Cyber-Garage Sale

I want to start trying to sell some of the things we want to get rid of before The Big Move.
Does anyone know of a webpage where I can basically just post pictures, prices, and descriptions of things that I am selling?

It wouldn't be like Craig's List. More like a page that I can refer people to and it will always have the pics of whats for sale on it.

Also, any ideas of sites besides Craig's List and E-bay where I can sell things? Preferably local and no charge.

Let me know if you know of anything!
Thanks!

Homeopathic Cures

Here's the deal:

My baby has a perianal absess on his cute little tushie.
We've already been to the pediatrician 3-4 times about this.
We've been to the emergency room once to have it drained.
We've already been on antibiotics (2 kinds really because the first he was on for an ear infection and developed this absess and the second was a different kind to get rid of it. Didn't work)
And we have been to the pediatric surgeon.

The surgeon wants to wait 5-6 weeks to see if it will get better on it's own. If not, he will put my baby under and operate. The operation may or may not get rid of it. Thanks, doc.
In the meantime, there is nothing I can do except try hot baths and hot compresses.

Well, it's really hard to just sit around and do nothing - knowing that if this yucky thing doesn't go away, your 8 month old baby will have to have a surgical procedure!

So I'm thinking of trying out some holistic/homeopathic remedies for it. However, not sure how to pursue that. Anyone have any ideas????

Cameras

I know, I know. I haven't written in months. I'm really bad.
Ok, I will TRY to start writing again. There is certainly a lot to say. Just no time to sit down in front of the computer and write it. When I'm at the computer, I'm generally working.
Anywhoo - DOES ANYONE STILL READ THIS???? IS ANYONE STILL OUT THERE??????

Now that I got that out of my system, um, we left our camera in a cab in Jerusalem along withour 200+ pictures from our trip to Israel. AHHH - the agony! Keep the camera but I just want our pictures back. Yah, that's not gonna happen.

ANYWHOO - so for our Chanukah present, we are pooling all the money we get and buying a new camera. Apparently, there are a LOT of cameras out there. I walked into a store and I walked out because there was too much variety.

So, I turn to you people to ask for recommendations of which digital camera is a good one. Or which is a bad one. Any comments, suggestions, helpful hints. All are appreciated.
THANKS!

And I really will try to blog more interesting stuff soon....one of these days.....

Dippin Dots

Every time we go to the zoo, we wonder if Dippin Dots are kosher. S and I have both heard that they are kosher in Pittsburgh and we always say we'll have to check it out when we get home. But we never do.
Tonight I was online catching up on e-mails and I have no idea what made me think of it but I went to the Dippin Dots website to check the kosher status. I saw the following paragraph in the FAQ section.
Are Dippin' Dots Kosher?

In addition to our plant being FDA and USDA approved, Dippin' Dots are certified Kosher. The certification is Kosher-Dairy for year-round use (excluding Passover) by the Vaad Hoeir of St.Louis, MO. The symbol for the Vaad Hoeir is a circled V.

I thought that was so interesting. I don't know if it was interesting that they are Kosher and no one knows it or it was interesting that it's the Vaad of St.Louis that certifies it. Anywhoo, I wanted to confirm so I went to the Vaad of St.Louis website but didn't find a list of places that they certify. So I e-mailed them and we'll see what I hear back!

Anyone know anything about it?

Present Etiquette

I may have posted this before but I forgot the answer.
What's the deal with bridal shower presents and wedding presents? Are we supposed to give both? Is one supposed to be bigger than the other?
If we go in for an out-of-town wedding - do we still have to give a gift?

Let me know what you think!!

MPG-CAP

Does anyone know anything about this capsule that is supposed to increase your miles per gallon? Has anyone tried it?
I'm very curious why it's not a bigger thing........
Let me know your thoughts.
You can check out www.earthremedy.com for a news story about it. And it seems you can actually purchase it at www.gassyrealtors.com

What do you think???

Doula

Oops. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. And a lot has gone on in my life. One day perhaps I will have a chance to sit down and write about it. Ha.
Anywhoo, I've been thinking about doing this for awhile but haven't done anything about it. I am ready to do something about it but don't know where to begin. So I turn to my blogging audience (anyone left out there?) for your help and possible knowledge.
I am thinking of becoming a doula. And perhaps further down the road - a midwife. But I'll stick with a doula for now.
And that is what I am up to. Where do I go from here?
Anyone know anything about becoming a doula or know anyone who is one/has used one. Etc?

If so, let me know!!!!

Brothers

Almost New Baby Day Today

So, I woke up this morning at 7:30am and thought to myself. Huh, I could have been going to the hospital right now for my scheduled c-section.
Then I woke up at 8 something and thought. Hmm... I wonder what I would have been doing now. Filling out paperwork, getting into a hospital gown. Would I be tired? Excited? Scared?
Then I woke up at 9:30 and said wow, this is when my c-section was supposed to start. So they would have just been making the first slice. :)
And then when I woke up at 10 (yes, I got to sleep in today. G-d bless mothers-in-laws!!) I thought to myself, well, they probably would have just been delivering my baby. I guess I will get up.
:)

Those are some crazy thoughts!!!!!!!! But today was when my c-section was scheduled for. Until the baby flipped (yay!!). Although even after they saw that the baby flipped, they asked if I still wanted to cancel it. Well, I thought about it for a second but opted against it. The conveniance of it all just wasn't worth the pain and risk of a c-section.

So, now we are just waiting....and waiting....and waiting......
Wish us luck! We'll keep you posted!

Woo hoo!!!!

The baby turned!!!! And now it's head down and hopefully not going anywhere (yet).
So, I guess all those rough nights with baby moving all over the place were worth it. Whew.
So my scheduled c-section is canceled and now we just wait around for labor to start.
It may still end up being a c-section but at least it's in a better position.
Keep ya posted.....................

Questions

I've started a list of questions. They are things I want to ask G-d after 120. Most of them are pretty big ones. But I added a new one on Tuesday. Not as big. But something I am really wondering about.

As most people reading my blog know, I am expecting and the due date is about 3 weeks away. With my first child, I ended up having a C-section after 32 hours of labor and I had a very difficult recovery. I'm sure it was not helped by the gallstones and gallbladder removal 3 months post c-section but whatever the case may be, it was rough. While pregnant with my first, I read a LOT of books and had hopes of delivering with no pain meds and even started off the first 12 hours in the Birthing Center at Providence Hospital. A VERY comfortable place that I recommend everyone start at even if they end up moving to labor and delivery. :)
Anyway in the books I read I pretty much breezed past the c-section parts thinking no way, not me. But I do remember reading that a lot of women feel cheated after a c-section. They are upset, they feel like they failed, etc. I did not feel that way after my delivery. I wasn't happy about it but it was just the way things were.
Until I got pregnant with #2. Then I started wondering...... can I handle a regular delivery? Would I be able to do it? Would I really be able to push a CHILD out of my body??? I don't know. Drugs or no drugs, that's a pretty scary thing. Maybe I can't do it. Maybe my body doesn't work that way.
As little girls, we grow up learning that we are supposed to get married, get pregnant, and have a baby. Babies come out of certain parts of our body and scary as it is, if you push a baby out of your body - you can do anything!!!!!! It's an impressive task and I am always amazed hearing people talk about their birthing experience. I am always really awed by it.
And I question whether or not I can do it. I want to do it. I want to have that experience. Even if it's just once. So pregnant, with Baby #2 - that was my plan. 3 of the 4 doctors in my practice were very supportive of it. There are risks involved with VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Delivery) but they are small and the docs felt there was no reason not to try for it as long as I am aware that it may not work out and I may have to have another section. Ok, fair enough. So over the past 2 months, I have started my reading again. Learning about the different stages of labor, coping with the pain of contractions, various pushing positions. I was getting ready for the big marathon. As friends have described it, the hardest physical thing you will EVER do in your life. So I was preparing. And I was actually getting excited. Scared, but excited. I spoke with friends about their birthing experiences, trying to understand how it works, how it feels. And weird as it sounds, I was looking forward to going into labor. To reaching the pushing stage. To that amazing moment when a child actually comes out of me??!?!??! WOAH.

Then my plans came screeching to a halt. I went to the doc on Tuesday and it turns out, the baby is sideways. Not only sideways but spine down. Normally the doctors would manually turn the baby. However, since I had a C-section the first time, this doctor doesn't want to try and turn it because she is afraid of my scar rupturing. That could end up in a very bad outcome for the baby and possibly for me. So that means they will do a scheduled C-Section. Sorry, no chance for VBAC.
Not only that but if the baby stays in this position with the spine down, they will have to do a vertical incision to get it out because they can't deliver a back. My first section was a horizontal incision so one consolation I had in regards to a second c-section was that they will be cutting over scar tissue and dead nerves so it won't be quite as bad a recovery as the first time. Woo hoo.... But if they do a vertical incision, it means a whole new pain, a whole new recovery AND no chance for VBAC with any future children. The chance of rupture with a vertical incision is much higher than a horizontal one.

And I will never know. I will never know whether or not I could have birthed a baby the way women are "supposed" to. I will never know if I have that in me. I will never be able to say, I can do anything - I pushed a child out of my body!!!
So it's on my list of questions.
Why me?
Why not someone else who wants a c-section?
Could I have done it??
Why didn't I get the chance to find out??

There are more thoughts about this upcoming experience but I have to go to work so they will be saved for another time.

Stay tuned..................

Our Purim Theme

The job of being parents
is never quite done,
We started off quiet
with our number one son.

We decided this year
on a new little addition,
Ignoring the expenses
of diapers and tuition!

Please enjoy some "tools"
to celebrate our renovation,
We're so happy to share
our news and jubilation.

We promise we'll share pictures
when the "labor" is all done.
Purim Sameyach from
Shauli, Natalie, Jonah Z.,
and soon-to-be plus one!

And these were our Mishloach Manot.......

Thanks so much to my mom for help with the general theme idea and to Sho for the poem!!!!

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the
"drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family too!

Bad Day

I haven't mentioned this to a lot of people. Maybe I haven't mentioned it to anyone. What tomorrow is.

My dad died 10 years ago tomorrow.

It snuck up on me this year. I felt like I should recount the years. Has it really been 10? February 23rd, 1997.
Seems like ages ago.

I don't have anything planned. And it's not his Hebrew Yarzeit yet. That's next week. Tuesday after Purim. Not sure what I am doing for that either but I will have someone say Kaddish and maybe we will sponsor something at shul or give Tzedaka. There are "things" to do in Judaism to help deal with the loss. I don't know if it is really dealing with the loss anymore. More like keeping his memory alive. Or just remembering in general.

But I don't want to treat tomorrow like it is just another day. Because it's not. It's the day my life changed. My world came crashing down. That sounds dramatic. But it's true.
There have been many days in the past 10 years that I wondered if I would ever be happy again. Truly happy. I haven't asked myself that question in a couple years though. I know the answer now. I am happy. I have an amazing husband and an incredible son and a new baby on the way. It's nice to be happy.

So what do I do with a day like tomorrow? I can't act like I did when I was younger. Just close up and not do anything. Sit around and be sad. Even though that's what I want to do. I want to take the day off. From everything.
But I have to get up with Jonah and cook for Shabbas, run some errands, get some work done, do laundry. Just another day. Maybe I will be on strike. For a day.

Well, maybe that's why I am blogging. This is an outlet for me. A place where I can just type my feelings. They don't have to make sense. But it's also a way to let other people know what's going on in my life.

The hardest part is losing the memories. I don't remember the things I used to. Every year I feel like I lose more. And I wonder - when Jonah is old enough to ask about my dad, will I have anything left to tell him? I don't have a lot of pictures. My dad was the photographer so he was always taking pics not being in them. We have very few of him. I've got a "box of memories". Random things I saved after he died. Things we found in his dresser drawer. He used to take the change that would accumulate in his pocket and put it in a little glass bowl. I have the change from that bowl. I imagine him emptying out his pocket for the last time before he ended up in the hospital. He lived for another month after that stay in the hospital. But he certainly never emptied out any more change from his pockets. I have some old eyeglasses of his. And an old drivers license. I think I may have his wallet. Just miscellaneous stuff. But that's tangible.
Memories aren't tangible. And it's hard to hold on to them. The strongest memories I have are from when he was sick. And when he died. Maybe because those are the most recent. Or maybe because those are the ones I consciously held on to. I knew that I wouldn't have him around much longer. So I had to engrave those memories into my head.

I don't think I will ever lose the memory of when he told us The News. The final news. It's not the actual memory that I remember so well. But it's my thoughts I had at the time. I don't think I will forget what I was thinking.
My brother and I were in his hospital room. My brother was sitting on a chair and I was sitting on the ledge near the window. My dad called that room his "winter chalet" because the view was of some woods and they were all covered in a beautiful snow. I even remember I was sitting on the vent because it kept blowing air. But it was cool air because I kept pressing my hand against the vent and then against my face. My face felt like it was burning up.
I don't remember the exact words he used. Isn't that weird? The worst thing I had ever heard in my life and I don't remember the words.
He told us that the doctors didn't give him much time left. That there was nothing more they could do. The cancer was spreading. It had spread to his liver and eventually his liver will just shut down. And so will he.

I remember that we were interrupted by a nurse. She came in to see how my father was feeling. He told her he was doing better and he thinks he was just sick before as an emotional reaction to the news. I remember thinking that was strange. My dad getting sick. Of course, he is sitting there with cancer but I thought it was strange because he was so calm in telling us. It was weird thinking of him getting emotional when we weren't there.
But what other reaction would someone have when hearing they will die.
She left and he kept talking to us. But there wasn't much to say.
I remember sitting there, looking out the window. With the tears running down my face. I didn't know what to say. Part of me just wanted to curl up next to him and cry. Just hold onto him and never ever let him go. But I didn't. I remember that I wanted my brother to talk to him and work things out. Sometimes they had a rocky relationship and I just wanted everything to be ok.
I think I saw that he was crying. And that struck me also. It made it more real to me. If Adrian is crying, it has to be true.
And I remember thinking it's not fair. It's not fair that my dad has to sit there and tell his children that he is going to die. That is WRONG!! How does a person do that? How do you find the strength?
It's just wrong. It's not fair.
After we left the room, I think he was going to tell my mom or maybe someone else. My aunt? We were in the waiting room. And a rabbi from my elementary school came by to visit. I felt bad. He had no idea that it wasn't a good time. I don't even remember what we said. I was just numb. He left his business card (he is also a moyel) and said to call if/when we need anything. It was a nice gesture but I remember thinking - how can he just go about his regular life when my dad is lying there dying???
That was a common thought throughout the experiance. How does the world go on? Don't they know what's happening???????

That's enough for now...........
Sorry no upbeat messages this year.
Not tonight at least.

But it's ok to be sad. It's healthy to be sad.

I'm sad.

Stand Up to Ahmadinejad

Watch this 2 Minute Film from Aish and then sign the petition.
Pass it on!!

http://www.aish.com/Iran/HR/

Savings Bond

I just found a US Savings Bond from 1991. What am I supposed to do with it?
I assume I am supposed to take it to the bank but is there any chance I will get any extra money from it because it's so old?

Aches and Pains

BEWARE!! WARNING!!! This blog contains many many complaints!!!!

Is it pregnancy or old age (haha) that is making my body fall apart?
From the top of my head to the soles of my feet- I think I am having a rough week.

Last night I had a terrible headache for the first time since I got pregnant. I took 1 and 3/4 Tylenol because that is all that was left in the bottle.

I have a nasty eye infection that makes my left eye BRIGHT scary red and when I sleep it sticks together. Ew.
Don't worry I saw an excellent eye doctor. He gave me drops and told me to take out my contacts. So on top of everything else I have to wear my glasses. Boo. They make my eyes tired. Maybe that's where the headache came from

I'm fighting something. I don't know if it is a cold or sore throat or what but it's taking ALL of my little remaining strength from me and I am completly worn out.

I can't get comfortable when I sleep because the baby is getting so big. So when I sleep on either side - which is the position I am supposed to sleep in when pregnant - I feel like I am smushing the baby. I think it is still sideways. When does it turn head down????

And I have a weird yucky thing on my left foot and toe. It's been there for awhile and I thought it was a callous but now it actually hurts when I walk. I don't know if it is something worth going to the foot doctor for because I feel like it can probably be cured with an over the counter thing. Maybe I should know what it is.
I'm thinking of asking my OB if he knows what it is or if I should go to the foot doctor about it when I go next week. I like to treat my OB as an all around general practitioner. :)

And those are my complaints. All in all, not terrible by themselves but heaped together - they got to me. Thanks for listening to (reading) my whining. I'll be fine soon.

Wish me luck at work today. BLAH!!!!!!!! Maybe they will send me home because the customers will complain about the lady with the gross red eye.
Also, there is supposed to be a BIG snowstorm coming this afternoon. So I will have to attempt to drive through it wearing my glasses. AH!

Purim

I need a good idea for a Purim Costume - preferably one that incorporates my will be 8 month pregnant belly!!!!!!
If I can, I would love to do a theme with Shu and Jonah.
Any ideas?
Also looking for a theme for Shaloch Manot.

I'm drawing a blank............

The Hulkster

Hulk Hogan learns about Kosher from his new Jewish Neighbors.
This is a clip from Hulk Hogan's reality show on VH1.
Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv1AJ53WfFc

Haha!

The Name Game

What is a Hebrew name that means "Youthful"?

Thanks!

Happy Pregnancy to Me!

I am 30 weeks today!!!

WOAH!!!

That means 10 to go.....................I"YH. B"IH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Cool Video

My friend sent me a link to this cool video. Reminds me of England. :)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xf9oo_jerome-murat

Enjoy!

Where Did It Go?

Just wanted to let those of you who may be wondering where my LOOOONG Blog went that yes, I deleted it.
It served it's purpose and the situation is resolved.
I'm not even sure who still reads my blog so many of you may not know what I am talking about but for those of you who DID read it and especially the ones who commented to try and help me out (wow, Adrian, I was impressed - good to get a comment from you!!) This was the resolution to the drama!

I sent a LOOOOOOONG e-mail to the lady basically stating my case and going through some points from our e-mails over the past month. I told her at which points I thought she had ducked out of the deal and at which points I wanted to get OUT of the situation.
That night she sent me a very apologetic e-mail for the whole mess.
In the end there was a little more craziness. She was supposed to come pick up the things but their van wouldn't start yada yada. But I gave her another chance and this morning she finally came and picked up the 4 items for the original agreed upon price.
Phew, I'm glad that's over!!!!!