Weekly Thread March 26 - April 1 - Page 2

[WhiteWax]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

I have a confession...I think I'm abusing Sesame Street.

I feel the same way about "The Little Einstiens"

[Shell_Ell]

I am having a horrible week so far. I don't feel like pouring it all out here, but it's just... bah.

So...send me your positive energy... I need it.

[goodwin]

me too.. bad week..

wah....

[todavia]

sending support and positive thoughts to everyone struggling through this week...i'm right there with you (bah, wah) and just trying to keep the faith that things will get better. things will get better. things will get better.

thanks willo for the acupuncture advice. i've never done it before and would love to try it but had to just start the meds for now to get some relief. i am going to ask around to at least get a name, so i can try that first if anything else comes up.

i find out today if i passed my comprehensive exam to graduate in may. if i didn't then i have to write a 25-page thesis (on top of 4 other 10-page papers) in the next 6+ weeks so wish me luck ladies...

ETA: we're a tv watching family so i'm probably not very credible when it comes to this topic but don't worry about a little extra sesame street, litte einsteins, maisy, backyardigans - whatever. some of those shows are actually educational, entertaining and therapeutic (we all need a break sometimes). i try to limit ds to commercial free channels (noggin, pbs kids) or recorded shows b/c it makes me feel better but really, i don't think a little tv is the worst thing in the world.

[Corri]

ITA with Violet - it's not like you're putting infants down to watch CSI marathons or anything, you know? I still remember some of the old Sesame Street skits with real affection, 20 years after I stopped watching the show! ("and they all played games, at the ladybug's piiiiiiicnic!")

On that note, one great thing for those of us who don't mind a little TV but hate commercials, Fraggle Rock is out on DVD! I totally grew up with Jim Henson's work (muppet show, sesame street, fraggles!), and Fraggle Rock is a great little show. It doesn't talk down to kids, but keeps them involved and entertained. My mom says that it's the one show we watched (we got an hour of tv allowed per day, always had to be TVO or PBS) that she made sure never to miss! Anyway, there are two seasons out now, and we're so buying them for Bean.

For Bean. Honestly. Not for ourselves at all. :

[mrsalf97]

I saw a chiro yesterday for the sciatic pain and the pain is gone (for now). Now my shoulders are killing me. I also saw the mw, I've gained 4 more pounds (12 total), but I'm measuring small.

[willoLevin]

To everyone who is having a bad day/week/whatever--and, hey, to everyone else, too. Aren't you just SO GLAD we have the internet to share all this super-personal stuff we don't have someone to share with IRL?

On TV:
I was really strict about it before DS turned 2, and I tried to stick to 30 minutes per day between 2 and 3. (Isn't that the guideline? None before 2, add half an hour per day as they add each year, but obviously with some maximum number of hours...) Nowadays, DS has the option of watching one part of a DVD while I'm in the shower, and his reward for napping is the privilege of choosing one show, so we're around 1 hour per day. That said, if *I* am sick, I will use the tv much more extensively. I simply haven't found any better way to protecting myself when I'm vulnerable and we're home alone. It may not be optimal, but I think it is fine, especially when it is an exception, not the rule! (I also give him unlimited videos on a portable player when we fly. I'm no martyr! )

And in other news, I got my mudroom cleaned out yesterday. Hurrah! This is a small (5' x 6'?) uninsulated space between our kitchen and the back exterior door. Since it had built-in shelves, we filled it with cr*p as we moved in (2001) with limited furniture and it has accumulated more since then. I didn't stoop to get a few big items from the floor, but I cleared all of the shelves, sorted everything, bagged the trash/donations, boxed and labeled the stuff to go to the basement, and left it all in the kitchen for DH to carry out. (He was *ahem* thrilled.) Now there is one bulk package of paper towels and one shelf of trash bags/batteries that actually belong in there, and it is otherwise EMPTY. What a great feeling. Plus, I wanted to do this so the kitchen remodeler, who starts next month, can store anything project related in there, and they can use THAT door only, not go through the house.

DS is still coughing, but the croupy sound is gone. Today is the third day, so I will call the doctor if he doesn't seem to have improved by tomorrow.

--willo

[WhiteWax]

to every one... hope things start going better for us ALL!!!!!! We all deserve some nice sound sleep before night feeding and what not... I wish we could all pack up and go on a tropical vacation! (that some one else paid for BTW )

Fraggel Rock was one of my Favourite shows too but DD doesn't seem to care much about it. There is a show on the Disney Channel that reminds me sooo much of Fraggel Rock I was *HOPING* DD would like but alas, she just didn't seem to care as much as I did... it's called "Johnny and the Sprites" and I think Johnny is such a cutie!!!!

[wombatclay]

Sesame abuse aside, we're nowhere near tv-free. I grew up in a VERY tv free home (no TV, no movies my parents hadn't pre-viewed, no newspapers, very limited radio access) and my brother and I were total TV addicts. We'd beg to go to restaurants where there were TVs, when we visited relatives or people with tvs we'd sneak in to watch as much as possible, and...in a sort of odd side effect...we'd literally memorize every moment of tv we saw and parrot it back and forth to each other for days. When I got to college I spent HOURS at a time watching tv...I even shushed people during the ads! My DH (who grew up in a house with a tv in every room) still teases me about that one.

Obviously this doesn't happen to every TV free kiddo, but I decided I really didn't want to create any sort of "forbidden fruit" scenarios for my own family. So we watch tv sometimes, and don't watch sometimes, and I try to keep it on the "no big deal" level. Usually the TV is on DIY or the Food Network...and DD loooooves helping in the kitchen and using "her tools" to help us with all the various building projects we have, so I'm not really worried about the impact of these shows. But I do try to limit shows that I think are "aimed" at her, if that makes sense? I don't want her just sitting and staring at the TV, I want her playing and coloring and every now and then glancing over to see what the interesting noise is.

But you're right...she has learned SO much from Sesame Street! Often DH and I will wonder where she learned something and we'll realize it had to be something she saw on Ali Baba Avenue (our code name for the show).

[Corri]

I decided I really didn't want to create any sort of "forbidden fruit" scenarios for my own family.

ITA!!! It was "bad foods" with my mom - and not what you'd expect, either. We were allowed one piece of candy a day, after eating a proper dinner (at least one serving each of veg, fruit, protein and starch). But things like butter, fruit juices, meat with sauces, salt... these were BAD foods, and had to be limited strictly. I had no idea that you could cook meat in any other way than plain, broiled (so all the fat dripped off), and no sauce at all until about five years ago. At 13, I had to write down everything that went into my mouth, and submit the journal at the end of the week for her approval.

So what happened when I moved out? I bought kraft dinner, boxes of twinkies, cartons of full-fat ice cream, white bread, milk that wasn't skim and promptly gained 15 pounds because I'd never learned self-regulation. The pendulum swung back eventually, of course, and I learned to incorporate the things I liked into my diet and stay a very nicely healthy weight, but it took a lot of work and self-loathing before I got there.

I'm still not skinny enough for my mother, and I still eat junk "with no food value" every once in a while, but I'm finally at a place where I don't give a flying **** about her opinions of my body.

Woah. I didn't intend that to get so long. I guess I just really want to emphasize that I don't think certain forced limits work as well as we think they will; kids need to have some exposure to fun things, and learn how to incorporate them into life on a healthy level.

[torio]

Willo, I hope you avoid the cold. I've had two this winter. The first left me with a lingering cough which the OB felt required AB.

VioletIsadora, So I took the AB even though I hate them, believe they are overprescribed and we all know they don't get rid of viruses anyway. (I figured there are so many more important stands to take with the OB...) Turns out that 2 days after finishing the azithromycin I came down with cold #2 which was far, far worse than the first one. I was in bed for 4 days (I NEVER get sick enough to stay in bed) and dragged around for another week after. I'm convinced that the z-pack simply messed with my immune system and left me vulnerable. So here I am STILL with the lingering cough. The upside is that it requires serious attention to the PC muscles to avoid leaking pee so I guess I'm getting good practice.

Jillian, Good luck with the birth--how exciting. I've seen lots of animals born, but humans only on video. Also, I'm with you on the burning. I woke up one morning a few days ago to lots of soreness in my pelvis, hips and my coccyx is sooo sore. Funny thing is that it's not constant, but intermittent and always worst when I want to sleep. Overall I feel like I've been lucky--all the pregnancy discomforts have either been mild or at least they haven't lasted forever.

Our university has 3.5 more weeks of classes and then I'll get a 2 week break from teaching. Crazy, I know, but I'm still planning to teach a 2 week mini-course in the beginning of May. I've told our twins that if they don't want Mama and Daddy to go bankrupt this summer they need to stay happily inside until after the class is over. Then we can talk about a birthday.

Meanwhile my students marvel (on a weekly basis) on my ever-growing belly and its nose (my belly button can't go out any further can it?). DH continues to make me so glad that I married him. And my mom surprised me with a most amazing phone conversation in which she totally supported me in my ideas about breastfeeding, CD and child-rearing.

Hope everyone has a good week.
XO

[Robbins0614]

Originally Posted by Corri

On that note, one great thing for those of us who don't mind a little TV but hate commercials, Fraggle Rock is out on DVD! I totally grew up with Jim Henson's work (muppet show, sesame street, fraggles!), and Fraggle Rock is a great little show. It doesn't talk down to kids, but keeps them involved and entertained. My mom says that it's the one show we watched (we got an hour of tv allowed per day, always had to be TVO or PBS) that she made sure never to miss! Anyway, there are two seasons out now, and we're so buying them for Bean.

For Bean. Honestly. Not for ourselves at all. :

That's who we're buying Fraggle Rock for too. And those Veggie Tales videos that have DH and myself rolling on the floor laughing. Yep-thinking about the little one here too!

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by Corri

So what happened when I moved out? I bought kraft dinner, boxes of twinkies, cartons of full-fat ice cream, white bread, milk that wasn't skim ...

I'll take us off-topic here to ask something I've wanted to know for years. In the Barenaked Ladies song "If I Had a Million Dollars" they talk about eating "Kraft Dinner"--is that the same thing we have here as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese? Neon orange cheese sauce over elbow macaroni?

I've wanted to know since college, and never remember to ask a Canadian!

And, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese was my comfort food of choice until a few years ago, in spite of my food sensitivities and the MSG in it. : I've *FINALLY* shifted myself onto Annie's natural-type mac & cheese for a treat, and thank God. Now I don't have to get a migraine to indulge in this childhood treat!

--willo

[goodwin]

Kd

Originally Posted by willoLevin

I'll take us off-topic here to ask something I've wanted to know for years. In the Barenaked Ladies song "If I Had a Million Dollars" they talk about eating "Kraft Dinner"--is that the same thing we have here as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese? Neon orange cheese sauce over elbow macaroni?

I've wanted to know since college, and never remember to ask a Canadian!

hahahah.

yes, it's the same thing. i didn't even know they DIDN'T call it kraft dinner in the states.. learn a new thing every day.... good thing i found out now, or my DH would have yet another canadianism to bug me about..

[saratchka]

I, too, am a mac & cheese addict from way back. I make a darned good *real* macaroni and cheese, but I still want the boxed stuff with the powdered cheese sometimes. Thank goodness for Annie's! It's even better when you toss in a sliced up (uncured and organic) hot dog or two! : Gosh, it's almost frightening to think clearly about one's comfort foods sometimes.

[willoLevin]

With my excitement about the Kraft Dinner discussion, I almost forgot to say that I finally got myself into the lab and had my glucose test and iron bloodwork done today.

The midwives gave me the paperwork at my last visit (4 weeks ago) and said to go in sometime before my next visit (coming up Monday.) I've learned that I really do better with an APPOINTMENT than just trying to find the time/energy to drive up there.

As I sat there waiting between my carefully measured food portions and my blood draw, I also realized that I was dragging my feet out of fear. This iron level will likely be the determining test for whether I get to give birth at the birth center or if I have to bring the midwife with me into the hospital. Not that waiting would change the result, but it is kind of Big News.

They said the results will likely be ready this afternoon. I'm debating calling to ask for them vs. waiting 'til Monday. Does it help me to know sooner?

--willo

[Corri]

willo, I'd call and ask. Worst thing they can say is 'wait until Monday,' right? And that way you'll have a chance to know and stop worrying. I get my bloodwork results tomorrow, so I'll hold my thumbs for you if you hold yours for me!

In the Barenaked Ladies song "If I Had a Million Dollars" they talk about eating "Kraft Dinner"--is that the same thing we have here as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese? Neon orange cheese sauce over elbow macaroni?

This has already been answered, of course, but yep - good ol' Nuclear Orange! I like it with a half cup of cold cottage cheese on top, which actually adds a tiny bit of food value to the carb'n'chemical overload. It's so bad, but so good at the same time. :

(Oh, and if anyone has a really good homemade mac'n'cheese recipe [can't involve meat or pork product of any kind], I'd love to hear it!)

[Jilian]

Violet: I hope you passed the test, let us know!

I let DS watch TV too, sometimes way too much. Today was one of those days. I was at that birth all day and all night for a total of 21 STRAIGHT hours. I didn't get home until almost 5 am this morn. Pulling an all-nighter at 30 weeks pregnant isn't such a hot idea, BTW. I am exhausted today so DS got to have a TV marathon day while I rested a bit. He loves it, it's a special treat to him. My mom just came to get him so I can rest for 2 hours, I shouldn't be on here :

[Robbins0614]

Originally Posted by saratchka

I, too, am a mac & cheese addict from way back. I make a darned good *real* macaroni and cheese, but I still want the boxed stuff with the powdered cheese sometimes. Thank goodness for Annie's!

I second the thankfulness for Annie's!! I must confess that I don't like cheese-I know how strange that is! But, I love love love "fake" mac and cheese. Poor DH never gets "real" mac and cheese and wants to know if he can come over to ya'lls when you make it. . .

[wombatclay]

There's actually an episode of Good Eats all about mac n' cheese...and Alton Brown (the chef dude...for those not familiar with this cooking show, he's trained as both an actor and a professional chef. And he's totally off the wall wacky!) goes through this whole long process of making "real" mac n' cheese only to have the young cousin demand the "orange stuff". So Alton shows how to make a version that beats the box all black and blue (but still looks nuclear). The recipe is online at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._18423,00.html and there is another recipe for the "baked" version at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._18422,00.html

Both contain dairy and/or egg but no meat or pork products...