All About the Boy

Things just don't seem to be getting any easier as the weeks progress. I am nonstop going going going! I barely get the time to sit and really RELAX.
Only a couple more weeks of games, thank god!
Then, atleast, we can get back to normal evenings, with time to prepare decent meals, bathe the kids routinely, and spend more time helping with homework. As well as get some much needed yard work done in preparation for the winter months.
This morning was one of very few that I did not have to be somewhere. I decided to browse the T.V. channels, and came across a movie that I had not seen, and was just starting. 'DARK WATER'. It was very interesting, and for me, that means a lot, I don't waste my time on T.V., and so it really has to hold my attention to get me to sit still long enough to finish watching the whole thing. And, what do you know, the boy noticed my attention going toward something other than his precious self, I think I had even blocked his voice out somewhat when I finally heard him saying, "Mooooom, can you heeeaaar me? I'm taaaaalking in whaaaaale!"
Well, yeah, THAT caught my attention. I was like, "What? You mean, like on finding nemo, like Dory?" He smiled and laughed, I laughed. It was quite funny. Quite a bit of thought went into that one, to get my much desired attention away from the movie. That boy just cracks me up!

Much to brag about, the boy, not to neglect those girls, it's just that there is something about that boy. Even others notice it, he's so intriguing, so smart. I have to attend seminars bi-weekly now that the tots are in a preschool co-op. I went to one this past monday, and we spoke about boundaries, and discipline. I am no stranger to that, but some of the parents are, and only have the one child in preschool, and some a baby or one on the way. We started talking about sibling rivalry, and undesirable behaviours, which turned into talking about some of the traits we see in our children. Which one is more aggressive, submissive.
Well, Leah is definitely a bit more aggressive when it is her and Beau, but niether are aggressive at school. Beau wants to talk a lot, but both are very kind to others. So, I spoke of this, that Leah tends to be the aggressor when it is just her and Beau. Yet, Beau seems to more submissive with her, not all the time, but more often than not. He hates to see others get hurt, and is very sensitive to others feelings. If he wants Leah to stop something, and he yells at her, but she starts crying, then he emmediately stops, and will say sorry, and tell her it's okay.
What I'm getting at is, the teacher says, that he shows empathy. That it is unusual to see a child with empathy at his age. Most children, she says do not develop that until the age of 7 or 8, especially boys, and that it is very hard to teach a child to have empathy. It felt good to hear her say this about my one and only son.
I have always emphasized the need to be kind toward others, and that it is important to apologize. I don't force them to stand and say, "sorry", if I did, as most children, it would not be heartfelt, it would be a hollow apology, but leading a child to know when they've hurt someone and how to fix it is very important, I think. I want my son to be strong, to grow and be able to defend himself well, and not be a 'weenie', but I also want him to care, to be kind, and think of others, not just himself. Maybe it's the nurse in me, but I think I am achieving this with my son. I must be, if others are noticing this in his behaviour.
One day last week, at the indoor play park, a girl about 5 yo, was playing near Beau, she had fallen off a slide toy, and was crying, blaming Beau for pushing her down. But, I watched it all, and the girl had been on a soft mat that was suspended loosely across a plastic ladder/slide. I asked Beau what happened, and he said that he leaned on the mat, and it fell down, which should be expected, it was only a mat with the girls full weight on it. In any case, he had a very sad look on his face, I knew he did not hurt her, that it wasn't his intention to make her fall. A few minutes later, I saw him following her around, saying, "I'm sorry you got hurt, are you okay? I didn't mean to make you fall. I'm sorry." Not only was he saying this, but he was trying to look her in the eyes when he was doing so, trying to see her face, and her reaction. It was so sincere, so important to him that she accept his apology. It was SO SWEET!
I like to think I am raising a boy that will be a man with character. A man that every good girl wants to marry one day. Not some heartless, selfish, un-caring person. If I can achieve that with my son, I will consider myself a very successful, and rich woman.

EMPATHY:
Putting oneself into the psychologic frame of reference of another, so that the other person’s feeling, thinking, and acting are understood and to some extent predictable. A desirable trust-building characteristic of a helping profession. It is embodied in the sincere statement, “I understand how you feel.” Empathy is different from sympathy in that to be empathetic one understands how the person feels rather than actually experiencing those feelings, as in sympathy.

Just another Manic Monday!

I had a helluvatime getting up this morning. 2 loads of laundry to deal with, 2 school lunches to make, and at 6:30am I am simply the most useless person ever!
I am not drinking coffee in the morning as I used to, EVERYDAY or more. I am really trying to make myself just drink water at home. But, no matter what, that just doesn't wake me up!
I met my friend Angela at Curves, and we had a great work out time together, I am really enjoying that tiny window of time I have without the tots. I miss them, but I get so much done. I no longer have to grocery shop with kids in tow. I can organize it all around the preschool time, and still get a quick 1/2 hour work out in 2-3x/week at curves, ( not including my eliptical time at home, on 'off' days)

I took my 75-300mm lens back today. I will NOT miss it. I am so disappointed, but I will just save now for the one I really want. The Tamron 28-300mm, or maybe the Canon 85mm, not sure yet. But one thing I do know, is that I plan to buy a Holga, which I can come across for under $20, and make my own Holga lens to fit my SLR. I came across a do-it-yourself instructional post to make your own Holga lens from an old Holga camera, to fit your SLR. I am so excited to do this! I am reading a book right now, 'The Year of Fog', and the lady in the book talks nonstop about her Holga, I had to look it up to see what it was. The photos taken with it turn out amazing, dream-like, milky, soft, just simply amazing! See a pic I found on flicker below...taken with the Holga. Still, it does not at all show the amazing range of color a Holga can capture. I can't wait to try it on my Rebel!


On another note...I took the tots to the park after school to play since the indoor park is closed, and it wasn't raining. The cutest little girl ran up to play, and started talking about how old she was, and asked Beau how old he is. He held up 4 fingers, and then she said, "Well, I'm more than than that, I not almost 4 1/2, I'm 4 5/6ths...."LOL, is that the cutest thing or what? She made me laugh. Beau now insists he must grow, much faster, so he can get 4 5/6ths like that girl!
When we got home, being so cold today, I made them hot cocoa and gave them each 2 cookies that I had made yesterday. They ate one cookie, drank 1/2 the cocoa, and then Leah proclaimed...."Mom, I done, I only ate one cookie, it's too much sugar!"

Well, I am off to clean, do some more laundry, lay tots down for a nap, and get ready for work!

A Let Down

Last month, I bought the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III lens. I was so excited for the possiblities of use that it would afford me. I was looking foward to being able obtain amazing capture of the kids' soccer from across the field. I wanted to take pictures of the moon. The sun, hummingbirds from far off.
However, I was highly disappointed in that I simply cannot get this thing to focus properly. The photos come out terrbly blurry, or faintly so, but never crisp and clear as I had hoped for.
I am so upset, but I have come to the conclusion that I must return it. It was not even worth the 199 I paid for it, even thinking I was getting a good deal at the time.
I will just settle for my kit lens, which has done me some good many times. And, I will have to wait and watch, and debate on my next lens purchase. Defintely be more careful of what I purchase next time.

Time...

is something I simply do not have anymore. Just to keep up with the basics, I function on an average of 4-5 hours of sleep. I AM MOMMY...I AM TIRED!
Beau and Leah have started preschool, and I co-op 1day/week. That leaves me 2d/wk that I can go work out as I planned.
All this before, the madness that ensues with either work, afternoon/ evening soccer/ volleyball practices, and all day saturdays spent at the soccer games.
As much as I want to get the kids back to church on sundays, it is the ONLY day I do not have to go anywhere, and I am having a hugely terrribly time getting myself to GO!
My thirties are really draining me of my energy, and drive.
In any case, here is a darling pic of the Tot's on the 2nd day, not the 1st (oops!), of preschool. They are loving it!



And, I joined them in a local Indoor Play Park for those nasty rainy days. I only have to help set it up 8 days/year, on top of co-oping at the Preschool every wednesday, working 2-3d/wk, and performing the tasks of a taxi driver daily.

In this chaotic mess, I somehow find time to make dinner 1/2 the week, but have been giving in to quick, easy, 'fast' food much more often than ever before. BAD BAD MOMMY!

As I had feared, Leah is already coming down with a cold. I hate to blame it on going to school, but there was a sniffler wednesday, I noticed! I hate the idea of my children being exposed to germs, and illness. It's inevitable, but still, I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL!

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I received my annual job performance evaluation this week, on Wednesday I signed it. Last years, was amazing, but this years...well, it's ABSOLUTELY STELLAR! I have 'proficient' in every category, and nothing but praise expressed. I am so pleased I could scream! It makes me feel so good. I do my best, and I love what I do, I could never ever fully explain just how much I LOVE my job. And, it feels so good to have someone notice your effort, and devotion.

Here is just a sample:
"Victoria is a valuable asset to our team of professionals! She ensures that the care of the residents is paramount. Her friendly, professional attitude makes her very successful in any nursing position she fills, especially the Unit Charge Nurse positions!"

Ahhhh! Music to my ears :)

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Now, I desperately need to post, finally, a review for GLOVES IN A BOTTLE.

Months ago, I received a generous sample bottle of GLOVES IN A BOTTLE hand lotion.

I have used it off and on, mostly at work. I occassionally have breakouts of eczema on my hands, especially this time of year. Dimethicone, a skin protectant, is always helpful to prevent a breakout with how much I have to wash my hands, being a Nurse. Dimethicone is just one of the ingredients in Gloves in a Bottle. Here is a list, taken from http://www.glovesinabottle.com/:

INGREDIENT (INCI NAME)
FUNCTION
CAS#
Purified Water (Aqua)
Solvent
7732-18-5
Purified water or deionized water is water that lacks ions, such as cations from sodium, calcium, iron, copper and anions such as chloride and bromide. This means it has been purified from all other ions except H3O+ and OH-. Deionized water is similar to distilled water, in that it is useful for skin care where the presence of impurities may be undesirable.

Dimethicone
Film Forming Agent
9006-65-9
Dimethicones stay on or near the surface of the skin. Not only are the molecules too big to physically enter past the upper living cells — they associate with the upper layer of drying skin — but they also cannot penetrate cell membranes due to their large size. They evaporate quickly after helping to carry oils into the top layer of epidermis. From there, they may be absorbed by the skin.Dimethicones form a barrier layer on the skin which must be renewed as the skin sloughs off. Dimethicones form a protective layer which helps prevent transdermal water loss — a very useful characteristic for many products. Silicone gums provide instant shine to hair. Dimethicones act to help seal moisture into the outer layer of skin, which helps prevent many kinds of damage.

Stearic Acid
Emulsifier
822-16-2
Stearic acid is one of the useful types of saturated fatty acids that comes from many vegetable fats and oils. It is a waxy solid. The term stearate is applied to the salts and esters of stearic acid. Stearic acid is a saturated fat that's in some plant foods like chocolate. It's very stable in storage. A relatively large percentage of stearic acid consumed is converted to oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat). Stearic acid is used to form margarines, shortenings, spreads, and as a cream base for baked products. Even though stearic acid is a saturated fat, studies have suggested that it has little effect on blood cholesterol levels, because such a high proportion is converted to oleic acid.

Glycerin Humectant
56-81-5
Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to your skin. Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and which has a high boiling point. Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils. On the other hand, many things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. Glycerin is also highly "hygroscopic" which means that it absorbs water from the air.Example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80 per glycerin and 20 percent water.(Note: While people say this softening is the result of the glycerin attracting moisture to your skin, there is heated debate as to whether or not the glycerin has some other properties all its own which are helpful to the skin. Summed up, the current thinking is "We know glycerin softens the skin. Some people think its because it attracts moisture, but there could be other reasons.")

Cetyl Alcohol
Co-emulsifier
36653-82-4
An emollient and secondary emulsifier, cetyl alcohol is derived from naturally occurring fatty acids from coconut oil. It is a secondary emulsifier that thickens or adds body to lotions. Not to he confused with drying, ethyl alcohols.Cetyl and stearyl alcohols together create a cetearyl alcohol that forms an occlusive film to keep skin moisture from evaporating and gives skin a velvety feeling.

Isopropyl Myristate
Emollient
110-27-0
Isopropyl myristate is used as an emollient and lubricant in preshaves, aftershaves, shampoos, bath oils, antiperspirants, deodorants, and various creams and lotions. It is an emollient and lubricant that reduces the greasy feel of products by replacing other, oilier ingredients. The ester of isopropyl alcohol and myristic acid. It spreads very easily and promotes a dry feeling, which is often used to reduce a greasy feel caused by the high oil content of other ingredients.

Stearyl Alcohol
Co-emulsifier
112-92-5
Stearyl alcohol is found naturally in various mammalian tissues and is readily converted to stearic acid. Stearyl alcohol is an 18 carbon straight chain aliphatic alcohol often used as an emollient to prevent drying and chapping of skin. It is often used in creams and lotions as an emulsifier, thickener and pearlizing agent.The Expert Panel of the CIR (1985) has reviewed this ingredient and found that as of 1981 it was "used in 425 cosmetic formulations at concentrations ranging from less than 0.1 percent to 50 percent". It is still widely used today in numerous cosmetic product categories. This panel has concluded that stearyl alcohol is "safe as currently used in cosmetics".

Triethanolamine
pH adjuster
102-71-6
Triethanolamine, often abbreviated as TEA, is an organic chemical compound which is both a tertiary amine and a tri-alcohol. A tri-alcohol is a molecule with three hydroxyl groups. Like other amines, triethanolamine acts as a weak base due to the lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom.This ingredient is used as a pH balancer in cosmetic preparations in a variety of different products - ranging from skin lotion, eye gels, moisturizers, shampoos, shaving foams etc.

Xanthan Gum
Stabilizer
11138-66-2
Despite its rather alien-sounding name, xanthan gum is as natural as any other fermented corn sugar polysaccharide (corn syrup) you can name. The United States Department of Agriculture ran a number of experiments involving bacteria and various sugars to develop a new thickening agent similar to corn starch or guar gum. When Xanthomonas campestris was combined with corn sugar, the result was a colorless vicious liquid called xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is used in dairy products and salad dressings as a thickening agent and stabilizer. Xanthan gum prevents ice crystals from forming in ice creams, and also provides a 'fat feel' in low or no-fat dairy products.Another use for xanthan gum is the stabilization and binding of cosmetic products. One advantage of xanthan gum is that a little goes an incredibly long way. Cosmetic manufacturers add a very small amount of xanthan gum to their cream-based products in order to keep the individual ingredients from separating. Xanthan gum is also used as a substitute for wheat gluten in gluten-free breads, pastas and other flour-based food products. Those who suffer from gluten allergies should look for xanthan gum as an ingredient on the label.

Hypromellose(Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose)
Film Former
9004-65-3
Hypromellose solutions were patented as a semisynthetic substitute for tear-film. Its molecular structure is predicated upon a base celluloid compound that is highly water soluble. Post-application, celluloid attributes of good water solubility reportedly aids in visual clarity. When applied, a hypromellose solution acts to swell and absorb water, thereby expanding the thickness of the tear-film.Hypromellose augmentation therefore results in extended lubricant time presence on the cornea, which theoretically results in decreased eye irritation, especially in dry climates, home, or work environments. On a molecular level, this polymer contains beta-linked D-glucose units that remain metabolically intact for days to weeks. On a manufacturing note, since hypromellose is a vegetarian substitute for gelatin, it is slightly more expensive to produce due to semisynthetic manufacturing processes.Aside from its widespread commercial and retail availability over the counter in a variety of products, Hypromellose 2% solution has been documented to be used during surgery to aid in corneal protection and during orbital surgery.

VP/Eicosene Copolymer
Film Former
28211-18-9,77035-98-4
VP/Eicosene Copolymer is a polymer of vinylpyrrolidone and eicosene monomers. It has reported used in the following product types: sunscreen spf 15 and above (106); mascara (24); facial moisturizer/treatment (14); anti-aging (12); lip gloss (12); other products with spf (8); brow liner (6); baby sunscreen (5); moisturizer (5); sunscreen below spf 15 (5)

Steareth-21
Emulsifier
9005-00-9
Steareth 21 (or fill in the number) the number indicates the degree of liquidity from 4 (thin) to 100 (solid). It is an emulsifier- substance that keeps two or more components of a product from separating. This mixture is called an emulsion.

Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
122-99-6
Phenoxyethanol is an organic chemical compound, a glycol ether often used in dermatological products such as skin creams. It is a colorless oily liquid. It is a bactericide (usually used in conjunction with quaternary ammonium compounds), often used in place of sodium azide in biological buffers as 2-phenoxyethanol is less toxic and non-reactive with copper and lead.It is also used as a fixative for perfumes, an insect repellent, a topical antiseptic, some dyes, inks, pharmaceuticals, and in organic synthesis. It is moderately soluble in water. It is also listed as an ingredient for many United States vaccines per the Center for Disease Control.

I have greatly appreciated the generosity of Pete Grimaldi for sending this to me for trial. I deeply apologize for my delay in posting a review.

However, as with SkinMD, I am very pleased with this product, and distributed a few of additional pockets size samples to fellow nurses at work. They also expressed much pleasure with this lotion. Outside of using my triamcinolone for extreme breakouts on my hands...I am using the Gloves in a Bottle routinely, keeping it in my purse so that it is always with me.

Order your own bottle HERE.