misslassie007's Xanga

I'm moving my blog for now.

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:24:06 GMT

It's been good, xanga! I'm moving my blog to http://simple-gifts.blogspot.com/ .

Come visit, and let me know if you have a Blogger (or other) account! I'd love to keep in touch!

Blessings, Ashley.

I'm still alive!

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:08:03 GMT

I'm breathing, just have a LOT going on lately. More on this later...

when I can find the time and hands to update!! Maybe later tonight.

How mama got her groove back

Thu, 31 May 2007 03:44:52 GMT

Two weeks ago, our house was mayhem, toys were everywhere, E was getting into *everything*, and because my tiny one was so sick, I couldn't do diddly about it.

I function best in orderly surroundings, so putting a sleep deprived me in an untidy, small apartment with two climbing, crawling little ones was like putting a balloon in a porcupine farm. Something was bound to blow. As in "Pop goes the Mommy".

So, last week, mommy went crusading against clutter. (Awwww, man, now I sound like Martha Stewart and Flylady's joint brainchild...I've squarely arrived in "momhood") I bagged up all the non-wearable baby clothes (but kept the most special dresses and outfits so that in the moments when my girls are growing much too fast, I can run upstairs and open the little tupperware box and snort in the baby scent like Mommy crack. When that stops working, who knows? Maybe I'll have to go and have another)

10 bags of giveaway! 4 bags of trash! As much as it grieved the tree hugger in my heart, 3769 popscicle sticks in my cabinets went the way of the 8-track. Clear containers for each set of toys with tiny pieces that scatter from my reach like pepper from a soap-laden finger in a cup of water. (<<<ohhhh, she was home schooled, then! That explains a lot! ....wait...ironically, only a homeschooler would get that joke. hmm.) All the puzzles live in the puzzle box, the little pots in pans in the dishes box, and so forth. It's working brilliantly, and Bess and I both find it less overwhelming to put away on box before another can be opened.

And while it wouldn't pass a white glove test, my house is much neater and more manageable, even in the midst of teething.

And, thank you Flylady, the one thing that does do a lot to help my general attitude is to actually get completely dressed in the morning. To anyone without 2 kids under 3, that statement probably sounds really pitiful. Teehee. One day you'll understand. Any week with 5 showers in it is a goooood week.

Smellin' good.

Gardisil

Tue, 29 May 2007 16:29:38 GMT

http://judicialwatch.org/6299.shtml

So sad, and so not surprising. I feel such grief for those girls and their families.

Memorial Weekend

Sun, 27 May 2007 20:26:08 GMT

We drove down to my parent's house on Friday, and are spending memorial day weekend with them here in ATL. My brother is planning a weekend for this Aug (congrats, bro and J!), and the girls have been their usual curious selves, so we've had plenty of talking and entertainment.

Nomi loves the puppies here, but only at a distance. She yells and growls at them whey they won't come to her, but squeals and climbs me like a tree when they get too close. Essie's been "cooking" for us on the special playstove grandma keeps at her house for her, and having a good time reading lots with Paga and grandma.

She made me giggle this week as she prepared herself for going to the nursery at mom and dad's church. She was chatting half to herself and half to us on the way to the church this morning: "Last time, someone pushed Essie. Essie says, 'No push me!' The boy doesn't push me anymore, and he shouldn't push because it's NOT kind. Essie will say, 'No pushing! Dat's not nice!" *Giggle* So she prepared herself in the back seat, and sure enough, that's exactly what she did. She put her hands on her hips, scrunched up her nose and said, "No pushing!! Thats NOT nice!" hehehe. I absolutely adore her pluck.

OK. So I'm totally in love with the Dekalb Farmer's Market. My mom, brother and some friends have been telling me how great it is for a year now, and so we loaded up the girls in shopping cart and a mei tai and set out into the giant (cold) store. It's a crunchy/veggie/raw food/foreign food freak's paradise, and I had *such* a hard time limiting myself in what I picked to bring home.

I ended up with 2lbs of red lentils, 1 lb of brown lentils, 1 lb of raw almonds, raw sunflowers seeds, raw pumkin seeds, dehydrated ginger, dehydtated mangos, sun dried tomatoes, dried dates, gold curry paste, green curry paste, ginger paste, coconut milk, goat cheese, a half gallon of hazelnut milk, a box of tamarindos (or, mushishi, as Nate calls them), 3 avacodos, 3 giant sweet potatoes, a box of stevia, a lb of seseme seeds, flax seeds, fava beans and a big bottle of sea salt. I was completely cheered to see that they carried all sort of gluten free flour, but will have to make another trip sometime when I have a list of baking ingrediants with me.

The super fun thing is that they have a big cafeteria there and mom, Nate, the girls and I all ate there for $15, pay per pound style. Between all of us, we had moussaka, kimchi, baked chicken with fennel and figs, lamb somosas, lentil samosas, taboule salad, baked parsnips and apples, ratatoulli, eggplant parmesean....you the idea. It was delish, and quite impressive for the price.

Can you tell I get excited about food?

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Tue, 22 May 2007 03:32:53 GMT

"Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled all day long by a really weak guy." -Mitch Hedberg

Just for posterity's sake

Sun, 20 May 2007 04:31:01 GMT

Nomi Noo

-hold's her hand up like one of the Temptations and waves it and grins when she wants to be picked up
-is crawling like a maniac, and starting to cruise around the room holding onto furniture
-Yells "Ehhhh? Ehhh?" whenever she's looking for Essie, and squeals and points "EHH!!!" when she finds her.
-Says "dada" and "mama" when she sees us, and clicks her tongue when she wants a sip of whatever we're drinking
-softly coos when Essie and I are singing, "singing" along with us
-LOVES to stroke her sister's hair, sometimes a bit too hard for Essie's liking, and is VERY proud when she gets to ride along with Essie in a cart, the laundry basket or our backyard swing. Essie is proud to help take care of her, and tells her, "Don't worry, your 'Eh" is here!" *melt*
- Signs "milk" when she wants to nurse, and says, "nanananana!!"
-Gags at the sight of a tylenol bottle when she has a fever, lol
-Is very curious, and content to spend lots of time roaming around the floor, finding things to inspect up close
-Loves to crawl up on family members and laughs while she does it
-likes snuggling and loves to be tickled
-Is completely enamored with mama's necklaces, and loves to play with them when she rides in her sling
-prefers bits of mashed avocados and yogurt to anything else, and isn't really a big solid eater yet
-Wants to do whatever big sister is doing!

The labyrinth

Wed, 02 May 2007 20:15:19 GMT

I really enjoyed this article that a friend shared with me. If you don't have time to read it, I'll give a short synopsis.

The author talks about how women who experience intense or fast births can experience a shock-like state after the birth train screeches to a halt. After sky high emotions and physical sensation (and extreme attention from her caregiver), suddenly labor ends. The new mother can often feel left in the lurch and forgotten at the abrupt end of labor, even to the point of going into a state of shock. According to the article, the people around the mother can help guide her out of the maze intact by helping her process her birth and by continuing to care for her mind and spirit in a generous way.

I really appreciated what the article had to say, and it was good food for thought while reflecting on my own birth experiences.

My first birth was really painful, then really medicated at 7cm. I remember an odd, unfinished feeling after the epidural, and the pushing phase was hard work and gradual. Everything was a haze, and my clearest memories are holding my baby and her being brought again from the nursery.

My second birth was fast. My labor was peaceful, at home and very intense at the end. I went into labor with Nomi in the midmorning, and was delivered by that afternoon. The time between the urge to push and her being on my chest was so short, and the birth were so intense. I felt so shocked and surprised and happy and relieved at the same time. And if my immediate care from my midwife, doula and family had been any less than nurturing, I can't imagine how empty and lost I would have felt.

Fortunately, this is what happened: I was dried off and wrapped in a warm blanket, and helped from the pool to my bed. My baby was glued to my breast, nursing like the calm, methodical little one that she is. Dh was on the bed beside us, beaming and telling me that he'd caught our baby, and my doula was spooning good food and drink into me. My midwife helped into a warm tub filled with good smelling herbs, and my baby came along with me. My mom and dad arrived with my excited firstborn, and brought me a favorite meal. I was allowed to sleep a long sleep.

Afterwards, my midwife warned me to not go downstairs too early, and to expect an emotional low if I tried to return to "normal" life too soon. If I tried to act normal, it would tell others I felt "normal" prematurely. How right she was! She encouraged me to revel in the afterglow of birth, and to treat my body and emotions with kid gloves for a while. She was telling me how to walk through the labyrinth of the birth experience.

When we enter labor, to cope with the strong emotions and sensations of birth, we tend to go "somewhere else" in our minds. Thoughts, emotions, fears, joys that are normally deep in our hearts come bubbling to the surface as it feels we are cheating death to embrace life fully. Our minds are tested as we relax our bodies and embrace each new contraction as it furthers our baby towards birth. It's an intensely holistic experience, calling body, mind, spirit and emotion to work together full force.

If a woman is in the care of people who realize the importance of post partum support (and if we ourselves are indeed aware of the need to surround ourselves with such individuals), then at the end of the birth she will be taken by the hand and guided and nurturing and recognized as vulnerable. When a fast labor screeches to a halt, those around her will be there to validate her feelings, help her process and sooth her pounding hearts and racing emotions.

If a woman is surrounded only by people who are concerned only about making sure she's breathing and physically intact, she is more likely to feel shocked, abandoned and numb after birth, and possibly duped by all the attention she received while laboring. Especially if the only the baby is the main focus, and not the mother-baby relationship, the mother is likely to feel disconnected and strangely empty.

Nurturing the mother and her relationship is soooo important for their next 18 or so years! Feeding mama, bringing her water, teaching her how to nurse, praising her birth effort, helping her mentally process the birth, carefully gaging her emotional needs, making sure she sleeps, delighting in her motherhood are such precious gifts that women NEED. They need these more than flowers and balloons (although these are super-nice too ). Doing this tells the mother "You're loved, you're worth loving, and you're going to be a really supported mom. You can really do this!"

Not only does it take a village to raise a child, it takes a community to birth a mother. I absolutely love the imagery of helping to guide the woman through the maze that is birth and recovery back to participating in daily life. I cannot think of a greater gift to give a child than a loved,nurtured mother.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:41:34 GMT

Essie woke up early this morning, so, for a while, she sat dazed under a blanket in the office chair. Suddenly, she looked up and said while clutching her collar bone, "It's a necklebone! "

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:53:15 GMT

Yeah. And then, you'll have to sit on the eggs of sinfulness to cover them up, and after that, they'll hatch into little flying sin gremlins, and you'll have to feed them or they'll squawk and everyone will know you have them, and the more you feed them...er...the bigger they'll, um, get...and then they'll fly away and, uh...make other, uh, sin babies...so be sure to stay really, really busy for God! It's the only way to keep little flying sins from, um, pooping on your car. But, fear not, if your car is already pooped on, we'll have a car wash here next Sat!! Yeah.