How Do I Say No?

I am finally going to admit it: I think I have taken on more than I can chew.

These past couple of weeks I have been completely overwhelmed. Completely. Besides homeschooling and my Arbonne business, I've also:
~ been working to get WomenAid up and running with the other ladies of the board.
~ signed up for a CBE certification course and have started my reading and assignments
~ have started the application process to be accredited for another position that I am not supposed to announce until I am actually accredited.
~ have been really busy with my doula business

Not that I am complaining about any of these things. I love homeschooling and being a mom to my girls, I love being a part of WomenAid, love my Arbonne and Doula business, etc. But I think it is too much at once, I am stretching myself too thin.

I am not a good person when I am overhwhelmed. I snap at people, yell at people, and generally turn into a bad person.

Besides that, I haven't been able to set aside time to nurture myself lately and it's showing. I haven't knitted, or even just sat down with a nice cup or tea and a good book right before bed like I used to. I miss that.

However I find it so hard to prioritize and decide which activity needs to take a back seat. I'm thinking that if I come up with a schedule that divides my time between acitivities that would help. But I need to realize that it might take me a little longer to reach my goals, and that's okay. I'm not superwoman, I'm just the best woman I can be.

This is what I am thinking:

1. Homeschooling and my girls always take first priority, that one is a no brainer.

2. I will contine to work my Arbonne business, but only in the hours that I had set aside to work it (roughly two hours a day). One of the problems I have is that I will jump online to "just check my work email real quick" and lose myself for two hours without realizing it.

3. I will set aside two hours a week to work on WomenAid, and that does not count the group's weekly conference calls.

3. I will set aside three hours a week for my doula business, in which I will work on updating my website, creating a brochure, networking, etc. I will limit myself to one birth client and one postpartum client a month.

4. I will set aside one hour a day to work on my CBE certification course, or my other accredidation course, but not both on the same day.

5. I will keep my house clean.

This is just a rough draft, and I still feel overwhelmed just looking at it. But it is a nice first step, don't you think?

How Do I Say No?

April is Cesarean Awareness Month

What is Cesarean Awareness Month? An internationally recognized month of awareness about the impact of cesarean sections on mothers, babies, and families worldwide. It's about educating yourself to the pros and cons of major abdominal surgery and the possibilities for healthy birth afterwards as well as educating yourself for prevention of cesarean section.

Cesarean awareness is for mothers who are expecting or who might choose to be in the future. It's for daughters who don't realize what choices are being taken away from them. It's for scientists studying the effects of cesareans and how birth impacts our lives. It's for grandmothers who won't be having more children but are questioning the abdominal pains and adhesions causing damage 30 years after their cesareans.

CESAREANS are serious. There is no need for a 'catchy phrase' to tell us that this is a mainstream problem. It affects everyone. One in three American women every year have surgery to bring their babies into the world.These women have lifelong health effects, impacting the families that are helping them in their healing, impacting other families through health care costs and policies, and bringing back those same lifelong health effects to the children they bring into this world.Be aware. Read. Learn. Ask questions. Get informed consent. Be your own advocate for the information you need to know.

www.ican-online.org

April is Cesarean Awareness Month

Whirlwind

This past weekend, I was able to go to the LLL Area Conference in Chelmsford, MA. I left the Mermaid at home but took the Guppy with me since I was staying overnight and she still wakes up to nurse.

The conference was amazing! I learned to much from the session I took, and really, it was just so incredibly relaxing and amazing to be surrounded by mothers who share a similar parenting style. Slings were everywhere, breastfeeding in public was no problem, and everyone was just generally happy and positive towards each other. I also got a new ring sling that I absolutely love!

I did attend one session with Dr. Sears about his new book "The Vaccine Book". I wasn't able to sit through the entire session because the Guppy started to get fussy, but what I heard gave me a lot to think about. I'm going to be picking up his book soon and I recommend other parents to read it as well. It is not an anti-vaccine book, but rather outlines reasons why some parents do not vaccinate, and if you do choose to vaccinate, which ones you can skip and what ages to give the other vaccines in order to be as safe as possible.

This weekend is my SIL's wedding and so we will be going out of town again. This week coming up, I have work as a postpartum doula (which I am very excited about) and so far the rest of my April looks a little low key. Good thing my Arbonne business keeps me busy as well, or I might have to go a little crazy.

Right now in homeschooling the Mermaid is learning about the moon, and more specifically the different stages of the moon. I am continuously amazed at how quickly she picks things up, but most of all at how much she LOVES to just sit down with me and learn. We've been doing a lot of coloring and painting, and reading books about the moon, and every day when the Knight gets home she runs to him very excited about showing him the day's project. I am so happy and confident now with our decision to homeschool, and I am very excited to see where it takes us.

The Guppy is really starting to broaden her vocabulary. She especially loves to make animal sounds. It seems every day she learns a new word, which makes every day with her so much fun. She also loves to look on and watch while the Mermaid colors pictures of the moon, or read the moon books with us.

Well, that's it for the updates. I'm going to be busy all day packing and getting ready for the weekend, how fun. ;o)

Whirlwind

Easter Celebrations *Pic Heavy!*

I hope everyone had a great Easter/weekend!

The girls had a lot of fun. We decorated our easter eggs Saturday night and sent the girls to bed. The Mermaid was soooo excited when she woke up in the morning and saw what the Easter bunny had left her!

Ready to decorate eggs!

The Mermaid's first egg, with Daddy's help

The Guppy looks on patiently

Okay, the Guppy's turn!

All done coloring!

Now it's sticker time!

Drawing a picture for the Easter bunnyShe drew a bunny and then wrote her name

We put out the picture with some carrots and water and we were all set!

After our basket openings and easter egg hunt, we dressed the girls up and headed over to my IL's where we had dinner, then headed to my mother's where we had supper and dessert. I was stuffed! All in all, a great Easter.

Holidays are so much more fun when you get to look at the wonder on your child's face!

Easter Celebrations *Pic Heavy!*

Where in the World Have I Been?

Well, it has been a while! This month has been crazy!

The day after I wrote my last post my client went into labor. It was a long labor that resulted in an absolutely beautiful 9lb 15oz baby boy! They are such a wonderful family and I felt so honored to be present at the birth.

I have one client who is due next week but I have a feeling she will be "early" (third baby, both prior babies were born "early").

I've done another belly cast and I am looking into doing henna body art and Mother Blessing ceremonies.

My SIL's wedding is coming up in three weeks (gulp) and I've been running around to prepare. I got my shoes ordered last night but I still have to get my dress hemmed and set up appointments for my hair, etc.

The girls have been sick a little this month as well, which keep me busy all in itself. Plus I've been running around with the other board members of Blackstone Valley WomenAid, trying to get the proper paperwork filed and community verifiers lined up. Add on to all of this the fact that my Arbonne business has been doing really well and keeping me busy, and with all this I am trying to make sure I find time to sleep, and so my poor blog has been neglected.

I find that the busier I get, the more organized I must become or else I get all stressed. So, I'm going to start doing FlyLady again, because when I actually follow her program my life is so.much. easier. I'm also going to set aside time in my calendar at least every other day to post on this blog, because really I love posting here and I could never stop.

What else? Oh, yeah, we got the girls guinea pigs. It was not my idea and I wanted nothing to do with it, but now that we have them, I'm glad we did. We got them for free from wonderful woman that the Knight works with and both girls adore them. The Mermaid has impressed me with her willingness to take responsibility for them, such as helping to feed them and clean their cages and make sure they "come out to play" every day.

Oh, yeah, and I'm also going to the MA/RI/VT LLL area conference at the end of the month (unless my client goes into labor then) and I am so excited! I'm taking the Guppy with me because she still nurses at night. I'll be sharing a room with a dear friend and doula client, so it should be fun!

Remember how I told you that the Knight had broken my camera on Thanksgiving? Well my SIL was kind enough to lend us her camera so I am able to take pictures again (Thank Heavens! Withdrawal is not fun!). Prepared to be shocked at how big they have gotten....

Where in the World Have I Been?

U.S. Government Concedes Vaccines Cause Autism

This article, published on March 3rd, states:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently conceded the first vaccine-autism case.
This case was filed in the no-fault National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as part of the Autism Omnibus proceedings in the U.S. Federal Court of Claims.
It was one of the first three cases chosen that alleged Thimerosal in childhood vaccines significantly contributed to a child developing autism.

It continues on to say:

Furthermore, in 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Government Reform Committee, after a 3.5-year investigation, concluded that Thimerosal caused the autism epidemic and that the FDA and health authorities were guilty of “institutional malfeasance” in covering it up.

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while now knows my stance on vaccines. Please, please, be a responsible parent and research vaccines before bringing your child into the doctor's office. Come prepared. The time to start asking questions is not when the nurse is getting the vaccine ready: it's before the appointment. Educate yourself and know exactly what is going into your child's body.

You can read the full text of the article here.

U.S. Government Concedes Vaccines Cause Autism

WomenAid

In my past few posts I've mentioned a few times that my dear friend and business partner and I are starting up a new project. Well we've finally been able to take the first steps in getting this project started, so I thought I would share.

We're in the process of starting up a non-profit organization called WomenAid. WomenAid is a small group of women who have come together to raise money in order to provide short-term financial assistance to people who need it most in our community. We rely on community leaders such as school nurses, social workers, health care practitioners and clergy members to identify and validate requests. These requests remain totally anonymous. If the request is approved by the board of WomenAid, the money is paid directly to the service provider. Our goal is to make the payment within 48 hours of request. Examples of requests that we would cover include: a starter for a car of a single working mother; a month of prescriptions for a child who fell ill and isn't covered by insurance; a deposit on an apartment that a family needs in order to get out of a shelter.

Right now we are focusing on filing the proper paperwork and brainstorming for fundraising ideas.

Can I tell you, I am so incredibly excited. I feel so blessed to be able to have the time and freedom to reach out into the community in this way. I will keep you updated on our progress as we bring our dream to life.

WomenAid