Barf-A-Thon 2008, Part 3...The Epic

Today my darling Nee-Nee would not get out of bed.  She was starting to show the early signs of dehydration and so I immediately got on the phone and started calling everyone who could give me medication and/or watch my other two so I could make an urgent care visit.  Luckily I managed to get some anti-emetic medication for her so she could start keeping things down again.  I watched her closely until the medication arrived...then I had to explain to her where it went.  Poor kid was like, "You're gonna stick that where?"  After some coaxing and explaining that taking it orally isn't a great idea she let me administer it (one of the greatest parts of parenthood I tell ya!).  Within the hour she was sleeping and not drinking.  I went in and told her that if she didn't start taking some sips of water that I was going to take her to the hospital for an IV.  Immediately she sat up and started drinking little sips of water.  She then napped and has since been improving.

Bear seemed perfect...24 hours vomit free.  So I allowed him to eat lunch, which I later learned came back up in the back of his step-mom's car.  Oops.

Midge has had his first day of no runs in a week!  Yay!  I am cautiously calling him 100% better.

I'm doing better, still have a tiny appetite right now.  Stephen is 100% better.

I hope tomorrow all is better so the kids can enjoy a memorable Halloween.

Barf-A-Thon 2008, Part 2...The Saga Continues.

Last night Bear joined the Barf-A-Thon by leaving a trail from the living room to the bathroom. What a great way to start off! Nee Nee and Bear both got sick during the night but this morning they are watching Cars and I am giving them a popscicle every hour.

Hopefully things will just keep getting better. I am doing everything I can to get this family back to normal before Halloween.

Thanks to everyone for their positive thoughts.

Barf-A-Thon 2008!!

A day planned full of fun, learning, and visiting family has been changed to a day of emptying barf buckets and soothing another sick child. Midge had the stomach flu all weekend and now Nee-Nee is really sick. She's set a new puking record for this household. Five times in six hours.

Let's just hope that this all ends very soon. I know that other families at my church had this stomach bug and it's a pretty nasty strain.

Breastfeeding On My Terms

I recall with fondness and a little wincing my early days of nursing Nee-Nee. The very first time I did it I was filled with this wonderous sense that I was a strong woman who could feed her baby. It was like I was fulfilling my feminine calling. As the weeks passed I became sore, dealing with blisters, cracks, and a boob addicted child who wouldn't settle for pacifier. I would get nervous when I knew I had to nurse her but I worked through those hard times and before long she and I were settled into a routine.


With the older two I got a lot of questions about when I was going to wean. That was often followed by much criticism about how they were too old to be nursing. To be honest I only planned to nurse Nee Nee for one year. When one year came and went I pushed the limit to 15 months, then to 18 months. I finally realized that I didn't want to wean...there was no reason to! So what if she could ask for it? It made us happy and it was beneficial for the both of us. I learned to let negative comments and opinions roll off my back. With Bear I made it to over two years and it was just perfect. I don't have any regrets in regards to how long we nursed. In fact, we even did some modeling for First 5 of California (see pic).

Now that I am still nursing Midge I don't get a single comment. He is 17 months old and still needs mommy's "nunnies" to get him through the tough toddler years. I think my family has learned that I nurse on my own terms and that their opinions about my choices will fall on deaf ears. In fact, my mom suggests I nurse my baby when he is fussy or tired. I don't get looks from people, or maybe I just don't care to notice. Now that I have been nursing for over five out of the last seven years it seems so normal and natural to me to just do what works and what feels right. I don't know when we will wean, and I am glad that we aren't restricting ourselves to a certain age or date. I just know that we are happy now and that is all that matters.

I would encourage all breastfeeding moms to take each day as it comes and not restrict your nursing relationship due to pressure or the baby's age. Do what feels right for both you and the baby. When it is time to wean, you will know. Don't let the opinions of others take away the beautiful bond between you and your little one if you aren't ready to give it up.

I can proudly say that all three of my kiddos are so sweet, loving, and still very close to me. I attribute much of that to breastfeeding them. I love my boobie babies!

Bodily Functions...YAY!

I bought this awesome pair of Roxy slip on flat shoes several months ago and I love them.  They are so comfy and they go with nearly everything I have. 

One night I go to snuggle up on the couch across from my hubby and I sneakily put my feet in his lap so that he might indulge me in a foot rub.  Within moments I jumped up from the couch when the aroma of a sweaty gym sock permeated the area. 

"Your feet stink dude!"  I complained.  He looked at me innocently and replied, "No, your feet stink."  "No they don't!  I don't have stinky feet!" I objected back.  I had never ever had a problem with foot odor my entire life.  Even if I tried I doubt I could make my feet smell bad.  I leaned over and tried to smell my own feet, which I found difficult.  So I bent down and picked up the shoes.  Sure enough, they smelled horrible!  I had stinky feet!  Me!  For the very first time in my life!  It was a strange moment of triumph and embarrassment.  I actually got very excited at this new level of grossness I had achieved.  "I have stinky feet!" I exclaimed.  Poor Stephen just looked at me and smiled. 

Are my poor shoes doomed?  Can you wash smell out of canvas flat shoes?  Anyone know?

For the record, I also cannot burp.  The air bubbles come up, but no burp accompanies them.  It's the strangest thing.  I have never been able to participate in any burping contests or have anyone laugh at my cool loud bodily function.  It's made me an outcast in those bodily function humor circles.  If someday I ever do manage a good blech I will be sure to blog on that, too.

USA Today: Maternity-care failings can be remedied with cost-saving fixes!

Imagine my excitement to read this article in USA today paired right beside this article on the unneccesary high-tech interventions that do not benefit pregnant women or their babies.

My favorite quote has to be: "If a doula could be put in an IV drip, everyone would get it."

Happy reading!

Seven Year Olds On Thanksgiving Dinner

Yesterday I took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch after church.  The weather was perfect, it was in the low 70's and the air was crisp.  As we drove past holiday decorations Nee Nee seemed deep in thought.  As we neared our destination she broke the silence with this question:

"Mommy, why do people kill turkeys for Thanksgiving?"

Ah, the hard questions.  My sweet beautiful daughter wasn't thinking about carving pumpkins or trick or treating, she was concerned over other living creatures and their welfare.

I wasn't sure what emotional direction we would be headed with a detailed reponse so I tested the water and answered simply, "It's tradition."

She paused and then said, "That's not very good for the earth, killing living things."

I smiled and told her "Well, you can decide not to eat turkey if you don't want any.  There will be tofurkey at grandma's."  

She went back deep in thought and didn't say anything else. 

It's strange to think that my little girl is getting to be mature enough to decide what she thinks is right and wrong with the world.  My hope is to continually move her from "That's not fair" to "What can I do about it?"  

Oh This Is So Cute!

I love this so much. It's just so sweet and innocent. Makes me smile everytime.

Mexican (Mex-eee-can)

While browsing the internet today I decided to check out some local take out menus from a small town in Missouri and was really amused by this one:

I realize it's very hard to read but basically it's got a list of the different Mexican dishes to the right with correct pronounciation and descriptions. They even have a description and pronounciation of nachos. Nachos? Really? Tortilla as well. And burrito.

I hate to chuckle at the idea that anyone needs a pronounciation key for meals I grew up eating, but I suppose I would be just as lost trying to decipher a menu with French cuisine.

What's truly classic is one day while we were dating my husband wanted to order a quesadilla and couldn't think of the word. He told me "You know the thing with the tortilla and the cheese? Where you fold it over?" The look on my face was priceless, it was one of sheer disbelief. Lucky him, he never gets to live that down. Just to think that 5 years ago he lived in Missouri. Guess he should have brought this menu with him...just in case.

Secretly Pleased

Yesterday Bear decided to help me with chores.  I handed him a rag and a bottle of Eco-Me's wood polish (olive oil, vinegar, water, essential oil mix) and told him to clean the entertainment center.  He promptly went over and gave the tv screen a few good sprays.  I stopped him and told him only to clean the wood and went into the bathroom to do my share of cleaning.  Bless Bear's heart, he worked very hard to help me get the house clean that day.

Fast forward to after the kids were all in bed.  Stephen went to turn on the tv and looked puzzled.  He tried a different remote but wasn't able to get the tv to turn on.  After fiddling with the remotes for a few minutes he walked over to the tv and pulled back the plastic tv button guard and drew his hand back.  "Someone spilled something in here."  I wrinkled my nose.  "Really?  How could they have done that?"  We had just had a house full of people for Bible study and I didn't remember that any child had been near the tv with their sippy cups or bottles.  He smelled it and all at once I realized what had happened.  "Does it smell like olive oil?" I asked.  "Yes," he said, looking very confused.  I looked at him and said slowly,  "It was Bear, he sprayed the tv with furniture polish and must not have wiped it off after I told him to only clean the wood.  The spray must have ran down into the plastic guard and over the buttons."  Stephen looked at me in disbelief and broke the bad news "The tv doesn't work anymore."  A final attempt to turn it on confirmed it.

I've had that tv for about 4 years and it's nothing fancy, but it is our only tv in the house.  So for now it's comatose with little hope for recovery. 

The truth is that the stupid thing has been sucking up couple time from Stephen and I and I am glad it's been silenced (at least temporarily).  I am not much of a tv watcher and now I can actually get "eyeball" time with my honey.  Maybe we'll go back to doing those things married people do at night.