What's Up Wednesday

Sometimes I think I don't talk enough about my kids on my blog... after all, they're pretty much my life....

So, since it's P's "month-day" yesterday, let's talk about her (I also have pictures to go with -- maybe that's why I want to talk more about my kids on my blog... so I'll take a picture or two of them).

I'm telling you, the girl's a dream. However, taking pictures of a 5 month old just isn't quite as MUCH of a dream. Hard to do anything more than wedging her in for some upright shots, some belly shots and that's about when the party's over. I tried to do some in the places where she spends her days. I think my favorites of those are the blurred swing one, and the one looking down at her in the exersaucer. So, let's give 5 adjectives to describe P at 5 months:

1. Sleepy -- she's been sleeping a TON lately. I've been worried she has an ear infection, because she'll wake-up in the middle with a little cry and then it's back to sleep.

2. Smiley -- LOVE this stage. She finds everyone amusing, and interesting. Let's face it folks -- I AM interesting. :)

3. Drooly. You'll notice a few wet chin photos in the collage... not my absolute favorite part of this stage. But, you take the good, you take the bad....

4. Thoughtful -- I'm not so sure she's thoughtful, although she does often look like she's contemplating the meaning of life. I just think a lot about her. About my life and what'd be like without her. I had lunch today with a friend who's youngest is S's age. Kids all at school. That will be a sad day for myself, so happy to have my little P.

5. Immobile. It's pretty much the best. She does roll from back to tummy, but hasn't mastered the other way (I've seen her do it once, but not since).

I'm a lucky girl to have my P. I think I've left the other 2 in the dust lately for the blog. I'll be sure to do them in the coming weeks.

5 Months

And the rejects from the above photo: They're still pretty darn adorable.

Newsworthy

I'm really liking having MSNBC on my google reader, I just get snippets of the info I want -- some that struck me today:
Kate Plus Eight : Jon's leaving the show. It's mostly the last paragraph that called her a super mom. There's nothing super about her. She has a nanny and she sacrificed her children's happiness to be rich and mean. Super moms don't have time for reality TV. It's true.
Mom Can't Watch Kids: Speaking of super moms... what's up with THIS? I saw it on the today show. It's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard of. They also said that she can't have kids over for playdates if their parents aren't at home? Whhhaaaat?
Madonna to Marry Jesus: Frankly, it was just the headline. The rest of the story isn't worth a read.
Anyway... most of the news is so depressing. It's always nice to find a nugget or two I actually find interesting.

TMI Tuesday: Fly Away Flu

I've wanted to give some health advice on this blog. I think that a large part of our nation's health care issues center on the fact that doctors want to be all-knowing, and they don't properly educate people -- so they end-up clogging up ER's and doctors offices with things that really don't need to be seen. Especially in children. It's driving me nuts that hospitals are having to set-up extra ER stations so that they can see all the people with swine flu.
IT IS THE FLU people. Oink yourself back to bed.

Today, I'd like to focus on flu symptoms and when it's time to take issue, and when it's time to take a nap:

1. Kids get high fevers. That's how their body fights infection. When I worked for pediatricians (I did phone triage for pediatricians in nursing school when I had my LPN) they wouldn't worry til' it got over 107. Frankly, anything over 105 even scares me. However, up until that point, even though their bodies seem to be on fire, they're fine. That's the war being waged on the germs.

• Give them Tylenol or Advil, if appropriate (hopefully your doctor has reviewed with you any anti-fever medications you can give your child, along with the proper dose, at your well-checks).
• You can also give them a lukewarm bath, pouring the water over them (don't make the bath too cold -- just a little cooler than you'd normally make it) if they seem uncomfortable with the heat. Do bundle them into jammies after it though, you don't want to drop their temperature.
• You do want to make sure the fever does respond to the medicine. Take the temperature, give the medicine and then take the temperature 30-60 minutes later. If it hasn't gone down you might want to call your doctor.
• Adult's fevers, FYI shouldn't be near as high. If you take your temp and it's over 103 or so, I'd call your doctor.

2. Lethargy is normal with illness, up to a point. They should be taking extra naps, they can be less willing to reek havoc on your home (my favorite part of illness). That's all fine. It's when they're unwilling to take a drink, or get up to use the restroom -- things like that. That's actual lethargy that needs to be monitored. This is something to watch with all illnesses. When kids can't get-up to play at all... it's time to worry.

3. The flu involves aches, temperature, coughing, headaches and diarrhea. Simple runny noses aren't a classic sign (although, it's possible for them to have a cold on top of the flu). They are saying that 96% of cases with flu symptoms are most likely the swine flu -- but it's still just the flu. Deaths in these cases are extremely rare.

4. The key is hydration. Find a drink your child will drink, and give it to them -- offer it often. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. It really helps fight the nasties....

5. By taking your child to the emergency room you incur a lot of costs:

• Monetary -- the ER is just for emergencies. If you just suspect they have the flu, it's not the place for you -- extreme lethargy, high-high fevers, it's something you might consider, but only if your regular doctor won't see you. It will cost your insurance a lot, and you, as well. Unless you have medical -- and then it's costing me. :)
• Health-wise -- your child is exposed to others with flu-like-symptoms and they are exposed to them. One of the most important things about being sick is staying at home.
• You -- you are now exposed to all those people -- and what will happen when mom's sick? I think we all know -- pure hell. :)

Anyway, those are just some thoughts running through my head this AM. I'd like to know what else you want to know about. I really am a fountain of health information for the littles, pregnancy and even a few other things. Some other thoughts I had were: broken bones, female exams and when they're necessary, trimesters in pregnancy...

Hilary is an RN, BSN who has worked in various medical fields for the past 12 years, however, none of the information on this blog, should be substituted for the care of a physician. The information provided on this blog is informational only and shouldn't be taken as medical advice. You have instinct, use it -- and use it wisely. If you have questions, please ask your doctor. If you think you have a medical or psychiatric emergency, please call 911. Also, please don't delay contacting a physician due to something you have read on here. Pulling Curls doesn't take responsibility for your health. That's your job. We're just a nice read.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm really trying to re-focus my life. Get onto what's important, and also what's important on the blog -- what's helpful to people.
I enjoy it when other people share recipes, and I really want to get back to trying something new every week. I feel quite accomplished when something new works-out.
Anyway, here's my menu plan this week:

• Pasta: Chuck's Mac and Cheese
• Chicken: Oven fried, with basic side (aka, thank you Lipton or Mr. Roni)
• Sandwich: Chicken sandwich (found these at Costco -- I really like them, and they freeze well)
• Casserole: Mexican Lasagna (I've never tried that recipe, but that's the basic idea -- ground beef, and refried beans, with salsa and cheese)
• Crock Pot (hello fall, I think it's comin to town tomorrow): Tomato Chicken (basically -- I dump-in some chicken, some diced tomatoes, some tomato sauce, throw in some italian seasoning and turn the darn thing on -- serve with some garlic bread, and it's yummy!)
• Easy-shmezy: Potato Bar
• Mexican: Fajitas (our pepper plant has gone insane lately)
• New: Turkey Club Pie (doesn't that look delish?)

So, if you have a blog, and there are recipes you love, link me to them! Did I mention I start maternity leave in 2 weeks? It's a long story... but either way, it's time to get domestic. :)

Ads... take 'em or leave them?

I've decided to put a few more adsense codes onto the blog. Mostly because people keep asking me how much money I make from this fine blog. The answer is Nada (after about 3 years of adsense on my blog I am up to 30 bucks... and you can't even cash in, I think, until you reach 50 bucks)... but I know that there's a lot of people out there who really DO want to make money from their blog, and I'd like to help them if that's possible...

Frankly, I think you can only make money if you find a niche, and you write every day and you're amazing. I can't be any of those things right now, but I kind of want to verify that by putting up all that google things I should.

Anyway, if you hate them -- now 's the time to let me know. I might be able to modify it to make you happier. I do know that the google search bar to the right (I recently added one where you could search the blog, which is actually fairly helpful when you're looking up a certain topic -- I'm not talking about that one -- I'm talking about the one where you can search the web) might be helpful. It will mostly come-up with google searches that I've defined. My key words were things like nurse, moms, children, labor, photography. Really cool stuff like that. :)

Anyway -- just thought I'd give my readers a say. :)

What'd You Learn

I used to go to meetings and write down what was said. Just recently, I've made the change to what I've thought of felt/thought/wanted during the meeting (unless it's food, I try to keep that to myself). I've also been trying to do it as I read my scriptures. I keep a little notebook tucked in my scriptures about things I learned that day, or that I thought of. Very often it has nothing to do with what we read, but what I needed.

Tonight was the Relief Society broadcast, and I really wanted to come out of it with some thoughts on my life. It seemed that my thoughts focused on how lucky I am. Here's some of the random thoughts that went through my mind:

1. I'm so glad my BFF Kendra was the RS president in my college ward. My mom had never told me to go to a RS broadcast or even a Young Women one -- so, when I went to college I just didn't think much about going. Kendra held a little dinner, and then we all went up to the broadcast together. I think this was possibly my first time ever going. At that meeting they read the Proclamation on the Family, which has set a course for me personally, I'm so glad I was there. And, due to that special feelings that I had at that broadcast, I don't think I've missed many since. Actually, I count her as one of the strongest blessings in my life, period. She was most definitely in my life at a time I needed her. {smooches to Kendra}
2. I'm glad my friend Lara wrote a blog about singing loudly. I was thinking of that tonight, and thought about what a metaphor it is for life. Not to be timid about my beliefs, to be willing to share it with gusto. Also, how that's easier when I'm around people who are also willing to share it with gusto.
3. My profession has a rich heritage in Relief Society, and I can make a difference. I also thought that I really need to share with new moms to rely on their good friends. Lately I've just wanted to start talking a bit more about PP depression with my patients... just giving them signs to watch for. See, totally random....
4. Charity is doing what you can, expecting nothing in return but hoping for the best (I know it's not the real definition, but I was defining how I can be charitable in my own life).
5. Relief Society and Priesthood show mutual respect, like a good marriage. We can learn a lot about how relief society and priesthood interact by watching how those two organizations interact.

So, while we go to church meetings to listen to the speakers, it's definitely not always what's said that makes a difference for us, but the fact that we're there, and making the effort -- and then God gives us what we need.

He also gave me amazing friends to go to Chili's with afterwards. Three words: deep, fried, yum.

For the Love of Clothes

I've done it, I've sunk into girls bliss. I can't get ENOUGH of the clothes. They're a killer. I try to restrict myself to 10 bucks/month but the girl is OUTFITTED, and I love it. I really do.
I love walking through the isles, to find a goodie.
I love searching the thrift stores to find anything special.
I love organzing it and realizing how cute she'll look.
What I don't like is how dang HOT it's been lately. Makes it impossible to wear her cute new fall clothes. She'll be adorable. She really will. I just need it cool down. I'm kind of tired of her summer digs.
Oh, and huge props to my friends who've given me hand-me-downs. I LOVE them. I'm so grateful for them. I think good things about you each time I fold them, and gently carress them.
Who knew I'd become so girly. Don't answer that.

Music, It Does a Body Good

I've been feeling the need for a new itunes mix... so as a reward for PASSING my ACLS class (I didn't even cheat like my compadres...) I thought I'd make a new CD. It's pretty strangiola... Single Lades, Poker Face (which I change just a bit to get the giggles out of P... she is a single lady, after all), to some Vocal Point (totally takes me back to the days of jean shirts and khakis at the ol' BYU) and some of the cool They Might Be Giants science songs... I thought Conner might like them. Anyway, I thought I'd blast my tunes while the kids were in bed, it was cool and I could clean the garage. Man, it just makes time fly by... don't mind organizing near as much when I have my tunes. Perhaps I need to pull my MP3 Player out of hiding... although, with the baby to listen for it's not like I can have my earphones on all the time... hmm....

Also, the kids had a great time dancing at the wedding last weekend... so I got this song that might interest their dancing spirits...

By the way... I really admire the Duggar Family... I think they're faithful people who believe in God. The one thing that bugs me about them is that they don't allow dancing, in any form. I don't really get it. I mean, I think there's a lot of bad ways to move your body, but there are so many fun ways... interesting....

Anyway, while sitting there -- each song just brought new emotions. Thinking of all the things I'm so lucky to have (I have a friend who's going through an awful time in her life, involving a divorce so it's really making me think how lucky I am to have a happy marriage). Amazing how when a song changes minor I have a mood shift, and I'm so happy when it resolves. I'm not a minor girl, it's true. (size wise, or melodically).

The cans are organized, and life goes on. BTW, how did I get to be a football widow with a husband who doesn't even love sports (unless it involves our beloved Cougs.)? It's really quite unfair.

Can't read my, can't read my P-face.... my, my, my, P-face... my, my, P-face....

Study on Studying

I realize that my placenta has shrunk my brain.
But honestly, I can't even imagine how I WENT to nursing school.
This week I've had to study for our ACLS course. It's a requirement for my employment and since we NEVER use it (thank goodness -- knocking on wood right now) we have to be trained in it. Mostly labor and delivery is the emergency room of the pregnant. We get all sorts of things on our floor, not to mention it's a life-threatening thing.
Anyway, I just read the text and watch the DVD's with a frosted gaze. I retain nothing (besides water). I can't even imagine I understand what they're saying.
So many big words.
I'm a small words gal. Like poop.
Wish me luck -- with my supra-ventricular-tachycardia algorithm. You can only imagine how hard that was to type. :)

Eating Consciously

I felt like the summer was crazy, and then we started school and the kids were crazy when they were home and now I am slowly starting to feel like I'm settling into a routine. And now is the time. Now, is the time to get skinny.... Well, more to get healthy, but I wouldn't mind one bit in the process of getting healthy that I got skinny. I am vowing to get to a regular BMI -- where I am no longer considered overweight. Right now I'm probably in the good ol' obese section.
{sigh}.

Eating consciously worked really well for me last time. I know I've said I'm gettin' on that wagon before but I seem to have stuff in my life that's preventing me from doing it. Now is the time. It's also especially nice because during the day I'm not feeding anyone else, so my meals can be based off when I'm hungry, and I can just make a little.

Again, I'm just gonna write them for myself. Eating consciously boils down to this for me:
1. Eat when I'm hungry
2. Eat what I want (really, whatever I want)
3. ENJOY what I'm eating. So often I inhale REALLY yummy food, and then I'm like, "huh"... no good. I am really focusing on closing my eyes and REALLY enjoying the food. I find that if I do that I'm not as apt to want another serving. I also serve myself insanely small portions to begin with . I find that often that's all I need.
4. Eat til' I'm full.... well, more that boils down to eating until I don't feel hungry anymore. I can't really guage a "full" feeling. I'm working on it. But before each bite (after I really enjoyed the last) I ask myself... am I still hungry? Often times the answer is no.

Anyway, I'm really trying to concentrate on it. One problem is, that I was hand-slapped by the nutritionist for not eating before bed. She said that from dinner to breakfast the next day is too long to go without food (which was actually a highlight of my diets in the past). So, I am having a small snack before bed. I'm not always hungry, but I try and keep the portion REALLY small. That's the key.

So, enjoy what you're eating. And eat small. Really I should cross-stitch that.

All Generations of Time

This past weekend we traveled to San Diego to my nephew's wedding. That's right, an 8 hour drive on Friday (leaving after Drew was done with school), to the wedding on Sat. AM and then driving to Temecula to the reception, and then a 7 hour drive back on Sunday. All on my tailbone. Just visualize it, feel my pain. And no, a doughnut doesn't work in the car for tailbone issues. I know. I tried. I tried hard, I even took pain pills -- and that didn't help either. This picture was created by Spencer one day on his Colorforms -- but it kind of shows how I felt most of the drive. :) Enjoy it. BTW, kids (especially P) were amazing on the trip, hardly a peep. Love them.

BUT, that's not what this blog is about.

My nephew was married in the San Diego Temple -- you'd think I might have a picture of them in front of the temple, but I don't. I didn't have the camera. Instead of this shot. I also have another one where it looks like he's eating his sweet bride. But I digress. I didn't marry Drew for his sweet photography skills.

LDS weddings (as I have stated previously) are for time and all eternity. Those who aren't able to go to the temple (which includes those not old enough, and those who aren't able to answer the questions correctly, aka. immorality, not believing in God, etc.) just sit in the waiting room, or take a little walk (huge props to my other niece and nephew who watched my little peeps). In the ceremony you are sealed together before God, angels and the witnesses. Drew and I had just done sealings a few months ago and I had enjoyed them, but this time I had such a different impression. This time I felt SO strongly that P had been one of the angels* watching our ceremony. In my mind I saw it so clearly. The boys were fine, it was happening, they knew we'd be their parents but they had other things to do. P, however, needed to be there -- just like a girl. She wanted to watch our family be sealed. Maybe that's why she was such a dream on this trip, she somehow remembered how important it was. On our wedding day I had SUCH a strong feeling that what I was doing was ABSOLUTE right thing for me to be doing. I actually hadn't had that feeling until then. I was kind of going on my gut that it was right. I'd had small confirmations through prayer that he was the right man, and after an interview with the bishop one day I knew I was going to marry him... but I was kind of going on blind faith. Until that day. It's a feeling that has never left me, and when times have gotten to the point I wondered if this whole marriage thing was really going to work out I remember that day. I remember how right I felt and how amazing it all felt.

Anyway, I just thought I should write a blog about it. Impressions are amazing things aren't they? I think it's so important to write them down, and share them if it's appropriate.

* I believe (as our church teaches, but I also have a strong personal belief) that we lived with Heavenly Father before coming to this earth. We had jobs that we did in heaven much like we do here on earth. We knew our families, we knew we'd come to earth here and be tested. Hence, P was able to watch us from up above.

Connections

This morning I made my great-grandma Clayson's bread. My aunt got me the recipe while she was visiting my grandpa. I used to love my grandma's bread when I was little, and turns out her recipe came from her mother. My mom loved my great grandmother, but she died when my mom was in her tweens. I never met her, but I've always heard amazing things about her. How crafty she was, how she could whip-up anything without a pattern, was an amazing cook, how women in her ward always looked to her on advice on anything. I love that, I want to be that. So, this morning as I made her bread I thought about what it must've been when she was making that bread for her family, or how any of the generations back made their bread. As I sat there cleaning-up while my mixer did all the work, and I had beans stewing in the background (making a big bean meal tonight, and I thought I'd save some cash by going with dry beans*). I thought how I am really starting to enjoy doing things from scratch. Growing my own garden, having the wheat to grind, making my own bread every couple of weeks.

When we moved here someone at my work asked me how it was to use electricity while I was at work -- she thought I was Amish. I looked at her aghast and explained that I was Mormon and not Amish and we used electricity and cars, etc. I am finding that I enjoy that simple lifestyle. I wish I had a quilting bee to go to this afternoon. Instead I'll have to chat on the Internet.

Sometimes, I think adding things of self-sufficiency in your life can add a great deal of pride (good pride, not bad pride) to it. I'm proud to have my own bread in my bread box, and know that I can do things on my own if I have to. I also know I can pick-up a couple of loaves at Costco if the month swamps me in.

I hope I made a connection with my grandma this morning. My mom says that I have a lot of similar qualities to her. I'd like to think that some of that amazing spirit was passed to me, and that she enjoyed watching me from heaven this morning (perhaps wishing she had a Kitchenaid back in the day).

It's all about connections, the past to the future and learning how to do it the way that suits us best.

*BTW, I found a great way to do beans. Put them in a bit pot, covered with water, and let them boil for 2-3 minutes. Then, remove from heat, and let sit, for 1 hour -- then drain. After that I put them in the crock-pot and cover with fresh water. I'll keep that on high for 2-3 hours and then back to low until done, which should be just around time for me to make dinner. I'll let you know how it works out -- but I enjoy that my house won't be boiling hot from me boiling beans all morning.

Wondering...

Do you ever get the feeling that "put away" means different things to different people.

Shaking my fist at teacher prep day today. Really, I've had quite a lot of togetherness with my kids already this weekend...

Health Care

I've been reading the health care debate with a great deal of interest. For, I work at a hospital that is fighting the brunt of it. Only about 20% of my patients have insurance (oddly, 95% have cell phones). The rest are on medical. Of course, qualifying for medical is pretty darn easy when you're pregnant - even if you're not her legally.

Medical doesn't even reimburse our actual cost. Like, I if you take my hours, and the supplies that I use -- let's say that costs 500 dollars, and they reimburse us for like 400. Seriously. So, for all of you who have insurance you're paying 3k for that -- and you pick up the tab for the Medical folks. Oh, and with the state's recent cuts to medical they're only paying like 350.
You wonder why you have to have such high premiums -- that's why. Let's say everyone was paying their own bills -- it'd only cost like 800 bucks (considering also have pay for housekeeping, and people to bill your insurance and the cost to run the building, etc -- the 500 dollar figure is just for my hours and the actual supplies I used)... which is a fair amount less than 5k.

So, that's why people need to realize that health care change HAS to happen. I'm pretty sure that what Obama is offering isn't the best plan, but I do appreciate that he's taking it on -- and I hope that people grow brains and really figure something out.

One of the best ideas is to limit litigation. I can be sued up until a child is 18 years old. For real. I can also be sued at that point for like 20 million dollars. Of course, my hospital picks up the tab for malpractice insurance -- but that tab is GINORMOUS. The beauty of it all is that about 90% of the time they can't prove it was anything we did in labor that caused that, but they'll still give the family 20 million dollars because their 18 year old has a problem.

It's definitely broken at this point, and I think with a few fixes it could be helped, a lot -- even without creating a public option (frankly, because I think the united stats postal system is pretty crappy).

1. Allow people to cross state lines to purchase insurance, healthy competition. My dad would be so proud.
2. Make everyone have a plan -- even high deductible plans, that shouldn't be that expensive (most likely on line with a monthly cell phone plan). That could be an arena for a public option, actually. Since they probably wouldn't kick until a family REALLY needed it. If they don't have a plan, they are taxed. End of story. Sorry peeps, you're a drain on our system.
3. Sorry folks, insurance isn't gonna pick up the tab for everything (if you get drunk and end-up in the ER -- I think that should be your tab to pick-up).

The truth is, that everyone needs insurance. Health care is insanely expensive. If you don't have insurance -- revisit how you could provide it for your family. Drew and I had a high deductible plan at one point. No, they won't pay for stuffy noses, but if some one's found to have a serious issue they'll kick-in just fine. Just like high deductible car insurance.

And that's my soapbox, for today.

Life Storage

I've realized we don't just have food storage, we have life storage.
I have a birthday box, which I try to keep stocked with a full assortment of age/gender items.
I have clothes for Conner and P that are up to 2 years away (only great deals, of course).
I have toys for the kids for a rainy day or a car trip.
I just want to be prepared, basically for anything. I hate knowing that I HAVE to go to the store for something, that I could have stocked up on.
I am a loser. It's true.

Lunchies

Now that I am making 2 lunches, I was really bugged by how fast I was going through the tiny ziplocs. I tried to use those "fold and close" baggies -- but that's just not enough (and sometimes my children like to challenge centrifugal force with their lunch bags -- so I like to have their items a bit more secure. Anyway I got some of these rubbermaid take along divided containers. I actually like them a lot. I pack a sandwich in one side, and fruit/veggies in the other side and then I throw in a treat and it's done.

But I was wondering if any of you guys have any other ideas? I like not having to bag the stuff a lot. I am hoping that the containers last for a while (sometimes, after using their bags for experiements, I've seen them used in lieu of soccer balls -- although I told Conner if his container broke he'd be paying for a new one out of his allowance). We're also using BPA-free water bottles I found at target. They're working great, I fill them with ice (esp. lately because it's been pretty hot around here) and the kids say they stay cold.

Anyway, lunch. It's my morning. :)

Primarily a Program

Sunday was our church primary program.
Is there a happier time?
I think not.
For those of you who aren't members of my church -- primary is for children age 3 to 12, and they go there for the last 2 hours of church. It involves singing, activities, lessons (appropriate for the age) etc. Good stuff.

The primary program involves each and every child giving a part (a short part, but they do have to get up in front of everyone and say their part) and songs. Basically the audience just enjoys it until their cheeks break from smiling so much.

Never do I know that God love us more than that Sunday, he loves us so much that he gave us little ones to remind us how important the essentials are.

Needless to say, Spencer is an amazing singer. He sang out loud and proud yesterday, love him so much.

Both of them said their lines as memorized. They are geniuses.

Just reminds us how important family is, and how I need to spend time with them each day. I realized Conner only has 2 more programs left in him. Just seems like yesterday he was drooling on the bench like P was yesterday.

Families are forever, and while we may not always think that seems very appealing -- I hope that heaven is like an eternal primary program. :)

The Butt of the Problem

So, I have a problem. Boys, you may just want to step away from this post... I'll give you time. Go ahead back to your feed reader and find another blog. Really, click off....

Thanks.

Alright, back to me and my girlies. I got my IUD about 4 weeks ago. I was still having the usual problems with the IUD, with amounts greater than what I thought they were specifying. Prior to this, every time I would do a hard workout I would bleed. So, last week I decided to stop working out, just for the week. I am sad to say I really enjoyed that extra 1/2 hour of rest.
Problem was, my tailbone wanted to get back into the action (some of you might remember that after P I was unable to sit without a doughnut pillow for about 3 weeks -- just for my tailbone). Come Friday I could barely sit without wanting to cry. Let's not even talk about driving. I was even happy to teach RS yesterday so that I wouldn't have to sit. Yes, it's just that bad (and church is the worst).

The not working out did seem to help the IUD issues, so I'm gonna do some light yoga this week to hopefully help my bones.

So, I don't know if the tailbone just wanted some love, or if it was related to not working out. So, I have some questions for you, my readers -- feel free to email me (link on the right) if you don't really want to comment.

1. How long did you bleed after your IUD -- was it what you would term "a lot" during the day -- or just a tiny bit?
2. Do you have tailbone issues after your babies? How do you deal with them. I asked about 6 doctors on Saturday when I worked and they said it'd probably take a year or so. So darn helpful those guys. Should I go to my doctor, is there anything they'll do?
3. Are you loving this blog post? I tried to term it as gentle as possible... but a girl needs to know. :)

Let's just say I have 2 events in the next week or so in which I will be sitting for extended periods of time, and I might rather die at this point.

Really looking forward to it.

ETA: I did slightly separate my pelvis with P my unrelated cousin-in-law told me to buy this belt that I wore at work during the summer,and I may wear a couple of mornings a week -- it really helped with the hip pain. FYI. :)
Ok, that's not the belt I bought -- but mine is similar -- it's kind of like a back brace for your butt and hips. It just kind of pulls everything together. That's all I want, togetherness. :)

What you Have is What You Always Wanted

Tonight was Spencer's Back-to-school night. His teacher actually has come back from medical leave, and my paranoia can leave now too. She's wonderful.

Here's how the game went down. SO many "helper" parents were in Conner's Kindergarten teacher's class, and the Principal said that wasn't OK -- so they switched out 2 of us and split us up (happens to be my best friend at the school... but I digress). It's been hard. It does make you want to say, "then I'm done helping." But, obviously that's not me. I want to help -- and I know it makes a difference both to my child, and to the teacher.

Slowly, I am realizing that some teachers get this "dream" teacher label put on them... and then they are, because no one knows the other teachers. I am finding out that many/all of the teachers at our school are dreams...

Maybe this analogy shows that I need more sleep.

But, in a nutshell I really like S's teacher. She's kind of the polar opposite of Conner's. She's a little more low-key, probably doesn't own any "theme" outfits (our other teacher has many jumpers that show the days theme by her attire), but still just seems so loving and caring, and has been teaching just Kindergarten for 8 years. She really likes the littles, and I really like that.

Change can be your friend. {ha, as if this is my motto}

While I was reading a little bit in the scriptures this week I noticed that god provides the miracles for the things we really can't do on our own, but he still expects a lot from us. For instance, the pioneers still had to deal with a harsh winter. It's not to say it was the harshest winter in 50 years, but it was by no means light.

But after the winter, always comes the spring.

Excited for this school year, and what it will mean to my kids.

Who did this to ME

And so it begins, the blame game. She's awfully small to place blame, and yet she does.
P finally turned from her back to her belly and she is SO bitter when it happens. She just looks around, trying to find someone to place the blame on.
As I watched her struggle today (yes, I am just that mean, funny you should ask) I thought about how often the other 2 look around to place blame -- or they do something and expect me to fix it.
How often do we all do that?
Well, we just need to realize it's innate, and it starts early.
4.5 months early.

More of the Person I Hate -- Compost

This morning as I was harvesting my garden, letting my bread rise and then walking over to mix-up my compost I realized, again -- WHO IS THIS?

What HAPPENED to the person that was gonna be a career girl, kids later in life, see the world, have a maid. Where IS she?

She probably died when I got married at the age of 21, but that's blog for another day.

We finally did it, we bit the bullet and bought a compost bin. Actually, I was considering some of the 300 dollar ones on costco.com, but I thought I'd see what the area had to offer, so we could steer clear of large shipping charges (they tend not to be tiny things). We saw the one that Home Depot had to offer, it was tucked in a corner and the box was already composting, if you get the picture. I found one of the workers and asked if we could get a discount since it was obviously not in top condition (the actual compost bin was fine, it was just the box). We ended-up getting it for 50 bucks, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I am now trying to figure out what can and can't go in and how we can make sure it doesn't stink. Right now, we have a lot of "brown" things in there but hopefully Drew can mow the lawn soon so we can add some "green" things to it. I think it'll be fun to watch the stuff in there change -- a real learning experience for the boys, hopefully. If anyone has tips, feel free to share them. So far ours has dryer lint, cantaloupe rinds and leaves in it. I am hoping to turn it weekly.

Tee Hee

Loving this message: IF YOU ARE A TEACHER, you will want to click on it, and send it to all your friends.

Learning from Old DVD's

On Fast Sunday, instead of eating breakfast, we watch one of our old family DVD's. The kids love it, and it's nice to take a glimpse back in time. I will admit, that these DVD's get watched/looked at more than the scrapbooks. But, I like to have stock in many options, and apparently I have a lot of spare time. Who knew?
Today we're watching our old home movies, way back when we borrowed my parents old camcorder. I am learning many things:
1. Man, we had to dress our kids warm in Utah. I watched Drew dress Conner in a onsie, and then a long sleeved onsie over that one. And I was like, "WHO DOES THAT?" Well, people in Utah during the winter do, that's who. :) FYI, we don't do that now.
2. I hate myself. Man, don't you hate listening to yourself on tape? Especially since we're doing high-pitched-trying-to-get-our-kids-to-smile-talk. Drew hates himself too, it's just sad. Normally I require us to watch the video with the kids, but honestly -- the kids are loving it and Drew and I are losing self esteem by the minute. Hence, I am writing a blog (and Drew's looking at the ads).
3. Conner looks just like P. Or, P looks like him, take your pick. They are adorable babies, just as cute as Mr. Spencer.

On a side note, I have obsessive need to rotate through P's clothing. Just another observation.

My Side Note to the President's Speech

Someone scolded me for not being very Christian on my blog.

And... perhaps I could've been (maybe that should be my blog title "I could've...")

I doubt many people think of this blog as a christian blog... but I do know that Christ was more than willing to hear people out. I know that Christ loves Mr. Obama as much as he loves you and I think that he's proud when Mr. Obama says to children who respect him (some, in fact possibly idolize him) for them to work hard and to stay in school, for that is all he is saying. Personally, I think one of the best qualities you can bestow on a child is rational thinking and being able to decide for himself what is true -- and being willing to listen to both sides.

After further probing, I learned that at D's school they are requiring the HIGH SCHOOLERS to get a parent's permission to watch it. I don't get that at all. Dang, they're in high school. These people will VOTE for the president in a few years.

I sort of get it in elementary school, but I still think it's extreme to pull them because the president is speaking to them. I could also go on about the death panel debate, but since I've been the one performing CPR on a person who really wishes they were dead, but never was able to have that conversation I'll let you think whatever you want.... Next time you crack a rib on an 80 year old man who's quality life is already in the "negative" collumn you might think a conversation about end of life discussion would be nice to have funded with a nation's health care system....

Wow... you can't shut me up today. :)

Thoughts on Saturday

You know, when you decide you're gonna take a break from blogging, you have thoughts on a lot of things:

• I'm going to try and use powdered milk in lieu of regular milk when possible. I learned from the lady on that food storage place I mentioned last time that you can add powdered milk to the dry ingredients in a recipe and then just add water to the wet ingredients. She has a really cool conversion chart here. I turned it into a magnet, and it's now attached to the powdered milk can that I am currently using. So, instead of using store milk in my pancakes this AM, I just added 3 tablespoons of dry milk and 1.5 cups of water. Pretty fancy. She also said it helps bread brown more evenly. Who knew?
• Guess who booked our Disney vacation this AM. Just the hotel, I'm gonna do tickets later but I wanted a hotel, within walking distance at a good rate, and those tend to sell out fast. Go me.
• Got cancelled today, although the lost of fundage is sad, I'm trying to remind myself of all the working I did during the summer so I wouldn't have to worry about being cancelled. I still worry, I am dumb.
• I think I've been doing the whole food storage check monthly. I am slowly realizing the foods that we do, and do not eat. I did the check today and then I re-arranged our cans, as well as some of the canned goods so that I could fit more of the cans that I do use, and less of those that I don't. I am also trying to come-up with back-up systems at times when I find a REALLY good deal on things that I use frequently, so I have a place to put that stuff. Here's the document, with what we have/need and want along with the costco prices of last Feb. You'll notice along the bottom I try to come-up with ideas of things to make to use-up the items that we have a lot of. For instance, I have an insane amount of pumpkin, and now that's it's fall I'd better get on the pumpkin cookies, etc. I am also trying to figure out our have/want/needs of the long term storage items. I'm not trying to get the "year's supply" of the items, but I am trying to store things we will use. Also, as of late the cannery does have food for cheaper than I can find it most often for sale at the grocery store, so check the cannery prices next time you have the chance.
• I am also trying to do a coupon check every month so that I'm more aware of what's in my coupons. For instance, this month I noticed I had a bunch of Mott's applesauce coupons that were soon to expire (but we use that a lot in lunches). I just made a note to walk by them, and I noticed that they were on a close-out price, giving me them for 77 cents. Pretty sweet deal.
• Also, when I go through my food storage, the things I am REALLY low on, automatically go on a grocery list that I print out. That way they're on the list all month and I can search for good deals on those items. I only buy them if I find them on a good deal (or if it's a need, but rarely a certain food item is an actual NEED) (unless one is pregnant, which I am not).

So, basically it was all on food storage. What a shame.

Some Great Videos on Food Storage

I really like her website, and she made me think about how I could use powdered milk to save money. We mostly use milk on cereal and in cooking. Anyway, she has had a whole week of great videos. Check it out:
http://everydayfoodstorage.net/

Why I Will Send My Child to School on September 8th

Here are 3 reasons I am going to send my child to school on September 8th
1. I always send my kids to school, I think if there was material I was going to object to, I'd just pull them for that -- I think it sends the wrong message to pull them from the whole day.
2. Spencer's actual teacher is supposed to come back that day (although, honestly hasn't really pervaded this year, so I worry she's not actually coming back, but mostly just because I am a worrier).
3. I teach my son to respect the president, and a message about working hard and staying in school is a great message to send our kids. Is there anything wrong with the president addressing the kids? Personally, I think it's great, and even if just a few more kids stay in school because Obama told them to, more power to all of us.

Maybe those of you who are pulling your kids and freaking out about it should teach your kids a little bit more about respect, and an open mind. I have no idea if they're showing it to our kids (doubtful they'll show it in K since the kids can barely pay attention to an exciting kindergarten teacher, little loan a very boring president), and I figure I'll leave it to them to decide. If they don't show it, I may tivo it and we can watch it all together.

Blog No More

I'm feeling like a loser blogger, and I think I feel so much pressure to write daily. And instead I blather on about nothing, like P's weight percentiles... I'm thinking about cutting down to once a week. Really putting some effort into the blogs. You know, stuff like that.

I'm really mixin' it up. Grinding wheat, decreasing blog writing, considering a compost bin. WHO AM I?

Skinny Miss P

Had P's check-up. All is well in the land of P. She was also the most cooperative child to having them look in her ears that I've ever had. Way to go P. She's just over 13 pounds, putting her in the 40th percentile, and 25.5 inches -- putting her in the 90th percentile on height.
Obviously, she takes after my father {if anyone knows my dad, that's a fairly amusing joke}.

I am really aware that I have to use my time wisely now. I could spend the ENTIRE morning sitting at the computer, for there are no little people to bother me until P wakes-up from her nap. I can either be REALLY productive or I can be not-so-productive.

It's all my choice.

Right now I am talking to Lara. A girl needs a little break every now and then, don't they?