Introducing Apollo

It's funny how things fall into place sometimes. 

We started talking seriously about getting another dog - a few months ago. Mike was dead set on a German Shorthair Pointer - a dog that I had absolutely no interest in as a family dog. From the research 

I'd done myself they came across as energetic and bred to kill/retrieve birds. That wasn't going to work with my pet hens!

I pleaded for something like a Welsh Pembroke Corgi - I love those little dogs. However, they're herders and are known to nip ankles and bums of little ones so eventually we dimissed that breed as a possibility.

Now before someone leaves me a scathing comment about rescuing or adopting from a rescue society let me say that I brought that up several times. We even looked at some rescue societies for the purebreeds, but didn't see what we were looking for.

Some of you may know that we previously owned a Doberman Pinscher. Her name was Mae and she passed away last year at 10 years old. She was a rescue - we adopted her when she was 5 years old. When we got down to the knock down drag out discussions of which breed we were going to get I finally told Mike that the only pure bred dog I would consider would be another Doberman.

So that started it - hours were spent pouring over breeder websites (there aren't many close to us) and the puppy sale websites (where breeders, etc list their dogs). We discussed color and sex, along with whether we wanted ears cropped or not and how much we wanted to spend on a dog.

Prices for Doberman puppies range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. We knew we weren't looking for a show quality dog or a breeding dog - we just wanted something that fit the breed standard and had parents with good dispositions and solid pedigrees. Championship bloodlines weren't a priority, but making sure that it was healthy and free from some of the diseases that can affect purebreeds  was something we wanted to take into consideration.

We're actually on a waiting list for a little of puppies due to be bred and born sometime this summer. We're waiting to hear back from another breeder in Alabama who is planning to breed her dogs this summer.

Like I said, it's funny how things happen sometimes...

Mike's mom, Paula, called him one day last week to say that someone in Crestview had a litter of AKC Doberman puppies listed in the online classifieds. He didn't call me immediately - but in a later conversation mentioned it casually and said maybe I could call.

So I called - and there was one pup left - a black and tan male. I called Mike back and we agreed that we wanted to at least go look at him - even though it most likely wasn't the dog we were looking for.

We arrived after dark (without the kids) and met the puppy - who was very friendly and seemed to like us enough. He allowed me to pick him up like a baby and curled up in my arms and just laid there. Our only concern was wanting to see the pedigree, which the man didn't know its location and wanting to meet the parent dogs. It was dark and the owner refused to accommodate us that night. We agreed that I would return the next day.

I talked my sister into going with me (thank you natalie!) and we drove up to go meet the parents and see the puppy again.

Well, you know the rest of the story....

We named him Apollo - which ironically means "destroyer."

So far he's not living up to his name, although the house training is a bit of a challenge at times. He's the most mellow puppy I think I've ever met! He plays some and sleeps a lot - eats food like he's never been fed in his life and drinks so much water it's a wonder he doesn't pee gallons (close to it though!).

His birthday is October 23, 2009 (he shares a birthday with my best friend Rebecca's husband, Brett!) and when I weighed him at Petsmart he was 22.5 pounds. He's going to be a big dog and I have to say part of me is glad he's a male even though I prefer female dogs. He is a bit protective and I like that - it will come in handy when Mike is out of town and I can rely on him to alert me to strange noise that go bump in the night.

The kids enjoy him and since he's on the mellow side they're having a better adjustment I think. The cats are another issue - he was around cats at his birth home, but he barks and playfully growls and paws at our feline friends and they are none too appreciative. I don't think Azzie has come off her bookshelf in 3 days! Pumpkin is warming up - he's the one who has never been around dogs much at all and was the most standoffish and mean to the puppy. He swiped him really well across the face this morning. Tarmak is ironically the most friendly towards him - odd for the scaredy cat. My hens are a little traumatized and he's working hard on learning not to chase them, but they run from him so that makes him want to chase even more!

Most importantly is that Mike is in love with him - and I find a lot of joy in my husband being so excited about something! At this moment he's in the recliner with the dog curled up in his lap. Apollo sleeps on the floor on Mike's side of the bed and is now spoiled by going everywhere with us in the car. He is working on his crate training as well because once the summer heat sets in he won't be going with us as much.

So meet Apollo - he's a sweet little guy and has melted into our family so well it's like he's always been here!

I'll post a picture of that same scene in a few months when the dog is close to 100 lbs!

It's the little things that count

The last few days have been, well to put it mildly, challenging.

Whether it was the cranky children, cold weather, puppy, husband or other people - I can't put my finger on just one to blame so I'll suffice to say that it's been a wicked combination that has at times left me at my wits end.

I've survived on a small string of sanity and am hoping to arrive triumphantly together as the month of February arrives with gusto and chill tomorrow morning.

So instead of writing about all the negatives I've experienced over the past few days, instead I want to concentrate on what I've accomplished.

We've all had those days - the ones where the kids are screaming and fighting, the phone and or email goes off all day long and things have to be addressed at that moment - so that by the time the day ends you ask yourself just what have you accomplished all day long? (and typically your husband comes home and either bluntly or in some way asks you what you have to show for your day and you collapse on the unswept, unmopped floor in tears because you just can't take it anymore!).

So here is what I've accomplished today at least. I'm hoping that by the time I finish my list I'll be able to look back and appreciate myself a little more.

Ok, i'm throwing in a few things from yesterday, too.

• I planted two trays of 72 tomato seedlings, along with 15 pots of winter squashes. I'm hoping to sell the tomatoes and maybe a few of the extra squash plants.
• I washed, dried and folded (not quite put away) at least 6 loads of laundry this morning when I would normally have been worshipping at church - but Maddie had a fever and the sniffles so we opted to stay home.
• I watched my husband clean the kitchen (LOL)
• I watched my husband clean up puppy messes in the house (i love it!)
• I showered by myself for at least 15 minutes
• I researched homeschooling stuff and think I finally have my "curriculum" nailed down. I'm going to use Hands on Homeschooling as my main organized curriculum, Hooked on Phonics, Hooked on French (why not?) and beginning piano. We'll also consider the Blended School one day a week and take part in the various PE and park day activities that GCCHEA organizes.
• I planned and attended a Blessingway for one of our homebirth clients at Gentle Birth Options. 
• I organized my organic produce order through my local co-op and also started investigating their other natural food co-op. 
• I started reading "For Women Only"  and read a chapter (THE chapter) in Mike's book "For Men Only" . If you've read the books then I'm sure you can guess which chapter I read in the men's book - if not, use your imagination!
• I taught Maddie how to play UNO and she picked it up really quickly! She beat me most of the time - I won 2 games out of 10!

I guess it doesn't really seem like much, but it helps me to focus on what I have accomplished rather than what I have not - and some days that's really important.

Breastfeeding is the first line of defense in a disaster

January 27, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATED STATEMENT:
Breastfeeding is the First Line of Defense in a Disaster

Washington, DC--The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI) strongly affirm the importance of breastfeeding in emergency situations, and call on relief workers and health care providers serving victims of disasters to protect, promote, and support mothers to breastfeed their babies. During an emergency, breastfeeding mothers provide their infants with safe food and water and disease protection that maximize their chances of survival.

This week, the International Milk Bank Project and Quick International Courier coordinated a shipment of milk from the HMBANA member banks to supplement a mother's own milk for the premature, medically fragile, and orphaned infants aboard the U.S. Navy ship Comfort stationed off the coast of Haiti. This milk will help this small group of infants. In this highly unusual circumstance the infrastructure associated with the Comfort's resources allows U.S. sourced donor milk to help fragile Haitian babies.

Donor milk, however, is not a solution for the large number of infants and young children affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Members of the public who wish to promote the survival of mothers and babies in Haiti can donate money to the following organizations: UNICEF, Save the Children Alliance, World Vision, and Action Against Hunger. These organizations are using best practice to aid both breastfed and non-breastfed infants. Members of the public can be confident that donations to these organizations will support breastfeeding and help save the lives of babies.

Interventions to protect infants include supporting mothers to initiate and continue exclusive breastfeeding, relactation for mothers who have ceased breastfeeding, and finding wet nurses for motherless or separated babies. Every effort should be made to minimize the number of infants and young children who do not have access to breastfeeding. Artificially fed infants require intensive support from aid organizations including infant formula, clean water, soap, a stove, fuel, education, and medical support. This is not an easy endeavor. Formula feeding is extremely risky in emergency conditions and artificially fed infants are vulnerable to the biggest killers of children in emergencies: diarrhea and pneumonia.

As stated by UNICEF and WHO, no donations of infant formula or powdered milk should be sent to the Haiti emergency. Such donations are difficult to manage logistically, actively detract from the aid effort, and put infant's lives at risk. Distribution of infant formula should only occur in a strictly controlled manner. Stress does not prevent women from making milk for their babies, and breastfeeding women should not be given any infant formula or powdered milk.

There are ongoing needs in the U.S. for human milk for premature and other extremely ill infants because of the protection it provides from diseases and infections. If a mother is unable to provide her own milk to her premature or sick infant, donor human milk is often requested from a human milk bank. American mothers can help their compatriots who find themselves in need of breast milk for their sick baby by donating to a milk bank that is a member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.

For more information about donating milk to a milk bank, contact HMBANA at www.hmbana.org. Additional information for relief workers and health care professionals can be provided from the United States Breastfeeding Committee at www.usbreastfeeding.org, ILCA/USLCA at www.ilca.org orwww.uslca.org, or La Leche League International at www.llli.org. A list of regional milk banks is available on the HMBANA Web site at www.hmbana.org/index/locations.

USBC is an organization of organizations. Opinions expressed by USBC are not necessarily the position of all member organizations and opinions expressed by USBC member organization representatives are not necessarily the position of USBC.

United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC)
The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent nonprofit coalition of 41 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations. Representing over half a million concerned professionals and the families they serve, USBC and its member organizations share a common mission to improve the Nation's health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. For more information about USBC, visitwww.usbreastfeeding.org.

###

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United States Breastfeeding Committee
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/367-1132
Fax: 202/367-2132
E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.org
Web: www.usbreastfeeding.org

Snippets from Wyatt's mouth...

Wyatt has the vocabulary of a 5-year old and the communication skills to match - he also has a crazy, fun personality that constantly sets us to laughter. I just wanted to write down a few minute's worth of conversation to remember later on...

"Mommy, I want you to go and I will stay here," Wyatt said. He's been hanging out with my sister this morning so I could get some work done at the office for an upcoming homevisit.

"I got some lots of money for me!" - he's been going through my brother and sister's rooms finding all the discarded change. This kid is going to be rich one day on other people's careless casting aside of their coins!

What did you do with Nat-Nat today?

"Just stay home and be sick. I was just pretending, right? Everything, like anything - I did everything, right? I'm Lava-Girl."

"I took a bath but it was not fun."

oh yeah? Why wasn't it fun?

"Because it was not fun, just because it was not fun." he answered.

"Last night Maddie got her teeth lost," he told my sister's friend - a total stranger.

a little spilled milk

Just now as I was walking back into the kitchen after French-braiding Maddie's hair I noticed my cat Azzie sitting rather close to Wyatt's neglected cup of chocolate milk. As I watched she daintily dipped her paw into his cup and licked it clean. She must have been repeating this action for several minutes.

Either she'd had her fill or my presence kept her from continuing her mid-morning dessert and she walked across the table, leaving little kitty prints as she went.

This is my same cat who has on occasion taken part in tea parties with Maddie and myself.

Grandmomma, Azzie and Maddie having tea this weekend.

The long, sad goodbye

Last year as I sat down to write my son's 2nd birthday letter I was mostly thinking about how much longer our breastfeeding relationship would last.

He seemed to be weaning - most days were so busy for my little man that he rarely stopped to ask to nurse. I was convinced and dreadful that the end was coming soon.

So I'm happy to say that a year later at three years old he's still nursing - but not much.

It's funny to me how people expect weaning to be a quick process, full of absolutes - the end. While weaning in the first year of life must be done deliberately - as most mothers' milk supplies are abundant and a sudden stop can spell disaster for a mom (and baby) - the weaning of a toddler is on an entirely different plane of thought.

In La Leche League we talk about natural weaning - other term's I've heard used are child-led or baby-led weaning and mother-led weaning. They all have very different meanings. Child-led weaning is just that - the child dictates when he or she wants to wean - not taking into consideration the opinion of the mother nursing them. Mother-led weaning is also quite simple to explain - the mother decides when and how to wean the child.

Natural weaning is a gentle give and take process that involves the emotions and opinions of both mom and child and this is what works best for us in our family. Other families may choose a different option, but I believe both Wyatt and I should have a voice in this decision.

When I was about 9 weeks pregnant with Wyatt I found myself having to make a radical decision and wean Maddie abruptly. She was 15 months old and my heart was broken that I would not meet the goal I set for 2 years of breastfeeding. After experiencing a lot of abnormal pain and cramping early in my pregnancy an ultrasound revealed a subchorionic hemorrhage and my doctor recommended weaning Maddie because nursing causes uterine contractions and he didn't want contractions to increase my chance of miscarrying the baby.

I went home and never nursed her again. I remember having to keep my distance lest she ask me to nurse. My heart was broken and I grieved for days and in some ways I grieve that loss still today.

One thing I constantly tell moms at the LLL meetings I lead is that I have experienced a profound difference in mothering toddlers when I compare the toddlerhood of Maddie who was not breastfed beyond 15 months and that of Wyatt who is still nursing at 3 years old.

Think about the tantrums, the frustrations, the owies and boo boos. Then think about having a secret weapon that would allow you to connect with your child on a primal level (because as Dr. Harvey Karp puts it, they're little Neanderthals). There is nothing more soothing and satisfying to both mother and child than being able to solve almost any problem under the sun by nursing.

There have been many times when I've used this secret weapon - sometimes by choice and others out of necessity. There have been days that were just "off" - every little thing caused a tantrum and we've sat down or laid down and had some quiet time nursing and talking and the rest of the day just turned around.

I can't tell you enough how important nursing has been for the many owies that come with raising toddlers (and boys).

In October the kids and I drove up to Ellijay, GA to visit our friends and adopted grandparents Harry and Elaine Heinisch. It was Sunday morning and we'd just finished church and the kids wanted to play on the playground there at the church. Maddie was on the swings and Wyatt was running around. You never see these kinds of things coming, but Harry was pushing Maddie on the swing and had just given her a big push and at the same moment Wyatt walked right into the path of the swing as she was on her way up.

It always happens in slow motion - but I felt terror and dread as I watched her connect with his little body. He flew up in the air, spun around and came down hard on a railroad tie. I guess in some ways I should be thankful that it was his head and not an area of his body less protected - an arm or a leg would easily have broken and I'm sure he would have had some internal damage had he landed on his abdomen.

It only took a second for the screaming to start and even though I was at a strange church in a strange down I did the thing that came to me most naturally (after deciding his neck wasn't in danger) and that was to grab him, sit down and nurse him. It wasn't easy - I was wearing layers plus an underwire bra, but I managed to get him latched on.

Instantly he stopped screaming and sobbing - his little body still convulsed with the aftermath of sobbing so hard - for a few minutes - but he calmed down.

Did you know that breastfeeding provides pain relief? It releases chemicals in the brain that relieve pain and bring comfort. So while many might have rushed to the hospital (I was told the local hospital wasn't that great of a place and the nearest "good" hospital was probably 20 miles away) - I instinctively offered him my breast to bring him comfort and pain relief.

That is probably the worst injury he's had to date - and he promptly went to see his chiropractor the next week when we returned home (and he was definitely out of alignment!).

These days our nursings are short and infrequent. He typically nurses the longest in the mornings and often at night he nurses for just a second or two before putting his cheek against my breast and going to sleep. There are times at night when he stirs (we're still co-sleeping) and asks for milk in his dreams and sometimes he'll nurse for 10 minutes as he slumbers.

Last night he was climbing into his chair at the dinner table, somehow missed the chair and connected his brow bone with the chair, fell down and rolled under the table. I scooped him up and we sat in our favorite chair in the living room and I offered to nurse.

He rejected my offer and asked for his pacifier instead.

I was floored! He had never once rejected nursing as a comfort measure. Surely this was the end I told my pouting self.

However after a moment with his paci he put his hand on my chest and asked for "mommy milk." I breathed a sigh of relief and put him to my breast. He didn't stay long, but laid his cheek against my bare skin and sighed.

So this relationship is no doubt coming to an end eventually. It might be today or months down the road. It is a long, sad goodbye for me as he's most likely my last baby. God only knows if we'll be blessed with another but for now the answer has always been "no."

I'm not holding on - forcing him to keep nursing. I'm just riding the ebb and flow of our beautiful relationship - knowing inevitably it will come to a close. I'll have fond memories and pictures to remind me how it felt to snuggle my babies at the breast and I'll miss that closeness that only nursing a baby can bring to a mother.

It's not time just yet to say goodbye, but the time is close at hand.

I will miss those moments and with sadness will leave my days of mothering through breastfeeding behind - carrying with me the many ideals and lessons I've learned as I venture into just mothering, without my secret weapon.

A Girl and her Pantry

At this moment in time a lot of my friends are doing some kind of "eat out of your pantry" challenge. They're posting their meals on Facebook and whittling down the contents of their food storage. And while I applaud their efforts I have to say that the mere idea of depleting the food in my pantry gives me goosebumps! (I also think of the huge bill to restock the entire pantry vs. replacing what's consumed as you go!). So this is in no way a commentary on the idea of eating the food in the pantry but rather a confession on my pantry tendencies.

I have to be honest and tell you that I am addicted to having a well-stocked pantry and food storage. No - I'm not Mormon, but many of my best friends are and growing up I was well aware of the amounts of food my friend's families had stored away.

And I have to say that I am a big fan of that idea myself. I probably don't have a year's worth of food, but I think we could stretch our food stores pretty far if we had to.

No- I'm not a conspiracy theorist - I don't think the world is going to end or that the grocery stores are going to disappear - I just like being prepared. I like knowing that if money is tight or I can't get to the store I can go to my freezer or pantry and make a nutritious meal for my family.

We have a freezer full of venison that I'm forcing myself to incorporate into our diets. Thankfully venison is very low in fat compared to other red meats (which I'm really not that big a fan of...) and MOST of the time it can be cooked in a way that is tender and delicious. Last night I sliced off thin pieces of backstrap (tenderloin) and tenderized them and made chicken fried venison (I know -not really that healthy since it was fried, but there is very little fat in the meat itself and the eggs were from my own yard!).

My best friend Becca and I talk about food storage and being prepared sometimes and we're fairly like minded. I was happy to find out that my friend Shay is also a fellow pantry nazi like I am.

So while some of my friends are emptying out their pantries and eating all kinds of good things - I get nervous and anxious at the mere thought of an empty space in my pantry. So to make myself feel more secure I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and stocked up on some of the mainstays I was running low on. As I was putting them away I was shocked to see less than 10 cans of beans - so I'll have to go pick up some more of those soon.

What do I store in my pantry you might want to know?

Canned Goods:
diced tomatoes
tomato sauce, paste
canned beans (black, cannellini, red kidney, garbonzo)
mushrooms
green chiles
tuna fish

Pasta
Rice (brown, basmati, jasmine, sweet, sushi)
Flour (whole wheat, bread, all purpose, self-rising and rice)
Sugar (powdered, granulated, brown and turbinado)
Popcorn (the real stuff)
dry milk
bread crumbs
asian noodles
dry beans (brown lentils, green split, yellow split, red lentils, black, pinto)
snack foods
cereal
oatmeal
pancake mix
spaghetti sauce
chocolate chips
nuts
dried fruits (raisin, mango, cranberries, etc)
potatoes (red, russet, sweet)
onions (sweet jumbos)
hard squashes (acorn, butternut, spaghetti)
peanut butter
nutella (yum!)

There's more but those are the basics I can't live without!

A poem, a thought and a memory

I'm reading through this cookbook my grandmother, Pauline, sent to my mother for Christmas. It's put out by the Etude Club and is a collection of recipes, history and what made up the heart and soul of this club.

Founded in 1892 it has been a strong voice for literacy in Jefferson County - upstate New York. My father and his family grew up in Adams, NY. My grandmother has been a member of this club for many years (I'll have to remember to ask her how long). The club supports literacy and awards "scholarships" to students mainly in lower grades for showing "outstanding interest in books," "greatest improvement in scholarship, leadership, service, character and citizenship."

I think it's really cool that one of their awards is for kindergarten students. It's a mere $10- but ten bucks to a 5 or 6 year old is a lot of money (at least to my kids). This club reminds me of my middle school days when they would have an awards ceremony at the end of the year. I still have my certificates somewhere, but they also gave cash awards. It was a total surprise to me the first year I experienced this - but I walked away with more than $100 for awards in English, Art, Science and I think I even got the coveted principal's award one year (They only gave two of these each year).

But I digress for the real reason I decided to write about this cookbook and it's because there was a little poem that just spoke to me deeply. I read it to my husband and even though it's just a few lines he had a terribly blank look on his face when I finished.

"Would you like me to read it again?" I asked, fully prepared to repeat it to him.

"No, how about you just explain it to me?" he answered.

I went on to paraphrase it for him, even though I basically said the same words in the poem again. You'll have to tell me if you "get it."

I'm sure most moms understand!

There is no title, just the author's name. She was apparently one of the most recent Etude Club President and I'd like to think she's a young mom like me with younger children.

By Diana W. Smith, Etude President 2007-2008

Sometimes,
While shuffling
4 pots on a 3-burner stove;
The bathroom avalanched
With laundry disengorged
From the hamper,
And none of the dishes done;
2 kids crying
And needing noses wiped,
I wonder
What it would be like,
Cooking dinner
for 1.

The lost art of washing dishes

The water runs, filling the sink with warm bubbles. In lieu of waiting for the dishwasher to finish so I can reload and re-run it again I piled the leftover dishes into my sink and proceeded to wash them the old fashioned way - by hand.

When it comes to household tasks there are few that I enjoy. Mike and I actually used to quarrel regularly over who was going to empty the dishwasher. I have to say that I've given up and usually just do it myself with Maddie's help. At least this way I'm pleasantly pleased when he does it on his own.

But tonight as I found myself standing at the sink, listening to the "Laurie Berkner family station" on Pandora - I realized that I actually was enjoying the quiet monotony of washing dishes.

On Wednesday this week I taught at class to a local daycare staff and the second half of the class was on the secrets of baby behavior. One of the points that was pounded out over and over was that the simple act of repetition is calming to babies.

It must carry over into adulthood -at least for me.

As I stood there, washing, rinsing, placing, washing, rinsing, placing I started to feel relaxed. I've been tired and cranky all day - no thanks to myself - it's my fault for having such a good time out for New Year's. But with each dish I felt a little of the fatigue and moodiness wash away. I was enjoying the moment - when both of my kids were there in the kitchen with me - dancing to the music and having fun.

I can't remember the artist's name at the moment, but the man who sings on the Curious George soundtrack is a favorite for all three of us and it just felt right to be standing in my kitchen, washing dishes and watching my two little ones dance and giggle.

All was right for a brief few moments in our world tonight. I imagine I will be washing dishes by hand a bit more frequently over the next year.

It's funny the places we find peace in our lives.

Happy New Year!