- Reading Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.... I wonder if they have a guide to raising humans?
- Trying out new recipes, at Hillbilly House Wife, such as Scalloped Tomatoes, which was a big hit at dinner yesterday.
- I visited an AWESOME new baby store in Salisbury called Go Green Baby, and bought this nifty Brest Feeding Bracelet that helps you keep track of which side you fed last, and at what time. I'll be setting up a baby registry here shortly.
- Made Peanut Butter chip Brownies for my hubbie to take to the coven meeting tonight.
- Updated my personal calender with times and dates for local Farmer's Markets. From WIC I received special coupons to use only at the Farmer's Markets, and look forward to exploring them next week.
- Rescheduled my baby shower at the UU for August, exact date TBA.
- Caught up on some LJ and email.
- Earlier this week we had a great visit from SilverSun8 and Bardicwarior, and kids, in celebration of Chraithe's Birthday!
Click Here For Pictures of Julian
J had his first dr visit yesterday and weighed 6.4 lbs and grew 1/2 inch since his birth.
Dove
- Mood:
bored
Chraithe had the day off, and we went in for the 9am feeding, and then met up with one of our coven mates, Ben, who offered to help us with our chicken coop. They worked on that, while I did major food shopping. That afternoon we went back to feed Julian and were told we could take him home that afternoon (we thought we would have to wait until 8pm). So now we are finally all home! Chraithe's parents and brothers are visiting this weekend, which is going well. V had his first art class today, and starts first grade monday -he's in year round school. I'm considering different employment options, possibly a paper route, which I could bring Julian with me on....
Julian and I are getting used to life under the same roof. He peed on me in the middle of the night while I was trying to change his diaper. He's still using the nipple shield to nurse, but so far no bottles. I am having a supply-demand issue with my milk....I have more supply than demand, and it gets painful. I had a bit of a panic attack when I couldn't find my pumping equipment, but with the help of all in the house, it was located. Julian, like Vincent, and myself, can sleep threw anything, thank the Gods. My home has been invaded by "rock band" and "guitar hero" which the brother brought with them.
Oh, C got a new TV for his birthday, so we no longer have to worry about Feb 09, when it all goes digital, and we can now watch Fox.
Dove
- Baby Food Mill
- Nursing Bras
- Nursing Shirts
- Sheets for the Arms Reach Mini CoSleeper
Baby Monitor-got one from Freecycle!- One healthy baby boy, discharged from the hospital
- Mood: disappointed
Update: The NICU wants to keep him for 48 more hours because his vitals have dropped suddenly twice.... so he's not coming home today. We might have to bring him home on a monitor.....we are rather concerned and disappointed, but better to have him at the hospital where he will be well cared for.
Dove
Oh and the nine chickens we got Saturday are doing well too!
Dove
- Mood:
excited
In my room, I've made room for the Co Sleeper Bassinet, but haven't set it up yet. I need to vacuum the floor. I've picked up allot of piles of displaced book and put them on shelves randomly, to be organized later, and naturally weeding out books for the book swap.
I've been setting up the computer desk as our family office, which looks pretty nice in the living room. We bought a cheap "boom box" cd player and radio, so I can have NPR indoors, not just in my car. I'm enjoying the programing, and classical music. Ya, I could put it on the computer, but that's just more temptation to get on the computer when I shouldn't. This way I can put on NPR and do something around the house while I listen.
Time to do some laundry!!
Dove
Today I had to work this morning for an hour. Chraithe got started on the coop, and had the frame together before I got home! We decided to work on covering the dog pen with chicken wire for the outdoor chicken run and use the dog house as a temporary coop. I had to run out and pick up some zip ties, as I couldn't find our ties to save my life. So back from Walmart an hour later, with a few other things, we started with the chicken wire. This dog pen, which we have never used, is in the corner of our fenced in yard area, with a wooden dog house on the outside of the fence, with a whole cut threw the fence for the entrance. The pen area is about 6ft by 6ft square with a wooden beam over the top, which was probably used for a shade tarp of some kind. We ran the chicken wire over it and attached it to the chain link fence with the zip ties. It only took about an hour and a half, but it was mid day. I wore my hat and sunscreen and well Chraithe didn't, and got a bit of a burn. Chraithe is picking up the chickens from some friends who are organizing a new Kindred (a Heathen group)in the area. We should get about 10, but we aren't exactly sure how many are hens and how many are cocks, at this point. I don't even know how big they will be, but they definatly aren't chicks. I'm excited and look forward to leaving my job, the second week of July, so I can dedicate more time to this and to baby Julian.
Well, it's later in the afternoon and Vincent and I are going to do some more chores outside...
Dove
"Wanted:Full-Time Household Manager for Busy Executive
This position requires endless handling of boring details. You will be constantly interrupted by phone calls, delivery people and the whiny demands of small children. Lunch and coffee breaks not guaranteed--in fact, it is doubtful there will be time for such frivolous activity. You will be expected to cook meals, clean a four-bedroom house and manage the lives of one adult and three children. Two of the children have special needs and thus will require extra help with homework, structuring daily activities and driving to various appointments with specialists. There will be daily crises, involving trips to the emergency room with the accident-prone children and calls from the school demanding that you pick up the suspended child this instant! This is a 24/7 job, but excellent performance will not earn you an time off. In fact, no one will notice your performance unless you screw up. In that case , you are unlikely to be fired outright, but you will be subjected to endless recrimination. You are expected to take care of you own needs in your (ahem) spare time, and to do so without complaint. In addition to your basic responsibilities, you will be expected to organize events for extended family members and the executive's work colleagues. Your job description can expand at any time without prior notice. Compensation for this sought after position is hardly necessary--after all, it is not a real job and you will be receiving room and board in a lovely home, not to mention basic expenses. Only the seriously masochistic need apply."
So, I have a few strikes against me... 1)Household manager, a job where I have to define my own structure and stick to it, is not the optimal job for someone with ADD, and 2)I have a history of getting very depressed in this role.
So why would I choose this again? Well for one, now I'm aware of my ADD, I've been researching it, and have a better "Tool Box" of coping mechanisms to help me a)develop my own structure and b)stick to it. Also, I'm not just going to stay home and watch the kids, we have homesteading as a family project, and I've always loved animals, so that fits well. Three, I'm going to include freelance writing to this mix as well, a more recent ambition of mine. And last, this time around I have more friends with kids (and without) who aren't going to disappear on me. (However I might end up disappearing for some time, depending on how the labor and delivery go, I wasn't right for a good 2 months after I had Vincent. Walking hurt...I think I'm allergic to the dissolve-able stitches, and apparently I had allot of them!)
So, I'm going to try this again, this time equipped with a better understanding of myself, and a couple of interesting side projects to keep my eyes from glazing over from days on end of Barny and Telletubbies. Around October I plan to seek a part time position (doing anything!) at the hospital, which will also keep me active.
Wish me luck with my new endeavors!
Dove
PS: I went to a Bee Keeping demonstration last saturday at Pemberton Park. Looks interesting, but still not thrilled about stingers and swarms....
Found two local resources related to homesteading:
http://www.providentorganicfarm.com
http://www.livingontheveg.org Lower Eastern Shore Sustainable Organic Network
- Mood:
busy
Via a weird router glitch, I haven't been able to get on LJ for some time..... But I'm happy to announce I turned in my letter of resignation to my crapy job Monday. My last day will be July 11th. I'm rather mentaly sub-par in the evenings, so here is my brain download for the day....
I discovered the perfect cake receipe for Paul's Birthday, but I'm not telling because it's a surprise.
We are building a chicken coop on Friday, as we are home from work.
I finaly got my tarot book from Paperbackswap.com Yea!
Oh, very cool article about a book on Transendentalism and it's role in the UU, at the uuworld site: http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/10
"The most important of these ideas, which became the central tenet of the rising Transcendentalist cadre, was that human beings contained within themselves a mysterious internal principle that guided them toward religious truth—an intuitive capacity more profound and reliable than scriptures, ecclesiastical institutions, or tradition. This spiritual sixth sense pointed toward “transcendental” truths such as the universal brotherhood of all people, the ability of the human individual to commune directly with the divine, and the presence of the sacred in the manifestations of the natural world."
---gee doesn't that sound like Wicca? Couldn't a "mysterous internal principle" be....dun dun dun... psychic ability? Perhpase this is the place to explore when it comes to integrating my UU and Wiccan parts of my spirituality? I've already ordered two books, one by Emerson, one by Thoreau, from paperbackswap to continue my research.
Why is it that when I explaine the UU to folks at work, they always ask me if I'm a Scientologist???
I'm doing some early Yule shoping on Paperbackswap.com, since I have all these credits rolling in! BTW, they have some interesting selections on Native American spirituality and Wicca, if you search by genre.
I talked to SilverSun's mom, who is frustrated with her medical issues and the cats who don't use their boxes, but is other wise haning in there.
Dove
PS: How many times can I say paperbackswap in a single post?
- Mood: busy
- I have three credits on paperback swap, but nothing is grabbing me to order, 'cept some bow hunting books for Chraithe.
- I'm almost done reading "So you mean I'm not stupid, lazy or crazy" but I really need to get my own copy, so I can highlight it. I have a bunch of topics I want to journal about, but haven't yet....
- It has a chapter on meditation for people with ADD!! WOOT! Maybe I'll be able to make my "monkey mind" shut up---in 50 years, but who's counting?
- I must get Chraithe to read the above book, because it's becoming more and more obvious to me that he doesn't understand my "symptions" and take things way too personally.
- My belly button is getting very very very flat, infact, it's rubbing on the seam on my scrubs at work and is getting tender. I had to stick a bandaid over my belly button to protect my tender skin that isn't used to rubbing on anything.
- We might be getting some chickens, as soon as I quit my job.
- We might be getting some rabbits in September at a show in NJ near my mom.
- Ms. Taylor, the one I wrote the poem about, actually spoke to me in a civil tone today, on nice chit chatty type topics and shared some pictures of her kids with me. Though I do find it suspicious that the conversation occurred with no one else around, wouldn't want anyone to see her being nice to me.....
- Looking forward to Litha ritual this weekend, with kids attending!!
- Joined the fundraising commitee, a new ad hoc committee, at the UU
- Looking forward to hearing John (grrr can't recall his last name) speak at the UU. He's a recent graduate from the star king college, the UU seminary.
- Pizza = heart burn ...all the tums are at work, bleh!!
- Returned library books... will be mailing out three more books for the swap tomorrow!
- BTW, if anyone wants to see what I have to swap check out: My Book Shelf
- I've been having trouble sleeping, waking up in the night, falling asleep right after dinner, way before I usually pumpkin out.. But last night I slept well.
- Looking forward to a small "going away party" for bardicwarior and silversun8 tomorrow.
- Mood: bored
- The Rites of Odin -Chraithe weeded this one out, not sure why
- Artemis Fowl -a youth book (Harry Potter-esk) given to us by Chraithe's mom, why she would buy us kids books I don't know
- Striper Surf - Again, a Chraithe selection
- Glorious Appearing - one of those awful "Left Behind" books, given to me by an old boss.
Yea, more credits for books, and more space on my shelves!
In other news, I think we are finished painting, and will be putting Vincent's new room back in order shortly. It's very green, a tad darker than I would like, but I let him pick the colors.
Dove
Things to consider when hanging clothes to dry:
- saves up to 10% of residential energy; Running a dryer 20 hours a month will cost you on average 100 kilowatt hours. A clothesline's operating costs are zero!!
- less need for nuclear energy or coal energy
- less emissions which saves our health, literally less deaths and saves the earth
- using solar and wind power - free
- clothes smell better (like sun and air)
- clothes feel better
- clothes will last much longer (less wear and tear from the heat and tumbling of the dryer)
- clothes don't wrinkle – no need to use electric iron, another savings
- no need to wait for the dryer to finish
- don't have to empty the lint tray
- improve relationships; working together for the greater good builds friendships and love…
- can be therapeutic – the time it takes to hang the clothes can be time of reflection of you, family, earth, etc.
- burn calories - because you're exercising many muscles you burn about 45 calories every 15 minutes.
- Mood:
blah
Dove
- Mood: bored
Lion's Skull,* a CD by sludge rockers Earth. But I'm not urging you to get
a copy of it so much as I'm suggesting that you carry out a metaphorical
equivalent of what the album's title describes. This is a perfect time for
you to create something sweet in a situation that once scared the sleep
out of you.
.....fear can't even keep me from my precious sleep... Something sweet out of something that once scared me? That could be many things....
I have sent out 3 books, with 2 more pending. (The 2 pending are one someone's wish list, but they just haven't officially logged on and requested the books, which they should do sooner or later.)
I have received 2 books, with 1 pending. (The pending book shipped today!)
Today I received in the mail, a Strega Nona book I picked out for Vincent.
I have one book credit that I have not used yet....this club so NEEDS more pagans!
One small disappointment, I can not list magazines. :(
Dove
Dove
We visited my grandfather's grave, at my grandmother's request and had a nice drive threw the country. Vincent picked some butter cups and put them on grandpa's grave. My uncle, was impressed and said he was a sweet boy. Unk, my childhood nickname for my uncle, was renamed Gunk, for "Great Unk" by myself, and Vincent picked it up. Vincent didn't know who Unk was, having only met him once before when he was about 3 years old. Oh and Vincent entertained himself for about an hour washing dishes.
Here is a short list of the wild life we spotted at the cottage...
A pair of Osprey, nesting on a dock on the water about 3 houses down.
Great Blue Heron
mocking birds
cardinals
other song birds
lots of spiders
It was good to be back to the cottage, which is the first home I remember living in, and I hope we can keep it in good shape for more family vacations.
Dove
- Mood: content
Also I'm done my third draft of "A Wiccan Parent Speaks" and should be sending it to Teaching Tolerance magazine soon!
Dove
- Mood: accomplished
Dear Friend,
Can you believe it? A recent study conducted by the watchdog group, Friends of the Earth, found that 56% of infant carriers, 44% of car seats, and 40% of the strollers they tested had dangerous levels of toxic fire retardant chemicals.[1]
This is downright scary--and is yet another toxic exposure on a long list of children’s products with toxic chemicals to come out lately. We have to turn this tide.
The good news: Graco, the giant manufacturer of children’s products, responded to the Friends of the Earth report the day it was published. Graco says they want to do the right thing, but they haven’t yet committed to removing these chemicals. If Graco gets rid of these chemicals, other baby product manufacturers will be under enormous pressure to follow suit.
*Ask Graco, and other manufacturers of children’s products, to not use any more halogenated fire retardants – period! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/17
Haloge-what? Halogenated flame retardants have been shown to cause serious health disorders including endocrine disruption, cancer, birth defects and a host of reproductive and neurological disorders in developing fetuses and offspring in animals.
Forward this note to your family, friends, and community so we can all let Graco, and other manufacturers, know that nobody wants toxics near their kids. When consumers speak, companies listen
Moms' voices are turning the tide on toxics: After our petition with your signatures was delivered several weeks ago on getting the toxic bisphenol A (BPA) out of baby bottles, Toys"R"Us, Babies"R"Us, and CVS announced they'll stop selling baby bottles which contain BPA, and Playtex committed to stop using BPA in all of their baby bottles by the year's end.
So please forward this email far and wide to get as many signatures as possible--we know your signatures will have an impact.
We want Graco, and other manufacturers of children’s products, to know that making safe products includes keeping toxic chemicals out of them.
Together, we can make help keep dangerous chemicals away from our children.
Thank you to Friends of the Earth and Make Our Milk Safe for their tremendous work on this issue.</p>
[1] Friends of the Earth report, entitled Killer Cribs, http://action.foe.org/t/3882/content.js
p.s. To see the CBS story on flame retardants that ran on Monday go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/0
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morningdove3202- Charmer with the Most Ethical Temptations
- Morning Dove's Book of Shadows
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