(((((koffee))))) how's it going with your little mannie?

*sings* *dances* it's the first day of schooooooooollllll! while i adore my children, it has been an incredibly long and chaotic summer and i was so glad to see the buses pull up this morning.

speaking of which: there's nothing like organization, and that was nothing like it! sheer craziness. there were about 20 kids waiting for the buses out there, in the chilly drizzle we had going on. we got out there at 7:40am, the boy's bus was supposed to be there at 7:45. at 7:50, the first bus pulled up, saying that he was going to both elementary schools, and the middle school. but. none of the kids except the 6 going to one elementary were on his list. much confusion ensued. the second bus pulled up, also saying that she was going the same schools, but she had a list of kids that live on the next block, and none of our kids. the 3rd bus was finally the right one. oy vey. however, i still have one kid who is supposed to ride the little bus, as per his IEP. i called that company and was told that his bus had been there at 7:25am. nobody had told me this. at all. nothing. so now i have an overexcited, upset second grader, who has autism, dancing around and yelling at me. and we're still standing in the rain. it's probably a good thing that there wasn't another bus, because i would have been tempted to throw myself under it ended up with The Mr driving him to school, still yelling about how it's all screwed up and worried that nothing is going right. i hope his day improved once he got there!

Dai, my oldest is in 6th grade (6th grade!), and he's on the cross-country team. practice is 4x a week, and meets once a week, so picking him up after school every day is going to be fun, but i'm glad he went out for something. he's also playing cello for the 3rd year, and he was mumbling something about a drawing club this morning. so glad he's actually involved in stuff by his own choosing!

my baby started kindergarten this morning *sniff* so hard to believe, he's nearly 6. he was so excited and he looked so teeny, standing there holding Dai's hand, waiting for the bus. i swear, his backpack was nearly bigger than he is. i can't wait to hear how his first day goes!

and little z is officially enrolled in homeschool now. i'm doing the "unschooling" thing, kind of letting him pick what subjects and so on. i figure we'll hit the library a couple times a week, do math by having him shop and cook with me, science can be nature walks and then looking up what we see online to learn about it, etc. we have fairly lax homeschooling rules in my state, so i can do it my way, the way that works for him, without having someone breathing down my neck about it. we'll see how it goes. if it's not going well, i can always enroll him back in regular school at the semester. i think we'll muddle along ok for this year, tho.

it's so quiet right now!

*sigh* He's still chanting his little word mantras at times, though the "chanting sessions" seem to be getting a lot shorter. He's acting out a bit more too, but more in the way that he's looking for limits and reassurance. He seems focused on what will happen when he acts out and if he's still a "good kid" if he sometimes does naughty things.

I just met an amazing woman in my apartment complex who I have so many things in common with...she also homeschools her kids, raises them veg, breastfeeds...and she and her husband did an unassisted homebirth for their 4th child, which I think is amazing and empowering (though def. not the right path for everybody). As we mamas are isolated in the house so often, I'm super excited my kids can have nice kids to play with and I can have a cool, feminist, book-worm mama to talk to. Having a friend to share things with, really does give you more strength and energy to deal with your day and I haven't had any women friends who live near me in a very long time. I can't believe how isolated I've gotten compared to my wild and carefree 20s...

oh, mama, you said it. i go stark, staring mad around here sometimes. i'm lucky that there are some nice ladies in the complex, but only one or 2 of them are really friends, and, at that, they're the kind of friends you chat with in the yard, maybe invite over with their kids, but not exactly my best friends ever. during winter, tho, once the snow starts, you never see anyone around here until the thaw. its weird.

my youngest has croup. had to take him to the e.r. last night. he woke up at midnight and was coughing and wheezing and choking... he started turning blue around the mouth. scared the hell out of me. The Mr fell asleep in the waiting room at the hospital, and i got to deal with all of it. i have to say, that ticked me off a wee bit. i mean, i know it was the middle of the night, but really. i hadn't slept but 2 hours in 2 days and i managed. anyway, little w is on steroids and will, hopefully, be better soon.

Girl, this is an on-goin situation at my house that has irritated me many times. Even after I went through natural child birth and was awake all night afterward with the new baby (and partly from being too pumped up and excited to sleep) and then going straight to a family emergency situation where I had to "sleep" only in an upright chair for the next 10 days (and with a new baby to care for)...I could do it somehow...I could go without sleeping, care for the new baby, live on next to no food, and be sitting/standing with no place to lie down because I HAD to...but my man broke down, got unreasonable/crabby, and fainted from exhaustion.

Then there is the issue that I will ALWAYS hear if the kids wake up and need me in the night/whenever and often their dad could sleep through a parade. The few times I left him alone when our son was very little, I came home to my little toddler wandering through the house or WITH THE FRONT DOOR WIDE OPEN, while daddy was oblvious/asleep. Even though when I left, I had shouted, "OKAY...I AM LEAVING NOW. BE SURE TO GET UP WHEN THE KIDS WAKE UP". So yeah, I get a little ticked off too.

gee, that sounds familiar...

i've actually had to put an alarm on the little boys' bedroom door, since my youngest has this habit of wandering out of the house at, oh, 4 or 5am. the damn alarm is so loud that the first night we used it, it went off when he tried to sneak out at 5am and it scared me so bad that i was on my feet before my eyes were even open. i nearly pee'd myself, to be quite honest. so there i am, trying frantically to punch in a 4 digit code on an alarm that is blaring in my face, attached to their door above my head, in the dark, without my glasses. and 2 kids getting hysterical because it will not shut up. the other 2 kids and The Mr? slept right through the whole mess. thank the gods that my little monster has decided that he doesn't like the alarm going off either, so he very nicely taps at the door to have me get him out of his room in the morning. i feel bad that i have to do this, but it's much better than having to search the neighbourhood for my missing kid at 5am, imo. hopefully, we can stop using it soon.

all you hot rockin mamas out there: its been 18 months since the little guy showed up, and my libido is still totally awol. Been to the dr to make sure nothing wwrong with the mechanics: all's clear.
any tips/ideas/food recomendations? I want my mojo back!!!!

If you're breastfeeding, I'm afraid you might have a long road ahead of you...your body has a vested interest in continuing to make milk and prevent pregnancy. I'm not saying you're doomed to celebacy, but it does help to be patient with yourself/your body.

Whether you're breast or bottle feeding, it helps to have sex even when you're not very "into" the idea...I know it sounds weird to say that...but the more sex you have, the more sex you WANT to have. I guess this goes for senior citizens, too...doctors are saying you should keep having sex even when you don't feel so much like it, because it becomes a "use it or lose it" sort of thing. In the meantime, do some of the things that make you feel sexy...shave your legs or put on something cute or whatever makes you feel sexy. Goddess knows its hard to feel like you're in the mood wearing stained jammie bottoms and a maternity tank top (which BTW is exactly what I have on right now..I also have an 18 month old).

Hello Picklinqueen,

Here is a alternative solution to the lack of desire you are experiencing.

Try to get your hubby to share in your milk supply. I'm not saying to reduce your child's feeding, but to get hubby to spend a little time soft suckling.

I've found that breast suckling can provide you with relaxing (close to orgasmic) sensations that in the right enviroment can help to rev-up your sex-life. Additional fondling & foreplay (as you know) also helps to get your motor running.

I have been sharing my partners milk (on a as needed basis) for the past 15 years and in that time she has not had any breast lumps. However, the doctors are a little confused as to why there is so much milk in the mamogram x-rays... It's our little secret.

Back ground info:
After having a child your breasts are stimulated by hormones to go into full-on milk production.
When your child is growing your breasts then go into a as-needed milk production output. Then when there is no demand for milk, the breasts go dorment and produce & consume milk internally with the milk ducts sealed and shut down.

If suckling of the breasts is introduced, over time the breasts will (again) clear the milk-duct plugs and start milk production.

Good Luck and enjoy !!

Bob-um