as we suspected

SATURDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health experts on Friday urged the federal Food and Drug Administration to consider banning the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children.

I promise to start eating healthy

My goal for the immediate future is to start making changes that improve my overall health. Number one on the agenda....make it a priority to eat home cooked, healthy meals on a more regular basis. To implement this strategy...and why I am not doing it presently...is because that requires preparation, motivation and time. To change the course of my thickening arteries and buldging mid section...i have to make the time to research and plan meals...then do as much prep work ahead of time (preferrably on the weekends).

Im actually excited about the change! My son deserves home cooked delicious and healthy meals and healthy parents who are good role models. I was even a vegan for a short while back in the day..and hardly ate meat my entire 20s....however the 30s i let it all hang out and just went down down down hill...to where now I am eating twinkies and frozen breastfast sandwiches. UGH.

To start over...i must make my way inch by inch instead of being overwhelmed and giving up before i even start. SO - with the help of a great website The Worlds Healthiest Foods, I am going to start my grocery list for this weekend. Im sure that some of you can relate (whether you are out of the closet or not is another thing)and hopefully by publishing my journey you can be inspired to come along with me. Another blog will soon be established to specifically chronical my jump into mature eating. For now...I will down this last tater tot with plans for fresh apples and raisens next week :)

**edited to add
My new blog...changing my ways...was born today!

freedom activists

26 September 2007 - Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) Monks march west on Shwegondine Road in Yangon as onlookers join and form a human chain to protect the monks from government forces deployed to crackdown on the demonstrations.

hormone attack

lets just get this out in the open...i am NOT an overachiever! seriously...i am not a YES person...i can say no just fine...and exercise that right often. however...i still tend to make a lot of work for myself and go the extra mile in general. is that an oxymoron? im a moron no doubt.

so my latest attempts at furthering my career involve staring at my desk (see pic) for 8 hours a day studying for a certification exam that i am taking october 2. i actually volunteered to do this 10 months ago...and since i only have 12 months to take the test....time is running out. its impossible for me to study at home when grant is awake...and god bless those of you who managed to go to college with children at home OMG...that is just CRAZY. by the time he is asleep i am a zombie...but i still have been forcing myself to at least review for an hour before going to bed. luckily i can study at work (although obviously i have to work at the same time) and i did time it so that im studying during a slow period. however...that slow period is about to end because i have a whole new season of programming and a spanking new publication to have out by mid october...hence the oct 2 testing date. i need to get this out of way before i have 2 months of busy busy business. ahhhhhhhh..i love to get myself into these situations.

and the cherry on top is that i am having a monster of PMS visitng me. today i am just crying my eyes out..and a nervous nelley. plus im cramping hard core. time to put my thinking cap on though and stop obsessing about how much i cant stand my husband hehe. funny how he isnt so bad most of the month.

send me good vibrations...there is alot of pressure to pass the exam...my employer paid for it for one thing...and i dont want to look stupid for another :)

oh and to answer the question...what test are you taking? its the certified parks and recreation professional exam. yes it exists. i guess every profession has such a thing. i get to put CPRP next to my name heheh.

peace out

pushin and shoving

why does my sweet little angel have to be the one at toddler yoga who wanders around pushing other little angels on their bottoms? GRRR? if bells are not heard around the globe.....are shotguns?

why instead of tree poses and breathing exercises does my precious bundle of energy insist on frisking and taking down the other precious cargo? ca boom.....

lord...i ended up leaving early just to catch my breath! between taking pictures for work (the class is organized through my employer) and reffing take downs....it was exhausting!

is it normal for 14 month olds to act like this? or is my son destined to be a bully? the other moms said it was normal...and some of theirs even bit! thank goodness that's not on my list of problems right now! its pretty devastating to see the child whose sweet side you see on a regular basis be another parents worst nightmare! i realize some of it is grant enjoying cause and effect...i push you fall and cry....but is that all there is? i sure hope so. i must admit...i am almost completely winging it on parenting and discipline. my DH swears thats the best way...but im not so sure. I feel like I am in an unfamiliar wilderness without a compass sometimes! i need a compass and fast! but like the saying goes...parenting doesnt come with a manual (although there sure is a vast array of parenting books out there so im not sure that cliche still applies)

of course i dont swat or spank yet...surely he wont grasp the meaning (bc i cannot explain it to him for one reason) and he will just end up hitting other children by imitation etc (which he is totally into right now. and just the fact that sometimes when i am frustrated and exasperated...i do want to swat at him...is reason enough for me NOT too! it would be completely self serving...and wrong in my opinion...and the expected and hoped for outcome (that he ceases performing that action) would undoubtedly still not be met! OOOOHHHH...the frustration.

so is this just a phase that will end before i spontaneously combust? please do tell your parenting wisdom.

as a final note...my son is adorable! im not kidding. upon arriving home tonight he played alone with daddy's socks for at least a half hour and then another half with the kazoo! im telling you....he is really spectacular unless he is around other midgets. i told my DH tonight that maybe our family is complete with just one child :) to which he replied: bravo.

firecrackers, kazoos & a hot pepper named omg

Grant had a wonderful vonderful weekend! He is feeling great with the exception of a few gasping, crazy, concerning coughs a day. He woke up giggling and hugging (one of the best things in life is when your child loves on you) and played his heart out all day long each day. Failed to get a video of him whistling though! GRRRR...thats gonna be a challenge...bc the episodes are so short in duration. I will keep on keeping on though! Its the cutest thing I ever did see...little pursed lips...sweet little song. hehehe.

Friday night we went to Yokohama....ahhh...for my favorite special sushi roll...the ummm....Jayhawk....i graduated from mizzou but am obviously not a loyalist. Any mizzou grad in their right mind would ride the fence for this delicacy. and the super fabulous happening on this adventure was that GRANT SLEPT through the entire meal! It was a dream come true. He is a very exuberant child (aka loud) and therefore the silence was indeed golden (especially for the other diners).
SUSHI = great way to start off the weekend



Saturday we did some house maintenance (which included making an appointment with my friend and housekeeper for sunday) and then off to the Legends - an outdoor mall and tourist destination in KCK (kansas city kansas). Its totally sim city for those of you who played nintendo in the 90s. They took a ghetto/kind rural area, bulldozed it and then built it up into a place to spend money. It has changed the county dramatically! Now there is a speedway, baseball stadium, a mall, the great wolf lodge, cabellas...its very white trash...but it sure is raking in the tax dollars. So anyhoo...we ran up there for the decadent and sinful Firecracker wings from the Yardhouse. These things are wicked good. the plum garlic sauce rocks! before and after we strolled about people watching and giving grant escalator rides! we even showed him the dinosaur restaurant...he was kinda scared...but not too much. pretty cute - leaning in closer to daddy.



Sunday, my college friend Lindsey drove in from independance, mo for a day spent baby watching and mass street shopping. she had never been to lawrence ks. grant once again fell asleep as if by magic and allowed us to have our zen zero meal in peace. she accidentally ingested one of the red hot peppers! Fire fire! I called out for emergencey milk! She didnt even cry..but i think she was close. She is tough. Then we shopped some. I managed to find a good quality brush, a dramatic pair of specs and toys!!! Grant finally has his very own, small broom, whisk and dust pan. He is in seventh heaven I swear. note how content he is in the pic. I also grabbed up another wooden puzzle....and a plastic kazoo. Home was clean and the carpet super fluffy when we arrived. Kristen had worked her magic and i was no longer afraid of the bathroom. ahhhhh. wish we could have her on a regular basis.


It was a very nice weekend...way up there on the scale. Grant is my superhero.

flash back

i remember when dave (DH) climbed the tree out in front of my mothers house in 1993. She couldnt stand it and complained to me (mind you he was 23 years old and a bit spirited for climbing the tree). i would know him another 10 years before we started falling in love. now thank god she loves him to pieces.he sure has changed...we both have!!!!!!its wild how things change. i changed dramatically from my 20s to my 30s. we are always growing and developing.

ode to crotchfruit

What a great way to start off a rather timid morning! I just finished reading the link I found on Hathor the Cow Goddess about the child free movement and lingo! What a hoot! Makes me want to run out and hug my little sperm and egg omelet!

Its just human nature. We must compete. There will always be the entertaining angst of this town vs that town, this religion vs that religion, and now parents vs child free. Something to do I suppose.

Its not a new thing. I even remember when I too was a proud child free 20 something adult, and my first wedding was indeed child free! Please dont bring your uncivilized beast to terrorize the sacredness of this very expensive if not slightly white trash event. The fact of the matter is.......the marriage didnt last and either did my pompous anti child delusion.

Of course, I am now a MOO (mother obsessed with offspring) and proud of it. Change is the only constant. So what if i am diaperwhipped! My dear little nipplecruncher is light of my life :) The lingo just cracks me up!

Indeed its like the term redneck being relcaimed by country folk...or cracker by whities, or how about bitch beteen girlfriends etc etc. Reclaiming slang can be empowering (if not crude). Have you read the book Cunt? Its overboard feminism in my opinion...but the overall theme is when you reclaim it...it looses some negativity. I love my fartling. There I did it!

So in response to Moores request for wacked out terms for the child free fanatic...im going with: eggrotter, extinctionhead, oldatheart & baby maverick. Have any to add? Its pretty fun.

Ive already reclaimed crotchfruit and fartling hehe...as they point out in the article.."parental use of the kid-centric terms could have a positive effect: Adams speculates that "when parents appropriate the non-parents' mockery, the edge is taken off, and the word moves closer to the center of parent-child linguistic behavior."

Onward breeder warriors! Reclaim your independance from the haters.

nothing to see here people

The "secret" was that I applied for a job in Jeff City. Long story short...I wasnt out looking but it landed in my lap. Here is the rejection email i just opened...

Paula,
Since I have known you for several years and I know you must be anxious
about the job, I thought I would contact you immediately to let you
know
that we have offered the job to someone else and they have accepted. I
would
not feel good about your finding out through a standardized rejection
letter.
I don't know if this is good news or bad news, but it got down to just
you
and the other candidate. You finished second out of the 71 who applied
for
the job.
It was not a matter of her references checking out well and yours not
checking out, it was a matter of both of your references checking out
as
outstanding and her winning out more on experience than anything else.
Just
so you know, Gayle was extremely complimentary about you and your
abilities
and made it abundantly clear that he would hate to lose you.
I know how disappointed you must be, but you should be proud that in
such a
short period of time in the field that you have made such a positive
impression on so many people. We had four individuals with MBAs,
several
with MPAs, and one person with both a degree in parks and recreation
and a
law degree who applied for the position. You finished ahead of all of
them.
I would not give up on this job for the future. I am planning on
retiring in
3-5 years. I would expect the person I just hired to move into my
position,
which would put the assistant's position open again very soon. (I'll
turn 62
on June 7, 2010. That would be the earliest date that I would consider
retiring.)
Sorry to be the bearer of this news. I would have enjoyed working with
you.
I was really in a confident mood this morning when I talked to the
other
candidate, because I knew that if she turned the job down that I was
pleased
with the #2 candidate.

The good news is...he made me feel good about myself. The bad news is...even though i started out just applying for the learning experience...i ended up really wanting it.So i am disappointed...yet content knowing that I still have an awesome job a wonderful boss, a happy little town to call home and WE DONT HAVE TO MOVE!!! Seeing grant with his cousins this weekend..was a real heart melter...and it would be wonderful for him to grow up around family. Who knows what the future holds..but for now i am at home in tongie.

vacation highlights

First we went to the Missouri capital building




and visited with family (thats grants finger in zachs nose!)





and visited with an "old friend" ...amy g



and grant made a new friend ....christian



Then Daddy met up with us and we went down to the lake of the ozarks and took many boat rides!


grant ate a lot of rocks



and slept on the boat everytime!



It was so nice to introduce grant to the lake house where his daddy has so many fabulous childhood...and adult memories! A place for familiy to gather and relax.
He didnt get to swim this time due to the cool weather...but there is always a next time for that!

back from the trip...just in a few hours ago.

nothing exciting to tell you just yet...still waiting to hear. as soon as i know something i will post.

Over the river and through the woods

to jefferson city we go! Today i leave work at 2:30, go to day care, freshen up grant and give him a snack (and mama milk of course)and off we trek to pick up daddy from work and then on to kansas city union station. this train traveling is becoming second nature for ol grant and i. this trip is a sin ch being that it is only 3 hours compared to the regular 6 + of our st louis journey.

So at 2:30 im officially on vacation. Wont be back till next tuesday! Visiting with my mom and aunt who are meeting us there for one day. Visiting with grants godparents and aunts, uncles and cousins for the entirety. Visiting with my old friend amy and her 3 year old christian on friday. and then swooosh...daddy is picking us up and we are off to the lake house! we havent been down there since before grant was born!

even though it all does sound fun...i know there is stress on the horizon. non baby proofed places are very tiresome for ol mama. however, i plan to do some babyproofing as i go...but oh...remember the time at my moms...haunts me.

grant is still coughing some..and at times they sound scary...but overall you know i really think he is doing just about as good as the now 12 month old who got it first. T.J. is green snottin and coughing and even wheezing! He has never been labeled asthma. His dr encouraged his mama to use the breathing treatments on him..and she is intermittently. We however...are nebulizer free! Its on hand in case he starts retracting...but for now...he is keeping up with the rest of them! mama is sooo very proud and excited and hopeful! Turns out...colds run into colds i think. they overlap. Be glad if your child is not exposed to other children on a regular basis!

i have a giant secret that i would love to share...but i cannot. holding on to it and not telling ...even when im dying to... has made me realize that by telling someone a secret..that you intend to keep a secret...you are actually doing an injustice to that person. now they have the baggage and must carry it along without telling anyone (as you just indulged in!) its not fair really. true secrets are not told. and its good that way. although i just indulged by telling you i had a secret which is completely selfish and silly. a couple of hints: im not pregnant hehe and its about me not grant. hopefully i can tell you the whole story when i return from jefferson city.

for now i continue to study for the cprp exam . AHHHHH

buy your scenery

Just got back in from a long walk with grant in the back pack. It had been quite some time since we did such a thing stroller free. The dog daze of summer had us staying indoors more than we like, and when we did get out, the added heat of wearing him was less than appealing. So anyhoo...the weather is GORGEOUS out today....feels like autumn...we even were a bit chilly to start out with which was a flip and we picked up yellow leaves along the way...hows that for autumny?

We walked behind the house through other yards to the habitat behind the electric line. Its great to be able to walk a few steps and be in green open space, even if there are a few drawbacks. Today I realized a couple things about my home dreams.

Our new neighbor to the West has turned our park like scenery into a junk yard (pic). Its a travesty. We actually fell in love with the house for the scenery. We now have plans for bamboo privacy rows and such and even to have a persuasive talk with him (although i have no idea how to bribe him to hide the now 5 ,metal things (cars, trailor, rv & a bobcat). So point learned: buy your scenery - or else have it be a protected land like a real park, national forest etc.

in conjunction with that....i realized i absolutely want to live connected to a trail system. i yearn to walk out my door and be greeted with an outdoor recreation oasis. its really exciting to think of it! so that has been put on my dream house list.

thats one thing that tongie sorely lacks...hiking trails.

nice to find things that bring you happiness...so you can go for it.

Lawrence Nurse In planned

Lawrence, KS Applebees Nurse In planned for September 8 at Noon. Please join us!

I dont have the time or really the desire to paraphrase what Angela White so flawlessly wrote at breastfeeding123 on the recent situation with Applebees. So if you are not already in the know...please read the following excerpt:

Women across the United States are gearing up for national nurse-ins on September 8, 2007, after a breastfeeding mother was treated poorly by Applebee’s on both local and corporate levels. When Brooke Ryan nursed her 7-month-old son Michael in a booth at a Lexington, Kentucky, Applebee’s, a waitress approached her and asked her to cover up with a blanket. Ryan did not have a blanket with her in the summer heat, but she did have a copy of Kentucky’s breastfeeding law, KRS 211.755. According to Ryan’s description of the incident, when she asked to speak to the manager and showed him the law, he said he was aware of the law, but that customers were complaining about indecent exposure. He repeated a request that she cover up with a blanket. Perhaps he didn’t study the law carefully enough, because Kentucky law specifically states that breastfeeding shall not be considered indecent exposure. The law reads:

Not withstanding any other provision of the law, a mother may breastfeed her baby or express breastmilk in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be. Breastfeeding a child or expressing breastmilk as part of breastfeeding shall not be considered an act of public indecency and shall not be considered indecent exposure, sexual conduct, lewd touching, or obscenity.

The sponsor of the original bill, Senator Tom Buford, agrees that Ryan’s rights were violated:

“She was not treated right under the new law,” he said. “There should have been no comment made to her at all; the restaurant overstepped its boundaries.”

Unfortunately, this did not remain an isolated incident of ignorance at one local Applebee’s restaurant. Ryan’s lawyers wrote two separate letters to Thomas and King, the corporate entity that runs several Applebee’s. It finally responded two months later with:

“We regret that Ms. Ryan left without being served and would like the opportunity to personally invite her to return” …. “We are also considering keeping blankets in the restaurants for use by breast-feeding mothers that may not have them readily available as a result of this incident.

Let’s all say it together: breastfeeding shall not be considered indecent exposure. A mother cannot be made to cover up with a blanket. It is not a matter of whether or not the mother was breastfeeding “discreetly” or “modestly.”

The problem did not stop with the local franchise owners Thomas and King; it went all the way up to the corporate level of Applebee’s. A concerned mother who contacted Applebee’s International Guest Relations Manager reports that she received this response:

I am calling with the corporate response you requested - and the corporate response to the breastfeeding in Lexington, Kentucky is that Applebee’s and its franchisees love having families dine together at our restaurants. We believe that this franchisee made a reasonable and lawful request of this guest in order to promote a pleasant and comfortable experience for all of its guests.

There is nothing “reasonable” or “lawful” about a request for a nursing mother to cover up with a blanket. Kentucky law is clear. What else is clear? Applebee’s learned nothing from the Delta national nurse-ins last November. When a woman follows all legal channels and gives a company every chance to right a wrong yet continues to receive inappropriate responses, there is cause to stage a nurse-in. In the hopes of getting an apology from Applebee’s and a promise to train its employees in breastfeeding rights, Brooke Ryan has organized a nurse-in locally for September 8, 2007. Activists have rallied to join her at 20 sites in 13 states so far. To see if a nurse-in is planned near you or to register your own site, join the Yahoo group set up to coordinate the events.

Trying something new to make $$

So.....Ive been playing around with ways to get more people to view my blog and meet other bloggers. Even though I originally started blogging as a way for Grant fans to keep up with his escapades, I am now actively recruiting readers (since the original fan base is less than loyal..and I want to meet new peeps and even....even
make money!)

After reading my Mamablogger friend, Elizabeth's blog, Whole Family, I was inspired to try something new. From her referral...it sounds easy, fun and profitable! I am very excited to be the newest postie at Pay Per Post. The deal is...you sign up, get approved (must have posted 20 times in the last 90 days) and then start accepting opportunities to earn hard cold cash. I personally have yet to receive money due to the fact that I only signed up today. However, Elizabeth has indeed earned money (which is put in your pay pal account). I am truly excited about this...and you should be too. It could not be simpler. Just blog about what you love.

I have only been a member for one hour and already I am learning that there is a whole new culture at Pay Per Post...commercialism meshing with the everyday blogger...a way for us to blog away and still manage to make an income. For example I am making $20 for just sharing this with you! Then if you click on the link and sign up I will make another $15 for each referral. I can also earn money by reviewing other blogs and accepting advertising opportunities.

Check it out and see if it is for you. Im certainly glad I did! My plans are to save the extra $$ for a family vacation. Dream away.

Progress

so in a nutshell...the pediatric asthma/allergist specialist and her posse said that
* grant may very well NOT have asthma
* grant may very well NOT have allergies
* grant may very well "just" have a weakened immune system
* they didnt recommend a blood allergy test based on the fact that he recently had the scratch test and that allergy testing is full of errors including false positives.

they still gave us an asthma action planned with green, yellow and red levels. each level has a myriad of medications to administer. they also gave us 8 prescriptions! we didnt fill them yet...sittin on them.

it was great to hear all the things that i really wanted to hear. they were the first to NOT label him with asthma which is WONDERFUL.

now im on the hunt for immunity boosting foods (too bad they didnt hand that out with their prescription template with 20 drugs on it that they give to everyone who walks through the door!) any suggestions would be appreciated!

Dave and i decided to try a control study...where we dont rush to meds when he comes down with a cough (even though that is on every level of the asthma plan). Lucky us...the chance came just days after the dr visit. See...after 10 months of breathing treatments using xopenex and then pulmicort if needed...we are not really sure they are helping. They certainly dont give the quick relief the drs expect with such medication. So in order to get a "normal" turn around time for old granto....we went cold turkey. Even though it was a bit scary at first...IM SO EXCITED to report that he is doing GREAT. Of course this was probably just a very slight cold...but as usual for grant it landed heavy in the lungs...but within 5 nights he had stopped coughing (at night)...and today he has barely coughed so i can see that he is healing on his own and in the same or maybe even shorter amount of time than it woudl have taken with LOTS and LOTS of drugs! Hallelujah! So this is very exciting for us. Might i also add that the 11.5 month old that had it first at day care...did get treated with xopenex and pulmicort (they prescribe these for upper respiratory stuff all the time anymore! its crazy)...and is at the same place grant is...getting better, barely coughing. He had it a couple days before grant too....so basically...grant is maybe even ahead of him healing wise. WHOA. Hows that for suppressed immuity?

So yes we will still fall back on drugs...but im thrilled to say its not a way of life anymore.