Show and Tell: Little Owls and Purses

 Every day when I pick up the kids I also get a sheet of paper with all of  E's information for the day.  It tells when when and what she ate, when she slept, things she needs and a few sentences about something she enjoyed doing that day.  For the past few weeks, her teacher has written about her love of the dress up corner.  "E enjoyed wearing hats and carrying a purse."  So, since every little girl should have a purse, I decided to buy some for play at home.  I didn't want to just go out and buy something that everyone else had, so I turned to a very talented seamstress, Sarah.  (Seriously, she does amazing work.)

The package arrived yesterday with two adorable purses made with beautiful fabric.  Along with the purses cam two gorgeous little owls!  Owls have a special meaning to us because our last name means owl in Polish.  I have been trying to find things with owls and squirrels (E's nickname is little squirrel) for her room and have also tried to add them to L's, as well. These are perfect.  I knew they were a bonus, though, because I didn't order them.  It turns out that my dear friend and talented yogini, Teal, and her husband Mike commissioned them for the kids.  I was so touched. 

Working full time with two kids can make you feel a little isolated from your friends, but when you get reminders that someone special is thinking about you and your family it makes the distance seem nonexistent.  I love the purses and the owls just as I love and appreciate the people that sent them. 

For more Show & Tell go here!

My Bum Ticker

I have accepted the fact that stress is a part of my life.  Isn't it a part of everyone's?  At least ten times a day I hear people referring to it: I am so stressed!  This is really stressing me out!  So, I plug along with my own little (ok, large) bag of stresses, like kids, work, lack of sick leave, and a house that seems to become messy as soon as you clean it.  A few weeks ago, as I lay in bed, my heart decided to take up acrobatics as a hobby.  It is the most disconcerting feeling when you have a palpitation, and I was having many of them.  I tried my deep breathing and drinking more water, but they continued.  It dawned on me that I was due for my one year follow up with the cardiologist after the postpartum troubles I had last year.

My cardiologist is ok.  He's not the best doctor I've ever had, but he'll do for now, but I think I'll get a new one soon. I made my appointment and was hooked up to various devices and given an echo cardiogram (heart ultrasound).  When I reported my palpitations, they decided to monitor me for 24 hours.  While I waited for the PA to come back with my monitor, I got to look at this lovely work of 3-D art on the wall.  I think it's supposed to be soothing.

I got a bunch of sensors stuck to me, the PA got to see me in my bra (lucky him), and I had to carry a device about the size of a handheld tape recorder with a compact flash card inside to record data.  I looked quite bionic.

That thing was a huge pain in the ass.  It was uncomfortable, the adhesive on the sensors made me itch and sleeping with it was not fun. I really feel for the people that have to do the 48 hours monitoring.  As soon as I could, I turned it back in and about a day later I got a call from the PA that saw me in my bra.  He said they recorded episodes of sinus tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) that coincided with my episode journal and I needed beta blockers.  I tried to ask questions, but he was clearly following orders, so I just told him "ok" and hung up.  I'm not taking any pills until I talk to the doctor, but I have a stress test next week so it will be a little while.  It boggles my mind that they are willing to give pills to a healthy, 34 year old non-smoker without even trying to address issues such as caffeine, stress, or other environmental factors.

As annoyed as I was with the system, I was at least smart enough to realize that this is a wake-up call.  I see moms with more kids and more worries that seem to handle life better than I do.  I don't know what it is about me that makes the stress levels get to this point, but I know it's something I need to be more aware of.  I've already cut back my caffeine intake quite a bit (ouch), I have ordered some yoga DVDs, and I have asked M to help with more things around the house, which he is always willing to do.  Small changes can lead to long term changes, so that's what I'm going to try.  I need to find a way to see the joys in life even when things get stressful.  I have a lot to be joyful about.

P.S. We still have a lot of boxes to unpack. Any volunteers?