mystery plant

Remember the mystery plant? 

It's a flower!  

It's like the compost is saying "thank you for using me."

you're welcome, compost!

amusing tag

bummer about the first baby.

Human Milk Drive

stolen from Bethany's blog in order to get the word out:

It's happening at St. V's on 8/3/10. The drive is the first step in Portland getting it's own milk bank and they're looking for donors.

Donors need to be prescreened through Mother's Milk Bank in Colorado (click here for info). They will send a packet with all the stuff to get screened. The milk is collected all over Portland (check out Northwest Mothers Milk Bank for collection sites). I'm actually helping the volunteers at St Vincent for this! Once the blood tests are done, pumped and frozen human milk is then taken and left with one of the donor areas here. They hospitals will then ship to Denver, where the milk is pasteurized and sent all over. Much of the milk from here is sent back. All the milk goes towards NICU babies. The moms usually don't have any of their own milk or colostrum yet, so the babes will get donated breast milk which encourages and promotes healthy growth much better than formula. (I do realize I'm preaching to the choir here.) I'm very pro-donation and love helping these guys out. The Fed Ex driver who picks up the boxes of donated milk feels very connected and is his favorite part of his day.

Even if your mamas can't be pre-screened in time for the milk drive on August 3, St Vincent's accepts donors every Tuesday. Kimberly Bepler is in charge of it here and her number is: 503.216.6455.

One story that is very touching and inspirational:

A mom recently lost her baby. She pumped for a while and had several ounces of colostrum that she donated to the bank. The bank was very excited as this is super and nothing they ever get donated. Yet, tinged with sadness as the reason was the loss of a sweet angel-baby. It breaks my heart to think of losing a baby, yet this mom thought of all the good she could do with what she had.

Thanks for passing this on. All those small and fragile angels hanging on in the NICU make me want to do what I can to help them.

If you are a nursing mom, then please seriously consider donating some of your milk to the babies who are unable to get any from their own mothers.

more june & july photos

Sometimes i forget that not everyone has facebook and sees the cutest photos that I upload. :) So, here they are:

this was one of the super hot days. I had Charlotte on our bed, because it's coolest in the bedrooms. (under the shade of two very large trees.) I was doing dishes and realized I couldn't hear Rowen any more. I looked in the livingroom and he wasn't there. So I walked back to his room, and he wasn't there either. Instead, I found him curled up with his baby sister on our bed. How sweet is that? I said "don't move Rowen, Momma has to get the camera!" hahaha

Here's our sweet Charlotte at 31 days old, with her friend Landon at 11 days old. Aww... hangin' out under the shade of an umbrella on a hot park day.

Rowen figured out how to check on his sister when she's in the pack & play: pull up a stool!

coloring with markers!

fun times on a giant mary-go-round.

fillin' up the pool at 8 am- never mind that it's cold and the water is freezing and he has clothes on. whatever- water is FUN!!

how he's been spending his outside time the past few days. Scooping, pouring, filling, emptying, and burying in the beans! Big time fun. I set up his little play tent in the back yard, and he loves that he can zip and unzip the door flap and hide away. I love that he's in the shade, and self occupied. win win!

how she spends her time... aw, sweetness.

snugglin' sissy again this morning.

my three loves!

July Resolutions- better late than never?

The Recap:

January - read through the bible in a year. Wow, yeah. so I'm a wee bit behind. Like, a month behind. I've resorted to listening to the old testament part of my reading (the biggest chunk each day) with a free website. Hey, then I can do the dishes while I'm "in the word." kind of. sad.

February - envelope system. back to business- june was and july has been soley a debit-card month. But I'm equipped with cash and determined to use it only for the rest of the month.

March - watch internet time. what's the internet?

April - walk whenever possible. Not a ton of walking going on, but I'm trying. Resolutions are hard. :(

May - stockpile the freezer. OAMC style. Happy to say, N/A! We've been SO blessed with meals from family, friends, and our church, that I've only cracked into maybe 10 of my 50 freezer meals. I'll be good for the rest of July. And perhaps most of August? I'm loving it so far, though. I'm totally doing it again once the frozen feasts run out!

June- have a healthy baby and try to stay sane- done! lol

This Month and Onward:

July- ban high fructose corn syrup from our house. I'd like to ban it from our lives, but sometimes you go out to eat and have no idea where it's hiding. I've been trying to do this to some extent all year, but it's time to really crack down. Of course, I'm far too frugal to throw out my giant bottle of heinz ketchup, but I'm certainly never buying it again (until they change their formula.) That's it. We will not fool our metabolisms with it anymore. I'm checking labels. It's one small step toward healthier eating!