October 25, 2007

Magna-Doodlebug

I bought my son a Magna-Doodle yesterday. I probably never would have purchased this toy if it wasn’t on sale.

Magna-Doodles bring back sad memories of my grandmother’s struggle with communication as the result of her many strokes. Grandma Alice couldn’t speak and she wrote her responses to conversations on a Magna-Doodle or dry erase board.

When we went out to breakfast with my parents a few weeks ago, a little area of the dining room had a box of toys ready for impatient and hungry children to play with while waiting for their toast and eggs. Dawson chose to play with the Magna-Doodle and he loved it so much.

I watched him draw shapes, faces, and other scribbles. He made a near perfect circle and was so proud of himself! So, when I saw that these toys were on sale at Target I decided to purchase one. I was going to wait until Christmas to give it to him, but I started to get a little sad.

My grandmother died December 6, 2005. I just didn’t want to have sad memories of her when Dawson opened that toy at Christmas. I’m certain this sounds completely irrational, ridiculous even. But I came home and gave Dawson the toy.

“Mumma! This for me??” Dawson asked. The smile on his face was priceless. He was so happy.

“Yes, buddy. That is for you. Do you remember what that is?” I asked.

“Uh-huh, this my drawing toy.” Dawson said.

“Yeah. It’s called a Magna-Doodle. For my Doodlebug.” I told him.

“Thanks, Mumma, for buying this for me.” he said. He ran over to me and gave me a hug. It was the best hug ever.

Dawson spent the entire evening drawing and erasing and drawing some more. I couldn’t believe how much he loved his new toy.

This morning as we were getting ready, he asked if he could take it to Renee’s house.

“Okay, but you have to share with the other kids and don’t lose the magnetic shapes, okay?”

“I promise Mumma. Dawson share with all the kids, kay?

“Okay.”

He clutched the toy in his arms and we got into the car. He drew pictures all the way to daycare. When we got inside, he ran to show his friends. As I was leaving, Dawson stopped playing, ran to me and said, “Love you, Mumma.”

Who knew a $10 toy could bring so much joy and love to my little Magna-Doodlebug?

October 24, 2007

Mothers Act!

Today is blog day for The Mothers Act. I had planned to write a post pertaining to my struggle with post-partum depression, as well as the health and well being of mothers around the world.

Women across the globe give birth to children every day. It’s surprising to learn that almost 20 percent of new mothers suffer from PPD. Twenty percent. Two out of every ten mothers. Think about it.

I’m certain that you know a mother who has struggled with PPD. I’m not talking about the baby blues, or crying while watching a Hallmark commercial. While that can be emotionally trying, imagine having no desire to interact with your baby. Imagine having panic attacks, nightmares and feeling utterly exhausted every single minute of the day.

These symptoms are some of what I experienced nearly a year and a half after giving birth. My doctor labeled it as Delayed Post-Partum Depression. I had the baby blues after returning home from the hospital, but gradually my emotions and hormones returned to somewhat “normal” levels. I was “okay” until my baby started getting older. It was then that realized I still didn’t feel like I “me” again.

My symptoms were minor compared to women who experience PPD early on. Through therapy and medical treatment (in the form of an anti-depressant), I was able to work through my depression. After several months I was able to stop taking the medicine prescribed because of the progress I made.

Most people do not know about my disorder. I never openly discussed it. I never shared my troubles with my family or my friends. Even my husband didn’t quite “get it”. He just assumed I was tired and needed rest. Luckily, I had an amazing doctor who monitored my emotional and mental health.

Through blogging, I’ve only written about my struggles a few times, but I’ve never written the words.

I struggled with depression.

As you can see, I still can’t get the words out. Not completely. Not yet. Maybe not for a very long time, either.
Katherine Stone writes at BlogHer:

“Postpartum depression is a serious and disabling condition that affects up to 20 percent of new mothers — as much as 800,000 American women each year. Yet only 15 percent of these women will receive any assessment or treatment. Let me repeat. With all we know and as smart as we are, only 15% of 800,000 women will get diagnosed and treated. That is so wrong on so many levels. Women are not being diagnosed because they’re not being educated and they’re not being screened. Untreated, the consequences of maternal mood disorders range from chronic, disabling depression to death. The impact of untreated maternal depression on infants/children ranges from behavioral and learning disabilities to depression and, in the worst case scenarios, death from infanticide.”

As part of Mothers Act, BlogHer, Postpartum Support International and Postpartum Progress are joining together to host Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act. They are asking bloggers from around the country to write about the MOTHERS Act for postpartum depression on Wednesday October 24th, to encourage their readers to pick up the phone that day, call their Senators and urge them to endorse this critical legislation.

What is the MOTHERS Act?

The Moms Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression Act, or MOTHERS Act (S. 1375), will ensure that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms and provided with essential services. In addition, it will increase research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression. The bill is sponsored by Senators Menendez and Durbin.

So,
1. Blog it on Blog Day for The MOTHERS Act today, Wednesday, October 24, 2007
2. Share your link at BlogHer
3. Proudly display the badge in this post stating you’re going to do the above.
4. CALL YOUR SENATORS AND ASK THEM TO SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION!!!
5. Go to Postpartum Support International to get all the contact info you need.

Or, click here to find your United States Senator’s contact information and then all you need to do is say to the person who answers the phone:

“I’m calling because I want the Senator to vote for the MOTHERS Act, Senate Bill 1375. I vote and live in the Senator’s state.”

So, what do you say? Will you show your support for mother’s around the world?

October 23, 2007

Tuesday Randomness

It has dawned on me that November is knocking on my back door. It feels like yesterday that I was enjoying the warmth of summer, spending most of my free time outside with Dawson.

Now the trees have changed colors and some are bare, the crisp air smells of burning leaves; and apples, pumpkins and multi-colored mums are the decor of the season.

Where did summer go? When did autumn set in? Perhaps with football season I suppose.

The Green Bay Packers aren’t terrible this year. My sister Rachel and I are going to the Packer vs. Vikings game at Lambeau Field on November 11th. We are really psyched!

It’s been ten years since my last Packer game. I went to the Monday night, Packers vs. Vikings game in December of 1997 at the Metrodome. We kicked Viking ass! It’s exciting to go to another game against one of our rivals and cheer for our team.

Yesterday I had to be in Fond du Lac for a company meeting. The drive is an hour and a half each way and by the time I got home I was ready to go to bed. My brain was filled to capacity with information, new procedures and a little bit of useless knowledge. I can’t function today because I’m trying to weed out the info I don’t need to write down. Ugh!

Dawson is ready for Halloween. Every morning he asks if today is the day he gets to go trick or treating with his friends. I think it’s cute that he is so excited. His costume is hanging on the door knob to his room, ready to be put on at a moment’s notice.

This week we have three Halloween parties to attend. One at church, one at the children’s museum and one at the Moose Lodge that my father is a member of. Dawson will be sugared out by Sunday. Yikes!

I still haven’t found a Halloween costume to wear. I guess I just won’t be dressing up this year. Do you have any costume ideas for me?

October 18, 2007

No Internet? Big Problem!

I am over at The Imperfect Parent today.

I know. It’s 10:15 p.m. Kind of late to tell you all that. If you knew about the internet trouble I had today, you would completely understand.

Eleven hours.

That’s how long I was without internet connection. I know that’s nothing. But when you’re addicted like me, it feels like an eternity.

We had an internet outage due to approaching bad weather. FOR ELEVEN HOURS.

So most of you will be reading this post on Friday. Please head over to my Home/Office column and leave me a comment. I’ll love you more than I do now if you do. And if you can’t get over there, I’ll still love you.

Because I’m cool like that.

Happy Friday.