Thursday, March 26, 2009

DC in the rain...

Today we decided to forgo the Zoo because of the rain, and to go to the National Aquarium.

Totally not worth it. Really. It ended up being $10 for me and Rory combined and took us about 20 minutes to get through. Not all the fish were labeled, and there was no information about the fish posted. It was a bust. The only thing the kids kept wanting to see were the Alligators (which were free to see at the zoo)...


So after that "adventure" we decided since we were at the Commerce Building, that we would head over to Pennsylvania Ave. to see the White House...



Then we walked around to the south side of the white house...



Then to the Washington Monument...


Then to the Natural History Museum...





Then we jumped back on the Metro and headed home (to the hotel) for a dip in the pool...




Man, I'm pooped! We are hitting the rest of the zoo tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

At the National Zoo!

We went to the National Zoo today, but need to go back! My camera died early on and we only made it half way! So more pics tomorrow!

Here is an 11 week old gorilla nursing:


A hippo:

Rory and a Panda:


The boys with a kimono dragon:


At the entrance:


And the Can-man waving!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Packing up...

and heading to Washington DC! Whoo hoo!

4 days of me and the boys at the zoo, museums, and riding the metro! I can't wait!

We may or maynot have interzwebz there, so call...

And expect a BUTT LOAD of pics.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Changing the blog...

Let me know what you think, I'm switching colors around.

Canyon is Growing...

I can't believe we are coming up on a year! He is a little over 10 months old now, and is so cute and smart!

Here are a few fun shots of him in the sandbox:





Friday, March 20, 2009

Funny Kid...

Canyon is a funny little kid, really, or maybe it is just that he amuses me and Carl?

Well here is today's amusement:

I have started giving Canyon little sips of water from a sippy cup. Now, I have to hold the cup up and then he can drink/suck from the cup and get a little bit of water.

Today, Carl decided to give him a little water, and Canyon didn't know what to do! He kept biting the cup, scrunching his eyebrows and looking at Carl and laughing/smiling, almost like he was saying "You can't feed me!". It took a little bit, but he did finally realize that daddy CAN feed him a little, LOL!

Maybe it isn't *that* amusing to all of you, but it really got a laugh from me and Carl!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

We have TEETH!

Well, we have one, might have two by tomorrow! Canyon is getting to be a big boy!

I made him a hat, but it is too small, so we will have to make something else.


I am thinking about making a shrug for our friend Jess who is having a baby soon...

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Happy first birthday Micah!

We went to his first birthday party on Wednesday. He is such a cute guy! Here are a few shots of him... and we found out, he is not a fan of chocolate.






Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Spring has sprung!

The flowers are starting to appear, and the weather is starting to warm up!



Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! I hope you all had your green beer, or something equally as fun. The boys and I spent our day at the Nature Center and the Park! It was gorgeous out. The boys had a blast and wore themselves out completely. I took my tripod with me and am trying to figure out self portraits... meh... I need to figure out some more though. I love the one of me and Arden, other than the fact that it is blurry, lol.




The boys had a blast at the park and nature center... Rory is getting to be so big! He climbed a rope tower that I wouldn't have climbed!


And of course, Arden followed him up (but only made it a few feet off the ground).


And one more b/c Rory is a camera ham:

Saturday, March 14, 2009

New Knitting Project...

I just made a hat for Sonya's baby (her blessingway is this weekend) and guess what... it only took me 2 days! I'm getting better and faster! I'm really excited about it!


Jim, I'm making you a hat next! Out of the same yarn I think! It is a nice med/heavy wool and is super soft! I think it will be perfect for being out west! We miss you, I hope to get to see you before too long.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Last of the warm days...

at least for a little while! After a week of mid 70s temps, we are down in the low 40s again. But we did get one last outing under our belts.

We went to the river instead of the Nature Center, and we had a blast.



Rory took some photos of me and Can-Man. I think I have a budding photog on my hands.



Wednesday, March 11, 2009

My eyes...

The last month? or so I haven't been able to see correctly from my left eye; it makes me dizzy, I can't read a book, or even really focus the camera, every photo I take is "off". Looking at the computer, or even trying to look at anything with light (even going outside) was an issue.

I broke down and went to the doctor this morning bright and early...

Nothing. There is nothing wrong. My eyes are better than 20/20 (20/10 actually) and apparently the only "issue" is that my left eye is slightly inflamed from the cold/flu thing we have been fighting. I got some drops, and the eye should be normal in a few days.

That's it. Nothing.

It is so weird, I could have sworn something was growing over my eye or something. But, I am good. So hopefully my sight will be 100% normal again in a few days! Whoo hoo!

We are going to the Nature Center as soon as my eyes are done dilating...

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A Bit of Potty Humor...

Well, it is humorous now...

Arden wasn't feeling well and we decided that he and I should take a bath. So after the bath Arden came out of the bathroom and sat down to play with his brothers, then got up to go poop.

When he "summonsed" us to tell him he was done, Carl went in the bathroom to take care of it...

All I hear is "Oh no son! You have to get back in the tub!!!" Then Carl emerges from the bathroom with two towels that had been on the rack, and looking for spray...

Arden went with such force that it blew up his back, all over the wall, and all over the towel rack!

GROSS!


As for an update, all of us except Carl have the flu or something. I feel like I was standing on the railroad tracks.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Oops...

I think that I might have made a BIG mistake... it is a little funny... well, a lot funny really...

We had to go to the grocery store today, and while there Arden needed to use the potty. So, Carl stayed with Rory and Canyon while Arden and I ran to the bathroom.

Anyone who has a little boy knows how hard it is to get their little stream to clear the edge of the potty while they are sitting, and this particular potty, you have to sit the little guy pretty far back to make sure he didn't pee all over his pants and the floor...

As I pushed him further back on the potty, I realized that he didn't have a way to hold himself up, and before I knew it...

He FELL IN.

Yup. I dropped my kid off in the pool. (Pun intended).

I had to grab him out, find paper towels and dry him off before going back to finish shopping.

I don't think he will ever use a public potty again. He already has issues using an adult potty... now I don't know what will happen...

Oops.

(And yes, I did laugh, a LOT. Arden even thought it was funny by the time I was done cleaning him up.)

Friday, February 27, 2009

Taking Turns...

yup. We are taking turns with the yuckies.

Rory seems to only have had a 24 hour thing. Canyon has been puking/fever for almost 24 now. Arden didn't eat dinner or breakfast, but had a biscuit with jelly for lunch... I'm thinking he isn't on the top of his game either.

Fun times.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Blueberry Pancakes...

Are off the menu at our house.

Cleaning them up 5 hours after they are consumed, out of the top of a bunk bed, is NOT fun.

Oh, and in case you didn't gather, Rory is sick.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Things They Say...

Yeah. The things that kids say...

Rory has been visiting local schools for the last 2 weeks and we have finally submitted the applications for the lotteries and have our fingers crossed.

One of the schools invited the incoming children to go to classes and walk through a morning at the school. So Rory and I (and Canyon) got up early, and spent a day in the class room.

The children were learning about money: how to count it, the presidents, what it is made out of, etc. It was very interesting and fun! It made me see that Rory definitely has the social skills he needs, more so than some of the other visitors who are in pre-k! I'm very happy about that.

The teacher, Mrs. R, was talking about penny-jars or piggy banks, and asking each child if they had one. Rory very excitedly told her he had a Grinch Bottle! While describing it to her, he said, "So, I just keep my money in a big beer bottle!" I about fell through the floor! All the other moms in the room thought it was hilarious... even the teacher had a hard time not laughing!

For the record, it is NOT a beer bottle!! But rather a large plastic soda bottle type bank. Sigh.

Now to Arden. He is pooping in the potty wonderfully. Not many issues. He has taken to looking at his excrement now. After he poops, he has decided that he has to tell me what kind of poop it is. Lately it is "Snake Poop!" It doesn't matter where we are, or who takes him to the potty, he comes out yelling "Snake poop mommy! Snake Poop! BIG Snake poop!"

Yup. So is my life. I definitely have boys; my life is full of potty humor and tattling on mom for having beer.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Trains, Tree Trunks, and Trout...

Well, 2 out of three isn't bad... we spent Saturday running about and having a blast!

Saturday was the last day for the local model train display, and it was fun. There weren't quite as many trains as I expected, but the boys had a blast anyhow! Even Canyon was enthralled!





The boys got to operate Thomas, and we got to see a number of hand made exhibits that were amazing!




One even had skinny dippers!


After the show we went to Big Creek for a hike/fishing trip. We walked out to Midnight Hole, and fished and played for a while.



We didn't catch any trout, or even have a bite for that matter, but we did have fun on the 3 mile hike!

Arden decided to try to walk up a tree that had fallen off the cliff, and Rory tried to crawl up it.




Over all it was a beautiful day, warm, sunny, and clear as can be.

I think I have spring fever... isn't it a bit early for that?

Friday, February 20, 2009

Sunday is about Boobies...

No, not about the Denny's Nurse In or the negative energy that everyone is putting into it.

We are all on the same side, all for BFing. But not all for the motive/method. But it is neither here nor there.

Rather than focusing all this energy on the negative and the bad, let's harness it for good.

I am going to be fasting on Sunday for the boobies. For Breast Cancer Awareness and Support.

Please join me in a day of fasting, and please, if nothing else, do a self exam.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

You think I posted LIBEL information about the Denny's Nurse-In? Really?

Crystal has contacted me and threatened me with Libel. Nothing I have posted about the situation with Denny's is libel, and I will continue to talk about MY POINT OF VIEW AND MY OPINION.

Some of this I already stated but, I feel like I should reiterate it. And yes, I have read the first-right stand being taken. This is a bit of a rambling rant.

I will not be going to this nurse-in, there are too many questions as far as the reason for it and where/when/how, etc. My biggest reason is that nurse-ins are for education and not punishment.

Denny's here in Asheville is NOT corporately owned so an apology from corporate is not going to happen. Each franchise will handle things their own way.

A national nurse-in is not going to achieve much when there is no real organization or firm reason behind it. An apology is what she wants, and she will "call it off". Is that what we are after? An apology for one person?

If you are going to do this, you need to do it RIGHT. You schedule a sit down with Denny's, you explain the law, you discuss what went wrong, and what BOTH sides could do in the future. You try to come to a positive conclusion before taking it to the media and making a fuss.

You get national breastfeeding groups on board first, before the press.

Has anyone been informed of the laws as far as picketing? Has anyone secured a permit? Do we know that these things are happening?

No, no one knows anything, that is the issue.

More information is needed as to what steps were taken first, and what is going on.

Even Crystal is confused, she doesn't/didn't even know if corporate or local management issued a statement.

Nurse-Ins are radical forms of protest, and when used properly are great! But this doesn't seem to be happening the right way or for the right reasons.

Education should be the reason, not just an apology.

I have been discriminated against for nursing in the past, I know how she feels, and what is going through her head, but you have to expect equal and proportional reactions to how you act towards a group of people.

There are a group of moms who are going to try to host a day of "awareness and promotion of breastfeeding" in March at Growing Young Café that I will attend. They are in the early planning, but it is stemming from the discomfort from the Denny's publicity. I'll help them out and put together a Press Release for them as they figure it out.

My main concern with how it came about is Crystal's tendency to bare breast nurse. I'm saying that there are places where it is more appropriate to "bare breast" nurse than others.

It isn't that others are necessarily offended either. It is embarrassing for some people to see a bare breast. It isn't that nursing, or a quick flash, or even belly or partial breast is showing, but an entire breast.

My father is someone who nursed until he was well into toddler-hood, (my grandmother still boasts about that), but has such a strong respect for women, that he is embarrassed at the beach, when boob flashes on a movie screen, or when I wear something revealing. He doesn't mind me nursing, but if I am too "lenient" with my exposure, he will ask me to cover up because he gets embarrassed.

Had he been in the restaurant, and see her bare breast nursing, he would have been so mortified that he would have literally gotten sick. He gets nervous, begins to get the hiccups, his hiatial (spelled wrong) hernia acts up, and he will then throw up his meal. I have seen it happen, and it isn't a choice. He would have asked management to do something, then would have addressed her himself IF he was still able to speak, but so long as she was exposed, he would be too embarrassed/upset/sick to approach her or even to finish his meal.

I think of the public in general the same way I do my father. I have enough respect for him, and for anyone else, to be fairly modest. That doesn't mean use a tent, or a blanket, or even to bunch your shirt right on the baby's face, but try to cover most of the breast that is not in use. Don't FORCE someone else to be uncomfortable. Crystal herself says things about making YOU go away and things, these comments are disrespectful and rude, if she wants respect from people, those comments and attitudes aren't going to do it for her.

Crystal made comments that she was "looking for it" that day. Right or wrong, mis-spoken or not, this is an issue. Many people saw that quote on MDC, it was deleted, but I did find where someone referenced it in the thread and told her she needed to delete that b/c it made her look bad. I can copy and paste it into a JPG if you want to see it.

I am ALL FOR BFING in public, no matter how old the child, where you are, or who is there, however, we need to be mindful of others. RESPECT must be earned.

The point of this nurse in is NOT about education. It is b/c she wants an apology.

LM

ETA: Denny's official stance:
“We at Denny’s work very hard to insure all guests have a pleasant dining experience. Breastfeeding is absolutely allowed in our restaurants; we do request that it be done with respect and discretion, as we are a family restaurant. We defer to our managers to carry out the company’s position.”