Halloweens Past

Today I was looking through old pictures from Halloweens when the kids were growing up. I used to put so much effort into creating their costumes and we never managed to actually go trick-or-treating in them til they were older. Thought you might enjoy getting a look at some of them though!

In this picture, Kevan was your standard issue 50s teenager and Kirin was a kitten. It was her first Halloween, 1994. I took a sweatshirt and turned it into a romper and created a hat with ears out of part of one of the sleeves that I cut off. I added plastic jewels around the neckline for a collar. I'm pretty sure I did the whole thing with a glue gun and no sewing. I'm also pretty sure I did it in an afternoon.

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Halloween 1995 brought us James. This was the first year that my obsession with "twin" costumes took over. These were a black dress and romper (premade) that I used fusible interfacing, Halloween prints, and paint to embellish. I would also like it noted that BOTH my children were wearing socks. I loved these outfits so much! They also had matching ones for Fourth of July and Grandparents Day.

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When Kirin was two and James was one I made Raggedy Ann and Andy costumes for them. Unfortunately, because it rained so hard that year, they didn't get to wear them. Now if you're looking at this picture and thinking "That doesn't look like October" then you'd be right. The costumes were mainly red, white, and blue though, so I made them wear them for their trip to the parade in LaGrange for the Fourth of July. So in reality, she is three and he is two in this picture. Just in case you're keeping track!

 

Next blog...First store bought costumes!!

Sticking to Decaf

I started drinking coffee again recently. More because of the ritual of having it brewing in the morning than for anything else. This is my parents' house and it's supposed to smell like there's a pot of coffee on. But I gave up caffeine as a regular thing several years ago so when I get any in my system, it takes a while for it to go away. I don't like that buzzy feeling that I get when my head is spinning and I can't really focus on anything.

Yesterday I decided to use the grounds that my dad left, premixed, of half caf/half decaf. What could a little bit do, right? Ummm... Lots. When you're not used to it, there's a lot of caffeine in 3 big cups of the stuff. And I know it's not the sugar that I use in abundance because a sugar high is different for me than a caffeine rush. Mainly because the sugar wears off in a couple of hours...the caffeine does NOT.

Oh and I've also almost kicked the need to have my coffee be a color other than dark brown or black. When I was a kid of say 2 or 3 (yeah I know...) they started giving me coffee that had milk and sugar in it, but it was in one of those old Navy (not Old Navy) mugs that has the blue stripes around it. The color of the mug made the white coffee look blue so I called it "Blue Coffee". Until my dear Aunt Dot passed away, she still asked me if I still drank my coffee "blue". And I do. Cept now they charge me $4 and call it a latte. Whatever. I'm down to half a cup of sugar (hyperbole at it's finest) and no cream or milk. That's progress right!?

After trying to go to sleep at 2AM and finding it difficult, and waking up uncomfortably throughout the night, I decided to go back to my decaf. The side effects were just too much. Plus when I woke up this morning I grabbed the Pledge and the Windex and started dusting and cleaning surfaces. Anyone who knows me knows that this is WAY outside my comfort zone!!

So for now...unless I have to drive 12 hours straight to get somewhere...I'm sticking to decaf! (But I DO have fully loaded for when you come to visit me!!!)

(Just for Jennifer: I gave it up when it was a choice between drinking a six pack of Dr. Peppers a day and living on meds for IBS, or just quitting cold turkey. I still drink it now and then but I KNOW when I've had it!! LOL)

Yes it was my first time...

I know it's hard to believe that I've never been to the commissary before but it's true! Today was my very first time going to that mythical place that I've heard about my whole life. LOL It was pretty much what I had expected. Sort of somewhere between Frank's Warehouse Foods and Winn Dixie. The prices were pretty good but I'm used to buying stuff at Sam's where the cost per ounce is just so much lower. I think the allure of no sales tax helps a lot, too!

Anyway... it was nice to get out of the house and spend some time with my friend and her sweet babies. I am glad that I have so many younger friends who have kids that I can practice being a grandma with. I think I'll be good at it eventually but I'm seriously in NO rush to get there. I do see the allure of being able to play with them and then hand them back though. I remember being a mom with three young kids and it was TOUGH! I can't even imagine trying to start over at this age with another one. I'm totally cool with moving on to the next phase of my life. And considering what I do for a living, that's a decision that was a long, hard one to get to. At least by helping other people bring their bundles of joy into the world, I will have the opportunity to get some sweet baby loving in now and then!!

Happy Monday!

How was YOUR day? Mine was pretty good, actually. Thanks for asking! Because I have wonderful friends who care about my mental health (LOL?), I got out of the house for a while today and went to BK to watch my practice grandchild play on the playground while I got some grown up girl time with two of my sweet friends! Because I wrote about it (now), and because I didn't pig out on fries, I'm counting that excursion as a score on Goals 1, 2, 4, and 5!

Got a call today from someone who is due in June. THAT would take care of Goal #3 in and of itself, but I'm also on the verge of committing to a new venture that will get me over the financial humps of not having a bunch of doula clients. It will also enable force me to get out of the house on a more regular basis. And that's a good thing, right?

Okay so now for my whining opportunities to give grace for the day. My ex is seriously just... I am praying for him. And for my kids. AND for the dog. Bless their hearts. Also, I made a phone call today that I've been avoiding for the last 23 years or so. So what if it was the wrong number. Getting up the courage to DIAL it was tough. Because I love my family, I will keep looking for the right number. It's the least I can do.

Dove Chocolate party is on Wednesday night! I need 5 or so people to come so let me know if you're available!!

New Goals

I've been a bad bad blogger. I just realized that it has been a YEAR since I posted anything! I went to the trouble of making my site all customized and then quit writing. Blog foul.

So Goal #1 is going to be to post more often! I promise that I will try to get something up here at least twice a week even if it's not one of my 5000 word diatribes about bad service in a restaurant or what my life has come to be.

Goal #2 is to get out of the house EVERY day even if it is only to walk around in the yard for 10 minutes. I've become a hermit and that's not good. Hmmm... Maybe I can just take the laptop out onto the front porch??

Goal #3 is to find more clients for my doula business. Ideally I would like to have 2 paying clients and at least one free client per month. There's $50 in it for you if you find someone who signs a full contract. Seriously.

Goal #4 is to keep working on this getting healthier thing. I'm working with a Growth Group at MyChurch called Spiritually Fit. I've lost about 10 pounds and I have to keep going.

Goal #5 is to enjoy life to the fullest. Okay so I'm already a fan of this one but you have to put some easy goals in there right?

Stay tuned and let's see how things go!!

"I Told You So..."

For those of you who blog...have you ever had the experience where a blog is just "gurgling" (for lack of a better word) around in your head and you know you're not going to have any peace until you type it all out? That's what this blog is...gurgle.

Fifteen years ago, about 15 minutes after Kirin was born I asked my midwife why more people don't know about homebirth. I found out that a lot of people have been afraid to talk about it because people would think that they were crazy or that they were endangering their children. I realize that homebirth is a deeply personal decision (and that it's not for everyone) but I told her that night that it was going to be my mission to tell as many people as possible about it and that everyone I knew from then on was going to know that it was a valid choice for most women.

As a result of that decision, I think that most people who know me KNOW that I've had 3 kids at home. I'm pretty up front about it and it comes up, or I bring it up, pretty quickly after meeting people. Let's get this straight though... I'm not telling people that I had my kids at home so that they'll think that I'm some sort of superwoman or because I think that I'm better than someone else who chose a more traditional hospital birth. I do it because I want people to know that homebirth is a choice that they (or their friends, or their daughters, or whomever) can make and that there is a support system out there for them. Most people tell me that they didn't know it was an option or that they wish they HAD known they could have done it.

I hear a lot of birth horror stories about how a person's baby would have died if they had tried to deliver at home. I spend a lot of valuable energy stressing out over whether or not to tell them that most of their problems were consequences of their choice of birth location. Mostly I tell them what I fully believe to be true... "I'm glad that hospitals and doctors are there for the women who need them." I also happen to believe however, that if more low-risk women chose alternative birthing options it would free up the medical system to take better care of the women who genuinely DO need medical care or surgical deliveries.

Okay all that being said.... I've known for a LONG time that I want to be a midwife. When Kirin and James were babies I got involved with the debate of Home vs. Hospital on the AOL debate boards. I started learning about birth in a more in depth way than I had when I had just read through What to Expect and The Birth Book while I was pregnant. I knew that I was heading down that path but with two little ones (and Kevan who was 9) I knew that this wasn't the right time.

One of my best friends was pregnant when James had just turned a year old and was having a tough time of it. As soon as she stopped taking her meds she immediately went into labor and I headed to Atlanta to pick up her son's father from the airport. By the time we got back to the hospital the baby had been born and all seemed well. Then I took the video home to transfer it to VHS so the dad could watch. What I saw sickened me and I cried for a long time. Thinking about it now still chokes me up. The way she was treated and the things that were done to her were horrendous. The staff didn't notice the camera because her sister is a nurse and was in scrubs. I won't go into detail but I can tell you that I will never sit idly by and let this happen to someone else that I love.

Three months later I lost my mom. I felt helpless and pretty much alone in the world. I kept going back to that birth though. I knew I still wasn't ready to become a midwife but I wanted to do SOMETHING about it so I went to doula training in FL. I learned SO much and felt like I could make a difference...one birth at a time. I spent the next few years attending births in Columbus (and Atlanta!) and teaching childbirth classes. It was a good thing. I felt like I was where I was supposed to be but still something was missing.

Circumstances changed. Life happened. Justin came along. I finally had to get a job working outside of the home that prohibited me from going to births. I spent five years working at a hospital but knowing that deep down this wasn't forever. I jokingly said that when I was 80 I was going to be catching babies finally but still the desire was there. I got back into school and every paper that needed to be written about my future always found it's way back to midwifery.

When I lost my job at St. Francis I thought my world had come to an end. I ended my engagement and moved back in with my ex husband for strictly financial reasons. For 18 months I've been looking for a permanent job that would allow me to have my independence back and searching for a way to keep myself from falling back into my old habits of relying on my ex for everything.

I found MyChurch on Facebook and a door hanger and thought that I'd give it a try. I was working at Hopegivers and I knew that God was trying to tell me something but I was still only hearing what I wanted to hear from Him. I kept on praying for what I wanted and not for what He wants for me. So I went to the tent and found part of what had been missing. My relationship with Him started to change and I saw people all around me that had that PEACE that I had been missing.

While I was working on a project for one of my last classes, I had to create a business that I would like to own and it was completely pregnancy and birth related. I was missing a person from my plan. I needed someone who wanted to work as a post partum doula and go into the home and help mom get accustomed to motherhood. Out of the blue I got an email from Imani. She introduced herself and said she was interested (even though she didn't know that I had this plan!) and when we talked I found out she was expecting her fifth child. She is this amazing Godly woman and she and I kept in touch over the months of her pregnancy.

I graduated in September and I had this plan to start grad school in November and keep going til I got my masters degree in Business Management. Keep in mind that this is all part of the plan to be able to handle the business side of my midwifery practice when I'm 80. Being a midwife is not lucrative and without the support of a full time job or a supportive husband I just didn't think I was ever going to be able to do it.

I kept praying and praying for God to help me find a job and to help me get out of this living situation. Then we started the Detours series at church. The first week Jeff talked about how if we stay between the lines of God's providential will (what we know to be true...that He loves us...that He died for us...) and God's moral will (things we know are right and good for us) that He will be able to show us and guide us to what He wants for us.

A couple of things happened that morning. First of all I wrote on my communication card that I wanted God to show me what He wants for me because I'm tired of struggling with decisions about whether to move to Atlanta for a better job or to stay here and work for less to be near my kids. And second, God told me to put $5 in the collection plate. Here's how the conversation went:

God: Kim I want you to put $5 in the plate.
Kim: Seriously? That's ALL I have!!
God: Just trust me.
Kim: But I'm hungry and I want to be able to get something to eat after church!
God: Just trust me.
Kim: Fine. Where's my wallet. (looking for wallet) Hey! There's a $1 in here! How about I put THAT in the plate?
God: Seriously? What did I tell you? Just TRUST me!!
Kim: Fine. Here you go. :::grumble grumble:::
God: You'll see...

I was probably a little more cheerful than that but not much more. But I decided to trust Him. I know that He provides. Heck He's been keeping me fed for the better part of 2 years now!! But to completely give it ALL to Him was a struggle...symbolic that there was money involved but it was more than that. I gave Him ALL my trust when I put that $5 in that plate.

Fast forward to 11PM. I'm snuggled under the covers watching House on Hulu because I'm behind on this season already. The phone rings and it is Imani. She is in labor and wants me to come sit with her until the midwife gets there. I get up all excited to be going to not just a birth but to a HOMEBIRTH!! WOO HOO!! The ex of course wants to know why I'm up and moving around and disturbing him and he grumbles that it's not my responsibility to go to this birth and that I need to be home as soon as possible. I told him that it was my priviledge to be able to attend and that I really want to get back into doing births and that I'll be home as soon as possible.

On the way over God and I had some more quality time. I asked Him to please give me the knowledge and the calmness to get through this labor. I asked Him for a safe and easy delivery for Imani since I imagined that she, and certainly her husband, were nervous about their first homebirth. I prayed for the midwife to have safe travels on the way from Auburn. And I prayed that the baby would be blessed and that God would favor him throughout his life. I just kept asking God to keep me between the lines. All day and all night...I kept asking that over and over.

There was a peace in the house and I knew that we were under His protection. Good thing because three contractions after I got there the show was on and on the fourth contraction dad and I helped baby boy into this world!

Amazing... AMAZING!!! Not only did things go smoothly but God was in my ear saying, "I TOLD YOU SO!!" He asked for my trust and I gave it to Him and He blessed me in ways I had never imagined!! All these years I've been putting it off and putting it off but I knew deep down that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Now I know WHY though... The thing that was missing was my trust in God. Knowing that the reason that I'm going to do this is because it is what HE wants for me and not what I want for me has made a huge difference. I have that piece and that peace that has been missing!!

On Wednesday I started a temp assignment that came up out of the blue which will carry through to the first of the year. I also found a midwifery program in SC that I can do as a distance learning thing and it won't break my bank. AND... the midwife is going to let me use her distance learning VHS tapes to get my doula certification back through CAPPA and she wants to take a year off so she said she'd send me some doula business.

Oh!!! And the $5!? So Tuesday report cards came home and James is NOT doing well in a couple of his classes so the ex and I went to the school for a Freshman parents thing. I registered for a door prize and won a $50 Visa gift card. You know what God said?

"I told you so..."

What now?

Last night I completed the last paper and the last final for my last class as an undergrad. September 12th I'm set to walk across the stage for my BS in Business Management.

Wow...

How'd I get here?

Back in 1985...WAY BACK... I accepted a scholarship from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. I was only 17 when I graduated from high school and went away to study music at Converse. In hindsite I was completely unprepared for life on my own. I was way over my head. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I came home shortly after my 18th birthday and went from hanging out with debutantes to working in a grocery store.

In 1986, at 18 and pregnant with my first child, I went back to school. This time I was staying home and playing it safe. I went to sign up for a marketing program at Columbus Tech and they talked me into studying Mechanical Engineering Technology instead. I really didn't know what that meant but they assured me that I was suited for it so I jumped in with both feet. I made great friends and spent a great couple of semesters taking classes but when I got chickenpox 2 weeks before Kevan was born, I couldn't go to school and lost my spot.

I spent a couple of years working in the banking industry and turning 21. All my friends were graduating from college and I was working and doing my best to be a parent even though I wasn't really sure what that really meant back then.

When my daughter was in kindergarten I met my future ex-husband. (Ironically, I referred to him that way from the start.) In 1993, married and pregnant with my second child, I went back to school again. This time I was at Columbus College/State and just taking classes for fun. I took my ENG101 class and then Trig and Calculus. By the time I finished Calculus I had already had my third child and school just got to be too much with three kids at home.

Fast forward to 2004. Divorced. Four kids. Working full-time at the hospital as a systems analyst. People all around me were working on their masters degrees and I still didn't have my bachelors. I took a long lunch and went back to Columbus Tech to enroll in the associates program for Management and Supervisory Development. They assured me I could do the whole thing online and that I'd neve have to stress over parking. Sounded reasonable and an hour later I was a student again.

I did about 18 months worth of work towards my associates degree and then the HOPE grant ran out. (I know the grant only pays for non-degree programs but you can use it to get all the classes that are shared by both programs out of the way and then transfer over to the degree program.) I couldn't afford to keep going and they didn't do a wonderful job of explaining financial aid so I left college for the fourth time.

Two things happened in 2006. First, I was evicted from my house. Facing the possibility of being homeless was a big wake up call and it showed me that once and for all I needed to get on the ball and get this education thing over with. Second, three people who I have a lot of respect for started going to (or were graduating from!) the University of Phoenix. I had looked at UOP a few years back and the cost was way too high for what I considered a second rate education.

Then I saw the difference that UOP was making in my friends' lives. One friend was finishing up his undergrad degree in IT management. Seeing the transformation that took place in him was amazing. He won't admit to it but he really grew in those few short years. He was starting his masters program and I realized that I was going to be completely left behind all my peers if I didn't get on the ball.

I made the appointment to talk to an enrollment counselor and we started the paperwork to get my financial aid and student loans started. Two weeks later I walked into a classroom for the first time in 12 years and was scared out of my mind. The thing that I found most amazing was that everyone else was just as scared...or MORE afraid...than I was. These were not your typical college students. We were all older and had more going on than the average 18 year old fresh out of high school.

Three years later I look back on my first team. Kym, Tovelle, Johulyn, and I were Team C. I got us t-shirts to wear for our final presentation. "Cool Cats Conquering College" They were pink. LOL We rocked. Sadly, I just looked for the three of them on Facebook and they're not there.

Classes came and went. Teams were formed, and tears were shed. I found out that you get out of an education what you put into it and my opinion of the University of Phoenix completely changed.

My cap and gown arrived last week.

It was hard to take it out of the box and look at it. Trying it on still harder.

So much has changed since I started out as a student 24 years ago. I have four wonderful children who mean the world to me. They probably wouldn't be here if I had graduated at 21 and become a famous opera singer. I have wonderful friends that I've made along the way. People who have changed my opinons and opened my eyes and helped me to make incredible memories.

And my mom is gone. I know she'll be there with me in spirit but it still hurts to think that she's missing out on all this. My dad and my sister will be there. I thank God for them every day. We've all been through so much in the last couple of years.

Here's the thing... The best is yet to come. God has a plan and everything happens for a reason. It's not up to us to know what the reason is and sometimes it takes 24 years to figure out why things happened the way they did. Things have been tough at times but it's the hard stuff that makes us stronger. Through the tears and the laughter we become who we're supposed to be.

Congratulations to my fellow graduates of the Class of 2009.

God bless you all...