Pooped.
In.
The.
Tub.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Chickens!
I can hardly contain my excitement! Tomorrow afternoon we are adding new (temporary) members to our family.
25 White Cornish Rock hens! (or meat chickens to those who don't speak chicken).
We have issues with the way meat is made, but seriously, have you checked out the price of pasture raised chicken, let alone local pasture raised chicken? Well I have, how about 3.99 a lb? Oh and you buy it by the whole chicken. Eek! Talk about an expensive chicken!
Lucky for me I have this friend who has the perfect yard for our little cluck (gaggle? mob?...) of urban chickens, and she is crazy enough to have had the same idea at the same time.
So tomorrow Fish, Pup, Kanga, and Roo will have 25 little white pets, I would venture to say one may even be named Biote.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Deep Thoughts
I've been thinking a lot lately about food, and stuff, and food some more. The way we shop and consume both are well ...wrong.
A dear friend of mine surprised me at a recent visit (long overdue too!) by saying she had stopped eating meat. She is not the vegetarian type, as much as she is the social justice type. And that is what a lot of our food and stuff dilemma break down to, social justice. Why is it that someone else should put their life into harms way, making minimum wage, just so we can buy ground beef for 1.50 a pound? She is voting with her dollar.
This subject is hard. I get it. It's hard for me. Consumption. I shudder at the thought of confronting the demons lurking there. Do I eat fast food? Yup. But only organic, grass fed meat? Not in the slightest. Do I get giddy in the prospect of a shopping trip to Target? You Betcha!
But because something is the social norm(even inside your chosen faith or "sub-culture"), does not make it right. Oh yea, I said it.
So now I must act. I must change how we live, how we consume. And I must do it on relatively the same amount of money. Change is hard. But, if we are to progress as a society and as a family, change is necessary.
Check out Food Inc. and the Story of Stuff. Think about change. Consider this journey with me. I will never be perfect. I will most likely always fall into the "hypocrite" category. But at least I will be moving forward.
Let's try voting with our dollar. Let's make a difference.
A dear friend of mine surprised me at a recent visit (long overdue too!) by saying she had stopped eating meat. She is not the vegetarian type, as much as she is the social justice type. And that is what a lot of our food and stuff dilemma break down to, social justice. Why is it that someone else should put their life into harms way, making minimum wage, just so we can buy ground beef for 1.50 a pound? She is voting with her dollar.
This subject is hard. I get it. It's hard for me. Consumption. I shudder at the thought of confronting the demons lurking there. Do I eat fast food? Yup. But only organic, grass fed meat? Not in the slightest. Do I get giddy in the prospect of a shopping trip to Target? You Betcha!
But because something is the social norm(even inside your chosen faith or "sub-culture"), does not make it right. Oh yea, I said it.
So now I must act. I must change how we live, how we consume. And I must do it on relatively the same amount of money. Change is hard. But, if we are to progress as a society and as a family, change is necessary.
Check out Food Inc. and the Story of Stuff. Think about change. Consider this journey with me. I will never be perfect. I will most likely always fall into the "hypocrite" category. But at least I will be moving forward.
Let's try voting with our dollar. Let's make a difference.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Ode to the Road Rager
Oh Shirtless guy driving down Wilson, How cool you really are.
You and all of your tattoos, and your proficient use of the middle finger.
Getting out and yelling obscenities at a family of four was really a nice touch.
If only we knew what we did to make you so angry.
Hats off to you though for being an upstanding citizen,
I sure hope my children grow up to be just like you one day.
You and all of your tattoos, and your proficient use of the middle finger.
Getting out and yelling obscenities at a family of four was really a nice touch.
If only we knew what we did to make you so angry.
Hats off to you though for being an upstanding citizen,
I sure hope my children grow up to be just like you one day.
Friday, April 16, 2010
6 Months Ago...
Our Puppy was born. October 20,2009 will forever be scorched into my brain. It was, however, one of the best, and the worst days of my life. The memories are not as sharp (or as harsh) as they once were, but I figure I should record it now before all but the most important parts are forgotten. So here, my faithful readers, is Puppy's Birth story. Bits and pieces have come out, but never the whole thing. Bear with me as it is a bit rough, but rest assured there is a happy ending!
My pregnancy was wildly uneventful, and in fact most of it is a blur as I had another baby (FISH!) at home and needed me to take care of her every need. Contractions came and went for the last few weeks, but nothing major. Around 3 AM I was awoken to contractions. I called the zoo keeper who as working night shift and that got the ball rolling. By the time we dropped fish of at my parents it was already 5:30, and we were still looking at a 30 minute drive to the hospital. I was triaged and then sent to a room... and progressing FAST. I could tell the nurses were watching the monitors, but nobody was freaking out, so I wasn't that bothered. Puppy's heart rate was dropping after contractions. During contractions was normal for minor cord issues, but after is a bit scarier (although I still am a bit fuzzy on the why). I was given an oxygen mask and told to lay on my left side with as little movement as possible, and to breath calmly... with no pain meds during transition :). I was not trying to be a hero, I was just going too fast. The nurses started calling franticly for anesthesia. They were hoping pain meds would calm me down, and would help Puppy's heart rate, or at least that is what we were told. Looking back my guess is they wanted to be prepared in case an emergency C-section needed to happen. I bypassed an epidural since I was so close to pushing and was just given a spinal, which only lasts for roughly 30 minutes. My water was broke once my midwife arrived with a significant amount of Meconioum. (Not our first time at the meconium carnival... fish had it too.) Shortly after it was time to push (it was like 10 minutes or something crazy like that. I think it was 9ish). NICU nurses were in the room in case he had aspirated meconium as standard procedure (again had it with fish), but it was a pretty calm situation. He 7 pushes or so later he was out. It was until push 5 or so I realized something really wasn't right. She had me push with no contraction, and keep pushing until he was out. She flooped him onto my belly cut the cord and wisked him away. He was "dusky"... but really he just looked dead. A greyish color I will never forget. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing, just a few of his left fingers were jerking.
Even through all of this I still wasn't that worried. Yes, he was being worked on, but my midwife kept reassuring me that lots of little boys had breathing issues at birth. "Whimpy white boy syndrome" is what it is called. A few hours in the NICU and he would be all ours. I was left in the recovery room and the entire entourage needed to keep my son alive, as well as his daddy, went upstairs. It was another hour and a half before I would see them again. Once I finally got upstairs I was not prepared for what I was about to see. Machine upon machine hooked up to my little bot, heat lamps and blood drawls, all in his first hour of life. Within five minutes we were approached by the St. Ann's NICU Doctor who informed us that Puppy had suffered from extensive oxygen depravation, and that he would benifit from a new cooling technology offered at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. The transport team was on thier way as there was a very short window in which the treatment could be started. I would have to say good bye to my baby boy only minutes after first really meeting him. Transport came, loaded him up and wisked him away, with Daddy trailing behind. I am so thankful for the friends who came to visit me that day at the hospital. I wouldn't wish staying on a Post partum floor without an infant on anyone. But that is what I did. Sat and waited patiently for text updates or phone calls from the Zoo Keeper from the hospital acroos town.
The next couple weeks are a blur of Hospital, and news, some of it good, most of it bad. We learned that he had also suffered a stroke in the womb about a month prior to birth. We were told he may never walk, may never sit (cough cough... HE CAN!), that his trunk muscles may never develop. We were prepared for the worst. And while when we think about him today we try to keep out expectations low, we know that God is watching over our little miracle. That he is destined for greatness. Yes, October 20th was a day that I will never desire to relive. But October 20th has brought me to a place I never though I would ever reach. A place of compassion and patience. A place that can say that I am a special needs parent, and I am surviving... maybe even thriving. We have a bumps (okay mountians) to climb over, and I am sure there are plenty more to come as he grows. But he is our Miricle. Our little boy who shouldn't be. And to the God who allows me to hold him in my arms and watch him exceed our wildest expectations, I am forever greatful.
My pregnancy was wildly uneventful, and in fact most of it is a blur as I had another baby (FISH!) at home and needed me to take care of her every need. Contractions came and went for the last few weeks, but nothing major. Around 3 AM I was awoken to contractions. I called the zoo keeper who as working night shift and that got the ball rolling. By the time we dropped fish of at my parents it was already 5:30, and we were still looking at a 30 minute drive to the hospital. I was triaged and then sent to a room... and progressing FAST. I could tell the nurses were watching the monitors, but nobody was freaking out, so I wasn't that bothered. Puppy's heart rate was dropping after contractions. During contractions was normal for minor cord issues, but after is a bit scarier (although I still am a bit fuzzy on the why). I was given an oxygen mask and told to lay on my left side with as little movement as possible, and to breath calmly... with no pain meds during transition :). I was not trying to be a hero, I was just going too fast. The nurses started calling franticly for anesthesia. They were hoping pain meds would calm me down, and would help Puppy's heart rate, or at least that is what we were told. Looking back my guess is they wanted to be prepared in case an emergency C-section needed to happen. I bypassed an epidural since I was so close to pushing and was just given a spinal, which only lasts for roughly 30 minutes. My water was broke once my midwife arrived with a significant amount of Meconioum. (Not our first time at the meconium carnival... fish had it too.) Shortly after it was time to push (it was like 10 minutes or something crazy like that. I think it was 9ish). NICU nurses were in the room in case he had aspirated meconium as standard procedure (again had it with fish), but it was a pretty calm situation. He 7 pushes or so later he was out. It was until push 5 or so I realized something really wasn't right. She had me push with no contraction, and keep pushing until he was out. She flooped him onto my belly cut the cord and wisked him away. He was "dusky"... but really he just looked dead. A greyish color I will never forget. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing, just a few of his left fingers were jerking.
Even through all of this I still wasn't that worried. Yes, he was being worked on, but my midwife kept reassuring me that lots of little boys had breathing issues at birth. "Whimpy white boy syndrome" is what it is called. A few hours in the NICU and he would be all ours. I was left in the recovery room and the entire entourage needed to keep my son alive, as well as his daddy, went upstairs. It was another hour and a half before I would see them again. Once I finally got upstairs I was not prepared for what I was about to see. Machine upon machine hooked up to my little bot, heat lamps and blood drawls, all in his first hour of life. Within five minutes we were approached by the St. Ann's NICU Doctor who informed us that Puppy had suffered from extensive oxygen depravation, and that he would benifit from a new cooling technology offered at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. The transport team was on thier way as there was a very short window in which the treatment could be started. I would have to say good bye to my baby boy only minutes after first really meeting him. Transport came, loaded him up and wisked him away, with Daddy trailing behind. I am so thankful for the friends who came to visit me that day at the hospital. I wouldn't wish staying on a Post partum floor without an infant on anyone. But that is what I did. Sat and waited patiently for text updates or phone calls from the Zoo Keeper from the hospital acroos town.
The next couple weeks are a blur of Hospital, and news, some of it good, most of it bad. We learned that he had also suffered a stroke in the womb about a month prior to birth. We were told he may never walk, may never sit (cough cough... HE CAN!), that his trunk muscles may never develop. We were prepared for the worst. And while when we think about him today we try to keep out expectations low, we know that God is watching over our little miracle. That he is destined for greatness. Yes, October 20th was a day that I will never desire to relive. But October 20th has brought me to a place I never though I would ever reach. A place of compassion and patience. A place that can say that I am a special needs parent, and I am surviving... maybe even thriving. We have a bumps (okay mountians) to climb over, and I am sure there are plenty more to come as he grows. But he is our Miricle. Our little boy who shouldn't be. And to the God who allows me to hold him in my arms and watch him exceed our wildest expectations, I am forever greatful.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
kinda boring
I'm boring, I know. Sorry. I've been reading, researching, and processing. I'm kinda smart sometimes according to the zoo keeper.
But smart leaves no room for non boring blogging. My brain is full of theology and chickens.
But I can't leave you without a Fish story.
Driving home from the zoo earlier today, I'm drinking one of the $1 frappes from McD's...
"MOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAA"
(10 minutes of screaming later she is given a sip...)
"MMMMMMMMMM... mocha" (it was caramel... but who keeping track)
I fear we have created a monster.
The brain is full of theology, chickens, and mocha... (one of these things is not like the others...)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Stories of a Pound Puppy
Remember those toys? Maybe I'm dating myself, really young to some, and (gasp!) old to others. Moving on now as those toys have absolutely nothing to do with this post!
Puppy is getting so very big, and with his " big" some exciting things are starting to happen. A first haircut was had. (He beat his sister to the punch!) He looks like such a little man with his short hair and tan skin(courtesy of a few gloriously sunny days!).
But most exciting is what he is doing in the cute shot, while showing off his manly good looks. Sitting up, all by himself! I cannot explain the joy and relief each milestone hit brings to the zoo keeper and I. Yes, we celebrated Fish sitting up when she first did, but, we knew she would sit up. Pup, well there was no guarantee he EVER would sit up. And he IS! At 5 1/2 months!
So if this post seems like it's only purpose is to boast about the boy, it is! We are so proud of how far our little man has come!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Jesus' Special Day
How do you explain the power and sacrifice that is Easter to an almost 2 year old... well you don't. So in our house Sunday was a special Jesus day. So here it is, Jesus' special day, in pictures.
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