Yesterday I was having a temporary identity crisis. As I was thanking my friends for reminding me that my blog name really fits I had an "Aha" moment.
Not only am I a mother of many children, but I'm a doula. What do doulas do? They mother mothers. I have mothered many women in my life as a doula. Of course the name Madre de Muchos fits.
Silly me!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
What's In a Name?
Many years ago, around the time that Girl Thing was born, I used to post on various forums. I had just become a SAHM and was really into the whole "being a mom is my identity" thing. I thought that Madre de Dos was a cool username. Eventually people on the boards just started calling me Madre (I sometimes wonder if they realized that they were calling me "Mother"). Fast forward 9 months to when I found out I was pregnant again. Alarmed by the fact that we were adding two more people to our family, I changed my name to Madre de Mas Y Mas. When the twins were born I settled on Madre de Muchos because that's how I felt, like I was a mother of (way too) many.
I am beginning to realize that, even though I feel like I am inundated with children, I really don't have that many. I look at some of my fellow birth workers who have 5, or 8, or even 11 children, or I read blogs by people like Swistle, and I start to wonder if this blog really deserve the name I've given it. I mean if I'm Madre de Muchos what the heck do you call someone like Michelle Duggar?
What do you think? Am I due for a name change? Feeling like I have a whole lot of kids has been part of my identity for so long, it's weird to realize that the name really doesn't fit.
I am beginning to realize that, even though I feel like I am inundated with children, I really don't have that many. I look at some of my fellow birth workers who have 5, or 8, or even 11 children, or I read blogs by people like Swistle, and I start to wonder if this blog really deserve the name I've given it. I mean if I'm Madre de Muchos what the heck do you call someone like Michelle Duggar?
What do you think? Am I due for a name change? Feeling like I have a whole lot of kids has been part of my identity for so long, it's weird to realize that the name really doesn't fit.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Breast Awareness
Last week my aunt had her lumpectomy. Thing 1 and Thing 2 wanted to know why Auntie couldn't come over. I told them that she was in the hospital having a lump removed from her breast. They made the appropriate sounds, serious "ohs" and "mm hmms", as I did my best to give the 4 year old version of breast cancer. Just when I was starting to think that I had such intelligent and sensitive little boys and that I had done a wonderful job explaining the situation, Thing 1 asked me "Where is her breast?" I pointed to mine and said "Right here" (surprised that all this time they didn't really know what I had been talking about) Thing 2 said "You mean her boobs?!"
"Yes." I said, and they both screamed "Eeeew!"
Later that day they decided to tell their sister all about it. I'm not sure exactly what was said but I heard bits and pieces about her tummy getting bigger and bigger. Finally, Girl Thing said " Mom, what are the twins talking about?!" Original Thing tried to clarify by saying " She had something in her that was making her sick and the doctor had to take it out." Girl Thing asked where and I said "In her breast". She gasped "You mean where she makes milk for her babies?!?!"
At least she knows what they're called and more importantly, what they are for.
"Yes." I said, and they both screamed "Eeeew!"
Later that day they decided to tell their sister all about it. I'm not sure exactly what was said but I heard bits and pieces about her tummy getting bigger and bigger. Finally, Girl Thing said " Mom, what are the twins talking about?!" Original Thing tried to clarify by saying " She had something in her that was making her sick and the doctor had to take it out." Girl Thing asked where and I said "In her breast". She gasped "You mean where she makes milk for her babies?!?!"
At least she knows what they're called and more importantly, what they are for.
Breathe or Blog?
Because the month of August has been unusually hectic, my poor blog has been neglected. I've barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. OK, that isn't really true, I've found time to read other blogs. Reading doesn't require the energy that writing does. Reading the words of others helps me relax, writing makes me think to much.
Three of the four Things started school this month. Original Thing and Girl Thing started on the 1st. They started a new school that I am pretty happy with. Thing 2 started his second year of preschool on the 13th. Thing 1 will start preschool later this week or next Tuesday. They will both be in Special Needs Preschool for speech therapy. They were evaluated last year and Thing 2's speech delay was much more pronounced than Thing 1. I asked the school district to reevaluate Thing 1 a few weeks ago and they determined that he barely qualified but that he could benefit from preschool as well. So now they will both be in school but in separate classes. Thing 1 will go in the mornings and Thing 2 in the afternoons.
The day after Thing 2 started school, we moved. We've been looking for a bigger place for a while now but of course I didn't start packing until everything fell into place. We found a house that is just a mile from where we used to live. It's much bigger and will cost us a lot less monthly. We found it 10 days before we moved so everything was last minute. We are adjusting to being in a new place and trying to find time to clean out/up our old house.
The new house is almost perfect. The only problem is the people who lived here before us must have had a cat. My house smells like cat pee! The carpet was cleaned right before we moved in but the smell was still there. I tried this, this, and this but the last two only seemed to make the house smell worse. I even bought several Method Aroma Pills (mmm, the cut grass fragrance is nice, and was on clearance at Target). I think the carpet just needs to be replaced. My mother in law bought me a black light so that I can find the source of the nasty smell. Now all I have to do is find something to get rid of it, something that actually works.
In between the move and the children starting school, I have been attending more than my usual amount of births and going on interviews like crazy. I am a 1 (2 at the most) birth a month kind of doula. I had 2 August clients and 2 September clients. So far 1 of my August clients gave birth (my first twin mama!) , both of my September clients had their babies (one was 5 weeks early) and my last August client's due date was last Wednesday.
Hopefully I will make the time to blog about these births. I have lots of thoughts about them. I have learned so much from these women and their experiences.
Girl Thing was also in a pageant this past weekend. Yes, one of those. Sigh, I feel a bit of shame every time I tell someone about it. That whole experience is definitely a blog post waiting to happen.
Wow, I feel like I'm talking to a friend I haven't seen in a long time. I've got so much to talk about. I'm looking forward to finding my inner writer again and keeping my readers (if I have any left) updated.
Three of the four Things started school this month. Original Thing and Girl Thing started on the 1st. They started a new school that I am pretty happy with. Thing 2 started his second year of preschool on the 13th. Thing 1 will start preschool later this week or next Tuesday. They will both be in Special Needs Preschool for speech therapy. They were evaluated last year and Thing 2's speech delay was much more pronounced than Thing 1. I asked the school district to reevaluate Thing 1 a few weeks ago and they determined that he barely qualified but that he could benefit from preschool as well. So now they will both be in school but in separate classes. Thing 1 will go in the mornings and Thing 2 in the afternoons.
The day after Thing 2 started school, we moved. We've been looking for a bigger place for a while now but of course I didn't start packing until everything fell into place. We found a house that is just a mile from where we used to live. It's much bigger and will cost us a lot less monthly. We found it 10 days before we moved so everything was last minute. We are adjusting to being in a new place and trying to find time to clean out/up our old house.
The new house is almost perfect. The only problem is the people who lived here before us must have had a cat. My house smells like cat pee! The carpet was cleaned right before we moved in but the smell was still there. I tried this, this, and this but the last two only seemed to make the house smell worse. I even bought several Method Aroma Pills (mmm, the cut grass fragrance is nice, and was on clearance at Target). I think the carpet just needs to be replaced. My mother in law bought me a black light so that I can find the source of the nasty smell. Now all I have to do is find something to get rid of it, something that actually works.
In between the move and the children starting school, I have been attending more than my usual amount of births and going on interviews like crazy. I am a 1 (2 at the most) birth a month kind of doula. I had 2 August clients and 2 September clients. So far 1 of my August clients gave birth (my first twin mama!) , both of my September clients had their babies (one was 5 weeks early) and my last August client's due date was last Wednesday.
Hopefully I will make the time to blog about these births. I have lots of thoughts about them. I have learned so much from these women and their experiences.
Girl Thing was also in a pageant this past weekend. Yes, one of those. Sigh, I feel a bit of shame every time I tell someone about it. That whole experience is definitely a blog post waiting to happen.
Wow, I feel like I'm talking to a friend I haven't seen in a long time. I've got so much to talk about. I'm looking forward to finding my inner writer again and keeping my readers (if I have any left) updated.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Running for Life
And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers
Running for more
- Melissa Etheridge
I have always been a supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness. I wear a really cool BCA blinkie in my email's signature line that looks something like this,
I have some really comfy pink ribbon shoes that I wear to births.
I've purchased pink measuring cups & spoons as well as a "Pink Plaid" cookbook so I can Cook for the Cure.
Last year I put together a team for my local Birth Network to walk/run in the Komen Race for the Cure.
Over the years I have known friends and other families whose lives have been affected by this disease. This year it hits much closer to home.
A few weeks ago I found out that my aunt, who is more like my sister, has breast cancer. None of my advocating for awareness, having pink ribbons painted on my toenails, drinking out of pink ribbon water bottles, wearing pink ribbon jewelry, not even eating the pink M&Ms prepared me for how it felt to get that news.
I can't think of the right word to describe the feeling. The best I can come up with is "heavy". It's a lot more intense than when my friend had breast cancer. It's even more intense than when a good friend of the family's mother died from it. It feels a lot more personal.
When my aunt told me I immediately started thinking, "Oh my goodness, I need to take care of her!" My favorite way to take care of people, other than supporting them in labor, is feeding them. I started thinking up all these healthy menus, full of cancer fighting foods. I even promised to be her personal chef. The only problem is that she lives almost an hour away and as Hubby gently pointed out, I'm barely cooking meals for my family of 6 (It's just too dang hot!).
I'm still trying to figure out how I can get her to eat better. She has always eaten like crap (and still manages to be super skinny, I think I hate her) and she is preparing to take the bar by studying every waking hour(she graduated from law school a couple of months ago) which doesn't leave much time for meal preparation or eating.
My other reaction to this news feels a bit selfish. I can't help but think that now that there's breast cancer in the family my mother and I are in the "higher risk" category. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to taking care of myself (and getting my mother to take better care of herself).
My aunt has a big fight ahead of her and I'm going to do my best to support her. I am also going to continue supporting companies and organizations that are committed to fighting this disease.
Our Birth Network has a team again for this year's race. Last year we had 24 members. This year I hope to have at least 50. We've also set a goal of raising at least $1500.
There's been a lot of talk in blogland about doing the Couch to 5K program. I started a couple of weeks ago to get ready for this year's race. Find out if your area has a race coming up and sign up. This is an excellent way to get yourself moving and help out a great cause. I hope lots of you sign up for the race, donate some $$$, or click on some of the links I've posted so you can purchase something that gives back to the cause.
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers
Running for more
- Melissa Etheridge
I have always been a supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness. I wear a really cool BCA blinkie in my email's signature line that looks something like this,
I have some really comfy pink ribbon shoes that I wear to births.
I've purchased pink measuring cups & spoons as well as a "Pink Plaid" cookbook so I can Cook for the Cure.
Last year I put together a team for my local Birth Network to walk/run in the Komen Race for the Cure.
Over the years I have known friends and other families whose lives have been affected by this disease. This year it hits much closer to home.
A few weeks ago I found out that my aunt, who is more like my sister, has breast cancer. None of my advocating for awareness, having pink ribbons painted on my toenails, drinking out of pink ribbon water bottles, wearing pink ribbon jewelry, not even eating the pink M&Ms prepared me for how it felt to get that news.
I can't think of the right word to describe the feeling. The best I can come up with is "heavy". It's a lot more intense than when my friend had breast cancer. It's even more intense than when a good friend of the family's mother died from it. It feels a lot more personal.
When my aunt told me I immediately started thinking, "Oh my goodness, I need to take care of her!" My favorite way to take care of people, other than supporting them in labor, is feeding them. I started thinking up all these healthy menus, full of cancer fighting foods. I even promised to be her personal chef. The only problem is that she lives almost an hour away and as Hubby gently pointed out, I'm barely cooking meals for my family of 6 (It's just too dang hot!).
I'm still trying to figure out how I can get her to eat better. She has always eaten like crap (and still manages to be super skinny, I think I hate her) and she is preparing to take the bar by studying every waking hour(she graduated from law school a couple of months ago) which doesn't leave much time for meal preparation or eating.
My other reaction to this news feels a bit selfish. I can't help but think that now that there's breast cancer in the family my mother and I are in the "higher risk" category. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to taking care of myself (and getting my mother to take better care of herself).
My aunt has a big fight ahead of her and I'm going to do my best to support her. I am also going to continue supporting companies and organizations that are committed to fighting this disease.
Our Birth Network has a team again for this year's race. Last year we had 24 members. This year I hope to have at least 50. We've also set a goal of raising at least $1500.
There's been a lot of talk in blogland about doing the Couch to 5K program. I started a couple of weeks ago to get ready for this year's race. Find out if your area has a race coming up and sign up. This is an excellent way to get yourself moving and help out a great cause. I hope lots of you sign up for the race, donate some $$$, or click on some of the links I've posted so you can purchase something that gives back to the cause.
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