All I Want For Christmas is an Autoclave!

Yep, I'm serious. This is what I want.

It's for the Bechina Clinic. Bechina is a clinic that serves about 500,000 patients a year. They need an autoclave. They need to steralize reusable needles, medical instruments, and guaze. The Clinic is the project of my friend, Mulu. Mulu is a nurse. She's Ethiopian. This is the Clinic that serves her home community in Gojjam Province (near Bahir Dar).

A few years ago Mulu began a non-profit, Clinic At A Time to provide assistance to Bechina Clinic. Watch their YouTube video HERE . I'm inspired to help. Infection is the number 1 cause of morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia (and resource limited countries more generally). An autoclave sterilizes equipment to prevent the spread of infection through medical equipement itself; needles, guaze, medical instruments all get steralized in an autoclave.

Once we get an autoclave, we'll start filling a shipping container with medical supplies - and that's a piece we will work on covering next. Shipping a container costs about $8000 - but we MUST have an autoclave in the container. Bechina desperately needs an autoclave. They identified this need as priority #1 right now.

Anyone, anyone - an autoclave? Readers who are dentists, scientists, medical workers - look around! I know there are autoclaves at university swap shops, in back rooms at dentist offices, unused in labs....Check your university swap shops, ask your friends and neighbors. All of this is, of course, tax deductible through  Clinic At A Time.

Let's find one!
ETA: a rich auntie would do fine, too - because I know where to buy one!

From Hurricane to Skippy - It's a Toddler Thang!

Tons of balloon play is happening in the house. Blueberry has amazing hand-eye coordination and we celebrate his delight in using his body with balloons. Normally we blow them up and then hit them around the house using a child sized tennis racquet. Blueberry can swing away pretty darn well. Lately he has been experimenting with his hands, feet, and doing headers with a balloon. It's good stuff and it tires him out.

In my last post I mentioned we were referring to our little boy as "Hurricane." Somehow, just when I was at the bottom of the barrel this little guy swung  full circle. The other night Mr. Silly Pants commented, "He's so skippy!" It's true - and oh my gosh, what a relief! Oodles and oodles of smiles are so much more fun than the alternative. Of course, I know the winds of change are blowin' - and Blueberry's doin' the toddler thang!

Communication to The Biggies - Please Read

Dear Twinkletoes, Waffles, and Songbird,

Your little bro is a total hurricane of "NO" and "MINE" and "YOU'RE NOT DOING THAT THE WAY I WANT YOU TO!" (He doesn't talk, so this message is all conveyed very loudly through yelling, yanking on my arm, pulling my hand, crying, and occassional full body throw downs accompanied by alligator tears).  Seriously, I feel like I am parenting a hurricane! Plan on helping your 'ol mom out over winter break, K? The well only runneth so deep.

Love, Mommy

Snow Day!

Here, There, and Everywhere

We've had some really doozy days around here with Blueberry. Lots of complaining. Lots of giggling. Lots of smiles. Plenty of tears. Bountiful objections. Fun followed by not so much fun.

Very intense behavior - all day, all the time. I'm wiped out. Blueberry is eating/grazing non-stop (and the diapering is endless!).  He wants to play in the sink, he wants to play outside, he wants to eat, he wants to sit in a different chair, he yells "mine!" "NO!" at every opportunity. He wants to snack while sitting outside in his sled while I pull him around. What????  I hope this little 'blip' doesn't blip too much longer - because it is hard to be 'good' all the time when a little person is contantly shifting gears; going from tugging on my arm and pulling my hand to his next desire, to throwing himself down with abandon over some 'wrong.'  Whew. I'm looking forward to the next shift for Blueberry- because if I can count on anything, I can count on change. Today, change is welcome!

Sunday Snapshot

Sorta Solo Pseudo Single Parenting and Covenants

I've blogged before about the realities and my reflections about raising teenage children who are part of two homes - their dad's and mine. And, add a little toddler to the mix, the child of my husband and myself, and we've got a tapestry of relationships and parenting styles that is pretty darn interesting.

I'm lucky - our blended family is darn functional. We've worked to keep the dysfunction in the adult realm, and tried to maintain healthy and happy biggies. We all live in the same neighborhood. We're walking distance from Harley (that's what we'll call my X on account of his obsession with Harley bikes). My  husband, Mr. Silly Pants, is a friend and very generous adult in the lives of the biggies. He's super - we've grown as a family ourselves since he came into our lives. The depths of this have deepened since we brought our beloved little one into our family. I love being a family of 6.

It's also true that I do a lot of parenting in a pseudo solo space. I say that because I feel like a lot of the parenting I do with the biggies I do in my own space. This is by choice - I'm their mom. I don't want Silly Pants to parent the biggies and they certainly don't want him to parent them. Plus, my biggies have a dad. So, I parent the biggies pretty much on my own. Harley and I cooperate on critical items; common curfew, frequent dialogue about big items (college expenses, sports teams), and we have united fronts on big issue topics (drinking, drugs, dating). Communication lines are open, but most of the time I do my parenting in a more, rather than less, solo way. My opinion is that I do the bulk of the "parenting" in the context of my divorce.

My 'opportunities' to parent are different with each child. I think that's the way it is with children. This isn't a one size fits all family. For instance, Twinkletoes, who is now 19  live(d) here full time, at least up until she started college. For good reasons, about 5 years ago she stopped doing shared placement and stayed here full time. Thus, this was an obvious solo parenting experience. Living with me full time was the right decision for her. She's a super independent, focused, and self-disciplined young woman - so not much parenting required. Even though this is the case, presence has always been important with Twinkletoes. She's grown into an amazing young woman in my presence. Presence: that's the covenant of being a parent, in my opinion (and experience). Songbird is 21 now. She's a joyful, happy, gentle spirit and old soul. Parenting her has been about listening and being open and ready to receive her wisdom and insight. While my parenting didn't involve too many interventions, the experience with her has been close and emotionally lively. Listening: another one of the covenants of parenting.

Waffles brings up the biggie rear. I've got  a fresh parenting story about Waffles. He's a great kid. He's my first boy. For a long time I thought he'd be my only boy. I've always called him my pudding. He is such a free spirit with such a laugh and a sense of fun and silly. I'm crazy about this boy.  I'm more 'in' the parenting space with Waffles. And, although he is 17, he's still under the parental radar on lots of issues. Case in point. Today was the day we decided to get him a new snowboard. He had picked out a board - Rome Artifact. It was the board he wanted. He liked the quality, he liked the brand, the price was great at his board shop. The graphics/content didn't matter to him. In fact, in lots of ways he didn't "see" it, and at least not the way I did. It mattered to me. I said no to this board. He didn't flinch (much). So, one of the covenants of parenting is saying "no." There was no backup for this parenting moment. There was no feedback. Just my boy and me - working it out.

It's what my sorta solo pseudo single parenting gig looks like. It's all good.