As I have stated in a previous blog, hubby and I are 95% sure we are not having any more children. He has decided that when we are completely sure he will go and get snipped, but until then we have to figure out what to do to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. I was on the pill for a while, but the hormones didn't mesh well with my body. So I did some research, on some non-permanent, long term birth control options and I came up with the Intra-Uterine Device or IUD as it is more commonly known It is relative easy to insert and there are hardly any bad side effects. The only major thing is you may have some spotting for a while but after a couple of months it stops and you don't have any more periods. (I could live with no more periods).
So I made an appointment with my ob-gyn to come in and try to figure out if getting an IUD was the right decision for me. Of course when you get in there they ask you when was the last time you had a pap-smear. "Ummm, I don't really know maybe a year or two ago I" replied Then they ask if you want to do one today since you are already in the office. "UMM Sure?" was my response. Might as well get it over with. So they gave me one of those little paper gowns with the backs missing and left the room with the instructions to undress completely, and make sure the opening was in the back. As I am undressing, I am thinking to myself that it is probably a good thing that I shaved my legs in the shower this morning, but how long is this gonna take cause I REALLY gotta go to the bathroom. The doctor comes in and instruct me to sit up because she wants to listen to me breathe. So she opens the back of my gown and says "Oh is this a new tattoo?"
HUH? A Tattoo?
She completely threw me off with that question. I try to re focus on what she is asking me and not the task at hand. "Um tattoo?" I ask her. "I love it, its beautiful" she replies. My mind draws a blank. I am frantically trying to figure out what she is talking about. And then it hits me "oh the purple butterfly tattoo that's on my shoulder." I reply. I had completely forgotten about that. It's not something I see every day so it has a tendency to slip my mind. "Oh yes that was a birthday present to myself a couple of years ago". This is not what we are supposed to be talking about.
The Doctor finished my exam and left the room so I could get dressed. When she came back, she began talking about the IUD again. She then informed me that you don't stop ovulating when you are on it. In fact although a slim chance, you can get pregnant every month while you are on the IUD. The Embryo can't implant in the uterus so the doctors don't consider it a pregnancy. She said that a lot of religious people won't get the IUD because of that reason, they feel it causes abortion.
HMMMMMMM.... that is something to think about I told her. I didn't feel comfortable knowing that I could technically have 60 babies just expel out of my body.
I went home and talked to hubby about it and he felt the same way that I did about it. So we decided to keep doing it the old fashioned way with condoms and a lot of natural planning.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
A Little Girl
Hubby and I have almost completely decided to not have any more kids. When I say almost completely I mean we are like 95% sure. I'm know deep down that Hubby secretly longs for a girl. Me not so much. Unless you ask me at Easter or Christmas when all the pretty dresses are out. People ask us all the time when we are going to try for a girl, and I sweetly reply "Maybe when we hit the lottery and can afford to pay someone to genetically guarantee us a little girl with caramel colored skin, grey-blue eyes and dark curly hair". OK maybe I've thought about it a little bit.
To tell you the truth, I am kinda scared to have a little girl. I have gotten that curse placed on me from my mother. You know the curse that all moms bestow on their daughters, the one that goes "I hope you grow up and have a girl that's just like you". I am terrified to have a daughter that acts like me. I was a horrible child and an even more awful teenager. It would be just my luck that I ended up having a daughter that's worse than me (if that's even possible).
With the boys it's so easy to get ready to go somewhere. I don't have to do their hair or worry about what shoes go with what outfit, or if it taboo to put socks on with the little black Mary-Jane shoes. Having bi-racial children (they are black and white), I was sure they would come out with "textured hair". All three of my boys have non-afro hair. Yep they got "white hair". There went my dreams of having three little Carmel complected boys with little afros and braids. They all have brown eyes too, just like their daddy. Not one of them got eyes lighter than black brown. Now with a girl, it would be just my luck that she would have the nappiest hair alive. You know the kind that breaks combs and brushes every time you try to brush it.
And those cute little dresses at Easter time? She wouldn't wear them. She would be just as opinionated and stubborn as I am. She probably would be running around in jeans and tennis shoes, climbing the barb wire fence in the back of the house trying to catch the baby cows so she could bring them home as pets. And the cute little braids and ponytails with barrettes on the end of them? She wouldn't have any of it. She would probably be running around with her hair in a fro-ey little pony tail.
UGH! Don't even have her yet and she's already turned out to be such a headache. I guess that when people ask us when we are going to have a little girl I will tell them this "I think we are just gonna stick with what we know". No need to rock the boat.
To tell you the truth, I am kinda scared to have a little girl. I have gotten that curse placed on me from my mother. You know the curse that all moms bestow on their daughters, the one that goes "I hope you grow up and have a girl that's just like you". I am terrified to have a daughter that acts like me. I was a horrible child and an even more awful teenager. It would be just my luck that I ended up having a daughter that's worse than me (if that's even possible).
With the boys it's so easy to get ready to go somewhere. I don't have to do their hair or worry about what shoes go with what outfit, or if it taboo to put socks on with the little black Mary-Jane shoes. Having bi-racial children (they are black and white), I was sure they would come out with "textured hair". All three of my boys have non-afro hair. Yep they got "white hair". There went my dreams of having three little Carmel complected boys with little afros and braids. They all have brown eyes too, just like their daddy. Not one of them got eyes lighter than black brown. Now with a girl, it would be just my luck that she would have the nappiest hair alive. You know the kind that breaks combs and brushes every time you try to brush it.
And those cute little dresses at Easter time? She wouldn't wear them. She would be just as opinionated and stubborn as I am. She probably would be running around in jeans and tennis shoes, climbing the barb wire fence in the back of the house trying to catch the baby cows so she could bring them home as pets. And the cute little braids and ponytails with barrettes on the end of them? She wouldn't have any of it. She would probably be running around with her hair in a fro-ey little pony tail.
UGH! Don't even have her yet and she's already turned out to be such a headache. I guess that when people ask us when we are going to have a little girl I will tell them this "I think we are just gonna stick with what we know". No need to rock the boat.
Friday, May 14, 2010
MMR Vaccine Update
My little man went to the doctor and got stuck today (he got his shot). He was such a little champ. He only cried for a second and then was back to his usual grouchy self. We went and picked Lil B up from school and had lunch with P.C while we were there. Now he is laying down in his bed, with 3 of his babies (stuffed animals) next to him, getting ready to take a nap. All is well so far, no fever, pain, swelling, or anything like that. We shall have to see how it goes over the next couple of weeks.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
EWWW, BOO-BOO, IT STINKS
I picked P.C up from school today and realized that I was so busy blogging earlier that I completely forgot to do my online homework that's due tonight. Yikes! I'm struggling to pass the class as it is so I need to get this done ASAP. I sit down at the computer and am working away, when PC sits down at the table next to me to work on his biography of Neil Armstrong. I get momentarily distracted while I give him pointers on what information to look for, then back to my homework I go.
So I am diligently solving Quadratic Equations by using the Quadratic Formula when M.D comes up to me and says something. I'm am so focused on my homework that I don't even hear what he says. He impatiently grabs my hand and says "watch me, mom". Huh? I tare my eyes away from the computer screen and ask him if he said something. "Uh-huh, watch me" he says and starts walking toward the hallway. I ask him if he wants to show me something, (DUH) and get up to follow him. "EWWW, BOO-BOO, it stinks" he says. I momentarily panic. I slow down, afraid of what I'm gonna see when I turn the corner. "Where's the boo-boo" I ask him. "Wite der (right there)" he replies. I look down and on the floor is a huge pile of........CAT THROW-UP. I let out a sigh of relief, get some toilet paper and deposit the "boo-boo" into the toilet.
So I am diligently solving Quadratic Equations by using the Quadratic Formula when M.D comes up to me and says something. I'm am so focused on my homework that I don't even hear what he says. He impatiently grabs my hand and says "watch me, mom". Huh? I tare my eyes away from the computer screen and ask him if he said something. "Uh-huh, watch me" he says and starts walking toward the hallway. I ask him if he wants to show me something, (DUH) and get up to follow him. "EWWW, BOO-BOO, it stinks" he says. I momentarily panic. I slow down, afraid of what I'm gonna see when I turn the corner. "Where's the boo-boo" I ask him. "Wite der (right there)" he replies. I look down and on the floor is a huge pile of........CAT THROW-UP. I let out a sigh of relief, get some toilet paper and deposit the "boo-boo" into the toilet.
Daycare, Immunizations and Autism
I have to sign M.D up for the childcare at my school for fall semester. That doesn't seem like a big deal right? The only problem is that he is not current on all of his immunizations. Well that's not totally true, the only vaccination he hasn't had is his MMR vaccine. With all of the controversy surrounding this vaccine, I have always had doubts about giving it to my children.
P.C got his MMR shot at 15 months against better judgement. I tried to explain to the doctor that I would rather wait till he got a little older, but the doctor practically berated me and made me feel like I was putting my son's health at risk if I didn't get him vaccinated that day. Medi-Cal doctors tend to be very pushy and it seems like they think that because we are low income, we are uninformed and do not know what is best for our children. Luckily he had no negative effects from it.
When it came time to have Lil B's 15 month shots, I finally worked up the courage at the last minute to tell the nurses I had decided not to have him get the MMR vaccine. I informed them that I would wait until after he turned 2, to have him vaccinated against MMR. Because the nurses were all ready in the room and had already gave me his shot record back, they never crossed it off his record, so he didn't actually receive it until he was 5 years old when they gave him the booster for kindergarten.
With M.D.,(like the other boys) we also had Medi-Cal. When he got his first shots, he had such a bad reaction to them, we almost had to take him to the emergency room. That made us double weary about the quantity and quality of shots kids receive. When it came time for his 18 month appointment, I was all ready to put up a fight. I had decided to wait until he had more time to develop before he got his MMR shot. Luckily, I ended up getting an older doctor that was running 1 1/2 hours late, so he didn't really have time to argue with me, he just gave in. It was more or less, "wham-bam thank you mam", and on to the next patient.
We were able to get off Medi-Cal last year when my husband got a job working construction and joined Carpenters Union. And I hate to say it but the quality of care you get with private insurance is so different than when you have Medi-Cal. The doctors and nurses don't seem so over-worked and rushed. They are more friendly and actually seem to care about the patients. The boys new doctor is AMAZING! She actually take the time to listen to my concerns and is willing to talk me through them. She is soooo good with the boys and they really like her, which makes it easier all around. She has also believes that children are given too many vaccines at once and even recommends splitting them up. (Wait, you mean I don't even have to put up a fight or feel like I'm a bad parent anymore?)
So I called the boys doctor to get her opinion about everything. She asked if I knew that there had been an outbreak of measles in one of the major cities near our town, and it has been spreading to other cities nearby. (I had heard it previously heard it on the news). She also informed me that Measles is one of the most contagious diseased around, and can have some devastating effects on the children that become infected with it. M.D. would be at a higher risk of being contracting illnesses once he started daycare, because the number of children he would be exposed to, would increase greatly. She told me that she understood my concerns, but in her opinion, (as a doctor and a mother), it would probably be better to have him vaccinated.
Update: I made M.D. an appointment for this Friday with the Injections Nurse to get his MMR shot. I am still not 100% sure about it, but I do feel better about it after talking to his doctor. I also found out that the doctor who published the infamous article linking the rise in Autism to the MMR Vaccine, had his article retracted because of fraudulent evidence. I guess all we can really do is pray and hope for the best.
P.C got his MMR shot at 15 months against better judgement. I tried to explain to the doctor that I would rather wait till he got a little older, but the doctor practically berated me and made me feel like I was putting my son's health at risk if I didn't get him vaccinated that day. Medi-Cal doctors tend to be very pushy and it seems like they think that because we are low income, we are uninformed and do not know what is best for our children. Luckily he had no negative effects from it.
When it came time to have Lil B's 15 month shots, I finally worked up the courage at the last minute to tell the nurses I had decided not to have him get the MMR vaccine. I informed them that I would wait until after he turned 2, to have him vaccinated against MMR. Because the nurses were all ready in the room and had already gave me his shot record back, they never crossed it off his record, so he didn't actually receive it until he was 5 years old when they gave him the booster for kindergarten.
With M.D.,(like the other boys) we also had Medi-Cal. When he got his first shots, he had such a bad reaction to them, we almost had to take him to the emergency room. That made us double weary about the quantity and quality of shots kids receive. When it came time for his 18 month appointment, I was all ready to put up a fight. I had decided to wait until he had more time to develop before he got his MMR shot. Luckily, I ended up getting an older doctor that was running 1 1/2 hours late, so he didn't really have time to argue with me, he just gave in. It was more or less, "wham-bam thank you mam", and on to the next patient.
We were able to get off Medi-Cal last year when my husband got a job working construction and joined Carpenters Union. And I hate to say it but the quality of care you get with private insurance is so different than when you have Medi-Cal. The doctors and nurses don't seem so over-worked and rushed. They are more friendly and actually seem to care about the patients. The boys new doctor is AMAZING! She actually take the time to listen to my concerns and is willing to talk me through them. She is soooo good with the boys and they really like her, which makes it easier all around. She has also believes that children are given too many vaccines at once and even recommends splitting them up. (Wait, you mean I don't even have to put up a fight or feel like I'm a bad parent anymore?)
So I called the boys doctor to get her opinion about everything. She asked if I knew that there had been an outbreak of measles in one of the major cities near our town, and it has been spreading to other cities nearby. (I had heard it previously heard it on the news). She also informed me that Measles is one of the most contagious diseased around, and can have some devastating effects on the children that become infected with it. M.D. would be at a higher risk of being contracting illnesses once he started daycare, because the number of children he would be exposed to, would increase greatly. She told me that she understood my concerns, but in her opinion, (as a doctor and a mother), it would probably be better to have him vaccinated.
Update: I made M.D. an appointment for this Friday with the Injections Nurse to get his MMR shot. I am still not 100% sure about it, but I do feel better about it after talking to his doctor. I also found out that the doctor who published the infamous article linking the rise in Autism to the MMR Vaccine, had his article retracted because of fraudulent evidence. I guess all we can really do is pray and hope for the best.
Monday, May 3, 2010
That Evil Place Called Kohls.
I think I may be developing a major shopping problem. Don't get me wrong, I don't go into a store and just buy a whole bunch of crap that I will never wear. My problem is that I had NO clothes, and I never buy myself clothes when I am out. I always think about things that the boys need, and if they don't need anything at the moment, I think about what they are going to need in the near future. I may pick up a cute top and try it on and get all the way to the register and feel so guilty about spending the money that I just end up putting it back. Shopping with my Husband is out of the question. All he says is sure honey, buy it, which would be great if I was Keira Knightly, or Natalie Portman or somebody with an equal amount of money. But I'm just a housewife who is very conscious of our budget. Also I am having a really hard time shopping for myself because I have these HUGE body-image issues, since I have failed to lose all the baby weight from M.D (now 2). So all I owned were 2 pairs of jeans and a pair of black pants (all 3 pants I have had for over a year and a half), 4 t-shirts, 3 v-neck shirts that I wear when I want to "dress up" and a zip up hoodie that I live in. No really. I have to wash the thing like twice a week.
So about 2 weeks ago, I was getting ready to go on a field trip with P.C and the other 2nd grade classes. This wasn't just any field trip we were going to S.F to go see the symphony. Momentary panic ensued when I read that we had to "dress up". I had NOTHING to wear! We had a little bit of extra money in the budget so I figured I would just go to Kohls and get a top (hopefully on sale) to wear with my black pants. Picked up Lil B from kindergarten, and off we went. I swear we spent 3 long, agonizing, tearful hours trying on clothes (which is a another post entirely), but finally ended up finding 2 dress shirts, a pair of really, really nice Mudd jeans and a "dressy" t-shirt, all on sale. I realized I forgot to get my coupon from the house when I left that morning and it was time to get P.C from school, so I put everything on hold, vowing to come back the next day and get my treasures.
The next day was a short day, so I went back to Kohls with all three boys (and my coupon) to get my clothes. Turns out they were having an even better sale that day, and I could still use my $10.00 off coupon. Hmmm, what to do? Grab my clothes and go or browse around some more and see if I could find anything else? Well that's a no brainer. Browse of course! Tried a trillion more tops on with no success,(and a few tears), but did find an amazing pencil skirt and a bathing suit at a ridiculous price. The bathing suit I wasn't so sure about, because I think it might make me look fat. But what if I put it back and decided later that I wanted it and it wasn't there? Hmmm, rather be safe than sorry so I put that in the basket and headed to customer service to pick up my other clothes. Now the "dressy" t-shirts were on sale for $3.00 a piece, so I grabbed 3 more on the way up to the register to pay. Did I mention the AMAZING sale they were having that day? 60% off of everything, plus my cupon, plus $10 in Kohls cash for every $50 you spend, plus an extra 20% off if you open up a Kohls charge card (10% if you don't get approved). So all in all I got 6 shirts, a bathing suit (that was regularly $80.00 by itself), a pair of jeans and a skirt for $85.00. I know $85.00! Can you believe it?
I realized after I got all those great clothes, that Kohls is actually on my way home from school. Uh-oh, here's where the whole addiction thing comes in. I have gone by Kohls, after school, once a week since then and have come out of there with a new shirt every time. And remember that really great sale? It ended. That week. I even told the cashier today as I was buying 2 more shirts, that I really shouldn't be buying them. She just smiled and said "debit or credit" as she folded them and put them in the bag. I am thinking that it is a probably a good thing that I only have 3 more weeks of school left, because after school ends, I really won't have any reason to drive over that way. Until fall semester starts :0)
So about 2 weeks ago, I was getting ready to go on a field trip with P.C and the other 2nd grade classes. This wasn't just any field trip we were going to S.F to go see the symphony. Momentary panic ensued when I read that we had to "dress up". I had NOTHING to wear! We had a little bit of extra money in the budget so I figured I would just go to Kohls and get a top (hopefully on sale) to wear with my black pants. Picked up Lil B from kindergarten, and off we went. I swear we spent 3 long, agonizing, tearful hours trying on clothes (which is a another post entirely), but finally ended up finding 2 dress shirts, a pair of really, really nice Mudd jeans and a "dressy" t-shirt, all on sale. I realized I forgot to get my coupon from the house when I left that morning and it was time to get P.C from school, so I put everything on hold, vowing to come back the next day and get my treasures.
The next day was a short day, so I went back to Kohls with all three boys (and my coupon) to get my clothes. Turns out they were having an even better sale that day, and I could still use my $10.00 off coupon. Hmmm, what to do? Grab my clothes and go or browse around some more and see if I could find anything else? Well that's a no brainer. Browse of course! Tried a trillion more tops on with no success,(and a few tears), but did find an amazing pencil skirt and a bathing suit at a ridiculous price. The bathing suit I wasn't so sure about, because I think it might make me look fat. But what if I put it back and decided later that I wanted it and it wasn't there? Hmmm, rather be safe than sorry so I put that in the basket and headed to customer service to pick up my other clothes. Now the "dressy" t-shirts were on sale for $3.00 a piece, so I grabbed 3 more on the way up to the register to pay. Did I mention the AMAZING sale they were having that day? 60% off of everything, plus my cupon, plus $10 in Kohls cash for every $50 you spend, plus an extra 20% off if you open up a Kohls charge card (10% if you don't get approved). So all in all I got 6 shirts, a bathing suit (that was regularly $80.00 by itself), a pair of jeans and a skirt for $85.00. I know $85.00! Can you believe it?
I realized after I got all those great clothes, that Kohls is actually on my way home from school. Uh-oh, here's where the whole addiction thing comes in. I have gone by Kohls, after school, once a week since then and have come out of there with a new shirt every time. And remember that really great sale? It ended. That week. I even told the cashier today as I was buying 2 more shirts, that I really shouldn't be buying them. She just smiled and said "debit or credit" as she folded them and put them in the bag. I am thinking that it is a probably a good thing that I only have 3 more weeks of school left, because after school ends, I really won't have any reason to drive over that way. Until fall semester starts :0)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Kindergarten Field Trip
I went with Lil B to his first Kindergarten field trip yesterday. I know, I know, the year is almost over and they are just now going on their first field trip. What is wrong with the schools today? I mean, what happened to the pumpkin patch in October? What kindergarten class doesn't go to the pumpkin patch? Apparently the ones at our school don't. And believe me, I was quite freaked out about not going to the pumpkin patch. What if my child was traumatized by the lack of field trips? I mean, isn't that what kindergarten is all about? I always thought so. I know the budget and lack of bus service makes things complicated , but the police station and the fire department are just a couple of blocks away. How hard would it be to walk over there?
Back to the field trip. The three kindergarten classes walked a couple of blocks to the convalescent hospital to sing songs to the residents (I don't like saying old people). I was a little concerned that the children would be afraid of the residents, because of the wheelchairs, tubes, etc (they weren't). We filed in around the residents, and the children started singing and signing, things like America the beautiful and You're A Grand Old Flag. The "residents" were so happy to have the kids there. They sang a long with the children and those that could, stood for the National Anthem. They clapped after every song and thanked the children for taking the time to come visit them. So all went well, you would think. Not for me. I couldn't stop crying! I don't know what was wrong with me. All I kept thinking was that the convalescent hospital was like the last train stop on their journey through life. And how most of these people probably don't get visitors, and how lonely they must be if 20 minutes of children singing could brighten their day so much. Morbid right? After the field trip we walked back to the school where the children played on the playground until it was time for them to get out. The kids were so proud of themselves, and I was so proud of our "kids". I don't think they will ever realize how happy they made the residents in that convalescent home.
Back to the field trip. The three kindergarten classes walked a couple of blocks to the convalescent hospital to sing songs to the residents (I don't like saying old people). I was a little concerned that the children would be afraid of the residents, because of the wheelchairs, tubes, etc (they weren't). We filed in around the residents, and the children started singing and signing, things like America the beautiful and You're A Grand Old Flag. The "residents" were so happy to have the kids there. They sang a long with the children and those that could, stood for the National Anthem. They clapped after every song and thanked the children for taking the time to come visit them. So all went well, you would think. Not for me. I couldn't stop crying! I don't know what was wrong with me. All I kept thinking was that the convalescent hospital was like the last train stop on their journey through life. And how most of these people probably don't get visitors, and how lonely they must be if 20 minutes of children singing could brighten their day so much. Morbid right? After the field trip we walked back to the school where the children played on the playground until it was time for them to get out. The kids were so proud of themselves, and I was so proud of our "kids". I don't think they will ever realize how happy they made the residents in that convalescent home.
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