Off His Meds

Yes, we are preparing for our transpacific trip to oz--but i had to rant about the illinois campus police chief's press release regarding the college shooting by kazmierczak. He states, "Apparently he had been taking medication but stopped and became somewhat erratic." Subsequent media reports will go on to say he was off an "unnamed" medication.

Um. Was he on claritin? Antibiotics? No, no. We all know he was on some sort of medication for a mental illness. But is it generally known that he was probably on an antipsychotic? A medication for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder? We're not talking prozac or wellbutrin. I believe this contributes to the false beliefs many people have about medications used for depression and anxiety. Some people i see in clinic are reluctant to take medication for their anxiety/depression because, by god, they don't feel like they want to shoot up a school or anything. They aren't *that* crazy. All they have is a sleep issue. If i'd just prescribe some sleep aids for them, they'd be just fine! insert sarcasm.

What Crazy People Do

The good news is the baby has stopped screaming so much. The bad news? She doesn't like to sleep very long. I should rephrase: She doesn't like to sleep long for me. My husband had no problems putting her down in her crib last night and she slept a solid 2 hours---which is a lot!

She enjoys being held and being rocked side to side. She especially likes her head to bob a little as if she is casually shaking her head "no." Two nights ago, it was 4am and i couldn't get her to sleep, so i gently rocked her and allowed her to shake her head, which lulled her to sleep. As i watched her drift off, i was curious why this motion was so soothing to her. So i slowly lulled my head back and forth. Then it occured to me: This is what crazy people do. They shake their head to see what it feels like.

She had her 2 month visit and weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds 4 oz. That means she has gained almost a pound per week since she was born. No wonder she's so unsettled...It takes a lot of energy to grow so fast!

And now we prepare for the LissyJo family trip to australia. Can 2 adults carry 2 car seats, 2 strollers, 2 large backpacks, a diaper bag, and the toddler's bag? OH and 2 small children? Doubtful. How exasperated do us adults have to look and how cute do the gils have to look to get a helping hand? Stay tuned....i'll be sure to let you know.

Yes We Can

I was happily surprised to hear obama won in mn, even though "they" couldn't hear my argument because i was working. After hearing about this video on youtube on npr, i watched it with my daughter watching. She asked who 'that man' was. I told her it was obama--our next president and as i tried to explain why he keeps saying 'yes we can,' i became teary thinking of how much our country needs change (don't laugh..i blame hormones). It seems obama's talent is raising hope in our exasperated country and i hope that when he is elected, our country doesn't turn on him when he can't immediately change the massive f*ck up bush has created.

Medical Adoptions

Looking for a child AND an organ? Check it out.

Adoption Shmadoption

Um, has anyone seen Adoption Stories on TLC? I just watched one where a canadian couple adopts a child from haiti. To give you an idea, the orphanage is called "god's little angels." They could have called the episode "White Couple Saves Black Baby From Terrible Country." They make a big deal about the adoptive mother feeding the baby his "first meal," (nevermind he looks about one year old and has probably eaten prior to her arrival) and how to care for his "terribly" dry hair and skin (by "terrible," did she mean 'black' or 'orphaned?'). They also had a small blurp about meeting the birthmother where they got the comforting story that she wanted to do the best she could for her child, which meant "giving him up" to this lovely canadian couple. They laughed about how they couldn't possibly keep his name, Wendi, unless he was guarenteed to grow up to be a football player--so his name was changed to something like adrian.

Watching this episode was like watching a car accident. It mostly made me sad about the show overlooking the complete adoption story, which might not be as sweet and tidy as portrayed. I was especially curious about the access to the birthmother. It seemed the adoptive parents were recieving most of their direction about baby cares from the orphanage manager instead of the birth mother. Does the agency keep them separated? Is it usual for the adoptive parents to meet the birth mother? What exactly are the circumstances surrounding this adoption and her "choice" to adopt out?

Speaking of sad adoption stories, did you see the story in the strib about the korean adoptee who found her birth family which included a twin sister? Her birthmother is terminally ill and drops the bomb on her daughter that she has a twin that she 'gave up' for adoption at birth and she'd like her to find her. And here that daughter is living in rural, minnesota. Damn.

I Love Work!

When the baby was 6 weeks old, she was fussy. The day before i was to do my first urgent care shift, she cried her head off for what seemed like hours. My husband is usually cool, calm and collected when dealing with screaming children, but the night before i was to go to work, he turned to me and said, "It's going to be a f*cking disaster." At this point, i was truly looking forward to working again and so i replied, "You'll figure it out." And indeed he did.

Since then, i have picked up a handful of shifts and it's been good for us all. My husband has become quite saavy with both children. I have seen some interesting cases at urgent care. And i think i'm an easier person to be around. Additionally, i feel like i enjoy my family more. I am reminded of what a delicate balance it is to be away from your family just enough to enjoy them. I certainly wouldn't want to work full time--and i'm still a bit nervous about throwing the baby in daycare at 3 months, but working part-time is good for me, for my brain, for my children and for the family.

Toddler --> Preschooler

Indeed--The toddler is now a preschooler. She created her own guest list and although 3 families and her aunty couldn't come due to puking disease ("That's ok...you can keep those germs far far away."), there were plenty of people to create semi-child chaos. With all the chocolate and sugar and cake flying around the room, i reflected on her first bday when she hadn't had much processed sugar and definately hadn't had candy or chocolate. I had baked an all-fruit, sugar-free cake not only for the baby, but for guests. When i cleaned up the bowls from her 1st bday party, they all contained a full piece of cake with one small bit out of the corner.


This year, we got the cake from lunds and it was 3/4 frosting, 1/4 cake. My daughter didn't have much cake, but she loved the chocolate from the pinata. She has been enjoying the presents--although the biggest one from my parents is in storage. Don't get upset gma and gpa--it's snowing outside and even the italians don't ride their vespas out in the snow.

Speaking of the pinata...I bought an authentic mexican pinata on lake street, but didn't realize how difficult it would be to get into. After the children pushed it around with a baseball bat for a while, my husband took the pinata behind closed doors and we heard the sounds of a saw. It came back with a small laceration on it's abdomen. A few more half-hearted pats with the bat and away it went with my husband and more sawing. After the 3rd time the pinata returned with his whole lower half hanging on a strand for the last child to knock down.

Before:




And after:

The Caucus Is Coming!

I'm sad that Edwards pulled out. According to mpr's website, he was my guy. I also really enjoyed listening to him speak. There is little difference between the remaining two candidates, as far as i can tell. And although race and gender are important things to me--it isn't as important as the media makes it out to be. It will be great to be alive for the first black president or the first woman president, but i believe i was raised to look beyond that. Race and gender definately contribute to character, but can i tell you how sick i am of being asked, "Is america ready for a black/woman president?"

I have a friend who suggests this difference of view is due to age: babyboomers versus gen x (or y). The baby boomers spent their young adult years fighting against gender and race disparities and i thank them for fighting for equal rights and respect the strides they made. I am sure it is amazing to see how things have changed in their lifetime in regards to equality. But what they fought for is for me to look beyond color and gender when voting for the next president. The babyboomer news analysts and experts need to stop stuffing it down my throat. Yes i noticed she's a woman, but what does she think about the war? Yes, he is indeed black, but how will he fix health care?

Some are getting sick of the ramp up to the next election with the prolonged process of earlier primaries/caucuses, but i have to admit i am excited about it all. I think it has caused people who otherwise wouldn't be tuned in pay attention. I had become exhausted with mindless people who care more about their trip to walmart than current events--but i think the media's slutting of the primaries has caused people to tune in and be involved.