Cut From the Same Cloth

I get my hormonal wackiness honestly. My paternal Grandmother attempted to conceive her first child for 5 years before any success, and then she had a few other bumps in the road upon conceiving her next three. My Mother's side of the family is riddled with PCOS, endometriosis and thyroid disease of all sorts. It's a wonder any of us conceive at all. I guess sometimes it's a bonus that I hail from a place where people have their babies early. Otherwise, many of us may not even be here.

But I digress. My Mother was not immune to these issues. She has adenomyosis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (like me.) I wouldn't be surprised if there were other problems lurking in there. If she hadn't had me so young, there likely would have been no babies for her. She has had multiple surgeries and deals with emotional and physical symptoms from both disorders.

The problem with adenomyosis is that much like PCOS, it is not well understood or supported. Her doctors' main fix is to give her a hysterectomy which, sure, would ease the pain related to it, but not take away many of the other problems she suffers due to such a hormonal dysfunction. She's going through a particularly rough patch recently, and I just want her to have help. Does anyone out there have adenomyosis or know enough about it to recommend an online support group, book, or research that could help her?

I would appreciate it so much. She deserves a break.

Druggie Update

Now that E is finally settling back into a sort of routine following our lovely family visit, I thought I'd catch you up on what's been going on with me treatment wise...

• After that initial little bout of discomfort on the Metformin, my body is doing amazingly well! Even when I've had the occasional sweet or carb, I haven't responded in a crazy way. I don't know if it's because I started on the XR and not the regular this time (last time I switched), but it's been awesome.
• I'm still having crashes after meals and such, but I'm not up to my full dose yet. Since I'm a pansy, I went to 750 mg between the 500 and 1000. The therapeutic dose that got me E was the 1000mg/day.
• Interestingly enough, the awful joint pain that I figured had to be the start of some nasty arthritis has eased with the start of the Met. It eased so slowly that I didn't really think about it until tonight when I sat cross legged for an hour and could still walk straight afterward! (Note: PCOS contributes to joint pain. Nice. Gotta love that beyotch)
• I'm already feeling more emotionally stable again. It's so amazing the difference when my thyroid and PCOS are under control. I then understand why "normal" people are so aghast at some of my emotional issues.
• Read research that said while diet and exercise are the most beneficial therapy for many PCOSers, that they are most beneficial for those with a more out of whack BMI and that those already doing moderate exercise, eating fairly well and with an ok BMI see the least benefit. HAH! So there. (Can you tell I'm a little insecure about the fact that I can't keep it under control with diet and exercise?)
• Concerned about some research pointing to a decrease in the ability to absorb Vitamin B12 and folic acid when on Metformin that can lead to all kinds of problems. I plan to address this with Endo and was wondering if any of you had dealt with or heard about this?
  

Tired Mean Mama

Dear people who make prolonged and unnecessary noise outside my son's window after midnight,

Pray you never meet me in a dark alley. (turn the loud jalopy off already!)

Yours,
Tired mama who just got him to sleep and is disturbed by your rudeness herself.

Of Sleep and more Not Blogging

Things E requires to sleep:
Full tummy
No change in routine
No distress
His Pooh lovey (unwashed)*
White noise
Night light
Seahorse (thank you thank you Elizabeth)
The right prep
The right temp and the clothes of his choosing.
No "ghosts" (new appearing tonight)

Starting to think we are lucky we even get the weeks when he says, "I can nap?" goes right down and sleeps through. We still co sleep occasionally... Like tonight.

*made the huge mistake of washing Pooh in a detergent load tonight when I usually use Eco nuts or no scent stuff. He kept throwing him down and crying hard, "Poooh!! Are you??? POOH." Mommy epic fail.

Thanks for the Support and A Bad Blogger excuse

Well... two doses in and I'm already feeling some of the effects of the Met. I have to remember that the last two times I was on it, the name of the game was strictly restricting diet in the beginning, slowly tapering up the dose and adding foods back in slowly and gently as time went on.

Many of you mentioned the scariness of cholesterol/triglyceride lowering drugs, and it worries me too. I'd like to know more if you have info. But you're right Panamahat. It is kind of a tricky thing. Who wants side effects, but who wants heart disease either? Especially when one side of your family has a habit of kicking it in their sixties from heart issues and the other side has a habit of needing cholesterol and/or triglyceride lowering medications... to the point of, "you're going to fall over dead if you don't do this despite your eating cardboard and running triathalons (literally) for a year." So that's why I'm hoping dealing with the PCOS is the main issue. The drug my Doctor mentioned was a "Fibrate." Has anyone had experiences with them? I hear they are not as "bad" as statins.

Congratulations Jen for your success on Metformin! I just started up taking it again yesterday. It was a long 3 months of adjustment (see earlier treatments posts if you want to read my whining) last time before I felt good. But when I felt good, I felt awesome! I felt the best I had in years, and my blood levels showed it.

Thanks for the cheerleading all! I wanted to write this post and thank you, but also let you know that things will be spotty for a bit while we entertain family! I know. It's awesome.

Letters to Babybutt

Dear E,

Your new pooping time of at precisely the beginning of nap time is a little inconvenient. Interesting though is Mommy's ability to smell it through your closed door. I'm not sure if this is a testament to Mommy's skill or your stinky-ness.

Love you,
M

She's Baaaack

OK, so she was never really gone, but we are starting to see more and more PCOS related changes in my blood work again. Most notably, while my cholesterol levels are reflecting dietary changes by being annoyingly out of whack as opposed to "let's put you on medication" screwiness, my triglycerides have not obliged. They are beyond "semi-high" and trucking for the border. They're overachievers those triglycerides. I've done the diet and exercise thing and only ever seen "better" with it and not "optimal." I'm tired of trying so hard. At this point it's go on triglyceride lowering drugs or look to PCOS as the culprit and manage that first. Since I've also been having my "crashes" in the morning and my newly regular cycles seem to be lengthening, after visiting Endo today (have I mentioned that I love them there?) we've decided to go the way of Metformin again. We always knew this would probably be the case, and in a way I'm relieved, but oh man, here we go on the food roller coaster.

I had been annoyed lately by a stubborn 10+ pounds (I lost 2 on my diet fix) that wouldn't go away (another PCOS crapper), but now I'm thinking I should keep all the "skinny" clothes since last time I got down to high school weight from being so sick in the beginning on Met. That time I had the willpower to do it as one of my last resorts for getting pregnant and staying healthy. This time it's one of my last resorts so I don't travel the same tragic heart health road as family members before me. Wish me luck!

Potty Adventures

We always let the baby run "nakey" after his bath. He was stooping and bending a lot, but I didn't think much of it. We had one little "pee pee" incident before I saw him get into position. The bad news is that one made it to the carpet. The good news is that when I ran him to the potty, he finished going on it!*

*Side note: He's been telling us a lot now when he has to "poo" and almost every time he's "Tinky" or has "Poop dipey." As he said to Hub the other day, "Poop go away!"

Intelligence or Bad Parenting? Companion Post

The ever witty Jen posted this about the ever amusing Elizabeth on her blog today, and I could immediately relate. So here is my version of that story:

Recently I noticed that almost every time I put my hand on E's head from the front seat (he's still rear facing), he says, "FWIES?" "Fwies" descend from that direction when he's having a snack attack. He also says it when he notices any fast food type establishment out the window.

Sometimes E gets very hungry in the car, and golgish, chos and stwabees just don't cut it.

I experience the same confusion as Jen and don't know whether I should relate this story of my son's knowledge proudly or sweep it under the rug. You'd never know I regularly cook and freeze healthy food for my son's daycare.

Summer Camp Day 17 - Weekends!

Day 17 – What is your favorite thing about the weekend? Do you take a break from blogs or is this when you catch up?

My favorite thing about the weekend is most definitely our family time. It's so much fun to just play. I hate that we only have one day off together as a family unit. E seems to live for that day.

Obviously I catch up on blogs (if you read this) only on weekends at night or when E is napping. I'm out of the house for about 12 hours a day on work days and then with the scramble of bedtime and getting ready for work/daycare time, I get very little blogging in. I've learned to let that stuff go and go back to basics when I needed to. Trying to get as much done as I used to was starting to cause some break downish stuff, so I re-prioritized.

Summer Camp Day 15 - Still behind the game

I'm still catching up on summer camp posts after the day for which they are intended but what the heck!

Day 15 – What was your college experience like? Were you involved in any clubs, groups, etc? If you did not go to college what was your experience like after high school?

My college experience was stressful and wonderful and enlightening and comfortable. My family did not have much money, so it was on me to get loans and scholarships when applying for college. Luckily I did well academically and was involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities, so I scored a few financial prizes from my high school, some great aid from the state of Pennsylvania (they had one of the best systems then - not so much in this economy), and some aid/loans from Federal student aid. I landed on my final school of choice for so many reasons but one of the biggest incentives was an academic scholarship of close to $10,000 a year. (Woot!) The downside to that was that I had to manage a 3.5 GPA for my entire school career to keep the scholarship - hence the stress and anxiety part of my experience. Organic chemistry did not want me to keep my money. Organic chemistry is a bastard if you did not know. He will suck you dry.

But enough about that. I went to a small, private school that was large compared to my 64 person graduating class in high school. The campus was absolutely beautiful and surrounded by my sweet PA mountains and countryside. It was Catholic, so we had a gorgeous yet comfy little chapel on grounds and lots of priests and brothers walking around. It was also the most comfortable I've ever felt with the Catholic faith. It was ok to disagree at my school as long as you weren't breaking school rules. It was ok if you were another faith, and in fact, other faiths were welcome to join church services if desired. It was a liberal arts college and experience in every single sense of that phrase. I adored it.

I majored in Biology/Environmental Science and learned so much. Outdoor labs and fieldwork were my absolute favorite experience. There are so many aspects of my education I don't use now that I would love to go back to using.

Some high school classmates also attended the school, so I had built in friends. However, I usually hung out with other Bio students. We geeked out over all kinds of sciency stuff. We also did our share of attending the local bar and frat parties, but we were never hard core partiers... too geeky. ;-) I made a few lifelong friends and spent a long time mooning over Hub and the distance between us. I felt much more accepted and strong than I ever felt in high school. I felt the world was my oyster.

As I've noted in this blog before, years later I went on to take a few Master's level classes in my attempt to get a Conservation Biology graduate certificate. I didn't finish because I got pregnant with E. I'll finish if the mood strikes. Right now I'm having too much fun with this project. Anyway, I found grad school incredibly stimulating, brain prodding and different from undergrad. There was a lot more treating us as colleagues and a lot less lecturing at the students. There was also a lot more emphasis on understanding critical thinking and how to find our answers rather than memorization and emphasis on test scores. It was a fabulous way to learn. It was really hard, but it was also an amazing experience. I recommend that anyone who loves the school experience in any way should try at least one graduate level course in something that stimulates them.

ETA: Clubs!? Oops. OK, I was a chairperson for the Student Activities Organization, a member of the Biological Honor Society, President of an Environmental Awareness Association, a tutor, a school van driver for pick ups at the train stations, mall runs etc, and I had work study as a lab assistant. I also worked part time in retail for about 15-20 hours a week. Talk about stretched for time as I carried 17-20 credits every semester except the last! (where I only carried 14. Woot!)

Summer Camp Day 14

Day 14– How do you typically dress to run errands? Do you think bloggers dress better or worse than “regular people”?

If they are really run around errands to my usual non fancy haunts, I often just dress in capris or linen pants and a t-shirt. I don't wear shorts too much anymore. I don't find myself that attractive in them unless they are the longer kind. I'm grateful for all those years that I actually looked good (though I didn't appreciate it to the fullest I should have) in those shorter shorts. Now I don't have to feel like I'm missing out.

If I'm going somewhere slightly nicer, a lunch or an appointment, I may throw on a sundress or jeans or khakis and once of my few nicer tops. I can't seem to get the last 10-15 pounds (I'll settle for 10... please) off, and on top of that, the hips and girls are a bit more extroverted than they used to be so I am definitely suffering for clothing.

I think answering the blogger question is very difficult because we are all SO very different. Some of us dress professionally for work and are dressed nicely be default when we run errands. Some of us work from home and may not want or have the time to throw on something more than our lounge pants and a t-shirt. And some of us do grimy work and just pray no one is standing too close to us in the check out line of the grocery store. (Why do they INSIST on doing that? What? No, not me! I'm not grimy! What was I saying?) What's more, depending on how you have to look for work or home or whatever, you may thrive on dressing up or ache to dress down when you have more of a choice.

Join the rest of us in Calliope's Summer Camp in the Blogosphere!

Placeholder - Training in Action! (Finally!)

Hold onto your hats. This space is reserved for the next post in which we FINALLY get going on implementing an actual training plan! It's so much fun, I promise you! If you want to get caught up on the info click the following:

Positive Reinforcement and how it works Part 1
Positive Reinforcement and how it works Part 2
Positive Reinforcement Part 3 - Setting yourself up for Success

Summer Camp Day 11 - All in the Family

Day 11– How are you different from your parents? How are you the same? Do your parents and/or family know that you write on-line?

(Note: I was going to do the recipe day, but then just never got around to the work it would require. I'd be sorry except that instead of doing that, I spent a lot of time running around with the baby and getting kisses, so I'm not sorry. :)

I look most like my Mom except that I have my Dad's eye shape and complexion (damn it.) My Mom and I are both short, petite brunettes. We have the same smile, sharp bone structure and laugh. I even heard my Grandma's guffaw come out of my mouth the other night. I have hijacked a lot of my Mom's mannerisms and figures of speech as well. In behavior though, I often think of myself as a tempered version of my mother. I lived with her most of the time growing up and was more influenced by her worldview. If you knew her, you'd know she is full force. When she's angry, she's angry. When she's upset, you worry for her level of desolation. When she is indignant, the unfortunate offender will hear about it gall darn it! I picked up some of that, but have it tempered with my Dad's tendency to analyze a bit more first and to seek the path of non-violence in all things. The things that I picked up from my Mom in spades though are a sense of obligation to others, a despair at unfairness and inequality, an obnoxious need to question myself in all things and a desire to make the world right. I share with both of them an intense love of all life. They just express it and experience it in vastly different ways from one another. I'm very fortunate to have had such disparate lessons from both sides of my equally loving families.

My closest family knows I have an anonymous blog. One of them reads it (Hi H!). I wish she'd write a blog everyone else could read besides family because I know everyone would enjoy it. I suspect some others may have found it, but if they have, they haven't mentioned it. I'd like to keep it that way. I don't think my Mom's side would even try to (and some wouldn't even know how to) look for it. There are a few close friends from my non-online life who know of this blog specifically but two I think who really read it. (Hi K! Hi R!)

A Life Reconsidered (ongoing)

I want to work more on my writing. I want to hone skills grown shabby and learn skills I never mastered. I don't regret the path I took. Conservation, science and wildlife biology are a passion just like writing, and I've lived the adventures on which it has taken me. But what I've let slide does sadden me some.

It won't be a quick thing or an easy one. My family takes precedence right now, and I must perform well at my full time job. I must figure out where I can learn what I need to. I have a pretty decent grasp of the fundamentals, but oh the beyond...

And I must conquer my fear of putting myself out there, of letting others know me, of hearing criticism. When did that happen? There was a time when I was fierce in my ambition and need to learn and improve. I wanted to take the world by storm... BE somebody, make a difference. While I believe I gave accomplished much and have made a difference, somehow the ambition has wavered. The focus has blurred, and the fear and timidity have grown. It would be fine if the ambition had gone away completely, but it hasn't. It's still floating around in there but lacking direction and resolve.

I love my current job, but it's no longer a prominent passion. I never believed I would say that. The time for moving on is coming for so many reasons. I've been feeling for a long time that I wasn't growing as I feel I need to in my work and all the changes I've made in the past few years hasn't really changed that. And since the birth of E, my position in my work life almost feels... Juvenile, despite my love it. My position as mother has trumped all else and given me a kick in the pants for other parts of my life.

Now this is obviously a very self involved ramble meant to help me work through my own thoughts (like most of this blog), but I would sincerely welcome any and all points, considerations and ideas thrown my way.

Xo
Me

Godspeed Atlantis

15 shuttle launches viewed from the home base.

1 launch viewed from the coast.

4 returning booms that caused us to go wide eyed (at the least) every. Darn. Time.

Countless hours spent watching manned space flight on TV.

One last flight watched and cheered as we hope that we will someday again attain these heights.

So many hopes and best wishes for Brevard County, Fl as they work through this time of economic turmoil.

Letters to Babybutt (to read when you are older)

My Dearest baby,

It seems you have inherited much of Mommy's sensitivity, empathy and affectionate nature. There are so many positives to those traits, and we are delighted that you love hugging us, being with us and seem to so fully care how other living things feel. As you pet an animal you always say, "Nicey, nicey!" and do it so gently. It's amazing for an 18 month old.

But with the up side comes the down, and I want you to understand how to manage it. Things will affect you more often and more strongly than the way in which other people will feel them. I'm both glad and sorry for that. It will sometimes be harder to turn off your brain and get to sleep. It will sometimes be harder to turn off your brain and remember the good. Scary movies can be your enemy as can the nightly news. Surround yourself with positive, supportive people. The others don't matter. Oh yes, I know they matter in a human sense, but they don't matter enough to give them any part of your precious self. And you are definitely so precious. Believe that. Own it. You are an amazing human being who can feel empathy for others but yet not expend all your own energy doing so.

It's going to be difficult so many times. But when it is difficult, please go to your happy place. If you need to grieve, do it and don't be hard on yourself. Once you grieve, remember the circle of people who will always always be standing behind you. I will be with you forever E. And even though I am your Mommy, know that I speak the truth regardless. Your sweetness and sensitivity are a gorgeous asset. They are very powerful conduits for change and creativity. You can use them well and know that you deserve all the best.

Even though you may not think it as you grow up, I've been there and know how you feel. I remind myself daily now that the times you have difficulty sleeping, or separating from Mommy are so similar to how I was as a child (and still am in many ways). I was so attached to my Mommy, your grandma, as a 3 year old that she had to have me tuck my hand in her back pocket while she mowed the lawn. I didn't want to be away from her, and she wanted me to be safe from the mower. Even if it took her an hour, I stuck with her the entire time. I feel that we are like that E. We are buddies. We have lots of love. The difference between your childhood and mine is that you have both a Mommy and a Daddy cheering you on equally as a strong, loving unit. And Daddy can teach you even more ways to respect and protect yourself while remaining a caring human being. He's better at that part, I'm better at the nurturing. We share our strengths. We are a family, and we will stay that way.

Love always,
M

Summer Camp Day 7 - Foods!

Day 7– What’s your favorite thing to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Do you read food blogs or would you ever consider writing one?

For breakfast there's nothing I enjoy more than some sausage gravy and home fries. Since meat and potatoes were two of a very small selection of foods I could enjoy while pregnant, this was a favorite. (Who am I kidding? It's always a favorite!) Technically, I don't eat and don't even like sausage. But for some reason, put it in some white gravy, and I go nuts.

For lunch hmm... I think I'd have to say that lunch is highly variable for me, and I like it that way. I work outside a lot, so my favorite thing is very dependent on the kind of weather in which I find myself. In hot weather, I love something fruit based or delicious chicken salad with a good Italian dressing. In cold weather, I prefer something like potato soup. (sensing a pattern with the potatoes?)

For dinner a favorite go to meal is a veggie or chicken soy based Asian dish. I don't much care which one. They're all delicious, though two of my regular favorites include Szechuan chicken and Mu Shu vegetable. I also love a good veggie pad thai or Filipino sinigang. My favorite meal of my family's is ham pot pie (except I don't eat the ham.) And no, this isn't a meat pie. In case you didn't know, that's a different thing altogether. This is pot pie... ingredients... dough... in a pot... on the stove. Pot pie. Homemade thick noodles and potatoes (shocker!) in a flavorful broth. Mmmmmmm.

I occasionally read food blogs. I adore food and love learning new recipes and looking at the beautiful photos of beautiful deliciousness. The only one I read regularly is Pioneer Woman's cooking section. Every single recipe I have tried of hers has been heavenly. And no, I would never food blog. I do not have the patience in the slightest. Nor do I have the time.

Join Calliope's Summer Camp in the Blogosphere to play along!

And then there were 5 - Moving Update

No, we are no closer to moving really, but we have had some progress on narrowing down options. By the way, you all were awesome for providing such wonderful insight, and if you want to do it any more, or any more of you have thoughts, throw 'em all my way! In any case, Annapolis, MD is now completely off the list due to cost of living concerns.

I'm glad we've given ourselves years to do this, not only because of financial issues, but because letting go of Florida isn't going to be easy. I find myself drinking in the dramatic beauty of our skies, basking in the warmth and studying the bird life just a little more closely. On the other hand, I sometimes feel like I'm already mentally separating. While I like my job, I feel I could leave it tomorrow, and I absolutely long for E to experience more of what Hub and I did growing up. The only way to do that is to get closer to family and into a more northern state. Sometimes I want to move tomorrow.

Cute Baby Stories - 18 month edition

**I was making lunch and asked E if he was ready to eat. He said, "Is DADDY eat?" I said, "No. Daddy is working. He's drawing for work." E became insistent that Daddy eat until I told him we'd call him to make sure he was eating. Before we called him, E toddled over and chirped out, "We can buy Daddy FOWERS?" Taken aback (I didn't even know he knew the word "buy.") I said, "Well sure! Maybe we can go outside and pick Daddy some flowers!" He replied, "Fowers. OusssIDE?"

We proceeded to call Daddy so that E could ascertain that he was indeed (except not so much) eating lunch. During the call he said, "Daddy! Did you want some FOWERS?" Oh my God. This child slays me.

**He suddenly can play ring around the rosie with me. (Thanks to daycare? Caillou?) I can't get over the feeling of his little hands in mine as we turn in the circle. And if I don't fall down appropriately, he shoves me into the correct position.

**Yesterday I realized that the box his car seat came in makes a perfect baby house or "Bay house" as E calls it. We decorated it by drawing all over it with crayons, but I had to show him how to climb into it. Now that I have performed the required service, I am no permitted inside the "bay house." When I do climb in, our baby goes all toddler, shouts "NO Mommy!" and attempts to pull me out by my feet. Oh the adorableness of earnest, annoyed toddler.

**And finally.... every time Hub hugs or kisses me, E becomes concerned. Usually we include him in the hug, and he acquiesces for a few seconds before pushing Daddy away to hug me himself. This time, Daddy was kissing me a little more intently than usual. E's eyes got wide and he said, "MOMMY! NO! MOMMY!" and crawled over to where we were sitting. He then pushed Daddy away, leaned into my face and gave a loud, "MWWWWAAAAAAH!" as he planted one on my cheek. I guess he showed Daddy just who Mommy belongs to hmm?

Little Stories and Rants

• I tried a variation on Jen's fruit pasta salad for the 4th. Instead of the poppy seed dressing (I was afraid I wouldn't find Brianna's and didn't want to go with another), I used vanilla flavored almond milk (Silk brand). To go along with this change, I did not use hard boiled eggs. I also do not have Jen's aversion to blueberries. Blue happens to be my favorite color and blueberries a perfection of flavor, so I used them instead of cherries. The verdict? Really yummy, sweet and refreshing, but lacking the surprising pop and pizazz of Jen's version. Use mine for less adventurous taste buds, but for a more memorable dish, go with Jen's.
• We got a new car seat (you know.. due to the old one being in a car accident and all). We LOVE it! We originally had the Safety First Complete Air. It was a decent seat. It was really comfortable for E, and it had a lot of great features like the non-rethreading height adjustment. I also like the side impact features. Let's not forget that it only cost me $99. That (along with its high safety ratings) was the biggest sell. This car seat is the step up from that. It's the Safety First Complete Air 65 LX. This design is so much easier to stabilize and recline than the older seat, and it has even more comfort features for the baby like padded straps. I'm also happy to report that the straps buckling him in are even easier to use and detangle. At least one good thing came out of this accident!
• We occasionally allow E a few french fries, and he adores them. He was very hungry the other day, so I got him some in the drive through. When we got to the grocery store, he was still holding onto one. A lady saw him and clucked over my choice of food saying, "That's so bad for him!" Nice. Thanks for judging my parenting on that one visit lady. Wouldn't you like to know how I usually agonize over just the right balance of nutrition for MY baby? Thoughtless. That's my new pet peeve... thoughtlessness.
• In that thoughtless vein - why is it "creepy" for people to breast feed or donate their breast milk, but it's totally cool to drink milk that comes right out of a cow? Let me say that again... milk that COMES OUT OF A COW is not creepy in the slightest while feeding your baby or donating milk to help the survival of hospitalized infants is gross. Sure.
  
• You may notice a rash of posts coming in the next few days. My head has been exploding with thoughts, but we've been busy with a very allergy ridden baby. We often try to err on the side of not medicating him too much when he doesn't seem as bad, but apparently we are misjudging. The poor kid ends up crying hysterically throughout the night with a wheezy rattling chest and what appears to be burning eyes. Hub's one wish was that E not inherit his allergies. I wish he had been granted that.
  

Summer Camp - Hey it's Your Birthday!

Summer Camp Day 5 - What do you like to do on your birthday?

There's nothing I like more on my birthday than a good old adventure. As I've mentioned before, Hub and I enjoy our little adventures. They can be big or small, expensive or cheap. (Most of the time it leans toward the cheap side.) For example, for my 30th birthday I got a laparoscopy/hysteroscopy and a trip to Key West! How's that for excitement? OK, I kid, I kid. The lap was an unfortunate aside. The Key West trip was a sensory feast of a drive through Florida and all its keys that we still recall with warmth.

I also adore surprises. Even when Hub surprises me by having the house clean and warm food waiting when I get home for my birthday, I find it a delight. The best, though, are surprise adventures. Hub did this once for a state park visit for our anniversary. I admit it. He's a good boy. I'll keep him and his presents. What do you like? Visit Calliope to find out more about Summer Camp.

For your 4th of July enjoyment...

On Sunday I got teary in church when we sang America the Beautiful and My Country tis of Thee. I also got ridiculously into it and obnoxiously proud when we stood up to represent families with Air Force members and sang Wild Blue Yonder. (We sang every armed forces song. I knew them all except the Coast Guard one. Apologies.)

Happy Independence Day USA! Ours has already been lots of fun with more to come.

Summer Camp Day 3 - Guilty Pleasures

• CHOCOLATE
• cheese
• tiramisu
• the occasional celebrity gossip mag
• iPod free game apps
• sappy sappy love stories (yes, I cry)
• the internet
  

The rest I think I don't really feel guilty about! If I think of more, I'll add.

Summer Camp!

I'm trying to get into the swing of Calliope's brilliant summer camp idea! Why do I have to work all the time, making it hard to get in quality family and blog time huh? In any case, I'm jumping on board with a retroactive Day 2.
Day 2 -What were you like in high school? What extracurricular activities, if any, did you take part in during high school? Did you consider yourself a writer?

High school ran the gamut for me. Our high school was tiny, so 7-12th grades went to classes in the same building even though 7-9 was considered junior high, and 10-12 was senior high. Some of our events were held separately, but there was still a lot of awareness of all involved in such a small school. (My graduating class numbered 64).

I was always a little sensitive and a little shy. Secretly then and now, I often want nothing more than to be the center of adoring attention and to crack everyone up. The problem is, I don't want that unless I know I can completely trust my adoring crowd. This sets the stage for a lot of awkward.

I had a lot of dorky, bookish girl moments. However, I also had a fabulous group of close-knit friends with whom I saw eye to eye. We all were headed for college. We all hated selfish snobbery. We all just wanted everyone to get along for Pete's sake! We were lucky in that our little group granted us some protection from the nastiness of the snots and allowed us to be friendly with those they considered "untouchable." To be fair though, since it was such a small school, the nastiness was reined in some since everyone's family knew everyone else's. It was hard to be mean to someone when you knew their whole story and could really see the impact.

I loved and continue to love physical activity. I adored softball and enjoyed playing basketball, running etc, but Mom wouldn't allow sports... something about money, practice blah blah. So instead, I focused on the primarily intellectual and creative pursuits she encouraged, and I enjoyed. I was a band nerd (the flute). I was in chorus and most of our plays and musicals. That's where having such a small school came in handy because even though I was petrified for try-outs, my teachers knew me well and knew I could handle small solos. So yeah! I've sung in front of an audience by myself! I still wonder how I got the balls for that.

I was also in the National Honor Society, usually a class officer of some sort, in the Community Service Club and my last year I wrangled a spot in the ski club thanks to my Dad. It was awesome - finally a sport of some sort! That last year was my favorite, because I finally managed to figure out what clothes looked good on me, how to do my hair and how to not give a flying f*ck what other people thought. It was pretty damn awesome. As a result, I got hit on more often (though I didn't want them by that point), I earned more respect and I had a hell of a lot more fun.

And yes, I always always considered myself a writer. It was and is my passion. I was a reporter and the art person for our school newspaper for years. This was before the high prevalence of computers in the classroom, and I drew many of the little flourishes for the articles. I won a few writing contests here and there and even made it to District levels a few times. I submitted works for kid magazines and had a few published. It was my dream to be a professional writer. I scribbled in journals constantly and considered the job I would have to support my goal. I actually think I was a better writer then than I am now. I worked harder on it and was in classes constantly that helped me improve. I feel like I have more to add to the writing now... more maturity, but I often wish for classes to make me work at it and improve now.

Funnily enough, I intended to go into conservation work in college to support my writing on the side. What the HELL was I thinking? Shouldn't I have chosen a better paying profession to support my hobby? Ah. We're young and idealistic then huh? I got majorly sidetracked into a passion for my job, and even though I kept writing for company newsletters etc, I mostly dropped my dream. I often think now of picking it back up.

Happy Canada Day to my fine Canadian family and friends! Canada Rocks!