I'm on Dreamwidth as Albreda, and will be using it primarily as a backup for my LJ, since this is the closest thing E has to a babybook. :/

Well, all the same people have died, and all the same problems/to-do lists still exist, but thanks to the *eleven* people who answered my plea for good/joyful news, and a trip to the mall last night, sans kids, I'm in a MUCH better headspace about it all today.

Thank you!!

I'm having a rotten week, and it seems like every one I know is too, and here it is, only Tuesday. :/

Anyone got any GOOD news to share? See something pretty lately? Laugh at something funny?

If so, pretty please, could you pass it along? My psyche could really use the break today...

Thanks to Dulcinbradbury, I *have to* send you off to listen to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Its from Britain's American Idol ('Britain's got Talent'), and the whole audience starts off laughing at this cheeky 47 year old, and then - woah - I think was started crying *literally* about three seconds into her performance.

She needs a hair and makeup stylist, sure, but her dress was lovely; this lady is concert tour bound, or else every recording exec in the UK has their heads up their butts.

I'd like to think that MOST folks get talent that big noticed LONG before age 47, but apparently not all. Not that I have any hidden talents, mind, but Oi - what a thought, eh? I can't decide if this woman *finally* getting her moment is tragic or triumphant, but it sure makes me happy to see her shining now!

Go Susan Boyle!!!!

Lady Alheydis von Riga (aka Eydis, which I have in the past mispelled 'Aydis'), of Stonemarche and the Priory of St Colin, is the new Queen's A&S Champion!!!  Wahoo!!!

She did a *spifftacular* job of creating a Bayeux-esque embroidery based on a photo of her husband and friends in their full 14th Cent kit.  I didn't know that she more than dabbled when she showed it to me a few weeks ago, and I'm not surprised *in the least* that she did well at Mudthaw with it.

Vivat!  :)

I'm going to help raise awareness of the impacts of typical energy consumption by turning off all of our nonessential lights for one hour tonight, from 8:30 - 9:30 PM.  This is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, and cities all over the world do it ever year, and photos of this year's rolling blackout over all of Asia and Europe are already appearing on line. 

Join me?

Can *aperfectdot* please contact me at AlbredaA@aol.com or fix your privacy settings so I can actually respond to your message?  Thanks!

D, who turns three in a few weeks, just came up to me with the book "There was an old lady", which I just finished reading to her about five minutes ago, and asked "will you teach me how to read?"

She's been learning which lowercase letters go with which capital letters over the last few weeks, and comes up to me with books in her hand saying 'I don't know the right words', but this is the first time she has asked for help in learning how to read the words herself.

Many, many moments I've had as a parent have made me happy and proud for my children, but I think this one tops even their taking their first steps in terms of how I'm watching the world open up for my children. 

Wow.

I called my dear friend Paley Anderson yesterday to see if she had any resources to offer for a friend whose horses might be in need of some temporary shelter, and she told me of the folks at Spring Hill Horse Rescue, in/near Brandon, VT.  Apparently their major work is with what are called 'Premarin Foals and Mares.'

Did you know that Premarin, the hormone replacement therapy, is made from PREgnant MAre urINe?  For the 9 million women on the drug in the US right now, 60,000 mares are impregnated and kept in little enclosures 24/7 so their pee can be collected via attached tubing.  Most of the 60,000 resulting foals are sold for meat a year after birth, but the folks at Spring Hill go to Canada (this practice is illegal in the US) to rescue foals and bring them back to the US where they get adopted.

There are apparently lots of *synthetic* hormone replacements that can be prescribed, but I guess folks just don't know where their Premarin is coming from, so they keep taking it instead.

Spread the word, folks - this is just abhorent.  For more information, please see the info on the Spring Hill Horse Rescue site, at http://www.springhillrescue.com/pmu.html

ETA: Premarin is prescribed for women who have had hystrerectomies, and PremPro for women who still have their uteri, but are having trouble with menopausal symptoms.  Wyeth Pharmaceuticals imports the urine from pregnant mares from Canada to make both drugs.  Treating horses in this way for this purpose is illegal in the United States. 

There is apparently a nation-wide shutdown on Oxycodone distribution right now, and my local pharmacies each report that they don't expect to get any more in for at *least* a month.  With that being the case, other narcotics are likely to be picking up the slack, so pharmacies will likely be running out of them soon too.  Just a heads up; being stuck without meds is NOT something I wish on anyone!

I really don't know WHY Disney has repackaged today as 'Valentines and Friends Day', because, since I love my friends, I have no problem giving them happy Valentines wishes anyway, but, well, since they have made a *point* of including friends in the occaision, I will too...

I have been on LJ for about a year now, and the social isolation I experienced being home with my girls when they were babies is a thing of the past - I am not only chatting with friends on a daily basis here, but I'm actually *keeping up with your lives* (which is just a wonder), and I can feel I'm telling you all about mine, but in a way that I know I'm not boring you to tears, since you can always just scan/skip the parent/family/A&S 50/angsty stuff if you want to do so! 

Talking on the phone is sketchy with little kids at home (crying in the background or having other must-deal-with-right-now crises, kids tugging on my sleeves, trying to avoid having the phone ring at naptime, etc), and, while my cup runneth over with wonderful friends, most of them tend to be (with a few notable exceptions) just not the sorts of friends I chat on the phone with, or at least not more often than once every couple of months.  Being able to have in depth, interesting conversations with folks I care about (not to mention the spiffy NEW folks I have met here, and you know who you are, and are just too numerous to name anyway), is just a SAHM's best thing EVER. 

So, Happy Valentine's and Friends' Day, folks, and thanks for helping me stay sane; I love you!  <3

feedproxy.google.com/~r/parenthacks/~3/1XMzp30XYQA/amazon-the-princess-bride-20th-anniversary-dvd-for-499.html

Princess Bride for $4.99 on DVD, folks.  If you don't have it yet, and are on my Flist, you either live in a cave or obviously don't have a TV.  Ergo, RUN, don't walk, to get a copy.  FMT (Funny Movie Therapy) is a critical part of my pain and stress management plan, and just *quoting* from this sucker works better than narcotics.

Favorite move EVAH!!  If you ever wonder how good a script needs to be to get sold, the answer is *total drek* - I have a preproduction script of this one (the glories of living near Harvard Sq during high school), and NONE of the jokes are in it.  Seriously - none!

Anyone happen to know what the laws about either public breastfeeding or carseats in the UK?  I can find info on what the laws may have been changed to, but not if those laws actually went into effect, or what they may currently BE. 

For info's sake, I'd be nursing my not-quite one year old, and would be dealing with carseats for him, and two three year olds, both under 35 lbs.  Thank you!

EDIT: Found stuff on car seat law - using a registered hired car, NONE of my kids needs a car seat by law.  Frightening, but true.  (I'd feel ABSURDLY nervous having the girls in just seat belts, but no amount of valium on the planet could make me hold E in my arms on the M4 - sorry!)

If anyone has posted anything critical in the last few days, or does so in the next few, please don't be surprised if it doesn't make it past my headcold and into my brain.  The kids are all better (slight cold/fever for D and E), but I'm pretty screwed up (I know - no kidding, right?).

Enjoy - and avoid this cold if you can!

1) http://www.coolmompicks.com/2009/01/breaking_news_-_cpsia_delayed.php  That lead testing law that was supposed to go into effect next week has been delayed for one whole year, while they look at how to make it not screw over the little handcrafter.  Hurray!

2) Courtesy of Asim, and lots of futuristic fun; try the Star Trek story generator!  Link to Asim's story:  http://asim.livejournal.com/381555.html?#cutid1  EDIT: So it isn't Asim's story, but still...

3) Courtesy of Estela, and likewise full of fun, but of a Norman nature, and with little pictures and stuff to move around!  Wahoo!  Try the Bayeaux Tapestry Story Creator!  http://www.adgame-wonderland.de/type/bayeux.php

The relations cancelled (as I thought they might), so it looks like we have Saturday!  My mother has agreed to take care of the girls on Saturday, so I don't know if we'll *all* still come on Friday or not, but O, E and I will be at Birka on Saturday!  :)

O will be fighting, and I'll be socializing and shopping, and I'd LOVE to actually MEET folks, so if anyone might be willing to introduce me around a bit, especailly to folks from outside the Northern Region, I'd be very grateful.  :)

Hi folks - can I pick your brains a minute?

Fact #1: An elderly relative is visiting my parents in Boston next weekend, and it would be nice to get to see her. 

Fact #2: O and I decided NOT to try Birka originally, since he'd want to fight, and I'd have at least E to myself all day, (IF the girls could stay at my parents, which is a big IF) which would be hard on my back, with no where to really put him down, other than an umbrella stroller. 

Fact #3: It has been well over a decade since the last time I went to Birka; it was NOT in a hotel last time, if that is any indication.  Thus, I have very little concept of how to deal with kids there at this point.

Thought: We are now contemplating that O can go to Birka on Saturday, so he can hit things, and I and the kids will stay at my parents' and see said relative.  That sounds great for O, and for family harmony, but no Birka for Albreda = envious Albreda.

So....

What can you all suggest about the following concept?  We ALL go to Birka Friday night (and ideally be there when it opens), and then leave for my parents' when the merchants close at 9 PM, then O goes back to fight on Saturday.  (There is also the VERY slim possibility that said relative would not be able to come at the last minute, and that the girls COULD stay with my Mom on Sat, so E and I *might* be able to come back up on Saturday, but, honestly, Birka will still be there next year, and this will very likely be the last time I see this person unless one of my parents dies before she does, which, well, I hope isn't the case.)

We didn't pre-reg, since this just came up; would the lines on Friday night be crazy long and prohibit making this worthwhile? 

Would taking two toddlers and a baby AT ALL when folks are just setting up be a disaster in the making?  I could have E on my chest, and the kids in a wagon, unless that would be worse, in terms of foot traffic??

Other thoughts, suggestions, etc, would be most welcome!  I'm even making this post public, so if others with more experience with little kids at Birka want to chime in, they can.  Thank you!!!

Given that there are over a half dozen folks interested in joining me for some mutual support in getting our lives together, Hugh suggested that I start an LJ group for this, so we can be - gasp - more organized about it!  So -

http://community.livejournal.com/partnersinclean/profile

Ta Da!

Members only everything, so we can air our dirty laundry, dishes, etc, with impunity. 

See you there!
AA

51286 words finished and submitted, with over 12 thousand of them written in the last fourteen hours.  >:D

EDIT:  O finished his too, at around 11:30 PM, having written 19 thousand in just that one day.  Oi.

1. It is snowing for the first time this winter. The girls are ecstatic.

2. D just came up to me, pointed at my head and said "You're having a bad hair day." Thanks, but no thanks, Imagination Movers. :/

3. Just had, or rather didn't have, one of the worst night's sleep in months. E has taken to rolling away from me *without letting go first.* ow ow ow The monsters that my softy husband O has created are also coming home to roost - and keep us up all night; R&D both spent most of the night begging for more milk! Intermittant reinforcement, anyone? Sheesh!

4. I am enormously vexed that the cord for my sewing machine seems to have vanished in the room shuffle. How am I supposed to make Christmas presents now? (Not that I have time, but I certainly don't have money either, so yikes!)

5. WILL break 30000 words on my NaNovel today. Am at 27K+ right now.

6. Go read Vairavi's persona diary for KnoWoPerWriMo. WOW.