This is Me - Eight Questions - 300th posting!!!

This is my 300th posting. It's been nearly 2 years since I started this blog. It's been wonderful. Especially connecting with some amazing people and making friends I would never have ever thought. And someday, I hope to meet those of you whom I haven't met in person.

We've enjoyed sharing our lives with you and look forward to continuing to do so. So here's to another 300 postings!

I was tagged by JKMommy to share some tidbits about me. Enjoy.

1) What book did you finish last and did you like it? Last book I finished was a school related one - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I had a love hate relationship with it. It is about a Hmong girl who had a seizure disorder and the difficulties in treating her condition due to cultural barriers.

2) What are you up to this weekend? Last weekend I canned pears, chased little kids, and worked on lots and lots of school work. This coming weekend - lots of projects for my nephew's school auction fundraiser (I'll post photos of my finished products), some D&D (yes, I'm a geek - I challenge you to find another female who plays!), and 3 quizzes for my advanced health assessment class as well as 1 assignment for rural health nursing. My Auntie Edith accused me of never sleeping. Actually I average 6-7 hours/night.

3) When and why did you start blogging? About 300 posts and almost 2 years ago (October 15, 2008, to be exact) I started blogging (my son started a few weeks prior to that)! We started blogging and continue to do so mostly to keep family and friends up-to-date on our happenings.

4) What is your favorite part of your blog or blogging in general? I love comments - hint, hint! And I really enjoy connecting with friends, family, and blogging buddies. As for the favorite part of my blog aside from the aforementioned, I'd have to say the photos of my kids together.

5) Do you recycle? Definitely! We have the biggest recycle bin the waste service offers and we always have twice as much recycling as trash. We also are into used clothing which is a form of recycling.

6) Are you crafty? Hmmm - I'll let my followers answer for me! I'll just say I'm decent with a sewing machine and adequate with knitting needles but I have a great time and that's what's important.

7) What is your favorite sport? A favorite team? Hmmm - I don't have an answer to this because I don't really watch sports. I was a cheerleader in junior and high school - sometimes watching 8-10 games a week. Thus, I think I hit my lifetime fill of sports. Go MVHS Pirates! However, I did graduate from Boise State University and the football team is one of the best in the country so I should have probably went with the BSU Broncos but I'm opting for honesty.

8) And I have to ask. Are you a crunchy mama? Two years ago I would have said no. Now, probably. Nearly every meal we prepare at home is either completely organic or at least 85% organically grown. Even the meat we get is hormone free and fed organic grain. The baby does not get anything unless it is organic and the toddler is allowed some non-organically grown foods now that he's a bit older. We're worried about all the pesticides and hormones in foods and the long-term health effects on young, developing bodies.

We are passionate about cloth diapering. It is possible that disposable diapers may have contributed to our son's asthma. Initially it was a money-saving rationale for going cloth but the more and more we read about the health benefits of cloth, we are so happy we are disposable free - not a single one in the house! Goggle dioxins and disposable diapers.

And we're big on breastfeeding around here. T Rex Princess is still going strong. We've been a little slow to transition to solids but she's getting there. I worry about meeting her vitamin requirements since I've seen kids in clinic that have vitamin deficiencies due to extended breastfeeding. So far, though, she's maintaining an excellent balance between her milk drinking and consumption of "mush" (as her big brother calls it).

Thank you JKMommy for tagging me for this. I really enjoy her blog and would recommend you take a moment to stop over and say hello and tell her T Rex Mom sent you. If enough of you do, she might just get a pair of my homemade toddler pants for her little guy. (I've been wanting an excuse to make her darling son some!) After all - it is my 300th post and I have to do something to mark the occasion!

P.S. I am now on Facebook if you'd like to follow T Rex Mom on Facebook.

Siblings...

T Rex LOVES his "Bebe Sister". She's the first thing he asks for in the morning and he's the first thing she sees after nap time. He can make her laugh like no one else - particularly when he's causing mischief.

And she adores him always watching with such admiration like she wants to be just like him. A smile and giggle are always available for her big brother.

I suspect they will be close their whole lives. I know one thing for sure - she'll be a tough girl! T Rex's affections can be a bit rough and she just puts her little hand out and growls to express her disdain.

Siblings...

(P.S. 300th post coming up next...Stay tuned in the next week or so.)

Ruminations - What is happening to time???

Ruminate: to turn a matter over and over in the mind.

Continuing my series on my ruminations.

I cannot believe it has already been nearly a week since I last posted. It's felt like the longest week but also like my last posting was only yesterday. What a weird feeling.

I'm not sure if it's because my days and nights are so full or that time is, well, as Einstein says - relative. And, therefore, it seems faster at times and slower at times. But lately, it just feels like my life is on fast forward. I would SO love if we observed Martian days - they have 25 hours in them!

T Rex dad measured T Rex this week and the kid has literally grown an inch in the past 3 weeks. I've read in my school textbooks that kids can actually grow a full inch in their sleep - wake up one morning an inch taller than the day before. Thus, intellectually I knew it was possible, but seeing it in real life manifest in my own children, that's a whole other issue.

I remember as a child, time just seemed to go on and on. Dinner time was endless, particularly if black-eyed peas were involved. But now, everything is a blur. I try to fill every possible moment I can with these precious little kids of mine because I can feel their tiny bodies growing at an exponential rate and there is nothing I can or would want to do about it. As much as I try to dissuade my little ones from getting any bigger or growing any older, time marches on. And every time I find myself obsessing because one of them has not hit a particular milestone according to my time-frame, I make myself pause because invariably they hit it.

So for now, pardon me if I do not update as often. School is wearing heavy on my shoulders, there are pears and grapes to can, an occasional date with T Rex Dad, and lots of toddler and baby snuggles to be had. Because at the rate my life is going, I'll be sitting in my "old folks home" looking back nostalgically at these very full days and wishing I could go back and hold my babes one more time.

(Photos: T Rex with his great-auntie and T Rex Princess hitting a milestone I was so worried about her hitting - sitting up. The day I took this photo she decided she was ready to start sitting up. Note the glee on her face as she finally managed to get a hold of one of her brother's precious Toy Story guys!)

Canceled Weekend Plans...

Things have been hectic and crazy around here so it's difficult to be completely organized and concise.

So, this little guy's body decided it was not entirely over his sickness. In fact, he had a complete relapse leading to the cancellation of all our weekend plans.

But that's alright. T Rex Dad and I might be a little socially deprived but we can always find projects to keep us busy. This was what I did after my three quizzes and two school assignments...

This outfit is for a dinner auction to raise money for my nephew's school. I made another one almost exactly like it as part of a barter with a friend. She's making the kids these adorable knit monsters and I'm making her son toddler pants.

We have a birthday party this week - here's our gift.

This was a Christmas hat I made - either for T Rex or me. Or we can share. As you can see, he's feeling much better. Nothing a little trinket from the Dollar Store doesn't make better - see what he's holding?

T Rex Princess was kind enough to share her toys with her sick brother. Luckily, she's all better.

And she learned a new trick over the weekend - sitting up. And said her first word. Check out her blog to find out what!

Even the first Princess of our Hearts got a few extra pets.

So although our weekend took a detour, we still ended up here:

And isn't that what's really most important?

Another Happy Landing...

Sometimes it feels like we're only flying half a ship - especially lately.

School is in full gear - online classes, live classes, and clinical rotations. Talk about a serious crash course in pulling everything together - assessing patients, diagnosing, prescribing, etc. It's really cool to see how everything is coming together. But it's also really challenging to focus, especially, when the kids are both sick.

Both the kids came down with high fevers Monday and since then chaos reigned. This was Bebe Sister's first official illness. That's pretty good, I'd say. Considering she's nearly 8 months old. It was particularly bad for her. She did not sleep for 3 days, refused to nurse (won't take a bottle either even when healthy), and it was like holding a heater she was so warm. Even when she tried to sleep she was so listless and generally moaned in her sleep. The only way we could keep her hydrated was for me to pump milk and for T Rex Dad to use a medicine dropper to feed her the milk.

T Rex was actually a trooper - I know he felt miserable because he would walk around making unintentional little puppy cries. So sad. He was actually genuinely sad for his sister and would pace nervously during her endless crying fits saying over and over, "Mama, Dada make Bebe Sister feel better." Then he would try to jump up and down (which usually makes her giggle) or sing her special song (again, usually at least a smile). Sometime this would help her stop crying but no smile or giggle.

I could not miss class on Wednesday but we were offering supportive care (Motrin/Tylenol) so at least my mom was no overwhelmed with sick kids. And I know she is a high level mom - she kept the kids on schedule and even managed to make me some green chili for dinner. Aaahhh - so nice to come home to my happy kids and green chili. T Rex Dad had to work late but by the time he came home, T Rex Princess had taken up breastfeeding again and everyone was fever free.

So, "not to worry we are still flying half a ship" and have found ourselves with "another happy landing"!

(P.S. Anyone know where the quotes came from?)
(P.S.S. The photo is of the kids sporting their Dad's Alma Mater.)

From Our Good Neighbors...

Great Entertainment...


As you can see, even Bebe Sister is getting in on the action.


There is a reason T Rex calls them "Good Neighbors D & M"!

Thanks! We love them!

At the end of the day...

I would say we've found the end of the rainbow.

Ruminations...Controlled Chaos

Ruminate: to turn a matter over and over in the mind.

Continuing my series on my ruminations.

Sometimes I marvel at how we get through the day. I often feel like a pendulum swings back and forth between calm and collected to complete chaos.

For example, I recently took the kids on a walk in the neighborhood. T Rex was completely content walking along collecting sticks. But when he insisted his sister have her own stick and I declined on her behalf, he threw himself to the ground and commenced a tantrum. I utilized all my toddler whisperer techniques to no avail thus beginning a very long and arduous walk home.

I'm amazed no one stopped me to make sure I was not abducting this little boy who was crying and kicking while I held him across the stroller handle and pushed him and his sister home. We went from calm and serene to frazzled mess in less than 3 seconds.

This was the happy duo as we embarked on our walk.

I think the playroom is a good pictorial example of what I mean.

Morning...

Mid-day...

Afternoon/Evening.

So, I've been turning this over in my mind and I've finally come to a compromising conclusion. At this point, I will settle for controlled chaos.

Where does your household sit on the spectrum between calm and chaos?

At this place in my life...

School is back in session for me. After a long summer school course, fall semester has started and I've gone from half time graduate nursing school to 3/4 time.

This week was also my first classroom experience since starting almost a year and a half ago. Thus far, everything has been online. When I started school, this little girl was no bigger than a bean growing inside me and causing all sorts of havoc to my body - dehydration, nausea, vomiting, weight loss.

Then she was born (on a long weekend) and all those troublesome symptoms disappeared. This commenced her being the easiest baby ever. Even her early and welcome birth happened on a three-day weekend so I did not even miss a day from school.

Today I left my little girl for nearly nine hours while I attended a classroom session where I started the first of a series of "intensives" teaching me proper examining techniques. Fortunate for me, my professor was wonderful and showed me the nursing mother's lounge where I could pump. She said she had actually had her second baby during her graduate nurses training just like I had done. She survived which gives me hope that I can, too. It was tough leaving my baby and also my little guy (T Rex), but my mom was here and she is truly amazing with them.

So, at the moment, I'm exhausted, overwhelmed, and quite a bit stressed. But my sweet babies are fast asleep in their beds. I just need to look at these amazing beings and stress departs and I just feel awe for being a mother to these amazing little ones. And then I offer a prayer of thanks for being given the opportunity to be at this exact place in my life.