Our Blog Thing

I spend so much of my life composing 140 character statements for twitter that my grammar has become atrocious so don't expect too much.

I started my grad school program toward a marriage and family therapy license at the end of April. The first course is successfully behind me. This past Thursday was the 1st class for the second course. I will admit right now that I'm totally freaked out by the syllabus. There's a test every week, a take home quiz every week, a 5-page paper, and a group project in just 5 remaining weeks. *Freaked Out* I'm taking a 5 min break from study right now. No time to reread. No time to concern myself with cool language. Just dropping a line to my blog and anyone that may come for a visit.

For anyone that may be dropping in, how about a little Picture Caption Fun. My sister in law captured the following picture and the hilarious expression on Maddie's face. Think of a funny caption and add it in the comments. Have fun.

The Diva: Lots of pics taken of Maddie in this outfit. She never seemed upset but Chelle definitely caught an irritated moment.

30 DaysSPOILERS Alert. I watched 30 Days Episode "Outsourcing" today. I recognize that I have a long way to go before I understand the full impact of Outsourcing. I have strong feelings regarding the loss of American jobs especially now that we are in an economic crisis with no end in sight. I wonder if there is something other than greed that motivates corporations such as IBM and Siemens to take their jobs around the world.

Grilled Steak: posted at MetromixRecently I saw a segment on the Early Show that freaked me out. I've heard the warnings about red meat and cholesterol for half my life but I never really paid attention to any of it mostly because I LOVE red meat! I have low cholesterol so what do I care?

Then the Early Show told me that there is a direct link between a high intake of red meat and DEATH! Ehhh, what? According to the study we can safely consume no more than 5 oz of red meat PER WEEK! Are you kidding me? I could eat that much before dinner.

Routine has a rather dull ring to it, does it not? Routine is so humdrum, so monotonous. Most people start their day with coffee and a shower but I have the coolest morning routine ever. I wake up cranky like most people and stumble to the kitchen for my caffeine fix. Soon after I hear my toddler's shout indicating he's awake and then the fun begins.

Curious George: PBS KidsFirst up, a diaper change/wrestling match followed immediately after with a bowl of animal crackers and a sippy cup of milk. Then JMan and I make our way to the living room to watch an episode of Curious George on PBS Kids. What a joy. The show is so simple and it's lessons are so big.

I’ve been very excited by the prospect of joining the YMCA and Jamie’s new job allows us a few luxuries in the budget so we decided to go for it. As the mother of two small kiddos I’m determined to be able to run around a yard with them without passing out from exhaustion. Thus, exercise is required. That’s great motivation for joining the Y but I’ll confess it is not my primary incentive.

I’ve been overweight (read FAT) for about 13 years now. Yeah, most people don’t realize I used to have a waist including my husband. Still, I’m terrible with motivation. I can’t get started. I won’t get started. I’m procrastinating. I’m lazy. Whatever. I am however not claiming a thyroid problem or that I’m big boned. I did it. I have to undo it.

President ObamaI’ve never been a very political person but like much of the country I’m feeling energized and hopeful about the presidency of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, after a long play date with 2 toddlers, I sat down with a cup of coffee in one hand and my remote control in the other to watch the recorded inauguration.

ProcrastinationIs procrastination a euphemism for laziness? Or perhaps it indicates lack of commitment to a goal? Ooo, ooo, I know, it's an illness that we can't avoid.

I've been a procrastinator my whole life. Not about all things. Just about things I didn't want to do. Imagine that! It's time to kick the habit. I'm nearly 40. It's time to grow up. This is NOT a New Year's resolution. It's a life resolution.

So, I'm asking for some help. Share with me why you procrastinate and how you motivate yourself to conquer procrastination. Do the yucky stuff first? Make lists? Ask someone to hold you accountable? What works for you?

Moving on from the riveting baby diaper review let's talk about Gerber baby clothes. You'd think Gerber would know a thing or two about baby clothes. I'm saying "nope" to that. Maddie outgrows every onesie and sleeper made by Gerber weeks before her other baby clothes of the same size.

Thumbs Down: Thumbs DownI recently moved Maddie to the 3-6 month clothes which was very exciting for me. Maddie is 4 months old but she should be small for her age since she was 8 weeks early. At the doctors office a month ago Maddie measured at the bottom of the growth chart for her age which was a shock to my doctor who said Maddie is not expected to even be on the chart until she's much older.

It's a new year and the GRE is behind me so guess what I want to talk to you about? You got it, generic diapers. Well, it's on my mind and you know how I like to share that kind of thing.

There are times in a mother's life when she has to cut corners due to budgetary constraints. Yes, even when it comes to diapers. Obviously this is something she needs to be very cautious about. You buy the tiny package first to test them out then you continue your research with a big value box assuming the el cheapos pass the initial test.

I've tested Walmart, Kroger, and Target diapers. I had heard so many moms praise Target diapers that I thought they were going to change themselves. Um, no. And, they get very lumpy when wet.

Mel took some photos of Jensen last week and as we were looking at them in the camera we noticed the sequence was kind of cool. So I pulled them into Photoshop and animated them!

GRE: From GRE Prep siteMany of you know that I’ve been studying for the GRE. The more I study the more ridiculous I think it is. The test is meant to measure my “verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills” per the GRE site.

I don’t want to bore you too much so I will keep this short. Here’s a fun list of words commonly tested on the GRE.

• Castigate – to punish or criticize harshly
• Irascible – easily made angry
• Propitiate – to conciliate; to appease

Just a couple of minutes featuring our favorite duo.

I want to start this off by saying thank you to all the incredible friends who have brought me hope and encouragement over the last week. Your thoughts, prayers, and visits have meant more than you will ever know.

Thanks to Jackson Miller and Kate O’Neil for the awesome inspiration in the form of a balloon!

Thanks to Anne and Bo who were so helpful with Mel and the kids, we could not have made it without you guys.

Thanks to Tom, Lizzie, Jim, Erin and the rest of the BarCamp Crew who helped keep my spirits high in the midst of the pain. If I missed someone, please forgive me, it must be the drugs!

The Beginning

One thing that I have learned over the years is that important lessons in life are often learned via great pain and suffering. The lessons of the last week have been no exception.

So the story starts several weeks ago when I wrecked my precious little commuter car (Honda Prelude) just days before our dear Madilynn was due to come home from the NICU at Summit. The car though crashed, still ran and drove (though without headlights and radiator).

Halloween 2007Well, it’s that time of year again. Goblins, ghouls, and Star Wars characters will be roaming the streets begging for candy. I’ll admit it right up front; I’m the Ebenezer Scrooge of Halloween. I just don’t like it. Didn’t like it as a kid either. Bah humbug to booos and vrrrmm vrrrmmms (light saber sound effects).

Now, that being said I will confess that I have enjoyed 2 Halloween’s in my life. One was my junior year in high school when I hung with a group of about 10 kids from my class. We went to Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and numerous haunted houses that year. Both things are completely out of character for me. I detest horror films and being scared in general so haunted houses are out too. There was something about the camaraderie in that group of people though that gave me the strength to participate and yes, to even enjoy having the shit scared out of me.