August 2006

August 02

wow

so this is all new, huh?  i had trouble accessing this site last night so jerry upgraded to 7.0 and now it works.  it could have just been down last night....
ANYWAY, it's been a while.  Nothing too exciting has happened.  I mowed the lawn on Saturday and then we went out for a bit.  On Sunday we went to Jerry's parents house.  Jerry had jury duty Monday and Tuesday.  He ended up sitting around the court house all day.  The guy finally ended up pleading guilty, so he doesn't have to serve.  So that's good, but he had to miss two days of work...  I guess there could be worse things.
Today, my mother-in-law and a friend of hers are stopping by for lunch.  That should be fun.  She hasn't seen our house yet, so we have tried to make the house as presentable as possible...  we'll see.
I went with my next door neighbor to a La Leche meeting on Monday.  It was good for her and me.  The topic was nutrition and weaning.  I am no where near the weaning part yet, but the nutrition part was good.  Of course the meetings are so relaxed that we end up talking about whatever.  I think it was helpful to my friend.  I know that she is having a little trouble with milk supply.
It really is hard becoming a new parent.  I mean they may tell you about the sleepless nights and how rough it is on your body to try to nurish your child and get enough sleep, but until you are actually doing it... I feel very fortunate that my husband has taken such an active role in the upbringing of Elijah.  He shares the night responsibilities as well as everything else.  I know that if Elijah would take a bottle, he would let me sleep through the night.  Tough I woke up last night at 2:30 totally engorged from not having fed Elijah since 7:30.  Haven't had that kind of pain in quite sometime.    Of course, the pump was in Elijah's room and it needs washing anyway.  So I was manually expressing when finally the little guy woke up and he could eat!  We are very proud of ourselves having figured out a way to break the constant night nursing, without the "Crying it out" method.  Though we both decided that it wasn't bothering us to be up that often. so it really only seemed to bother our doctor, who doesn't live here...so you know...
Okay, well that's it for now.  I need to go get ready and try to straighten up the house a bit more before our guests arrive.
August 03

thursday already?

this week has flown by....  sooooooooooo....yesterday i was sitting with elijah on my lap and i wasn't paying attention and he grabbed my finger and bit it and in doing this i discovered that 4 COUNT 'EM 4 teeth have cut through.  we knew that the two on the bottom had cut, but the two on the top...already?  so wow!  within a few weeks his smile will be completely different!
to clarify...elijah is waking up every 3 hours or so art night and usually i feed him,  but his doc apparently was having a problem with this.  so now jerry "father's him down" which means jerry comforts ej back to sleep until about 2 or 3 and then i feed him and take care of him the rest of the night.  so far this is working.  it means i only wake up once a night to feed ej.  not that waking up every three hours was bothering us.  it has been a little more difficult the past few days, but that's probably because of the teeth pushing through...poor guy.  did that answer your question tj?
so my mother-in-law came for a visit yesterday.  it was very nice to see her and just sit around and chat.  jerry came home for a long lunch, which was also nice.
i'll write more later, right now i need to get ready for the high society ladies brunch...we have to leave at 10:30 and i'm still in my PJs....
August 04

is it just me?

Or does it seem to take longer for the page these pages to load now?
I'm fooling around with the "friends" thingy...we'll see.  I just need to get used to all this stuff I guess.  There are things on this site I don't even understand yet, but I haven't really taken the time to figure them out either.
So the teeth are now taking over our life...hehehe...the are nursing positions that are now uncomfortable, in that when he unlatches I have teeth prints where a baby mouth was...they don't hurt, but I suspect over time they will.  Oh well, small price to pay...
We went to our high society lunch yesterday.  It was good, but I really don't know what is going to happen when all the babies are crawling.  There is one crawling already and within the next few months, all of them will be crawling.  We decided against the Superyard XT because we feel it will just take up too much space.   So we are going to completely baby proof the living room and get a gate to block off the kitchen and close the doors to the other rooms.  Have I mentioned that we are going to turn our garage into a rec room of sorts?  Once that happens, I'll just need a gate for in there, but until then, I think this will work.  It would be nice to have something for outside, but I feel if he's going to be outside then one of us will be playing with him...we'll see.
Uhoh...grouchy baby alert...nap time for him...gotta run...
August 07

a cooler weekend?

WHATEVER?  It was hot all weekend.  I think we got maybe got ten minutes of rain on Saturday.  I guess it was cooler than last week...but not by much.
ANYWAY, we went to the library on Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the day inside.
I finished re-reading Beach Music by Pat Conroy.  I forgot so many things that happen in this book.  First off, it is a very powerful book, not only about the south, but a about the Holocaust as well.  Pat Conroy's writing is so vivid that you really are taken into the horrors that arose during WWII.  While central to the story, I feel that at some points he could have been less graphic.... I mean there is only so much a reader can take.  Nonetheless, it is beautifully, if not horrifically, written.  His descriptions of place are immaculate and you can get the vision in the minds eye.  He takes you on a journey that you have no choice but to follow.   The description of the SC beaches and marshes are dead on (as they should be seeing he lives right there.)  He has obviously done his research on war time Poland, Russia, and Germany.  I suggest in reading this book that once you realize you have reached the parts about the Holocaust, you sort of skim...just think of the most horrible thing imaginable and then times it by 100.  Of course, I am a glutton and so I read the whole book, word for word, and you really do feel the pain, horror and sorrow of the whole time, but it is very difficult to read.  All in all though, an eerie poignant book.

Yesterday we went to Rachel and Erin's for dinner and football.  Jerry and Erin were very excited for football to be up and running.  Rachel and I hung out with the kids and chatted.  Elijah feel asleep and didn't even wake up when we put him in the car.  However, the night did not go so well.  He was up almost every hour.  So I am a bit sleepy this morning.  But such is life and really what do I have to do today, but hang with my kid?
Okay, speaking of the little man... have a good one!
August 08

pics of teeth....kinda

so we tried to take pics of Elijah's teeth yesterday...it sorta worked.  Yes he is upside down in some of them....that makes him laugh.  okay...so here they are....




August 11

the weekend

So starting today things start to get busy and exciting again.  Not that they aren't busy and exciting daily, but you know.  First off, Elijha's teeth and the drool rash have been REALLY bothering him this week.  The rash is starting to heal, which makes it itch even more it seems and the teeth...poor guy.  Four at one time must hurt.  He has been wanting to be held almost constantly for about 48 hours straight.  Last night was the first night he (or any of us) got really good sleep.  Yesterday, Jerry had to be at work for an 8:00 meeting.  This is really early for him...well really for everyone in the company.  But the meeting was really good and Jerry asked a lot of questions that needed to be asked.  So I think for the first time in quite sometime he came home in a good mood.  It's not so much that he's unhappy there, it's just that there are aspects of the company that a really frustrating and needed to be addressed.  So I hope that yesterday was a new leaf being turned over...For now, I think he feels better and that's what is important.
I skipped going to our lunch/playgroup yesterday.  I would have canceled even if we had planned on going since Elijah was up almost every hour the night before...  But I was thinking about the group yesterday.  One of the member was talking about SIDS and bumpers in cribs.  She removed hers after her mom said there was a connection and was upset because her child is pulling up and slid down and her arm got caught in the bars and it twisted a bit.  She said that wouldn't have happened with a bumper.  So I went online.  My mom had said something about the whole SIDS thing as well.  We had already decided not to get a bumper as our crib met the standards so that his head wouldn't get caught in the rails...and also they are REALLY expensive.  ANYWAY, I went on line and found this article. It turns out the AAP is even discouraging them.  Some of the women in our group were upset about the whole thing.  One said that her baby wouldn't go to sleep unless she was right up against the bumper.  I personally think that I child will probably turn their head, but who knows.  I also am applauding the AAP for standing up against this Baby Einstein video stuff.  First off, sorry if I offend anyone here...but those things are the worst videos I have ever seen.  Secondly, really....If you want your child to listen to classical music and watch puppets, get some real classical music (not the Baby Einstien 1980's single note renditions of classical music) and put a sock on your hand and call it a puppet....you've already created a better program for your child and spent half the money.  Thirdly, the AAP says NO TV before age 2.  I freak out if Elijah turns his head toward the TV in the evening.  We rarely have it on if he is in the room.   I do however, have music on lots.  And we play on the floor and he is surrounded by toys.  I don't know, it bothers me that the marketing of these videos (and the toys for that matter) seen to make people think that their child will be smarter for watching/playing/sitting and staring at the blinking lights...No wonder we have a society filled with children who are ADHD.  Honestly....
Okay, enough about my rant.  We are going on a mini-vacation at Rachel and Erin's this weekend.  We are going to be tourist in our home town and I'm pretty darn excited.  When we get home, I will be cleaning as I am hosting playgroup this week, then my parents are coming next weekend!!!!  So I am off to do laundry.....
New pics...you can really see his teeth in one!!!!!    Have a lovely weekend!
August 13

SEVEN MONTHS!!!!!

I can't believe it!  My boy is now the better part of a year old!  He's getting soooo big!
We had a great vacation!  It was very relaxing and fun to just hang out with friends.  We went to the aquarium and really hung out.  Jerry and Erin watched football and Rachel and I chatted and played around no the internet. All in  all it was terrific.
The weather here today is incredible!  It was nice and cool this morning.  I thought it felt like and Asheville early summer morning.  And the day is not too hot either.  It was really nice!
Eijah's teeth seem to be bothering him less and less.  So that's good.  They are so close to being all the way in.  it's really bizarre.  He's trying to pull himself up now.  And really wants to crawl.  He'll get on all fours and rock and rock and then lift a leg or an arm and then fall on his tummy.  It's quite entertaining.
I mowed the back lawn this afternoon.  I went over the garden with the mower as well.  I think we're done with it for this summer.  We'll try again next year.  Anyway, after I mowed it down we were sitting at the table and looked outside and a HUGE hawk was catching something in the downed grass.  It was really cool.  So far we've had deer and hawks that we've seen....(we won't talk about the icky spiders....)
So I'm starting a new photo album today, of seven month old pics...  Oh, speaking of albums.  Tracey sent me this cool photo album that you just pop out little spaces and tape photos behind them and then they slip into the protective covers.  Elijah LOVES it!  I put some pics in there and he loves to look at himself and just laugh and laugh!  Best of all the pages are easy to wipe clean of drool!!!!  and are also hard to rip....It's very sturdy!  We love it!  Thanks TJ!
Okay, we are meeting some friends for a send off dinner...I know there was something else to write, but I can't remember...
August 14

Switching Lives -- a review

Switching Lives by Jane Green
I picked this up off the new book shelf at the library.  I had already read one book by Jane Green and I thought it was good "brain candy"...you know, a book that's fun and doesn't take a whole lot of thought and concentration.  While the first book I read of hers, Babyville, was not my favorite, I thought I would give her another try.  I really liked this book.  The basic concept is two women trade lives for a month.  Vicky is a single British magazine editor.  Amber is an American suburban stay-at-home-mom with two kids, a nanny, and "charity"work.  Both think they want what the other has.  So through a series of events they trade places with each other.  I must say that Jane Green goes into GREAT detail about each woman's life before she gets around to the whole trading business.  It almost took too much time, though she did set up each life completely.  I think she captured the stereo-type of a really rich suburban (think Desperate Housewives) wife and the trails of trying to "keep up with the Joneses" with the Amber character.  It got to the point where I wanted to scream at Amber that if she was sick of trying to be the best to stop and be herself...but hence the whole story would then be non-existent.  While the Vicky character was much more grounded, she was obsessed with a Bristih celebrity who showed up at her door in the middle of the night for...well you know...In her imagination she would be the woman to change this man and they would live happily ever after.  Green seems to have a habit of putting something like this into her stories.  In Babyville there was a married woman who was secretly in love (rather lust) with a married man.  She really thought about leaving her husband for this man and only after she was incredibly embarrassed did she realize that her husband was the best man in the world.  It frustrates me when Green does this.  I feel like it makes the character weaker.  There is no reason for it and really it doesn't help along the plot line.  Maybe I just prefer books with strong women characters, but whatever.  It was a good light read.  Everything works out in the end and that's the kind of fluff I like.  So the moral of the story: The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the pond...
August 16

well....

So Elijah had his first allergic reaction to food....I must say that I freaked out, but handled the situation well.  We decided to try out some cottage cheese...I'm on a whole  - he needs more protein - kick, though I'm not sure why.  So yeah, it touched his face and he broke out all over his neck and face.  We won't talk about what came out later in the afternoon....let's just say...eeeeewwwww!!!!!!  Anyway, as soon as we saw this I stopped feeding him (obviously.) he's only had three little bites.  Jerry was home (thank goodness!) and we monitored him while I looked up food allergies in our baby book...not much help .  I knew our doc's nurse go to lunch from 12-2 (WHATEVER!) so we called the BC/BS nurse line.  They were super helpful and told us what to do.  We were already trying to keep him from scratching but ended up putting socks on his little hands (poor guy) and striped him down to his diaper and kept him cool with a wash cloth and put Hydrocortisone on him.  Within an hour the rash was almost all gone and he sacked out for three hours!  There was no swelling in his mouth, so we think it's just a dermatitis.  But we won't be giving him any more cottage cheese for quite some time.
Today we went to meet some people at the park.  It was nice, but HOT!  We have joined a forum on-line for area mother's that's really neat.  There are so many different points of view and mom's from every walk of life.  So we met some today.  Once a month they do a Mom's Night Out.  I think I might go next month...we'll see.
Yesterday Jerry finally got his bonus check.  LONG story, but it has been long awaited.  So we went and got new towels and sheets.  All the towels and sheets we have (with the exception of one set of sheets and beach towels) we got for our wedding...they needed to be replaced.  So we went to this place called Tomblinson's and they sell towels by the 1/2 dozen for fairly cheap, but really good quality.  It was kinda fun.  We got to pick out colors and daydream about painting the rest of the house (someday!)
I'm hosting lunch tomorrow and then my parents are coming on Monday.  So I really need to clean...sigh...Elijah is down for the count, so maybe I can get a little done now....OR I could take a nap too....hmmmm...
August 19

My new annoyance

I get really annoyed when I hear people claim to want to home school their children because the public school system is corrupting them spiritually.  In this state you only have to have a high school degree in order to home school your child.  In my opinion, then they should let high school graduates teach in the public school system....sigh....
I mean are people so insecure in their beliefs that they think sending their child to a public school is going to turn them against the God they believe in?  If this is true, then I would seriously look at my morals and standards.  We are raising our child to make his own decisions when it comes to religion.  I want him to experience everything there is and then make an educated decision.  But that is me and I understand bringing your child up to believe one thing. But be confident in that one thing!  I feel the same way about gay marriage.  I mean who am I so say "don't do it"?  I am very confident in my marriage and my beliefs, why should I think that someone who chooses to get married to their partner is going to affect me.... super sigh....
Having said all this, we are planning on either home schooling our children or sending them to a charter school.  This however, is because our school system is so overcrowded they are holding classes in hallways and bathrooms.  Sigh.... but I do strongly believe in the public school system and I believe that it can work.  If there is something that is being taught that you don't believe in, then TALK TO YOUR KID ABOUT IT!!!!  Don't take them out of school.  knowledge is power...  Besides didn't Jesus say "Be in the world, not of the world" (Matthew 5:16).  I just feel that even if there is something you don't believe in, doesn't the knowledge of said thing make you stronger in your opposition?  I mean I read conservative articles and debate with conservative people and it just seems to re-affirm what I believe in.
I have a question to pose...Even being very educated my husband and I want more for our children.  Does everyone not feel this way?  Are there people out there that are so insecure they would purposely make their children fail or fall behind, simply so they would never be better than their parents?  If so, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard.  It gives me little hope for the future.   I hope that I am wrong.  I hope that even people who are uneducated, who want to home school their kids...see the FREAKING LIGHT!!!!!  I would hate for one child to be actually "left behind" because of a parents inability to see how they are destroying their child's chance at a good future.  To me this is inexcusable.
And another thing....(because obviously my point hasn't been brought home yet!!! lol) Home schooling is not cheap, nor is it all fun and games.  One must register with the state.  Then one must purchase the materials...okay, maybe someone gives you the materials.  You must maintain a schedule on a daily basis (excluding holidays.)  Which means you have to actually interact with your kids.  Sitting them in front of Nic JR. or PBS is not teaching your kid.  Your child has to be at least seven years of age (though I am sure there are ways around this....) You have to administer testing.  And if at any time someone calls the authorities on you, you have to prove all this stuff.  It takes a GREAT DEAL of organization and preparation.  If you choose to home school your kid...Do it right, don't do it because someone in your church thinks that kids are not taught enough about Christianity in school...of course they are not, it's a public school...small little thing called separation of church and state...though maybe your high school didn't cover that...sigh...so take your kid to church, read the Bible with them daily, whatever.  At least they will still learn to add, subtract, be social, science, all kinds of cool things, not to mention get actual exercise.  Home schooling is not all about field trips.  You actually have to tie a field trip into a learning experience.
Okay, so I don't really believe that children that are home schooled are all social recluses, but that's because I believe that children should be involved in some sort of community thing : theatre, sports, service, church, play dates... however, if you home school your child and they never have real continual interaction with other kids...yeah their social skills will be lacking.
I want to raise a strong independent thinking kid.  If at anytime he looks at mea and says he wants to go to school -school, we will look into options.  But we are thinking of working with other parents, rotating days and subjects of teaching.  This way I am not around my kid 24-7 and he is not around me.  Which in turn means he gets to be a kid.  One that mom is not looking after and correcting everything he does.  I still get to hear about his day and be a soccer, or ballet, or whatever mom.  I feel like that is the best of both worlds.  But if we ever moved back home, I think we would re-think the whole thing.  The school systems there are great, for the most part.  I mean there are definite issues (mostly societal) but nothing that I would feel uncomfortable discussing with my kid.
So , this has gone on quite long enough...there were other things to write about, but I think this will be it for today....
August 20

a bit calmer

okay, that was a really long rant...sorry...
SOOO, this weekend has been very nice and very productive.  I don't know if I mentioned but Jerry got a (long awaited) bonus (finally!!!) on Tuesday.  So we put some in Elijah's savings and a big chunk in our savings and then made a list.  We got new linens and towels (though those are considered linens I guess...) and went shopping at the new Costco for things (man, I have to have a list going into places like that, or I gooo crazy!!!), we bought a new bed for the guest room, and bought shelving for two closets.  Yesterday the bed was delivered!!!  So comfy!  We had the futon in the there, but it now lives in the office.  And we installed the shelves into the guest room closet.
The most important thing that happened this weekend, was my boy got sick.  He started coughing on Friday and was up almost all night Friday night.  I forgot what lack of sleep was.  I am so used to just rocking him for a few minutes or rolling over and feeding him that actually having to get up and walk around with him and pat his back and soothe him really took a toll on me.  So yesterday morning I woke up Jerry and we called the nurse line.  They suggested we come in.  So we went to the doc on call (or ped office rotates with five other doctors so that there is an office open 7 days a week!  I am really thankful for this!)  He was super nice and reassured us that aspirating his nose and doing the saline was about all we could do.  He said we could do some Vic's Vapo-rub to help with the congestion, but that giving him a prescription wouldn't do anything for him. we appreciated this as I feel that kids are over medicated with prescription drugs (WHOLE OTHER RANT!)  Having said that, we did give him Motrin to help him sleep last night.  Poor guy... I feel so bad for him, teething, can't breathe out of his nose, has a cough....all this has prevented him from breastfeeding as often (Oh...side note: at the doc's office they weighed him...22 pounds 14 ounces!!!!!!) which isn't hurting him (we're pushing water and solids for hydration) but is hurting me.  Last night was much better (after about 2:30...) his nose cleared up and he ate like a fiend and is still sleeping.  I hope he is on the mend, but I know these colds take up to ten days to work through.  Well, Oma and Opa will be here to spoil him tomorrow!
Okay, I need to round up some breakfast...
August 21

man I'm on a roll...

If it's not one thing it's another...  Here I go probably offending more people today, but hey, it's my blog and you can stop reading if you are offended...or leave a comment.  I won't hold it against you...
So today's rant is about this stupid Baby Einstein and Leapfrog crap that is out.  It's freaking everywhere and I really can't believe people are buying into it.  Honestly, it is no wonder there is a higher rate of ADHD than ever before.  Kids are inundated with the stuff daily, flashing lights, music going off every five minutes, very loud and bright colors EVERYWHERE!  We decided not to buy anything that Elijah could activate with his hitting.  I mean really claiming that hitting something and it "rewards" you with flashing lights or music (bad music at that) teaches cause and effect is the absolutely most ridiculous statement I have ever heard.  First off, until they are four-ish months babies are just flailing, trying to get control over their little arms and rarely hit anything on purpose.  But is there really any difference in hitting something and seeing it move teaching the same thing.  "Hey, I hit that thing and it moved and it was cool..."  Do they honestly need headache inducing music or epilepsy inducing lights to tell them that.  Are we raising the stupidest babies ever?  And the Baby Einstein videos...really?  They are the lamest pieces of cinematic junk I have ever seen!  The music is HORRIBLE.  If you must support Wal-mart, go there and buy a pack of 10 classical music CDs and make some sock puppets and entertain your child that way.  It's a hell of a lot cheaper.   Does Disney really need anymore money?  And honestly do kids really need to be sitting in front of the TV?
I watched 20/20 on Friday and they did a show called Food Fight.  It talked about the advertising that entices kids to want food that is bad for them. There were people saying they  just couldn't say no to their kids after a while.  Why not?  If you can't say no to them, don't take them grocery shopping with you.  don't go through the drive through at McDonalds.  Maybe Elijah just isn't old enough, but I really don't see this as a problem.  We don't allow him to watch TV.  I don't think that will change anytime soon.  The APA recommends no TV before age 2.  In Germany you cannot take your kids to the movies until age 8.  Why is there a sudden surge in TV watching?  Of course, our kids are bombarded with commercials.  It's everywhere.  And even PBS watchers aren't immune.  Good grief look at all the freaking Elmo crap that's around.  And PBS doesn't get a cent for the sale of those items.  So don't think you are helping a good cause.  We had rules in my house as I was growing up.  Of course, we didn't have cable...in fact our TV got two channels on a good day.  I was allowed sugary cereals, but only in the summer time.  McDonalds was a very special treat.  we had three meals a day.  And I spent many an hour at the library.
I am not saying that I am better than anyone, or that my kid will be prefect (though of course he will...lol...)  I am just saying that it is really wild that so many people are buying into this stuff.  I really wonder what Einstien would say if he were still alive.  I am betting he probably wouldn't think too much of Disney using his name to promote crappy videos and play toys.
Then there is the Leapfrog.  If you cannot take 20 minutes a day to sit and read with your child, then you are really needing to re-examine your priorities.  Honestly, that is the best way to get your kid to read.  If you read a book over and over again to your kid, they will be able to read it back to you and start recognizing words and associating them with pictures...God it is soooo cool to see a kid get it!  But I fear that many are losing out on this.  They are letting the computers teach kids.  How sad is that?
I just read and article on The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood's web site entitled "Barbie is the Least of My Worries".  The woman that wrote the article said that her mom denied her Barbies when she was little because of the image Barbie portrayed on young girls.  She went on to write that taking her toddler clothes shopping was next to impossible because all the little girl clothes seemed to be made for a sexy barbie with things like "juicy" written in sparkles across the chest area.   It is wild.  Barbie used to be so evil, but my goodness there are so many more things out there.  The woman went on to site the computer and TV and movies constantly bombarding her child with images of sexuality at a young age.  And while I think that eventually this cannot be avoided, I sure hope that I can help my child and future children to understand what a good body image is and that no a Leapfrog will not make you smarter and no you do not need to eat Frosted Flakes to feel Grrrreeat!  I hope that I can help my kids learn to read and think for themselves and be well rounded, self assured young adults.  That you can have fun without constantly being rewarded for hitting the hanging object and that books can take you to more places than any TV program can.
Again, I hope that I haven't offended anyone...or maybe I do...if it made you think that it was well worth it.  Feel free to leave a comment... and check out the CCFC's web site...they have many more things to say about all this...and ways to avoid bombarding your kid with commercials...
August 25

Okay...moving on....

My parents left this morning after a yummy breakfast at IHOP.  Thanks mom and dad!!!!  We had a good visit.  They are leaving for England and Ireland in a couple of weeks, so they won't see Elijah until we go up in October.  I think they are glad they made the trip.
Elijah was sick for the past week though.  That sucked!  I made Jerry take us to the on-call doc last Saturday.  But it was just a cold.  He is definitely feeling better, though still not really eating solid foods.  He is nursing like a maniac so I figure he'll eat when he's hungry.  He did eat last night.  We think he is wanting to be more independent.  He only ate when I was holding him on my lap and let him "help" put the food in his mouth.  A rather messy way to eat, which I don't really mind, but we were in a restaurant, so you know...
I didn't go to group this week, but I did get an e-mail announcing one of our group members is preggers again!  Congrats Carmen!  She is due in the spring.
This afternoon I will go over to Rachel's and we are going to book a van for our October vacation!!!  I'm so excited!  We are going to be staying with my folks for a week.  We'll be there for WWC's homecoming and then have sometime to play in the woods and downtown and just relax.  I hope that the weather is good...
I cannot believe it is almost September.  This summer has flown by.  Not that you would know that fall is just around the corner.  We are still having 90 degree temps.  Now the tropics are getting all riled up...sigh... Well, what are you going to do?  If a hurricane comes, it comes and we will either wait it out or get the heck out of dodge...
OHHHH...Rachel gave me this recipe for tofu smoothies....THEY ARE SOOO YUMMY!!! I omitted the honey and let Elijah have some yesterday and gobbled it up!  They are super easy...In fact here's the recipe:
1/2 cup of soft or silken tofu
1 banana
2 Tbs of honey or maple syrup (we omitted this and they were still quit tasty...just not as sweet!)
6 ice cubes
1/2 cup frozen or fresh fruit
1 cup of fruit juice
There are other things you can do.  The first four ingredients are the base...but this is the one we like the best!  I am not a tofu eater, but this is super yummy and full of good protein and stuff that's good for you.
We went to the farmer's market on Wednesday and I got some local honey.  It is really good.  I hope that it will help with my seasonal allergies.  We also got some raw peanut and some boiled peanuts.  If I hadn't gone grocery shopping the day before I would have gotten our produce there.  It was cheaper than the grocery and supporting local farmers is always a plus!  They also have fresh flowers and herbs there.  It really is a neat little place.  We were talking the other night and thought it would be really cool to start selling baby food there.  I freeze EJ's food in heart  shaped ice cube trays (Thanks Laura!) and it's very cute!  It was just an idea, but it world take a huge start up and so the idea, is just that.
I did spend most of Tuesday evening making baby food for EJ, but since he's not eating solids right now, I have a huge amount now.  Oh well, It's good for up to three months.
I threw out the last of my frozen breast milk the other day.  I have been pumping on occasion, but I just pump and usually dump.  We let Elijah have it in a sippy and he plays with it, but that's it really.  So what's the point in taking up freezer space?
Well, while he's sleeping, I guess I should get some stuff done around the house.  Have a good one...

root canals, teething gels, and WWC...sigh

Okay, so Friday my tooth started hurting.  During the weekend it got progressively worse.  Yesterday I went to the dentist and I have to havea  root canal re-canaled...sigh...I have to take anti-biotic's for a bit.  There is an abscess at the top of the root canal, so I have to get rid of the infection before they can do the root canal.  SIGH.... So I didn't want to go on any pain meds since I am still breastfeeding, so ibuprofen it is.  But that really wasn't helping, so I broke out the teething gel someone gave us....works like a charm...tastes disgusting...but works enough so that I can eat something other than soup.
The up side of the weekend was that we were out and about on Saturday and we stopped at Kim's wholesale furniture outlet and found a recliner that matches our living room stuff and is SUPER comfy.  When we asked about the price we decided to go on and buy it!  They delivered that afternoon for free!  So now we have a recliner!  Which means that I get to rock Elijah to sleep instead of bouncing him on the fitness ball....not that I minded the bouncing, but he's getting heavy and my back was starting to feel the strain.  The rule is, if you are sitting in the chair and the baby needs to be held, the chair sitter gets the baby....
Okay, SOOOOO....WWC has made national headlines and is on several different sites for being this pot-loving school, as reported in the Princeton Review.  Sigh... I don't know how this all started, probably some student thought it would be funny, but you know what...you are screwing yourselves and the alum of the college.  First off, I think that WWC is a great school!  Since all students have to work 15 hours a week, I walked out with a work ethic and a resume.  We had to do 100 hours of community service, so I walked out with the understanding of what it meant to help someone and to give back to one's community and world.  And of course, there is the academic area.  I walked out understanding that professors care.  That good teachers are a dime a dozen and most of them seemed to find themselves at this small school in the mountains.  At WWC your voice was heard and your opinion mattered.  But now there it is getting this reputation of a druggie school.  I won't say that there were not drugs and alcohol, because there were, but it was not constantly in your face.  Everyone I knew was not always stoned or hung over.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that my college experience was similar (in this aspect) to many colleges and universities around the nation.  However, now, anyone with WWC on their resume may be looked at differently.  I thought maybe this was contained to just NC, but it is on national web sites.  This hurts WWC reputation as well as anyone who has ever attended school, worked, or is attending school there now.  It troubles me that someone thought this was funny.  It troubles me more that Princeton Review would publish or even have an item like this in there.  There are so many better things to talk about WWC than drugs.  The strong sense of environmentalism...The campus recently went to all GREEN Power.  They raise cows and pigs.  The student body as a whole is quite interesting and come from all backgrounds.  The classes are small, the campus is over 1000 acres, they have a garden, the students work to help run the campus, you are respected as a person and expected to take responsibility for your actions, they students work in the community from the first week of orientation to the last months in school, they have an incredible international program that grows yearly...the list goes on and on...And yet this one little thing makes the whole place stand out.  WWC is on my resume, for the past five years I have volunteered my time to represent them at the local college fair and if a job I was qualified for ever came open there, I would be the first to apply.   I hope that I am simply blowing this out of proportion in my head because WWC is a good place and doesn't deserve this stupid little scandal....
There...I feel a bit better now...At least I'm off the home schooling evil Baby Einstein thing huh?