Whip 'em Out!

In honor of National Breastfeeding Month (who knew there was such a thing?!) I am re-posting this video that several friends and acquaintances have shared with me in the past few days.



I know that there are some women who cannot breast feed, and I am sorry about that. I also know that there are women who choose not to, and while I find that sad, I maintain that it's the mother's prerogative to make that choice. I'm all for encouragement, education and support, but women should not be shamed into it, nor made to feel like they are a "bad" mom if they don't want to.
Personally, I adore breastfeeding. There is simply nothing like it. Sadie nursed for almost 20 months and I'm hoping Lilah will, too. I think my favorite thing that both of them did was look up at me and smile while nursing. Amazing.

A Walk in the Woods

Last week we took a short excursion "over the hill" to Felton for a little creekside walk at Fall Creek with my friend and her 2 girls.



It had been awhile since I'd been on a hike in the forest - it's so awesome. Nothing but that thick, moist silence of the redwood trees & ferns and the soft gurgling of the creek. The countless shades of green and splashes of sunlight everywhere can't be beat.

Our Butterfly Project

Nana got us a "send away for caterpillars" kit some months ago
and we finally got around to it.
It was a bit strange to receive baby caterpillars in the mail, but Sadie has been very excited about it since the get-go. These little buggers ate and ate and ate and got bigger quickly. We've been marveling at their growth for about 10 days now. A few days ago they made their way up to the top of the cup and began to form their chyrsalises.

8/14/10

Today we transferred the little guys (or gals) from the plastic cup into their "butterfly house".
We gathered some twigs so that the butterflies can land on them when they emerge. One fell during the transfer & likely won't be able to continue it's metamorphosis, but there are 5 still clinging to the paper, so - fingers crossed.

I guess I'll just add photos as we go.

Success! Our first one emerged:

All 6 survived - even the one that fell during the transfer. Amazing. I kept hoping we'd catch one in the act of emerging from it's chrysalis, but we never did. Here you can see 5 of the 6 - one is hard to make out; it's on the right of the cage under the curved twig. They are Painted Lady butterflies. Sadie has named them Leslie, Fizzy, Wa-Wa, Ursula, Bella and Tink.

8/24/10

I've been putting sugar water in a little dish for them but I'm not sure they are all eating from it, so I think we need to let them loose soon. Maybe I'll try to get video of that...

I think I'm ready for preschool. (yes, ME.)

Ugh.

Sadie starts preschool in a month and I think I am ready to have a break from her a couple of times a week. God, that sounds awful. I think we're ready for a break from each other a couple of times a week? Still sounds bad.

I am having a tougher time with Sadie these days that I care to admit. I don't think she's doing anything abnormal, but I seem to have completely lost my patience when it comes to dealing with her.

I sometimes start the day with her by telling her NOT to do something (dribble her cereal and milk all over her placemat, get in Lilah's face, etc.) and it makes me feel terrible. This morning I woke up to her shrieks of delight in the living room. Turns out she was playing with a balloon with Andrew. I quickly showered and joined them with Lilah, but my first interaction with Sadie was to tell her "not too loud! back off!" when she greeted her sister a bit too energetically.

It certainly doesn't help that she seems to have entered a very whiney and weepy phase for a couple of months now. I feel like I can only say "please don't whine" a certain number of times (in a row!) without completely losing my mind. And she's on some weird "I can't" kick lately- whether it's pulling down her shorts & undies to go pee or putting a cap back on a pen. I have had the "yes you can, babe! you're a kid and you're learning how to do these things. You are awesome and you can do anything!" talk with her a number of times but it doesn't seem to be working.

And oh. my. GOD. She cries all of the time! The Child Who Never Cried has turned into a waterworks fountain. I can't remember the last tear-free bed time routine we've had; it's been a while. I always chalk that up to her being too tired, but that excuse is beginning to wear on me. She cries when I brush her hair, which has become more difficult due to the wear & tear of chlorine & goggles in swimming lessons.

Man, this is sounding like such a pathetic rant. I should just stop now. I have such an aversion to complaining about being a stay-at-home-mom because I know that I'm incredibly lucky to be able to do it and that this time is seriously fleeting, but I just had to today.

Okay, done.

Preschool. Bring it on.

Equality. It should be pretty simple, folks.

Prop 8 has been overturned today in California.

Frankly, I was shocked and dismayed when it passed in 2008 and am glad Judge Walker has ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny (anyone) same sex couples the right to marry.

Oh, wait! Have the H8ers forgotten that his has already been decided? Hello, Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It's really pretty simple; if two people love each other and wish to commit themselves in marriage, let them! Making marriage between 2 consenting adults illegal is preposterous. Seriously.

I'm so proud of my fellow SCU alum Paul Katami and his partner Jeff. They have been tireless and determined in their efforts and conviction to see this fear-based, hateful proposition reversed.

Now on to the Court of Appeals and eventually the Supreme Court, most likely. To decide (again) that all people deserve equal rights. Nothing worth fighting for comes easily, I suppose.

Quite a party!

Sadie turned three with some fanfare...

Sunday, August 1st, 2010