Monday, March 17, 2008
Childrens' Magazines and Censorship
So, we signed Parker and Kira up for National Geographic Kids (for Parker) and National Geographic Little Kids (for Kira) because we love NG and thought these would be kid versions and awesome. Well, we got Kira's first, and it is pretty good. Obviously very watered down, but we appreciated it for a young toddler age. Then we received Parker's first issue. WOW. It was so totally the opposite of what we were expecting! Not classy at all, and filled with all sorts of "crap" for lack of a better word that didn't seem in the vein of National Geographic at all.
You open it and see the table of contents, and the next page is a huge full page advertisement for "The Water Horse" movie. Move on and see a full page on video game tips opposite silly pictures of athletes and stupid captions for each of them. The back cover and inside back cover are advertisements for Goosebumps of some such and some food product, both just BLARING at you visually. And one of the two-page articles is about "Stupid Criminal Tricks" or similar. There was one VERY awesome article about lions in the whole things with NG-like photography, but all in all it was just shocking and disappointing to both me and Jeff. So, what were we going to do?
Luckily, we saw it before Parker, and were debating on whether or not to even give it to him. We both really liked a few things in it, and were torn on what to do. So -- here comes the censorship -- we opted to glue pages together and cut the back cover off completely. Isn't that terrible???? But, if we are not having cable in this house because of the commercialism, does it make sense to subject him to it in a magazine? I am still not sure we did the right thing, and when the next issue comes, I'm just not sure what we'll do. I am just rather appalled at how anti-NG this magazine seemed!!
Labels: homeschooling, parenting, Parker, Pop Culture
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
To Expound.
Parker is sick ... now. Wasn't yesterday.
Woke up at 2 am said he had a sore throat. Listened to lungs, and they were clear. Woke up at 7:30 am, and he was wheezing. Used rescue meds, and wheeze was gone. Started a slight wheeze in lower right lobe, had some diminished breath sounds on left side. Gave 1 of the two puffs of rescue meds, and all sounded better.
Went in for Kira's followup/Parker's appt (we called to add Parker into the check-up) at 10:30a, and he threw up on way, and didn't really respond to two DuoNeb treatments, sats started to decrease on room air, put on O2 and trip in ambulance (our first time!!) to Pediatric Hospital. Sat in ER from noon to about 5:30p, on continuous albuterol nebs which sometimes seemed to help sometimes seemed to do nothing. Sometimes his lungs sounded completely clear, then congested with wheezing. No method to the madness. IV, steroids, magnesium, and more O2.
Now in ICU, great sats, but still has wheeze, great inspirations, not so great expirations. Seems to be "the mystery" .... fun, fun!! NOT!
So yes, it is true that Parker wasn't sick yesterday. Oh, and he had a chest Xray, doesn't have pneumonia, so it is likely that Kira actually didn't either, just a viral bronchitis.
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Update.
Kira? All better.
Parker? In ICU.
Freaking sucks.
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Pneumonia
Kira has decided that for her first illness, pneumonia is a good one. She just had a slight cough yesterday, and now has decreased breath sounds, and lots of congestion, sore throat, fever, stomach pains, and lots of coughing. So, she received a big long shot of antibiotics in her thigh (IM) and an albuterol breathing treatment to try to break up the congestion. We go back in the morning for a check up.
Dr. Wyatt says he doesn't think this is contagious, which after a 4-day ICU stay for Parker just last month, let's hope not!!
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Thursday, November 01, 2007
Kira Kitty and Park Ranger Parker
Last minute costume changes made this a stressful night, but I think it came out fine!
Parker, originally planning to go as Robin Hood, changed his mind to go as Luke Skywalker again when I was getting materials to make costumes. As luck would have it, right before going out, we couldn't find his black dance pants needed for his costume, so he agreed to wear the great Park Ranger costume his Oma and Grampa brought back from Alaska for him. Presenting Park Ranger Parker:
Kira was originally going to go as Curious George to Jeff's Man with the Yellow Hat, but decided she didn't want to do that either, on the day we went to get outfit supplies. Instead, she decided she wanted to be a cat. We convinced her to go as a black cat, as I knew we had black dance pants for her, just recently hand-me-downed from a friend. Introducing Kira Kitty:
We found the top at the Goodwill -- it is originally one of those skin-tight shirts, sized 10 girls (can you imagine??), and the tail is a boa, tied around her. The ears -- well, they were supposed to be something easy, and instead they took quite a while as I ended up making a head piece instead of just ears. Still, it made her look more like a cat, no? Hopefully you can't tell what it is made from ...
For Jeff, we abandoned previous plans for him to go as Little John to Parker's Robin Hood and also the Man with the Yellow Hat to Kira's Curious George. So, it so happened that his coworkers were going as Alice in Wonderland and as "Evil Alice", so he and I brainstormed, and decided to make him the 3 of Clubs from the Queen of Hearts' deck of cards, notorious for "Painting the Roses Red". Considering it was done in record time, I think it came out great!
With all of the craziness, we actually had to wake Kira up to go trick or treating, and both kids were exhausted just walking around our neighborhood. So, it should have been a sign when we started out like this:
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Dentist Visit!!
Kira had her first dentist visit, and Parker went in for a check-up -- on Halloween!! (Yes, a little cruel, no??)
I was really impressed with how well they both did! Kira was a little more scared, and didn't get as much done, but she did finally let the dentist examine her teeth.
Brave lad:
A little more apprehensive:
Labels: Kira, milestones, parenting, Parker
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
To the ER They Go ...
Parker and Jeff are at the ER right now. Of course, when they got there, the doctor said he couldn't exactly hear a wheeze .....
Again, there is a question of if this is an allergic asthma. See, I can't figure out what the trigger is, if it is allergic. It only comes when he's already got a cold. We'd talked with Dr. Wyatt about doing seasonal meds just to prevent these high boluses of steroids (which he'll no doubt be getting tonight).
Labels: health, milestones, parenting, Parker
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Multiplicity
I was away this past weekend (my first time EVER away from the kids and hubby for 48 hours!! -- first time ever away from Kira ....), and while I was gone, Jeff straightened the house, removed our bedframe, organized better our bedroom, AND took the kids to Disney Saturday and Sunday!!!! I think he multiplied himself or something.
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Friday, September 07, 2007
Step AWAY from Amazon, Kristin
I really am a glutton, considering I have a stack of books I haven't read yet already, but I just HAD to get more today (I had an Amazon gift certificate and there was a 4-for-3 special), so I went for it. So, in a few weeks, I'll have added to my library:
- "Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too" by Adele Faber
- "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" by Adele Faber
- "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin De Becker
- "The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves" by Linda Kavelin Popov
- "Living Simply with Children: A Voluntary Simplicity Guide for Moms, Dads, and Kids Who Want to Reclaim the Bliss of Childhood and the Joy of Parenting" by Marie Sherlock
- "The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" by Thomas Jefferson
- "Sharing Nature With Children (20th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Expanded)" by Joseph Bharat Cornell
- "Raising Children Compassionately: Parenting the Nonviolent Communication Way (Nonviolent Communication Guides)" by Marshall B. Rosenberg
Am I a glutton or what?!!?
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Friday, August 03, 2007
Follow-up to Parker-love
Yesterday's exclamation was the first time to really see that type of behavior in Parker. He has several other girl friends and holding hands and all is often part of friendships at this age, but this was .... different. There was a kind of possessiveness involved which was a little creepy to see. I don't know. He seems to have forgotten her name today, which I'm fine with.
Labels: milestones, parenting, Parker
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Kindergartner Speech
Parker's speech is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. We've just started actively working on individual sounds so as to avoid the need for speech therapy. We are using this site: http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Eacadtech/phonetics/# which works really well at isolating each sound. He seems to be missing "sh", "j", and a few others. He also still has some of the cute mispronunciations, like aminals. I adore it, and I refuse to correct it. He knows the right pronunciation, so that isn't an issue.
Some well-meaning friends suggested I get him hooked up with a professional for services, which should be paid for by the state/county. In terms of qualifying for services, I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue. To be honest, I would prefer to not do it through the county, especially considering things I've heard about how it is done here, and also because I've been working with Parker on it for only 3 days, and he now has "r" and voiceless "th" and he knows we're working on a new sound tomorrow, so I'm surprised about the progress!
Here is what he seemed to be missing, in detail:
"th" in both thing and that;
"sh" like shoe and "zh" like vision;
"ch" like watch (I think he may have this one, but since it is the same general placement as the next, which he doesn't have, I'm not 100% sure);
"dg"/"j" as in job or cage;
"r" like in rope and far.
I plan to keep working with him on it, keeping it laid back, and go from there. Maybe I'll decide later to get professional help, or maybe he won't need it. He's still only 5, though!!
Labels: homeschooling, parenting, Parker
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Family Ties
I have to say that I am glad that we have two kids, and that one is a boy and one is a girl. It really is cliche, but this way, we get to experience parenting a child like each of us (abstractly, at least) and also the sibling relationship that we both had as well.
Having had a boy first was something that seemed to be a challenge for us, at least when we were first told. I have to say that we were pretty lucky to have the opportunity to make friends with other new moms who also had boys. It really helped us through the tough, insecure times.
Now Kira, she really does seem to be a mini-me. Heaven help me. She is a little scamp, can be as sweet as possible, and is really starting to develop her own ideas of the world.
We have to see how her personality continues to develop. So far, she's pretty amenable to most things that Parker wants to do. But if family history is any indication, that will change, as it did for me with my older sister, and then all bets are off.
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Saturday, March 10, 2007
An *a-HA* Moment from a "seasoned" mom
It is interesting how time and distance makes you forget things. Parker was most definitely a high needs child, but with time, and with reassurance, he has become a very independent child, to a point that I don't think of him as still high needs. Ironically, as I just shared with some friends a list of high needs child traits, I STILL saw Parker in them. And he's 5!
For example, supersensitive -- just Wednesday at the Homeschool meeting/Gardening party, he was finally able to be convinced to try and dig in the dirt, and was able to enjoy it until .... he saw his hands were dirty. We had to immediately go in and scrub-scrub-scrub the sap from the roots off of his hands so he wouldn't melt down. At five years of age.
And intense -- Thursday evening, as the night routine was getting prepared, he was watching Animal Planet's Funniest Animals and laughing SOOOOO loud. When I told him it was time for it to be turned off (the show ended, and it was time to eat, clean, read, etc.), he cried and carried on, even saying "I'll never watch TV again!!" This is NOT an isolated event solely about the television or the time of day. This can happen first thing in the morning over which cereal I suggest he eat or if I tell him he cannot have a lollipop as his breakfast.
Jumping down to constantly feeding, he is always snacking, and probably has about 6 or 7 mini-meals a day. Maybe even 9.
Some of the others ones aren't as noticeable to me anymore or no longer even an issue, but the above three still manage to bug me some days more than they should, because I've forgotten that he will always be "high needs" or "spirited". I'm really glad to have gotten a wake up call, and a validation that he's NOT doing this to make me crazy!!!
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
Kids and Work - Freelance/Homeschool Style
Today, we went to an artist's house to photograph some of her work, as we are creating a website for her. We asked in advance, and were able to bring our kids with us, which meant both Jeff and I would be able to go.
As luck would have it, this was a beautiful location for the kids with lots of fun stuff to explore, including a large basin of water, which they happily made "soup" with, using leaves, twigs, and pine needles. The artist was very gracious about the whole experience, and when we left, the kids had had a good time, and seen many things there, including a kumquat tree!
As homeschooling freelance/small business owners, we have to include our kids in our work in many ways. At times, it seems like it is so overwhelming, we'll never get ahead! And other times, like this one, it all seems to merge seemlessly.
Labels: parenting, Union Design Photo
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Saturday, January 20, 2007
Simplifying toys/toyroom
I am scared to do this, but it NEEDS to be done. The room is wrecked every day, there seems to be too much honestly for them to do, and I can't stand it! I can't help but wonder, what guidelines should I follow for toys to get rid of/sell/donate?
I'm also worried as Kira has a birthday coming up -- in three weeks! I want to tell everyone "no gifts", but I also know she'll love opening things up.
Labels: family, parenting, simplicity
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Monday, November 27, 2006
BOO to Dr. Phil
Did you know Dr. Phil now airs at night? Well, the other night, Jeff and I stopped on it because Dr. Phil is talking about the "Great School Debate", and had some radical unschoolers on as well as some more traditional homeschoolers, and of course some teachers, public school officials, etc. We stopped to watch it, thinking it was going to be viewed objectively and with equal consideration for all sides. WOW. I was actually surprised at how ill-informed he seemed to be. Still, it didn't really upset me, because it was pretty much a "common" view. But Jeff -- I didn't know how passionately he felt about homeschooling until then!
Anyhoo, my point is that it was very biased and unbalanced. For example, he had a woman who had been homeschooled and felt socially-inept come on and essentially beg others to not homeschool their kids, but did not have someone who either had been public-schooled come on and say the same about that, or someone who had been homeschooled and loved it come on. That would have felt more balanced IMO.
The highlight was when this woman stated that she was scared for the kids of the radical homeschoolers and for herself, in case those kids in the future had her health in their hands ... I guess I found it funny, because her concern is that they wouldn't be "book-learned", even though she's neglected the fact that in order to BE in charge of her health, one would have to get into and complete college, and post-graduate work, probably Med school! Just seemed farcical to me.
I used to like Dr. Phil, and it isn't just this episode that has started changing my mind. I liked him much more when he was once a week, at the behest of Oprah.
Labels: homeschooling, Jeff, parenting
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Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Parker's First Classes
Today marked Parker's move into a bigger world -- the world where he must fully listen to another adult that he doesn't know, without a parent right there, and try to LEARN something. I'm not really sure how I would say he did. Parker's classes at O2B Kids today included Sports Movement & Games at 4:45 pm and Parent/Child Pre-Karate at 6:00 pm.
The Sports/Games class was a bit of a joke, it seemed. Yes, they seemed crazy-overwhelmed today, and yes, the instructor had to fill-in at the last moment, but regardless, we live in FLORIDA and the class is OUTSIDE while it is still easily in the mid to upper 80s. I don't see us lasting long in this class. So, we met over by the jungle gym, and already it seemed chaotic. The kids were just running all over the place (isn't this how gym classes normally work in elementary schools, too?), and Parker didn't want to stay. I made him stick it out for a bit, encouraging him to go over to where the other kids were. Reluctantly, he finally went over.
Let's back up for a minute, though. You see, before we even GOT to the class, we had some drama. I lost Parker. Yep, you heard me -- I LOST him. We were in the freeplay area, and I told him his class was about to start, and I went to get Kira out of the kitchen area, and when I came back out -- he was gone. Now, this place does have a set-up where he couldn't get out of the place, but still, plenty could happen to him besides. So, I calmly looked around once. I not-so-calmly looked around twice. Then I went to the nearest "fun counselor" and started to lose it. After we looked around for a bit together, and he brought me to the front desk because he had to go teach a class, I started to lose it more. Finally, the membership counselors that I'd gotten to know so well during our trial period got involved and I completely lost it. They brought me into the office so I could cry without scaring other parents. Kira, of course, wanted to nurse right then. Not happenin' sweetie. There is an intercom message for Parker to come to the front desk because his Mommy is looking for him, and he actually shows up. So, anyways -- he'd gone to the music room, thinking his class was in there. So, we rushed out to the Sports class, and needless to say, things didn't start on the right foot.
Okay, back to the moment. They ended up standing in line to throw basketballs at the hoop, and Parker stood in line, threw one ball, and then came over declaring he was ready to go. I steadfastly stayed out there, even though he didn't participate again, until they started doing races to and from a cone -- Parker kept doing it even after they lined up to come inside. Guess he likes to run!! So, we finally get inside, get a drink and snack, play, and get ready for the first Parent/Child PreKarate class, where Jeff is going to meet us and take over while I get Kira home. Well, Kira melts down before that, so I struggle to keep her in line and Parker around the general vicinity of where he needs to be, and start questioning what I was thinking when I signed up for this. And thinking that there is another class tomorrow, and THREE on Wednesday. YIKES!!
Labels: Florida heat, homeschooling, parenting, Parker, PE
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Sunday, February 06, 2005
Home with baby!
As posted on the ICAN-Online Board:
Thank you all for your help and support during my labor. I did end up having a repeat c-section, but it was MY choice, MY decision, and wasn't coerced or forced on me. Here is a quick sum-up of what happened.
Monday afternoon, 4 pm, contractions started. They were ok, getting stronger, and at about 10 pm, I lost my mucous plug with a little "pop" and my contractions picked up enormously. Jeff helped me check my cervix, and we didn't really feel a change yet, but figured it would come soon. Before long, we'd called the doula to come over, and I was having a really, really, REALLY hard time with the contractions. By 4:30 in the morning, they were over 60 seconds long and 2 minutes apart. Both Jeff and the doula thought I was in transition by everything, so we went to the hospital. They checked -- NO CHANGE. I was 20% effaced and 1 cm dilated. I was very upset by that, and the midwife was surprised, because the contractions were very regular, VERY strong, and so close/long. We were in the hospital until 9 am-ish when we checked out AMA, with the only change being my effacement increased to 50%.
We spent the day at home, the contractions had spaced out a bit in the hospital, but were still strong. They started to pick up after I'd rested and eaten, and then, at 7 pm, my water broke. There was some meconium, and I was a little scared about the possibility of cord prolapse or something (even though I know it is rare, I was home alone at this point, and the meconium being there just worried me). I got a friend to take me to the hospital and the doula and Jeff met me there (Jeff had gone to pick our son up to bring home). We got in, baby looked good on the monitor (relief), and my midwife arrived to check me. My cervix had still not changed at all (50% effaced, 1 cm dilated), my contractions since my water broke had spaced out more, but were strong, and the baby was still very, very high. I labored for several more hours, but was already feeling that there was a time line to reach, because of the waters and meconium, and I really worried about the baby. I got checked again at about 11 pm and there was still no change, and after careful consideration of the pros, cons, and consequences of either continuing to pursue the VBAC or going with the repeat c-section, I chose -- CHOSE -- the ERCS. Of course, I was sad about the choice, but I honestly didn't like either option 100% and knew that the longer I waited, that my emotional blocking wasn't going to get less but more, and I wanted to avoid the risks of infection that waiting longer and still having the surgery could have meant.
We went back for the surgery, and although the situation wasn't ideal, it went well. The anesthesiologist was a real jerk -- same guy that got upset that I didn't get the epidural in the morning. But the OB who did the surgery (my CNM assisted in the surgery) didn't say a word about the whole situation, and was a really good surgeon. My midwife did say that the baby was really high still (not in the pelvis), but LOA -- which makes me believe that it could be true that she wouldn't fit in -- her positioning wasn't wonky, I was having good contractions, etc. Of course, I will never know if that is true or not, but it does make sense to me.
At 12:27 am Wednesday morning, our daughter, Kira Elizabeth, was born. She was 8 lbs. 14 oz., 14-3/4" head, 20" long. Apgars 8/9. I am recovering okay, and am finally back home (got home Saturday afternoon). I labored for almost 30 hours, although my cervix never changed, I still consider it laboring -- and I know that I gave it a try, and made the right decision for me at the time given the situation and my emotions. Most importantly, it was my INFORMED choice -- something that I didn't get last time.
You can take a peek at her at http://www.sepiamoons.com/kira
Labels: caesarian, family, informed choice, Kira, Kristin, parenting, reclaiming our rights, VBAC
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