Who is Champuru? 
Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
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Dot-Com Days
In the days before dot-net.
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The massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on February 26, 2010 generated a tsunami, impacting the Hawaiian islands and other locations in the Pacific. Roads and businesses are closed and communities in inundation zones have been evacuated. I am watching the local news on television, all eyes on the rise and recession of coastal waters around the island chain.
Last night, as I was tending to my sick baby (more on that in a separate entry), I checked Twitter to find it buzzing with news of the tsunami watch, which was subsequently upgraded to a tsunami warning just past midnight. People tweeted about wee morning runs to 24-hour grocery stores for emergency supplies and gassing up vehicles in preparation for the emergency. Hubby woke up at 2am and I informed him of the devastating earthquake in Chile and the tsunami threat to Hawaii. He went to Safeway for emergency supplies: cases of bottled water, canned goods, and instant ramen. Our generator is standing by in case of a lengthy power outage.
As a testimony to the talent in the Twitterlulu, John Garcia leapt into action as soon as the news broke about the tsunami warning and established a website to consolidate information at http://www.hitsunami.info. Kaeo Kepani established a live video stream of local news coverage of the event for those who don’t have access to a television. The hashtag #hitsunami is trending on Twitter in case you’re interested in chatter about the tsunami in Hawaii on Twitter.
Prayers for the victims affected by the powerful earthquake and interceding for the safety of our Hawaiian islands.
I will be the first to admit that I am the Queen of Overshare. In fact, I am well-known for my propensity for describing in great detail things that some people might not even discuss with their mother-in-law. I blogged about everything from my failure to conceive naturally, to every doctor’s appointment, surgery, and procedure I endured as I was undergoing fertility treatments. As expected, I took you along for the two-year long ride on my emotional rollercoaster, too. And, the big news: I was pregnant and then the fun really began! Pregnant women have a never-ending laundry list of bodily weirdness and emotional turmoil going on that’s amusing to share and fun to discuss with other moms who have walked that path. Then, the culmination of years of hopes, dreams, and prayers: the day I gave birth to Baby Champuru. As crazy as it sounds, I am infamous for tweeting through most of my labor.
Up until October 2008, it was all about me. Not saying that it was a good (or bad) thing, but ever since Baby Champuru was born, it’s been about 95% about her. Champuru.net officially became a Mom Blog.
Thanks to my blog, I have received a ton of valuable insight from other moms about a variety of challenges. As new parents, we can use all the help we can get. But on the other hand, I also share a lot of information about Baby Champuru. Dozens (hundreds?) of photos of her are posted on my site. It makes me wonder if I should change the way I blog — for her sake?
Fast-forward 15 years: Would Not-So-Baby Champuru want a record of her every move and milestone on the Internet for the world to read? While I think it’s definitely a good idea to keep a journal of some sort of these precious moments, should it be kept under lock and key — to share only with family and close friends?
Personally, I enjoy reading a handful of Mom Blogs. I love the connection that goes on there. Shared experiences, encouragement, and insight. Admittedly, photos make any blog much more enjoyable than one that text-only. Being able to see the kiddies of fellow Mom Bloggers growing up right before my eyes is just precious. On the other hand, are we doing our children an injustice by creating a public presence for them before they are even capable of giving their consent to do so?
As you can see, I’m torn about the whole issue. What’s your opinion?
As an aside: I didn’t realize it, but apparently us Mommy Bloggers can be annoying to some people, too. There’s a blog entitled STFU, Parents dedicated to exposing the Internet’s worst oversharing offenders. I guess not everyone enjoys hearing about my baby’s gargantuan poop in the car seat?
 Toddler flossing using floss stick  Flossing is one of those things that we know is good for us, but most of us loathe to do. I have zero childhood memories of my parents flossing my teeth. And I’m sure they didn’t floss my teeth at 16 months old. So, the thought never occurred to me that we should floss Baby Champuru’s teeth. That is, until we saw the pedodontic dentist this month.
Thankfully, there are things that make the task of flossing easier. Floss picks for children are available in the dental care aisle at your local drugstore and they come in bright colors, fruit flavors, and sometimes even have characters or animals on them. We purchased three different types of children’s flossers from Longs Drugs, including this one: Fun Flossers by DenTek. They’re designed in an angled c-shape which is supposed to make it easy to reach the teeth in the back.
Right now, Baby Champuru’s teeth are only touching in the front of her mouth (top and bottom), so it wasn’t that difficult to floss. And despite the “help me” look in the photo above, she didn’t seem to mind it that much.
After I was done, she wanted to floss all of her dolls’ teeth, including her rocking horse. Good dental hygiene is a good idea for all species, I suppose.
After we returned from church on Saturday night, I was rushing around getting ready for bed. Hubby and Baby Champuru were playing in the bedroom. I had a glass of water sitting on the desk. Baby Champuru signed and said the word water, indicating that she wanted a drink of water. Hubby took the glass and held it to her mouth. She said “no” and patted the floor in front of her, indicating that she wanted him to put the glass down. Which he did. To his surprise, she took the glass in both hands, lifted it to her lips, and began to drink. Unassisted.
We had never taught her to drink from the cup on her own. We had always held the cup to her lips, tilting it ever so carefully so as not to pour too much water in her mouth. This was the first time she drank from an open cup without help.
She enjoys using the open cup, but is still prone to spilling if she gets too excited or distracted. Nevertheless, she is making great strides toward independent eating and drinking this month!
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