Google Voice, the best thing since sliced bread

I have a problem checking my voice mail. Any of you who are close to me and call me often know that I may go weeks, possibly even months, before I check my messages. It sucked when Tanis called to tell me that her baby was going to be a boy and I had to skip through listen to 10 messages before I got to hers. (and Logan is now 15 months old, so this has been a bad habit for a LONG time!). With voicemail you have to be equipped with a pen to write down the caller's return phone number or the information they give you that's important, it's just annoying and I'd rather avoid it altogether. I just think it's easier to call someone back rather than listen to their message, especially if it's a friend or my parents, because I'm gonna want to probably talk to them anyway. And now that everybody texts, heck, even my parents know how to text, if somebody wants to give me information right away, that's the best way to do it!! Wait a minute...what if there was a way we could merge texting and voicemail so I didn't have to listen to those voicemails anymore? But there is.

Introducing Google Voice.

Google Voice does a lot of really fun and amazing things, but most importantly, it'll take my voicemails and transcribe them so that I can READ them as well as listen to them (without calling my voicemail box) All day I've been letting my phone calls go to voicemail just so I can try it out! And it works pretty well, it doesn't always transcribe exactly what people are saying, for example, Sadie's name came out "C D," but it always gets the caller's number, so instead of finding a pen to write it down while I'm listening, it's right there for me, no problem.

Google Voice also lets you route all your phones (like if you have an office and a cell and a home phone) to one voice mail and you can get all your messages in your email or as texts on your phone. You can also personalize voicemail greeting to certain people in your contact list, or group your contacts so that a certain greeting goes to friends and a different greeting goes to business calls, etc. Another thing you can do is call internationally and it charges your credit card via the website. So you may not have an international calling plan, but your husband is deployed to Afghanistan, you can use Google Voice to talk to him. But by far the coolest thing (in my opinion of course) is the widget. You can add a widget to your website (or blog in this case) and people can leave you a message on your voicemail. Of course, I need to try this out, so readers, here is what you need to do...

Have your cell phone nearby, click on the widget above for Google Voice and a little box will pop up asking for your name and phone number. Type in the information (click the "keep number private" if you don't want me to see your phone number) and hit connect. Your phone will ring and when you answer it'll connect you directly to my voicemail box I've set up especially for this post.

Now, if you're like me and leaving messages is hard because you don't know what to say (or you have to rehearse it first, like me, so you don't sound like an idiot), I will tell you exactly what to say..I need teething advice. We're upon our first teething milestone, and it SUUUUUUCKS. Sadie is fussy (more so than normal), she won't sleep (at night even!), and 3 or 4 times a day she will scream her head off and be inconsolable (until we give her those Hyland's teething tablets, those are like manna from Heaven). I know this could go on for weeks (or months) so I need lots of good remedies to choose from when one stops working. I am really hoping we don't run into GIANT difficulties with 1. her low threshold for sensory input and not being able to calm herself down, and 2. her aversion to having anything but my boob in her mouth. Oh, and we're not giving her whiskey!

So leave me a Google Voice-mail and tell me what worked for you when your babies were teething, just say hi, or sing me a little song if you want to! I look forward to hearing from you.

PS. I disabled the comments so you HAVE to call to give me advice!! And don't cheat and send me a message on facebook!!

Crayola doesn't make a color for your eyes

One of my favorite things about Sadie (and there are a LOT of favorite things...) is her eyes. She has the biggest, most beautiful, deep blue eyes...with a HUGE helping of eyelashes! I dedicate this song to my Sadie-bug.

banana-sadie-rama

It certainly seems as though I only post about things that grow. Believe it or not I have lots of interests. Some of which include: cell phone map coverage, pool maintenance, and skin moisturizing lotion. Well actually those things happen to consume various sectors of my life and therefore they require more to be known about them.

Before Sadie was born we had a grand idea to plant her placenta under a tree. The tree would then become a symbol of her growth and maturity. As it turns out the group b strep ruined that whole endeavor for us. We had to turn in the placenta, which the midwife randomly saved in our fridge, to the lab for testing and we never got it back. Hindsight, it might have been nice to have a bit of it back, nevertheless we lost it.

We never really got an answer as to why people bury placentas under trees, but we suspect it has something to do with wild animals not being able to get to the tasty flesh if it was under a tree. Really we like our version better of it being a symbol of the child's growth.

We thought long and hard about what kind of tree to plant. By happenstance I stopped into an "exotic fruit" nursery in a slummy part of town. The gentleman, staring saucer eyed with mouth firmly agape thinly suggested we take a look at a banana tree. He happened to get out of me what we were looking for and why...no actually I told him our grandiose plan. He did mention that bananas grow well here in the desert so long as they receive proper care. He also mentioned that it takes severe neglect or acts of God to kill them.

Upon arrival to our house it was proudly proclaimed that we have found our tree specimen. Christie, in feined-excitement, "yeah?" I triumphed by exclaiming, "BANANA TREE!" In true excitement she follow up, "ooh." and then questions about their growth ensued.

We went to the nursery in our excitement and purchased the tree*. 20 bucks for a 5 gallon plant - and we happened to buy a Goji berry plant which is still alive and incredibly our best producing product. We bought these items at month 6 of pregnancy which was the beginning of winter. The Banana tree sat and I did nothing to it. The stalk that was on it withered away due to cold and I sent frantic emails to the nursery which were met with cool, "give it a chance once it warms up. And no refunds." The nursery man didn't understand what this tree symbolized in our brains! The banana received no water, no food, just sat in a 5 gallon black bucket. I was convinced it was dead.

Sadie was born. Rigamorale happened and she came home. She did okay and slowly got better. Miraculously, just as the nursery man proclaimed, once the weather heated up the banana started to sprout in the bucket. To our eager surprise we quickly dug a hole and stuck it into the ground. As Sadie has thrived, so has our banana tree. As it turns out bananas have rhizomes which are kind of like blobs underground. The blobs are the life of the plant and the stalk and *fingers crossed* fruit are the plants effort to reproduce. It was simply asleep for the cold winter months when we thought it to be dead.

We never had to worry about the wild animals, but we did find the growth of the banana tree, seemingly out of death, to be parallel to Sadie. We plan on continuing the mirrored growth by chronicling her growth with the Banana. This is our inaugural picture of Sadie and her Tree.





*For those who care (mainly me) we purchased an ice cream banana which produces the bananas that are often frozen and eaten as ice cream - only instead of ice cream it is really a frozen banana! The stalks get up to 12 feet tall which is a concern in that our winds blow west to east and it is unprotected from the west. During our monsoon storms winds can blow over a stalk ruining any chance of bananas for that stalk. The tree will be trussed shortly once it gets large enough.

P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E. center

P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E stands for Parent Organized Partnerships Supporting Infants and Children Learning to Eat, and it is my latest find in support groups for special needs families (website here). I scoured the Popsicle Center's website and learned so much about eating that I never even realized. We don't have anywhere near the eating/feeding issues many of these moms have (and I pray we never do), but I signed up for their forum because I think I may be able to learn a lot from other moms of children with disabilities effecting their eating.

Many of you know that when Sadie came home from the hospital she was tube fed. Every 3 hours we put the tube in her nose, fed it down to her stomach and then shot a little puff of air through it while listening with a stethoscope to make sure it got to her tummy. Most people just leave a tube like this in instead of re-inserting it every feed, but I didn't want that tube/tape messing up my baby's face. And I think it was better for us to do it this way because I was more motivated to get her to nurse since I hated that tube so much!

This is the night we left the hospital.

The day we pulled Sadie's breathing tube, we watched the nurse stick his finger way down Sadie's throat and she didn't even react. No gag AT ALL. That first night was rough because she wouldn't swallow even her own saliva and everytime the nurse came in to feed her, we also had to suction her. At that point there was talk of setting up suction in our home so we could continue the care. By the next night Sadie seemed to be swallowing on her own and no longer needed suctioning. We were told (and we're still being told) that babies with HIE often will aspirate and end up back in the hospital with pneumonia, so we needed to really be listening to her lungs to make sure they were clear. They have been, and continue to be, clear, and for that we are truly thankful.

I so badly wanted to nurse my baby. I knew breastmilk was an important key to Sadie's health and was convinced that it was even helping her heal, but pumping was getting old, and I had looked forward to nursing so badly that I was heartbroken over the fact that my baby couldn't suck. I started putting the pacifier in her mouth and she would give it a few sucks amidst the biting and chewing on it, so I thought, "what if I just try to nurse her, I wonder what would happen?" Our hospice nurse had advised me against it because Sadie hadn't had a suck/swallow test...and again, she was worried about aspiration.

Of course I had no idea what I was doing, but sought some advice from people I knew who successfully breastfed their babies, and one night in the tub, with Brian there to encourage me, I got Sadie to suck!! I still remember being so happy I cried!! Then I immediately texted everyone I know to tell them the good news!

Sadie learning how to breastfeed.

From that point on we did more and more nursing until we completely stopped using the tube (I think it's somewhere under the bed with kitty teeth marks on it now...we should give it a proper burial). I didn't tell the nurse we had started breastfeeding until we were only using the tube for medicine, and by then she had checked Sadie's lungs a number of times and never heard any fluid (I was so nervous each time she would listen!). But Sadie wouldn't ever take a bottle. We tried and tried, but the same as with the pacifier...more biting and chewing than sucking. Oh well, she's nursing, right?

Now I'm starting to get a little concerned about Sadie not taking a bottle or a pacifier because I'm afraid she has an aversion to anything in her mouth that isn't boob and that when it's time to learn to drink from a sippy cup, or eat from a spoon we might run into problems. It's also hard for me that she won't take a bottle because I don't ever get a break. It might be easier if she didn't scream in the car because then I could go run my errands. As it is now, Brian gives me a couple hours on the weekends to do what I need to do, but if Sadie gets hungry, Brian has to use a syringe or a dropper to feed her. I'm sure it'd be much more satisfying for her to suck, even on a bottle.

Anyway, Sadie starts feeding therapy next week. We have an evaluation on Tuesday and I'm excited to see what the therapist does. Maybe there's a silly trick to get her to take a bottle, maybe it'll be a long process to overcome an aversion to anything in her mouth. I am still going to save the P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E. website...if for nothing else but to be reminded of how lucky we are.

For Sale!

Lately I've had an urge to create. I think it's because I sit here nursing for a good part of the day and I look through all these different craft blogs. I have so many things bookmarked I didn't know where to start. So, I started with a mei tai. For those that don't speak baby-wearing, a mei tai (pronounced "may tie") is an asian baby carrier (see example here), that's really pretty easy to make. So, I wrote down what I needed and went to the discount fabric store (seriously, it's awesome there, and they have EVERYTHING!!). The thing is, when I did my calculations, I planned for 45" wide fabric, and when I got there it was 60" wide. Since it was only $2.99 a yard and I didn't want to recalculate everything, I just bought 2 yards like I had originally planned. I got home, made my mei tai (which took a few days because I could only do a little at a time while Sadie was sleeping or with daddy), but I had a bunch of fabric left over...so I did what any crafty mama would do next, I made a matching diaper bag!

Here's my mei tai.

And here's my matching diaper bag.

About half way through making the mei tai, I realized that Sadie isn't really big enough for a carrier like this yet (the child really should be strong enough to sit up), although I could probably put her in it. But right now she hates the carrier anyway (too hot?). So, why not try to sell it? And with a matching diaper bag to boot? What a perfect baby shower gift, right?

I thought Etsy, but there're a MILLION diaper bags and baby carriers on there, why would someone buy mine? How would they even FIND mine? Brian suggested ebay, but same thing...there're a MILLION different things on there. So, I think I'll start with craigslist. It's free to post on craigslist, and when I searched mei tai, I got ONE hit. But then again, this IS Phoenix, not Eugene, and people don't really wear their babies here. But a matching diaper bag?! Maybe someone would be willing to try.

Well, then I got crazy about it and went back to the discount fabric store for more. I spent an hour picking out the perfect complementary fabrics to go with the denim/twill/heavier fabrics, an again bought 2 yards. This time, though I wasn't sure I wanted to make another baby carrier, especially out the heavy denim I bought (I still might do it, though), so I started with another diaper bag...only I changed the design a little.

Recently I've been going for walks with Sadie in the stroller. I used to be super anti-stroller, but since it's gotten over 100 degrees and my baby all of the sudden hates the carrier, I've come to think of it more as convenient. We've been taking walks in the mornings, and since the grocery store is only about a mile away, we've gone there a couple of times. The problem is, I didn't think I'd be using my stroller a lot, so I didn't pay attention to how much storage space it had...I didn't think it mattered. But when we went to the grocery store, it was sort of a struggle getting everything to fit to bring it back (and seriously, we bought bananas and tortillas and I think a can of spaghetti sauce). I wanted to make the next diaper bag in a way that I could attach it to my stroller, but still use it as a bag if I wanted.

Here's what I came up with.





(isn't Brian a lovely model? haha!) See, I cut the strap and sewed some velcro on the inside of the bag as well as on the strap pieces so they can either loop down and attach to themselves around the stroller arms, or they can attach to each other and create a regular diaper bag strap. So, if you're NOT using the stroller, or if the bag is too heavy and pulls the stroller over.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna keep the stroller bag because it sort of goes with our stroller. But I have lots of fabric to make more. I may try to put this on craigslist too. Brian thinks I'm a genius for making this kind of bag...I'm pretty sure I'm not the first one to think of it!

What do you guys think? How should I go about selling these? Would you be interested in buying one? (I'd totally ship it if you want it! Or make one out of the colors you want!) How much should I charge? I just don't know! All I know is that I don't need this many diaper bags...but I'm not done compulsively making them!

Little Victories...Big Blessings

This blog was created to share with the world how our family has been blessed and continues to be blessed. So, I thought it appropriate today to share today's little blessings. (actually yesterday's)

1. Sadie slept 14 hours last night!! Well, let's start at the beginning...Sadie was pretty upset in the evening time, we think she might be pre-teething, so it was rough to get her to calm down enough to even remember that she was tired. She wouldn't nurse, so I strapped her in the bouncy chair and let it work its magic. She eventually fell asleep and I was able to stop bouncing, but that never lasts longer than 30 minutes. So, when I saw the eyes pop open, I grabbed her, wrapped her up like a little baby-burrito and I was going to stick a boob in her mouth, when her eyes just went back closed. So, I patted and held her for another half hour and since she was out, I put her in her bed. She woke up for about a half hour to eat at 4:30, and I brought her in bed with me, then she slept until 9:15!! Amazing.

2. Which brings me to swaddling. I asked in one of my previous posts recently for tips to help with napping, sleeping in general, routines and schedules, etc. Many of you mentioned swaddling. My mom has been mentioning this for over a month (sorry, mom) and I've been telling her Sadie hates to be confined, she doesn't like swaddling, blah blah blah. But, as usual...mom's right. I "accidentally" swaddled Sadie the other night when she woke up after being put in bed, while I nursed her back to sleep and I started wondering if she does like it. Turns out, it just might be my saving grace. As I type this, Sadie is swaddled, laying in bed asleep by herself and it's only 2:00!! She stayed there and took a 2 hour nap!

3. Car screaming. Since Sadie woke up so late and so happy, I decided to venture out to a LaLeche League meeting this morning. It's held at my Bradley teacher's house and I really wanted to go, but it's so hard to take Sadie anywhere because of the car screaming. Well, it took us 35 minutes to get there and Sadie didn't scream AT ALL! We tried a couple different things. I sang a specific song about car riding as we were getting ready and until we got out of our neighborhood, then I cranked the classical music. When we were about 5-10 minutes away, Sadie started whining. Not crying, but pre-crying, so I turned down the music and specifically told her "we're at the last light," or "we're gonna make 3 more turns and then we're there," or "I'm parking the car now and then I'll get you out." I also told her a lot that I understand that she's uncomfortable and doesn't like being in her car seat for so long, but that she's doing a good job and I'm so proud of her. The whining NEVER turned into a full on cry, and when I got her out, she was as happy as could be!

4. Car screaming part 2. I was worried about the ride home from the La Leche meeting because Sadie was starting to get fussy. She had been awake about an hour, and the nap had only been a 30 minute nurse-nap, so it was far from adequate. I totally expected her to scream her way home...nope. She did fuss and whine and make little scream/squeaks, but there was no crying until literally we were pulling into our driveway!! And I'm not sure that would have even happened had we not hit some construction traffic. So our ride home ended up being like 45 minutes, but she did okay and I am so proud of her!

5. I was visiting our Bradley teacher today, enjoying her La Leche meeting and she told me something she said she's been meaning to tell me. You see, we've visited some of her other Bradley classes to tell the pregnant ladies about our birth experience using Bradley and let them ask questions. And everytime, of course, it's come up that Sadie is a miracle. She's not perfect and she has special needs, but she is a miracle. Our Bradley teacher told me today that each time we've come (and it's been 3 different times now) that we've been such a blessing because each time we've left the conversation has come up about how much we love our little girl. I don't know if people expect us to reject her or be distant from her or treat her differently because of her HIE, but somehow they're surprised at how loving we are. What a blessing to hear that we're blessing OTHER people just by loving our child. ...and boy is she loved!!

Adventures in the garden part 2

Another garden post from Brian!

We had one egg plant from our garden. Not enough to make baba ganoush or ratatouille. I couldn't find a good recipe that incorporated a small eggplant so in the spirit of all people who wish-to-eat-this-damn-thing-right-now-no-matter-what I made up a recipe. I started with the eggplant.

I sliced the eggplant and salted it. Dabbed the eggplant dry on a towel while wiping off excess salt.


In order to properly season items I like to use those plastic bags we get at the grocery store to put fruit in. A Tupperware would work too. In this instance it was olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano and some dried rosemary. I was going for a mediterranean flavor. Once everything is in the bag, including eggplant, give the thing a healthy shake in order to coat it evenly.
Bake the rounds at 350 flipping occasionally to create an even browning. I might do this again at a higher temp as the planties didn't end up crispy enough for my liking.


At this point the eggplant can be used in a variety of ways and I decided to keep with the theme by inserting them into a whole wheat pita. I added cheese too and then toasted the thing to melt the cheese and crisp up the pita.
Me, working from home, enjoying my lunch that took an hour to create.