So so sad

I am too pregnant for stories like this. This one hits home particularly hard because I am very aware of the fun of going through both the medicaid system and the pain of a toothache. Very scary stuff. Be sure to take care of your dental health!!

Just food for thought......

From a recent post from the Lactivist blog:

"In general, when the whole breastfeeding in public debate comes up, we hear a lot of detractors talking about how "gross" and "inappropriate" it is to nurse in public. We also hear lots of accusations about moms "whipping it out" and claims that nursing mothers are simply exhibitionists trying to get their kicks by flashing their nipples in public. Us moms tend to do a lot of defending by making points about it being a natural way to feed our child, by making claims that nearly all moms go out of their way to be discreet and by claiming that children have the right to eat when and where they're hungry.Those are all good points...but I can't help but wonder what the reaction might be if we turned it around a little.What if WE started acting appalled and disgusted by the people that equate breastfeeding with sex. What if instead of defending ourselves, we made comments like"Well I'm quite concerned that the sight of a child eating turned that man on...I just don't know how to react to that."or"Why is this woman staring at my breasts? I don't understand what the attraction is...I mean I understand the attraction for my child, but why is she so fascinated by them?"What kind of world do we live in where we demonize the moms that feed their children and give free pass to the people that equate eating time with "dirty sex"? I have a feeling that if we responded that way, more people might start shifting their tactics away from the "ooohhh!!! naked breast = sex = baaaaaaaaaad" line of thinking and and back toward "well, I'm just uncomfortable" with it which makes it more clearly THEIR issue and to which the perfect response is "well, there are lots of other directions to look."

Personally, I remember thinking, (during the early stage before they start performing gymnastics while eating) if someone is staring at me hard enough to catch a glimpse of nipple, then it should be ME who should be upset, not them!!

LOL LOL LOL

Americans are such prudes!!

The Atlantic Theater in the Jacksonville, Fla., suburb of Atlantic Beach planned to stage several dramas this winter, including Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," but following an undisclosed number of complaints from parents who said they were uncomfortable seeing that title, management changed its marquee to "The Hoohaa Monologues." (The change lasted one day, until management realized it was barred by contract from calling the play by another name.) [WJXT-TV (Jacksonville), 2-6-07, 2-8-07]

School

Leanna learned about telling time in school already. Just the basics, but still....I didn't learn about telling time until second grade. And that was in a private school. They seem to go over an awful lot of stuff, and they do it so quickly. I wonder how much of it the kids retain? I'm guessing that it has something to do with all the testing they do. They are always testing them on the stuff they've learned. I don't remember that being a part of kindergarten at all. (My memories of kindergarten involve songs, and games, naptime, memorizing Bible verses-again, private school-and doing a little reading, the Dick and Jane and Spot variety).

Two cuties

Just recent pictures I like.

More stuff in our house

We seem to attract donations from people. Our neighbors that are moving are giving us a few items of furniture. Tonight we got a slightly nicer desk. The "new" one has drawers on both sides and has a lock for one drawer compartment. We gave the old one to Claire. Here they are side by side. They also gave us a bunk bed set and some knick-knacks, plus the dolls. This forced me to clean out the desk(that wouldn't have been done otherwise). I tend to focus more on the messes that you can see. There are more than enough of those to keep me occupied!!

El bambino

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Your baby may be able to hear what's going on now. What's he listening to? The main sounds are blood moving through your vessels, digestive noises from your stomach, and your voice. Research shows that he's learning to distinguish your voice from others and he'll soon show a preference for it. Studies have shown that when a pregnant woman speaks, her baby's heart rate will decrease, indicating relaxation.

Expanding

Unfortunately, I am at the stage where I should be wearing maternity pants. Recently the waistband of my pants are getting tight. I hate maternity pants, they're so unattractive. Even though I don't fill them out yet they still make me feel so frumpy and unattractive. And at first they're always too big, even though you don't fit into your regular clothes. Although I have to admit, they do make some really cute maternity clothes today. But they're too expensive. Not that I have any money to spend on maternity clothes at all, I'm just saying that even if I could spend on them, the cute stuff would be beyond my reach. My cousin went out her first pregnancy and plunked down a thousand for new maternity clothes. I don't know if she bought more for her second, but knowing her, she did. I am feeling very blah, already.

Food

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but in the past week or so Timothy has eaten celery (plain), pineapple, blueberries, and a huge (for his size) bowl of strawberries! I am so hoping to establish better eating habbits with him than Justin!

I was very picky with what I let Leanna have, but people always made me feel funny about it. But I do believe that nutrition, especially as the brain is growing and developing so fast, is very important. People acted as though I was depriving her and being rediculous. So I was more lenient with Justin and I deeply deeply regret it. It makes it that much harder to get him to eat the good stuff.
And interestingly enough, I noticed this year at Halloween that dispite the notion that a child who has been withheld from sweets will go crazy when given a chance, it was JUSTIN, not Leanna, who tried to eat as much candy as he possibly could. So the fact that Timothy is starting to eat stuff that's good for him is really exciting for me!!

Frustration, part II

Tom has a credit card that we've caught charging us for the same thing twice in the same billing period. As I've mentioned, we've been having a really rough time since Tom's been working for himself. I've had to make a lot of late payments. That increases your balances pretty quickly.

Credit cards have changed since the days when I first got them. It used to be that you had a 5-7 day grace period to get your bill paid. So if you forgot or were a few days late, so long as the money got to them within a reasonable time period, you were fine. Now if you don't have that payment made by 1pm(or whenever their particular deadline is), at 1:01 they charge you a late payment. And the late payments sent our card over the limit, so then they tack on an over-the-limit-fee. It's difficult to get it under the limit then.........but now Household bank takes this to a new level. They charged us an over-the-limit-fee twice in the same billing period. I made two payments, which were enough to pay the extra fees and more than bring the card under the credit limit. Except that they then added a charge for being over the limit the day before they posted my last payment. And I paid about a week before the due date! So not only did they charge me a fee BEFORE the payment was due, but TWICE in the same billing period!! I think that should be illegal, but they claim they can charge us at any time.
So we switched our balance onto another credit card and plan on NEVER using Household bank again. So do not ever apply for a card through them.

Ignorance

For the full story, and info on where to complain, follow the link.
Here's the deal...There's a mother named Robin Neorr here in the Columbus area. After her daughter was born late last year and she went back to work, she enrolled her daughter in one of the City Kids Daycare in downtown Columbus. Robin was told that she would need to pay an extra $50 per WEEK because her 3 month old daughter is breastfed. You read that right, an extra $50 a week to feed that little girl the best food available for her......She was told that her milk was a hazardous body fluid that had to be kept separate from all other food. As such, the day care center kept the prepared bottles of breast milk in a separate refrigerator in the director's office. (They even labeled it with a "bio-hazard" sticker, apparently confusing breast milk with, I don't know...uranium?) They also claimed that they would have to purchase a separate warming pot for heating up the breast milk. In other words, they had to go through SOOO much extra trouble that they would have to charge her an extra fee.
Here's where it gets even more interesting. One of the posters on the AP Village discussion forum called City Kids to ask about enrolling their own child. According to her post, here's what she was told:"Well, I have to see, I think there is a new policy about breastmilk. We might charge extra or maybe we aren't taking them any more. It's nothing with me or the director but the owner has a problem with breastmilk."When asked by the caller if they were serious she stated that "all day care centers are going to this policy soon."

She quotes Ohio guidelines for daycares and interestingly enough, formula actually requires more work to prepare than bottled breastmilk. And they're calling breastmilk a BIO-HAZARD?

Frustration, part I

I am really frustrated with the Parking authorities here and HSBC credit card company!!

First the parking trolls! Twice now they've given us notices about tickets we never received(and by the time you get a notice, the price has gone up!). Today I went and paid them a visit at their office and I hand the lady a notice to pay and she tells me it has gone to the magistrate. Then she tells me about other tickets I wasn't aware of. Then the receipt she hands me after I pay a ticket off is for the notice I orginally handed her. I'm all upset because the ticket number she gives me as having gone to the magistrate is one that's already been paid-so why is it showing up in her system as not being paid?? I call about it and waste time on the phone only to find out that they have no coordination with the magistrate so they wouldn't know that the first ticket was paid. So I don't know why they even mentioned that to me! It seems the lady at the desk worded things wrong(to be fair it was extremely busy there-the parking authorities are doing some nice business!) and had me scared over nothing. The lady I spoke with on the phone was annoyed and didn't do the best job explaining things either. I understand customer service is a lousy job-people get rude with you about things that you have no control over. But I was very polite, all I did was ask for explanation. She was mad because I wasn't aware of how their system functions?? Geez!

Hospitals

10 things your hospital won't tell you

People tend to think of hospitals as the safest place you can be when you're sick, but they're actually full of germs and human errors. Especially with the current nurse shortage. The article is about things you should know about when to shedule surgeries, when to avoid the ER, looking for billing errors, etc.

Pronunciation

I recently noticed that Justin says "quaf-quaf" for wash cloth just like Leanna used to. : )

One of my favorites is macaroni, which he says as, "maca-the-roni."

Dolls

Leanna is just thrilled because a neighbor is getting ready to move and gave Leanna a box of porcelain dolls. She kept the expensive ones, but some of the dolls she gave Leanna are very pretty. It's really cute to see how very careful and loving she's being while holding these dolls. She gently pets their hair and carefully sets them down.

Home repairs

Tom put a new door on our back porch entrance. He got one for free that someone was getting rid of. It's so much warmer back there now! Hopefully we will see some savings on our heating bill because SOMEONE IS CERTAINLY GETTING RICH OFF HEATING PRICES THIS WINTER!

Midwife visit, again

Went to the midwife's again yesterday. I asked if they were still boycotting the hospital yet and she said yes. I asked if the other two hospitals they use are midwife-friendly. She said it's not so much that they aren't midwife friendly, but that they are too busy. She said the nurses have so much paperwork and responsibilities that they don't remember to (for example) come give you your motrin after the birth or to change your pads(you bleed a lot after birth). She says she's been telling all her clients that they might want to bring their own pillows and motrin to the hospital. I'm a bit scared of how things will go, having to use a different hospital this time. I talked to her about wanting to leave early, and how that might go. Basically it depends on when the physician can examine the baby and give an ok for discharge. And that can depend on when the baby is born. I also let her know I planned to get to the hospital as late as possible, which I did with the last two births also. Since I have the advantage of living very close to her she said that we might be able to work that out (meaning she could come check me to see how close to delivery I was, so that I could wait to go to the hospital until it was really time).
We also talked about the gestational diabetes test. It's a big pain in the butt for me! You eat a breakfast that is uncomfortably big (for me), and then have your blood drawn exactly an hour later. The fact that I must walk to the test and walk with young children makes it very difficult to time it just right. I asked her if it was likely that I would develop diabetes anyway-this is my fourth pregnancy! She said actually, no. She said that in other countries they test women based on their histories and when problems occur instead of testing all women for all things. (That's the US way I guess, make more $ for the insurance companies!) I was really surprised the first time I used the midwife and they told me I had the option to not do some of the testing. You weren't even given a choice with the obstetrician. The tests had a high rate of false positives and for me, the results didn't matter. (I would not abort). So it was nice to be able to skip them. The midwife said that there are ways to cheat with the diabetes test, and given my history she was entirely comfortable doing just that. She said because I have small babies and eat decently and haven't developed it with the other pregnancies there was very little chance I'd get it now. So they'll just draw blood at some point and test it that way. Much easier for me. I am very glad there is a midwife here! Now if only we could have a home birth I'd be really happy!!

Back to school!

Today was Leanna's first day back in school-it took about an extra 10 minutes each way thanks to people who either don't shovel or barely do it. A lot of people don't shovel a big enough path for the stroller to get through. I'd still rather take them in the stroller because the boys are too little and wild and unpredictable to take across the major road we have to cross. And when we cross that road I like to hold Leanna's hand, which would be impossible if I was walking with both boys. Cars just come too fast and too many drivers don't pay attention.
I was lucky at one point when the stroller was getting stuck a man came over and helped me. And we were lucky the crossing guard was there today-I wish she'd show up on a regular basis. It's too hard for me, I can't see above the buses if there are cars coming so it's much safer with a crossing guard there!!

Anyone??

Anyone know of a (good) recipie for peanut butter bars? My husband remembers eating some in school with a brown frosting that he says wasn't peanut butter or chocolate frosting.

Nurturing Justin

I burned my thumb tonight and Justin was so sweet. I was holding an ice pac to it and he went and got a roll of toilet paper, pulled off some and very gently wrapped it around my thumb, saying, "that will help you." I think he meant it to be a bandaid of sorts. I said thank you and he replied, you're welcome! Then he went and got a water bottle and wanted to pour some on my thumb, telling me that it would help me feel better. He really is very sweet.

Just a thought

Hoping to have our street plowed soon-This afternoon Tom said he and about 10 guys were all out in the street helping a Uhaul that got stuck. I guess that'd be one of the benefits of the snow-it helps people to be nice to each other.

More on cravings

I was just reading people's comments on what they are craving during pregnancy. Bizzare! It's just interesting to me because I always wondering if you are craving something, does that mean it contains some mineral or nutrient that your body needs? But people crave some strange things!
With Leanna: In the beginning I craved hot salty french fries! I think I needed the salt. Then later I was eating lots of fruit, Strawberries more than anything. Working in a grocery store, I had the hook-up! My people in the produce dept. would bring me over those little green containers of Strawberries and I would inhale them!! Ate lots of peaches and pineapple too. I also ate a lot of salads. And got hooked on using dressing or mayo on all kinds of stuff. (of course I also had a friend in the bakery dept. who would drop off cookies right into my apron pocket every time she went through my dept.) And later on a guy I worked with made the best cheeseburger subs EVER! A few of the roast beefs I had to cut made me nautious and tuna fish had absolutely no appeal to me. Strawberries and french fries were the only true cravings though.
With Justin: It was about food aversions, not cravings. The smell of coffee turned me off completely. And although I love grilled chicken, Barnes and Nobles cafe made these foccacia grilled chicken sandwiches that made me feel sick to my stomach when I smelled them. I did really crave a friendly's ice-cream which I didn't get to have until later.
With Timothy: The smell of coffee turned me off again. That was why I immediately thought I was pregnant, although a bad test said I wasn't. Other than that, nothing seemed to stand out, foodwise.
Baby #4: It's again about the cravings, not aversions. Foods just taste better to me than normal. And I can stop eating foods after a little, when normally I would just want to keep eating and eating and eating. It really makes me wonder if some people aren't more prone to weight gain because their bodies tell them to keep eating when other people's tell them to stop.

Baby Name Genie

Try it and see if it gives you your own name back!

Studies

I felt compelled to respond to the questions about the validity of studies. Especially since it's come up before. Yes, you can always point to studies that contradict each other. Before you make a decision based on a new study that's come out you have to keep a few things in mind.

Who funded the study? (If for example, a cigarette company is the one who paid for a study and it finds that cigarettes are actually quite healthy, you might question the results of that study.) How does it compare with other studies on the same subject and if it has a very different result than previous studies, WHY? What kind of methods did they use to determine the results? Do they adequately explain the reasons they came to a different conclusion? Usually they will explain how they obtained their info (briefly)--if I can come up with other explanations for the results I question the study. It can be very difficult to draw conclusions. For example,
"the problem with a study that compared, say, kids who ride to school in a Mercedes with kids who ride the bus. The data would no doubt show that Mercedes kids are more likely to score high on their SATs, go to college, and go on to high-paying jobs. None of that has anything to do with the car, but the comparison would make it look as if it did. "
from The Benefits of Bozo:Proof that tv doesn't harm kids (http://www.slate.com/id/2136372/ ) (and I don't completely agree with that study's conclusion!)
You have to keep things like that in mind when you read studies. There's always going to be some information that you don't know, that maybe you can't know. But you do the best you can with the info you are given. The more you read, the better position you are in to make an informed decision.
Also, the study often shows general results. As in the case of the breastfeeding & heart health study, it shows a reduced risk of heart disease for women who breastfeed. That doesn't mean if you breastfeed there is no way you will ever contract heart disease. There are other factors that affect your chances. This is true for all studies. And just because you know someone who contradicts the results of the study does not make the study untrue. Hopefully it will give you a healthy skepticism. It doesn't mean that you automatically throw out the results of the study. Everyone knows someone who chain smoked and drank and ate fatty horrible foods their whole life and still lived to be 100. Or the health nut who died early. It happens. That doesn't mean you should ignore good advice.

Breastfeeding and Heart health

A study of almost 100,000 women has shown that those who breast fed were 24 per cent less likely to suffer a heart attack.

I like that this article mentions, "It is becoming more and more clear that a lot of the things we do in modern life, such as eating trans fats or drriving rather than walking, mess with the body. " The more I read the more clear it becomes that so much of modern life is contradictory with how the human body is meant to function.

See the article RIGHT HERE

Should Gramdma divorce Grandpa?

For financial reasons, of course!! Senior couples are splitting up in record numbers, and a Medicaid system that leaves one spouse in poverty as the other is dying may be a reason.

My valentine from Leanna

Leanna made me a card that she lost, and a painting, and tonight she made me this heart out of marshmellows and candy cane bits. Very sweet.

Timothy and snow

Last night I took the kids outside to shovel in front of our house and Timothy really liked running down the street

away from me in the snow. Today I took him out and he just wasn't into it at all. The only way I got him to smile was by walking back and forth shuffling my feet. It made a funny sound and it sent snow flying. That made Timothy smile.

Tom

Tom made some sausage on the grill today-fine by me, one less thing I have to make and try not to burn! He didn't work today.

Justin and the snow

Justin liked the snow, but got cold very easy. (his gloves weren't waterproof like Leanna's though, I think that made a difference) He has two cuts on his face right now, no I don't know how he got them. He's constantly falling and getting hurt.

Leanna, loving the snow

I love the bottom picture of her.

Well this explains a lot!

When a man fails to help out around the house, his poor performance might be related to a subconscious tendency to resist doing anything his wife wants, a new study suggests.

No School

No school for Leanna today, the district has an early dismissal and no afternoon kindergarten. More time to work on her valentines for her class-I'm having her write everyone's name herself. It's fun trying to keep them legible, kindergarteners write letters backwards and not always in straight lines, etc. Her pack didn't come with envelopes, you're just supposed to fold them in half. I may have to go buy envelopes to write her classmates names on the outside, just so they are delivered to the correct person!
I love that I get an email to tell me when the district makes these announcements. I signed up through the newspaper online to get delays, cancellations, and dismissals emailed to me. Much easier than waiting for the radio to do it! I remember as a teenager freqently waking up right as the radio was listing cancellations for oh, say, Bethlehem school district! NOOOOOO! That meant I had missed mine and had to wait around for them to list all the schools again!

The baby

I'm about 17 or 18 weeks into the pregnancy. I'm almost halfway through. The baby is about 5 oz. now and around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. It should be in the middle of a growth spurt though, so that will change rapidly. My main pregnancy symptom is still just being extra tired. Still have the cravings. No boy names chosen yet.

Anyone want to guess the sex? We'll see if you're clairvoyant......

Current Favorite music

Justin's favorite songs right now include(but are not limited to): We're Not Gonna Take it by Twisted Sister, ABC Rock by Greg and Steve, Animal by Def Lepard, We are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner, I've Been Workin' On the Railroad, Istanbul by They Might Be Giants, Eight Days a Week by the Beatles, and Rockabye Your Bears by the Wiggles.

Baby Chime

I think this looks neat(to see a pic, follow the link in the subject):
The BabyChime hangs from a 34-inch silver necklace so that it rests – and dances – on the mommy’s growing belly, never far from her baby. During the pregnancy, the mom-to-be, or her partner, can regularly move the chime over the belly to generate a gentle and calming sound. Upon birth, the baby can recognize the sound and associate the soothing chime with the feelings of being in the womb, such as comfort and security, peace and serenity.

Pillowcases

My Mom's job loss has left her with extra time to do things. She finally finished my Christmas present pillow cases! Yay! I've been waiting for those. They suit me perfectly-they have a unicorn (horses are my favorite animal), they're dressed as though from midevil times, and it's a couple-good for bedroom pillows. Pretty!

Sleeping pictures

Justin fell asleep one night sitting in Leanna's Dora chair, a christmas present from Korinna.

Timothy asleep in the chair next to Daddy.

Believe it or not, I have a lot more pictures of people sleeping than I post!

Staredown!

Timothy has some of the funniest expressions! And what makes it funnier still is the fact that the meanest expressions don't seem to be provoked by anything!

Keeping Busy

I don't know how she stayed warm in this outfit, but Leanna wasn't bothered by the cold at all in this outfit. Self-chosen, I should add. Ummm, although it did come with a see-through skirt originally. And had a dance she made up to perform in it!

PS. That isn't a headband, it's a hairband. That's just how she wears them(just to drive me crazy, I think)

Cake replaces cheerios, after some thought

I tend to rip papers that I am throwing away, it's a habbit. Justin stopped me from throwing some away the other day and was pretending that the little pieces of paper were money. He generously gave me a hundred dollars right away!
Today he was playing with the "money" again. I asked him what he was going to buy. He replied, "Milk......and cheerios." After a pause he said, "Milk and Cake!" Those are his fondest wishes right now, lol.

Timothy's dr visit

Timothy went for his 15 month checkup today(although he's actually 16 months old, but one late appointment keeps them late forrever because of shots). He's 30" tall, and 19 pounds, 12 ounces, still little! I don't know percentiles because they didn't tell me. The doctor was concerned that the city didn't contact me about Timothy's lead level so she said she'd call them again. Apparently they're supposed to find out about inspecting your home and such to figure out why you have the high lead levels. I'm all for that!
Other than that, all's well.

You know I had to post this one!

Born to be Bad? Genetic research says maybe......

Big Business does the right thing for once!!

So apparently the National Pork board CEO apologized for the offensive comments, and the staff there were offended that people would think they weren't supportive of nursing mothers, so they dug into their own pockets-not the coorporation's money-to donate to the mother's milk bank of Ohio! There were legal reasons the company couldn't donate, so it's great that they cared enough to set up a way to help anyway.
The shirt is now available reading, Breast, the original white milk. Slightly different, same point.

As she states, "Help me spread the word about a company that not only admitted their mistake, but that quickly worked to come together in an act of good will that will benefit the countless babies and families that benefit from the work of the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio......When big business sees the support that flows their way when they do the right thing, more businesses will realize the value of doing the right thing.."

Traveling with kids

Also interesting, I found a website (www.parentography.com/ ) that recommends places for parents to go with their kids. Since I know I am not the only one with kids who love Thomas the train, I found out that Thomas will be visiting PA: The Strasburg Railroad will be hosting the All Aboard tour of a Day out with Thomas on multiple dates this year. Thomas will be there June 16th to 24th, September 15th to 23rd, and November 30th to December 2nd.
I'm thinking that would make a great birthday present for Leanna and Justin, we'll have to see how things go.

Where do you go for unisex baby clothes?

As they say, it's getting harder to find unisex clothes. It's funny, one person comments that they think yellow and green are both boy colors and would never put a girl in them. That's funny I really think of yellow as a girl color and green as more of a boy color, though I put baby Leanna in green and the boys in yellow also.

In time for Valentine's Day.....

A couple's skeletal remains were found, locked in an embrace for 5,000 years. They've found women embracing children before, but never a man and woman.

Blessing in disguise

I should add something here about my Mom losing her job. While it was certainly not a fun experience for her, I think everyone, including her, thinks it really was for the best. And I have to say, so far, I've benefited more than anyone from it. It was really nice to be able to ask her to come over the past two days to watch Justin and Timothy so I could walk Leanna to school. I really didn't want to take the boys out in that weather. Leanna had delays both days because of the cold. And my Mom's been over to help me clean a few times too, and once just to read stories to the kids. She didn't have time for that stuff before. So while I am sorry that she had the experience of losing her job, I am happy that she is rid of a very stressful job and I am grateful that it means we get to spend extra time with her, and I am grateful that it means extra help for me too(I have to be honest!) I am really hoping that she will find a job that she likes, with maybe a few less hours and a lot less stress!!

Names

I guess this is partially of interest to me since I have to find a boy name for this baby (we still have our standby name for a girl, should Laura's prediction be correct) No I have not had an ultrasound or anything.

It's funny, when Leanna would talk about her classmates, I thought she was surely misunderstanding or misprounouncing some of their names. We just got her class picture this week finally. Wow.
Girls:
Rosanna, Jaquari, Cyrstal, Dynasty, Kiara, Carizmah, Jaqueline, and Kaleishalyze.

Boys:
Joshua, Gullermo, Joshua, Isai, Brice, Ryan, Justice, Jose, Brian, Allen, Alex, Anthony, Felix, Elijah, and Dominic.
There are a few others that didn't have their pictures taken, I don't know their names.

Nurturing Leanna

I almost forgot, Leanna wanted me to post about her voluntarily bringing me water and a cookie. (I made double peanut butter cookies tonight) (Sorry Jamie! I feel like I should apologize to you, LOL) Anyway......She said that she loves me and she will make valentines for everyone tomorrow.
She had no ulterior motives, she just wanted to be sweet. That's certainly worth posting about, so here it is.

If you're feeling overwhelmed......

I've been having one of those days where the kids were just too much for me.........they were destroying one thing after another, piling extra work up on me. They were all being very clingy, all wanting me to hold them at the same time. Maybe a message was being sent to me because I checked one of my favorite blogs tonight and she had a post on What would Michelle Duggar Do? Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 17th child. The woman has spent 12 years of her life pregnant!! Her family website has some articles on organization and why they no longer believe in birth control and advice for moms and dads. It's not a big website, I thought it was interesting to read. While I would not personally choose their lifestyle, I think there is a lot to admire about it though.......

Not sure about this one either.....

Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed an executive order that will require all schoolgirls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Girls will have to get Merck's new vaccine Gardasil, which protects against strains of HPV that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. Texas becomes the first state to require the shots.Merck is paying for efforts to pass laws in several states that would require the vaccine for girls as young as eleven or 12.

I'm not against the vaccine itself, although I'd like it to be around for a while before forcing it upon my own child. I don't think it encourages promiscuity. As a person who has dealt with cervical cancer (caught early enough) I do understand that this is lifesaving. (although it only deals with the biggest causer of cervical cancer, not all of them). I take issue with the gov.'t forcing it on us-saying you must have this shot for school. And I especially take issue with the fact that the reason this vaccine is being so heavily promoted is to raise profits for Merck. Apparently the reason behind the Texas governor's signing an order to make it mandatory that schoolgirls get the vaccine is his financial connections to Merck, which manufactures Gardasil. That is unconscionable. And all too common!

Corporate bullies

Here is a case of a big coorporation just being bullies. The national pork producing lobby group is threatening to sue a woman who raises money for breastfeeding causes by producing t-shirts. One of the t-shirts reads, "The Other White Milk," referring to mother's milk. Well, the corporate porkers say she's infringing on their trademark and encouraging breastfeeding for "non-infant consumption." Apparently they think that people visiting a blog promoting breastfeeding would be confused that that one particular t-shirt might for some strange reason be maligning pork? Paradying a well known slogan somehow tarnishes the ""good reputation" of the national pork board? Yes, I can see how a job slaughtering animals for profit wouldn't want to be associated with breastfeeding!

From her blog: Apparently the National Pork Board is worried that someone might come to my breastfeeding blog, check out the shirts and worry that when I say "white milk" what I really mean is "thick and juicy, straight from the hog PORK." Come on now, be honest...were you confused? Because I sort of thought I was comparing breastmilk (which just happens to be white) with the milk of a variety of other animals (cows? goats?) that happen to produce white milk (not kangaroos though, their milk is pink) and that often gets fed to infants INSTEAD of breast milk. Wait, it gets better... As best I can tell, the issue that REALLY has their panties in a wad is expressed in this quote from the cease and desist letter:"In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark in light of your apparent attempt to promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption, such as with the following slogans on your website in close proximity to the slogan "The Other White Milk." "Dairy Diva," "Nursing, Nature's Own Breast Enhancement," "Eat at Mom's, fast-fresh-from the breast," and "My Milk is the Breast."
Check out the woman's blog, it's linked from the title of this post, pass the link on to anyone who'd be interested.

Food discoveries

I found out a few things this week. Timothy likes strawberries and he ate a couple slices of cucumber! He also ate some sliced carrots, from a baby food jar, but still! He hasn't eaten vegetables for a while, so this is exciting for me. Leanna and Justin ate Kraft mac N cheese even though they stopped eating easy mac (the microwave kind) a long time ago. And last night I made Leanna a big bowl of rice and chicken and she ate the whole thing! The last time I made that for her she ate all the chicken out of it and only ate the rice that stuck to the chicken. Not that rice is the most nutritional food ever, but it's better than some of the other stuff she eats and it can be mixed with more nutritional foods later! Plus it's more filling, and I need foods that fill her up. Right now she practically lives off peanut butter and jelly and it's driving me crazy. Every new food they eat is a victory for me, especially if it's something good for them. And frankly, it's just a good feeling when they willingly eat and enjoy something I've made for them.

Singing in the Rain

I thought this was an adorable picture. It's Jon Stewart and his son, Nathan.

Our baby

Timothy already knows to come to me so I can kiss a boo-boo. He can't form the words to ask me to do it yet, but he will run over holding out the finger that just got stepped on, or whatever. He sometimes tries to sing, which is adorable. You'd have to hear it. I've already found him just standing there, swaying to music playing on the radio or computer. He's growing so fast.

Do you want umm, fries with that?

I love having conversations with a toddler. Provided you are in the right mood, they can be hilarious. Sometimes it's just fun to see how their minds work.

Today Justin was emphatically assuring me that he did NOT want any ketchup. So I was messing with him, asking if he was SURE he didn't want ketchup......or mustard, or salad dressing, or relish, or tuna or.............and Justin took advantage of the pause to yell "Daddy!" So he might just want to eat Daddy with his chicken nuggets. He thought it was pretty funny.

(he's been on a kick where he begs for chicken nuggets then only eats maybe one of them.)