October Daydreams

Brynja (Bryn) was born right on time, Aug 23 (my due date) at 2:35am weighing 8lbs 7oz and 20 inches long.  Labor was relatively short (6 hours total) and the midwife was fantastic.  Weyland was in the room for much of the labor but he was hitting his "it's way past my bedtime stage" and went for a walk so missed delivery.  But he did get to see her just 10 minutes old and so far he is a great big brother.  Ed was wonderful as well, don't know that I could have done it without him.  Labor was shorter but much much more intense than it was with Weyland.  So, enjoy the pics

So my due date is quickly approaching and I have to say I am very ready for this all to happen NOW.  I had a false alarm on Sunday night  and Monday morning with contractions that never progressed to regular.  Now I'm just waiting.  I'm fairly confident it will be before my due date though because my mom has offered to take Weyland on Saturday while Ed and I go to the moview (probably Inglorious Bastards but maybe District 9) and she will keep him Saturday night to let us sleep in Sunday.  I figure that ensures it happening before that . . .

As usual I am a sporadic updater at best.  I am now 31 weeks pregnant, with just 9 more to go.  I'm glad I live in Vermont, because we have yet to have really hot days and the nights are still 55-65 so I haven't been too uncomfortable.  This pregnancy is definitely harder than the first, I just seem to be experiencing more of the typical symptoms, but still nothing too bad.  We are currently discussing with our midwives how much Weyland will be involved with the labor/delivery.  They are pretty open to whatever we want and I think that Weyland will be there with my mom as support for him, and he can stay as long as he is comfortable.  I think more than being upset he will likely get bored. 

Summer usually slips away pretty quickly around here but this year seems worse than most.  We already have a handful of weekends scheduled with stuff and we have two relatively big house projects to do before the baby comes.  It seems like I don't have any time left.

I did manage to pull off one last performance last week in Bennington, we did a duet to Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" cover - here are the pics

How horrible is it that I can't wait for my husband to take my 2 year old son with him to visit his family in Florida for a week?  I know that I will miss them both, but all I can think about right now is sleeping in a bit, eating a meal in peace, picking up the house the day they leave and having it stay that way for more than 10 minutes, not having to watch Dirty Jobs or Ultimate Fighting crap on TV, and not having to change a diaper for a week.  I will probably be bored out of my mind and terribly lonely by Wednesday . . . but I get all the ice cream to myself!

So I am taking a Human Sexuality class this term at the college I work at (hey, tuition is free!) and we have an interview homework assignment this week.  I need to "interview" people who have been in a long term relationship (at least five years).  If this is you, and you don't mind sharing, please respond.  Thanks!

Interview one or two people who are in a long-term (at least five years), committed relationship. Ask them how they knew when they were in love. Find out if their level of intimacy has changed over time. Ask them the differences between being in love versus being in infatuation with another. Ask them what qualities contribute to a successful relationship. Depending on how well you know the person, and keeping in mind that the following are sensitive issues, inquire about how cross-cultural perspectives, jealousy, and gender differences are handled within the relationship.

How and when did you know you were in love?

Has that level of intimacy changed over time?  How?

What do you think the differences between being in love versus being in infatuation with eachother are?

What qualities do you think contribute to a successful relationship?

Have you had any issues/differences due to the following and how did you handle them?

-cross cultural perspectives

-jealousy

-gender differences

Your input is greatly appreciated in my quest for an A (I know, I'm still such a nerd!).

House of Field: Liberating you one pant-leg at a time!
From http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,6593,00.html#7_110

Ed and I are expecting again - I am due at the end of August. I wanted to wait until we heard the heartbeat to start spreading the news because I did have another (very early) miscarriage last year. But me and baby are doing fine, although the symptoms did hit me harder this time around. Only a few more weeks until the end of the first trimester though. I know, I know, I 'm a horrible friend for not calling garaynbow first, I mean to but I'm just not a big phone girl you know?

Weyland is doing well, talking up a storm and charming everyone he can. The dog and the cat are, well, the dog and the cat.

Anyway that is my big update for, well, the year probably.

This is a post written by keelyrin from clothdiapering. I don't write my congress/senate often but I did for this. This has the potential to impact my own business venture as well as many I know.



So. Uh. Looks like most WAHMs are going to be going out of business in February.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (the bit that Congress passed to make less lead allowable in toys and children's products as a reactionary measure following the China craziness last year) requires lead testing on EVERY product for children manufactured or sold in the United States. The level of ridiculousness is so high that every COLOR and TYPE of fabric must be tested separately, and every sub-part on the items. So for a diaper it'd be the microfleece, the bamboo velour, the suedecloth (in EVERY COLOR), all colors of PUL or fleece or wool that you use, the snap, the tag, and the velcro as well as the inner fabric. On a wetbag, the PUL, the regular fabric, the zipper, the hanging loop, and the tag. Each test (third party) costs upwards of $100.

They're including clothes, shoes, bedding, durable goods (which are subject to a higher standard and must be certified and have the certificate and registry with them or some such crazy).

The small businesses and independent toymakers of the US are trying to do something, but the law is so blanket that it doesn't include any stipulations for small manufacturers or home businesses. In effect, you couldn't even sell kid stuff at your local craft fair under this law. It was a hugely reactionary measure, (though admittedly well-intentioned) and passed and put into effect before it was fully understood the ginormous consequences.

Consider that the vast majority of your diapers come from WAHMs (even Fuzzibuns, Happy Heiny's, Drybees, and bumGenius are or were at one time WAHM operations), and the fact that the beautiful wooden handmade toys we all hunt down for our kids will be no more if this is allowed to take effect as written. Not only will we lose out on all WAHM products diaper-wise, imagine what this testing will do to the cost of children's clothing at Target or Gymboree.

Of course, this all comes to a head when Congress is recessing, but you can still do something! If your Congressperson was re-elected, contact them now! If you have an incoming Congressperson, contact their local field office!

Here's some more information!

What must be tested under the CPSIA, with some good links at the bottom

The Handmade Toy Alliance - with a link at the bottom of the main page to find your Senator and Congressperson

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Main Page

I get home last night around 8pm and I see my neighbor across the street has a bunch of cars in his drive and on his lawn and I thought, hey he must be having one hell of a party.  Then Ed's friend who is over (and out smoking when I got home) says "you're short one neighbor".  Huh?  Seems it wasn't a party at all, but the police, who had been camped out all day, complete with a coroner's van.  Looks like my neighbor's girlfriend is missing and there is an unidentified body in the house.  Ed says the cops came knocking earlier that afternoon asking when the last time he had seen them was.  Now, we both know the boyfriend (he worked at the snack shop we frequent in the summer, and I had actually just bought some stuff at his garage sale two weeks ago).  I didn't really know the girlfriend, but I knew of her.  Turns out she teaches at the college I work at and reads tarot and does aura photog at the wellness center our friend runs in rutland.  It doesn't look good for her right now as I can't imagine the body isn't hers (I figure they hadn't notified next of kin yet so couldn't release her ID).  I never would have guessed it of Dave, but Ed says he didn't doubt it (and as soon as the cops showed up at the house he figured Dave had finally snapped).  It's a shame, I'm sorry I didn't know her better.

<lj user=blue_stealth> posted a great question about play doh and homemade recipes.  My question is, if you add food dye to make different colors, does the food dye stain the kids' hands?  I plan to try out some of the recipes this weekend and wanted to make some fun colors, but wasn't sure if the dye would adhere just to the dough or come off on everything the dough touched.
thanks!

As usual I am quite the slacker with no posts and all. Not much going on up here, everyone is good, and life goes on. But, last night as I was picking up Weyland from the sitters I saw something that I just had to share. She commented that they needed to put a new floor in their kitchen and I looked in (they have one of those barn doors on their kitchen and keep the bottom half closed) and the floor looked awful. It was layers of old linoleum half ripped up. I said, "yeah looks like you do need a new floor" and thought to myself that is was terrible looking. She saw my face and said, "oh, no we are ripping it up right now to put a new one on next week". Then I heard the pig. I knew she had a pet pot bellied pig, and to be honest I hadn't seen her in a few weeks. Turns out the pig was ripping the floor out for them. Each night they loosened a few bits of linoleum and nails and for the rest of the night the pig rooted around on the floor tearing up the layers of linoleum. Then in the morning they would come down, bag up and throw out what she had ripped up and start again that night. They hardly did anything and their floor was finished in a week. I love Vermont.

So, Ed and I stayed up Tuesday night and kicked it old school - watched Karate Kid!
Not much going on here, lots of work, big show on Saturday, same old. Hard to get in the mood to celebrate spring here when it is 30 degrees today, but I'll figure out something.
Oh, and here is an interesting book meme from metasilk
These are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you own but have not read.
( Read more... )

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/09/beck.twelvesteps/index.html

Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say I agree with everything he says, but I agree with a lot of it. I actually surprised a good friend of mine last year when we somehow got on the topic of the pledge of allegiance (she was against children saying it in school) and I sort of went off on a "OMG are you serious - America rocks" rant. I'm all for the pledge of allegaince being said in school -every day. Yes, yes, there is the pesky "under God" bit, but I am raising my child(ren) in a spiritual household and when they are old enough to understand we will talk about Diety and how saying "under God" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone, and they need to determine that for themselves. And if you're an atheist - get over it, don't say those two lines, whatever.

But really I quite shocked my friend with how pro-America I was. But I didn't understand how you can't be. I'm not saying our country doesn't have faults, doesn't make mistakes, and sometimes makes me a little sick - but we have the capacity to change, to grow, and we are free in ways that other countries only wish they were. To think of how we were founded, how far we have come, and the endless possibilities of where we can go fill me with unimaginable pride. I cry when they play the national anthem and when flag bearers go by in parades. I am excited and re-energized about politics with the election coming up. And this year I am trying to be more vocal about my support of our country, while at the same time living my life in a way that addresses the issues I think we need to change as a country. Instead of Bush bashing or talking about the wrong we do I am focusing on the good and taking direct steps to change how I live my life and influence those around me to take steps to change their lives. I agree with Glenn, we need to take responsibility for our country, and if we need a 12 (or 6 step program) to do it, so be it. But the most important thing to remember is that we can take responsibility for our country, as Americans we not only have the capacity to change our country, but the mandate from our founders to do so. And that is why we truly are great.

Just thought I would share this with you all, it made me smile . . .

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/04/04/cruiseship.pirates.ap/index.html

So I listened to most of Barack Obama's speech this morning and I have to say I was impressed. Of course I wonder how much he wrote vs his speech writers (I think speech writers should be illegal . . . or that they should be the ones to run for president). Anyway, I found myself agreeing with much of what he said, and even tearing up at the end.

So I normally don't get too worked up about events in the world. For all my crunchiness, I don't lay awake at night worrying about global warming or carbon emissions. Sure I try to do my part and recycle, buy local, all that good stuff. I live in a state where I think we are pretty progressive on environmental issues. And we are rural enough to not have to face the issues that others face in terms of the environmental consequences of having a large population. But I read this article yesterday, and started worrying

Prescription drugs found in drinking water across U.S.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/10/pharma.water1.ap/index.html

Then, this morning, they had a follow up article.
Drugs in water causing troubling problems to fish, wildlife
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/11/pharma.waterfish.ap/index.html

And now it is all I can think about. To the point of obsessing a bit. I mean it feels like there is nothing I can do. Growing my own food may not solve it, buying bottled water may not solve it. Not to mention the impact on fish and wildlife. It staggers the mind to think about what this could do. Even in a rural area, I know people are taking medications. It never occurred to me that they weren't fully metabolized by the body. And it obviously never occurred to anyone in waste water treatment that the normal process for treating sewage wouldn't eliminate these chemicals. Even if everyone stopped taking medication today (which is impossible anyway) how long does this stay in the system, slowly seeping into the ground water over time. And what about the fish and wildlife already affected - especially because many of the affects are reproductive. How long will it take populations to recover? And remember, that is if everyone stopped today. I can't believe this has been studied for years (or at least over a year) and this is the first we are hearing about it. I feel powerless to protect myself and my family about this and that is terrifying to me.

So I came into work this morning and the person ahead of me set off one of my pet peeves. We have a handicap access button that will open the door for automatically. She hit the button. She is not handicapped. That button is for people who physically can not open the door themselves. She had two good legs and two good arms. Now, I will make an exception for someone whose hands are full and would have a hard time opening the door. You guessed it, her hands weren't full. She had a purse. This enranges me on a number of levels. First off, how lazy do you have to be to not open a door? Its pathetic. In addition, the door doesn't open magically. It takes electricity. And while it may not seem like a lot, it adds up. Imagine on my college campus there are probably 25 handicap accessible doors. If just 5 people a day per building are using that button needlessly, then multiplied throughout the year, that is wasted money and resources. I remember growing up, my father always used the push door at the stores instead of the automatic doors and it has stuck with me. I hope that if you are guilty of pressing the button, next time you will think twice. And Gods help you if you also let the water run while you brush your teeth . . .

As most of you know, Ed and I are zombie movie enthusiasts. That does also extend to other horror/thriller genres. Vampires are a tricky genre though as much of what is produced is campy, over sexualized, or just plain bad. That being said, we did watch 30 Days of Night last night. It was actually pretty good. I wanted to share some important things I learned from watching the movie. ( I will put it behind a cut for any people who want to be spoiler free. )

I now return you to your previously scheduled life.

Just feel the need to write a bit. Nothing much going on in my life, but I can pretend I'm working while typing this up. So it seems that Barak Obama is coming to Vermont. I'm actually quite excited by that. McCain stopped off at the Burlington airport for all of 30 minutes and gave a ho hum speech. Obviously he is not worried about winning the primary here and I think he is also pretty realistic that he won't win the state in the general election. I think VT has gone blue for the last 15 years or something. Plus Obama set some fund raising records here (in per capita amounts I think). Anyway, only problem is that Obama is going to Putney. Now that makes it a real campaign stop and not an airport quickie, but come on, Putney?! That's hardly Vermont at all, really it is more like a bastard child of MA and NH. Well, enough of that.