Shannon Yee

When I got out of the shower this morning, everything was steamy – just like always, but as I got ready, the steaminess never seemed to go away. I wiped off the mirrors and took out my contacts, only to discover that my left eye was at fault, not steam or my contact. So, I said to myself “Strange.” and put my contacts back in and went about my day. My left eye continued to have a blurry effect all day and only when I took my contacts out again tonight did I realize that it might actually be a problem. At that point, my eye began to really hurt and water uncontrollably and I remembered a time a not too long ago, when I felt this sort of pain in my eye – pink eye… the joy of small children, who lick your contact case when you aren’t looking!

Appetizer

What does the color dark green make you think of?
Christmas. More accurately, it makes me think of evergreen trees. Smells, being a strong memory trigger, bring the joys and fun of many Christmas celebrations around an evergreen tree.

Soup

How many cousins do you have?
Two related by blood (& that I know or have even met). Their names are 7 and 10^12 (Trillion, for those of you not great with large numbers.)

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?
5. Any other answer just wouldn’t be honest! That’s not to say that I lie half the time – I suppose I just don’t say everything that I think – fortunately for those listening…

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.
My first thought was salvation – Jesus paid the cost, so it’s free to those who believe, but some would say that if someone paid the cost than it’s not truly free and I’d have to agree. So, my next thought was breastfeeding. And, monetarily it is truly free, but often there are sacrifices involved for moms (with great reward as well) especially when there are problems, which are fairly common. So, my final thought is the beauty in nature/creation. When I see the stars on a clear night in the middle of nowhere, there is no cost at all and I gain perspective as well as appreciation for this life that I live.

Dessert

Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.
Several pretentious redheads invent nothing genuine.

Drugs and I do not mix. I had a giant coffee this morning and I’m still reeling from the effects. I have been super productive as well as shaky with a slight feeling of spinning. I’m really starting to believe that water is the only drink for me – maybe soon I’ll start to act on that belief.

Appetizer

Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?
For living, I’d like to be in the city. It’s so convenient to be able to walk to the store or dinner and parks are close by. But, I love to visit the country.

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?
Currently, Josiah is the cutest – with his scraped nose, chipped tooth and crazy red hair running around in Daddy’s shoes and cracking himself up ! But, Eila is a close second in my book…

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard my friend, Kristen, was pregnant again.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?
I’ve always wanted to be in a Pantene commercial. Those girls have such beautiful, thick, long hair and I’ve imagined that would be the award for best hair. But, I don’t use Pantene, so I probably won’t get hair like that with cheap imitations.

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?
My doctor recommends that I take a calcium supplement and a multivitamin, but I don’t take anything.

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?
5. My handwriting isn’t anything horrible or special, but it does look a lot like my mother’s and my sisters’.

Soup

Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers. Long, hot showers.

Salad

What was the last bad movie you watched?
Borat. It is even worse than Dancer in the Dark. Although, I disliked them for very different reasons.

Main Course

Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.
I’m addicted to watching my husband play WOW. I waste countless hours each week sitting on an uncomfortable chair pretending to do something else or talking to myself. I know far too much about a game that I don’t play.

Dessert

Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?
I love the violin, partly because I used to play and partly because my grandfather always went on and on about how beautiful it is.

A while back, my pediatrician mentioned to me that it might be time to start weaning my 16-month old (who is now 18-months old), specifically at night…

Dr. Jack Newman writes an article about the nutritional benefits of extended breastfeeding, which my NP didn’t discredit, but did try to discount when I said I feel like I’d like him to get more of his milk from me than from a cow (not in those words, but you get the idea.)

kellymom says it best:

First, please ignore what everyone else says about your baby’s sleep habits and what is “normal.” These people are not living with you or your baby. Unless your doctor sleeps in the next room and your baby is keeping him awake every night, he has no reason to question a healthy baby’s sleep habits. If you and your baby enjoy nighttime feedings, then why not continue? It’s a great way to have time with her, particularly if you are apart during the day…
If the amount that your child sleeps and nurses at night isn’t a major problem for you, then there’s no reason to try to change anything. You are NOT doing a bad thing by nursing on demand; you are doing a wonderful thing for your baby. When you comfort baby at night, you are not teaching her a bad habit: you are teaching her that you are there for her when she needs you — Is security a bad habit?…
Your baby will begin to comfort herself and to sleep for longer stretches at her own developmental pace. If your baby wants to nurse at night, it is because she DOES need this, whether it’s because she is hungry or because she wants to be close to mom. Sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone (like walking or toilet training) that your baby will reach when she is ready to. Trying to force or coax baby to reach this before her time may result in other problems later on.

One of the comments on this Carnival of Breastfeeding post about sleep and breastfeeding answered the very question I have been wanting to know: When does breastfeeding at night become a habit vs. a need and who decides this? Her response was this:

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor

I don’t know that there’s a particular age where it’s definitely considered a habit rather than a need, but from experience I can say it’s the point where the child responds positively to gentle efforts to night-wean. If the child resists night-weaning, then there’s still a “need” for night-nursing, whether that need is physical or psychological or due to teething or illness.

The one thing that made a big difference in stretching out the time between night-nursings for both my kids was a change in the bedtime routine, when they were each ready (around age 2). I would talk to them about the new plan (communication is key!), remind them about the new plan, and implement the new plan: nurse, brush teeth, read stories, sing songs and rest on my chest (or daddy’s) to settle to sleep. Putting the nursing first helped break the sleep association with nursing. As the child got older, we also talked about not nursing until the sun came up. The mum-mums were going to sleep until the sun came up, and once the sun came up the child could nurse again (in the meantime, after a reminder about the new plan, snuggles or water were offered as alternatives to night-nursing if the child woke).

Keep in mind that night-weaning is also not the complete end of night-waking. My five-year-old sleeps well most nights, but sometimes she still asks to come into the family bed in the middle of the night. There are still episodes of illness, and for my two-and-a-half-year-old, teething. The sleep situation improves a lot (I slept from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. last night!!!) but there’s no guarantee of a good night’s sleep! Hang in there!

I don’t know how much longer I’ll be nursing, but I want to make sure Josiah, who doesn’t seem to want to eat too much, is getting nutrients that are easily absorbed. Especially since he can’t be bothered to eat most of what I offer him.

As far as weaning goes, I haven’t offered to nurse in a very long time, and I often offer food and or drinks when I’m asked, but I am too lazy to give up this built-in free and always ready and available comfort and nourishment. There are rules in place for when and where and how we nurse, but as of now, I’m not willing to just cut my kids off. Although, I’m entertaining the idea of a weaning party this summer.

So, for those of you who are wondering (and I know you are out there), yes, I’m still nursing and I am in the process of weaning (my children both eat solid food at least some of time), but see no end anytime soon.

Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?
I would want to be Condoleezza Rice because I am curious what she actually does and would love to have all that power!

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
3. I really don’t like talking on the phone, but I do it because I love the people I talk to.

Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
Samaritan’s Purse, and I just got a nice magazine with heart-felt stories about how so many kids were helped by my donation (and many, many others).

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
Cookies or cereal.

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?
We all had the stomach flu twice. Josiah had pneumonia while Eila had a fever and aches with no cough, which to me is the flu virus.

I am not currently involved with regular ESL teaching, but I do know of a couple of options. I used to teach full-time at a local university and really enjoyed the students and the teaching, but making a living in ESL is really hard, especially in my local area My training was a B.A. in Linguistics and French with some teaching part-time along the way. My real training came on the job as is usually the case with ESL. I think for volunteering, the only real training needed to a willingness to

Most university ESL programs and community classes need classroom volunteers, often for 1 hour 1 day a week to do small group activities, role plays, discussions with students as well as conversation partners to meet 1-on-1 with students at a time that works for both of you. This was a great experience all around for me (fun, getting to know the students, relaxed, no prep), the only con was the drive & the unfortunate fact that meeting with my kids didn’t work out (too crazy especially with their kids) and I couldn’t find regular childcare so I’m not volunteering right now, but probably will in the future.

I’ve also volunteered with the Arab-American Friendship Center, which is a local missions organization trying to build bridges to reach Arabs with God’s love. They offer free English and citizenship classes to women during the day and free classes in computers and business English in the evenings. The classes are M-Th for 2 hours and usually a teacher volunteers for one day per week. With the commute it was about a pretty big commitment, plus prep time. They do have childcare at the center for the women in the class and I used that a couple of times, but had a friend who watched my kids for free while I volunteered (as my kids didn’t do well at the center and they had tons of kids in the room there, so I didn’t want to add more kids for them.)

One thing that I liked about the AAFC was that my kids were able to see me helping others and share me with others, which was good in some ways. I want my children to develop a heart for helping and caring for others and giving to others, even sacrificially. In my opinion, volunteering is difficult, but worthwhile in the the long-term as well as short-term benefits. Right now, my volunteering is with a MOPS group, which I love, and my kids love MOPPETS, so the only sacrifice is the time I spend preparing and making it all work. One day, I’ll return to ESL, because I love that too!