Crazy Sexy Cancer Trailer

I really want to see this. With cancer rampant in both the Knight's family and my family, cancer is a concern for us. Let me know your thoughts on this trailer.

Crazy Sexy Cancer Trailer

Choosy Moms Choose Cesareans?!?

April is Cesearean Awareness Month. So, of course, this article appeared, Choosy Moms Choose Cesarean. From the article:

Some of the rise in C-sections can certainly be attributed to women with routine pregnancies, like Chung, who make a pragmatic decision to keep their deliveries just as uneventful. Preliminary data suggest that such cases account for anywhere from 4% to 18% of the total number of caesareans. On the medical side, better anesthesia and antibiotics are making the procedure safer. Add to that the growing number of women delaying childbirth, those having twins or triplets as a result of in vitro fertilization and America's exploding obesity epidemic--all of which increase the risks of vaginal delivery. Doctors are also
becoming better at picking up the slightest signs of distress in the baby or mother and are quicker to recommend caesareans in such cases.

Yes, because there is nothing uneventful with having major abdominal surgery. And now the procedure is safer? Safer than what? Safer than what is used to be, but not safer than vaginal birth.

The best part is at the end, where the author writes:

Chung remains convinced that she made the right decision for herself and son Nathan. As our ideas about birth evolve, perhaps more women will feel less defensive about making the same choice.

Evolve to what? Evolve as far away from what nature intended possible?


Really, I have no words. Just lots of frustration and eye-rolling. I am an extremely choosy person. And I chose natural childbirth for a reason.

Choosy Moms Choose Cesareans?!?

Gaining Confidence!

Just some pictures of the girls. The Mermaid is getting so creative with her blocks, I love seeing what structures her imaginations dreams up! The Guppy is getting more confident with her walking as well, and I can't get over how much older she looks when she is walking!

Gaining Confidence!

More Updates!

The past few days have been absolutely gorgeous out, so we've been spending a lot of time outside. I thought that going outside would encourage the Guppy to walk more, but apparently she is happy crawling through the grass. The Mermaid has also been doing more writing besides her name. The other day she wanted to draw a picture of the Knight and when she finished she asked me how to spell Daddy. I wrote it out for her in the corner and she wrote it herself perfectly, at the top of the paper.In other news.....The Mermaid has finally started to use the potty!!!!! I'm so thrilled. Thursday afternoon, I watched as the Mermaid changed her own diaper. That was kind of the kicker for me; obviously if she can change her own diaper, she's ready to use the potty. She has been ready for a while, she just never wants to take the time to stop playing to go sit on the potty. So, Friday morning when she woke up I told her that she was a big girl now and that it was time to say goodbye to diapers. We both said "Bye bye diapers" and then I told her that she could wear "princess panties" and a "princess dress" if she used the potty. She agreed.

Friday she had 5 or 6 accidents and didn't use the potty once. Needless to say it was very frustrating to see her sit on the potty for 15 minutes, stand up to go play, then two minutes later pee all over the floor. But I managed to remain patient and didn't quit and put her back into a diaper.

Saturday, when she woke up I sat her on the potty right away and she went, yahoo!! She got all excited. On Saturday she had only two accidents and the rest of the time she used the potty, she was so proud of herself!!

Sunday I put her on the potty again right away and she went again. The entire day she only had one accident, and it was because the Guppy had moved the potty and she couldn't find it in time. Today, so far, she hasn't had a single accident and has used the potty twice. I am so proud of her and so psyched!

So, a question for those veteran potty trainers out there: today we are going to go to the park, and as much as I don't want to put a diaper back on her, I feel that I don't have a choice as I don't want her to have an accident and make a mess while we are out and about. How did/do you handle going out of the house while potty training?

More Updates!

Update on the girls *pic heavy*

I thought I would just post a little update on the girls....

The Mermaid is doing so incredibly well with schooling. She now participates in almost everything at her homeschooling group, and I am so glad I hung in there and did not quit the group when we were experiencing week after week of her running around and not participating.
Lately we've been learning about the moon, about ducks, and about the weather.

The Mermaid is LOVES rainbows and gets so excited

when she sees one!

She made a rain gauge in her homeschooling group

and loves to see how much rainfall we get.

The Mermaid also LOVES doing puzzles. She is up to a 24 piece puzzle but it bores her and she finishes it within five minutes.

What really amazes me is that she can write her own name now, without help. The other day I gave her some scrap paper to color on and she told me "I'm going to draw Brookie". I looked over ten minutes later and she had drawn a picture of herself, then wrote her name under it by herself and spelled it correctly.

Don't you love the big smile and the bright sun in the corner?

A second self portrait

The Guppy has been amazing me with her increasingly emerging personality, which is strong. She definitely stands up for herself and is not a shy child. Her vocabulary has been increasing as well. But the big news is that about three days ago, she started walking. However, she will only walk when she gets excited and doesn't realize she is doing it. As soon as she realizes that she is walking, she gets scared and goes back down on her knees. Oh well, if she wants to walk on her knees for a while longer, that's fine with me. At least I know she can walk if she wanted to.

Both girls still get along great. I am so pleased by how well they play together. I know, I know, those parents of older siblings are out there right now, snickering at me. I know it probably won't last, but for now I'm going to enjoy watching be best friends and play pals.

All dressed up for the rehersal dinner
The Guppy is so silly!
See what I mean about a strong personality?
For some reason she loves to raise that hand

when her picture is being taken
The Mermaid practicing her dance steps.

Update on the girls *pic heavy*

And she actually walked down the aisle!!

These are pictures from my lovely SIL's wedding two weeks ago. I know I am biased, but isn't the Mermaid the cutest flower girl you have ever seen? She did so well too, she walked and didn't run down the aisle!

She kept telling me she was a princess!
Her hair took FOREVER to curl!
The flower girl and the beautiful bride
The Guppy with the bride
Both my beautiful angels.

The funniest part happened right after she and the bride had finished walking up the aisle. The music had stopped and the minister hadn't started speaking yet, so it was eerily quiet. All of a sudden, everyone heard the Mermaid's voice ring out, "Nana, I like your shoes!" Too funny!

And she actually walked down the aisle!!

Breastfeeding is Not a Crime!

I've been forwarded this email several times through different groups and I think it is important to share. Get the word out! :o)

Just a couple of months ago, a mother was kicked out of a museum in New York for breastfeeding, a perfectly legal act in that state. [1] Mothers continue to suffer discrimination and humiliation for breastfeeding, even though doctors recommend breastfeeding for all infants. Clearly we need Congress to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R. 3799) now--before more mothers are stigmatized and humiliated for breastfeeding. But this Act is currently stalled in Congress, and isn't going to move forward without increased citizen pressure. You can supply that pressure.CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSPERSON
NOW: http://www.momsrisi ng.org/Cosponsor
BreastfeedingAct
(And forward this email to friends now so they can take
action too. All of our voices are needed to get the Breastfeeding
Promotion Act moving forward).MomsRising members have successfully raised awareness about the need to protect the rights of breastfeeding mothers in the past and can do it again. Last year, MomsRising members and other activists changed Delta Airlines' corporate policies when a mother was kicked
off a flight for breastfeeding.We can harness this same power to push through the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, but we need your help contacting Congress. Let's support mothers who are nurturing and caring for the next generation of Americans. Those nursing babies may not be able to vote, but their mothers can!Forward this email so your friends and family can contact their representatives too. It's going to take all of our voices, and then some to get this legislation moving forward. We need tens of thousands of messages to go to Congress supporting breastfeeding.
Here's that link again in case you need it: http://www.momsrisi ng.org/Cosponsor BreastfeedingAct
Thank you! - Kristin, Joan, Nanette, Mary, Donna, Katie,
Roz, Anita, Andrea and the MomsRising Team [1] http://wnyt. com/article/ stories/S352021. shtml?cat= 10114

P.S. THE LOWDOWN ON THE BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT: Representative Carolyn Maloney's Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R. 3799) would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect breastfeeding by new mothers by providing tax credits to employers who provide a place to breastfeed and/or provide breast pumps. This makes it a lot easier for women who want to give their babies breastmilk and keep their jobs. As you may know, 82% of American women
become mothers by the time they are forty-four years old, so this issue is critically important to a large portion of our nation. To read the bill, visit The Library of Congress Website.

Breastfeeding is Not a Crime!