I feel when everyone else around me is dealing with two (or more!) children. It's as if I feel like I SHOULD be able to handle my only child, I mean, he's the only one, right? I should be able to give him ALL the attention he needs! But there are some days I feel like I can never give him enough.







:









Okay, enough of my whining.







YAY for babies eating half POUNDS of tofu!! Wow! Rowan NEVER eats that much! And YAY for being done with Early Intervention! KK, I am in awe of what an awesome mama you are.








I'm in awe of ALL you mamas. Like I said, some days I feel like I just can't be "good enough". Ah well. Right now is good. I have to stay in the NOW. Right???









I thought I had something else to say but the deep thoughts kind of crowded my brain. Have a great day everyone.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

hi all 1 hand to type about bowing down to children, i feel the quote is actually saying that we do not obey their constant and everchanging needs but rather the larger picture (divine law? that sense of rightness we know it when we feel it)--basically, when sol acts up, trying to discern what the REAL need could be--ie, more physical closeness, attention, security, etc...

combining that with my other self-help book I'm reading the 7 habits, taking a long view of the relationship w/ your kid vs. the short-term (control in a social setting, etc): what would you like your child/ren to say about you as a parent when you are gone? that you were always there, or whatever...*munch munch*


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Renae, I'm right there with you. "Landmines" is really a good analogy. I just have no idea what is going to set her off. As far as addressing her needs over the big picture, I have a reeeeally hard time deciding whether she needs more closeness /cuddling/babying or limits/independence/guidance. I vacillate back and forth between catering to her demands for holding and nursing on one hand, and refusing to do things for her and ignoring her when she's rude/whiny/screaming on the other. Of course I always try to address the problem nicely and politely at first. I never just ignore her totally. But you all knew that. Sometimes I really don't know if I'm doing what she needs or making the blowup last longer. Or both. But you know what, I honestly don't think anything will scar her for life.

And Renae, please don't feel bad about dealing with "only one." I have the same issues and feelings. And I get to go back to school next week and get away from her for hours at a time!







We all have our trials and issues and limits to what we can take. If I had to spend 24-7 with Lily, I don't know if I could handle it. Really. I personally couldn't make that choice. So I bow down to you for being an amazing mom to your one boy, all day long. And honestly, and you and I know this, this is one of the reasons why we chose to have only one, right? I get you, sister.

Elsanne - thanks for providing actual thought-provoking material on childrearing that I always want to read but never have the time for. Hope things are smoothing out down there in Meh-hee-ko.

Sarah


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Faery* 
How do things take 180's like that??


ahhh mothering the switch-personalities-on-a-dime GEMINI CHILD!!!! yeah i know all about it too. it is hard to keep up.

i really can't complain too much right now. we are in a groove at the moment. who knows how long it will last







we also don't have a new sibling in the house though. i can only image what that will do to our little center-of-the-universe.

feeling like maybe i'm imagining this whole pregnancy thing. but food doesn't sound good at all hahah.

goooooooo lentil-in-the-underwear!!!

i started knitting some orange and red striped mittens for isaac now that the weather turned. i just want to sit at home and knit allllll day.

alas i must work (why isn't there a smilie diligently typing away???)


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

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jstar* 
alas i must work (why isn't there a smilie diligently typing away???)









:

At work...wanting to be home...or least be able to post all the live long day to my pals here.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Hey guys,
Once again I feel like I haven't given enough time to my May Mamas. I know, I'm too hard on myself. And, I've been reading, just haven't really felt like writing, except for the new babies and all. Gabriel is now safely watching the Backyardigans on TiVo, so all is well It's actually the first time he's watched TV today, so I'm feeling pretty good.

Oh, and I didn't mean to forget congratulating Miss Sarah on passing that nursing test! Yeah! I'm so excited for you. I know it's a very big step along your path. So mucho mucho congratulations to you!









We went to a MOPS group here in town today for the first time. I was really nervous about going because a)I didn't want it to be too church-y and b)they like the kids G's age to stay in the childcare as much as possible. Since I know my child well, I knew that would be a challenge. And it was. He lasted all of 15 minutes in there when I just couldn't bear listening to him cry anymore. Does that make me a wimp mom? Everyone told me, "the first time's the hardest." And maybe it is. I'll try it again in a couple weeks, because I think I like the group well enough. And I really need to find some local friends, ya know? While they were all understanding that G was in the meeting with me, I was the only one whose toddler threw such a fit. I know, he hasn't been in those situations much in his life, so I must allow time for adjustment. But, it's just extremely hard getting him to stay with anyone but a relative.

ahhh....thanks for letting me vent. I came home from the meeting really wanting an actual LIVE May mamas group. I have met some moms at LLL, so maybe that's where I should invest my energies. It's just difficult finding a tribe and we've moved so dang much I really tire of all this.

G is giving us problems for naptime, so I can identify with the whole Gemini/split personality thing. He's now bawling for his dadda! Go figure. He really works himself into a fit. He won't even nurse. Today he did take a nap, but perhaps he was worn out from the MOPS crying. He even fell asleep in a booster seat eating lunch at a restaurant on Tuesday! He wouldn't sleep before lunch, so we went to meet some friends from out of town and halfway through mac 'n' cheese, he's got his eyes closed and looks totally at peace. Our laughter woke him up, though.

On a personal health front, I've started exercising each day (well, except today due to MOPS). I TiVo Denise Austin's morning workouts on Lfetime (kinda lame, I know) but at least it's movement! I do them right when I get out of bed. Since my nights are spent at work, I've had to do this in the morning and I'm so NOT a morning person. I'm also trying to curb the sweets, but feel that movement is of primary importance right now.

Okay, gotta run to take G to dh's office so I can go to work. Then I'm off till Monday.

Thanks for listening all. You all really do mean a lot to me.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Aw, Jacqueline. Kiss kiss. We are all in that space sometimes. I sure wish you had a group of amigas mamacitas around there.

Beth, that is SO LIKE YOU to just be unassuming regarding major exciting news like the sex of your unborn child!!! Now, me, I'd be clearing my throat LOUDLY to announce anything...ya gotta speak up with all these confident may mamas.

Speaking of, I went back to jULY's thread nad - I mean and - (I am no longer fixing that spelling error on this thread) and anyway I printed out all the posts of youguys cheering labor on and congratulating amara's birth, to include with her baby book. It is amazing just how substantial a part of my friend-time-allotment you all represent.









More later. suuuper bizzy mama here. thinking of tc and wondering how the adjustment's going...


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Jacquie,







s to you. It can take a while to find one's friends in a new place, especially when you're an adult (the little ones make friends instantaneously, it seems). It took me a good year and a half here, after a few uncomfortable false starts (of the "oh, I don't think I fit in with this group" type, that makes you feel like you're in jr. high again). Don't *ever* feel bad about taking care of G's needs. The clinginess tends to go in phases, and it won't last forever. Remember that no one knows him as well as you do, so their opinions don't really count for anything.

Elsanne took the words out of my mouth about Beth. She's definitely the loudest here, no?









Y'know, with the tantrum thing, I'm starting to introduce the concept of "Mama has feelings, too." Along the lines of, "I know you're feeling really upset, and that's fine, but it hurts my ears to have you sit on my lap and scream."







:

And on my kids and what I want them to remember about me... my own mother is very good at unconditional love and always believing in me. I just want to do the same.

Renae, don't ever compare yourself to another mama. It's pointless, y'know? Noone has your own history, noone has your child. We all have different rows to hoe. By the way, I had the "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" last night, too.

On the toddler sleep front... how's he napping? We have found (with both boys around this age) that a good nap is absolutely essential for a decent night's sleep (and then not always a guarantee). With T, it was important that he was well fed before the nap, and with Z, it is important that the nap not get started too late. Seriously, if you can tinker with the nap at all, consider it, because it may impact the nighttime sleeping.

Guilty confessions: went out with a couple of girlfriends last night. Had 1/2 a margarita! (woot!) One of them brought me the Vanity Fair with the pix of Suri in it (because she knew that I secretly wanted to see it and wouldn't pick it up myself). Then had a soy hot chocolate (at Starbuck's














that had a lot of caffeine in it, so I couldn't sleep. But at least I was wide awake to comfort my cranky toddler when he woke up.









I should be working on my diss, but we're FINALLY doing some interior painting (that will never end, it seems), so that's what I do during the naps (and in the evenings, etc.). Dh even got some pix of me painting while holding L in one arm.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
Y'know, with the tantrum thing, I'm starting to introduce the concept of "Mama has feelings, too." Along the lines of, "I know you're feeling really upset, and that's fine, but it hurts my ears to have you sit on my lap and scream."







:

Guilty confessions: went out with a couple of girlfriends last night. Had 1/2 a margarita! (woot!) One of them brought me the Vanity Fair with the pix of Suri in it (because she knew that I secretly wanted to see it and wouldn't pick it up myself). Then had a soy hot chocolate (at Starbuck's














that had a lot of caffeine in it, so I couldn't sleep. But at least I was wide awake to comfort my cranky toddler when he woke up.









We definitely do the "I'm trying to help you and you are hurting my ears" thing, too. Doesn't help.









1/2 a margarita?! I'm looking forward to 2 or 3 drinks on Saturday, in preparation for the long quarter ahead...









Speaking of which, orientation is tomorrow, and classes start Monday. Where did my break go?!

Jacquie, thinking of you. It is always hard to start over in a new place. In some ways having a small child makes it easier, and in others, harder. You go more places and have an excuse to start conversations, but it's also harder to make friends with people who don't have kids, no? I'm sure some of the new groups you're trying have some great mamas. Have you tried looking here on MDC for the tribe in your area?

Dinner tonight: chicken hot dogs, baked beans out of a can, and a pickle spear.







:







:







: But Lily actually ate it!









Sarah


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb* 
Dinner tonight: chicken hot dogs, baked beans out of a can, and a pickle spear.









Sarah

Hey, you had a vegetable!!! That's something!!!


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## nuggetsmom (Aug 7, 2002)

Well, I had a mellow birhtday. Adam and the kids got me the most beautiful Opal ever! With petrified wood in it. If I weren't so lazy I would take a picture of it and post it.
I have manouvred my way into being the gardening docent (can you just see all the little biochemistry nerds right now? Whoohooo) as well as being the field trip coordinator. I need to get to work on that too. We checked cars today. Really I am excited to do the gardening with the kids. I think we will plant some seeds, plant some plants, taste fruits and veggies, do a little pumpkin science. I am going to try to think of a garden project that reflects their multicultural week project which is India. They do a project for a month all about a country of their (teachers) choice and then they spend a week presenting it to parents and other classrooms as well as visiting the other classrooms.
I let the kids get ice cream every thursday at school because it is for fundraising. I am already tired of fundraising, and it has only just started.







: Then Julia had a huge tantrum in the car because I threw out the push up part of her push up. It had scooby doo on it.







: Screamed and screamed and then I discovered that I had to drive home first because N left her sneakers at home and she had soccer. So we had some extra screaming to get home again. I was so tired of it that I gave her gummi bears to keep her quiet








it worked.

i am ashamed










agreed on the nap comment by KK

Renae- I also agree that comparing oneself to other mothers is besides the point. They may be having their only good moment of the week and you happen to catch them being good! I also found that if I keep telling myself how together I am that I tend to feel better. I don't do anything differently, but it is self affirming. Very SNL I know. Still easier said than done.

Jacquie - it is so hard to move and find new RL friends. But I really need them even though I love all these may amams here

Elsanne-what a sweet idea to print out the birth thread.

I need to go order wrapping paper for another fundraiser. While eating chocolate cake and watching TV!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Glad you had a great birthday, Jacqueline...the opal sounds beeyooteeful. Would love to see it.

What kind of wrapping paper are you ordering? If it is sally foster, count me in.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

mmmm our dinner: costco hot dogs. oh so healthy. (not) costco is just nuts. isaac wanted the 260 count bag of mini bagels but i passed. he would burn out on bagel number 5 i'm sure. they have a huge teepee tunnel setup for $25 i think we need to get for a christmas pressie

rough sleep night for us because he was wired after costco and stayed up late. and he slept in our bed so the alarm woke him up way too early. those poor people at daycare today. i am SO TIRED myself. zzzzzzzzzzzz

my big issue right now: i can't UNDERSTAND him. he talks constantly now (quite a change from my nonverbal dude). and i probably only get 1/3 of what he is saying. when do they start with the rest of the constanants and the eee-nun-ceeee-aaayyyy-tion???? this is tough. and a definite cause of the meltdowns when he really wants something and i can't tell what it is. the other thing is that he *knows* when i'm doing the 'uh-huh - yeah!' response














: because he just keeps repeating and repeating.

ooooh i think the opal sounds luverly too. i'm trying to think of gardening projects related to india but i am brain dead.

jacquie - i hope you get to find friends in your new town as soon as possible. it IS hard. much harder as adults. it will happen. and the good thing is that this is probably a long-term location for you right?

margaritas *sigh* i am jealous. pregnancy is boooooooring. i hate that aspect. which doesn't say much for me as a person














:

and i haven't seen the suri pictures yet but i want to







:

my other big problem right now. i have a friend from high school in town tomorrow. and dh hates him. :stress: i plan to have dinner with him. i have no idea if dh will come along or not. but this is going to be an angsty event either way i think (dh will be angsty). it just frustrates me. so wish me luck!


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

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KKmama* 
Y'know, with the tantrum thing, I'm starting to introduce the concept of "Mama has feelings, too." Along the lines of, "I know you're feeling really upset, and that's fine, but it hurts my ears to have you sit on my lap and scream."







:

This is also my weaning strategy - I should try it on tantrums because E seems to care a lot about other people's feelings and respects it if we say, "That hurts me&#8230;" instead of just "Stop." I have some concerns about the new baby coming and E still nursing. We don't plan to tandem - Alison wants to be the nurser of this baby - but I have very bittersweet feelings about weaning as well. Which leads me to be very half-a$$ed at encouraging her to wean. Turns out, I really only try to get her to not nurse when it's inconvenient and it works a lot of the time to say to her, "No, Mama doesn't want to right now."or "Mama's all done." Actually my favorite way to end a nursing session that has gone on too long/needs to end is something that I saw our own mcsarahb do during our visit to Portland: counting down (10&#8230;9&#8230;8&#8230;7&#8230;etc) really fast makes E giggle and signals the end in a fun way. Thanks, Sarah - betcha didn't know I was watching!

Which just furthers the point that we all need a group of like-minded mamas around IRL to share ideas with and - well, just be friends. I miss my book club group of women in Eugene - even though I have lived here longer than I did there, I have not established as close a group of friends here that serves the same part of my soul. It's hard, imo, to find people here in the heaps of population. Our best friends are moving to Vermont next summer and I am so so mad at them. They are Eleanor's fairy godfathers (a gay couple that are more like family than friends) and it breaks my heart to have her grow up without them around. How can I find more people, particularly men, like that??? Yet, we did just meet them one day and we can and will meet more people with good hearts. It's the waiting for them to show up in our lives that's hard. We never could have guessed we'd be who we are to each other, but here we are nearly daily sharing our May mamas lives.

Even though this post is a mammoth already&#8230;I feel the need to share my funkity self right now. I am totally overwhelmed by our house. We are packing stuff up and getting it ready to sell and everything feels so full of loose ends and mess and why do we seem to have so much crap and &#8230;.must go visit the simply living forum because I can't seem to catch my breath. In violation of the UA - did you all see the thread awhile ago where annakiss showed pictures of her house? Sigh. I wish I would live like that. We just saw a house listing that is a farm in the city - we're going to drive by and see if the neighborhood is terrible (I suspect it's surrounded by businesses and not actually a neighborhood). Wouldn't it be cool to own a historical house with a barn and land in downtown San Jose?

Love to all&#8230; Thinking of Claudia right now. I hope you are doing well.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Lisa,







s on the funkified-ness...I am in a bit of a funk too.
All you mamas having a rough time, and all the mamas who are having an awesome day:














You are all amazing.

And I KNOW not to compare myself to other mamas, and I don't exactly think I am...but I think I just feel a little guilty sometimes when I am whining about Rowan being a freak when I know it's not THAT bad.







KWIM?
On more of divine law; I was joking about "bowing down"...well, kinda















I see it much the same; or try to...when Rowan is being whiny, demanding, or otherwise no fun, I try to look into the deeper reasons why he's being that way. For instance, upon leaving the library this morning he started to tantrum for seemingly no reason (I think I mentioned that he couldn't watch Blue until after naptime), and when I stopped and asked him if he was HUNGRY (it was nearing lunchtime) he stopped, teary-eyed and said "yes!" So on the way to the chiro he happily munched away on cantaloupe and a cashew-butter sandwich and listened to Laurie Berker.








I wish I could always be this calm in the face of these explosions! Something to strive for I guess.

Oooo, violating the UA! Lockdown!









I am home this afternoon because the mama of the babe I watch on Friday mornings (I think I told y'all: She watches Rowan Wednesday mornings/afternoons and I watch her 10-month-old Friday mornings/afternoons...and I have to wear him and calm him CONSTANTLY. He's not used to being away from his mama.







But she HAS to work, you know? Anyway, he's a sweet kid, and it's a worthwhile tradeoff, even if his screams are _blistering._ She can't get Rowan to nap wednesdays so he melts down from 5pm on.







Tradeoffs, you know?
Right, so I had this morning off, and Rowan and I went to the library to drop of a book and get three more, plus THREE videos (two Blue's Clues, one Caillou














And then we saw our chiro because it felt like we were both getting sick (and I've had a headache for two days)...and now I feel much better.
I also ate a really good burrito for lunch, with chips and guac.







Yay.

So, the IL's are coming this evening and staying until Sunday. Our weekend is looking something like this:
Tonight: They show up, Rowan acts like a maniac, DH gets him to sleep after hours and hours of patting because he's so wired, and I head into the basement to work on jewelry for the craft faire. FIL looks for something to watch on our TWO channels of TV, and MIL knits or reads trashy romance.









Saturday: DH goes to a Reiki 1 training (woot!) and I pack my craft stuff into the IL's minivan and we drive to the faire, where FIL helps me set up, and they take Rowan to the nearby mall (which is super-child friendly). They pick me up at 3, we go home, Rowan hopefully naps a bit, DH comes home, and we may or may not go to a birthday party that evening.

Sunday: King Richard's Faire! The local renaissance faire http://www.kingrichardsfaire.net/ which has sort of become a family tradition, since I announced my pregnancy to the fam there 3 years ago.







It's overpriced, cheesy, and, since we don't have to pay for any of it, tons of fun! I'm even dressing Rowan (and myself!) up for it!









ANYWAY, busy, busy weekend. DH's last day at his old job is today, he's coming home early so I can work some more, and the he has a week off before starting his new job closer to home (














on October 2.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I







you all!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

quickie post:

thanks for thinking of me, everymama...









happy belated birthday to heather and jacqueline!

oops... little one wants to nurse again... more later...

~c


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Hey Renae, I should probably explain the context of my comments a little better. I feel like *I* used to compare myself/my kid(s) to others all the time, and all it did was make me feel bad. I think I was only noticing things that other mamas do better than me/things they do that I don't do, and noticing their kids probably when they were perfectly behaved. But then I guess I realized that I'm just not going to be those other mamas; there are things that just aren't going to happen. And then T went from his cranky "I'm 3" phase to his angelic "I'm 4" phase, and other mamas starting comparing their kids to him, and I realized how pointless all of *that* is. I think it's really important to accept our own limitations, RECOGNIZE our own strengths (I seriously doubt that many of us do this), and do the same for our kids. In that light... what are *your* strengths, mamas? What are your kids' strengths? I think I'm pretty compassionate (and that I've taught my kids to be the same). We do a lot of coloring/drawing/arty crap, and I don't try to direct it. We do a lot of outside-y stuff. I'm teaching them to help around the house, and we do a lot of baking together. T is very good at including others, and he's frighteningly cheerful usually. Z is pretty social and good with names, and he usually listens to Mama.

I drink so little and so rarely that 1/2 a marg is enough to get me loopy.









Sarah, if that were tofu pups, it sounds like a divine dinner. (But I like mine on an organic sprouted wheat bun, with vegan grapeseed oil mayo, ketchup, and mustard, with relish.







) And I will freely admit that I have a few cans of baked beans in the pantry because my kids (especially Z) love them... it's easy when I'm zonked. (And no, the baked beans are not the organic kind, because the kind with BROWN SUGAR taste better!)

Ack, I have to order wrapping paper too. Wrapping paper for the PTA is a tool of the man.







(Didja get that





















)

Jess, T was unintelligible (spelling?) at this age, too. Z, for whatever reason, is not. I know this is not a helpful response.

I was out in late pg at the same Mexican restaurant with my mama friends, and the waiter asked if I would like a drink. I said, "I'll have a margarita.... in about a month."









Re the IRL mama friends... when all the chaos started happening in my life about a year and a half ago (the start of my crappy 2005), I still hadn't really connected with the group I'm in now. I know now that if I had had that resource, all the crap wouldn't have been so bad. I feel so much stronger now, and part of it is that life has settled down, but it's also that I have support and outlets...

Lisa, I hear you about the house stuff. Our house is A Project. Seriously, it has been SO MUCH work, money, etc. since we bought it. We knew that it would be, and we bought it for the long haul, because it's in a really great location, the bones of the house are good, the lot is great, etc. Our "painting project" is monumental, because what it's about is trying to make th e inside liveable (we've done a lot of dealing with exterior stuff, dealing with deferred maintenance stuff, making the place more energy-efficient, up to code, whatever--has little to do with interior aethetics). The previous owners (while neglecting everything else) painted the walls dark garish colors, applied the paint badly, and got the trim and the ceiling in the process. So we're cleaning the walls, patching, priming, and then applying 2 coats of color. And dh just found a leaky skylight, etc.

TC, I've been meaning to ask this... I remember you guys thought long and carefully about M's name, and I assume you're doing the same with this baby. Where are you guys at in the naming process? Care to tell us on the YG?

This is long. I should be painting or cleaning or taping or SOMETHING.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Looovin the long posts! Mine will be short because babe beginning to fuss.

going to mexico city tonight...driving me, babe, n wife...going to give a bellydance workshop both days this weekend wahhooootie!


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

So much to catch up on!

Claudia- Is it ok if I come with food (and musical instruments to keep our two musicians busy) on the morning of Friday the 29th? I think your dad is coming on the 30th, is that right? I could just drop off food if you're busy that day.

Heather- I hope your computer gets fixed soon. I worry about you when I don't hear from you in a while.









KK- how wonderful that T has met ALL his therapy goals and has GRADUATED from early intervention. That is so exciting. I don't know if you ever worried that the day would never come, but I can just imagine how great it feels to know he's caught up developmentally with his oral/motor skills. And how exciting to be off the supplement as well. That's so huge.

nuggetsmom- wow I am impressed that you're actually thinking about curriculum integration as well as hands-on learning in the garden. I've noticed before that you seem to have natural teaching skills. Some of us go to school for years to learn this stuff.







I hope you find a gem of a permanent sitter soon.

Emily- hooray for steps in potty training. How's your little big-kid-pants-boy doing? We haven't even started yet and probably won't till next summer, a while AFTER baby #2 is born.

Renae- give us an update at the end of your weekend. The beading sounds so cool- go craft mama!

Sarah- good luck with the new quarter Monday!

Lisa- I'm so sorry the fairy-god-fathers are leaving soon. That IS a huge loss. You have to convince them they're not allowed to move until E is 18.









Elsanne- awe, what a sweet idea to put the MM comments in your baby's book. It's crazy-wonderful how big a part the MM's play in my life, too.

Jess- inteligiblility has been one of the biggest frustrations for us with L, too, especially as he comes up with more and more new words. Speech therapy has been really helpful for us in this area. We've learned some visual cues to use when we model words, and they really seem to help Luke hone in on the consonants and pronounce things a lot better. If we ever have a free second that coincides, I'll share some of that stuff with you- I bet it would help Isaac, too.

Jacqueline- Hooray for exercise! It's great that you are making time to get active and feel good. About MOPS- I would not feel bad about your "clingy" toddler. I think it's wonderful that you're respecting his needs. Here's our story: L does great when I leave him with a sitter- he doesn't even cry when I leave. BUT twice a week my dh and I (who work at the same place) have shifts that overlap by 2 hours. L is used to being with one of us at work during that time, but it is NOT working, so we hired a sitter to watch him at work. The first month of this was very rocky. L was used to being with us, and did NOT want to be with the sitter. He was clingy and tantrumy. We ended up having to hang out with L and the sitter. Dh even went to the park several times with L and the sitter, when he really had work that needed to be done. I could tell the sitter thought we were pandering to much to L. She made several comments about how "sometimes you just have to let them cry." I am well acquainted with setting limits and accepting that my kid will not always like them, but I also believe in respecting his feelings, and not forcing him on a stranger. And you know what? Now L is perfectly comfortable leaving us and spending the whole time with the sitter. So go with your gut, mama. Don't worry about what the other mamas think. Your relationship with your ds will last longer than any of those other relationships.

Wow, talk about a long post! I'm gonna grab a bowl of Nancy's plain organic honey-yogurt with organic frozen blueberries, and plop down next to dh and listen to the end of OSU's slaughter of the U of Idaho. 37 to nothing. ouch.

Night-night!


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## orangecanoe (Aug 3, 2003)

yikes on all the long posts! makes catching up even more of a frenzy. I feel bad for not responding, but soon! My computer should be ready to come home tomorrow!









thanks for all the bday wishes---was a very fun and relaxing day. sarah--thank you...your surprise arrived monday!









okay...must go workout and stop dilly dallying!

kk---very excited for z!

which reminds me that C finally starts PT on wednesday and the girls meet the new OT on Friday....


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

I, for one, remain undaunted by all the long posts. Remember ladies, it's all about ME.














:

So, back to me:

I had a fantastic, if not utterly stressful, weekend! How do the 'twain meet? Weeeelll I drove to mexico city (the largest city in the WORLD mind you) (and I am quite the provincial type) Friday night with my wife and baby. I left Sol with her papa, at the last minute we were still wondering if they would go also but I insisted he brought me more stress than help when I was already pretty stressed. We both know the drill by now, so let's avoid the stress when we can. I did miss Sol, especially when we were walking around the fair at the plaza of Coyoacan, a lovely town from whence Frida Kahlo and all her genre did their biz.

We proceeded to wander around Mexico City traffic just for the fun of it, for an hour or so. (NOT-fun) En route to our hotel our provincial eyes witnessed a bounteous selection of honest-to-goodness Mexico City lovely ladies, all dressed uniformly in veeeery short skirts and little else. Most were kind of chunky! Latin men like their ladies well fed. Good thing, that. We marvelled and I wondered how much extra money I could make if I just went down to the street...

It's a wonder we made it to the hotel because all those REALLY BIG billboards kept distracting me. Apparently latin men like their ladies large but latin women are being reminded they need to be thin. They were very well lit and mine eyes seldom see such things so I was having a hard time concentrating.
Maybe that's why I missed the turn.

Anyway the whole reason I went was to give a two-day bellydance workshop, Tribal Style, baby, uh huh. I daresay it knocked their socks off. Because not a one of them wore socks.
We grooved on the tribal love and danced, I wore myself out despite my mucho training to get back into some semblance of shape before attempting to dance 8 hours in one weekend. Then I put them to work in small groups. Haha! The best trick any teacher ever used. Good for them, good for me...it's a pedagogical tool essential to the teacher toolbox.

21 students total, and mama elsanne made $700! Then I sold a bunch of my tribal castoffs, which were many in my career/hobby of spending way too much money on tribal goods. So it was a resounding success and left some of them clamoring for more. Others, of course, politely thanked me and said goodbye.

Yesterday after dancing 4 hrs I had to drive HOME 4 hrs, which thankfully was not as exciting as the drive there. I arrived just *spent*. Today I am happy to be home. And I think my good friend Lydia is having her baby as we speak. OH BOY!!!! or OH GIRL!!! We don't know yet.

Once again my may mamas youguys are my muse, my sounding board, and since I like what I wrote here I'm just agonna copy n paste my way over to my blog...soon I will have photos to accompany the narrative.

more to respond to y'all but just know I just love you. I am esp. thinking of TC wondering how the first week has gone...

xoxoxoxoxo!!!


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

Wow- els! That sounds like an amazing trip. I've always wanted to visit Mexico City, your descriptions make me even more travel-lusty. But maybe what I really want to do is go visit you and have adventures.

Everyone was so busy posting, I am just getting caught up.

The lentil's potty experience took a seriously sour note yesterday when he peed on my bed. my new super delux king sized grownup bed. I was a little upset. This has inspired not one, but TWO great arguments with sweets. So we're just hanging in there. It seems kind of crazy to be TTC right now, what with the grumpies in our house. But we're optimistic people, and hopefully the grumpies will dissipate soon. So we're taking the potty situation pretty slow right now, hoping the lentil will get on board in the next few weeks. He sure loves wearing his big-boy underwear, though.

Have a great week, all!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Oooh emmalola pee on the new bed! Aaarrrgh...! Big wool blanket under sheets? an idea.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

hello hello

LOVING this week of blissful sunshine. can't tell if it is the pregnancy hormones or the 2 weeks of rain and early sunsets that are tipping me towards my less mentally stable tendencies. not that i'm mentally unstable (becasue that sounds really bad) i just feel the winter blah's coming on (too early!) and hate to use the word 'depression' i need a term for feeling like the brink of depression. peri-depression? not quite depressed but would just rather not deal with anything? why do i feel like i need a xanax the minute i can't take one???? i went with the decaf today.

i had a wonderful amazing phone call yesterday (from my old roommate/friend in boulder). she is 5w pregnant and due at the same time as me. and they have been ttc for FOUR YEARS. i am elated for them. all kinds of fertility shots and yadda yadda and too much pressure and they gave up and she got acupuncture and got laid off from her stressful job and boom - she gets knocked up! yay!!! they will be great parents. so i have fingers crossed for lots of sticky. she had 2 blood tests to check hormone levels and they are rising. so far so good.

our house STINKS. dh painted the masonry sealer in the basement yesterday. highly toxic and i was trying not to NAG him to get it done but twitching that this is the one and only weather opportunity to do it. i dug in the yard. isaac says 'yard work' but it sounds more like wawok

it does comfort me that T did not speak clearly at age 2.5 KK. because i'm assuming he does speak clearly now







and beth i'd love to hear your speech therapy tidbits when we get a chance. it is tough not being able to get his gist sometimes.

so we all know isaac is tv-addicted. and now he is interested in the computer. great! (sarcastic). i put it on this 'elmo's potty game' on sesame street.com where they have to push any key on the keyboard to help elmo go to the bathroom. forget the tv. this is his new addiction. he plays it over and over and over. and doesnt' want to play any.other.game. i am hoping this leads to PL!! he is doing really well pottying at school but isn't so interested at home. we did a little underwear time last night. brief-ly







(and it is stuck in my head 'daddy i think i have to go to the bafroom')

elsanne - that sounds like an exciting weekend!

emmalola - well you'd have 9 months to get over the grumpies







i hope things perk up around there.

claudia - i dind't even get your message until last night but everything worked out fine. i'm glad you got out of the house. poor isaac was STILL saying 'play marek's house' this morning. his snot thing seemed fine the rest of the day but it was bad yesterday morning and i think i made the right call. but we'd love to play soon









hf - i hope your computer comes home today!!

lisa - i'm sorry your best friends are moving. that is such a drag! it is hard to find people like that and magical when it happens

ok. enough procrastination from moi. back to work. happy monday!!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

ok... running to check on little one sleeping in the moses basket to make sure i actually have a few minutes to type... still sleeping and ok...

wow. has it really been almost 9 days since i birthed another baby? it feels like forever and like it's how it's supposed to be. we still have issues with getting stuff done with two children... it's so weird to write that i have two children... but most of the time it's only one kid crying/having a tantrum/hating diaper changes. bill had a work flame mail and affiliated issue for a few hours this morning that exasperated me, but it's somewhat resolved and marek is napping and the little one is napping after having a nurse-fest this morning (i really need to look up when growth spurts happen to remind myself...)

oops, marek just woke up and is coming to check on us in the office... sad boy... he loves having daddy at home.

jstar: thanks so much for bringing by dinner yesterday. we actually saved it for dinner tonight, but i'm sure it's del-ish. we must definitely arrange playdate for isaac and marek again.









fiddle: friday would be splendid if you are still available.









saw sarah at the pdx babywearing meeting yesterday, too.

nothing else profound to write at this time. been contemplating writing the birth story this week and will let you all know when it's done.

little one does not have a name yet, although we have a working list of possibilities now. at least, i *think* we have a working list... with marek, it was more of an issue with the name marek and my mother's association with the name and her father (it's her maiden name) and that's why it took us so long to officially put the name out there. that, and the fact that up until the day marek was born, bill seemed okay with not naming his son after him (he's a IV and marek could have been a V) and then suddenly had libra-ish second thoughts and worries that his dad would be upset. with this one, we just don't have a lot of names that we like the sound of. that and does it go with bill's and marek's last name (i kept my own last name) and how does "marek and ____" sound seem to be the other issues.

whiny boy needs a drink now, so i will stop.

thanks for thinking of me, every-mama...








MMF!

~claudia


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

claudia, I loved reading the update. I just keep picturing you and your family, since I've seen your house. I am still and always sending lots of love and good thoughts.

jstar, I am convinced your feelings are pregnancy related. It just goes all too well with how I felt at the beginning of both pregnancies. The hormone thing is really real, it's not that you are mentally unstable--although that is often a result! Also, Sol is still not clear in her speech often. She speaks a language I find myself translating for others, and several times she says something I don't understand and just waits for me to get it instead of showing me what it is. Sometimes this results in crying, insistently repeated versions of same, with me wanting to bonk her and walk away. With the most loving of bonks, yknow. But TODAY! She sat at the table and pointed at things, requesting I say their name, then repeating after me! (yes I know, all the talkers did this MONTHS ago!) It was soooo cute I kissed her after every repeat much to her feigned dismay. She has pointed at things, and requested I say them before, but would rarely repeat after me until muuuch later. So this was new for us.
Also neato that you have a friend irl same preg as you, jstar!! I love it when that happens, it happened for me too.


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Heather-glad your computer will be back soon! I've missed hearing from you but think of you often









Jstar-G's speech if often unintelligible, also. Of course, he was barely talking three months ago, so it's vastly improved from that point. I understand about 1/2 of what he says and the other 1/2 has parts I understand, but not quite sure what he means. He sure knows, though, and sometimes it frustrates him, but we're getting better about figuring it out. Asking him to point at it, guessing words out the blue, etc. His pronunciation has become clearer on many things, too. But, he still says "meemee" for banana and "racing dar" instead of car, so we've got room for improvement. He repeats so many things over and over.

And is anyone else noticing the imagination really starting to take off? Maybe it's because he's just getting so verbal, but he will talk about monkeys in trees, seeing a blue racing "dar", an "aymane" (airplane), a fire truck (can't even write how he says that word) when none are nearby, etc. DH or I will ask him what he did today and he'll make up something that didn't happen...like today dh took G with him while dh got a haircut (I was working). I asked G if daddy got a haircut, and he said "Mine haircut. And a yolly-pop (lollipop). And a blue aymane." Funny, but is it normal? I hope so. He also turns everything into something else. Like the lid to a plastic storage box was both a motorcycle and his hoisey (horsey). I guess this is just good imagination, I just often wonder where he comes up with this stuff!

TC-Glad you're adjusting well to the new boy. I've been thinking of you, too!

elsanne-your weekend in the big city sounds like quite an adventure. I would love to take belly dancing sometime. So opposite of what I feel comfortable with, but I think it's amazingly cool to watch. And, I find it's always good to try things that scare me!

Oh yeah, and G actually acknowledges the potty chair! He uses it each night after he gets out of the bathtub, and sometimes he actually pees in it! He's been waking up in the morning saying "Mama, I poop" or "Mama, I pee" and I ask him if he wants to use the potty chair. So far, he only uses it at night with dad, but it's a start.

Good night all!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Here's one for Heather, who I hope gets her 'puter back soon so she can see it: Also any other knitters or people who like funny animation:


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Hi Mamas!

It was great to see Claudia and 'Little Brother' on Sunday. What a cutie.

Elsanne - your weekend sounds fabtastic. I so want to come visit you. We are seriously thinking about a Central/South America trip next summer! I reeeeeeeeeally need to get my Spanish up to speed and, I want to visit you!









jstar - I hope your mood improves. I agree that it probably has something to with your current gestational status. I remember I felt totally bipolar for the entire first trimester... but this weather is great, huh?

Jacqueline - Love your stories about G's imagination. Lily also does that making stuff up. She will run into the kitchen shouting, "Mama! Papa! There's a [insert Dr. Seuss character of the week here - mostly recently a Lorax] in the living room! Right in front of the couch! He's PURPLE!" She'll point out whatever it is that she's invented, talk to it, show us, pretend to hold it, make it jump into her hand, feed it, etc. Very hilarious.

Soooooooo I started the quarter yesterday. It will be cool but intense. The first class was awesome - Foundations of Midwifery Care - but today is research and statistics: yawn. I am excited for the next two years, though - finally! My new school year's resolution is to complain less and enjoy/be thankful more. We'll see!









I bought about 60 bulbs and must plant them this weekend. It's a mix of crocus, daffodil, scilla, hyacinth - should be beeyootiful. DH started building a roof/awning over the back door, which will include an arbor over half the deck. Meant to finish that in the Spring, but oh well! Exciting to actually be starting some projects. The foundation is next on his list.









Thinking of you all during this change-y Fall weather. I love to think of us all spread out around the country but connected by a strong web of love, support, and fiber optic cable!









*mwah*

Sarah


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcsarahb* 
Hi Mamas!

I love to think of us all spread out around the country but connected by a strong web of love, support, and fiber optic cable!










countRIES!!


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Doh!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

It's okay. I feel connected to you by lots of fiber optic cable.





















:


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

yeah the more i think about it the more i chalk it up to hormonal craziness. i had the same thing last time but i thought it was anxiety about having a baby. (the OMG what did we DO????) i had a bad anxiety spell several years ago where i woke up sweating and nauseous every morning. i totally could not deal with life. this is how i feel every morning right now and i HATE it. albeit---not so bad. not so sweaty. not SO nauseous. but still not feeling good or normal. anxiety and pregnancy look way too much alike for my comfort. and not sleeping well. i'm usually like a rock in the am and this morning i was out of bed at 6 because it sounded like the trains were IN our bedroom







: and we aren't even that close to the tracks. tomorrow i have to be downtown by 7:30 so i guess the insomnia will come in handy.

i bought some bulbs and need to plant them too. i love that payoff in the spring when you need it most







i got a pretty good sized forsythia at freds for $7 too







i'm hoping to get a bunch of stuff at the october portland nursery clearout sale too. i was too broke last year. our yard needs a lot of shrubs for structure. of course they won't grow into privacy size for years but better to start sooner rather than later. i will only be satisfied when i can't see a single inch of chain link fence. hate it!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Okay, I should be painting or cleaning or SOMETHING, but L wants to nursenursenurse, so here I am (dh is at a swimming lesson with the boys).

Hey, y'all didn't tell me what you and your kids are good at. I was serious.

Ack, I have some bulbs I need to plant, on top of the 50,000 other things I have to do.

Jess, I become a nut when I am pg (of course, it's worse when I'm taking a medication which causes depression). I think that in pg, it's so easy to forget that one was sane only days/weeks/whatever ago, and that one will be sane again, someday. I feel for you. And I'm very happy for your friend (wonder if we go to the same acupuncturist??).

Els, your post made me want to find a good belly dancing class. Seriously. Maybe you can tell me what I should be looking for? And I laughed at your driving stories...

Sarah, stats is a good thing to have under your belt. Yucky to actually be studying, but very, very useful to be able to deconstruct studies and tell whether the results are really valid. (It will be especially usually for sifting through any crappy conventional childbirth type research).

Re speech... I was thinking about this today (while I was circling, circling the block, trying to get Z to sleep). And the best thing I could come up with is that I think it might be reassuring to just post a question in special needs parenting about what is normal for this age. (Basically, what I want to say is that it's really normal for them to pronounce words correctly, be hard to understand, etc., but I know that there are speech therapists on MDC, and they can give you better, more reassuring answers.) I would try to say more, but my brain is fried, and I feel very inarticulate right now.

TC, so much harder to name subsequent kids, because of of the "X and ____" situation, as you say. That was a big difficulty for us with L's name. The boys, as you know, have kind of longish, old-fashioned, definitely male names, and dh kept suggesting single syllable, gender-neutral, more modern names, and it just irked me.

EL, poo on pee on the bed.







I read your blog, and I'm sending you random other hugs, too. And please *do* conceive. I love getting to experience all these pregnancies vicariously.









I need to call the ins co and ask them if they want the unused PJ (the hi cal formula) back (if they don't want it, I will donate it to Children's Hospital), but somehow, I'm afraid that if I get rid of it, Z will backslide. I think I'll hang onto it for just a bit longer, then call.


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I have stats under my belt. Twice. That is why it is boring and lame.







They are making me do it because it's nursing research, not linguistic (i.e. humanities) research like I've had. Hello, people, numbers are numbers and graphs are graphs. Harumph.

Emmalola - thinking of you and TTC. Love reading the minute details on D&S. Makes me feel kind like a midwife!









Just ate a scrumptious dinner at an excellent Lebanese restaurant, took a fun bath with Lily, and now must push DH in the direction of putting L. to bed. She got up at 10 this morning after going to sleep around 10:30 last night.







:

Sarah


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

rereading my post from yesterday, I meant "pronounce words INCORRECTLY"....


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Aaaah it makes much more sense now!!!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Since you're apparently here to hear me, can I whine for a bit? (I will, whether you grant me permission or not.)


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Z is upstairs tantrumming, basically the same flavor tantrum he threw just after getting home from swimming last night (and then again just before bedtime). And dh is walking out the door (just as he was last night... he had a meeting to go to). Sigh. And my back is KILLING me. I slept funny, and I'm going to hobble around today like an old person. Seriously, I can't really turn my head or twist my body without YEEOUCH.

Oh well. At least I think it's going to be sunny today. (Yes, a day can be salvaged by sunshine for me...)


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

KK


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

And oh yeah, I think the reason for the tantrums is that he hasn't napped the last couple of days. And yes, bed night sleep ensued. I feel kind of pathetic, how the quality of my own life is kind of determined by the quality of my 2 yr old's sleep, but there you go.

Oh, here he is. He looks like his face is melting (tears and snot). Gotta go.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

kk, oh gawwwd. Hang in there sweetie. I know the feeling.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

ack, that's BAD night sleep ....


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

sarah you reminded me that isaac (and consequently us) all slept until 9:30am on sunday. it felt gloriously lazy and about as close to pre-childbearing sundays as we have ever had!! he's definitely gaining the propensity to sleep in. i had to wake the poor dude when it was still dark this morning and it sucked. he was curling up in a ball and squeezing his eyes closed going nooooooo! i felt like doing the same thing









what am i good at? uhhhhh. uhhhhh. shopping!







: writing reports. analyzing data. procrastinating.

what is isaac good at? his new my do it thing is putting the nestle quik strawberry powder into the milk and stirring by himself without spilling the powder. and last night he was standing on me (balancing) and falling onto the couch. good balance.

i am HONGRYYYYY!!! what's for lunch?


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## Jacqueline (Jun 11, 2003)

Hey, KK-I feel your two-year-old sleep woes, too. G has had awful naps for the last week, only really going to sleep if we were in the car. So I know what you're talking about and it truly does suck. He's sleeping now, though, so I plan to enjoy it! Hope your back feels better









What do we do well? I think that I am a good listener, a compassionate person, and am able to be pretty silly with G (which I didn't know if I could do or not). I'm also pretty laid back, so I'm good at remaining relatively calm when stuff happens. Gabriel has the BEST laugh! It cracks me up to hear him laugh. He also enjoys using a glue stick for art projects and just sitting down, reading books by himself. Of course, I think he's highly intelligent, but that could be the mom talking.









Thanks for asking, KK. That was a good exercise.

Oh yeah, and I have bulbs to plant, too. Tulips, my favorite flower. Since our yard is literally the size of a postage stamp, that's it. But, I really need to get them in the yard because the ground actually freezes here (as opposed to where we were in Texas last year.) I'm so enjoying autumn again. I love it! The colors right now are so gorgeous.

I think I've decided to not return to the MOPS group. After mulling it over for the past week, it just didn't feel right for us. My gut tells me it's not worth continuing to try to put G in their childcare. I just didn't get a good feeling about it. However, I'm one of these people that sees both sides to EVERYTHING so I keep asking myself if I'm not going back cause I'm scared to try something new or because I really don't think it's the right thing for us? I'm pretty sure it's the latter, but we'll find out in another week.

I have looked in the MDC tribe locator before and found nothing for this part of the state, but I'll try again. I do appreciate all of you saying your child has gone through clingy phases, also. I think we're in one, and he's just that kind of kid anyway.

Sarah-stats would not be fun for me, either. And taking it the third time would not be any more fun, I'm sure. At least you have more midwifery stuff to keep you going.


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

Things we're good at:
Me - Patient and open/flexible. I am amazed at how tested I am on saying I am good at this each and every day I parent, but in general I am proud of my ability to roll with it.
Alison - IMO, she is the queen of acceptance. She is the happiest, most content person I know.
Eleanor - I think that I appreciate her willingness to express her preferences (and this will bite me in the a$$ one day soon) and her imagination. She has a whole slew of imaginary lady bugs, apple trees, and dogs that she plays with every day. Some of the cutest moments come out of thin air...

Jacquie - I hope you find your tribe of wonderful women and families soon!

Hey, mcsarahb, RN - Did you see that Birthwise in Maine is doing a version of thier DEM/CPM program with less time on site and more preceptor time. So a couple of months in Maine each year for three years sounds awfully tempting to me...just dreaming for now.

Take care all mamas


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Z took a *4* hr nap yesterday. Apparently, he's not all caught up, because he was up screaming "MOMMY!" in the middle of the night (and I was so exhausted I slept right through it







:, and dh whisked him off to the guest bedroom, where I found them this morning). And he's asleep already today (he was so obviously very cranky and needing a nap that I knew it would be a snap). I'm really hoping that tonight's sleep is better and that peaceful napping returns. He's teething (got the bulges on the last 2 molars, and he's walking around with a whole hand in his mouth).

Just wanted to report in.

Something I read here (MDC) and heard sort of 2ndhand IRL bugging me... it sounds like our local hospital no longer does VBACs. I want to ask on our local AP listserv... if it's true, then I'm pretty







: .


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Hey Mamas! I'm here in presence. Heather, you got your computer back?

Congratulations on the baby boy fiddle! How totally exciting! And how could you think your news wasn't as exciting as everything else?







Totally excited fo ryou! I forget when you are due?

How's Alison feeling these days, Lisa? When's the new one comig to your house?

How's the new semester SArah?

Where've you been Renae?

Emmalola-lotso babydust to you!

els-how's the baby and the toddler? Thinking of you often

kk-here's to a great night's sleep

jacqueline-hope you make some great friends soon. i have a feeling i'm going to know exactly what you're talking about all too soon!

nuggets-you sound like such a great educator!

claudia-thinking of you mamax2!
ok, better get off the 'puter Big hugs to my maymamas!


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

thanks for the babydust! we're about 6 dpo, and waiting for a temp dip, so who knows what will happen. I came to realize this morning that this is a process, and it's not a sure thing ever, so I need to stop obsessing about the timing. we'll be happy with anything, ever, because we're happy people. so on with life.

But excuse me while I rant just a little: we're living with my dad, sweets is out of town, I have a killer cold and last night I came down with a killer migraine to add to the mix. I had to put the lentil down for bedtime when I couldn't even see straight, let alone read freaking dr. seuss. this morning I wake up after a horrible, sick, painful night and see that my dad and his 26 year old girlfriend have left the house in a terrible mess, there's garbage and wood shavings all over the floor (she's been carving a sculpture out of cedar so it felt just a wee bit like we were living in a habitrail)(they're both sculptors), and they are offering NO help with the lentil. Why bother living with family when you only get to clean up their crap and not get to actually have some help and family-style living? I hate this situation right now, and I can't wait until we move out. I also hate that living with my dad has turned out to be such a bad plan. I had such high hopes for living with extended family. So after cleaning up their crap so I had enough room to make our breakfasts (!) and getting the lentil settled with his day, they emerged from their bedroom all sympathetic. "We made you chicken soup" they tell me. yes- they made me chicken soup but then they ate it all and left a little puddle of soup still in the pan for me overnight. so it was pretty much gross anyway. "Thanks!" grrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRrrRRrrrr

But we had a great playdate with a new friend this morning, so the day only started horribly.

*4* hour nap? Wow. Did that affect his nighttime sleep at all? We're supposed to be at a playdate right now but the lentil is still asleep- I like the long naps but not when there's playing to be done.

creativity: loving it. I love to take little moments with the lentil to hear how his brain is ticking away. amazing. simply amazing.

what do we do well? survive. we survive. at least right now, we're getting by and we're doing an okay job of it. we also have fun together as a family, especially when we're outside hiking or enjoying our great mother earth.

Oop- I think i hear the boy. toodleoo!


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

just call me threadkilla!


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

emmalola, you threadkill-ah, you!









hard to believe it's been just two weeks since i was laboring and birthing our new little one. it seems like he's always been here. marek has become increasingly cute with his awareness of his baby brother, saying things like, "i have to go check on baby brother" when he notices neither bill or i are holding him. now if we could just quell his insistence on screeching when he wants something... argh...

still deciding on a name for the new one. we're down to the final two and are having a hard time choosing. some moments i think he looks like one and other moments i think he looks like the other.

my dad flies in late tomorrow night to stay for 2.5 weeks. i'm excited. of course, it also means bill is going back to work regular hours next week and that kind of sucks. i've been really sentimental about our relationship and the way it used to be before kids. watching barbara walters interview with terri irwin didn't help with this feeling either... talk about a passionate relationship that couple had. i have always thought steve irwin was a fantastic person for his energies in wildlife preservation, and the world has indeed lost a great advocate for the animals.

the little one is still nursing really well. a much different and i think much better nurser than marek ever was. my nipples are still hurting somewhat, and i think i'm going to mix up some liquid grapefruit seed extract dilution tomorrow and start using it in case it's thrush.

our first new couch arrives on tuesday. yahooey! still have to find new homes for our old cat-scratched one and the two comfy chairs that match it. oh well, they can sit in the garage while we do that.

we've had a heat wave here this whole week -- in the 80s. nice, but i think i'm really ready for fall now.

time to go hang with my bigger boys for a little bit before marek's bedtime.

with love,
claudia

p.s. send fiddle and her little L some healing vibes... they both came down with the icky stomach bug that's going around out here. L was up most of last night puking and she started feeling crappy sometime this morning/afternoon. she never made it out here to bring us food for tonight because of it.


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

fiddlefaddle---so sorry to hear you were dooooown!







: that is really awful and I hope it clears up soon.

TC-I am dying to hear your name options! When you finally choose I can't wait to hear it. Who IS the new little dude? I sure wish I could just come over and relieve you of your old sofas...I just yesterday put money down on a new house!!!!! Renting it, I mean!!! It is unfurnished. Most rentals here are furnished since that is the market (vacationers, etc). I am totally psyched because where I live now, while nice and cozy, is tiny and this is a whole big house with lots of patio, some grass...it is great and in my same neighborhood (which is a great neighborhood, and almost impossible to rent anything for under $800/mo minimum. Now, I know you in urban areas will sniff at that but this is MEXICO!!! When I first came here rents were reasonable!) So now I will have plenty of room for all my maymama visitors whenever they get their a$$es down here. I am so excited and nervous. It's a lot more rent than I pay now but I'm feeling groovy since I made some good money this past month. And then, I am also in negotiations with my mother to bring her down here to live...yes...nervous about that but overall think it's a good thing. We'll reserve my current apt. for her as a trial home, for when she comes down here in January. I know I will be inviting more drama into my life but it just makes the most sense overall. She may decide not to move here but at least we'll know.

What do we do well? Hmmmm. Sol is quite good at balancing on things, walking/running in precarious positions, climbing on cement walls and sitting on the top of them, and generally doing things that make my heart beat fast and make me need to look away while dad helps her.

Yesterday I had some bodywork that I have been needing for quite some time, my neck vertebra were out, and this guy can do that kind of thing (like a chiro but spending more time with the muscles, like a PT). It was incredible! First he asks, "so, who's a pain in your neck?"
I think we ALL know the answer to that one.
Then he says, "I'm getting that you feel very responsible".
I made some response about my world and then suddenly, a big wave of tears came over me as I felt how overwhelming my life is despite my general veneer of being on top of everything. At the same moment, my neck lets go and goes back into it's proper alignment.
Aren't bodies amazing?
He made the comment that when one is superwoman, one enables others to not step up to the plate. And that it's hard to compete with superwoman--she makes every man look bad (which, we both agreed, is not hard to do). And that I need to ask for help.
Gah! When will this personal development biz ever cease? (I know, I know, when I die...jeez...)
Sol is withdrawing every stick of this very smelly incense and waving it under my nose, her nose, the dog's nose...
Now she is singing and doing the same. She was singing to Amara this morning, and those moments just melt my heart utterly.

Do you guys know I think of you each & every day? It is strange to talk about you to others--ie, this friend I have, well I've never met her but we've been friends for over two years online--well, anyway she blah blahblah...


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## Sarah'sMama (Nov 30, 2002)

Hope the nasty tummy bug ceases soon, fiddle and luke!














:

els-congrats on the new place! So very exciting and fresh! Best of luck with the mamadrama. It may be just what she needs. Her little granddaughters will be wonderful therapy for her!

Last night, we were downstairs in our basement. It's finished and has a bedroom for guests down there. Well, sarah and Katie were playing in the bedroom, and Katie had climbed into the bed. Sarah was in there playing, too, and Katie says to her "Sarah, wanna come snuggle?" to which Sarah replies "Sure!" and climbs in with her so they could snuggle/tickle/giggle feverishly. Was the cutest thing EVER!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Sarah'sMama* 
Katie says to her "Sarah, wanna come snuggle?" to which Sarah replies "Sure!" and climbs in with her so they could snuggle/tickle/giggle feverishly. Was the cutest thing EVER!









: that is truly an adorable scene!!! *sigh* the pleasures that await us new mamas of two...


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Hiya mamas-

Claudia - Good to hear from you! Anxiously awaiting the name and more pics.









Fiddle - Hope the tummy bug goes away soon. It SUCKS, I know first-hand. Just about everyone I know IRL has had it in the past month, including us at the beach.









Emmalola - Sigh. You know how I feel about living with parents. I'm sorry you're in a downswing right now. I hope ya'll find a new place, literally or figuratively, and no hard feelings happen as a result. Sigh.

Elsanne - Yeah, so living with parents. Hmmmm. From your previous posts, it does sound as if this might be a very good thing for your mom. Please just be sure it is also a good thing for YOU. And your new place sounds fab. I am seeing a visit to Mexico in my future...

Sherri - Glad to see you on here. Your girls seem so connected. Those are the things that make me want a sibling for Lily.

Thinking of everyone else, too. I am swamped with school again but it is going well. There are also 8 new people in my cohort (people entering the grad program who were already nurses) so that is exciting. It takes energy to form new relationships, though, you know? I find myself asking the same people the same questions about their partner's name, where they live, etc., and feeling stupid. But then they do it to me and I feel better.









What do we do well...did I already answer this? Oh right, that was in the PDX thread. Ha. Um, I am a pretty good student in most ways. As a mama, I am very laid-back and am able to let Lily explore and make messes without too much hindrance. I.e., I am good at cleaning up messes and not being mad about them.

Lily is really loving and snuggly. She is almost scary-good at sensing when I or DH is upset/down/whatever, and trying in her toddler way to get us out of a funk. She is also great at wordplay, rhyming and singing, making up stories, etc. She has an amazing memory.

And, last but not least, DH is playful, patient, and so demonstrative in his affections. He is not afraid to be a dad in every way in front of anybody, and I love that about him. I know we weren't necessarily supposed to put our DH's stuff down, but I'm feeling especially thankful today.

So, here's my novel for the weekend. Have a great one, everymama!

Sarah


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

Oh, and Lisa, I meant to say that no, I hadn't heard about that program. I am sadly out of the loop these days. I am ashamed to admit I really only looked here in Portland when I applied, here at OHSU and at Birthingway (CPM program). Keep dreaming, mama! Now that I am in the graduate program I am *so* inspired again.

Speaking of inspiration, here's a fascinating read for anyone interested in pregnancy/birth-related stuff: _Expecting Trouble_ by Thomas Strong. Really eye-opening for me. All about how prenatal care as practiced in America is basically worthless. Kind of dense, but really interesting.


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## jstar (Jul 22, 2004)

uke pretty much sums up my current state. i am not actually a puker (kk i don't know how you got through pregnant life). but my stomach is in my throat tied up in a knot constantly. i can't cope with anything. dishes are up to my ears. dh is at work today. he says 'i'll do the dishes when i get home. and please go buy some paper plates'







i am actually going to muster the resolve to do them but i think i will break down and get some paper plates to get through the next 2 weeks. we never usually have them. i hit the couch the moment i get home and went to bed at 8:30 2 times this week! very unlike me. did i mention uke !!!!!! ugh. hormonal poisoning







:

i'm sorry beth and luke got the barfbug. i don't know how we haven't gotten it yet. it is either the same one we had last year or we are next in line. i hope the fern household has speedy recovery!!!!

i think elsanne the key is having your mom in her own apartment. i couldn't live with my parents or my inlaws. before i got pregnant our grand plan was a summer 07 baby and my mom was talking about getting an apartment up here for next summer. never a delusion that we would share living space







: but i would love the benefit of having her here. i called and said 'better start looking for an apartment for next summer!!!' emmalola - i've been reading your blog. that girlfriend would drive me batty. and i find it really hard to believe they haven't done much lentil-watching. have you tried the 'we're going to a movie right now. the lentil will have xyz for dinner and he should be in bed by 9'??? that's the tactic i would take







force it!!! *rubs hands together deviously*

i love hearing these sibling adorable moments. i'm already having sadness about isaac's ursurpment from the 'only throne'. he's had it pretty good these last 2 years







so my vow is to lavish him wiht as much attention as possible (all while laying on the couch of course).

i am having big internal debate about going with a midwife through the providence system. or going with my ob again. i liked my ob. i just don't know if i would prefer the more hands on midwife with you through the whole labor thing. or maybe i should just get a doula. i felt like my ob was really great for the whole 2 hours he was with me. i don't knoooooooow but i should probably make an appointment somewhere soon. i think prenatal visits seem kinda pointless. but i guess they catch people that really do have problems.

just got off an hourlong convo with my mom. i guess i really should do *something* here.


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

Just a quick pop in to tell you all I have MASTITIS. Ug, it sucks worse that I ever could have imagined. I feel so much better today than yesterday, but I still feel like crap. It's like having the flu *and* a beat-up boobie. I think I've been doing too much.


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## emmalola (Apr 25, 2004)

yeah, I just love it when all the books say "If you have mastitis it's your body's way of telling you you're doing too much. take a day or two off and spend them in bed, nursing and reading...." blah blah blah. If I had a day or two to take off and spend them in bed, don't you think I would've done that already? geez.

Yes- the girlfriend situation is a real dragola. I'm in this place now where I can't really look my dad in the eye and tell him I want this or that because I'm just so pissed about it all. I just had to tell him to take the garbage out- the garbage that's been sitting on the front stoop for a week. I hate being in this place where we're playing stupid games about chores. I feel like I already lived with roommates once, been there, DONE THAT!







: Ah, well. There's an end in sight. We'll move out as soon as we get our own place, and that makes it all tolerable. thanks for all the support, gang!

jstar- I so feel for you. hang in there! paper plates are not the end of the world. The thing that got me through that period with the lentil was lemon hard candies. I don't think I could have done anything without those.


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

Claudia- I am so sorry I wan't able to deliver the meal I made you. I hope I didn't leave you guys in a huge lurch.







So far I have been able to avoid the puckies myself, just total exhaustion and a really queezy stomach. When I get up from the couch, I snack on your meal.







:

Heatherfeather- I know you don't get much comp time right now. Know that you are loved.









Emmalola- sheeshorama, it sounds like you are having to parent you PARENTS. You do not need two more kids.









Kristine- mastitis. like you needed that. I hope that resting and nursing take care of it quickly.









Jstar: ugh. I totally know what it's like to be pregnant and exhausted and queezy AND have to take care of a toddler AND have to work. Yuck. The first trimester doesn't last forever. It's been much better for me this trimester, and I'm sure it will be the same for you.









Sarah- I'm glad you're feeling inspired by the midwifery part of the program. Soooooooo exciting that in not too long, you'll be helping mamas bring healthy babies into the world!

Sherri-







: you do give me some hope that this raising-more-than one thing has benefits to counteract all the work.

L update: I hate being so dependent upon on medical intervention. After a recent conversation with my mom, I've had to admit to myself that without modern medicine, L would almost definitely not be alive at this point.







Take, for instance, these tummy bugs he gets. He got one before the tube and had to be put on IV fluids because he was so dehydrated he couldn't cry tears and his mouth was completely dry. He's had several of the bugs since then, but we do the following: 1. Give him a VERY expensive oral dissolving pill (zophran) which keeps him from puking for eight hours, and then 2. Put his tube back in (since he puked it up) and hydrate him with pedialite. We always let him puke and fight it on his own for as long as he can, but when it's been more than 12 hours and he can't keep down a sip of liquid an hour, we have to do something. Since he came down with this a day an a half ago, we've resorted to the zophran twice. He's puking today and can't keep any liquids down (just puked and fell back asleep, as a matter of fact), but I'd rather let him fight it on his own during the daytime, and give him a third pill/ tube hyrdation tonight so we can all sleep. So to look on the bright side, we DO have medical intervention, thank Goddess, and we are able to take care of Luke on our own without spending time in the ER or hospital. I need to count my blessings, I know, and be thankful that since he DOES have the tube, he's able to be a happy healthy boy most of the time. Sigh.

Doh- Beavers just fumbled the ball- gonna take a little cat nap as I listen to the game.


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## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Check it out; I'm HERE!







I have been here, just reading and not posting, sorry! I am thinking of every single one of you mamas and I MISS you and







you all muchly.








(bear with me, I've had about one glass of wine.







I am such a lightweight!)

Fiddle,







s to you, mama. Yes, be thankful for the medical intervention, and also, be totally proud of you and your whole family for holding up so amazingly well through it all!







Having read all the trials and tribulations with L, I am just so in awe of your strength. I know, we do what we have to do, as mamas, but I truly think that you have gone above and beyond. You rule, mama.









KK, OUCH with the mastitis.














I am lucky in the fact that I have never had it, but I've had plugged ducts and the like and yeah, maybe it's because we "do too much", but damn, don't we ALL do too much?!?














:







: Well...get what rest you can, and take good care of you!







:
"read and nurse, blah blah blah" Indeed!







: I read when I nurse, but at NAPTIME, all the while, tryhing to keep Rowan from tweaking my other nipple, and then while patting his back for 1/2 hour+, while my legs fall asleep from all the STANDING.
















Emmalola,







and good luck dealing with dad & girlfriend. I can imagine that being ROUGH. My in-laws were here for a WEEKEND and I thought I was gonna







Grr! They left messes everywhere, my FIL hung his DIRTY UNDERWEAR over our shower!







And he brought donuts and sweets from the Honeydew down the street; EVERY morning they were here! Do you know how HARD it was for me to hide that stuff from Rowan?!?







: Lame lame lame.

So, DH and I were gonna watch an episode of Buffy tonight, so I should go.







: I've been online for a WHILE now, putting all sorts of stuff on Ebay and Half.com (we need MONEY, mamas! We are destitute.







) and this morning, we had a yard sale and brought in about $15. Whoo-hoo.







Well, it was fun to sit in the porch chair-swing and read, and let Rowan play with the neighborhood kids in our yard.







DH goes back to work (new job!!) Monday so we're having as much relaxation time as we can while we can. Hence, the drinking.









I didn't respond to everyone, but I am thinking of you and I love you! I truly do feel connected to you all, even if it's through a cable.









Speaking of, Elsanne, I don't know if I ever mentioned this to you (WOW it sounds like your Mexico City weekend was great! I want to go to Mexico SO badly!!) but a long while ago you sent me a homemade card with Frida on the front; did I ever tell you HOW AMAZINGLY ENCHANTED I was with it!
I ADORE Frida and I just got so







: when it appeared in my mail! I am thinking of it because I found it while cleaning my desk (okay, STARTING to clean my desk! You should SEE it.














this afternoon.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the weekend. The wetaher's been wonderful here so I really can't complain.
Okay, I COULD...Rowan is beng a total freak.







:














: And not sleeping well. And OH, the tantrums. And OH, the whining.
But he is also being a sweetie and talking so much we can hardly keep up! You should hear how he says "vampire"! (um, yeah, we're raising a goth kid. He calls all fall decorations "halloweens"!







) And skeleton is "skell", and he just started saying "penguin" the right way.







I loved how he said "caman" for penguin! Oh well...
Oh, and potty learning?!







Heehee...he can take it apart!









Anyway, I'm going to hang with DH now. Much LOVE to you all!


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## elsanne (Mar 10, 2004)

Here's what I have to say.


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

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fiddlefern* 
Doh- Beavers just fumbled the ball- gonna take a little cat nap as I listen to the game.


WHAT!!??!! You're a Beavers fan?

GO DUCKS!

No time to post - just hi!


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