So Much Tew Say

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T18:39:00.005-07:00

Here are some family pictures from our big photo shoot.
They are a little more conservative than the one of me having a "pout off" with a certain 2 year old but I think they are just as good (maybe better)!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanks Kate of Red Feather!

Family pictures- the super awesome-est ones

2011-12-20T21:48:00.007-07:00

First--- just a teaser of my Favorites from this session

Fia was pouting, so obviously, i pouted with her
Also you can spot Kirk, of Red Feather, there in the background

**All photos by Kate of Red Feather Photography

I am winning a contest I didn't even want to be in

2011-11-16T10:22:00.002-07:00

I was informed this morning by a disgruntled house mate that I am in fact the Hated-est mother ever.
That is bad news for me but good news for every other mother out there.
Your welcome!

the other Tew

2011-10-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

Just so you don't think i am playing favorites i will grace you with another post all about those other two tew's.

Here is Tal on his first day of 2nd grade:
He was so excited he climbed a tree!
and Here is Livy:
What 4 year old takes a leather handbag to preschool as her back pack?
Oh, yeah, This Girl!

Two Tew Much

2011-10-06T09:15:00.003-07:00

3 months ago this girl was a baby.

She was a pacifier sucking, diaper wearing, scraggly haired baby of one year old.
but now, NOW she has no pacifier, no diapers and she got a sassy hair cut to ring in her second birthday!

replacing

2011-09-18T16:16:00.005-07:00

I'd first off like to thank everyone who offered up suggestions on how to make getting rid of the pacifier a little smoother.
My fave suggestion was getting some balloons and tying the pacifiers to them then letting them go as a sacrifice to the pacifier fairies (or something along those lines).
All were very creative.
Although she is brilliant, Fia, is not quite 2 years old so I aimed to keep it very simple.

Pacie broke. Pacie garbage.

Also many of you guys suggested (and we had been working on this for a few months even before) finding the perfect "lovey" as a replacement.
Something to hold on to.
perhaps a blanket?
Stuffed animal?

Prior to the ripping away of the pacifier we had been trying out different options, there was a zebra, and then another zebra. several different blankets. There is a favorite board book, which sounds uncomfortable to sleep with but she liked it so whatever.
Last night though, WE FOUND IT!

The one thing that she is willing to stay in bed for, not cry and fall asleep with.
A comb.
She lays in bed running the comb through her hair over and over until long last she falls asleep.
BUT, not just any comb, a comb I received my freshman year of high school from a friend in a gift basket she gave me for Christmas.
This is the only comb I will use after shampooing my hair and have used it for almost 15 years.
I love this dang comb and now my daughter won't even let me touch it.
(fun fact... the ends of the comb used to be blue)
I guess if I had to loose it to some one or something, getting fia to go to sleep is a pretty good option.

I will miss you PC (perfect comb).

Do you see it?

Up close

And thanks Amber for the present that keeps on giving!

The day has arrived

2011-09-12T12:35:00.005-07:00

Oh, boy.
The day I was hoping would never come, is here.
I did it.
I took every pacifier i found and cut a slit into it.
(actually, Chad took the scissors to the last 2, even if it was because I forced him)
As she found them and tried them, she realized they were broke, called them "ucky," and tossed them into the trash and together we repeated the same phrase over and over, "you don't need those stinky pacies anyways!"

And now it is nap time.
And i can't remember why we are taking them away.
I know where one (or a dozen) are stashed.
Should i just give them to her?
She is so sad.
Chad won't answer his phone.
I bet he knows the sadness he will hear on the other end.
So what if she goes to kindergarten with a pacifier?Happy with her pacie!

How she sleeps

2011-09-07T09:35:00.001-07:00

That is one pacifier in her mouth and one in each hand.

The time is fast approaching

2011-09-06T11:49:00.003-07:00

I've never been shy about expressing my love to the ugliest pacifier in existence.
But it is time to say goodbye.
After lots and lots of thought I have decided that September 12th will be the day to say bye-bye.
It will hurt.
There will be lots of tears (mostly from me).
Sleepless nights.
Can anybody babysit around noon that day?
Just kidding.
Kind of.
As we get ready to bid farewell to our dear friend pacie I would like to share a few stories with you....
For a while now Fia has only been allowed to have her pacifiers while in bed. Occasionally throughout the day she will put herself in time out to get a little one-on-one time with her companion.
I can often hear her in her room after a nap awake but unwilling to leave her bed and her friend behind.
Being the brilliant child that she is she started hiding pacifiers throughout her room before emerging after a nap and then going to fetch them later.
The other day while taking care of her diaper needs, I found she had hid a few pacifiers in her pants!
Oh, how I will miss finding surprise pacifiers!

*feel free to weigh in on the pacifier poll..... to let her have it non-stop for a week and go cold turkey or to wean, very gently, that is the question?

No words

2011-08-15T16:03:00.003-07:00

Fia- May 2011- learning to feed self although she may have thought she was bathing, she seems unsure.

Livy battles the flu

2011-07-07T15:47:00.006-07:00

A couple weeks ago Liv got the flu.

She puked her guts up for 2 days.

She became unresponsive.

We took her to the hospital for some good ole iv fluid and some anti-puke drugs.

Her blood sugar level was at 40.

Apparently that is bad.

I only think that because people kept coming in bringing juice and saying it was bad.

I knew things weren't good when her friend dropped off a unicorn pillow pet (the kind she has "always wanted") for her and she didn't even respond to it just looked past it.

Here she is in the car.

We sat in the parking lot of the hospital trying to decide if we were being too dramatic.

Chad turned a movie on and she never looked at it.

We would ask her questions and she just stared at us.We took her in.She kept falling asleep while people were coming in and out and asking questions.
IV in.
They blew a vein the first time they tried.

Here she is a little perked up.

It took quite a few more days and a couple more times puking but she is back at 100% now.

A Sunday Night Post Just For You

2011-06-19T19:21:00.004-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my blog.
As you can probably tell I haven't been around for a while.
It is because I am boring.
And if I am boring myself, I most certainly will bore the socks off you.

I can offer you one picture today.

Moments before this picture was taken, Fia was a crying mess of a human, I put her in her bed (yes, a pack n play, she loves it) where she is most happy.
She was still crying though so Tal went in to see if he could help her.
She stopped crying and this is what I found:
*He was singing every patriotic song known to mankind to her.
Apparently the good ole USA calms her down.

Every time I Sit Down at The Computer

2011-05-29T17:16:00.001-07:00

She does this...

I give you something new to look at

2011-05-02T06:32:00.006-07:00

You're welcome.

Pictures by Kate at Red Feather... As always!

We break from TMI this week to tell you about something awesome!

2011-02-21T18:45:00.005-07:00

I am burnt on researching pregnancy stuff this week so we are going to discuss something else.
Tonight we are going to talk about how my Dad.
Hey dad!
Just kidding he doesn't read this blog.
Or any blog for that matter.
So my whole life my Dad was busy.
He had 5 kids, a wife, a job, he went back to school sometime before I hit my teenage years and during my teenage years I was a part time job for both him and my mom. haha?
For the past 5 years he held a calling at church that was umm.. stressful, and left little to no time for anything else.
He has always been creative and in the past his outlets have been landscape, gardening in weird places, and building things.
But in the past 6 months or so he has turned into an art-iste.
He takes these lumps of old trees and turns them into works of art.
They are original and interesting and when he starts on one of these pieces you look at the raw material and think he is crazy. It is an old chunk of wood that at best you think could be used to keep a fire going but then he works it into a beautiful bowl or pot or cup or vase. He sees it from the beginning though and that is why he makes them and I don't.

At Christmas he gave some away as presents and boy was I totally jealous of those who got one, because I did not.
Then for Valentines day I got the most beautiful big bowl.

Here is the bowl I got this is my favorite part, I love the natural crack.

It is solid and heavy, beautiful and one of a kind.He gave this one to my kids, or they stole it, I never verified it was for them The lid comes off and everything

My sister started him an Etsy shop, because that is what all men dream of, having their own etsy store, but here it is anyways.
Natural ax Etsy store
She also started him a blog, (because that was his other lifelong goal, to have a blog) to keep track of every thing he has created.
natural ax blog
I love some good original art (as you may know) and every bowl my dad makes is one of a kind, never a duplicate.

Tew Much Information- A Valentines edition

2011-02-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

Is your Valentine pregnant?
Then this post is for you!

Are you pregnant?
Then stop reading and email this post to your valentine immediately!

Neither of those options?
If you ever plan to become pregnant I would still pass this on to your loved one just as a precaution.

Tew Much Information (there really might be too much in this post) - What partners can do to make pregnancy easier on everyone.

*This first one may not come as a shock but it never hurts to have a reminder: help your pregnant partner cut out stress. Help with household chores before they become overwhelming. If you have other children, find time EVERYDAY to take care of them to give your pregnant loved one a break, even if it is to just go to the bathroom by herself. Give her permission to lie down for a few minutes (on her left side is best). Even though your wife may be pretty easy going when not with child, when pregnant she might find the ordinary stuff becomes too much. Ask her if there is one or 2 things you could take over for her until after the baby comes (mopping, cleaning bath tubs, bed time routine, bills, grocery shopping, filling her car up with gas). You might be surprised how even just one thing off her mind will lighten her mood and everyone else around her.

*Compliment her. As her waist line expands your partner will more than likely feel a sense of loss for her old figure. She will need reminding that pregnant women are beautiful. There is no need to lie. She will see right through that anyways. Look at your loved one and notice her glow. How perfect her complexion is, how shiny and full her hair is, her... umm.. ample figure. Remind her why you love her and tell her thank you for all the things she does for you.

*If you play your cards right on the above suggestion you might find out that one of the hormones coursing through your partners veins is the "Love hormone" (oxytocin). Your wife may be pregnant but she is not dead. When she is stress free and feels good about herself she will be more willing to give into other cravings.

*Her body hurts. Everywhere. Somewhere specific. All the time. Sometimes. - From day to day and as her belly grows heavier your partner will have different aches and pains. Listen to her complaints. If you can help her, help. If you can't, just listen.

*Be involved. Go to appointments with her as you can fit them into your schedule. Ask her which ones are important to her and try to be there. Some really cool visits are: the first time you hear the heart beat (between 11-14 weeks), any ultrasound, and towards the end when the doctor checks the presentation of baby and for any sign that labor is eminent. Get excited with your lover when she feels the baby move and in the weeks following make attempts to feel baby move too. This will help your wife but also help you feel like a part of the pregnancy.

*Be available. Nothing is more frightening at the end of you pregnancy than not being able to get a hold of your partner if needed. If you are going into a meeting call her first and let her know how long you'll be unavailable. If you have to go out of town make arrangements for someone close to her to be available for her while you are gone. Make sure your cell phone is always on and well charged.

*Be supportive. (getting up on soap box) I have heard too many times from women that they would have liked to have tried a natural birth but their husband wanted them to get the epidural.
I know it is hard to see your sweetheart in pain but if she would like to try to labor as long as possible without medication, just be supportive.
She is capable!! If it becomes too much she knows who to ask for drugs. She only gets one chance at this birth experience and even if she changes her mind, let it be her choice. She just needs support! (stepping down off box)

I hope these suggestions help you through those wonderful 9 months called pregnancy!
p.s.
even if your partner isn't pregnant most of these suggestions would still be really nice for her!

What is TMI?
go here.

Tew Much Information- Common Complaints in Pregnancy- Morning sickness

2011-02-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid--- I think I was obsessed with birth even back then, I always perked up and listened and digested everything that was talked about around me concerning pregnancy and birth. I was interested in how, where and why and was fascinated by peoples attitudes about birth. Then again I am Mormon so pregnancy and birth was always around.
--- back to my story though. When I was a kid I heard my Mom talking to someone, about a guy, who made the comment that, "morning sickness is all in a woman's head."
You can imagine the buzz that created.
You can imagine the outrage.
Even back then I knew that couldn't possibly be true.
Between the ages of 7 and 8 years old I watched from a distance my own mothers pregnancy with my little brother. She spit into a cup for months for crying out loud to keep from being sick.
That was supposedly all in her head?

Of course years and years later I had my first bout of "morning sickness," more like all-day-sickness, and even if I had the tiniest doubt (maybe it is all in your head?) my first time dry heaving led me to believe this man to be full of crap.

So, let's get it straight: morning sickness is caused by elevated estrogen and HCG levels and low blood sugar. It is more likely to occur when the stomach is empty, like in the morning after you have been fasting all night, thus it is called morning sickness.
I will say that there are psychological factors that can add to the nausea, such as: odors, stress emotional upsets. However are these things causing more nausea or are they causing you to loose your appetite, so you don't eat, which in turn causes even lower blood sugar levels and more nausea? The actual number of women who suffer from morning sickness is unknown but thought to be between 50-80% of pregnant women at any given time. Most women will notice relief around 12 to 13 weeks into the pregnancy. Some will feel better before that and some after. Unfortunately, a handful of women will not find relief until after they have their baby.

Most books, websites, midwives, and doctors suggest a high protein snack before bed (it takes longer to digest) and crackers before you even get out of bed as well as some if you get up in the night to go to the bathroom. The idea is to never let your stomach acid be alone.
If you are following Brewer's diet and eating the proper amount of protein you should already be all set. Brewer also suggests eating a high protein snack every hour if the nausea gets too bad (this is also his suggestion for swelling).

Other options:
*Smaller more frequent meals throughout the day
*A B-6 vitamin of 50 mg at bedtime and then again midday
*Ginger or raspberry leaf tea
*Ginger capsules
*Alfalfa tablets - also help with heartburn
*Avoid stinking up the house- open windows and turn on exhaust to get odors from cooking out of the house.
*Keep cool.
*Go with your cravings. Usually that is your body telling you what you need and what will help you feel better.
*anti nausea wrist bands (I use these.... I don't know if they really work. I suppose they take the edge off but they aren't magical)
*If your prenatal vitamin makes you feel sick, make sure you are eating with it. Also try taking just before bed.
*Take a nap- it is harder to feel nauseated while asleep.

If vomiting persists and mother and baby are not getting enough water and minerals, dehydration could be a problem. You should speak to your doctor/midwife/care provider immediately.

Information was taken from Heart and hands by Elizabeth Davis and
Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin

What is TMI? Go Here.

Tew Much Information- Exercise during Pregnancy

2011-01-31T01:12:00.002-07:00

Exercise during pregnancy?
You should do it.
The End!

This will be one of those, do as I say not as I do, posts.

I, personally, do an okay job of keeping the fitness up for the first half of my pregnancies but then feel let down when I still gain a million pounds and so give up. However I never feel as good once I stop exercising.

If you were working out before you became pregnant feel free to keep it up as long as you don't have any spotting, contractions, and your Doctor/Midwife gives you the go ahead.
If you weren't active before you became pregnant, it isn't too late to start.
Walking is a great way to get moving and get your heart rate up.
Try yoga. You will be surprised at your new found flexibility.
Your body, when pregnant, releases the hormone relaxin which allows your ligaments, muscles and joints to stretch more than you ever thought possible. Of course this is necessary for your pelvis to move and allow you to deliver your baby but you can also use it to help you stretch and work out and in turn your body will be in better condition to do the ultimate workout: give birth.

Dr. Bradley of the Bradley Method has a list of exercises every pregnant woman should be doing to get their body ready for labor:The first is Tailor Sitting.
This exercise (posture) consists of sitting on the ground, legs crossed (criss cross applesauce style) and slightly leaning forward. The idea is to get your knees as close to the floor as possible which helps stretch and strengthen your inner leg muscles. These muscles will come into play during the pushing phase of things. If your knees are no where near the floor when first starting this stretch, don't worry, they will if you keep it up.
Another variation of this is to sit with the soles of your feet touching each other, your legs forming a diamond shape. lean forward and this will give you even deeper stretch.
This can be practiced while playing on the floor with children, folding clothes, watching TV or just having a conversation with someone. Special time doesn't need to be set aside for this pose.
The second exercise is squatting.
Just do it.
Embrace it.
It takes some practice if it is not a stance you get into often but it is excellent for opening up your pelvis, stretching those inner leg muscles again and overall endurance. Start by standing with your feet a foot apart or so, with your heels flat on the floor. Lean slightly forward and drop down into the squatting position. As you become comfortable with this position use your elbows on the inside of your knees, to push your knees out for a greater stretch. This posture could be practiced every time you have to bend down for something. This is an exercise that I still use (even though I am NOT pregnant) to pick up my kids' toys, when changing diapers on the floor and dressing small children.

Third is the Pelvic Rock or the cat pose if you do yoga.
Take a hands and knees position. Arms shoulder width apart and your legs directly under your hips. Start with everything relaxed, your belly sagging and your bum up. Tuck your bootie so that your back becomes arched and your abdomen tight. Only your pelvis should be moving, your shoulders should stay relaxed and unchanged.
Dr. Bradley believed this was the ideal way to work out your abdomen and relieve pressure off your back if you are having back pain. It also has the added advantage of helping posterior (face up = back labor = not good) babies flip over (face down = ready position).

The last exercise, and possibly the most important for every woman, pregnant or not, all over the world, is the Kegel.
The pelvic floor muscle or the PC muscle holds everything up. Everything as in your uterus, vagina, urethra and rectum. A weak PC muscle will cause these organs to sag and can even cause issues such as urine to leak and the uterus to fall into the vagina.
A weak PC muscle is nothing to sneeze at (that is funny because if you have a weak PC muscle and you sneeze you probably pee a little... but it isn't funny, it is a serious issue).
So what can you do?
Your Kegel exercises.
Are you doing them now?
Do you know how to do them?
If you have never done them, start by stopping the stream of urine next time you go to the bathroom without putting your knees together. That "flexing" of the muscle is the basis of the Kegel exercise. You do not need to be going to the bathroom to do this and in fact it is better if you don't.
When beginning this exercise flex the PC muscle tightly and slowly releasing the muscle several times a day. Make sure it is a deep tightening. Try doing it every time you wash your hands.

Once you become good at this, hold the flex for the count of ten and then slowly release.

Finally, once you have mastered the above exercise you can go for the gold with this final move; think of it like an elevator going up 3 floors pausing briefly and each floor and then going down. First, flex just the outer third of the vaginal barrel, next tighten the middle third and now think of flexing way up high. Now release up high, then the middle and last the outer.

The benefits of doing your Kegels may not be seen but you will thank Dr. Kegel when you feel the results. And also when your uterus doesn't fall out.

Staying active throughout pregnancy will help you feel physically better, mentally well and help you cope with things better.

*exercises taken from the book by Susan McCutcheon, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

Unsure of what Tew Much Information is? Read through the archives here.
Have a pregnancy/birth question? email me at megantew@gmail.com

Tew Much Information- Medications in Pregnancy

2011-01-24T06:08:00.002-07:00

Every thing you take in passes to your baby.
Everything.
The placenta does filter out some bacteria and any waste that travels through you blood stream but other than that placentas do not discriminate or judge what goes through them.
If you eat it, drink it, smoke it or sniff it your fetus is getting it too.
True, some of it will be absorbed by your own body first but there is no way to tell how much.
The difference is your fetus weighs between a half of a half of an ounce to 7-ish pounds (depending on how far along you are) so the effect of any drugs, illegal, prescription or over the counter will be that much greater than it would be for you.

Over the counter drugs have a place on the 'drug facts label' for pregnant women to look and see if it is something they are okay to take. If it is not okay it will give facts on why you shouldn't. Otherwise it will probably instruct you to call your care provider first.
here is a road map for over the counter drug labels.

For minor aches and pains turn to Tylenol or acetaminophen products.
Ibuprofen and aspirin can cause problems with bleeding especially in the 3rd trimester.

Most women at some point in the 9 month gestational period find it hard to breathe due to a stuffy nose. A lot of the over the counter decongestants are not approved for pregnant women (you can ask your doctor which ones are safe or else the pharmacist should be able to tell you which ones are okay at which stage of pregnancy). However there are other options out there. A saline nose spray would be fine, the neti pot (I have never used it but people swear by it), breathe right strips or a humidifier can help make life easier.

The FDA set up a system with prescription drugs so that both doctors and consumers can more easily understand the risk of any drug on the pregnant woman and her unborn baby.
Every prescription is given a classification (A, B, C, D or X) and you will find this classification it in the information given to you when you pick up your prescription or else you could ask your Doctor/Midwife or the pharmacist. The definition of each class is as follows:

A drug with a classification of 'A' would be ideal. The medicine in this class appears to have none to a remote risk of harming the fetus. This would include (but not limited to) your saline drip and folic acid.

A classification of 'B' would be medicines that no good studies have been done on humans but animals tested seemed to be fine. This is where you would find amoxicillin.

The 'C' class is either; no good studies on humans or animals have been done or there was an animal study with some effect on the baby but the use of the drug may outweigh the risk to baby. Albuterol for asthmatics fits here.

A drug with a 'D' classification would mean that studies have found babies have been born with problems relating to these medications however the medications still might help the mom and baby more than harm. This is where you will find medications for seizures and bi-polar disorders

An 'X' classification is for drugs that should never be touched by a pregnant woman, such as Accutane.
Classification Table found here.

There is a fear of taking any medication in pregnancy and a healthy dose of fear is good, it makes you think twice, but there are times where the benefit is worth the risk.

When I tell people that I was on anti-depressants during 2 of my pregnancies I get some funny looks.
The flip side of not taking the meds was a constant desire, that started almost the second I became pregnant, to run my car into a lamp post at high speed.
So, you tell me which was more dangerous?
If you can avoid medication, that is always the way to go, but you have to be smart about it.

Ask yourself 3 questions before taking either a prescription or over the counter drug...
1. What does my doctor/midwife say about this medication?
2. What is the medications classification for pregnant women?
3. What is more of a risk to my baby, the problem that needs treating or the medication itself?

Once you have the answer to those questions you will be able to make an informed decision for you and your baby.

*Have a question about this or other prenatal/birth queries?
email me at megantew@gmail.com

A(n awesome) list fer ya

2011-01-20T21:14:00.008-07:00

1. I signed up for this. The half-ie even. gross. but I did, so I suppose I should just do it.
2. Tal had strep AGAIN last week.
3. Chad had strep the week before that.
4. And the week before that was when Tal had it the first time.
5. The doctor suggested Tal get his tonsils out. We already did that 4 years ago. Any other ideas?
6. Sometime between strep throats Chad and I went on a romantical weekend getaway to snowy Sedona... with Fia.
7. Fia hated Sedona and told us the whole time we were there.
8. The other kids joined us at some point and played in the snow. I didn't take even one picture.
9. Did I tell you about Tal and his obsession with survival kits?
10. no?
11. Well he has an obsession with survival paraphanellia. Now you know.
12. When we went camping, Tal's uncle cut his finger. We asked Tal to get him a band-aid out of his survival kit. Tal examined the cut, declared it was NOT an emergency and declined him a band-aid.
13. Liv started going to pre-school. It turns out home schooling is hard.
14. Here is what I did for Christmas gifts for neighbors and friends. It really is all about presentation.15. I stole this idea from someone but I am not sure who.
16. Fia is a climber. I have never had a climber, a daredevil, a child with out fear of anything. Nothing is safe. NOTHING.

*kids pictures by the talented Kate @ Red Feather Photography.

Tew Much Information - Pregnancy and nutrition {part 2}

2011-01-17T03:57:00.007-07:00

The Brewer Diet

We started last week with ACOG's (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) recommendations and if you read the pamphlet provided by ACOG you would have noticed a theme: weight gain and calorie restriction. ACOG puts a big emphasis on how much you gain and how many calories you take in.
Most likely, unless you go to a midwife or your care giver tends to take a less "medical" approach to pregnancy, your doctor will suggest the ACOG diet.

As a side note:
I personally respect ACOG and realize that they do serve a purpose but I also do not believe them to be the 'be all and end all' to pregnancy and birth issues. They are of the medical field and look at pregnancy as a medical issue that needs to be controlled and sometimes that is true but for most women and most pregnancies that is not the case.

So without further ado I give you another (better) approach to nutrition in pregnancy.

The diet made famous by Dr. Thomas Brewer and Gail Sforza Brewer in The Brewer medical diet for normal and high risk pregnancy: A leading Obstetricians guide to every stage of pregnancy is out of print and quite expensive to buy used, however Brewer
in 1999, in order to reach out to more women, set up Blue Ribbon Baby, the official website for all things Brewer diet. There is also another website hosted by a friend of the late Dr. Brewer who answers a lot of questions about, discusses myths regarding and dissects the brewer diet quite thoroughly that I will also be siting.

Dr. Brewer through medical school and in his practice studied diet and how it effected Metabolic Toxemia (preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, pregnancy induced high blood pressure). Dr. Brewer was not the first to suspect that nutrition played a major role in the health of pregnant women (a time line can be seen here of 130 years worth of research on the topic). He found that it wasn't genetics, it wasn't random but malnutrition that caused these problems. While most Doctors were treating these conditions with drugs, reduced calorie diets, salt restriction and bed rest, Dr. Brewer was adding salt, encouraging patients to eat more healthy food and protein, drink water when thirsty and get active.

To read more about his toxemia research go here

The reason the diet works?
in short... very short: A pregnant woman needs to increase her blood volume by 50-60%, she needs protein to keep that up. A high protein but low calorie diet would burn the protein to use as calories and would put her in danger, but a high protein with adequate calories (Brewer suggests 2,600 calories a day) and unrestricted salt would mean she had enough protein to build a baby and keep her blood volume up.

want more detail? look here.

The brewer diet has 4 main components:
1. 2600 calories a day
2. 80- 120 grams of protein a day
3. salt to taste
4. unrestricted weight gain

It breaks down further to 14 categories that you would aim to eat daily:

1. 1 quart milk per day (that is 4 cups of milk, any kind, or milk substitute product (ie: yogurt)
2. 2 servings extra calcium IF using unfortified soy milk in the category above
3. 2 eggs every day
4. 6 (7 gram) servings of protein or 6 (1 ounce) servings of protein. This sounds like a lot but a 3-5 ounce chicken breast, about the size of your fist, would be 3-5 servings.
5. 2 servings dark green vegetables
6. 5 servings whole grains
7. 2 servings vitamin c
8. 3 servings fats and oils
9. 1 serving vitamin A
10. 1 serving Liver once a week, if you like it or an extra 4 oz of protein in its place (Brewer was apparently aware people weren't a fan of liver but recommended it for people who could stomach it).
11. Salt to taste
12. Water to thirst
13. 1 snack
14. vitamin supplements
*do not eat one food and mark it off in 2 categories (ex: a snack in the afternoon of a hard boiled egg is either one egg serving or one snack... not both)

For more detail of what this diet consists of go here.
for your own checklist go here.

This diet was devised to help patients in Dr. Brewers practice. He practiced in an area that was poorer and the mothers were often malnourished as a result. His diet's base of milk and eggs were readily available and cheap. Just consuming the 4 cups of milk and 2 eggs every day would give you 44 grams of protein or half of what you need.

Uncertain that this diet really works?
From 1963- 1976 Dr. Brewer ran a program in Contra Costa County,CA. 25,000 women in that time followed his program with success. Where other hospitals in the country had a 25% rate of incidences of toxemia Dr. Brewers program had the rate down to .5%.

Dr Brewer based his research on Toxemia but found that following his diet and good nutrition in general helped combat a number of other issues such as; low birth weight, placental abruption, cerebral palsy, low intelligence, premature labor, edema (swelling), and gestational diabetes to name a few.

Yes, this diet seems kind of... umm... hyper.
but...
While I was pregnant with Fia, around 26 weeks, I found that I was feeling quite unwell. I felt dizzy and my fingers were constantly going numb. My Dr., who follows a more midwife approach, suggested I up my protein to Dr. Brewers requirements. I believed at the time that I was eating plenty of protein (although I am not a huge fan of protein and was unsure of how much I was actually consuming) and was disappointed in her recommendation. In an effort to prove to her that it was not my lack of protein causing my symptoms I increased my protein to 100 grams a day for 2 weeks keeping track of every morsel I ate in a food journal. After 2 weeks I felt great and I never mentioned it again to my Doctor for fear I would have to admit that I had been wrong and she was right.

And now you know, sometimes I am wrong, but not about The Brewer Diet.

Questions about the diet or other pregnancy related issues? Or do you have a subject you would like me to cover on TMI? Contact me at megantew @ gmail . com

Tew Much Information - Pregnancy and nutrition {part 1}

2011-01-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

Good nutrition in pregnancy is key for both you and baby. A balanced diet containing all the vitamins and minerals needed to build a human life will decrease chances of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, fetal abnormalities and even death.
(And an added plus is you will feel better)

Did you know that good nutrition before you get pregnant is important too?
Preparing your body even before you become pregnant will start the pregnancy off with a good foundation and make it easier to conceive. A body mass index of somewhere between 20- 26 is ideal for conception and anything under or over could cause ovulation to be sporadic (read: it will be harder to get knocked up).
Good health in preconception is considered a major factor in determining the success rate of carrying a healthy child to term and so should be your top concern in the month (or months) leading up to conception.
Along with cutting out drugs, alcohol, and tobacco you should also cut down on caffeine consumption, skip foods high in mercury (sword fish, shark, and mackerel) and avoid trans fat like the plague while trying to reproduce. and after.

It is a good idea to make an appointment with your Doctor or Midwife once you have made the decision to start "trying" in order to get an overall clean bill of health and also to get a prescription for prenatal vitamins.
Getting all the vitamins and nutrients that you need from foods would be ideal but due to either unwillingness to eat certain foods, lack of supply, your bodies ability to absorb or the inability for some women to keep food down a multivitamin designed to supplement nutrients that pregnant women need will be prescribed by your caretaker.

According to ACOG (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) the key nutrients needed while trying to become pregnant and during are:

*Calcium- it builds strong bones and can be found in dairy products

*Iron- helps deliver oxygen and if you want more iron try eating lean red meat, dried beans and peas and prune juice. yum. {an interesting side note: if you lack in iron you might feel the need to chew on ice which is called Pagophagia and is a type of Pica}

*Vitamin A- Forms healthy skin and eyes and helps bone growth. Some places you can find this vitamin is in carrots, dark leafy greens and sweet potatoes.

*Vitamin C- helps absorb iron. Look for it in citrus fruits and strawberries.

*Vitamin D- Helps build healthy bones and teeth. You can get this vitamin from sunlight but also your milk is usually fortified with it.

*Vitamin B6- this vitamin helps the body use protein, fat and carbohydrates and is in beef, liver, pork, bananas and whole grain cereals.

*Vitamin B12- maintains nervous system. This vitamin is found only in animal products so vegetarians will definitely need to supplement.

*Folate- (all of these vitamins are important but this is very important for women in child bearing years) helps reduce the risk of neural tube defects. You can find Folate in your dark leafy green vegetables, liver, orange juice and nuts but should still have 400 micrograms from a supplement per day.

For more nutrition information by ACOG they provided a printable pamphlet for you here.

next week- the Brewer diet

A commitment to 2011

2011-01-04T12:27:00.005-07:00

You may not know this about me but sometimes I am afraid of commitment.
I have a standing appointment once a year with an endocrinologist and sometimes I find that to be overwhelming.
A few years ago I started a segment on here called Tew Much Information to discuss birthing subjects (cause it is what I love) and I completed 2 posts in nearly 3 years. boo.
Maybe it isn't commitment that's my problem, maybe it is procrastination.
Either way 2011 is going to be different.
In 2011 my blog is going to get a lot more boring.
Unless you also enjoy talking about dilation, contracting and mucus plugs, in that case you are going to love 2011 too.
So here it is: In 2011 I will dedicate every Monday's post to enlightening anyone who wants to read, about pregnancy, birth and postpartum stuff.
Yay!

And to all a goodnight.

2010-12-24T21:32:00.004-07:00

A retrospective of today from end to start:

9:41pm I eye the frosted sugar cookies I have been working on all day and consider eating just 10...

9:33pm Christmas eve- Livy dumps out half a box of laundry detergent on laundry room floor, on the carpet, down the hall, on her head.
Clean it up give her another bath.

8:37pm Google every store in greater Phoenix area to find out when they close.
They are ALL closed already.

8:35pm Open Tal's "Santa" gift to set up only to realize it wasn't in red as shown on the box, it is pink.

2:33pm Chad uses tweezers and manages to get screw out of nose

2pm Livy shoves little screw up her nose
8:30 Chad takes Tal to urgent care. Tal is diagnosed with strep throat.

7:45am Tal wakes up with fever.

Good News

2010-12-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

I knew you were all waiting to find out whatever happened with our grass situation:It is coming along nicely.
Thank you for all the well wishes and positive thoughts and energy.
It seems to have really paid off.

December 23rd

2010-12-23T11:49:00.007-07:00

It is December 23rd and I have started taking down the Christmas decorations that I only just put up last week.
You see I like to be ahead of the game.
And I have a few spare hours while Fia sleeps.
Sure I could be doing the laundry, mopping the floors, or loading the dishwasher but it makes more sense to put away the advent calendar and rip the wrapping paper off my kids doors.

You don't wrap your kids' doors in wrapping paper?

Anyways who said that you have to have a nativity scene out for the whole season?
I carry a nativity in my heart all year.

Which reminds me of a conversation I had with Liv:

Picture by red feather

Liv... why do we celebrate Jesus' birthday when he doesn't even live here?
Me... Well, Jesus should always be in your heart.
{some thinking}
Liv... Maybe if we coughed real hard we could get him out of there.

Which reminds me of a story Tal wrote for his Aunt Gretchen:Once there was a dinosaur his name was Freddy Fred.
He met a dinosaur her name was Gretchen.
She got a big nutcracker and killed Freddy Fred.

Which reminds me of a conversation Chad and I had:

Shortly after we laid down to go to sleep for the night I got caught somewhere between awake and asleep and startled awake.
Chad asked, "what was that?"
I sleepily said, "I slipped on some loose gravel and started to fall."
worried about my safety chad said, "well, be more careful next time."

Which makes me think that it is probably time to take down the Christmas lights outside.
I don't want to be that one neighbor with them still up mid-march after all.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-21T17:38:00.004-07:00

Right off the bat I realized that Fia and Christmas trees were not going to be good friends this year.
The tip off was when she pulled down a 7 ft tree at dance class.
Then when she pulled off every ornament on that same tree that had already attacked her I got a strong feeling that we should forget about putting up our own tree.
Call me scrooge but I just couldn't force myself to put it up.
The older 2 were in hysterics about it.
Here is the *agreed upon compromise.

*Agreed might be the wrong word to use there.
What word means I told them and they had no choice?

Merry Christmas!Picture by red feather

The end of November has come

2010-11-30T03:01:00.001-07:00

Thank you for visiting my blog all month.
I can't believe that I was able to blog every single day for a whole month.
I hope you have had fun seeing what is going on in our lives in November.
That was a whole lot of blogging so I wouldn't be surprised if I took some time off.

Happy December!

An answer to the great rye grass debate

2010-11-29T14:59:00.003-07:00

Thank you for everyone who took part in the poll.
We had about 50% who thought the seed would take and the same amount who thought we just wasted our time and money, it is too cold.
Well here is a shot of the grass 10 days after the seed was laid:
It has been rather cold lately so there is a good chance this is the best it will ever look.

A Pacifying confession

2010-11-28T20:39:00.003-07:00

Have you noticed Fia ALWAYS has a pacifier in her mouth?
You have?
It's because she does.
You know what?
You don't?
I LOVE the pacifier.
I hold them dear to me.
If I was stranded on a deserted island with Fia and could only bring 5 things, Pacifiers would be 2 of my things.
I would forgo diapers if need be.
I mean it is deserted so no need for diapers anyways, right?

I hoard pacifiers.
I stock them up in case of a famine.
I can't go to the store and NOT buy a pack.
It is my worstest fear to be without them.
I love them.
I should have bought stock in them.

I love them so much I wrote a poem to the pacifier:

There is no other item I lover more than pacifier
It makes cries die down instead of amplify-her
Fia takes 3 to bed just in case
one in each hand and one in her face
Throughout the day I find them all over the house
but it makes fia happy, quiet as a mouse

I LOVE YOU PACIFIER!!

Run like the wind

2010-11-27T20:11:00.003-07:00

Tal, Liv and I ran a race on Thanksgiving.
The plan was for all of us to run together but after Liv opened up her pillow pet she just couldn't see how she could run and hold her pet, that she so obviously named, lady bug.
So, I pushed Liv and LB in the jogger for approximately 5 k's.
Tal did awesome even running way out in front of me for a solid 1/2 mile making me panic trying to keep my eye on him and not hit people with the jogger.

After the 2nd mile Tal got tired and tried to hang on the handle of jogger.
With some positive motivation from me and awesome mothering, also from me (look at those people walking, they are quitters, you aren't a quitter are you?) he finished the race running the whole time! He even crossed the finish line before me.
That's my boy and even though he looks it, he isn't crying in the picture below, he's just tired.
See, he is fine.

It's black!

2010-11-26T14:47:00.004-07:00

Black Friday shopping picture essay:

We start at Toys R Us but left shortly after arriving finding the line wrapped twice around the building.
It isn't that we are quitters, it is that Wal * mart price matches.8:43 pm on Thanksgiving day. Arrive at Wal *Mart
People I don't know waiting with us for a hot item.The line to check out at 1AMPeople camping outside at Target at 2 AM. Store opens at 4We were lucky enough to make friends with someone at Wal*Mart who had someone holding a place in the front of the line for them at Target and they invited us into line with them.
Unfortunately for the people up against that white vehicle and that lady with the shopping cart they were not invited and in fact, told very firmly and loudly to back up.
Not by me, I was scared out of my mind by the angry mob and kept praying that no one would realize I hadn't been there for 8 hours like the rest of them.Arrive home... fall asleep immediately

Livy's 4 now so we don't need to make her lie about her age anymore

2010-11-25T14:43:00.005-07:00

The day that we have long been waiting for is here.
Liv is FOUR!
We celebrated big time.
There was turkey and rolls and stuffing and salad and ham and casseroles.
She had kraft mac and cheese.

Due to the fact that Liv's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year we decorated in the traditional colors of pink and silver and ate Chocolate cake for dessert.

I told you my banners were going to be rad now

After 2 years of Liv asking for the same thing, we gave in and got her a danged pillow pet.I love the new coat she got.

Fia got the same one for her birthday so now they can match which we all know is why I had 2 girls in the first place.Look at that awesome O on top of her cake.
I wish I could take credit for it but I can't, but she can.

Top 10 things I am grateful for, digital age edition

2010-11-24T14:33:00.004-07:00

Obviously, hopefully it is obvious, I am thankful for family, health, religion, my husband and kids but I am really thankful for living at this time and so many conveniences and that is what I want to share today.

10. crock pot
9. Hulu
8. Roku
7. In car dvd players
6. PBSkids.org
5. Legos
4. i-pod touch
3. movies on my phone
2. microwave
1. Dishwasher, washer, dryer, and Sally, my roomba

Happy Thanksgiving!!

And the winner is...

2010-11-23T15:04:00.003-07:00

The winner of the 500 cent giveaway to celebrate my 500th post is...

Ms. Nagem Wet, who went on and on to say that she couldn't pick just one post since all of them were very clever and genius and witty.

You are too much Ms. Wet and thank you for your compliments
If you will send me your address I will put your 500 cents in the mail asap.

Chad gets me sick, an apology of sorts

2010-11-22T20:34:00.003-07:00

I am sick.
I got it from Chad.
He was sick a few days ago and I was all like, "oh, Chad is sick waaa waaaa. It is so hard on me." Totally bratty like.
That was annoying, huh?
Well he got me back.
Good joke babe!

Did I ever tell you about going to Atlanta?

2010-11-21T20:27:00.004-07:00

No?
That is right, the plane ride home left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn't want to discuss it.
It was wonderful.

But this post isn't about that.
No, It is about how Fia learned a new trick in Atlanta called, The "hey-my-mom-just-did-my-hair-I-am-going-to mess-it-up-and-rub-food-in-it-now" trick.
Here are some pictures:

let's look at my girls and talk about how cute they are

2010-11-20T20:25:00.006-07:00

A friend snapped these pictures for me and I can't get over them.

To grow or Not to grow

2010-11-19T20:18:00.004-07:00

We missed the boat on planting our winter grass.
That is what you do in Arizona, you plant grass in the winter.
You are suppose to do it before it gets too cold.... or something.
We missed that memo.
I wish we hadn't.
We went ahead and laid the foundation for winter grass anyways.
Laid seed, fertilizer and the stinkiest cow poop we could find.
We water 500 times a day cause it needs water too.
Now all we need is some warm nights.

Good news, a cold front is coming our way.

Do you think the grass will take?
Take my poll on the side bar and on the 29th
I will let you know anything is happening.

a list for you to drool over

2010-11-18T14:49:00.002-07:00

Since October 19th I have limited the amount of desserts I eat to one each Sunday.
I my as well be dead.
I love sugar.
You might remember my love note to Doughnuts here.
It is hard to find a reason for living without sugar coursing through my veins.

I wanted a log of things I have had available to eat but declined just to show what awesome self control I have:

*Halloween candy
*brownies
*cake
*chocolate chip cookies
*banana bread
*cinnamon rolls
*caramel dip
*sugary cereal
*oreos
*pumpkin bread
*sugar cookies
*ice cream
*chocolate, all kinds of

I will continue to add to this list as I refuse myself the right to a happy existence

What happens in Vegas will be reported to me nightly.

2010-11-17T20:11:00.003-07:00

Dear Chad,
You are currently in Las Vegas working and that really sucks.
Tal has faked sick everyday since you have been gone and quite frankly I just let him stay home because that is easier than fighting him.
Fia blows kisses now.
In fact she just sent you one.
Now I took a picture of her doing it and sent it to you.
You say I am making you having to travel harder by sending you those kinds of pictures.
I plan on sending you one every hour on the hour now.
Liv is Liv.
You know?
you do.
Hurry home.
but be careful.
But seriously, Hurry.... carefully.
Love,
Meg

500th post

2010-11-16T20:08:00.002-07:00

I have posted 500 times.
You know what that means?
It means that I have wasted hundreds of hours writing non-sense on this thing.
Let's have a contest.
E-mail me which post was your absolute favorite and why by midnight November 22nd and I will randomly select one of you to receive one cent for every post I have written.
That is 500 cents for those of you who aren't into math!
yay!

An Update

2010-11-15T14:40:00.001-07:00

Remember my apple tree I planted?
About a year or so ago it was having a rough time.
I was worried it wasn't going to make it.
I took drastic measures and put everything I had into it that I could (ha ha).
I gave it my heart and soul.... and stuff.
and look at her today.
Isn't she pretty?
I don't want to take full credit for her survival, but without me...

Once she starts producing fruit I will let you know.

isn't she cute when she...

2010-11-14T11:54:00.003-07:00

makes kissy faces?

Who's dumb idea was this?

2010-11-13T09:21:00.003-07:00

As I packed the overnight bag for our little excursion as well as food, as well as diapers, as well as blankets for Fia and floaties for Liv and bottles and water and many other things, I started to question my idea but thoughts of my children's excitement kept me from going too far down that path.
I loaded up the children under the pretense that we were going to do something "FUN."
They were skeptical.
We picked up my sister and her 3 children and headed for the 'train park' in Scottsdale where we planned to eat lunch and ride the train.
Upon arrival there we realized we were not the first to think of the idea.
The park was in fact hosting a Veterans day event and the park was packed.
PACKED
P.A.C.K.E.D!
R and I were on high alert and managed to eat, ride the train once and the carousel twice without loosing even one child but our nerves were shot after a couple close calls.
After that we headed to the hotel to check in.
All went smoothly as we got to our ONE room and went down to the pool.
Unfortunately the hotel's idea of heated pool and my idea of heated pool is vastly, VASTLY, different.
We stuck mostly to the hot tub which I think didn't go over well for the other, non-children, patrons.
weird.
That night was too horrific to talk or type about.
I will say this much, we were lucky not to get kicked out at 2am and neither R nor I got any sleep that night.
We opted to skip all activities the next day and head straight home.
The lack of pictures should be a sign to you that it was actually NOT my best idea ever.
6 children in one room is never, NEVER, a good idea.

As a side note: while we were leaving the hotel the next morning the children all wanted to know what the surprise was.

I've got a good idea

2010-11-12T09:20:00.003-07:00

A week or so before Veterans day I called my sister with the best idea I had ever came up with.

Me: Hey R, let's priceline a hotel in the area and stay one night and let the kids swim in a heated pool and be fun and cool and skip school on Friday.
R: Megan, you are a genius and the most awesome person I have ever met.
Me: I know.

So that is what we did.
We got a super cheap rate at a resort in Scottsdale thanks to priceline.
We decided to not tell the kids until we got there so we could really surprise them.
Then we were sure that they would be so surprised that they would tell us how much they love us and would be angels!

We may have overestimated.

Camping part 4- we are so so so dirty

2010-11-11T07:37:00.005-07:00

For some reason I always forget how dirty things are.
Such as:
Camping
going to the beach
having a pic-nic
the park
children
By the end (and more accurately, as soon as we got there) the children were so incredibly dirty I had a hard time looking at them.
Every time I looked into their little faces I wanted a box of baby wipes and to strip them down and get rid of any trace of dirt and grime.
But what would be the point? we were still camping after all.

Here you can see the wind/sun burn and the black crud from nose down that was always thereDirty
Here you can make out the faint ring of grime around Tal's mouth

I think next time we go camping I will insist on showers, toilets, sinks, beds, electricity, warm towels, vacuums, no animals or bugs, less camp fire smoke, a microwave, internet, cable, hot tub, and room service

Camping part 3- Are you sweating? I am sweating

2010-11-10T07:07:00.002-07:00

After our first night we realized that the heater was imperative. We were not going to be fooled by another 'warm' evening.
However the Heater had 2 elements that I could not wrap my mind around.

1. How could it have a flame and be okay to be in a tent?
2. It runs off propane so, shouldn't the gas asphyxiate us all in our sleep?

Although I was toasty warm and throwing off sleeping bags, blankets and clothes I couldn't help but feel symptoms brought on by my own psychosis.
I was positive that I had a headache, was dizzy and felt nauseous all because of the propane, obviously.
So I did the only logical thing there was to do, I stayed awake, ensuring that I wasn't dead.

Camping part 2- The night 5 people froze in one tent

2010-11-09T06:43:00.003-07:00

As Chad and I laid the kids down for the night and eventually took to our own sleeping bags we laughed as we thought of all the people warning us how cold it would be.
The sun had set hours ago and it was downright warm.
Or had the sun set 30 minutes ago?
Who knows, nobody was wearing a watch.
Either way, warm warm warm!

As the night went on something interesting happened though, (well maybe not interesting as much as just basic science) it really started to cool down. In fact the air in the tent just kept cooling down and down and down, getting cold and colder and coldest. As the air cooled so did every single body part in direct proportion. Soon I had both Liv and Fia on my slowly deflating air mattress while Chad and Tal were huddled together on their rapidly deflating mattress. No one was sleeping and the night would not end, it just kept going and going!

At the first sign of light I was up and outa there.
Give me a fire with the accompanying smell of smoke.
Give me the sun.
Give me the keys, I want to go home.

It might not have been such a terrible night if it hadn't been for the Big Buddy heater sitting in the corner of the tent unopened still in its box mocking us all.

Happy campers part 1- no one is cranky yet

2010-11-08T20:57:00.004-07:00

Over October break Chad and I took the children camping.
As with every camping trip any one has ever been on, everything started out quite optimistic.

We were truly 'Happy campers.'

Look how clean every one is Livy's hair is still fresh... and ethnicChad and I (but mostly just I) decide to match

Once we got to the campsite and after we blocked off the area covered with broken glass bottles left by someone before us and we gathered firewood and set up the tents and the kitchen area and the make shift potty area, then the fun began!

There was quad rides and fort building and someone was a natural fire starter.
I am talking a NATURAL!
Like she should probably be given a Guinness world record for her fire starting skills.
I mean me.

Liv, as it turns out, is a naturalist.
An outdoors girl.
We saw a new side of her that was rather a relief.
A happy child without any fits and snarkieness.
bliss.

As the sun set on our first day and my camera was lost and then Chad found it in the dark, we went to bed for the longest night of my life....

Gone with 3 weeks of my life

2010-11-07T23:11:00.002-07:00

I recently finished reading Gone With The Wind.
It is a LONGGGGGG book.
That is an understatement but it will have to do.
I became so immersed in the book that I was sleeping it, eating it, thinking about it while I wasn't reading it and reading it at any time I could find one spare moment. I threw out my back lugging that brick with me everywhere.
I went and lost 3 weeks of my life to it.
Everything in my life is now relate-able to that book.
If I don't like something- I will think of it tomorrow.
Somebody says something I am not fond of- well fiddle dee dee to them.
I eat because gosh darn it I vowed to never go hungry again. or wait, Scarlett did that.

I get that Scarlett was kinda a beast but I liked her so much.
What do you think that says about me?
Do I need to seek out help?
I also like Melly but I don't consider myself to be on the same plane as her.
Being like Scarlett seems like something I could accomplish and I think I would enjoy running a lumber mill with a group of chain gangs.

I was also asked to run a book club meeting for January based on GWTW.
Normally that would make me throw up from now until then with anxiety but along with the invite to host was a list of possible questions for the group discussion.
After reading the questions I am feeling more and more confident that it won't be a complete failure of a meeting.

**What was up with Scarlett crushing on Ashley?
**What kind of a sissified man is Ashley?
**Who would win in a fight, Prissy or Ashley?
**Why didn't Ashley get killed in battle, when everyone else did?

If you are suddenly feeling a need to join our highly intellectual book club please email me.

One final word on Halloween

2010-11-06T22:52:00.002-07:00

While Liv did not actually participate in the trick-or-treating of Halloween she was able to dress up one night and go to a neighborhood Halloween... um... 'thing'.
(I think they called it a spook-tacular, but I think they over shot {and missed} using that term)
So you can all stop sending me emails about how hateful I am.

I will mention 2 things about Liv's costume so that you might feel privileged to know the ins and outs of our lives, cause that is why you read about us after all.

1. Her costume was originally worn by myself at her same age. It might have been worn by some one before me but I don't recall. There are pictures of me wearing it but I couldn't seem to find any so just imagine me in all my cuteness and that clown costume and a red wig.2. Liv out of the blue one day in August announced that she would be a clown for Halloween in order to scare Tal.
In her words she said, "I am going to be a clown to scare Tal. Remember when he was all crying saying, 'no, I don't like clowns?'"

I in fact did remember. It is hard to forget such incidences outside Circus Circus with hundreds of people watching you.

As Liv reenacted that display and mimicked his detest for clowns I became 100% determined to make all her dreams of scaring her brother come true.

Halloween for the kid shouldering full responsibility for scoring candy for 5 people

2010-11-05T22:42:00.002-07:00

Tal did in fact go trick or treating, and as the only member of the Tew family doing such the burden was heavy.
He started to feel the weight of responsibility around the 3rd time I sent him out to hunt and gather.
To be fair though I handed out close to 7 billion pieces of candy while he only returned with perhaps 100 pieces and a disturbing amount of it was not candy at all but pencils and fake spider rings and notebooks. The disappointment was all over my face and so even though he was exhausted and had lost his wings, his mask and half his tail, Tal bucked up and hit the streets one more time for us.
Still I only got one mini twix out of all our (his) hard work so I am thinking next year we buy a bag of our favorite candy, lock our door and turn off the lights and eat until we puke.

Halloween for the imprisoned clowns

2010-11-04T22:39:00.003-07:00

Once upon a time Liv got busted on the same day as the trunk or treat and even though she was make up-ed and ready she had to stay home.
ahhhh...
Who has the meanest mommy ever?

Haloween for the smallest of our household

2010-11-03T22:35:00.004-07:00

While I did make Fia these awesome legwarmers so that she might be a witch, she never got any real use out of them because Halloween was lame this year.
The end.
Except isn't she really really cute?
and if she had kept on her hat wouldn't she be even cuter?
and isn't it sad how my kids are so cute and everyone else's are sub par.
Just kidding.
Your kids are definitely par.

Fia turns 365 days old (+ 26 days)

2010-11-02T22:23:00.005-07:00

For Fia's birthday we did the normal stuff we do round here.
She got an original ChadMegan banner. yay.
After I cut out all those awesome letters I remembered something enlightening, I actually have a Cricut: personal cutting machine.
Come Liv's birthday my banners are going to get radder. And then by Tal's even Radder-er. Just you watch.
I also made her a very cute party hat which she cared very little about but I still made her wear it cause whose birthday does she think this is? I don't remember her giving BIRTH.
I also gave her cake.
Well, a slice of cake.
Not her own.
See, I am not into smash cakes.
Not to say that I don't like them, It just hurts my feelings that some one would waste a whole cake on smashing.
I am willing to give up a slice to smashing, but not more than that.
Remember doughnuts?
I feel almost as strongly about cake.
Except for chocolate cake, I could go either way.
and any cake with fruit filling. Gross.

But Fia ate the slice of cake I gave her. every bite. every morsel. every crumb.
And now she is surely my daughter.

A November promise is made

2010-11-01T20:21:00.001-07:00

I promise, this November, to post daily for you!
Why?
To entertain, to brighten, to inform and to motivate.
It is all for you.
A gift, if you will.
It is after all November.
And November is a month to give thanks.
You know? Cause of Thanksgiving being in November and all.
And my blog posts are sure to make you want to give Thanks.
But I don't promise that part. The part about wanting to be thankful.
Just the part about blogging daily.

lets all go back a year in time

2010-10-04T00:01:00.006-07:00

A year ago today might have been my most favorite day ever.
At least in the top 5.
A year ago today (or yesterday) at 10:30 at night I sat pushing pressure points on my foot until my hand was numb, determined to go into labor come heck or high water.

At 11pm I gave up and went to bed with only one thought on my brain.... Labor!

At 11:30 I felt my first "real" contraction and I knew it.

Then I thought, I am really tired, lets do this later.

So i went to sleep off and on.

Around 1 or 2am, who knows, Livy woke up crying and Chad went to take care of her, when he came back I told him we were having a baby today.

He asked if we really were or if I just wanted to have a baby today?

It was a fair question. We both went back to sleep.

One year ago today at 3:30am sleep was no longer an option so I changed the laundry (something I have done in the middle of the night during all my labors thus far, it is habit, along with feeling contractions I feel the need to launder things).

A year ago today at around 4am I called my doula, my mom, my sisters and woke up Chad and said it is time to have a baby.

Ok, I text-ed my Doula and mom and my mom called my sisters and Chad was woken up by me jabbing him but close enough.

I then got in the shower because I was determined to look put together at the hospital.

5 minutes later my determination was gone.

By 5:30 everyone was there and it was a party and then I the I shhh-ed my mom and I am still sorely embarrassed.

I was in a zone. I had a system that worked for me.
It went: breathe, relax, relax, dry heave, repeat.

By 6:30am a year ago today Tal and Liv were awake and then were whisked off by someone to somewhere, it is still confusing how it all happened.

At 7am-ish Chad and everyone else was pacing and then I said, I kinda feel like pushing.

Then I was being pushed to the door, except I had to use the bathroom but Chad insisted I use one closer to the garage and incidentally the car, that by now he is realizing has a flat tire.

By 7:30am a year ago I was in the back seat of my mom's car laying over an exercise ball and my mom was white knuckled driving like a professional, even after I shh-ed her.

A year ago today we all arrived at the hospital at 7:45 and the lady at the front counter told me to just wait. My doula ignored her, walked me back to triage and sat me down on the closest empty bed.
Somewhere in the hospital at the same time was my sister giving admissions an insurance card from 3 years before that she found in my wallet.
I know you are wondering why I had an old insurance card, I have no answer for you but trust me I learned my lesson after it took weeks to straiten it all out.

A nurse checked me 2 minutes later and announced to anyone close enough to hear that I was 9 1/2 cm with a bulging bag of water. I asked her to break the bag, she said no.

At 7:50 am a year ago today I was rolled into my delivery room and told to change beds.
I cried, then gathered every bit of strength I had and rolled onto the other bed, laying on my right side never to move again until I was one human being less.

Some stuff happened around this time, my Doctor, who we called on the way, showed up in her running clothes, an iv was given with antibiotics (stupid strep-b), a lot of questions asked that I ignored and then I whispered to my doula 5 thousand times that I wanted to push and she whispered back 5 thousand times to go ahead.

At 8:05 am a year ago today, my bag of water broke.
No, popped.
Exploded?
And flooded everything in a mile radius.
Then my Doctor said something along the lines of, "oh, we are pushing."
And while I knew I was pushing I was unsure of who else was.

Then at 8:11 am a year ago today I had me a baby.
A 9 pound 3 ounce baby girl who I declared was Sophia as if her and I had met before.

Then at 8:13am I declared my Love for my baby and every other person in that room and anyone not in the room and anyone on the planet or not on the planet.
And I might have suggest on that same day one year ago that we should have another baby.
Then Chad ignored me.

I am not saying it was pain free and all funnsies, it was hard, It was tiring, and there were several times I thought I was done and I couldn't keep going.
But I did and there is no way to describe the high and the confidence that Fia's birth gave me and helped me ride through her first year of life.
I have thought of her birth often this past year and I would take the pain and intensity 100 times over to have my sweet baby Fia.

Fia's birth review part 1 and 2

out of 3

2010-09-12T20:13:00.003-07:00

it is 8:14pm and 3 out of 3 children are in bed

2 out of 3 are actually asleep

3 out of 3 children had a ROUGH day

of course that could be because 3 out of 3 children have been completely thrown off their regular schedules for a week

3 out of 3 children will be disappointed tomorrow to find that Chad has gone back to work but that I am still here

i took 1 of 3 children on a plane with me to Georgia last week and because teleporting hasn't been invented yet i also brought that same 1 back home on a plane with me

i am not mentally ready to talk about that experience yet but i can say to anyone wanting me to jump on a plane, that i will need to forget that experience first or else bring 0 of 3 children with me

currently zero children are in my bed and since that can't possibly last I am going to make the most of it

good night

that is what you get for teasing me

2010-08-25T01:20:00.001-07:00

It can take me a long time to to fall asleep at night.
When we were first married I could talk Chad into telling me stories or playing board games with me until I was sleepy.
Then we hit our one week anniversary and he was over that.

Most nights I lay there very still trying my darnedest to shut down my brain and fall asleep. However there are a few nights a year when I am so bored of lying there I beg Chad to entertain me.

tell me a story
I love you
That's not a story
{snoring}

Let's play monopoly
No
ok, scrabble
{snoring}

The other night was one of those rare nights when I was beyond exhausted.
Actually I was beyond being beyond exhausted.
My head hit the pillow and I was gone.
G-O-N-E!
I was asleep before 8:30.

The next morning I awoke refreshed but something was gnawing on my subconscious.
I felt as though something had happened but i couldn't place it.
So, i asked Chad, "what happened last night?"

After he stopped laughing he told me this:
I came to bed about 9:30 last night.
You were already asleep and snoring.
I asked you if you wanted to play a game of monopoly.
you said no.
I said I would go get scrabble instead.
You said, "I know what you are trying to do," and proceeded to cry.
For the next 5 minutes I tried to apologize and get you to stop crying.

It all came back to me as Chad was replaying the event.

P.S. I may have woken up around minute 2 of crying and realized what was going on but threw in the extra 3 minutes of crying just for funs.
maybe.

This post is so exciting you will need a nap by the end (or you'll already be asleep, it could go either way)

2010-08-24T01:52:00.000-07:00

We (me, the children, neighbor children) did a science experiment cause I am pretty much awesome like that.
Also it was a kit.
Also I needed something to entertain the children for 4- 28 hours and the kit made just such a promise.
And the kit was $3.
And I had a coupon.

First: we planted a paper tree
then: we watered it with the special "water"
Next: we waited and took pictures
Now: I am going to show those pictures to you

The tree is absorbing the water in this first picture.
Still absorbing.
The slightest hint of something growing on the very top in this next picture.
More growth.
Even more growth and now some color to jazz it up.
uh-huh.
Yep.
It really starts to explode at this point.
Boom.
It is really turning into something now.
More growth.
More color.
The tree is getting so full we are loosing some of its fruit there on the bottom right.
So beautiful.
It makes me want to write a parable about it.Here you will see that I went to bed and took no pictures for approximately 10 hours. Your welcome.
Can you tell what it is yet? neither can I.
The box said-- grow your own crystal tree.

I think it was reaching.

One of those days

2010-08-23T01:57:00.001-07:00

It was one of those days
You know the ones where you let your baby eat cereal that was spilled on the floor by one of her older siblings but no one bothered to clean it up or at the very least tell you it had happened so that you might clean it up.One of those days when you actually find yourself wishing for a dog to help you clean up this mess but then remember the dog would make even bigger messes and beside you have the next best thing; a toddler who has never tasted the sweet sweet sugar of Trix cereal.
Nor has had number 37 red food dye and there is a first time for everything, right?One of those days where you undress your baby so that she might fully immerse herself in the deliciousness of her first sugar cereal without sacrificing her outfit and also so you don't have to wash the clothes in addition to cleaning up what is sure to be a sticky crumby mess. One of those days when your baby gives you the biggest smiles as she shoves her mouth as full as possible and you are just praying she doesn't choke cause you aren't sure if you remember the Heimlich maneuver for a baby.

Yes, one of those days.

The Climb

2010-08-18T08:26:00.005-07:00

Fia is a climber.
You know how some kids are and my other 2 really weren't?
Before Fia could walk (she is walking now) she was climbing.
on EVERYTHING!

She now owns this chair.
Then she learned to climb up on the couch and she took possession of that as well.Then she climbed up the back of the couch.And over the couch.Our house has now been rearranged purely for purposes of having a climber and decreasing chances of major falls.
and we padded the walls.
and I follow her around getting her off of stuff.

yet, here she is on top of the computer desk.I give up.

pre-preschool

2010-08-12T09:10:00.007-07:00

I am starting my own school.
It will be a private institution.
Only the most exclusive will be invited.
The tuition is outrageous.
The curriculum is advanced.
And the admission process is a beast.

It is so exclusively private that Liv is the only student.
With such a small class size there will be much more one-on-one attention.
The school will be better able to focus on the student's needs and adapt to their learning style.
Me and the board (umm.. Chad) have decided that hands on learning will be an essential part of the day to day activities.
The curriculum is exciting, fun and based on our student's favorite movie, Cinderella.

Therefore this quarter we will be covering laundry and properly mopping the kitchen floor.

Next quarter I would like to cover cooking but I will need to bring on a tutor to help with that.

At summer's end.

2010-08-09T09:41:00.007-07:00

School starts this week and the thoughts of homeschooling once again flood me.
but then I remember joy school and get over it.
Why can't 1st grade be like kindergarten?
half day.
and throw in no Fridays.
and every other Monday off because Mondays are gross.

Now let's take a look back at how we spent our summer using math (to get us prepared for school):

There were 14 dance classes that lasted one hour and Tal managed to complain 75 times in 60 minutes.37 watermelons were purchased and ate but only about a 75% of them were up to my expectations.
3 of the 5 fruit trees bought last year were painted. One died and one has a placenta under it (I just love how that freaks people out).
Liv was in her swimsuit 62 days this summer and in pajamas (see above photo) 100% of the other time.Tal had 2 bottom teeth pulled after his new ones grew in behind them. At this rate his adult teeth with cost us 2 bazillion dollars.We spent 4 days in Vegas and 3.6 of those days we were hiding in the hotel room playing Disney bingo, no betting.Fia got pinned under a toy shopping cart taking off 2/3rds of the skin on her nose.
We used pieces of 6 band-aids to create a nose bandage but forgot to wash her face.Tal spent 6 nights at his Grandma's house and came home looking like this. 48 hours spent drying this volcano and the eruption last less than one second.Tal was told to stop reading and go to bed for 72 nights in a row and for all 72 nights he begged for 5 more minutes which led to 5 more and 5 more for a total of 45 more minutes of reading per night.Once temperatures reached above 100 degrees it took Fia 4.3 seconds to figure out how to take off her diaper.One trillion dollars and 3000 hours were spent at various swim lessons this summer and here is the only.... ONLY. picture I have to prove it.
And I am not even the one who took it.Face painting cost $16.
took 5 minutes to paint it.
Stayed on for 3 hours.
Liv was in heaven with it on.
There you have it.
Our whole summer in one post.
See you next year.

Formal, but still weird

2010-08-05T03:10:00.001-07:00

Travel log:

2010-08-04T14:04:00.009-07:00

Or travog, if you will.
Along our 5 day trip to California for a wedding and some fun I occasionally sent out mass text messages that were entitled TRAVEL LOG.
I will now share those with you completely unedited and raw.
Except in order to protect some people I will of course use fake names.
And sometimes I was frustrated and used unattractive language so I will censor those.
And sometimes I was just rude so I will dress that up too.
And I don't want anyone to fully understand how weird I am so I will probably leave out the weird stuff, but other than that, it will be verbatim.

Wednesday July 28th 12:22pm:
1st rest stop- Fia has blow out and I step in gum while changing diaper.
threw away one very dirty onsie and favorite pair of Wal *Mart sandals.
Crying a little.

6:58pm:
After 8+ hours in car, finally arrive at hotel to find this notice in our room: There will be a fire drill in next 2 days.
Of course there will be.

7:05:
At legoland.
In order to gain acess to certain rides Chad teaches Liv to say, "I this old" while holding up 4 fingers.
I have never been more proud.

Thursday July 29th 6:49am:
My children have chosen this morning to sleep in for the first time ever and I can't enjoy it.
I have urgent need of the bathroom facilities and Fia is sleeping in there.

12:55pm:
running.
literally. running. from Legoland back to hotel to get car to go pick up family at Legoland.
Shuttle wouldn't get there in time for us to make it to rehearsal.

4:55pm:
Got kids to rehearsal on time.
{large censored section}
Fia walks across marble floor at the Ritz and no one but me and bellboy, Justin, saw it.
Justin and I exchange BFF necklaces after feeling forever bonded.

6:05pm:
rehearsal dinner.
Hanging out with valet, Jose, while Fia sleeps in car.

8:05pm:
Leaving dinner.
someone is cranky.
let's call her Bophia.
Taking food to go.

Friday July 30th 1:47pm:
Liv unzips footie pajamas at breakfast and shows 50 strangers her underwear.
Later she trips.
Her uncle Jon picks her up only to slam her head into a metal sign hanging above his head.
It's going to be a good day for her.

5:20pm
Pulling up to wedding right on time.
now all I have to do is walk the 1/2 mile to location and completely dress the flower girl.

6:30pm.
Although Tal is promised $40 to slide down aisle when it is his turn, he walks nicely.
when asked why he didn't slide he admits he thought it was still practice and slides down aisle as soon as ceremony is over.
no money earned.

8:30pm
Liv's dress has completely fallen apart.
Putting her in footie pajamas and going back to reception.

****this is where the travel logs end.
there were still 2 more days but nothing was noted about them and so they must not have been worthy of notes.
or noteworthy, if you will.

I can't get enough of her

2010-07-28T07:06:00.003-07:00

These pictures crack me up.
CRACK ME UP!
Is she a troll?
is she a baby?
is she a troll baby?

A series of pictures I like to call, "leave the baby alone already!"

2010-07-23T03:04:00.001-07:00

Liv loves Fia.
Liv thinks Fia is a doll.
not like, "oh, isn't she a doll?"
more like, "I'm gonna hug you and squeeze you and love you forever!"
There is no escaping Liv.
But Fia still tries.
But it is to no avail.Look at the concern on her face.
"Mom, help."
"no honey, I am taking pictures."

P.S. Fia doesn't take a bottle, and I am not sure what Liv has filled it with. My best guess would be sprite.Here!
Take it.
I want to feed you!My poor baby is scared.
And the bigger one is oblivious.And she has finally given up and admitted defeat.
It's hard to watch, isn't it.

Ahhhh... My child!

2010-07-22T15:01:00.003-07:00

keep your head down and just keep walking

2010-07-15T01:02:00.003-07:00

When Chad and I were first married before we had any children, like a bazillion years ago, we discussed going to Las Vegas more than once.
Arrangements were made, hotels scheduled, time taken off work and then I would freak.... FREAK out and swear that Vegas was evil and I couldn't go.
I wouldn't go.
Then I had to take anti-anxiety meds and go to sleep.

It turns out that I was right.

When Chad told me that he would be working at a base in Las Vegas for 2 weeks, I couldn't imagine being alone with the kids for that long, I mean, not seeing him for that long (we all know what happens when that happens). I immediately packed some bags buckled the kids into the car and refused to let Chad go without us.

That was dumb.

From the moment our GPS said that we had arrived until it said we had left I made Tal keep his head down and threatened him if he tried to read anything I would take away his right to read.
or I would un-teach him to read?
He would have to give up his reading?
Well, you get the idea.
Directly outside our hotel window was a billboard advertising a certain type of club with certain types of girls wearing or not wearing certain clothes, to be certain.

I asked for a new room with a better view.
They gave me a view of an empty parking lot and I was so happy I cried.

The first day we took in the pool and met our twin family, 3 kids, same ages as ours, same genders and they were there cause the bread winner of the family was working and they too refused to be left at home.
{Okay, I am not certain they refused but I assumed it anyways.}

We set out on the strip with our clone family 2 days in a row.
First day we ventured out at one end of the strip and after not being thrilled at what we found, we took in the other end the next day.

It turns out it wasn't better on either side.

I was appalled at what I saw.
What I smelled.
What I heard.
and kinda what I tasted cause you know taste is very closely related to smell so even though I wasn't really tasting what I was smelling I could imagine what it would taste like and that was horrifying too.

Both times when we got back to our hotel room (the one with the empty parking lot view not the one with the billboard view) I wanted to lock the doors and hide under the bed and clean out my head.
By the 3rd day of our "adventure" (that is what I am calling it instead of, "our-trip-to-what-I'm-sure-hell-looks-like") I begged Chad to return us home and promised to hardly even whine about how horrible it is to be a single parent while he is gone.

And so, for one week I vow to not complain about how much I hate when Chad travels.

Also, I won't be blogging for one week.

Busted

2010-07-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

One day Liv used a word that is inappropriate at our house and was sent to time out.
Chad calmly went into talk to her.
20 minutes later he came out much less calm and told me that it was my turn to talk to her.
upon entering her room I reviewed with her the reason she was sent to time out in the first place and asked if she understood.
With tears she said that she did understand and she wouldn't say the word busted ever again.

She did not understand.

I explained again what word it was that I would not tolerate and why and assured her that busted was not a bad word.
Just so we were completely clear I asked if she could tell me what I had just told her.

She explained that busted is a bad word and she would not use it again.

So, I started over again and 30 minutes later the word 'busted' was still taking the blame for his 4 letter friend.

That was 2 months ago.

Yesterday Liv asked me if busted was still a bad word.
I said yes.

The Magic part of 'magic potion'

2010-07-12T10:57:00.002-07:00

After spending a very early morning with Fia I laid down to nap with her just as the other 2 woke up.
I offered them cookies for breakfast, free access to the wii, tv, computer and all the toys they could get out in return for no fighting, yelling or screaming while I just rested my eyes.
2 and 1/2 hours later I woke to realize I hadn't heard a peep from any child in as much time.
after further examination it turned out that all was well.
I patted everyone on the back and then inquired to what they had been doing.
among some of the activities was the making of a magic potion in which they put in the freezer to make extra cold.
later that day the potion was extracted, thawed and spilled all over the bathroom floor.
After cleaning up the bathroom floor Liv asked for a drink.
As she took the cup from me she cautiously asked if there was pee in the drink.
I laughed and said most definitely not.... and then it hit me.

I cautiously asked her, "was there pee in the magic potion?"

How to stay cool in the Arizona heat

2010-07-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today before heading to swim lessons, where I would be sitting in 107 degree heat at 9:30 in the morning and sweat profusely for a solid 35 minutes, I gabbed a 52 ounce cup and filled it with ice and water.
As I was driving down the road I took my first sip and at the same time hit a bump in the road spilling approximately half the water down the front of me and on my pants.

It was by far the best swim lesson I have ever sat through.
I was cool and refreshed and completely dry by the time I got home.

That is why every day now I pour a cup of water down my front as I walk back to swim lessons.

Also if I need to pee no one can tell the difference.
I kid.
But I should probably delete that.
but I won't and I will see how many emails I get from confused readers.
But really I don't pee my pants.
usually.
Just kidding, never.

White lies

2010-06-30T20:54:00.004-07:00

Out of character for my rule follower, Tal, he snuck 22 packs of fruit snacks into his room and consumed- along with a friend- all of them.
While questioning him about the wrappers he admitted right away to the fact that he gave into peer pressure to take them.We had a serious talk about standing up for what's right even when it doesn't seem cool.

It was a special moment.

I continued that night to think about how NOT Tal like it was to be underhanded like that and recounted all the times in his life he hadn't been sneaky.
However it turns out it is hard to come up with a specific occurrence in which something could have happened but did not happen.
So instead I thought about the rare instances he had been caught in deceit.
Once I got started I remembered some real doozies and by morning--boy, was that boy in trouble!

One such story happened right after Tal started Kindergarten.
I was 16 months pregnant with Fia and apparently Tal's teacher was asking him daily if he had a new sister yet.
One day he finally got to tell her that I had indeed had the baby. He explained that I was currently at the hospital and would be coming home tomorrow.
If I am remembering the story correctly he even got to share the information with his entire class.

3 days after that I went into labor and Fia was born.

A confession of sorts although you should have seen it coming.

2010-06-24T22:49:00.002-07:00

There are many people who love my children.
Some of them show their love in a weird, weird way.
It comes in the form of hugs and kisses and time spent with them, but also in the form of happy meal toys.
LOTS OF HAPPY MEAL TOYS!
Not just on the occasion that they take them to get a happy meal.
No.
I mean they bring them 3 or 4 happy meal toys at a time sans the meal.
Well, sometimes there is a meal too, but usually there are many more toys than actual meals.
My kids adore this.
Apparently it is the love language of my children.

Bring me a happy meal toy and I will surely know you love me.
My love language seems to be the direct opposite, stop bringing toys into my home and I will surely know that you love me.

{Is that what love language is? I have never actually read the book... But I have it for those of you out there ready to go get me the book. You know who you are.}

It isn't that I want my kids to be toy-less, but trust me when I say that has never been a threat we have had to face, it is just that kids meal toys are like filler toys.
They are to real toys what stuffing is to Thanksgiving dinner.
strike that, we love stuffing at our house.
They are to real toys what vegetables are to my children.
Something that takes up room on their plate but they aren't going to touch it.

and that is why, just like the vegetables on their plates,

after a given amount of time I throw them away.

I just can't move past it

2010-06-23T22:10:00.002-07:00

We are finishing week 3 of 4 at Tal's swim lessons or what I like to call, "in what new fun and different way will I be humiliated today?"
Of course it was hard to show my face after the pee-ing thing but every day has proved to be even more traumatizing then the one before.
The latest episode comes to us from the 4 year old who lives at the house in question.
Being that he is a resident he moves about the backyard and in and out of the house freely, he probably is allowed to use the bathroom as needed too.
One day he came outside, walked the perimeter of the yard gathered some evidence in hand and went back inside.
Within a matter of seconds the homeowner {his mother, I assume} came out and questioned who had assaulted her, not ripe yet, tomato bush... umm, plant.
bush?
er, plant?
same thing.
All swim lesson parents blurted out their children's alibi's before I could so I just sat silent.
I am sure it wasn't noticeable.
Homeowner went on to tell that there were found a dozen or so little green cherry tomatoes in a toy truck in the yard.
I wanted to raise my hand to find out just which toy truck cause there were 2 and only one had Livy been playing with and so if it was the other she almost definitely couldn't be behind the great cherry tomato murder of 2010.
But I felt like I would probably find myself on the wrong side of the toy truck dispute.
Instead I put on my best horrified look that said, "I-can't-believe-people-don't-keep-a-better-eye-on-their-children-at-other-peoples-homes."
Then I gave a little pout and shook my head just a touch to show sympathy for the fallen victims in TGCTMO2010.
My looks say a lot.
After lessons were over and we were out of ear shot of everyone I asked Livy if she had anything to do with the tomatoes.
She denied any such activity with them, the same way she did just the day before when 7 bushes were picked completely clean of the flowers that were blooming in our backyard.
I have no evidence that suggest she was the culprit so I am choosing to believe her.
Or live in denial.
believe her?
denial?

same thing.

It's our thing

2010-06-13T20:14:00.003-07:00

For years people have commented on how my children are always sick.

Thanks for pointing it out, it makes me feel awesome!

I have tried to defend the issue with valid points like:
no we aren't
and
not always
and
it just seems that way cause i whine a lot when they are sick

But if this year has taught me anything it is that my kids are always sick.

This message was really driven home the day Tal was set to get his school pictures taken in September.
Then again in October when he was suppose to get re-takes and instead got the swine.
Once more on Thanksgiving when Both Tal and Liv had mysterious fevers.
And then the day of Kinder graduation when Tal arrived at school just in time to hurl his guts up.

He missed graduation.

I have tried to deny it.
I have tried to explain it away.

but no more, it is just our thing.
My children get sick at the most inopportune times.
If we are suppose to be somewhere, if you are counting on us, or if you need us for something, you can count on one thing.... One of us will be sick!

Let's just talk about it and get it out of the way

2010-06-10T11:43:00.003-07:00

Swim lessons for Tal started this week.
He doesn't need swim lessons.
The boy can swim.
Always has.
He can stay under water longer than I am comfortable with.
We sometimes wonder if he isn't drowning but then he pops his head up for 1/2 a second and goes back down for 5 minutes.
It makes it hard to have a conversation with him

pops up out of the water
"Tal, we need.....
Back under water
.....to go."

No, swim lessons are a way for him to get some technique down.
He is destined for swim team.

But this post isn't about him and his greatness.

No this post is about embarrassment.
More specifically, my embarrassment.

I take Tal to a woman who's swimming resume is quite impressive and I like the way she expects even the littlest details of swimming to be carried out correctly. I drive quite a distance to get him there and pay a fair but substantial amount of money to her for services provided.

*a few things for you to know-
the home in which she teaches is not her own but a friends.
there are no bathroom facilities provided for swim lessons. That was noted in the paperwork and is apparent.
It just is apparent.
That is all.

On the first day of swim lessons we arrived just after Livy had finished her swim lessons elsewhere (I adore livy's swim teacher, the same woman who taught Tal everything he knows and will hopefully someday teach Fia).
Of course, the second we get there Livy needs to pee.
Of course
I ask her to hold it but that is worth less, she just swallowed a gallon of water at her lesson.
As I see the pee start to trickle down her leg from her swimsuit. My mind goes into overdrive...
-ask to use a bathroom? (i am telling you there is a vibe that tells you that it would be a worthless inquiry)
-let her pee her pants right there on the back patio? (that would teach 'em)
-take her to the nearest gas station? (a solid 10 minutes away)
-let her pee in the rocks on the side yard

I went with the rocks on the side yard
I got busted

hallelujah

2010-05-27T06:43:00.001-07:00

I would say that I have been more excited about Tal getting out of school than Tal.
Every morning for the past week I got him up saying, 5 MORE DAYS TIL SUMMER!
(or 4 more days.... 3 more days...)
He sleepily nods his head.
Then he starts his homework while I do a little jig and sing, 5 MORE DAYS OF HOMEWORK!
(or 4 more days.... 3 more days.....)
He humors me with a wildly un-enthusiastic, "yep."
Each afternoon as he got home from school I would cross off the day on the calendar with a big red marker and start my cheer,

"5 more days of school, that is cool.
Can we make it 5 more days? probably cause we don't have another choice! YAY team Tew!"

I didn't say it was a great cheer.

Today is his last day and I am beyond excited!
Although if I think about it too much I have to ask myself, Why am I so excited?
In the first month of summer we are busier than when school was in.
There are 2 different swim lessons to attend 30 minutes away from each other.
there is basketball camp and dance class.
car pools and schedules.
and that is just the first month.
After that there are vacations, which for moms are the opposite of vacationing.
the weather will be hot enough to fry your brain.
and Tal will be home all day to fight with Liv.
Actually if I think about it I am dreading summer!

76 days until first grade starts, YAY!!!

twinsies

2010-05-26T01:20:00.001-07:00

The reason I had 2 girls, besides the fact that I really had very little to do by way of choosing to have 2 girls, was so that I could dress them alike every day of their life and then take pictures of them dressed alike.
The picture part of things is the most difficult part.

First I forgot to take the picture BEFORE church when they were still pretty happy.
Then getting both of them to look at me was almost impossible.

What are they both looking down at?now over there?
Livy, this way, honey!
Good enough.
I have sixteen hundred more pictures of them looking anywhere but my direction, one or both of them crying and shots of diaper/underwear showing.

This is what I come home to

2010-05-25T01:23:00.001-07:00

It is a proven fact at our house that the second I go for a run Fia wakes up.
It doesn't matter what time I go or for how long.
The second I walk out the door she wakes up..... according to Chad.

On one particular morning Chad was successful at getting Fia back to sleep and I came home to this lovely scene.

Looky looky

2010-05-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

I could not take my kitchen chairs for one more blasted second. They were disgusting!
They were covered in food, drink and Liv had colored all over them more than a few times.
The thought of sitting on them made me feel ill.
I searched Craigslist for new kitchen chairs but my ideal chair, it turns out, is one that can be hosed down and replaced at a seconds notice.
I went to ikea to hunt down the cheapest chair I could find, but they were all out of chairs. Seriously, Ikea was all out of cheap chairs. I know it seems unlikely but they were.

I realize that what I am about to admit to may seem like the biggest home decor faux pas, but it is only a season in my life and it is what needs to happen.

I went to wal*mart and bought 5 (they only had 5 or I would have got 6) black folding chairs and told my kids to go wild with them!
I fold them up each night and set Sally loose on the kitchen floor.
They have had food dropped on them.
Drink spilled on them.
and even pee'd on.
I can wipe them down.
and I can pick a new one up at any of the 10 billion wal*marts in my local area.

So what did I do with the 4 kitchen chairs that made me want to vomit?
I recovered the heck out of them.

They are now works of art which means the children are only allowed to look at them.

there are 2 on either side of the TV

I ♥ this face

2010-05-21T01:13:00.000-07:00

When my baby starts to pucker her lips and snort out her nose it makes me giggle.
Then i pick her up and start kissing her like mad.
Which makes her pucker more and snort louder.
Which makes me kiss her more.

manners in being a peeping tom

2010-05-17T13:07:00.003-07:00

Tal is obsessed with our neighbors behind and over one house from us.
He watches as they play ball.
He watches when they get into trouble.
He tells me word for word what their mother yells out to them.
If they are in the backyard playing, he has a front fence view....kinda.
The other day I caught him out their watching his favorite drama and told him to get down.
He told me that he had asked if he could watch and they told him it was cool.

Well, as long as you got permission to eavesdrop.

Oh-Liv

2010-05-10T10:31:00.003-07:00

About 3 months before Fia was born I kicked Livy out of her room and made her bunk with Tal.

I left her toys and clothes in her room but moved the crib and all the baby stuff in as well.

This situation worked.

Then Fia was born.

and I kept her near me at night and she took naps in my room because... because.

And then 6 months went by.

Livy still slept in Tal's room as a guest, Fia still slept in my room so I could listen to every breath she took. And the Girly room I worked my tail off on sat lonely at night.

I started to wonder if Livy's regression might be because she was feeling displaced.

So I got her a bed.
And pillows.

And Pink.

And Fluffy.

and a week later she decided that she was done wearing diapers and the "regression" was over.

I was right, the end!

Except that wasn't the end.

Did you see that bed skirt?Let's look one more time and really appreciate it....

Surprise

2010-05-09T12:02:00.002-07:00

I took a blog-cation, in case you didn't notice.
I didn't tell you before I took it cause I wanted it to be a surprise.
Were you surprised?

We have lots to catch up on:
Livy getting her own big bed.
Livy wearing underwear... again.
Livy getting to go to dance class.
Livy going back to diapers.
underwear.
diapers
underwear
Me going crazy.
The other 2 kids.

See why I needed a blog-cation?

when you put me in charge of your kids...

2010-04-15T01:34:00.002-07:00

This is what I do with them.And shut the door and wait for you to come and get them.

CPS should be here any moment

His invention

2010-04-14T01:31:00.000-07:00

My son wanted a little something different the other day for a snack.
He asked for a piece of bread and the peanut butter
then he asked for the cocoa pebbles
and there you have it, his breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past week !

what do your babies do all day long?

2010-04-13T11:17:00.003-07:00

My baby has a Mohawk
and in case you couldn't tell, the tips are brown and the roots are blond.
I didn't plan it but it is fun anyways.

What is that she is playing with?
a syringe.
Is that weird?
I don't care she is happy
What? you noticed that her car seat could fall on her at any moment?
I think that is the least of our worries, see the outlet and convection oven close by?
On the other side of her is the kitchen sink.But see how happy she is?

Five for Friday

2010-04-02T04:37:00.000-07:00

1. The other day I came into the living room to find Fia on her stomach on the ground and Livy standing 5 feet from her holding her toys and saying, "you can't get me!"
2. Tal went to see his Grandma at work yesterday and told her that I was having ANOTHER baby.
Some one in the office guessed that it was an April fools joke.
It was.

3. Chad has put the 2 older kids to bed every night for the last 6 months. Sometimes if he is gone doing something in the evening I let them stay up til he gets home and can put them to bed.
He just told me he might start working 2nd shift again.
I think the kids are going to be really tired all the time if they have to wait until 11 to go to bed every night.

4. I told myself I was going to start eating healthier today.
Now all I can think about is chocolate chip cookies and brownies and cake and doughnuts.

5. Fia is scooting all over the place now.

See that pink play thing in the background? she scooted from there.

Spring Break part 5- Welcome tew the Drama

2010-03-28T00:57:00.001-07:00

Day 4 was suppose to be our easy day.
On the agenda was a leisurely bike ride and then a movie.

After our bike ride we promised them a trip to the movie theater.
The Tew movie theater.
As in a movie at the Tew's.
I set up a concession stand.
Put the chairs in movie theater position.
Popped popcorn.
Broke a glass frame... not part of the movie going experience but I did
Put in a movie which is still currently in theaters

But Livy was not fooled.

No.
Only a few days prior had her dad taken her on a date to the REAL movie theater.
With a big screen and surround sound and velvet ropes.
My impersonation of a movie theater did not impress her.
So she put on her own sorta show.

We went ahead and watched the movie and ate our way through red vines, popcorn, jr. mints, starbursts, hot tamales and mike and ike's.
Then talmage got sick.
Really Really sick!
And that pretty much ended day 4 and spring break all together.

Here are pictures of the lovely bike ride before Livy let me have it and before Tal let the toilet have it:

Spring Break part 4- The luck o' the Mexican

2010-03-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of our spring break landed on none other than the highly anticipated St. Patrick's Day.

So we did what every other Irish loving family might do and made a Pinata with a shamrock on it.

Before we would let the beating ensue we sent the children on a scavenger hunt which proved harder than expected.

We also served Green eggs and ham which was consumed by all except my children who ran screaming away from it.

Spring Break part 3- Wet and Whiny

2010-03-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

On the 2nd day of spring break I woke my children at the crack of dawn and made them start filling and tying off water balloons (their fingers are so much smaller than my own).
They insisted that they wanted nothing to do with the water day we had planned and wanted only to go back to bed. So, I told them fine and called the whole thing off.

Just kidding. I told them we were having a water day, all their closest friends and family would be joining us and we were gonna have fun, now sweep off the back porch.

As the day warmed up so did their attitudes.

By the afternoon we had 12 children here ages 0-8years old.
We cooked 100 hot dogs
consumed one trillion Cheetos
made 14 billion ice cream cones
blew through 2 million water balloons in 5 seconds flat
and was so delirious from the heat, I promised to do it all again next year.

Spring Break part 2- We make the world a better place and work on the children's job resumes

2010-03-25T11:23:00.002-07:00

Due to the fear of hearing our kids fight and whine for a whole week, Melissa and I jotted out a list of things we could possibly do to make the week more enjoyable for everyone.

Unfortunately, my kids hate everything that I think they might find enjoyable.

On day one we lured our children to the park with promises of good CLEAN fun. Once there we handed out plastic grocery bags and told them to get to cleaning up. We preyed on their competitive spirits by telling them it was a competition. While it was a competition there was no judging to see who got the most and most definitely, no prize, except for the good feeling of having done something helpful, which is a reward all by itself.

Tal and Sam scouring the park for trash Liv, Mackenzie and additional neighborhood friend for moral support Liv and Henry. They did very little by way of cleaning up, but in Henry's defense he was having to run away from Liv who trying to kiss Him.Garbage

After the park was newly litter free we whisked the children off to a grand adventure.

And by 'grand adventure' I mean we went over to Melissa's and did pretend school work to see what the children might want to be when they grow up.

There was architectural school
Art class
and a public speaking clinic
We rounded off the afternoon with an intro to culinary arts where the children had the opportunity to make Melissa and I lunch.

Spring break part 1- How I surprised the kids with a trip to the beach

2010-03-24T08:05:00.002-07:00

The Friday after school before the week of spring break I had Melissa and her kids over to celebrate the beginning of spring break. We made a cake. We sang 'Happy spring break' which sounds amazingly similar to 'Happy Birthday'. Then as I was loading the kids up on sugary goodness I told them all how we were going to the beach for spring break.
First there was stunned silence. We really surprised them.
Followed by eruptions of joy. They were so excited.
Next they started asking questions like, "really?"
to which I said, "no, not really."

Then I told them I was just kidding that we would be staying home and working all spring break.
That was not taken so well.

At least they had cake.

so, I decided to feed her

2010-03-18T06:42:00.003-07:00

I have always thought it was just insane.... INSANE to feed a baby solid food before they are 6 months old.
Not 5 months, 3 weeks and 6 days.
6 months.
once more for emphasis: 6 MONTHS, period.

But then again what do I know, my 3 year old will only eat chips.

In lieu of that fact (the 3 year old and chips fact) and after hearing about a baby younger than Fia loving her spoon fed food I considered a few things.

I considered Fia's grumpy-ness at exactly mid afternoon-ish everyday.
I considered how Fia knocks food out of my hand trying to grab it for herself.
I considered the biting.
I considered the chips issue once more

then I did this:and this:and now she is happier.
much much happier!

and now I don't judge you for feeding your kids solid food before 6 months.
Now I embrace it at 5 months and 4 days.

I embrace it, period.

If you are male and living in this house it is your birthday this month

2010-03-16T16:16:00.002-07:00

Tal is six now and boy don't you know I use that every chance I get.

"you are six years old now, you can clean up your room with out my help."
"you are six, you can surely put your shoes IN the closet."
"you are six, get a job already!"

I can't wait til he is 6 years and 5 months and I can start saying things like, "you are almost seven years old....."

We celebrated his birthday for an entire week. There were decorations and of course one of mine and Chad's famous banners (are they famous yet?). Chad took off work to go on a field trip to a farm with Tal a couple days before his birthday, we told him that was his present. We also went to Goldfield Ghost town and Gold mine. It was just exactly what you think it might be. He went on a shopping spree with one Grandma and to the Ostrich Festival with his other Grandparents and cousin, Matthew.

All in all it has been every 6 year old's dream birthday, if they are into farms, fathers, goldmines and ostriches, and my 6 year old is.

Chad's birthday was yesterday and I totally remembered it!

I didn't do anything for it but I did remember it and that is half the battle right?
I could write him a lengthy post about how much I adore him but he knows cause I send him dirty text messages all the time....

{Chad, our bathroom is disgusting and is growing something}

and he responds with a romantical response...

{k}

And I think he really means it too.

So, as you can tell, if you read between the lines like I do, we are so obviously in love that I don't need to do anything for his birthday.

Just in case though, I have big plans for him this
weekend and it is going to be dam fun!

It snot you

2010-03-14T02:40:00.002-07:00

We are going on nearly 4 weeks of a baby with a snotty crusty disgusting nose and if anyone ever read my archives you would know how I feel about that.
We have gone from a nice clear color to yellow to yellowish green to bright green and have arrived right back at clear and now green again (Yes, I am really talking about snot. How did you not get that from the title?).
There is a hacking cough to go with it but have been told (and re-told and re-re-told) that it is not anything to worry about.
The first 2 weeks were miserable, sick, crying baby, but we have moved to a new level of miserable, sick, crying, biting baby.
The biting is really where the fun is.
Fia uses her little cute innocent gummy smile to lure you in and then chomps down vice grip style.
Nothing is off limits: her fingers, her toes, your fingers, my toes
She scooted right over to my feet as I sat on the couch and bit my toe.
It felt personal.
Yesterday I caught her biting the door on the convection oven.
THE CONVECTION OVEN!{why is my baby close enough to the convection oven that sits on the counter top to bite it?}

Sometimes I give her baby motrin.

That last statement felt an awful lot like a confession.
Did it feel that way to you?

If I could give her something stronger I probably would.

But back to the issue, snot.
It keeps her from breathing at night, which keeps her from sleeping at night, which brings us to the REAL issue, it keeps me from sleeping at night. (yes, I managed to make her snot about me. I am talented in that way)

It's not a huge deal, after all, I find people who NEED 7-8 hours of sleep a night to be wimps. And, I get a lot of laundry done in the early morning hours so it isn't all bad.

However, I had the missionaries over for dinner and fed them pink lemonade (I fed them food too but drink wise) but it seemed quite pale so I mixed in a bit more powder (I didn't say it was fresh lemonade).
Later in a conversation with Chad, he pointed out that a gallon has 4 quarts in it and not 2 as I had previously based my lemonade making on.

{On a side note:
If you would like to have the missionaries over and feed them food that is only so-so and watch how they eat it as if you are a magnificent cook, go here to schedule your appointment.}

I blame such incidences, like giving the missionaries very watered down lemonade flavored water, on lack of sleep.

These scenarios seem to be increasing in quantity and frequency so i am left to wonder, is it the snot or am I becoming just that dumb?

P.S. it is after I ask such questions that I am glad not to have comments.

Soccer

2010-03-10T06:28:00.000-07:00

It's not that I am competitive, but I offered Tal a ridiculous amount of Bakugans if he scores a goal.
But it has nothing to do with me being competitive.