Apr 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
For MamaKat’s Writer’s Workshop this week I chose:
4.) List 10 rules you’ve unlearned (meaning 10 things you thought were expected of you or were the “right way” of doing things, but that you now ignore).
So, here it is,
Things I’ve “unlearned”:
1- Always tie your shoes. Yeah right. I never have shoes that tie or else I’m barefoot. My kindergarten teacher almost didn’t pass me because I wouldn’t tie my shoes until I had to.
2- You must have at least a master’s degree. I really struggled with this one. I finished my bachelor’s by the time I was 21, but then fell in love and got married. Now realize I shouldn’t waste the money if I’m not actually going to “work”!
3- Career first. I didn’t really struggle with this one. When the Foreign Service lost all the scores from the group I took my tests in I saw it as a sign. That was the only job I’d ever wanted. I never was able to find a “perfect” job to make a career before I had my first kiddo, and now they are my career.
4- Iron your clothes. Ha! My hubby won’t let me iron his clothes if that tells you anything about my superior homemaking skills.
5- Let a baby cry. Sorry, I honestly did try this with our first (and I cried harder than she did.) Just can’t do it. Plus, my kids are as stubborn as I am and wouldn’t stop crying for hours. Really.
6- You must have every food group with every meal. (humph)
7- Always be strong, don’t rely on someone else. This was an entirely self-inflicted rule. I realized a few years into our marriage that I could rely on my guy. I didn’t always have to be in charge or looking out for me to happy. We could look out for each other too.
8- If you can’t do something right, don’t do it. Who’d ever get anything done?
9- Always finish what you start.
10- 🙂
Click on over to MamaKat’s to join in on the fun!
Apr 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
- If you put too much info in your blog no one will call – they will know everything you’ll have to say already! (April Fools!)
- Not to be so critical of myself. (It’s funny because the posts I don’t feel so great about are usually the ones I get the most positive comments on. Go figure!)
- It’s easy to lose hours of your life blogging if you aren’t careful! (As I am sucked into the deep chasm that is the internet…)
- Dust and laundry will still be there tomorrow.
- There are more people like me in this world than I thought.
- More people read these things than you think, so be careful what you say!
- Twitter, Mr. Linky, and Widgets, are not names for someone’s cats. (But they would be, wouldn’t they?)
- Kids can be mean when they want to fight you for computer time.
- I’ve forgotten
alot some of the many hours of intensive grammar I took in college.
- Venting is a great thing every now and again.
Mar 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
What I love about an ordinary day…
Coffee and birdsong,
Happy “Hellos” are shouted,
Kisses at bedtime.
Feb 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
I haven’t been wanting to write about this…
I went to my specialist (reproductive endocrinologist) to have my 3rd ultrasound…
Background info:
I have P.C.O.S. along with a small tumor on my pituitary gland that causes all sorts of hormonal havoc. After I realized when I was in my 20’s that five years is not a normal time frame for most people to get pregnant, I started asking questions.
“Are night sweats normal for a 24 yr old?”
“Shouldn’t I have more than 3 cycles a year?”
No doctor would listen. I was thin, healthy in all other ways. They did no tests and told me it was normal. (IT IS NOT.)
I started taking herbal supplements for menopausal women and in a matter of months I was pregnant with my Emily.
When she was two we started trying again.
Three years and four miscarriages later I got mad.
I researched online and in libraries and read two wonderful books “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler and “Women’s Bodies-Women’s Wisdom” by Dr. Northrup when I realized I had P.C.O.S. It took almost year and a half to get someone to test me for it. And the result?
“Oh, we are happy to tell you we discovered your problem.”
“Hmm,” I said.
“P.C.O.S.!” the doctor beamed.
Not wanting to do anything the doctor wanted me to (drugs, drugs, or drugs) I changed my ways.
- No red meat. (Organic wasn’t available then, probably would be fine but I still avoid all red meat.)
- No milk but organic milk. (Stopped drinking soy milk also because it has estrogen like components.)
- Almost all organic veggies.
- When I’d start getting hot flashes I’d use natural progesterone cream for a few months.
Guess what? I got pregnant with my second, then third kids.
I also demanded progesterone shots and took a daily baby aspirin.
Healthy miracle babies later I thought I was over all this.
I got pg in early December and thought it would be okay this time, now I knew what to ask for.
No.
Two, almost three months later at my 3rd ultrasound…
“No heartbeat.” the doctor said and walked out of the room.
In his office he had the nerve to say:
“I didn’t do anything wrong, there’s nothing I could have done.
“This happens with OLD moms.”
OH HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT, I AM ONLY 39!
*In my head: (“Hey doc, have you not been my doctor for 11 years or even read my record? The other four miscarriages were in my 20’s!”)
“There’s nothing I did wrong. There’s nothing I did wrong. Nothing I did wrong.” he said.
“Any questions?”
I was in shock. Too upset to cry.
My mom said in the lobby…
“That jerk didn’t even offer you a Kleenex.”
My conclusion. Infertility sucks. So does P.C.O.S. (And most doctors even worse.)
But…
Even if I do feel broken and inadequate right now,
I have an awesome mom who worries about me having a tissue,
I have three wonderfully, miraculous, phenomenal kids,
I have a supportive, loving, sexy, husband who loves me.
THEY are my heart that won’t quit.
Jan 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
For MamaKat’s Writer’s Workshop I chose prompts #3 & #4:
3.) Write a list of 10 things that can be done to stave off boredom.
4.) “How many homes have you had? Write a journal entry about ALL the places you’ve called ‘home’ in your life.”
ALL the places I’ve called home? Honestly, Mama Kat? Wow. I am choosing this just to see if I can do it. (Mom, if you’re reading you can check and see if I left anything out.)
- I was born when my parents were in grad school (well, mom was finished and working but dad was still in) so we lived in Fayetteville, AR near the U of A. First house I remember was a rock house?
- Then a duplex there where dad had a motorcycle…
- A farmhouse in Hogeye, AR (yeah, that’s really the name!) I loved that house- guess from when I was 2-3. I remember the owner had a big scary white horse but he was nice. Also we had to help the cows get their heads out of the fence sometimes which I thought was funny and my little dog, Mona, loved to chase the cows. And I had the best tire-swing EVER!
- MuscleShoals, AL when I was 4 and I remember it was a pretty house with a fireplace and a nice patio where a cute greensnake would come and hang out with us. We had sunflowers that grew out back and that was the first time mom ever didn’t work and I loved it.
- Knoxville, TN when I was 5. We had an awesome backyard at the end of a cul-de-sac and a little woods behind our house where I could roam. Mom stayed home the whole time we lived in Knoxville and was like June Cleaver- making cookies and playdough, homemade eggroll wrappers even and tofu! My baby brother was born here and my dad died here.
- My grandparents house in Ancon, Panama.
- A nasty apartment in France Field, Panama- where we could hear voodoo drums sometimes (really.) My brother got pushed off the slide by mean kids and we saw a hammerhead shark.
- CocoSolo, Panama– my favorite home. Right by the ocean and across the street was my elementary school.
- Margarita, Panama when they closed CocoSolo. Much nicer house.
- Watertown, New York- Day’s Inn for 9 months until we found a house. I was 15 and got a little chubby for the first time in my life because we had to eat out every meal (think “SuperSize Me”)
- House in Watertown (finally.) Not to offend anyone but wow, I hated Watertown.
- Back to Panama! Apartment on Davis by the gym (good for me- by now a workout freak.)
- College dorm
- Apartment where the train would shake my bed at night. (college)
- Apartment where I was scared someone would come in the long window (college)
- Home to finish college (see 12)
- Married life- apartment on the hill until we were evicted for having a dog (all 2 lbs of her.)
- First house together on Olive. We remodeled the whole thing on my teaching salary.
- This house!
As an added bonus (woo-hoo)
I’m adding TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STAVE OFF BOREDOM:
(Just a list kind of day I guess…)
- Have some kids, you’ll never be bored again. (Believe me!)
- Have some more kids if you dare.
- Blog.
- Take a walk anywhere.
- Take a road trip anywhere (can you tell I’m a Saggitarius?)
- Make something yummy with/for someone you love.
- Plant a garden.
- Play in the mud with your favorite kids.
- Make playdough and play with it.
- Clean your computer’s files (I’ve not been that bored in a LONG time.)
To join in on the fun go here.
