1.) I got sunburned yesterday at the lake. (Reservoir, actually, but "lake" just sounds better.) Big-time. Especially on my feet and ankles. Why do I do this to myself every single summer? For some reason I just assume I WON'T get sunburned, and not for any logical reason, but "just because." How ridiculous is that? Other than my painful ankles and feet, we had a lot of fun. My kids played in the sand and splashed in the water with their sweet little cousins. I brought a shade tent thingy for Mary Lu and overall, she did really well. (She did get pretty fussy a few times--the bright sun combined with missed naps did not a happy baby make. But we managed.) Colorado, as you can imagine, has some fantastic state parks. This particular one is actually not terribly far from my house. I love that I live in the city but can be in the beautiful wilderness within thirty minutes or so.
2.) We went to Costco on Wednesday and (among other things, most of which were purchased in bulk) I bought a bathroom scale. Interestingly, we did not own one and I wanted to be able to track Mary's weight on my own over the next few weeks. This scale has thus far brought much amusement and entertainment to our home. Who knew that weighing yourself, weighing your baby, weighing yourself before nursing said baby and then weighing yourself afterwards to see how much milk she had, could be so darn fun? It's hilarious. We are addicted to using this scale. All of us. It's the little things.
3.) On the same Costco trip I had a coupon for some bottled iced tea. This seemed like it had the potential to be a good purchase--we do a lot of picnic park days and I thought I could procure a fun drink to bring along. Yesterday I took one to the lake...and took a drink...and oh my goodness, WHY are they mass-producing this vile stuff? YUCK! SO gross! I'm not a picky eater, I like most things, I love green iced tea (or any iced tea, really)...but this was disgusting. And I now have a HUGE case of it in my basement. I am not a wasteful person. I know myself well enough to know that I probably won't be able to just dump the stuff in the garbage. Which means I'll have to drink it. Ew. Because I can't just offload it onto naive guests who come to my house. That would just be too, too mean. It has caffeine in it, so I really can't even pawn it off on my unsuspecting children. Which is the normal protocol for food we buy that we don't end up liking. (Yet another benefit to having kids.) Shoot.
4.) This morning I read an article from a British medical journal that declared home births to be "harmful", associated with a much higher incidence of maternal and fetal death. Hmmm. I'm thinking this article did not distinguish between midwife-assisted home births, high-risk pregnancies, etc. Personally I think home births are fantastic. Not that I've ever had one, but my labors are fast and uncomplicated, and I think I'd maybe like to have a baby at home someday. I do believe pain is better managed at home, it's a much more restful environment, and it has the potential to be such a meaningful experience. Not to mention, and this might be the biggest benefit of all, the midwife model of care is preferable to me. By the time Mary was born, I'd HAD it with the standard "pregnancy is a medical condition that needs careful monitoring and so we're going to scare you at every single turn" paradigm that my OB was operating under. It was, by far, the most difficult aspect of the pregnancy. Placenta previa, Trisomy 18, and transverse breech were all things I was "threatened with." Two out of the three would have necessitated a C-Section, and one of them would have resulted in the baby's death. Talk about sucking the joy out of something that is supposed to be a happy, NATURAL, momentous process. Mary Lu was born roughly two or three hours from the start of active labor, no drugs, healthy as can be. The doctor and nurses joked about how they loved how "easy" I was. I was also told by my OB that I "do pregnancy very well." If that is the case, why the scare tactics? Why were we worrying about where the placenta was when I was just 20 weeks along? Or about the cysts on Mary's brain when time and time again that has been found to be a typical part of development? Why worry about the baby's position when it's not time for her to be born yet? I know why. Liability issues. I was even offered an amniocentesis to see if Mary had Trisomy 18. Really???? She showed no heart defects, no kidney problems, she was growing...and they offered me a risky procedure. Ugh. So, yes, I get a little riled up when the powers-that-be try to say that we ladies NEED doctors and hospitals to do something that women the world over have been doing for millenia. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being grateful for the medical care we have access to in our fine country (not to mention all three of my babes have been born in hospitals under the care of a doctor), but the C-Section rate in the Western world is HORRIBLE and I think a shift TOWARDS a midwife/homebirth model would be a good thing. Regardless of what the British say.
5.) My breakfast selections for my kids are seasonal--is that weird? They eat oatmeal and fruit every.single.day. Fall through Spring, rain (well, snow) or shine. In the summer though, we've been doing bagels and cream cheese with our fruit. I think it's because it's just way too hot--yes, even by breakfast-time--to even THINK about oatmeal. They also eat eggs a couple of times a week, with whatever else they're having. But yeah, no oatmeal in the summer.
6.) I ordered some homeschool materials online weeks ago and they STILL have not showed up at my door. Every day I get so excited at the prospect of them coming, and still they don't come. I'm such an impatient person (and, let's face it, I'm excited about what I ordered! The thing is, I ordered them off of half.com, and so they're shipped "media mail", which can take a bit of time.) I bought Story of the World Vol. I and then the activity book too. I really am so excited about these, and about studying ancient history this year with my kiddos. I have big plans to do a field trip to a Denver museum and see some real mummies when we're studying King Tut. So fun! (The museums here have free days for Colorado residents periodically. Pretty sweet.) Hard to believe, but I am so looking forward to this upcoming school year!
7.) I'm also gearing up to buy another annual family pass to the Denver Zoo. We bought one our first year here, then last year didn't renew it, but I think we'll get it going again this year. I love the zoo, and my kids love it too. Such a fun place to go kill time and there are some great animals there. I wonder how old kids are when they stop liking the zoo? Do they EVER stop liking it? I'm an adult, and I like it. At any rate I think we'll do the zoo again this year. For our family, the pass pays for itself in about two visits. :)
5 comments:
We renewed our zoo pass this year, after taking a couple years off. What I love is that besides our zoo, we can use our pass to get into other, bigger zoos. Our little zoo is pretty cheap, but we've been able to also get in places like Portland and Seattle for free. :)
Man...overused or not, I sure am glad c-sections are a viable option, at least in my pregnancy case(s). And here's another adult who still loves the zoo! :-)
Yes, C-section rates are shameful in this country. Hospitals and Dr.'s are wonderful when needed and in high risk situations, but I get so tired of them treating pregnancy like a disease. I know homebirth isn't for everyone, but I'm so happy to have been able to have both my daughters at home with an awesome midwife! The second time around was the best because I was more relaxed & it was much faster & it was just so special for the other two kids to be there this time to welcome their newest sibling into the world.
One the tea subject...try returning it. Costco is pretty awesome with returns and just be honest and tell them its nasty. They've always returned stuff for me w/out question even months afterwards (electronics do have a 90 day return policy though) & w/out a receipt.
On the tea - you could freecycle it.
Midwife/homebirth - I agree with you. I labored at home with a doula for a large part of my labor and was MUCH more comfortable there. My doula was encouraging, whereas toward the end of my pregnancy, my OB was ready to induce me at only 39 weeks. Why? Because I had one thyroid result that was off in the first trimester. I later found out that hcg can cause TSH values to be changed, so it was nothing to worry about in the first place. I'm not sure how I feel about a homebirth for me personally, but I love the idea of a birth center.
I don't comment often but I've been a reader for a long time. You should totally take that tea back to Costco and ask for a refund! Don't make yourself drink it. I don't know Costco's return policy but most places do returns or at least exchanges, right?
I've also wondered if/when kids stop liking the zoo. I have a zoo pass and plan to renew it each year until my kids outgrow it, if and when they do.
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