Tuesday, March 31, 2009

365 Project update

I know, I know, I'm WAAAAAY behind. The pictures have been taken but between work, expo, and some ICAN stuff I haven't been motivated to be on the computer any more than I have to already, so nothing had been uploaded. So, here you go...updates! :)

3.18.09 Happy Happy Bike Ride. Hmpf.

3.19.09 Meeting Poof, Firetruck and Henrietta.

3.20.09 Park Day Bliss

3.21.09 Hockey Game

3.22.09 Death of the Seedlings

3.23.09 Movement diptic- Baby yoga crawling and walking dude

3.24.09 Uh Oh, Cheerios

3.25.09 Charlotte's Web and a bucket.

3.26.09 Pox Girl, Day 3

3.27.09 Expo Setup- he was very, very helpful.

3.28.09 Expo Pow Wow

3.29.09 Expo Jam

3.30.09 Making Dinner- "Look Mama, it's like a jet bath for noodles!"

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day Parade

What taking two kids to a parade really looks like...

Mama's watching...

Watching the parade...

Monday, March 16, 2009

Spring Break Playdate


We had lots of mamas and kiddos over today to give all the spring breakers something fun to do and to take advantage of the great weather.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

10 Months


I had a photo shoot today, but can't ignore the fact that Jax is 10 months old today- so his photo trumps it as today's picture. :)

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Friday, March 13, 2009

Uh- Oh!


Or as Jax likes to say, "Uh, ARGGHHH!" Our house is full of gates right now. The most important one being the basement gate. The basement is unfinished, so no door on a messy/dusty/concrete basement and babies don't mix that well. But we're also cheap. We won't fork over $70 for a fancy gate and with 5 3/4 trim the cheap gates don't fit very well so...you get a 6" gap underneath the bottom of the gate. Perfect for shoving toys under. And since the stairs are unfinished, it makes a very satisfying THUD as they clunk down the stairs and then land in their final resting place. At least final until I eventually cart them all back upstairs. That won't be for awhile. So until then, we'll just watch Jax send toys off the plank. Shiver me timbers.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Laundry


I'm on my eighth load of laundry today. That means that six loads have been washed, dried, folded (please don't faint), and put away. The sheets are in the dryer and will go directly on the bed and the diapers will have another cycle in the washer before they are ready to pop in the dryer. Would it be mean to request that my family wear the same clothes from today through the weekend so that I can enjoy the empty baskets for once? But before you sit back in awe of the great domestic goddess you think I am...

remember that I don't iron. At all. My poor husband is left with these wrinkly messes instead of work ready clothes. But at least their clean. And, in my defense, the one time I got the iron out recently it was a bad scene. Bad, bad scene. Not very motivating to get it out again is all I'm saying...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

ICAN


Doing some work for ICAN tonight, so yup, this is it for today :)

Monday, March 9, 2009

Tappy Tap Tap


Lili actually did great in Tap Class tonight. She got into the circle with the other kids! She did refuse to answer the teacher every time she was asked a question, though. In her defense, she turned to me every time with a grin on her face and said, "Mom! Grasshoppers don't say anything." Um, she's right. Grasshoppers don't typically answer when asked what their favorite color is- but she did answer enough to say that she'd like flies in her imaginary cookies. Three kids before her answered M&M's, and then Lili tosses in her "flies"- that's got to be some yummy batter...mmmm. My high spirited child did flap chicken wings when everyone else had soaring butterfly wings, and she stood up when everyone else sat down, and she was a grasshopper while they were tap dancing princesses- but she did it! Dumptruck and all. Yes, apparently the Dumptruck wanted to tap dance, too. It's hard to find that balance between nurturing her spirit while still experiencing group activities, and becoming a lemming following every order given to her...I couldn't be more proud of her and how she is finding her own way:)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Cart Friends


Who needs a cart full of supersized groceries when you can have a cart full of reading preschoolers?

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Waiting...



Nothing screams "fun Saturday!" like lots of rain and waiting at the dentist's office. Fun times. Lili even decided she needed to sit on every book in the waiting room so that no one else could read them until she had finished them all. There was no one else in the waiting room.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Sweet Little Lottie


All dressed up, and apparently somewhere super fancy (and rainy) to go!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Spring Fever


We got to remedy a bit of our spring fever today by enjoying the 70 degree temps at the zoo this afternoon. It was a great day for treasure digging. Not such a great day for going to the Capitol, though. I figured I didn't need to go this morning, only to change my mind about 10 minutes before I had to leave the house to meet Susan. And of course Jax and Lili were still in their jimjams. Unfortunately, it still proved unproductive, so I guess I changed clothes in the Capitol Parking lot for no reason. I did manage to leave several message and even convince my vacationing family to do so as well, but still it was a bummer. I'm still waiting to find out the outcome- stay tuned..

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Working It


These awesome representatives of the Friends of Iowa Midwives are working so hard for our state and our midwives- we are so fortunate to have such awesomeness in our corner!

And now,...the shamelessness ;)

What can you do?

-- Write an email. Express your support of House Study Bill 229. Put it in your own words. It doesn't have to be long or poetic. (There is an easy list of do's and don't's for writing good emails below...)

-- Copy and paste that email to each one of the following Representatives (be sure to address each Representative by name, including his/her title):

Representative John Beard john.beard@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Marcella Frevert marcella.frevert@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Mary Gaskill mary.gaskill@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Brian Quirk Brian.Quirk@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Paul Shomshor Paul.Shomshor@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Mary Mascher Mary.Mascher@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Doug Struyk Doug.Struyk@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Christopher Rants Christopher.Rants@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Jack Drake jack.drake@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Dawn Pettengill Dawn.Pettengill@legis.state.ia.us
Representative J. Scott Raecker Scott.Raecker@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Rod Roberts Rod.Roberts@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Rene Schulte renee.schulte@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Kevin Koester kevin.koester@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Dennis Cohoon dennis.cohoon@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Charles Isenhart charles.isenhart@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Todd Taylor Todd.Taylor@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Jeff Kaufmann jeff.kaufmann@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Nate Willems nate.willems@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Vicki Lensing Vicki.Lensing@legis.state.ia.us
Representative Roger Wendt Roger.Wendt@legis.state.ia.us


NOTE: you only have to compose one e-mail message, but don't send one e-mail to all of those addresses. Instead, copy and paste your message into 21 separate emails. If you don't have time to do all of them, start at the top of the list and do as many as you can. (The list is prioritized.)

This needs to be done BEFORE 10:30 AM tomorrow morning!!!

Once you've done that, you've already helped tremendously! Thank you!


But wait...
Want to do more? Got 10 more minutes?


Start calling and leaving short phone messages, too! If you can leave a message for just one Representative, great! If you can leave a phone message for each one of these people, even better! Start at the top of the list and call as many as you can!

Phone messages can be brief, and should follow the same basic guidelines as the e-mails.

Call the main switchboard: 515-281-3221. Ask to speak to the Representative. Almost guaranteed you will be connected to voicemail. Or, you may talk to a Representative's clerk; you can leave a message with the clerk, too.

If you don't get a chance to call before 5:00 tonight, call in the morning!



What? You're not exhausted yet, and you're so dedicated to getting this bill passed that you want one more assignment??

FOIM members are so awesome!!!

There is ONE more VERY IMPORTANT thing you can do...

Tell your friends!

Know a FOIMer who doesn't check his/her email everyday? Call them on the phone and fill them in on how important it is for them to email or call TODAY! TONIGHT! TOMORROW MORNING at the latest!

Know someone who is supportive of midwives but hasn't gotten around to joining FOIM? Get them involved now!

Know a HEALTH CARE PROVIDER of any kind who is supportive of midwives? ABSOLUTELY MAKE SURE that he or she calls someone on this list and lets them know that there are physicians, nurses, chiropractors, etc. who support House Study Bill 229!


Let's make this happen!


Now, as promised, here's your list of do's and don't's:


DO: Say "Please Support HSB229" in the subject line of your email.

DO: Urge the recipient to support HSB 229 in the body of the email.

DO: Say who you are. list relevant credentials (nurse, professor, etc.)

DO: If you are a parent who has given birth at home, or someone who wants to have a legal direct-entry midwife attend your next birth, say so!

DON'T: Don't say anything bad about hospital birth or hospitals or doctors or OB/GYNs. Don't say their rates of intervention are too high. Focus on the positive things about midwives.

DON'T: Don't say "lay midwives." Refer to Certified Professional Midwives or Direct-Entry Midwives.

DON'T: Don't mention insurance or medicaid. It's not a part of this bill and mentioning it sidetracks the issue.

Talking points:

-1% of the population gives birth out-of-hospital. In Iowa, that was about 400 families last year. We need to make sure these families have access to midwives.

-Research shows that planned out-of-hospital birth with CPMs results in outcomes equal to those for low-risk women giving birth in hospitals. (BMJ study, published 2005)

-It is in the interest of public health and safety for Iowa to license midwives so that the small number of Iowans who choose out-of-hospital birth can have access to these highly skilled care providers.

-CPMs are recognized in 25 other states, including our neighbors Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Missouri. and are the only care providers specifically trained in out-of-hospital birth.

*source FOIM*

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Wanna Ride?


Well, you can't have one. But I'll drag you around the room if you insist on holding on to one of the three cars I'm refusing to share.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Friends of Iowa Midwives


When I grow up I want to be able to translate my thoughts from brain to tongue like Renee Cramer. Dude, she has a kid- how did she not lose the standard 1/2 million brain cells per child*?


*More for subsequent children- at least in this household.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

365 Project Update

Two months in and I've met my goal of a photo a day, AND have uploaded and post said photo each day by midnight. The problem is the midnight part. I'm definitely going to continue the project but I may take a note from Sarah and allow myself to post only once or twice a week. I guess I'm not committed either way, but I wanted to relax that part to see if I'd start posting more written content- because as it is by the time I get to sit down at night (which remember is interrupted at least every hour by a very short person upstairs) I have lots of other things I need to be doing (ahem, KNIT, screw the dishes!) so by the time I get those done and upload the photo I'm out of energy for writing anything. So, I will continue a photo a day but not necessarily POST them everyday. Thanks Sabbath for the reminder to check in with our goals for the year :)

Helping Daddy


Lili had a fun day helping Daddy. Two peas in a pod, I swear. Jax and I are just along for the ride...