the writing's on the wall...and in L's school newsletter

This is taken from something titled, "Toys to Value /Toys to Avoid"

The 9th Annual Toy Action Guide produced by TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment), a national organization of educators concerned about the impact of media and commercial culture on children, provides a list of toys and trends to avoid as well as toys of value.
It is available free online in both English and Spanish at www.truceteachers.org.

TRUCE recommends avoiding toys that bring violence into rescue-related play, link non-nutritious food to play, lure little girls into focusing on teenage behavior, equate money and shopping with fulfillment and fun, use electronics to over stimulate babies, or promote young children's interest in inappropriate content.


TRUCE recommends toys that promote dramatic play and manipulative play with small play objects, encourage respectful, non-stereotyped, nonviolent interactions among children, allow children to determine play, and help children develop skills important for further learning and a sense of mastery.

I feel like shouting, "thank you!" to TRUCE. We disallow even water guns and G.I. Joes in our house. We don't play with any toy who is holding a gun either. I have never felt comfortable allowing kids pretend to "kill" their playmates. We also try to talk about "healthy" eating, exercise, etc. One HUGE reason we still do not want a t.v. is MEDIA. When we are in AL & L sees commercials, he asks for every toy he sees advertised (message=I need that; stuff brings fulfillment & happiness). We also shudder to think about all the sexuality advertised & promoted to 7-year-olds through not only Bratz & Disney, but just about every outlet one could imagine. And it's not just girls. What about the muscles on some of some of those guys? Thanks, WIU preschol for the wonderful article. I couldn't agree more.

Professional Photos Part 3 (for this blog)

I had the Langston's 4 year & Zora's 9 month photo session yesterday. Although we had a doozey of a morning just trying to get out the door (& I forgot the other outfits to change their clothes), the session went well. (Thanks to our wonderful photographer, David, ...breastmilk, puffs, & a fun CD for L. to dance to...that I did remember to bring.) I didn't anticipate getting in on many or maybe any pix this time (mainly bc I look a scraggily head...needing a haircut), but I ended up in a few. Zora was sleepy, so her pix aren't as awesome as I hoped, but still pretty good. Langston stole the show (the one he thinks he owns). He worked it. :)
Go to the link below & then to proofing. Use "key" as your password & tell me what you think. (Can't you hear me shouting, "Work it, boyyyy!" to that shaggy-haired guy. : )
http://shootingstarsphoto.net/

new total body workout & a vent

This workout requires: one hefty infant, one infant carrier or backpack, one semi-dirty floor.
I did this workout for a while Sat. (mop with Zora riding in our borrowed backpack) & I could feel the burn in my core! (I guess my Pilates class on Fri. might have had something to do with that, too! :) Anyway, it was funny when I stopped hearing her babble & started seeing her head bob towards my left ear! I successfully transferred her to the bed. I just did it again today (but no mopping; just cleaning up our usual daily hurricane).
Ah, it feels better to do something that isn't planning my class reunion or talking to @*!#$ people on the phone. Or cleaning up broken CFLs (which scare the crap out of me). Or cleaning up gag puke or poop. I've been doing nut-so stuff all day. We got our insurance cards for our ISU plan last week...we haven't lived there in a year & a half. (?!) I had lots of trouble with them when I chose my new OB/midwife here & thought we had cleared that up 'til now.
And as far as the reunion...some people have really helped. Some have offered & I'm somewhat nervous about letting anyone else in bc some "help" has been so half-done that I've got to do it again. That's not really help now is it? But what's really upsetting me is trying to get people to call me back so I can schedule things for our reunion. It's all such a pain not being able to actually go there. I didn't think it would be this bad, but it is. Has anyone else done this? Wisdom? A kind word? Maybe just call me & offer to scream with me...AHHH! :) Whatever.

hoopin' it up...YMCA style

My small fry just started pre-K Y ball! The age is 4-6 for this "learning only" (no games or teams) class, so L. is one of the, if not the youngest. He's also one of the tiniest. :0 ) He looked so cute last night! The pix were horrible bc of the gym lighting, or lack thereof, but the video was okay (shaky bc I was holding squirmy Zora, but at least you can get a good idea of L's mad dribbling skillz). Afterwards, he & Barclay had their own few minutes of practice, L. "ran some more laps," and then I took everyone out for veggie burgers with some of my Christmas dough. (Thanks to Pappaw, Grandma Donna, Grandmother Flossie, & all the other family for our Christmas funds!) We had some fun family times.

finga' foods

This post is a cut out from an old magazine. I thought it was brilliant, not to mention beautiful. I've had a few moms ask me about healthy snacks for their tiny ones, so here's a fridge poster for y'all.

To Mel, my mom, & all other caregivers of small people who are too tiny for uncooked veggies, but think they are too big for strained peas. Let them eat smallish pieces of well-cooked or smooshy (& healthy) stuff! Cheers, babies!
ps) does anyone else blog with their babies on their laps? Zora has almost deleted two of my posts today. :)

Check ups

Langston & Zora just had their 4-yr. & 9-mth. check-ups.
Cool Cat L. has jumped into the "average" size weight (50%) at 34 lbs. 4 oz. & moved up into the 25% at 38 3/4 " tall! For a guy who had dipped into the 2nd % at age 2 & wrestled back up to the 10th% for his 3rd b'day, 50% & 25% sounded good to me! (He's "supposed" to be around the 65% for an average boy produced by Barclay & me.)
Big Mama Z. has dropped down to the 90th% in both categories: 21 # 12 oz. & 29" tall. I feel like she might be on her way to average, too. She seems to be "thinning out," but wearing a 24- month size outfit on her 9-month old body as she does it. :)
(Thanks, Bek, for the pic of those sweet chubby thighs! I could eat 'em up!)

9 month pic...take 1, 2, 3...

Around 9 months was when L. decided he did not like the monthly hat. It seems that sister is in agreement. I can hardly get a pic of it for her pulling, chewing, and tearing it apart! Langston's 9 month hat was memorable, though. I took his pic at the Brunson's Young Married's church group party in G'ville. It was his first (of many) pic with Daisy Joy. :) Ah, the memories.

Nine is fine

I'm a little delayed in getting the 9-month pic. And I never got a smile (that's what I get for doing it just before bed!), but the out takes are pretty funny. I'll post 'em soon.
Milestones as of now...
still doing well with fruits, veggies, breads. We've added whole milk yogurt, egg yolk, & cheese. She is kickin' the pincher & loves finger foods. :) The sippie has been mastered. And her only "gear" for crawling seems to be reverse. :) She manages a strange sliding, scooting, tummy squirm to get where she wants, but all in backwards or sideways motions. She easily goes from tummy to sitting or sitting to tum. She still looks like she's riding off on her Harley (turning her wrists back& forth) when she gets excited & she still would rather chant "da, da" than "ma, ma," but she now says both. (I've discovered that "mama" usually happens during some sort of distress...hungry, caught under some furniture, brother is sitting on me...) She also mimics more of our sounds. And she loves to clap her hands (esp. if she does something she deems "clap worthy," like poop or put a piece of food into her mouth). She also loves to "clack" her tongue & hear us repeat her sound.
OH, and as for my own personal "milestone"...I can finally fit back into my pre-preggie jeans! 9 months on; 9 months off, "they" say. :0) I could still use some toning...esp. in my poor baggy belly, but I feel more like myself again. Pilates & yoga are helping. They always do. And my friend, gym, who allows me to do cardio in these sub-zero temps. If I could find more time for just gym & me it would be oh-so-nice. The short kid keeping hours they give out in the a.m. combined with my kids' naps in the p.m. do not allow for me to have much iron pumping time. *sigh* I know that I'll blink & Zora will be a 1-napper, so it'll get easier. These past 9 months have really sped by.

Seriously brrrr!

Zora playing in (eating, touching, licking) some snow. :)
This was one of Barclay's favorite Christmas gifts. It looks funny to have the Gators logo covered in snow! Oh well, Chomp, Chomp! National Champs again!
"I'm going to thwrow 'dis on you, mom!...Scwream, okay?," said my little long hairs.
This one is funny to me bc they both look like they've been holding smiles for a while! Ha, ha!
I like this one bc Zora wasn't unhappy, but she kept looking at Langston for reassurance...as if to ask, "what is she doing to us?"
and finally...snow angels made by my little angels :)

Those pix were taken several days ago. Warmer temps (20s) & happier outdoor times. We've been stuck inside for a few days now bc of the coldness. School is actually cancelled today...and not one of those Southern cancellations (it might snow today...school opens 1 hour late :). This is actually frightening to me. I don't even want to get the kids out to go to the store. Here's the weather for us as I type this...

Sunny -14°F Feels Like -39°F Updated Jan 15 08:25 a.m. CT UV Index: 0 Low Wind: From W at 18 mph Humidity: 69% Pressure: 30.72 in. Dew Point: -20°F Visibility: 10.0 miles

And we have a "wind chill warning"...as in "don't go outside or you'll freeze your parts off!" Whew!

Fa, la, la, la, bleach!

Warning: this post may not be suitable for those with weak tummies.

This trip, as I previously blogged, was the yuckiest yet. We only had a total of 3-4 days (spread out through the 2 weeks) when none of the four of us was sick. It was brutal. First L. was sick, then Z., then me, and finally B. Zora was so sick that she didn't wet a diaper for about 8 hours. The only thing she could hold down was breastmilk (which wasn't good for me since I had it a day after she got it...I didn't have any urine for an entire day bc all my fluids were going elsewhere). She & I were terribly sick for 5-7 days. I tried to eat on day 3 & it didn't work out well (until day 5!).
Langston & Barclay could both eat again much sooner, but I've never heard anyone "call Ralph" with gusto like my poor husband or go ahead & cough it out like Langston. It was rough, y'all. The nurse with the dr. that I last saw in AL talked with me over the phone about whether or not we needed to come in for i.v. fluids. She said they were giving out bags of it in the dr.s office bc the virus had hit the area so hard. I choose not to go bc Zora was still crying tears, starting to wet diapers, & squealing for breastmilk, which I knew I was making, since I inflated every few hours. :) The rest of us were at least holding down Gatorade.
In the end, we made it home with only memories of our bedrest in AL. No one got sick on the way home or since we've been back. And Maybelle & DeWayne were the winners in Moulton (they didn't get sick), while my mom was the only one in Killen to pick it up.
As for the few days of non-vomiting that we had, I will say that they weren't the most pleasant. We had a some family drama here & there. Apologies were given, but it was still drama in the midst of ailment, which is never fun.
We joked that Maybelle got a real taste of American Holidays through it all. :) She did try a few new foods and gain a couple of lbs. (she was in the South, after all!), receive a some gifts, give some gifts, play her violin for us (she was wonderful!), and enjoy the warmer climes. I hope it was a good experience for her, at least.L-town with his hero, Uncle Spence.
A "must" at Grandmom's is a bath in her "jets tub"...bubbles galore!

I think we have officially decided not to travel "back home" for the next holiday season. We have tinkered with the idea of traveling somewhere inexpensive (Mexico?) or just staying home & establishing our own traditions (Langston & I talked about baking a Jesus birthday cake & doing a few other Jesus things). Either way, it'll be a lot less trouble and hopefully a lot more relaxing than dragging two small people around the country only to continue to drag them around to lots of Holiday parties, events, & family gatherings while they miss naps & act out of sorts. I think enduring the Holidays rather than enjoying them should be a thing of the past.
**And these are the very few (good) pics I have of the trip. Grandparents, please send us some of yours...if you have any!
Zora with "cousin" Winston...Aunt Leslie & Uncle Logan's firstborn.
Zora in her "my mom's hotter than your mom" shirt (thanks Maybelle!) & me in my phonetic "y'all" shirt (thanks honeypie!)

L. acting out some of the night before christmas

Planes, trains & automobiles

We had quite the adventure traveling with two kids & our sweet international student, Maybelle, to & fro Alabama. Here are a few pix from the airplane (on the way to AL)& the cab ride through Chicago (train to plane on the way home). We usually take the subway instead of the costly cab, but we were cutting it close & just made (rather than missed, like on the way to AL) our flight (thanks to the cab). Whew. I'd give you all the details, but it would take too long. We'll just say that at least we made it there & made it home, with only one non-anticipated hotel stay in D.C. (Where Maybelle got to sleep with baby Z. and me...sorry Maybelle!)
**these were Z's first plane, train & subway rides...& the first time in a taxi for both kiddies.