Too crunchy to be mainstream...

and yet to mainstream to be crunchy.

Ever think that once you left high school you were all done being pigeon-holed into one stereotype or another? I did. I reveled in going to college so that I could start all over again and meet new people and have new experiences. Plus, I had hoped that I wouldn't be put into any one category. Because, quite frankly, I don't fit into one category.

Enter mom-dom.

Seriously, I don't fit in anywhere in the mom-dom world. I'm too crunchy to be mainstream and I'm too mainstream to be crunchy. Once again, I'm in a world where neither side accepts the strange and unusual in the case of the mainstreamers nor the unintelligent and sheeple according to the crunchies.

What the hell am I talking about to those who have no idea?

Well, as I've had more children I've become decidedly more crunchy. My husband has informed me of this numerous times.

*I breastfeed. I'm trying to make it to one year this time, we'll see how that pans out. E was without formula for the first 7 1/2 weeks of her life. I am very proud of that fact considering that both my boys had formula before leaving the hospital. This time we've been a bit more successful. I guess Momma is a little more comfortable this time around.
*I co-sleep. And it's not so much that I do it because I feel the kids HAVE to be close to me. I do it for ease and more sleep. My 3 and 5 year old still come and co-sleep with me some nights. Zachary- not so much now that his baby sister was born but there is still that rare occasion. And Elizabeth sleeps in her crib until 5 or 6 when I usually bring her to bed with me to feed. Breastfeeding is wonderful for co-sleeping and momma getting some actual sleep!
*I baby-wear. With the boys we had a hiking back-pack. Now I have a Moby-wrap. I. LOVE.IT! When I was still on maternity leave, I would wear it around the house to cook dinner because it was inevitably the time she would be the most fussy. She would settle right down. Now, I wear it for walks, hiking, to the grocery store, mowing the lawn, wherever! I'm looking at getting a Mei-Tei next.
*I cloth diaper. Quite frankly, I've become a bit of an addict. I'm constantly watching my diaperswappers.com board to be on the lookout for good deals. I've recently found that I'm in love with Fuzzi Bunz. I was a little sad going on vacation and not having Elizabeth in cute little cd butt! Honestly, it's the only thing that holds up some of her 0-3 month pants!!!


But then there are those mainstream things I do that the crunchy sect just can't get over. And being slightly crunchy in the above areas doesn't mean a lick because I'm unintelligent and uninformed because I do these things:

*I vaccinate my children. Completely. I don't skip vaccines, I don't delay vaccines, and I don't give my ped crap about it.
*I'm planning on putting my oldest on mood stabilizing drugs. I have no problem also working on his diet and cutting out things like red dye #40 (which I already started working on) but from dealing with the chemical imbalances in my husband, I'm pretty damn sure Zachary will really, really benefit from medication.
*I circumcised my boys. This is a *big* one. We did do research on this. It was not a decision Chuck and I made lightly. And yes, I said Chuck and I. Because contrary to some woman's beliefs, even though I pushed out the child, he is not mine alone and his father should and did have say in whatever we decided to do. From the research that we saw, nothing was 100% one way or the other. So it was basically a personal choice, and we made that choice together.

I guess my point is: no matter where you go or how old you are, people will stereotype you. There is still that opinion out there that "you can't hang with us, if you do that, because you are stupid". And I just want to say GROW UP! We're 30 somethings, right? Why can't you just accept that maybe they don't do it *your* way but that's not wrong....for THEM.

The idea that because you aren't one way OR the other means that you are unintelligent or uneducated is simply offensive.

Rar!!! This is why I want to be on vacation!

While our weather wasn't wonderful, at least I wasn't working.

*sigh* I'm so sick and tired of the defensiveness, the lack of intelligence, and the ineptitude for handling individuals. I bring up points that are completely bringing down morale within my work unit, and I'm told that no one has said that and that I'm just basically being bitchy and snippy. Um, hello. NO one tells the uppers this because they don't want to be singled out, picked on and reprimanded. I, as the lead worker, try to bring things to light and make things a little bit better and am told, basically, this is my decision, who cares if no one likes it and it makes the whole unit on edge and disgustedly unmanageable, I'm not going to change because I "have faith that we'll pull through this okay".

Yea, right.

Now this is just weird!

So we were camping for the last 6 days. Resort style camping, which if truth-be-told, I'm not 100% sold on yet. I don't like the sterile-ness of it, I guess. The feeling of being packed in like sardines (even though there wasn't anyone on our entire road!) there was picnic table after picnic table and only very small trees to be seen. Imagine a large corn field, with cable, WIFI, electricity, sewer, water and roads and you have the "camping" we did this last week.

However, I'm totally 100% sold on having a heated pool at the campground. So I guess you give some and you take some, right?

The boys had a great time and that's what really matters. I guess in the grand scheme of things whether I have a ton of trees around me isn't as important as seeing the ones I love having a good time and me not being at work. So that being said it was a successful camping trip, despite the windstorms, lightening, thunder, and torrential downpour that threatened to tear our trailer apart. Zachary sat up until at least 11 pm last night anxious as all get-out that the lightening would hit us and we would fry. He was sitting curled up in a little ball in the camp chair while Chuck and I tore down the screen tent. Poor kid. He did crash hard when he crashed.

But what I find weird is that I went 4 hours from my home to run into an old friend. She and I showed 4-H together...her younger brother is actually my age...and we really became more friendly because her cousin was my best friend from 3rd grade to 9th grade when she moved away. It was really cool to catch up on old times and find out what my bff was doing now (I lost touch with her when she went to Turkey to be a missionary) and to get to know one another as moms. She has three kids as well, 8, 6 and 4 and just backwards of mine...Boy and then 2 girls. Her son is also sooo similar to my Zachary...it was funny talking to her and saying "OMG! Zachary does that too!" Heartwarming and comforting to hear that we aren't the only ones going through it...not only with Zachary, but with the grandparents not really understanding, friends wondering whats wrong with your son, etc.

So, I guess my fortune cookie had more in store for me than I thought!

Weekly Women's Health News Update, 8/19/07

I'm still doing the weekly updates here because lots of folks end up here via search or old feeds. the little librarian in me of course wants to point them to the new place for more information.

How Operation Rescue and National Right to Life Spin Abortion Research - In response to a new study on the safety of medical abortion

Breast cancer vaccine? - Experimental vaccine seems safe, so further research will be done on whether it works

BlogHer Poll to Set Global Health Agenda - Head on over and vote for the most important issue in women's health

Woman Dropped by Doc at 8 Months Pregnant Over VBAC

Some People Are Just Crazy - Man poisons pregnant woman in an attempt to make her miscarry

When to Fire Your Doctor - Handy tips

Racial Bias in Treatment of Heart Disease - The findings of a new study might surprise you

Mother to be Ordered by Court to Stop Breastfeeding? - When custody battles get in the way of making sense

Guest-Blogging for Our Bodies, Ourselves - I am, and it's a blast

Gorgeous Isn’t Good Enough - Sexist modifications of celebrity photos - let's give the guy more muscle, and take it away from the woman!

News Round-Up, 8/15/07 - It's a goody bag

Abstinence Only Sex Ed No Good For HIV Prevention? - We'll talk about the research

Do You Trust Google With Your Health Information? - I'm not willing to say "yes" just yet

Inducing Labor for Convenience, not Safety - It's probably not necessary as often as they tell you it is

Link Love - Thanks to folks who send visitors my way

The Seven Flavors of Menstrual Suppression - Links to a good review of your options

Wearing Your Bra on the Inside - Who thought implanting a silicon "bra" and anchoring it to your ribs would be a good idea?

Sexual Partners - Who’s Exaggerating? - Somebody sure seems to be

Results from the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign - Find out how folks feel about breastfeeding, whether ads had any impact

Ohio Group Pushing for Broader Maternity Leave

Visit Women's Health News at its new home - http://womenshealthnews.wordpress.com

Hmph.

My fortune cookie tonight at the Chinese restaurant read:

You will be reunited with old friends by the end of the month.

Weird. Past count up 4.

I have 3 other blog posts started. But it seems like everytime I get a chance and the inclination to sit down and write in my blog, something seriously odd crops up that makes me want to write and then my other blog posts sit.

After my last post, a comment was made from a gentleman named Dave. It was really more directed at my hubby than at me. But being who I am...I kinda ran with it. Dave was a very old, very good friend of my husband's. Pre-Lisa time. He found my blog and decided to leave Chuck a message saying hi. The curiosity of how he found my site got the better of me, so I googled him and sent him an email. Turns out he still lives close, still has a lot in common with Chuck (or so his site would seem to say) and has some in common with me in the fact that we both know and use sign language. Hmmm.

So Chuck and I were discussing this today and he brought up how past-filled the last few months have been. About 2 months ago, Chuck's ex-wife contacted him regarding an old business matter. There has been virtually no contact whatsoever in the last 10 yrs we've been together. Then, WHAM!, out of the blue. An email from her.

Then a few weekends ago, Chuck went to Home Depot to get some things for E's room. He was there by himself and was fixing some things in the truck when someone said something to him. Turns out that it's one of his old friends from a past job. His girlfriend, now wife, Lisa was also with him and about 5 months pregnant to boot! Wow! This was actually one couple friend that we had that we both liked the other half :) (Oh wait...I adore Matt and Karen...so I guess that makes 2). So they exchange numbers and go on their way.

Then last weekend, about 20 minutes after we get home from the baptism, the phone rings. It turns out to be a VERY good friend of Chuck's and I's that we kinda lost contact with. Being working parents, on opposite shifts, we tend to lose contact with lots of people. (Well, maybe that's just an excuse. We were never very good at keeping contact with people even before the kids.) Steve was in our wedding and Chuck was in Steve's wedding; and Steve called to say that he was now living in Tennessee and had just signed divorce papers that day. Again, another person reaching out completely out of the blue.

A part of me wonders what exactly this all means. What's going on? Why all of this now? I hope it's nothing bad...like Chuck is going to have some health issues and this is God's way of trying to clean up loose ends. *shiver* Yea, hopefully nothing like that.

But I guess I (for one) will take it as a chance to have a second opportunity for friends. :)

Quick picture.

I'm back. I hope to be posting more again. Things are going to be slowing down I hope. Vacation is next week and then Zachary starts school Sept 4 but at least there is some major projects done. So for now I leave you with a family picture :)

Weekly Women's Health News Update, 8/11/07

It's been a few extra days between updates, so go check out this unusually long batch of fresh posts over at the new place.

RAINN Benefit Concert Tour - Check out this August series of events

They’re Not Infantilizing You, They Just Don’t Think You Capable of Being Informed - What's new in the abortion argument

How Physicians Are Responding to the “Partial Birth” Abortion Ban - Some clinics are forcing women to have a little-studied shot with their abortion to cover their butts legally

Instead Softcup as Fertility Aid? - One website would have you believe so, even though it hasn't been studied or approved for this purpose

I Help Aunt B Pee Standing Up - Like a proud mama

Plastic Surgery Ad Nauseum - Two new studies on cosmetic surgery you might have seen in the news

Wellcome Medical Image Collection - Check out this cool collection of historical medical images, now free for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license

Bad Mammogram Tech! No Cookie!

Publix Offering Free Antibiotics - See what's covered, and search for a Publix pharmacy near you

What is Inflammatory Breast Cancer? - A few bits of info and resources on this sneaky form of breast cancer

Is Your Baby Too Big For Your Pelvis? - Probably not

REBIRTH’s Childbirth Ed Series, Part 3 - Very informative and easy-to-understand series on childbirth

Doulas Highlighted by CNN - Doulas get some mainstream media attention

What Not To Wear *In Your Vagina* - I'm so serious about this

Presented Without Comment - Natural Family Planning vs. “Contraceptive” - An amusing series of videos in the style of the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads

More Free Formula Controversy - Clarifying things related to the next two posts

The Formula Samples - Why Are You So Angry? - People misunderstand the formula "ban," and get angry

More Women Try Breastfeeding, Far Fewer Continue - New statistics on breastfeeding in the United States

An Interview with BadBadIvy - Ms. Ivy asks questions, I answer

Claim Your Free Women’s Health Calendar - Go get your free stuff

Doulas Behind Bars - The problems of birth in prison, and how doulas are trying to help

Nashville: Childbirth Education & Lactation Center Open House - You've missed the open house, but the center is open for business

Carnival Against Sexual Violence #28 is Up - One of my posts is included, along with lots of other interesting pieces from around the blogosphere

Ohio Bill to Give Final Say on Abortion to Men - Oh, Ohio, and your ridiculous stunts

Happy World Breastfeeding Week

Good News for Breastfeeding in New York Hospitals - The healthcare providers stop being complicit in the pimping of formula to all women

Freebirthing Profiled in Washington Post - Updated - Comments on a piece about unassisted childbirth

News Round-Up, 7/31/07 - Linky goodness

Latina Reproductive Health - A new blog from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

How Much Jail Time Should 850,000 Women a Year Receive? - It seems like a valid question if you're trying to make abortion illegal

Get Thin or Get Charged - Bad employers, no cookie

Visit Women's Health News at its new home - http://womenshealthnews.wordpress.com