One Week Postpardum

Okay, actually, its been 9 days. I wear a size 12... bleh Belly is floppy still. My goal is to be a size 3. Barely bleeding. I can't wait until the mandatory 6 wks is over so I can work-out. I think I can probably walk right now (as in walking down the road, pushing a tandem stroller for exercise). I'm still slightly sore in the bottom area. And OMG, can my boobs get any bigger??? Geez... My sister has an electric double breast pump. I'm going to have to borrow it. I just know this child isn't draining me; of course, Ursula is ever so happy to help with that. Plus, I want to start doing 'date' night with Jeremy; at some point in the future. It would really do us good to reconnect on that level. Good for us and for our children.

Bunk Beds

Jeremy put up the top of the bunk bed in Calista's room. Woohoo! The girls are so excited and Ursula has already claimed the top bunk! hehehe I wonder if she'll actually sleep in it! There's a rail, so, I don't fear them falling out. I'll have to take a picture of it. I also need to buy some twin size sheets for it as the bottom is a full size and we have no other twin size beds in this house.

Welcome to the Monkeyhouse

Welcome to the Monkeyhouse

A mom of 3 with the youngest almost 2 mths old, breastfeeding and co-sleeping.

Fair Dinkum

Fair Dinkum

Another mom with an infant :D

The Life of Wyatt

The Life of Wyatt My son's very own blog.

Baby Dreams

Two dreams:

The first one was from a few nights ago. Cherie had some sort of dust/powder that would allow her to see my baby. So, she applied it to my belly and next thing you know, you can see my baby like it was out of my body. The weird thing was that the baby was so tiny and also blue and right before she applied the powder/dust, I had felt my belly and it felt the same way I feel it right now, the big parts, like his butt were big... there's no way he should have been so small. Its like he wasn't even as mature as he is now... like, I wasn't as far along as I am. Anyways, I started feeling like he was vulnable, so I started dusting him off and pulling him close to my belly and he 'went' back in.

The second dream was from last night. I had awaken and sat up in bed and I was like, omg, I dropped! So, I stand up, and my belly drops allright... drops like between my thighs. It was like there were nothing there but my skin and the baby. I was slightly freaking out... trying to figure out how to put the baby back where he belongs or trying to think of how to get him out. Weird, huh?

Not Quite Finished Up

Jeremy, Ursula, and I went shopping yesterday. We had brought Calista to J's parents' last night (and intended for Ursula to stay too) so that we could shop without them... but, Ursula decided she didn't want to stay. I think its because I never left her there. If they come pick her up, its all good.

Anyways, we finished up the shopping for J's 2 nephews and niece and for our children.

For ourselves, we bought a 5 CD/DVD changer with surround sound for the living room.

Its just really uncomfortable nowadays, walking around like that. Its not that my back or anything else was hurting. The uncomfortableness is mostly in my belly and pubic area... but, mostly my belly contracting.

Can't wrap anything with them both here and awake. Guess we'll just have to wait for them to fall asleep.

Last Night's Dream

...or at least one of them that I can remember...

I dreamt I was at this mall or something like it. And there was this guy gay couple that we were talking to or were next to us... maybe we were in line for something... anyways... I finally tell one of them how much he looks like John, my ex-husband. Well, he tells me that he is. And I'm floored. I get all depressed for the rest of my dream. The reason was because I had no idea and if I made such a big mistake with him, who else was I involved with and didn't was know is gay, was he using me a cover... stuff like that. Then, for some reason, maybe this was what we were waiting for earlier, but I am getting my hair bleached and parts of it dyed pink as well as having it cut real short... more of a bob then a boy hair cut though. I didn't tell the guy cutting it to do it that way, just let him do whatever he wanted with my hair. When I looked in the mirror, there were uneven parts and Cherie was going to fix it for me. But the guy who did my hair was supposed to be really good, a stylist that everyone was raving about.

Oh, oh, oh... another dream, or was it part of the above... but, it was kind of like a movie... I can only remember bits and pieces... someone, or some bad guys were running after me, Jeremy, and our baby (no idea where our girls were... hopefully somewhere safe!). They ended up burning down our house but we were able to go inside before it was too bad and save the baby, who was in a crib??? Didn't see the baby's face or gender. Can't remember why they were after us.

Not sure if this is part of that same dream I just typed, but, I was pregnant like I am now, 9 mths, and about to get into a fight with some skinny guy. Don't remember why. And then a guy I grew up with, that's a JW, initials TF, stood up for me and got the guy to leave me alone by talking him out of messing with me.

Poco-Cocoa

Another recipe blog that I want to keep track of.

everybody likes sandwiches

everybody likes sandwiches

Some recipes... looks like they're simple enough for me to even recreate :D hehehe

I want to keep an eye on this blog... see what other recipes she includes.

Life with Diapers

Life with Diapers

What the f#ck is this about??? This person has taken text and pictures from my blogs!!! Crazy $hit! This person even took pictures of Calista and Ursula and added text to them so that they'll look they they belong to them! They kept Calista's name but changed Ursula's to Daylin... even used pregnancy pic of me and Jeremy's name!

What a weirdo!

You Can't Make It Up

Interesting things here... not sure what to make of it yet as I haven't read it all yet. I just wanted to make sure I have the link if I want to go back to it and don't want to bookmark it yet :D

Weird Dreams

Watching CSI right before going to sleep will produce some bizarre dreams... LOL

I would jot my dreams down... but, really, its hard. Esp. since I'd wake up so many times, thus resulting in my dreams being disrupted.

CSA

Community Supported Agriculture database. Support your local farmers!

I just found out about this and sent them an email for more information.

There's 3 in Louisiana. One servicing the Acadiana area via Lafayette, one servicing Baton Rouge metro area and one servicing Covington, Bush, Foslom, Mandeville, Abita, and surrounding areas in St. Tammany Parish as well as the Greater New Orleans area.

Someone on one of my email lists (c-birth, unassisted homebirth) just talked about it and how it gets delivered to their homes! I wonder what kind of services this one in my area offers!

Even if they tell me they sell to certain grocery stores, I'd rather buy their wares from those stores and support them in that way, if I can't get to their exact location :)

Upcoming Events

Jeremy's sister, Tasha, and her family are moving back to Louisiana this weekend! She's so excited! I haven't met her baby yet, so, I finally get to see and hold her :D And maybe she'll even make it to my baby's birth! :) Oh, Tasha's bday is this Saturday, the 12th too. But, more than likely, they'll still be on the road for it. She says she'll catch up on it when they get here :) It'll be nice to have her back in Louisiana :) She'll be about 2 hrs away, but at least that's closer than North Dakota! Plus, I can more easily encourage to keep nursing her baby :D hehehe She did tell me that she wasn't ready to wean her yet anyways, so, that's good. Here baby is 2½ mths old (Tasha reads this blog... hehehe Hey Tash! *waving*).

My brother's wife, Jessica, hasn't had their 4th baby yet... her supposed due date was Oct. 31st... but, you know how that goes... its only an estimate and even it it was real, some babies take longer to 'cook' then others :) But, last night, she was having contractions every 3 to 4 minutes. They weren't hurting her though. She was really tired all day yesterday, so she went ahead and went to bed. I talked to her this morning and still no baby! lol But, she said her belly was super hard this morning. She's still real tired. She's resting right now. Hopefully she'll have that baby by this weekend! hehe We're all just waiting to meet him/her! Most of us think she's having her 2nd daughter. Aimee, my sister, says she knows its a girl.

Calista has the opportunity to ride in a parade this weekend with The Fleas. Jeremy will more than likely be working... so, I don't know how that'll happen. I did sign the consent form just in case we're able to bring her! I think it would be neat for her to do that. Its for the Cracklin Festival.

Also, Calista's Thanksgiving vacation is supposed to start Nov. 21st. I say 'supposed' because I'm not sure if anything has changed because of those hurricanes. I think they only missed like 3 days of school due to them though... so, I don't know if they'll be made up from vacation days or at the end of the school year.

Ursula's 3rd birthday is Dec. 22nd. I feel badly for her because I might be in labor at that time! And we brought Calista to Chuck E. Cheese for her 3rd (and 5th) bdays. Calista talked about that forever! I want to do the same for Ursula. But, either I'll be really big and pregnant and uncomfortable at that time OR in labor OR have a brand-new baby. So, no definite plans until the time comes. That's not a big deal since that's usually how we live our life here anyways... we barely ever have anything really planned out.

Hmmm.... I think that's it as far as upcoming events go....

Free Silvery Jewelry

http://silverjewelryclub.com/default.asp?affid=

All you pay for is shipping and handling which is $5.99. It changes every 15 minutes.

I just had to post this link... not sure how long this deal will last though. Its promotional.

Jeremy's Dream

Yesterday, Jeremy told me that he had a dream that I was checking my own dilation. I checked at 2 cm and at 4 cm and then he woke up!

I told him I don't think that'll be happening since I'm pretty sure I can't reach! lol

George Carlin on Hurricane Katrina

I received this in my email... I haven't verified if it actually came from George Carlin or not... but, I pretty much agree with what he (or whomever) said about the events surrounding Katrina.

Here it is, copied and pasted from the email sent to me:

"Well, for me this pretty much sums it all up: Been sitting here with my ass in a wad, wanting to speak out about the bullshit going on in New Orleans. For the people of New Orleans...First we would like to say, Sorry for your loss. With that said, Let's go through a few hurricane rules: (Unlike an earthquake, we know it's coming.)

#1. A mandatory evacuation means just that...Get the hell out. Don't blame the Government after they tell you to go. If they hadn't said anything, I can see the argument. They said get out, if you didn't, it's your fault, not theirs. (We don't want to hear it, even if you don't have a car, you can get out. You have feet; you have a thumb; and there were buses that came and no one rode out - Duh! Doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this one out.)

#2. If there is an emergency and you plan not to evacuate, stock up on water and non-perishables (and rubber rafts). If you didn't do this, it's not the Government's fault you're starving and wet.

#2a. If you run out of food and water, find a store that has some. (Remember, shoes, TV's, DVD's and CD's are not edible. Leave them alone.)

#2b. If the local store has been looted of food or water, leave your neighbor's TV and stereo alone. (See #2a) They worked hard to get their stuff. Just because they were smart enough to leave during a mandatory evacuation, doesn't give you the right to take their stuff...it's theirs, not yours.

#2c. If you're one of those negligent humans who subjected their children to this disaster by staying in New Orleans, putting what you wanted to do before their safety, then you need to be prosecuted for endangering their lives. If you are a person who stole non-edible items in front of your children then you should be prosecuted for contributing to the delinquency of minors. And if your child was hurt, became ill due to the conditions or died during this disaster, then you should be executed.

#3. If someone comes in to help you, don't shoot at them and then complain no one is helping you. I'm not getting shot to help save some dumbass who didn't leave when told to do so.

#4. If you are in your house that is completely under water, your belongings are probably too far gone for anyone to want them, so that reason for staying put doesn't hold much water (pardon the pun). If someone does want them, let them have them and hopefully they'll die in the filth. Just leave! (It's New Orleans, for Christ's sake - find a voodoo warrior and put a curse on them.)

#5. My tax money should not pay to rebuild a 2 million dollar house, a sports stadium or a floating casino. Also, my tax money shouldn't go to rebuild a city that is under sea level. You wouldn't build your house on quicksand would you? You want to live below sea-level, do your country some good and join the Navy.

#6. Regardless of what the Poverty Pimps Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton want you to believe, The US Government didn't create the Hurricane as a way to eradicate the black people of New Orleans; (Neither did Russia as a way to destroy America). The US Government didn't cause global warming that caused the hurricane (We've been coming out of an ice age for over a million years).

#7. The government isn't responsible for giving you anything. This is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, but you gotta work for what you want. McDonalds and Wal-Mart are always hiring, get a damn job and stop sponging off the people who are actually working for a living. President Kennedy said it best..."Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

#8. This situation was the fault of your state's power-hungry Governor (dumb bitch didn't want to admit she wasn't in control and hand things over to FEMA and National Guard) and your proud, but innately ignorant, minority Mayor. The year after he was elected Nagy (Nagin) took all the $4.5 Million in emergency funds allocated to assist New Orleans' residents, for just this type disaster, and used them to teach minority kids to play sports. So if you're up to your waist in muck and starving, ask a kid with a basketball for some assistance because he got your funds.

Thank you for allowing me to rant."

Our New Monitor!

Woohoo! Jeremy came home with a 19" flat screen (not flat back though) monitor! Man, its sooo much better than what we had before!

Here's the background story... when we bought our Compaq Presario, the monitor we had bought to go along with it (and had upgraded to a bigger size) only lasted a year. Instead of bringing it back... it just sat in our back room (storage room). Jeremy had brought it to a local repair guy and he said there was nothing he could do to fix it. So, Jeremy bought a monitor from him, that was actually in use at their shop, for their shop. So, it was second hand. Anyways, from the time he brought it home, I noticed it was blurry. Also darker than it needed to be. We'd try to adjust the monitor settings themselves as well as our graphics card, but, nothing really worked quite right. We just dealt with it.

Well, I guess Jeremy finally got sick of it and he went put a monitor on layaway. And I have to say, YAY! I love this one! hehe

I can actually read the screen now! Most of the times before, I had to highlight the text of many sites and emails just to read them! Another good thing is that now I know exactly how to correct the coloring, contrast, etc. of my digital photos!

There's one more thing I want to buy today. I believe the sale at Wal-Mart ends today, that's what today is the day. Its a 3 in 1 printer, scanner, fax machine for $50. Plus, the cartriges aren't too badly priced, like my other printers (that haven't worked in a couple years). I've been wanting another printer. I thought my older ones still worked but we bought more ink and they still do nothing. I've also been wanting a scanner... so, this will work out perfectly!

Today is Calista's Flea/Fly game @ 2pm. Jeremy's parents are coming this year. I won't have any video footage of it this year as I don't have a battery for my video camera. I will take pictures, of course. I'll post them in my girls' blog later on.

I'm going to have to remember to buy another video camera battery too... esp. before this baby is born! As well as some new rechargeable AA batteries for my digital camera; the ones I have now seem to be on the brink of oblivion... :D

The Govenment is Attempting to Take Away More of Our Rights

Measure Eases Vaccine Rules

Here are some excerps from the article:

"Congress is considering a bill that would allow the government to order that vaccines be given to every U.S. citizen in a national emergency, even if a vaccine has previously harmed some people.

The bill would also make it almost impossible for anyone harmed by these substances to sue the manufacturer or drug researchers. "

"This is a drug company stockholder's dream and a consumer's worst nightmare," said Barbara Loe Fisher, director of the National Vaccine Information Center. "It is a sad day for this nation when Congress is frightened and bullied into allowing one profit-making industry to destroy the Seventh Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing citizens their day in court in front of a jury of their peers."

"Information about the drugs' effectiveness or its potential to do harm could not be obtained through normal federal Freedom of Information channels. Manufacturers would be immune from lawsuits arising out of negligence claims in cases where people have been made sick or have died."

"Since the public would have trouble obtaining documents proving a drug is causing adverse reactions, Fisher said, there is little chance of challenging a drug company in court."

"The last resort for ordinary Americans who are victims of corporate negligence, is the civil justice system. So, we are against any proposal that leaves people without a just remedy [like this one]," said Erin Mayton, deputy director and counsel of communications for the American Trial Lawyers of America."

This really sickens me. How can we be the 'land of the free' and have so many of our rights taken away?

We were born with free will, granted to us by God. Let's exercise this free will and make sure this bill NEVER passes!

License to Drive... Again!!!

I'm SO excited!!! After having gone 2 yrs with an expired license and having an insurance block on it, I finally have a license to drive again!!!! WooHooo!!!!

My sister, Cherie, came over Sunday and left Monday evening. Monday morning, she brought me to the DMV and generously paid for me to get my license all fixed!!! A bonus to this was that they didn't make me retake the written or driving test!!! I was so happy about that!!! I was told by the DMV, when I called, that I'd have to retest since it had been over a year since my license was expired!!! We expected to be in there for a few hours! NOPE! From the time we entered the building to the time I was given my license, it was like an hour! And the parking lot was FULL!

What a sister, huh?

Not only did she do that, but she low-lighted my hair, as you can see in my blurry pic, my roots are horrendous! lol But, the low-lighting helped blend the roots with the lighter parts. AND she gave me a manicure! *She's finishing up her cosmetology schooling, so, I am happy to have her practice on me!*

So, we had a busy Monday. Monday evening was Calista's Flea/Fly practice and group picture. I was able to drive there!!! So, that was awesome and MAN! Does our '93 Cadillac DeVille drive good!!! What a sweet, smooth ride! See, even though we've had it since March '05, I am too chicken $hit to drive without my license... lol So, its been a while since I've driven any vehicle!

You should have heard Calista. She rode with Cherie and her girls to practice and they followed me and Ursula in our car. Well, Calista gets out Cherie's *new-to-her* van and asks where her daddy is. I told her he's still at home (he took the day off) and she asked how I got there, I told her I drove! She started jumping up and down and was all excited that I can drive again! hehehe She was cheering and all :D hehe

All I need now is a car....

New Cookware! woohoo!!!

Jeremy finally bought me some nice cookware (the actual set is the one I have pictured)!!! Stainless steel! I'm so happy! I've been wanting to get rid of my teflon crap cookware and replace them with stainless steel! I do have 3 cast iron frying pans and one large iron pot... but, I wanted stainless steel!

29 Weeks

I did an oopsie and posted my 29 wk's gestation post here instead of where its supposed to be! lol

So, I went ahead and edited both journals and here's the link back to my 29th wk. appointment with my CNM.

The comments are going to remain here for that post since I don't want to ask Jessica to redo what she's already done... esp. since she's still on dial-up and it takes her forever to accomplish anything online... bwa ha ha ha ha!

The Personality Defect Test

Okay, I actually have to agree with this one... I was that 'hand-raiser'!!! lol I did always sit close to the front of the class! lol And I would get so annoyed when I wasn't called on! ha ha haha

Hand-Raiser You are 57% Rational, 57% Extroverted, 28% Brutal, and 28% Arrogant.

You are the Hand-Raiser, that annoying kid in class who always had an answer for everything. No doubt, as a child you probably sat in the front of the class, anxiously waving your hand back and forth in the air while your teacher desperately tried to avoid calling on you because you were the ONLY fucking kid that answered her questions. Clearly, the key traits of your personality are your rationality and your extroversion. You are like a little talkative calculator, in other words. You also tend to be rather gentle and less arrogant than most people. So what is your defect, then? Well, you're boring, and when you're not boring, you are just plain annoying with your ultra-logical responses and constant need to talk to others. So keep waving that hand in the air, son. I'm still not calling on you. You are too logical, you talk too much, and your humility and gentleness only makes me hate you more, because they make me feel like I almost SHOULDN'T hate you. But I do. Big time. To put it less negatively: 1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive. 2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted. 3. You are more GENTLE than brutal. 4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant. Compatibility: Your exact opposite is the Brute. Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Braggart, the Haughty Intellectual, and the Robot. * * If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits. The other personality types: The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble. The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble. The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant. The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble. The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble. The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant. The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble. The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble. The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant. The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble. The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble. The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 34% on Rationality You scored higher than 62% on Extroversion You scored higher than 25% on Brutality You scored higher than 20% on Arrogance

Link: The Personality Defect Test written by saint_gasoline on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The Commonly Confused Words Test

I'm kind of disappointed in myself... I thought I'd do much better! lol But, I do know that I've lost some brain cells along the way... children will do that to you! ha ha ha Actually, I think some of it has to do with the computer community as well... I mean, so many people mess up the English language online but you just kind of ignore it and than, next thing you know, you're doing the same things... bad habit kind of thing.

I just looked at the answer key and found that I did have some of them right but changed the answer... that was my biggest problem with test-taking in school... I always doubted myself and once I went with my initial thought, I received higher marks (like, from 10-12 grades, I had an "A" GPA; whereas from like 7th to 9th, I had a high "B" average).

Another thing... I don't know why this thing is spaced out so much... I went into the editing mode and I can't figure out what the deal is with it. Oh well...

Advanced You scored 78% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 80% Advanced, and 53% Expert!

You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score. Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 4% on Beginner You scored higher than 42% on Intermediate You scored higher than 5% on Advanced You scored higher than 2% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The Climate Here

Mosquito cloud hangs over parish

"Hurricane Rita has created ideal conditions for mosquitoes that now are breeding - and biting - by the millions.

"You can't move without being overwhelmed. It looks like something out of a horror movie," said Lisa Arceneaux, who lives in the Plaisance area."

Man, the frickin' mosquitos are terrible right now! I can't let my kids go outside to play because of them!

We're supposed to be having a cool front this week (woohoo!) according to KATC (down to 54 degrees tonight!) and hopefully, that'll kill off those miniature vampires!

And THEN, we're NOT EVEN out of hurricane season yet!!!

OMG!!! Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator

Jeremy told me this story in bed last night! I was like "what???" Then looking for other info, I came across and just HAD to post it!


Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator
Posted: Oct 6, 2005, 08:24 AM CDT


MIAMI (AP) -- The alligator has some foreign competition at the top of the Everglades food chain, and the results of the struggle are horror-movie messy.


In this photo provided by the Everglades National Park, the carcass of a six-foot American alligator is shown protruding from the mid-section of a 13-foot Burmese python Monday, Sept. 26, 2005 in Everglades National Park

A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, six-foot alligator whole, authorities said.

The incident has heightened biologists' fears that the nonnative snakes could threaten a host of other animal species in the Everglades.

"It means nothing in the Everglades is safe from pythons, a top-down predator," said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor.

Over the years, many pythons have been abandoned in the Everglades by pet owners.

The gory evidence of the latest gator-python encounter _ the fourth documented in the past three years _ was discovered and photographed last week by a helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher.

The snake was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Mazzotti said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it.

In previous incidents, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

"There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese pythons," Mazzotti said. "This indicates to me it's going to be an even draw. Sometimes alligators are going to win and sometimes the python will win."

It is unknown how many pythons are competing with the thousands of alligators in the Everglades, but at least 150 have been captured in the past two years, said Joe Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist and crocodile tracker.

Pythons could threaten many smaller species that conservationists are trying to protect, including other reptiles, otters, squirrels, woodstorks and sparrows, Mazzotti said.

Wasilewski said a 10- or 20-foot python also could pose a risk to an unwary human, especially a child. He added, however, "I don't think this is an imminent threat. This is not a `Be afraid, be very afraid' situation.'"

Damn Sims!

I ask myself, "Why?" Why did I go and buy The Sims 2??? OMG! Can it be even more addicting than the original Sims??? I can barely tear myself away from it! LOL Of course, there is that newness factor too... but,... between playing it and going online and finding new 'skins'.... geez.... lol Maybe its that inner control freak in me that loves this game so much? Or that part of me that wants to be a stylist (you can do make-up and hair on these sims - I've given many of the game-created sims a makeover already, to make them prettier :D hehe)? Or maybe its a way for me to dream.... oh, the nice houses and furniture you can build and buy! hehehe Or just an escape from reality? I don't know... I told my sister, Angele, that I have it now and she's like, that's why I don't even try to play those games... I know how I am, I'll play them nonstop for 4 days! lol Maybe that also runs in the genes... because our brother is a game freak; always has been... from Atari to Coleco (oh gosh, I have no idea how to spell that one!) to X-Box and PC games... it never ends for him. He says he needs the constant stimulation... lol His firstborn is only 5 yrs old and just like him in that aspect.... meaning, he loves playing video games.

Calista is fond of PC games... but not so much the console types. Not sure what Ursula prefers yet. So far, she's way more into pretend play with her babies and Barbies than anything else... although she really likes to ride her bike now!!! Calista is expressing interest in soccer. I'll have to find out about any soccer teams in the area; I have no idea what season they even play in! lol I know little to nothing about that!

Back to The Sims 2... lol I love that game. I have the original and the one for the GameCube. And they are all different from one another, love that about them too. But, as for now, I think I prefer this PC one, Sims 2. You have way more control over way more things... from their facial features to their skin coloring (you can download green, blue, tattooed, etc skins for them) to the cool ass 3D viewing of everything! Smooth transitions. Great sound. Awesome graphics and textures. You can even talk to the NPC (non-playable characters), like the mailman and maid (there's also a male maid too!) So far, there's two expansion packs. And of course, I want them. lol But, I'll give it time before I buy them. Look how long I waited for this one! Its been out for at least a year already, right?

Jeremy stayed home today... so, I don't see me playing it today, not while he's awake anyways. So, I guess I'll do some house cleaning... {groan}. So not fun... I wish I had a maid... lol

PostSecret

This is a blog that posts secrets that are written on postcards; pretty interesting. Here's some more confessions.

Crap, Not Again

What is with getting TWO category 5 hurricanes in less than one month???
Where we live, we did manage to escape the wrath of Katrina... but, with this one, Rita... I don't know. It supposed to hit Texas, Corpus Christi area... but, we'll be on the east of it, the bad side... rain, flooding, tornados, etc.

So, I'm a Chocolate Chip Cookie???

Found this quiz at Julie and Jay's blog :D
I kind of wondering why it scored me as a chocolate chip cookie when I have the same score on both that and strawberry shortcake? And quite honestly, I'd prolly take a piece of strawberry shortcake before grabbing a cookie :D

You scored as Chocolate chip cookie. Your perfect dessert is a chocolate chip cookie! You are intelligent and original. You are a leader not a follower. You like cookies! Sometimes you can be on the wild side and get a midnight snack...(stealing the LAST COOKIE from the cookie jar...) If this isn't you take the quiz over. Strawberry Shortcake 81% Chocolate chip cookie 81% Chocolate cake..mmm 75% Bananna Bread 69% Vanilla Shake 63% I SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM! 63% Cheesecake 50% ::.what dessert are you?.:: created with QuizFarm.com

Weird

Hmmm... I didn't change the template, but its different for some reason. Gotta go inspect that.

Oh, here's a picture of our biggest watermelon, before we picked it and ate it last weekend :D

My foot (size 6, 6½) was about half the size of it! We were so proud! And it was quite tasty too :D

Finally - an update

I never thought I'd be so happy to see the garbage men! Woohoo! They finally came pick the garbage up this morning... after over a week of waiting! Geez... garbage can sure pile up!

Had the grass cut yesterday too... yay!

Just have to finish cleaning up the house... clothes are pretty much done.

My brother, Jared, and his co-worker/friend, Corey, will be staying here for a little while due to some work they're doing in Lafayette. They'll be here tonight and leave Wednesday. But, will prolly return next week and so on until the job is complete.

I'm soooo sick of treating for Lice. I finally had Jeremy go buy a nice lice comb and I tell you what, I'm gonna comb the girls' hair everyday! I'm not about to treat my girls' with pesticides. Here's a good reason why not. Here's a the Malathion (ingredient/pesticide in Ovide, Prioderm) information sheet. Information about Lindane; which is in Kwell. More info at HeadLice.org

Ursula had fever yesterday for some reason. I didn't treat her, of course. And this morning, it was gone.

She's still allergic to milk. A couple of weeks ago, I let her have a little bit of ice cream and a lick or 2 off my Klondyke bar and she had a rash breakout on her chest and inner thighs. Then, Jeremy poured her some Lactaid milk and she had a round rash on her cheek. She seems to tolerate cheese and butter now... but not ice cream and milk.

I sewed a chair bag for Calista!!! Instead of paying $10 for one, I cut one out from a table cloth we have. Jeremy wanted to assist, so, he pinned it together for me :D hehe We're so proud :D I sent it to school with her today; awaiting for the teacher's comments.

Oh yeah, I'm enjoying watermelon right now... one from what I grew!!! Its so awesome! We have a really big one still out there. I'm gonna have to take a pic of it before we pick it :D

Hurricane Katrina

There's a category 5 hurricane (winds are 175 mph right now, moving at 12 mph directionaly) brewing the gulf right now. Its expected to hit the mouth of the Mississippi river Monday morning. My sibs and mom live out there... well, now they're at my house! lol But, Katrina (the hurricane), can turn or not turn and hit us instead or even Texas... who knows... but, we're not in as much danger here as where my sibs live. If it looks like it'll hit us more directly, or if they start wanting to evacuate our area, we'll head either north or west... and just drive, I guess... lol sleep in our vehicles or something.

The weather guys are saying this may be the storm to make the Mississippi river combine with the Atchafalaya basin... which would change the map of Louisiana and leave lots of people homeless.

Anyways... just wanted to give yall a heads up if ya don't hear from me for a while. Last time we had a bad hurricane (not even this size) we were without electricity for 3 days. The bottled water is already gone from the stores.

Voting Time!

I'm putting this poll on this blog too, in case others don't go to my pregnancy blog :D
Its a baby naming poll! Thanks so much in advance for voting!

Adventures in Sewing My Own Cloth Diapers

Adventures in Sewing My Own Cloth Diapers
Here is a blog from a friend of mine from my Louisiana group "Radical Cajun Moms"

Peaces of Heaven

http://peacesofheaven.blogspot.com/

Coolness

Some artistic versions of Ursula nursing :)

She's 32 months old. Took these pics the other day.

I 'fixed' these up the other day on Paint Shop Pro 8.

In case you're wondering... I took these pics by holding the camera away from us and snapping a picture.

Watermelons!

Earlier this year, we had watermelon and I threw the seeds out behind the house. Well, NOW we have like 4 or 5 watermelons growing!!! One of them are a good size already! Its really cool!

Next time, I'm gonna just save the seeds and plant them at the appropriate time! hehe I hope these watermelons taste good!

My Newest Niece Was Born Today!

Welcome to the world, Korah Paige!

Korah is my S.O.'s, Jeremy, sister, Tasha's baby :D In other words, my sister-in-law.

She was born at 3:50am this morning. Tasha was 39 wks along. If I remember correctly (if I'm wrong, I'll just get the right info from Tasha and edit this later! lol), Korah weighed in at 7lbs 8oz and is 20 ¼" long. Here's her hospital picture.

Tasha says that Korah's nursed right away and is doing great with it! She also says that the hospital staff is doing a great job; esp. with aiding her with nursing and different positions.

I'm so happy for them! Sounds like she had the birth she wanted, so, that's wonderful!

The Value of a Woman

I really like this forward I received today:

This is written in the Hebrew Talmud, the book where all of the sayings and preaching of rabbis are conserved over time.

It says:

"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal. Under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved."

Its Me

Here's a picture my sister, Angele, sent today in email from last weekend.

Not too bad... but, still fat-looking... LOL

Interesting ancient breast-feeding proof

Except:

Scanning tech reveals mummy mysteries
Friday, August 5, 2005; Posted: 10:29 a.m. EDT (14:29 GMT)

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Researchers have uncovered the mysteries surrounding a 2,000-year-old mummy without peeling back layers of bandages or even opening the gold-plated coffin.

Using a state-of-the-art CT scanner that rotated all the way around the tiny mummified girl, San Jose-based Silicon Graphics Inc. took 60,000 images and created 3-D models that allowed scientists to look at her resin-filled body cavities, her facial features, even her baby teeth.

Among their conclusions: The girl was between 4 and 6 years old and must have been breast-fed until shortly before her death.

Pretty cool they were able to conclude that this Eygptian girl was breast-fed for this long!

Someone had wondered how they were able to make this conclusion, so they wrote to the curator of the museum and asked. This was the response:

"Egyptian children were traditionally breastfed longer than
those in Western cultures.  There was a very large spike in
mortality between the ages of three and five due to the
increased intake of potentially contaminated foods and
water. We did not do any studies of Sherit's diet (yet),
but instead based this on cultural information. It would
probably be better for this to have been worded,
"...was likely fairly recently weaned."

"Her overall bone density, however, does imply an
exemplary diet and nutrition.  Since the ancient diet
was low in protein and calcium, this implies to me that
she was indeed breastfed until fairly close to her death,
before her bones had thinned as we see with the more
adult population."

Another Cool Blog

Human Lactation Information

The Human Lactation Information blog is where I note research, articles, links and advocacy materials for my own personal reference and use. The opinions which I express on this blog are mine entirely, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which I am affiliated.

This Past Weekend

My oldest sister, Aimee, came down to Louisiana with her 4 kids to attend her 20th class reunion.

Here's me and Aimee.

She and her kids had to leave Monday morning :( My mom brought me and my girls back home Monday also.

Here's my mom with a parrot sleeping on her shoulder, under a shirt... lol I cracked up laughing when she showed me that bird! lol

A really cute picture of Ursula with her cousin, Soleil (she turns 6 in October). Soleil is Aimee's 3rd child/2nd daughter.

Idiot commentator

http://www.komotv.com/qt/schram_060705.wmv

Watch it all the way through though... its funny right at the end.

Cleaning Up

I'm finally getting some energy back! Yay! So, I'm going through things, little by little... but, its getting done. I'm sleeping somewhat better... even though my hip still tingles and goes numb... but, another good thing that's helping me sleep is that Ursula isn't waking up to nurse! yay! That's majorly helpful!
After this baby is born, I'm really going to go through stuff... clothes mainly... esp. after I lose the baby weight.

Last Weekend

Was just awful. I won't be getting into the ugly details... but... it involved Jeremy being drunk both Friday and Saturday nights. Friday night was the worst. I had the phone in my hand to call my sister, Angele, to pick me, the girls, and my stuff up in her truck for Saturday morning. Jeremy grabbed the phone from my hand and threw it to the floor. And yes, my sister, Cherie, her 3 girls, and my mom were all here last Friday. So, they were all witness to the events of that night and so forth. I told him Sunday that I'd rather him smoke 3 cartons a week than to drink alcohol. He looked at me kind of strangely... he knows how much I HATE him smoking.

On to this week and today.

Jeremy hasn't brought home a beer at all since Sunday. He told me today that he has smoked prolly once a day or so... he said that there's studies done that shows that those who quit cold turkey usually end up smoking again whereas those who cut back have greater success in stopping altogether. I have no qualms with him smoking once a day. Better than 20x a day.

But, what I'm really happy about is NOT seeing beer in his hands everyday. That man just CANNOT handle drinking. Not to mention ALL the times he's come home AFTER drinking already!!! Like he didn't have a DWI already that it took him a year and way too much money to finish up with! PLUS our 'new' car that he's driving that still isn't paid off... I mean, we have the title, but, we used MY visa to buy it... under MY name... not his. And, I just know from past instances, if its totalled and he hasn't paid it off, he won't... and there goes the start of my 'good' credit history... distroyed.

To make things even worse... we STILL haven't gotten that settlement money from his accident way back in March! He missed over 2 months of work and we're 2 mths behind on bills! When is this money going to come to us? I'm trying not to stress out about the bills... and I know that (the bills piling up)just makes it worse for Jeremy. And I know that's one reason why he'd drink beers after work... but... he needs to figure out another way to handle his stress.

I can't take what happened last weekend again... and I won't. I will definitely leave with our children... if only temporarily until he can figure out what's his problem(s) and deal with them... and also until he figures out what he'll be losing if he does what he did again.

Patton's to China for Bria

Patton's to China for Bria
A blog from someone on the Winter2005Mamas email list. She's also adopting a baby from China.

The Duchy of Burgundy Carrots

The Duchy of Burgundy Carrots

Listening to Myself

Listening to Myself

Yay For Jeremy

Its Thursday morning, and he hasn't smoked since Monday morning! Yay for him! This looks promising! He still goes outside to sit... routine :D Hey, that's fine with me! I like sitting out there too, sometimes... when its not too blistering hot :D

What KoL Monster Are You?

You're a Knob Goblin Elite Guardsman!

You blast through quests with your impressive
stats, powerful armor, and spiffy swords.
You're probably on some sort of leaderboard,
and probably in some sort of anger management
class ordered by the courts.


Which Kingdom of Loathing monster are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Finally Finished with Court

YAY! Although Jeremy had to miss yet another day of work :( But, at least this is over for good! The judge dismissed it and the girls and I are still on Medicaid :D

And the girls did really well. We were there from 9am, broke an hour for lunch, and left @ 1:30pm. So, for never having to sit for so long and be quiet, they did really well. I did sit out in the hall for about an hour before lunch... they were getting too antsy and I didn't want them to disrupt others... nor did I want them to continue getting fussed as much.

The court was pretty laid back. Strange, really. In fact, when the judge walked in, the bailiff asked everyone to please be seated... aren't you supposed to stand until the judge tells you to sit?

When we got up there, finally, the people sitting around the semi-circle desk (took up the width of the room) were all smiling at my girls :D hehe And when we finished, they talked to them a little bit and told them good-bye :D Ursula told them all 'bye' :D I know she was ready to get out of there!

In the car, on the way home, she asked if we were going to Mimi and Papa's house :D hehe

Jeremy's Attempt

to stop smoking began yesterday.

He told me, around 8pm last night that he hadn't smoked in 9 hrs. So, I asked him, "what? you ran out? lost them?" He said 'no' that he had told me Sunday that he was gonna try to stop this week. I know he didn't tell me that, I would have remembered such a conversation... esp. after all these years of wanting him to stop smoking... and having given up asking him, I would have been overjoyed to hear that.

So, he was crabby since he got home from work yesterday and this morning, he left the door open after he went to work!!! AGAIN! Enough for someone to walk into my house and God knows do whatever...

I mean, I just don't get it. If I had some habit that was taking money away from my family while we're in dire straits, I would have kicked them a long time ago. So, here have the gas money for Jeremy to go to and from work is like $50/wk. That, he needs to spend being that how we get money, so, its understandable.

THEN, one pack of cigarettes a day... let's say that's an average price of $3.75 (prolly low) which comes out to $26.25/wk. THEN beer... lord knows how much he drinks a day... hard to estimate that. Let's see... he gets the cheapest beer... I think its like $1.25/each. So, let's say he drinks 2 or 3 of them a day. I'll say 3 because sometimes he goes back to the store to get more. Wow, that comes out to $26.25/wk too! So, that's $52.50 in vices, at least, a week.... comes out to $210/mth. Hmm.... I think with that $200/mth, we could catch up on all those really past due bills... don't ya think? NOT TO MENTION THE FACT that I NEED new bras!!!! Desperately! And when you have to buy the size I need, they don't come cheap! Calista is gonna need new shirts, at the least, for school, that starts Aug. 11th. as well as other supplies.

Yeah, guess I'm ranting today... so much for my 'mostly harmless' title :D

Recent Dreams

One dream was about this alligator chasing me while I'm holding Ursula. I just could not run... its like I was running slower than I walk! I finally jumped into a white car with a open roof (in my dream, it was a VW Jetta) and thought we were safe... I was catching my breath when I saw that doggone alligator climbing up the side of the car! So, I waited until he got up higher and I opened the door and ran as fast as I could inside a house... seemed to have been my Nanna's house.

Another dream, we were at an airport and I thought I had seen my Nanna and Pawpaw standing together, like waiting in line to go on vacation or something. So, I left the group I was in and went up to them. My Nanna seemed way taller than she was when she was alive. She was 4'10 when she was alive and in my dream, I had to look up to her (I'm barely 5'2"). I got in front of them, to get a good look at them and immediately, my Nanna greeted me and I went hug her around the neck. I can't recall exact words. But, I think I told her how happy I was to see her. At some point I went up to my mom and told her to go see them and she said that they were the wrong ages... I told her to remember that they'd be the age that she knew them at.... or maybe at the age they wanted to be... like 30 yrs old.

What Does My Birth Date Mean?

Your Birthdate: April 27

Your birth on the 27th day of the month (9 energy) adds a tone of selflessness and humanitarianism to your life path. Certainly, you are one who can work very well with people, but at the same time you need a good bit of time to be by yourself to rest and meditate. There is a very humanistic and philanthropic approach in most of things that you do. This birthday helps you be broadminded, tolerant, generous and very cooperative. You are the type of person who uses persuasion rather than force to achieve your ends. You tend to be very sensitive to others' needs and feelings, and you able to give much in the way of friendship without expecting a lot in return.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

The Keys To My Heart

I have to say, this one is pretty good :D

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.

Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

How American Are You?

You Are 77% American

You're as American as red meat and shooting ranges. Tough and independent, you think big. You love everything about the US, wrong or right. And anyone who criticizes your home better not do it in front of you!

How American Are You?

Jeremy And Our Girls

Cute, huh? Took this last night.

Awwwww

How sweet! Ursula went crawl up on Jeremy's lap and fell asleep tonight!

New Look

Yeah, I decided to go with a new template for this blog... seems like its not gonna look quite right until those little quizzes are in the archive section instead of the main page...

Dreams:

Crazy-ass dreams... of course, they say that comes with the territory of being pregnant... but, I've always had vivid dreams.

One of my dreams, my leg was cut off below the knee... I believe it was my right leg. It was right on the side of me and I felt it and was wondering when they were gonna reattach it; I was at the hospital.

Jeremy's been having dreams too... he dreams that we have our 2 girls and a son... so... maybe we'll actually have a boy this time :D That would be so cool. Of course, I'll love another daughter just as much :D But, being that this is more than likely our last one...

General Griping:

I'm soooo sick of worrying about the bills! I just cannot wait until that settlement is finished! I don't care how much we get... as long as we can pay the bills that we accumulated due to Jeremy's car accident. We have the $2000 loan to pay off and the Visa bill that's about $2800 to pay off... plus we are far behind on the utility bills... We will have to buy Calista some new shirts for school... the shorts will prolly still fit... maybe get a couple of more jumpers though... as well as new socks and shoes.

I just want Jeremy to let ME handle the money. I would soooo keep us in the clear and have extra money... I bet.

I have the mind to call his lawyer and ask what's up with the case. Also call those people that are garnishing his check.

We have to go to the D.A.'s office at some point before July 20th to settle the crap about us not being married, him supporting me and the girls and Medicaid.

Another thing I worry about... keeping my appointments with no vehicle and no license.

Jessica's blog

Jessica's blog

Household Duties

Geez, my house is a frickin' wreck!

What Race Were You Meant To Be?

Yeah, I'm going Quiz crazy today...

You scored as White. You were Meant to be White Ok whitie run along. White 60% Black 40% Asian 35% Mexican 10% What Race Were You meant to Be? created with QuizFarm.com

What Celebrity Could Be Your Twin?

I like this comparison... lmao

You scored as Pamela Anderson. You would look most like Pamela Anderson (this means you have similar features... youre not identical) Pamela Anderson 69% Ashlee Simpson 56% Lindsay Lohan 31% Paris Hilton 19% Michael Jackson 19% What Celebrity Could Be Your Twin!? (Awesome!!) created with QuizFarm.com

What Body Part Are You Attracted To?

This is true... but, that pic looks like a woman, huh? I actually thought it would have face as the first thing... and I rather the butt over the one above it... lmao... guess I didn't answer the way I was supposed to... like one of the questions was have you grabbed at least 3 people's butts in the last month... umm... no, I haven't... only Jeremy's... lol

You scored as Abs/Stomach. You are attracted to: the abs/stomach. You are a abs/stomach guy/gurl. Abs/Stomach 75% Boobs 75% Face 67% Penis 58% Butt 17% What Body Part Are You Attracted To?(pics) created with QuizFarm.com

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Guess some think of Angels as mythological creatures...

You scored as Angel. Angel: Angels are the guardians of all things, from the smallest ant to the tallest tree. They give inspiration, love, hope, and positive emotion. They live among humans without being seen. They are the good in all things, and if you feel alone, don't fear. They are always watching. Often times they merely stand by, whispering into the ears of those who feel lost. They would love nothing more then to reveal themselves, but in today's society, this would bring havoc and many unneeded questions. Give thanks to all things beautiful, for you are an Angel. Angel 75% Faerie 67% Mermaid 58% Dragon 50% WereWolf 17% Demon 0% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com

Rough Night

Man, I barely got any sleep last night. My throat kills me at night! It doesn't really bother me during the daytime... its like once I'm laying down, it feels awful. Swallowing hurts terribly. So, I ended up getting up and gargling with salt water... which I accidently let some go down my throat which caused me to gag and try to throw up... nothing to throw up though. I gargled with hydrogen peroxide and sipped on a combo of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and water... then poured some honey down my throat. That all helped somewhat because I was actually able to fall asleep.

Then, of course, my dreams... geez... one of them had me waking up desperately trying to breathe... I was running from some aliens... (LOL) and went home to wake Jeremy and Ursula up (not sure where Calista was) but I had a feeling they had already taken them and left some fakes in the bed... I saw the window next to the bed was open (not my real life home either). That's when I started like panting. I finally woke up and was breathing so hard, my heart was beating hard as well.

So, between my actual throat killing me and my dreams... it was a rough night :(

One cool thing... I bought a nice threadmill from our neighbors yesterday :D

Jeremy cut his hair off Tuesday evening and Calista lost her first tooth that same evening :D woohoo! :D

Deadly immunity

When a study revealed that mercury in childhood vaccines may have caused autism in thousands of kids, the government rushed to conceal the data -- and to prevent parents from suing drug companies for their role in the epidemic.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Go ahead, I dare you to read the whole thing :D

Here's another good link to peruse as well. It compares Autism to mercury poisoning.

ABC is supposed to be airing the piece that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote up.

Nursing Article

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this article in Parents magazine!

It was forwarded to one of my email lists, apparently directly from the lady who wrote it.

Here is the whole forward:



Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 10:44 PM
Subject: [DCUM-List] "I Still Nurse My 5-Year-Old"


Hi everyone,

I waited to let you know that I have an essay in this month's Parents
Magazine. Called "I Still Nurse My 5-Year-Old," I am amazed that they
printed it. It was an interesting process because they came to me to ask
me to write it. It was quite a struggle, though, because they had very
different notions of what I would write and many, many times, I was sure
they were either going to kill the story or find another writer. Anyway,
after months and months of back and forth, we finished the piece and it is
in the June issue.

You can read it at:
http://platypusmedia.com/documents/stillnurse.htm>
http://platypusmedia.com/documents/stillnurse.htm

If you get inspired, write the editors and let them know what you think.
You can send letters from:
http://www.parents.com/submit_form/tell_us.jsp http://www.parents.com/submit_form/tell_us.jsp

Take care,

- Dia


____________________________________________
Dia L. Michels
Platypus Media -- Books for Families, Teachers and Parenting Professionals
627 A Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-1674
Toll-free: 1-877-PLATYPS (1-877-872-8977)
Fax: 202-546-2356
Dia@PlatypusMedia.com
www.PlatypusMedia.com







*NOTE: The content of this message is private and cannot be quoted without
explicit permission of the author.
_______________________________________________
dc-urban-moms-list mailing list (DCUM List)
dc-urban-moms-list@mailman.dcurbanmom.com
http://mailman.dcurbanmom.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dc-urban-moms-list

DCUM Website: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/
The Nanny and Babysitter Forum: http://dcurbanmom.com/nannies



And here's the article itself:


http://platypusmedia.com/documents/stillnurse.htm

Have you even wondered why anyone would breastfeed a child who’s old enough to walk, talk and even go to school? Meet a mom who’s happy to explain.

“I Still Nurse My 5-Year-Old”

By Dia Michels

Parents Magazine, June 2005, Pages 127-130

It’s a typical evening at home: My 11-year-old son is in the family room, glued the computer. My husband is puttering around in the kitchen, and I’m in the living room watching television with my 15-year-old daughter.

A few minutes later, my youngest child climbs up onto sofa and into my lap. “I want mumsies,” Mira says. In response, I lift my shirt and unfasten my bra. She latches onto my breast happily.

It’s a cozy scene, but it’s also quite extraordinary by most people’s standards. You see, Mira is 5 years old. I know that a lot of people think it’s totally nuts that I’m still nursing her. But in my mind, the really crazy moms are the ones who withhold their beneficial breastmilk from a little one who needs—and wants—to suckle.

* * *

I have been breastfeeding almost continually for the past 15 years. Like all nursing moms, I started immediately after each of my babies was born. But unlike the vast majority of breastfeeding moms—83 percent, to be exact—who quit before their baby’s first birthday, I kept offering my milk to my kids, and they kept taking it. It wasn’t that I started out with a plan to nurse our kids into their school years, it was just that we saw no reason to stop doing something that was so good for them and I so thoroughly enjoyed.

Nursing came very easily to me. From the start, I found that having my own clean, warm, ample food supply at all times was quite convenient. When my children were infants, I breastfed them on demand—a dozen times over a 24-hour period. But as they got older, they nursed less and less. As toddlers, I fed them three or four times a day. By the time they were 4 and 5, once at bedtime was usually sufficient—and so far Mira is following the same pattern.

I believe my breast milk has given my children vital nutrients and helped to boost their immune systems. More important, it has comforted them in a way that nothing else could. When Mira is sad, frightened, hurt, or unsettled in any way, nothing is more soothing to her than being cradled in my breast.

A lot of people assume that nursing an older child is difficult, but I’ve never found it even the slightest bit inconvenient. Because I have a well-established milk supply, my breasts always have milk, whether I nurse once a day or once a week. I don’t pump, my breasts don’t swell or leak, and there’s no discomfort whatsoever. In fact, nursing is quite beneficial for me too. Some studies show that the more you breastfeed, the lower your risk for certain types of cancer.

The only downside has been dealing with people’s attitudes. Even my closest friends make it clear that they disapprove. "How long are you going to let Mira nurse like that?" I’m asked repeatedly, always with a tinge of disgust.

Everyone has a reason why I should wean my daughter. I’ve been accused of nursing her for my own sexual gratification. I’ve heard that she’ll grow up to be too dependent or even mentally unstable. All I can say is that I am convinced I’m doing the best thing for my daughter—just as I’ve done for her brother and sister. Even my husband, who knew very little about nursing when he became a parent, is totally supportive, as he’s watched what nursing has done for—and what it means to—our children.

I guess you could call me a breastfeeding zealot. When my children were younger and nursing often, I didn’t think anything of feeding them in public. In a culture that has completely sexualized female breasts, a lot of people found it disturbing. When she was younger, I was asked not to nurse my daughter at her preschool, because a teacher said it "it could be upsetting to the children." I was chastised for breastfeeding at our pool club because "no food is allowed in the swimming area." Countless times, I was asked to use the bathroom at museums, grocery stores, and restaurants. I always refused, insisting that it was not appropriate for anyone and pointing out that no one ever complains about a baby sucking on a bottle in public.

As far as I’m concerned, breastfeeding has been the right thing to do for me and my family. My children are amazingly healthy and rarely get sick. They are thriving emotionally as well. All three of them are self-possessed, purposeful and serenely focused. There is almost no sibling rivalry among my kids. As a family, we’re extremely close and I think that is a direct result of breastfeeding.

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I don’t have a built-in schedule for weaning Mira. But, at 5½, she’s starting to wean herself—which is just as it should be. She still likes to breastfeed from time to time, usually at night when we’re cuddling on the sofa or in bed. But I know that pretty soon she will lose interest altogether, just as she has lost interest in a favorite doll or a blanket. When that day comes, I will celebrate that she has moved on to another stage of life and is ready to explore the world at a different level.

For me, breastfeeding has been a beautiful, peaceful and powerful experience—and I think it’s the most important thing any mother can do for her kids.

Dia Michels lives with her husband and three children in Washington, DC. The author of If My Mom Were A Platypus: Mammal Babies and Their Mother, she can be reached at Dia@PlatypusMedia.com