red tent

[pie]

I have decided, after months of consideration, to erect a red tent here at the Mothering Message Boards. Since much of the drama here appears to be cyclical, and because of the fact that a great many of us appear to be on the same moonpath, I wanted to offer this space for women to rest and to be.

Welcome are women during all cycles of their moonphase, regardless of age or stage of fertility.

Anything goes in my red tent. Let your hair down.

Shall we discuss different names for having ones period?

Here are some I know

Swimming in the red tide
Parting the red sea
Aunt Flow is in town
Aunt Flo is in town and is she a b!tch.
on the rag
period
moontime

oh

and menses

[Arduinna]

having our courses??

anyway, I wish AF would go away already......2 weeks is enough!!! well, she has most of her bags packed at least.

[Britt]

I am just waiting for her to arrive, and I'll tell you, waiting makes me feel edgy. She's not the most pleasant guest, staining my sheets, alienating my friends and family, and giving me a headache....

[pie]

Britt yes and she eats all the food in the house! And hampers my sex life as well.

Dear Arduinna, did you just say you have been flowing for two weeks? Egads woman!

[abimommy]

One of my best friends in high went for like 40 days!!! We were very scared of her....we just kind of went around bowing and scraping and trying not to make her mad...heehee

her dr put her on the pill and that helped...

[StarMama]

I'm having my first non-bc induced period now :D Wow what a difference it is, emotionally, to have a period that signals "everything is in working order" (I'm charting too... so I'm as sure as one can get thru charting that things are going good). I was on Norplant for 4 years before this... those periods were evil!!! :sinister Used to hafve 28 day long periods. Or 3 8-day long ones in a month. And boy did they make me turn into a grumpy pissy monster. Wow, these real periods are a breeze compared!! I'm kinda concerned since my luteal phase was only 10 days long, but hopefully with more cycles (I've only had one full cycle since removing norplant) that will even out. I hope.

Anyways, what a great idea for the red tent!

[Megs Mom]

I'm here. Hope you don't mind, since I haven't read the book yet & AF hasn't visited in, um, 18 months, two weeks, & a day! :D

[Arduinna]

40 days of AF!! egads!!

well, only spot visiting for the last week so technically AF is gone. But I wish she had taken spot with her. I had a 3 month anovulatory cycle so that is why. I hope spot runs away very soon!

[pie]

so what do yall do when you are flowing and your feelings get hurt and you fly off the handle? Do you breathe deep and let it slide or do you like, freak?

[emmaline]

I snuck out of the tent yesterday to take ds (nearly 5) to the movies. We saw Stuart Little 2 and I sniffled thru the whole d@mn thing - if there hadn't been a few decent jokes I'd have howled.

So Mamapie when I'm in the tent I don't fly off the handle (that's the week before) - I sob, but only for the first day, then I feel... balanced again.

I've always felt sad on day one, even before I (intellectually) wanted kids, once I was sexually active the body part of my bodymind howled each time a cycle went past.

[pie]

well I want to go see Stuart Little two! Maybe tomorrow. I love the first movie, so did spanky.

I am like this week before, weepy and bitchy. Week of, manic, weepy and reactive. two weeks in between, just same ole fly off the handle pieface.

someone hand me some fresh hay.

Oh and ALL are welcome in this thread! Nursing, menopause, pregnant, what have you.

[steph]

i got a kick out of what can o'beans (i'm pretty sure it was her) called our moontime - arts and crafts week in the panty dept. (or something to that effect)....

i'm on day 2, which is my big flow day.... felt like crap earlier, tired, mild headach, blah, blah, blah.... i'm usually a choco-holic raging bitch the week before (well raging bitch may be an exageration, unless your my dh, and i've just lost it for no apparent reason :o ). fortuantely, once it all starts, i feel very mellow... i just wish my poor sheets didn't suffer so (and thereby me, doing laundry....)..... pie, did you bring any fair-trade chocolate to share? thanks for setting up the tent. us gals need a place to let it loose! :love

[ladylee]

Ladies :love. Hmm. I have that lovely lower back ache, so she's soon to be here. Have popped a couple Formula 303's & plan to put myself in a hot tub as soon as dd falls asleep. Does anyone else know about Formula 303's? They're lovely. I get them at the chiro & they have valerian & passionflower, plus some natural analgesics. Stink to high heaven, but they really work for me.

I got AF back right around her second birthday, and I was *so* glad! I actually look forward to it because I *like* the purge factor. Not a good feeling to feel bloated for two years!

[emmaline]

yes we need supplies:

some of those formula 303s

fair trade chocolate

hot water bottles

soft hankies for all the emoting I have to get done

what else?

[pie]

a masseuse

[kama'aina mama]

jogs up to tent, briefly lifts flap... tosses in a bale of hay followed by five pounds of fair trade chocolate.... sprints away

[Deirdre]

Oh Arduinna- I wish my Aunt Flo had taken the spot with her too....perhaps because she just started visiting again recently after a 2 year absence I seem to have forgotten that she usually, ummm, leaves something behind.....I can't even begin tell you how my undies have suffered:crying

As far as my moods, usually quite tense and a bit cranky pre-visit and then just tired and achy during the visit...ahhh, then relief that she won't be back for a few more weeks.....

[steph]

kama'aina, you're a goddess!! thanks for the chocolate - though it's a little too early in the morning for me to have any right now... and yes, a masseuse... i could use that right now. dd puked in the middle of the night :( ... had to get up, clean ourselves, change sheets, rock her back to sleep, then we repeated that. i think our whole house smells like puke (or maybe just me?). fun laundry day today :rolleyes: what's pretty amazing is that it's the first time she's ever thrown up (except for little spit ups and one proj. vomit at age 1 mo.). i have no idea why........

[pie]

steph I was up all night too with sick boy. Not vomit though :(

If you shower you both the puke smell will go away. Oh and light a smelly candle.

[steph]

thanks for the tip pie... will do both this morning.... :love

[Hilary Briss]

Red Tent janitor reporting for duty. :yum

[pie]

yick.

okay here is my little trash can, out the door with ye and yer barbaric bloodless manliness.

[Megs Mom]

Originally posted by steph
dd puked in the middle of the night :( ... had to get up, clean ourselves, change sheets, rock her back to sleep, then we repeated that...what's pretty amazing is that it's the first time she's ever thrown up (except for little spit ups and one proj. vomit at age 1 mo.). i have no idea why........

Wow, our DD's puke cycles are in sync. :( Just went through the same thing, just nursed her back to sleep - this is the 2nd time she's ever thrown up, the first being about five hours ago. :(

[ladylee]

Hope all the little pukey babes are all better.

All I can say is brrrrrring it! What a mood I'm in today--lucky dh to come home to this :firedevil!

[steph]

thanks lee, yes, our little dd is all better. :) hope it's a long time before i have to go through that again!

[Megs Mom]

My pukey baby isn't better yet. :crying

[Hilary Briss]

All of this talk about puke is grossing me out. Let's keep those period stories flowing, please.

[CanOBeans]

Just a little something to enrich the discussion...back by popular demand.

http://www.mum.org/words.html

The whole site is fascinating. Check out the art link. Or the one that says "extraction."

:bgbounce :bgbounce :bgbounce :bgbounce :bgbounce

[pie]

so I thought I was bleeding to death yesterday. My bathroom looked like a sacrifice had taken place. Then dh had the audacity to bitch about a spot of blood on the toilet. I had only cleaned it three times that day. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[steph]

our bathroom sink looked pretty bad... i use cloth, and had an assortment of "girl pads" and panties soaking....if a stranger had walked in there they would have thought something weird was going on.....;)

[pie]

by the way briss, it is relatively unconventional for a boy to hang in the tent. While I welcome you as the honorary woman you are, I beg you not to redirect the conversation. If we wanna talk about vomit then by god we will. Got it buster?

[Hilary Briss]

Fine. Clean up your own mess.

[pie]

awwww I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Really. I am a little cranky this time of the month is all.

Now my feelings are hurt. You rag.

[El Casey S]

CanOBeans -

ewwww - the extractor! I think my cervix hurts just looking at that!

BTW - has anyone here ever actually seen their cervix (I'm not asking you, Briss)? I did! There was this really cool nurse in College and once I went for a check up and she asked if I wanted to see mine! (It was the time of "Our Bodies Ourselves!") and she put that metal separater thing in - put the lamp down there and gave me a mirror!!! It was beautiful! Really! It's all round and pink and soft and shiny. I guess up 'til then I thought, "dark and scarey" - it was such a joy! And sometimes, as a little game I play (now you are really goona think I'm wierd) when I'm have a bad hair, bad face, bad mood day - I think, "but I have a beautiful cervix!"

he he :D

[ladylee]

COBs--too funny! I'm glad to know such a place exists :LOL. Funny to see my husband's hometown there--they *do* say my auntie from Moscow is visiting, which I love...

[burritomama]

Hi!

Just jumping in here to say hey! I am waiting for my Aunt Flo from Redlands to return from her hiatus in other climes...she's threatened but hasn't really shown up yet.

Nice to meet you all under these circumstances.

I saw my cervix once -- I came of age in the late 70s and visited our local Feminist Women's Health Center (yup, that was the name) to get birth control (a lovely cervical cap) but before they dispensed them, they educated all us fair lassies of the suburbs on our female plumbing. We each got a speculum and a mirror and someone held a flashlight and voila! My cervix smiled at me. Shiny. Dark pink.

Another artifact of those times: a graffiti:
WAR IS MENSTRUATION ENVY

Those were the days.

[Missgrl]

Coming in late to the Red Tent...............

Kama, your hay thing was too funny. It's beeen awhile since
I read the book and I had to think for a second how that
related! LOVED your comment!:LOL

When my period comes my dh calls it "beaver stick time.":rolleyes:

[steph]

megs mom - sorry to hear your little one's still sick - :( hope they feel better soon...:love

burritomama - i too went to a feminst women's health clinic... let's see, actually there were 2 that i went to - 1 was in chico, ca, the other was in seattle.... did you go to either of those? those were the days - the mid-late 70's.. we were all full of ourselves and feeling powerfull.... hmm.... i still do actually. but i see alot of younger gals who think feminist is a bad word - so sad......

[pie]

should I feel badly for running Hilary Briss out of the tent? I do! But dammit, that is what a dude gets for coming in to the tent! What can one expect?

I feel bad. We need a janitor. :(

[StarMama]

El Casey S I saw a picture of my cervix! Planned parenthood had to take one for some reason or other (hey I was 16, not as educated as I am now) but things turned out all okies (thank goodness!). But I got to see a picture anyways! :D

Don't feel bad mamapie! Briss shoulda known that occupants of the tent may be a bit... cranky. I'm sure he will accept your appology and come back. And if not, well, er, it is a woman's red tent, no? :D (no offense meant at all Briss). And I think we will survive without a janitor. Now a pastry chef I think we could use... :p

[emmaline]

if briss wants to clean out the hay and run in with fresh hot water bottles and more chocolate that's OK I guess but he better damn well be respectful

btw my ds aged 11 has just seen my cloth pads drying near the heater - wot's that? he says, cloth sanitary pads says I, then dh wanders in and says the same thing as ds - sometimes I wonder if we live in parallel universes

this thread has had me rereading TRT this weekend, weeping buckets of course - it's such a fabulous book
:crying :bawl

[Britt]

Well, once again Aunt Flo arrived late at my house without so much as a call. I was beginning to wonder if she'd show up at all--I haven't been weepy, and I *have* been thinking about how sweet babies smell, how precious they look at the breast, and how we seem to have a lack of one in our home.

My "baby" turns four on Monday! He stopped nursing a year ago, and when I went to tuck him in the other night (he sleeps in another room with his brother) he looked so sweet that I climbed into bed and hugged him. He let me cuddle for all of 2 minutes, and then said very gently, "Mama, you can't stay here ALL the time." :crying OK, that made me feel weepy.

burritomama, what great graffiti.

steph, I was raised thinking feminist was sort of an an unnecessary (ok, bad) word--I was equal, so why bother with a movement? In my first semester of college (1989), a great female instructor who I respected very much was shocked to hear me (I was just as outspoken then) proclaim that I wasn't a feminist. She stopped the class, a lively discussion of Emerson's "The American Scholar."

"Do you believe in equality?" she asked. Of course, without reservation. "Then don't say anything else. You are a feminist." She went on to explain that feminism isn't about a movement, it's about women believing in and finding equality, however we may understand the word. She had half a dozen freshmen women in tears as she reminded us that our voices create the future, that we are part of "the movement" whether we like it or not, in the world we create and the next generation raise, and she impressed upon us how much it mattered that we not let others define "feminism" for us. Every young woman needs a teacher like her. I have since described myself without hesitation as a feminist, and with each passing year, I've understood more and more clearly why it's so important.

I could go on about this subject, but soon it'll sound like I'm plotting a revolution here in the red tent....:D

[Megs Mom]

Just last night I was thinking I need a new book to read. Duh, TRT is sitting on my shelf! My DH already read it. :D

[steph]

britt, what a great teacher you had!! and hey, i think many a revolution has been plotted in the red tent (even if it was only occupied by one).... why not plot another? that's what we need! i just re-read TRT about two weeks ago (hmm... ovulation time?)..it is sooooo good.... but your comment about revo. made me think of another good book - in a different vein, The Fifth Sacred Thing. in that book, it is set in the not too distant future, in the SF bay area, and the folks live in a very environmentally and conciously aware place. their revo. was started by a few old women who, sick of seeing children hungry, land raped,etc. for the elite few, started tearing up the streets (literally) and planting gardens... (that's a real simplistic synopsis). it's a great read, and relevant to our times. it's by Starhawk, if anyone's interested. i just think so many great (albiet small sometimes) movements happen when women get together and just do it. we have the passion. i think when men (sorry briss, etal) start to get involved, they often want to be the ones to steer the direction - either overtly or covertly, and thereby take control. and so often, because we love our men, we let them - either conciously or unconciously.... ok, i guess i've gotten far afield here.... and i haven't even had my tea yet.... watch out boys, i'm in a mood today! woo hoo!

[pie]

Anyone else get horny this time of month? Am I a freak that way? It is really inconvenient.

[steph]

i do get a bit horny during, but i am SUPER horny the day before...omg...

[pie]

really??? The day before if any man on earth so much as looks at me I get so annoyed. I think it is the bloated feeling. Like, touch me and I will cut your heart out with a spoon.

[Megs Mom]

I get so horny when I'm ovulating. Mighty inconvenient when one is using NFP to delay conception!

[StarMama]

I do mamapie! :innocent Luckily for us, Dh isn't a bit squeamish so things for us can continue as normal. And since we've just started actually using NFP (as opposed to just charting and still using a condom every time) its nice to not have to bother with a condom right now (and the whole rule is that your ok your first 5 days of bleeding if you had an obvious temp rise 10-14 days earlier. Not just on period=safe. Just so no one assumes and comes after me later! :rotflmao). Around ovulating I get (well at least last month I did... first ovulation in 4 years since I got off icky norplant) worked up as well. Dh says he is very lucky! :love

[burritomama]

steph: our Feminist Women's Health Clinic was in LA -- but wasn't it some kind of national colaition of such? yes, we were full of ourselves and pride and didn't shy away from identifying as feminists...It was a wonderful time to come of age, reaping as we did, the hard work of the women's lib movement of the 60s & 70s. It was also before AIDS set in --- so sex wasn't as burdened with the fear and anxiety...

By the way -- LOVED the story of Britt's teacher! Just what I needed to hear. A lift.

more later -- need some coffee --

[pie]

Lisa Lynn we do it too, as long as the flow is not enough to sink the Titanic.

So speaking of coffee, does it really make your periods worse? And salt and all that?

I have been eating sooooo much fruit (hey burrito we went to that rasta fruit stand in south laguna. Across from Coyote Grill. Have you been there? It rules there is a groovy lil farm out back you can hang in, with swing chairs and a tent, etc)

So anyway the fruit is making me feel better. That or the fact Aunt Flo will be packing her bags tonite.

[burritomama]

If I don't get my coffee I am worse...grrr.

Pie: haven't been to the rasta fruit stand -- I don't get out much. My favorite Laguna places are Taco Loco and Wahoos -- informal -- and Ocean Ave. Brewery and Adolpho's (I THINK that's the name) -- when we're feeling flush or when the in-laws are paying...my favorie place to eat is home actually. I love to cook tho motherhood has, uh, cramped my style a bit. the rasta fruit stand sounds cool though.

more later. I like the company

[Sahara]

My hormones go wacky the day before, too. I think sex is better then than when I'm ovulating!!! Just got AF today, we were kind of hoping for a baby this month. Oh well.
Does anyone else here ovulate with the lunar cycle? I have always ovulated during the full moon, and usually bleed during the dark moon but BFing seems to be playing tricks on me this month!
Thanks for the tent, mamapie, much needed.

[emmaline]

I have often wondered too if anyone does cycle with the moon?
My cycles are five weeks, have been for decades, so I'm obviously disconnected from the universe from some reason:confused:

[Megs Mom]

Well I am on p. 75 of the book and VERY into it. Wow, how amazing to have all that female companionship. The way birth and breastfeeding should be. Not sure I'm keen on the multiple wives thing, though, or leaving babies with harelips out to die...

[pie]

I would fully take on some sisters as multiple wives. Less work, more company. Sounds good to me. There is enough of my latin lover to go around, believe me.

[Megs Mom]

OK, so I'll admit here in the tent but no where else...it rather appeals to me to have another wife visit my husband's bed while I am pregnant and breastfeeding... :D

[Irishmommy]

I'll be joining you guys in another couple of days, and if I don't, someone's got a lot of 'splainin to do!

[emmaline]

leaving the tent for this month, thanks for the company sisters


:hippie

[Sahara]

Well, I'm trying the Keeper thanks to the thread a few weeks ago (or was it longer than that?) Not sure if I have the hang of it quite yet :confused: Could bad things happen if you don't get the suction to break before you take it out?

[pie]

Sahara I don't use it yet. I still use landfill polluting netherpops, which is what dh calls tampons.

I am leaving too, for the month. MY BEST FRIEND FROM COLLEGE IS PREGNANT THOUGH!!!!!!!!! :D She was in town this past weekend with her family, staying with us. :D I am so excited for her.

Ladies, keep the candles lit, see you next month. Thank you for writing on this thread.

[steph]

and yet another one leaves the red tent.... thank you ladies for the company!!! see you next month......:love

[kama'aina mama]

Okay.. the big question.

I just realised that I am scheduled to go the the gyno for my annual indignity on the day I ought to be entering the red tent! Would YOU keep the appointment or change it?

[pie]

*pokes head in*

I would keep it bwahahahaha

I don't like my gyno much though, I need a new one.

See you.

[El Casey S]

I had a similar dilemna once, and called my Dr. and asked her - she said to come in anyway . . . maybe it was just mine - maybe you could call & ask.:hippie

[Irishmommy]

Well I will definitely be in here in the next day or two. How do I know? My appetite is out of control. In the last two days I downed a 1.5 litre tub of ice cream, in two sittings. Can anyone say "oink"?:rolleyes:

[Els' 3 Ones]

*lifts the tent flap to peer inside...........who's around? *

I'll be right behind you, Irishmommy (you bringing the tea?)

My boobs are hard and sensitive, my appetite is enormous, and I was up for 3hrs in the middle of the night (probably do that again tonite?).

I'm just a few days away ...................

See you then.

*closes flap*

[merpk]

Hi ... lurk ... lurk ... lurk ...

Not menstruating yet ... nursing baby&toddler ... haven't bled much in the last several years, except for after childbirth (&miscarriages) ...

Just ... nostalgic ...

:love

- Amy

[kama'aina mama]

Well, I moved it back 12 hours.. that might be enough. I just don't want to even if she doesn't care. She's real nice, too. Well so far. Only seen her once.

I gotta tell ya, I still don't have a warm feelings toward the keeper. Might need to go to cloth pads, but I just don't wanna! I just got the baby out of diapers and now I have to deal with my own??? ugh.

My periods have gotten really unpleasant since childbirth. No idea why, but golly, that's what cramps are? They suck a lot!

[ladylee]

Checking in from Redlands :D. Is anyone approaching 40 and noticing changes--like stronger cramps, flow, etc.? Or maybe it's what kama says, just different after birth.

[Arduinna]

approaching 40 too and have noticed heavier periods. For me it isn't an "after birth" change though, since dd is almost 13 and I was still light and usual until a year or two ago.

BTW, spot left while I was in florida, so I am out of the tent too.

Regarding cycling with the moon. I've been on a new moon schedule before, but irregular lately.

[Sahara]

kama, I am using the keeper for the first time, and I admit I have no warm feelings either! But, it seems to be doing ok so far. I'm on day 5, which is unusual for me, and the cramps are terrible. Definately a post-childbirth thing :(

[kama'aina mama]

kicks open the tent flap... throws in a bail of hay, a 10# block of Belgian chocolate, two bottles of water, one of red wine and 3 trashy magazines. Makes a cozy nest, slowly tears to shreds a calendar page with a X on Saturday and spreads it atop the nest. Settles in, muttering under her breath.

[emmaline]

*listening thru tent wall*

being some time past 40 and reporting much lighter flow, much less cramping since resuming cycles post ebf BUT way more PMS, serious dragonwoman stuff

reading the good dr northrup on the subject, I learn I must be ... gulp... perimenopausal

[ladylee]

Love her, emmaline. I need to pick up that book.

[kama'aina mama]

I'm pouting. And whining. Why do I bother charting? I've changed one doctors appt three times now. And I think I maybe shoulda bought my keeper in pre-pregnancy size. It just feels sorta... big... in there. Do they do exchanges?

Chocolate anyone?

[herblaunt]

peers in to make sure entrance is clear. slowly moves to a space near opening (short visit). Passes out warm mugs of fresh herbal tea :raspberry, nettle, yarrow and spearmint.
Raw Honey anyone?

Last day of my moonflow. So bitchy right before it starts, then when it flows, a peace flows over me. ahhh, so that is why I was so tempermental.
I use the Keeper. Bought 2 during y2k mania. Wasn't planning on kids then, but so glad i had the $ then to purchase both sizes!
Finally gotten the hang of using it. Love the security of the cloth pads. Probably ought to get some overnites soon. Blast that spot on the mattress cover (good thing they were maroon sheets!)

Pre preg I would flow with the new moon. NOw it's just after the full. They say the more in tune w/ Mama moon the closer you are to flow w/ the dark of the moon/new moon. I love that....such an introspective time anyways.

Funny story: I was feeling so earthy and high on myself that I decided that I would let my moonflow flow onto/into the ground one cycle in early spring. Picked my spot next to a huge rock/boulder. CLeared the area of unnecessary debris. Used a few other rocks for end tables for my tea, diary, books, etc. Sat there for most of the day and part of the next. Massaged diluted pennyroyal on abdomen to encourage a smooth and quick outflow.
5th day later, why are my legs so itchy? My underwear is riding on a particularly scratchy spot. Asked dh what he could see....ah, red bumps, clustered together?! oh no!!! I sat on poison ivy sprouts!!!!:jaw
Thank you Gaia for the humbling.
This is the my third since conception back in June '00. Glad to have it back. Felt some of the power returning, too. But, why do I try ot do so much on the first day? ugh, so exhausting!
oh, and the food I cram in: french fries, coffee (at least it was organic), cloud 9 chocolate - raspberry...mmmm. I'll bring that next time.

More tea anyone?

[indigolilybear]

phew! i saw this right as i am wrapping up.

as for moon cycles, i used to do it opposite the moon (ovul at new moon etc) now i am exactly on schedule. AND it's after i moved to the city. go figure. :confused:

we're also on the NFP, no sex when i actually want it plan. i admit, it's hard but i HATE everything else in terms of BC.

this reminds me i need to make some new cloth pads....

pass the chocolate. :D

[rwikene]

Ok, so I haven't read the book that you all are talking about...but I am just starting my first (second?) post-pardom period.

A few weeks ago I had some spotting, again with the spotting...just enough to have a pad on, not enough to have to change it but maybe once a day:rolleyes:

I too get VERY horney the day before my period...dh thinks that is cool, lots of sex, but weird too...he says I get him all worked up the day before, then none for 5-7 days big bummer! I am not a sex while bleeding type of girl

I am pretty b*tchy right before, and during...and well most of the time;) Like today, I actually got upset b/c the girl I nanny wouldn't wear nice clothes for her school pics....what do I care what she wears, I don't have to send them to my family...and yet we had an argument about it this morning:rolleyes:

I hope to be done soon....have to say that pre-prego periods were much worse! this time no cramping....

[kama'aina mama]

I want to say I read somewhere that if you are TTC it is helpful to have your flow on the dark of the moon as having your fruitful period coincide with the full can extend your window of opportunity.

[abimommy]

Peers in opening to make sure way is clear then ambles in slowly dragging a few trashy romance novels, a big pot of Oregan chai, some milk and chocolate chip cookies...and a bean bag chair...

oo I will take some chocolates...yum....

I am still using tampons too..I would like to get a keeper or cloth pads but we never seem to have the extra cash laying around...

[Sahara]

When I was in grad school my cycle switched to O with the dark moon and bleed with the full moon. I figured it was the stress, and me being so completely immersed in such a masculine profession.

more tea, please.

[SoHappy]

Save me a comfy spot in the hay. I'll be back in a few days. By the way, I've discovered the following:
smoosh together half a banana, a spoonful of organic peanut butter and a big plop of Double Rainbow Ultra Chocolate Premium ice cream.
I'll bring some when I return.

[herblaunt]

well, i am done for now.
thanks for the choc kama'aina mama.

lovin you all.

slowly backs out bowing to each of you.

Namaste

[pie]

*steps into tent*

So dh and I had a great weekend. Hubba hubba. But now I have the most painful burning in my area, and when I pee oh my god it hurts to my teeth. I have so much to do today. No groceries, filthy house, preperations for a garage sale, and now what am I going to do? I need a real life red tent and tribe of sisters so badly right now.

[kama'aina mama]

#@*R(&(&%^_*(*+(+))()I**&%$@!!!!@#@#^#&$_)()

Haven't really started.

37 years old and now I can't tell when I've started my period. This is just pathetic.

[steph]

pie, start drinking cranberry juice.......hope you feel better soon!

[pie]

I can't stand cranberry juice. It tastes good but it gives me the trots, which hardly help a urinary tract infection.

It was horrible today. It was horrible yesterday, and the day before, but today it hurt all day. I got some antibitotics.

I don't mess around with those, I have had bad luck with getting kidney infections before.

Prevention tips anyone? And please don't say less sex. I would rather live with constant internal pain than reduce the amount of sex we have. Really. It is really beneficial to my marriage to be amorous.

I know to wipe front to back, and to wash after gooey lovin. Sorry to be so blunt, but this is really uncomfortable and antibiotics suck.

[emmaline]

(pokes head in)

I was told drink 3 glasses of water before AND after!!! for really persistent UTIs - how could you have sex with so much water around???

I find one glass before and after to be enough and you have to go empty yr bladder in less than an hour after sex

AND no caffeine at all

AND watch where those amorous bits are going - keeping the e coli away from yr urethra is so helpful

good luck

e:down

(ducks out of tent)

[kama'aina mama]

Well, i'm finally bleeding right well, so I'll stop pacing and sit on my nest, fantasizing about groovy lovin'!

Pie, any chance you can get DH to wear a jimmy? Yeah, I know, tough sell. Past that I dunno... maybe there is a maintainance level of cran you could take daily that would help but be low level enough not to hit your bowel? Good luck. It sucks. Carry on!

[Els' 3 Ones]

*pokes in head*

Just checking. JW's not here? She indicated elsewhere she should be.........................

Any day now. My breasts feel like huge melons ready to fall off the vine.

Pie, maybe you need some serious dosing of floras. Stock up on a good multi-dophilus and take it for a long time. You get yeastie sometimes too, no?

Has dh been check to see if he carries anything? Sometimes they can hold on to stuff and keep giving it back to us..........

I had highly resistant strep 3+ yrs ago and when I was done with 3 diff antibiotics I was left with permanent yeast. Which showed itself in crusty nipples (ouch! nursing babe and all). Took me months of daily dophilus, sometimes 6 a day, to fully knock the crap outta my system! Whenever I would stop taking them it would come back, or after a sugar binge. Never did hit my yoni, just my nips and a couple outbreaks on my inner thigh.
Babe never had it either, it was all inside my system.

[steph]

hey pie, try this out.... this is from Rosemary Gladstars book, herbal healing for women....

1 part nettle
1 part dandelion green
1 part pipsissewa
2 parts corn silk (the golden tassel from corn)
2 parts urva ursi

mix the above and prepare as an infusion by putting them in a jar w/tight fitting lid, pour boiling water into jar, seal and let sit at leaste 20 min.

drink one fourth cup every half hour throughout the day.

you should be able to find the herbs at any good natural food store, or an herb shop. hope it helps!!

[Arduinna]

Originally posted by mamapie
I can't stand cranberry juice. It tastes good but it gives me the trots, which hardly help a urinary tract infection.

Two things:

1 have you tried the cranberry capsules?? Hopefully you will only get the good side effects and not the bad.

2 It could be the sugar in the cranberry juice cocktail that is giving you the yucky side effects. So are you drinking either unsweetened?? I know yucky or the one that is 100 % juice not with corn syrup?? Another possibility to try.

I find that the cranberry really does get rid of mine when I get them. And only 2-3 glasses a day works for me. Too much juice makes those yucky side effects.

prevention for me is 1 glass a day of cranberry. It makes it so the bacteria that causes UTI can't adhear to the lining of the bladder.

[candiland]

OOh, ooh, ooh.... I am sitting outside the tent daydreaming about the time when I will finally receive my menses.... never got it after #1, because I got preggo with #2 before the red started flowin'...
anyhow, Pie, my midwife told me about Uva Ursi tea. Get a big bag of Uva Ursi leaves and drink a quart of it a day. And nothing else but water. Also, no refined sugars, no fruit juices, no white breads, etc.... it has cured me every time!
Hopefully, I'll join the red tent in the next few years....:rolleyes:
'Til then, keep, uh, flowin'.....

[pie]

thanks you guys. I have taken the caplets, and I will check on the tea. thank you.

I have a deep uterine infection and it turns out I also have the UTI. I am on antibiotics now. I had a fever of 101.5 at the doc's office! I had no idea earlier that I was sick like this and there I am this morning cleaning and running errands and at the park. I am Iron Ovaries McGuinness. Yes sir.

And these antis are making me woozy so see you later in more coherency. LOLOLOL

[Irishmommy]

I'm finally here! All it took was another big tub of ice cream. I think I've eaten my weight in junk food this week. TG for breastfeeding and walking to school 3 times a day!

[El Casey S]

May I step into the tent? I started this morning, and it has me a bit worried. I used to be 28/5 - super regular. Now I've been getting less - 27, then 26, now 25 days between! And they seem to be finished after 3 days and then 7 days later I notice a little more, and then none. I guess with 44 I'm starting "THE CHANGE" :shock!:eek :huh I guess I really do have to give up the hope for a second child . . .
:pout:(

[kama'aina mama]

Oh Casey, thats sad. I'm sorry. fluffs up a nice pile of straw for herI know I want to have one more and I hope to do it before too long. DH talks about waiting a couple years... I'm like, dude I'm 37 already, these eggs have a shelf life ya know!

hhmm.. trying to remember who all was hanging out eating chocolate with me last month in TAO....

[CanOBeans]

I'm here, unexpectedly. I swear before I had kids I used to know when it was coming, and now it sneaks up on me every time. You'd think I would know because I turn into a shrew right before -- which is new too, I never even knew what PMS was -- but I don't recognize the bitchiness as PMS until AF rings the doorbell. Oh well, I used to have debilitating cramps and don't have so much as a twinge anymore, I guess I'll live with the tradeoff.

Sigh. Can't even indulge in a bunch o' chocolate this time because I have to fit into a certain dress by the beginning of next month...argh.

Pass me some tea or something, will ya?

[Britt]

Tea for all....please, have a cup!

I'm leaving the tent today, but it's been so great having you guys to lean on. These seven day periods really take it out of a girl!

Chocolate, anyone? (Besides Jill, that is....)

[CanOBeans]

Hey, if we're in the red tent, are we in seclusion? Should we be staying away from the other forums right now? In a way, it's appealing...just hanging out in one place for a few days, getting to know the others in the tent at the same time who I might not otherwise "see" much...ignoring what's going on outside the tent...hmmm....don't know if I have the will power to stay away from it all!

[kama'aina mama]

Nice idea Jill, but I haven't the fortitude. Proven fact.

So, this morning I hopped in the shower and then remembered I hadn't ditched my 'keeper'. Happened to me all the time with tampons. So after a moments thought I eased it out, thinking, hell, drains are drains... OH. MY. GOD. You've seen "Psycho"? Yeah. 'Nuf said. but then I remembered that they used chocalte syrup for the blood in the scene.. and then I found myself possessed by Homer Simpson... "MmMmMMMmmmmMmmmM ChocolateSyrup......". And I suddenly recalled what made me think ofchocolate syrup and I all but passed out.

Some days I dunno whats worse, the cramps from hell or the mental quirks.

[SoHappy]

Hi, I'm here. I'm hoping none of you read my earlier post where I promised I'd bring ice cream because, well, ummm, it's gone, okay? I don't feel too bad after reading Kama's post, tho', since I'm guessing none of us feel like chocolate after that anyway. Thanks for saving me the calories, Kama!! (But I snuck in a beer for each of us.)

I've been having Keeper issues today. Some months it works without a hitch, sometimes it's like there's nothing there at all and it's Bypass City. Must be my technique, but I try so hard to be consistent, and I use all the tricks I've read.

Anybody bring any magazines? I need one to put over my head so I can take a nap. Anybody wanna play Scrabble when I wake up?

[kama'aina mama]

Scrabble! Count me in. My husband doesn't like word games. Doesn't like taking a shelacking is more like it!

[kama'aina mama]

Oh wow! After I posted ^ that I read my Sunday paper. There was a column talking about how nice it is that you can go to www.games.com and play Scrabble! Weird, huh?

[Hilary Briss]

A friend of ours comes over every Saturday night, and we play a game or two. Unfortunately Marg won last night. We both got seven letter words, but she got 54 points on an "X" play at the end of the game.

[kama'aina mama]

Jealous. I'm jealous is all. My sis and I used to play a lot when she was pregnant and my neice was wee, but I haven't played in ages now.

[pie]

I am in the tent on discharge. Blech. I will never look at vanilla pudding in the same light. I swear I feel so crappy. These antibiotics are really doing a number. After I am healed I am switching to a midwife. Yick. And I am paying better attention to aches and pains down there.

We cleaned our garage up yesterday, and not only did I find pictures of my first wedding, :eek, a huge box of love letters from my high school and college boyfriends and first husband,:jaw and pictures and letters from a friend of mine that was murdered long ago, I found my SCRABBLE GAME!

Now explain to me why I can't throw my pics and letters in the trash. I will never see any of those people again, in my whole life, ever, more likely than not, especially the dead one.

[rwikene]

I'm outta here!

Wish I could stay and play scrabble...we play with dh's grandparents all the time (at least twice a week) I love the game...but for now I am on to better things:D

[kama'aina mama]

Originally posted by mamapie
I am in the tent on discharge.

A+ for the pun!

I feel ya sister. I have never thrown out a picture. Well, okay, one or two, but bedding distorts!!! Pics aren't kept to help ID people you might see again, for Pete's sake... your photo box isn't CSI! They are props and momentos for reminiscences.

I'm just sad to be reduced to envying a woman her husband on the basis of scrabble of all things! LOL

[pie]

Kudos for the reference to CSI. That is the only network show I watch. Well but now it is getting to slick and the storylines to out there.

I love the freaking scenery though. I so often know right where they are as Vegas is my hometown.

Won't be watching Miami one though. I don't do spin off TV shows. Except I did like Frasier the few times I have seen it.

[Megs Mom]

Originally posted by mamapie
Now explain to me why I can't throw my pics and letters in the trash. I will never see any of those people again, in my whole life, ever, more likely than not, especially the dead one.

I have gotten rid of all old love letters b/c I realized they were not good for the most important relationship in my life, that with my DH. It was hard but I'm glad I did it. Coming across them always made me wistful for the old days and that was not a good thing.

I also had a friend who was murdered and I have saved pictures of her and will continue to do so.

[Irishmommy]

I threw out all pictures of my ex fiance, mainly because it bothered my dh that I still had them, seeing as ex was abusive. I wasn't keeping them for any reason other than I hadn't got around to it, but I'm so glad I did toss them. And it's been 9 or so years since they went!

[El Casey S]

I threw out some - the really negative ones - and found it freeing! Others I think are parts of me that I want to be reminded of. I'd suggest asking yourself if you want the stuff around as a part of you - and those you don't you could even get rid of in ritual style in order to free yourself . . . just a thought.

Basically I came in here today to talk about ME!!!

Because I have a Progesterone Question!

I’m putting this in the red tent, because I feel somehow safer in here to talk about these things. It just feels like the right place to ask this stuff and share my concerns. Technically, it IS the period that brings up these issues. So here goes:

For the past few months I have been using a natural progesterone cream in order to help with pre-menopause and possible thyroid issues. Lately, my desire to have children has gotten really strong! And I have been sexually aroused more often than I had been in years (not that I’ve had time to do anything about it). Now it is red tent time and the last few months my time between periods has been getting shorter by one day - and I’m insatiably hungry – but craving carrots and veggies like all get out and I’m aroused and feel just somehow different! Could it be that the progesterone is working? Could it be that the progesterone is making my periods shorter? Could it be that the progesterone is making me perhaps more fertile- or less? Any really wise and well-read-on-medical-issues women out there who can offer free advice without me having to read right now? I’ve got sooo much to do right now. I’m working on my last worship service here and have to find a new home in 2 weeks and packing, and saying goodbye - - could it be the stress that is throwing my period off? I’m sad to leave the people but so relieved to get out of this toxic situation here. I’m going through such extremes!
Helllpppp!!!

[CanOBeans]

No answers, Casey, although I have to admit I was intrigued by the thought of using progesterone cream to have more of a sex drive...or any sex drive...mine has been nonexistant for some time.

Day four here, should be the last day in the red tent for me.

I have gotten rid of some of the old pics/letters type stuff, and others I have kept. Don't know why some and not others. I do throw pictures away all the time though -- if it's a crappy pic, why keep it? My DH's jaw dropped the first time he saw me do this...he thought you just couldn't throw photos away, like they are sacred or something. :LOL Man, if I never threw pictures away I'd be drowning, I take sooo many. Now at least I have a digital cam so I'm not adding to the landfill anymore, just click on "delete" for the bad ones.

Anyway...

[pie]

I'll keep the letters and photos. I mean, dh likes my past. I am so lucky.

I need a digicam so bad.

Casey I don't know about your situation!

[kama'aina mama]

I think I'm done here... gathers up straw for composting


El Casey S... You might want to float that Q over in Health and Healing if you haven't already. there's a lot of wisdom over there. Good luck.

[burritomama]

well, I guess my reprieve is over and now, with the little guy at 5 1/2 months, my system is back in working order...

photos? Progesterone cream? I'll read up on the latest and get back to you when I can...though on the likely chance that time will get away from me I'll pass on a suggestion re: photos. A friend of mine slices hers up into 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch strips, then mixes them up and pastes them together collage style to decorate the covers of her homemade cards...it's a lovely way (and cheap and theraputic)to recycle the photos....

more later --

[Megs Mom]

I have just started throwing away bad pictures, since I started scrapbooking. Best pics are scrapped, medium ones are saved to file or give away, lousy ones tossed.

Still no AF at almost ten months PP. Hurray!

[Marlena]

Ack! I was starting to hope that maybe, as long as dd kept bf'ing night and day, I'd be able to stave off AF, but no luck. Date of LMP: July 2000. Good thing I kept my small supply of pads handy after our last move!

And scrapbooking? We're lucky here if pictures are kept in no more than three different locations, in the envelopes in which they came!

[CanOBeans]

:tidying up after self:

Thanks for the tea and conversaton, sisters! I confess to sneaking a bit o' chocolate the last few days, but now I'm on my way back to the land of no excuses. Sigh. See ya next month!

[Els' 3 Ones]

I've been sitting in the dark corner for the last two days......................quietly getting thru heavy flo and mild cramps.

Now I feel able to venture out into the circle. Who's got the tea? Can I join the Scrabble game? It's alot of Scrabble Jr. around here, I'm up for an adult game. I'll bring freshly made quacamole (organic tomatoes, onions and blue corn chips).

[Irishmommy]

Els 3 Ones, sounds, good, but I have to leave you to it! See you next month...

[Britt]

I should be ovulating, but instead I have gotten another period. For the last couple of day while I would normally be in a pre-ovulatory frenzy (and all over dh), I have been weeping inconsolably. This morning I woke up to cramps and a period! This has never happened before---Even tandem nursing I got very regular periods from 6 weeks post partum! I am 32 and not nursing any longer. No female friends have visited recently.

I am thinking it must be because I kept poking my head into the tent, even when I had no business here! The overpowering hormones influenced my usually unshakable cycle! I've learned my lesson...from now I'll only be in the red tent when it's my time!

(PS--I should have known this would happen because two weeks ago, just before my last cycle, a very tired dh finally said to me, "Wow, it's like you're ovulating or something." :eek )

[bigcats]

I'm coming in today even though I shouldn't really be here until Monday. Since I'll have to go to work on Monday and suffer the first few crampy hours there while being pummeled by 2 and 3 year olds, I'm taking the weekend to relax and drink moon time teas to prepare myself. So hello there!

I know something is up... it's 8am and I'm making a Morningstar Farms corn dog for breakfast.

I'm flowing every 30 days, but I'm still not ovulating since having gone off the pill 3 months ago :( And I'm not on any sort of full moon or new moon schedule. I'm not even syncronized with the women I work with (who are all syncronized with each other). I'm oh so lonely, and happy to have found the red tent here. Somebody, please flow with me! I wish my body could work itself out... wish I hadn't taken those pills so long :(

[pie]

Britt, Bigcats, I know you know your own bodies but PLEASE if the weird periods keep happening PLEASE keep in touch with your health care giver. Please. This is serious. I have such a severe infection that it is not clearing up and there is a chance it affected my fertility. :(

[El Casey S]

By the way - Bye!:wave

[bigcats]

Oh dear, mamapie, I hope you're doing all right. :(

My periods themselves aren't being weird - quite regular actually - it's just that I'm pretty sure from charting my temps that I'm not ovulating. They say not to expect everything to go right back to normal after you get off the pill, but you're right, Pie, I will go get it checked out soon if I don't ovulate in the next cycle or two.

Feel better soon.

How's it going, Britt? Is it turning out to be a "for real" period? Sometimes women spot (and get those weird mittleschmerz cramps) during ovulation.

*Sipping some nettle tea, getting a kettle ready for anyone who might come in and join me. Please?*

[Arduinna]

I'm back too. Actually I qualified a few days ago. A little unexpected for me too. But I won't quibble with a 31 day cycle when my previous one was soooo long.

Pass the candy :-)

[bigcats]

Glad to have you join me in here! *passing tea and candy*

Actually I still haven't started. Was due yesterday. But that was based on only two previous cycles of 30 days, so it's not too surprising. I'm feeling kinda crampy so I bet I'll start today or tomorrow.

[Britt]

mamapie, I'm thinking about you and hoping you heal soon.

If that kettle is still warm, I'll have some tea, Kim.

Yes, it has turned out to be a "for real" period. I feel truly drained. My period had only ended a week earlier. Last night I had a strong craving for a spinach and carrot smoothie at about 11pm. I have never before had a craving for a spinach anything! We didn't have any carrots, but dh (he's such a gem) got out the food processor and tossed in some fresh spinach, a grapefruit, a few grapes, an orange, and some ice. I drank three glasses and swore I had never had anything so delicious in my life. :confused:

I've never charted, but it's always absolutely clear when I'm ovulating---but I've never ovulated twice in one month before. In retrospect, it was pretty clear that I was ovulating a second time. Instead of feeling bloated I felt lustful, I actually called dh in the bathroom to show him my secretions (?!?), and I was saying crazy things like "I MUST have another baby," something I never say when I'm not ovulating. (My hands are pretty full with the three I have!)

Anyone else ever ovulate more than once in a month?

And how are the rest of you doing?

[Elismama]

I've been waiting to enter the red tent- eyeing it from afar- glad that it would be there when my moon came. Meant to drop by yesterday- but I took a nap instead.

Canobeans summed it up for me:

I'm here, unexpectedly. I swear before I had kids I used to know when it was coming, and now it sneaks up on me every time. You'd think I would know because I turn into a shrew right before -- which is new too, I never even knew what PMS was -- but I don't recognize the bitchiness as PMS until AF rings the doorbell.

I'm not much of a supplement taker, but I have been trying to diminish the PMS with daily doses of evening primrose and vitamin b- it is helping but my sweet Michael still sees my moon coming from a mile away.

I brought some raspberry leaf tea and a few extra hot water bottles. Happy for the good company.

-jeanie

[bigcats]

Still nothing here! This is really weird. The one time I'm excited to have it so I can be in the red tent, and it won't come. I never skip. There is no possibility of babies - that would be an immaculate conception. I'm not under an unusual amount of stress lately. I'm starting to get worried here.

But, I think I'll stay anyway, if you others will have me here. I'll keep the tea brewing.

[Arduinna]

ARG AF and cramps go away come again another day. It's been a week of AF now and my last AF was really long too. Go away and take crampy and spot with you too.

UGH, off to find some Midol.

[Nursing Mother]

HISSSS......SPAT.....ARGGGG.......

Ok I'm officially in huh????:eek

Bad bad PMS this time.....can't sleep....just throwin' hissy fits all over....

[bigcats]

Ok, I'm really here for a reason now. The cramps started at 5am, as usual. Diarrhea and a backache too, as usual :( I was looking forward to sleeping in an extra hour today too. Oh well. I've got a pot of crampbark decoction on the stove, which will be ready to choke down soon (it tastes so nasty!). I still have to go to work, but it's staff development day so there will be no kids there and I can go in late.

Either my body was waiting for staff development day, or it's moving a little bit, trying to synchronize with the full moon on Monday.

*offers crampbark tea to anyone who can get it down their throat without puking*

[mamabeard]

hello.. can i come in?

just PMS time for me.. hooray. anyone else's life get real crappy during PMS? i mean, aside from your own muddled perceptions?
for example, my boyfriend and i have just broken up, this time for good, i'm sure.. and other little things just get out of wack for me..

i don't usually get bitchy, i get depressed, sad.. and the night before my period, i *always* cry. i oft wonder if it's the crying that brings it on (cuz sometimes with a big enough cry, my period will come a few days earlier than expected), or if it's the other way around ..

anyway, i guess i'm lucky. since having a baby, my cramps have dimisnished substantially. i used to have dismenorrhea (sp?) BAD, sometimes couldn't even walk.. rolling around on the floor for hours.

well, i'll be around here for the next week or so..

thanks for setting up this nice little haven for us, mamapie..

[bigcats]

Of course you may come in, welcome!

Oh my god... all I can say is "Worst episode ever!". This has got to be the worst period of my life. I still haven't made it in to work. I'm just now able to sit up long enough to type this and am trying to muster up the strength to make myself some oatmeal. Having an empty stomach is making this much worse, I think.

It's not so much the cramps, although they are bad, as it is the waves of nausea that roll over me and the feeling that I'm about to black out at any moment.

I've taken two hot baths since I got up this am, and they really help, but it's hard getting up the strength to go pour another one. The reason I got out in the first place is that my bathroom is not a very pleasant place to be right now... it's temporarily serving as a nursery for my foster kittens and I haven't yet been able to clean it up this morning yet. I hate feeling as if I'm neglecting the little tykes too. Hopefully I can eat some breakfast and then clean up the kittens' area a little bit before heading off to work. I will stop at the drug store on the way for some Aleve. As much as I hate to resort to it, I'm going to this time. I wish I wasn't living alone right now... I really needed someone to make my tea, get the phone for me so I could call in to work, get me some medication, pour my baths, fill my hot water bottles for me, etc. On the other hand, it's nice to be able to roll around naked on the floor without an audience if necessary.

Sorry to hear about your recent breakup, mamabeard. I went through the end of a 5 year relationship a few months ago and I'm still not over it yet. It's really tough, I know. I don't know about my life getting crappy around my period time though... I don't seem to get any discernable PMS symptoms though either. Treat yourself well right now, make yourself tea and be cozy this weekend.

[pie]

I am so cranky today I think I shall explode. Nothing is right today, nothing, and worse, my dh is unbearably horny.

[Chi-Chi Mama]

hello.. just peeking in ;)

is it possible to ovulate but not have a period?

i am planning on getting TCOYF this weekend, but from the little i know so far, i feel like i have ovulated once or twice already, but no AF (dd is almost one and still nurses quite a bit)

i also recently stopped taking the mini-pill i've been on for a while.. so i dont' know if that's messing me up... i'm just nervous about this b-coz we're definitely not ready for another dc.

so even though i haven't missed AF, at least then i would be able to have a sign of relief once a month ;)

hope my 'peeking' is ok.. let me pass around some goodies - chocolate for those that want some and water, tea.. and now about some scrapbook material - don't we all have pics that need to be organized? :D

[pie]

Welcome Sveta, come all the way in.

Yes it is completely possible to ovulate and not pass blood. A lot of nursing moms get pregnant that way. Are you wondering if you could be pregnant?

[emmaline]

I'm howling at the tent door already but i've got a week to wait!!!!:( :angry :crying

another week of horrible PMS

ayoop yarooooooo

where's the B6?

grumble grumble

[rwikene]

I am here AGAIN! this is the third time in about 5 weeks that I have "started", but now it is a full blown period. The last two were just spotting.:rolleyes:

Anyway, I guess when you get your first AF after having a baby it could be weird right?

Please pass the tea, chocolate, something to read:D

thanks

[Chi-Chi Mama]

i have also wondered what the first post-baby AF visit is like... anyone wants to share?

mamapie, that thought (of being pregnant) crosses my head every couple of days.. we're not ready for that right now, would like to wait a year or so.. but what the worse case scenario here? another baby ;) still a blessing; we are struggling financially right now, but we'll make it work if that's the case..

on my way to get TCOYF.. hope dd will let me read some of it this afternoon

[rwikene]

ok, so now I am leaving....2 days of bleeding and then bam! nothing! no spotting, nothing

GRRRR....I wish AF would come or go, but make up her mind!


I'm outta here, for today anyway:rolleyes:

[Valérie.Qc]

Chocolate craving here! AF showed up first thing in the morning...

But I'm glad to say that I don't have any cramping with my Keeper:thumb :D What a relief! I wish I could have found that cup years ago!!!

Think I'm gonna make some tea :) I'm here for few days ;)

[SabraMamma]

What a fun thread to find. I loved the book and we all do need a place to let it all out. If you haven't read the book yet, do so! I was not as fortunate as most other nursing moms. I got my first period after giving birth when my dd was only 7 weeks old- after bleeding for 5 weeks after birth. I nursed her on demand for 18 months and bled regularly during that time. I am presently seeing a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner to try to lighten my flow. Boy do I flow- heavy for 7 or 8 days every 24-28 days. This month my period came, stuck around for 3 days, gave me a break for 24 hours, then came back again. My aunt Flo seems to be fickle about whether or not she wants to stick around. Anyone have any suggestions for lightening flow and clots other than what every doctor suggests, the pill? I don't want to go there.

[steph]

...open flap and crawls in..... well back again..... been out of town for a few days, just glad it waited till we got home! too busy to stay quiet for long... but chocolat rules my life right now! anyone want some of this organic choc. truffle bar i found at trader joes? (sorry mama pie, don't know if it's fair trade or not)

[SoHappy]

whispering from outside the tent...
Julieshayna, Are you over 35? Seems to be when the heavy long flow hits most of us. Also, that little break in the middle of AF isn't too uncommon. In fact, in the olden days (a few years ago) there was a thread about it on these boards. It turns out it happens to a lot of people. It was dubbed "the hiatus".

[pie]

I'm back too, got all red yesterday. Go figure my son would have his first day of school EVER on the second day of my period when I am a crybaby anyway.

JulieShayna, have you been checked for infection? I suffered extremely heavy bleeding for a year. I finally went to my gyn and it turned out I had a major uterine infection. I had to do antibiotics but this period is lighter. Much lighter.

And I read the red tent, loved it very much, and was inspired to start this thread. Oh and my name is Dena, pronounced Dee-nah, just like Dinah in the book. I loved the beginning when she muses over mothers ever naming their daughters after her.

[SabraMamma]

I am only 28 so the real heavy stuff is not related to age. I have been to the gyno and do not have any infections that would cause heavy bleeding. I have gotten heavy periods for 18 years now!! Today should be the last day, even with my little break this week, so I should be out of this tent for a while. Thanks for the support. I guess it is just my luck to be this way.
-Julie

[steph]

mama pie, i just saw your "go angels" sig.... had to laugh as i'm a giants fan ;) tomarrows game should be a cliff hanger! :thumb

[Moon]

*stomps in, throws herself into a comfy place mumbling to herself about everybody in the world being a butthead and how much all the men in my life just SUCK*

[StarMama]

You know about the only thing I'm LIKING about being on my period is being able to come back to the tent! :love

I am kinda worried, I've been charting for 2 cycles, and my luteal phase is exactly 10 days. On day 11, my period shows. Am wondering if I'm gonna need progesteroine (I know I can't spell!) cream for baby trying... one more month of charting then we start ttc! Any advice mommas? And is it easy to get the Dr. to perscribe the cream? Armed with only 3 months of charting? I'd hate to get pregnant and miscarry if this is so easy to fix. Thanks!

**Sits down in a comfy spot with a good book, a flannel body pillow and blanket and *sighs* in happiness because there aren't any SNORING MEN around to disturb me!** :p

[steph]

sorry lisa_lynn, no advise here.... but damn i wish i had more of that chocolate bar!

[HotMama]

I'm so tired of washing out pads! Since I started nursing my incredible dd through adoption, my moons are much heavier and 3 times as long! Any ideas on why? I have some idea that the crap clogging my tubes (our reason for adopting) is getting cleaned out and that will solve the question on how we can adopt another child ($$$) with only one of us working outside the house.

"make room on those pillows, snuggle up and let's share this tasty stout I brewed"

[kama'aina mama]

Oh man this F*ing week!

Bit of unsolicited advice: Try not to enter the red tent at 32,000 feet. No fun. No fun at all.

[CanOBeans]

Well, I feel like I was just here, and here I am again. A middle of the night start...haven't had one of those in a long time. Woke up out of a dead sleep and trotted to the bathroom...voila. I knew it was coming this time, though -- last month I thought a month ahead and realized AF was due right around the time that I need to wear a dress that does not go well with bloating. Figures. Also I got a clue when I looked at my kids on Monday and sincerely wanted them to just go away for a few days. :eek

Anyone know any dietary ways to get rid of the bloating? I don't want to look three months PG in this dress...

[simonee]

...slinking in... fluffing up some pillows in a corner... all ready to go.... slinking out again... almost ready... wish that dang af would get here so we could get this over with...

[Britt]

I hate PMS.:crying

(I almost never say I "hate" anything, but I mean it now.)

[Britt]

OK, I took a long, warm bath and have almost completely forgiven myself for bursting into tears while reading the boys "The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo" tonight. (I have NO idea what that was about.)

Dh's return flight from London should be landing in about twenty minutes, and he's promised me a bag of Crunchie bars and a good book from the airport bookstore.

I am now going to light some candles and try to think peaceful things.

[simonee]

Uh... I'm not coming in after all.

Not for at least a year, in fact... if all goes well :D

:balloons :balloons

[Britt]

:D :balloons

Congrats!

[Megs Mom]

simonee, :D :love :p :) :thumb

[rhemp]

smiling (kinda) and greeting all in tent before collapsing in first available spot.
Man, I hate the mood swings that go along with girly sh&%!!! My dh is ready to move out! I just feel like GROWLING at everyone I see today (and yesterday and probably tomorrow...) Oh well.
singing as loudly, obnoxiously as possible an old song from high school swing choir "I ENJOY BEING A GIRL!"
Harumph.

[Kylix]

Congrats Simonee!! :)

rhemp--I'll join you in here for the next couple of days. I'm trying to remember what my New Moon pamphlet said. Menstruation is a time of renewal, of rebirth, of relaxation. The pamphlet said it so eloquently I almost started to believe it. ;)

Anyways, it'll be nice to have some nice ladies to share my moon cycle with this month. Let the relaxing, renewing and rebirthing begin!

Kylix

[emmaline]

peeping thru the tent flap behind simonee to say I won't be back for quite a while either, all being well

thanks for the good company, the tent is a great asset!

[Kylix]

Emmaline, you too!! Congratulations!! :thumb

Kylix

[emmaline]

thanks kylix :down

[Valérie.Qc]

Just peeking to say "Congratulations" to Emmaline and Simonee!:love

I feel I will be back for good really soon... Poor DH stays as far as he can... :rolleyes: Last month AF showed up on cd25... I'm now at cd22... I'm used to be regular at 28... Looks like AF is shifting to follow the moon... Oh!oh!:eek O time at the Full Moon :eek :o I'll have to repeat to myself: "I won't bd, I won't bd... sticking to the plans... I won't bd!" (Why did I agreed with tha t plan anyway :rolleyes: :confused: )

See you later!

[dlb]

Best wishes to those of you who won't be here a while because of a pregnancy. Hugs to those of you who don't want to be here because you want a baby, but are sad to find yourself here this month.

Can I hang? My breasts hurt. I'm fat. I'm ugly. I can never do anything right. I'm clumsy. My hands shake. I'm forgetful.

DH says I think these things every month.

I hate this.

dlb

[HotMama]

Thanks for remembering those of us who are less than excited to see our moon arrive (AF). I used to love the deep, dark way I would feel and then it just became another month not pregnant...if only my hormones didn't work so well!

Now I have no time to notice most of the changes because I am blessed with dd Sarah.

[Kylix]

Hugs to those who are TTC and are sad to see AF this month.

dlb, I feel the same as you. I had forgotten until now that I feel t his way every time I'm at this point in my cycle. I just feel so blech. Just so ugly and blotted. I break out right before my period comes and my skin doesn't get better til it's gone. I don't feel like doing anything at the moment. It's definitely a time where I need to just be by myself and relax.

Kylix

[dlb]

Kylix--

I need to be alone and relax, too-- and I have four sons, and a DH, who I have just spent two days trying to articulate, in my head, how much I really, really hate him, but trying to figure out the most acceptable way to tell him this. Its a good thing I couldn't quite spit it out, now that the PMS is resolving I find that I don't actually feel that way at all---until next month.


dlb

[merpk]

Well, I'm not in yet, but DS#2 is just about 9mos & I'm moody as all get out and grumpy & crampy to boot, so figure something's gonna happen soon. Any day now.

Just wanted to hang around the door to make sure there's room for me in here when it happens ...

Neurotic, too.

- Amy

[darlindeliasmom]

I'm coming in, if you don't mind me stomping around a bit and throwing things!!
well, that's what I've been doing at home the past week or 2...

my first time in the tent with you all, tho' I've been peeking in occasionally...

I really thought I wouldn't be visiting this month, AF came on cd37...I sooo wanted another babe, and I'm running out of eggs, people!

Anyway, wanted to stop in because in the shower today, I suddenly remembered my teenage revelation: you should be able to just stay in one place and NOT have to go to school or work or anything when you are dealing with a heavy flow and cramps and all. My plan at age 15 was to ask my mom to designate one of the bathrooms as the menses room, set up a cot, supply heating pads and chocolate, and let the girl(s) take all their meals there , if needed...imagine my surprise when I learned that I was about 5,000 years behind the times!!

[Britt]

My cycle has been so strange. A couple of months back it came two weeks early. Then four weeks later it was there on the nose again. This month I only really bled for a couple of days (I usually have a seven day cycle). I have been having the most intense baby lust, while still in the tent. This is extremely unusual for me, I generally only have baby lust while ovulating, right at day 14.

And to top it all off, last night I had a very intense dream that I was pregnant with QUINTUPLETS. Five babies. :eek Four boys and a girl. I woke at 4 am, shook dh and told him we were going to have seven sons and one daughter! He has been afraid to so much as sneeze with me in the room ever since.

So why the baby lust while still in the tent? We're not even thinking of TTC. Maybe I should start charting to see what's actually going on with my cycle....

[HotMama]

Whew! The hormones this month were dangerous for anyone within range this month...I always get these heavy victim feelings when my moon comes - what's up with that? When I was a teenager, I felt like queen of the universe, but now I'm angry at everyone, like dh blew his nose and woke up dd on purpose?!
I wish my community had a red tent IRL.:rolleyes:

[Kylix]

Plenty of room ladies!! Cuz I'm on my way out!! YAY!!!

Kylix

[SabraMamma]

I totally agree with you darlindeliasmom about having a room or space dedicated to us- just like the red tent. I don't need heating pads there, but chocolate would be nice. I wish there was someplace to go and just let the flow do its thing.
Trying to find that space....

[Valérie.Qc]

AF took her time but she's finally home :rolleyes: It's a releif 'cause now I know it will be over in few days...

Pass me that heating pad if you don't use it... I'm cramping badly:crying

I should have bought that chocolate :rolleyes: Maybe tomorrow, if I have the courage to go out :o

[darlindeliasmom]

when i was a teen, I would come home from school, where I usually had an "accident"--remember how unpredictable AF was at first?--change my clothes, and just wrap myself around my pillow for as long as I could...which was never very long, since I lived in a house with 8 other people, and someone would barge through the door, or mom would be hassling about a chore or whatever. And the subject was not allowed to be mentioned, since 3 of those people were teenage and preteen boys, and God forbid they learn how a woman's body works. Or God forbid us girls learning either...

Regular exercise took care of the cramps, but they're back these days. Feeling no need to poke my head OUT of here today...

Hey, pass the chocolate, ok?

[earthmamafor3]

Hey womyn!! I have been DYING to come here and I skipped last month due to increased bf/and some meds I was taking!! I am so excited to be here, I lurk and visit and long for a RL tent!!

So my back went into spasm and I really think my body thinks this is the only way to get me to feel OK about lying down, going deeper and needing to be alone. I'm with dlb and overwhelmed with all the kids and my totally incredible loving dh who is so affectionate and sweet, but I am soooooooooooo touched out and wanting to scream if all these people do not get out of my space!!!!!!

{sighs}whew...that feels better...have any of you ever had the little chocolate cakes from Carl's jr? wow....like a moist pudding cake, i just had one today for the first time and mmmmmmm....

Backrubs and footrubs all around, let the hormones roll!!!

:hippie

[rwikene]

UGH!!!

I'm here! I am so b*tchy lately, I am getting mad over the smallest things!

I feel like I am bleeding so much, it feels like even more than after DD was born (I had a c-section, so the bleeding was more like a normal period) I think maybe I could be having a miscarrage, maybe not. I have no idea....

I have been at the verge of tears....DD has been crying for days now (last of her first 4 molars is breaking through), it's christmas time and I still don't have all the gifts wrapped, my SIL is dealing with a custody battle (partly due to her stupidity on not taking the father of her child seriously when he said he was going to get custody) and now he has it and he is a convicted child molestor! So my ILs have been leaning a lot on me, wanting me to come up with sollutions, wanting me to offer to take this little girl into hiding in my home (which could lead to kidnapping charges) and I am not willing to do that!

I really just want a really hot bath, and a nice pair of sweats! I don't want to do the mountains of laundry I have, I don't want to dress up for Christmas, I don't want to nurse DD non-stop all night long. And most of all I want this bleeding to slow down!!!! I am wearing 2 pads right now (I wore these for post pardum and had no problem with just 1) and still bleed through 2 of them last night....I feel so dirty and stinky but I know if I take a bath now DD will wake up and cry, I so do not want to nurse her right now!

Well thanks for listening to me whine!!! I am going to curl up now, and pass out from all this blood loss!

sidenote: I am not cramping at all! nothing! so why am I complaining??????

[rwikene]

Oh, well I guess I have had "cramps" if you can call them that...more like how my labor pains were (sharp needle-like pains starting in my hips and burning down my outter thight) lovely! nothing in my stomach, just if I sit for too long or sit wrong then my hips start hurting so bad!

this is so weird!

[earthmamafor3]

i'm not in the tent right now, altho i am having ovulation cramps like nuts and am struggling to hold off dh...not the right time for us to ttc, but we both are aching for one!!
I wanted to respond tho, rwikene, I was so sad no one responed to my post when I WAS in the tent!!
:( poor rwikene!! I am so sorry you are having such a heavy flow. I could just feeeeeel how ucky you are feeling and I can sooooooo relate to not wanting to nurse anymore tonight!!

Sounds like you have lots to grieve about and perhaps your body is echoing those feelings. I'm glad you thought to come to the red tent and vent....i give you permission to get in your sweats and industrial size "gramma panties" (ie: diapers for AF) and a nice cup of tea, a lovely blanket and good book. Snuggle in and take some time for yourself, even a few minutes from the hustle and bustle. The presents will be wrapped and the IL's will settle. Celebrate and rest......
much love and light
deb

[rwikene]

earthmamafor3~

thanks for your kind words, actually I am feeling a lot better now. AF is almost gone:eek I was bleeding pretty heavy yesterday (changed pad every 1-3 hours and still wearing 2 pads for the most part) but last night and today I am barely spotting....weird:confused:

I don't think it was a miscarriage, otherwise I would be bleeding more right? anyway, if it was I didn't even know I was prego so it doesn't make it worse or anything for me (I know that sounds really insensitive and I am sorry if that comment hurts feelings of women who have had to deal with a miscarriage, but I am stating how I feel about the whole thing)

I had a wonderful Christmas, and wasn't moody at all! Only problem was no Christmas sex with DH:( poor guy, it's been like 3 weeks and he hasn't even really been putting on the pressure....

cleaning up my mess, gathering dirty hay......getting ready to leave and get on with life

[kama'aina mama]

Oh ladies, I just had to tell you how wonderfully trained my DH is. We are traveling and I started to flow in the hotel room the other night. This is the second trip in a row that has turned menstrual. Last time I woke up one morning and had to send him out in search of a store. So, I come out of the bathroom and tell him I got my period. He hops out of his chair and snatches up the car keys, "What do you need?" he asked cheerfully. Honest to goodness... not annoyed at all. I was thrilled to be able to tell him I had everything I needed with me.

I also threw away a pair of chonies for the first time in ages. It was a ratty old pair that had been scrubbed in the crotch too many times already and when my keeper leaked a bit I just decided, the heck with it!

[Maribel]

Originally posted by kama'aina mama
I also threw away a pair of chonies for the first time in ages. It was a ratty old pair that had been scrubbed in the crotch too many times already and when my keeper leaked a bit I just decided, the heck with it!

I cannot beleive you used the word "chonies"! :rotflmao This is what we use in reference to undwear, it's just funny seeing it here.

[rwikene]

I was a little curious about what you were referring to.

Well, I am going to stick around it seems, AF gave me a 12hour break and now she is back, but only lightly....and I am feeling better....

Tea anyone? I got some wonderful Ginger Peach tea from santa (in my stocking that I stuffed myself:rolleyes: ) I also had some wonderful Christmas eve tea...yummy!

[adventuregirl]

Wooooweeee, I need this tent right about now! I'd like a nice hot bath, tea, soft soothing music, a foot rub and lots of candles to send these cramps on their way. But alas, I am at work, sitting in an office in front of my computer, so this little virtual red tent is my only solace. At least for the next 3 hours...

So, is anyone else joining me in le tent? I'll trade shoulder massages.... :nod

[heartmama]

cramps. cramps. diarrhea. cramps. ibuprofen. cramps. ibuprofen. feeling a bit better now.

thinking i have endometriosis. Supposedly caused by blood backing up into the fallopian tubes for mysterious reasons?

I am passing up tampons today for the first time in, um, ever and trying to sit/squat rather than lay down. If stuff is backing up in there I should at least try to usher it in the right direction, using good old gravity! not sure this will work but it was an idea I had.

I could use some tea. i have some coffee.

who else is in the tent?

sqatting the new year away....

Heartmama

[reverendmother]

Jumping in late in the conversation --

Am I the only one, or does anyone else like being in the tent? Sure some parts of it stink -- diarrhea for one, but there is something about the conection with my own body, the fact that no man can or would want to do this, the reminder that becasue of all this mess my two dear dds are here in my life. I don't even mind the back ache or the cramps.
Maybe its becasue I am getting closer and closer to the point when it will all stop and I know that I will miss it.


Guess I must be in love with the color red:)

grace, peace and glad rag tidings,
rev mother

[heartmama]

reverendmother yes I have thought that too. I always had painful periods. They took a turn for the much worse this year, and I have not enjoyed that.

But yes I remember just before I conceived ds, skipping midol when I had my periods as much as I could stand it, to prepare myself for homebirth. It was really special. Just following the pattern of the cramps as they came and went, like a tide. It really was a lot like labor contractions in many respects.

It is really wild watching your body go through a "cycle" that is not under conscious control. At times I have thought "How amazing, I love being part of a fertility process like this" and I have thought that when it is over, I will miss how vital and dynamic it is to have that cycle running through your ordinary life.

Heartmama

[AdinaL]

I'm here. And in dire need of a serious backrub. af arrived yesterday morning with a vengeance....

I have mixed feelings about being here. I am thrilled that everything works and I ovulate and have regular periods - but every period means another month of ttc! So that always makes me a little grumpy.

On bright notes - af has gotten shorter and less obnoxious since switching to cloth pads - so I am happy about that.

only a couple more days...

[adventuregirl]

I must say that this is the first time I've tried a hot bath for my awful first day cramps, and what a difference! Then sleeping with my heating pad - I actually slept - and didn't use anything (herbs, ibuprofin) for the pain! Yahoo!

I also like being in the tent, although sometimes the cramps make me cry. It helps me remember to slow down and honor my feminine nature. I always like to paint my toenails or do something "girly" that I wouldn't normally do. :hearts

[Chi-Chi Mama]

well, after peeking in a few times to 'scope' out the scene...

I am now officially walking in

AF came by this morning.. two weeks shy of 2 years :D I was really hoping to make it to that anniversary and go past it. But alas, dd is 14 months and I read somewhere that's the average for b-feeding mamas. so here I am

surprisingly, no horrible cramps/back pain (not yet, at least)

and I got to try out the Keeper!! I bought it a month ago and was wondering when I'd have use for it

so another thanks to mamas here at MDC - so far, I love it!! this place is a wealth of knowledge.. I am now telling anyone who'll listen about the keeper :D

anyone else in the tent?

[Chi-Chi Mama]

anyone wants to share their 'remedies' for cramps, etc?

red rasberry leaf tea? i think I heard something about that?

like I said, it's been about 2 years for me ;) and back then, I wasn't into any kind of natural/healthy alternatives - I'd just pop midol every couple of hours

[barbara]

I have found homeopathic pulsatilla to work well for my cramps. I haven't tried red rasberry leaf tea for cramps. I have used it for toning in the late stages of pregnacy and early labor. Let me know how it works on cramps.

namaste,
b

[MamaOui]

................

[Joyce in the mts.]

I am 44 and still doing the monthly dance with the moon...though it gets trickier now. Just getting through yet another cycle of the flow now.

Found out I am manifesting some of the most harsh symptoms of PMS...getting older and my body is changing and such. Perimenopause. My emotions are so raw, and I found that I HAVE to change some bad dietary habits with this to make it balance out again.

Well, hey, gotta look forward to cronedom. My hair is graying and I have some wrinkles and my kids are all taller than I and gorgeous. I love this stage...looking forward to being an elder.

I am reading all about all your returns to the moondance after nursing and so forth, and I feel so old, but I remember nursing babies, and now I could be a grandmother...*ahem* a YOUNG grandma.

I would so love grandbabies....I miss wee ones. Mine are mostly grow'd up. They are old enough to create wee ones, but I tell 'em, "NOT tomorrow, ok?". They are not ready.

I really love reading all your posts. One day soon it will all stop for me....no more flow I mean. Now it is just tricky as I said. Feels as intense as it did when I was 13....I remember all the stupid things my dad said like, "What'd you do, cut yourself?" with a stupid knowing grin on his face.

I was all ready to give my daughter (who *sniff* turns 20 the day after tomorrow) a lovely Moonlodge ritual for her first moontime, but she was raised with ceremony, and didn't want it. I was crushed but isn't that the way?

Well, Moon Sisters....I love you all...and I hope where ever you are that you can step out and see Dear Grandma Moon out there in the sky tonight...she's at her halfway full point.

A Moon Song (maybe I can sing it for you some day):
Neesa, Neesa, Neesa (repeat)...Ga Wee ho, Ga Wee ho....(Seneca for Grandma Moon, we are here...according to Grandma: Yehwenode Two Wolves of Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge/Seneca Indian Historic Society)

Question: Didja ever notice your moon time cycling around her phases? Mine seems to go from New Moon to Full through the year. Been charting that for many years now. Just a curious thought to share.

Love, Joyce in the mts.

[barbara]

Good to see you here Joyce. I'm 46 and I am grandma (admittedly, a young one :wink ) and I believe my nursing days are past, although I'd love to birth another baby. The moontimes are still coming, and pretty regularly at that, so the possibility is there.

I love this place of rest with my moon sisters.

Namaste,
b

[Valérie.Qc]

Ok, where is the chocolate? I need chocolate! I want chocolate NOW!!! :wild

AF took me by surprise (cd24) few hours ago and I don't have any chocolate :crying (Now I know why I was sooo emotional this week-end... and why I lost it on DH when he said what I have plan for supper was not enough :rolleyes: )

Think I'm gonna crawl under the sheets and try to not upset myself... :tiptoe

[rwikene]

I'll probably be here in a few days....

here's a big ol' bowl of chocolate and some warm tea for you.....I am also leaving some magazines and the tv remote nearby. I hope you feel better

:hug

[Valérie.Qc]

Thank you Rachel, the tea was what I needed :love

I'm indulging myself with real chocolate :o and a nice herbal tea :thumb

I hope I won't be in here for too long... last month AF stayed 6 days but the bleeding was minimal - this time I could put a sign saying "Welcome to Niagara Falls" in my pants :eek (sorry, probably TMI :o ) First time I floaded my Keeper since I bought it in september...

I really would like a place like this Red Tent IRL :)

[HotMama]

Do all nursing Mamas have erratically spaced moons? I never know when AF will be here. Is this a joy of adoptive nursing, or what?? I was just here three weeks ago and I was grumpy for a week before she came. Banana bread with chocolate chips did help though...

[rwikene]

well, I'm officially here:crap I am just so dang tired!!!!

Oh, it was funny how it started though, I was walking through the store today (checking out the "organic" section of the local grocery store, and came across the pads and tampons (organic of course:p ) and all the sudden I HAD to rush to the bathroom, sure I had started.

Yep, indeed I HAD started, and was in need of pads....but didn't have the money for the organic kind, so I just bought plain ol' Always. Then called DH to complain that I am tired of using 'sposie pads and wanted cloth. He told me that I can buy some cloth out of his next paycheck (in a week and a half) too late for this time but next time I'll be ready!!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!!

Ok, well DH is going to the store for chocolate, and I am going to make a nice hot cup of tea and relax.

Did I mention that this couldn't have come at a worse time, we are moving this weekend, I really don't want to have to deal with this while moving. Oh well! At least I'm not pregnant!

[Valérie.Qc]

It's so cold outside I've decide to indulge myself with a real hot chocolate - who want a cup? :yum

HotMama - that banana bread smell soooooo good! Can you share the recipe??

[HotMama]

Yum! I haven't had cocoa in ages!

I don't tolerate sugar well (it makes me a grump all month:eek ) so I use a sweetener called 3 Ps, or peach, pear, pineapple juice concentrate syrup, or spmething like that. Mystic Lake Dairy sells small jars at natural food stores. I currently buy it by the gallon from Glory Bee, the honey place which happens to be here in town. When I was teaching in Alaska, they'd ship it to me. All of that to preface the "recipe." (in copyright safe form...the cookbook is great and is full of recipes for the sweetener "Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free.")

Lightly toast 3/4 c walnuts. Mix 2c flour (I use WW pastry flour, but white would work), 2t baking soda, 1/2 t baking powder, 1 t cinnamon and 1/4 t salt in one bowl. In another bowl, mix 1/2 c oil, 3/4 c fruit sweetener, 3 eggs, 2 t vanilla and 3/4 c mashed bananas - go over rather than under on banana amount or it can be dry. Mix it all together with 2 handfuls of grain sweetened choc chips and cook at 350 (325 convect) for 45 min or so, more in regular ovens, less in convection. Let cool a bit before slicing. You'll have one pan to eat now and one for tomorrow!:p

[1jooj]

I have the chocolate. I have the tea.

I have been in the tent for two weeks now...beginning to miss my non-Moontime life, a LOT.

Even read the book last week.

It really is hard not having a tent IRL...

[kama'aina mama]

burning sage in the corners,
fluffing up some pillows and straw,
laying out trays of chocolates and bottles of water