Tag Archives: School

Happy New Year

Peanut and Daddy at the Treehouse Museum's New Years countdown to noon.

Happy 2011 everyone! Personally, I am very excited for the future months to come of constantly crossing out the 2010 I accidentally write and writing the correct year off to the side. Maybe my resolution should be to only write with pencils. Who I am I kidding? I don’t believe in resolutions. Even tiny ones like writing with pencils. Resolution is just another word for something that’s likely way out of your comfort zone or the realm of possibility that you’re just going to get upset over having failed at come March. We all know how I hate setting people up to fail—our system does it every day with new moms that don’t get enough help breastfeeding!

I do have some goals for the new year though and since this is my blog and what not, you all get to deal with my listing them off. :-P

1. Be a happy mama. There have been a lot of times over these past few months that I’ve been just a plain old mean/sad/grumpy/etc. mama. I’ve been better with it since the semester ended, but even with going to school part-time instead of full, I’m afraid that mean mama will come back. So I’m making an effort to watch myself and make sure that I don’t become grumpy mama again. I think it will be easier with having two weekdays off of school completely too. Last semester we couldn’t do any of the activities we used to do such as story time, La Leche League, and Music Together during the morning or afternoon, so if we did do them it was during Peanut’s grouchy evening time. Recipe for pulling-her-hair-out mama much?

2. Pass all of my classes with flying colors. This last semester was the first time I failed a class. Alright, I didn’t technically fail because I did get a D, but it’s failing for me because I have to retake it and get at least a C. I’m just not that student and have never been, so it was a big deal to me. So I definitely don’t want it to happen again. I think the part-time-ness will help here too.

3. Get ready for another little Lactating Girl (or Boy!). First off, no, I’m not telling you when. All I’m going to say is that the current plan is that we get pregnant in this next year. Last time around (since Peanut was a surprise pregnancy), I didn’t get to do all of the pre-pregnancy stuff. This time, I’m going to try my darnest to be ready for pregnancy before I’m there. One major thing incorporated in this is… dun dun dun… going to the gym. I’m not a high enough BMI that I’m more likely to have issues with getting pregnant, but I am in the overweight category. So prior to conceiving I would like to get down into the normal range of BMI. Mostly though, I just want to develop the habit so I can keep going during pregnancy and beyond. I’ve had 4 different people over the last month ask when I was due and it’s because I hold all my weight in my tummy (and I gained some weight over that stressful semester). I think that if I don’t have as much as a tummy before getting pregnant, it’ll be easier to shed the pregnancy pounds afterward.

4. Keep up with housework. I’ve been surprisingly good in this area lately and I just want to keep up with it. When I start a load of laundry, I follow it to finish. No more clothes being re-washed the next day because they’re stinky in the washer. No more wrinkly clothes from them sitting in the hamper waiting to be folded. No more husband searching through the hamper of folded clothes for something and me having to re-fold half of it. This new ability I’m developing needs to extend to dishes and vacuuming over the next year. I’ve always been good with picking things up (so long as I’m not over-stressed), but laundry, dishes, and vacuuming have always been my enemy. I’m convinced it’s because no matter how much you do of any of them, there’s always more to do.

So I think those are all of my major goals for the year. I suppose I should throw in something about being a better wife, but I think I’m pretty excellent in that department. Well, maybe just sufficient. :-P

Do any of you have goals for the new year? Have a wonderful 2011!

Hello Again

Gasp! I am alive!

I know, I’ve been neglecting the blog for a while here. Heck, I’ve been neglecting the outside world for a bit. This last semester at school has been the most stressful period of my life… well… ever. Yes, there are other times where there were large events, but this has by far been the busiest I’ve ever been. I felt like I was constantly failing at at least one facet of my life and that’s just not right. We (which has mostly been me, but my husband has offered opinions also with “but it’s your decision” tacked on the end) have decided that I’m going to start doing school part-time again.

It’s just simply not worth my sanity to finish school faster. This means that our whole plan of waiting until I graduate to give Peanut a little brother or sister is now off the table. Having her be 4.5+ years old before we had another child was really pushing it for us anyway, so I’m definitely not going to wait even longer. As for when we’re going to have the next one, we’ve decided on a tentative time period, but you all will just have to wait and see. :-P

We also put down our dog Kerrigan. We went in and talked to the vet and she said that with her cleft palate (which is a genetic disorder) that she likely had more genetic disorders and likely one in her brain that caused her to be aggressive. She said that we had done everything that we could have and she recommended euthanasia. It was an awful decision, but it was the right one. I knew it was the right decision before we did it, but the fact was cemented in my mind when even after she was gone, I still felt like she might suddenly bite me. I felt guilty at how much relief I felt leaving that vet office.

We had decided before we put her down that we wouldn’t get another dog for a long time. Within a few days though, I was out of my mind missing having a dog in my house. I’m a big animal lover and it took years for me to get my husband to agree to get a dog even though he loves them too. Yes, there were many, many bad things about our dog, but there’s just something about having someone curled up at your feet while you read a book and I couldn’t stand not having. After (lots of) arguing, we finally decided to get another. I researched breeds that are best with kids and found a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was for sale. She was only 11 weeks old and the girl selling her had bought her from a breeder, but then afterwards decided that she couldn’t keep her. I did all of the tests that I didn’t know to do when we got Kerri and she passed them all with flying colors.

Meet Curie

You’d think that getting a puppy would add to my stress, but it’s actually been great. Even with all of the potty training, extra responsibility, and training, she’s been a doll. Yeah, she sometimes gets too rambunctious, but it’s great having her around. Other than classes, she’s gone with us everywhere. We even sneaked her into see Tangled! It’s so amazing to have a dog who loves everyone. I carried her around the Festival of Trees and probably about 100 people pet her (people love that dog!) and she was ecstatic each and every time. Peanut loves her too and she’s great with Peanut.

Peanut is now sleeping through the night and in her own bed. I didn’t really do anything to make it that way. We bought Peanut the mattress and started putting her in it for naps and before we go to bed. When I would go to bed and she would still be sleeping, I would just let her continue to sleep in there. By this point, she’s going to bed at 8:30, and most nights not waking up until 5:30 am to nurse. I generally go in her room and fall asleep on her bed with her while she’s nursing. Then we wake up at 6:30 (which I swear will kill me one of these days). Peanut is also a talking machine. I know I missed the last newsletter, but I’ll make up for it with the next one. It’s amazing how quickly things change.

Newsletter — 18 Months

Hey Little Miss

Sorry I missed your newsletter last month. Our Canadian friend was visiting. I was surprised how much you liked him—well, maybe just how much you didn’t hate him. Not that he’s particularly hate-able, just that you’re still really in the “stranger danger” phase. Luckily, most people understand now. They call you shy, but I would say you’re far from.

If only I could have video taped you in music class last week. We decided not to do Music Together this summer with moving into the house and everything. I was sad because how much you loved it when we did it in the spring. Oh boy, you must have missed it. You were so excited during the whole class! You were screaming and running around. You were copying me so well when we were stomping and dancing. It was so evident how much you’ve grown developmentally in the past few months.

You’ve grown mentally a lot too. You say so many words now! You say “I love you” (la-ooo), “up”, “down”, “mommy” (yeah, you started saying it again), “daddy”, “dog”, “kitty” (always “kitty”, never “cat” like you used to say), “raspberry”, “Idella”, “milk”, and “yeah”. And that’s just what I can think off of the top of my head! Speaking of “yeah”, that’s definitely the word you say the most. Mema finds this really amusing because apparently most kids’ favorite word at your age is “no”, but you don’t even say “no”. You shake your head—with attitude even!—but you don’t say the word. Really, you still say “yeah” more often than shaking your head “no” anyway.

You’re still in love with Yo Gabba Gabba. You probably watch it more than you should. You get so excited when it comes on. You dance when they say dance, you make the funny faces they’re making, you can almost point to the right character when we ask you to (“Where’s Brobee?”) on your coloring book. We got you a Yo Gabba Gabba toothbrush, plush Plex, and of course your coloring book.

Speaking of coloring, you love coloring. You just scribble away like crazy. You have no concept of staying in the lines or coloring certain places certain colors, but you flip through that book coloring each page forever. It’s really nice to have something to entertain you while we’re doing things like getting Mama’s oil changed. :-P

Things have been interesting around here with Mama going to school full-time. You’ve been going to Mema/Pop Pop’s and Oma/Opa’s five days a week, four hours a day. Since Mema’s work schedule changes, you go to her when she’s off work and you go to Oma and Opa when she’s working. You love going to hang out with them, but you’re not so hot on all the time away from Mama. For the first couple weeks it seemed like you were mad at me, now you just seem to really appreciate me when I’m around. Sometimes so much that I can’t get anything done!

This has also thrown a wrench into the works with your nap/sleep schedule. Before I started school, you were routinely down at 11:30 for 2-3 hours and then 8:30 for bed. Now you’re sleeping from somewhere between 2pm and 3pm for just under two hours and bedtime is a huge fight. Mama and Daddy often read to you, nurse you (Mama, not Daddy), walk around the block with you in the Boba, and you’re still awake. Sometimes one of your grandparents is able to get you to nap, but other times you’re wide awake and cranky when I pick you up. It feels like there is zero routine in your schedule and I know it’s my fault. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to school in the morning and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I go in the afternoon and I think that if it were the same time every day that your nap would be more regular. I don’t really know what to do about it besides tough it out until the semester is over and maybe do a different type of schedule next semester.

Lastly, you’ve started to smile for the camera. That alone is super cute, but what makes it even more cute is your smile for the camera is super, super cheesy. I love it!

Maybe you get the cheesy smile from your Mama.

Love ya Peanut!

I Swear We’re Alive Over Here!

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And…here we go!

1. Laughter makes my day worth while.

2. “I will explain” are the three words that started off the last email I sent.

3. What I’m most looking forward to today is Squeed and her mama coming over for a sleep over.

4. Seeing Peanut after a long day in school puts a smile on my face.

5. Where in the world did all of my time go?!

6. The weekend just what I needed!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to being done with tests for a milisecond, tomorrow my plans include playing with my daughter until I feel like passing out and Sunday, I want to get started on some more homework so I don’t die next week!

Newsletter — 13 and 14 Months

Hello Little Miss,

I realize that I totally skipped out on your newsletter last month and I apologize, but to be honest I just forgot. I was in the middle of my last semester for my Associates degrees and we were trying to find a house and really, Mama is just a forgetful person. I can picture you a few years from now lecturing me on how I need to write something down or else I’ll just forget it. You’re going to be a sassy little lady, I’m just sure of it.

Wait, what am I saying? You’re already a sassy little lady, aren’t you? You have everyone under your pinky with that cute smile and blowing your kisses. You shake your head “no” even when the answer is “yes” just because you can. Even other parents talk about your cuteness and even when you’re not around. Seriously, y0u’ve got the whole world under your spell and you are oh so aware of it.

When I think back to two months ago, I am honestly amazed at how much you’ve changed. You sign “more”, “milk”, “dog”, “book”, “yay”, and you even signed “blue” when we showed you the sign the other day. Do you know what “blue” means? Probably not, but you sure did sign it! You call dogs “daw” and say “ah!” when you’re in agreement. You probably have about five times more signs than words, but that’s perfectly okay with me.

You love spinning in circles and recently figured out how to spin all by yourself. When I start spinning you look at me with a look that says “Oh my god! I forgot I can do that!” and then you spin with determination until you inevitably fall down laughing.

You even kicked a ball today! On purpose! And you throw the ball for the dog. Really only about a foot away, but you certainly expect her to fetch it for you. I have a genius for a child. I am simply sure of it.

You “read” books on your own. The other day you accidentally had a book upside down and you realized it and flipped it right side up. You also point to the bunnies in the books when I ask you to and you’ll go get more books if I ask (or for that matter don’t ask) you to.

You’ve discovered the joy of temper tantrums. You color and mostly don’t try to eat the crayons anymore. You help me dress you. You think that brushing your teeth is fun. You love yogurt and grapes. Really, you’re just a little person now, aren’t you?

Aww… Miss Peanut is growing up so fast.

Love,

Mama

Healthy Living Not-Saturday

I realize I have disappeared from the blogosphere for the past five days… the dog ate my homework? No really, everyone was sick. I mean Everyone. Was. Sick. We took Peanut to urgent care on Wednesday night because she had obvious stomach pain and vomited so the nurse told us to bring her in. Pediatrician said it was just a stomach virus going around. Oh, was it going around. Friday day my husband started vomiting (the first time in 15 years) and by Saturday I was sick too. We spend Saturday and Sunday being taken care of by my wonderful mother. I was luckily feeling better Sunday, but spent all day trying to re-establish my milk supply that had dissipated from the dehydration. Now that things are (kind of) back to normal, I figured I’d post my Healthy Living Saturdays update… two days late.

Without further ado: Healthy Living Not-Saturdays!

My school (final) semester started this week and oh boy is weight loss more difficult when busy! When trying to organize everything before leaving to class it’s hard to make eating healthy and exercising a priority. I need to make it a priority. So I’m taking this week and using it as the example of what not to do. Even when I’m only gone for three hours, there’s a lot of temptation when out and about by myself. So here’s my new plan.

Take healthy snacks every day—no matter how long I’m going to be gone. Considering that I’m already preparing snacks for my husband to give Peanut before I go, this one should be easy. Cutting cheese sticks? Pack a few for myself. Cutting apple slices? Cut an apple for myself! I also should always bring my water bottle with me. Water fountains don’t agree with my sensitive teeth and I almost gave in and bought a water bottle from the machine—bad for my wallet and the environment!

Exercise. Is. A. Priority. You see the four periods in that sentence? That means I’m serious! Really, I need to think of exercise as something that must be done rather than a little bonus. Something that will help this is the fact that I’ve been “assigned” by the dog trainer to take Kerri for a 20 minute walk every day. To be honest, we didn’t go over Saturday or Sunday because we were all so sick, but we went today and it felt fantastic! I also need to do some sort of heart pumping thing at least 3 times a week.

Starting weight: 163 lbs

Current weight: 158 lbs (to be honest, most of this was probably the illness)

Does anyone have good tips for keeping motivated while busy? I’m sure it’s just going to get more difficult as the semester goes on.

Breastfeeding is a Civil Right

This is an assignment I just turned in for my political science class on civil rights. I decided to argue that breastfeeding is a civil right because it is obviously something very important to me.

Though breastfeeding is not something that is considered to be a civil right, I believe it one day will be. Every few weeks, I read another story in the news of a women being discriminated for breastfeeding her child. Many people believe that to breastfeed is a choice, but it is truly just a natural extension of the process of giving birth.

Breastfeeding is the biologically normal way to feed an infant for the first months of its life. With that said, it is not the societal norm in the United States. In 2006, 73.9% of babies were breastfed at birth. By six months—which is the recommendation for minimum amount of time exclusively breastfeeding by both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization—the amount of babies still breastfeeding drops to 43.4%. The number of babies exclusively breastfeeding at six months is only 33.1%.

The history of breastfeeding obviously began when the first baby was born. Before the days of infant formula, if the mother died during birth or was unable to nurse her baby, the baby would be left to die or wet nursed by another lactating woman. Women were often hired as wet nurses for other women who couldn’t nurse or did not want to and could afford to pay the wet nurse. In the mid 19th century the first infant formula was produced intended to be used for babies in orphanages that would have died otherwise.

Since the introduction of commercial infant formula, the trend has shifted upwards and downwards in regards to how many women breastfeeding. There were times that formula was believed to be better than breast milk, but in the end studies have shown that breast milk is infinitely better for babies than formula—often in ways we can’t even explain.

Yet even with this obvious evidence that breast is best, women are often harassed and discriminated against for nursing their child in public. If you just google “breastfeeding in public”, you’ll find very strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Some people think that breastfeeding in public is disgusting and the mother and baby should be made to cover up, go to another room, or even bring bottles of expressed breast milk with them when they go out. Others say that it’s natural and should be done anywhere and in any matter. The law—in most states—agrees with the latter.

Even with the law on the nursing mom’s side, they are still frequently discriminated against. Just last week a mother who was nursing her baby in Target had the cops called on her in a state that nursing in public is not a crime. Mothers are often told they have to cover up at restaurants or on planes even when there are rules and laws saying they don’t.

As a nursing mom, this civil right is particularly important to me because I am faced with it daily. I personally believe that I shouldn’t need to cover up or leave where I am because I am feeding my child. Breasts are not sexual when you are feeding a child, therefore there is no reason they need to be covered. I realize that others do not feel the same, so I try to be discreet—for their sake, not mine. It is not fair that I am discriminated against for breastfeeding my child. Breastfeeding is not a choice; to not breastfeed is a choice.

Just a Stay at Home Mom

We’ve all heard the story of the woman who is wasting her education being just a stay at home mom. I can’t tell you how offended I feel when people say I’m just a stay at home mom. I don’t understand the purpose of that word. Why do people feel the need to downgrade what I do? Yet even when I feel this way, I find myself slipping at calling someone just a stay at home mom. Being a stay at home mom is so much more difficult than people realize, but I already make noise about that particular subject too often. I want to examine where this word just comes from.

When people think of the word feminism, they likely think of women who want to be treated like men. There are many stereotypes of the woman with short hair who wants to work in manual labor or be in the army. What you don’t probably realize is that feminism is actually about choice. Once upon a time, women couldn’t get an education. Women couldn’t work outside the home. The only option for women was to stay home and take care of the children and the home. Feminism came about because some women wanted to do more. Emphasis on some.

Don’t get me wrong, I do want to work outside of my home one day. I also want to be the one to raise my children. I never want to look back and regret that I was working instead of watching and helping my children grow. Being a mother and wife is my first career. The majority of people change their occupation multiple times throughout their lives. This is just my first occupation–and the most important of them all.

Back to feminism. While there were women out fighting for the right to chose what they do with their lives, there were women in the background that were happy with staying at home. Not to say that they didn’t want a choice–it’s just that if they were given the choice, they would still chose to stay home. The purpose of feminism is having the choice.

In our society, young girls are brought up being told that they can be anything. You could be a doctor! You could be a lawyer! You could be The President! So what do you want to be? How often do you hear a little girl say “I want to be a mommy!”? Almost all little girls do, but they don’t see it as a career choice. They just assume that they’ll be a mommy and have a career. No one thinks of being a mother as a career. What other hobby do you do that takes your whole heart, requires your full attention 24 hours a day, and make you want to pull your hair out? If anything, it sounds like a job to me.

So please, try to make an effort to stop saying just a stay at home mom. Being a stay at home mom is so much more than sitting on the couch watching TV. As for those women who are “wasting their education” being a stay at home mom, did you ever stop to think that part of parenting is being educated so that you can educate your children? Also, having a degree means you’re more likely to make educated decisions about regarding your children–which I believe is a very important part of parenting. There is nothing just about being any kind of parent–especially a stay at home mom (or dad for that matter).

One Year

IMG_8215 I wake up just before 7 am to a baby pinching my face. No husband to be seen because he fell asleep on the couch watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. We eat lunch with my in-laws and then hang out and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. I never thought this would be how my first wedding anniversary would be, but it’s oddly fantastic.

I decided this is the perfect opportunity to thank my husband. I know I complain at times, but he is truly awesome. I love you Curtis.

Thank you for bringing me stuff. This one will probably sound ridiculous to outsiders, but Curtis brings me everything ever ever ever and he doesn’t complain. While I was pregnant and didn’t want to get up you’d go to the kitchen and bring me a cookie. While I’m breastfeeding you bring me water. When I’m draped with a sleeping baby you bring me my book. While I’m trying to get Peanut to sleep in the room you bring me my phone. You literally run back and forth bringing me things constantly and I love you for it.

Thank you for sticking around. I know that we didn’t plan on getting pregnant so soon, but you were there for me and our baby 100%. You went to almost every prenatal appointment with me, Bradley Method classes every week for 3 months, and even caught Peanut on her way out. Thank you for rearranging your life for us.

Thank you for deal with me. I know that sounds over-dramatic, but I’m quite often over-dramatic. You deal with me and my craziness and you’re not afraid to tell me when I’m being crazy. You ground me.

Thank you for being the breadwinner. I know that you didn’t entirely agree with me being a stay at home mom at first, but I think you’re beginning to see the benefits and you realize how happy it makes me. Also, thank you for not complaining when I didn’t work for the second half of my pregnancy. A lot of other men would have been upset with me and wanted me to suck it up and get another job.

Thank you for being my advocate. Sometimes when I get timid and can’t defend myself, sometimes when our family questions our parenting choices, sometimes when friends get frustrated with me for leaving raids to go deal with the baby.

Thank you for watching Peanut while I went to school last semester. And thank you for not getting mad at me when I came home early because I missed her.

Thank you for cuddling with me when I really need a cuddle.

Thank you for not minding when I pause the show we’re watching for 20 minutes to get Peanut back to sleep.

Thank you for watching Desperate Housewives with me and even discussing it with me.

Thank you for watching Peanut sometimes so I can just take a nap.

Thank you for going with me to the grocery store when you don’t really want to.

Thank you for laughing even when my jokes aren’t very funny.

Thank you for realizing when I tell you to go away that I really don’t want you to.

Thank you for making me feel sexy.

Thank you for letting me dress you up every Halloween in a costume that matches mine.

Thank you for not yelling at me when I spend too much money.

Thank you for marrying me on such short notice and not caring what people think about it.

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving our daughter. I love you so much that the thought of it makes me tear up. I never want to lose you. You are a fantastic husband and father. I love you Couris. Not only that, I like you.

School and Nursing in Public

This semester, I am taking 3 online classes. One of which is U.S. National Government and Politics.

On the discussion board, we were told to introduce ourselves. Since this is a politics class, we were also told to “Tell us about you as a political person… What would you do if you could pass one federal law or constitutional amendment?”

Obviously, I chose breastfeeding. My original post said

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Mostly there was support and some ooo’s and aww’s at the fact that breastfeeding is my choice for a law to be passed. I was surprised at the lack of controversy… until

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I will admit, I got a little red in the cheeks at this one. It’s very difficult to contain my anger when someone is so blatantly against something that I am so very for. I quite often go on defensive mode, which is something I am trying to prevent. When you start screaming at someone they’re not going to take your argument seriously.

So I read this post to my husband (a very calm and logical man) along with the post that I wrote and he didn’t tell me I’m a crazy woman who’s going to offend the world. This either means that he approves or that he wasn’t paying attention. Either way, my post is posted for the world to see!

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I feel that this is one of the most well thought out arguments I’ve given for nursing in public. I quite often–especially in person–get flustered and lose my words. I feel very proud of myself that I didn’t lose my cool and I gave my points without sounding defensive. And her response confirms… kind of?

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I hope that I at least gave her some good reasoning for mothers not covering up when feeding their children. It is my sincere wish that the next time she is out in public and sees a mother trying to feed her child that she will understand and possibly say something that causes the people around her to understand. Maybe, in a perfect world, her children will grow up knowing that breastfeeding isn’t dirty and that mothers don’t need to hide. Of course, this is not a perfect world so Lactating Girl will fight on!