Lassen National Park Trip 2024

The second major outdoor trip of the summer was to Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. As with the prior trip, the camping reservations for this trip were made 6 months prior. 

This was a location that M1 and I had driven past on our return drive during our epic 2022 adventures, but he didn't feel up to stopping at that time. Given that it's about 6 hours from our home and my local cousin suggested we take a joint trip to potentially see distant family in the Mt Shasta area, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine the two destinations, while also trialing M2 on her first non-infancy roadtrip. 

The good news is that in general M2 did great on this trip and it gives me high hopes for potential opportunities in the coming years. 

Day 1: The kids and I drove from our home to Manzanita Lake Campground, where we stayed for two nights with my cousin and her daughter. We stopped at the Riverfront Park in Grants Pass for lunch and play time (playground, water play, river access, shaded areas), which was a great location on a hot day. I haven't spent a ton of time in Grants Pass and from what I saw, I'm hoping to go back to check out more (including the jet boat tours with M1). 

We arrived to the campsite during the late afternoon and were able to get our tent set up and mostly settled in before dinner. I have to say that I quickly realized that tent camping with a toddler AND a 7 year old is a whole other can of worms and not something I'd truly want to do solo. 

Soon after dinner, M2 decided to head out for the nearby lake, which was her longest "hike" to date, but it was great to see her exploring and for M1 and I to check out the lake too. 

It didn't take long for me to realize that this was not my favorite campsite. Each site is fairly stacked on top of each other with no real vegetation separating campers from their neighbors. As can also be the case, we happened to have a group (in a non group site) that didn't respect quiet hours, so getting the kids (and ourselves) to bed was a bit of a challenge. There are a couple of other camping options in this particular park, but the only other site I saw (Summit Lake) seemed to be pretty similar in design. We were at least fortunate that our site backed up to the campground boundary, which meant no one was behind us and it provided ample space for the kids to play (and with other campers too).

Day 2: One of the perks of Lassen Volcanic National Park is that it's not as busy as many of the other national parks, as it's a bit lesser known. We didn't really have to handle large crowds anywhere while we were out exploring. But I would also note that there was no cell reception within the park.

I'd had high hopes to get our crew out on a hike on Day 2, but for a variety of reasons that didn't happen. (Chaos Crags seemed like the best option and the trailhead was located nearby.) In the morning we explored the Loomis Museum, which had some neat opportunities to learn about the volcanic blast that occurred and the animals that live here, while also getting Junior Ranger packets for the kids. We decided to pack the 5 of us into one vehicle and drive most of the road through the park. We made a couple of stops along the way, but unfortunately the Bumpass Hell trail was still closed due to snow, so we didn't get to see one of the major draws to the park. We did explore both the Devastated Area and the Kings Creek Meadow Area. The kids had a blast playing on the remaining snow at the Kings Creek Meadow Area and I also caught a few frogs for the kids to check out. In hindsight, we should have driven on to the Sulphur Works Area as well....

In the afternoon, the kids played in Manzanita Lake, while M2 napped and then we headed back to the campsite. M1 had his bike and his cousin had her scooter and they had a great time spending the evening riding around the campground and playing with other kids. 

Day 3: On our final morning, after mostly breaking camp, I took M2 on the almost 2 mile hike around Manzanita hike. There were some gorgeous views of the mountain, a really neat trail section of ash, and loads of wildlife (various ducks with ducklings, a deer and two fawn, and ground squirrels). M1 and his cousin stayed back to continue to play with the campground kids. 

Once we got back to the campsite, we finished loading up and then headed out on the 1.5 hour drive to the Mt Shasta area, where we were staying for the night. While there were several stops I'd thought about making along the way (Burney Falls, Subway Caves, other hiking), it was hot, M2 ended up napping, and so we ended up driving straight through. 

We did a quick drive thru Mt Shasta and spent an hour at the Mt Shasta City Park, before deciding to head to our reservation for the night. If you're traveling in the area, I'd highly recommend a night or two at Cave Springs Resort in Dunsmuir (especially post camping). We'd rented one of their 2 bedroom renovated cabins (they also have 100 year old vintage cabins, hotel rooms, AND airstreams available to rent). While the town of Dunsmuir wasn't a place I'd really go to vacation, Cave Springs and the take out pizza were both great! We all thoroughly enjoyed having a hot shower, eating pizza on the deck, attempting to swim in the (cold) pool, board games and AC in the cabin, and the communal lawn games, swing set, and zip line for the kids. 

Day 4: On our way out of town, I really wanted to check out Hedge Creek Falls since it was RIGHT there next to the onramp to the interstate, but given the lack of AC in my car and the projected super hot day, the kids and I headed out of town early to try to beat the heat en route to home. We made our halfway stop at Millsite Park in Myrtle Creek, OR and I was again pleasantly surprised: a covered playground, loads of green fields to run in, an old covered bridge to explore, pretty decent bathrooms, and a path for M1 to bike around. While I wouldn't usually have planned on stopping here, it turned out to be a really great "pit stop" on our return trip... and got enough of our wiggles out to get us back home in one piece. :) 

This trip had a lot of "oh my gosh" moments that I didn't include here and there's plenty that we didn't see that would have been really great add-ons for our time there. Mt Shasta reminded me a lot of Flagstaff (a few things to do in town but mostly lots of outdoor adventure opportunities). While the town didn't overly appeal to me, I could definitely see myself going back to the general area to explore a few more of those outdoor opportunities that we didn't hit on this trip. 

The other big irony of this trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park is that it dawned on me that I've yet to even check out Mount St. Helens... so it's now added to the list for next year. :)

For other suggestions on Lassen National Park and/or the Mt Shasta area, look here, here and here. 

Olympic National Park Trip 2024

To start the summer of 2024 off, M1 and I made a 4 night, 5 day trip to the Olympic Peninsula to explore Olympic National Park. This was our second time here together, as we made our maiden trip in 2019 when M1 was 2. 
As things book out so early these days, the reservations for this trip were made 6 months in advance, once the slots became available in the reservation system.

Our general itinerary was the following:

Day 1: We drove to the peninsula (with a quick stop in Portland to visit friends) and spent the night with an old friend of mine who lives on a tiny lake near Bremerton. M1 had a blast riding in a motor boat around the lake, taking a kayak out solo for the first time, learning a different technique of how to start a fire (the log cabin method), and he also finally caught his first fish! Definitely a fun stop and it was really wonderful to see my friend and his wife after so many years. Their life at their lake house is a dream. :) 

Day 2: We left their house after a late breakfast (and a kayak across the lake) and headed for Kalaloch campground. As we got near the campground, we stopped at the ranger station to get the Junior Ranger booklet and passport stamps. We learned about nurse trees and really enjoyed chatting with the older ranger who works there. After that, we got set up at our campsite; walked the beach, investigated the cool Tree of Life, gathered skipping rocks and skipped in the waves (4 was the most), and gathered colored rocks hidden amongst the bigger stones. After our chaurterie dinner at our campsite & brushing teeth, we walked back to the beach overlook to check out sunset & then ended our evening picking up nurdles & plastic trash from the beach, per M1's request.

In general, this campground was a great location close to the beach. There was some minor road noise and the sites were close together but with lots of vegetation between them, it wasn't that bad. We had a decent night of sleep. 

Day 3: After waking M1 up at 730, breakfasting and breaking camp, we drove an hour through the mist to the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center. We got to the entrance about 9am and it was already side parking only. During the summer months, getting to the entrance station by 9am is a must unless you want to wait for up to 1-2 hours later in the day. Upon arrival, we investigated the small visitor center and then hiked the Hoh trail to the first small waterfall (2.7-3m one way). The trail itself was really muddy but we had an entertaining time making it through and we also stopped to check out the river along the way (and found hundreds of tadpoles in a lil pond). After we made it back to the Visitor's Center, we refueled and then drove to our campsite at Fairholme to set up camp (1.5 hrs). 

After setting up camp, we decided to drive to Sol Doc Resort, where we ate dinner at the resort and then enjoyed the hot springs during the 6-730pm slot. While the hot springs were busy, it wasn't overwhelming and overall both M1 and I thought it was a great highlight to our trip. Sol Doc requires that you purchase a time slot, but reservations in advance weren't needed. They have showers on site and towels available for purchase. These are developed hot springs and there are 2 warm/hot pools, a warm baby wading pool, and then a cold plunge regular sized pool. Most the adults gravitated toward the warm/hot pools, while kids seemed to alternate between the warmer options and the cold plunge pool. 

We both slept really well that night! :)

Day 4: We were still at the Fairholme campground for another night, which is by far, one of the best developed campsites I've stayed in. I got to read and enjoy the hammock while M1 slept in and then we walked to the Fairholme store (just past the boat ramp) after breakfast. There are kayak rentals available (4 hrs at a time), but the water was too choppy on that side of the lake to kayak. The store attendant suggested checking out the Log Cabin Lodge on the other side of the lake, as it's a bit more protected and with smoother water typically. Rentals from the Lodge were a better deal at $20/hr (but it was a bit lame as while it was calmer, there are restricted areas). We kayaked for about 45 minutes in a tandem kayak and then we walked the Spruce Railroad Trail to Devils Punchbowl and thru the old railroad tunnel, which was about a 2-2.5m round trip. (The trail is about 4 miles one way and connects over to near the Fairholme campground--could be a great bike option for a round trip outing!)

On our way back to the Fairholme campground, we decided to stop and hike Marymere Falls. The trailhead here was definitely busier but this was an easy 1.5m round trip hike. We also checked out Lake Crescent Lodge as it was in the same area (which was super historic & cool with an incredible view of lake). 

Post hike 2, we made dinner back at camp & then checked out the campground by exploring the other camp site loops, walking the shoreline trail (near the walk-in tent sites) and visited with some fellow campers for awhile. 

The campground in general has hills but felt more natural than many campground settings with lots of trees and greenery and a bit more space than some campgrounds. Some of the walk-in sites were also right along the shore and could be cool options to experience.

Day 5, after breaking camp, we intended to hike Madison Falls off Elwha on the way back, but due to timing and construction, we ended up not stopping. We did stop at the main ONP Visitor Center in Port Angeles and M1 got his Junior Ranger badge there. We made a quick pit stop at Potlatch State Park before leaving the peninsula and making the long, hot drive back to Eugene (due to construction and holiday traffic).

Highlights of this particular trip: 

• Sol Duc Hot Springs

• Kalaloch beach, Tree of Life, and colored stones

• Kayaking Lake Crescent 

• Fairholme Campground

On prior ONP trips, I or we:

• Explored Ruby Beach

• Camped at Hoh Campground

• Camped at Sol Duc Campground

• Hiked Sol Duc Falls (& beyond) 

• Explored Hurricane Ridge (by far the best ONP visitor center)

• Relished the beauty of Port Townsend 

While this trip checked off most of my remaining ONP sites that I'd wanted to experience, I'd also love to come back at some point in the distant future and spend a kidless night or two in the Lake Crescent Lodge or lakefront cabins--definitely dreamy. :) And a side trip to Cape Flattery, the northwestern tip of the contiguous US, could be cool as well. 

A Minimalist Refocus for Our Life

Image from Pinterest.

So....I've always been one with a heart toward minimalism. Some of this derives from my environmental tendencies that is based on the belief that we don't need all.the.things that marketing tries to convince us to need. Some of this is based on the health outcomes of just living more simply, with less to muddle our minds, our houses, our bodies, our relationships etc. Some of this is based on the various reading and research I did in my early 20s regarding simpler and more natural living.

Yet, while I rarely have issues with downsizing my THINGS or simplifying ITEMS, anyone who knows me would probably report that I am consistently known for STRIVING toward MORE in my life via ACHIEVEMENT. This usually means day dreams, research, or planning about the type of house I'd like to eventually own, the next degree I'd like to obtain, the next stage my child will be in, the next trip I'd like us to take, and generally where I'd like life to be in the next 1-5 years. While this doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, as it means I'm constantly trying to push myself toward a better version of myself and I like to be moving life forward in some form..... it does become exhausting, it can be a waste of time, and it does usually lead toward some level of dissatisfaction with the present. When I'm consistently focusing on where I want life to be rather than where life is, then I'm not really being fully present, nor am I practicing gratitude for what I already have, nor am I fully trusting that the right doors will open as they should in the future. 

Dissatisfaction is one of my biggest personal struggles, even when I have so incredibly much to be grateful for in my life. I am incredibly privileged both within the US and from a global scale. I have more than enough food to eat, a loving home that we share with my parents, a large loving family and an incredible social network. We have numerous opportunities to spend quality time together, to engage in the hobbies we love, to appreciate the days we're growing old in. Yet how often have I found myself wishing we were back in our own home or living on property, or that I'd done x, y or z faster or sooner (even when I know the time wasn't right). Even though where we are RIGHT NOW is the absolute best setting for everyone. 

Thus when I saw the second to last line in this meme shared above (LET GO OF ATTACHMENT TO DOING, HAVING MORE) it truly hit home for me. My son and I, we have enough. We're quite content and while our current situation may not fit the norm of society, it's what's best for both of us RIGHT NOW. 

It also pushed me to truly reflect upon the life that I've lived and how much is left to live. Why am I striving when there might be so many years left to accomplish that which weighs on my heart? Why not trust that each of those doors will open in their own right time and location? Why not truly trust that we really are where we are to be for right now? 

Based on my family history, unless some fluke occurs or the world ends :), more than likely I'm just a few years into my second third or second fourth of my life. The first quarter was spent doing all the things I was "supposed to do" and yet even then I felt that I hadn't accomplished enough. I spent my 25th birthday feeling like I hadn't arrived to where I wanted to be, even though by 26 I had two masters degrees, had completed my undergrad in three years, and had traveled or lived in several countries. The next decade brought a failed and short marriage, much domestic and international travel, an immense amount of self-taught outdoor skills and experiences, intense self-awareness and growth, finding my professional niche, and the arrival of an adorable baby boy who seems to take after his always striving mother :) To say that there has been an overwhelming amount of life lived in this first 1/3ish of life, leaves me being okay with again trying to slow down and appreciate this middle third of life. 

With so much under my belt and so much left to live, it's truly time for me to embrace a new level of minimalism (and to set the example for my son) that while it's important to push yourself forward, it's equally important to BE PRESENT and FULLY ENJOY the journey. There (hopefully) is plenty of time to enjoy the items on the "to do" list that remain, and for now, it's most important to just delight in the journey, trusting that the doors we need for now will remain open, and enjoying the opportunity to appreciate these important years together. 

Minimalism....to a whole new level. :)

Graduation Letter to a Nephew

Dear Nephew,

Here you are on the cusp of a major life transition and it seems like just yesterday you were that fluff haired little boy. Over the last two years, it’s been especially wonderful to watch you start to come into a bit more of your own and I’m excited to watch the coming years unfold.

In the end you will make all your own decisions and as much as we can offer you wisdom and thoughts for along the way, you will create a life that is all your own. While I hope it’s a fairly smooth process, more than likely there will be lots of bumps along the way. So here’s a conglomeration of things I’ve learned along the way and/or wish to offer for you to think upon:

1)      When/if the shit hits the fan, you might be tempted to hate all of life for awhile and that’s okay. Let yourself be pissed, confused, sad….but also lay the steps to start moving yourself forward to less cloudy days. Eventually the sun always shines again and even when we don’t know where the hell He is….He’s usually pulling for us and trying to get us back on a path toward Him.

2)      LIVE. And I mean really do it. Talk to people who are different from you, try new things (minus drugs….DON’T do drugs J), challenge yourself, learn something outside of your box, TRAVEL. Your 20s are all about figuring out who you really are (a process you’ll repeat over and over throughout life) so allow yourself the opportunities to do so. Which leads me to….

3)      Take the time to question your beliefs and who you are. Are they yours or the beliefs of society, your parents, your schooling etc? Evaluate what you really believe and why. Be able to back up why you believe a certain way. Use this process to create your value system and use that value system as your foundation from which you operate and make future decisions. Know yourself and what you stand upon. Be aware of both your strengths and weaknesses. Edit and alter as needed throughout life.

4)      Pick a career that you’re passionate about and that will meet your basic financial needs. Be open to the idea that you might change careers multiple times during your life and allow yourself the space to do so if you feel called to make the change. Excess money doesn’t breed happiness, debt doesn’t breed happiness, so make smart financial choices. If you choose to go to grad school…..wait until you really know what you want to do—it’s a big financial endeavor.

5)      Get an education but always remember that education comes from more than just book learning. Life is a process of constantly learning.

6)      Set goals….and achieve them. It’s important to lay out a plan, but also recognize that the best made plans are made in pencil. Sometimes life alters our plans and that’s okay, but still make sure you accomplish goals in some form. A plan heads us in a direction even if the accomplished end point is different than our intention.

7)      Make time to travel. Take road trips, buy the plane tickets, visit the off the beaten path towns, take the time to see something new each year even if it’s just 50 miles away. Be a local not a tourist, but sometimes be a tourist in your own town. So often we live places without truly appreciating and experiencing them.

8)      Pick up new hobbies throughout your life. Engage your mind in new pursuits and creativity. Don’t be afraid to try something new, even at 90.

9)      Don’t be afraid to discard things that no longer serve you but hold on to a few really good things for the long haul. Friendships change and end and sometimes come back around again.

10)   Pick a partner who compliments you and who operates from your same value system. Recognize that you both with change over time. Always keep your word and remember that actions speak louder than actual words. Communicate, allow for separate interests, and yet make sure that you cherish and respect each other.

11)   Be mindful of health. Your health is one of your greatest gifts. Cherish your individual health, the collective health of society, the health of the planet. But also remember that sometimes you just need to drink the milkshake and eat the bacon burger.

12)   Be a steward. GIVE to others without expecting. Take care of your environments and take care of people near and far. How you treat the people and world around you speaks more than anything else.

13)   Always pack an extra change of clothes/shoes, valid ID, a credit card, a snack, cash, and condoms. Carry these in your car & make sure they’re always in your luggage.

14)   Grant grace—to yourself and others. We are all flawed. We all fail. We all make mistakes. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Learn from seemingly negative experiences and turn bitter into sweet.

15)   Be self-sufficient and independent. Learn how to do things on your own and develop a skill-set to be able to do a variety of regular tasks. But also don’t be afraid to ask for help or assistance. There will be seasons in your life of independence and seasons of dependence. Be able to exist in either one.

I’m proud of you. I love you. Congrats on this closing chapter and here’s to the one to come!

Much love,

Aunt Liz

Minimalist Baby? Greener Healthier Baby Care? Is it Possible?

One of the most overwhelming things about sharing with others that you're pregnant is all.the.stuff. Babies are a marketing dream and industry has done a phenomenal job of developing all sorts of items to make us think that we need them. Don't get me wrong, there are MANY helpful items these days, but I like the idea of a more minimalist approach to child rearing. (Trying getting grandparents on board with that one however!).

Since I'm also a huge environmental and personal health advocate, I like to really think about and research the products that I use or bring into the house. While so much of having a child has been about compromise, I've had to let some of my desires go....but generally speaking there is still a lot that I've been able to adhere to. Case in point on compromise: I'm not a fan of plastic. If I had my way, Max would have had limited exposure to plastic from the get go. There are so many great wood, metal and cloth toys available....but alas I've had to concede and he currently plays with way more plastic than I ever would have desired or imagined. Since plastic is so prevalent, much of his current foods-to-go also come in plastic/aluminum wrappers and most the personal care product containers are also plastic.

Some of the things I've made sure to maintain however are his PERSONAL CARE ITEMS: I researched all of the items we might need through Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database (Babies & Moms tab) and ordered the ones that scored the best in the categories of diaper rash cream, lotion, and body wash. While I still prefer the original body wash from Baby Mantra, I ended up switching to Burt's Bees Baby Lotion & Diaper Cream due to the fact that they scored fairly well and coated much better than the other items I'd tried. The lotion also does a fairly decent job with his eczema flares from food sensitivities. I use the Baby Mantra wash as both body wash and shampoo, and we tend to wash Max's hair every other night rather than nightly. We also nightly apply Burt's Bees powder in Max's armpits, as he developed a rash from sweating initially.

FEEDING: Breastfeeding started out well and that hand pump pictured (great loaner from a coworker) was a lifesaver for traveling for work (airport travel especially). It took longer of course, but was easy to clean and throw in a travel bag. I did use two Medela pumps: one at work and one at home and eventually figured out I could just pump into his glass baby bottles or into mason jars so I was able to reduce the plastic pumping pieces. Due to Max's food sensitivities and issues with having enough freedom to pump regularly at work, I also supplemented with formula once I was back at work. After a long spell with soy and another failed 6-8 attempts with other specialized sensitive formulas, we ended up with Kabrita goat's milk formula. Truthfully he did better on that goat's milk formula than he did on any other option, including my breast milk (even with all the foods I removed from my diet). Even though it's beyond the guidelines, at just over a year old, he's still drinking goats milk formula out of bottles....which leads me to....

BOTTLES: The Life Factory glass baby bottles have been truly wonderful. I read up on several different types of bottles and plastic alternative options. I went with the Life Factory ones for a couple reasons. First, I have one of the ones for adults and while it's not my go-to, I have been really impressed with it. I wanted glass over the stainless steel options as I wanted to see the contents in the bottle (although Max now has his own baby Klean Kanteen). The other thing that I LOVE is that with the trade of lids, the bottles transition to sippy cups or regular drinking bottles. They can also be used as snack containers and we now use his little ones for snacks in the car. Overall the Life Factory ones seemed to make the most sense to transition us from infant to baby to toddler without needing to purchase anything separate---minimalism at it's finest! The one thing I will say is that the reviews are accurate in that the bottle is too heavy for Max to hold it himself, which means that we always cuddle up for bottle time which I don't mind at all. Also, two little bottles and three big bottles would be about right for one child. I ended up with SIX big bottles which is way too many. Two size 1 nipples and 2-4 size 2, and two sippy lids.

FOODS: I'll review later in another post I imagine. I had such hopes here and was so saddened by the amount of food sensitivites he seemed to demonstrate. He's always loved to eat and because he showed the signs of being ready, I allowed him to eat some basic homemade purees made from organic food items starting at about 4 months. (Note: my parents advocated for me to add rice cereal as was standard in their general, but the research is showing that the baby's stomach isn't quite able to break down the rice at young ages.)  Due to his sensitivites, he regularly ate purees but we pretty much had to keep him to the same "safe" food items for several months. He ate mainly homemade baby food and table shares until about 8 months. When we hike, he loves the organic baby food pouches and snack bars, but at home generally refuses pureed food at this point and prefers simple table items (banana, pear slices, peas, blueberries, sausage, sweet potato, shredded chicken, etc that he feeds himself). For a baby/toddler, this kid eats a lot.....

DIAPERS: What goes in, must come out and one of the biggest environmental concerns regarding kids is the amount of long-term waste that occurs due to disposal diapers (not to mention the chemicals frequently in those diapers that are soaked in liquid and held against sensitive baby skin). For those reasons, I knew that I wanted to cloth diaper Max if he did okay with it. Due to the fact that I was returning to work and didn't want the stress/additional work of washing diapers, I decided to use a diaper service and had every intention of using it through at least the first year. We went with Tidee Didee Diaper Service, who is eco-friendly in their approach, didn't require any pre-rinse (literally just throw them in the bag, poo and all), and had a registry option available. If we had continued on a regular schedule and location then I definitely would have continued utilizing their service and with the registry, I had the first six months of service covered. Because we were splitting our time between family and my home, it eventually was easier to just purchase our own used inserts and do the washing ourselves. (After trying many options, I prefer the old school cotton tri-folds. They also give Max room to grow and can be folded down in front which is especially great for little boys.) While home washing is not always the most glamorous, it makes my environmental heart feel a little bit better. The whole process of figuring out and deciding on diaper covers took a lot of research and trial and error actually. In the end, I loved and preferred Thirsties Hook & Loop (ie velcro....I'm not a fan of any snaps). We tend to have 4-5 covers for the size he's in. The disposables that you see pictured are Naty Diapers and we use their wipes also. Naty Diapers were developed in Europe (which has better health and environmental standards) and are supposedly compostable ie they break down much faster than the plastic counterparts. Price wise they're fairly comparable, are easily ordered in bulk online, and they contain less chemicals than mainstream versions. We use Naty diapers when traveling or doing outdoor activities. (When traveling I order online the diapers, wipes, and formula and have it delivered directly to our destination....MUCH less to pack and that much easier.)

MEDICATIONS: True to form, I'd prefer a more holistic approach to Max's health, although I compromise on that as needed as well. We did use a prescription to reduce the reflux as he was so miserable from it for a period, but true to form it only took a month for tolerance to develop and it no longer worked that well. That colic was no joke and I read up and tried many a potential treatment. We tried gripe water, I tried regular homeopathics I had to mix and dilute, I tried herbal teas, I tried infant massage, we always had a relaxing bedtime ritual, I cut out all.the.foods, I tried acupressure, we tried a lot. The only thing we found to work for Max was Hyland's Homeopathic Gas Drops. It didn't get rid of the screaming periods by any means, but it did shorten the duration down to 1.5-2 hours. (While they worked for us and our situation, they didn't work for a fellow mama with a colicky baby...) Even after the colic subsided the Gas Drops were lifesavers as they ease his stomach discomforts. I cannot tell you how many boxes of Gas Drops we have gone through, but they've been worth every penny. We have also used Hyland's Cold & Mucus for the few colds he's had. I also regularly use Honest's Breathe Easy Chest Rub when he's congested and a humidifier in the room. Almost nightly, I also rub an infant friendly modified version of Doterra's essential oils FLOOM combination to peak his immune system. (My sister is a distributor and mixes it as FLOM; for my own health I daily pop an OnGuard and it does wonders!!!) For teething, he wears a Baltic Essentials amber necklace (we had to replace the first one because it stretched and he could get it in his mouth) and I rub a local homeopathic teething rub on his gums. We also use dyefree Advil....a LOT--much more than I want to admit but it seems to be one of the only things that regularly works to get him physically relaxed enough to fall asleep. The dyefree is a must for me due to many of the students that show the potential harmful effects of food dyes on kids.

While I lost the battle on plastic free toys, I'm at least glad that many of the other areas of importance to me were adhered to. (And at the very least, I kept plastic out of his tub for at least six months, including no plastic baby tub nor did we use a PVC "rubber" ducky.) Additionally many of his clothes, toys, and books are hand-me-down or thrifted items, further decreasing the amount of new consumption and in the case of used clothes & linens also decreasing his chemical exposures. They're only little for so short a period of time that it just makes the most sense to me to use less overall and to try to keep their overall chemical exposures to a minimum during this important time of development and growth. We were very fortunate to buy thrifted baby furniture or restore some of my own childhood pieces. I also received several great hand-me-down items from friends (shared about in a much older post), including a baby swing, still good car seats, a simple style hiking pack, wraps, a changing table, bouncers, etc. All of these items were either returned or passed on to others once Max either outgrew it or it was apparent that he wouldn't use them. To further try to increase minimalism, I also monthly go through his clothes, toys, and books and rehome what we no longer need.

What are your thoughts? In what ways have you tried to implement "greener" approaches to raising a baby? Are there other suggestions you have?

A Year Later

The best of intentions. That statement alone could summarize my life as a hit or miss blogger, but that's also part of being authentic.

Motherhood has been a bit of a rough transition for me, for us. Yes there have been LOTS of incredible moments along the way of this first year (many of which I plan to post about here), but there were also so many moments of frustration, exhaustion, and worry. We, my son and I, are so incredibly fortunate to be blessed with my parents, who took the majority of this first year of my son's life to fully support (and in some cases even live) with us.

Now don't get me wrong...I didn't expect that becoming a single parent would be a cake walk. By no means did I have that expectation. But what I didn't expect at all, fully struggled with, became depleted by, and still sometimes get frustrated by is the amount of challenges that my little guy had to deal with during this first year of life. We had colic for five months. (Translate to: 1.5-3 hours of inconsolable crying every night; frequently between 11pm and 3am...none of which you can "fix"). He had severe reflux for 10 months. (Translate to: major spit-ups somewhere between oh 15-30+ each day; sometimes wiping out three outfits in one day AND generally enough to go through 5-8 spit up rags each day). He had food sensitivities from birth. (Translate to: extremely restricted mama diet while trying to breastfeed, restricted dietary items even though he so desperately wanted to eat real foods from 4 months on). And to be totally honest, if ADHD existed in babies, he might be a poster child for it. He's been highly alert since birth, generally fought naps, only tolerated periods of inactivity (ie the swing, a bouncer, a carseat) for about 20 minutes on average or 40 minutes max, and could "keep going strong" until 10-11pm most nights (although he then starts his day way later than the average baby).

This mama also had major work/life transitions happening. My full-time professor position suddenly lost funding 2 weeks before I was to come back from short-term disability. I was asked to apply for a newly created administrative level position, was granted that position, still was asked to teach my regular load, and faced unexpected opposition in my new position. At this same time, I realized that my body was not going to physically bounce back as I'd hoped and I continued to feel chronic fascia tension and muscular pain. I regained all the baby weight I'd lost and felt almost continuous low level pain.

Add all of little man's challenges with mama's challenges and you've basically got a recipe for disaster...... OR you can allow all of this to be the opportunity to make some major changes toward restoring balance. Being who I am I chose the later. If there's one thing I learned early in my 20s, it's that NO amount of pay or recognition or ease is worth your health or your sanity or your family.

At 6 months postpartum, I had started noticing the signs for postpartum depression, recognized how much of a toll it was on my mother to provide so much childcare, and decided it was time to make a major change for all of us. At 8 months postpartum, I officially resigned from the new position with the intention of returning to a more flexible adjunct status at both of my original institutions. I'd also begun acupuncture and had seen a few improvements from structural integration massage sessions. My son and I were starting to hit a regular rhythm, his colic was over and his reflux was improving, and we were finally back to doing long weekends and stretches on our own. As a highly independent person, I was throwing my hands up in the air in celebration.....

.....and then came the flu---ha! And if you had the flu this year then you know what a butt kicker it was. Luckily, my son was able to go to my parents so he avoided it, but I was home with a fever for 5 days. It was the first time in my teaching life that I had to request a sub for two class sessions in a row. And it took THREE weeks to even somewhat recover my energy. During that final "recovery" week, Max came down with a "slight" cold....and we took a trip to visit my friend in Arizona, which led to both of us coming back fully sick and requiring at least two more weeks to somewhat recover energy levels. So you could say that most of January and February became a "wash." HA!

The best of intentions..... (noticing a theme here?!)....

About this time, I finally sucked up my pride and realized for the 100th time that well, I couldn't truly do this single mother thing on my own and it was time to make the care of my son easier for everyone. Thus I made the decision to officially move to Salem, which is the area where my parents and most of my siblings live and makes the most sense as my parents are still providing childcare for my son and his second cousin. The process of moving out of the home I'd been in for seven years was a bit of an emotional release, although there's still many physical items to still wade through. :)

There's still much in the air for this coming year that's ahead and much to decide for the next 3-4 years to come after that, but all things considered the move is feeling like the right decision. I'm still teaching the subjects I love and happily enjoy a 1.5 hour 1-2x a week commute through country roads. For  now, I'm still mentoring the students I love to mentor (mainly online). And we're fully enjoying the opportunity to explore new surroundings and spend more time with our family.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Max's 1st birthday. And while this first year has been eventful and testing, it's held so many beautiful moments as well. I've had the opportunity to watch my baby grow and his development never fails to impress and astound me. I've seen his personality show and laughed at how many ways he is so much a personality twin of his mother (oh my!). The final week of the move, Max started sleeping through the night semi-regularly (and we also started cosleeping). So far, my little one seems to love the outdoors as much as I do. He's just starting to walk and took his first "hike" toddling 15 feet over creeks feeding into waterfalls. A moment that's sure to exist in my memory logs for years to come.

The challenges of the first year were many, the challenges that are ahead are also many. But some lessons, like always, re-emerged. After spending 3 years fully restoring myself to 100% independence, I've learned that sometimes I need to be okay with some codependency and just be grateful for the willingness of others to help us. I learned that I truly can't do it all on my own. I was reminded that good intentions don't always pan out. I was reminded that seasons of life that seem insurmountable always pass. I was grateful for family. I was grateful for baby smiles. I was grateful for the best therapy I know: the outdoors. I was grateful for the opportunity to alter my employment options to increase my flexibility, allow me to return toward more of what I enjoy teaching, AND creating more time with my son, more time for occasional self-care, and more time for rest.

In the midst of challenge....I was and still am.....ultimately grateful. And now that the majority of this stage of challenge has passed...I'm continuing to look forward to knowing and enjoying this little boy who I get to call my son. What a beautiful, wild, and incredible son he is.

Simply Authentic & Well: The Beginning

So what is this blog about you might be wondering?

Well, it’s a place for me, you, any of us to reflect upon the idea of living life fully and within our authentic selves while appreciating where we are in the midst of the chaos. This is sometimes much easier said than done.

I’ve blogged off and on for years exploring the themes of simple living, “green choices” and nature care/cure, outdoor adventures, travels, health, and more. I still plan on reflecting upon many of those same themes, as those are representative of my authentic self, they form the lens through which I operate and view the world, and they fit my idea of what wellness means to me. However my real intention for this blog is to continue to ask myself and you some of these questions:

 “What life do you want to be living?”

“How do you want to be remembered?”

“What does it mean to you to live and be well?”

And the even larger question “What are you doing in pursuit of that life?”

OR “What do you need to transition toward that life?”

These questions are some I’m consistently reflecting upon in my pursuit of being a new mom and thus in a new stage of life. Any of you in my inner circle or small social media circle know that I am an unexpected single mom, who truly is surviving through the amazing childcare assistance of my mother and through the support of my “village.” While a lot of my thoughts and inner questions are posed toward transitioning into this next stage of being a parent, I want this blog and the potential support offered here to be applicable to any reader who decides to join us. I also have to give baseline credit to my own mother for asking me a similar question (Who do I want my son to know me as?), which further pushed me toward embracing this path and ensuring that I hold on to the values and authentic self I had discovered in the years prior.

I also want to be transparent here and share that I am partly toying with idea of figuring out how and whether to make a career change. This blog is part of my exploration of that idea. I’ve been teaching college classes for years on personal health, stress & wellness, and a variety of graduate level nutrition and global health topics. I’ve mentored students toward professional and personal goals while promoting self-care. I’ve picked myself up from a heart breaking time in my life, taught myself a variety of fabulous outdoor hobbies and engaged in many other great forms of self-care while becoming the version of myself that I am today. But now I’m wondering whether there’s a desire for any of that to transition toward helping to support others on an individual level to become happier, healthier, more authentic versions of themselves….

…and regardless of whether this turns into anything more, it’s nice just to share with others on this fabulous and challenging journey of life! That being said, you might occasionally see me promote a product because I truly love it and it aligns with my values. You might also see me eventually try to create a wellness coaching-like business or "something" (picture bug eyes here just from actually writing that out--who knows?).

Until then…. Let’s be in pursuit of being happy, healthy, authentic, and well….together!

As always, wishing you the best,

Elizabeth

The Final Tri....And He Arrived!

We're now four months post-partum and I just felt the strongest pull to get back into blogging, however finding any time to do so is an absolute challenge of its own of course.

However let's recap....back to the days when I felt exhausted...just in a different way :)

The second trimester was fairly pleasant all things considered and I even felt fairly decent a large portion of the final trimester too. The most challenging aspect of the final trimester was that my body didn't hold up quite the way I'd hoped. By month 7, my pelvic muscles would start to "lock down" if I walked over a mile and my SI joint ached after almost any yoga, so months 8-9 contained almost no physical activity. In the final 1.5 months heartburn also caught up with me to the point of interrupting sleep some nights. While these were two aspects that definitely were not fun to deal with, I will forever be grateful that my sleep was never super negatively impacted during pregnancy. In fact, during the final weeks, I spent a LOT of time sleeping. I also never had much issue with swelling nor any issues with muscle cramps, which I still attribute to the epsom salt baths.

I think it was around 28 weeks that I finally realized that the medical group I'd been going to most definitely did not align with my desires and values, thus I actually marched out of a required group visit over a dispute on C-section rates and at that point started looking for a new provider. At 30 weeks, I'd discovered a naturopathic delivery center but after reading shaky financial reviews and having a negative response time from their billing department, I decided to keep looking. I finally discovered another midwifery option with good reviews and had my consultation with the woman who became my midwife at 32 weeks.

At 36 weeks, I was praying that lil man would stay put as I still needed to get my students through their final projects. At 38 weeks and after passing the mucus plug, I let the midwife initially check me before driving  the hour down to my parents house for a potentially final good-bye visit with my granny who was being put on hospice. At that visit I was told that my body had enough signs that he could start to arrive at anytime. Since I still needed to grade 20 group papers and get winter term grades in, I was praying all that week and the next while being super stressed out about an earlier arrival than what would work best with my schedule. Thankfully he stayed put....and then he stayed put....and stayed put. Ha! At 40 weeks, my body still showed signs that anytime could be go time and I had researched average gestational periods for biracial babies. At 41 weeks, I was required to have a follow-up ultrasound to make sure all was still okay in there for him to be able to keep going, but post-ultrasound I elected to a) have my membranes stripped and b) to schedule an induction. I wanted to give him time to come on his own post-stripping of the membranes, so I elected to schedule for when the midwife would be on-call about four days away. While I had some contractions that night, no labor started.

The next day my mom (who was staying with me that week just in case) and I drove the hour or so to the Woodburn Tulip Festival to try to distract away my frustration. While the trip didn't get him to arrive, it was an absolutely beautiful day!

We ended the day with yummy fajitas at a nearby Mexican restaurant. That night I had one of the most uncomfortable ones of the entire pregnancy (which I've reflected upon this many times in the months since for reasons I'll share later). I couldn't sleep at all and it felt like he was just wanting to crawl out of his own skin in there. He couldn't get comfortable, I couldn't get comfortable, no sleep was happening, my anxiety was up, and I was wishing I would have scheduled the induction earlier.

I don't remember much about Saturday, but it was during a deep sleep that night that I was awakened about 330am by the dogs wanting to go out. When I went to the bathroom I felt extremely nauseous and couldn't stop shaking. About 45 minutes after that I woke my mom up to keep me company because I felt so weird...and after laying in my king sized bed with me for 15 -20 minutes she decided that I was in labor and that we should go to the hospital. A little after 5am we were on the way to the hospital and my contractions were six minutes apart. I was checked in around 6am and then labored for several hours in the shower before eventually transitioning to the hospital bed.

Ironically we had gone into labor the morning of the induction :) Little guy arrived on his own time and I truly can't complain about my L&D experience. They followed my desired birth plan to a T and my L&D nurse was truly remarkable. I labored naturally the majority of the time until I finally decided about 2.5 hours prior to delivery that I "didn't need to be anyone's hero" so I asked for some initial level pain relief.

The biggest things I remember from L&D: I wanted complete silence during contractions (and ironically both my mom and sister are super chatty but soon respected my wishes), I worked through contractions in the same way that I work through running by either zoning out or repeating mantras in my head, I counted down the final 10 minutes until they could administer the next pain meds for the 5 rounds that I received them, I vomited on three occasions until I decided they could give me the anti-nausea meds after all since I went with the pain meds, I wanted to push before I was officially ready and in the end they gave me the green light ahead of time to move the baby down anyway (he never "fully engaged"), pushing felt way different than I could have ever expected, labor felt way different than I could have ever expected, my biggest pain was the muscle cramps that happened in my quads & glutes which are always my problem areas, and I'll never forget not even realizing he was out and following the instructions to look down....and discovering my little man laying on my chest :)

I truly lucked out....my sister was an incredible labor support, we were immensely blessed by my L&D nurse, my labor was 8ish hours and I pushed for 10-20 minutes, baby boy was healthy at 8lbs, 2oz and 22 inches long. All very good things indeed!

What I don't remember? Apparently yelling that I never needed to have sex again. Haha!

What advice would I give for the hospital delivery?

Bring Chapstick. I'd read online to take chapstick...and it's a must have!

Best things to labor in? A tankini for the shower and a short tank dress/beach cover-up for the bed.
A nursing tank and a pair of shorts were all I needed until I went home.

Truly there wasn't much we needed in the hospital. An outfit to labor in, the items to lounge in, a weather appropriate going home outfit for me and him. Toiletries to shower and that's it. Granted we only stayed one night and I tend to be super minimalist about that type of stuff, but we way overpacked for both him and I.

When they offer you the granny hospital panties, ice pads, tucks, and water spritzing bottle...use and take all of it! :)

Write out your birth plan. That's sort of a given, but it was great to have it read by my mother, my sister, and photocopied into my medical chart.

Always remember you are your own best health advocate. Granted you need a team to help you but advocate for what you want. I wanted to go home early and I stated that as soon as it was apparent that we both were a-ok. From the moment we were wheeled downstairs, the entire team knew we were working toward an early release. (Interestingly in checking the numbers later, only staying one night also probably saved me another $1000 or more....)

Write a thank-you and take flowers to any awesome providers. We made our L&D nurse cry in return, but we couldn't have had a more incredible support than through her being a part of our team.

When they offer you as much food as you want for free? Order and eat all of it. There are so many calories to replenish! Also order as you for whoever spends that first night with you! I ate a TON and drank a total of about ten juices to help replenish lost electrolytes.

I'm hopeful to recap some other helpful pieces in future posts as I start getting back into blogging (hopefully), but the reality is each birth story is a unique one! As much as I love my baby, I'm truly hopeful that was the only birth story I'll ever share-ha.

These first few months have been rough and beautiful in their own right...but those stories are still to come too...... :)

Pregnancy Helpful Items

While I don't intend to get pregnant again, but hey who knows....I thought it would be helpful to list out some of the things that have been helpful during the transition from 1st trimester into finally feeling better the second half of the second trimester. This week marks the end of the second trimester, so I'm hopeful that keeping up with some of these will help some of the discomforts of the third trimester.

Being that I work in a natural medicine environment and have been a long term believer of a more natural approach to health care, most of what I read tended to veer more toward midwifery and nutrition. I was really interested in knowing what exactly to feed the bump, especially since he didn't seem to want any part of a prenatal (even at 20 weeks). Some of the books below contradict each other but I appreciate that and thus could form my own opinions.

Pregnancy Related books I've been reading:
1) Ina May Gaskin's: Guide to Childbirth: Ina May is the guru of common-day midwifery in the US. The first half of this book is personal stories (I skipped 75% of them....) but the second half is the informative stuff.
2) The Nourishing Tradition's Book to Baby & Childcare: Some of the advice in here is contraversial but I also appreciated reading from this viewpoint. Some of the stuff that I did implement: Cod liver oil is contraversial but I added it into my diet in variation, added the occasional liver, am eating regular organic chicken now that the kid tolerates some meat, and added eggs in as possible.
3) The Whole 9 Months: Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition: In contrast to the above nutrition wisdom, this book is entirely vegetarian focused and gave some insight into what to focus on for each month. Truthfully I was a little disappointed in this book, but I have used it as a resource somewhat.
4) Nourished Beginnings: Baby Food: This book I love even though it's super simple! It's a helpful resource to know what to feed the lil guy once he arrives.
5) Sanda Steingraber's Having Faith: I don't advocate pregnant mamas reading this. I advocate for women to read this before becoming pregnant. For me it was a helpful reread to remember environmental toxicity concerns, take steps to reduce what I could, and also be immersed more in the development of the fetus. I also read her follow-up Raising Elijah about raising kids in a toxic world.

Getting back into working out has been truly wonderful. It's been good for my mental health, at times even makes me feel like I'm not pregnant, has decreased joint and low-back issues, and (they say) is great preparation for labor & delivery, while also having the potential to ease recovery from L&D. I had grand notions of being able to continue running if I ever did get pregnant.....but I quickly discovered that beyond the occasional jaunt, my body has craved & benefited more from other options.

Pregnancy Work-outs I've been enjoying:
1) Regular (but shorter) snowy hikes from my favorite trail head---much shorter and less inclines these days, but it feels SO great to get this body back on trail!
2) 2-3x a week 1.5 mile evening loop walk with the dogs--my bladder struggles to make it the whole 1.5 miles (otherwise we would probably go farther)
3) Tonic's Prenatal Pregnancy Yoga on youtube-- I seriously have loved the 2nd tri vinyasa and strength & stability work-outs. They include strength building, stretching, & pelvic floor exercises. I did find that the energizing flow irritated my SI joint however so I've stayed away from that one.
4) Slow & modified Pure Cardio Insanity work-out--This has been a recent add-in but I realized that if I just modified some moves (no jumping, knee push-ups, wider stances) and slowed down that this was still manageable.

Based on all the books I read and the nutritional environment I work in, it was important to me to research and figure out what to feed the lil guy to try to make sure he is/was getting everything he needs for different developmental milestones. While I started reading & researching later in the game (16-18 weeks), I'm still glad to be able to incorporate more foods and items that are beneficial for him. A lot of this was already in my diet, but I just try to be more mindful of ensuring that I'm getting it as regularly as he needs it. I've also tried really hard to ensure that I'm selecting more organic items: meats, produce, dairy, etc. That being said....I still have the occasional DQ blizzard, ate a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls over break, and eat all the cookies friends & family gift upon me. :)

Foods I've been eating:
Lots of kale & leafy greens, salad w various veggies
Roasted root veggies (turnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, squash)
Organic baked chicken, occasional beef or liver
Homemade soups & stews (beef barley, potato & leek, Mexican chicken)
Frittatas from fridge left overs
Smoothies w banana, blueberry, avocado, spinach
Plain yogurt w home-canned fruits, museli, cinnamon, chia
Other probiotics: kefir, sauerkraut, oral tablets, kombucha on occasion
Snacks: lots of fruit & dried fruits

There are so many other items and things that have been beneficial along the way. When I read the typical "symptom" lists and remember conversations with a few of my other friends, I feel very fortunate that while weeks 8-16 were rough, the weeks since then have been much more enjoyable and with limited symptoms.

I do have occasional bloating (and the gas!) or weird stomach sensations, which I tend to "treat" by eating extra sauerkraut, drinking the occasional kombucha or just letting it pass. This last week I also had a "sick day" where I got hit by the start of a UTI and a cold on the same day. I spent most the day in bed except for a quick trip to the store for pre-made soup & cranberry juice. For the regular cold, it just took lots of fluids, soup, cold season tea, & napping for it to pass. UTIs are pretty common in the 2nd trimester (and in me in particular) and I'm still somewhat attempting to self-treat this sucker (although they did run a sample on Friday). The main things that have helped: D-Mannose & Cranberry extract (read the label to ensure it's ok), TONS of water, pure cranberry juice mixed with kefir, oral probiotic pills, limited sugar intake, and I took a homeopathic remedy for 2-3 days also.

Symptoms I've been able to avoid so far (knock on wood!): heartburn, leg cramps (I like to think the epsom salt baths, foam rolling, & yoga are helping here), and swelling (again, perhaps the epsom salt baths? and just lots of water and regular work-outs).

I also would mention that at the beginning of 2nd tri my boobs got HUGE. As I've increased work-outs, they've reduced slightly, but I know that once my milk comes in post delivery, they'll increase even more. What has been interesting is that since about 18-22 weeks, I've already had some of the initial milk production. I do tend to notice that in the weeks when I get a lot of healthy nutrition, take the occasional cod liver oil, and also drink some pregnancy tea, the production of this tends to be more...things to keep in mind as I attempt breast feeding post-delivery.

Things I swear by:
Pregnancy leggings & comfy socks
Pregnancy tea
Coconut oil for lotion
Continued foam rolling for low-back & quad discomfort
Weekly epsom salt baths
Water, water, and more water
Natural home remedies (herbal teas, cranberry, homeopathics)
Continued alternative practitioner treatments
Probiotics

So far I've been able to continue sleeping in my regular pre-pregnancy position and I'm hopeful that somehow this will keep working out as my mid-section gets larger. During the last few weeks (maybe 25 on?), I've been waking up several times a night to pee & yet chug more water, but at least a few times a week I also wake up and just lay there for a 1-2 hours before being able to fall back asleep. I also would say that the amount of weird dreams continues. While weird dreams are a regular in my life, they have come more regularly with the pregnancy.

One other thing I guess I would mention is that after reading Ina May's book, I took a list of questions into my provider. My insurance does a better job of covering standard medical care, so while I'm working with a midwife, she operates in a Western medical model and I'll deliver in a hospital. One of the items I did not want to have to do was the gestational diabetes test, as drinking the mandatory glucose beverage did not sound appealing and was sure to set the kid off (who seriously tends to do best with real whole foods). In reality there is a blood test that can measure levels, but I was able to negotiate using a standard blood sugar finger prick test to check levels. While her requirement was a little excessive (4 pricks per day for 7 days: pre breakfast, 2 hrs post breakfast, 2 hrs post lunch, & 2 rs post dinner), it did actually provide some really valuable insight for me nutritionally. (I tracked food intake, blood sugar readings, & work-outs just to get a better picture for myself.) The good news is that I'm not diabetic.......and my body loves and absolutely needs carbs. My readings were much better when carbs were included in meals than when it was a protein based meal....so bring on all that carb goodness in the world! :)

The other questions I'd asked her were well-answered but I am a little nervous about L&D, especially in a standard hospital environment. I've asked my sister to be in the delivery room with my mom and I and I have a list of strategies to try for a natural delivery that I think will help me....but I also recognize that the best made plans & intentions don't always work out that way.....so we'll see what happens! For now, let's just hope the kid stays in there growing & developing for the next 10-12 weeks.....and so I can make sure to get through this term of work also! :)