I'm published!

...in the newspaper, that is! I was interviewed a couple of weeks ago for a great story in the Star Tribune about Blooma, Sarah Longacre's (my lovely doula & friend) yoga studio and center for all things related to birth. The article is fantastic. Hopefully it will bring a ton of exposure to Blooma and help more women become aware of many healthy, natural pregnancy and birthing options that are available to them. Here's my fifteen minutes of fame:

Kerri Rivers used massage, acupuncture, prenatal yoga and education classes at Blooma before her son Eliot was born nine months ago, with Longacre assisting. "It completely prepared me to give birth in the way that I wanted to," the Minneapolis resident said. "My goal was to have a natural, unmedicated birth, and the yoga was a huge help in that."

Check out the whole story in today's Star Tribune. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know how much prenatal yoga helped me in my pregnancy and how much both prenatal yoga and Sarah, my doula, helped me during labor. If you're a first time reader, check out some older posts related to pregnancy and birth for more info about my experiences with Blooma, prenatal yoga and our birth story.

Namaste!

YES WE DID!

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

~ Barack Obama

YES WE CAN!

I have tons of updates from October, but all I can think about tonight is the election tomorrow... so today's post will be short and sweet. VOTE!!! If you're still undecided, head on over to Obama's website and spend some time reading - I believe you will be easily convinced that he is the right choice - our only choice to move forward and fulfill the promise of this country. Peace and love!

Marathon Weekend 2008 (Kerri's version)

For the second year in a row, it was a crazy, fun and tiring marathon weekend! Here's how it all went down.

Saturday
This year, we (mostly me) decided to enter Eliot in the Diaper Dash, which is a race for crawlers. The race was Saturday morning at 10:30 am in downtown St. Paul, near where the marathon finishes. Since Jason and Les (his marathon running partner - also our friend & daycare provider extraordinaire!) had to pick up their race numbers/bibs, etc. at the Expo in downtown, we brought Les with us. My mom also met us there so Eliot would have a larger cheering section!



We were running late (Yes, I know, as usual, but this time it was Jason's fault!) but luckily got there with enough time to register Eliot, pay the $10 fee and make it to the starting line before they were off and crawling. It was a bit of madhouse with all the babies and their parents. We set Eliot down and he was immediately accosted by a competitor! Dang those adorable baby girls!




When the race started, about 50% of the babies were crying or screaming and the other 50% had begun to crawl the grueling 5 feet toward the finish line. Eliot, having been injured by the adorable baby girl and frightened by all the noisy, screaming babies around him, had a bit of a nervous breakdown and didn't actually crawl at all.


As I kept taking photos, the cruel mother that I am, Eliot's loving Daddy and Grandma swooped in and rescued him from the utter horror that is the Diaper Dash. While they were comforting Eliot, I was secretly smiling on the inside (manipulative mother...) believing this to be a sign that as he gets older, Eliot will be more interested in books, choir and drama club than sports!





After Eliot had calmed down, Jason and Les took care of a critical part of any successful marathon training regimen: copious amounts of caffeine. Me and my mom had some also, but just because it was free, warm and tasted good.


After stopping at the Expo to get their marathon numbers, we dropped Les off at home, had lunch with my mom and spent a couple of hours shopping so Jason could get one last workout in before the race on Sunday...just kidding! We did go shopping but not for exercise! That night for supper, I made Jason a yummy carb-filled lasagna and buttery garlic bread. It was very good and we're still eating it today... I got the recipe from my Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook, which I love. The goat cheese makes the filling nice and tangy which goes great with the heavier flavored sauce. Here's the recipe and some pictures:

Lasagna with Turkey Sausage
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled (I used a nice soft chevre)

1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.
• Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
• Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Garlic Bread

• Roast a whole head of garlic at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until soft. To roast, put it in a tin foil pouch with about a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt and stick in the oven. I used Siberian garlic - a mild, heirloom variety that we bought at our local farmer's market this summer.
• Once the garlic is soft, peel off the bulb wrapper and mash it with some soft butter.
• Spread on a crusty loaf of bread, add a bit of freshly shaved Parmesan and broil for a couple of minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
  

After supper, we got everything packed and ready for the next morning. Since it was going to be just me and Eliot chasing them around, I needed to be super organized. After we had climbed into bed, Jason asked me to remember to bring his Obama t-shirt so that he could change into it before he crossed the finish line. I remembered that last year, people had all kinds of stuff written on their bodies in permanent marker, so I asked him if he wanted me to draw Obama "stuff" on him. Of course he did! Here's my lovely artwork and Jason's political statement:


Sunday
Jason was up by 6:30 am and out of house shortly thereafter and me and Eliot were up by 7 am. I was hoping to leave the house by 8:45 so I could catch them at mile 8 at 9:20, but it was pouring rain when I was getting ready to go and it took me a lot longer to load the car and get out of the house. So I changed plans and went to mile 10 instead. I barely got there in time. As me and Eliot were walking toward the runners, I could see Jason and Les passing me. I ran toward them screaming like a crazy lady. I was wearing Eliot in the front pack, had a backpack on with a bunch of stuff they might need and was carrying an umbrella to keep us dry as it was still pouring rain. I think I must have looked hilarious, but thankfully I caught them.

Me and Eliot continued following them around the course and we were able to see them at miles 8, 15, 19, 21, 25 and at the finish. Yes, they finished! A great accomplishment considering Jason's "training" (if you want to call it that) consisted of less than 15 runs TOTAL. I'll let him tell you exactly how he did and what his finish time was. He did great!

It was a very fast paced day for me and Eliot and he also did great considering he was in and out of BOTH the carseat and the front pack all day. He liked seeing all the runners and the noisy spectators and loved walking around in the rain. He got very excited to see Daddy each time and I think after the first couple of miles, he understood what we were doing. He was all bundled up and comfy - we both stayed dry since our umbrella was great. It stopped raining at around 10:30 am and the boys got to finish their race a little drier (eventually) and a little warmer.

At mile 25, Tammy (J's sister), Nicole (his niece) and her kids, Marisa and Hayes joined us as well as our friends, Jennifer and her kids, Seth and Gabe. Thanks for coming out guys! Because of the rain and because I only have two hands, we didn't use the camera until mile 25...so the pictures are sparse.

At mile 25 and still looking great:


Only 1.2 miles to go (with the Obama shirt on!):


Finally, at the finish:





When we got home, we quickly heated up some lasagna and garlic bread because we were both starving...I KNOW that I didn't work nearly as hard as Jason, but I did lug over 25 lbs (Eliot) around all day and I bet I walked at least 8 miles, so I was starving, too. We ate and then Jason and Eliot took a hot bath. Eliot LOVES to takes baths so there's no way Jason could have taken one without him. Aren't my boys cute?


After their bath, we all crashed at about 6:30pm and didn't get up until Monday morning. Well, actually I got up to feed Eliot at least 3 times but that's normal. Regardless of that, it was a glorious night of sleep which we all needed very badly. All in all, a fantastic weekend. Jason will write his post either tonight or tomorrow (he's doing homework right now). Thanks to everyone who came and watched or cheered him on from home!

Van Fire

As you know, our van caught fire and burned to a total loss. Chrysler denied our claim under the Basic Warranty because in their estimation, there was no evidence of a manufacturer's defect. We disagreed with this assessment based on the report from the Minneapolis Fire Department and two different independent fire investigators, and as such we decided to pursue independent arbitration, which is a right afforded to us under the warranty. Today, we received a letter from the National Center for Dispute Settlement (NCDS) which indicated, "Since the vehicle has been involved in a fire, and it cannot be determined if it was a defect under the warranty prior to the damage, your situation is beyond the jurisdiction of this Customer Arbitration Process."

There was also a handwritten note included with the letter that indicated that Chrysler had informed NCDS that we would have to file a claim with our insurance company, who could then attempt to subrogate the funds back from Chrysler if they could prove there was a defect in the van. So much for the "independent" part of arbitration.

Regardless, their decision puts us in a difficult situation. Our only options at this point are to file a lawsuit or file a claim with our insurance company. After much thought, we've decided to go ahead and file a claim with our insurance company. They will try to subrogate from Chrysler, but if they aren't successful we will be left with a hefty increase to our premium for a number of years. The situation sucks and we definitely feel that we have been wronged in some way.

However, we have already wasted too much mental energy on this entire situation. While we may have been wronged, the fact of the matter remains that we are very fortunate and blessed. Everyday, many, many people are wronged in far more serious ways and we need to keep this in perspective. It's just a car, for goodness sake! We still have a roof over our heads, we can buy a new car, we are all healthy, we were not hurt by this incident, and on and on. This situation is out of our control and rather than letting it consume any of our precious time and energy, we've decided to let go of any frustration or bitterness we feel and have resolved to be entirely happy with all the beautiful and good things that we do have in our lives.

On a different note, Jason is running the marathon on Sunday. Please send good thoughts and prayers his way - he'll need them! We'll post about it next week. Have a good weekend everyone! Peace & love to you all!

I'm a bad, bad blogger...

I've been very bad at updating our blog and it's not that we don't have things to share with you. A lot has happened since I blogged last. Here's the rundown (finally!):

Jason has been training for the Twin Cities Marathon again although to be fair, his training has been sporadic at best. It seems that our lives are a bit busier since Eliot's joined us. Also, Jason has quite a lot of homework and likes to spend time with me and E, which means he hasn't been running as often as he should. I'm hoping he doesn't struggle too much on October 4th - we'll let you know how it goes. Also, I'm planning a special carb-loading supper for the night before the marathon again and I'll be sure to post the recipe. To help with his training, we decided to get a nice jogging stroller and a new *comfort* bike for me. We love both the stroller and the bike. The stroller rolls like it's on air and my bike has a big, fat, squishy seat with shocks, just perfect for a girl with a... how should I say this - a little spread on her bread? I'm the one who should be training for the marathon!

On August 13th, Jason and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary...can you believe it? 4 years already! It feels like we were only married yesterday and here it is 4 years later and Eliot is almost a year old. It makes me feel a bit sad - like our lives are speeding by too quickly. I wish it would go slower so we have more time together. I feel incredibly lucky to have Jason in my life and as my husband, no less. He is amazing and I couldn't hope for anything more. We are definitely more in love today than we were on our wedding day. We make each other laugh constantly and he is my rock in this crazy world. Thanks baby for everything you are! I love you!

We spent Labor Day weekend in Sioux Falls, visiting Sandy, Miah & Behring and Danny, Aymee, Charlie & Berkley. It was a fun albeit eventful weekend. On Saturday night, we babysat Charlie & Berkley because Aymee had a wedding to go to and Danny was working. The kids were great (as always) and it was a quiet night.

On Sunday morning, Eliot woke up early and we were all just hanging out on our bed and playing. Tucker (one of our little dogs) was also sleeping on the bed. Eliot, who LOVES the dogs, was sitting on Jason's tummy and he leaned forward toward Tucker, when Tucker lunged at him and bit him on the face. It was so awful. Eliot was thrown back by the force of the bite and immediately started screaming. Tucker got a few very hard swats to the nose and was put in his kennel immediately. I breastfed Eliot to get him to calm down and we were able to take a look at his face. He had a small cut/scratch under his eye and a little puncture next to his eye. Since it was not even 8am, urgent care wasn't open yet so we called a nurse line to find out if he needed to be seen immediately or if it could wait until 10am. They recommended we take him to the ER.
He didn't need stitches, thankfully and the cut ended up being superficial. Very scary! We're still figuring out whether or not we're going to keep Tucker...anyone want a cute, cuddly dog who hates babies?

On Labor Day, we all headed to a local orchard to pick some apples. We got a fun tractor ride out to the orchard, where we spent a couple of hours picking apples and goofing around. The apples were just becoming ripe, so many of them were still tart - yummy! It was a fun day!











On Monday night when we got home from Sioux Falls, Eliot was burning up and when we took his temperature, it was 101.5. We both stayed home with him on Tuesday and his fever didn't go away even though we were giving him Tylenol and Ibuprofen alternately. By Tuesday night, his fever was up to 102.5, so we called the Children's Hospital nurse line to see if we should do anything differently. When we mentioned to the nurse that it seemed like his soft spot was bulging, she directed us to bring him to the ER immediately. So we went to the ER for the 2nd time in 2 days. When we got there they took his temperature rectally and it was 104.5!!! That's bad if you're not familiar with kid's temperatures. They had us undress him so he could cool off as they were scared he might have a febrile seizure. The physician wanted to perform a series of tests which meant they needed to do an x-ray, get a blood sample, place an IV and get a urine sample via a catheter. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to go through. Eliot was in pain and he was screaming like I've never seen him scream. All he wanted was for us to pick him up and hold him and I couldn't. The nurse who placed the IV and the catheter was a complete jerk who had no compassion and I could have strangled him! He just kept saying, "He (Eliot) just doesn't like it. He's fine - he just doesn't like it." It was really difficult for both me and Jason to watch. I just kept thinking, "How do parents with really sick kids do this day after day?" I can't imagine and my heart goes out to anyone with a sick kid. After it was all over at about 4 am, we found out he was ok - they thought it was just a viral infection. His fever had broken from screaming so much and we got the go ahead to take him home. We all slept for a long time the next day, very thankful that we were healthy and at home in our own bed.

On the 6th, I turned 30! So, so old...just kidding! I don't feel any different but it is kind of weird that I'm now in my "30's" rather than my "20's". On my birthday, I finally used the gift certificate that Jason & Eliot gave me for Mother's Day and got a fantastic pedicure which included a massage (so good!) and a haircut which I badly needed. Then Jason took me for coffee at Sonny's/Crema Cafe (Go there! They have fantastic gelato and coffee!) and I was surprised by my parents and Sandy, Miah & Behr. Fun! The plan was that my parents were going to watch the boys and Jason & I and Sandy & Miah were going to go out for dinner and drinks. But wasn't I surprised when we got back to our house and there were a ton of people at my SURPRISE PARTY!!! It was so fun! Our friends, Kevin & Laura, had made a ton of delicious food for everyone and Les, Alex & Russ provided live music. There was also karaoke, games and lots of drinks. It was late by the time we pulled the camera out so lots of people are missing in these photos...bummer! But I had a great time and I hope all my guests did, too!










Then on the Wednesday after my birthday, I was checking on Eliot at about 10:45pm when I heard sirens stop outside our house. I looked out the window and to my complete amazement, our van was on fire. Yes - the van we just bought 4 months ago! The fire had blown out the windshield and the passenger side window and was about five feet high. The firefighters were able to put the fire out quickly and we were left with a burned out van. The front of the van is completely destroyed. Very long story short: Our van is still under the manufacturer's warranty but Chrysler has refused to repair/replace the van as they've indicated, "We were not able to confirm this was a defect." We are disputing their findings in arbitration which will take 40 days, meaning we're stuck with one car for the time being. We've also consulted a lawyer. This is very stressful, time-consuming and disruptive to our daily lives. More to come...




You may have read my post about thrush in July...well, I still have it and it's become unbearable. It got to the point last week where I was not able to pump at all and breastfeeding was more painful than ever. I consulted a ton of different people - lactation consultants, naturopaths, midwives, etc. but I had already implemented all of their suggestions. I won't go into all the changes I had made, but the most significant was that I had reduced my diet to vegetables and meat - no carbs, no fruit, no processed foods. Nothing was working. I was to the point where I was going to have to stop breastfeeding if it didn't improve. I had already been to the doctor 4 times, but I went back again on Friday in total desperation. This time, I found out that not only do I still have thrush but I also have a staph infection! I was prescribed new medication which after 2 days, seems to be working. I haven't tried pumping yet and I won't have to for a couple more days. One of my friends who is also breastfeeding, sent me some extra frozen milk that Eliot will be able to have while he's at daycare. You can't imagine what an amazing gift this is! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this new prescription, along with the myriad of changes I've made, will get rid of both the thrush and the staph permanently.

Finally, (if you're still awake) here's an update on Eliot. He is crawling very successfully, is able to pull himself up in a standing position with the coffee table/couch or anything else within reach, he is talking (babbling) like crazy which is so fun for me and Jason and today, he got his first tooth and was a holy terror all day. But the tooth is so cute that it was worth it! I always think that the current stage is the best and that it can't get any better, but he proves me wrong every day.