Tuesday, February 23, 2010
On removing a bottle of liquid Zantac from the furniture...
As a mother of a two year old, I am always amazed at how clever/ mischievious she can be. I do not think MM really hit the terrible twos until just a month ago. Perhaps the competition for attention switched a gear in her head, but lately she has become nearly impossible to keep up with. The following is a list of her activities:
1. After finally getting the long wished for liquid Zantac for my son, MM got the bottle and dumped the entire contents of said bottle all over one of my upholstered chairs in the living room. Thankfully we were able to get a refill for the Zantac. I am still working on getting the sticky from the chair.
2. She painted her face with lipstick.
3. She drew on the walls with a magic marker. Thank God for magic eraser!
4. She got an entire bottle of baby powder and dumped it all over herself and her bedroom.
5. She used an entire tube of chapstick on her face and lips.
6. She painted the fireplace hearth with chocolate milk because she wanted to.
7. She took all of her clothes off, put on her boots and ran into the garage. Thankfully the garage doors were closed!
8. She chased the cats from the basement, to the main floor, upstairs and then down again.
9. She poked holes into all my February bills. I only wished I could do this. At the same time, she decorated one of my student's assignments that I had accidently left on the table.
10. She figured out that her play chair is the correct size for getting up onto the vanity in the spare bathroom and got into the basket of soaps, lotions and toothpaste that I had put by the sink for guests to use. The bathroom mirror and MM smelled wonderful, but both needed to be washed afterwards.
I can't wait to see what else she gets into.
1. After finally getting the long wished for liquid Zantac for my son, MM got the bottle and dumped the entire contents of said bottle all over one of my upholstered chairs in the living room. Thankfully we were able to get a refill for the Zantac. I am still working on getting the sticky from the chair.
2. She painted her face with lipstick.
3. She drew on the walls with a magic marker. Thank God for magic eraser!
4. She got an entire bottle of baby powder and dumped it all over herself and her bedroom.
5. She used an entire tube of chapstick on her face and lips.
6. She painted the fireplace hearth with chocolate milk because she wanted to.
7. She took all of her clothes off, put on her boots and ran into the garage. Thankfully the garage doors were closed!
8. She chased the cats from the basement, to the main floor, upstairs and then down again.
9. She poked holes into all my February bills. I only wished I could do this. At the same time, she decorated one of my student's assignments that I had accidently left on the table.
10. She figured out that her play chair is the correct size for getting up onto the vanity in the spare bathroom and got into the basket of soaps, lotions and toothpaste that I had put by the sink for guests to use. The bathroom mirror and MM smelled wonderful, but both needed to be washed afterwards.
I can't wait to see what else she gets into.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Mrs. Grouchy
I have been lucky enough to get a little more sleep this week. BJ was put on liquid Zantac without having to go through an upper GI. I guess I made a convincing enough case for trying the Zantac before such an invasive procedure. This week has been better. Last night wasn't so hot, but since I did not have school today, it did not feel as bad. I am trying to get MM back into her big girl bed now that she is feeling better, but she still wakes up several times a night because she senses I have gone back to my bed.
So why do I feel so grouchy?
Maybe it's the winter blahs? Maybe it is the overall feeling that I am not getting enough sleep? Maybe it is work pressures? Maybe it is the financial strain? It is probably all of those combined. So why do I not handle it better?
It is funny how in our modern age that as women we feel like we are not being the best mom, wife, friend, etc... that we can be if our children are not perfect, our homes are not cleaned and we do not handle the pressures of work well. I wish I had my husband's ability to believe that everything will work out and that stressing over it will only give me heartburn. Yes, I have the heartburn, but part of it is because he does not seem to be as concerned as I am about catching up. When I come home from teaching, I still have my wife and mother job to fullfill. My evenings and weekends are spent trying to get the house cleaned and the laundry done. Please understand that Andy does help out a lot, but my priorities are not his. He does not see all the incomplete projects around the house. He lives by the expression "Cleaning while the kids are growing is like shoveling while it is still snowing!" He cleans certain areas and does his laundry, but he does not worry about other parts of the house. I am the one who looks at everything and wants it to be put together perfectly, but I do not seem to have the time to get it all done.
Just so this posting does not look like I am upset with my husband, I do wish to clarify a little. Andy is great with the kids, helps out with many things that my father never helped out with or even fathers a generation ago would have helped out with. Andy will do the poopy diapers, help get MM dressed in the morning, put hair ties in MM's hair (something really funny to see), strip the dishwasher, clean his mancave and take care of all the snow removal (three and half feet this last time) so I do not have to. He is just laid back and I am jealous.
I wish I could win a contest in which I got a cleaning/ homerepair crew to come to my house and give me a clean slate to work with. I love watching Clean House on Style TV, but my house would not qualify. My house is messy, but not filthy with piles of stuff everywhere. It just can not be featured in Better Homes and Gardens, and I think that is what I secretly crave: to have a home that a magazine would want to feature it. So that is why I am Mrs. Grouchy.
So why do I feel so grouchy?
Maybe it's the winter blahs? Maybe it is the overall feeling that I am not getting enough sleep? Maybe it is work pressures? Maybe it is the financial strain? It is probably all of those combined. So why do I not handle it better?
It is funny how in our modern age that as women we feel like we are not being the best mom, wife, friend, etc... that we can be if our children are not perfect, our homes are not cleaned and we do not handle the pressures of work well. I wish I had my husband's ability to believe that everything will work out and that stressing over it will only give me heartburn. Yes, I have the heartburn, but part of it is because he does not seem to be as concerned as I am about catching up. When I come home from teaching, I still have my wife and mother job to fullfill. My evenings and weekends are spent trying to get the house cleaned and the laundry done. Please understand that Andy does help out a lot, but my priorities are not his. He does not see all the incomplete projects around the house. He lives by the expression "Cleaning while the kids are growing is like shoveling while it is still snowing!" He cleans certain areas and does his laundry, but he does not worry about other parts of the house. I am the one who looks at everything and wants it to be put together perfectly, but I do not seem to have the time to get it all done.
Just so this posting does not look like I am upset with my husband, I do wish to clarify a little. Andy is great with the kids, helps out with many things that my father never helped out with or even fathers a generation ago would have helped out with. Andy will do the poopy diapers, help get MM dressed in the morning, put hair ties in MM's hair (something really funny to see), strip the dishwasher, clean his mancave and take care of all the snow removal (three and half feet this last time) so I do not have to. He is just laid back and I am jealous.
I wish I could win a contest in which I got a cleaning/ homerepair crew to come to my house and give me a clean slate to work with. I love watching Clean House on Style TV, but my house would not qualify. My house is messy, but not filthy with piles of stuff everywhere. It just can not be featured in Better Homes and Gardens, and I think that is what I secretly crave: to have a home that a magazine would want to feature it. So that is why I am Mrs. Grouchy.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Why I can't get to work on time
I have come to the conclusion that no matter what time I leave my house, I will not get to work on time. I must be in my classroom at 7:45 am each morning, but I have to take my daughter to daycare in the morning. I have the chance to take her to a daycare at my high school, so why can't I get to work on time? Well, my high school is so large it is in two different buildings. As luck would have it, the daycare is in the other building and I can only drop her off at 7:30 or later. Again, why can't I get to work on time? Well let me explain.
As any mother of a toddler will tell you, getting out of the house with your sanity intact is the first obstacle to overcome each morning. Somedays, MM is up at 6:30, dressed by 6:35 and sitting in front of the TV watch Ni Hoa Kia Lan on Nick Jr. Other days, I am lucky to get her dressed and ready to go by 7 am. For some reason she does not think she can put on her shoes until seconds before she leaves; she will even take them off if I put them on her too early. My smooth departure all depends on whether or not I have a happy child or a grouchy child. You would think she was a Gemini (like me) with the dueling personalities I have to deal with!
Once I leave the house, I need to go through three intersections that seem to be against me. The first intersection favors the opposing traffic so I have to wait to get my 10 seconds of a green light. If I am lucky, no one will be in front of me trying to turn left too, if there is, I might not make the light since there always seems to be a steam of opposing traffic. Next, I have an even longer light that favors the opposing traffic which is beside a school bus stop and an convenience store. Much of the traffic I encounter at this point wants to turn left, so once I get through it, I do not have much traffic in front of me until I go another 3/4 of a mile down the road where there is a t-intersection. I have the right of way, but the cars at this intersection do not seem to understand what stop means. I can not tell you the number of times I have had a car pull out in front of me and then go 10 miles below the speed limit!
No sympathy yet? Let me give you more details. Once I get to the city limits, I have to go through a series of intersections in which everyone seems to forget the rules of the road. If I go straight, I get to a stop sign and then can go straight again to another stop sign and then pray that someone will let me into traffic. Or, I can turn left, go to another stop sign and pray that someone will let me into traffic. Or, at the city limit, I can turn right, cross a bridge, turn left to merge into traffic, cross another bridge and go passed those two intersections in which I have to hope someone will let me out. The last option sounds like a no brainer, right? Well, at the merge point, road officials have placed a stop sign even though the merging traffic has its own lane to pull into! So, you have guessed it, people stop and wait until the other lane of traffic goes by before pulling into the always clear "merging" lane! Our lane does not go away, so it is not really a merging lane, it starts at our stop sign. Now, I have made it into the city, but wait, I have to go to a t-intersection that has a traffic light. There are two, one way lanes going north into the city intersected by one lane. If you are turning right at this light, after stopping, you can turn right all the time because there is never cross traffic for those turning right. So, what happens at this light? Cars turning right sit at the light and wait until it turns green. I repeat, there is never traffic coming from the left (there are houses) so right turn on red is always safe! Did I mention the fact that at this intersection is a school bus stop?
Now, I must go passed an elementary school, a technical school, another elementary school, into the one high school building's back parking lot, then passed an elementary school, a middle school and then finally my high school building. Did I mention the fact that there is only one way into the high school lot and one way out so all the traffic bottle necks there? Did I mention the number of teenagers with hoodies up, I-pods on, cell phones in hand, walking into traffic without looking, I have to dodge? Or the number of parents who randomly stop in the middle of the road to let their children out of the car and then attempt to make a u-turn (in the middle of the road!) I have to avoid?
Now add snow.
As any mother of a toddler will tell you, getting out of the house with your sanity intact is the first obstacle to overcome each morning. Somedays, MM is up at 6:30, dressed by 6:35 and sitting in front of the TV watch Ni Hoa Kia Lan on Nick Jr. Other days, I am lucky to get her dressed and ready to go by 7 am. For some reason she does not think she can put on her shoes until seconds before she leaves; she will even take them off if I put them on her too early. My smooth departure all depends on whether or not I have a happy child or a grouchy child. You would think she was a Gemini (like me) with the dueling personalities I have to deal with!
Once I leave the house, I need to go through three intersections that seem to be against me. The first intersection favors the opposing traffic so I have to wait to get my 10 seconds of a green light. If I am lucky, no one will be in front of me trying to turn left too, if there is, I might not make the light since there always seems to be a steam of opposing traffic. Next, I have an even longer light that favors the opposing traffic which is beside a school bus stop and an convenience store. Much of the traffic I encounter at this point wants to turn left, so once I get through it, I do not have much traffic in front of me until I go another 3/4 of a mile down the road where there is a t-intersection. I have the right of way, but the cars at this intersection do not seem to understand what stop means. I can not tell you the number of times I have had a car pull out in front of me and then go 10 miles below the speed limit!
No sympathy yet? Let me give you more details. Once I get to the city limits, I have to go through a series of intersections in which everyone seems to forget the rules of the road. If I go straight, I get to a stop sign and then can go straight again to another stop sign and then pray that someone will let me into traffic. Or, I can turn left, go to another stop sign and pray that someone will let me into traffic. Or, at the city limit, I can turn right, cross a bridge, turn left to merge into traffic, cross another bridge and go passed those two intersections in which I have to hope someone will let me out. The last option sounds like a no brainer, right? Well, at the merge point, road officials have placed a stop sign even though the merging traffic has its own lane to pull into! So, you have guessed it, people stop and wait until the other lane of traffic goes by before pulling into the always clear "merging" lane! Our lane does not go away, so it is not really a merging lane, it starts at our stop sign. Now, I have made it into the city, but wait, I have to go to a t-intersection that has a traffic light. There are two, one way lanes going north into the city intersected by one lane. If you are turning right at this light, after stopping, you can turn right all the time because there is never cross traffic for those turning right. So, what happens at this light? Cars turning right sit at the light and wait until it turns green. I repeat, there is never traffic coming from the left (there are houses) so right turn on red is always safe! Did I mention the fact that at this intersection is a school bus stop?
Now, I must go passed an elementary school, a technical school, another elementary school, into the one high school building's back parking lot, then passed an elementary school, a middle school and then finally my high school building. Did I mention the fact that there is only one way into the high school lot and one way out so all the traffic bottle necks there? Did I mention the number of teenagers with hoodies up, I-pods on, cell phones in hand, walking into traffic without looking, I have to dodge? Or the number of parents who randomly stop in the middle of the road to let their children out of the car and then attempt to make a u-turn (in the middle of the road!) I have to avoid?
Now add snow.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Being Gluten Free
For those who know me, you were probably wondering when I would get to this subject. Well, the time has finally arrived!
I have celiac disease which means, in my case, I can not digest gluten in wheat, rye, oats or barley. I also have contact issues so I can not even touch items with gluten in it. I spent years with recurring digestive issues before finally getting the correct diagnosis. Since I went gluten free several years ago, there has been more of an awareness of gluten's link to autism. That link, more than anything, has really pushed the food industry into better labeling and creating gluten-free versions of their foods. General Mills was wonderful enough to make four cereals- the Chex brand- gluten free. Those cereals are more affordable than the other gluten free brands out there. I will say that I am more of a Holly Homemaker than I ever was before. I have been really creative in creating gluten free versions of some of my favorite foods. Rice noodles are easily substituted in any pasta dish. My husband does get tired of some of the staples (rice and potatoes) but he has adapted. The best part is that his diabetes is under control, but he will not tell you it is because of my cooking healthier versions of his favorites, he will say that he is watching what he is eating (yeah, from the plate to his mouth).
My daughter seems to have my issues as well. I have gone to a specialist who ordered extensive blood work for her. I must admit to having drug my feet here. As long as she is gluten free, her rashes and sore bottom stays away. I feel like I need to wait a little longer before I do all the blood work. Yes, I am chicken, you have not seen my daughter's terror of needles. The amount of blood needed will mean that she will have to be strapped down and I am not feeling well enough to have a traumatized 2 year old along with a colicky son.
The worst part of going gluten free is the expense. I pay $7.99 for a loaf of bread! Yes, I am looking into getting a bread machine, I was going to get one before Andy lost his job, now I just limit my bread use. I hope to get a bread machine soon but the ingredients are still pretty pricey. I will say that my favorite all purpose baking flour is Pamela's Ultimate baking and pancake mix. I use it for loads of things from pancakes to banana bread. It can replace most flour in standard recipes with little or no variations. One of my dear friends, who is also a creative baker, got a gluten free baking book with loads of recipes for cooking with coconut flour and rice flour. I loved the pie crust she created but have been chicken to try the recipe myself. If I was independently wealthy, I think having someone cook for me would be the way I would spend the money! I wish I could win the lottery to make that a reality, but of course I don't play the lottery.
Anywho, from time to time I will post a recipe that is a fave for anyone who is thinking about going gluten free and think you will starve. Trust me, I weigh too much for that to be true!
I have celiac disease which means, in my case, I can not digest gluten in wheat, rye, oats or barley. I also have contact issues so I can not even touch items with gluten in it. I spent years with recurring digestive issues before finally getting the correct diagnosis. Since I went gluten free several years ago, there has been more of an awareness of gluten's link to autism. That link, more than anything, has really pushed the food industry into better labeling and creating gluten-free versions of their foods. General Mills was wonderful enough to make four cereals- the Chex brand- gluten free. Those cereals are more affordable than the other gluten free brands out there. I will say that I am more of a Holly Homemaker than I ever was before. I have been really creative in creating gluten free versions of some of my favorite foods. Rice noodles are easily substituted in any pasta dish. My husband does get tired of some of the staples (rice and potatoes) but he has adapted. The best part is that his diabetes is under control, but he will not tell you it is because of my cooking healthier versions of his favorites, he will say that he is watching what he is eating (yeah, from the plate to his mouth).
My daughter seems to have my issues as well. I have gone to a specialist who ordered extensive blood work for her. I must admit to having drug my feet here. As long as she is gluten free, her rashes and sore bottom stays away. I feel like I need to wait a little longer before I do all the blood work. Yes, I am chicken, you have not seen my daughter's terror of needles. The amount of blood needed will mean that she will have to be strapped down and I am not feeling well enough to have a traumatized 2 year old along with a colicky son.
The worst part of going gluten free is the expense. I pay $7.99 for a loaf of bread! Yes, I am looking into getting a bread machine, I was going to get one before Andy lost his job, now I just limit my bread use. I hope to get a bread machine soon but the ingredients are still pretty pricey. I will say that my favorite all purpose baking flour is Pamela's Ultimate baking and pancake mix. I use it for loads of things from pancakes to banana bread. It can replace most flour in standard recipes with little or no variations. One of my dear friends, who is also a creative baker, got a gluten free baking book with loads of recipes for cooking with coconut flour and rice flour. I loved the pie crust she created but have been chicken to try the recipe myself. If I was independently wealthy, I think having someone cook for me would be the way I would spend the money! I wish I could win the lottery to make that a reality, but of course I don't play the lottery.
Anywho, from time to time I will post a recipe that is a fave for anyone who is thinking about going gluten free and think you will starve. Trust me, I weigh too much for that to be true!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Cabin Fever and random thoughts
The recent 3 1/2 feet of snow and my subsequent inability to access the outside world via my van was made worse by my lack of internet. I finally escaped, laid in the supplies again and am sitting in the grocery store's cafe where I can use their wifi so I can blog at least one time this week!
My husband escaped early on to help out with the snow removal. He has bartered his time to include two truck payments and possibly a grocery store gift card! The bad news is that I have been trapped in the house for days. My forced captivity has proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can never be a stay at home mom. Kudos to those moms who can. I know that I can not. Maybe if I had only one child, but MM was sick and could not go out to play so she was stuck inside running around and screaming. BJ is still having issues, so he screams 1/3 of the time anyway. Being stuck inside with the pair of them has really stretched my patience.
MM has decided that she will not go down for a nap without a fight, because she does not need naps anymore (followed by falling asleep for 2 hours). Additionally, MM has decided that she does not want to be potty trained. She will sit on the potty, do nothing, pull up her big girl panties and go pee in the corner of the living room. I will have to replace the carpet sooner than expected!
I will say, however, that I have done a lovely job with organizing my pantry, linen closet, and I've gotten 95% of my laundry done. My next job will be to go through my closet and get rid of clothes that do not fit or are maternity. I am not planning on having any more children, so those clothes can go to one of my co-workers who is planning on getting prego soon. The other clothes are clothes that are too big. I will see if anyone at work would like them and then I will take the rest to charity. I will be able to get rid of half of my clothes; however, I need to go shopping to get clothes that fit me. That is the problem with losing weight, if you don't have the money to invest in new clothes, don't lose weight! Where is TLC's What Not To Wear and their $5,000 when you need it!
One thing that I need to get (and am willing to invest a little money in) is my skin care products. I wear almost no make-up. Every once and a while I will wear something, but beyond lipstick, I usually am without. Andy does not care if I wear it and prefers that I am without, so it is easy to not wear it. My mom got me addicted to Clinque for my "beauty" regime. I wash with the soap, use toner and moisturize daily. I have been told that I do not look my age (not by my students who think I am 65) and I tell them it is because I moisturize daily and don't smoke. I still do not look as good as Michelle Dugger who has 19 children (how does she do it?), but I think that I look like I am about eight years younger (of course after this week of cabin fever, I think I have aged). Anywho, I love Clinique's Superdefense Moisturizer with SPF 25 and can make one jar last for six months so I guess it is worth the investment, plus my skin feels better for it.
My husband escaped early on to help out with the snow removal. He has bartered his time to include two truck payments and possibly a grocery store gift card! The bad news is that I have been trapped in the house for days. My forced captivity has proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can never be a stay at home mom. Kudos to those moms who can. I know that I can not. Maybe if I had only one child, but MM was sick and could not go out to play so she was stuck inside running around and screaming. BJ is still having issues, so he screams 1/3 of the time anyway. Being stuck inside with the pair of them has really stretched my patience.
MM has decided that she will not go down for a nap without a fight, because she does not need naps anymore (followed by falling asleep for 2 hours). Additionally, MM has decided that she does not want to be potty trained. She will sit on the potty, do nothing, pull up her big girl panties and go pee in the corner of the living room. I will have to replace the carpet sooner than expected!
I will say, however, that I have done a lovely job with organizing my pantry, linen closet, and I've gotten 95% of my laundry done. My next job will be to go through my closet and get rid of clothes that do not fit or are maternity. I am not planning on having any more children, so those clothes can go to one of my co-workers who is planning on getting prego soon. The other clothes are clothes that are too big. I will see if anyone at work would like them and then I will take the rest to charity. I will be able to get rid of half of my clothes; however, I need to go shopping to get clothes that fit me. That is the problem with losing weight, if you don't have the money to invest in new clothes, don't lose weight! Where is TLC's What Not To Wear and their $5,000 when you need it!
One thing that I need to get (and am willing to invest a little money in) is my skin care products. I wear almost no make-up. Every once and a while I will wear something, but beyond lipstick, I usually am without. Andy does not care if I wear it and prefers that I am without, so it is easy to not wear it. My mom got me addicted to Clinque for my "beauty" regime. I wash with the soap, use toner and moisturize daily. I have been told that I do not look my age (not by my students who think I am 65) and I tell them it is because I moisturize daily and don't smoke. I still do not look as good as Michelle Dugger who has 19 children (how does she do it?), but I think that I look like I am about eight years younger (of course after this week of cabin fever, I think I have aged). Anywho, I love Clinique's Superdefense Moisturizer with SPF 25 and can make one jar last for six months so I guess it is worth the investment, plus my skin feels better for it.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Snow in Pennsylvania
I must begin this blog with a disclaimer: I am originally from Maryland.
When it snows in PA, driving becomes an adventure. Getting to work on time is the luck of the draw, even when leaving early. One never knows if the road traveled will be cleared or snow covered. I am amazed at the randomness of snow removal. For example, about 1/2 a mile from my house is an intersection with a traffic signal. If I turn left, I can travel to Lancaster City. If I go straight, I can travel to Willow Street (it is a town). However, after a snow, I can not turn right because there seems to be an invisible line that tells the snow plowers to lift up the plow and leave those poor souls snowed in. I know there are townships with their different budgets for snow removal, but seriously, the road goes from dry to 3 inches of snow right at that intersection.
On the way into the city, there is an intersection in which half of it is plowed and bone dry while the other half is an obstacle course (this is beside the maintanence building for the city!). Further up on Queen street, where Manheim Township must clear snow, I felt like my car was going to be shaken apart from the ruts in the road. To add to the fun, people believe snow on the road means park where ever one's car stops. If that means in the middle of the street, so be it. And, who started the tradition of putting a chair on the street to hold your spot?
This morning, as I slid through some intersections and avoided the cars parked five feet from the curb, I had an additional problem: not all the sidewalks are cleared properly, so the students were walking in the street! How dangerous is that? It felt like that crazy 1970's movie in which, in the future, there is a road game in which points are earned by how many people are run over by the racers. So elderly people were wheeled into the highway and the racers got points for hitting them. Instead of elderly people, I had the option of hitting multiple students who took their lives into their hands by walking on snow covered streets; sometimes they walked down the middle!
Wouldn't it make more sense to have one fund for snow removal and all the townships worked together to plow the streets?
When it snows in PA, driving becomes an adventure. Getting to work on time is the luck of the draw, even when leaving early. One never knows if the road traveled will be cleared or snow covered. I am amazed at the randomness of snow removal. For example, about 1/2 a mile from my house is an intersection with a traffic signal. If I turn left, I can travel to Lancaster City. If I go straight, I can travel to Willow Street (it is a town). However, after a snow, I can not turn right because there seems to be an invisible line that tells the snow plowers to lift up the plow and leave those poor souls snowed in. I know there are townships with their different budgets for snow removal, but seriously, the road goes from dry to 3 inches of snow right at that intersection.
On the way into the city, there is an intersection in which half of it is plowed and bone dry while the other half is an obstacle course (this is beside the maintanence building for the city!). Further up on Queen street, where Manheim Township must clear snow, I felt like my car was going to be shaken apart from the ruts in the road. To add to the fun, people believe snow on the road means park where ever one's car stops. If that means in the middle of the street, so be it. And, who started the tradition of putting a chair on the street to hold your spot?
This morning, as I slid through some intersections and avoided the cars parked five feet from the curb, I had an additional problem: not all the sidewalks are cleared properly, so the students were walking in the street! How dangerous is that? It felt like that crazy 1970's movie in which, in the future, there is a road game in which points are earned by how many people are run over by the racers. So elderly people were wheeled into the highway and the racers got points for hitting them. Instead of elderly people, I had the option of hitting multiple students who took their lives into their hands by walking on snow covered streets; sometimes they walked down the middle!
Wouldn't it make more sense to have one fund for snow removal and all the townships worked together to plow the streets?
The breast milk saga continueth
Now that my husband has decided that breast milk is the only way to go, I am under more stress to produce more. I have discovered a few things that are in the way of producing more:
1. Advil Cold and Sinus. Did you know that taking a decongestant will dry up breast milk? Neither did I.
2. Drinking more water (over a gallon a day) makes going to the bathroom a necessity. Guess what? Teachers are not allowed to go whenever they want. Drinking enough has been difficult. Also, as an older mom, bladder issues are just a sneeze or cough away.
3. Getting the time to pump. I get up early to pump, pump during lunch and then pump in the evening. To affect milk production, I should pump when I get home and then again before going to bed. If I was just nursing, this would not be difficult to do, but finding the time to squeeze in one more pumping and get sleep has been a challenge.
4. Stress. We all know that stress kills the pumping process. All you have to say is "relax" and insta-stess occurs. I have so much grading to finish, but I can not stay after school to complete it because I have to get home so that my husband can get out of the house with his brother. So, I get home to take care of an infant and toddler for hours and try to pump before midnight.
5. MM and BJ. My daughter is jealous of her brother and my pump. BJ's colic moments, while better, still happen shortly after I get home. I can not pump and hold him at the same time. Also, I have to have about 20 minutes to pump and MM wants to be on my lap or she will take advantage of the time I am tethered to an outlet to bother her brother. Last night, she decided to help me by pushing on my breasts because she noticed that the pump moved my breasts slightly. "I help you mommy!"
So the long story short, I have only increased by 1 oz. Yeah me!
1. Advil Cold and Sinus. Did you know that taking a decongestant will dry up breast milk? Neither did I.
2. Drinking more water (over a gallon a day) makes going to the bathroom a necessity. Guess what? Teachers are not allowed to go whenever they want. Drinking enough has been difficult. Also, as an older mom, bladder issues are just a sneeze or cough away.
3. Getting the time to pump. I get up early to pump, pump during lunch and then pump in the evening. To affect milk production, I should pump when I get home and then again before going to bed. If I was just nursing, this would not be difficult to do, but finding the time to squeeze in one more pumping and get sleep has been a challenge.
4. Stress. We all know that stress kills the pumping process. All you have to say is "relax" and insta-stess occurs. I have so much grading to finish, but I can not stay after school to complete it because I have to get home so that my husband can get out of the house with his brother. So, I get home to take care of an infant and toddler for hours and try to pump before midnight.
5. MM and BJ. My daughter is jealous of her brother and my pump. BJ's colic moments, while better, still happen shortly after I get home. I can not pump and hold him at the same time. Also, I have to have about 20 minutes to pump and MM wants to be on my lap or she will take advantage of the time I am tethered to an outlet to bother her brother. Last night, she decided to help me by pushing on my breasts because she noticed that the pump moved my breasts slightly. "I help you mommy!"
So the long story short, I have only increased by 1 oz. Yeah me!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
There goes the modeling career
I am happy to report that I have lost 35 pounds since giving birth 8 weeks ago. I was huge with my pregnancy, so it will take time to lose more weight. My goal is to lose another 30 pounds, but apparently, my weight loss so far is not good enough, at least for my students. I work in an urban school district with students who have not learned what is appropriate to ask/ say to an adult. For example, the other day I had a student ask me if I was pregnant again since I looked like I still had a belly! More recently, another student asked me when I was going to start losing weight!
Now, I know that I will never be a Victoria's Secret model nor have I ever been small enough to be any kind of model except for Lane Bryant, but come on people, 8 weeks is hardly enough time to get back into shape. Because of the excessive amniotic fluid, I looked like I was carrying twins and now have the stretch marks to show for it. (My stretch marks look like constellations around the north star of a belly button! TMI!)To make things worse (in my mind), I have a co-worker, who was pregnant at the same time as me, return to work this week and she looks like she did pre-pregnancy! Ugh!
I said something to my husband about my overall appearance, and farmer boy said,"Well, we can get you out back chopping some wood, that will help." Great, I will have arms that can crush you, but still have a Teletubby middle. To be honest, my husband does not care what I look like, he loves me for me not how I look. Ok, if I weighed 300 pounds, he might have a comment, but otherwise, he is just happy that I made it through the delivery.
Now, I know that I will never be a Victoria's Secret model nor have I ever been small enough to be any kind of model except for Lane Bryant, but come on people, 8 weeks is hardly enough time to get back into shape. Because of the excessive amniotic fluid, I looked like I was carrying twins and now have the stretch marks to show for it. (My stretch marks look like constellations around the north star of a belly button! TMI!)To make things worse (in my mind), I have a co-worker, who was pregnant at the same time as me, return to work this week and she looks like she did pre-pregnancy! Ugh!
I said something to my husband about my overall appearance, and farmer boy said,"Well, we can get you out back chopping some wood, that will help." Great, I will have arms that can crush you, but still have a Teletubby middle. To be honest, my husband does not care what I look like, he loves me for me not how I look. Ok, if I weighed 300 pounds, he might have a comment, but otherwise, he is just happy that I made it through the delivery.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Having perfected human cloning...
Scientists are still working on human cloning. I have perfected it. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I gave birth to the female version of my husband and, I believe, a perfect copy of him with my son. So perfect is my copy, I believe I have perfected human cloning. Let me tell you how I know:
1. BJ looks just like my husband's baby picture.
2. BJ's digestive issues are apparently much like his father's.
3. When I was pregnant, I had excessive amniotic fluid and so did my mother-in-law when she was pregnant with Andy.
4. When BJ gets hungry, he goes from fairly cheerful to screaming his head off. This 0 to 60 mentality is just like his father's. If Andy is hungry, step back and get out of the way.
5. Andy did not tolerate baby formula. Having just found this out from his mother, he now believes that breastmilk is the only way to go. He has been hitting my frozen stash in an attempt to help BJ's digestion issues. Hmmm, from breastmilk is evil to formula is evil.
6. If you try to take the bottle away from BJ to burp him so he does not spit up, BJ will scream and carry on like his best friend just died. I spoke to Andy's sister (who is 13 years older) and she said that Andy was just the same.
7. Oh, physically, BJ is built just like his father. He will be a great football player some day.
Now, if you will excuse me, I will be contacting John Hopkins to pass on my research info.
1. BJ looks just like my husband's baby picture.
2. BJ's digestive issues are apparently much like his father's.
3. When I was pregnant, I had excessive amniotic fluid and so did my mother-in-law when she was pregnant with Andy.
4. When BJ gets hungry, he goes from fairly cheerful to screaming his head off. This 0 to 60 mentality is just like his father's. If Andy is hungry, step back and get out of the way.
5. Andy did not tolerate baby formula. Having just found this out from his mother, he now believes that breastmilk is the only way to go. He has been hitting my frozen stash in an attempt to help BJ's digestion issues. Hmmm, from breastmilk is evil to formula is evil.
6. If you try to take the bottle away from BJ to burp him so he does not spit up, BJ will scream and carry on like his best friend just died. I spoke to Andy's sister (who is 13 years older) and she said that Andy was just the same.
7. Oh, physically, BJ is built just like his father. He will be a great football player some day.
Now, if you will excuse me, I will be contacting John Hopkins to pass on my research info.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sleep, the perfect gift
A few of my friends came for a weekend visit. It was wonderful to see them. Two came from New York and one came from Philly. Each brought a dog. Now, you may be wondering how sleep is going to work into this with three adults and three dogs visiting a house with two small children, two cats and two exhausted adults. Simple. They "kidnapped" my daughter and took her shopping at various stores in the area, including a grocery store, which allowed me to take a nap when my son slept. In addition, when it was time to put MM to bed at night, they watched the baby so I could spend quality time with her while they walked around with him. In total, I think I got more sleep this past weekend than I have gotten the three previous weekends combined!
Sleep is the perfect, one size fits all, gift. It is truly appreciated by all moms and dads. It requires no charge card, although it does charge the batteries of the sleep-deprived. It requires no gift wrapping, though the sleep-deprived might want to wrap themselves in a special blanket. It does, however, allow the sleep-deprived to re-appreciate one another and their children.
Not only did I get more sleep, but I was able to get some housekeeping duties completed because my friends were more than happy to entertain my munchkins. I only left the house one time and that was for about an hour. It was such a relaxing weekend that even if I had not been given the naps and the extra sleep at night, I would have felt recharged.
Did the dogs bark? Yup. Did my cats freak out? Yup. Did my daughter chase the dogs around giggling hysterically? Yup. Would I give any of it up? Nope.
Sleep is the perfect, one size fits all, gift. It is truly appreciated by all moms and dads. It requires no charge card, although it does charge the batteries of the sleep-deprived. It requires no gift wrapping, though the sleep-deprived might want to wrap themselves in a special blanket. It does, however, allow the sleep-deprived to re-appreciate one another and their children.
Not only did I get more sleep, but I was able to get some housekeeping duties completed because my friends were more than happy to entertain my munchkins. I only left the house one time and that was for about an hour. It was such a relaxing weekend that even if I had not been given the naps and the extra sleep at night, I would have felt recharged.
Did the dogs bark? Yup. Did my cats freak out? Yup. Did my daughter chase the dogs around giggling hysterically? Yup. Would I give any of it up? Nope.
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