Elevator Music...

Please forgive my absence this week. Here's why:

• Kids are home for vacation.
• Trying to buy a new house.
• Kids are home...
• Trying to buy a house...

Oy! Hopefully, next week will be better and go smoother, and we will have an offer in on a house. Heeey! Hoooo!!!

Do any of you have advice on house buying? How to put in an a good offer? How to move with kids in tow?

My best,

My Second Natural Birth Story

New here? Start here...

And now this is her story...

It's funny how much you forget about birthing your babies after years have gone by and it's not the main thing on your mind day in and day out. Actually it's kinda sad, because I wish I remembered more specifics than probably what I will put down here.

When I found out I was pregnant with my second child I had my first one break the news to Daddy.

"Daddy guess what? I'm going to be a big brother!"

I hid behind him while holding him in my arms but moved just in time to get my husbands full on reaction of smiling, then watching it sink in, then shock in the eyes, then smiling again and pretending to faint. Or maybe he really was going to faint but I just kept laughing assuming he was joking. Haha!

The pregnancy went by pretty quickly. I chalk that up to having a toddler that was walking and getting into everything plus the fact that we were moving out of state just 3 weeks after she was due kept me busy 24/7 and she was such a good calm baby in there that I didn't have to do much to keep her happy and snug as a bug while in my belly.

Again with this baby I craved all the really good for you foods. I kept Wendys, McDonalds, and Panera Bread in business by buying up all of their soups and salads almost on a daily basis. Also my mother-in-law makes a mean dish of potato salad that has cherry tomatoes in it and relish and oh my...it makes me wish I was pregnant again, and that she actually lived in the same state as me so I can put in a lunch request.

There was one scary thing that happened while I was still pregnant is that in our apartment there was a carbon monoxide leak below us in the basement and we didn't know it. Didn't have that kind of detector in the house at the time. But for a few nights we were coming home and literally just passing out in our beds and at an unusually early hour. So after the 2nd night of that, I came home from shopping one day and noticed black streaks on our walls above the floor heating vents. It was in every room and it was so gross. So I had no idea what it was and I cleaned it off but the next day it came back. So we went to the management office and told them to come check it out and the super (who was super) found the leak and told us. That night we nearly died. The office tried to give us a new apartment to stay in for the night (unfurnished and an air mattress on the floor - while 8 months pregnant - really?!) but we declined and made a bee line to my husbands grandmas house. When we got there the whole family had come over too and saw me and was like "You don't look good at all. Let's get you to the hospital."

We got there and they gave us all a full checkup and our oxygen levels were pretty low but the PA said just getting exposure for us to the fresh air would reverse the effects. But our baby boy had to get oxygen therapy for a little while. Dumb apartment!

In the end we all checked out alright and home we went. Since having my daughter though, anything weird that she does like pretending to be a cat for a little too long I think back to the days of carbon monoxide poisoning and if it really did effect her or not.

So it was a pretty good pregnancy. I ate right, exercised on the daily, slept good, took my prenatal vitamins and drank TONS of water. I was ready to have this kid at any moment. I will say that I was more impatient this time around to deliver her, why I don't know. Oh yes, I remember now. Since having my son I figured I knew what to expect and we were just so excited to meet her and move on with our new family of 4. Ants in the pants was an expression made for mothers in their last trimester. It gets pretty jittery at times.

One huge difference this time around was that I made sure that my family was in town for the whole month before I went into labor. So my dad, mom, and brother were present for this big show. I went into labor at 2 in the morning and the flurry of activity was crazy. My big brother drove my parents to the hospital and I hopped in the car with Michael and Baby Boy. We made it there in about 5 minutes when the hospital is 10 minutes away. (Again with running the red lights!)

Once I went into labor we called our friends and family and most of them were half dressed waiting anyway because I was due at any moment and a couple of them ended up at the hospital before we did. Gotta love a familiar face in the lobby cheering you on to "Push em out, shove em out, waaaaaaaay out!"

I am sorry and please don't hate me but I am not one of those women that has long marathon births. I went in at 2am and with the second child the freak out level is like non-existent almost. At least for me. I was cool, calm, and collected. I had my friend Elise as my doula, my mom and Michael were in the room and I was just hanging out. I breathed through my contractions like a champ and was dead set on no anything this go around, not even a Tylenol. We had decided that if we ever ended up with a boy and a girl then we would be satisfied with that and not have anymore because God only made 2 kinds right?

When I go into transition with my labors I am one of those maniac shakers. Like tie her to the bed otherwise she will shake her way right onto the floor kind of shakers. My mom had missed my first labor and delivery of my son by 15 minutes (you can read his birth story here) so she didn't see all the shaking going on that time and since her last baby was 20 years prior I'm pretty sure she forgot about the part of labor where you shake too. Because she was freaking out. I mean like starting to kinda yell at my midwife to DO SOMETHING BECAUSE THIS ISN'T NORMAL!!! So why was I on my delivery bed trying to calm my own mother down when she was there for moral support for me? LOL. I laugh at the irony of it all. Now. But back then, on that day, in that moment, I had to tell my mom to go take a walk. I love her to death but she was starting to stress me out big time and that's the last thing a woman in labor needs.

She eventually shook it off and came back but in the meantime I was able to do my own thing. I was a pretty silent laborer. I really internalize my pain. I brought a music mix but in the end realized that I just wanted a quiet dark room to rock back and forth to the rhythm of my body.

As I was getting more and more dilated (which happened quickly) they called my mother back in the room and we got ready for me to push. I was ready. My head was clear and I was focused on bringing my daughter into the world without drugs in her or my system. I said a prayer to God for it all to work out and then I pushed really hard 3 times and out she came. Blamo! A human! Cue the Rocky music and now I drop the mic and exit stage left.

So from the time of my water breaking to delivery moment she was born in 4 hours total. Not bad for a days work. I ended up with the cutest little bean to ever live my mothering life with. And now between these two there is never a dull day for me...

yes that is my lipstick and he just got done saying "Please don't punish her, she didn't mean it."

These experiences have taught me alot about what my body is capable of doing and how strong women can be and that if child birthing were left up to the men there probably would have never been a human race. It would probably have ended with just some dude living an abstinent life in the woods somewhere until the day he died. "You want me to push what out of where?"

So how about you other mothers out there? Or fathers? What were your birthing experiences like? Did you go natural or have an epidural? Post a link to your story in your comment so we can turn this into a nice share for all.

My best,

Bon ami Mon Ami

New here? Start here...

Did You Know...

...that every time you flush your toilet it shoots an invisible 6 ft. high mist of bacteria up into the air that then lands on all exposed surfaces surrounding it? - The Nasty World of Bathroom Facts article

Blech...gross right? A few months ago I heard this fact and that is the day we started storing all our toothbrushes out in the hall closet across from the bathroom. Now the only thing on our vanity sink is the soap pump dispenser.

Since we have protected the most precious things that have direct contact with our mouths didn't mean we were off the hook in the bacteria department totally. I still needed to make sure that the rest of the bathroom was safe enough to enter and leave without contracting Typhoid Fever or anything like that. And since I am swapping out chemically laced previously used products in the house I started looking for a healthier bathroom cleaner alternative. And I found it in a jiffy believe it or not.

Bon ami Powder Cleanser "America's Original Natural Home Cleaner"™

photo courtesy bonami.com

I love this stuff guys! The name Bon ami means "Good Friend" (french origin, addressing a male, if addressing a female it would say "mon amie", knowledge...far out!) This cleanser has been around since our great grandmothers grandmother has been cleaning her bathroom. The label says "Since 1886" so yeah...wow... How I have never seen this before blows my mind. I was in our Publix Grocery store and was perusing their natural household cleaning section and stumbled upon this gem.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty of this not-so-nitty-gritty. It's hypoallergenic and biodegradable. The label also states it is made with natural mineral ingredients that clean your home without dye, perfume or chlorine. It's made with 5 simple ingredients. Limestone and feldspar (which are the 2 mild minerals that give it a softer abrasive), biodegradable cleaning agents such as vegan plant-based coconut and corn oils, soda ash (another mineral), and of course baking soda.

It comes with 3 simple instructions: sprinkle, scrub, and rinse. It can be used in the bathroom to bring it back to it's natural sparkle or you can use it in the kitchen for cleaning pots and pans or the kitchen sink. Might I recommend 1 for each room so there is little to no carryover germ hopping going on?

The only thing they suggest not doing is using it on windows, glass, or mirrors and don't forget to do the inconspicuous space test first. Before using it on polished or glossy surfaces check it out to in a space no one else will see to make sure you don't ruin your precious porcelain doll collection.

Full disclosure: I wasn't sent this or perked it or anything but I bought it with cold hard cheddah and wanted to let you all in on this secret. All you women out there that have known about this for years however, the eye rolling may now commence. And how come you didn't tell me already?

My best,

*Side note: I know I said I would give you my 2nd natural child birth baby story today, but mamas tired. It's going to be a long post so I figured I would break it up with this itty bitty one today. It's coming though, it's coming...

My First Natural Birth Story - Part 2

New here? Start here...

Catch up with Part 1 of the story...

We left off yesterday with me locked in the bathroom. After realizing exactly what I was on the verge of doing and seeing that it was going to be something alot more drastic than just going to the salon to get my bangs cut I just started to freak. I refused to come out even with my husband trying to reason me out from the other side. I was crying and shaking and declaring that I will be the first woman who decides that she won't go through with the labor whether her body was with her or not.

"Michael this won't work out. There is no way my body can do this. Do you know how big this boy is? (He was only 6lbs.) And he has to come out of where???? Impossible!"

"Babe. You can do this. We have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever and we are going to be great parents. Plus remember how cute he was in the sonogram? (He was.) Let's meet him already. Come out."

"No."

"Please?"

"N...oooooo...oooookaaayyyy.....ouch this hurts (contraction kicks in) get me to the hospital and call my mooooom!!!!"

And with a quick click I opened the door before collapsing on the floor, he picked me up and got me to the car, ran back for our bags, and started making all the calls from our Family and Friends List. I was crying so much not so much during the contractions but because my mom was out of town on business and since I had a false alarm in preterm labor in January she held off leaving but since I didn't have him then, she left and thought she would be back sooner than later. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I was helpless without her. Even though we had taken all the classes known to man to "prepare" us for the labor experience (lamaze, bradley birthing method) I felt that having my mom in the room was going to be my calming mechanism. My mom is always so calm in general and I was missing that stabilizing factor.

We checked into the hospital at around 2a.m. so my husband was able to accomplish his much wished driving like he's having his first baby and just has to run all the red lights in town maniac style. Which was only one thankfully. And no one else was on the roads anyway. So when we got to the hospital they set me up in my room and then about an hour later my Dr. came in. The wonderful Dr. Harvey Zara. Funny story, he is the same Dr. that delivered me a whopping 23 years earlier! Way for his and my life to come full circle huh? That fact always makes me tear up every time. Yep. It's happening again now too. I need a moment...

The night before around 11:00 after eating my last inducing labor meal I called my Doc and he said that the baby is probably coming so after hanging up with him I immediately called my mom who was in FL and said "Mom get to the airport and camp out because I am having this baby today or tomorrow. Oh hi, how are you doing? Good..." After I was in the hospital, Michael had her on the horn giving her updates and giving me updates the whole time. "She's at the airport. They got her a flight. She landed at JFK. Your brother is speeding up the Palisades now."

So. Mom's on her way. I'm in stirrups trying to focus on my husbands eyes through the excruciating contractions. From the beginning we had made a birth plan and wanted to stick pretty closely to it, but at the same time were flexible in the event the birth took a turn for anything crazy. I was adamant that I wanted no epidurals and wanted to deliver naturally. I am pretty in tune with my body and I wanted to experience every aspect of the labor. I told my nurse not to give me anything even if I was begging to the highest heavens. And Michael added "unless she really needs it." Which I then shot him a look like "Way to be a turncoat when the going gets tough man."

Okay so time has progressed now. From 2am onward I was doing exercise ball sitting, toilet sitting, getting back massages, using pictures to inspire me to go on, eyeball gazing with Michael, music therapy in between all my monster contractions. Finally around 5am I just couldn't take it anymore and asked for a Tylenol. The nurse came in with what she described as "a very strong Tylenol" which to this day I can't remember the name of it so I'll just call it "The Goodness". Because that stuff after it went into my IV felt like ice and then my body just relaxed and it was all good. And I was able to sleep finally. I really should research what it's called that she gave me. Hmm...

So in between contractions I was able to sleep for about an hour but then once 7 o'clock hit my eyes popped open and I was feeling EVERYTHING. And I wasn't happy. I felt every muscle contracting and every movement in my belly and pelvis and it was terrible. And then I broke down and lost all control. Prepare yourself because an uncharacteristic Lynn is about to rear her ugly labor fueled head. And anything capitalized I assure you was yelled to the highest heavens.

"Oooooowwwwwww!!!! Why can I feel that??? Did the medicine ware off?"

Nurse: "Yes dear. You are 100% dilated and you need to be prepared to push soon."

"Noooo. I want an epidural. Give me an epidural now, it's too painful and I can't take this anymore. "

Nurse: "You told me you would say this and to tell you no because you wanted to go natural remember?"

"Of course I remember but that was before all this pain set in. I can't take it. Please give me an epidural?"

Nurse: "I'm sorry but it's too late to administer it now anyway. You are too close to delivery."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! YOU SAID I COULD HAVE DRUGS IF I WANTED TO! YOU LIAR! MICHAEL SHE LIED TO ME!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?!?"

Yep. I did aaalll that in front of my whole medical team which by then had swelled to about 3 nurses, the Doc, and an intern. And my mother-in-law. Classy look yeah? Michael had to calm me down and tell me how great I was doing without it and to squeeze his hand whenever the pain was unbearable. (I think that will be a lifelong injury he will have to deal with. But bless his heart nonetheless.)

So I had to get ready to turn all my rage and attention towards pushing. By then I was absolutely spent so all I could muster was enough gut strength to push and then I would literally pass out. And later that night Michael told me that every single time I would wake up and see my Dr. I would say "Heeeeey do you know you're the same Dr. that delivered me?" and then pass out and making the nurses laugh and by the 4th time I had to push the Dr. would say it with me. "Did I know that I'm the same Dr. that delivered you?" Hahaha lets all laugh at the clearly delirious pregnant lady! Nah I wasn't upset, that is still pretty funny.

I pushed for only 15 minutes and out came my little boy into this world. I was in active labor for only 5 hours and once he came out I passed out - again. From sheer exhaustion. And it turns out that there is a chemical that kicks in after labor that can cause an amnesia to the harrowing experience you just went through. Thank God for that.

In the end, my mom ran into the room 15 minutes after he was born at 7:30. C'est la vie...such is life sometimes. I know that if she could have moved mountains to get there sooner she would have. I still love her. :o) That warrants a smiley emoticon if I do say so myself.

And we lived happily every after with this little baby boy, who is now a young lad, and will hopefully grow to be a wonderful man someday. I hope that he will read his birth story one day and realize that all that pain I went through in the end for him I would never change it for anything in this world.

I love you my boy! Now be good and don't forget to floss.

1st day of Kindergarten

My best,

aka Mom

p.s. Tomorrow I will tell you about my little girls birth.

My First Natural Birth Story - Part 1

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This is his story...

Lately I have had nothing but babies on the brain it seems like. No I'm not pregnant, but my maternal desires for a little wee one to cuddle in my arms is really strong as of late and I think it's because I am seeing a couple of my friends new babies and I hold them and I smell their little Johnson & Johnson lavender scented heads and little arms and little legs and smiles and it just makes my heart melt.

And it makes me nostalgic for when my babies were little ones and I realized that I have never shared my birth stories with you. So this week I will. Both of my kids were natural childbirths. Today I will tell you about my little Boy and how he came to be. Well not exactly how he came to be, but how he came into the world, how about that?

I had a pretty easy pregnancy. The only hiccup was in the first few weeks after finding out I was prego I started having severe stomach cramps. Like lower abdominal pain in a major way. So one night I was just starting to get into my sleep REM cycle when suddenly my stomach did a triple flip and just started to seize up basically. I woke up in severe pain and my husband said that I should just call the nurse on call to be safe. So I did and she called me back in a minute.

"What symptoms are you having?"

"Severe cramping in my lower abdomen."

"How much water did you drink today?"

"About 3 big glasses."

"There's the problem. You need to drink almost 2 liters of water a day which is about 10 8oz. cups. Since you haven't been doing that, you're body doesn't have enough in it to nourish you and the baby and it sounds like you are on the verge of a miscarriage."

Gulp...so I had to get on that water train. And I had to stay educated and up to date with my info. That night I drank about 3 more glasses of water before hopping back into bed and from then on out we bought an actual Tupperware jug that was approximately 2 liters and that was my best friend for the rest of my pregnancy.

I am always my healthiest when I am "with child" so the entire time I ate tons of salads and water and fruits and vegetables. I was like Brad Pitt in Oceans Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen and was eating in nearly every scene. I would be eating something every hour on the hour pretty much. But because I did that 99% of the time I'm keeping it real and I'm telling you that the 1% pig out session I would have would get a little out of control. Haha! My cravings ranged from the coconut shrimp appetizer from Red Lobster to the nachos and cheese from Taco Bell and chinese food. But the chinese food HAD to, had to, had to come from the Food Court in the mall and no place else. And I had to eat it with chopsticks. Forks? Nope. Chops? Yes. I am a weird visual creature and at times a pretty particular and difficult prego ego. My poor hubs. He tried...I remember one time I drove all the way into New Paltz, NY which was about 45 minutes from my house just to order some thai take-out from my favorite thai restaurant Lemongrass -you must eat there if you ever get the chance - and since I couldn't smell the food before I ate it because the smell would make me sick, I drove the 45 minutes home with a clothespin on my nose and wouldn't you know it? I got home and wasn't in the mood for it anymore. I should have just pulled over and stuffed my face yeah? Hindsight is 20-20 I guess.

I was eating healthy and exercising and walking daily and feeling fine and growing a human and then I was coming to the realization that it would all come to an end one day and I would actually have....a baby. And it was starting to freak me out a bit. You'll see exactly how much eventually.

So one day I was at 35 weeks and just done. You know what I mean? It was February and snowing outside but inside I was just done. Done being a heater. Don't incubating this egg. Done with the swelling of everything. And ready to roll. Earlier in the week I had my OB visit and the lovely Doctor informed me that "if you had the baby this week he is healthy enough and done growing to the point that we don't see anything wrong happening if you did have him by the end of this week." What a wonderful sentence to hear. It was like music to my ears. And it meant game on.

One night Michael and I looked at each other and said "It's been nice knowin' ya. Now it's time for life to change and have this baby." I had been reading all week portions of my pregnancy books that spoke of how to induce labor naturally and I remember that they had said spicy foods usually get things going. Lightbulb! We made a master list of the spiciest most caffeine heavy meal I could think of and I basically treated it like it was my last meal on Death Row. Because I was planning on breastfeeding after he was born and I knew I wasn't going to be eating like that for months again. Since I was on bed rest (which reminds me of something else that was harrowing during the pregnancy - I'll get to it I promise) I had to stay home with my feet up and Michael said he would deliver the goods to me. Here was the breakdown:

• Whatever was the spiciest burrito on the menu at the time from Taco Bell + all the FIRE hot sauce I could handle.
• Order of nachos and cheese with HOT sauce of course.
• Cinnamon Twists.
• The most caffeinated Coca Cola on the market at the time (which was Coca Cola Black Cherry Vanilla) and finally a...
• Toasted blueberry muffin with butter on the side from Johnny D's Diner up the street.

Now this night was definitely a 1% meal. And it was a purposeful meal as well. We sat down and watched the movie "Ray" and ate like a King and Queen and had a great quiet meal for the last time in our lives for at least the next 15 years until the kids move out. By the end of the movie I was feeling that the meal was working it wonders. I didn't have a soda for mostly all of the pregnancy, so the super Coke that I drank (2 cans) and the mega spicy burrito were things so foreign to the baby that he was dancing on my bladder like it was an N*Sync video. I started feeling flutters in my belly that weren't familiar at all. I remember what my mom told me when I used to lament to her "When will I know that I'm in labor?" and she would say "Oh trust me, you'll know. A woman always knows."

I called my Doctor and said "I think I'm in labor because I feel like the boy is grooving to some Kenny G in there." (Why do I open my mouth sometimes? I really did reference Kenny G to him.) And he said "Okay well it sounds like he might be gearing up to come out so why don't you just start paying attention to the timing of the movements and when they are coming and going in a pattern then call me back." Hung up. Started timing.

All of our books warned us to get some rest before heading to the hospital because it could be awhile. So we made sure our bags were packed and went off to bed. Then at 2a.m. I heard a little sound like *pfffff* and I had no idea what it was so I sat up in bed and was like "Honey did you hear that?" "Mmmffff...." is all that I got out of him so I knew he was in the deep of sleep.

I sat up to see if I could hear where that noise came from and once I did that I realized that the noise was indeed me, and it was my baby bag (I seriously can't think of the name) that had popped and suddenly my back just started hurting tremendously and a HUGE contraction was happening. I immediately started crying and shook the man awake and was like "It's HAPPENING!!!!!! WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!"

He helped me out of bed and since I knew that I could go into labor any day I always slept on a thick towel which I thank God I did that because it was necessary in a major way. I waddled myself into the bathroom because they recommend that you "go" before you leave for the hospital. So as I was sitting there I started to FREEEEEEAK OOOOOUUUUUUTTTT!!!

And I locked myself in the bathroom vowing to never come out because suddenly I was chicken.

Aaaand scene...

Now this is the end of Part 1 of my birth story for my Baby Boy. Come back tomorrow for the next installment. Do I ever come out of the bathroom? Do I deliver in the bathtub? What happens????

My best,

Song of the Week: Pentatonix "Love Lockdown" from the Sing Off. My favoritest group ever.

Is Yaz a Safe Birth Control Option?

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This post is about Yaz birth control and my experience while on it. Yaz is also called Yasmin or Ocella. But they are all three pretty much the same thing. I was prescribed Yaz so that is what I will refer to from here on out. Now please proceed...

.................

photo courtesy yaz-side-effects-lawyer.com

All I remember is that my Gynecologist recommended Yaz to me when I was a newly minted mother of 2. I had just had my daughter, and because we were now a household of 2 children under the age of 2, I was looking for options to ensure that a 3rd didn't come along any time soon. Have you ever heard 2 babies simultaneously screaming/crying/sobbing at lunch or naptime? It's absolutely brutal.

My Doc was a really great guy. I haven't been to him in a few years (which reminds me...) but as of today my new health insurance kicks in and I am going to get an appointment hopefully post haste. He is from England and he knows Roger Waters from Pink Floyd. "Ah yes, we were great friends in University together. I still speak with him to this day." Isn't it so cute how they talk over there? Gah...kills me every time.

So he says to me to take Yaz, it's a good pill that works, it's all the rage amongst young women (I was 24 at the time) and everybody's doing it man! Now I have never ever in a million years - or 24 - been the type of person to just take medicine. For anything. Periods? I would tough my way through it, being miserable the whole time, because as a youngster I thought I knew it all and didn't believe in pain management. Silly girl I was. My mom was always like "Why put yourself through so much pain? They have invented Tylenol!" But I was not one to be easily swayed. Until now. Oh now I take my monthly happy pills during those few weeks to ease the tension in my body and in the house. My husband and kids appreciate me more for that I'm sure.

So back to Yasmin, or Yaz, as they like to call it in dark back alleyways. I started taking the stuff at my Dr.'s suggestion and I ended up hating it. Absolutely hating it. Like, I can't use enough negative adjectives to describe how disagreeable this pill was with me. I was like a completely different person on it. My husband can attest to it. He married a young sweet little bride and within no time of being on the pill I became some crazy woman that looked like I suffered from 'Roid Rage. Yaz made me have severe mood swings to the point where I would have to leave the room because I was afraid I might throw something. You know how David Banner just before transforming into the Hulk goes and hides himself when he can feel his temperature rising from rage? Yep. Same boat here, except for the changing of the eyes and the ripping of the clothes.

Plus I gained a TON of weight. And it wouldn't go away. I was exercising with as much intensity as that "Stop the Insanity!" woman Susan Powter but without the results. I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. I tried to pinpoint what the cause was and couldn't seem to get it down. Then I realized that it could be the pill. So I started to ween myself off of it slowly. I would do 1 day on and 1 day off or 2 days on and 2 days off until I finally just stopped taking it altogether. And you know what? Everything got better. The dark cloud that I walked around with over my head drifted away, and the sun came out. I started smiling again (I tell ya it was bad) and the weight started coming off like gangbusters. And I had a happy hubby again too.

Ever since I stopped taking it all of almost 5 years ago I haven't looked back and I don't have any regrets. Recently though, I have been reading reports on women dying from it due to blood clots forming in their lungs. That's pretty scary and sad. The pharmaceutical company knows this too and they are fighting the FDA on their labeling. I wonder how many women have to die for them to start to really look into these birth control pills? Sadly, things like this change when someone in the upper echelon loses someone close to them due to something like this. Not usually when it is the everyday man or woman though.

What have been your experiences with birth control? Is anyone on Yasmin or Yaz or Ocella that have had or are suffering the same side effects I did? This is important ladies so let's talk openly about it. It can only benefit us all.

My best,

Cough, Cough...Sniffle, Sniffle

New here? Start here...

Did You Know...

...that honey as long as it's not left opened, has no expiration date? There are reports that say archaeologists found 2000 year old jars of honey that still tasted exquisite! - benefits-of-honey.com

So around these parts there has been a lot of the sniffles and achoos going around. It all started with my daughter coming home with strep throat over a month ago from school and myself and my son coming down with a cough of some wicked bad sort. I nearly lost my voice it was so bad.

But now 2 out of 3 of us are off our meds and supposed to be on the mend (or completely mended by now) but to no avail. There is still this tickle in our throats and the nightly symphony begins around 8 o'clock around here.

Something has gotta give. I have been drinking green tea until the cows come home, which is helping, but I need to do more and be more proactive about eliminating these cold-like symptoms. Then I remembered our good pal honey. And then I was upset because why didn't I think of this before? Our honey therapy has worked for us in the past greatly and I hope it will do the same today.

Researching interesting honey facts on the Did You Know website above I found out some really great facts about honey. Like for instance I didn't know that honey is fat free, cholesterol free, and when digested at night before bedtime it can burn fat while you sleep. Heyo! That sounds like liquid gold to me.

Every weekend we have this really great outdoor farmers market in town that we try to frequent at least 3 times a month and last time we were there we found this grandfather/grand daughter combo selling some super delicious all natural honey. And not just any honey, but it was seasonal honey. They had them all labeled "Summer" "Winter" "Fall" "Spring" and each one had its own distinct flavor because they said the bees produce different flavors according to the season - I think it's due to the flowers in bloom - whatever the case, we bought a Winter and let me tell you it is goo-oo-ood. Here he is.

He's shy sometimes.

But he came out just for you.

See his cute little Winter badge of honor?

Tonight this will now become part of our routine until the hacking stops. Honey coats the throat and helps relax it and also helps loosen up the mucus from your innards. So 1/2 a tsp. for kids age 1-6, and 2 tsp. for everyone over 6.

ALERT!!!!!! DON'T GIVE IT TO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 1!!! AND CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN TO MAKE SURE HONEY WON'T CAUSE A DRUG INTERACTION.

I now see a good nights rest ahead for us all. Yippee!

What do you use to quiet those coughs during this season? Any other honey believers out there? Oh and for any of you honey novices out there, check out the Benefits of Honey website and take their cute How Much Do You Know About Honey quiz here. And want to read my vintage first post on honey with other interesting facts in it? Click here.

My best,

Song of the Week: More from the Sing Off as promised this month, this week we have the all girl group Delilah singing "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. Classicly beautiful. Well done girls.

Should Dr.'s Turn Away Unvaccinated Kids?

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Okay so yesterdays post was about how our family dealt with vaccinating our kids as babies. Todays post is about a shift in the wind.

photo courtesy lancekuratamd.com

There is a a growing number of Dr.'s (not many, only 2 that I heard of as we speak) that are now deciding to refuse treatment of children that have not been vaccinated. There are actually many more parents than you would think that are opting out of vaccinations at an early age. Since this is becoming a "thing" there are Docs that are saying that it an unsafe practice and it puts others in harms way.

I completely agree. (Look at me getting all up in the mix, talking controversy, and generally giving my opinion on some huge debatable issue - which I usually never do! A shift in the winds indeed...) I agree with the fact that it can put other children in harms way due to the fact that when you go to the Dr.'s office what happens? Usually you have a kid there for a physical to get cleared for the sports team sitting next to a green snotted, bleary eyed, hacking into his elbow (hopefully) wee one with the West Nile Virus. Now if the big kid isn't up on his shots and his immune system is low or compromised for any reason the risk of him catching whatever that other kid has is pretty high and likely gonna happen.

We don't know each medical case in our Pediatrics office. There could be kids just coming off chemo sitting next to our kid with a cold and that kid could get the same cold but a drastically different reaction. For them, it could turn fatal very easily. I have a friend who has a child with special needs and the immune system on this kid is like nil. We were invited to her house for dinner, but I called her and said we all had slight coughs and that we wouldn't mind sitting this one out just to ensure that her baby doesn't end up in the hospital close to death - no joke.

It's just a consideration thing. A human thing. But I'm just a mom and not a well trained physician. Now here is where I tell you how I really feel about these Doctors who refuse to treat children whose parents chose not to vaccinate them. Doors anyone? I go to a wonderful pediatricians office that is in a large building where they have one door that leads to 2 doors on either side of you when you are standing in the lobby. The left side is for "Well Babies" and the other is for "Sick Babies". Simple fix no? Well I know what you are thinking, "Lynn you still have the vaccinated kids with the unvaccinated kids over on the sick side." Well touche' and point well taken. I think that they can subdivide a waiting room even more by adding - wait for it - one more door! Did you see me take my ta-da moment just now?

Of course things like these are easier said than done but considering that some doctors make 10's of 1,000's of dollars each week, I'm sure that have a 3 sectioned office would and could work for the best interests of all involved.

I'm just sayin'...then ALL kids that have a right to medical attention no matter what their parents have decided for them can be seen by all the good Docs of the world. And then you don't lose any patients and you still make your money honey.

Well? What do you y'alls think? Should Dr.'s be putting this into practice in their practice?

Oh and we can't finish this discussion without hearing Dr. Nancy Snyderman chime in and get her opinion on. She makes valid points at times. Why don't you tell us how you really feel Doc?

My best,

Did You or Didn't You? Would You or Wouldn't You?

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Have you guys heard the rumblings around town about children and vaccinations? No? Well let me catch you up to speed.

You know Dr. Nancy Snyderman? I mean not know her, know her but know of her I should say. Well on her "talk show" of sorts she broached the subject of vaccinations and how more and more parents are opting out of giving them to their kids and the irresponsibility of these parents and how dare they and she got pretty upset I could tell. She can be a little severe at times right? So there she goes saying that due to the lack of vigor by many parents, there are now some childhood illnesses that were once thought completely eradicated making a serious comeback like Betty White. i.e. whooping cough (aka pertussis) and measles.

She called parents that choose not to vaccinate "crazy people" and pretty much angered a whole bunch of folks I'm sure. But since everyone is entitled to their opinion, I took no offense.

Because guess what? I was one of those "crazy people"...gulp...yep, I sure was. And I'll tell you why. I was a young mom ready to deliver my first little baby boy and since I'm such a word nerd I was reading every single book, magazine, and website on babies, birth, and parenting I could get my hands on. Plus I was on bedrest for the last month before delivery so I had a ton of time on my hands! After reading up on many things related to vaccinations, my husband and I decided that for our family at that exact time, it just wasn't right for us. I was going to be a stay at home mom for the first 4-5 years of our childrens lives up until they started school and I was thinking "well if the CDC says that 1 in every 1,000 people could die from measles then I should be good because rarely am I around 1,000 people on a daily basis AND who brings a baby to a Megadeth concert anyway?" (Note: not that I listen to them as they are a bit heavy for my taste but just sayin'...)

So no. I didn't vaccinate right out of the womb. Sue me? But before you do, realize that I also didn't go anywhere with my baby, I kept sick family and relatives at arms length but not completely away, because a little dirt and germs are actually good for the immune system to grow now and again, and my kids didn't start mingling with other kids until almost 1. I didn't do it due to some religious beliefs although many do, but I just did it because it seemed to us to be...just...hmm..logical. There are adverse effects that can happen with any vaccine and that's why they tell you to monitor the child for the next 24 hours to see any signs of trouble. Essentially vaccines are giving your child that illness and hoping that the immune system rises to the occasion and kicks butt until it prevails. And the fact that they give them so many so soon was what really concerned me. My daughter was 3 I believe and I was talking with one of our dear family friends who is from England and he was asking about The Beans growth and "is she doing anything new?" kinda convo. so I was just telling him all the things and happened to say "She's getting ready to get her next series of vaccines tomorrow."

Okay let me just type this out conversationally line by line so I can eliminate alot of the "he said" "she said" "and then we both said"...s

"She's getting ready to get her next series of vaccines tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"You know. Shots. To ward off diseases. Don't they do that in Europe?"

"Yeah sure they do, but not to babies. They usually wait until they are in school first. Like 5."

And that shocked me. I did some more research and found that many parents don't do vaccines at all over there and if they do, they rarely finish them. But that may also be the reason that measles outbreaks are commonly happening over there too. So who knows?

I'll tell you what I do know. I know that I didn't feel good about giving such a tiny bean so many vaccines in one shot so to speak so early in their lives. I felt that with my due diligence and by keeping their exposure down I could dodge the statistics.

Did we ever vaccinate? Yes we did. But just on our timetable. We would drag out the amount of time between each one longer than the suggested vaccine schedule. We watched their child milestone markers closely to make sure they were meeting them without trouble (sitting up relatively on time, walking, talking, feeding themselves) and whenever things would check out, then we would visit the Doc and get a new shot.

Now that the kids are both in school and around other kids they are fully vaccinated and up to date with all their shots and so far so good. Other than them occasionally sticking something shiny or round up their noses, they seem to be pretty normal well adjusted kids. If there is such a thing these days. And despite their parents!

Okay so let's get this discussion going. Did you vaccinate your kids on schedule or did you hold off a bit or altogether? I'm curious. And tomorrow I will talk about this again but on a whole 'nother level.

My best,

Fits Like A Glove

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Did You Know...
...that because vegetable based dish soaps omit most of the harsh and toxic chemicals that are normally present, it will take just a little longer to clean your dishes than usual?

But tis okay with me! I don't mind making a few extra swipes across the plates and cups to get it truly clean. If I am basically eliminating 90 something percent of the normal amounts of chemicals I'm exposed to when I do dishes then yippee for me. And my kids, and my husband, and the earth.

With an intro like this you know what I'm going to say next right? Or rather what I will talk about today? The hint is definitely in the title...yep, you got it, I love my new dish soap.

This one.

All that's missing is her cape!

Now although Mrs. Meyers Basil scented dish soap was a swing and a miss for me, I cannot say the same for the Lemon scented variety. Because I love it. It has this sweet lemony aroma that it gives off nicely as I do the dishes but unlike its counterpart - it doesn't hang around unwanted after the party is over.

After the dishes are done and actually completely air dried in the strainer I took a cup or two and took a whiff to see if the lemon lingered. And it didn't. That was really what I was worried - nay, terrified - about happening. I was worried that I would have dropped my coins on something that would awaken my gag reflexes in an unwanted fashion (and in front of guests no less!)

Considering that Mr. M (I really need to give the family nicknames for when I do talk about them on here don't I?) aka "The Hubs" bought this gem for a whopping $2.50 on clearance at WalMart, saving .50 cents in the process since the last time I purchased the Basil, I think that I have a good thing on my hands.

So that is my review on the newly acquired Mrs. Meyers Dish Soap Lemon Verbena scented. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up and if I was Greek with money "like that" it would get two smashed plates with an "Opa!" thrown in for some added fun too.

How was everyones weekend? Anyone run out of soap? Well if you did, at least now you know what to replace it with.


My best,

Lynn

Song of the Week: From the Sing Off I present to you Pentatonix performing "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. I think I will showcase these talented acapella groups all month. (Click on the link or view the video in the sidebar.)