Hello? Can anybody hear me?

Ok. I put the feelers out before and got some response, but perhaps I didn't give it enough time. Maybe I did, but only 4 people feel that my pathetic attempt at a blog is worth reading? Hmmmm. So this time, I wait a few days longer. A week or two perhaps. Im trying to decide if its worth muttering, bumbling, and fumbling though this blogging thing.

So, if you read this and think I am moderately (and yes, I use that term loosely) entertaining then leave a note in the comment section. Id even take suggestions about what you want me to blog about, or not blog about (don't say Miss K though, that would be a deal breaker). I nervously await your feedback.... that is, if anyone even reads this. *Fingers Crossed*

Helicopter Parenting

For those of you who have young children. Read this article.

 For those of you who don't have young children. Read this article.

Helicopter Parenting (Time Magazine Online)

Fancy Friday

Today some of us NICU mom-babe teams headed over to Jessica's for a play date. I've already blogged about the good, bad and ugly of a play date so I won't bother with that. This time we took some pictures of the kids, all together, so we could document their friendship from the get-go.

(Starting in the top left hand corner going clockwise:

Kayla, Abbigayle, Sophia, Cameron (our stud) Kahlen and Josie)

We lay the kiddos down on the floor with their heads close together. Getting six kids, all of whom can roll over, to stay on their backs was surprisingly easy. Then again, our kids ARE insanely smart, so it wasn't THAT big a surprise. It was a great time, and Im so glad we were able to get some pics of the kids together. Next time we need to organize a get together with ALL the NICU grads :)

Misha and the 7 Lesbians

Okay random post.

My mom has a friend, Misha, who told her some story about his life that came to be titled "Misha and the 7 Lesbians". So for a laugh, I gave that title to my brother (who is a talented comedic writer) and instructed him to let the title inspire him. This is what he wrote:

Micha and the Seven Lesbians

Micha lived a normal life,

with his normal wife,

buttering bread

with his bread knife.

He rarely sang,

or used slang,

he heard a bang,

and his doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?"

as he swallowed his tea,

"Mickey? Rickey? Whoopie? Finn?"

"I am a lesbian, now let me in!"

Anxiety attack,

stuck in his tracks,

Do I attack?

"I heard that".... she said back.

He cracked the door,

but couldn't ignore,

not one , two , three or four,

7 lesbians, lesbians galore.

"What do you desire,

with me and my house?"

"It's not you we require,

we want your spouse."

They raided the place,

his personal space;

they raided with grace,

until they found her face.

They left in a flash,

closed the door, smash,

They took his wife, they left his cash,

They did it silent, no talking trash.

Micha sat with his piece of bread,

"Nothing we can do" the cops said.

He stared at a picture of his wife,

and buttered his bread, with a bread knife.

Getting ready to end his day,

A knocking door interrupts his pray,

Seven men to his dismay,

"We've come for you, we are gay."

Sam R.R. Eeck

Graco Stroller Recall

To be honest I had no idea about this recall until I read Stacey's blog this morning (very fun to read BTW). In keeping with the 'I encourage parents to be informed' part of me, I added a link to a CBC Online News article (which I also 'borrowed' from Stacey's blog). Hmmmmm. I think Im becoming a compulsive thief... more on that later after I get some coffee into my system... right now. Lets help save the world! One baby finger at a time :)

CBC Online News Article (Click Here)

Greatest Inventions

I was doing some pondering this evening, as I sometimes do, and I gave some thought to the inventions that have helped made my daily life what it is today. Some of these, include:

*Telephone (1876)

*Automobile (1885)

*Remote Control (1898)

*Washing Machine (1907)

*Bra (1913)

*TV (1923)

*Credit Card (1950)

*E Mail (1971... Yes before the internet. Wild! I know!)

*PC (Personal Computer-1973)

*Mobile Phone (1977)

*The Internet (1983)

*WWW (World Wide Web- 1990)

*GPS (Global Positioning Device- 1993)

taken from the 'Timeline of Historical Inventions' found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_historic_inventions
(and YES, I know wikipedia is VERY unreliable, but come on, its after midnight and K is going to be up soon)

(NOTE: this is by no means an exhaustive list. My life IS more exciting than this... I think?!)

There were a few things that were missing from the list. I felt compelled to give them their due recognition, since they have made my life 'better' in some way. So without further jibber-jabber:

*The soother/dummy/pacifier/binky (1902)

*Spandex (1959)

*Silica Cat Litter the kind that you never need to scoop/change the pee parts (1958)

* 'slip on' shoes (1200 BC)

*Breast Pump (1854)

*Chewling Gum (1870)

*'Old School Madonna Songs' (1984)

*Hair tie/Ponytail holder (1957) and the Bobby Pin (1922)

*Instant Mashed Potatoes (1962) Invented by a Canadian too!

*After Eight Mints (1962)

* Revlon 'Big Apple' Red Nailpolish (1932)
*Days of Our Lifes (1965)

(Note: this is STILL by no means an exhaustive list...*sigh*... my life appears pretty simple though)

So, There you have it ladies and gentlemen (though I suspect I have zero male readers).

The close/end/cessation of my evening ponder.

Oh wait I forgot one:

*The Pillow (3500BC)

Good Day Bad Day

Ever have those days where its a good day and a bad day? Well that would be today for me!

Good day:

*Kahlen, Steve and I laughed hysterically while running (literally) around and chasing each other.

*we looked at a REALLY nice condo that we REALLY like

* we got cake. Chocolate cake. The same cake as our wedding cake.

*we got the chance to relax and enjoy being a family

*we cleaned the place and it looks great.

Bad day:

* we won't be able to buy the condo we REALLY liked
(its a timing thing)

* Kahlen had the world's HUGEST poonami EVER! (No joke. If pooping were an olympic sport, Kahlen would always win gold. What a disgusting event though... YUCK!)

*Steve goes back to work tomorrow. A day early no less. Stupid OT.

So it was a good and a bad day all at once. I guess thats life though.... hmmmm. I guess I'll fall back on the quote that "tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it".

(What a boring blog entry! Tomorrow will be more entertaining, I promise!)

GOOD MORNING!

I walked into K's room today to say good morning and get her out of her crib (after listening to what I though was her chatting with herself in the crib mirror for about 20 minutes) and when I walked in this is what I saw... what a cleaver girl!

I was so excited and astonished I grabbed the camera to document just how please she was with herself. I mean talk about pride. And I was proud too... and thankful we decided dropped the crib mattress one more 'notch' earlier this week. Crisis averted, thank goodness!

I just can't believe my tiny little 25 weeker is so freaking grown up!!! Okay enough gushing... sorry, its just a preprogramed mom thing to do...comes in a package with 'eyes on the back of your head' and being able to yell your child's entire name with you jaw clenched tight. HA!

Does Anyone Read This?

Just a quick check.

Im pretty sure there are only 5 of you (Mom, Auntie Lee, Candace, Megan, and Tricia) but I thought I would double check. SO, if you read this, please post a comment and let me know what you think.

Spanks!

KK

Classy Lady on a Saturday Night

OK. Kahlen is asleep. Steve is at work. Im alone on a Saturday night.

SWEET! I look around at the mess. Im not being modest. This place looks like a bomb went off. REALLY. I have photographic proof.

Brace for impact...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... MESS!

Yes you are seeing that correctly! The laundry baskets are full of clean clothes that need folding. The kitchen counter is covered with dirty dishes (but I cant put them in the dishwasher because its already full of dirty dishes). The table is covered with dirty clothes. The couch is covered in 1/2 folded laundry. There is a package of toilet paper in the entry way. And you know what?

Im not going to change a thing. Its Saturday night after all.
Its time for a P-A-R-T-Y!

So how did I spend my night? I watched 'He's Just Not That Into You' and ate an 'improvised dinner' (which means you take whatever is left in the house and mix it together in a way that ALMOST tastes good). So what did I make to eat for my wild night in?

  

YES! You saw it correctly.

Instant mashed potatoes with bacon bits and sour cream and a tangerine pop on the side.

OH BABY! This is the high life!

People Just Don't Get It!

I think unless you’ve live in the NICU for 17 weeks with a premature baby (or even a few weeks with one) you just don’t get what it means to be the parent of a premie. Im getting really tired of people telling me that I’m over reacting when I ask them not to bring pets into my home, or wash their hands before holding K, or stay away if they are sick. I AM NOT BEING PARANOID! My kid was born 15 weeks early and I lived (sometimes just barely) though 17 agonizing weeks of watching her struggle and fight in the hospital, and then spending the rest of her life desperately trying to keep her safe and healthy and NOT wind up back in the hospital with her. How dare you idiots tell me that I am over reacting! How dare you even pretend to know what we all went though! Makes me just NUTS! Before you open you big mouth and try to preach to me about my kid, SHUT IT. I am a great mom, and my kid comes first, not you, your ego, or your feelings. Get off your soap box and quit before you start. Im not taking it anymore!

END RANT.

Does My Kid Have A Sleep Problem?

Okay. Flashback. 2 Months ago. My daughter sleeps. She sleeps well. We all sleep well. Really well.

Trip to see her grandma.

A head cold.

Teething (but no freaking teeth... argggg).

Stomach flu.

NOT SLEEPING WELL.

After another night of trying to calm Kahlen as she screamed and screamed and screamed, tearing my hear into smaller and smaller pieces left me wondering. Is my kid still sick? Am I am bad mom? or does she have a ‘sleep issue’? I hate feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing (right or wrong). I am stuck. I am at a loss. She is tired, possibly even over tired, but only wants to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat to put herself to sleep. I have spoiled her with this form of soothing (but Im the mom of a 25 weeker, and initially this was done to help her get bigger. She was afterall, TINY) and now it seems she may not know how to get to sleep without it. The other option is that after a week of feeling unwell with the tummy flu, she really is hungry and needs the extra food. I am torn. Should I give it to her or not? I err on the side of common sense and figure if she is eating it, she must be hungry. Better safe than sorry, right? I guess the whole experience, the whole production, the whole insane mess tonight just left me wondering. What is going on? I could go round and round and round wondering and pondering about every option, continually beating myself up for not know more (or knowing better)... but I wont... well not anymore. Im tired and I have a feeling K will be up again soon. *sigh*

Am I alone? Or is anyone else out there wondering any of the same things?

Play Date 2009

Okay, Im behind on the blog (big surprise eh?). And maybe worse than being behind, I've become a thief. The pictures you are about to see are stolen... well maybe I should say 'borrowed' because I have a feeling the person I 'borrowed' them from won't mind (I hope!!).

So, the post...

On Dec 30th Kahlen and I hosted her first playdate. Naturally I invited some of the NICU mommas (I love these women) and the worlds cutest premature babes over. I frantically cleaned before their arrival, trying to make the impression I am a good house keeper (which is a huge lie...and I think they fell for it!) and that I can juggle and balance all the elements of my life successfully (what a joke!). But eventually, I managed to hide all our junk in the nooks and crannies of our home. I put out the spread of goodies. Sadly it happened so long ago I don't even remember what amazing things I bought and then put on a plate and pretended I made. Yes I do that! AND... the girls and babes came over.

We chatted, and ate, and admired each others kids. I may be biased but we have REALLY good looking kids. I mean really.. these kids are going to grow up to be HOT! Anyways, I digress. We chatted and relaxed and swapped horror stories. Poonamis, puke, sleep deprivation, and all the glamorous parts of motherhood. Jokes aside though. These women reassure me, support me, advise me, laugh with me, and make my life better. I am thankful for them, and oddly enough, thankful that our kids were all premature and that we had the chance to meet, bond, and develop freindships. I fell as though I have known some of these women my whole life, and most I have known for less than 10 months. Our kids have literally grown up together and I am grateful that Kahlen's first friends come from such loving, caring, and genuinely wonderful families!

Teaching Miss K

Miss K has started 'talking'... well kinda. So far she can say 'mamamamama' and a few other 'words'. Lately we have been working hard on 'dada'... here are the results.

My BIG GIRL

I know the cliche "they grow up so fast" is.. well... cliche, but its true!

A week ago K was my sweet little girl, and this week she is sitting, moving, talking, and getting into everything. Its just wild. I can't wrap my brain around how much she has change in the past week, and how well she is doing in general. When she was born, I never EVER imagined that this is where she would be 9 months later. She turns 9 months old next week, which in itself is just wild, and is 5.5 months corrected (or months past her due date). Wow. WOW!

So... I give you... the one, the only, the amazing... MISS K!

{Jump Jump Jump}

Miss K in her Jolly Jumper.

{TINY DANCER}

Kahlen's first Halloween.

I got all excited, rushed out, bought the cutest costume I could find and...

she HATED it!

(I got this flower 'head piece' on her and 5 seconds later... chaos!)

So... I changed plans, returned the flower and made/put together

her new and improved costume... A BALLERINA!

TA DA! TINY DANCER!

Kahlen's best buddy Kayla came with us to Sheri's Halloween shin-dig. We tried to get pictures of them... decent pictures... but this was the best we/they could manage. Both are so cute though.. pretty in pink (Kayla was a butterfly).

We had a great Halloween and thought our little girl was the cutest thing EVER. Im not really sure how that is any different from any other day... she is after all, the worlds cutest 25 weeker.

dangerously close to unleashing my 'inside voice'...

MY WASHING MACHINE IS BROKEN.... FAK!

THEY CANT FIX IT FOR 1.5 WEEKS... DOUBLE FAK!

TODAY WAS LAUNDRY DAY...NO CLEAN CLOTHES... TRIPLE FAK!

GET WHERE IM GOING WITH THIS?

PIECE OF JUNK...*MUTTER MUTTER MUTTER*...

READ THIS... IT PUTS IT ALL INTO PERSPECTIVE!

http://dooce.com/2009/08/28/containing-capital-letter-or-two

First Date

Where does the time go?

Yesterday: learning to make farting noises with your mouth.

Today: Your first date.

Okay... calm down. It wasn't a REAL date.

There were chaperones!

Ha ha ha.

So Kahlen and her Man (Adam) went on a movie date, and agreed to let their mom's tag along. We went to Silver City Coquitlam and took in the 'Stars and Strollers' movie (its just for moms/babes and has lowered volume, more lights on, change tables, and stroller parking). The kids were VERY well behaved and aside from a random fire alarm which made me panic, pick-up Kahlen, and knock over the popcorn and my drink... I..*ahem* We, had a great time!

Ahhhhh. They grow up so fast!

Rollin' Rollin' Rolling on the Carpet

Today I watched Miss K meet another milestone.... She rolled over for the first time! The best part (other than the actual rolling) was that I managed to capture it on video. I was watching her, and realized she was getting VERY close, and grabbed the camera... and TA DA, 30 seconds later she rolled over. I've become paranoid about missing these firsts so it was particularly exciting, and it will be nice that even though Steve was at work, he wont miss it! If you told me that Kahlen would be meeting milestones, and doing so wonderfully in June I would have told you that you were nuts. Instead, Im nuts about my wonderful little girl!

Way to go kiddo! I love you!