Food for thought....

http://www.mama-is.com/white-privilege-family-values-and-sarah-palin/
Interesting - and if you have never thought about White Privilege or Christian Privilege - it is real, not something that a bunch of people just made up to prove a point. This is a topic we studied heavily, along with other diversity issues, when I was in graduate school. There are a lot of articles out there about it. This particular link is related to the upcoming presidential election, but if you google either topic, you are bound to find many articles about the two topics. It is okay to embrace the fact that they are real - and the sooner we all admit it, the faster we can bring about change!

It's been a while!

Sorry it's been a while! You can always tell the fall semester is in full swing b/c it means NO TIME for anything! Work is absolutely crazy!

Not much has been on my mind lately - except my grandfather (not doing well) and school. Yes, school. I am (GULP) thinking about going back. And realized today I need to think quick! Priority deadline for the program I am considering is Dec 1! Which means getting the GRE done very soon(AGAIN - I am passed the timeframe to use my previous scores!).

PhD or EdD? Oh - I am nervous about this....but need to do it. Time to start the research.

On a breastfeeding note - I am PROUD to say that we have surpassed the one year mark, with no signs of slowing down! I proudly wear my shirt from the Indiana State Fair Lactation Station that states HUMAN MILK FOR HUMAN BABIES. Comfy and light - good for running! Anyway - let's reflect on nursing past one year...

Remember the days of feeding all the time - every hour for B-man! And remember when my milk was his only source of nutrition? And now look where we are - he eats three meals a day, plus snacks. And likes to drink whole milk at daycare. I am no longer pumping - which is nice. But we nurse when we get home in the evening - though the duration is significantly shortened lately - I wonder if it is more for comfort. And then by bedtime, B is ready for a nursing down to sleep opportunity. He still nurses 1-2x at night - which is fine with me. I love the family bed (and wish my husband loved it as much as me!). And b/c B has cut down overnight nursing, we now have a nursing session in the AM before I go to work. So we nurse anywhere from 3-4x a day - pretty good for a 1 year old! I plan to continue following his cues for what he needs. I have noticed that on the weekends he likes to nurse more often, presumably b/c I am around more often!

So I am trying to introduce the sign for nursing (think about making a fist and then opening and closing it - like you were squeezing something or nursing a cow!) - and while he doesn't do it - when I ask him if he wants to nurse and make the sign, he always responds with a MMMMMMM very loudly if he is interested! He still roots around as well. And lately has taken comfort in placing his hand right on my (clear my throat) - nip. Sorry if that is offensive, but I don't know how else to say it! I am clothed - it is just where he prefers to have his hand! He's only 1 and he knows what he likes!!!!

Too cute - so unrelated to nursing - Brennan has started brushing his teeth - all 4 of them! Well, really I brush them with water on his toothbrush, but he likes to help - and often in his eagerness, he then opts to brush my hair with his toothbrush. It is tooooo cute!

One more thing - totally unrelated to Brennan at all! GOOD NEWS - after numerous appeals and lots of letter writing - insurance WILL PAY for the remainder of my plastic surgery bill. Now, I am still waiting to actually have it happen, but it is in writing that it will happen. Thank goodess - that saves us about $4500!!!!!!! I met with the plastic surgeon this week (in case you didn't know, I was bitten by a dog on my face last year, 37 weeks prego - lots of stitches!!!) and he thinks I am healing well. Initially he wanted to give the healing 1 year before we discussed any additional measures. Now he wants to wait another 6 months - he thinks I am still healing. But we discussed possibly cutting out some of the fattier tissue that still looks swollen. It makes me nervous b/c it is my face, but he did such a great job to begin with , that we'll just see. I have high hopes for the final outcome!

Blog about Bag Slings

I thought that this was interesting. I don't have a bag sling, I use an Ergo which I love!
http://babyslingsafety.blogspot.com/2008/05/concerns-about-bag-slings.html

Interesting Blog

This was sent to me by a friend.....still processing it all and forming my views

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Okay, seriously

So yesterday I am listening to NPR and I wanted to reach thru the radio and throttle this woman. They were having a roundtable discussion with people about McCain and Obama - and while it was very interested, one thing just really got me fired up.

So this lady is talking about how she doesn't trust Obama b/c he is a Muslim and that Muslims, even if they claim to not be Muslim's are ONLY no longer muslim's when they are dead. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! First off, time and time again, Obama, who claims to be a Christian, has stated that he was not a Muslim. And if he was - why should/would anyone care (yes I know, people do - which is so ridic). Like being photographed in Muslim garb means anything - it doesn't! Haven't we all dressed up for one reason or another in soemthing that might not represent us (Hello halloween!). I love how people claim tolerance, but hold some random bias against someone. And do they forget the reason America was founded - the home of the free - as a result of religious persecution - and yet, here we go again - persecuting people for something that may or may not be - and makes no difference anyway. Seperation of Church and State. Period.

not to mention - does Obama have any choice in his middle name? NO! It was what his parents DECIDED!!!! HELLO PEOPLE!!! And I guarantee you, if at some point in his life he had opted to change his middle name legally - he would be getting blasted for that - for denying his heritage and crap. God - this election is just killing me.

And while I cannot claim to be entirely knowledgeable about the candidates, I do know that Palin - whoa, not my girl - our values are about as different as they can be. Great, we're both working mom with brown hair - the similarities stop there. I'm just crossing my fingers for November...

People - please vote. Register. Vote. Register. Vote.

Working out - staying healthy

So I have a new goal - to work out at least 3X/week. Run/Walk twice and go to Pilates once.

If you know me, you are probably thinking - WHAT - why so little Kyle? So before I go in to that, let's talk about my workout (and some nutrition) "history"........

HS - ran XC and Track - worked out all the time at the YMCA, lifted weights, did cardio, ran, etc.....fanatic about eating - never ate cheese and monitored my fat intake....

College - joined the Rowing Team in an attempt to stay in shape. If I thought I worked out a lot in HS, that was nothing compared to college. In addition to daily workouts, which included lifting 2-3x/week, I worked out on my own (or rather, with two of my good friends on the team who were just as fanatic about it as I was!). We did cardio every day and did AT LEAST 1000 crunches. I was obsessed with what I ate and fearful of gaining the "freshman 15". Granted, I had not problem taking down too much alcohol. Whatever.

Post College - 1 year out - still ran tons and lifted. Started doing marathons.

Post post college - still worked out - but not as much. Decided that I hated lifting weights, so I rarely did. Became much less obsessed about what I ate. Guess what, I didn't change sizes either!

Pre-baby - did Pilates 1x/week, ran a few times a week.........

Post baby - well, that's where we are now. Remember, prior to Brennan being born I qualified for the Boston Marathon and in my pre-baby state of mind was 100% sure that I would pop him out and start running and doing the crazy marathon training. Then B was born and I had the epiphany. Pre-baby I was so worried about losing the baby weight......thank god for breastfeeding. I hardly work out, hence the new goal.

So I started my new workout regimen two weeks ago. Let's see, today is Thursday and I ran Tuesday evening - are you kidding me, I am still sore! Only went a very slow 3 miles (granted, with baby and dog in tow!) then did some lunges afterward. Oh, this is going to be a long road.

But - I feel great - despite the soreness. And I hope I can continue my plan! Honestly, it is HARD to find time to work out - I never thought I would have such an excuse....but my days go like this:
Wake up at 5:45am......at work 7:30-4....pick up Brennan at 4:30.....get home by 5pm.....nurse Brennan....play/start dinner/feed Tucker.....dinner....Bathe Brennan.....Brennan goes to bed by 7:30-8pm......do dishes......do other stuff around the house......crash into bed.......

So when will I fit in working out.....
Okay - run 1-2 times over the weekend, go to Pilates 1x/week, and then pick just one night after work to run with Bman and Tucker....I think I can do it, until it starts getting dark at 5:30.

The good thing about this all, while not working out isn't as great for my heart - thankfully due to good genes and extended breastfeeding, I am the same size I was before, though proportioned a little bit differently.....who isn't post baby?!
K

Wordless Wednesday