B is for...

B is for......

-i really have to catch up! people like DebR are already on H!


breastfeeding -- between my two kids (so far) i've spent almost 5 years breastfeeding. Irene was 2 years 3 months when she stopped, Rhys is still nursing. granted, this is not newborn nursing anymore, this is anywhere from not at all in a day, to 3 times (morning, naptime, sleepytimes). I feel that breastfeeding is HUGELY important and i feel that you should do it. i do understand the extenuating circumstances, but i feel that it is do-able more often than not and that if your doc is telling you that your milk is no good, it's time to get a new doctor b/c that is 90% of the time, or more, a load of carpola. i used a shield w/both kids for 3 weeks w/#1, 6 weeks w/#2. need any support w/the nursing stuff? i'm your gal *beam*

brothers - i have 3. i'll do this chronologically - youngest first - Matthew, my baby brother, is, as of today, 27!! how did THAT happen? Matt lives in southern california, near my dad and stepmom. Jeremy is 30, and lives in the Denver area. Ted is 34 and lives in the bay area. i know that i tormented my little brother, jeremy, a bit. matthew was very fun b/c i was 9 and we had a mutual admiration society. i lived with him from the when i was almost 9 until i was almost 15 (when i moved to oakland to live w/mom and stepdad). i made costumes for him by the dozen. we still adore one another.

*beam* -- something i use a lot when i'm writing e-mail and am particularly pleased or blushing or complemented.

boistrous -- did i even spell that correctly? my children can sometimes be boistrous. wow. that looks wrong.

bilingual - something i am. my spanish is rusty, but i still know it and use it on occasion - not as much as when i worked for head start, or when i lived in spain, but still. i'm pseudo fluent in sign language (not ASL, but rather conceptual/s.e.e. sign).

breast cancer - my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer almost exactly 5 years ago. she had surgery right away (june 19, 2001) and has (KNOCK ON ALL THE WOOD THAT IS AROUND YOU) been free almost 5 years. In 2004, we did the Avon Breast Cancer Walk together. between us we raised 5,000.00 and it was an amazing thing to do together. 2 days of 13 mile walks (we didn't do the full marathon the first day - it's optional). i'm supposed to get a mamogram this year, but need to find a doc and see if it will be okay w/me still nursing the wee bit that i do). on my walking shirt, i had the names of many friends/family members and friends/family of those who donated $$ to our walk who were survivors and those who had died of it. DO YOUR MONTHLY BREAST EXAMINATIONS!! MEN AS WELL AS WOMEN!!

blueberries - my kids both love them. LOVE them. rhys especially, though irene loved them just like rhys does when she was younger. now she worries if they are the slightest big squishy. even when they are frozen. we do them frozen a LOT.

butter - yum.

blasphemy - yeah, i probably blaspheme a bit.

beloved - Rob

Barbi Lane - the street on which i lived with 3 of my sorority sisters in Rohnert Park. it was a fun house. one bathroom.

blackberries - I LOVE blackberries. it's worth having the cuts and scrapes from the bushes.

boring - what irene loves to tell me about all things she doesn't want to do in any particular moment

babies - i love them. i'm fairly certain we're done having them, but they smell *so* good

bubbles - a picture that i really love is one of irene blowing bubbles while on our backyard swing - i think mom called it "yoga bubbles" or smething like that.

backyard...haven't had a big one since our first house. mom made magic happen at our petaluma house, of course, that was when we were desperately trying to sell it....the backyard at our now house is small, but it's coming along.

believe - do YOU believe in fairies? you'd better! and if you don't, please don't SAY such a thing!!! i don't want any fairies dying on my watch!

boy - i've got one and MAN is he a darling and sweet and wonderful and goofy and silly

betending - what irene used to call pretending

berries - really berries of any sort are SO VERY YUMMY!

blood - i'm o+. irene is o+. rhys is o-. rob is o-. apparently, my grandfather was o-, so i've got a recessive negative rh factor in me. but it was still surprising to everyone, including my ob nurse.

blue/brown eyes - rob and i both have brown eyes. i was the first person in my mother's side of the family to have brown eyes back as far as my gramma can remember. gramma has amazing blue eyes. my dad has brown. rob and i had the potential to have blue eyed children. rob's dad has blue eyes, my mom has them. but instead we have two brown eyed kids. irene's eyes are a deeeeeep rich brown. rhys' were almost black at one point, now they are sort of mahogony. i love their eyes.

brown/blonde - my hair used to be more blondish than brownish. as i've gotten older, it's gotten more and more brown. rob's hair is auburn. i love it. i covet his auburn hair. he's very handsome, that husband of mine.

behind - i am often behind in so many things. procrastination is my second name.

beauty - often in the eye of the beholder

brownies - chocolate -- yummmmmmmmm

Brownies - i was a brownie when i lived in oakland. became a girl scout when i lived in redlands. there weren't any cadets at my junior high.

birds - i love watching the birds that live around us and there are some bird sounds that are almost like smell to me - they take me to a certain place. there's one bird that takes me to camping in Lake Perris. i'm happy that we have some birds at our new house. Quail are the state bird of california. i've seen more in our year 1/2 in nevada than i ever saw in california.

bugs - i like 'em. not a HUGE fan of ants up close and swarming around, but i do like bugs and enjoy showing them and sharing them with my kids. rob likes them too and points them out whenever he sees them too.

beetles - rhys' fave kind of bug. have you seen The Beetle Alphabet Book? it's SUCH a cool book!! hidden on almost every page (if not every single page) there is a hidden beatles song. and it's just a really cool book to boot.

babelfish - i'd love it if they were real.

barbie dolls - i am not a fan. i remember liking the skipper doll WAY more than barbie and ken. i don't think i had any barbie dolls until i was in 4th grade (living w/dad and stepmom). irene doesn't have any barbies. i just really am not a fan of the giant boobs and ridiculously tiny waist. i don't care if she plays with them elsewhere, just don't want them here. irene knows it and is okay with it.

baseball - rob's favorite game. i've become more of a fan since we started dating. opening day is a big deal in our house. since getting pregnant w/irene, i've gotten him some sort of children's baseball book for opening day. we have hot dogs/sausages bbq'd even if it's raining. i really enjoy seeing games live as opposed to on TV.

back later with more if i think of any more