on being a blogger

my blog is so much more then this computer, these keys, and my words - it is a outlet to a community that has changed my life. i can be a better woman and parent thanks to the experiences and people that my blog has opened up to me.

i am sort of outgoing and sort of not, so taking that first step a couple of years ago to turn internet world friends into real life friends was scary. as it turned out, it was like we already knew each other and had decided we were good friends - with little glimpses into each other's lives through blogging we were armed with plenty to talk about and relate with, it was love at first site - you know, in a non weird way, ha.

a lot of people say that social networks have taken a lot out of personal relationships, i guess you could argue that blogging is kind of on the far end of the social networking spectrum, but i would have to disagree and say social networking has made my friendships grow and have better foundations. sure facebook and twitter doesn't come free of drama and lack of face to face communication but it is still communicating and being part of something bigger then yourself. it is all about what you do with those relationships if you want to see them grow.

twitter, considered a micro blogging site has introduced me to some amazing women too and gives me a daily laugh. there is nothing like having amazing women in your support system, no matter where you find them. when you follow a blog, a instagram, or find a new person to follow on twitter it is because you find something relatable and interesting in them. in a sense you are being paired up with like minded people you know you already enjoy just from reading their 140 characters of emotions and daily adventures.

the kiddos, this has been my favorite part of the whole thing. this group of kiddos, who some of them at met when they were only around six months old, are getting to grow up together and it is so fun to watch! wether we can get together once a month or a couple of times a year, they don't skip a beat and are playing and getting a long like old friends the second we come together. since that very first play date at green lake our group has grown a lot, with more great women from all over the pnw, which has meant more fun and adorable toddlers playing with us each time. poor rowan though, haha, she is always the old lady of the group but still loves to play with everyone, especially harper, she is her favorite.

our get togethers have definitely grown from the first five of us from around the seattle and portland area. now we hold yearly to bi-yearly large scale gatherings, attempt a every other month or so girls night out dinner, and play dates whenever we can squeeze them in. 

now that a lot of us are pregnant again and onto baby number two (for me number four!) and still have a toddler running around, life gets in the way of being totally successful at these meet ups but still make sure to set aside time to visit and grow as friends.

another one of my favorite parts of blogging, is the philanthropy, even on a small scale the march of dimes is something i have come to look forward to yearly. it is so great to see our community coming together to support any cause and another great opportunity to meet more amazing ladies and their families.

i can't wait to see what the further holds for me when it comes to this little corner of the internet i have created. but i can tell you what, it is going to be one crazy fun wild ride and i won't miss a second of it. my family always comes first, so i may take breaks from time to time from the actual putting words to page, but these friendships? i wouldn't trade for anything and really can't wait to meet some more of my favorite "on the internet" people at blogher in august. 

have you reached out to your favorite local bloggers or twitter or instagram friends? no? then do it today, putting myself out there was the best move i have ever made and i promise it will be for you to!

words on wednesday: what is that bright warm thing in the sky?

after last summer, or lack there of, i think us pacific northwesters are weary of getting excited for this years. so far so good though as the sun has proven us wrong by shining bright and warm for us these past few weeks. even after weeks of sun, the week of rain that came wasn't so bad!

so, you can bet once the sun is up we have been out enjoying it! we broke out the bins of summer clothes, purchased water toys, and are trying out new parks. i made sure to snag some fun in the sun toys for the kids at the first sight of warm weather, before the mobs hit and it is slim pickings on sprinklers and pools. this included a new sand/water table and a super fun ball sprinkler by little tykes.

this last weekend we met some more of our neighbors and they even brought over a tiny pool that their little one is too young to use. after a little while of watching stella and rowan try and navigate sharing this tiny pool our other neighbor brought over the exact same one! so there they were side by side in tiny pool heaven. this went on into the evening till they were shivering! this really does make me excited for the next few months of playing outside in the sun with my babies.

i am linking up for wordless wednesday, obviously with words today. welcome, if you are new!

check out more ww at the paper mama, parenting by dummies, and then she snapped, project alicia, jenny from the blog, and live and love outloud.  

potty learning: day five and six

these days i feel like i am stuck on repeat: "do you have to go potty?" "do you have to go potty?" "do you have to go potty?" "ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO POTTY?" and i am sure stella feels my pain.

but oh boy, has it been worth it! 

i didn't post yesterday because a. these posts are getting sort of redundant and b. we were gone in the car, in diapers, most of the day. when we got home though we had a great day of potty training! this next part is tmi so turn away if you must. we didn't have a single accident yesterday evening and stella even had a upset tummy (and all that comes with that) but she managed to make it to the potty every time, from wherever she was, or whatever she was doing and although our living room (where her potty usually is) smelled HORRIBLE, i was so proud of my girl!

today on a whim i threw all caution to the wind and we ventured out to my morning doctor appointment in no diaper, but in big girl panties! i had set a goal for myself to work up to panties vs. naked by wednesday but with the fast progress she has made so far i saw the chance and grabbed it. she did great, even besides annoying everyone in the waiting room with me asking, "do you need to go potty" literally every forty-five seconds. after trying in the big potty there unsuccessfully, she finally told me she needed to "potty!" right as were were walking out. she handled the big potty all on her own like a champ and stayed dry the whole way home.

since then i have been busy around the house and she just takes care of business all on her own, pooping and all. we picked up some new panties at target and i let her up on the couch if she promised to use the potty as soon as she felt the need to and she did with no problems!

when nap rolled around, i opted to keep up with the panties, i didn't want to confuse her. i put her down and told her, her potty was right outside the door. this led to a lot of faking to get out of bed, so of course when i finally called her bluff she had her first accident of the day. we won't even mark that one down cause it really was a huge fail on my part.

after this mornings fifteen pound diaper, tim and i agree we aren't going to push any night training till it is clear that she has grasped the concept of "holding" for even longer times and we can teach her to use the potty and then return to her room (yea right).

so, with all that being said i am going to conclude this series where you have to read about my daughter's bowel movements. i'll touch back in when i feel we are ready to proclaim, "potty trained!" and i am hoping that will be by the weekend.

so, i'll leave you with this...

type of kid i am working with here: busy, spirited, busy, wild, and full of attitude.

our technique: naked ALL Day, confined to smaller areas of the house with potty very near, NOT offering salty snacks or liquids but only giving them to her when she asks, and asking every seventeen seconds if she needs to go potty. tim might argue that actually convincing her to sit on the potty all day at first helps too, but i am not sure about this haha. too many treats lead to poo problems so we switched to stickers asap, i hung a piece of paper on the wall and she loves getting to put her new stickers on it just as much as she used to love the cookie she got every time.

the light at the end of the tunnel.

a couple of weeks ago i registered for my last five classes before graduation, wait, what? i will take three this summer, which is so nuts to do, but with baby coming in the fall i didn't want to be too overwhelmed with classes to be able to handle doing both my mom gig and student gig. in the fall i will take my last two, one is a writing and reading heaving english class but i should do ok.

somewhere during all of this i will apply for graduation - this is so nuts to me, when i got bored and walked away from higher education when i was eighteen, i was sure that was it, it just wasn't for me. i was so wrong though, i think college works better for you when you want it and finally need it in your life. when i went back on my own terms, not because it was what i was suppose to do next, it meant so much more to me, so much more was on the line. and this time i was paying for it.

there were at least five times i leaned towards quitting because i was overwhelmed but in the end all it took was a little soul searching to find what path fit my feet best, so here it is...

if you have followed along at all, you know i have flip flopped on my end plan a lot - isn't that what you do in college? i started out with a major lust to finish in ultrasound technology, where i wanted to focus in ob/gyn ultrasound and possibly cardiac - bellevue college had one of the best and few programs in the pnw but it came with a lot of expectations. when i realized that it would take more then i was willing, or frankly had time for, considering the focus put into the math part of the pre program i changed my direction towards radiology technician, i don't think i was ever selling myself short, i just had to be realistic in my desires.

i changed direction towards radiology technician, this actually excited me more, because at one point or another i was on the fence about pregnancy ultrasound, there could be so much sadness tied up in that job, maybe more then i was ready to handle. radiology was a better fit for me, the gpa expectations were a little lower, there wasn't nearly as much higher math involved, and i could totally get behind $60,000 a year. i was already half way though my preprogram credits because of ultrasound but the biggest hurdle i would have to attack would be anatomy and physiology - after attending a information seminar on the program i learned this program was just as if not more competitive as the ultrasound one - out of 150 or so applicants in the end only about 30 go through each year. this was if you could pull a 4.0 in both of those science classes i just mentioned. bring it on.

(sorry for the longest post in existence, journaling, you know?)

while anatomy was amazingly fun, getting to learn about the body and its workings this class required about eight hours of studying and homework a day and i was taking it during summer, so instead of a eleven week course it was nine. stella was barely one and the girls were home for the summer - eight hours of school work on top of the four in class daily, i was not prepared for how i would struggle. i finished the class with a b+ but that is not a 4.0.

so tim and i talked and were realistic - it would probably take me at least one more try in this class then two in physiology to get the 4.0, then the reality is i probably wouldn't get into the program on my first try, then two years in the program, so that is about four years of waiting to get a job. so, in the fall i will graduate with a associates in arts and sciences transfer degree. even though what i am about to do next will have nothing to do with that degree, it still says, "i finished" and if i ever change paths again, that chapter is done i can pick up from there.

this is when i started to get really interested in the inner working of being a doula - i started joining in on twitter parties and picking my doula friends brains and knew this is what i wanted, this was really it. bastyr offers a short but informative program that i can take at just about anytime and that will be happening this winter. currently i am loving the idea of also getting certified to become a lactation consultant, i feel even more passionately about this but will be on more of a volunteer basis and tie nicely into my doula work.

so, i guess the point of this 5000 word post really is, who cares if you have three kids and are twenty-six...your dreams and a great career are still out there!

taking back my face.

those close to me know, i don't "do" make-up, or do it well. in some fantasy land, i like to think that my face is good to go and i have naturally flawless skin, butidon't. truth is, i could get away with it for sure, but the older i get, the more backwards into teen acne i head. it is so gross, before i got pregnant, around my mouth was a mind field of red painful zits, no thanks.

this last spring enough was enough and i made sure to put away a little savings so i could head to the mall and treat myself to a arsenal of make-up products i loved and fit my budget. 

so, "take back my face" was officially on - i went straight to nordstroms, because in any case, wether it be clothes or makeup, they know what they are doing and if your spending money the sales gals are your new best friend. a nice gal spent a hour with me, first picking out the perfect combination of kheil's and clinique face washes, moisturizers, and spot treatments. next we started with the basics - foundation and powder, i have always loved clinique and at their fair prices i was confident in choosing their even better foundation and almost powder, powder. before i finished up there, i grabbed a apple colored lip gloss, i had been itching to try some red lips but mine can't pull of lipstick and can always use the added moisture of a gloss.

i told the sale lady that i loved my long lost drug store twist up eye liner so she pointed me straight to the big & bright intense black liner by bare minerals, another tried and loved brand for me. weeks later i even headed back to the bare minerals counter to grab a tinted spf moisturizer, when my foundation started getting a little heavy for this warmer weather. already scared to see what my total bill was, i of course made sure to add a couple of mac eyeshadows - i say that like i know what i am talking about, but truth is these were my first two ever, again with that not pulling off make-up well. i went with two VERY subtle colors that added depth, sparkle, and a little shade but that wasn't over the top, era and all that glitters. a few brushes and some brush cleaner later i was done, and didn't do to much damage at all considering what i got. i was pleased.

of course you don't have to buy every last item from a department store, for years i have been perfectly happy with cover girl mascaras and if it means saving money, then get in my make-up bag now! however, the mac guy, the other day, mentioned that on may 26th mac mascaras would be buy one get one free! last beauty related trip to target i made i also grabbed (finally) some eos lip balm and holy crap that stuff is amazing! per the instructions of the makeup sales gal i also grabbed some inexpensive eye cream to treat my very dry lips with and so far it really helps! something about the skin on our lips being similar to that around your eyes.

so, there you have it - my summer make-up arsenal and the story about how its nice to treat yourself to some new makeup and get dolled up. but you probably already knew that - i am just new to the game.

potty learning: day four

i have stopped counting successes, but i can tell you that today was a great day, full of huge leaps in our progress.

we were gone most of the day and i had serious anxiety leading up to stepping out the door. she had, had one accident early on in the morning but tons of success after so my prediction for the day could go either way.

first up we had a short trip to my sister's house and decided to let her try it in her super skivvies, she even fell asleep, so i was over the moon twenty minutes later when we got there and she was dry. while we were busy there doing a couple of things she was up and down from her potty but finally went.

since the next leg of our day would start with a forty-five minute drive and probably another nap i opted for a diaper, the nap lasted well into us arriving at tim's sisters, but i was absolutely ecstatic when she finally woke up and was dry again! it was warm out so we stayed out in the little yard and stella roamed in a sundress but no undies - this is the best part, time after time she would realize the sensation of needing to go and would say "potty!" and run and make it on time! then, she even did this and poo'd! at some point she had ended up totally naked - but hey, it is what is working for us and everyday we make progress. eventually we'll get some panties on this girl full time but for now it is bare buns all the way.

the second accident of the day happened when she had run to her potty in a panic but there was a fly on it and in the middle of trying to tell me, lost control. but with all the success we had today it was no biggie. 

i feel so accomplished today, we are totally moving in the right direction and what feels like at a great pace for someone who is only twenty-five months old. who knows, maybe by friday we'll be mostly trained!

one big change starting tomorrow, is the treats - too much sugar is being consumed so i am thinking we'll do little marshmallows for one or two days then it will be stickers from here on out.

so far so good, so stay tuned for tomorrows update!

potty learning: day three

statistics so far:
potty: twenty-five+
floor: six, one was poo, ew.
amount of treats consumed: half of a solid chocolate easter bunny and a whole small package of fig newtons.

whoever said day two was the hardest lied, today was hard, hard.

there were tantrums at all times and begging for her diaper, we had one accident in the same place ALL the other ones have happened, what the heck, and one while she was playing in the pool, and one in her panties while playing outside. but we also had some success, including one time where i asked her to try before she put her swim suit back on and she said yes, sat down, and went. the only upside of the accidents is she totally realizes right away when it is happening and doesn't like it. this also leads to a lot of removing of the diaper during the night, she is convinced one tiny wetting and she has to be changed, which is fine, except it takes me awhile before i catch that she took it off, this could be disastrous.

still no poo on the potty, only in her diaper at nap, i feel this will be another hurdle all in itself but were just taking it one day at a time. i really almost

we have a family bbq tomorrow and i really want to keep working on it. it is at his sister's who is also training a toddler, so i think it will be ok. i plan on staying mostly outside with our potty near, in a sundress, with no undies, undies don't work for us this early in the game.

i guess we'll see what happens tomorrow!


update: right after i wrote this, before bed, stella had two more successes and one was poo!

business card dreaming

with blogher fast approaching i have begun the mad hunt for the perfect business cards - with pinterest around these days, i really wonder...will we all show up with the same card? i think as long as i stay true to my style it will be my own no matter how similar it looks to sally blogger over there.

all of the sudden i am hesitating on the simple yet custom 3 part design i have saved in my moo.com account waiting for ordering. it is a safe and affordable option and i can promise unique, but it is really what i want, really "wow" enough? then i started picturing cropping my header to implement in the design, but then i am married to that concept and i might want to change my banner again in six months.

the other issues i am tossing back and forth in my head is - does my business card need to reflect my blog? should it incorporate its colors and images? what are your opinions?

so, this morning, since i was up at five am, i started searching, trying to branch out a little from pinterest and found a few i could see clipped in my card holder at blogher, eager to be passed around:

these imaginative fabric cards are my favorite thus far - such a pop of fun and color and a serious statement to who ever you hand them out to. i am leaning, far, towards a concept like this but worry that since i was considering bring around 200+ cards to blogher, would this be quite the task to take on? maybe if i start right now and do a few at a time, hmmm. i am seriously in love with what juicy bits did in coming up with this business card!

how amazing are these paint chip meets the ever popular doilie? they would make such a statement with a small budget. jamie from c.r.a.f.t. even share how she did it.

these simple yet crafty cards look like they would be easy to mimic at home with some scraps or deco tape, twine, and a small circle punch. mint did an amazing job dreaming these up.

these particular ones are on my short list of ones i might try and recreate - i think it would represent the colorful pop i have going on right now on hi, baby. as well as showcase that i in fact have a crafty side. you check out this concept here and learn how to ad a qr code to your cards too!

these are absolutely stunning and different, confetti business cards will definitely be something someone won't forget. i already love the ugly pixel website for my blogging needs and now i love their cards too!

before i even saw these, this was a idea i had thought up in my head - who doesn't love a little pen net banner. and kraft paper? my current obsession - everything looks better on kraft paper. urban scarlet really has amazing taste!

these scream "green" blogger to me - how creative? and could probably be recreated using stuff you already have at home. i am always up to save money and the earth in the process. totally in love with these dailey craft on cards.

i snagged this idea to show you and remind myself of how genius this is! my husband is in the very slow process of starting up his own landscaping business, so i thought, how perfect these would be for him! i am dyeing over the creativity. lush really outdid themselves on this concept.

did you make your own cards or let a company design them or go with a pre made option from moo.com or up printing.com? i would love to hear about your cards - especially if i will be seeing them at blogher this year in new york!

potty learning: day two

statistics:
potty: fourteen+
floor: three, one was poo, ew.
amount of treats consumed: half of a solid chocolate easter bunny and package of fig newtons.

day two was completely stress free and full of success. the only three accidents that she has had were right before sleep times and in the midst of tantrums and whining for something. we are keeping her contained in a smaller area where she stays naked the whole time, this is how i have trained all my other kids and with great success. she is getting to watch way more movies then normally allowed, but if we come out on the other end of this week with a potty trained toddler then oh well!

we're still doing diapers at nap and night, yesterday i told her that if she woke up from nap dry then she got ice cream, she won. i am betting night training will be a lot farther down the road, she is a heavy heavy night wetter still and my most mischievous two year old yet, so the thought of her having access to roam between her room and the bathroom at night terrifies me. we'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks...

the change up today was that since we were having a garage sale, she got to spend time coming and going from the house in her super skivvies and didn't have a single accident! we have gone underwear free up to this point because in the past it was just a constant struggle of putting them on, taking them off, putting them on, taking them off, so they stay mostly off for this round of training.

i am not suggesting or forcing and liquids or salty snacks but i make sure to make a mental note of the last drink she had so i don't stress when she doesn't go for awhile. oh, and as much as i really wanted to try the "keep the potty in the bathroom" approach, this, the living room, or really wherever she is, is just working better and we are going with it. again, two potty trained kids exactly this same way before two and half.

tim struggles with stress over the whole thing, he thinks she needs to stay on the potty AT ALL TIMES - i mean...new carpet. so i am trying to show him she can totally handle playing and stopping to use the potty when she feels the need. plus, we got the smaller version of the baby bjorn potty (not the tiny one) and i can't imagine it is super comfortable, she always has a red ring on her cute toosh, ha!

i'll be back tomorrow! i am pretty confident though if we keep up this rate i will have a potty trained toddler by friday next week!

nursery dreaming

it is still a little to early to tell if a little mister or another little lady will be joining us this fall, but you can bet the second we started imagining our new little one i started pinning their dream room on my boards. since buying this house i have really found the designer bug hidden in me and have even gotten to practice by making over my nieces room this last month (post to come soon on that!).

our house isn't huge but a new little person will fit in perfectly and with little flairs of style happening all over the house this nursery will be no exception.

we are now proud owners of two dream cribs, the one we use will depend on who will be using it. i scored a jenny lind crib at a garage sale this last weekend for ten dollars, t-e-n, and i plan on painting it a deep plum-purple color if it is a little lady, the rest of the room will reflect bold colorful chaos of fun stuff, mixing of prints and patterns, and other fun girly touches.

if it is a mister, i am dreaming of vintage-woody-deep colors-very boy. i am trying to procure a old pulldown school style map from tim's childhood house in minnesota and baby boy would use a crib exactly like the one in the bottom left corner that we got from a friend on instagram.

i can't wait to break out the paint rollers and start hunting at my favorite thrift and antique shops! so stay tuned to see which direction this blank slate will take, we should know the sex of this little person by the end of next month, or maybe sooner.

(source: clockwise from right corner, then center, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)

passionfruit ads now happening here.

i have waffled back and forth a lot on wether or not to offer sponsorship on my blog, i am not a huge blog and may not attract huge sponsors, but i am ok with that - in the meantime i offer limited ad swap spots and very affordable larger spots for those interested.

one thing that kept me away from really putting a lot of time into sponsorship details was the work it took - i love my blog and it it worth my time, but i have a busy life and don't always have time to answer all the extra emails and questions and monthly nagging it would entail, that is why i have enlisted the help of passionfruit ads.

they are a new company helping to streamline blog ads, and while they are fresh in the game and not without kinks, in my opinion the whole operation runs super smooth. i approve my ads with just one or two clicks and they do all the rest. plus, they are online, on their site and on twitter most of the day ready and willing to answer all of your questions. jason really helped me out when i first started and i wasn't sure what to do first, that was so helpful!

now, passionfruit does take a small fee off each ad you procure but we're talking around a dollar+three percent here - so worth it if you ask me. you start by adding a real streamline and simple widget into your sponsorship area, where right there your readers can pick and pay for the ad spot they want. then, passionfruit does the work to organize and rotate your new ads just by a little html code you input on your blog, so easy right?

that all being said, hi, baby. would love your business - my swap ads have become very limited but as i grow, for now i am offering very affordable options in the five and ten dollar range. feel free to head over to my "sponsorship" tab located up there under my header, there you can read my statistics and if your heart desires, purchase a ad spot. i have been working feverishly to earn my trip to blogher this year and every little bit helps!

potty learning: day one

i am nervous posting this and i am sure you other moms of toddler know why, bad luck.
today on a whim we started potty training, stella pulled off her diaper, again, and i asked if she wanted to use the potty instead and she whole heartedly agreed. there was no pressure though.

i went upstairs to do some homework and other computer things, i put a movie on for the girls, and went to work, all the while listening to them play and giggle like they do best. f-o-u-r times they yelled for me that stella had used the potty, she had stopped playing in time to make it over to it and go, and i wasn't even down stairs pressuring or reminding her! nap is quickly rounding the corner so i just pulled her super skivvies out of her drawer and we're gonna try a no diaper approach to nap time, wish us luck!

i will check back in tomorrow and let you know how the rest of day one went and how we are fairing on day two. basically it will be about...ok, make that f-i-v-e times...how they girls got to eat a lot of chocolate and drove me insane since all i had on hand for treats was a half eaten giant chocolate easter bunny, ha!

i have absolutely no advice to give, you think i would having two potty trained kids, but they all have been so different, all i can do with my wild and crazy girl stella is wing it and that is exactly what it currently happening. she, by choice is spending a lot of time just sitting on her potty. i tried to encourage her that she doesn't have to do this but she is anyway. at least half of the times she has gone though, she was mid play and ran to her potty to go. proud of that little lady!


update: i literally went to her right after posting this, and in a fit over a toy she had her first accident of the day. i told you, bad luck!

tea collection review and giveaway!

i was over the moon excited to work with tea collection - they are one of our favorite brands when it comes to these little ladies. tea was so generous to send the girls several outfits from their new bali collection to try out. when the package came in the mail, just days after it was sent, the girls were literally squealing with delight as they pulled each thing out and tried it right on.

i can't decide if the rompers, or the dresses, or the tee shirts were my favorite - they all looked so great and fit very true to size on all of the girls, this is hard to do as they have very different bodies as they grow.
rowan begs to wear her adorable dress daily, she especially loves the way it looks when she twirls.

my favorite part is that the fabric is light and breathable for warmer weather (that i am praying for this summer!) but still strong and durable - ready to stand up to the challenges of these adventurous, outdoorsy little girls. i mean, how cute are they?

i haven't even told you the best part yet! tea collection wants to give one of my readers a $100 online gift certificate to shop your heart out (us readers only, please). you can shop for you, your little girl or boy, or for that baby shower you are headed to soon.

the giveaway will run for two weeks and if you bear with me, i am going to try out this rafflecopter widget for a change. please make sure to enter honestly as i am able to check on all entries made. there are severals ways to enter, some with a chance to enter everyday till the giveaway ends. good luck!


rafflecopter is super easy to use if you are new to it, the first items in bold are mandatory and the rest is up to you.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

excuse the dust.

i will be working today and tomorrow on a new look, with the help of the talented emily peck, i hope to have a fresh and simple design to greet you next time you come to visit.
and? when this is all over...a giveaway that you won't want to miss!
thanks for your patience.
-management

a year of preschool, in review.

when i dropped rowan off at her last day of preschool this school year i may have cried. that means, one year down and one to go till kindergarten, o-n-e. denial.

we couldn't be happier with bethlehem lutheran and can't wait to continue a relationship with them, with stella and then baby number four who will enroll to go the year after stella leaves, that is five more years with such a great school! this school and her teachers blew my expectations out of the water with their curriculum, field trips, and extra fun days like pajama day and a teddy bear picnic.

if you follow me on instagram (olive_juiced) then you know since the very first day of school we have kept up with our #dailyrowanprekphoto routine, missing a few day here and there, but ended up with about sixty-seven photos of rowan heading off to her day. in celebration of her last day i put together a little slideshow of all of her photos:

it is amazing to see how much she has changed just since september! i want to do a little flip photo book of all of these for all the kids for each year of preschool (dang it, i wish i had thought of this with zoe!) and keep them as lifelong keepsakes for them. any suggestions on your favorite place to make ig photo books? so far blurb.com looks like the best fit.

also hilarious, is seeing the photos off my original iphone 3 vs my new 4, ha!

enough already.

i am about to get all ranty mcranterson on you, but this topic always has me really fired up.

with the constant overflow of information on extended breastfeeding being thrown at us in response to the TIME cover, i am over it. here is a nugget of truth for you: zoe was 100% formula fed due to circumstances i could not control, and she is off the charts intelligent and a member of the advanced programs at her school; she is nurturing, loving, and gentle; she is creative (so creative!) and wise; she is athletic and charismatic; HEALTHY and a happy kid - so please, recognize this, not breastfeeding can be great too.

don't misunderstand me here - i am a major supporter of breastfeeding, exclusively breastfed my other children and plan on trying for extended periods with this new baby. i am such a supporter and advocate that i am currently looking into making my career central around breastfeeding and already lend my experience and tips where i can. but...and this is a big but, i am over being made to feel like i didn't do enough for zoe or that i robbed her future of something by not breastfeeding her, because i didn't.

so, in the words of mandy, "lets just feed them, shall we?"

a fresh start.

have you missed us?
i'll admit finding balance with two terrorists, er i mean young kids and this pregnancy has been hard. what i mean is, excuse me while i clean a recent poop explosion off my daughters walls and toys, then i will be back to blogging on a regular schedule soon.
i am working on a new look, new posts daily, new advertising inner workings, and more - just bear (i just had to stop and look up how to say that right without asking you to be naked with me, that is where my head is at these days) with me while find my footing and wow you with my comeback.
thanks,
management

march of dimes team 2012