Why I blog

This was supposed to be a part of Talk to me Tuesday over at the Tip Junkie. Except its Thursday, but it seemed a worthy pursuit all the same. I thought it was an awesome question, mostly because it helps to refocus my writing to ask it every once in awhile.

I blog for many different reasons, sometimes all at the same time. I suppose my main goal on this blog is to preserve our family memories. I want the kids to be able to go back in time and see the pictures of what we were doing. More than that, I want them to be able to read my thoughts about them and to know how much I love them, and how much fun we had. I used to scrapbook, and while I loved preserving the images, it lacked the story. I want to memorialize all the little quirks and stages they go through. I anticipate in the future that they will become contributors to the blog, and have blogs of their own. I found a company that will publish blogs into volumes of books, which I think would be nice for our family to have to look back on. Unlike a scrapbook, I have the option to produce more than just one volume.

The blog has allowed us to stay in touch with extended family and Brian when he is away. While the kids are young, it has been nice for relatives to read the blog and know what the kids are talking about when they speak on the phone to them. At this point, they aren't all great about telling a story in a straight line. Especially when Brian is out of town, I try to update the blog frequently so that he feels more connected to what is going on here at home.

Writing is also a creative outlet for me. It is almost a necessity. I write fiction and do writing that would be considered more on the creative side. I also used to journal on paper. But those who know me well understand that I have a problem keeping track of papers. This blog has been a great place to journal thoughts and feelings. Sometimes I just really need to write things out, and I tend to solve problems through writing. At other times my posts are just my thoughts, feelings, or musings on a subject. I had considered moving those over to another blog, but I have this theory that sometimes children only get to see one side of their parents... the more parental side. Its an opportunity for my kids in hindsight to see some of my thoughts and feelings laid out in a way that they might not otherwise.

I have been blogging for about two years now. As of now I have roughly 250 blog posts. As a stay at home mom, I found blogging to be a wonderful instrument for encouragement. Sometimes I get lost in the minutia, or frustration of the every day: the dishes that never end, cooking, cleaning the exact same room 4 times a day and then cleaning it one more time. They are small things. When I get overwhelmed by them, or start to feel as though I am making zero progress in my "job", I look back over these posts. I see children who have grown, who are happy and loved, family and friends we hold dear. I see my own personal growth and how my thoughts and opinions have changed or evolved. It is an affirmation of what we have done. It refocuses my perspective on the "bigger picture".

Swapping spit, and other fun things.... like the H1N1 vaccine

So, we have been sick. Despite all my best efforts we have passed it around. to everyone. Just as all the children are recovering, and I am prepared to breathe a huge sigh of relief, it hits me. Hard. Like a pedestrian impacting a Mack truck.

Of course, because life likes to have a giggle at my expense, all the children had eaten their Wheaties and were chock full of energy at the exact time I decided to go bed-bound. fun times. It was so bad, I went completely hermit and made Brian stay home from work. I can't even remember the last time I was that sick.

Being a big believer in more natural forms of medicine I drank cups of echinacea tea and swilled elderberry syrup like it was going out of style. But honestly the ibuprofen was my very best friend.

All of this has me thinking, with H1N1 hitting the nation so hard, how do I feel about the vaccine? If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I would have said we were going to pass on the vaccine. But. We had a long chat with Chloe's Asthma doctor about it, he is very much in favor of the vaccine for anyone with asthma. His logic makes sense, this virus seems to hit the respiratory system the hardest in people with no problems. Having just gone through the great Asthma attacks of 2009 that were triggered by just a cold, I can't imagine what that would look like and frankly it scares me. But I hate to make any decisions based on fear.

On the other hand, I don't like what they put in vaccines, the preservatives, wierd ingredients, mercury. I don't like some of the associations to diseases like autism. I read up alot on the vaccine for HPV and wow, it seemed like everyone was talking about how safe it was, but it had real consequences for way too many girls for me to feel safe. I know this vaccine is being manufactured in a very tried and true way for the flu, but I don't know what to think. Like I said, I don't want to make a decision based on fear.

So unsolicited (or in this case solicited) advice is officially welcome here. What are your plans?

We were featured!

Our homeschooling blog was featured over at Weird, Unsocialized, homeschoolers: Homeschool showcase.

Pumpkin Patch 2009: Wordless Wednesday

Sweet Siblings

This sweet little girl who is reading to her brother, taking over motherly duties while her mommy nurses her sister back to health in a fog of insomnia.

and her brother, with his wooden practice sword laying beside him because his Daddy told him that it would slay any monsters he encountered. It gave him courage enough to brave dark rooms where wild things live.

His Mommy had to clarify earlier in the day that sisters will never qualify as monsters. ever. Regardless of how they mess up your video game.

This boy, his schooling strike long forgotten, informed us all the other day that nobody ever reads to him anymore; and he can't read on his own. He needs someone to help him read. Thank goodness he has a sister willing to indulge him while Mommy is busy.

Sew Nerdy

I had made Chloe's dress a while back, but this past week I finished the coordinating dress for Emma.

Then, I made a "cough catcher" for Chloe. I wasn't looking to keep her from getting sick, I was looking to catch her coughs before the infected us. We aren't always the best at covering our mouths in time, or completely, so I used some extra scrap fabric from the dresses to make a little mask for her to wear. Its more stylish than the paper blue ones, and washable!

Asthma Rollercoasters

Our allergy/seasonal cold we were dealing with has spiraled downward into asthma madness for Chloe. Serious asthma madness. I don't think that we have had an incident this serious since Chloe was three.

She can't even make it for the three hours until the next nebulizer treatment. She has coughed so much that she dry heaves and her sides hurt. It is just not a good feeling to not be able to breathe. Plus all the medicines make her so jittery she gets the shakes. So she isn't sleeping much.

Of course all this happens during a very busy schedule for Brian, so I am getting like maybe two hours of sleep a night (Oh look! is that a pink Llama in the living room?) The other two kids are also on the tail end of the cold/allergy thing.

On the positive side of things, I have a new coffee buddy in the morning. Coffee is one of those home remedies for asthma, so Chloe has been having some with me in the mornings. Let's just say that these days mommy is powered by grit, tears, and a whole lot of coffee. We curl up in my bed to watch cartoons and drink our coffee. She told me, "This is good mommy, I could get used to this". Oddly enough, it doesn't make her any more hyper, I think we may have hit the glass ceiling on the jitters with all the medications. Putting her in the shower to breathe in the steam works too... so at least we are clean? even if we are hallucinating from lack of sleep?