If you arent a girl scout,

dont you DARE knock on my door or ring my doorbell and try and sell me something.

I am about to go postal on the people who do this. Today a man rang my doorbell TWICE (as if ringing that extra time is going to get me to the door) and he was trying to sell something. I know this because he left a flyer on my doorknob NOT because i answered the door. I was very angry because he woke up the wolverine who had only been down for a little over an hour AND i had a lot of work to get done. Yesterday some other guy came by around the same time selling something.....again i didnt answer the door. If it happens again tomorrow i am not going to be held accountable for my actions.

So now i have to get a sign to put on the door saying NO SOLICITATION !!!! If it continues after that its going to get ugly.

I take real issue with these people. Im tired of being bombarded everywhere i go with people wanting sell me something, or ask me something, or poll me.

And dont ask me to have sympathy for someone "just doing their job". PPFfffftttt!!!!!

The Feminine Mystique

This little boy is going to be a big brother in a few months. Do you think he has a CLUE what that really means????? Does he realize that in 14 years he will have to share his bathroom with

that person????

I guess i should be brushing up on all things female these next few months since we are having a GIRL! The ultrasound looked great. All her parts were accounted for and looked good. How amazing it is to be able to see your growing childs internal organs and skeletal system.

Another amazing thing.....i gained 9 POUNDS in 6 WEEKS!!!! That is frightening. If any of you see me going for a second helping of anything or attempting to shovel goodies into my piehole please remind me i would like to gain less then i did with my first pregnancy. My lower back already is sore by days end. I need to step up the stepping.

So now i get to go thru all the wolverines old clothes and see what is usable. This poor girl is going to be wearing big brothers hand me downs. Im putting a call into the Wu Tang Clan. We need your second hand clothes.

The 20 yr reunion is 4 weeks away and i am so behind in planning. The scary thing is Im not really all that concerned. I think its just so many other things are occupying my brainspace right now, i just cant seem to put the reunion at the top of the priority pile. Hopefully it will magically happen.

The wolverines first roller coaster ride

Here they are at Kings Island this past August. It was all fun and laughs until this first "hill" and then he told Daddy "Dont want to do it again". I love seeing the "big kid" riding on the kiddie roller coaster....with hands above head. I wonder if he was taunting the children.

Friday Brain Candy

featuring Dolly Parton, the queen of country music and hero to countless drag queens and plastic surgeons alike.

"When my time comes, I hope I fall dead in the middle of the stage and I hope it's to a song I wrote".

We hope you do too Dolly. But not for a long, long time.

Belated Birthday Wishes to Big Sister

on her 40th birthday. Looks like she had fun. First with a family party. And then on to some adult fun with a trip on the "party bus" for 14 friends and then to the karaoke lounge. Im surprised....never pegged my sis for the karaoke type. Evidently, i was wrong.

WELCOME BABY SHOFNER

The world became a little brighter this morning at 5:37 am with the arrival of the Shofner baby. The family is resting and getting to know each other. We are so happy for them and send our love and prayers out their way.

We ate dinner with them last night, so it seems Melinda IS a wondermom after all. Perhaps it was my chili that did the trick.

Hope you guys enjoy this time together. We will see you soon. If you need anything we are here.

Politics, good marketing, & activism

So Saturday the wolverine and I attended the Nurse Out at Applebees on Nicholasville Road. Turn out was good, i would say over 100. And it was a blend of moms, dads, children, babies, grandmothers, and do-gooders. Im glad we participated. It didnt seem like much on our part but i think supporting a babies right to eat in public unimcumbered is a worthy cause.

It was HOT!!!! Did i mention that. We smeared on the sunscreen and the little guy ate snacks i had packed and drank water. He did great. We were able stay an hour before he hot antsy and wanted to walk around. By this point i was drained and needed to go anyway.

Nothing But Burgers showed their marketing savvy by bringing over ice water for everyone and offering FREE burgers to all involved. What genius. You wave some free food in front of pregnant and nursing women AND their hubbys and you have customers for life. There was no sign of Applebees or their corporate company......unbelievable. They blew a great opportunity to gain alot of loyal customers . All it would have taken was a public apology and an amending of their "policy" to offer blankets to nursing moms to cover up. If i were in charge i would be firing some PR people immediately.

So the wolverine got his first taste of activism. He kept saying "We went to the nurse out".....perhaps he will go on to follow his heart and help his fellow man.

Madeleine L'Engle dies.

One of my all time favorite authors for her trilogy of stories about Meg Murray, her little brother Charles Wallace, and her boyfriend Calvin O'Keefe, has died. I read those books when i was young. Grade school on up into jr. high school. But i actually re-read the series this summer. I still loved them.

A Wrinkle in Time is her most famous book. Its one of those "classics" that won all the awards. Reading it again this summer made me realize that my fondness for cross genres started early on. A little adventure, a little sci-fi, some politics, religion, and then mix it in with a personal story. I guess i havent changed much in 37 years after all.

Good night Ms. L'Engle. Thanks for the stories.

http://www.awrinkleintime.net/

Breastfeeding News from the ignorant masses

Gwen Stefani revealed that she is still breastfeeding her son Kingston because she doesn't know when to stop. Kingston turned one year old in May.
Page Six reports:
I don't know when I'm going to stop breast-feeding...I'll just keep going while I can - like, he's getting his teeth, so it is a little bit scary. He's bitten me a few times."The last time I checked you were a millionaire, not a frontier settler, so now would probably be a good time to stop. Your kid isn't going to die of scurvy or starve because of the wily savages. In fact, he might walk to the refrigerator and get a juicebox and a Lunchable. In my experience, that's normally what people who can walk and have teeth do. "

Ah YES.....more ignorant comments from someone who knows nothing about nurturing your child. How witty of them. Lets take a celebrity and make fun of her for being a good mom. Way to turn another generation of young mothers off nursing.

The above image was in a local article entitled "Mom pushes breastfeeding on Applebees"





http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/161993.html





Yes people, just LOOK at how she is pushing. Sitting there, fully clothed, looking like she is simply holding her child. Its just scandulous. How dare she. What is the real scandal is some of the comments left on the Lexington Herald Leaders website. Im embarrassed to live somewhere that seems to be a haven for idiots.



I must be living in a cocoon. I am amazed at the ignorance and intolerance that surrounds me. Those of us who choose to breastfeed do so because we feel we are doing what is best for our children. Evidently, no one else cares. Or better, they only care that it interferes with their daily lives, or making a profit, or their ideas of what the breast should be used for.



So here are three seperate news pieces illustrating where our country and culture is at when it comes to breastfeeding. One celebrity, one Kentucky mother, and one ad campaign trying to make a difference.







Third the POLITICAL:





It may take a minute, but read the article and feel your pulse quicken. Another case of lobbyists screwing with public health issues.





Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy


Plans for HHS Campaign Highlighting Risks of Not Breast-Feeding 'Toned Down' After Meetings With Formula Makers, Washington Post Reports
[Aug 31, 2007]







An HHS campaign that aired advertisements promoting breast-feeding from 2003 to 2005 was "toned down" after formula industry representatives hired lobbyists to influence the department, the Washington Post reports.At the request of HHS' Office of Women's Health the not-for-profit Ad Council agreed to donate $30 million in air time for ads based off former Surgeon General David Satcher's 2000 report titled, "Blueprint for Action on Breast-feeding," according to the Post. The women's health office hired the ad agency McKinney + Silver to work with scientists from NIH, CDC and elsewhere on the campaign. After officials met with dozens of focus groups, they decided the most effective way to urge women to breast-feed was to "delineate in graphic terms the risks of not breast-feeding," the Post reports. One of the ads created for the campaign featured a nipple-tipped insulin bottle and said, "Babies who aren't breast-fed are 40% more likely to suffer Type 1 diabetes." According to the Post, some ads also featured photos of asthma inhalers topped with rubber nipples.According to the Post, the formula industry's involvement in the ad campaign is being "scrutinized" by Congress after Carmona's testimony last month at a hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Kaufman/Lee, Washington Post, 8/31). Carmona said the Bush administration routinely blocked him from speaking out or issuing reports on human embryonic stem cell research, abstinence-only sex education, emergency contraception and other sensitive public health issues. He also said the administration often edited his speeches for politically controversial content and encouraged him to attend internal political meetings (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/16). The House government reform committee is investigating whether Carmona was barred from participating in the breast-feeding advocacy project and if people working on the campaign were overruled by superiors. "This is a credible allegation of political interference that might have had serious public health consequences," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chair of the committee said.
Lobbying by Formula Industry The International Formula Counsel hired Clayton Yeutter -- former agriculture secretary and former chair of the Republican National Committee -- and Joseph Levitt, former director of the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's food safety center, to arrange meetings with HHS, according to an IFC spokesperson. According to the Post, formula company officials also approached Carden Johnston, then president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Afterward, Johnston wrote a letter to then HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson stating that AAP had "some concerns about this negative approach and how it will be received by the general public." Lawrence Gartner, head of AAP's section on breast-feeding, wrote to Thompson saying that the 800 members of the section did not know about Johnston's letter and did not share his concerns.In a Feb. 17, 2004, letter to Thompson, Yeutter wrote that IFC wanted to meet with Thompson because the draft breast-feeding ad campaign was inappropriately "implying that mothers who use infant formula are placing their babies at risk," which could lead to class action lawsuits, the Post reports. Yeutter also wrote that McKinney + Silver might "well be correct" in concluding that a toned-down ad campaign would be less effective, but the campaign could give "guilty feelings" to the women who cannot or choose not to breast-feed. He asked, "Does the U.S. government really want to engage in an ad campaign that will magnify that guilt?" Yeutter lauded then HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Kevin Keane for making "helpful changes" to the ad campaign but asked that more be done. Yeutter two months later wrote to Thompson thanking him for meeting with a group that included Levitt and another official.
Change in Ad Campaign Gina Ciagne, the women's health office's public affairs specialist for the campaign, said, "We were ready to go with our risk-based campaign -- making breast-feeding a real public health issue, when the formula companies learned about it and came in to complain. Before long, we were told we had to water things down, get rid of the hard-hitting ads and generally make sure we didn't somehow offend." According to the Post, the campaign ran ads that showed images of dandelions and cherry-topped ice cream scoops to highlight how breast-feeding could help prevent respiratory conditions and obesity.Current and former HHS officials said Cristina Beato, then an acting assistant secretary at HHS, was key in changing the ads, telling associates to "be fair" to formula companies, the Post reports. Beato and Christina Pearson, an HHS press officer, also told then Surgeon General Richard Carmona that they did not want him involved in the campaign's launch or in promoting its themes, according to current and former agency officials. Beato and Pearson said they do not recall giving Carmona that advice.Beato said that complaints from formula companies did not play a role in her decisions, adding, "I brought together our top public health people to examine the health claims, and they examined the science and concluded what should be in and what should be out." Keane said, "We took heat from the formula industry, who didn't want to see a campaign like this. And we took some heat from the advocates who didn't think it was strong enough."A spokesperson for McKinney + Silver, which withdrew from the campaign after the changes were ordered, declined to comment, the Post reports.
AHRQ Document According to the HHS officials and documents, the department in April chose not to promote an analysis of breast-feeding studies conducted by its Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The report did not say if there is a direct cause and effect of breast-feeding but said it is associated with fewer ear and gastrointestinal infections, and lower rates of diabetes, leukemia, obesity, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome. According to the Post, a top HHS official said Suzanne Haynes, a senior science adviser for the women's health office, called for the department to promote the report to the media and medical professionals. Current and former department officials said that Rebecca Ayer, HHS press officer, told Haynes and others in July that there should be "no media outreach" on the report. According to the Post, HHS and AHRQ sent out e-mail notices about the report, but it was "generally ignored" (Washington Post, 8/31).

Dominos

A good nap schedule can fall apart in a domino like effect. It just takes one day of mommy not being here to settle the wolverine in and BAM....day one....no nap until 6pm...which bleeds into nighttime which then bleeds into morning. We wake up late and BAM.....its almost 3pm and its looking like no nap again...or another late one. It just exhausts me.

I spend the better part of a week smoothing out the nap schedule getting it down to a nice system and then this happens. It seems to happen every week. Im so tired of it.

So now the wolverine is having "quiet time". That is where mommy puts the gate up so he cant leave his room and he is allowed to play by himself quietly in lieu of a nap. Its tantamount to mommy throwing in the towel.
Im also afraid that the closer we get to ending our beloved nursing , the closer we are to phasing out naps. I just dont know if the little guy can put himself to sleep for a nap. Rocking is nice, books are lovely, and he likes music, but for nap nothing taps the guy out like a little "nursey time".

Funny how they are always ending one stage and starting another. We have gone 3 nights without nursing at bedtime. That leaves us just with the nap nurse. We will see how it all pans out. He truly does shift from being my big boy one moment to being my needy toddler the next. Its so funny to see him develop and grow.

Im sure the true adventure begins when we throw another baby into this mix next year. Tim said today something to the effect of the next few years being grueling. Im sure in some ways that will be the case , but i think too they will be a fun time.

Welcome Xander

and congratulations to Erin, Mike and Addison. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you enjoy this special time together.

Alexander Lee Tuttle (aka Xander)Born July 31, 20077:23pm9 pounds, 5 ounces 20 inches long

Preteen Beauty Addicts

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=473376&in_page_id=1879



This article will make your skin crawl. Sometimes in trying to hard to please our children we arent doing them any favors in the long run. Thats a tough pill as a parent i think. I want my children to be happy, but also realize they want things sometimes that arent actually good for them.

I remember being so jealous when my older sister got her first pair of high heel shoes and thinking my mother was just so unfair for not allowing me to have them as well. I think i was probably 10.

Buffyverse

In honor of the August issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic coming out lets find out what character you would be.
Mine was a bit surprising to me i admit. I am not the heroine usually.

"You are Buffy! Strong, brave and extremely independent, Buffy has proven time after time that she will do whatever it takes to save what she has sworn to protect. The Chosen One is defiant and unwilling to give up even if the task ahead of her is perilous. "

http://www.quizilla.com/users/Aeralea/quizzes/Characters%20of%20Buffy%20the%20Vampire%20Slayer!/

Family Restrooms.....

This article appeared in a local paper where my parents live in TN. It spotlights some dear friends of theirs AND their obstacles in living somewhere with no family bathrooms in public facilities.

Im so glad Lex has them in the mall, but i want to see them in ALL public restrooms. Isnt it time we do this not only for the disabled and their families but those of us with small children???

Seems like common sense to me. As long as we are spending tax dollars like monopoly money, i for one would like to see something usable for a change.

ARTICLE LINK

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=5564

Sorry Susannah

I know im supposed to be keeping you up to date on all things Lexington while you are gone, but ive been slacking. Im tired, and cant eat enough at one sitting to feel good, and just plain yucky.

I did go see the hubbys show this weekend. I caught WORKING at the Studio Players on Saturday night and really enjoyed it. The show is fun and if your not careful you will catch yourself singing one of those darn tunes for days. Good work hubby. The man is a directing genius. He took a show i hate and changed the set up, gave it a cohesive feel, and BAM....its enjoyable. How does he do that????

Thumbs up for the new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie. The best of the series so far. Alan Richtman and Gary Oldman almost steal the movie. And when did Harry get so darn cute?

A lukewarm thumbs up for The Evening. Its predicatable, but i liked the themes. I think because i am getting older. I was the youngest person in the theater. What was your first mistake? How did it shape your choices? In the end does it really matter? Are there any American actresses besides Claire Danes that can hold their own besides their British and australian counterparts??

Discuss.

Fireworks Ad Nauseum

PEOPLE....LISTEN UP!!!!

Im as patriotic and fun spirited as the next person. On the Fourth of July i expect some BOOM, some BLAM, some KAPOW!!! What i do not expect is boom, blam, kapow for 7 nights straight. It is rude and annoying to live in a suburban neighborhood with people from 1 to 85 and have to put up with that for a week.

I can give you the night before the big event, the big event, and maybe the night after.....but SEVEN freaking nights and we are fried. Our 2 year old hasnt been to bed before 10 in a week and the cracks are showing.

Tonight my hubby was about to go to the neighbors and complain....but i intervened and went myself. *trying to prevent bloodshed*

So i walk down the street and very politely ask the people how much longer they think they will be.....that we havent been able to get our toddler down for a week due to fireworks. And they just looked at their watch and him hawed and said "uh...i dont know...maybe 20 more minutes"......no...oh im so sorry, or thanks for being so polite and neighborly about our disturbance. Nope. So i sighed....told them i would try to hold off my hubby for 20 minutes and walked back home.

So THAT is how it works. We now know who the rude neighbors are. And we are taking note. Tim took the wolverine for a drive to get him to sleep. And im still hearing fireworks. ILLEGAL fireworks i might add......yeah....in the city. So im giving them until 10 and then im calling the police. And i swear if i hear one more BOOM...BAM...or CRACK tomorrow night i am reigning down terror on them.

And i will reiterate, we are taking note of that house. We know who they are now. And we WILL NOT FORGET.

Baby blues, blahs, blechs.....

So i will admit i am about at my wits end. This time around, being pregnant has been not so fun. My morning sickness is all the time. I have pregnancy reflux...so anytime i eat it feels like it stays in my throat for hours. So i dont eat. And that makes the icky car sick feeling worse. Are you starting to get dizzy from my vicious cycle??!!

Im going to see the doctor today. To find out what i can take to relieve the reflux...or the yucks...and to make sure im not dehydrated. Im sure i am to some extent because my lips are cracked and i dont even get up at night to pee. Not a good sign.

So Ive missed 3 days in 3 weeks of work. So far, so bad.

The hubby i believe is about at his wits end as well. I dont guess he would say that, but he doesnt have to. He has never been good at hiding his feelings. And if this were reversed i imagine by now i would be tired of doing 98% of everything around the house and with the wolverine. Plus his show opens on the 12th. So we have high stress levels around our house.

Im not whining, im just worried. Im not one to give up alot of control easily, and with pregnancy you have no control really over your own body, emotions, etc. Im one big hormonal, chemical imbalance. I keep thinking i will have a breakthrough and be able to get it together.

I feel like im letting my family down. That is not a good feeling.

On the up side....this cant last forever, right?

Buffy the Fug

Its Independence Day SMG....Free yourself from grey satin shorts.

Courtesy of the fug girls.

Some Patriotic Trivia for the 4th.....

and yes im still just trying to get by. Hope you all have a Happy 4th.

1. Independence Day commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. However, it was not declared a legal holiday until 1941.

2. Fireworks were made in China as early as the 11th century. The Chinese used their pyrotechnic mixtures for war rockets and explosives.

5. Not all members of the Continental Congress supported a formal Declaration of Independence, but those who did were passionate about it. One representative rode 80 miles by horseback to reach Philadelphia and break a tie in support of independence.

3. Uncle Sam was first popularized during the War of 1812, when the term appeared on supply containers. Believe it or not, the U. S. Congress didn't adopt him as a national symbol until 1961.

4. There are many precise rules for taking care of the American flag. And speaking of flag traditions, we're sorry to report that contrary to legend, historical research has failed to confirm that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag.

6. The first two versions of the Liberty Bell were defective and had to be melted down and recast. The third version rang every Fourth of July from 1778 to 1835, when, according to tradition, it cracked as it was being tolled for the death of Chief Justice John Marshall.

7. The American national anthem, the "Star-Spangled Banner," is set to the tune of an English drinking song ("To Anacreon in Heaven").

8. The iron framework of the Statue of Liberty was devised by French engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel*, who also built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

9. The patriotic poem "America the Beautiful" was published on July 4, 1895 by Wellesley College professor Katharine Lee Bates*.

10. Father of the country and architect of independence George Washington held his first public office at the tender age of 17. He continued in public service until his death in 1799.

A Major Confession of Upcoming Expectations

that almost sounded like a Jane Austen book , didnt it?

Well our little family has a major announcement. We have been keeping the lid on for the most part for awhile, but no more. We are pregnant, expecting our second child in February 2008. That is a whopper. We are excited to share the news, although i must confess i enjoyed keeping it under wraps. A pregnancy can get pretty long and we always find out really early, so a little private time is good.

So our household is pretty rocking right now. This time around my "morning sickness" is 24/7 and pretty rough. It seems i have traded the semi- nauseous , mind numbing fatigue of the wolverines pregnancy with the super yuck, always a moment away from a heave nastiness im experiencing this time out. Its been a rough several weeks. Each week i get a little worse and Tim gets a little more behind in his work. Its not easy having a partner that cannot stand to step into the kitchen, especially when your 2 1/2 year old really has to eat. Tims show opens in less then 3 weeks and he is having to juggle the play, the wolverine, and me.

Ive managed to get to work each morning, and found its actually easier to be sick at work then at home. Iknow...that is terrible. But i told them at work at least im not expected to do anything, outside of just sitting there and massaging patients.

On the up side, the wolverine has had a good week, which coincided with my worst week yet. That was nice. It makes it easier to feel bad when he is happy. that just sounds crazy doesnt it. But i guess we should get used to crazy.

We havent had a lot of time to sit around and think about how our lives will change and what it will be like. This is all about just getting thru the next few weeks. Maybe when i feel better i will be able to do that. but somehow i dont think you get that a second time. I think this pregnancy will go mostly unnoticed alot of the time, except for the occassional "wow im getting big", or "oh the baby kicked" or "oh my we are always going to be behind". Life marches on in this house now. A toddler demands it. And i think having been thru this before makes a difference.

The baby will be very welcome, very loved, and im sure totally its own personality. But this house has been there, done that......and we are ready to rock.