Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 8

Moms are awesome

My mom Michel!

So tell me do you remember what you were doing when you were in your early 20’s?  Let’s see, I was in University studying Ornamental Horticulture.  I had a bit of a side business as a landscape consultant.  I had a boyfriend, cats, a job at a nursery and like most 20 year olds I was self absorbed.

Let me tell you what my mom did when she was 21.  She adopted a 5 year old with a less than stable background.  She was going to be a stewardess I think (I remember her telling me once upon a time) but she got married and then she and her husband at the time adopted me.

I was pretty much with them quite a bit when I was a little kid.  My bio mom had some issues with drug use and was in and out of the prison system quite a bit.  My grandmother took care of me quite a bit but she was blind and also very sick.  So my bio mom’s brother and his wife took me in and made me theirs.  Yes it’s all quite convoluted.

After a bit, the marriage failed and I ended up staying with my adopted dad, my uncle you can say.  But sadly he also had issues with alcohol and illegal substances, so my mom swooped down one day, told me to grab a bag of clothes and took me.
At this point my mom had to be 25 at the time and now is raising an 8 year old by herself.  To improve our lives, she went to school and worked.  This is a time in her life to be out, socializing and having a good time.  When I was 25 I was completely flighty and unreliable getting tattoos and slinging espresso in a coffeehouse.
My mom was studying nursing and working in a hospital.  No child support, no help.

Eventually she met a pretty awesome patient man who would become her husband and my step dad.  Our lives were more stable, we moved to Alaska, they added to the family with my baby sister.
My parents are pretty independent and when my dad decided to go to Afghanistan to help with rebuilding the country, my mom decided she didn’t want to sit around and wait for him to come home.  She took a job with the U.S. Army as a civilian and moved to Washington D.C.  She built a hospital.  Well not all by herself, but you know what I am getting at.  The armed forces decided to close Walter Reed Hospital and open a new state of the art joint forces hospital.  So my mom lived in Washington D.C. and my dad lived in Alaska.  Even though they were far away from each other, they love each other very much.

Michel and Skip - My awesome parents

When Fort Belvoir Community Hospital was finished she decided to move to Texas to help with another military hospital.  My dad will be retiring in the fall and moving to Texas.
My mom is head strong, brilliant, incredibly talented.  She makes quilts, reads voraciously, and has the sharpest wit out of anyone I know.  People think I’m pretty funny, but my mom is twice as funny.  She’s generous and tough.  And to me the coolest thing of all is, my mom builds hospitals.

So to recap, at 21 my mom adopted a child, raised her for a long time by herself and in my opinion did a pretty good job.  I am smart, funny, occasionally brilliant and always awesome.  I read voraciously, can’t sew a stitch but am a phenomenal cook.
We don’t talk as much as we should.  I tend not to want to call if I have nothing to say or going on in my life.

But as this Mother’s Day nears, think of your mom and all the cool things she’s done for you.  whether it be taught you to embroider, love books or wrestle a bear.  (that would be super cool)

Sometimes I don’t like my mom, but I will always love her and I am more than proud of her and proud to be her daughter.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

 

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May 2

Hot times, summer with your baby!

 

Being from Alaska, you would think I would love cold weather.  But honestly, I hate it.  I am always cold,  nay freezing.  It could be so hot you can fry an egg on a sidewalk, and I’d probably still be bundled up with the heater on at my desk. If I get too hot, it takes nothing to make me cool again.  I blame reptilian blood.

 
However newborn babies can’t tell you if they are too hot or cold, but there are ways to check.
Place your hand across your baby’s back underneath their clothes, or on the back of their neck. They should feel warm, not hot or cold.  Feeling a baby’s hands and feet is not an accurate way of telling whether they are cold or hot, as a baby’s hands and feet are usually slightly cooler than the rest of his or her body.

grobag® egg™, the colour changing digital room thermometer is another clever innovation from the people who brought you grobag® baby sleeping bags.

 

 Room temperature

One very useful item to monitor the temperature on your baby’s room is the Egg by Grobag.  The patented grobag® egg™ glows yellow if the room temperature is within recommended guidelines (16-20 °C). If the room temperature is outside this range the colour changes and can be used as a guide for parents or carers to take action to cool or heat the room, or to adjust the baby’s bedding or clothing.
As a general rule, your baby needs one more layer of clothing than you do. For example, if you are wearing a t-shirt, then your baby will need a singlet and t-shirt. In very hot weather, your baby may need less clothing.  Cotton clothing is great for summer newborns, as it is light and breathes well.

Solarsafe Net Stroller and Playard - Protects against harmful UV rays and insects. Provides 85% UVB and 82% UVA protection. Fits on most strollers and playards.

 

 

 

 

Sun protection
Your newborn’s skin is soft and raw, and offers no protection from the sun. Use specially designed sun shades, or a cloth nappy or blanket over the car seat or pram to protect your baby from the sun when out and about. When at the beach or park, try to choose a shady area to sit, or take an umbrella or pop-up tent to offer your baby shade.

 

 

Bebe Au Lait: Can be used as a nursing cover, a blanket, or even a sunshade to protect baby’s fragile skin from harmful UV rays.

 

 

Hydration
 If you are breastfeeding, then your breast milk contains both fore milk to quench your baby’s thirst, and hind milk which is your baby’s food. Your baby should not need any fluids other than breast milk, but you may need to give shorter feeds more frequently to keep your baby hydrated.  If you are bottle-feeding, you may need to offer your baby cooled boiled water from a sterilized bottle or teaspoon to ensure that he or she has enough fluids in very hot weather.

 

jj cole muslin blanket - Lightweight wraps ideal for swaddling or receiving. Deliciously soft and naturally breathable..

 

Sleep
On hot, sticky summer days and nights, you may find that your newborn has trouble settling to sleep. Open some windows in baby’s bedroom to keep the room cool, but be sure that baby’s cot or bassinet is not in a draft. If you can’t open windows, you could try using an electric fan in baby’s room, once again making sure that it does not create a draft on baby.
If you wrap your baby when he or she is sleeping, remove one layer of clothing before wrapping to ensure that your baby does not get too hot. Muslin is great for wrapping summer babies – it is very light and breathes well.

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