Another awesome weekend away

Busy Busy Baby.....( I mean Toddler)

The newest pics of our adventurous weekend. We went to Wellwood to pick blueberries and say hello to the animals at the petting zoo, then went to see Daddy and "Uncle" Sam for lunch on the train and finished our weekend off with a house warming party at Uncle Greg's and Aunt Ashley's house. We are all beyond ready for a nice long nap.

Vacation time

Sorry to neglect my blog....I've been up north at camp all week having a blast. Internet access there is basically a "nice thought" but doesn't really exist. We all had fun despite the huge crazy downpour storm thing. I used the chainsaw for the second time and cut down my first tree!!!! Ashtyn had a blast riding her ATV and ours and the new tractor. We went to Louis's pig roast and saw fire works. Lots of fun in the mud and fixing the road and trails during and after mother natures wrath. We discovered our dog is pregnant. Pure bred sheppard + pure bred golden lab = me stuck with puppies......super! All in all we had a lot of fun and it was nice to do stuff as a family on our own for once (and I do mean for the first time!)

ABC's and 123's

1. Books

Assata - Assata Shakur
Baby and Fly Pie, The - Melvin Burgess
Charlotte's Web - EB White
Diary - Chuck Palahniuk, Dangerous Angels - Francesca Lia Block, Dry - Augusten Burroughs
Exes, The - Paige Kennedy
Fried Green Tomotoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg
Girl, Interupted - Susanna Kaysen, Go Ask Alice
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
I
JOJO's Blog (I have no "J" book and I love your blog :) )
K
L
Million Little Pieces, a - James Fry
N
One Handed in a Two Handed World - Tommye-Karen Mayer (Not what I had expected)
P
Q
Rule of the Bone - Russell Banks
Smack - Melvin Burgess
Trailer Park - Russell Banks
Unbearable Lightnss of Being - Milan Kundera (working on reading it...son't know if its good or not yet... John Cusack just won't leave it out of his movies so I figured I'd give it a shot)
Very Best Book of Baby Names, the - Barbara Kay Turner
W
X
You Don't Know Me - David Klass
Z

2. Movies

Ace Ventura Pet Detective
Breakfast Club, the
Cars
Dogma
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fried Green Tomatoes
Girl, Interupted
High Fidelity
Intolerable Cruelty
Joe Dirt
Kill Bill
Love Actually
Monsters, Inc
Natural Born Killers
O Brother Where Art Thou
Porky's, Poor White Trash
Q
Resident Evil
Sixteen Candles
Twenty Eight Days Later
Uptown Girls
Van Wilder (its ok)
Water World
X
Young Guns 2
Z

3. Music

Ani Difranco, Alice In Chains
Bouncing Souls
Counting Crows, CCR
Drop Kick Murphys
Eels
F
Guns and Roses
Hot Hot Heat
ICP (Great Malinko)
Jack Off Jill
KMFDM
Liz Phair
Murder City Devils, Marilyn Manson
Nine Inch Nails
Operation Ivy
Poe
Queen
Rancid, Rob Zombie
Scarling, Simon and Garfunkel
Tracy Bonham, Tool, Tegan and Sarah
U
Violent Femmes
White Zombie, White Stripes
XEO3 (at least the one song I have on my playlist)
Young, Neil
Zebra Head


Any suggestions to fill in the blanks??????

I've come to realize

1. I've come to realize that my life...Could be worse.

2. I've come to realize that my job...doesn't pay enough, but allows me to stay at home with my kids.

3. I've come to realize that when I'm driving...I wish I could just teleport to my destination.

4. I've come to realize that I need...a social life.

5. I've come to realize that I have lost...my ability to just up and go when and where I please.

6. I've come to realize that I hate it when...I'm watching the fun from the outside even though I'm actually there.

7. I've come to realize that if I'm drunk...I will BEYOND REGRET it.

8. I've come to realize that money...is the root of all evils and is not as important as it is to figure out how to live without it.

9. I've come to realize that certain people...suck and will never change.

10. I've come to realize that I'll always be...negative, disgruntled and on the outside looking in.

11. I've come to realize that I would like to....get more stamps in my passport.

12. I've come to realize that my mom.... is right a lot but needs to not preach it.

13. I've come to realize that my career is...not considered a job by 99% of the world, pays about 1/1000 of what it should, is way more stressful some days than it ever needs to be and aside from the negatives it is still very rewarding.

14. I've come to realize that when I woke up this morning...it was not going to be a good day. So far pretty dead on.

15. I've come to realize that last night before I went to sleep...I should have just put the AC in the living room and slept on the couch.

16. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking about...all sorts of negative things.

17. I've come to realize that my dad...is absent more than I would have expected.

18. I've come to realize that when I get on my blog...I wonder who are the people that keep visiting it.

19. I've come to realize that today...was hot, boring, stressful and its not over yet.

20. I've come to realize that tonight...I will undoubtedly have an argument about something very stupid.

21. I've come to realize that tomorrow I will...pack for camp and pray the weekend and my vacation next week go peacefully and I finally get the rest I need so I can get out of this awful funk.

22. I've come to realize that I really want to.... enjoy everything again and soon.

23. I've come to realize that I used the same responses on 9 and 10 as auntie JOJO since they are perfect responses. I love you Jolene :)

July 4th Weekend

Last week in the world of Ashtyn

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for:

1. My Family: They help me stay strong in my moments of weakness. Forgave me when I was being stupid. They spoil my kid(s) rotten (and occasionally myself and Jeremy too) and they help provide for my family even when I don't "need" the help. They (at least 90% of them) love me unconditionally and I love all of them.

2. My Friends: They're always there when I need a shoulder to cry on or to share in an adventure that's too "stupid" for my husband to join.

3. My Husband: Mr Fix It. He breaks his back (literally) to provide for our family. He loves me the way I am (even when I'm being an unruly bitch). And he is doing everything within his power to give our children the childhood every child deserves.

4. My Girls: Ashtyn- She is teaching me to be a good Mommy and reminding me what an asshole child I was. Taylor- She is teaching me to be thankful and not take things for granted. I hope I will be an even stronger person by learning from them. I am also very thankful that I am able to have children. My heart breaks for those who want them and cannot have them.

5. Our current finances: I am beyond grateful that I have more than most. I don't know how some weeks but we can afford all of our obnoxious toys as well as life's necessities.

6. I am able to stay home with my kid(s): I couldn't do it without NHCCRR.org and the families that allow me the privilege to watch their children. I am very thankful for all of them.

7. DHMC: They diagnosed our issue and are now doing anything they can to help with it.

8. My Home: Keeps my family warm and dry. I absolutely love my porch and backyard. I am very thankful that the 4 of us have a house and are not crammed into an efficiency apartment.

9. My Garden: I'm sooooo excited it is producing fruits and veggies. I have an incredible brown thumb and was very scared of the outcome...but now, I am psyched!

10: The Rest: My Harley and its stress relieving properties. Parents as Teachers for all their help and ideas. 21C and Easter Seals of Keene for the workshops to better educate me and help me provide better care for my kids and other people's children. Disposable diapers,XX (Dos Equis), Yard sales, Hand me downs, digital cameras, camcorders, WIC....need no explanation.

Wanna Cookie?

I'm still in complete shock. This little child, who came from my body, actually shared her cookie. It was so awesome and sweet and completely shocking. She was hanging out with me in the living room while the other kids were napping and I gave her a cookie. So she's sitting there nibbling it contently. One of the kids wakes from his nap and joins her on the floor. She looks at him and breaks her cookie in half and hands it to him "Donnie cookie?" He happily takes it. I'm beside myself with the thought that my child could be the sharing type. I reminded him to say "thank you" which he did and then out comes "you're welcome Donnie. Mommy I shared." oooohhhhh. I wish I had it on video. It was likely a moment I will never get to witness again.

Random Info

Birth defects happen all the time. I, like most others out there, just kind of assumed as long as you took your vitamins, were "healthy" and not a crack head, your child would be born "normal". GUESS WHAT!? Not so much. Birth defects are shockingly common. I snagged the info below from a bunch of different sites. The addresses for each bit of info are listed below. Anyone pregnant or thinking about having a kid should definatly check up on the scariness and reality of babies being born with birth defects.


Limb defects occur in about 1 in 2,560 births, with defects of the arms/hands being much more common than those of the legs/feet (0.36 per 1000 and 0.14 per 1000 births, respectively).

http://www.cbdmp.org/bd_limb.htm



Physical Restraint on Limb Development
Examples
Amniotic Bands
These can appear on ultrasound as a band of membranes lying within the uterine
cavity. ( Figure 1) Why they should form is not clear. One theory is that bands are
formed as a reaction to rupture of the amniotic sac in early pregnancy. The
pregnancy carries on but this band of tissue becomes attached to the developing
fetus and affects subsequent growth in that area.
Various anomalies can be caused by amniotic bands ranging from minor
constrictions of digits to cleft lip and palate.
The recurrence risk in subsequent pregnancies is negligible.

www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/documents/416/Limb reduction defects.pdf




Limb reduction defects that were associated with known hereditary disorders (15%), chromosome abnormalities (6%), specific malformation syndromes (5%), and unclassified but familial phenotypes (4%) accounted for 30% of the limb defects identified (Table 4). In addition, 3.9% of the infants had been exposed to recognized teratogens, either misoprostol22 or maternal diabetes. Therefore, the balance (66%) had other causes, divided almost equally between vascular disruption (34%) and no recognized cause (32%), such as absent fibula.

pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/108/4/e64 - 99k




Birth defects affect about 120,000 babies born in the United States each year. Birth defects account for more than 20% of infant deaths and contribute substantially to life-long disabilities.

The causes of about 70% of all birth defects are unknown. Various occupational hazards, dietary factors, medications, personal habits, and environmental exposures may contribute to birth defects, but many questions remain about the exact nature of their influence.

www.peacehealth.org/kbase/cam/hn-1168007.htm



http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/Notes/skmus72.htm

Camp Trip Slideshow

It's time to potty!

"Go away Mommy! My potty" I'm just glad she doesn't know how to use the computer yet, cuz I'm sure she'd do this right back to me if she could.