Good News, Bad News

We saw the midwife today. The first news we got was good. My group B strep test was negative. Most first time moms are negative, but even so, I was really worried about it so that was a big relief.

The second news we got wasn't so good. I'm pretty anemic. Normal levels for a woman are 12-15 but pregnancy takes a bit of iron from you so a typical pregnant women runs between 11-12. I'm at 9.1 - not good. And we really want it up before the birth since even if I don't lose a lot of blood, I'll just feel really crappy with a level like that. The plan right now is for me to double how much floradix I'm taking, eat at least one serving of red meat every day (I normally only eat about one, maybe two, servings a week), and increase my other iron source intakes (spinach, walnuts, prune juice?). So now I'm off to the grocery store!

But, other than the iron thing, everything looks great. Baby is measure right on target size wise, I'm not having any other problems, it's just a waiting game. Right now I want baby to hang out until I've had at least a week or two of intense iron eating but there are worse things in the world than "forcing" yourself to have spinach steak salads for lunch every day right?

PS - On another semi-Nigel related note. Mothering Magazine is a awesome hippie-type parenting magazine (in other words - not just a booklet of ads) and right now you can get a free one-year digital subscription by going here and using the code CDIGM. I was actually at Barnes and Noble today and thought about buying it but I'm so glad I waited!

My Favorite Reason to Coupon

I used to agree with Money Saving Mom in that everyone should use coupons. I no longer completely agree. I do think that many of the reasons people don't coupon aren't really very valid but I also know that life has seasons.

Last fall was not a season for us to be couponing. I was struggling to get through my work days while Craig was having to work hard full time as a grad student, part time as a sub and handling everything I had been doing. So, couponing fell by the wayside. I have a feeling that the next few months won't be full of lots of couponing either. But that is okay.

But the thing about getting out of the habit is that it is easy to convince yourself it isn't worth it. It does take time and effort and you begin to think that $0.35 off that box of cereal is not a big deal. Yet these last few months I've been reforming the habit and I realize that it does make a difference. Plus I love getting good deals, there is a certain thrill to it. Some people get their kicks by bungee jumping or parachuting out of airplane. All I need is the chance to get a free gallon of milk and I'm set for the week!

Recently though I was reminded of one of my favorite reasons to coupon- generosity.

Two weeks ago a little neon green bag was stuck in our door by the Girl Scouts asking for grooming and hygiene items for a local shelter. So a few days later we sat and went through our linen closet where we keep all the extras we have. We normally have quite the stash of toothpaste, shampoo, and deodorant that we have gotten for free or almost free (<$0.25), primarily at Walgreens. It didn't even take ten minutes to grab a few of each, put them in the bag and hang it outside for the girls to pick up the next day. And we just happened to be out that next morning when I looked around and noticed that we were the only home in the whole place that had a baggie on the doorknob. I was a little disappointed thinking of the girls that would be arriving soon but not having much to pick up. Now truthfully, if we didn't have the stuff on hand, we probably wouldn't have donated anything either. Even if I had remembered to pick something up at the store (and that is a big if), I probably would have just bought one or two cheap items. Instead we were able to donate at least $20 worth of items.

But generosity isn't limited to just charities. The last few years most of our friends were in school. The grad program Craig was in wasn't like a lot of them in that it didn't really offer much in the way of financial aid or grants nor did it leave a lot of time for part time work so many of his fellow students were living off student loans or the money they managed to make over the summer. Now, it would have been really awkward for us to offer to help them in most ways but it was easy to be able to offer the chance to raid our closet for items when they were over at our house, especially at the end of the semester when we knew they were surviving off ramen noodles. And since Craig was always bragging about the great deals he got, they knew we meant it when we begged them to take some shampoo because we couldn't open on the door without 5 bottles of Pert Plus falling on our head.

We've also been the recipient of generosity many times too. Just last weekend our Sunday School class had a ladies craft night were we taught each other sewing and knitting tips. One of the ladies in our group is known for her couponing and deal-finding and she did not disappoint. She managed to find these awesome knitting needle kits complete with a case and needles in multiple sizes for just $0.99 each. They were normally $19.99! So for just a few dollars, she was able to use her generosity and thoughtfulness and provide the group with over $100 worth of knitting supplies. So next time you see a coupon, don't think of it just as a way to save money. Think of it as a ticket to generosity.

Border Bits

I don't like to get too much into the hot issues of the day on here, because you can read about them in 4,346,768 other places. So I won't comment on the Arizona immigration bill directly, I'll just make a couple of tangential points.

First, Ross Douthat does a great job of summing up how people like myself think immigration should work in general:

In a better world, the United States would welcome hundreds of thousands more legal immigrants annually, from a much wider array of countries. A more diverse immigrant population would have fewer opportunities to self-segregate and stronger incentives to assimilate. Fears of a Spanish-speaking reconquista would diminish, and so would the likelihood of backlash. And instead of being heavily skewed toward low-skilled migrants, our system could tilt toward higher-skilled applicants, making America more competitive and less stratified.

Such a system would also be fairer to the would-be immigrants themselves. America has always prided itself on attracting people from every culture, continent and creed. In a globalized world, aspiring Americans in Zimbabwe or Burma should compete on a level playing field with Mexicans and Salvadorans. The American dream should seem no more unattainable in China than in Chihuahua.

Second, I get the impression that many sports columnists want to be the next Paul Krugman (i.e. get paid to write liberal editorial claptrap). This issue has a slim nexus with the sports world, but it's enough to give a number of sportswriters an excuse to introduce their politics into their regular columns. Here's one example, and here's another. I will note in both cases that the authors make incorrect statements about the content of the bill. They should stick to sports.

Tutes I’ve tried

Slowly and steadily, I’ve been working on my before baby comes craftiness to-do list but I’ve been pretty lazy about taking pictures until now. So here is a quick recap of what I’ve accomplished.

Lots of burp rags made from random scrap fabrics, some with ribbon trim, some without. My favorite is the top sushi one. I don’t know why but a sushi burp rag really makes me smile. I also like the second one because it matches my purse (which will become a diaper bag) and it’s new coordinating changing pad clutch:

I followed this tutorial and one of the commenter’s suggestions so it can fit anything from two pocket diapers down to just the wipes case.

Here it is opened. The purple is a little girly but I had leftover terry cloth from a Christmas project and didn’t want to waste it. I also used the same terry cloth and some leftover flannel to make some baby wipes. The ones on the left are double sided heavy duty type while the right side are just basic flannel, cut and zig-zag stitched to prevent unraveling. They are pretty ugly but functional.

I also made some mama cloth and nursing pads.

and this fun fabric box for Nigel’s toys that will go on

Nigel’s living room shelf with his/her books and blanket.

It’s a pretty small box but that was intentional. If I have a small toy box, we can only have a small number of toys, right? That box followed the tutorial’s dimensions but I used the same technique to make a bigger rectangular box to hold diapers and wipes.

It’s overflowing right now but after Nigel is born, they won’t ever be all clean at once so that won’t be a problem!

I also made a swaddle blanket from some soft thin cotton fabric my mom found in my old fabric stash from her basement. I have no idea why I had a baby alphabet fabric in there but I won’t complain. It is 42x42 since that is supposedly a better swaddling size that the smaller receiving blankets size although when I tried to swaddle a teddy bear it seemed like a lot of fabric. Now I need to make another one but am torn about what size to go with.

I think my favorite project though was this set of baby legs. The original tutorial I linked to was a bit confusing but this one describes it better and it really is a super easy project. It probably took my less than 10 minutes and the socks only cost me $3 at Wal-mart. The hardest part is finding non-girly socks but I recently noticed that Target had a new stand with really cute socks for $2, several of which would work for boys too if you're interested :-)

A Hoosier by Any Other Name

When you hear the term "Hoosier," you probably think of Indiana sports teams, or Indiana residents as a whole (it is the official demonym for Indianans (or Indianians)). Around here, however, "the word is used in a derogatory fashion in similar context to "hick" or "white trash"."

I first realized this during my first week in Missouri. I was talking to a woman at the repair shop, and she mentioned that there were a lot of hoosiers in the area. I asked her to clarify, and she responded, "you know, poor people." Other times I heard it, it was clear that the connotation was "redneck" or "trashy." I heard it last night at a gathering, and decided that it was common enough that these experiences were not outliers. I decided to research it.

It turns out that "hoosier" has had a negative connotation in the South for a long time: "The best evidence, however, suggests that "Hoosier" was a term of contempt and opprobrium common in the upland South and used to denote a rustic, a bumpkin, a countryman, a roughneck, a hick or an awkward, uncouth or unskilled fellow."

Only in St. Louis, however, has this word retained this meaning and usage to the present day (except maybe in cities that are home to other Big Ten universities). St. Louisians are not necessarily mocking Indianans, though. As Urban Dictionary makes clear, there are several types of hoosiers right close to home. For example:

South County Hoosier - These hoosiers aren't always poor rednecks. In fact, most of them own homes and have decent jobs. Look for fishing boats in the driveways, Christmas lights in May and stockpiles of Busch Light beer. Many of the men are hunters and/or fishermen and all have buddies that can fix your car. The women usually have part-time jobs, and slightly newer vans. Many south county hoosiers grew up as south city hoosiers.

Considering the negative meaning this word has taken on, one might wonder when and why Indianans adopted it. That is unclear, but it seems to have been around since at least the 1830's. Here are some theories:

Like barnacles, a thick crust of speculation has gathered over the word "Hoosier" to explain the origin of Indiana's nickname. Popular theories, diligently and often sincerely advanced, form a rich, often amusing body of folklore. Those theories include: "Who's here?" as a question to unknown visitors or to the inhabitants of a country cabin; Hussar, from the fiery European mounted troops; "Huzzah!" proclaimed after victory in a fight; Husher, a brawny man, capable of stilling opponents; Hoosa, an Indian word for corn; Hoose, an English term for a disease of cattle which gives the animals a wild sort of look; and the evergreen "Who's ear?" asked while toeing a torn-off ear lying on the bar room floor the morning after a brawl.

If you are interested in more, check out the links I have provided. It seems like the derogatory Southern version of the word evolved separately from the Indiana version, from what I can tell by skimming these sources.

People who move to new areas often pick up the local lingo. I started saying "y'all" while in Texas. I can't imagine I'll start calling people hoosiers, though. Redneck, hick, and country bumpkin work quite well for me. Plus, my boss' boss is from Indiana.