Lola

And they say they don't come with instructions....

Technically they are right (I don't know how I feel about they, they come across as knowitalls, but sometimes, just sometimes, I want to be one of the theys....) but I've found a mighty good set I think every parent should have!

While many of you may think these are not very comprehensive, ie, the feeding of the breastfed baby, mum or dad, where they don't include bottle fed babies, to me it's clear. They're saying it's best if Mum breastfeeds but before a bottle, give Dad a go.

Got it?

Aight then. Get your thinking caps on, pen and paper, whatever and get ready to be amazed.

Oh yes, but before you go finish that glass of milk. No need to have it come out your nose now.

I have to say that some of the don'ts have worked wonders for me. When J, Lola or Dahl refused to calm down, a bit o whiskey and placing one finger in each corner of their mouths and lifting into a smile certainly calmed me down. And made me smile.                                                                           

Bonding with baby, or your child over a hot cup of coffee is a FABULOUS idea.

I have, on numerous occasions, tested my children milk bottles by sticking my tongue in to them. This method works incredibly well. In fact, I do it when serving coffee to a friend, or dinner to a dinner guest. Can't be too safe these days with all of those lawsuits flying left and right! 

While this is a beginning please do not allow the donts to disuade you from trying them. Only you know your baby, and let's face it, with desperate times come desperate measures. 

Honey! It's dinner time, whip out that man nipple!

Love, peace and we've hit the gold mine in parenting answers!

LD

Notice*****LD is not advocating use of any of these parenting techniques. Merely displaying them for your viewing pleasure. ( Those attorneys make me say that. Soooo don't do the donts. Okay? Unless you have and it's work, then leave me a message because I've got to hear this.)

How much do you appreciate?

Life.

Do you see it through the eyes of your four year old self?
For a year or so now I've been making myself more involved in Life. Yes with a capital L.
Not online as much as I once was. Stopping to admire Life. The silence. The stillness. All of it.

Main Entry:
ap·pre·ci·ate
Pronunciation:
\ə-ˈprē-shē-ˌāt, -ˈpri- also -ˈprē-sē-\
Function:
verb

1 a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of b: to value or admire highly c: to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of d: to recognize with gratitude
2: to increase the value of

So it's a verb. An action. Something we have to conciously do to truly do it.

I have begun to truly appreciate what I once believed I understood and valued. I hold so much in high regard. I don't know exactly where this sanctity is coming from, or I do, it has been here all along but the noise and static of life (not capitalized- this is the mundane auto pilot life) were making it impossible to feel and connect with.

It's difficult to articulate where I am coming from or what I want to say yet here I am. Real short and sweet: if life is bogging you down with too many commitments, things that when you stop and take stock really are not necessary, you can pare down. I liken it to a flowering bush. It needs to be pruned to produce beautiful flowers, if not things get messy, the plant's sysem is taxed and the newer flowers aren't as lush, and of lesser quality. Each of us can sometimes become an overgrown flower garden. One that needs tending. Nurturing. A good sharp pair of pruning sheers and a willingness to foresake the wildly overgrown and pare down to something simplistic, but so much more the beautiful.

It has made a difference to me. I have seen that with true tending my own tiny garden is ethereal, a place where I can come and share my joys with my three flowers, and see the joy spill forth from within them. Where my husband and I can share in this cup of abundant goodness given to us by just being. Together.

I like computers. They allow us to meet many people with similar interests and this is why I am sharing this. Yet they are touted as connecting the world. Really, are they connecting anyone?
Turn it off. Right now if you'd like I don't mind and I welcome it. Beyond this screen, within yourself, within those you love, within the world community, person to person, where neighbor becomes life-long friend, that's being connected.

- Until we meet again, go sit outside for a few minutes, be connected with yourself. I can tell you that you'll like that person when you get to know them. LD

Do you know your real age?

I took this real age test. I recommend everyone take it. It will tell you one of two things. That you are in excellent health, as you probably are already aware of by virtue of the loving and admiring gazes given to you by others, and perhaps your own reflection in the mirror....or it will tell you something you probably already also suspect. That your body is way older than your calender age and yikes! you need to get on the ball!

What I liked was that it gave clear recommendations on how I could improve my health. It also told me what I was doing well.

Hop on over and have a go at it. You can create your own profile and follow along with your progress, then retake the test at a later date. They say in 3 months you can alter your age by 9 years! (Well that was one recommendation...given to someone I love)

They also have a test to see how well your children are doing and what you can do to improve their health.
I was told to teach my children the international choking sign:

'Teach J the universal choking sign.
Knowing the universal choking sign may help save his or your life. Choking is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children. To show your child the universal choking sign, place both hands across the front of your throat, crossed at the wrists. This gesture should be taken as a serious sign that your child cannot breath',

something I never thought of doing, but went strait away and taught my son, and am going to teach Lola and Dahl this evening, but just so you're up on the sign, and can teach your children, here is a piccy:
and better yet a link to the Heimlich Institute page where you can learn or brush up on the life saving technique. (They provided me with the link so it must be very important)

Now go and get healthy and pass this on. Wishing you much health, LD

I so identify with this woman....

Birdwoman that is.

Mr. LD comes into a room and I turn around just like this. Like I was on a little perch......

And so I have found the perfect way to show I care and I think, ladies, this may just be the perfect way to show your honey that you care.

Actually, the card may be nice too!

If you're interested clicksey on the picsey.

Scouting out the best for you and for me, LD

Interesting....

Hello Dahlings.

Hoping everyone is doing well this holiday season and not stressing over the mundane. I realize this is easier said than done of course. I was recently reading an article I thought would be interesting to share with you. It has to do with 7 Myths many of us hold as true relating to sex, lies and affairs.

Did that get your attention?

I thought it might.

Some things they discussed were whether Men sleep around more than women do, whether a partner's affair means he /she doesn't love you, etc. All in all a fun read regardless of what you feel on the topics.

So without further ado I link you to the article. I plan on adding a lot more to my marriage section this coming year. God willing, and two small dahls allotting me time we'll get there. I also hope to get a larger reply on here. Many times you  will email me with interesting things but not type them here in the comments section. I think these ideas or questios would be beneficial to the others reading. Consider this please the next time you get the itch to comment to me. You can always do both.

SEX, LIES & AFFAIRS 7 MYTHS DEBUNKED

Until next time, go get some fun time in, LD

Hellooooooooo Babysitter!

Hello Kitty. That loveable, ever giving, sweet,we think yet are not sure because she doesn't have a mouth to tell us otherwise, feline has found her voice, though she's still not managed to find a mouth. HK , the robot, is being marketed to parents who have no time to spend with last season's must have accessory, a kid. These rugrats were like a dazzling pair of diamond earrings for a few seasons strait and most of us went and invested in one or two, perhaps a whole collection, only to realize that much like those dalmation puppies, they grow and are no fun in real life. Take note, neither are bunnies. And no, they do not carry baskets full of candy, and carrying one in my purse brought me no luck at Micosukee gaming. And it had all four feet so this was certainly should have been a lucky rabbit. Anyway, all of these accessories become a burden, and so these wonderful people, I don't know who, have decided to help with a talking Hello Kitty. She will take care of them, or entertain them, whichever floats your boat, so you can pretend to go to the grocery store, or that you're having surgery, or watering your plants, and run away. I was thinking of all of my friends who have accessorized with children. Really, when not in public, or being photographed we all do need something, to care for them. Sigh, how's that saying go? 'Everything old is new again?' They'll be en vogue again. And at $6,299.99 she is the perfect stocking stuffer.- LD

Aging? Sluggish? Get Healthy.

Pocketbooks empty as the dozens of tubs, tubes, bottles and jars on the counters of your bathroom? Join the club. It seems we all know we're becoming a nation of unhealthy people yet most of us do nothing about it.

LD's not just anyone.

She recommends a book.

A book you say?

Yes.  A book. Read it and then if you'd like you can eat it, for it contains more nutrients, fiber in the form of tree bark I think, than most of the processed foods that many of us are consuming on a weekly, if not a daily basis.

"Death by Supermarket: The Fattening, Dumbing Down, and Poisoning of America " by Nancy Deville, addresses this issue and gives great insight on how making small changes can add up to big returns in your health investment.

Reading this practical advice and, here's the tough part for most, following it, you can begin to fairly quickly see the effects on your life and the lives of those around you.

We all should have started yesterday, make a promise to yourself to start today. And tell me how it goes. Heck, maybe I'll start if it goes well for you.  -LD

Got Personality? I know your type.

Recently, well my whole life I suspect, so that recently is inaccurate but I'll leave it there so you know what I was thinking at the moment, I took an online personality questionnaire. This may seem silly to some. You may wish to leave the room now. This is unsuitable for those who lack openmindedness.

There. Now that we're alone let's talk. So I took this 'test' as I have done before. I have actually once had a similar one administered to me as a child. Many many moons ago. Hold your horses there, not that many moons. Third time's a charm they say. I like to research things, even if it means I am the guinea pig. When I found out Lola and Dahl were to be born, I had a real hard time not trying out my own multiples reasearch. I had the subjects, monozygotic twins, a control and a variable,in my very own home, and I logged everything, drank pots and pots of coffee, scribbled notes on my hand when paper was not available and sleep wasn't an option. I felt like a scientist. Mr. LD had different ideas and vetoed this one of mine. My intention was such a good one though! A study to determine if even the slightest of differences made a difference in personality. The girls certainly acted very similar. Both cried. A lot. Round the clock. Both wanted food. Often. Faster than I could make it. Both were very poorly mannered and soiled themselves something awful. Sigh. I raised them as I raised J and so now I'll never know.

Back to this typing. I often wonder if a test of this sort administered by someone, even if they are qualified, would be, if the test giver knew the subject whatsoever, a bit flawed. Wouldn't this person's observation and personal knowledge taint the results somehow?  Regardless of this I have gotten the same result each time. And so now I invite you to try it and see what Psychological Type you are. A little background on these tests can be found by typing MBTI into your favorite search engine or by going to the foundation's page.

This has nothing to do with Scientology or their personality testing. I have not taken that test so I can not say anything about it.

Let me know what you think, come up with or know about this matter. I'm very interested in your thoughts.

Until next time-Happy Days Dahlings!

LD

How to go green....I want to know

  I've been reading a lot about going green. I actually tried being a 'green mum' when my twins were born. Had no idea about it when my J was born just 8 years ago. Seems I wisened up a bit in just 5 short years, yet not enough! hehehe

I bought a whole stash of cloth diapers. I mean a stash! About $1000 worth, and tried 2 of them. Twice.

I just didn't really understand the intricate details of how to use them, what to buy, how to launder, etc. etc. and I fell prey to the fancy shmancy marketing. All of the websites touting,' These diapers are so easy your husband will love'em!

Really?
Wow!
I'll take 300!

I rememeber getting my numerous boxes and showing my grandmum after telling her I planned on CD Dahl and Lola and she told me they were like any CD she'd ever seen! hehehe

Oh their bums did look particularly yummy! All full and padded. They looked like if you dropped them on their bums they'd bounce strait up and possibly hit the ceiling like a basketball for certain.

I adored the look. I adored the feel. Yet I felt very lost.

So I joined the many others and filled the landfills with yet thousand and thousand of disposables that will outlive many generations
Probably the only thing that will be around when my childrens' great x5 grandchildren are adults.

I want to get to the heart of what you ladies and any gents, consider being green. What do you do, things great or small, on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, that you feel would be easily incorporated by others, to keep the world a healthier enviornment for our children and future generations in general.

Just one or two things. Even if you haven't yet begun. If it's only something you've read. By sharing it, perhaps, maybe, just maybe, someone else will be inspired to begin this very day and you will, unknowingly have positively affected Mother Earth.

Now how's that for a start to the week!
(Please note I may use some of your submissions on my blog, or on another forum I belong to so to help spread the word on small ways anyone can help to change or diminish their own carbon footprint)

As Kermit always says, it's not easy being Green, but hey, nothing spectacular ever comes easily.

LD

I am very good at noticing sublties.

Like these animals. They seem very cliquish to me.