Monthly Archives: May 2007

Julie- Next time, don’t use my real email account

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Julie V-

When you wrote this to me earlier…

You’re not only a hypocrite, but an arrogant hypocrite.  You go on endlessly
aboout how awful your kids are, how you can’t make them behave.  You’ve stated
that you don’t like the people they are becoming.  What on God’s earth would
make you think that YOU could handle a Down’s child?  You need medication to get
through your day and half the time that doesn’t even work.

You live in a BIG GLASS HOUSE, so put down your stones…

You forgot to send it to thespacemom. You sent it to my real account. It was all nice that you were kind enough to use an anonymous account, but Dude, I know it is you….Why are you still reading? If you hate me, then just stop reading! I am getting tired of the bullshit.




					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Down’s Syndrome

			
						

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The New York Time has a very interesting article up today. Read and discuss!






 My take:


I am pro-choice. I believe women should have the choice over what to do to their bodies. When pregnant with Soleil, we discussed the AFP test and quad screen. I decided against both. If there was something genetically wrong, we would see at the 18 week ultrasound. Jay and I discussed the possibility of Down’s Syndrome (Trisomy 21). I told him that we have the love and financial resources to raise a T-21 child. And I would.


We discussed other genetic issues and decided which ones we would consider terminating the pregnancy. But Down’s was not one of them.


I hope that people don’t start using the early tests as a form of eugenics.


Our society functions well with the inclusion of those who are different. That is the important thing to remember.

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Figure this?

			
						

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Okay, This is it. I am completely confused with clothing sizes.


I have been wearing Levi’s forever. I love the quality. Well, my favs just developed a hole in the knee. So I decided to go to Zafu.com and find what jeans would fit my figure best. You see, I have always loved 550 jeans. Mostly because I was overweight at a point and I felt that it was comfy and the legs were tapered so I thought (HA!) it showed off my nicely developed calves. Then, Chicagomama came along and pointed out that these are MomJeans. And I saw it. I really did! By going with a tapered leg, I was really showing the world I had a huge hip base! Oy! And I could never get the right length.


I found 2 different jeans that would "fit" my body. I then checked out the sizing. In the past, I have fit into Levi’s  4 & 6. This time, I decided to measure myself and go with the true numbers.
This is where I gets screwed up.


A Misses 6 and a Petite 8 have the EXACT SAME WAIST MEASUREMENT. I kid you not! The Petites run smaller than the misses size. So I decided to get myself one in petites (because it was on a $10 sale!) and one in Misses. The Misses I ordered at 6 Short (with a 30" inseam), The petites I ordered 8 medium (a 29.5" inseam). So I have a "larger" size in petites, but the Petite medium is SHORTER than the Misses.


You following all of this? Because I was so annoyed after 30 minutes of measuring, (having to drop my pants every time and getting lewd comments from Jay, who didn’t get that the "evil eye" was to get him to SHUT UP) that I finally said, Okay, I hate to see these numbers, but I know in my heart that these are the right ones for me.


I asked Jay if he wanted a pair. He said "Sure, get me 36×34 of the 501s" Sure… for men it is easy. But for women? UGH! I had his ordered in 2 minutes. 


In addition to all of this, I discovered that Sears and Jc Penney’s offer Levi’s also, BUT (and here is the fun part) the SIZING IS DIFFERENT! One woman actually wrote in on the Sears site that she had a pair from Levis.com and she ordered two more, same size and color from Sears.com The Sears ones were of thinner material and LARGER than the ones from Levi’s. I believe it. I know that Home Depot and Lowe’s do this, they sell a cheaper quality item from a major manufacturer…. Now I know Levi’s does it too….
Just another annoyance in the world of being female….


I will get the jeans in a day or two. I’ll see how they fit!

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
And then there were four….

			
						

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Last night, the NHL conference semi-finals ended. There are four teams left: In the East, the Buffalo Sabres (YEAH!) and the Ottawa Senators (boo!). In the West, the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (yes, they named the team after a Disney movie, no I am not joking)


Only two of these four will advance to the Stanley Cup finals. Only one team will win the Cup.
Go Sabres!




Sewing:


I hit a snag putting the zipper in Soleil’s dress this weekend. You see, I don’t actually have a zipper foot for my machine and I really need one to do these right. So… I ripped it out twice and I am still not thrilled, so I set it aside a bit… I will finish before Hawai’i. Very important to have an uber cool purple dress in Hawai’i




 The Perfect Storm:


Yesterday morning was perfect. The girls played together and at one point I looked outside to see them hugging in sisterly bliss.  This lasted until 1pm at which point too much sisterly togetherness got to both of them. I ran into my room and locked the door for 5 minutes when Jay got home (actually when we got home from swimming)… Sigh…


I was planning to post on such a beautiful day with the kids acting like normal humans, but then the afternoon happened and all hell broke loose. Such is the life of a parent, n’est pas?

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Planning Hawai’i

			
						

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In just a few short weeks, we will jet set across the continent, breifly stop on the west coast and then hop skip and jump (not literrally) over the ocean to Hawai’i. Now this time around, we are flying directly to Oahu. No stopping at the paradise known as the Big Island.


Yesterday, I started searching the web for things to do with kids on Oahu. I have already promised them a trip in the rainforest and Jay has promised them sweet sweet bananas.
Sigh.


I am looking up: hikes, the temple which I forget where it was, ocean trips, etc…


I am actually getting psyched for this. I need to bug the woman in the director’s office to start figuring out a schedule so I know when my parents will be out at the pool with the kids and when I will be with the girls…


The funny thing is that the girls are expecting to go back to Hawai’i. Granted, many meetings occur there just so people will go….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A Girl Chat

			
						

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Okay, If you are male and squeamish, You might just want to browse somewhere else for today…


So now that those who are still around know what I am talking about, It’s that time of month again. Yes, Aunt Flo, the Red Flood, On the Rag, Raggin’ it, the Red Hag, you know, menstruation. It bites. I hate it. Okay, it was all nice and useful for those 18 months the kids needed the padding, but please can this just stop? Alright, I know, I am only 36, so I’ve got another 10+ years of this (130 ish times, lovely!)


My mom (bless her heart) handed me a box of pads and tampons when I was 12 and left me to read the instructions. Um, okay. I plan on teaching my girls a bit more. I learned a hell of a lot about my body from Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) and checking cervical mucus and cervical position while trying to conceive. 


One thing I just accepted was a menstrual cup. Before y’all go ick on me, hear me out.  Instead of placing a diaper (pad) on my panties or inserting a piece of cotton (tampon) in my vagina, the last two cycles I have used a menstrual cup. The one in particular is the Diva Cup. The idea is simple, a silicon cup that is held my the vaginal walls and collects the menstrual discharge. So far, it is wonderful. You can sleep with this in. No leaks, empty it twice a day (morning and night). It’s not that messy and pretty easy to insert and remove once you get the hang of it.


The best part? Small environmental impact! Instead of tossing 20+ tampons a month, I just empty this puppy into the loo and whoosh, it’s gone. The additional 3 oz of material a month is no big impact on the sewer/septic systems. Yes, you do wash it every time to prevent introducing new bacteria. So, an extra use of water, but dudes, this is SO MUCH CLEANER than pads or tampons.


I know, it sounds so, CRUNCHY (kumbayah my lord kumbayah), but this idea has been around since the 1930s.
The original design used rubber, which many people are allergic to, and Kotex had the corner on the sanitary pad market.  I am so not the crunchy type. I will go nuts without my Internet, my jelly beans and my electricity. I do care about my panties and the environment, however.


A while ago, I remember reading on Cancer,Baby (my her soul rest) that she had "period panties" that she only used for her period. Then she saved the rest for the non-messy days. I thought this was a great idea,but I hope my Diva cup prevents any leaks!


So that’s my chat for today, go, research menstrual cups and consider them as an alternative to the traditional and messy and environmentally icky methods.

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Sewing help?

			
						

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A friend has been looking for a pair of PJ’s for his wife in a special fabric. Instead of finding the PJ’s, I found a similar fabric on ebay and snatched 3 yards of it. Now I am planning to make a pair of PJ pants with it. 


Here’s the catch. I am 5’3", 135lbs. His wife is definitely taller and a little heavier than I am.


How can I get him to get her measurements without tipping off what’s going on? This is a surprise for her.
If he could measure a pair of PJ’s that she likes and fits well, what measurements should he do?


Help????
Thanks


I am planning on doing the pattern twice, once for me so I learn the pattern and how to work with knits and then for her on the special fabric I bought.


Anyone with measurement tips on how to measure someone who I can’t actually measure?

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Long road of Parenting

			
						

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Does it mean that I go to Dunkin’ Donuts too often when my almost 5 year old yells out "mom, I want a cinnamon raisin bagel and 2 honey-dipped munchkins" when I pull in the drive-through?


When the girls are fighting in the car, should I care?  One minute it is "She’s touching me" (really! I thought it was a joke) and the next minute they are singing the theme to Diego and holding hands. They actually held hands in the car for 20 minutes of the 30 minute ride in today.


Why does quality daycare cost so much? Soleil is leaving daycare in September to go to  Kindergarten. We are saving almost $1200 a month (removing the cost of after school care). Holy Carp! 


It’s a good thing when your child wants to fish in Hawaii so she can give the fish to people who don’t have enough money to eat, right?


And when she wants to put her large stuffed bear and small stuffed bear together and pretend that they are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers)? Is that strange or what?


Or when the almost 3 year old wants to pretend to fish in the car with a random piece of string she found? Should I worry? Or only when they come up with a barracuda because it was in Nemo?


Another trip down this road of parenting….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Whose Choice?

			
						

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I have been thinking. And thinking and thinking lately.


Mostly about the recent late-term abortion ban in the United States.


For the record, I am pro-choice. And I would prefer that people don’t abort their pregnancies. But, that it not my choice to make.  In fact, that choice belongs to just one person, the woman who is pregnant.


In most late-term abortions, it is due to a medical reason. Maybe the child has a fatal condition. Maybe the mother has a condition that will kill her if the pregnancy is not ended. But either way, why does this become a court decision?


Imagine, a man is ill. He has two choices to get better: one will make him well and not damage other body parts. The second will damage other organs in his body and may kill him in the process but will achieve the same results as the first choice. Should a lawyer, lawmaker or judge make this decision? Or should the man and his doctor make this decision?


Obviously, almost everyone would say the man and his doctor. But if this was a pregnant woman and it involved the termination of a pregnancy, some people feel the need to throw their morals onto the situation.


Listen, it’s simple. Until 24 weeks, a fetus cannot live without the mother. Even at 24 weeks, the child may not make it. So until then, it should be the mother’s choice.


I’ve heard the argument "Abortion stops a beating heat". Yes it does. But a heart beat does not make life. A person’s body can live long after the brain functions end. Do we know when brain functions in terms of thought begins? No. And unless you can prove it, that decision should remain with the woman.


Do some people regret their decision to abort a pregnancy? yes. But others don’t. It is a choice to continue or not.


This all boils down to a simple thing: who gets to make moral decisions for our country? And unfortunately, some religious organizations have thrown this onto us. It takes away the freedom to make choices about your own life. Or the life you might want or not want for your child. (and I think of a friend who discovered a fatal disorder with her child too late to terminate. She wasn’t allowed to make a choice. She wasn’t sure what she would do, but she couldn’t choose. Now we are doing this for more women..)


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I am often confused by the simple fact that the bible specifically mentions unborn children and yet some seem to ignore this:
Go, look up Exodus 21:22-24
I invite you to look at that  and then tell me why people equate a fetus with life invoking G-d’s name. It’s pretty clear here that the unborn and not equivalent to the living…


 

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
When Life gets you down…

			
						

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You know what you do? You think of people who have worse lives than you. Such as the people who created the world’s largest coconut orchestra…




Actually, things have not been that bad. The weekend was rough, we had to set some limits on listening, but yesterday, we did a great walk in the evening.


Did you have that? We used to take long walks in the evening. Just Jay and I. Hand in hand we would stroll along and enjoy life. Then the two psycho aliens kids came along and we stopped. Yesterday, Soleil rode her bike (with training wheels) and Luna rode in our last stroller bundled with blankets while we took a walk. It was nice and relaxing except for the time where Soleil almost flipped into the path of an oncoming car. She is learning how to control her bike. How to steer straight and watch for dangers on the road. It was really nice to be out there again.


Slowly, slowly we find a new norm…



Jay’s been fighting a terrible cough. We aren’t sure if this is just a normal cold and the remicaid has suppressed his immune system to the point where a cold is killing him, or just a very bad cold. I am worried because he is waking at night to hack up a lung…


I started Soleil’s dress this weekend. She chose a purple fabric. A really purple fabric. I like it! But I forgot to buy a zipper, so I need to go do that. Thanks for all of the advice people gave on sewing. I am learning, slowly.


Tonight, we watch my team again. We lost in double overtime to the NY Rangers on Sunday… Let’s hope for a win tonight so we can head back to Buffalo with a 3-1 lead.



And finally, we are at long last getting the walls painted. The house we bought in 2003 had the world’s most awful wallpaper. We have removed most of it, but the stairwell and the kitchen/dining room have not been touched. Yesterday I got someone to arrange for an estimate, and I picked up three samples. We’ve decided what we want and where, so now it is an issue of getting it done! It will do us good to get some more color in the house. And to get rid of that nasty paper!


I think I have more posts of thoughtful merit, but not right now! I have some code to write!