Dropping leaves

Autumn is my favorite season.

The smells, the sounds, the hoodies, the boots, the scarves.

The special days: My daughter joined us on the 8th, and my husband and I held hands in a sunny, wind-swept prairie on the 14th. Halloween and all it's glory.
Apples. Pumpkins.

(Science alert) The leaves drop from deciduous trees to conserve energy - but also to rid themselves of leaves damaged from parasites, wind, rain. Outside forces keeping the leaves from doing their food-production to their utmost ability.

They shed the damage. Pool their resources. Reveal buds for regrowth.

This has been a rough year. Very rough.

Rough enough that I couldn't bear to sit and write about it - day in and day out. Nor could I expect you to sit and read it.

The trees around our home are beginning to show their fall color. Severing the life blood from the damaged appendages. I, too, am doing the same.

I have been recovering from an emotional "woe is me" time. I'm glad to say that I'm shining on the other side. My baby is about to turn 2. T-W-O!! I just opened my online store to sell blankets similar to the ones my great grandmother made - and I still use to this day. I'm recovering from foot surgery, but I'm going to do my absolute best to pull myself back together physically. 

Life is good folks.

Where have I been?

Hi all.

It's been a long time since I've posted. Why? Well, I've been reworking some priorities.

Yes, I love writing and I miss spewing my every thought for all of the internet to read (and search on Google endlessly). I found myself overwhelmed with feeling like I HAD to write to keep my readership up. But for what? I stripped my site of ads...and they weren't making me any money either. It was a high-pressure situation for little return.

In recent months, I've redirected my energy. I've re-realized a hobby that I'd hung up since I got pregnant in 2009. I am now working on opening an Etsy shop to sell my homemade blankets.  The Grand Opening will be October 1, 2011 and I hope you'll all check it out.

If you want updates prior to the opening, follow me on Twitter @WistfulStitches or like my page on Facebook.

I'm not gone...I'm just somewhere else - usually wearing a thimble or arguing with the bobbin from my sewing machine.

What to Expect Giveaway!

I'm a factual person. I gather facts from multiple sources and make my own decisions. I'm a researcher - it's what I was trained and am paid to do in real life.

Back when we decided to try to get pregnant - the only things I knew about pregnancy were what I learned on that one awkward elementary school field trip where only one boy was comfortable enough to say the words "vagina" and "penis" in front of the class.

The rest of us just squirmed and avoided eye contact.

SO...I needed info. A lot of info.

I turned to various sources, but my favorite go-to book for conception (and associated frustration), pregnancy month-by-month what to expect, birthing process, and bringing the little thing home...was What to Expect When You're Expecting.

Admittedly, the one that I dog-eared, read and re-read was a much more dated version.

I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with WhatToExpect.com (I KNOW, I didn't know they had a website either!) for a giveaway of shiny new What to Expect when You're Expecting books!


Ladies and Gents, I have SIX books to giveaway - sitting here ready to go.

Are you interested? Do you know someone who is pregnant?  A table that is terribly off balance?

I have SIX books to give away folks!

SIX!

I'm not doing any crazy earn-an-entry stuff here. Please comment below and share the link to this page with your friends!! I will pick winners on Saturday, so hop to it and spread the word!

Duck, Duck, Vulture!

I was driving down the quiet country highway toward town to pick my daughter up from daycare.

I may or may not have been dancing and singing.

I was several car lengths behind the vehicle in front of me when out of the blue a large bird soared over that vehicle down to the pavement, and the up over my vehicle.

I did that standard wince/cringe/duck/jerk/lurch that anyone would do when a bird with a six foot wing span comes within inches of your face at 55 mph. I saw individual toes, people!

He soared over my vehicle’s windstream in that “oh, yeah, I totally meant to do that” sorta way.

Turkey vultures are like that. They’re the crazy, daredevil cousins in the bird family. They play on thermal airwaves drifting up from the earth’s warm crust in the summer. Spiraling upward and diving down on a whim. They eat the dead – no real rush in that, man.

This isn’t my first encounter of the vulturian kind.

Nine years ago, I was driving my old beater pickup truck down another quiet country highway (you see a pattern here? Country=Wildlife, Highway=Cars, Country Highway = Vulture Supper) when I noticed three vultures munching on a deer that had been hit the day before. They all noticed my truck approaching at once. One flew up and to the right over the field. One flew up and parallel to the road. The third flew up and to the left into the grill of my truck.

A huge puff of black feathers was all I could see in the rearview mirror. The bastard left a dent in the front of my truck and I couldn’t get the hood to open easily ever again.

I had always admired the grace with which turkey vultures soared, and assumed that the grace was just a trait of all individuals of that species. I know understood that it would be like saying that all humans must be fantastic runners because one observes the New York marathon.

The next afternoon, I passed the same location.

Two vultures were eating…the third.

Natural selection, baby.

My internet herd

I can feel completely alone in my house. Not alone alone (so turn around you stalker creepy perverts) but alone in the sense of girl time alone. I live in the middle of nowhere with neighbors who all have children closer to my age than they are. The lack of social interaction can be crippling for me.

But these days, the world is a teeny tiny place. If I'm feeling angsty, I can whisper a tweet to friends in Florida, Ohio, New York, or even England (for goodness sake) and I feel much less alone.  I've never met one of them face-to-face but someday we dream of getting together like long-lost pen pals.

I can't imagine being as alone I am in the world without this kind of interaction. How did my mom do it? My grandmothers? I'm sure that time was spent on the phone, but it's different on social media. It's not necessarily real-time. It's more voluntary.

I can chose to read a message or reply when I'm ready. And vice versa.  If I call, it interrupts. And it's continuous. I can run around the house in between tweets and get other stuff done. Or not.

I spend enough time with these people that I feel safe with them even though it is quite possible we'd pass one another at the mall without a second glance. I know I can spout something to them and get an honest, sharp, and likely witty response.

It's special to me to have a support network of people that I trust to tell me that it'll be ok or to stop whining if the situation begs.

Social media gets a bad rap. The gossip, the back-handedness, the deceit.  The idea that people on twitter announce everything that they're doing at a given second "I just brushed my teeth."

This IS the case sometimes, but social media has connected people who would be fantastic friends if they weren't separated by geography and circumstance. Inclusion in a group is an important thing.

From Ice Age...
Manny:  'That's what you do in a herd, you look out for each other.' 
Sid:  'I don't know about you guys but we are the weirdest herd I have ever seen.'

Elastic lets you grow

Pregnancy was fun. I enjoyed it (well the second and third trimesters). I know some people who have been miserable the entire time. I wasn't. I loved having a life moving around inside me. I glowed. My hair was shiny (but fell out during pregnancy rather than after).

My favorite thing about pregnancy? Maternity clothes! Oh the stretchy loveliness of the preggo pants pouch! Ahh! Emergency runs to the bathroom - not a problem when you don't need to worry about belts or buttons or zippers! YAY!

Gone are the days of  tent clothes designed to "hide" pregnancy like my mom had to deal with.

My momma and I on Halloween a couple months before my brother was born.

How do you pack?

I've always been a heavy packer.

What if it rains? What if it's too cold? What if I spill something and I need to change my shirt four times?

And that's for a day hike - without the kid!

I'm learning, slowly but surely, through experience and a bum back that preparation (checking the forecast, for example) takes out some of those variables and lightens the load.  Yes, there are still variables and some things still might-maybe-what if happen. But I'm learning to roll with it.

A light load makes for a more enjoyable journey. I travel for work and I've found that packing light gets me in and out of the dreaded airport that much faster.

(See my post here to see how that plays with me in other ways.)

Packing for the worst-case scenario isn't always reasonable or optimal.

Yes, I'm sure it COULD snow in June...but do I pack a parka, mittens and hat??

I came to the realization that life is the same way. Why pack a heavier load - in weight, in toxic friendships, in responsibilities, in stress, in general?

Prepare yourself - physically, mentally, and emotionally through healthy eating, exercise, meditation and planning and let the rest slough off.

Living life worrying about the worse case scenario keeps you from enjoying a good or even great scenario.

Pack light and enjoy!

For a cause

Today, I'm donating my post for a cause.

(No, this is not a campaign to rescue the NFL from its own greed - even though the next Superbowl is scheduled for Indy)

I want every reader to go to Elizabeth Flora Ross's page and take the pledge if you haven't already.  It is a pledge to end bullying by moms against moms in the blogosphere.

We, as moms, need to stick together. Some may choose to wear their baby, nurse endlessly, co-sleep, and quit their jobs while others chose to feed their children formula, use the cry-it-out method, and rely on day care. And of course, the majority of us who have every single one of those descriptors at some point during their child's first year.

Regardless of your personal choice - you're a mom (or a dad). Your ultimate goal is shared - to raise the healthiest, happiest child you can - while maintaining some semblance of sanity.

There is no need to denigrate a parent for doing what they think is best because it's not the decision we chose.

We all need to consider the bigger picture of open-faced, one-sided judgment. It is bullying. We don't want our children to do it - so we must lead by example!!

So go! Pledge! Also, go to Facebook and join the pledge there!

Share the love ~ and have a happy weekend!

I've given myself homework

I know. I know. I bring it all on myself. 

If you don't want to do extra work, why in the hell would you start a new blog. And one that isn't a random rambling blog, but one that actually requires research and references and extra time?

Because I feel it is a niche that I can fill that isn't being addressed by others.

So what's the niche? 

My new blog is about accessible nature. Parents like to kick their kids out into the outdoors to play, to learn, to explore because they were kicked out of their house by their parents. Remember how FREAKING boring that got? Think about this generation with instant gratification and extreme levels of stimulus - how BORING must that calm nature seem? My argument is not to keep kids inside - or to send them out with their hand held games. It's to show them that there IS SO MUCH outside that you can't see it all at once. Bugs and birds and flowers and trees and mammals and reptiles and water and soil and how all of these all interact and depend on one another.

Why you? 

Because I spent 6 years going to college to learn to recognize, identify, and categorize the above creatures and their interactions. I earned two degrees that indicate that I know what I'm talking about. I worked two years running an intense research project studying ALL OF THESE THINGS. And because I am currently not using this information in any other way, and this, as with many skills, will be lost if I don't use it.

Are you just being a martyr for a cause that doesn't really need you?

No. I don't believe so. I think it important for people, especially teachers and parents, to have an extra ounce of information. Especially when dealing with children who are used to the at-your-fingertips information - it is essential for people to know what they might encounter when they step out the door, what equipment would be helpful to have along, or what to take a picture of to reference when the get back to a computer (or cell reception).

Are you abandoning this blog?

NO! My new site is family friendly, and I will still need a place to vent my crazy.


So where is this new site?

http://AdventuresInGnomeValley.wordpress.com

So go. Check it out, please. Share with your friends. I really think this is an admirable effort to bring the wonder of North American vegetation and wildlife to the forefront of the minds of our youth - via their parents.

A night like that

You know those nights after a long, crazy day...

One of those nights where you know you need to just go to bed, but you get caught up in conversation - refreshing, real conversation that doesn't involve locating a remote or discussing the texture of the baby's poo...

And you finally crash at midnight (as opposed to the planned 10:30) unwound from the day, happily snuggled into bed - and life in general...

Then at 2AM the baby wakes up and decides to BE awake and in various states of happiness, frustration, and cuddleness...for 3 hours...

Then you finally lay sandwiched between your sleeping husband and your sleeping baby (she was against the wall instead of between us - fyi) when you hear the noise...

The noise that sounds like it might be a tornado siren in the town out of your valley and 15 miles away...

And you lift your head to listen to see if you hear anything that remotely sounds like something you'd describe as freight train plowing straight for your house...

And you scare the ever living bejesus out of your husband who happens to wake and see your face hovering above his straining to see danger approaching through closed blinds...

And he tells you it's just the furnace running and rolls back over...

And you lay awake for another hour planning evacuation plans - A, B, and C - in case your roof gets blown off...

And then you fall asleep just in time for the baby to wake up and pluck at your eyelashes...

Have you ever had one of those nights??

Yeah, me neither...

My love, in writing

I'm inked.

Not as much as some, but more than others.

After an impulsive "baby dragon" tattoo incident paired with a sub-par cover up job - my rule is that I have to want a tat for a year before I can get it.

Before my daughter was born, I knew I would probably get some sort of tattoo for her. I just didn't know what.

With her name being Lily and my focus of study in college being herbaceous plants (read: wildflowers), a flower was my first choice. My favorite native lily is the trout lily.

Unfortunately, the trout lily is either white or yellow - not awesome tat colors. Between not being able to figure out an artful way to incorporate my trout lily into a tat and the nagging in my head of the trite use of her name to select a design...I abandoned that idea.

Then I friended Stay At Home Babe's Lerner on Facebook. I knew she was tattooed, and I stalked her lovely ink pictures.  She has the hand print of each of her two children on her back.  (See her post here in which she recently displayed her art.)

I was inspired.

Since I always carry Lily on my left hip, her hand had basically worn its way into my left shoulder blade. I asked her daycare teacher to take a hand print on her 1st birthday for me to use.

One of four of her 1st birthday hand prints

I chose her first birthday because it was such a milestone for the two of us. We had conquered quite a bit in the first year of our mother/daughter relationship. From colic, to illness, to depression, to weening just to name a few.  We used her birthday as a landmark of new things, new experiences, new life, and greater love.

In addition to the hand print, I had to incorporate my life motto "This little light of mine". See my post here where I delve into the meaning that song holds for me.

I gave this information to my new-found bestest-ever tattoo artist Kate at Bugaboo Tattoo in Hammond, IN.

It had been eight years since my last tat. It didn't hurt as much as it had before. Maybe childbirth raised my pain threshold.

Or maybe I just knew it would be worth every sting.

I'm going to miss my bed

I'll go for weeks without an issue sleeping.

Crash early. Wake late.

That is, if I'm at home.

I went to visit my mom this weekend, so that broke my solid sleep pattern.  It's not that I don't feel safe or warm or anything. It's just not my bed.

That and I was afraid to roll over on the air mattress for fear that I catapult Babygirl into the next apartment Looney Tunes style.

The main source of sleep bliss is that I haven't had to travel for work since early December.  In March, it starts back up.

Angsty prep for meetings with too many people. The dreaded mingling. Packing, unpacking. Planes, cabs. Ack!

Yes, I get a king size bed all to myself for some starfish action. No man, no baby, and no fur kids to lay claim on my bed.

That is exciting.

But, alas, I am a homebody at heart. I like the sounds and smells of home.


*sigh*

Driving Miss Baby

This weekend we went to stay with my mom.  She lives about two hours away - one hour highway, one hour interstate.

Two hours of driving is a good distance for me. I'm comfortable with interstate driving. I've got a newer safer car. The only variable (other than other drivers) is Babygirl.

I used to be able to time my long distance drives to avoid heavy traffic, sun in the eyes, optimal arrival times...now I drive when I think she'll sleep the soundest.  Sometimes, it just doesn't work out that way.

Friday afternoon, I picked her up from daycare a smidge early and hit the pavement. She'd had an afternoon nap, but not a great one.  Maybe - just maybe - she'll sleep.

Nope.

Leave me breathless

I am. THE most. Miserable. Person to share a bed with. (like real sleep)

Not that the person sharing the bed with me is miserable -- no, I am.

See, I'm a cuddler. I love to be close and snuggly. During waking hours.

When it's time to hit the hay, I need my space for slumber.  I don't mind contact while I sleep - I just can't stand being breathed on.

WHAT??

Revenge of the tiny bathroom

We have two bathrooms in our house. One in the hallway that is the kids/guest bathroom, and one accessible only via the master bedroom.


The hall/guest bath has a shower/tub. It's small. It's functional.

The master bath has a huge garden tub plus shower stall. It's huge, and we love it!

The guest bathroom has an inferiority complex, and it lashes out at our guests.

New addition to our family - without the swollen ankles

 We have a new member of our family...

A 2009 Jeep Compass!

(Yes, that is my glove in the pic - I wasn't about to go back out in the cold to re-take when I noticed it)

She's comfy and cozy (with heated seats!) - most importantly she's got 4 wheel drive! 

MSM is One Year Old!

(That's like 400 years old in internet years!)

For this post, I wanted to do a retrospective of what the last year has taught me...

• Being a mom makes me gush and gush and gush, but has pushed me to the brink of crazy to certified nut-so and into a therapist's chair - and that's ok.
• A struggle with my weight and self-image can be thwarted by  facing the challenge head on to see incredible results.
• Sometimes life just throws you curveballs, for example:

• Our house has no exception to the law of gravity...
• Stomach bugs don't always hit when you're at home...
• Telemarketers have bad days too...

It has been a crazy year - I wouldn't ask for a refund for any moment. 176 posts later, I'm still here writing - and by some twist of fate - you're still here reading.

And I thank you!

Ushering in a new YOU

New year's resolutions are funny.

In November and December, they sit comfortably in the future. Something to do on January 1st.  After the stuffing and mashed 'taters, gingerbread men, and champagne are all gone.  Then the new year comes.

Oh no. Now, you have to stick with it.  You've told one too many people.

You buy the gym membership or sets of dvds.  You get the gym shoes and matching workout clothes.  Matching sports bra, too.  No sense in working out if you don't feel good about yourself.

You. are. dedicated.  You do the workouts religiously.  You're sore, but it's good.  You're doing it!

Second week, you missed a couple workouts because your legs were crampy...your cute outfit didn't make it into the wash last night...you're busy.  Next week for reals.

Third week...um, I think the dvd is still in the player. No, wait, the kids wanted to watch their movie. Nevermind.

And it's gone.  Poof.

Clutter

I am surrounded by piles of nothing.

My office, my place of mental function and bread winning, is trashed.

Of course, instead of taking 20 minutes to find a home for our camping gear and purge piles of mail...I blog.

Yep. I know.

It doesn't help that the last communal (non-bedroom) closet in the house was just emptied last weekend to install our brand new (old, but refurbished) water softener.  No more sludgy, stainy water!!  It is crystal clear!!

But alas, the goods all spilled into my office, and I'm surrounded by the stuff we've moved 8 times from apartment to house to house to apartment... and never dealt with.  This "stuff" pile has gotten smaller over the years as we lost the massive storage space to convert that room into a nursery.

Selfishness in a crisis

The natural reaction to a looming threat is to take care of yourself and your family.

I get that.

You don't go and donate to Goodwill and do a Locks-of-Love ponytail when a huge ice storm threatens.  That's understandable.

When a weather system is on it's way throngs of people go to Walmart to make sure they've got diapers, salt, canned foods, and other essentials (read: alcohol and sweets) to make it through a potential stranding.

Valuing our time together - despite every plan I had to make it perfect

Hubs and I planned a pre-Valentine's day weekend away with my mom to take the baby.

I told him that I'd take the helm on planning this one - as he planned the last (haunted) one -- and I need to catch up on sleep with this trip.

Super secretly, I chose to head north (yes, in winter) for our weekend.

Four winds casino is about an hour from my mom's house. We'd be close to a few of our favorite haunts -- and the restaurant I fell in love with last year.  I even landed a deal of a whirlpool room at a nearby hotel! SA-WEET!

Waving good-bye

Some people have the luxury of staying at home with their children. By luxury, I'm referring to the opportunity and not the lap in which a SAHM or SAHD sits.

I, although I did try my damnedest, am not that fortunate.

I drive the 15 miles into town twice a day and back to leave my daughter at day care.  Yes, I work at home - but that doesn't give me an extra set of hands, another brain, and four times the energy to work 50+ hours a week AND chase a toddler.

Go ahead - judge me for my decision to not work through the night and be exhausted while I half-assed care for my kid. I tried it. Nobody wins. I'm secure in my choice. It didn't work for our family. If you can do it, and not land yourself in the looney bin - fantastic for you and your family!

My cup runneth over...and over...could someone grab me a towel -- GEEZE

My head is spinning. I've been so busy these last few weeks I really don't know if I'm coming or going.  Once again, I've committed to more side projects - personal and professional - that are filling every waking moment of every day.

I like to be busy, but lordy, it wears on a girl.

I got a new phone 2 weeks ago and still have yet to program any numbers into it.  I've been that busy.

If given a box, what would you have made??

Stop for one moment.

When you had the opportunity to play by yourself as a child - say between the ages of 8 and 11 - what did you do?  When given the "world is your oyster" opportunity, what was your default?  When your imagination was not hindered by compromising with siblings or friends - where did it wander??  What did you dream? If given a box, what would you have made?

When I was in high school, the guidance counselor had us each take a career assessment to help guide us on what professional careers we should pursue based on our interests.  Living in a Chicago suburb, I was mortified to find that my recommended career field was in Agriculture.  Mortified.

They were right, in a sense - as I have not one, but two College of Agriculture degrees.  I digress.

Asking those simple questions with which I started this post would have more directly led me to my field of choice.

My brother is 2 years younger than me. We played together a lot. A LOT. A LOT!  But there were times when we went our separate ways, and in those moments I would play:

1. School - I loved to play teacher and help students with math homework. There was no such thing as a stupid question.
2. Nature Hikes - I used to lead pretend hikes in my backyard describing the trees, plants and animals I saw. If I could coax him from his flower garden, I would take my neighbor Grandpa Charlie (~70 at the time) on those hikes once I got my route and topics planned.
3. Form-Filler-Outer - I would make forms like Name:______ Address:_______ Age:______, etc... and then fill it out.  Sometimes I would ask my mom to make the forms to see if I could fill out anything she asked.
4. House - with several children including an ugly child (I borrowed bro's My Pet Monster for that) just to show that I could and would love no matter what. (What kind of messed up child was I??)

I need a bubble bath evening - Stream of Consciousness Sunday

It's Stream of Consciousness Sunday - Hosted by Allthingsfadra.com. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post here.
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

*****************************************************************************
It's dark in the living room. Quiet and dark. We had a great party yesterday - baloons, streamers, surprised stepson half to dealth! It was great!! The kids played pin the glasses on harry potter...ate two types of homemade kcake, and the sprizes diddn't suck either. It made me feel like I've still got a sense of what it takes to be "in" or "hip" or "cool" or whatever the hell it's called these days... Now, today, I must reclaim my house - from the party and from myself. Too many piles of clothes in my room - too many sizes.  Goodwill is getting my shit, like it or not! I've been so busy in the evenings with cleaning or managing Hub's music project or prepping for the party that I'm just zapped. And now it's tax time. That's one more night of my life. THen they are mine again - to whittle away on Facebook and Twitter and blogs, just like I like them. Ok, time's up - must go begin my day. Happy Sunday.

8 week weigh in

This is my final weigh-in for the 8 week fitness program.

If you want to know more about what I've been up to - see the Fitness Journey link to the right.

I could tell you that I feel great.
I could tell you that I lost 14lbs, 4 inches off my hips and 3 inches off my waist.
I could tell you that this is the proudest I've been of myself in a long time.
I could tell you that I have seen changes I could never have imagined.
I could tell you that these last 8 weeks have transformed me into a better person - inside and out.
I could tell you that I've given myself the best 30th birthday present EVER!

But I won't.

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Turn that frown upside down

I have always taken things very personally.  VERY.

But you all know that about me.

When I was about 10 I was dealing with a bully at school.

My mom, ever the musical fanatic, sang me the song "I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair" from South Pacific, but instead of "that man" she said "that girl" referring to the bully.  Then told me to go take a shower.

Ploy to have her daughter bathe or not - the lesson stuck.

Although I have gone through phases of the extent to which I remember that lesson, when negative happens I want take a shower.  The choice, then, is to decide to not talk to myself and make the situation worse - and actually choose to let whatever it is wash down the drain.

Yes, at times, I also eat my negativity away.  That is a staple move for me.  A challenge of working from home is that even if I get a nasty email - the fridge or snack cabinet is mere steps away.  And, hell, if I can't find anything - I can BAKE something to eat.

Move over negativity - and entire bowl of cookie dough is on its way!

Recently, I've tried to make a negative into a positive.  If I get frustrated or mad about work (especially) or other things - I run it off.  I get on the treadmill and go to town.

It works, too!  By the time I'm done - I'm gasping and wheezing and don't have the energy to be pissed (much).

Don't get me wrong - these are the usual steps I take when I get frustrated...

1. Trigger point: read email, end phone call, read questionable blog comment...whatever...
2. Get up from desk and head to kitchen
3. Stand in cool air of fridge cursing the fact that I still don't have anything good to eat here ever.
4. Close fridge - check snack cabinet, repeat step 3.
5. Choose to go back to the office because I don't need to eat.
6. Re-read email, comment, notes from call.
7. Get back up and head to kitchen.
8. Make u-turn in kitchen.
9. Return to office, blast workout music, and get on treadmill.

I admit, it isn't the most efficient system - but I'm working on it!  I still enjoy the showers, but one can only take SO many showers in a day, y'all!

A couple FYIs -- 

• How Does She Do It Mom featured my 6 week program progress on her site today and described her overall program a bit. 
• Also, I am a featured contributing writer on And Nobody Told Me today!

...And Nobody Told Me

I am foregoing my Monday post to announce the launch of AndNobodyToldMe.com.

This is a collaborative mom blog (yes, I'll be contributing) that addresses the parts of parenthood that were graciously - or not - omitted from discussions before you became a mom...


Now, go to that site and check it out!  Shoo!  (Tell your friends, too!)

 Motherhood is a secret society, you’re already a member.

You can follow And Nobody Told Me on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, if you're not following me on Facebook and Twitter - you totally should do that while you're at it!

Surprise for the hardly surpriseable - Stream of Consciousness Sunday

It's Stream of Consciousness Sunday - Hosted by Allthingsfadra.com. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post here.
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

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So much to do...so little time.

We're working on getting the house whipped into shape. Next weekend is the surprise birthday party for my stepson - he'll be 11.  He suspects nothing.  I'm stoked to do something gradeouse for the guy - he's a fantastic kid.  We took him to Wyoming last summer with him only knowning we'd be gone for a week - no ideas where until we got OFF the plan in Montana and had my Aunt and Cousin picking us up.  The smile on his face was FANTASTIC. 

Sometimes, you just have to do it

I vowed that on this website will would remain as apolitical and agnostic as I can possibly stand. I don’t know who you voted for or care who you pray to (or if you pray). If you want to know what I did – or do, I’ll gladly say – I just don’t think those are appropriate fodder for a Mom blog – at least mine.

I heard a report on NPR about the US Military doing spirituality fitness assessments. If you haven't heard or read about this, please visit the linked article and do additional research to develop a full, informed opinion of this issue. I actually see both sides of the story - and cringe at responses to the issue from both sides.

I just have to get this out into the world.

My view of self is based on a holistic approach - mind, body and spirit are not independent entities. 

I was born with all three - I breathe with all three - I love with all three - I celebrate with all three - I worry with all three - I grieve with all three - I will die with all three.

Apparently my "innie" should have been and "outie"

I finally have a couple minutes to tell everyone what happened earlier this week.

So there I was working very hard (no, really, I was). I WAS! Gawd.

Anyway, the phone rang and the number came up on the caller ID, but I didn't recognize it. I answered.

After a short pause, a robot responded to my hello. "We are Credit Services, and have an important message for you.  This is not regarding a late or missed payment.  We would like to talk to you about reducing your credit card rate to 6%.  Please press 1 to continue."

Scam alarms are starting to sound, but my hard work involved a repetitive click-wait-click-wait and I needed to break the monotony.  I am also shopping for a better rate on my card - but just from the bank I have the card with...maybe it was them...

Cautiously press 1.

Intruder in our house

For those that follow me on Twitter, you may have seen my comments.

If you've seen me in person, you may have noticed that I'm a little bit more on edge.

Our house is no longer safe.  There is a breech in the force field around our home.

They've broken in...

They've stolen our serenity...

Do what I want - not what I'm asking: Stream of consciousness Sunday

I've read weeks of Stay at Home Babe's and All Things Fadra's stream of consciousness Sunday entries. This week's SAHB post pushed me to another post...and both inspired me to sit for 5 min while Babygirl played to write this. It is harder than one would think to NOT hit the backspace and correct your mistakes when the little red squiggle pops up. Next time, I'll write in "Notebook" so you can all see how HORRIBLE my typing/spelling/grammar really is!

I'm a difficult person to get along with. (ending first sentence with preposition...way to go)

The closer I let a person get to me -- the more they become familiar with thtat fact.

The three people that are most familiar with my difficult-to-handle status are my husband, daughter, and stepson.

6 week weigh-in

So this is my 6 week check in during my 8 week fitness overhaul lead by How Does She Do It Mom's lovely Carrie.

Since the last weigh-in on December 23 - Christmas Day and New Years have both come and gone.

My family did things a little differently this year when it came to the holidays, and my Dad's family offered brunch and my Mom's family only had a plate of cookies served. No meal. Boy does that help! No plates and plates of dinner followed by desserts and then leftovers.  I had to refuse the homemade cookie box from my aunt and grandma this year. It was hare to say "no" on a sentimental level, but I know if I have sweets in the house...I eat them. They just split the goods across everyone else, so no waste.

Murphy's Law of Co-sleeping

Since Babygirl has been sick this past week, I have been a living contradiction of having said I'd "never have my child sleep in bed with me."

Four of the last five nights.

I've come to the following conclusions about sharing my bed with a 15 month old:

• Under no circumstance is it possible to be far enough away to avoid getting kicked.
• Those kicks will either land on the head or squarely in the boob regardless of baby/parent orientation in the bed.
• The closer to dozing off you become, the farther from sleep she will be.
• She will fall asleep the moment just before you were going to shift that one last time.
• You will have a random itch, limb fall asleep, or toe cramp that results in waking her at least once before you both achieve a REM pattern.
• She has no "roll over and fall back to sleep" option, if she sees your eyes open all bets are off.
• Waking up to her gently playing with your eyelashes is much more terrifying and much less cute than it sounds.

Thank goodness she's asleep in her crib. Hopefully those glacially moving molars (three breaking through at the moment) give her (and me) a solid night's rest.

One O Five

I'm cold-blooded.

Not in the reptile sense, but in the sense that my body temperature is usually one degree cooler than the average human.  On a normal, healthy day, my temperature will read anywhere between 97° and 98°F.

To my touch, Babygirl's forehead ALWAYS seems warm to me.  I often have my husband feel her head before I go lubing up the thermometer.

There are times when I wonder if she's too warm and other times when I know she's hot.

She had been dancing on that line a lot last week.