Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

YD77UJ5R58XH Since we don't do this very often (once a year), I thought I'd share my most recent experience going to a Christmas party at a friend's house. Get dinner ready for kids. Pyjamas laid out? Check. Instructions for babysitter? Check. Phone numbers by phone? Check. Ok, enough time for a super quick shower.  Please, please don't let Liam want to come in the shower with me. What's the time? Geez, ok, I'll wear that skirt and top, and hope nobody remembers it. Good grief, this skirt is too tight, why didn't I try it on earlier? (Much wiggling going on.)  Ok, if I wear the top over it, nobody will see the skirt way, way up on my torso - the only place it'll fit. Is the babysitter here yet? In the middle of dressing, to Liam: "Yes baby what are you playing?  Are you and Lucas scouting for Miss Sharon? Ok, go back to the door and scout." Ok, got them out of the bathroom for a few minutes to finish dress. Ok, must p

6B5PM3PSEY3S ..amongst other parts of my body.  More and more as the children get older (Lucas is now 8), I find myself having to negotiate the dark, murky and treacherous waters of philosophical issues (I can barely get that out correctly). Take for example, your simple roadside beggar.  Do you give money to roadside beggars?  We don't.  As we've tried to explain to Lucas, we give money to organizations that provide support for the homeless, therefore we feel there is a place for these individuals to go.  If we gave money to everyone who we saw begging, we don't know if they will spend it on food or buying a lottery ticket.  By giving it to local community organizations we are more confident that our money is being used effectively. But is that the point? Is it worth it to demonstrate charity to our son, to just give regardless of what the money will be used for?  How can we show him charity and help him make thoughtful decisions about how to spend his money?   He

A short and light post today, I'm busy wrapping presents for the kids.  So here is what I know (and there's more I am sure).  A well-child visit to the doctor is usually followed by a sick-child visit one week later Liam will poop just as we are about to leave to drop Lucas to school, and in fact, there is greater than a 50% chance Liam will do this whenever we are late getting somewhere Liam will sleep through the night, without even a cough or a cry, when the other parent is on duty, the one who is not me Liam will have the hardest (and longest) time getting to sleep on the night of my book club or Girls Night Out or....fill in the blank; causing maximum disruption to my plans Liam will cry out just as my head hits the pillow and I turn out the light, or within 1/2 hour of my doing so, whichever is worse for me.  If I delay going to bed to avoid that, then he will delay too.  My husband can attest to this phenomenon, in his words, "How does he (Liam) know?"

I came across this article online at the American Physical Society that I found thoroughly fascinating and it seemed to reflect an experience I'd had early on in my (Information Technology) career - but I'll get back to that. If you have school-age children, the full article is worth a read. A Math Paradox: The Widening Gap Between High School and College Math written by Joseph Ganem.  In it, he describes a finding where despite getting more challenging work in high school and being tested more, kids are getting to college with gaps in their Mathematics understanding. In his opinion, Mr. Ganem saw three problems (and here I am paraphrasing my perspective on the explanations): "Confusing difficulty with rigor" .   Harder problems do not necessarily help with understanding - you have to use concepts children understand to help them develop their own reasoning abilities but the problems must not be so difficult that they always have to ask for help . "Mistakin

When I originally thought of doing this post, my thought was that I would have 3 neat little columns with..well, 3 different things.  Then I started writing and everything has 3 sides to it, at least! Considering this from Liam's perspective: I have a brother who shows me so many things (how to brush my teeth, high-block, kicks, climbing and jumping) I am doing many things earlier than my big brother (playing with Legos, watching TV, wanting to be naked, eating junk) I am more independent (feeding myself, putting on my clothes while Mama and Lucas are waiting to get to school, taking off my diaper because I feel like) I am a daredevil, trying to do what my big brother does (lots of climbing, even on the outside of the steps. I am the one Mama will find hanging on the chandileer. My brother teaches me so many words! I can tell Mama "No way Jose!"  ...nice You get the idea. I was trying to think if there was one thing that was only good or only bad..but I ha

Hopefully, you won't have to do this for a long, long time.  We just completely restrict access to news, but that is just us. Recently Lucas' school had a Veteran's Day ceremony, where they honoured veterans in the community.  It was beautiful and moving and the ceremony included the eventual placement of 5,248 flags for fallen veterans representing those who have died in Iraq & Afghanistan as well as those who died recently at Ft. Hood (including the unborn baby). Lucas has had a fascination with "being an army" for a long time - as evidenced by the number of times he's been an army soldier for Halloween, and the number of green army men I keep finding everywhere in the house and car.  As usual, I tried to gauge what he understood about being "an army". Me: So Lucas, how did you find the (veterans') service this morning? Lucas: Good Me: Do you remember anything about it? Not really, but they called out the names of some veterans

Why did I entitle this post, "So dock it from my pay"?  Well I went to get some servicing done on my car and the standard operating procedure is for me to call my husband before the dealership does anything extra.  He can decide if the work is reasonably priced (he usually says not).  It went something like this: I call G, no answer. "Go ahead and do the work, I can't reach my husband." 1 1/2 hours later my husband called back,  "How much??!!" when I told him the price-tag, and the first thing that went through my mind was, "So, dock it from my pay".  Yes, that non-existent pay, but it got  me thinking about one of the minefields for the stay-at-home parent - how to manage the money.  Should the parent get an allowance free and clear? Do you feel comfortable spending? Would you even consult your partner about spending on something if you were the one earning it?  So many questions. I've been very fortunate in our financial relatio

If you don't, well I feel really, really incompetent right about now, because I do, but I do try really, really hard not to scream at the children.  This NY Times article, For Some Parents, Shouting Is the New Spanking, rang true for me. We don't spank, although I still use tools like 1-2-3 that " don't work to change behavior " in the words of one expert quoted in the article...Oh. In general, I have 2 triggers that put me over the edge: When Liam is not in good shape (either getting sick, sick or missed sleep) and Lucas insists it's a good time to "play" with Liam (that is, provoke him). My second trigger is described in the case of one mom interviewed for the article.  For this mom, like me, it is  " when adult peace is within her grasp ", that is, when the kids don't want to sleep.  I am so ready for time away from children...but then Liam delays brushing his teeth, or wants to try and use the potty (really?? now??) or doesn

I made the mistake of leaving my laptop open.  Liam was attracted by the pretty picture on it (wallpaper), and wanted to type, so I opened up a Wordpad document for him to type in and in the 2 seconds it took me to turn around and put away a dishcloth I had in my hand, this is what he did to my laptop.  He is 2. Well!  I had never actually seen that before, I didn't know it could be done.  So instead of rotating those pesky photos, I could have rotated my whole screen? Who knew?  I got a crick in my neck searching for help sideways. And I do mean search: display, settings, orientation, layout, rotate -  no dice.  I gave up.  I won't admit to how long I spent on this fruitless endeavour before I sought a second opinion. (Restrain yourselves from laughing at me - I feel foolish enough as it is.) Me to my husband: "Hi.   Ummm do you know how to change your laptop layout from sideways?" G: "What do you mean sideways?" "I mean like you have to turn y

Lucas recently tested for his high white belt (karate) and as I looked in on him through the glass doors to his class, I was overwhelmed by the sense of my little boy on his own in the world.  He looked so small in his white Gi in front of the table where his Sensei, her Sensei and another instructor, sat.  I watched him stand with his weight on one foot, then the other, doing jumping jacks to warm up and practicing kicks and blocks with his classmates. I felt the tears well up and got that old lump in the throat.  I hadn't felt like that in a long, long time with Lucas, why now? I think that unlike his spelling test, where I can help him by reviewing the words with him, or his Maths,  this was something he had to do on his own. I couldn't help him. Heck, I didn't even know what the right moves were!  I guess he is at the age where he will have more and more independent experiences.  I will hold on to this picture of him in my mind, and the feeling that washed over me

After I put up the first set of pictures, a friend suggested that I should also include some pictures of someone "bussin' bamboo".  What is that? In the words of one, hilarious blogger ( Things I've Found in My Pocket ), " Bamboo cannons... Backyard ballistics ", you get the picture. Bursting or exploding bamboo is a popular thing in Trinidad for Divali, particularly in the rural areas. I've included a picture of someone attempting to "buss bamboo" below, as well as some additional Divali pictures.  It is not uncommon to find someone setting off bamboo in the park or their neighbourhood street (thanks Deb for the pictures!) ***Disclaimer***  Do not attempt this at home. This is being done by a professional (I hope) with safety precautions in place (I wish). If you are really interested in finding out how this is done, read it here.

I know I am a little late, but I wanted to put some pictures of Divali in Trinidad, for those of you who might be wondering what the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean do for Divali. Eating on soharee leaves (looks like fig leaves but different plant), is still popular in some places, as well as using old-fashioned deyas (oil, wick and clay pots).  Unfortunately I didn't have any pics of the more elaborate structures using bamboo which is cut in half and bent into fantastic shapes.  Deyas are then held in place by mud which hardens.  It looks quite spectacular at night. Thanks to my friend Debbie for the neatly arranged food pictures and the nighttime deyas, and to my cousin Gary for the rest.

What is the accounting error? I'll get to it. I've been paying attention to what is happening on the climate change scene, on and off over the last few weeks.  Imagine my dismay when I read that the laws passed on limiting carbon emissions, omitted or viewed biofuel emissions incorrectly. Essentially, carbon emissions from smoke stacks count, but not carbon released from burning biofuels (e.g. a tree, or from a car using ethanol as fuel).  The article makes a reference to this gross mistake as an "accounting error", it has the self-explanatory title of Scientists: Biofuel Laws May Harm Environment . Nice.  According to the article, this is how the laws in Europe and in the Kyoto treaty are written.  You've got to be kidding me!! And scientists have only realized this  now??!!  But what does that have to do with my nieces in Trinidad?  Or the roadside vendor who pulled his children out of school so they could beg for money from passing motorists? Not one damn t

I came across this article from WebMD about the personal stories of breast cancer survivors.  I find them tremendously encouraging and not only relevant to the specific subject of breast cancer, but also about handling adversity in general.  Some of the key points I noticed in these women's stories: They took action They were hopeful They had support They dealt with what they were facing in different ways.  In the words of one "you don't need to be a hero" while another decided to do just that and continued to go to the gym.  They are great examples of women who have met the challenge of breast cancer and made it through.  If they can do it, so can you.  No matter what your personal challenge is.  Take a read of the WebMD article Me and the girls. Breast cancer is a subject near to me, and I wanted to remind everyone (male and female), that there are wonderful opportunities to help support the cause: You can find events in your area at the Susan G. Komen fo

It's days like these I really enjoy being a stay-at-home mom.  I was with Liam last week and as we were driving out of our street we saw a fire engine ahead of us. The sirens weren't on, so I figured it may be going back to the station a few blocks from our house.  Not having to get to work, I was only too happy to follow it around, besides, I could hardly do anything else because Liam was squealing so loudly .  Good thing he was strapped-in otherwise he would have literally jumped out of the car. So we followed the fire engine around for a few streets, talking about what we could see on the truck (the hoses, controls, ladder) and then finally it reached the fire station.  We stopped and I turned the car so he could get a good look at the firefighter reversing the engine back into the bay. What could be better than that? Well, it's the little things that occur in the day.  Last evening, I saw my husband looking at Liam (my 2-year old) playing happily in the bath. So I

This is my post for Blog Action Day . This is an annual event where bloggers everywhere in the world post about the same issue on the same day to spark discussion around an issue of global importance. This is part of a conversation I had with my 8-year old. Mama : Do you know what climate change means? Lucas : I think it means when it is like 90F and it is hot.   And the change? It's when in the daytime it might be 90F and sunny and hot, and then you go inside for dinner and then right after dinner and it might have dropped to 70F Well, yes it is that in a way.  That describes what is happening in your area, but when people use the term "climate change" they really mean something more global, like affecting climate around the world Have you heard of the team "global warming"? What global warming is that it is made up of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and when they burn stuff the smoke releases CO2 and it's like a blanket covering the earth and if it k

I was one of those women who said, "If I had kids I would never ....", fill in the blank. In this case it is pander/cater to multiple tastes. How did I end up here? Milk - I started off the year with 3 different types of milk - low fat for Lucas, whole for Liam and soy for us. I've made it down to 2 (switched Lucas to back to whole milk) and I am slowly transitioning both of them to soy. Whew!! Bread - We are down to 2 types of bread, one type for Lucas and Liam and one for us (hard-core multi-grain whole-wheat). I started giving Liam our bread which he accepts, but Lucas has something against bread that has "stuff" in it. As for toothpaste - that's for later. Meals - Ok, this needs some serious work. In general, once we sit at the table, I try for all of us to eat the same things, but maybe Lucas would have plain spaghetti and Liam would have his with spaghetti sauce. It is a mess, but Lucas, my problem eater, seems to be getting more adventu

If my husband is reading this, I can just imagine his reaction, "WHAT NEXT CHILD??!!!" A friend of mine recently mentioned wanting another child (this is someone who is finally ready to do sleep-training with her 2-year old - a baby who is not completely weaned yet), but anyways, yes this crazy mom is talking about another child. (By the way, I should warn you, this is a short post on a complex topic.) So it got me thinking. Liam is 2 now, and it would be great to have a little princess, but I started this baby business a little (ahem) later than some of my peers and having a child later in life is complicated because of the risks (both for mother, baby and of course emotionally and financially if baby has health issues). I look at Liam and think what a sweet child he is, wouldn't it be wonderful to experience that all over again? But getting there would be a problem - struggles with nursing, up every 1 1/2 hours, not to mention getting through a pregnancy and deli

I came across some short articles on the differences between boys and girls and raising them, that I thought might be interesting. In the books I had read about raising boys, they mention some of the points raised in the links below - different expectations for boys/girls, different language is used with both, the difference in physical and emotional maturity. Although these online articles are not very detailed, it certainly gives you a flavour for some of the current thinking on this. For me, it is enlightening to learn more about how what I do, what I say and how their experiences affect how they behave and interact with the world around them. From TVs to Toys:What shapes boys into boys and girls into girls Differences in raising boys and girls As a further example to the different messages that boys get to girls and how in turn it affects their behaviour (circular reinforcement), check out this lemonade experiment. Difference between boys and girls When Lucas was born,

It's now been about 18 months since I quit my job and about 1 year since I started this blog. The blog served many purposes (in order of importance): To journal my transition from professional working woman to this strange and wondrous creature called the "stay-at-home-mom" To test whether I had any writing skills (creative and technical) To share my thoughts with family, friends and finally with Jane Q. Public. (Writing has always been easier for me than talking.) I look back and realize that I do have ideas (of questionable value of course), but I am unsure I can contribute further on the process of adjusting to the stay-at-home life. I mean, just how many more posts can I make about self-esteem issues and my quest for a "band of sisters"? So I am faced with some options: I can shut this blog down and start a new one where I share the ongoing intrigue, danger and high-stakes of parenting or I could re-work this blog and convert it to a parenting/life blog

Since my last post made my head hurt, I decided I needed a less head-hurting post, so this is it. It is just a collection of a few things going on with me, that I thought you might enjoy. Of Books and Bookmarks I mentioned that you can find me on Goodreads where I post reviews of the books I've been reading (you can see the books I am currently reading at right, on my Shelfari bookshelf). Shelfari is another site for bibliophiles, but so far I've only use the bookshelf widget on my blog because it is more attractive than the Goodreads widget. But enough of books, have you ever wondered how to keep momentos of all those lovely bouquets you amass throughout the year? Well I had grand ambitions of saving one stem from each bouquet and eventually putting them all into a dried arrangement. I had to abandon that when Liam got into my stash and used a few of the stems as fly swatters (the petals scattered everywhere..like my dreams..lol). Anyway, I took one stem, pressed it betw

That would be Lucas. He recently told me that they discussed bullying in school, so if I was in any doubt that he was moving into a new phase of life, this confirmed it. He is moving into the 8-12 yr phase where bullying and such things occur (and this precedes the teen-adolescent phase). Lucas doesn't want to go to the ladies' bathroom with me anymore, so as he becomes more independent we've had to have the "good touch/bad touch" discussion. This is still ongoing (' The Right Touch ', ' It's My Body '). I had only recently restarted reading parenting books after a fairly long hiatus (I just finished ' Raising Cain ' and ' The Trouble With Boys ' before that). They discuss many factors affecting boys, and while the father is by no means the only important element in raising boys, it is a significant one. In their book 'Raising Cain', the authors say, " It is clear to us that the most emotionally resourceful a

I've made about 75 posts by now over the past year, and I thought I'd share some of my favourite posts and why. I hope you enjoy them. Here goes: My adjustment. These are just a few of the posts that describe in some small way my coming-to-terms with being at home after working at a demanding job. (This adjustment is otherwise known as the scales falling from my eyes.) What is your 'bread and butter' conversation? Where are MY peeps? Left your brains in the delivery room? My husband promised me bons bons My controversial posts. These I thought would have generated some degree of discussion amongst my readers, (they didn't), but I like them nonetheless. Goal-oriented or competitive? Do you read in colour? How much 'boy' socialization do little girls need? My very personal posts . These posts are closest to my heart. Fried Plantain Khabi Khabie Mere Dil Mein What flower are you? Presenting the amazing variegated woman! The sweet and the funny. Why do pe

That would be Lucas. Yes, my soon-to-be 8-year old is turning into a little parent. For those of you who have multiple children or have girls in the mix, you would know this phenomenon only too well. For me, it's been quite eye-popping. On the way back from getting Lucas from school one day, I told Liam that I had to hold his hand because there were a lot of cars about. I heard a voice chirp up. "You don't want Mama to hold your hand? Ok", here Lucas is nodding at Liam and looking down at him with this earnest and concerned expression on his face, "Mama doesn't have to hold your hand right now, but when we get off the grass and on the sidewalk, Mama has to hold your hand, ok?" And I wasn't even absent! I'm getting ousted by my own son! All I could do was just stand there, snapping at air for a moment. In the evenings, Lucas looks upon it as one of his "rights" or perhaps duties (as the surrogate parent that is), to do whatever is

To commemorate one blogging year, I will be posting a few "special" posts. This first one is a reflection on my first year staying home full-time and is in fact the first version of an article I had written for a magazine (you know, the one which was rejected). I hope you enjoy it. It was written a few months ago (and btw, version 2 was also rejected ;) Home with the kids?! Now What? (Or The Beauty of the Flowing Mind) I decided to stay at home full-time with my 2-year old, leaving my job outside the home, behind. That was one year ago. After grappling with this new reality over the past year, I thought my experiences with “The Beauty of the Flowing Mind” might be informative or at least entertaining. This pre-retirement retirement has many effects on the stay-at-home parent (the POD – the Parent On Duty), described here. If perchance circumstances have resulted in two PODs in your household, well, you’d best skip this article altogether and focus your efforts on your job

Maybe this seems paradoxical to just me, but I have concluded that Liam has made me a more patient parent than Lucas, even though Lucas was the one who needed more from me. In hindsight, it seemed that Lucas (at 2-3) required a degree of patience from me that was out of my reach so eventually I stopped trying. Whenever he was distressed, my best efforts to comfort, distract or re-direct him, usually didn't work. There didn't seem to be anything I could actively do to help him over the rough spots. In fact, whatever I did seemed to make it worse. So all our efforts were directed at managing him so closely (hence the schedules) that he never got himself (and us) into a state. Liam is different. I know if I just hang in there, hold him and comfort him, work through whatever it might be, he will calm down and be happy baby again. So I extend myself, grit my teeth and be patient with him. (I also keep repeating in my head, ' He is not Lucas, He is not Lucas..') But any

I am anxious to get back to the playgroups with my Moms group, and talk with some of the other moms because I want to know what they talk to their husbands about at the end of the day. If I were to truly tell my husband what goes on with my day? Well, the conversation would be inane and irrelevant. Gunnar: "How was your day honey?" Big smile. Me: "You know the usual. Lucas got up late this morning and was crabby because he didn't have enough time to play before breakfast and Liam pulled off my tiny earring, you know, the one I was so excited about getting because I thought he wouldn't notice it, and I could wear earrings again? Anyways, he pulled it off, and I grabbed it from him and set it down so I could deal with him appropriately, and I forgot about it, but when I went back to look for it I couldn't find it. It might have gotten wiped off the table when I was cleaning, so I spent part of the day sifting through the garbage looking for it, then I looked

Liam has been in daycare now 2 times/week since May, so I have Tuesday and Thursday every week to do my thing. So far, that "thing" has been laundry, errands and some blogging. Well, my husband has reminded me, not for the first time mind you, that my weekend is Tuesday and Thursday. That came as quite a shock frankly. What? You mean I shouldn't expect you to spend all your time with them on the weekend when you are at home? Ok, I have to sit down for that and think about it. Mmmm, my weekend is not Saturday and Sunday? In some ways that might be good? My conclusions are, (well I have more, but these are the ones I can publish here), but, my conclusions are: - I need to rejigger my Tues/Thurs routine so I don't do errands or laundry or anything related to house/home or children. (In short, house is more of a mess than usual on these days...despite the fact that I am unencumbered.) - I need to rejigger my expectations of what my Saturday and Sunday look like. For

After 11 years of marriage I think my husband is having an attack of 'How well do I really know you?' He doesn't know my favourite colour, movie, song or books, but I figured it's because for 1 year of our 2-year courtship (during which one usually finds out about such things), we were on different continents. So I thought maybe I'll take a stab at a flower I like. Then I came up with 3 and I guess not surprisingly, my choices reveal something about me. Unfortunately, I don't think this will help him much except to confuse him even more. The sunflower . I like the sunflower because it stands head and shoulders above other flowers. The stalk is thick and strong and the flower is sturdy and bold. Attention-getting. The rose . The rose seems to me to be easily recognizable, accessible. You know what you're getting with a rose. It is soft, warm to look at and approachable, and on top of everything, they smell great! Can't beat sweet-smelling. (These are my M

"I asked him, 'Do you want to be my friend?' And he said 'Yes' " That's how Lucas told me he made a new friend in 2nd grade. So simple, yet indicative of Lucas as we have come to know him - outgoing, friendly, enthusiastic and brave. Yesterday was Lucas' first day of school in his new private school. It made me realize that I don't take enough time to appreciate big son (since I am busy appreciating baby son). So this is my tribute to big son. Although he was starting a new school, Lucas was his usual optimistic, excited self. Anxious to get to school and once there, was interested in his class, desk and what was going on. He is a marvel. I wish I could bottle whatever is in his personality that makes him so positive and enthusiastic, pretty much all the time. I certainly could use some of that tonic. I imagine what I would feel like if it was me - trepidation, intimidated..all manner of bad things. He is so bright and colourful that I fe

Before I went on my trip back home to Trinidad in April, my doctor told me that my cholesterol was too high, even though I am underweight for my height (or perhaps that is exactly why I have high cholesterol?) Anyway, I was supposed to go back to the doctor after I had..ahem..modified my diet. Well, if you look at the pictures of the food I ate while in Trinidad, you'll understand why I haven't been back. (Thanks to Teddy, my brother, for finally sending me the pictures.) I'm not sure how long the strategy of not going back to the doctor will work, but so far, I've been doing well using that approach. A nd here we have the very versatile doubles - good for breakfast, lunch and dinner; which is how often I tried to eat them. Made from flour that is fried with curried channa (garbanzo beans) inside and some pepper. What it looks like on the inside, revealing said channa and pepper. A bit of trivia - it used to be two separate baras making the doubles, now some ve

Sometimes the thought crosses my mind that you've been made just for me. Before this, you were dwelling somewhere in the stars; you were summoned to earth just for me... Sometimes the thought crosses my mind that this body and these eyes are kept in trust for me that the dark shadows of your hair are for my sake alone, that these lips and these arms are charged to my care... These are the first two verses (translated) of one of my mom's favourite songs- Khabi Khabie, from the movie of the same name. The song was written by poet Sahir Ludhianvi with music composed by Mohammed Zahar Khaiyamm and sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. It is such a beautiful, soul-baring and hair-raising love song. Here is a picture of my mom surrounded by the flowers she loved, for her 60th birthday. She died 5 years later. Ironically, she never knew what the lyrics meant. Today marks 7 years since she died, but some of the things I have to be grateful for are: - We had a loving relationsh

That would be me. I wouldn't normally post something like this but I felt the time had come. I am entering freak zone and little girls (and they've all been girls so far), come up to me asking me what is wrong with my skin. My answer is that my skin isn't working right and it is losing its colour. I have vitiligo - yes, the thing that Michael Jackson had. So even though I like being in the top 1-2% of the population, this isn't at all what I had in mind. As far as "the doctors" can tell it's an autoimmune disease where my immune cells may be attacking my pigment cells, and the pigment cells are losing. For a dark-skinned person, the effect is striking. There is no cure and you may or may not respond to the existing treatments. (Lucas, my 7-year old, tells me that having another baby would help. I'm not buying it though I might be inclined to try ginko balboa.) It seems almost obscene, if not in poor-taste to make a fuss about something th

I thought that the friends I made when I first moved to Austin would eventually form my family away from family. That didn't work out like I expected. I've concluded that most of the friends I've made through the kids, have not translated into social interactions sans children. That's the crux of it. So, how can I actively find and keep female friends; women who I consider my band of sisters? And will they view our relationship the same way I do? And how is this latest harbinger of head-hurt related to understanding my world? Here it comes. Because I don't interact with people on an everyday basis, (my contact today has been the boys and the Ozarka guy dropping off water), I miss out on the office conversation about the latest news, gadgets, social networking, etc. Now, I'm left to my own devices to acquire and assimilate my world, but what I lack in richness I make up for in diversity. Which brings me to why I am pondering about my peeps. (As a testament to thi