Barefoot and Pregnant

Just Because They Make Me Smile

I think older brother and older sister had something to do with this...

Who is her mother and why doesn't she do her poor daughter's hair? 

Seriously. 

Maybe it's one of those battles she chooses not to fight.

My iPhone Followed Me Around for the Day

So, remember my new best friend, Siri? And that I'm a new owner of a smartphone? Well, I put it to work on Tuesday and documented my day. My activities for the day just so happen to coincide with the alphabet. That was fun.
Here's what it looked like...

She Lost Her S's!

Oh deary, deary, deary. Losing teeth is such an ordeal here. 

This face says it all.

We've had a dangly tooth for weeks now. I kept forgetting to yank it while she was sleeping. I thought that was going to be the only way to get rid of it. 

But one day, she got brave. 

And she let my fingers near her mouth. 

And I pulled with all my might..

And the dangle was no more.

PHEW!

She lost a second tooth the same week because I volunteered to brush her teeth and I may have just brushed a little too hard on that loose tooth and popped it out of her mouth. 

Oops! :)

(I'm so sneaky and good, the Tooth Fairy should give me something for that one!)

What We Loved About Being Off-Track From School

The kids are back at school.  Christmas Break has finally ended for us. Now we can start thinking about 2012, which is a nice change. The kids were so very ready to get back to school and see friends and get busy. I think they were getting sick of me, to be honest. And I will admit, as nice as it is to have some structure to our days now, it is always hard to watch some of the fun things disappear. 

The positive side of having year-round school is...

One. Museums are empty in January. We own the place! Also, we get to go do these fun things together, in the middle of the day and not worry about crunching a time schedule. It really is awesome.  Can't go wrong with the Dinosaur Museum.

Two. Staying in our pajamas all day long and playing "Ring around the rosies" when it's lunchtime.

Three. Getting to go to the dentist with mom and watch a movie in the lobby and get spoiled with treats by the receptionist.

Four.  Playing trouble in the middle of the day with friends.

Five. Being entertained by silly Hazel all day long.

Six. Being entertained by Owen too. "YUCK!  Mom! This stuff is nasty! No wonder Hazel won't eat it!"

Seven. More pajamas and soccer all over the house.

Eight. Playing the drums (which resulted in a broken spoon and cracked bowl).

 Nine. Reading.

 Ten. Running errands with mom and acting all kinds of crazy!

Back to the grind!

Power of Moms Workshop Never Disappoints

This weekend has been incredible! It's been exhausting, but incredible...thus far. Brian and I went to offer some support and learn some more incredible parenting tips at a Power of Moms workshop Friday night. It was... incredibly insightful for us.  He had never been to one, so it was new territory for him.

You know what I learned? Brian and I don't see eye to eye on parenting views. WOW!
I did mention insightful, right? Amazing what two and a half hours will do to you when you talk solely about being a parent with a group of strangers.  The things you can learn!
LOVED IT!

I also learned that I want to be more fun. Fun, like I used to be fun. Fun, like, not so serious, fun.  I'm adding that to my New Year's Resolutions.

Anyway, I babbled more about that night here... 

Siri, My New Best Friend

So, I just got a Smartphone.  I know, right? I'm so old-fashioned. I've been anti-smartphone for a long time.  I always thought it was rude when people pulled out their phone when someone was sitting next to them and even more rude when you're in a conversation with them.  Rude, just so incredibly rude. Human interaction is better than virtual interaction, in my opinion.

I was pretty judgemental about it, I will admit. So, I've been using my free Samsung whatever phone because I didn't care if I lost it or broke it and half the time I couldn't find it. I swear that phone was made of steel.  It has been through a million phone tragedies and survived.  Amazing.

Since I didn't have a smartphone, I wasn't great at social networking. In fact, I was the opposite of great. But hey, I'm not great at social anything lately because I'm pregnant and rarely leave my house and I'm not socially and technologically plugged in all day and I'm also too busy keeping Hazel from beating up on her older siblings.  That girl, my-oh-my, we need to watch out for that one!  She has a personality!

Well, I'm kind of repenting now of my judgemental attitude towards smartphones.  I'm kind of loving my new iphone. Siri is my new best friend.  I don't have to type in anything.  I just talk to my phone and she does the rest!  Yeah, totally repenting.  I sat in the lobby of my OB yesterday for an hour shopping for apps and cleaning out my email.  It was awesome!  I can see how it will make my life easier.  And I have to have it now that I'm working.  Holy crap!  Did I just say that?  I'm now working.  Still not used to that, and still not getting the sleep this pregnant body needs!

Anyway, I'm taking the plunge into being better at social networking.  And The Mush Blog is going with me.  It's become my second home. Stop over and let's be friends!

Twitter
Facebook

I'll be posting updates from Babble  and also keep you in the loop on what Workshops and Retreats I will be doing for Power of Moms (because they are coming and I can't wait!).

Also, since I'm new to the app world, what apps can't you live without?
Do tell!!

Mother With Cancer Shaves Her Head (Video)

Have you seen this and smiled and cried through it yet?

A fellow blogger at Babble is documenting her cancer journey and made a beautiful video.
Check it out...
Life is so so so very precious.

My 22 Week Baby Bump and I Ran Away With a Hot Guy

Ooohh Laaaah Laaaaaaah!

Who is that? 

Yeah baby, he's the one that swept me away for the night.  Who doesn't love to run away every once in a while with their charming hero? 

I confess that I enjoy it too much.

I also enjoyed Babbling about it here.

I think every mother should recharge her battery and escape with the one she loves every now and again.  We will, afterall, be left alone together one day when the chickens get raised and they all leave the coop. 

I'm always a better mother after I've had some sleep and some time away. 

Park City did not disappoint.  We ate, laughed, watched movies and talked without interruption.  

Priceless.

Don't my eyes just wreak of sleep deprivation? 

Wow. 

I don't own a full length mirror at home, so I took the opportunity to document the last time I would be 22 weeks pregnant...buying maternity clothes.

Running away is good, especially when we desperately want to go running back home after only 30 hours.

I sure do love my family!

One of my Favorite Parenting Books

Over the holidays, I read.  It was amazing.  I just started grabbing books off my shelf and stacking them on my nightstand.  I went to bed early and read while little ones played with their new Christmas toys.  The first book I cracked open was, "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck.  I've heard it was a favorite of others, so I wanted to see if it would be one of mine.  And boy am I glad I finished that one fast.  I was grouchy almost the whole time I read it.  When it started getting into concubines, I found myself being really short with Brian and angry just because he was a man and I didn't like how the men treated the women in China.  Talk about grouchy!  So, not one of my favorites.

I then picked up "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother."  I didn't purposefully dive into two Chinese cultured books on purpose, but I'm glad I did.  I learned a lot.  Battle Hymn was life-changing for me.  I found myself being more strict with my kids while I read it and pushing them just a little bit harder to accomplish their goals and tasks.  But I quickly realized that if I were to write a book about me as a mother, the title would be something like this...

"Battle Hymn of the Cottontail Bunny Rabbit."

Seriously.  Compared to Amy Chua, I'm a pussycat.  But, Oh how I secretly wish I could be more like the Tiger Mother!  (But only in a few aspects.)  That book was entertaining and enlightening and shocking all at the same time.  I happen to have it listed as one of My Ten Favorite Parenting Books which I talk about over at Babble Kids.

Have you read the book?  What do you think?  I'd love to hear!