Livy's Space

My Birthday

2008-12-22T20:37:00.004-05:00

My 32nd birthday was a very special evening. I had a few local friends over for a dinner party...my 1st dinner party. It was pure, beautiful, fun! Livy and Dave went to my in-laws, and gave us the place to ourselves. Girls Nite in! Jenn was the bartender extroadinaire...whipping up all flavors of "tini's!" The menu was perfect, with vegan lasagna as the main course. It was the best lasagna that I've ever eaten, thanks to Jenn again! My mom made chocolate cupcakes with a recipe that I sent her from Mothering Magazine...they were delish. Here are a few photo's!

Mama Mia!

2008-07-25T23:37:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in forever, and here I am posting about a movie instead of something more exciting! But really, Mama Mia is a must see. What a fun, festive, and hilarious movie. Dave and I saw the musical years ago in Toronto, so I was pretty excited to see the movie. Tonite Grandma Z came over for dinner, and afterwards I took to see Mama Mia because she hasn't been to a movie in forever. We had a blast! She knew all of the songs and remembers Abba, despite a stage 2 dementia diagnosis. Go Grandma! Really, it was a very wonderful and fun evening....I am so enthralled with this movie. Afterwards we went to coldstone and she was still singing the songs while eating her ice cream. All in all, the movie is a must see for anyone from 13-103! :) I was happy to have a way to connect with my grandma tonite, and even as I write this I realize that this movie gave us a common ground. We often don't have that anymore because she has detached alot into her own world, which goes along with Dementia. I am her only family in Rochester, and I try to come up with outings that will be meaningful for her, or just sit and enjoy her company but it will still feel like she isn't there. But tonite we celebrated life and joy, together, and had alot to talk about afterwards. It was wonderful! She was still thinking it was a different year, and thought it was 3:00am, but I could see the joy reasonating from her, and we were having fun together. Joy is the point. So besides my ramblings, again I urge you to go and check out this movie! Take your grandma with you. ha.

Happy 30th to Jenn!

2008-06-07T22:25:00.007-04:00

This is where the fire started, and yes it was too funny to put out. Don't ask any questions, with Jenn and I on the loose, wine, and fun what more do you expect!

Wine Trail or bust! Opening presents on the Limo bus!

Wine down by the bayou
I'm alittle belated here, but my bff turned the big 3-0 on May 31st, and we had quite a celebration! We rented ourselves a limo bus and made a break for the wine trail! The day was quite memorable, complete with laughter, games, a luncheon on the terrace, free flowing wine, salad dressing that was worth fighting over, wine down by the bayou, a risque tasting, a brewery that had everyone swapping spit, a fire that was too funny to put out, friends, family, and the beloved birthday girl whom we all adore! What more could we ask for! It was a break for everyone to take time and enjoy the view, and celebrate a pretty special birthday person! We love you E!!

Avery and lulu

2008-06-06T23:03:00.003-04:00

Carefree and chillin

These two are something else! Enjoying their Saturday nite out on the town! Krony's and Abbotts, what more could 2 year old's ask for?

2 pea's in a pod

The Brewery Tour

2008-05-05T22:46:00.006-04:00

Lulu getting windblown before the tour! Papa G yelling at Luc not to snap his pic. :)

Some of the happy shopper! Pom wheat came home with all of us!

Some of the happy fam, gearing up for the tour

The famous Shultz & Dooley!

The family took some time out to visit the Saranac Brewery together, and what a great time we had! We have been trying to make yearly trips to this brewery since I was very young. If you are ever in Utica be sure and check it out, its not to be missed! Olivia had a great time touching the hops, smelling the various stages of the brewing process, touring the holding tanks, and stayed pretty cooperative given that the tour is 60 minutes, most of which is learning about the history and learning how the process works. At the end she had her 1st shirely temple while the rest of us sampled our new favorite beer on earth, Pomegranate Wheat! You must must try this beer...its very good.

The Ducks

2008-04-16T23:46:00.005-04:00

Quacking at our front window at half passed 6 tonite, were two little ducks who were trying to get our attention. They wouldn't leave, so we finally caved and gave them something to drink. This same little pair comes around every year, about this time, and walk through our neighborhood. They went to our neighbors door last nite, and yelled until he fed them. I felt bad not to offer something, after all I always talk about being kind to all creatures. I felt like they were our guests. When they finally slipped away we were actually sad. They brought an energy to our house tonite and we loved it! How they ended up at our house we're not sure, but they definetly brightened our evening.

The Big Girl toddler bed!

2008-04-15T14:59:00.004-04:00

We changed Olivia's crib into a toddler bed on Sunday, with the help of Dave and papa Gary. Olivia was very excited to have this new freedom, and she ran around the house shouting about her big girl bed, and shes still excited a few days later. Since she has all this freedom she is using it by getting up 2 hours earlier every morning! Ack. Guess I'll have to walk her back to bed just like my mom used to do to me. :)

NKOTB reunites!

2008-04-05T23:40:00.002-04:00

I know this may seem cheesy, but the band that used to make my heart go a flutter is reuniting! Can you believe that NKOTB is giving it another shot, 15 years later? They are going on tour this summer, and I almost, sort of, want to go. Looking at this picture of these guys 15 years later still makes me feel like an overexcited tween, who is begging her parents to let her go to the concert. I don't have to ask my parents, but tell me how I"ll explain to Dave that I have to get tickets. lol. I'm sure that he would be less than thrilled, so I'll just have to rely on utube to fill me in on what I'll miss. Joey Mcintyre is still my fave.

www.nkotb.org

Sticky Situation

2008-04-05T23:15:00.005-04:00

Livy loves stickers, and loves putting them on the carpet, her clothes, walls, and wherever they will stick. Notice them all around her chair, and on her sweater! I love how "laid back" she is in these pics, just chillin on her chair with her feet up after a long day of running around the neighborhood!

Happy Spring!

2008-03-29T23:28:00.006-04:00

A few recent pictures of Olivia, age 2.5 going on 7! I don't know how to put into words all of the ways that she is growing and changing. Today she wanted to know the name of a little girl who was talking to her, and after hearing the name she looked at the girl and said "Thats the most beautiful name I ever heard!" ha! When she loves something she will say "Oh this is my best!" Her current best is a turkey & Cheese sandwhich, and when I serve it to her she'll immediately say "Oh this is my best mama, and you never did make this in awhile!" ha! She goes once a week to a 2 year old class and the teachers have a host of Oliviaisms to tell me about when I pick her up. She is figuring out her world by asking alot of questions now, including "Where do we come from?" I always answer her honestly, but i really had to think about how I wanted to answer that. We have our interesting times too...like the toddler tants where she is none too happy with most anything, which shows up alot after naps and if she doens't like whats for dinner. Olivia loves to see other kids, especially older ones and really wants to be included in what they're doing. She introduces herself right away, and just wants to join in their fun. I babysit for Hannah once a week, and Livy really adores Hannah. She calls her "my best!" Hannah tries to teach Livy new things, and if its going over Livy's head she just screams in delight and starts running around the house. Its quite a sight to watch. Hannah is older and just a delight to be with. She appreciates Livy's personality and watching their friendship blossom has been pretty special as a mom. They have conversations that blow me away, and they actually ask each other questions about things. I have a few recorded on video and they will love to watch it someday. Livy also loves to play with Avery, and will ask for daily updates on Avery's whereabouts. She sometimes plays pretend games and make Avery show up. She likes to hear the play by play on the Thompson clan, including what Shilo is up to! Its quite sweet.

So thats an update on my peanut! She is going to pre-school in the fall, and I just turned in all of her paperwork. Time is moving along, and I'm trying to hang on, an enjoy every moment of her. My job is still allowing me time to do that. I get creative with my scheduling to maximize and balance my home time. I usually have at least 2 full days at home, then I work 2-3 afternoons a week, still leaving my mornings with Olivia. Being home with her is my sanity, and I go insane if I'm away from her too much. I also go insane if I'm with her too much, so working a few hours is good for me, but too many makes me feel out of balance. I have a rythmic dance that I do to balance work and home, and some weeks it feels like I have three left feet, and other weeks it feels perfectly in sync, and I'm guessing that most of us feel that way too.

New Job!

2008-02-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

I have been meaning to update about my new job, but its been such a crazy ride that I haven't yet had time to blog about it. The quick version of the story is that I woke up one day in January and decided that I was sick of working weekends in a germ infested hosptal, and I dearly missed my family time with Dave and Livy. Dave is at RIT 1-2 nites a week and combined with me working 16-18 hours a weekend, it left little family time. So I woke up on a cold January morning and said to God, "I'm done working weekends, what else have you got for me?" I jumped out of bed and proclaimed that I was done working weekends. Within a few hours my friend Deb emailed me that her agency was hiring. Coincidence? Maybe, but the timing was something to note. Whatever happened in the universe that day happened for a reason, and I started my whirlwind new job 4 weeks ago. I call it a whirlwind becuase I have felt like a fish out of water for the 1st time since graduating from college. I am working for a private agency that provides Early Intervention Services. I was hired as a family therapist 15 hours a week, working in the homes of families of children with special needs. My office is at home, and I travel house to house. I work on teams of 4-6 other service providers who are also in the home.
Counseling people in their homes is fascinating for me. People are so comfortable there, and so are their kids, which means that behaviors and issues tend to show themselves pretty quickly. I left one home tonite where I was following mom around the house as she was trying to get her developementally delayed tot to brush his teeth. The battle of the wills was on, and this tot was screaming his poor head off and running up the couches and tables to escape. I was along side mom addressing the behaviors, and making suggestions to empower her in her parenting. She was about to break down but the team was there to encourage her in the intervention. Many times I'll see parents when the kids are napping becuase they just need to vent and discuss the difficult issues going on with their child, but I always make a plan to come back when the kiddo is wide awake and ready for action.
The kids have multiple medical, emotional, and behavioral issues. My eyes start to well up during at least one point in every visit, not becuase I'm sad, but because of the love parents have for their kids, and the lengths that they go to. They don't know my eyes are tearing, but I can feel the moment that my heart is tugging as they're telling me what they live with. I see the other therapists have these moments too, and we often have it when we're talking to each other about something that happened in the home. We're dealing with families who are trully on a pilgrimage, and trying to survive and thrive in their lives, yet living with a mountain of pain right now.
Adjusting to this job has been absolutely crazy. I'm out on visits and trying to learn the lingo of the interventions, treatments, team members, and a whole new part of Social Work. Its a new expierience for me, and one that I will need if I want to have my own practice someday. But the adjustment to this agency hasn't been easy. Because none of the staff go to a central office things can be very confusing for a new person like me. I told my boss the other day that I feel "so green." I'll get through it, and I'm pretty thrown off, but thats life sometimes and as Ethel says, this too shall pass!

Pictures

2008-02-26T22:32:00.005-05:00

Quick funny story. Olivia and I headed out to shovel today, and I had just finished the back breaking job when Olivia looked at me and said " Looks like you have a ways to go yet!" ha! I thought that I had done an amazing job of shoveling the entire driveway, but she took one look at it and felt differently.

My friends

2008-02-24T21:17:00.003-05:00

Along the way I have made many wonderful friends. Some have come and gone, but they all have a special place in my heart. I think of people that I met years ago, preschool even, and the way they touched my life, and I appreciate them for being a part of my life. Friendships are so important to me becuase during my childhood I had to say goodbye to most of my friends before the relationships even blossomed. We relocated constantly, and moved almost every year of my school career, except high school, where I finally stayed in one place for 4 years. Too make up for craziness of moving so much during my youth, I always dreamed about growing up and having lifelong friends, taking trips together, and making awesome memories together. I finally have those friends, and I appreciate them more than they'll ever know. I can't put it into words often because its so dear to me that even the thought of it chokes me up. I have a wonderful group of friends from many walks of my adult life, and I love having them in my life.

The reflection today happened because my dear friend Jen Labella came to town. Seeing her beautiful face today, and her sweet husband Chris, reminded me of how blessed I am. Hearing their beautiful news today, and sharing that joy with them felt so perfect! I truly love my friends, and sitting with them, and Ethel today, made me pause and thank God for my blessings. My friends are true amazing souls, who are kind and living great lives. I'm in awe of each of them for their gifts to this earth, and I am so happy that I got to spend time with my them today. Love you guys!

Time for Tea

2008-02-16T17:21:00.004-05:00

I recently wrote this article for the Holistic Moms Newsletter. See below.

The power of tea. Tea has the ability to calm, excite, focus, provide peace, and encourage a personal single moment of bliss. This bliss is what I experienced for the first time during a Holistic Moms Leaders meeting. Deborah welcomed us into her home, and put on a simple pot of Rooibus tea. Prior to this meeting I drank green tea because I knew that it was said to be good for me, but I didn’t enjoy a single cup of tea until I drank it with wise women. We sat around and drank endless cups of tea while planning 2008 meetings, and ended our meeting with story telling from our youth that had us roaring in laughter while we clutched our tea. The tea was offered as a drink to bring us together, and it provided a space between all of us that helped weave together our stories and our lives. With our tea in hand we made intentions for the coming year, circling in the visions of our heart for our local Holistic Moms Network.

Since that meeting I have drank and enjoyed tea with many friends, and on my own. I make tea while I’m in the midst of cooking dinner, with my toddler underfoot and my husband busily telling me stories of his workday. The secret that my husband and toddler don’t know is that even while my kitchen is bustling, the tea in my cup is offering me a quiet calm that sustains my womanhood. I wish I had known about the power of tea to be so enchanting, and deliver me peace starting at the very sound of the water hitting my mug, but until I drank it with women, I might have never known the power it can offer.

What did I drink before tea? Coffee in the form of 2 cups of day for much need pick me ups. I’ve met friends for coffee and enjoyed coffee most of my life since age 18, yet it never offered me the power of peace. Now as I drink my tea, I feel as though my cup contains life energy, sustaining me and offering a possibility that coffee may have lacked. I enter tea rooms and tea aisles in stores as a child might enter a candy shop, full of possibility, hope, and wonderment. Tea has changed me and brought something to my life by its very essence, and the essence came alive through the women that I drank it with. A few days ago I drank tea in a circle at work, with women I had just met, and each sip gave me a moment of calm that brought focus to my mind and sparked ideas that led the way for a project I am working on. Tea is a journey, a mystery, and a new path for me to discover more about who I am. It started with the power of women joining together for a common goal, and has now entered my life forever. My daughter and I share tea together in the afternoon, and I watch her while we drink, and together we share a silent space that is joyous and peaceful for both of us. Tea and womanhood together are a combination extroadinaire! I am currently reading the book “Three cups of tea” and am learning that I am joining into a habit that has been enjoyed for thousands of years, and its power can only be measured by the peace in our heart.

Sick...Sick....Sick

2008-01-13T21:59:00.000-05:00

This family has been sick, and I mean sick! Ack. Why do these things hit one family member, and then tear through the rest of them like a tomahawk missle! Geesh. I have some awful, terrible, no good severe cold, and so does my husband. We're not supposed to be sick together! Last nite noone slept. Dave and I had a tissue box in bed with us and I felt pathetic as we were both coughing, sneezing, and blowing our noses all nite. We were a sight! There is no rest for the weary because Livy kept hearing us and getting up and down several times. By some miracle Dave got up feeling better, and he actually forced me to call in sick at work. I had a fever and couldn't move, but somehow I was convinced that I could make it to work. I showered, and then realized that I felt so sick this might be pneumonia ( I exaggerate everything when I'm sick, but I really felt bad.)Staying home and avoiding the Highland Madness was the best thing because I slept from 11-2, which is exactly what I needed. It was hard to fall asleep as I was having stress thoughts pop in my head about not getting paid for today, but sometimes you just have to lose some money in order to get better. Dave kept telling me to rest, but then I would hear Olivia running & jumping around the house, ready to play. I felt so bad that I had a day off and couldn't be downstairs enjoying it with her. Dave finally took her to Walmart for a few hours, and I grabbed some sleep. Please pray that our cold's go away soon. My poor husband has a midterm tomorrow. Luckily I perked up alittle this afternoon, and he got to spend several hours studying. Good luck Hon! Rock the Midterm!

The Vaccine Book

2008-01-05T22:14:00.001-05:00

Another reccommendation...I'm full of them this week! ha. If you're a parent of small children, do your kids a favor that may save their life, buy this book! www.thevaccinebook.com or The Vaccine Book by Robert Sears. It isn't a freak you out, scare you, fear based never vaccinate your kid kind of book. Its a clear, accessible, easy to read gem of a book that guides you through the vaccine mystery, giving clear and consise information, even setting up a schedule should you choose to postpone vaccines a bit. I have tried to read many books on this topic, and most of them left me feeling like I was floating alone, in the ocean, without a raft. Not to be cheesy, but my raft has arrived now, and its a cruise ship taking me back to land. I love this book and feel blessed to have purchased it. If we have another child I will vaccinate them differently than Olivia becuase I have found my answers and I don't need to look any further. I never say that about anything, but Robert Sears has done decades of research to write this easy to read book, and it really should be called "The Vaccine Bible." If you have a baby, consider yourself so lucky to have this resource becuase I floundered on my own, researching government data, and poorly written scare tactic books! Thank you Robert Sears! I know some people turn a blind eye and would rather just trust their pediatricians on this issue, but Robert Sears is a Pediatrician, and one who started on a quest for answers. He received those answers and is sharing them with parents in this amazing book!

Juno

2008-01-01T01:30:00.000-05:00

Do yourself a favor, go and see this movie. Its wonderful and probably one of the best movies that you'll see this year. Tonite Dave and I went to the Little to see it, and afterwards I called Jenn and insisted that her and Keith go and see it tomorrow! I am so glad that we decided to see it, and yes even my husband loved it. Dave is a tough one to please, and he loved Ellen Page's performance. Its an wonderful movie! Its a comedy, but it had me choked up towards the end. I came to love the characters, and I'm not even a movie buff. Go see it, I insist! Happy New Year Everyone!!
http://www.little-theatre.com/moviePage.php?filmID=692

Twelve Days of Christmas

2007-12-26T12:11:00.000-05:00

For those of you looking to deepen your Christmas celebration, check out this website.

http://www.innerchristmas.com/072.html

Wacky, Crazy Holiday, Part II

2007-12-20T22:58:00.000-05:00

I was feeling rather hopeless that I wouldn't find my happy medium this Christmas. All has not been lost, and I'm blogging to remind myself next year that I need to protect my energy. Sadly I have chosen to forgo our weekend plans where we usually attend my aunt's Christmas Extravaganza, and see all of my moms family. The date is always the weekend before Christmas, everyone comes bearing gifts, and holiday cheer. They've all phoned me for Olivia's size, favorite toys, etc, and sadly we won't be there after all. Its a 4.5 hour drive, just outside of Albany. With the way I was dragging on about my stress level, the least I could do for Dave and Livy was decide that we should stay home.

After I made the descision to stay home, something miraculous happened. I started decorating my house, ideas were flowing into my head about how I wanted the house to look, and I just started going through decorations and placing them where I wanted them to go. Prior to making the descision not to go to my aunts, I was paralyzed from enjoying Christmas becuase I was on overload. I was stunted from decorating. There as a huge block, and I couldn't even think about decorating. But I freed the block! Wow..how liberating!! Sure I will be missing a really fun party, but I was comprimising so much to make it happen, and not to mention traveling with a toddler. Staying home means having a weekend off to prepare for Christmas day Brunch, which is another area that I was stressed about. Its my 1st year doing Christmas and I'm nervous as heck, and I mean nervous. I never wanted to host Christmas becuase I feel like its too important a holiday to screw up! ha. Now with the Albany Trip canceled, I can just focus on getting ready for Christmas day, and now I'm excited. I'm happy to be hosting this glorious feast day! I'm so elated that my family will be here, and they will expierience their 1st Christmas Day Brunch. Our family wanted to have us host a 4pm dinner like they've done for the passed 50 years, and well, I don't think that sounds very fun so I took back Christmas and said , "We'll do something fresh and fun, we'll do brunch!" I just think that it sounds so wonderful to eat French Toast Casserole, Scrambled Eggs, and drink fresh squeezed orange juice as everyone mingles around. Much better than a stuffy sit down dinner.

Merry Christmas Everyone. I have removed a block and the world looks alot brighter now. :)

Crazy, wacky, Holiday

2007-12-18T22:54:00.000-05:00

I don't even know what to say about this 2007 Christmas season. I have been filled with tension over getting it all done, buying the gifts, planning the meal, tying up travel plans, whether to travel, whether to surrender and stay home, and what to stop doing right now! Aaaaah. Breath Lisa....just breathe. Great...now I'm talking to myself...this will really help my tension right now. Next year Jenn and I decided that we're starting our shopping in July, and that December will only be about planning the food, and sending out Christmas cards. Sounds good to me...sounds delightful, except that I still can't help but feel like Christmas is all consuming. And for what?? I love cultural rituals, many are beautiful and bring families closer together, but I have to say....does Christmas really do that? I believe that Christmas might be more beautiful if it were simpler. Perhaps there are still ways to savor Christmas, and take it back, without the mass market commercialized madness, and actually have a spiritual expierience. Isn't that what its supposed to be? Aren't we supposed to be rejoicing over the birth of Christ? If we look at other cultural rituals, or holy days, they are days of fasting, and then an enormous feast. Christmas is all messed up with Santa, shopping, eating for the whole month, becoming worn out, and then planning a two day meal extravaganza...oh and don't forget to stop in church and pause for alittle while.

Do I sound cynical. I'm not...actually my brain is just rewiring to bring back some of the beauty of the Holiday. I am still yearning for something deeper...and I've found a few things that I could incorporate in the years ahead thanks to my Holisitic Moms Group. One idea was to give Olivia 3 gifts, just as the wise men gave Jesus, and have them represent Mind, Body, & Spirit. I love that idea, and we could really put our hearts together to find some thoughtful high quality gifts that would carry her into the future. I have also searched for spiritually inspired books to give her, that would be age appropriate, and I've found a few that she'll be given this year, along with Mr. Potatoe Head and tub toys! ha!

Thanks for reading my rant. I love Christmas, and I'm just trying to establish what it means to me, and what I want to impart on Olivia.

Quote

2007-12-18T22:51:00.000-05:00

I saw this quote on a friends blog, and I had to pass it along. Marianne Williamson is one of my favorite authors, and spiritual teachers. Hope this resonates for some of us...I will need to sit with this one awhile.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Williamson

Jolly old St. Nick

2007-12-15T10:56:00.000-05:00

If you have a chance this holiday season, please visit www.stnicholascenter.org. The origins of Saint Nicholas are amazing, and fun to read. Its a beautiful way to bring something authentic back into this holiday season. I'd much rather celebrate a Saint than the over commercialized, mass marketed, Santa Claus & Reindeer idea. Yes its all in good fun, but Saint Nicholas will actually give you something to celebrate, something authentic, and spiritual. He was a devout Christian who sold his inheritance and belongings to help the poor, all inspired from the walk of Christ. He performed several miracles throughout his life, and all of which contributed to his doctrination into saint hood. The website does a beautiful job of giving ideas on celebrating St. Nicholas day. Its a fun place to visit!

Peace and Joy!
lisa

Lunch Bunch

2007-11-16T23:50:00.001-05:00

Here is Lulu, Almond butter and all, enjoying our last lunch outside during the latest string of beautiful, warm weather! Please warm weather...don't be gone long! We love you!!!

Lets Bake!

2007-11-16T23:28:00.001-05:00

I decided to try a science expierment and see what baking with Olivia would be like. It was too rainy/cold to go outside after dinner, and she was really needing alittle excitement before ending the day. I had some pumpkin puree left over from another recipe, some banana's, and oatmeal, and I really really wanted to make oatmeal, pumpkin, banana cookies. The combo sounded great to me so I made up the recipe as we went along. The pictures were taken when it was Olivia's turn to stir, but instead she thought that it was her turn to taste! Despite Olivia pouring in way to much of some ingredients, and eating others before they made their way to the bowl, I was happily surprised at how good these cookies came out. I had alot of fun baking with lulu and can't wait to make Christmas Cookies together.

Renaming the Blog

2007-11-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

I wish that I could rename this blog. It has turned into Olivia's blog. That is a beautiful and amazing thing, and it should be called Olivia's Zone. For now I am blogging fun things here, and only occasionally under my "Living for Peace blog." It is in my profile. I only blog there when I am posting something that comes from somewhere other than my outer self. I want it to be a deeper expression of who I am. I can post the other fun, family news here. The "Living for Peace Blog" represents my story to reach Peace, peace within myself, and this world. My hobby is entering spiritual journey's to reach truth and Love, by going nowhere other than within. More on that over there.
Love Lisa

Rainy Day Fun

2007-11-01T10:18:00.002-04:00

Livy and I took some time to splash in the rain last week. It was fun and she really enjoyed freely puddle jumping. Who wouldn't?

Livy's party!

2007-10-13T23:11:00.002-04:00

Some pics from the Barnyard Bash!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

2007-10-05T21:55:00.000-04:00

Olivia is turning the big 2 on Sunday and we are just so excited for her birthday. I'm sitting here right now with my mind racing about all of the things that I need to do before her party on Sunday, but I just wanted to pause for a second and remember that the reason I'm doing all of this is to celebrate the beautiful person that Olivia is! She is so excited for her "Birday Patty" and can't wait for everyone to come over!
I also have to mention that today is the day that I went into labor, at 530am this morning 2 years ago, and my little peanut wasn't born until Sunday at 1:43! Today feels very slow to me and I keep thinking back to two years ago today when I was laboring. On most days I can't feel with all of my senses what it was like 2 years ago today, but today I remembered everything, even smells. The weather is exactly the same as it was 2 years ago, and several times little flashes just came to me out of nowhere about things that I had forgotten. I celebrated my journey by acknowledging those little thoughts that came to me. I allowed myself to feel through all of the things that I felt two years ago today. Thank you Circle of Stones!

So on Sunday when I wake up I will thank God once again for my daughter. She is a true beauty inside and out. Olivia has a presence about her, and many times just being around her reminds me of miracles. Since her birth, I have seen children in an almost sacred light, and I feel like they are closer to God than any of us adults, and I cherish their presence. It make me a better person to be around them.
Some new milestones for Olivia are her language. She told someone today "I dont wear diapers anymore." Ok she still wears them, and we're working on potty training, but the sentence was significant because the woman had just come out of the bathroom. Olivia wanted that woman to know that she also goes potty on a grown up potty. She will often say "Actually I would like some grapes" She is using "actually" alot now and its very cute! Today at the Farm Market she said "The Spiders made me nervous and a little scared." She knows her Abc's, colors, counting, and thinks that every political sign on our street is " A sign to my birday patty." She loves reading books and playing with play dough. She loves to "Snuggle a little bit." She loves seeing animals at every chance she gets. Today we went to one Pumpkin Patch, and there were no animals there. There was rides, corn mazes, toddler activities, etc but no animals. She kept saying "Mama I go see cows now. I pet cows because they are cutie pies." Because it was a special family outing we then left Wickham Farm and headed to Powers where they have several animals. Livy visited all of the animals several times and told the baby Deer "You are cutie pie sweeties baby dear, and I love you." She tells that to all of the animals, and if people are being loud around them she will sometimes tell people "The cutie pies are relaxin." And somehow I am pretty sure that shes implying that the animals need some peace! I also can't ever forget "Somebody took my ice cream cone." You all might not know what that means, and its too much to blog now, but this is Olivia's signature sentence. I need to remember it so its in the blog. Thank God for the blog!

Ok...I'm off to bed! Thanks for reading. Happy Birthday to my sweetie pie, cutie pie Olivia!

Yuppies and my dad

2007-09-14T20:02:00.000-04:00

My dad is a very funny guy. He has his moments where he is the most charismatic, likeable, funny guy, and then he has his quirky times. He is always amused by the twentysomething generation that work for him. He is training about 15-20 young managers, all under the age of 30, and he loves to call me and tell me these funny stories about "the yuppies." He calls almost anyone under 30 "yuppies." He is an amazing story teller and can imitate people to perfection, so growing up he was usually on center stage during dinner. Many times he would often rise from the table to tell a story and walk around the kitchen acting it out. Yes, he's a bit different, but he certainly made life very interesting. I still miss Sunday afternoons, watching football with him. Every Sunday he would carry 3-4 tv's in the living room, stack them on top of each other, and watch 4-5 games all at once. In addition to watching the game he would then have the bills game going on the radio, becuase he loved the bills radio broadcaster. He would clear the coffee table, fill it with munchies, and scream animated things at the television sets as he cheered his teams on. After all the tv's were set, and the snacks were out, he would look at my mom, sister, and myself, and proclaim, "this is freakin great." He would use those exact words, every Sunday.

So now that you have alittle backround, I just had to blog this story. Mostly for Jenn and my sister, and other blog reading family who know him well. They will especially appreciate this. I recently sent out evites inviting family members over for a small 2nd birthday celebration for Olivia. The next day my dad calls me and says "Whats the matter, yuppies don't know how to use a pencil and write invitations anymore!" First of all I would never use a pencil, but thats another dadism. He also calls backpacks "satchels!" Anyway, he then proceeded to tell me that pretty soon all of the yuppies in America will find a way to celebrate the "Virtual Birthday!" "The yuppies will just sign on their blackberry's into a virtual birthday chatroom, eat virtual cake, and open virtual e-gifts. You freakin yuppies will invent a way to live virtually. Everything will be virtual, even kids birthdays. You yuppies need to put down your blackberrys and stop text messaging and start reading textbooks again." He also loves textbooks and owns large quantities of them. He never does anything without looking in a book. Hilarous. So I told him that I was saving a tree by sending evites, and that I can easily track the rsvp's, to which he replied; "Thats another thing about yuppies. They like to control everything. Your mother and I had people over for cake and then they went home. Yuppies have to have a theme, special cake, special food, becuase yuppies think they're special. You and David are yuppies. Yuppies like email and text messaging. " For the record, I've never sent a text message in my life, but my dad thinks that if you email then you're a yuppy for sure for sure. Ok...guess my grandma Nan is a yuppy becuase she loves email! ha. And he loves to call Dave and I yuppies, except I really don't think that we're yuppies. What even is a yuppie? I assume its a young couple who live in a sweet house, and have lots of great matieral things, including nice cars. So we drive a 1989 volvo, and a 2004 Hyundai. Rock on if we're yuppies, but I don't think that we're in that category! ha!

Ok...long story short. He thinks everyone is a yuppy.

I am a giggle bug

2007-09-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

Olivia loves to giggle, hard, and start what I call "Free for all giggle fests!" They start over nothing....I will trip, sneeze, cough, whatever, and she will use it as an excuse to begin the "giggle fest!" This means that I keep doing the gesture that I just accidentally happened upon, over and over, while she laughs beyond measure, and next thing we know its a Free for all giggle fest and we're all laughing. As the parent of any toddler knows, these giggle fests can last for awhile, and will usually be what we all need to end the day right! Arent' toddlers cool?

Cravings

2007-09-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

I received this information about cravings from an acquaintance of mine today, and I loved it so much that I thought it was blogworthy. I enjoyed how she wrote that a craving could actually be a repressed emotion, and to take time and cultivate a loving relationship with your body. Read on.....

Deconstructing Cravings

The body is an amazing source of intelligence. It is always there for you, pumping blood, never skipping a heartbeat, digesting whatever food you put in it, and maintaining homeostasis. Is this reliable, intelligent bio-computer making a mistake by craving ice cream or a hamburger or chocolate? Are cravings due to lack of will-power or discipline? I’d like to suggest that cravings are not a problem. They are critical pieces of information that tell you what your body needs.

The important thing is to understand why you crave what you crave. Perhaps your diet is too restrictive or devoid of essential nutrients. Perhaps you are living a lifestyle that is too boring or stressful. Your body tries to correct the imbalance by sending you a message: a craving. A craving for something sweet could mean you need more protein, more exercise, more water, or more love in your life. The key to stopping the sugar craving is to understand and deliver what your body really needs.

Your body knows best and is always trying to create balance. However, products like refined foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and drugs (which have little or no nutritional value) are confusing to the body. They throw the body off-balance and can create serious cravings as your body tries to get what it needs to restore internal harmony. The more your food is whole and healthy, the easier it is for your body to stay in balance and provide you with a happier, healthier life.

No book or theory can tell you what to eat. Only awareness of your body and its needs can tell you. Of all the relationships in our life, the one with our body is the most essential. It takes communication, love, and time to cultivate a relationship with your body. As you learn to decipher and respond to your body’s cravings, you will create a deep and lasting level of health and balance.

The next time you have a craving, treat it as a loving message from your body instead of a weakness. Try these tips to respond to your body:

· Have a glass of water and wait ten minutes.

· Eat a healthier version of what you crave. For example, if you crave sweets, try eating more fruit and sweet or root vegetables.

· What is out of balance in your life? Is there something you need to express, or is something being repressed? What happened in your life just before you had this craving?

· When you eat the food you are craving, enjoy it, taste it, savor it; notice its effect. Then you will become more aware and free to decide if you really want it next time.

Eat, Pray, Love

2007-08-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

I am so excited right now that I could literally let out a scream!!!AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHAAAAAHHHHH! Ha! This is the greatest news that I've heard all day, and noone in my house is awake to share it with, and its too late to call any of my friends! Well its only 945pm, but I'll spare them the news since they probably wouldn't be all THAT excited! I have been reading one of the greatest books that I've read in awhile, "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, and all I keep thinking is how much I would love to hear her speak in person. That very thought crosses my mind every nite after reading the book. I read my usual 10-15 pages, close the book, get ready to turn off the light and think "I would love to meet Elizabeth Gilbert." Well folks, tonite after surfing the web I finally decided to check out Elizabeth Gilberts website. I clicked on events, and the 1st event listed was a speaking engagement in ROCHESTER NY on October 3rd!!! AAAAHHHH! Shes speaking at the Eisenhart Auditorium at the Rochester Musuem and Science Scenter, sponsored by wab.org, and I'm there. I'm so there!! I have been spiritually inspired by her pilgramage, and I have been moved by her words. She is trully living her purpose, and taking readers on a ride with her. This is exerpt from her website, a question submitted from a reader, about Elizabeth's year long pilgrimage,

5) HOW CAN I POSSIBLY GO ON A JOURNEY LIKE YOURS, GIVEN THAT I HAVE A BUSY LIFE OF MARRIAGE, KIDS AND WORK RESPONSIBILITIES?

The last thing I ever want to become is the Poster Child for “Everyone Must Leave Their Husband And Move To India In Order To Find God.” My path is hardly a universal prescription. It was my path – that is all it ever was. I drew up my journey as a personal prescription for solving my life. Transformative journeys come in many forms, though, and often happen without people ever leaving home. Divinity is available everywhere, at all times. People find their way to God during wars, in the middle of traffic jams and in small prison cells. (Though I would submit it's easier for a prisoner to find time to meditate in a jail cell than it is for many of my working-mom friends with young children to create time for contemplation.) The first question you can begin to ask yourself, though, is: “Where can I find a small corner of stillness?” Because that’s where it all begins and ends. God resides in these pockets of silence. So where in your day, where in your home, where in your mind, is there some opportunity for a moment of silence? Or maybe even a few moments, during which you can start asking the questions you need to ask in order to find what you need to learn. Can you find the time to get out of your own way and try to step into your own light? As a dear friend of mine put it: “To change your life, the important thing is not necessarily to travel; the important thing is to SHIFT.”

Surprise! Happy Birthday Grandma Nan!

2007-08-12T23:04:00.001-04:00

My Grandma Nan turned 70 last weekend! I've been meaning to post a few pictures but our computer was broken, but is now fixed! Thanks to Dave!! Anyway we threw a surprise 70th for my Grandma and it was a blast! My grandma looks amazing for 70, and said that the party was one of the best days of her life. She felt trully honored as a woman, mother, wife, grandmother, and great grandmother!

Notice the picure of Olivia and my uncle Doug...yea Olivia wasn't down with being teased by him, but he means well.

As a sidenote, thanks to my bff for the photo jackets...remember my 30th Jenn? We re-used what you made at the party! My grandma loved it!

Dental Hygiene

2007-08-07T23:17:00.001-04:00

I was introduced a few days ago to this local website, http://www.cleanwhiteteeth.com/. It is the website of Dr. Ellie, read about her and I guarantee that you'll like her. She also has a great blog at http://www.askdrellie.blogspot.com/ I wanted to pass it along in case it can help anyone else. I have had some cavity issues since having a baby, and wanted to get to the bottom of why?? There is also a great website for moms on children's dental health that I also wanted to pass along, http://www.spiffies.com/

My dental crusade has been going on because I had 3 cavities filled by my dentist a few months ago, and they were filled using those new "white fillings." Those are pretty bad for a womens hormones, and they're basically filled with chemicals. I wouldn't mind that so much, and might have forgotten about it IF I haven't been having this horrible plastic taste in my mouth whenever I eat hot foods since the fillings were put in. This must be happening becuase the fillings are interacting with the hot food, and then some chemical is getting emitted all over my mouth. The dentist said that this has never happened to anyone else before, and she promised to give me an ingredient list of the fillings, but she hasnt' yet. It happens on the same side of my mouth that the fillings were placed on, so what else can it be??

So to make a long story short, my dentist also mentioned that I have two cavities that "shes keeping an eye on" and I wondered if there is anything that I can do to encourage my body to heal those cavities without drilling my poor teeth and pooring in awful chemical cavities. I spoke to a good friend from Holsitic Moms, and now we're all buzzing about healing our cavities. So Dr. Ellie says that "yes" we can heal and prevent cavities by a simple regime, which she gives you on her website, all of which can be purchased at the drugstore, except for her Zellie's products which are at Lori's Natural Foods. I'm excited to give this a try! I will keep my blog posted about my progress. I'll also post Dr. Ellie's Regime below!

For Clean, White Teeth
Pre Rinse with ClosysTM and brush your teeth with a clean toothbrush
Freshen your breath with Listerine®
Protect your teeth with a final rinse of Act®
And - Eat Zellies with 100% Xylitol After Meals, Any Time, EverydayDownload and print information about the Zellies Complete Mouth Care System (pdf)

The sprinkler invention

2007-08-02T14:53:00.000-04:00

This week sure has been a hot one! Livy and I have been trying to keep cool and have some fun while doing it. Yesterday, she invented the "Hose Sprinkler!" After attempting to water the flowers, Livy laid down the hose and walked away. To her amazement a new invention came to life! The hose became a sprinkler! She couldn't believe it and just shreeked with joy. She then spent the next 90 minutes running up our water bill, but she was really enjoying the water! Yes, these are those moments, in the middle of the day, that are so worth remembering!

The puddle jumper

2007-07-19T21:07:00.001-04:00

My neighbor has a puddle that Olivia loves. The puddle rarely dries up on their driveway, and she takes full advantage of jumping around in it. Today I caved and let her take her sandals off! As she was splashing around she said "Mommy splish-splash too." "No Olivia, mommy's fine right where she is!" Ha!

Visiting Grandma Z

2007-07-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

My grandma lives in an assisted living community, and Olivia loves to visit her. We try and go at least once a week because both Grandma and Olivia enjoy the visit so much. When we first arrive, Olivia makes a stop at the "Golfing Polar Bear" and hangs out there for awhile. Once inside, she loves to ride the elevator upstairs to Grandma's Z's apt. Then we're off and running to visit the Chapel, the fish tank, the bird cages, the statues of saints, and the garden. Olivia leads the way announcing each item on her list of "places to visit." Sometimes when shes tired she catches a ride on Grandma's walker! Its a riot.

Timeless

2007-06-23T22:14:00.000-04:00

I left Olivia in our gym's daycare center for an hour or so the other nite. There were two workers there that she didn't know, but she seemed to take it well. She ran in and started playing. I forgot to tell the workers how old she was, so upon my return they were all gathered around Olivia laughing. I walked over rather curious as to what they could be laughing about and they said
"Oh my gosh she knows her age!"

Me "What?? Her age? No I don't think that she knows her age."

The worker "Yes she really does know, and she told us that shes 18 months!"

Me: "She did? Shes never told me that before. What else did she tell you??"

The workers " Oh that she has a mom, dad, Grandma, and a dog named Coco, and a friend named Hannah Jane."

Me" Wow. Ok. Livy how old are you??"

Livy " I'm 18 months mommy, how are you????"

Ok, well Livy isn't 18 months, shes 20 months, but that is still too funny that she even answered them with something remotely close to her age.

I'm really loving this learning to talk in sentences and say real things stage. It cracks me up!

Dinnertime Chit Chat

2007-06-23T21:58:00.001-04:00

We were sitting at dinner last night when Livy started singing Happy Birthday to herself. So I told her all about her birthday and that she would be turning 2 years old in October, and asked her what she would want at her party, heres what she said, word for word.

"Cake"

Me" What else do you want there"

"Cookies"

Mom: "Cookies...ok...what about something else to eat"

"Chocolate"
Livy has never even had chocolate, so this really cracked me up!

Me: "Chocolate ok, but what should we serve for dinner?"

Livy "Peeeezzzzaaa!"

I also asked who should we invite, and here was her list

Geema
Coco
Papa
Geempa Mark
Josie
Baby AVEEEEEE
Hannah
Ya Ya
Auntie E and Keith
Nono
Uncle
Aunt Niki
Chris
Mommy
Daddy
Rachel
Ben

And there you have it. She also wants Clowns and Ladybugs there, plus animals such as Squirrels, doggies, and bunnies. She told me that she wants stamps, stickers, and markers there. Dave told her that she could invite 4 friends, but so far she really only wants 2 friends since she loves Hannah and Baby Avery the most. Livy knows her priorities, and I am saving this little conversation in my head forever. Too sweet!

The Optimists Creed

2007-06-10T21:20:00.000-04:00

I love this, and perhaps I can learn to follow it more! It is called The Optimists Creed by C.D. Larson.

Promise Yourself:

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have not time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Nature

2007-06-05T12:43:00.001-04:00

I just read a very short, but moving article about nature and children. The article said that bringing kids right into the woods changes their rhythms and regulates their systems making them more peaceful and connected to their Source. I'm sure that the benefits are the same for adults too. Our Source being the place inside of all of us that is still connected to our Source, or our higher power. We all have our intuition, which I believe is the part of us that is deeply connected to Source energy, or God's energy. I call it Source energy because I have learned how to talk with clients so as not to put them off about faith or religion. Source seems safe.

A Christian group launched the study by immersing kids in the woods for 20 minutes a day, 7 days a week, for one year. Parents had to agree to doing this, and then the children were monitored by all these wonderful ways that researchers monitor kids. The study found that after the year of daily immersion these kids were able to channel quiet places within themselves. They were more serene and joyful than when the study first began. I should also mention that these were urban kids who had limited exposure to nature to begin with.

It has come to my attention over the course of my short life that nature brings calmness and joy to people's lives, even when they claim not to enjoy the woods, nature, etc. I took my grandmother and Olivia to Powder Mills Park a few weeks ago, and since walking is getting difficult for my grandma I just picked a spot accessible by car and parked us all right there by a nice babbling brook. Livy was happy to be right in her element of wildlife, and my grandma completely relaxed and didn't want to leave. She doesn't' even like animals, and will claim to dislike the woods, but even she couldn't resist the perfect stillness that was offered to us that day. She sat in her chair and began talking about the most profound things, and she was talking as if she was directly connected to God. Livy was just joyfully crouching and pointing to bugs, fish, birds, and squirrels. I didn't even say a word, but I observed the dance of two people who were totally at peace and filled with Joy. Nature does that to us, and I think that most of us are guilty of less than frequent fill-ups of nature. I sense that we can fill-up by sitting in our own backyard, and creating a peaceful places for ourselves where we feel completely at ease, and open to listening to communication from our Source.

This morning I took Olivia into our backyard where we fed the squirrels, and watched the birds, bugs, and anything else that crossed our path. It felt like we were connecting to nature and we didn't have to go far, but I remained quiet unless I was pointing something out to her. I remained watchful of what was around us, and she too was looking everywhere for the next animal that might cross our path. Then it started to rain and we stayed outside under our tree for awhile, staying dry, and I would only talk to explain something to her. She learned about rain watering the grass, and she reminded me that rain also "gives fisheees drinks." I would tell her what rain does, and she would come to her own conclusions about other things that it does. They were simple, but she was inspired by the stillness, the thunder, and being connected to life and vitality. Then we came inside and turned on the t.v. so I could make her lunch. I was making tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for us, so I needed alittle space in the kitchen. I let her watch Barney and wondered if our whole nature experience wasn't all washed away by Barney. The minute that I even turned the TV on I felt both of us shift. I then had a radical thought of giving away our television sets. I've been having these thoughts lately, and they aren't coming from me. Something inside of me is urging me to give away our TV"s, and see what happens. I doubt that I'll ever do it, but I just pray that I find more ways to bring nature to my family. :)

More Apollo

2007-05-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

Can these two just get married already? I think that they are awesome and make a beautiful couple. Why aren't they dating? Am I too involved in this show? I think so, but who cares becuase it makes me happy! This is an exerpt from Apolo's blog, which happens to be named OHNOZONE, and notice that he also uses the word zone in his blog, just like mine. Hmmm....perhaps my blog inspired his! j/k

Apolo writes:

I would like to thank everyone who has been in support and watching the season 4 Dancing with the Stars. I am positive that without your love and votes, the result would not have been the same. It has been an incredible experience and almost a transformation from the start of the show until the finale. Every week I was becoming more comfortable opening up my real personality to the world as never before - and almost thrown into a situation which required me to show my work ethic, dedication, and will to do my best! All of my fans, friends, and supporters share these moments in time with me and I am so excited to have everyone on board!!!

This is yet another chapter in my life that will hopefully lead to many others and I wish you all to be with me! Thank you for keeping me grounded, positive, and staying true to myself. Here's to the next challenge!

Apolo Anton Ohno

Apolo Anton Ohno!!

2007-05-23T14:05:00.000-04:00

Yes! Apolo won Dancing with the stars, along with his amazing dancing partner/coach Julianne. I loved these two and thought they brought an amazing energy to the show. Dancing with the stars is a real treat to watch and I'm going to miss this show!

Happy Mothers Day!

2007-05-13T20:06:00.000-04:00

Happy Mothers day! I hope that all of you wonderful mommies had a relaxing day celebrating mommyhood.

My camera is broken so I'm a bit beside myself that I couldn't take pictures, which also means that no pics will be posted here. I should have bought a disposable but forgot all about it. I had a very nice second mothers day. The weather was perfect and the sun shined all day! This morning Dave cooked a really nice breakfast for my mom, me, and Liv-Liv. He made blintz's, pancakes, fruit salad, and eggs. It was so sweet. He took over the whole kitchen and really made a beautiful meal. My mom and I were so touched over it, and I think that Dave knew how much we all appreciated his hard work. Then we headed off to the Genesee Country Museum for a very interesting day. I've never been there, and today they were having a special celebration of women. I was so eager to hear Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton speak, or at least the characters who played them. I felt like they were really there, sharing their stories, and to think that they never got to live to see all of their hardwork pay off! They never got to see women have the right to vote! They talked about that, and how hard it was to realize that it wouldn't happen in their lifetimes. I love those two women. Susan B. was single all of her life and traveled the country speaking out on the injustices done to women. Elizabeth Cady was her closest confidante, and actually wrote many of Susan's speeches, but due to being a mother of 9 children she could rarely travel. I love knowing the story of women's suffrage, and staying connected to the history behind it becuase thousands of women worked tirelessly so we could have the rights that we do today. I've been reading a wonderful book called "Failure is Impossible" and its all about Susan B's life, so today was a real treat to take part in the fun day at the GCM.

It was a great Mothers day and I hope that all of my friends and family also enjoyed their day!

Changes

2007-05-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

Next week marks my last week of being employed at the Cancer Center. I've cut my hours back(just in time for summer) and am embarking on a new journey back to the land of hospital social work. The descision to leave the cancer center after only 8 short months of working there wasn't an easy one, the descision was made with my family in mind. Dave and I are firmly rooted in some of the things that we want for Olivia, and while theres alot that we don't know yet, one thing that we do know is that having someone at home on most days works best for us. Dave said the house has a whole different "vibration" on days that I'm home. I will be working weekends now, which isn't ideal, but allows me to be home Monday thru Friday with Olivia. I'll still be working in the same department, except I'll be seeing the patients who come to the hospital. I used to be a hospital social worker so I at least know what I'm getting into. During the week its back to the land of Stay at Home mom, and on weekends its back to the hospital warzone! :) Yes it can be that bad, but I'll just have to remember that on Monday thru Friday I get to hang with someone pretty special.

The No Child Left Behind what????

2007-04-27T17:58:00.001-04:00

This post is from my friend Danielle, who teaches in a city school. She risks her life everyday to try and reach, teach, and empower our nations youth. There has to be a better way to handle what is going on with schools today, and quite frankly, if it wasn't for Danielle, and my sisters stories about working in City Schools, I too would be far removed from the problem.

Well, the past 2 days have been very tough.. Yesterday, fights all day
and a
cop gets jumped in our school, then after school one of my students -
steven- gets murdered over a chain..
Today we had threats of retaliation, and went into lockdown, and were
dismissed at 1:45...

what has this world come to?

Tell me something positive that is going on, so I can get my mind off
of
things:)

-danielle

Garbage Land

2007-04-27T12:54:00.000-04:00

I am on a reading frenzy again. I started the week reading "Baby Love" by Rebecca Walker. I wasn't terribly thrilled with it, but it was a nice even read. I finished it in 24 hours, and I still don't know how that happened. I'm just craving books again and it feels good. Now I'm starting on "Garbage Land....on the secret trail of trash" by Elizabeth Royte. The book is fascinating and takes the reader on a journey following all of the things that we dispose of. I'm intrigued and can't put it down. I wonder at least 3 times a day what happens to our trash. Where does it go? When I stumbled upon this book I purchased it right away. I have wondered about our trash and what happens to it everytime I eat something that I didn't prepare, buy a cup of coffee, or open something surrounded in plastic. I wonder how big of a footprint are we leaving on this poor planet when 90% of the stuff that I throw away won't biodegrade for 2000 years? What sort of world are we preparing for our kids to inherit? This book gives the reader the complete inside scoup the journey of our trash, starting from the minute that we throw it out. The book is the authors travelogue as she journeyed around the country in search of answers, and following our trash. Very cool.

Would love to hear what everyone else is reading? :)

Outer Banks Vacation

2007-04-22T22:20:00.000-04:00

We survived a 14 hour roadtrip with an 18 month old! Yipppeee! We spent a beautiful, but chilly week in the Outer Banks. The ocean was just steps from the house that we rented, and we enjoyed it as much as we could despite the weather. We arrived in the OBX last Saturday to a severe tropical storm, and on Sunday it was thought that we might have to be evacuated, but thankfully we just stuck it out and things got better on Monday. Although things got better, the weather was definetly the bummer of the trip. However we made the best of it, and still enjoyed lots of family time. One of the most amazing things for me was seeing Dolphins right off our deck jumping and frolicking in the ocean! Livy loved watching them jump in the air, and she would yell "Dolpheeen!"Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Easter

2007-04-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

Olivia turned 18 months on Saturday! Time is really going by, but we are trying to stay in the now, and enjoy Olivia's toddlerhood. I've been cherishing her second year so much, and trying to remember all of her "oliviaisms" to share with her some day. Here are a few translations, and ones that I want to remember

Geep=Grape
Geempop=Grandpa
Mina Mina Mina=Mine! :)
Koy=Squirrell
Pengi=pigeon or penguin, depends on which one shes looking at
Dog a Doggie=Dog
Sack=snack
Geema!=Grandma

Those are just a few. Her verbal explosion is happening, and when Dave and I are talking during dinner she will tell me who I"m talking about. So today I said "I have to call my sister." And Olivia replied "Naa Naaa" for Aunt Niki! Needless to say we are starting to watch what we say! ha! Thats going to be a tough one for me

Easter Egg Hunt

2007-04-07T12:40:00.000-04:00

This morning our neighborhood held the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Before leaving for the hunt Olivia watched me fill the eggs, and then ran around the house announcing "Hunt....Hunt....Hunt." She seemed to be enjoy exploring through the various backyards with all of the kids, and did score about 3 eggs for herself. She tried helping herself to the baskets of a few other kids, but she was quickly turned down. :) One thing that I enjoyed about the hunt was the "no candy" rule. The eggs were filled with chapstick, rings, money, stickers, etc but no candy! I love this idea! This teaches kids that you don't always need food involved to have fun! The kids had a blast opening all of their eggs and it was a great start to the Easter weekend!

First haircut

2007-04-06T23:16:00.000-04:00

It wasn't Olivia's favorite day, but we got her hair trimmed by our dear friend Candie, or as Olivia says, "CANGIE." Olivia sat so still and didn't move a muscle, becuase, quite frankly I don't think she even knew what to do, or what think about the whole process. After getting her haircut she got to watch Daddy have his done, and she was starting to catch on about the whole idea. Here are a few pics...

Puppylove

2007-04-06T23:05:00.000-04:00

This is Coco. This is Olivia hugging Coco. Olivia lives for this dog, and talks about this dog everywhere we go, to anyone who will listen. No matter who visits our home she asks if Coco is with them. I have never seen anything like it. The pediatrician, church, wegmans, my in-laws house, friends houses, neighbors houses, and anywhere to anyone who will listen, Olivia will ask for Coco. Coco is 17 years old, so needless to say every minute with her is a blessing. We all love Coco, and I hand picked her from Lollypop farm at age 12. I refused to leave Lollypop without Coco and hung onto the cage until my mother agreed that we could take her home. I should have been grounded, but instead we were too busy loving Coco that my mom soon forgot about my antics. But in my defense she was shaking from fear and communicating with me in her own way, just begging to live with us. And we've never been sorry, she has been one trully amazing dog! I've even written a goodbye blog post when we thought that Coco was about to enter her heavenly realm...but she pulled through. Shes amazing and we love her, and so does her newest fan Olivia! Most people would think that a 17 year old dog would want nothing to do with a 17 month old baby, and they're right. Olivia tries anything to get Coco's attention, and Coco just keeps walking away from her, but truth be told when Olivia goes to take a nap Coco is restless and wants to lay next to the crib. Its ironic becuase Coco spends most of her visits trying to escape from Olivia, but there must be some bond there. Anyway, we finally grabbed this photo and I had to share!

51 Birch Street

2007-03-25T18:28:00.000-04:00

www.51birchstreet.com

Last night Dave and I had the fortune of having a fun filled evening with Jenn and Keith. I can't quite remember the last time that we were all out together, sans the kiddo's, but it was great to just sit and chat uninterrupted. We ate some yummy food at Veneto, sipped Avery Lane Reisling, and then headed off to the Little to see 51 Birch Street. This was a great documentary that shows the human condition, and a rare look into a 50 plus year marriage, and what happens when people aren't true to themselves. It was a powerful movie that left me feeling peaceful and sad at the same time. I would love to talk more about the movie, but don't want to give anything away. I reccommend that everyone and your parents, grandparents, and loved ones see this documentary.

Grandma Visits

2007-03-20T22:54:00.000-04:00

I wish that I had a pic to upload, but blogger isn't cooperating with uploads tonite, so pics to follow. My mom is visiting us for a few days, and tonite Dave and I stepped out for a bit to meet with a friend. So Olivia and my mom got to have a "Grandma nite" together and when we returned home the house just felt alittle different. Grandma's are so special, and I can tell that when my mom is here Olivia knows that things are different. The nite before she arrived we told Olivia that Grandma would be visiting, and she ran to the guest room, pounded on the bed and yelled "GEEMA GEEMA GEEMA." She knows that the guest room is where "Geema" sleeps, and that Geema = Fun!

Tonite when we returned home I asked my mom how the bedtime routine went, and my mom says that Olivia and her ran around the house and laughed for over an hour. My mom would ask Olivia if she wanted to go up and have her bottle and Olivia answered "Nope." She never does this to Dave or I, and usually happily obliges to begin the bedtime routine. But not when Grandma's here, becuase Grandma means fun!:) Grandma reported that Olivia replied "Nope" each and everytime my mom asked her if she was ready for bed! hahah.

I too had a very special relationship with my Grandma. My brain and heart are chock full of beautiful childhood memories with Grandma Z, and I hope that Olivia has that with both of her grandparents. Watching her "Get the sillies" with my mom reminded me of days when Grandma Z would stay with us for a few days. Niki and I were off the hook silly when she was around, and the possibilities were endless. She played with us, and made us feel like we were the most special people in the world to her. She was always right on our level in any game that we were playing, and would participate in anything that we were doing. One time I was playing teacher and decided that I would take my class on a field trip to outer space. Grandma Z helped me write a letter home to the parents, and then we planned the whole trip. She made me feel as though it was really possible to take a large class of my pretend students to Outer Space. Most grown ups wouldn't play along, but she always played along and encouraged our dreams. Her voice is always inside my head, and encouraging me to go forth.

My mom always worries that Olivia won't know her as well as my in-laws. . I think that she is starting to see how special she is to Olivia. I believe when someone has pure Love for a child that it is always felt by the child, no matter how far away they live from each other. But I understand how hard it must be to live in a different city as a grandchild. I'm dreading the goodbye tomorrow afternoon as my mom usually cries at least halfway down the thruway. Olivia and her have a bond and I'm thankful for the bond. Its a beautiful thing to witness.

Dean and Candie save the day!

2007-03-11T17:29:00.000-04:00

We had a fun Saturday nite get together with Dean and Candie, who have 2 children under the age of 3. The kids had a blast playing together, and my daughter was occupied for 3 hours straight by 2.5 yr old Zachary. She was copying his every move, and thanks to Mr. Zach, Olivia learned how to climb on the sofa, and jump like a mexican jumping bean. She screams "Boing Boing Boing" in delight of her latest accomplishment. This new accomplishment looks like an accident waiting to happen, but for today I'm letting her jump to her hearts content. I hate to be a spoiler.

Anyway, i have been pretty concerned about Olivia's diaper rash from this antibiotic. Its bright red and painful. I showed the veteran parents her rash and they practically laughed at me., "Thats hardly a rash" laughed Candie. I felt better to hear that becuase to me this rash looks horrible. Candie then introduced me to Triple Paste
www.triplepaste.com

This stuff is amazing. In 3 hours her little toosh was returned to normal. Its a medicated diaper creme only for diaper rashes. I was so grateful to learn about this wonder paste that I wanted to pass it along to all my mama friends, and thank my blog reading friend Candie for giving me her huge tube of it! :) She later admitted that the rash was pretty bad, but she did what any awesome friend would do, she downplayed it to calm a nervous first time mom down. Thanks Candie!

We also did some vacation planning, as in a few short weeks we'll be leaving with Dean, Candie, and 4 other families on a week long Outer Banks vacation. We rented our very own beach house, complete with 2 heated pools and a kiddie pool. Mind you, there will be alot of people staying at this beach house, 12 adults and 7 kids. Yikes. I'm nervous but very excited about getting away for a week. We are dividing the trip up and leaving one day early to stay with my aunt and uncle in Maryland. Dean and Candie are doing the same as her brother lives in Maryland. It's a 7 hour drive to Maryland, so we're hoping for some really patient kids on Friday April 13th! Ack..Friday the 13th...the odds already seem against us! haha

All dressed and ready for "Cheech"

2007-03-05T20:49:00.000-05:00

Livy can't quite say church yet, so instead she improvises and calls it "Cheech." Here are some recent pics from this passed Sunday, taken before "Cheech."
During "Cheech" Olivia proceeded to shout "Amen" at very quiet times during the mass, and she also pointed at each stain glass window and shouted "ANGEL" with glee. Yes bringing Miss Olivia places gets interesting. A few Sunday's ago she was telling everyone around us to "SHHHHHH" like Dave and I were telling her to do. She had her finger on her nose and she was looking directly at people telling them to "Shhhhhh." I need to remember all of the funny things because they will make good stories later on. She also looks for "Coco" at church, and most anywhere that we go. Coco is always on her mind. For some reason she seems to think that Coco is everywhere.

On a sad note, Olivia has another ear infection so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. The doctors think that its the same ear infection from January...this is her 3rd infection since that time. However we were at the Dr.'s last Wednesday and her ears were clean. On friday I felt her gums and noticed that some teeth had just started to break the surface, and Friday is when I believe that her ear infection started again. I sense that its related to teething. So we're on an even stronger course of antibiotics. Ack. We are also doing Craniosacral therapy (chiropractic) which Dr. Khaneja feels will help over the long haul. There are a few other natural things that we'll be discussing during a visit on Wednesday. She has also reccommended an ENT. The ENT can take awhile to get into, so in the meantime we're probably going with homeopathy and chiropractic. I guess that the biggest thing we'll be doing is cutting out all dairy. Olivia will be on goats milk and soy cheese for awhile until her ears are under control. She had her 1st goats milk bottle tonite and did fine with it. I know that many children get ear infections and I've been trying to gather some information on how to properly treat this. I have to say that Dr. Greene's website is hands down the most comprehensive and informative website that I've found so far. I love his approach to healing, and he really gives parents in depth information. Sometimes we don't need in depth information, but when things become Chronic then parents need more information.

Dr. Greene's website suggested a possible dust mite allergy so we're going to get her a special mattress pad. Olivia has both Eczema and ear infections, so an allergy to dust may be likely. The info about the link between eczema and ear infections wasn't on Dr. Sears website, and neither was the link to pacifier use and ear infections. Dr. Greene's site gave me some great things to think about, and as soon as we heal from this infection, then "Froganzo" the paci is going bye-bye. I hope. :) Wish me luck.

Running a red light, or two.... and officer friendly

2007-03-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

I thought that my recent adventure was blogworthy, and it contains tips that might be helpful to you in the future, should you ever get pulled over after running two red lights, and you've left home without your liscense.

On friday evening I attended a nice spiritual talk with my mom at The Natural Oasis market on Monroe Ave. We left Natural Oasis and started driving home when my mom remembers that she needs a tooth brush. So I keep driving down Monroe instead of turning into my neighborhood. Next thing I know I proceed to look up and I'm running a red light, and a few feet in front of me is another red light that I'm also running. This was all by accident, as these two lights are very close together on Monroe. Now enter Mr. Policeman who is flashing police lights in my rear view mirror. Oh boy. My mom and I had just come from this fun "Evening with God" and now I've commited a crime by accidentally running two redlights. The second after I saw the flashing lights in my rear view mirror I calmly told myself that I would not be receiving a ticket this evening. I have a goal in my life of never receiving a ticket for a traffic violation, and I had no intention of accepting one from this officer, but I had the intention of apologizing for what I did because I was trully sorry for it. Of course I would have had to accept it the ticket should he decide to give me one, but I was hoping that the power of positive thinking would help me out here. ;)

I learned from my hubby, who used to work for the Sheriffs dept that when getting pulled over you must do the following things, and it will greatly decrease your chances of getting a ticket.

1. Turn off your car and put your keys on your dashboard.
2. Roll down your window and keep your hands at 10 and 2 on your steering wheel.
3. Ask the officers permission before obtaining anything that they ask from you, such as "May I open my glovebox to provide you with my registration.
4. Always admit what you've done and apologize.

I felt like I might be in some hot water because I had left my licsense at home, but I was hopeful that my friendly personality might make this whole thing all better, and the nice officer would allow me to go on with my evening. The conversation went like this

officer "Good evening maam, may I see your licsense and registration."

Me "Gulp. Hello. I'm sorry sir but I live around the corner and I left home without my liscense, but I can provide you with my registration."

Officer, who now looks annoyed "You mean you don't have a liscense or you forgot it."

Me "Yes sir I have a liscense, and I apologize for leaving home without it this evening. Would you like me to get my registration for you, its in my glovebox."

Officer" Do you know why I pulled you over."

Me " Yes I believe that it had something to do with the lights."

So, to keep a short story short, Officer Friendly listened to my confession and apology about running red lights, and he said that he thought I made it through the first one, but definetly not the second one, and he would just give me a warning this time. He took my registration and went back to his car for five minutes, and while it was a bit nerve racking, I just kept calmly telling myself that I wouldn't be receiving a ticket this evening. I had some doubts becuase he stayed in his car for so long punching numbers or whatever into his computer, but when he came back he was all smiles, and told me to have a very nice evening, stay safe, and "Good nite." Wait...where was my warning?? What a nice Mr. Police officer. I think that he was being nice because I was nice to him, and I followed all of Daves instructions about what to do when getting pulled over! So take note folks, and don't run red lights!!

Snow day

2007-02-27T21:19:00.000-05:00

At first Olivia was very timid in the snow, but now she is really getting to like it. Here are some pics from yesterday, and what a great day it was to play in the snow. It wasn't too cold, and it felt great to be out in the fresh air. We made a snow slide in one of our snowbanks, and Olivia squeeled as I hoisted her up, over and over again, to slide down the snowbank. Hopefully next year we can start making tunnells and snowmen just like when we were kids. Fun times. :)

Birth Matters

2007-02-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

We are so blessed to have such a resource in Rochester! See below!

BIRTH MATTERS? IT CERTAINLY DOES!

East Rochester, New York. Birth Matters!, a new studio and boutique that nurtures expectant women through the prenatal and postpartum period, is holding an Open House at its location at 234-236 West Commercial Street in East Rochester. The Open House will be a weekend-long event: Friday, March 2^nd, 12pm-5pm; Saturday, March 3^rd, 10am-5pm and Sunday, March 4, 12pm-4pm.

“Birth Matters! is an entirely unique space, designed to provide pregnant women support and education, offering everything from childbirth education classes to doula services to lactation counseling,” says owner Patricia Predmore. “There is no place like it in Rochester.”

Birth Matters! opened this new location in January, but the company has been providing services to pregnant women in the Rochester area for years. In addition to offering Lamaze childbirth education classes, Birth Matters! also offers breastfeeding, childbirth refresher, and KinderSign classes (baby sign language). Many specialty classes are also offered, including Infant massage, Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga, Infant & Child CPR (Red Cross), Life With Baby – Finding Your New Normal, and Bringing Your Baby Home to Your Pet. Support groups for new mothers round out this extensive program.

Special events are also planned for the upcoming months, including an evening on Waterbirth, another on Belly Casting, a Birth Faire and a Birth Movie Matinee.

Birth Matters! is not limited to classes. The boutique offers books, birth balls, massagers, breastpumps and breastfeeding accessories, inspirational and specialty birth items for purchase. Clever gift bags and baskets with everything needed for labor, new parents, grandparents and breastfeeding are also available for purchase.

Please join the staff of Birth Matters! for its Open House March 2^nd through March 4^th, for refreshments, conversation and fun. For more information about Birth Matters! or to RSVP to the Open House (by February 28^th), please contact Patricia Predmore at 330-0600 or birthmatters1@ aol.com.

Ear infections

2007-02-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

About 4 weeks ago Olivia came down with an ear infection. We took her to Dr. Khaneja, and all of us agreed that we should take a "Wait and see" approach before going the antibiotic route. Olivia didn't appear to be in physical pain, and The Journal of American Medicine (Jama) just published the results of a huge study stating that 80% of ear infections heal on their own without antibiotics. JAMA strongly reccommends waiting 48 hours before starting an antibiotic because most ear infections will begin to heal on their own during this time.So we left Dr. Khaneja's office with the reccommendation of using Oregon Trail ear drops....which are basically garlic and olive oil. Unfortunately Olivia's ear infection didn't heal, and we were then forced to use antibiotics. 1 week ago she was picking at her ear again, and the pediatrician found the same ear inflamed and infected. The ped said that Olivia didn't respond to the 1st round of antibiotics, and would need a second round. I was devestated. The ped said "Now we're going to have to call in the big guns" meaning we had to use a stronger antibiotic. Ack. I understand that western medicine has its place, but I see healing as a circle, and western medicine sees it as a small line, not connected to anything else. I see healing as considering the whole person, and felt that these ear infections were the clue that something bigger is going on inside of Olivia.

This led me to look into ear infections more, and ask some questions. Why didn't her ears heal? What would make an infection come back? The answer is simply fluid accumiliation, and the fluid from the first infection never draining. Any time that water sits stagnet it can become infected. Olivia's ear never drained the fuild. Why didn't it drain? Becuase there was an area of tension in her body that was keeping that fluid in place. How do you release tension? Not through antibiotics, but through healing touch to open up the lymphnodes.

While we chose to go through with another round of anti-biotics, we also had to treat Olivia as a whole person, and realized that there must be some areas of tension in her body that wasn't allowing this ear to drain. Dr. Sears reccommends chiropractic care for ear infections, and I recently heard Dr. Melissa O'Loughlin speak at the October Holistic Moms meeting. She was full of passion, love, and information about pediatric chiropractic care, so I decided to take Olivia in for a consultation. Dr. Melissa is warm and very caring about treating her patients. She treats the whole person, and did most of Olivia's assesment and adjustment while she played. Her touch is very gentle, and Olivia kept right on playing through most of the session. Dr. Melissa found 3 areas of tension, and one area was directly behind the infected ear. Olivia has to go twice per week for 3 weeks. Dr. Melissa takes time to educate her patients which helped me learn alot about the body. Dr. Melissa is chock full of wonderful healing tips, and showed me things that I can do at home to help Olivia's ears remain open and draining.

We are one week into the chiropractic care and so far the results are hard to measure because we need to have someone look inside of her ears. We are going back to the pediatrician next week, and I'm very interested to see if there has been an improvement. What has been encouraging for me is the concept that there is something different that I as a parent can do for Olivia, despite having to put her on antibiotics. I feel hopeful that we have another option, and its a wellness option. The western model has never made sense to me, and it seems to leave out such a big piece of the puzzle. Medicine was created over 2000 years ago, and its roots are in Ayurveda. Ayruveda has an indepth approach to healing, and the Western model chooses to look at only one very itty bitty piece of that pie. I encourage anyone to consider chiropractic, acupuncture, and homeopathy along with their Western Doctor.

People ask if I've noticed any huge changes. When we arrived at Dr. Melissa's office, Olivia had lots and lots of mucus, greenish in color coming out of her nose. The next day she had an 80% decrease in mucus, and all the mucus was clear. She continues to have her cough, but things are very loose and she is expelling clear mucus.

I'll post Dr. Melissa's website on here in case anyone is interested. Thanks to Deborah for all of the info! She took Aden for his chronic ear infections and can't say enough about Dr. Melissa. He has been ear infection free for months now. :)

http://www.naturespathchiro.com/

GET OUT!!

2007-02-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

I just watched a story on Generation X'ers being deprived of nature, thus making us all more unhappy than our parents were. It said that Gen Xer's spend more time indoors than any other generation, and it offered a plethora of scary statistics about what thats doing to us and our offspring. Apparently as kids we played outside an average of 57 minutes a day, while our children are averaging a mere 8 minutes a day! The study found that the 8 minutes is often accounting for the time that we shuffle them in and out of the car, and that our kids are getting little or no outdoor playtime. Ack. Dr. Greene and Dr. Sears reccommend 30 minutes of playtime outside per day. Nature calms children and adults. We need it to for our internal rthyms. When I was a child I played in the snow for 3 plus hours, and had to be dragged inside. As I drove through my neighborhood today, on this warm winter day, I couldn't find a child outside. Why are we inside so much? It isn't even that fun to be inside. I know that I'm victim to avoiding the outdoors in the winter because its cold, the sun isn't out, and hibernation feels good, but I could be better about getting myself and Olivia out.

Dave took Olivia for a sled ride today after lunch, and they both arrived back home glowing and happy. Olivia told me about the birdies and trees that she saw on her ride. Sometimes its a pain to get Olivia dressed in all of her snow gear, but even after a brief time outside, she is a happier kid. I guess we gotta get out more!

Happy Birthday Hommey!!!!

2007-02-16T21:06:00.000-05:00

This is a blog birthday shout out for my dear friend in Albany!Happy Birthday!! I hope that you had a wonderful day today! We miss you and hope to see you soon!

The ultimate Nausea Cure

2007-02-06T20:39:00.001-05:00

We've had the stomach bug going on at our house, and for the passed day or two I've been plagued with horrible nausea. It reminded me of my morning sickness days. I was telling a friend about my nausea and she told me to get some crystallized, or candied ginger, from the health food store. I have never tried candied ginger before, but I was feeling so awful, almost a car sickness nausea that I just had to give it a try. So after work I headed off to the Abundance Coop and purchased some in their bulk section. WOW!! I had relief withing 1-2 minutes, with at least a 99% decrease in symptoms. I was in shock. Where was this stuff when I was pregnant? I'm taking note for next time, and wanted everyone to know about Candied Ginger in the event that you ever need it.

When I arrived home my in-laws were feeling nauseas, and so was Dave so I handed out the pieces of ginger candy, and within 1-2 minutes all of them had relief. This stuff rocks!! I'm on my holistic journey to find better ways to have relief, and everything that I have tried has worked almost instantly. They don't even sell a cure for nausea in a prescription as good as the candied ginger worked. I put it right under my tongue since I heard that it works quicker. You'll thank me for the tip if you ever give it a try! :)

The ultimate Nausea Cure

2007-02-06T20:39:00.000-05:00

Olivia's New Sleigh

2007-01-28T23:04:00.000-05:00

My step-dad is so talented in carpentry, and he finally finished the sleigh that he started for Olivia. We got to take it for a test run today when we picked it up. We let Gary have the honors of taking Olivia on the inaugural ride! I commissioned him on this project awhile back, and he willingly obliged. Gary is very sweet, and does all of Olivia's projects with love. Heirlooms are so important to me, and Gary knows how much anything that he creates means to me, and will be cherished for years to come. I'm so proud of this sleigh, and as you can see from the pics, Olivia is really enjoying it.

Farmer Lulu

2007-01-26T22:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted an update about Olivia in awhile, and since I am also bad at updating the baby book, I better mark something on the blog. Olivia is turning into a little person, and communicating more each day. I understand her language and I can see her light up when she says something to me, and I repeat back the word that she was trying to say. Her face lights up, and its such a happy moment for both of us to be communicating, and doing the mother daughter dance. One of her latest favorites is to say "Geela" for Gorilla. She gets so excited when we know what shes saying. She copies alot of what we say, some of her latest words have been, Hummus, quiche, touch, all done, toe, knee, ear, back,Bye mommy, Bye daddy, Bye, Bye, Bye, she says bye alot, diaper, poop, pee, potty, boots, coat, and the list goes on. Her favorite thing has been to get a purse, wear it on her arm and tell us "Bye!!" Then she heads towards the door. I think that she sees us coming and going, and also wants to feel like she can come and go. Ha! Very recently I have noticed that she is starting to play differently, and is sharing her cup with her stuffed animals. She will say "Thirsty" and bring her cup over to her penguin or baby doll. But she is sort of a conditional sharer becuase she will briefly share her cup, then she will suck down the contents as fast as she can. Its hilarious. The Ego at work.

I'm starting to feel like I have a little buddy with me all the time. Olivia still has some babyness about her, but I can see the toddler behaviour starting at times. :) I'm reading the Dr. Sears discipline book and gearing up for next year, or sooner, when the terrible two's surface. He has a good quick read on his website about some other ideas for toddler discipline, heres the link if you're so inclined,
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/6/T061200.asp

I also want to add a shout out to Miss Sarah Keller who I saw at Parkleigh tonite! It was so great to see you, and thanks for helping me pick out that gift! I was Sarahs' most indecsisive customer ever, but she stuck with me. Thanks Sar!

Choice or no choice

2007-01-22T21:34:00.000-05:00

I was moved by this article, and wondered why this day in age was someone counseled so poorly about her options during pregnancy. The following article is an undercover investigation at UCLA, and deals with a student going to the health center to hear her "options" about her pregnancy. The health center sounds like they did a horrible job of assisting her and other students, only presenting them with the option of Abortion. I can't believe that a well known school like UCLA wouldn't present someone with all of the options. It makes me feel that women haven't come as far as we think we have, especially since a pregnant college student is only given abortion as an option. I'm exasperated at the health center staff.....read on....

ALEXANDRIA, VA January 22, 2007 – Reacting to a student newspaper’s investigative report of pregnancy counseling techniques at UCLA, Feminists for Life is offering a plan to support “the rest of the choices.”

A UCLA student newspaper launched its inaugural edition today with a story based on a reporter's undercover investigation of questionable counseling techniques at the student health center.

Lila Rose, a sophomore at the University of California-Los Angeles, posed as a pregnant student seeking support for an unplanned pregnancy from the UCLA health center. The Advocate, a new student newspaper, reported today that university health center employees strongly advised Rose to abort, citing the lack of support on campus and the discomforts of pregnancy.

According to Rose, counseling was directed towards abortion, and there is no real support for women who choose parenting—marital, partnered or single—or various adoption options. The Advocate reported that the nurse practitioner explained the difficulties of pregnancy and revealed that most of the students she talks to terminate their pregnancies. "UCLA doesn't support people who are pregnant and make things easier for them necessarily," the nurse practitioner said.

The student health center staff informed Rose that while UCLA had two medical providers of abortion on campus ready to assist, Health Services had no support for a woman who wanted to continue her pregnancy, The Advocate reported. The Advocate was founded by UCLA students who have formed a pro-life and pro-woman group called Live Action. Rose is editor in chief of the new publication.

Feminists for Life President Serrin Foster has extended an offer to help, noting lack of resources and support are common in higher education but that Feminists for Life has helped other campuses bring various university stakeholders together to support pregnant and parenting students.

Lack of resources and support are common in higher education. “They don’t know how to deal with a pregnant student.” said Foster. In an attempt to help the student stay in school they often refer for abortion. Other choices are not supported. “On-campus resources and links to off-campus support are needed to solve this.”

Feminists for Life began to address the lack of resources on campus nearly ten years ago, when Foster hosted the first-ever FFL Pregnancy Resource Forum at Georgetown University in 1997. A panel discussion included an unprecedented range of stakeholders: administrators, community resource providers and students on both sides of the abortion debate. They took an inventory of resources and prepared a blueprint for progress in order to give women support for “the rest of the choices.”

The inspiration was the experience of an FFL board member. In 1995 a Feminists for Life then-board member highlighted the lack of resources on campus when she revealed that she had become pregnant in college and was abandoned with no support. “Without housing, day care and maternity coverage it didn’t feel like I had much of a choice,” she said.

With the help of FFL’s pregnancy resources forums, Georgetown within a few years addressed critical needs including housing, child care, insurance, communication and support, becoming a model for the country. Feminists for Life brought the program to Harvard, Berkeley, University of San Diego, Stanford, Notre Dame, University of Chicago, Northwestern, St. Xavier, University of Virginia, and others.

"Policies and procedures for helping pregnant and parenting students should not be a secret. Students, as well as pregnant and parenting staff, should know who to go to for help and what support is available." said Foster.

Creative solutions emerged at campuses like Wellesley, where students held a rummage sale in support of pregnant students. Berkeley students raised funds to install 22 new diaper decks for 1,000 parenting students enrolled there. University of Virginia students organized a babysitting service for parents, primarily law school students. Feminists for Life promoted telecommuting solutions early on, to expand parents’ options for completing their education.

Inspired by FFL’s Pregnancy Resource Forum, the state of Michigan passed model legislation in 1999 to host Pregnancy Resource Forums and create on-campus resource centers for pregnant and parenting students. The idea progressed to the federal level in 2005, with the introduction of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act on Capitol Hill. Reintroduction of the bill is expected. If passed, $10 million dollars will fund up to 200 colleges to host annual forums and create on-campus pregnant and parent student services offices.

“Feminists for Life is proud to be a catalyst for change, and is ready to help UCLA and other colleges across the country provide pregnant women and parenting students with the services they need and deserve,” said Foster.

Feminists for Life carries on the tradition of Susan B. Anthony and other early American feminists who sought to address the many reasons that drive women to abortion – primarily lack of resources and support.

www.feministsforlife.org

Happy Birthday Jordan

2007-01-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

Today we welcomed Jordan into Wayne and Missy's family, and celebrated his 13th birthday. We all had brunch at our place, amoung the toddlers, which Jordan handled better than most 13 year olds would have. What was supposed to be a day for Jordan looked more like a toddler playdate, but we showered Jordan with a few fun gifts, and Rachel made him a delicous ice cream cake. It was nice to have everyone over, and just celebrate our friendships, and the new journey that Wayne, Missy, and Jordan are sharing together. For those who don't know, Wayne and Missy adopted a then 12 year old boy in their community. We wish them God's blessings and peace on their new family.

On being a parent, by Anna Quindlenn

2007-01-19T19:46:00.000-05:00

On Being A Parent
by Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author

If not for the photographs, I might have a hard time
believing they ever existed. The pensive infant with
the swipe of dark bangs and the black button eyes of a
Raggedy Andy doll. The placid baby with the yellow
ringlets and the high piping voice. The sturdy toddler
with the lower lip that curled into an apostrophe
above her chin.

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow
but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I
have today: three
almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in
fast. Three people who read the same books I do and
have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me
in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar
jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who
need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want
to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who,
miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets
and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves.

Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a
rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep
within each, barely discernible except through the
unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once pored over is
finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry
Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and
sleeping through the night and early-childhood
education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight
Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered,
spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped
the pages dust would rise like memories.

What those books taught me, finally, and what the
women on the playground taught me, and the
well-meaning relations taught me, was that they
couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false
test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far
along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one
knows anything. One child responds well to positive
reinforcement, another can be managed only with a
stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained
at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put
baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on
his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies
were put down on their backs because of research on
sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this
ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then
soothing.

Eventually you must learn to trust yourself.
Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15
years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful
books on child development, in which he describes
three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and
active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an
18-month old who did not walk. Was there something
wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something
wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he
developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I
insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes
to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too.
Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been
enshrined in the, "Remember-When-Mom-Did Hall of
Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad
language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell
off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool
pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer
camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of
the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I
responded, What did you get wrong? (She insisted I
include that.) The time I ordered food at the
McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away
without picking it up from the window. (They all
insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to
watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was
I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of
us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment
enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment
is gone, captured only in photographs.

There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in
the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on
a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could
remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and
how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept
that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to
get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I
wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the
getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't,
what was me and what was simply life. When they were
very small, I suppose I thought someday they would
become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I
suspect they simply grew into their true selves
because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back
off and let them be.

The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense,
matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And
look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three
people I like best in the world, who have done more
than anyone to excavate my essential humanity.

That's what the books never told me. I was bound and
determined to learn from the experts. It just took me
a while to figure out who the experts were....

Lyme Disease

2007-01-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

Today was a full day, but it ended with some very sad news. My step-father has been diagnosed with Lyme disease. From what little I can tell, this disease can have devastating affects, although it is something that people can live with for awhile. Please contact me if you have any helpful information. Gary works for the NYS department of Parks and Recreation. He makes those signs in the woods so you don't get lost on trails, and also the Brown and Gold Park signs. If he's not in the woodshop making a sign, then he's climbing tree's to hang them, so he easily could have been bit my a tick without evening knowing it. Its very likely that this happened on the job. I'm greatly saddened becuase he has been suffering for months, and now will have re-occuring flare ups that could affect his vital organs, and cause devastating depression. The depression that lyme disease can cause has been known to be very debilitating. So far he is in good spirits, but my mom is very distressed. I'm taking Olivia to see her tomorrow in hopes of spreading some cheer.

As far as treatment goes, Gary will be seeing his primary doctor for IV antibiotic and other medications. He also has an appointment with a Homeopathic doctor. I am anxious to see what the homeopath says. Gary isn't interested in alternative medicine, but since my mom and I are, he's agreeing to give it a whirl. I pray that he isn't greatly affected by this disease.

Avery's Baptism

2007-01-06T23:57:00.000-05:00

Today was such a perfect and joyous day! O Happy day! It was Avery's baptism. The day went off without a hitch, and was a very wonderous and spiritual time for all. I am the proud Godmother, and as you can tell, I love Avery Grace so much, and look forward to watching her grow and being a part of her life's journey. It was an emotional day becuase the role of Avery's Godmother is something that means so much to me. I can't put it into words. I'm touched and honored to be her Godmother. Love you Avery!!

Dinner Swap

2007-01-05T08:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Olivia and I met up(I hate the word playdate) with Lisa, Asha, and baby Aren. I met Lisa a few months ago, and since we live almost in the same neighborhood we had exchanged numbers in hopes of getting the kids together. When we first met we had also talked about doing a dinner swap, meaning we would make double of certain dinners and swap with each other. But we weren't sure what the swap would look like, and certainly didn't want to add more chaos to each others lives, so we tabled the idea until we could come up with a good plan. We both only cook with organic, whole foods, so we felt like a dinner swap would be nice since we share the same beliefs about food, but wanted to come up with something that would work for our families. Well, during the *playdate*(ack, I even dislike typing that word) we came up with what I think is a wonderful idea. We're each going to cook double of one meal, once a week, and drop it off to each others home. There will be no commitment of a day or time, you just have to drop off one meal, once a week, to the other persons home. Lisa already surprised us last nite and dropped off a delicous noodle casserole! Perfect! I am really looking forward to sampling some new dishes, and sharing some of mine with their family. I think this idea could work for alot of people.

Happpy New Year!!!

2007-01-02T22:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome 2007! I sure am glad to see you. What a long and strange year 2006 was for me. I had a rough go of life in 2006, and am excited to ring in 2007. I don't have any exciting resolutions, but I have the hope of losing a few pounds, and continuing to work on our home. This week last year, we actually closed on our house, and thats where I got lost in the shuffle. This month last year was only made possible by two elves named Rachel and Missy who packed every box in my apartment, and stayed with Dave and I for the entire move. I am forever grateful to these two women for their kindness. I am grateful to all of my friends, especially Ethel who let me talk about what I was going through, and gave me hope that it would all be ok.

A year in review for 2006 is hard for me, and I'm tempted to block it all out. I was suffering from depression for the first time in my life, and really didn't know how to make it better for myself. I had never met a problem that I couldn't face, but this seemed bigger than me. Even though I functioned ok, and could still outwardly act somewhat like Lisa, I really wasn't ok inside. I was hurting. That took me by surprise. I'm talking about it openly in the event that any of my friends go through this, I would never want you to feel alone. People say that it was post-partum, but I know that it very well could have been due to a series of unlucky events, and my reaction to them, that caused the depression. At any rate, I coped through God, and therapy, and I can honestly say that entering 2007 I am 90% back to me.

But I dont want to forget some of the good things that happened. I had a blast working at People's Pottery, and through the Zenness of that store I actually contemplated the funk that I was in, and got myself back on track. I learned that I love art glass. It was a nice place to spend a few hours, and I really have fond memories from PP. My coworkers were adorable and I still miss them. Then I landed a wonderful, good, flexible part time job in my field, at the Cancer Center, that I am growing to love more each day. I feel needed there, and I'm getting to do some amazing therapy with people, and I enjoy it.

I learned in 2006 that we as people have years that rock our world, and change us, and make us face things we didn't even realize are going on inside of us. The bright spot of the year was watching Olivia go from an infant to a toddler. I am having so much fun with her now, and who knew how much personality would be inside this beautiful little soul. Its so awesome. Although I'm not ready to expand the family anytime soon, I am definetly one proud and happy mommy.

So I welcome 2007 with open arms and with anticapation for all the things that life has in store for me. I'm better, stronger, and more humble than ever before, and I like that. I have always admired the humble so much, and I now see what it takes to become more humble. I certainly don't like the wilderness journey, but its so true that the sun does shine again, and the old saying "this too shall pass" is now a favorite of mine.

Some Funny photos

2006-12-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

Wahooooo.....christmas is fun!

Crisis Nursery

2006-12-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

Todays paper featured a wonderful new organization in Rochester, and I'm going to look into volunteering there. Its called the Rochester Crisis Nursery, and is a Nursery where children can safely live when their parents are expieriencing a self defined crisis. It can be anything from a single parents babysitting crisis, to a death in the family. They won't turn away anyone who is expieriencing a crisis and is in need of childcare. Since Olivia's birth my heart has been heavy for single parents, and I often wonder how they manage, especially when life happens. Check out their website

www.cngr.org

"l never knew that I had to learn about myself"

2006-12-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Joann just "flew" in for one of our late afternoon visits. She pops in for about 30 minutes, and we cover more topics than Hannity and Combs on primetime television. Joann is exactly double my age, but in our beliefs we are far closer than the gap in our age could ever offer. Joann and I have tender hearts that are very affected by the state of our world. We share this, and are able to talk to each other as two kindred spirits are able to. What I love about Joann is that she is always able to offer me advice that comes from life expierience, and a similiar heart as mine. Today I shared with her that "I never knew that I had to learn about myself." She said that sentence should be the title of a book, and I agree with her. That sentence is true, so true. I never knew that we have to get to know who we are as people. I feel like an artichoke, and with every layer that I'm "willing" to peel away, I get closer to understanding who I am, and what charges me. The "willing to peel away" is the part that often mixes us up as women. We're so scared to really get to know ourselves, even if we don't think we are, that often we just keep getting caught up in our day to day lives, and end up living for others, instead of living for our hearts.

Eckert Tolle talks about our emotions, and how to get to the core of them. I want to share what I learned from him. Whenever you're feeling an overwhelming emotion such as anger, pay close attention to your physical reaction. Paying attention to how something is physically making you feel, will help stop your ego from taking you on a wild painful ride. When we're expieriencing a strong emotion, our ego will keep feeding our brain with images that overwhelm us, but if we center and pay attention to how we're physically feeling, it can stop the ego dead in its track. I've been practicing this and adding a 3rd component. I tell God how I'm physically reacting, and that keeps me even more centered. When we learn how something physically affects us, we are better able to tune into why things bother us, and we gain an awareness about how an emotional situation really affects us. This process has had a profound impact on my life in just a few short weeks.

I have used this with countless patients that I work with and they too have expierienced some liberation from their own pain. My best example of my own personal painful issue, is that a few weeks ago I was on my way to someones house, and I didn't want to go. My mind (ego)was racing with all the reasons why I didn't want to go. I then stopped, and made myself identify my physical reaction to this painful situation. I felt the following; my stomach hurt, my head hurt, my stomach felt nauseous, and my throat felt alittle tight. I stayed the course the entire way to the house and continued identifying my physical reaction to this painful situation. My mind stopped racing becuase the EGO couldn't feed it anymore. I still have alot to work through, but I'm taking this step towards getting to know myself, and having more stillness in my life.

ALL GONE!!

2006-12-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

I have to blog this quick little cute story from tonite. We took Olivia to get her photos done. We even brought Grandma Z along for the fun. We had 3 outfit changes becaues I wanted to have her pic taken in her first birthday dress, christmas dress, and then this other casual dress that looks cute on her. Normally I would have never brought along 3 dresses, but the place said we had unlimited time so I thought "What the heck." Olivia can be a hard one to make smile, and of course tonite was no exception. Dave and I were running around the studio yelling "Boo" to her, which is the only thing that would crack her up. Grandma Z was singing "Jiggity Jig" and the photographer was waving some toy duck all over the place, all trying to get those perfect picture smiles. By the end of the session I felt like I had just spent the last hour at the Gym, and I had broken out into a full sweat trying to get lulu to smile. So we had the 3rd dress on, and the photographer got a fair amount of pictures from Lulu when all of the sudden Olivia sat down on the floor, layed back and yelled"All Gone!" When Olivia says "All Gone" she means "All done." She says it whenever shes done doing anything. All of us starting cracking up....she literally ended her own photo session. Then she got up and left the studio area and just started leaving, she was officially "All done." I have to put that in the baby book because I will never forget watching her do that...it was priceless!

Takin it to the streets

2006-12-14T13:16:00.000-05:00

I took Olivia on her first neighborhood stroll today, without the stroller! Hip Hip Hooray! It was so fun to walk along side of her, and watch her explore the neighborhood by foot! She was ready for action today, and loved being able to visit the neighbors and neighborhood pets. I took the walker along with us, but she ditched it two houses away and started making a run for it. So we walked hand in hand, even though she didn't seem to excited about holding my hand. :)

We have a walker!

2006-12-03T20:34:00.000-05:00

This weekend Olivia started walking! Its been so prescious to watch her toddle everywhere. I have to mark it in the blog so I know the actual day that it started. The day was Friday December 1st, she was 13 months old. I know I'll forget to write it down so thankfully we have these wonderful blog inventions. Its so exciting to see her explore her world in the upright position.

I also want to say a happy birthday shout out to our favorite 2 year old, Hannah Jane! Happy Birthday sweetie! I'll think of you at 10:45 pm, since your mom said thats the time you were born. We all had a blast at your party today. Livy was estatic to spend an afternoon with you, and we loved meeting some of your extended family. I was thanking Daybreak 2 all the way home for bringing you guys into our lives. Happy Birthday Hannah!!

December 6th, 1976

2006-12-02T23:41:00.000-05:00

This Wednesday I will turn 30 years old! Yikes! I actually am feeling quite uneventful about the whole expierience. Oddly enough, it isn't feeling like the milestone that I thought it would be. Perhaps I'm so caught up the Christmas cheer this year that my birthday sort of feels like just another Christmas celebration. My dear friend Ashley called last night and grilled me about the birthday plans, and asking why I hadn't requested a huge party to celebrate this "monumental event" as she called it. I gave her all of the usual excuses, "we just bought the house, we just threw Olivia a huge party, we need so much for the house, parties are expensive, and the list went on." All of those things are very true, but the birthday isn't going uncelebrated. Dave and I have a few fun plans that I'm looking very forward to. On my actual birthday we're having dinner as a family, and eating "Pasta Olivia" which is now my favorite dish but its origins date back to my pregnancy. We named it Pasta Olivia because its the one dish that I always craved, and the only one that she would let me keep down. So we'll have dinner as a family that nite, and then on Thursday Dave and I may take in Handels Messiah at the RPO, which hasnt' been done in over 10 years by the RPO. I am dying to see this performance as I'm sure its going amazing. Then On Saturday Dave and I are heading off to Skaneatlas for a full day of fun planned by Dave. Its their annual Charles Dickens festival, and we're going to have lunch at a beautiful Inn that my mom sugggested. Last but not least, Jenn has invited us all over to her place on Sunday for some birthday fun! :) I'm really looking forward to spending time with her, Avery, and Keith. My sister will be also be in town Sunday to join us. So I have some really nice plans for my birthday, and they're all things that I'm looking forward too. Its all about spending quality time with the people I love, and ringing in the start of a new decade.

These boots were made for Walkin

2006-11-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks to grandma Chop, Livy now has some snow boots! I can't wait to let her play in the snow. :)

Work Post

2006-11-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

I rarely blog about my job, or go into much detail about it because people usually glaze over after I really start telling them what I do. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I work in a Cancer Center as a radiation oncology Social worker. People typically receive radiation everyday for 7 weeks, and I usually meet them during their first few days. I love hearing about their lives, how they spend their days, what hobbies they enjoy, what things they've accomplished, and how they're really handling their diagnosis. Many of them welcome me into their world, and keep me updated on how they're feeling, and the goings and comings of their life. Along with getting invited into their life, I often get to hear their biggest fears, or work through their biggest fears coming true with them. Each of my patients is living and walking with so much, and there are some days where patient after patient has a story that is sadder than the one before them. People have a hard time discussing and dealing with life and death. I say that people glaze over because the minute that I tell them that I am a Social Worker in a Cancer Center they look intrigued and want details. The minute I start describing what I do they just look blank for a moment. I think its becuase we all fear cancer and death, so my job requires that I deal with both of these things interchangeably, and all day long. My escape and breath of fresh air is talking to co-workers, or calling a friend for a few minutes to get my mind off an especially sad situation.

Today I had an especially sad situation. I have a 38 year old mother of 3 diagnosed with breast cancer. I thought her outcome sounded good and I try and see her at least once a week because I know that she is a mother, wife, employee, caregiver for her own mother, and has alot of emotional issues going on with her diagnosis. Today we were discussing her case and her doctor shared with me that her chances of seeing age 40 are slim to none. What ??? I was shocked. She has a 3 year old daughter, and two other school age children. I thought of all the implications of her death and I just felt so sad. Then a few minutes later she came in for treatment and seemed so happy because she had a great holiday, and at that moment I felt so heavy in my heart becuase I was holding something about her life that she wasn't aware of. She'll never know what the doctor told me, and she might defy the odds, but according to this doctor she has no shot at survival. She has a rare form of cancer and long story short, they have never seen someone survive 18 months passed the time of diagnosis with this type of cancer. I just kept thinking of her kids, and how they don't even know that they might all be on borrowed time together. I know that God will take care of them, but my sadness is probably a normal reaction to a difficult situation. My co-workers heard the statistic and just went on with their day, and I then reminded them that she has a 3 year old, plus two other children. One of my co-workers said "The show must go on." Geesh...hows that for compassion.

A day like today feels more emotionally challenging than others. I wouldn't trade what I do, but I wish that I could have more of an impact on people. I wish I knew of a technique they could do to increase their chances of survival. It is difficult at times to be the only Social Worker at the Center because there is no other co-worker to debfief with. Thankfully I recently got invited to be part of a larger network of Oncology Social Workers for bi-weekly meetings and support. I think this came at a good time for myself, as I can stay current on what is available to patients, and get the support that I need.

Homeopathy heals

2006-11-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

I have to credit homeopathy for making Olivia better. I wasn't aware of the immediate healing powers of homeopathy, but my curiousity is definetly peaked now. This last week has been emotinally and physically draining because our poor daughter was suffering from a very nasty virus. It started last Thursday, and as of yesterday afternoon at 1pm, it was showing no signs of giving up. Olivia was running fevers up to 104, and had a sore throat. The virus was a sore throat virus called Pharingytis(sp), and our pediatrician said that Olivia probably had razor sharp pains in her throat 24/7, and there was almost nothing that could be done. No antibiotics can be given, and the only reccommendation was to give her tylenol and motrin.

Those of you who are parents know how heart wrenching it is to watch your child screaming in pain, and feel so helpless becuase there is nothing that you can do. Every nite we were calling the on-call pediatrician begging for a solution. They just kept reccommending cold popsicles and the tylenol. We just felt awful. We were laying hands in prayer over her, and asking God to please give Olivia something that would lift this virus from her. We were seconds away from going to the emergency room on Tuesday evening when all of the sudden she opened her mouth long enough to let us sneak a bit of popsicle down her throat. None of us slept for 4 nites in a row, and by Wednesday morning I think we all had had enough.

I ended up going into work for a few hours to try and catch up on a few things. My in-laws came over and Olivia seemed very happy to see some new faces since she hadn't been out of the house, or had visitors in a few days. I left for work at 10am, and around 1:30 pm my mother in law called me and said that Olivia's lips were turning blue, she had blotches all over her entire body, and she was shaking very badly!! I raced home and then raced her to the doctor. This would be our 3rd trip to the pediatrician in 3 days. When we got there she immediately did a full exam of Olivia and said that she was turning blue as result of her fever spiking dangerously high. There was nothing to prescribe becuase this was a virus, and virus's dont respond to medicine. I can't believe that noone has invented something to kill a virus! Anyway, the pediatrician then asked me to try a homeopathic remedy called Apis, and she would call us later that evening. She had asked me about 50 questions about Olivia's exact symptoms, and felt confident that this remedy would work. We have a pediatrician who does integrative medicine, as she is both a pediatrician and naturapathic doctor. She isn't quick to prescribe homeopathy, but she was certain that it would help Olivia. We were left with nothing else, and she had assured me that if the remedy wasn't the right one than it would do nothing, but IF it was the right one then Olivia would be back to normal within one to 3 hours. My mother in law had come to the peditrician with me and even she also felt comfortable with what Dr. K had reccommended. This made me feel better because Maria has the gift of discernment, and she was so pleased with Dr K.

I don't know much about homeopathy, but always wanted to learn more about it. Herbal remedies are different, and they take much longer to work, but homeopathy can have almost immediate results if the remedy is right. To make a long story short ,I visited my friends at Natural Oasis Market as they are so knowledgeable. They were quick to point out that I only visit them in a crisis, as the last few times I've been there I've been getting remedy's for my mom and Niki since both of them suffer from migraines and have long drives home. FYI they sell a product called "Migraine Relief" and it works wonders. Anyway they had Apis in stock so we gave it to Olivia right away, and by the time I pulled in the driveway she had no fever, her color was normal, and she wanted to eat and drink right away. She was back to herself...it was as if she was transformed. At 2pm her fever was 104, and at 3:30 it was nowhere to be found.She was playing, laughing, dancing, and babbling which were things that she hadn't done over the last few days.

That nite Olivia slept like a log and was in no distress at all, and has been back to herself all day today. I am so grateful that our doctor practices integrative medicine. She called us at 830pm that same day to see how the remedy worked, and she was so pleased that Olivia was healed. She is never quick to credit one specific thing, but she agreed in our case that homepathy deserved the credit since this virus had its hold on all of us.

We are so grateful to God for working through our doctor, and grateful to our doctor for being trained in both medicines. We have alot to be grateful for today.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T11:16:00.000-05:00







God, when I have food,: help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,: help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,: help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,: help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,: help me to destroy my complacency;; bestir my compassion,; and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,: those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen."

The Grad School Crew

2006-11-11T21:08:00.000-05:00

Today we had our "quarterly" grad school alumni get together. Our get togethers started before any of us had children, and from the pics you can tell that a few more additions have joined our alumni family. We used to have the comfort of sitting around, eating, and talking about anything and everything in our lives. We still get to do that, amidst a giant play date. :) It is always so great to see everyone, catch up, and eat some really great good. Molly we sure missed your taco dip, but Sarah made up for it with the pepporoni bread, and she even made a meat free one for me! Go Sarah!! I'm so glad that we all still make a point to get together...lets keep our tradition going for years to come!

Avery Grace visited us today

2006-11-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

How lucky I was to babysit Avery Grace today. She was a gem! Olivia took her nap and I got to play with Avery...lucky me! She curled up in a ball and slept on my shoulder. Then Ethel came over and we got to snap a few pics of the girls in matching outfits. Jenn gave Olivia the outfit for her 1st b-day, and bought Avery the same one. I've been wanting to get a pic of them in it together, and without even talking about it we both had the same thought! :) Only Jenn and I would be able to coordinate matching outfits without discussing it first. Avery is such a beauty and I loved having her here.

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

A few pics from last year when Livy was 3 weeks old, and one from this year...my how we've grown!

Killer Balloons?

2006-10-28T22:59:00.000-04:00

I never thought about the dangers of balloons before, and just happened across this article. Here is the article from www.drgreene.com.

The Dangers of Balloons

That's right. Balloons!

This shocking fact was established by a study conducted by Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in conjunction with DuPont Institute, and Inchcape Testing Services Risk Analysis and Management. They looked at the shape, consistency, and size of objects that caused choking deaths in 449 children. Findings from this study include: objects that pass the Small Parts Test Fixture (the cylinder with a diameter of 3.17 cm that is used to gauge the safety of small toys) can cause choking. The biggest culprits in this category are spherical objects such as balls and marbles or objects that have spherical parts such as dolls with spherical heads. Far more dangerous, however, are objects that have the ability to conform to the shape of a child's airway, such as balloons and disposable diaper stuffing. Of additional concern is the fact that the number of deaths caused by children inhaling a portion of a balloon are still very high in the 3 - 6 year-old range, which we consider out of danger from choking.

Here are the take home lessons --

Don't assume a toy is safe for a child to play with just because it passes the SPTF test.

Don't assume a child is in the safe range just because he or she is over three years old.

If a whole object or a round portion of an object will fit into your child's mouth, watch him very closely whenever he plays with it.

Never let a child play with a balloon when you are out of the room.

Mylar and paper balloons are far safer than latex balloons.

Stay current on Infant and Child First Aid and CPR -- the life you save may be very dear to you!!!

The teething continues

2006-10-25T20:33:00.000-04:00

With my dear husband out of town this week, Olivia's teeth have picked this week to continue being especially stubborn. They haven't quite poked through yet, and she has continued to be "alittle off." Now she has started having diahrea and a diaper rash, and I know thats way more than you wanted to know, but I've changed her 5 times in 3 hours, clothing and all. She is also very irritable, and asking for "Daddeeeee" over and over again. I think shes really confused about Dave's whereabouts, and she goes over to every phone in the house and says "Hi Daddy." He also calls to talk to her and she gets so excited and starts going very crazy for "Dadddeeeeeeee." Tonite she was also asking for "Hannah" over and over again. If she wasn't getting on the phone to talk to Dave then she was getting on to talk to Hannah. She is continuing to chomp on anything and everything she can find to try and get some relief, and of course I have a million teething tricks to try and help. Now that this Diahrea and diaper rash have, started, I just feel just plain awful for her. If she isn't screaming in teething pain then shes fussing about her rash. I finally let her crawl around naked for over 30 minutes just to air herself out. They say air helps, and www.askdrsears.com is always the most helpful. Oh well....I guess I'm settling in to watch "Dancing with the stars" as long as she stays asleep. Oh and did I mention that she isn't sleeping? She goes down until about 10:30, then wakes up screaming in pain. I'm hoping tonite is a good nite. I miss Dave and it looks like lulu does to!

One cool thing is that Olivia says "Uncle" now. She loves her uncle Anthony, and now she screams "Uncle" in excitement as soon as he arrives. She also calls my sister "A Naa Naa" short for Aunt Niki. Shes talking up a storm lately...she even mimicks "I love you" after I say it. Of course she doesnt' know what it means, but its fun to watch her say these things. She has also taken a few steps...she has been taking two at a time. She now wants to walk around the house all the time, which was something she never wanted to do before. I've been hanging on to her babyhood since she hasn't walked yet, but I can feel toddlerhood knocking on our door more each day. She changes overnite, its so amazing. Today she climbed the stairs over and over again....its time to put a stair gate up for our little mountain climber.

Teething Hurts

2006-10-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

My poor little peanut is teething worse than ever this week. Nothing seems to be helping these two teeth that are coming in. I finally gave the poor girl a huge raw carrot, and she gnawed on it forever. Poor livy-lou! I only wish that I knew what this pain feels like...I can't imagine it. I've tried everything from homeopathy to conventional, but shes still seems to be in alot of pain. These are the hardest two for her...I can't even imagine how bad the molars are going to be.
Other than the teething pain Olivia is doing very well. We had her 12 month check up this week, and she now weighs 24lbs and is 29 inches tall. Dr. Khaneja reminded Dave and I how far we've all come as a family this passed year. She pointed to some earlier chart notes about colic, her nap strike which lasted 3 months, gas, fussiness, breastfeeding issues, and did I mention her nap strike which lasted 3 months. haha Its amazing that just 6 months ago I had called Dr K in tears becuase Olivia wasn't napping and I thought my breast milk was doing her more harm than good. She had the worse gas on planet earth, and needed to be jostled and jiggled from 5pm until about 10pm. Dave and I were exhausted. She was never calm, and always seemed to have some discomfort. All of the sudden at 7 months I had this completely wonderful baby who took naps and seemed very content. Of course Olivia was happy in her earlier months, but she had colic until 6-7 months. And of course to add insult to injury, the only people that I seemed to know had children who never had colic, and also took long naps, so I thought that I was really screwing up. But guess what...that must be what being a 1st time mom is all about. For my second child I'll probably feel alittle more at ease, and feel a peace in knowing that these things usually work themselves out, and then as the wind blows so comes another new and exciting parenting challenge. :) But as I'm seeing with my dear friend Jenn...new moms need support, so even if you're child was perfect, please don't brag to the new exhausted mother. Just nod your head and offer her symphathy for her sleep deprived state. I used to see it all the time at the baby group. Some poor new mom will be there exhausted and seeking support, and some veteran mom will say, "Well I was so lucky because Stella slept through the nite from the minute she was born, and started walking at 4 months, and never had a food allergy, and yada yada yada." I see every opportunity with a tired new mom as a chance to bond as women since our lives as parents aren't exactly easy. We all can relate to parenting issues on some level.

Having said that, I'm so happy that Dave, me, and Olivia surivived and thrived during her 1st year of life. And as the Navy Seals say, "The only easy day was yesterday!" lol Whats to come over this next year?

The Bathroom....finished.

2006-10-14T12:54:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics of the finished bathroom. We still have some painting left, and decorating, but we're getting there. The angles aren't great on these photo's, but I was tired when I took them. :)

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia

2006-10-09T00:37:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics from the party. Please send me any that you may have, as I couldn't get 1/2 the shots that I wanted to.

We have beautiful, kind, loving, and caring people all around us who came out to celebrate this monumental event. Milestones are the funnest days to celebrate!!God has blessed our family, and we were happy to have everyone under one roof to wish Olivia Happy 1st, right on her actual birthday! That was special. It takes a village to raise a child, and we're blessed with our village! :) That may sound cheesy but I trully thank God everyday for the people in our lives, and Olivia's life is better because all of you are a part of it. I think Olivia had fun at her party, and felt the love in the room.

Where it all began.....

2006-10-09T00:16:00.000-04:00

Some early pics of Olivia...captured here in all of her glory. What a year it has been! We've grown, we've changed, we've matured, we've lost sleep, we've loved, and loved, and loved all in the name of Olivia Nicole. And as any parent knows, that isn't even the start of the story of the first year of parenthood. It rocks your world like no other, and no matter how easy someone makes it look, its the hardest, most rewarding job in the world.

The bathroom....end of day 1

2006-10-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

Well there was hope that we would have a shower tonite, but all that was diminished due to some issue. The workmen were here until 630..they gave it their best, and finally told us that they had to call it quits but would have us up and running by noon tomorrow with a shower. I'm thankful that its tomorrow and not Friday. Even though they were hopeful for today, I knew better. I've been through many many house projects now, and I've seen how it all goes. Add 5o0 dollars to any price quote someone gives you, and plan on the project going at least one week longer than anticapated, if you're lucky. ;) Here are some pics at the end of day 1. You'll notice the black and white floor that was found underneath our gross linoleum. Yes someone covered this with linoleum for no good reason. Its a beautiful floor that we didn't even know was under there. Without knowing that the house originally had a black and white floor, I chose a b&w ceramic tile for the new floor. I wanted to bring the house back to period..little did I know about the gem that lay underneath, but we can't restore the floor becuase we are missing quite a few tiles. It was a fun find though. Also found a cast iron tub underneath the fiber glass one, it was one of the 1st cast iron tubs made post World War 2. During the war they stopped making them...then they started up again in December 1947.....and thats exactly when our tub was made. Sadly its now at the curb...there was nothing we could do with it unless it had claw feet...then we would have kept that tub!
As a sidenote, the workcrew has been wonderful. They are very clean, and neat...everything is organized and they have been cleaning up as they go. You would never know that they demo'd a bathroom and hallway today....they vacuumed and wiped down as they go. I'm very thankful to them so far.

The new word

2006-10-02T18:29:00.000-04:00

Olivia has a new word.....its Wow. She points to things that shes really excited about and she exclaims "Wooooowwww!" She also says , "woah" alot, and especially when we do things that she thinks are funny. Today we were at the party store gearing up for Saturday, and she spotted balloons on the ceiling, and then shouted "Wooooowwww" throughtout the entire store. She was so excited and just kept pointing and repeating "wow" and sometimes threw in a "woah!" Very cute. :)

Day at the park

2006-10-02T18:26:00.000-04:00

Another nite at Loews

2006-09-29T22:13:00.000-04:00

Another evening spent at loews...3 hours to be exact. What a rip. This remodeling project is taking on a life of its own. First let me mention that Olivia was a complete gem during the whole expierience, and what an expierience it was. We have to have a truckload of 20 sheets of drywall, and an entire bathroom delivered by Monday, so the clock was ticking. The contractor gave us a list, and we've been trying our best to buy everything on there becuase we want our bathroom back up and running asap. Some of the things that I had picked out last evening needed to be re-picked out due to stock issues. After going through this expierience I can't even imagine building a home and having to pick out fixtures for every room. I would be overwhelmed. There was noone to help us at Loews since they were busy and short staffed, so when we got to the register I told them that we won't be paying the 65 dollar delivery fee since there was noone available to accommidate us on our 3 hour tour. Of course I was very nice about it, but it paid off since our truckload of items will be delivered for Free!! We got home at 930pm, very tired...all except for Olivia who was like the energizer bunny.

The coolest part of the evening happened as we were driving home. Olivia saw the moon for the first time, and pointed to it, then looked at me as if to ask what it was. After telling her that it was indeed a Moon, she proceeded to say the word Moon all the way home. Its so amazing to show a child things for the very first time.

Happy Anniversary to us!!

2006-09-28T22:35:00.001-04:00

Today was Dave and my 4th anniversary. How special it was to celebrate with my hubby today. We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant "Veneto." As usual the food was perfect, and we reminisced alittle about our wedding, and talked ALOT about Olivia. After dinner we headed to loews to buy a tub kit, ceramic tile, and lots of other odds and ends for our bathroom remodeling. While I was walking aimlessly through the tile aisle, another mom and I got to talking. She complimented me on my shoes (go Rachel!!) and then I told her the reason I was sort of dressed up was becuase we were out to dinner celebrating our anniversary, and since it was just the two of us we figured we better get to loews and take all the time we need to finish picking our bathroom stuff out. We shared a few laughs about how much life changes after you have kids, and how we wouldn't trade it for the world. I told the mom how we spent our first anniversary in a very lavish 5 star B&B, spending way too much money to stay there two nites. We toured the wineries, went to the grape fest, and enjoyed our view of the lake from our balcony. I instinctly knew that we had to celebrate in style for our first one, and I have always treasured the memories of that weekend. We had the time of our lives...it was like a second honeymoon. I feel like milestones should be special. So next year will be our 5th anniversary, and I don't plan on ending the nite with a celebration at Loews! haha We'll have to do something very nice....I better start saving up!

Breast Cancer Awareness

2006-09-27T13:58:00.000-04:00

October is NationalBreast Cancer Awareness Month. My Aunt Nancy and grandma Z are breast cancer survivors. My grandma Z also fought a courageous battle with Ovarian Cancer. To kick off supporting the cause I attended the Highland Hospital Breast Cancer Education Luncheon today, and the keynote speaker was Meredith Baxter. She spoke about many important innovations in breast cancer research, and had a wonderful story to share with the audience, as she herself is a survivor.

This weekend Dave, Olivia, and I will continue to support the cause by doing the Breast Cancer Walk. We've raised some funds in support of this disease, which kills one woman every 13 minutes. 1 in 4 women will be diagnosed throughout their lifetime. Last year on October 1st, we lost Daves Aunt Francis to Breast Cancer. She fought a 3 year battle. During her fight she surrounded herself with the cause, and wouldn't leave the house without wearing pink. I find it fitting that she died on October 1st, which is the offical Breast Cancer awareness day. Even more fitting is that this year the Breast Cancer Walk is on October 1st, the 1 year anniversary of her death. We'll celebrate her life by walking for the cause. The cause to find a cure, and wait for the day when women can have hope, instead of fear when they hear the words "Breast Cancer."

If you want more information on early detection, check out Thermography Breast screening.
http://www.meditherm.com/breast/default.htm

Your insurance won't cover it, but for a mere $300 you can find out if you have any cancer in your breasts, and start treatment before its too late. I have seen patients at my job who have paid for this screen, and are now being saved because they were 20 years ahead of what a mammogram could have detected. I also have a personal friend who just had the screening done, and thankfully she is cancer free. Its currently done out of Syracuse NY, but they're having a clinic in Rochester this december. I'm saving my pennies. Stay tuned for the time, date, and place of the Rochester screening.

I'm an Auntie!

2006-09-26T22:24:00.000-04:00

So I finally have a picture to prove that I'm an auntie! Am I not the proudest Auntie that you have ever seen? I adore Miss Avery Grace, she is the sweetest, most prescious little peanut, and I could have held her forever! I just cherished the time that I got to hold her, which, as you can tell from the picture, Miss Olivia didn't let me hold her for too long. She was tearing apart Auntie E's house, getting in her cupboards, attempting to tip the dog bowls, crawling and getting into most anything and everything. I obviously wished that I could be of more help to my dear tired friend, but with an 11 month old, what more can you expect? We barely got to sit down for 5 seconds, and hardly could finsish one conversation that we started...but it was all in the name of Avery and Olivia so we were ok with it. :) Avery was so beautiful and I can't wait to see her again. She is her daddy's girl, with her moms spunk...what an adorable combo. Welcome to the world Miss Avery.
love Auntie Lisa