The Messiest Moments…

Posted by Nat on Nov 10, 2011 | Comments Off on The Messiest Moments…

…are the ones that make you laugh hardest after they happen. Am I right, or am I right?

Having a baby brings messes.  There’s just no way around it.  There are many evenings that I marvel at our play room after it’s been cleaned up, and 10 minutes after the kids are awake the following morning, all of our cleaning up is for naught- it’s a mess again.  But that just means they are playing and happy.  And the laundry…oh, the laundry.  There are few moments when I can say “I’m caught up on the laundry.”  As a family of five AND a newborn in the mix, there’s always something to wash.

But all the best stories, it seems, revolve around poop.  Poop puts a whole new spin on every aspect of a story because, well… there’s poop involved.  And it always shows up when you least expect it.

Case in point:  Meet Emily.  I’ve taken to calling her Em. 

 (above photo by my friend, Jenna)

She’s our #3 baby.  The one who completes our family. 

She is delicious.  She smiles, giggles and coos right now more than I remember our other two doing- or perhaps I’m just soaking it up more because I know once she stops I won’t have that in my life in the same way ever again {insert tears here}.

(newborn photo by LifeArt Photography)

She is, essentially a perfect baby.  The first few weeks were rough, but that was more just us getting used to a new baby again, recovering from labor, etc.  She’s so easy.  I can leave her on the floor in her little play bed for long stretches of time.  She grabs her toes, rolls over and is generally cute unless she’s tired or hungry.

(photo by my Dad, with his iPhone)

There’s just one problem.  Emily poops.  Well, every baby poops, so I should preface that with another statement:  Emily doesn’t poop very often, but when she does, it’s explosive.  It’s everywhere.  And it’s always at a really inconvenient time.   Always.

Case in point #1:

My parents were visiting from out of town.  Emily was just about three months old.  We dropped our two older kids, Jack and Anna, off at preschool and headed out to have breakfast at one of our favorite local places, the Hash House A-Go-Go.  Amazing food.  Great location.  Amazing food.  Did I mention the amazing food?  My husband went in late to work so he could come because we’ve only tried going with kids once and it just wasn’t as fun, so he wanted in on the deliciousness.

We got to Hash House and ordered our food.  Emily slept happily in her car seat and slept through the entire meal- it was awesome.  As we were finishing I looked over at her car seat, which was sideways in the booth, so I couldn’t see in.  I saw her little feet kicking, so I leaned over and popped her pacifier back in her mouth.  Seconds later I saw it fly out of her mouth and her feet gyrating and I realized, “Oh dear.  It’s the move.”  That move they do when they are uncomfortable.

I stood up and went over to look at her more closely and then I saw it.  Emily was wiggling and squirming because she was swimming in a sea of her own poop.  It was everywhere.  And if you’re thinking, “Oh, it couldn’t have been that bad,” let me tell you:  I could have ladled the stuff out of the seat.  Ladle.   I looked at my mom and we headed to the bathroom.  We were in there for about 15 minutes.  I had to throw her clothes away, and there was definitely poop in her hair.  Definitely.  Later, when we got home, I had to completely disassemble her car seat so I could sanitize it with wipes and wash all fabric contents.  There was even poop in the car seat base which means…. it LEAKED THROUGH THE SEAT.  It was, in a word, disgusting.  I know, I know- infant breast milk poop is not that bad, but it’s still POOP.

Case in point #2:

We went to the library just a few days ago.  As I put Emily in my Ergo carrier (love the Ergo!) and got ready to buckle her in, I could smell it.  She hadn’t pooped for 3 days.  I knew it was coming.  But at the library?  Really?!   I undid the Ergo, but it was too late.  Stain on the Ergo.  Emily looked at me with those blue eyes as if to say, “I feel sooooo much better.”  Lovely.  I had to change her on the floor of our Odyssey, and I used about half a pack of baby wipes.  I’m sure there is poop on the floor of our van somewhere.  There has to be.  But the real kicker of this particular story?  I forgot about the stain on the Ergo.   So the next day, as I’m in a public place getting ready to strap her in, I see it- that mustardy-yellowy-brownish color.  “What’s that?” I asked myself.  “Oh, right.  It’s a poop stain.”  Lovely.  “Hey everyone, check out my nice Ergo, complete with… poop stain.”

I love you, Emily.  I love you with every ounce of my being.  You are wonderful.  I do not, however, love your poop.

Love,

Mommy

I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls. To learn more about the messy moment program, check out www.BleachItAway.com.  Sharing your story on the Clorox fan page gets you entered for the chance to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can grab a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.

Let’s Talk About the Word “Skinny”

Posted by Nat on Nov 3, 2011 | 2 comments

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’m starting to work out again after having our 3rd and final baby.  Some things I may not have mentioned before on this blog…

• I’m a fairly average person in terms of build/body-type; at times I think I’m curvy, but others I’m not so sure- my rear end is rather flat (at least from what I can see of it).
• I’m not necessarily an athletic person, but I’m choosing to pursue getting fit for the benefit of myself and my family; I want to set the example for my kids that it’s important to be healthy and fit.
• I think it will be a challenge for me, given my DNA, to ever be what one might consider svelte or thin;  I’m okay with that.  I did once strive to be thin and I did the South Beach diet.  It made me cranky.  I did lose 40 pounds, but man, I was starving and cranky.
• I love food and am sort of in a place right now where I’d rather eat (and drink wine, of course) and enjoy myself than suffer or deprive myself and hope it helps me lose some weight.  If I develop health issues related to my diet, I’ll change.  For now I’m eating happily but not crazily.
• I want to raise my kids, especially my two daughters, with the belief that if they are healthy and taking care of themselves then they are doing the right thing.

Those things being said, I’m seeing this thing fly all over Pinterest, and it’s starting to…

Piss. Me. Off.

I started to see it pinned here and there as I clicked through Pinterest hunting for new things for my own boards.  The more I saw it, the more it got me to thinking.  I did some digging and found out that Kate Moss said this was her “motto” in 2009.  Interestingly enough, she followed with, “You try and remember, but it never works.”  But you never hear or see that last little part added.  (See here for article link.)  I was shocked to read in this article that there are also “pro-anorexia” websites.  Good God.

Have you Googled the word “skinny”?  I did.  I also Goolged images using the same search word.  It’s scary.  I couldn’t look for long.

Then I went to Pinterest and searched “skinny.”  Also disheartening.  But then I got more creative (it is Pinterest, after all.)

I searched the phrase in the photo above, and it floored me.  Currently there are 65,100 Pinterest boards with the same title.  Look at that number again.

65,100

What is WRONG with people?  Now, I browsed some of the boards, and many of these women share the same goals that I have- they want to get in shape.  They want to lose weight.  They want to get strong.  Could someone please explain to me how the word skinny fits into any of those goals?

Here and there you’ll even see people have pinned a pillow with the same phrase on it.  It’s done in needlepoint, as if it’s something cute to say, or heaven forbid, you could make one for yourself!  Or for a friend as a gift!   Throw it on your couch to inspire your fat friends!  I don’t even want to know how much people would pay for it.

Some other board titles centered around this theme that freaked me out:  “Thinspiration” and “Thincentive.”  It was at this point that I threw my hands in the air and took my flat ass to the couch to write this post.

Where does this fascination with being thin or skinny come from?  WHY is it considered desirable by so many people to be “skinny”?  I have many friends who could possibly fit into this term in a natural way- they are, by their genetic makeup, long and lean people.  I have heard through conversations that the word skinny is not their favorite either.  I have one friend who told me that often, when people call her skinny, usually there is also a reference to her being malnourished or unhealthy in some way.  That ain’t cool either.

What makes me the most angry, though, is that people who pin this stuff are not thinking about young girls and women who are on Pinterest and other places who see this image, and they don’t have a role model in their life to tell them “skinny” is NOT something to work towards or aspire to.  Or they have an eating disorder that they are trying to get under control, and then they see this and lose it.  Or they have flashbacks to people calling them fat in high school or junior high.  Skinny is a negative word in so many ways.

Let’s get it together, people.  Skinny is not a goal. 

Healthy is.

Fit is.

Exercise is. 

Strength is. 

Active is.

Skinny can kiss my ass.

So I’m starting my own little movement.  Maybe it will stay small.  Maybe it won’t.  I don’t really care.  But I can’t just sit and not say anything.  I made this graphic on Picnik and am throwing it up on my “Don’t You Know” board.  If you are with me, please pin it, too.  Not on Pinterest?  Maybe you could link on Facebook or just leave a comment and give me a “holla holla!”

 And either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this stuff, too- am I the only one?  Are you tired of any other words?  Do any words get under your skin the same way “skinny” gets under mine?  I’d love to hear about it. 🙂

Back in {one} saddle again

Posted by Nat on Oct 21, 2011 | 1 comment

Right about the time I had my son, Jack (my second child), I remember thinking to myself, “I can’t wait to have my body back.”   I think that’s something that sneaks up on you in mothering and parenting in general- it’s a physically demanding task.  It’s one I love with all of my heart, but it’s taxing and strenuous, just the same.  Breastfeeding alone is enough to make me want to cup my hands over my chest and say, “Mine!” from time to time (though I haven’t acted on it…)

My wonderful husband, Michael, has really payed attention to me.  Well, he pays attention to me regardless of the situation- I’m lucky like that.  But he really listened when I would toss comments left and right, sprinkling them into conversations here and there.  I’d say things like, “When I’m done having kids, I want to set some fitness goals.”  Or, “How in the he** am I going to exercise when we have 3 kids?”  Recently, near our home, a new YMCA has opened up.  That alone is cool, but then we found out that the Y has FREE “child watch” with a family membership.  Meaning I can take my kids with me, drop them off in a cute playroom with an outdoor, fenced in playground attached, and waltz on over to the gym and workout.  Try a class.   Do some Zumba.  Run a 5K on the treadmill.  All things I can’t do quite yet because my rear is so out of shape.

Michael listened.  We signed up.  We can’t necessarily afford it 100%, but we’re doing it.

So I’ve started.  The mission has begun.  I am going to workout three times a week.  That’s my goal.  A hefty one for our lifestyle and what we’re used to.  It’s a total pain to get there- Jack cries when I drop them off, the Child Watch girls can already hear us coming and I can see them bracing for at least 10 minutes of crying, but once I hop on a machine and start sweating, feeling 3-babies-worth of belly jiggling and (hopefully) melting away (slowly, I’m sure), I’m happy knowing that I’m at least doing something active for myself.  Last week the schedule I tried did not work, so I’m going to try a different one this week- still some stuff to figure out, but I’m exercising.  Yay for me!

My goals?  I’m not one to get caught up in numbers.  It’s not so much how much do I weigh, it’s what clothes can I fit into next?  What (relative) size am I?  Can I put on my favorite old jeans?  That cute skirt?  Will my thighs stop rubbing together so I can wear skirts and be comfortable again?  Can I do without Spanx?  This is where I’d like to be. Aside from that, I’d like to start by running a 5K, and work up to a half marathon.  And I have always wanted to do a mud run.  We’ll see.  Yes indeed- we will see!

My Friends, Meet Bear

Posted by Nat on Aug 24, 2011 | 1 comment

This is Anna’s bear.  He’s very pleased to meet you.

Every child has some sort of lovey or thing they are attached to, right?  Actually, I don’t remember having one as a child…. oh wait, I did.  It was my thumb.  If I could go back and change things up, I’d pick a bear.

There’s a special project in the works for this bear, though, so I thought I’d introduce you ahead of time.  And this is a special bear for our family.  Special as in, “Oh my LORD we can never, EVER lose this bear because there is no replacement” kind of special.

When I was in 7th grade I had a cyst in my left hand.  It was no big deal in the grand scheme of life, but to a 7th grade girl who is falling in love with the piano it was a rather big deal (and I was pretty dramatic in general- I’m sure my mom and sisters would back that up).  I needed surgery to have it removed, and to our surprise, they put me out for it.  When I woke up in recovery, my hand bandaged up and head throbbing, this bear was the first thing I saw through the hazy effects of the drugs wearing off.   It was the holiday season, so he was actually holding a candy cane and wearing a little knit hat.  He was wonderful- and actually a very well-made bear.

Fast forward to Anna’s arrival.  I’m not sure when Bear came back to me.  Maybe I grabbed him during a home visit, or my mom sent him out with some of my other belongings.  Somehow Bear made it into Anna’s room with her stuffed animals, and somehow she zeroed in on him as “the one” she needed for comfort. Needless to say, I was elated.  I’ve also been heartbroken in the last few months as 4-year-old Anna selects other friends as her #1 choice for playing, comfort and general preschool fun.  But I’ve come to notice that when in a pickle, Bear is the only one who will do.  He goes to school, and just this past week he accompanied us to the dentist and even had his teeth cleaned.

Over the last 4 years he’s gotten a little tired in a few areas…

…but overall he is sturdy.  I haven’t had to sew any holes shut, and when we wash him, he holds together just fine.

Anna also waxes and wanes about Bear’s gender.  Sometimes Bear is a boy, and his name is Bear.   Other times she will proclaim that Bear is a girl.  I’ll ask her, “Well, what’s her name going to be then?  If Bear is a girl we need to be able to tell.”  “Just Bear, Mommy,” she’ll say.  Hm.

However, our upcoming project will perhaps define that scenario a bit more.  Here’s a little hint:

I can’t wait!  More to come!

What is your “awesome”?

Posted by Nat on Aug 18, 2011 | 2 comments

(Note:  I’ve come to realize that I really like to write, I have a lot in my noggin, and this is a great place to let it all out.  Those of you who have been around a while may have noticed that I changed my tag from “I fully admit I have no idea what I’m doing” to “Life is crazy. Craft it well.”  I’m shifting the focus of my blog to include many things, not just crafting in a literal sense.  I’m trying to craft a wonderful life for myself and my family.  I hope you’ll enjoy reading in weeks and months to come about how we do just that.  Thanks!)

 “I’m not a teacher anymore.” 

This phrase has gone through my head numerous times since May 13th, when I walked out of my classroom and headed to a farewell happy hour.  I was pregnant with Emily and done.  D-O-N-E done.  My doctor wrote the note, and it was as easy as pie to head out the door.  But I wasn’t just leaving for maternity leave.  Weeks prior I turned in a letter of resignation to my administrative office.  I will not be returning next week the way so many colleagues-who-are-now-just-friends will be.  I am now, “Just a mom.”  And that, my friends, is awesome.  For me.  Would it be awesome for you?

My husband and I worked hard to get to the point where we were ready to jump off of the two-income cliff, down to the one-income plateau.   It’s a huge leap for us.  We tried during the 2008-2009 school year to make a go of living on one income.  I took a leave of absence and got to be at home with the kids, but financially we weren’t quite there.  My heart has been at home since the birth of my daughter, Anna, in 2007, so returning to work after a year of doing what fills my heart was hard.  Two years later and we are making the change we’ve both wanted for our family.

It was interesting, though, once we were sure we could and would make the commitment, to hear people’s reactions to the fact that I was leaving my profession behind.

They ranged from disbelief….

“No!  You’re quitting?!”

“Shut up!  For reals?”

“Can you afford it in this economy?”

…to dismay…

“But you’re such a good teacher…”

“When will you come back?”

…to happiness…

“I’m so happy for you!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Finally!”

There were many more that tore at my heart strings in both good and bad ways- many I’ve since forgotten, but in the moment were at times hard to hear.  Having so many different reactions to my choice to leave was so interesting.  No one’s reaction truly bothered me, they just made me think.  A lot.

It seems like there is a continual debate about what the “right” choice is for women.  One trend is to have a full-fledged career, work long hours, and show our kids that women can have careers just as big and bold as men.  Another seems to be a “back to basics” trend of having the mom give up that second income and stay home- essentially, what I am doing.   Whether they realized it or not, many people displayed their opinions of what the “right” choice is through their reaction to my departure from my teaching career.  It was fascinating.

What is the right choice?   I think the reason that everyone argues about it so much is that there is no one “right answer” and the only thing that’s tried and true about this issue, regardless of you choice, is this:  parenting is hard work.  If you’re doing it right, then you are exhausted at the end of the day, whether you are a “FTWM,” “SAHM” or “WAHM” (or any other acronym that applies to you).  I admire women who are passionate about their careers, love going to work, and manage to still be there for their children.  I equally admire women who give up their careers to be there for every minute of their kids’ lives, whether they are infants, toddlers, or school-aged kids.  We all make the choices that work for us and our families, and some of us don’t even have a choice in the matter.  I hope that we can eventually reach a place where we aren’t judged by whether we stay home, work, or a combination of the two.  I’d rather be judged by the kind of children I’m raising, working a paid job or not.

What do you think?  Is this debate ever going to go away?  Are we ever going to just appreciate our different life choices or will there always be comparison and judgement?  I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts.

BlogHer ’11 Highlights: Who I Met and What I learned

Posted by Nat on Aug 11, 2011 | 1 comment

As I was working on this post I came across a few blogs poking fun at all of us bloggers who attended “the conference” and are posting poetically about “our experiences.”  I had to sort of chuckle at myself, and it made me realize that all of my internal shuffling may not be that big a deal to the world.  However, I’m going to post some big things, if anything so I can remember them when I’m 80 and still blogging with a voice-activated iPad.  I’m sure by that point I’ll be lucky to even be able to read my past posts!

I learned a lot about myself at BlogHer (which is always a good thing).  Two big ones:

• I am scared of anything dressed up in a costume.  Weird.  I posed with the Jimmy Dean Sun (he is SO FLIPPIN’ NICE!- for reals) and that was okay because I could see his face, but I couldn’t do the Smurfs, the Pringles guy, or the California Raisin.  Too weird.  This makes no sense because when we go to Sea World or Lego Land I’m totally fine when I’m in “mommy mode.”  So strange.  My friend Dana waltzed right up and took pictures, but I either took them for her and then begged off or walked the other way.

• I really, really want to do something with blogging and writing (and maybe some crafting).  I have no idea what, but BlogHer ’11 has lit a fire under me to figure out what that is, and figure it out sooner rather than later.  I like technology (thank goodness I have Michael in my corner in that area), I like the Internet, I like reading and writing- it seems like a natural fit.  I still have scads of materials to go through that I was handed by different people from different companies- who knows.  I love and hate the open-ended-ness of it.

I also met some amazing people.  The biggest one for me, as in, “Holy cow theresheistheresheis…there…she…is….” was meeting Stephanie Nielson of the NieNie Dialogues.  She was amazing.  I was so nervous- I didn’t want to waste her time or make her feel like she had to talk to one more person.  But I also knew that I’d regret it later if I didn’t go say “hi.”

When the session was over my friend, Dana, saved the day again, ushering me up the stairs to meet her and take my picture with her.  Stephanie couldn’t have been nicer.  It helped that I had Em with me- I know she loves babies. 🙂  But seriously- I couldn’t admire anyone more than I do this woman.  Her strength, courage, perseverance… Not to mention her amazing sense of style and her beautiful family.  I feel like her story is one that constantly reminds me that there is a higher power.  Thanks to Dana for pushing me along and taking these pictures (she deleted some just so she could take these!):

Although I didn’t get to formally introduce myself because I had no idea who she was, the very first person I spoke to on Friday morning was Lisa Stone, CEO of BlogHer.  Yowzas.  It was awesome.  I was making my way into the Newbie Breakfast and she was walking out.  She stopped to peek at Emily, tilted her head, and asked,

“How old?”

“5 weeks.”

“*sigh* You’re making my uterus hurt.  You look fabulous.”

“I’m wearing Spanx.”

“Honey, everyone here is wearing Spanx.”

Hilarious.  She gave me the most genuine smile and told me to have a fabulous time.  Such a nice way to start the conference.

And then there’s this sweetheart I met in the Lactation Lounge, Ky of Two Pretzels.  Ky has a wonderful blog and an even more wonderful personality in person.  That’s really something I liked the most about BlogHer- it sort of humanized the whole blog experience.  Ky and I somehow ended up in the LL 3 or 4 times over the course of the weekend.  She was amazing and instead of dumping her pumped milk, she donated it to a local mom- how rad is that?  Currently Ky lives in Cabo.  Yes, as in Mexico.  So exotic!

I also met Jes Ferris of Chirky.  She oversaw a Birds of a Feather session I went to and I seemed to pass her everywhere I went- she ALWAYS smiled at me.  It was a nice reminder to smile at people.

I wish I could have seen my friend Tonya in action more.  She was in charge of a huge party that I did not attend in order to save my sanity and energy.  Tonya, who has nearly-5-year-old twins, completely understood, too- she’s cool like that.  Tonya is not someone I just met- come to think of it, she’s probably one of the first bloggers I ever met, but I just had to give her a shout out.

So there you go- my big BlogHer ’11 moments.  In a few weeks I will have fresh memories to take the place of these- so much coming up and so ready for it all (not.).  My “to do” list is growing and growing, but for now I’m perfectly content to let it grow right alongside my kids.  They don’t really care what I have to do, so I’m going to adopt that attitude for a while and just do what I can, the rest can wait.