The Unadventures of Tracie

I'm so relieved I could almost cry. We've finally (though, in retrospect, we were lucky to find out as soon as we did) figured out why Morgan is the way he is. Morgan is a happy lovable child that we once worried was autistic. After undergoing a few comprehensive evaluations via Kids on the Move, we have learned that Morgan most likely has a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), specifically he has a Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD) that exhibits as sensory seeking. I think at this point that's it unlikely he has autism. It's still possible that he could have ADHD because the two disorders have similar symptoms (but different causes). It's also possible he has both since they do sometimes overlap. But for right now (it's too soon to tell precisely since he is very young) I feel fairly certain that Morgan is a Sensory Seeker. Morgan is also pretty behind in his receptive (understanding) and expressive (talking) communication. Though Morgan is almost 24 months, hi...

Those of you who are my Facebook friends may have seen that I'm beginning the doula certification process. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Becoming a doula is something I knew I wanted to do when I found out what they were, and I experienced what having one during labor was like. Basically doulas are awesome. So extremely awesome. I believe almost every woman would benefit from a doula, no matter the circumstances. Research supports me in this declaration as well. Many studies have shown doulas to be beneficial. There was actually one published just a few months ago that found After examining 21 trials involving over 15,000 women, the review authors found that women who received continuous support (i.e. a doula) during labor: were more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth were less likely to have intrapartum analgesia (i.e. an epidural) were less likely to report dissatisfaction with their labors had shorter labors were more likely to give birth without ...

So I remembered once that Austin posted a list 3 years ago of his top ten Christmas movies and thought, you know I should do the same. So here are MY favorite Christmas movies in somewhat ascending order: 1.  The Santa Clause - This is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. This movie is just quintessential Christmas to me. Santa, the holiday spirit, presents, kids, elves, snow, humor. It's got it all. I love how the elfs look like children. It could be that this movie came out when I was still young enough to consider myself a kid (1994) or it could be that it's just that good of a show. I love this description for The Santa Clause I found on the Sun Sentine l 's  list of the Top 25 best Christmas movies : "It's every kid's dream: Dad could be Santa Claus. All he has to do is push the other Santa off his roof. That perfect mix of whimsy and mature laughs made this Tim Allen comedy an annual favorite. Who can forget Allen desperately trying to lose...

In high school I wrote the following poem: Achieving Perfection Always too much to do Never enough time Placed in a box by well-meaning family and friends-- trying to help, only making it worse-- Walls closing in Suffocating Trapped This still encapsulates how I feel today. There are many themes in this short poem that apply to me and my life. But the part I want to focus on is "placed in a box by well-meaning family and friends." I think there is something about human nature that wants everything to be neatly labeled. Things are black and white. You are a Blue. This is evil. This is good. I am right. You are wrong. In a blog comment on one of the blogs I read, a commenter said on the topic of discussion (which is irrelevant to this post): "We all love simple answers. We all want guarantees. But maybe there are none." And I agree. Life is not black and white but rather multitudes and meritudes of shades of gray. And within these shades of gray are darker tones...

Well, I would've caught up on blog entries this weekend if Morgan didn't decide it was a great time for him to get sick for the first time. Poor kid. He didn't understand why his tummy hurt and throwing up scared him. It was quite the adventure involving many towels. We're a bit worried about him because it's day 3 and he still hasn't eaten more than a couple of bits of anything. Yesterday he wouldn't eat or drink. Today fortunately he has drank some juice and Pedialyte. Still won't eat anything though. I've tried giving him lots of bland foods and stuff. Won't eat. I really hope he starts eating soon. Though I'm less worried as long as he keeps drinking. So of course I caught the bug from Morgan. I really, really hate vomiting. Of course I don't know anyone who likes it. But I have like an aversion to it, which is bad because it's really hard for me to do it even when I really need to. So now I'm on my second sick day from wo...

Hi peeps! (otherwise known as the handful of friends and family that read this) I know, I know. I've already failed at my goal. But don't worry. I'm going to try to make up for it this weekend by posting lots of totally cool stuff that you'll just love for all sorts of reasons. As a warning, this post won't be that cool. I need to just write and let myself ramble on about stuff because that's how I roll yo. I had a sleep relapse last night. Bad Tracie. But the good news is I went almost two weeks at going to bed at a more decent hour (which many of you would consider "late"). And the other good news is I regretted it so much because it became extra clear to me how sucky it is to be so tired. So no more! I WILL get better at this. Dude, there's nothing I can't do when I set my mind to it. Because, yeah, I'm that awesome. I've been thinking a lot lately about a lot of things. About my life, my passions, my desires, my ambitions, my fe...

I've written before about how I have a problem getting enough sleep. This was partially due to baby, PPD, and OCD/addictive habits. I'm happy to report that the last week I got about 7-8 hours of sleep every day. I'm still staying up later than I should, but I'm making a lot of progress. I'm hoping that I can continue to break the self-destructive habit/addiction cycle that I've been living in the last 2 years.  For those that didn't know, I couldn't make myself go to bed at a reasonably hour, even when I wanted. I would read, watch TV, or stay on the computer for hours and hours and hours. Sometimes even until dawn. Even when I wanted to go to bed, I couldn't make myself do it. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't feel in control of my life. I'm very busy taking care of a toddler and working all day every day. My husband is at school or work all day and part of the night. So by the time I get time to myself I have to w...