Life As a Trigonometric Function

Saucy

2012-02-08T12:33:00.000-05:00

Liliana's Story, Part III

2012-01-25T22:00:00.000-05:00

Need to catch up?
Part I
Part II
__________

The false water breaking alarm motivated Ish and I to get everything packed to go to the Birth Center for when I actually do go into labor. I had been procrastinating doing this earlier because Little Ish was born 6 days late. I kind of figured I would at least make it to 40 weeks with this baby.

Aside from getting things ready, the next few days were filled with some major mental struggles for me. I would start to have fairly regular contractions and then I would think, “What if the baby has flipped back into the breech position?” As soon as I would start to think the baby might be breech again my contractions would spread themselves further apart or disappear for hours at a time.

On November 3rd, Little Ish had a play date planned. My friend M and her son were coming to visit. Little Ish and J were going to play while M and I could catch up and I could get help deciphering a knitting pattern. During the playdate my contractions were getting closer together. I recall telling M that if I was going to be having contractions, it’d be nice if they were actually doing something.

Around 5, M and her son head home and Ish’s mother comes to pick up the little guy; she is watching him so we can attend our final childbirth refresher course. When we arrive at childbirth class, P, the nurse teaching the course, congratulates me on having a head down baby. I respond by saying that I keep thinking that the baby has flipped back into a breech position and that I am pretty sure that this line of thinking is preventing me from going into labor. P sends Ish downstairs to ask if one of the midwives can check the position of the baby after class--it’s a go! K will check me when class is done.

Class begins by practicing relaxation techniques. As the other couples practice breathing through pretend contractions, I am not practicing at all--I am having real contractions and breathing through them is a must. Ish helps me relax. Though I am aware that my contractions are fairly intense, I am not having any back labor so they are far less staggering than any of the contractions I had when I was in labor with Little Ish. As class progresses, I am still in denial that I could be in real labor--the other couples seem far more sure that I am in labor than I am; they all wish me good luck as they leave.

I hang out in the waiting room for a few minutes before someone decides that I should go on the monitor to see how far apart my contractions are. Aside from baby being quite adept at kicking the monitors off, this is fairly uneventful. It turns out my contractions are already 3-5 minutes apart. After the NST, K checks me to see where the baby is positioned. She is head down and I am 4+ centimeters dilated. I am a bit shocked to find that I am in active labor; it feels nothing like it did with Little Ish.

Now that I am in labor it is time to decide on a game plan. I decide I want to go home to, if nothing else, get my bags and eat some dinner. I was already past due to eat and ideally I would labor at home for a little while. K asks if she can bind my belly before I go so that the baby doesn’t have a chance to flip again. I am all for keeping my little one head down so K wraps my belly with cloth and safety pins me in.

The drive home makes my contractions feel painful. If there is anything about labor that I truly hate, it is having contractions in the car. Not being able to move with a contraction is wretched. The drive home is hampered by traffic thanks to construction on the interstate; I wonder if the people in charge of the construction know how hellish it is to labor in a car--conclusion, probably not. I distract myself by calling and texting family and friends to let them know that I am in labor.

When we arrive home, Ish makes me a chocolate peanut butter tortilla and a glass of milk as I go about our house gathering up anything else that needed to be packed (until going up and down the stairs becomes too troublesome). At some point, Ish calls his parents to let them know that child birth class has turned into child birth. They will be watching Little Ish.

By the time everything is packed and I have eaten, contractions are intense enough that I want to go back to the birth center. I call K to let her know that we are headed back. She mentions that it is a good thing since I have Group B Strep and need to start the antibiotics. She also asks if I mind if J, the student nurse at the birth center, observes my labor and birth. I am fine with this proposition. [ fun side note: J happens to be the fiancée of a friend and coworker from college].

When we arrive at the birth center, we head to the water birth suite. K gets me set up with antibiotics. She is having trouble getting an IV into my arm and the needle goes through my vein twice. Ever seen your arm fill with saline solution? It’s gross. After a couple of failed attempts she starts a line in my hand with no problem. As the antibiotics are being administered K fills the birthing tub. Remembering how soothing it was during my labor with Little Ish, I want to hop in the water as soon a possible. The antibiotics finish, but the tub is still filling so I dance through contractions. At this point I am still chatty and the contractions, although intense, are not that bad.

Finally, it is time to get in the water. From here on out time starts to blur. I labor in the tub for a long time. I am fairly relaxed and able to chat with everyone in between contractions. I even manage to eat some almonds and a fudgesicle. I remember P, one of the nurses, coming in saying she was going to take a nap. I remember saying that I didn’t think she’d get much of a nap in before I needed to push. How wrong I was!

After a while, I started feeling a lot of pressure in my butt, and assumed that I was starting to feel kind of pushy. Not so! It turns out this baby, much like her brother, wanted to spend most of labor in an OP position. Enter back labor. Around the time I started having back labor, my contractions started spacing out as well. I get out of the tub. K checks me. Progress is slower than I anticipated. After a short discussion, we decide that I should try laboring out of the tub for a while to let gravity help me dilate more. Ish is providing counter pressure as I dance, bounce on the birth ball, labor on the birthing stool, and even labor on the toilet.

Shifts change and S is the midwife taking over. Since there is another Momma in labor, I actually end up having every single midwife in the birth center attend some portion of my labor--even the one who no longer attends labors and births! Because of this I did spend sometime trying to bear down when I wasn’t ready to push which probably aided in my 20th hour of labour meltdown, but in retrospect I am charmed that I got to share my labor and birth with so many wonderful women.

Time is blurring. Back labor makes the order of things impossible to remember. I do remember spending a lot of time in the bed on my side trying to get the baby to turn. At one point my sugars were starting to drop and I had Ish applying counter pressure, S massaging my legs and feet, while J was trying to get me to drink some hot tea with milk and sugar. As I breathe and moan through contractions, I desperately want my mom to be there. Not moving through the contractions is agony and I know my mom would have the right words to encourage me. Instead of focusing on my mom being several states away, I try to think about what she would say. I can’t remember what I settled on, but it helped.

After a long time on the bed with no luck in turning the baby, S encourages me to labor
in the shower. Ish gets into his bathing suit and gets in the shower with me. He holds me up, applies counter pressure, whispers words of encouragement, and puts up with my demanding labor personality. Soon, standing is too much and I have to pee anyway.

After peeing, I labor on the toilet. I am exhausted, frustrated and sick of being in labor. I melt down and tell everyone that I want a hospital transport. S suggests checking my progress and then rupturing my membranes to get this baby down and out. I am still insisting that I cannot possibly keep laboring and need relief. S gives me and Ish time to talk it out. I beg and plead with him telling him that I need to go to the hospital and that I need him to back me up. Thankfully I have a husband who is supportive, but also knows how pissed I would be if I actually took a hospital transport. He realizes that I am talking crazy talk and that I just want some pain relief. Ish asks S if there is any sort of IV pain relief that she can give me; there is but it can cause breathing troubles in the baby if administered too close to delivery.

We decide to let S check my progress and then rupture my membranes. When she checks, I am almost fully dilated. Out comes the crochet hook for the AROM. There is amniotic fluid gushing out in waves and within minutes it feels like a bowling ball is trying to rocket itself through my backside. I am on my hands and knees with pillows supporting my front half. It is finally time to push!

With each contraction, I can feel the baby moving downward. After each contraction I sink into the pillows for a moment to regain my strength. S asks me if I want to move to my side; “I don’t want to move. I just want to push this baby out”, I manage to pant. I start to get a terrible burning sensation and I announce it to the room. Everyone encourages me to keep going. I bear down with everything I have left and with a few more pushes and the head is out followed by a warm squirmy flourish of baby body slipping out after.
“Reach down and pick up your baby,” S says. I use the rest of my energy to pick up my sweet baby. When I let Ish check for the baby’s gender, he says “It looks like we have an Oliver”*. “Try again,” S says. We have a Liliana. A perfectly sweet 6 lb 5oz little girl.

Snow baby...

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

Liliana, 11 weeks 1 day

Liliana's Story, Part II

2011-12-02T05:24:00.000-05:00

Missed part one? Read it here.

Names of all midwives and nurses have been reduced to initials for privacy purposes. If I get a chance to ask them for permission, names may be entered at a later date.

______________

Fast forward 4 days. It’s Tuesday morning; Ish is about to leave for work and I realize that I am leaking fluid. A million and one thoughts are racing through my mind: “Did my water break? Which way is the baby facing? Do I call the birth center or the new midwife? What am I supposed to do with Little Ish?” Ish and I have a frenzied conversation while Little Ish throws a full out temper tantrum. Decisions are made.

Ish calls his mom to ask her to take Little Ish. Fail. She is driving Ish’s sister Emily to the airport. Em to the rescue! She calls her husband and he is going to come hang out with the Little guy.

Little Ish goes down for a nap aka stands in his crib screaming for a while and doesn’t fall asleep. I am pretty sure he senses that something is wrong.

Since I am not having contractions at this point, Ish leaves for work. I contact the birth center and wait for the midwife on call to be paged. The five minutes it takes to get the return phone call feels like hours. The phone rings. I hastily explain my situation to D and she says that she thinks she can safely have me come get checked. I call Ish and he comes home immediately.

Ish brings the little guy outside to play until Scott arrives. I’m not even sure if I said “hi” or “thank you” before we rushed out the door (note: it’s always nice to have an experienced parent watching your child--need for instructions is minimal). The car ride was a blur. We arrived at the birth center and had to wait a few minutes to go back--the laundry room had flooded so D needed a moment to clean up.

We made our way to the exam room, and D explains the procedure for checking whether or not my water had broken. I still remember the details from our false alarm with Little Ish, but I don’t bother stopping her. Before collecting the specimen to verify the possible rupture of membranes, D listens to the baby’s heart rate on the doppler. She is finding the heart rate really low on my belly and says, “Wouldn’t it be really cool if your water hadn’t broken and baby was head down?” D feels for the baby’s head from the outside and is thinking that she may have finally flipped head down. We agree that an internal is necessary.

D does everything necessary to check if my water had broken. She is pretty sure I am in the clear, but she needs to wait for the slide she made to dry [under a microscope amniotic fluid appears as a very distinctive pattern]. Afterward, I have the longest internal ever, but D is 99.9% sure that the baby has flipped. We decide an ultrasound to verify would be a good precaution. I decide not to get my hopes up.

After all is said and done, I have my weekly NST while I wait for D to look at the slide. The baby is not doing very much, and I am due for a snack [gestational diabetics have to eat every few hours to maintain normal glucose levels]. I was in such a rush to get to the birth center that I hadn’t thought to bring anything--midwives to the rescue! D raids the birth center fridge and makes me toast. I couldn’t decide between hummus or peanut butter so I eat half a slice with one topping and half with the other. Once I have eaten and switched positions the baby is performing like a pro for the monitor.

D comes in to check on me with some “bad” news. The results of the slide are inconclusive. We go through the whole specimen collection process again. Instead of having us wait around for results, D offers to call if my water has indeed broken. This works out well because Ish spent the time I was on the monitors making me an appointment for an ultrasound. The appointment is in less than 2 hours.

The location of the ultrasound place is right near one of our favorite lunch spots. We have plenty of time to grab lunch before my appointment. One bowl of Thai chicken soup later, I am off to get an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech isn’t supposed to tell patients much, but this one is really nice and immediately verifies that the baby is head down. That is all that we needed to know but she does a full work up of the baby anyways.

As we leave the imaging center I feel so much less stressed knowing that baby is planning on diving out instead of attempting a cannon ball birth. The icing on the cake? My membranes hadn’t ruptured. Little did I know how much stress this wonderful news could cause.

___________________

To be continued...

Liliana's Story, Part I

2011-11-29T12:32:00.000-05:00

Since it is a rather long story and I want to give background information about the crazy 6 weeks leading up to Lily's birth, I will be posting our birth story in several parts. Please excuse all grammatical and stylistic errors--maybe one day when I have time I will go back through and edit.

_____________________

Liliana’s birth story really starts at the end of September. The same week that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I also found out that Lily was presenting breech. For several weeks she had been switching between head down and breech, but it was at this point that she really settled into a breech position. At first I was not panicked, but as the weeks passed it didn’t look like our little one had any intentions of turning except for several occasions when she would hang out in a transverse presentation for a few hours at a time--I could distinctly see a head and bottom on either side of my belly. This was not boding well for my birth plans.

Despite generally having a low pain tolerance, I am a huge advocate of natural birth. I also had no intentions of having a hospital birth. Between the gestational diabetes and my stubbornly breech baby,I was starting to fear that I would “risk out” of having a birth center baby. It turns out that keeping my sugars under control, while annoying, was actually rather simple. Getting Liliana to turn was a whole different ballgame.

As Liliana’s due date loomed closer, my midwives gave me all sorts of exercises to try in hopes that she would turn. Ever tried laying upside down on an ironing board for 15 minutes at a time with a bag or frozen raspberries sitting on top of your belly? It’s not fun, but I did it. I also started going to a chiropractor who used the Webster technique in attempts to flip Lily.

When I hit 36 weeks pregnant and she was still breech, I was told I might want to consider having a version. At first it seemed like a decent solution and I found a doctor willing to perform the procedure. As I researched versions, I realized it wasn’t really a risk I wanted to take. Not wanting to have a C-section [the standard protocol in hospitals for breech presentation], I took the advice of two of Ish’s sisters and called a local homebirth midwife who has experience delivering breech babies. Due to her November full of mommas who were due around the same time as me, she agreed to be my “plan c”, but first she referred me to a wonderful midwife an hour away who has tons of breech delivery experience. I called the referred midwife and not only was she willing to take me on as a client, but she made the time to meet with me and Ish that day. At our meeting, the new midwife answered all of my questions about breech birth and I left feeling confident that if Liliana remained breech that I could and would still have a natural birth.

_____________________

To be continued

A bit of "bathroom humor"...

2011-11-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated Super Thanksgiving with Ish's family. At one point after dinner this conversation took place:

Ish: Do you know where our boy is?
Me: Last I saw him he was in the dining room taking all the oranges out of the fruit bowl. (note: this was about 2 minutes before the conversation took place)

Ish then handed Lily to me so I could go upstairs and nurse her. As I was on my way upstairs I walked past the bathroom. The door was open, and what did I see? A very content looking Little Ish sitting in the toilet. When I asked what he was doing his response was: "Bath".

I called for Ish, who told me that since the damage was already done that I might as well grab my camera. My brother in-law Walter managed to catch some of it on video.

[Note: I only find this funny because he wasn't head down when I found him. This could have ended terribly. It is a good reminder to close all bathroom doors when you have a very curious toddler in the house.]

It's a girl!

2011-11-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

Liliana was born on November 4th, 2011 at 1:19 PM. She is an absolute peanut weighing in at 6lbs 5oz (almost a full pound less than Little Ish). She is 18 inches long (or was...I am pretty sure she's grown already). She scored a 9/10 on both Apgars. Also, her blood sugars are fine--a concern since I had gestational diabetes.

Birth story coming soon...

Daybook for 10/07/2011

2011-10-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY (10.07.11)
Outside my window...Squirrels are frolicking through the grass collecting acorns. Neighborhood children are playing at the playground.

I am thinking...about how much needs to be done before the new baby arrives.

I am thankful...for an impromptu visit from my parents earlier this week. They decided to visit my little family for their 30th wedding anniversary.

From the learning rooms...Little Ish's language is exploding. I haven't done an official word count yet but just off the top of my head I got to 40+ words. He also has figured out that there are better things to do with blocks than to throw them or eat them.

In the kitchen...there is a lot of measuring of food. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes a couple weeks ago. So far the diet has been going really well.

I am wearing...a blue maternity dress and black maternity leggings.

I am creating...lots of little knitted things.

I am going...to the farm to pick up our CSA share this evening.

I am wondering...how long disputing 2 incorrect medical bills will take.

I am reading...Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding

I am hoping...this baby decides that being breech is not a good idea.

I am looking forward to...a visit from my sister in a few weeks.

I am hearing...sweet little sleep noises through the baby monitor.

Around the house...there is lots to do. Diapers need to be removed from the dryer and more laundry switched over. I will hopefully get all of the newborn and 0-3 month clothes washed and put away this weekend.

I am pondering...very little. Head colds and pondering don't mix.

One of my favorite things...is a mug of hot milk sprinkled with cinnamon.

A few plans for the rest of the week:The week is almost over. Dinner with Ish's family tonight and dinner with friends tomorrow night. Sunday, we rest.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Please note that Little Ish is now pacifier free!

To join in the fun, visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

Some children sleep with teddy bears...

2011-07-11T21:32:00.001-04:00

....my child sleeps with a hammer.

Meal Plan: Week of 06/19/11

2011-06-21T08:22:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy, especially first trimester, tends to put me in a meal planning rut (perhaps because even the thought of food makes me nauseous). Now that I have come out the other side of the morning sickness rigmarole, I am trying to get back on top of meal planning. Here's what we are eating for dinner at Chestnut Hollow this week:

Sunday:
Veggie Loaded Pasta with Nut & Dairy Free Spinach-Chard Pesto (Note: Pesto recipe was adapted from the "Basic pesto/pistou" recipe in John Ash: Cooking One on One : Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher )

Monday:
Asian BBQ Chicken
Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple
Summer Squash

Tuesday:
Mexican Vermicelli
Carrot Sticks

Wednesday:
Flank Steak with Easy Oven Fries
Vanilla and Cardamom Glazed Beets

Thursday:
Bean and Cheese Burritos
Homemade Guacamole
Rice

Friday:
Pizza at Ish's parents' house

Saturday:
Dinner with friends/birthday celebration for Little Ish

A smattering of photos...

2011-06-13T08:05:00.004-04:00

A little out of season...

2011-06-12T08:05:00.006-04:00

Down on the farm!

2011-06-11T08:05:00.002-04:00

Last spring, Ish and I visited The Inn at East Hill Farm as a little get away before Baby Ish was born. A few weeks ago, we brought Little Ish to the farm for the first time, and he loved it. I was worried that he would be scared of the animals. What a waste of worrying!


Patting a lamb that got loose!


Hanging out with the chickens!

Expectations...

2011-06-10T09:43:00.000-04:00

After a bit of an absence from this blog, I think I might finally be ready to start posting again. Part of the reason for my absence is just needing a break, but the main reason is quite exciting: Ish and I are expecting our 2nd child!

After a pretty harrowing 1st trimester and not so pleasant early 2nd trimester, I am finally starting to feel a lot better and get some of my energy back. I am 17 weeks and 2 days along in this pregnancy and feel like November 16th is approaching more quickly than I would like. Maybe it is a result of the nervousness I feel about having 2 little ones under 2 years old!

If you remember from when I was pregnant with Little Ish, our friends have a tradition of giving babies nicknames (or titles) while they are in utero. Little Ish was the Diplomat, and this little one is the Apprentice.

Happy Friday!

Pulling up

2011-05-06T11:26:00.001-04:00

New 'do

2011-04-27T21:12:00.000-04:00

Daddy's Boy

2011-04-26T11:59:00.001-04:00

Between Good Friday and taking Monday off for his birthday, Ish had a 4 day weekend. Little Ish is not used to having his daddy around all day for so many days in a row, and boy, did he have a blast! This morning when Ish left for work, Little Ish began to cry. As if the teary departure wasn't precious enough, he spent the next hour saying "Dada? Dada?!" over and over again. It was like he had lost his best friend. This resulted in a call to Ish at work which so far has kept the little guy much happier.

Milestone Mania

2011-04-23T11:11:00.000-04:00

Before having Little Ish, I had always heard that children grow and change so quickly; one day they can't do something and the next they are doing it like a pro. I tended to think that was a bit of a hyperbole, and in the case of Little Ish the only thing he has gone from not doing at all to doing really well is sitting (but that is old news). This week has been a pretty amazing week of milestones and changes though.

Pulling up- On Monday, Little Ish surprised us by pulling himself up in his crib, and then later he pulled himself up on the coffee table. Admittedly, Little Ish has been able to pull himself to a squat and a kneel for quite some time. He also pulled himself to what appeared to be a stand a few weeks ago while in his high chair which resulted in quite the fall. I don't count the highchair incident though since it was so singular in nature.

Clapping- This may not be a formal milestone, but it is really cute. On Wednesday, Little Ish started clapping for the first time. Now, if anyone says "hooray!", he starts clapping.

First word- When Little Ish is being fussy, one of the few things that always calms him down is letting him talk on the phone. After a particularly fussy Thursday morning, I called Ish on his lunch break in hopes of calming the little guy down. When Ish was talking to him, Little Ish responded with "Dada!" and then looked at me with a big smile on his face as if to say "Look what I just did Mom! Did you hear me? Did you?!"

High-Five- Another informal milestone. Little Ish now gives high-fives.

Caught Sitting!

2011-04-16T08:39:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to capture a picture of my little guy sitting for almost 2 months now. Finally, yesterday, I was able to get a single snapshot of this milestone. As soon as I took the picture, he crawled after me (or really, my camera).

The lighting is terrible, but I am just excited to have finally caught him in the act of sitting.

Blueberry yogurt for the win!

2011-04-13T09:25:00.000-04:00

Despite the massive yogurt beard, he did consume several ounces of yogurt.

Peels of laughter...

2011-03-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

Photo fun!

2011-02-24T11:40:00.000-05:00

Baby Ish was in a very good mood yesterday afternoon, so I took advantage of the moment and snapped some photos.

Bright eyes

2011-02-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Sayonara Gilbert...

2011-02-11T21:55:00.000-05:00

Now you see him...

Now you don't...

Silly...

2011-02-05T22:17:00.000-05:00

Chaos...

2011-01-31T20:34:00.000-05:00

Life has been pretty crazy around here the past few days. With all three of us getting sick, a doctor's appointment, a wedding, and the normal everyday hustle and bustle, I have barely had time to hear myself think (thus blogging was clearly out of the question). Things are looking like they will be a little bit quieter this week. Hopefully that means I will be able to get around to reviewing both The Happiness Project and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Here are a couple of photos from the past week (sadly, there are none from the wedding since I neglected to bring my camera).

When I reached for my camera, Little Ish was standing up holding onto the edge of his book bin; by the time I was able to snap a photo, he had reached for a book all the way across the bin. The end result? Flying baby!

Proof that he does actually stand! (As opposed to flying...)

Meet Gilbert

2011-01-24T12:06:00.001-05:00

Gilbert is a stuffed goose who gets a lot of playtime around here. Little Ish has found several uses for Gilbert.

Gilbert is good for patting.

He is even better for snacking on.

And of course, he is wonderful for snuggling.

Gilbert was a Christmas gift. The only place I know of to purchase one of these adorable geese is at Twelve Chairs, a shop and design studio in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston.

Sleepy Sunday

2011-01-23T08:11:00.000-05:00

New Camera Fun

2011-01-22T18:07:00.000-05:00

Up until a few weeks ago, I had been using a point-and-shoot camera that I got as a gift from my mother when I graduated from high school [in 2003]. This camera has served me well, and I would continue to use it, but I wanted to move from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR. At the beginning of the month, I purchased a Canon Rebel XS, and I am in love. I have yet to take it out of auto-focus, but I will be working on that after I finish reading the manual. I will gladly take any recommendations for books/blogs/etc. on photography. Now a few updated photos of my munchkin...

1/26: In Defense of Food

2011-01-22T11:50:00.001-05:00

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This grammatical atrocity is the sage advice of Michael Pollan; it also is the thesis of his bestselling book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Although I had never considered food to be in need of defending, Pollan, a talented journalist and academic, has convinced me that the defense of food is direly necessary.In Defense of Food captured my attention long before I ever considered reading it. I was seeing it quoted in so many places that I was beginning to realize that Pollan’s manifesto was becoming required reading.

Despite being interested in what he had to say, I was not particularly looking forward to reading this book. I expected it to be rather dry and envisioned myself trying to sludge through it—How delightfully wrong I was! On many occasions I actually found myself laughing out loud (practically in hysterics). Pollan managed not only to inform me about the deceit being put forth by both food manufacturers and the government but to keep me actively engaged as well.

This book has helped to precipitate major dietary changes for my family. The knowledge that Pollan dispenses put Ish and me on a much faster track to kicking processed food out of our diets. To many, this probably sounds like a complicated, stress-inducing task, but for us, it has worked to simplify our lives. I, for one, have been freed from the bonds of intense couponing and from feeling the need to stockpile—it is hard (read: almost impossible) to stockpile most whole foods.

One of the pieces of advice that Pollan gives is to pretend you are grocery shopping with your great grandmother. If she wouldn’t recognize what you are buying as food, then it is probably safe to assume that you shouldn’t be buying it. This gem has helped us to really look at the ingredients in some of the foods we had been buying. Thank you Michael Pollan for enlightening me and helping me to eat real food.

I do not have a single negative thing to say about this book. For those of you who know me well, you know that this is an extreme oddity. Not only do I recommend In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, I strongly urge you to read it.

Up Next:The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

1/52: Pushed by Jennifer Block

2011-01-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

For my first book of 2011, I decided to just finish the book I had been reading since sometime this autumn—Pushed:The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block. Block, a journalist by trade, takes an in-depth look at the state of maternity care in the United States and the factors precipitating the mess that she found it in.

As a big proponent of natural [read: physiological] childbirth, I was not at all surprised by Block’s findings—childbirth in America is unnecessarily over-medicalized [in high contrast to the rest of the developed world]. Regardless of my previous acquaintance with the subject, I found that the book greatly augmented my knowledge. This does not, however, mean that the book was a dry presentation of scientific research. The author seamlessly integrates the results of medical studies with both historical facts and personal interviews.

One of the best parts of this book is that it does not require the reader to be a scientist. Block makes sense of the medical terminology and research in such a way that I never found myself struggling to understand what she was writing about—a characteristic that receives major points from this B.A. in English! I do believe my basic knowledge of physiological childbirth also contributed to my ease in understanding.

I do have one major beef with this book. For the majority of her book Block does a fantastic job in making maternity care choices a woman’s issue with out trying to limit it to a specific political view. In the last chapter, Block rips back the curtain to reveal her own incredibly pro-abortion agenda. She actually argues that the only way a woman can demand less medicalized maternity care is to also demand abortion rights. This proposal is not only logically unsound, but it could also be detrimental to the birthing choice movement. Being vehemently pro-life myself, I know that is very possible to support birthing choice and unborn children. Sorry, Ms. Block, but you missed the boat with your last chapter.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, even with the faulty logic at the end of it. The subject of birth choice is important and Pushed contains a wealth of invaluable information. If you are pregnant (or TTC), I would put this book on the must-read list.

Up Next:In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

52 in 52

2011-01-05T11:41:00.000-05:00

Almost every year I make a resolution to read more. This never seems to work out very well. Recently I realized that I do much better with quantified goals, and I have decided to try to read a book per week in 2011. I will attempt to review each of the books when I finish them. If nothing else, I will add an ongoing list to the sidebar. Happy reading!

6 + 10

2011-01-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Since we spent a large portion of December in Massachusetts with my family, I failed to post a 6 months milestone update.

Aside from rolling like a pro, Little Ish has been trying really hard to scoot. Aside from a couple of successful scoots backwards, he mostly just looks like he is trying to swim on land. He loves to grab at everything--especially hair and glasses. He also reaches for cups and latches onto the rim (I assume it feels good on his gums since he has been teething up a storm).

Little Ish has definitely developed a sense of humor, and he is quick to smile and laugh. He has started to really play with toys and other household objects. Bathtime has quickly turned into playtime. A partially water-filled bottle [sans cap] creates a lot of laughs from both Baby Ish and from Momma and Daddy--he likes to throw the water in his face!

Five months (and change!)

2010-12-03T11:06:00.000-05:00

Little Ish hit five months on the day after Thanksgiving. Since we were away for the holiday, I never took the time to make a five months post.

At five months old, Little Ish is a pretty happy baby. He loves books (looking at them, listening to them and gnawing on them!) He grabs at everything but is particularly fond of stealing Daddy's glasses. Ishmael can now roll proficiently from his back to his belly. When he achieves this feat, he tends to shriek like someone who has just jumped out of an airplane.

The photo in this post was taken at Twelve Chairs in Boston, MA. If you happen to be in the Boston area, you should pay a visit and say hello to my sister for me!

A Hop, a Skip, and a Jump...

2010-11-24T12:28:00.000-05:00

...An Adventure in Link Sharing

As I traverse the blogosphere--and sometimes even venture into the other realms of the world wide web--I often come across links that I find worthy of sharing. I do not, however, want to clutter anybody's inbox, wall, or newsfeed; thus I have decided to move most of my link posting to my blog. This way I can post several links at once without being a nuisance (or at least being less of one).

Let the link sharing begin!

Your Body Works --I really enjoyed this post from Sarah C. at Mama Birth. She writes about some of the hot-button issues surrounding childbirth and breastfeeding and encourages readers to employ their common sense.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread -- More than one person has asked me where I got my recipe for chocolate zucchini bread (not because they have tried it, but because I wrote about it here a few months ago). The recipe I use is not my own. It comes from the blogger at Organized Everyday
H/T to Deborah at A Different Drum for leading me to this recipe.

Why reading aloud to your children is NOT important -- After a lot of searching for a decent children's book review site, I came across this link to Read Aloud Dad whilst reading a post at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers (one of my favorite blogs!)

DIY Wedding Envelope from Vintage Books --I am a letter writer. I am terrible at remembering who I need to write to, but I do write a significant amount of letters. Recently I have become enchanted by the many letter writing niche blogs that adorn the blogosphere. I really enjoy the photos of handmade envelopes that these bloggers have sent and received and wanted to try my hand at making some of my own. This was perhaps the best tutorial I could find on the subject.

Have you come across any great links this week?

Swinging

2010-11-23T15:49:00.000-05:00

85 days...

2010-11-20T17:22:00.000-05:00

...until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training!

Laughter

2010-11-13T00:19:00.002-05:00

I have been trying for almost a month to capture a picture of my little guy laughing. I finally succeeded on Thursday afternoon. Part of the reason it is so hard to capture him laughing is because the two things that make him laugh the hardest are when I wear him as a hat and when I tickle his tummy with my nose.

The land of the free...

2010-11-11T09:08:00.000-05:00

...because of the brave.

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." ~Elmer Davis

Thank you to all the men and women who defend our freedom at home and abroad. Thank you to all those who served in the past and all of you who are serving today. You truly are heroes.

Happy Belated Halloween!

2010-11-01T12:41:00.000-04:00

I hope everybody had a safe and happy holiday yesterday. Ish and I chose not to dress Little Ish up this year, but instead to just dress him in Halloween themed clothes. He spent most of the day attempting to eat his bib.

Teddy bears are friends...

2010-10-29T07:30:00.001-04:00

...not food.

Teddy bears are for...

2010-10-28T07:35:00.002-04:00

...eating?

Daybook for 10.27.10

2010-10-27T06:27:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY
(10.27.10)

Outside my window...it is still dark. I was too awake after Little Ish woke up for a 5AM feeding to head back to bed.

I am thinking...that I could really use a hot cup of coffee and a slice of pumpkin bread. Breastfeeding makes me hungry.

I am thankful for...kind words from almost strangers. A woman came up to me after Mass on Friday to tell me that I was doing a good job caring for Little Ish. After she said that she asked,"What's your baby's name?" I told her, and it turns out she knows both my husband and my mother-in-law. Her compliment really brightened my day.

From the learning rooms...Little Ish is exploring the world with his mouth and with his feet. On Sunday, he kept feeling a friend's beard with his feet. Thankfully both parties were amused.

From the kitchen...there is half a loaf of pumpkin bread left. Tonight we are having a turkey dinner, and when we are done, Ish is making soup!

I am wearing...my pajamas.

I am creating...goals for the month of November.

I am going...to make coffee as soon as I am done with this daybook entry.

I am reading...Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block. It is a very enlightening read, but it is also scary. I am glad I had my sweet, little Ishmael at a birth center. It is very likely that I would have had a C-section if I had elected to have a hospital birth.

I am hoping...that my mother-in-law is enjoying her pilgrimage, and that she returns home safely.

I am hearing...my husband's alarm clock.

Around the house...I have laundry coming out my ears.

One of my favorite things...is seeing Ish walk up the sidewalk after work each day. My heart leaps at the sight of him.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Aside from dinner with friends on Saturday, I don't have too much planned.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Baby Ish, October 2010

For more daybooks visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

Four months...

2010-10-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that it has been 4 months since Little Ish was born. When thinking about it, 4 months seems like such a short amount of time, yet I cannot seem to clearly remember life with out my sweet little boy.

At four months, Ishmael's personality is starting to shine through. He is very sweet and cuddly, but he can get dangerously squirmy when he is upset. As he has grown, he has become much more vocal. He babbles and coos (sometimes to the point of rambling). Physically, he is getting a lot stronger. He can hold his head up, roll from his belly to his back, and is getting pretty good at grasping things and putting them in his mouth.

Now that he seems more accustomed to life outside the womb, Little Ish enjoys exploring the world around him. One of his favorite ways to explore is by putting anything that he can reach into his mouth. He is often found using his teddy bear as a teething ring!

Caution: Major Rant Ahead

2010-10-13T00:11:00.000-04:00

I am usually one of those people who tries incredibly hard to make excuses for other people's bad behavior--not necessarily in attempts to condone it but to mitigate the temptation toward anger. I am a master of rationalization. There are, however, a few things that I cannot find a way to rationalize; smoking is one of them.

There isn't a smoker in this country who doesn't have at least an inkling that smoking is bad for them. There also isn't a smoker in this country who hasn't at least some idea that his smoking has negative affects on the people around them. Then why, must I ask, did no fewer than 5 individuals think it perfectly polite to stand next to me and light up cigarettes in the 10 minutes that I waited for Ish to pick me up tonight? There is an expansive area that runs along the front of the grocery store; why was it necessary to stand next to me and smoke?

Dear smokers, feel free to dig your own graves, but please stop digging mine as well!

Head's Up!*

2010-10-09T17:57:00.001-04:00

*Head's is a contraction of head and is.

Moleskine musings...

2010-10-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

This morning I was able to enjoy a small amount of writing time in my moleskine; it was an incredibly refreshing experience to play with language just because I could. Since I took so much joy in writing it, I thought I would take the time to type it up and share it with others.

This year the Autumn has crept up on me. It sat patiently, crouched in a corner, just waiting to jump out and shout, "Boo!" Well Autumn, you have caught me off guard in your abrupt arrival. Your tardiness led me to believe that you would ease me into your seductively crisp cool temperatures throughout the month of October before taking off your late-summer mask. Alas! You played me for a fool. Overnight you stormed in and usurped Summer's long held throne.

Autumn...

2010-10-02T14:34:00.006-04:00

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
-- George Eliot

Jack-o-lanterns and sugar pumpkins

2010-09-28T19:03:00.000-04:00

On Saturday afternoon, we went as a family to the farm that Baby Ish's Godparents manage. They were so gracious to allow us to use some of their already picked jack-o-lantern and sugar pumpkins as the setting for a photo shoot. Little Ish was relatively cooperative.

He wasn't fussing, but he was making an oh-so-serious face...

...so Daddy decided to tickle the corners of his mouth...

...which resulted in this...

Daybook for 09.27.10

2010-09-27T08:47:00.001-04:00

FOR TODAY
(09.27.10)

Outside my window...it is a drizzly grey morning.

I am thinking...about meal planning and grocery lists.

I am thankful for...Little Ish's "absolutely normal" hips!

From the learning rooms...we are still working on head control. I have a very reluctant scholar. Currently tummy time is also scream like a banshee time.

From the kitchen...there is lots of zucchini bread (both regular and chocolate). Tonight is Italian chicken, baked potatoes and summer squash.

I am wearing...a simple black top and a knee-length floral skirt. On my feet I am still wearing my fuzzy blue pajama socks.

I am creating...a meal plan for the week and a grocery list. I hope to write a few letters during this week.

I am going...nowhere today.

I am reading...Midwives still. It's been a busier month than anticipated.

I am hoping...that the Autumn weather sticks around. It has been an abnormally hot September.

I am hearing...the hum of the refrigerator.

Around the house...I need to clean up before babysitting my niece and nephew tonight.

One of my favorite things...when Baby Ish laughs in his sleep. It makes me wonder what he is dreaming about.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Aside from babysitting tonight and grocery shopping tomorrow night, I have no concrete plans. Perhaps we will visit the farm on Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Alas, pumpkins!, September 2010

For more daybooks visit Peggy at: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

3 months

2010-09-26T19:49:00.000-04:00

Ishmael is 3 months old today. He is growing quickly and is constantly surprising me with new skills. He loves to be sung to and is particularly fond of "Wade in the Water" and Schubert's "Ave Maria". His latest feats include blowing raspberries; holding onto and chewing on his rattle; and trilling his tongue (as his Godfather translates, "That's Spanish for r.") Today, he rolled from his tummy to his back, but I am almost positive he did it on accident.

A Perfect 10 and Absolutely Normal

2010-09-23T15:21:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a very long day for my little guy. At Little Ish's 2 week visit with his pediatrician the doctor noticed that one of his hips seemed too loose, and with my history of hip issues, she thought it would be wise to have an ultrasound done. At the end of July, he had a completely normal ultrasound. His hips, however, were still proving to be loose. This led to a referral for an orthopedist. Yesterday
Little Ish finally had his appointment. The results? His hips are absolutely normal! Can you hear my sigh of relief?

As a side note, he weighed in at exactly 10 lbs.

The plural of Ish..

2010-09-17T08:22:00.003-04:00

...is Ish

Zoomed out...

2010-09-16T09:30:00.004-04:00

This photo is for my mother who often reminds me that all the closeups of Baby Ish make it impossible to get an idea of his size.

Squish!

Sitting pretty...

2010-09-15T09:32:00.000-04:00

...or handsome

Little Ish, September 2010

Daybook for 09.08.10

2010-09-08T14:50:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY
(09.08.10)
Outside my window...the sidewalk is devoid of bicycles and rollerskates. The neighborhood children have returned to school.

I am thinking...it has been far too long since I have done a daybook entry.

I am thankful for...a week of Baby Ish sleeping through the night. I am truly blessed!

From the learning rooms...we are reading lots of board books. My little guy seems to really like Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball; it always gets smiles from him.

From the kitchen...there will be choley over basmati rice tonight since I forgot to take any chicken out of the freezer.

I am wearing...half of my outfit for today and half of my pajamas from last night. I'll swap my pajama bottoms for my skirt once the little guy finishes eating.

I am creating...lots of letters to friends, family, and penpals.

I am going...nowhere today.

I am reading...Midwives and The Well Trained Mind.

I am hoping...to get the chance to make a couple of phone calls this week.

I am hearing...the deep breathing of a baby who has fallen asleep nursing.

Around the house...there is a lot of clutter to tackle.

One of my favorite things...is a hot shower.

A few plans for the rest of the week: I currently have no concrete plans. That is something to be joyful about!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Baby Ish, August 2010

For more Daybooks, visit Peggy at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Reading List for August 2010

2010-09-03T09:47:00.002-04:00

My reading list for August is anything but extensive. I did however manage to complete one book. I would say that is pretty good given the fact that I have a 2 month old.

Reading List for August 2010

Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
This book came recommended to me by several different people so I had very high expectations for it. I was not disappointed in terms of the quality of the writing, but I was a little taken aback by the loose and gratuitous use of sex and sexuality in the book. The story and the authors facility with language are captivating; often times I felt like I was watching the story unfold instead of just reading about it. One of the most enjoyable parts of Water for Elephants: A Novel was learning about circus culture. I particularly took pleasure in learning some circus jargon. Although I enjoyed this book I can only recommend it to readers over 18 years of age.

Currently Reading:

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer & Jessie Wise

A Blessing...

2010-08-19T09:28:00.000-04:00

Guess who slept through the night last night?

If you guessed Baby Ish, you are right! I honestly have been so blessed with a good night time sleeper. He went from being up twice a night in the first couple weeks to only once a night. Last night he slept from 10:30 until 7:00, and he woke up smiling. He has yet to fuss today, and has been napping for the past 40 minutes--a rare morning nap!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-08-16T08:30:00.001-04:00

Now that things are beginning to settle a bit around here, I am trying to get back into a menu planning routine. I decided to join up with Menu Plan Monday again over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan for 08/16/10 -- 08/22/10

Monday: Bean burritos with Spanish rice and fire-roasted corn

Tuesday: Chicken bruschetta bake, green beans

Wednesday: Ravioli w/ sauce, Texas toast, summer squash

Thursday: Marinated chicken, corn on the cob, cucumber slices, carrot sticks

Friday: Rehearsal dinner for two dear friends

Saturday: Wedding of two dear friends

Sunday: Punjab choley over rice

What have you been up to?

2010-08-14T15:51:00.000-04:00

I seem to get asked the question "What have you been up to?" rather often. I would think that when asked in person that the answer would be incredibly obvious. I have been mothering this sweet little boy. He enjoys tickles and his stuffed bird (Bert E. Boo). He dislikes sleeping during the day and gas.

Quote of the day

2010-08-06T16:12:00.001-04:00

"You guys make cute babies"--One of my midwives

Thanks! I tend to agree, but I might be a bit biased.

On reading...

2010-07-30T11:23:00.000-04:00

One of the benefits of being a breastfeeding mother of 1 is that I have lots of time to either think or read. Baby Ish often falls asleep after 5 or 6 minutes of nursing. I like to spend his awake nursing moments looking into his eyes and either talking to him quietly or singing to him. After that, I read.

This week I finally finished The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I started reading it on the morning of June 24th while trying to get Baby Ish to flip over in the womb. That night I went into labor. Starting to realize how starved for adult conversation I become when Ish is at work, I decided to pick the book back up. It is amazing how reading connects me to my pre-motherhood self. When I read, I feel like more than just "Momma"; As my brain greedily drinks in a powerful draught of words, I feel like Siné. Drunk on a strong brew of literary ambrosia, my need for adult conversation is satiated, and my ability to be a loving mother is bolstered in a way I can't quite describe.

Bathtime!

2010-07-06T08:37:00.000-04:00

Although we haven't given Squish a real bath yet, he has had a few sponge baths at this point. The first time we bathed him he was not a very happy little guy, but yesterday he really seem to enjoy bathtime. I am really hoping that will extend to real baths.

Just like Daddy...

2010-07-04T07:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my husband was holding Baby Ish on the stairs to our apartment building. I was taking a few photos of them and Big Ish decided that he wanted to create a fun posed shot...

"Do you want some coffee? It's yummy!"

It led to this not so posed shot when Little Ish latched on to the side of the cup

"Hey! That's pretty good!"

Just checking in...

2010-07-02T10:27:00.002-04:00

Life is pretty busy with the newest addition to our family, but I just wanted to check in and say "hi". Little Ish is doing well. He is super cuddly and sweet. I will try posting a few pictures soon.

It's a boy!

2010-06-27T08:50:00.000-04:00

At 4:29 AM of June 26th, 2010, I gave birth to a very sweet baby boy. He is a 7 lb 4oz bundle of joy. Welcome to the world Ishmael Matthew!

Pregnancy Update: 40 weeks and 4 days

2010-06-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I had a false alarm. I thought my water broke but really I just have an infection that can simulate your water breaking pretty well. After a morning of keeping track of contractions, I went in for an appointment at The Birth Center. Here is an update:

-The baby is still head down, but is currently sunny-side up. Since that makes labor longer and harder, the midwives want me spending a lot of time on my hands and knees so that gravity can help flip the Diplomat. Last night I spent a good amount of time leaning on a birth ball and reading.

-My contractions are pretty consistently 9 minutes apart, but I can only feel the really long ones. I can't say I mind.

- I am 2 centimeters dilated. As Mom says, that is 2 centimeters that I don't need to worry about when I am in labor.

-I have three prenatal appointments set up for next week. Hopefully I won't need all three!

Rosalyn's Blanket

2010-06-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

As those who frequent this blog already know, I spent the last several months knitting a baby blanket for my niece. She was born a little over a month ago, and I finally gave her the blanket on Thursday evening. As promised here are some photos of the finished product.

The pattern I used was King Charles Brocade found in A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. The blanket has a garter stitch border. Overall I was quite pleased with the end result.

Daybook for 06/21/2010

2010-06-21T12:09:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY
(06.21.2010)

Outside my window...the sky is blue with puffy white clouds. It is 91 degrees out there!

I am thinking...that it would be nice for the Diplomat to arrive soon. I am 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant.

I am thankful for...my dear sweet husband who woke me up from naps twice this weekend to tell me that dinner was just about ready. I suppose I am also thankful for my father-in-law who taught Ish how to cook.

From the kitchen...there are plans to make black bean salad today.

I am wearing...a raspberry pink maternity dress.

I am creating...lots of handwritten notes and letters. I have recently acquired two new penpals!

I am going...to have a baby soon.

I am reading...a random assortment of things.

I am hoping...tomorrow's ultrasound goes well and that the Diplomat is still healthy and happy.

I am hearing...the clicking of the keyboard.

Around the house...things are pretty much ready for baby. I need to do a bit of decluttering of surfaces though.

One of my favorite things...is that my father has learned how to text message. It has been a really pleasant way to keep in touch and talk baseball.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Ultrasound tomorrow and a prenatal visit on Friday if the Diplomat still has yet to arrive.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

I captured this picture this morning. The shadows being cast on my dining room wall were so cool looking I couldn't help but to take a picture!

For more daybooks visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

An excerpt from my journal....

2010-06-14T14:43:00.000-04:00

As you may have noticed, I have been really slacking on my blog writing lately. Today I spent some time thinking about why this is the case. In order to organize my thoughts better, I wrote about it in my journal . Here is a tiny excerpt from what I wrote:

"I write far better content with a pen and paper than I do with a keyboard. When sitting at a computer, I don't have the benefits of being free from my favorite internet distractions. Facebook calls my name; my e-mail whispers in a soft but urgent voice, 'check me! check me!'; blogs and news sites pull me into a swirling tunnel of information overload that I love just as much as I loathe. Perhaps I'd be better off blogging in a notebook and then typing up my entries."

Maybe it really is time to start blogging in my moleskine.

Farm Photo Friday--06/11/2010

2010-06-11T08:15:00.002-04:00

East Hill Farm, Troy, NH--April 2010

Daybook for 06.11.10

2010-06-11T07:27:00.001-04:00

FOR TODAY
(06.11.10)

Outside my window...I have no clue what it looks like. I still have the blinds closed from last night.

I am thinking...that I should really get on packing my bags for the birth center. It would make life a lot easier when I go into active labor.

I am thankful for...the 2 bags of groceries Ish's sister gave us as a thank you for babysitting her kids last weekend.

From the kitchen...the dishwasher needs to be started. There is a delicious summer squash casserole in the fridge.

I am wearing...my pajamas.

I am creating...lots of hand addressed envelopes for a friend's wedding invitations--I should be done with those today. I am really enjoying getting to do calligraphy again. It is much less stressful when gifting a friend as opposed to just wanting to get your own invitations done so you can check it off the list.

I am going...to a prenatal appointment in a few hours. I can't believe my due date is only 9 days away!

I am reading...The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential by Tony Buzan. I first learned about mind maps back in high school from a study skills/ NLD tutor. I used them a bit, but couldn't figure out how to implement them as well as I would have liked. I am hoping that reading and doing the exercises in this book will help refresh my memory and give me strategies for implementing the use of mind maps in my private studies.

I am hoping...to meet The Diplomat very soon.

I am hearing...my husband starting to stir.

Around the house...the crib and changing table are set up thanks to Ish.

One of my favorite things...is my pink Moleskine Volant notebook. I have been writing like a maniac these past few weeks. I think part of it is that I have had a lot to write about, and part of it is that I really like how writing in this notebook looks and feels. For those of you who weren't aware, I am an avid blank book and notebook collector.

A few plans for the rest of the week:The week is nearly over. If I don't go into labor I am going to celebrate a friends graduation from college tomorrow. I have a prenatal appointment today.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...not for today. I don't have my external hard drive hooked up.

For more daybooks visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

Little snippets of life

2010-06-09T15:57:00.000-04:00

What I have been up to lately:

--Doing the calligraphy to address my friend's wedding invitations

--Setting up baby stuff

--Knitting a cotton dish cloth or two

--Writing in my moleskine a lot. Have I mentioned that I am pretty much addicted to my Moleskine notebooks?

--Sending a lot of mail

Pregnancy Update: 38 Weeks and 1 day

2010-06-07T12:49:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe I am less than 2 weeks from my due date. There is plenty of other good news to be shared.

-The Diplomat is no longer transverse but instead is head down! This is cause for a lot of celebration.

-The reason all of my measurements were so small a few weeks ago was because the baby had been transverse. My fundal height is now completely normal.

-In not so good news, I am strep B positive. This causes me no harm but can be dangerous for The Diplomat. I will be taking IV antibiotics every 4 hours while I am in labor to protect the baby.

-I seem to be in a trend of gain a couple pounds one week then gain next to nothing the following week. It is all averaging out to about a pound per week which is the aim.

-The Diplomat's heart rate is still in a good place as is my blood pressure.

I am looking forward to meeting this precious little baby any day now.

Farm Photo Friday--06/04/2010

2010-06-04T08:11:00.002-04:00

East Hill Farm, Troy, NH--April 2010

I have not abandoned you...

2010-06-03T05:54:00.000-04:00

I am just lacking any real motivation to blog in the past week or so. I think part of it is how much fun I have been having writing in my handwritten journal. It has been my constant companion all of this past week. Most of what I write in there wouldn't transfer very well to the blog world as I play around with doodling and different handwriting in my journal--something I cannot really replicate. I do have some pregnancy updates, but as I have another prenatal appointment tomorrow, I figured I would update after that.

Farm Photo Friday--05/28/2010

2010-05-28T08:05:00.002-04:00

East Hill Farm, Troy, NH--April 2010

Looking for recommendations...

2010-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

As I am one of the first of my friends to be having a baby, I am putting a request out for recommendations from other mothers. What is your favorite parenting book? What parenting book(s) did you find to be a waste of time and money? Do you have any favorite parenting websites?

Thank you!

I won?!

2010-05-26T17:33:00.000-04:00

I have been using Swagbucks since the autumn of 2009. It is a search engine in which you randomly get rewarded for searches. You get rewarded with swagbucks that you can then redeem for prizes. I, for the most part, have only ever used my swagbucks to redeem $5 Amazon giftcards. Today I decided to try entering a swagstakes (kind of like a raffle) for a $5 Target giftcard, and I won! I think this may be the first time in my life I have ever won any sort of raffle or contest, and I am pretty stoked (and thus I had to share).

Daybook for 05/25/2010

2010-05-25T12:36:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY
(05.25.2010)
Outside my window...it is sunny and warm.

I am thinking...about how I have such wonderful friends and family. I have had two delightful baby showers in the past couple of weeks.

I am thankful for...having good amniotic fluid levels and a healthy baby. I am also thankful for my husband who has been so incredibly supportive throughout the pregnancy.

From the kitchen...there will be cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, and carrot sticks this evening.

I am wearing...a coral pink maternity top and a long denim skirt

I am creating...the last bit of Rosalyn's blanket. I have 16 rows left. I should be done by Thursday at the latest.

I am going...grocery shopping this afternoon.

I am reading...a couple of books. I am rereading The Art of the Personal Letter: A Guide to Connecting Through the Written Word by Margaret Shepherd and Sharon Hogan. I wrote a bit about it in my post last night. I am also reading Private Pages: Diaries of American Women 1830s-1970sedited by Penny Franklin. It is a collection of several diaries written by women. It is an interesting read for sure.

I am hoping...to talk to my mother on the phone tonight.

I am hearing...a dog next door barking incredibly loudly;I don't think my neighbors own this dog so hopefully it isn't a new acquisition.

Around the house...there is so much to be done, I am getting things ready for the Diplomat's arrival.

One of my favorite things...is chocolate almond ice cream from a local farm and creamery.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Grocery Shopping, Writing Letters, Finishing Rosalyn's blanket, and a prenatal appointment.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Yours truly as a baby. Take a look at the newspaper in the bottom left; my mom says that just happened to be there and it was not a way to date the photo

For more daybooks vistit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Letters, cards, and other mail related things...

2010-05-24T21:12:00.000-04:00

Since the time I was old enough to appreciate mail, I have enjoyed both receiving and sending mail. In the past year and a half, I have become very lax about sending letters and cards--well if you discount the fact that I have been writing a whole bunch of thank you cards for wedding gifts and baby gifts. Upon receiving a very sweet letter from my great-aunt last week, I have been encouraged to get back in the habit of writing to friends and family.

I have also been inspired to find other letter writers; I suppose this is because sometimes I feel like the world has turned its back on this time-honored tradition of communicating via the handwritten letter. In my search I have stumbled on several blogs that revolve around letter writing. Two of my favorites are 365 Letters and A Year of Letters.

Over the past few years, I have read several books about letter writing. In the past few days I have been rereading the couple that I own. I mostly finished rereading For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing by Samara O'Shea. Everytime I read this book (including the first time I read it), I skip over the chapter about writing racy letters. I think the author did herself a disservice by including this chapter in the book. Otherwise the book has several good suggestions, but the author gives the air of being a little bit immature at times. I am currently rereading The Art of the Personal Letter: A Guide to Connecting Through the Written Word by Margaret Shepherd and Sharon Hogan. It is a delightful read and has many wonderful tools to help readers begin or revive a letter writing habit. It is a book that makes me want to write more letters--not a bad thing seeing as I definitely need that encouragement.

So I have been inspired to write more letters from several sources over the past week. Now the question remains: Have I put these plans into action? Amazingly, yes I have. I have sent a few birthday cards and letters and a few notes of congratulations. Of course, I have also sent another half-dozen thank you cards as well, but I am not counting them as a part of my quest to send more correspondence, as that seems to be the only mail I had been keeping up with at all. Now comes time for me to issue a challenge: sometime this week, write a letter to someone you care about.

Pregnancy Update: 35 weeks and 6 days

2010-05-22T12:44:00.000-04:00

This week has been a busy one in relation to pregnancy and baby stuff. There were a few little bumps in the road mixed in with some happy outcomes. On Wednesday, Ish and I visited the Diplomat's pediatricians' office. It was clean and bright, and everyone was so good-natured and friendly. I definitely feel secure in our choice of pediatrics practices. Thursday I had a prenatal appointment and that is where the bumps come into play.

--I gained 1.5 lbs in 2 weeks (a bit under the 1lb per week goal, but as long as I am gaining it is good)

--The Diplomat's heart rate continues to be good.

--My blood pressure is still nice and low.

--My fundal height has not changed in two weeks and it had barely changed in the 2 weeks prior to that. This was cause for some alarm and following up with a few tests.

--Test number 1 was a non-stress test. I was hooked up to a monitor to assess The Diplomat's heart rate over a longer period of time. The monitor also produced a print out so that accelerations and decelerations could be more closely evaluated. The Diplomat passed with flying colors!

--Test number 2 was to get another ultrasound in order to track The Diplomat's growth and to check my amniotic fluid levels. The Diplomat's growth is right on track to match the due date, and my amniotic fluid levels are normal. This of course does not answer why my fundal height hasn't changed, but it does assure me that my precious little one is doing just fine.

--According to the ultrasound, The Diplomat is no longer head down but isn't breech either.

--Did you know ultrasounds can predict how much a baby currently weighs? I had no clue that this was possible, but The Diplomat weighs approximately 5 lbs 12 oz.

--I have graduated to the once a week prenatal appointment schedule.

Farm Photo Friday--05/21/2010

2010-05-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

East Hill Farm , Troy, NH-- April 2010

So much wasted time...(Warning: Rant Alert)

2010-05-19T10:42:00.000-04:00

Upon arriving back in Delaware on Sunday evening, I discovered that the internet at Chestnut Hollow was down. The wireless signal was strong and the DSL light was steady green but the internet light wasn't on.

Monday morning I called Verizon to try and fix the problem. After more than an hour on the phone with a technical help customer service representative, I was told that he was wasting my time because his computer was having issues resetting something or other but he would call me back within the next two hours. Once the two hours had passed and I hadn't received the promised return phone call I went through the computerized menu for the 4th time of the day (thanks to Verizon's computer system for randomly disconnecting me and for rerouting me to IT folks in regions other than Delaware!). I got to a different, much more competent technician. He walked me through a bunch of stuff only to find out that the one thing he needed to do on his end couldn't be done because one of Verizon's computer programs was down. He figured out the estimated time of when that would be up and running and told me realistically I should wait until Tuesday and call back because then I would be guaranteed that the program would be up and running.

Tuesday morning I was greeted by a blinking DSL light. I called Verizon. The computer improperly rerouted me to California. The technician in California, after asking what type of operating system I use (a Mac), rerouted me to a Windows Technician. The windows technician said because there was now a DSL problem that she could at least help me with that. She insisted I complete impossible tasks, even after I told her they were not possible. Finally, I requested that she send a service technician out to fix the DSL problem (because honestly, repeatedly requesting that I check if the phone line has a dial tone when I had already explained several times that we don't have a telephone for a land line is a little bit ridiculous).

Tuesday afternoon, a technician came out and fixed the DSL. He was super-nice and fixed the DSL. At this point, Ish took over and called Verizon to get the internet up and running again. The technician he reached walked him through everything, and since the software on their end was working properly, they were able to fix our internet problem. Afterwards, he had the technician transfer him to billing and Verizon compensated us for all the hoops we had to jump through by reducing our bill for this month by 25%.

This whole ordeal was such a hassle, but I am thankful it happened now and not in a month when The Diplomat will be here; the time to do such things will not be readily available then. I must also note that up until the past few days, all of my interactions with Verizon's customer service had been wonderful. I was always walked step by step through whatever issue the modem was having. The most recent interactions definitely put a bad taste in my mouth, but I am hoping that if there are anymore technical issues that Verizon's customer service will redeem themselves by providing the stellar customer service I have received in the past.

Farm Photo Friday--05/14/2010

2010-05-14T08:00:00.007-04:00

East Hill Farm, Troy, NH--April 2010

See you on the flip side...

2010-05-13T09:37:00.001-04:00

...of the weekend that is.

I am off to Massachusetts for the weekend to visit my family and friends. Chances of me blogging during that time are close to nil. See you next week!

Daybook fo 05/11/2010

2010-05-11T08:28:00.001-04:00

FOR TODAY
(05.11.2010)

Outside my window...it is sunny and cold outside. The weather forecast is predicting rain for today.

I am thinking... about Emily and praying that her labor goes well. I am anticipating today's arrival of a new niece or nephew.

I am thankful for...my husband who has eagerly gone to several child birth classes and all of my prenatal appointments.

From the kitchen...there will be ravioli tonight. I am trying to clear room in our tiny freezer to pre-make some meals for after the diplomat is born.

I am wearing...pajamas.

I am creating...a baby blanket for Scott and Emily's baby. It will not be done on time, but it should be done by the time the baby is a week old. That is much better than I anticipated.

I am going...to Massachusetts on Thursday.

I am reading...a lot about babies. For leisure, I think I have decided on Water for Elephants. My mom and sister have been recommending it for ages.

I am hoping...to sell some books to a local used bookstore in order to make room for the Diplomat.

I am hearing...the footsteps of Mr. Upstairs Apartment Man. He has a really heavy footstep, especially in the morning.

Around the house...there is so much to be done. Thankfully, that does not include laundry--my arch nemesis.

One of my favorite things...watching Red Sox games and knitting--either concurrently or separately.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Today and tomorrow will consist of cleaning and packing. Thursday morning, Ish and I will be Massachusetts bound to visit my family. Friday is travel recovery day. Saturday my mother and sister are throwing a baby shower for the Diplomat. Sunday we will be returning to Delaware.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Shedding Light, September 2009

For more Daybooks and to join in the fun visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T18:39:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers in my life. May God bless you as you live out your vocation.

Show Us Your Life--Names

2010-05-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

I was reading one of my favorite mommy blogs and the writer was participating in Show Us Your Life hosted by Kelly's Korner. This is the first time I had come across this meme/link-up. It is pretty cool, because unlike some other weekly memes it has a different question to answer each week and they span a wide variety of topics. This weeks topic was names for children/future children. How appropriate!

Since probably the 2nd or 3rd grade I have been playing with name ideas for future children. The number of notebook pages I have filled with baby names could be called nothing short of ridiculous. It all started when I found a book of baby names my mom and dad used while trying to name me and my sister (it was all Gaelic/Irish names so I know it wasn't used in naming my brothers). Over the years, I purchased/acquired a whole slew of different baby name books. Perhaps I always knew I was meant to be a mother.

On April 29th, 2007, Ish and I talked about the real possibility of getting married for the first time--it had been talked about briefly in passing before that. The discussion naturally led to the topic of children. That was the first time we talked about baby names together. Since then we have talked about baby names several more times. When I became pregnant with the Diplomat, our choices for names were pretty much solidified.

If the Diplomat is a girl, we have picked out the name Liliana Rae. We would be calling her Lily. For as long as I have been coming up with possible name combinations, some form of Lily has always been in the running. When I suggested Liliana to Ish, he readily agreed. We chose Rae in order to honor his mother.

If the Diplomat is a boy, he will be named after his father. He will be an Ishmael Matthew (Ish's baptismal name, not his birth certificate name). Originally we had decided on Ishmael Micah, but as my pregnancy has progressed, Ish decided that he would like a junior despite his distaste for the name Matthew. My family has been trying to figure out a nickname in order to differentiate between my husband and potential Little Ish. My mom has come up with Squish as the baby will be a squished down (smaller) version of his father.

Farm Photo Friday--05/07/2010

2010-05-07T11:54:00.001-04:00

In April, Ish and I took a trip to The Inn at East Hill Farm in Troy, NH. I took quite a few photos, yet I never really bothered to post them--Ooops! I have decided that I am going to have some fun and post them one by one every Friday over the next several months. I may also include photos from our friends' farm that Ish has been spending a lot of his free time helping out on. We shall see.

East Hill Farm, Troy, NH--April 2010

Pregnancy Update: 33 Weeks and 4 days

2010-05-06T12:59:00.000-04:00

I had a prenatal visit this morning--my first one with this particular midwife. It was fast and pretty much uneventful.

--I am still gaining weight, but I only gained half a pound over the past week and a half. As long as I am still gaining and the Diplomat is still growing, I am not going to worry about it.

--I have to hop on finding a pediatrician. I acquired some good advice from the midwife I saw today as to how to actually go about doing that.

--The Diplomat's heart rate is right where it should be.

--My blood pressure is still very low.

Oh High School AP Environmental Science...

2010-05-06T07:11:00.005-04:00

...I am calling you out. Pretty much everything I learned in that class came full circle to blame all the earth's problems on overpopulation. Well, I am still not buying it.

Daybook for 05/04/2010

2010-05-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

FOR TODAY
(05.04.2010)
Outside my window... it is sunny with a beautiful breeze. Even though my allergies are going crazy, we have the door open since the central air here at Chestnut Hollow seems to have gone kaput. Actually, it just sounds like we have a 747 taking off in the living room. The maintenance man should be coming by soon (one of the benefits of living in an apartment).

I am thinking...about all the things I need to do before the Diplomat arrives. Less than 7 weeks until our precious bundle of joy is due to arrive.

I am thankful for...today being my husbands last day of teaching for Spring Semester. 3 weeks off and then the Summer Term begins. The beauty of having a husband who works in academia.

From the kitchen...there isn't much at the moment. Grocery shopping is happening tomorrow.

I am wearing...a short-sleeved green maternity dress, the super-cute flip-flops my sister gave me last year, my glasses, and my engagement and wedding rings. Have I mentioned how super excited I am that my wedding rings still fit?

I am creating...a baby blanket for Scott and Emily's baby. I don't think it will be done in time seeing as the baby is due on Saturday and I still have about 14 inches worth of blanket to knit on size 6 needles. It is coming along beautifully though. I am really happy with the pattern--it is a King Charles Brocade bordered by a basic garter stitch. I will post pictures once it is done.

I am going...to write several notes, letters, and cards that I have been procrastinating for no particular reason.

I am reading...a lot of articles here and there. I need to settle into a new book.

I am hoping...that the Red Sox win tonight. They had a 17-8 victory last night over the Angels, but one game isn't enough to give them a winning record.

I am hearing...beautiful birdsong. There are some birds with really beautiful calls that live in the trees behind Chestnut Hollow.

Around the house...there is so much to be done before the Diplomat arrives.

One of my favorite things...is looking down and seeing the Diplomat squirming. No one can explain the joy of having a tiny life moving around inside you; it is simply amazing.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Today: Taking care of some things around the house. Writing some of those letters.
Wednesday: Grocery shopping and swimming.
Thursday: Prenatal Appointment
Friday: Nothing as of yet.
Saturday: Dinner with friends.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...Sorry no picture thought today. My husbands monitor has a faulty cable and my external hard drive is hooked up to the desktop.

For more daybooks visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

Cool Mother's Day Magazine Subscription Deals on Amazon!

2010-05-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

I usually am not one to post steals and deals on my blog, but I was very excited when I logged on to my google reader this morning and read about this super deal on magazine subscriptions posted on Money Saving Mom. Amazon has several magazines marked down to only $5 for a 1 year subscription. I took advantage of the subscription to Parents magazine which I have been wanting to subscribe to for a while. I was just waiting for the right deal to come along. Not only was this a great deal in and of itself, but I used a $5 gift card that I had received for using Swagbucks. Thus, I got my subscription for free!

Sweet deal huh?

A Confession and A Request

2010-05-02T23:28:00.003-04:00

Sometimes one of the hardest things to do in life is to be honest with yourself. I find that this is often the case with my prayer life. I have a difficult time saying to myself, "Siné, you aren't spending enough time with God. You're not holding up your end of the relationship." In the times when I am honest with myself about my prayer life and the fact that it is in shambles, I create a ridiculously strict prayer regimen that usually ends up failing within a couple of days.

My current prayer life needs some major renovations, and I am trying to resist the urge to set myself up for failure by designing a superhuman prayer directive. Instead, I am making two realistic daily prayer goals. Seeing as it is May, the month dedicated to our Blessed Mother, I have made it my goal to pray the 7 Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary each day. I also will be praying a daily Rosary.

I ask you now for your prayerful support as I begin my journey back to a more fruitful prayer life. Also, if you have any intentions that you would like me to offer up in prayer, please leave a comment or e-mail me.

Pregnancy Update: 32 Weeks and 4 days

2010-04-29T22:26:00.002-04:00

I had a prenatal appointment on Monday, and there isn't too much in the way of news in terms of pregnancy. I did however never post an update from my 30 week visit.

--I got the results of my [final] bloodwork. I passed my 28 week glucose tolerance test which was a relief as I failed the one hour tolerance test during my first trimester. I really didn't want to have to take another 3 hour test. On the not so good but totally fixable side of things, my iron levels are low. I have started taking an iron supplement in hopes to rectify that.

--I am finally gaining weight at a normal rate! It does not look like I will hit the 25-35 lb weight gain suggestion by the end of this pregnancy, but at my first prenatal visit the midwife noted that she'd be surprised if I did considering that I am rather petite.

--The Diplomat is still head down and will hopefully stay that way.

--The Diplomat's heart rate is normal (around 140bpm).

That was one long commercial break...

2010-04-29T08:14:00.002-04:00

I know my plans to be back to blogging normally were intended to go into action a few weeks ago; life ,however, got in the way. Almost 2 weeks ago I got a call from my mom to tell me that my 28 year old cousin had died suddenly. His death spurred several days of not knowing what to blog about followed by a whirlwind trip to Massachusetts for the wake and funeral. I am now ready to blog again, but I ask that after you finish reading this post that you please pray for my cousin and his family.

Réquiem ætérnam dona ei Dómine;
et lux perpétua lúceat ei.
Requiéscat in pace.
Amen.

Delaware: The MUSICAL

2010-04-14T08:07:00.009-04:00

The undergraduate admissions department at my alma mater just released a promotional video that goes a step above and beyond the ordinary. Come join me in enjoying Delaware: The MUSICAL.

Social commentary

2010-04-14T07:00:00.002-04:00

My husband's uncle and cousin made this video that has been attracting a lot of attention on youtube as well as some attention from other media outlets. Enjoy!

Daybook for 04/13/2010

2010-04-13T18:11:00.005-04:00

FOR TODAY
(04.13.2010)
Outside my window...It is cloudy and grey with chances of more showers. The grass is going from its winter brown to its beautiful springy green.

I am thinking...about The Diplomat. It is hard not to think of The Diplomat when I am being kicked. What a blessing!

I am thankful for...the wonderful weekend away with my husband.

From the kitchen...Salad and Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Yum!

I am wearing...a blue maternity dress and grey leggings.

I am creating...a baby blanket.

I am going...nowhere else today.

I am reading...a variety of books and articles.

I am hoping...that I have a good prenatal appointment tomorrow morning.

I am hearing...a high pitched ringing noise. I am not sure where it is coming from.

Around the house...there is a little decluttering to do (but not much!) and some laundry.

One of my favorite things...making coffee for my husband each morning, especially when I manage to serve it to him before he even gets out of bed. The smile on his tired face is such a wonderful sight to behold.

A few plans for the rest of the week: I have a prenatal appointment tomorrow morning and child birth class tomorrow evening. Reading Workshop and dinner with friends on Saturday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

We're Ready for Our Close-up!

April 2010--East Hill Farm, Troy, NH

For more daybooks, join Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook!