25 Random Things About Me

I got tagged on facebook. This things seems to have already made it's way through a huge part of my friends list, but I'll play anyway. :) 1. I drink way more coffee than I probably should. 2. I've gotten into some really serious traditional food prep in the past year, and I love it. I make milk kefir, water kefir, yogurt, kombucha tea, and I soak/sprout grains. It's fascinating. And I find it relaxing. 3. My 10 m.o. is an extremely clingy baby who needs several extra doses of comfort than his brother ever did. I feel like I'm constantly pulled between respecting him as an individual with individual needs and letting him experience life's harsh realities. 4. My favorite color is green. 5. I'm really thankful that I have two little boys. It's something I really wanted. 6. When I was a kid, I went to the state fair with many 4-H projects, and won superior ribbons. Categories included: Small Pets and Bread baking. This is especially funny now, because I hate small pets and don't really eat bread. 7. I don't like to take naps. I never seem to get back into the swing of the day after a nap, even if it's short. 8. Pregnancy and nursing have been good to me, insofar as that I weigh about 20lbs less now than I did before I was pregnant with Ambrose. 9. I really want to like fish. I'm trying hard. 10. When I was a newlywed, I nannied for a family 3 days a week for about 6 months. Incidentally, the children were two little boys who were very close in age (18 months). It was extraordinarily difficult/frustrating/exhausting, which is why I ended up quitting. Heh. Payback? 11. I love, love, loved my homebirth, and wish more women knew how empowering natural birth is. 12. I am so incredibly thankful for my mom. I don't know what I would do without her. 13. I don't really mind changing diapers that much. 14. I love nursing babies. Well, my babies. 15. I'm having a really bad morning with the boys. They're both standing next to me, crying. I feel like my brain is about to implode. 16. I don't like talking on the phone. And I can't really multi-task when I am on the phone . 17. Once, I made a Bible cover with a deck of cards. It looked really cool. It was very controversial, despite the King of Hearts being placed front and center. 18. I bought my wedding dress on ebay for $50. 19. I'm super proud of my hubby, and of the work he does. Really. 20. There are alot of other things I really should be doing right now. Fortunately the crying children are distracted. 21. My favorite band is Dashboard Confessional. This hasn't changed since I was 15. 22. I've learned to like broccoli, squash, and hard-boiled eggs in the last year. 23. I've never fed either of my babies baby food or purees. I believe pretty strongly that if you have to puree it for them, they probably shouldn't be eating it. 24. I'm making chicken tacos for dinner. 25. I would really like a glass of good red wine.

the newest project...

I finished this mei tai for a friend's sister last night, and I've gotta say-it almost makes me want a little girl. (In the very, very distant future!!!) I really love the way it turned out, though--aside from, of course, the darling Amy Butler fabric, it just feels so strong, so comfy, sturdy, and soft. Hopefully the recipient will like it as well! :)

these are hilarious.

My mom took the boys and I to get portraits taken at Sears this afternoon. It was crazy. The result? A set of pictures that quite accurately represent my life. Enjoy! This was the first picture taken. We ended up bribing him with candy. The difference between taking one baby to get photos taken and taking two babies to get photos taken: when one is happy, you're only halfway there. This is Ambrose with not one, but two lollipops. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It's funny...in my mind, this photo was "good" because they were both smiling. Turns out that's about the only thing we got right. What sort of mother lets her kid have two suckers?! Yes, Peter is biting Ambrose's toes. Ambrose is crying about it. Going back for more. Not without a few gems, though. :)

it begins...

I'm quite aware that little boys love to roughhouse with one another, and when I learned that I was going to have two little boys less than a year and half apart, I figured that I would be in for my share of wrestling matches. I guess I just assumed that those were a few years down the line. This afternoon I ran to the kitchen for a minute and heard both boys giggling from the living room. I smiled and went to see what was making them both so happy. Peter was propped in the corner of the couch, and Ambrose--sweet Ambrose--had a pillow clutched to his chest and was lunging--I mean actually throwing his entire body--on his baby brother. They were both laughing wildly. ?!

changes.

Since this whole nasty sickness/medication/thrush deal started awhile ago, I've been pretty conscious about what I eat. Granted, I think I usually try to be conscious about what I, and everyone else around here eat. I plan healthy meals, make sure we all take in plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, get enough protein, etc. Oh, and it gets worse. We drink raw milk, make yogurt with raw milk, and drink fruit and spinach smoothies with it in the mornings. I guess where I was really running into trouble was in between the healthy meals. So anyway, long story short, I've been cutting out anything that can feed candida (thrush)--sugar, in all it's forms--even limiting fruit to one serving a day, yeast (beer, bread), and most wheat flour. Has it been fun? No. I don't plan to make it the way I eat for my whole life, though I've learned alot about ways that I should amend my eating habits. But to tell you the truth...I feel great. Also, I'm losing weight like crazy?! Didn't really expect or intend to encounter either of those things, but I guess they're a nice bonus. Aside from that, Peter is teething quite painfully. Ambrose teethed very effortlessly for the most part, so this is a new one for me. My next big project around here is to move the TV out of the den and into...dun dun da DAH...the basement. Fortunately, we don't have much of a TV habit around here. We don't have cable or satellite or even any local channels, but ever since Peter was born I've been more inclined to use movies to entertain Ambrose during the day--which isn't a problem in and of itself, I've realized. The larger problem is that I usually resort to the TV as a big, huge parenting cop-out. There are some days that I would rather not spend the morning toting him around while I do chores, or sit on the couch reading "Old Hat, New Hat" fifteen times in a row, or promptly disciplining him for any number of offenses, so I just pop a movie in. Too easy. We have a small, 13-inch tv/dvd player combo in our bedroom closet for the occasional rainy day. But I'm pretty intent on keeping it to just that, at least for a long time. Anyhoo, I've been a big slacker about taking pictures lately. I'll get some up soon.

Back in good health here! Healthy enough to blog, even. For those who asked, I did end up taking another round of antibiotics. Lord willing, I can steer clear of those for awhile. Ugh. As predicted, Peter did get thrush again. I'm learning so well that you have to be absolutely militant when warding off yeast, but hopefully it's gone for good now. As a result, however, I've become a total probiotics fanatic. I know, I never thought I'd be the granola girl who did all this weird stuff either. And maybe I'm still not, yet. Anyhow, I've started making my own kefir and my own yogurt, which are both really great sources for good bacteria and excellent tools for rebuilding the immune system. Plus, they make great smoothies. (Banana + a handful of frozen berries + a cup of yogurt= 1 delicious breakfast) The boys. You know, I was just about to write "the boys are getting so big" or "the boys are doing so well", but really, how cliche. Truthfully, the boys are not getting so big. They are so small. They're tiny. They barely understand English, and often times behave in a similar fashion as monkeys or small puppies. I'm not saying that because I don't like them, or because I'm not enjoying my life, or because I want someone to feel sorry for me. I'm just saying it because that is the real truth. Sure, they are incredibly cute. They are precious, and I always, always, always have someone to cuddle with. It is adorable. But they're not getting "so big", and they're certainly not doing it "so quickly". When they're 20, I'll tell you about how big they are, and maybe then I'll be able to tell you something about how fast it goes. But right now, the minutes and hours are so much longer than the weeks and years. On that note, I really am having a good time with them. It's fun to see them interact, even if it is only on a very basic level. Peter always gets a kick out of Ambrose, and Ambrose is continually growing more fond of his little brother. He's falling into the Protective Older Brother roll quite well. It distresses him to see his brother being held by strangers, and is even more distressed when he cries. I'm going to leave you with this sweet video of Peter's first giggles. (Which of course were not for me, but for Renata who is an expert at peek-a-boo). Foolishly, I filmed it sideways, so yeah, they're upside down. Anyone know what software I could use to flip it?? Anyhow, just tilt your head for now. :)

on strep throat.

When Peter was four weeks old, Matt had strep throat. When Peter was nine weeks old, Matt had strep throat again. Ambrose got it, too. So did I. So, we all took antibiotics. I hate antibiotics. Courtesy of the aforementioned medication, Peter developed thrush. No sooner had I killed the thrush did I wake up today with a terrible sore throat and a headache. I have strep throat. Again. I was contemplating going without antibiotics and letting my body duke this thing out itself. This would just mean that I would probably spend a week or so being very sick (and since strep usually involves throwing up for me, I mean very sick). It would not be the end of the world, but I have a really hard time fathoming how I would take care of my two little kids being that sick. Also, I would then be running the risk of coming down with something more serious--scarlet fever or rheumatoid fever. Rare, but not rare enough to not matter. It was really a hard decision. I guess I'm just going to slaughter my body with another round of antibiotics. I have no idea where we keep getting it, and I really hope this is the end. It's moments like these when I realize that my body is not my own, really, at all.