I teach Sunday School for a sweet group of children who range between the ages of 5 and 7. Our regular crowd is made up almost entirely of five year olds... And Alex. Who just turned seven.
This week our lesson was about David and Goliath. Thanks to a very thorough Sunday school class Alex visited when he was five, he is privy to gory details about the David and Goliath story that many people are not aware of.
I planned on following the preplanned curriculum, which omitted the gruesome details, partially because they're gruesome details, and partially because having to explain decapitation to my kindergartner a few years ago was slightly scarring for me. I have no wish to repeat the experience with other people's children.
I decided a quick chat with Alex before class time was crucial for my plan "Avoid Gruesome Details".
Me: We're going to talk about David and Goliath today.
Alex: I know that story!!!! David hit goliath with a rock AND THEN HE CUT OFF GOLIATH'S HEAD!!!
Me: Yes, but we're not going to talk about the part where his head gets cut off.
Because the girls are only five years old, and I don't want to scare them.
Alex: ....If they say it first can we talk about it?
Monday, September 10, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Ode to a Pediatrician
Dear Ex-Pediatrician,
The last time I saw you, you broke my heart into a million pieces.
When you said you were moving across the country, I forgot how to breathe.
You came into my life, when I had given up. I had no hope. While the other pediatricians told me I was an over anxious first time mom, you listened to me, and addressed my concerns. Instead of rolling your eyes at me, you looked through the charts and saw my reason for concern.
Because of you we were pushed through to see the specialist and get the necessary tests. Without you we probably never would have had the chance for Alex to get the surgery he needed.
You helped renew my faith in medical professionals.
After you left, we bounced from one pediatrician to another. We saw big ones, we saw small ones. We saw old ones, we saw young ones. After another visit of being bullied and ridiculed, I would sigh deeply and say "I wish Dr. P was still here.".
But then we met someone. Someone else who listened and addressed our concerns. When we choose to do something outside of the mainstream way of thinking, she helped us achieve our goals. I stopped wishing you would come back.
Then today, as I gingerly walked through the crowded pediatric lobby, praying that my healthy children would hold their collective breath and not touch anything. I saw you. I have to admit, you looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who you were until I looked at your name tape.
Excitement coursed through my body as realization hit me.
You are back!
Visions flashed through my mind. First of you ordering Alex's allergy tests, then of our current pediatrician ordering donor milk for Spain. Examples battled in my mind as I grappled with the dilemma: Stay with our current pediatrician, or try to get you back.
All day long I deliberated. I thought I had decided, and then I would change my mind.
Finally I made a decision. What we had was wonderful. You restored my faith in medical professionals, and because of you, my son can breathe... Literally.
It's been three years though, and we've moved on. We're happy in our relationship with our current pediatrician. I can't throw that away.
You'll always have a place in my heart.
Thank you for everything.
The last time I saw you, you broke my heart into a million pieces.
When you said you were moving across the country, I forgot how to breathe.
You came into my life, when I had given up. I had no hope. While the other pediatricians told me I was an over anxious first time mom, you listened to me, and addressed my concerns. Instead of rolling your eyes at me, you looked through the charts and saw my reason for concern.
Because of you we were pushed through to see the specialist and get the necessary tests. Without you we probably never would have had the chance for Alex to get the surgery he needed.
You helped renew my faith in medical professionals.
After you left, we bounced from one pediatrician to another. We saw big ones, we saw small ones. We saw old ones, we saw young ones. After another visit of being bullied and ridiculed, I would sigh deeply and say "I wish Dr. P was still here.".
But then we met someone. Someone else who listened and addressed our concerns. When we choose to do something outside of the mainstream way of thinking, she helped us achieve our goals. I stopped wishing you would come back.
Then today, as I gingerly walked through the crowded pediatric lobby, praying that my healthy children would hold their collective breath and not touch anything. I saw you. I have to admit, you looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who you were until I looked at your name tape.
Excitement coursed through my body as realization hit me.
You are back!
Visions flashed through my mind. First of you ordering Alex's allergy tests, then of our current pediatrician ordering donor milk for Spain. Examples battled in my mind as I grappled with the dilemma: Stay with our current pediatrician, or try to get you back.
All day long I deliberated. I thought I had decided, and then I would change my mind.
Finally I made a decision. What we had was wonderful. You restored my faith in medical professionals, and because of you, my son can breathe... Literally.
It's been three years though, and we've moved on. We're happy in our relationship with our current pediatrician. I can't throw that away.
You'll always have a place in my heart.
Thank you for everything.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
PSA
Sometimes I sit down to write a post with a very clear idea of what I want to say. Usually it happens to be an issue that I'm feeling particularly passionate about.
Surprisingly, I'm finding that my writing begins to go in a different direction altogether. While the finished piece is something I'm usually proud to share, it is not at all what I had originally intended.
I chalk it up to a supernatural power. You see, in the melting pot that is my genealogical ancestry, there is a strong Irish presence on one side, and a lively Scottish presence on the other side. Neither group is particularly known for their diplomacy.
Not to mention, I really hate having to eat my words.
Sometimes I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of negativity, so writing a blog post- Even unintentionally- that is not negative makes me feel refreshed. As a bonus, the driving urge to vent and rant away about some awful situation leaves me.
That is not to say that I will only be writing positive posts from now on. That is HIGHLY unlikely. I'm just saying that sometimes God takes pity on you, and removes my desire to spew my discord all over the internet.
See, miracles do happen.
Surprisingly, I'm finding that my writing begins to go in a different direction altogether. While the finished piece is something I'm usually proud to share, it is not at all what I had originally intended.
I chalk it up to a supernatural power. You see, in the melting pot that is my genealogical ancestry, there is a strong Irish presence on one side, and a lively Scottish presence on the other side. Neither group is particularly known for their diplomacy.
Not to mention, I really hate having to eat my words.
Sometimes I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of negativity, so writing a blog post- Even unintentionally- that is not negative makes me feel refreshed. As a bonus, the driving urge to vent and rant away about some awful situation leaves me.
That is not to say that I will only be writing positive posts from now on. That is HIGHLY unlikely. I'm just saying that sometimes God takes pity on you, and removes my desire to spew my discord all over the internet.
See, miracles do happen.
Musings from a mother
I often wonder how much value is placed on our children. I don't mean how big is their life insurance pay out.
I mean, how much do we value their contribution to society?
I chuckle when I hear the term "Life skills". Life is what is happening every day. From the moment we are born we start learning and assimilating skills . We study our environment consciously and unconsciously. We learn how to respond to social cues and situations. It's an ongoing process that we never stop cycling through.
When Alex was born, he relied on Sweet Husband and I for everything. In one very short year he could get from Point A to Point B on his own. He could feed himself, and he could communicate with us in broken English.
Two years after that, he could use the bathroom by himself. He understood the other people had feelings. He could still communicate with us in broken English.
Four years after that, he is starting to learn multiplication. He can grasp concepts in physics. He can read books by himself. He can write a letter by himself.
Every year he continues to grow physically and mentally. He is maturing and picking up new attitudes and behaviors. Every year he is evolving into the man he will become.
I have to constantly remind myself that Alex is not three years old anymore. He has new capabilities now, and if I don't allow him a chance to exercise these new attributes, I cannot expect him to become a contributing member of society.
As his parent I need to allow him the opportunity to explore and expand his skills.
One day Alex will be an adult. It will not be a rapid transformation, but a slow metamorphosis.
My hope is that he will be able to interact with people, regardless of their culture or age. My prayer is that he will never stop seeing the humanity in other people, and that he will value their contributions.
I want my child to interact with people that are much older than him, and with people that are much younger than him. I want to learn first hand about compassion and teaching. I want him to hear firsthand accounts of life before the internet and cable tv.
I want him to know that we can celebrate our differences.
I want him to have the confidence to think for himself.
I want my child to interact with people that are much older than him, and with people that are much younger than him. I want to learn first hand about compassion and teaching. I want him to hear firsthand accounts of life before the internet and cable tv.
I want him to know that we can celebrate our differences.
I want him to have the confidence to think for himself.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The Ugly Truth
I try to maintain a sen of of zen when my children are driving me batty.
""He's young and still learning" I remind myself as I tell Alex to put his shoes away for the eighteenth time.
"This too shall pass" I serenely tell myself as Spain shrieks like a banshee in my ear.
"I am not bothered by the inconsolable screams of the youngest" my mind murmurs.
"I am a rock. Letting the flood of chaos fall off of me" I chant quietly as I realize it's been over a week since I talked to Sweet Husband.
"God help me!" I sigh as Spain starts his third hour of inconsolable screeching.
Then just as I'm teetering on the edge of insanity. Spain falls asleep. The shoes are put away. Sometimes, the dishes are even washed. I fall on the couch and put my feet up.
"Lord, thank you for wine, crossword puzzles and abstinence. Because after tonight I appreciate birth control."
""He's young and still learning" I remind myself as I tell Alex to put his shoes away for the eighteenth time.
"This too shall pass" I serenely tell myself as Spain shrieks like a banshee in my ear.
"I am not bothered by the inconsolable screams of the youngest" my mind murmurs.
"I am a rock. Letting the flood of chaos fall off of me" I chant quietly as I realize it's been over a week since I talked to Sweet Husband.
"God help me!" I sigh as Spain starts his third hour of inconsolable screeching.
Then just as I'm teetering on the edge of insanity. Spain falls asleep. The shoes are put away. Sometimes, the dishes are even washed. I fall on the couch and put my feet up.
"Lord, thank you for wine, crossword puzzles and abstinence. Because after tonight I appreciate birth control."
Monday, May 28, 2012
Dirty Diapers- The last three days rolled into one post
Whew! One week of using nothing but flats. I wasn't sure if I would make it through the second half of the week. The first four days of the challenge we were mainly at home. Sure we ran a few errands, went to church, and went berry picking, but we were never too far away from home.
Then Thursday night the boys and I packed up and went on a road trip.
My cousin was graduating high school. Originally we planned on just going for the graduation. It's a little over a four car drive to where they live from our house. My plan was to leave early Friday morning, hang out with the amazing extended family I have over there, attend the graduation, and then head home.
I called my aunt to give her a head's up about our plans, and she graciously suggested that we come up that night and stay with her family.
I packed all the clean flats that I had, plus a few doublers, I thought about bringing the freshly washed flats and letting them think of a good place to put the wet diapers to dry. I changed Spain's diaper and used a flannel topped doubler to give him a stay-dry feeling. Loaded the boys, and the dog into the car and off we went.
I decided to play everything by ear. We arrived at my aunt's house as the clock struck midnight. Twenty minutes later, we were all in bed. The next morning the real fun began. I had brought a small disposable bag of powdered laundry detergent, so that I didn't have to put off washing. I've learned that immediately rinsing diapers makes washing them so much easier. In the morning I let the dirty diapers soak in the sink with a little laundry detergent, while I took a shower. Three rinses, and a tight wringing later they were stashed safely in my wet bag ready for phase two. Since we weren't going to do a lot of driving, I decided to let the diapers dry in the car. I spread them out on the dash and left them there to dry. Four hours later, they were dry and ready for use again.
I did one other load of incognito washing before we left. These ones I left in the wet bag, since we were driving and I didn't have a space to put them.
So the stats:
31 hours away from home. 8.5 of which were spent in the car driving. 10 flat diapers, 5 fleece topped doublers, and 2 covers. 2 loads of washing away from home. Completely success!!
I even had 4 clean diapers still in our bag when we got home, thanks to the incognito hand washing.
Reflections:
Honestly a week of using flats wasn't as intimidating as I expected. Doing laundry wasn't my favorite activity, but it wasn't horrible. Once we found a system, it worked out fantastically. I did buy a set of Boingos which arrived on Friday. They weren't the greatest with the receiving blanket diapers, but they work fantastically with our prefolds.
We did practice some ECing again. Spain doesn't walk yet, but he does show signs of being ready to use the potty, and hey, every time he uses the potty that's one less diaper I have to wash!
Then Thursday night the boys and I packed up and went on a road trip.
My cousin was graduating high school. Originally we planned on just going for the graduation. It's a little over a four car drive to where they live from our house. My plan was to leave early Friday morning, hang out with the amazing extended family I have over there, attend the graduation, and then head home.
I called my aunt to give her a head's up about our plans, and she graciously suggested that we come up that night and stay with her family.
I packed all the clean flats that I had, plus a few doublers, I thought about bringing the freshly washed flats and letting them think of a good place to put the wet diapers to dry. I changed Spain's diaper and used a flannel topped doubler to give him a stay-dry feeling. Loaded the boys, and the dog into the car and off we went.
I decided to play everything by ear. We arrived at my aunt's house as the clock struck midnight. Twenty minutes later, we were all in bed. The next morning the real fun began. I had brought a small disposable bag of powdered laundry detergent, so that I didn't have to put off washing. I've learned that immediately rinsing diapers makes washing them so much easier. In the morning I let the dirty diapers soak in the sink with a little laundry detergent, while I took a shower. Three rinses, and a tight wringing later they were stashed safely in my wet bag ready for phase two. Since we weren't going to do a lot of driving, I decided to let the diapers dry in the car. I spread them out on the dash and left them there to dry. Four hours later, they were dry and ready for use again.
I did one other load of incognito washing before we left. These ones I left in the wet bag, since we were driving and I didn't have a space to put them.
So the stats:
31 hours away from home. 8.5 of which were spent in the car driving. 10 flat diapers, 5 fleece topped doublers, and 2 covers. 2 loads of washing away from home. Completely success!!
I even had 4 clean diapers still in our bag when we got home, thanks to the incognito hand washing.
Reflections:
Honestly a week of using flats wasn't as intimidating as I expected. Doing laundry wasn't my favorite activity, but it wasn't horrible. Once we found a system, it worked out fantastically. I did buy a set of Boingos which arrived on Friday. They weren't the greatest with the receiving blanket diapers, but they work fantastically with our prefolds.
We did practice some ECing again. Spain doesn't walk yet, but he does show signs of being ready to use the potty, and hey, every time he uses the potty that's one less diaper I have to wash!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Dirty Diapers
How I’m Doing- My Thoughts on Handwashing
I don't hate hand washing as much as I expected to. My arms and shoulders are starting to feel like jelly. I better have some fantastically toned arms after this week!!
I've moved my laundry facility from the kitchen to the bathroom, and wash a load every three diapers. Three diapers is the perfect load size, it's small enough to fit in our bathroom sink, and it also means I'm not anxiously waiting for the clean wash diapers to dry while I eyeball my dwindling stash of clean dry diapers.
It's a bit bizzarre to figure out how much laundry detergent to use in a tiny bathroom sink. My washing machine uses 3-4 TABLESPOONS of detergent. I have no idea how much water my washer hold, but my sink comes no where close to using that much. I have to fight the urge not to sprinkle "just a little more" detergent in when I'm washing.
Tomorrow is going to be the true test. We will be away from home ALL day. That's right, all day long. I haven't figured out how I'm going to do this challenge.
What did I get myself into?
I don't hate hand washing as much as I expected to. My arms and shoulders are starting to feel like jelly. I better have some fantastically toned arms after this week!!
I've moved my laundry facility from the kitchen to the bathroom, and wash a load every three diapers. Three diapers is the perfect load size, it's small enough to fit in our bathroom sink, and it also means I'm not anxiously waiting for the clean wash diapers to dry while I eyeball my dwindling stash of clean dry diapers.
It's a bit bizzarre to figure out how much laundry detergent to use in a tiny bathroom sink. My washing machine uses 3-4 TABLESPOONS of detergent. I have no idea how much water my washer hold, but my sink comes no where close to using that much. I have to fight the urge not to sprinkle "just a little more" detergent in when I'm washing.
Tomorrow is going to be the true test. We will be away from home ALL day. That's right, all day long. I haven't figured out how I'm going to do this challenge.
What did I get myself into?
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Dirty Diapers-
How Do I Use My Flats?
Well obviously, I'm using flats as diapers. My fold of choice is a basic rectangle fold.
I start by laying my flat on the floor.
Then I fold it into thirds. If It's a narrower receiving blanket, then I will just fold it in half.
For the Spain's size*, the diaper needs to be about half the length. I fold one end over. This will be the front of my diaper.
I fold the flap over one more time. My diaper is now a good size for Spain.
To put this diaper on Spain, I bring the front corners together. This will make a nice leg gusset to contain any nastiness that might try to escape.
*I figured this out through trial and error. I fold the diaper, stick Spain on it and then see if I need to make it shorter or longer.
Well obviously, I'm using flats as diapers. My fold of choice is a basic rectangle fold.
I start by laying my flat on the floor.
Then I fold it into thirds. If It's a narrower receiving blanket, then I will just fold it in half.
For the Spain's size*, the diaper needs to be about half the length. I fold one end over. This will be the front of my diaper.
I fold the flap over one more time. My diaper is now a good size for Spain.
To put this diaper on Spain, I bring the front corners together. This will make a nice leg gusset to contain any nastiness that might try to escape.
Time to add a little baby.
Then I pin the diaper one side at a time.
And we're done!
*I figured this out through trial and error. I fold the diaper, stick Spain on it and then see if I need to make it shorter or longer.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Dirty Diapers- The supplies
Here's my general set up.
My "flats" are all receiving blankets. They just don't seem big enough to be used as a blanket, but they are perfect to be used as a diaper.
I have an assortment of covers, most of which are not pictured. We use fleece shorties, wool, and your average PUL covers.
My fastener of choice are pins. However I do have a couple Snappis.
The doublers that I use as needed, are mostly burp cloths, there are a few wash cloths thrown in.
For washing I'm using the kitchen sink, a 10 quart bucket, latex free rubber gloves, and of course, laundry detergent. My drying rack is a basic vertical drying rack that I picked up for less than $20.
My "flats" are all receiving blankets. They just don't seem big enough to be used as a blanket, but they are perfect to be used as a diaper.
I have an assortment of covers, most of which are not pictured. We use fleece shorties, wool, and your average PUL covers.
See? Dino diaper. What's not to love?!
My fastener of choice are pins. However I do have a couple Snappis.
The doublers that I use as needed, are mostly burp cloths, there are a few wash cloths thrown in.
For washing I'm using the kitchen sink, a 10 quart bucket, latex free rubber gloves, and of course, laundry detergent. My drying rack is a basic vertical drying rack that I picked up for less than $20.