Tunes for Toddlers (and babies too!) September 22, 2010

I was on my way home from duty the other night. It had been a long shift, a long night, a long week. I was listening to my iPod, and just wanted something relaxing to mellow me out on the about-an-hour-ride. I went to the lullaby playlist I had made for the babies, then went  a little more specifically to one album that I love; Sleep Baby Sleep by Nicolette Larson. This is a CD I had originally bought over ten years ago, when I was working at a kids toy store called Noodle Kidoodle. The Manchild was about two years old maybe, and since I loved Nicolette Larson’s voice on another CD I had, I thought it would be a great sleepy-time CD for him. Good choice.

This CD is great for children and adults alike, either if you want something to lull your babies or even older children to sleep, or even if you want something for yourself. When I played this for The Popo when she was going through an impossible phase, the hubby liked it so much he used to ask me to continue playing it even when we went to bed.

A second lullaby CD I picked up around the same time that we have also enjoyed very much throughout the years is a compilation of lullabies by several artists, Lullaby – A Collection.

This was supposed to be only two CDs here, but one more that I was originally exposed to almost twenty years ago (making me feel ancient now!) was Disney For Our Children. When I first discovered this, it was before the days of CDs, when we were cassette crazy, and one side had some more upbeat music while the other side had more soft lullaby type music. I loved this one so much that I did upgrade to the CD when The Manchild was a toddler. I don’t have this one loaded on the iPod, which just serves as a reminder that I will have to get my hands on it when we return home for a visit. I think the babies will love it!

All of these CDs are ones that The Manchild liked so much he still listens to them on occasion, even though he is thirteen (minus the Disney one). He still likes to fall asleep to music and sometimes listens to the lullabies on his iPod.

OK… I just changed the title from Two for Toddlers, because while I have been typing away here, I thought of one more fun children’s CD that I had to also recommend, Joanie Bartels Bathtime Magic. You probably couldn’t go wrong with any of her CDs, but this is one that I used to enjoy with children that I babysat and the Manchild.

How about you, do you have any favorites that everyone in the family loves?

And one more… This is one that they used to listen to with the children at daycare when The Manchild was a Toddler. He loved it so much and I thought it was so great that I hunted all over for it! It’s called Kids in Motion. The Manchild liked it everywhere, even in the car, but it serves as a great tool to get the kiddos moving when you are stuck in the house, while at the same time, even working the mind a little as they pretend to be different animals and such.

I listed links to these CDs so they would be easily accessible if you are interested in looking a little further at any of them. Though most of them are linked through Amazon, I am not linking them as an affiliate of any sorts, and I do not earn any points, gifts, or cash prizes if you look or buy. I listed these only as suggestions to you because our family has had great enjoyment out of each of these.

Blank September 16, 2010

Blank. That’s the only word I can come up with to describe my week. I have just been lethargic and lazy and… well… blank. Zero motivation.

I described it to someone yesterday as if I almost feel like I am falling into a depression, but I don’t feel ‘depressed’. It’s just the feeling of not wanting to do anything.

I have had a lot of news from home recently that has really stressed me out. At the same time, last week’s duty experience left me feeling like a glorified vital signs taker, and in addition to that a teacher basically told me that even if I deserved it, I would never get an ‘A’ at this school. Even.if.I.deserved.it.

My classmates get away with murder here compared to the expectations and practices back home, and until now, I have really been working hard to do the right thing, be a good student, set a good example.

But that is hard when you can see the work that you put into something would be an A- at the least, but probably an A back home and here they are telling you you got a B+/A-. They won’t give me my actual grade. They said something about it not being fair until everyone is finished. It’s not fair that I have to wait for people who aren’t ready when they are supposed to be, and don’t care.  We are coming up on only four weeks left in this semester, and out of 70+/- students, more than half still need to make their presentations.

I go to a Christian school where there is absolutely zero academic integrity. ZERO.

Some of the faculty have said that it’s because the school has a redemptive philosophy, that is why they are so accommodating, and always giving ‘special considerations.’

But I wonder, what is that really teaching the student population here?

To me it seems like a message that it’s OK if you are irresponsible, simply because you feel like it.

I haven’t been to duty or class all week this week, and right now iI feel like skipping out on the next three weeks because, you know, hey, it doesn’t matter, because nobody fails at this school. That’s the motto it seems among my classmates and others.

I have lost my drive to become better.

Not better than everyone else, but better than I was yesterday or the day before.

I don’t have a desire to be challenged anymore.

I have lost my fire.

Today I got out of bed and decided I must go over to the school and get some things done. I tried to do it the other day, but there was no power and while classes hadn’t been canceled, there was nobody to be found in any of the administrative offices. Today was better. I did take care of many of the things that were on my list for school, and I have a reason to be awake and ready for the day early tomorrow morning. It’s hard to do anything when there is just no feeling of purpose. How can you be the change you want to see when you see there just will not be change?

I know this is just complete babble to you. I’m just trying to clear some mental clutter and end my day with some motivation in my belly for tomorrow. I’m trying to decide that tomorrow will be a good day. I want to have fire again. I’m trying to get back to that place. Since tomorrow is Friday, and it is only a half day of classes, I’m hoping that I will use that motivation I am trying to gather and keep it going even if only simmering on a back burner. It think I should just take this weekend as connection time with my children and be reminded of why I am here, and what is really important to me. I am going to stop thinking and act.

Ode to the Recipe Box September 14, 2010

I’ve recently turned into a foodie blog junkie, and because of this, I have collected quite a series of recipes from several different blogs. Within the last week or so, I decided that I really need to get a little more organized with my online storage of both my fave foodie blogs, and my recipe collection. Up until then, I had just one favorites folder where I stored them all. I figured, if I can get them better organized, I will be a lot more likely to actually go back and look for recipes in my collection and give them a whirl, instead of periodically perusing through the selections and thinking to myself how delicious this or that would be.

I made two folders, one for the foodie blogs in which I reviewed all of the blogs I have added and then put them in order based on how often I find a recipe that looks interesting, and a second folder simply titled ‘recipes’ in which I tried to simplify the names as much as possible and order them alphabetically. If there was a specific recipe that I had tried previously and LOVED, I somehow noted that in the title so that it would be more easily found when I was looking for it.

Here are just a couple that we have recently enjoyed:

Broccoli & Tofu in Spicy Peanut Sauce

Katie’s Cabbage Soup

Eggless Eggnog

For some more great recipes and kitchen tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes Kitchen Tip Tuesdays!

How do you ‘store’ your online recipe finds?

Spoonful of Sugar September 13, 2010

When the Manchild was an infant/toddler it seems there were a few stretches where he spent more time sick than well. He certainly had his share of illnesses, and with that came his share of medications. I’m not sure where I came across this tool, but I found The First Years medicine syringe to be the best medicine dispenser a mom could ask for.

Apparently now it is marketed as The American Red Cross medicine syringe, but it is exactly the same design as the one that I bought twelve +/- years ago and am still using for the Popo and the Baby. My Amazon search brought up several items that would do the same job, and I think that #3 on the list, the Oral Medication Syringe by Monoject, would do the job quite nicely for a tiny fraction of the price. I had a short stint with the first item on the Amazon list, the same idea put out by Safety First, but I didn’t like that one as well.

The benefits I have found to using a syringe are especially so with an infant or very young toddler who might not be cooperating. Measuring couldn’t be easier, there is essentially no spillage, you can dose it as slowly as needed so there is no spitting back out, and if necessary, you can place the syringe in the back of the cheek area which minimizes spitting loss especially with very young infants.

Just my thought/little tip for the day

***Just so you know, this is purely my own personal opinion developed by my experience using this product. I did not receive any gifts or payments for writing this post***

It’s Only Thursday September 9, 2010

It’s Thursday evening here, and I have not done much of anything this week at all ,except wallow around in a foul mood and sleep. Lots of sleeping here. I don’t know what my problem is. Is it mid-semester blues? We are actually now past the mid-point of the semester, and I am both grateful and terrified. While I have only 30 days from today before I land on familiar ground and hopefully have some good reconnection time with family and friends, I have so much work that has to be finished before the end of the semester. I’ve decided to do a weekly week in review to help me stay accountable for my list of 50, and I’ll start a day early, here, now.

1. No play time on the computer when the children are awake   –  I can half check this off since I can honestly say that this week I have been VERY conscious of how much time I have been spending on the computer, and definitely holding off on the pleasure surfing until after the kiddo’s bedtime.
2. Start the Whole Foods Challenge
3. Help the Manchild come up with a schedule
4. Encourage the Manchild to come up with his own list of 50   –   Manchild made his list of 50, now I just have to encourage him to stick with some positive changes. He doesn’t want to share his list, but hopefully we can chat on a few items and keep each other motivated.
5. Wake up earlier in the morning
6. Finish It Takes a Village
7. Return the library books on time
8. Re-read/finish Happiest Toddler on the Block
9. Start packing for our visit back home
10. Find a good NCLEX reviewer
11. Start reviewing for the NCLEX
12. Start posting at least 3 times a week
13. Take more pictures of my children
14. Cook at least one healthy rounded meal a day
15. Take my lunch to duty
16. Drink more water
17. Say “I love you” more often   –   Improvement has been made already here, but not where I want to be.
18. Re-learn to crochet more than a chain
19. Learn to knit
20. Leave more comments on blogs I love
21. Give more hugs and smoochies
22. Build more forts with the babies
23. Read together with the Manchild
24. Read more with the babies   –   I have read so much with them already this week that I think it will be no problem to stick to this one! I also want to incorporate a regular weekly/biweekly trip to the library for the girls to be able to get some refreshed reading material. The only problem with this is that the library here has about as many books as we have at home! Maybe I can bring some more books back with us when we visit home next month.
25. Pay more attention to real news
26. Pay less attention to gossip
27. Read The Purpose Driven Life
28. Actually cross everything off of this list
29. Major de-cluttering when we go home
30. Mail some handwritten notes instead of email
31. Send that postcard to Dan
32. Give more
33. Let go
34. Be here now
35. Go to bed at a reasonable hour, regularly
36. Make a family tree
37. Get a haircut
38. Start a recycling program at school
39. Dance with the kids
40. Finish my outstanding assignments by the end of this week
41. Practice more random acts of kindness
42. Filter more frequently   –   This was a horrendous week for this!
43. Develop a business plan
44. Learn more about herbs
45. Learn more about gardening
46. Finish French in Action
47. Smile more
48. Thank someone who made a difference
49. Don’t let the moment slip away
50. Lose 40 more pounds

I haven’t been able to cross much off here this week, but it’s been a really difficult week for some reason. I’ve just been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. We have no classes tomorrow, but it is week of prayer at school and we are required to attend services. I plan on joining and hopefully between that and the Manchild’s desire for some of his own changes, I will wake up tomorrow with a better outlook moving into the end of this week/weekend/start of a new week.

As far as what we’ve done, in general, not much of anything out of the ordinary. I had duty at a new hospital on Monday and Tuesday, and it was yet another reality check of what living in a third world country really means to an average person. Wednesday we had case presentations, and one of the review centers came in for a little seminar. This morning I had class which consisted of a “meeting” of sorts with both nursing programs and the dean regarding the rest of this semester and reviewing for the boards being incorporated into our curriculum, and then lecture on psychiatric nursing. I came home and snuggled with my girls and fell asleep with them… when it was time to wake up I just stayed in bed. Where is my energy!?!

Mr. Lizardo September 5, 2010

This is going to be a rambling post. A distraction of sorts for myself as I am breaking from answering assignment questions about the right to life being fundamental and ‘alienable’. Yes, that is the word used in the question; ‘alienable’. I, however, took it upon myself to use the word ‘inalienable’ in my answer. I hope I don’t lose points.

I have a tendency to be easily startled. I am not fond of insects or any kind of breathing thing that has either more than two legs, or no legs at all, and is not considered to be a four-legged-family-member (read dog or cat). So here I was a few minutes ago writing away, shaking the $10 plastic table that serves as our eating and meeting place in the house, when an opened package of cookies was jiggling in such a way that the little torn piece looked like some kind of living thing that might eat me. Even though it was smaller than my thumb. Can you see why my husband likes to jump out and scare me? I would be entertained too, I can’t lie.

I get up and take said package to the small bag serving as a garbage can for the evening, when all of a sudden something in the bag jumps and scares the life out of me for at least 30 seconds an hour. You see internet, we have a plethora of ‘house lizards’ here in this part of the world that I am calling home these days. They are really just little geckos, like the famous Geico gecko, but they are still not my favorite friends. As a matter of fact, when I first relocated here, if there was a lizard anywhere in the house, you would likely find me standing on a chair screaming. Because surely, the lizard was going to come and eat me.

That was then.

Now, I am a lot less fearful of these little creatures, and I will even go so far as to say that I might be able to actually shoo one out of the house without any equipment in the coming days. Just not yet. But seriously, they are everywhere here, and I had to make the decision to be gecko-friendly, or have an all night long fear-fest. I chose to get friendly. But, I am still easily startled, and this little guy hiding in the bag scared me.

I can see I am going to have a long night ahead of me because I slept until about 2:00 this afternoon in anticipation for my noc duty (3rd shift) that is actually a p.m. duty (3p-11p) tomorrow. I love it when they post schedules the same day that they become effective.

To Everything September 4, 2010

Funny how things work out. The last six months have been very trying for me, and I have already started working on a lot of changes in myself based on some serious reflections that started a while back. In the mean time, in the last week or so, I have been thinking a lot about some more things that I would like to do/change, and even though I have no idea who is reading this, and I’m pretty sure it’s not anyone I know personally, I’ve been thinking about blogging a list of things I want to do in a way to make myself more accountable.  You know how that one works… once you tell someone about it, you feel like a schmuck if you don’t actually do it. I was thinking of 7 things in 7 days, but as I was signing on here I realized that this will be post #50. I kind of can’t believe that! But… in honor of that, I’m just going to make a list of 50 random things I want to finish, start, do, or change, and work from there. I’ll update my progress as I go along.

My list of 50 (in no specific order)

1. No play time on the computer when the children are awake
2. Start the Whole Foods Challenge
3. Help the Manchild come up with a schedule
4. Encourage the Manchild to come up with his own list of 50
5. Wake up earlier in the morning
6. Finish It Takes a Village
7. Return the library books on time
8. Re-read/finish Happiest Toddler on the Block
9. Start packing for our visit back home
10. Find a good NCLEX reviewer
11. Start reviewing for the NCLEX
12. Start posting at least 3 times a week
13. Take more pictures of my children
14. Cook at least one healthy rounded meal a day
15. Take my lunch to duty
16. Drink more water
17. Say “I love you” more often
18. Re-learn to crochet more than a chain
19. Learn to knit
20. Leave more comments on blogs I love
21. Give more hugs and smoochies
22. Build more forts with the babies
23. Read together with the Manchild
24. Read more with the babies
25. Pay more attention to real news
26. Pay less attention to gossip
27. Read The Purpose Driven Life
28. Actually cross everything off of this list
29. Major de-cluttering when we go home
30. Mail some handwritten notes instead of email
31. Send that postcard to Dan
32. Give more
33. Let go
34. Be here now
35. Go to bed at a reasonable hour, regularly
36. Make a family tree
37. Get a haircut
38. Start a recycling program at school
39. Dance with the kids
40. Finish my outstanding assignments by the end of this week
41. Practice more random acts of kindness
42. Filter more frequently
43. Develop a business plan
44. Learn more about herbs
45. Learn more about gardening
46. Finish French in Action
47. Smile more
48. Thank someone who made a difference
49. Don’t let the moment slip away
50. Lose 40 more pounds

WOW! It was harder than I thought to come up with 50 things! When I was trying to decide how to post on it I felt like I had 100 things I wanted to do, but when I had to actually come up with them it wasn’t so easy. Here we have it. Let’s see how well I can do here What would be on your list of 50?

Birthright September 3, 2010

This has really been weighing on my mind. I know I’m really going out on a limb here, but I need to lighten up.

I feel like if I hear one more person contradict themselves or show me the hypocrite that they really are, completely unawares, my mind may split in two.

There has been a lot (A.LOT.) of hot debate on the immigration in the last few years what with the election and all, but it seems to me that it has really been coming up a lot lately. As in, people say the most asinine things I have ever heard. Either verbally in words, or posted as a facebook status, of their own idea or copying a quote. And I feel like it is just going to continue to follow me around and disturb me until I do something. Posting responses doesn’t seem to get anybody’s attention, and I don’t have any followers that I know of on here, but I’m hoping that just writing this will free me of at least a little bit of the upset I am carrying around.

My only disclaimer before I start my tangent is that I have not always been so liberal, and it is over time that I have come to see things as they should be. That being said, I understand that different people come from different backgrounds and have different ideas for different reasons, be they good or bad, but we all have a responsibility to question… everything.

OK.

So, let’s say that you are not a liberal open-minded person, and you are of the opinion that people from other countries should not be allowed to move to the US. Does this include all people? Or only people that are a different color or different religion that you? Let me also ask, are you 100% Native American? Because as far as I know, somewhere down the line, maybe 1, 10, or 100 years ago, someone in our family migrated to America, and for that reason alone you are now an American citizen. What do you think that person had to offer ‘The Land of The Free’ when they first stepped onto foreign ground? My guess is that it probably wasn’t very much, except hard work and the ambition and dedication to make a life for themselves and their family.

One thing I hear/see frequently is people griping about illegal immigrants or foreigners being able to get free medical care while [the person making the statement] can’t get the same care; how is that fair? I’ll also go out on a limb and make a guess that most of the people with this same attitude are against any kind of socialized medicine, because of course, that takes away our freedom. So… Mrs. X travels to the U.S. on a tourist visa for vacation. She has no intention of staying past her visa expiry date, but while she is in ‘The Land of the Free and Opportunity’ something completely out of her control happens, and she gives birth to a premature baby. Who has an unplanned  stay in the NICU. Of course she doesn’t have insurance, and of course she doesn’t have the kind of money needed to pay that medical bill sitting around. Neither do I. I’m guessing that you probably don’t either.

I don’t even know where to begin here, but technically this baby can get a U.S. passport now, right? He does, after all, have a U.S. birth certificate just like so many other Americans. Since his parents don’t live in the U.S. and didn’t plan on staying, does this mean that you also think now that he should not be considered an American citizen? Just curious, because after all, we don’t control where we are born, yet where we are born can in so many ways have the greatest impact on our lives.

Are [so many] people suggesting that mom doesn’t get medical care because she is not a U.S. citizen and she doesn’t have the cash to pay? Since mom is not a U.S. citizen, should baby not be able to enjoy the benefits of being born in the U.S.?

I can (somewhat) understand that born and raised American citizens feel that there is a lot of work that can be done in the U.S. while it seems that the country is doing things to make life great for so many that live in other countries*, but at the same time, I would venture to guess that a lot of these same people that don’t like the idea of U.S. tax dollars going to feed starving children in other countries had no problem with the ‘War on Terror’.

Should families not be able to have international adoptions because there are so many children in the U.S. that are in need of families that want to love them and take care of them?

Should there be no such thing as non-profit organizations that help people that do not live in the U.S.?

I have had an amazing opportunity to live outside of the United States. Not in a fancy country that has all of the comforts of home, but a third world country where I have seen children using cardboard boxes as mattresses on a sidewalk at night; where a mother carries her infant around with nothing but a ragged shirt, no diaper even, begging for change; where patients in the hospital have to send someone outside to buy their medications at the pharmacy; where babies in the NICU scream themselves exhausted from hunger if their mama is not available to come and nurse them; where a makeshift one-room shack with a corrugated tin roof is the place so many families call home.

I am so thankful to have had this experience, and I am grateful for everything that is available to me because I happened to be born in the United States. I don’t however, think that it makes me any better or any more deserving than any one else on this earth, and I believe that all people, in every nation, have a responsibility to every other person in every other nation, to reach out and help. It doesn’t matter what color they are, it doesn’t matter where they live, it doesn’t matter what they believe; they are a living, breathing, feeling person, and just because they don’t share something in common with you doesn’t mean that you are relinquished of any responsibility to help a person in need in whatever way you are able.

America became the place it is because people from foreign lands saw that things could be better, and worked to make it happen.