Hey, I Can Write Songs Too

Poop in the tub,

Poop in the tub,

Lookin' like a fool sittin' in poop in the tub...

Sigh.  You don't even want to know.  Let's just say my evening last night didn't go so well.  And while I really wish I could laugh at it, I'm not there yet.  If it involved, say, a 2 year old who still wore diapers on a daily basis with the exception of bathtime, I might be able to muster up a giggle.  But since the poop incident involved a non-diaper wearer who swore they didn't need to go before getting in the tub... well... let's just say I'm missing where it's funny.

One day I'll look back on this and laugh right?  Right?

And So She Grows

Truly, isn't there some way to stop time?  Or slow it just a bit?

Happy birthday baby. 4 looks good on you.

Dear Old Man Winter

Thank you for staying far, far away from the first day of Spring.

And for not doing this again:

First day of Spring, 2010

My friends, has Spring sprung for you yet?  I truly hope so!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

It started with a simple movement, almost subconscious.  Just a little hop, then a skip.  Across the living room floor.  No reason behind it, no motivation.  Just a way to get from point A to point B.  My inward child let out a sigh of exhilaration.

In that skip across the room, I had a realization.  I need more fun in my life.  I need to BE more fun in my life.

So today my friends, I'm off having fun.  No significant change in my routine, no meticulous plan.  I still have laundry to fold and dishes to wash.  I still have 3 year old pee pee panties to change and a 2 year old to coax down for a nap.  But I also have the recognition that I can have fun living life or not.  It's up to me.  So I'm choosing fun.

Are you?

Today I Held Fresh Life

What a privilege it is to be in the presence of a miracle.

Congratulations Jess and Dave, she is truly a gift from God.

Restoration

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine out from the darkness,

and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

The Lord will guide you continually,

giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like an ever-flowing spring.

Isaiah 58: 10-11

I desperately needed to hear this this week.  And I wonder if anyone else does too?  I fear I too often focus on how dry I'm feeling, wallowing in a sea of melancholy and self-pity, wishing and praying for the Lord to come and restore me and quench my thirst.  And in the process of my inward focus, I miss the opportunities God has placed in front of me to fulfill his commands.  It's not just a nice thing to do, feeding the hungry.  It's not just a social issue, to help those in trouble.  It is the very word of God.  It's not about programs or organizations.  It's just simple.  See the need and fill it.  And in doing so experience restoration and joy beyond your wildest imagination.

Cheese And Whine

Did you know that every child is born with the innate ability to tune their voices to *just* the right timbre and frequency to drive their individual parents absolutely mad?

And further, not only are children able to do this with surprising accuracy and brutal consistency from a very young age, but they are also completely immune to the effect it has on their parents.  In fact, any recognition of said effect is entirely ignored, in the pursuit of their own interests.

It takes a very mature, seasoned and patient parent to not only receive the verbal lashing and respond appropriately, but also to not give into the temptation to tune their own voice to same timbre and mimic the madness that is streaming from the child's lips.

Today, my friends, that parent is not me.


PS.  This post was actually written on Saturday, when I was indeed in the midst of whine hell.  Today is much, much improved.  :-)

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge: Peace

I don't normally participate in photo challenges because, as you all are probably painfully aware, I am NOT a photographer.  But when I saw this challenge hosted by Chelsey at The Paper Mama, I instantly knew which picture I wanted to enter.  So, today I'm making an exception.  Besides, hubs took this picture anyway.

Following a tumultuous, frightening and exhausting birth, a newborn Princess #4 and I settled into bed for a long peaceful sleep, for in the end, all was well.  To this day this picture represents to me peace in it's purest form.

I'm The King Queen Of The World

We've been getting some Radio Flyer action the last couple of days.

Totally loving this weather.  Check out how blue the sky is.  Zero editing here folks.  I don't even pretend to know what to do in photoshop.

So this gift was obviously a home run and I highly highly recommend it for your two year olds (and for yourself, since you'll be the one pushing it.  You want the steering push bar.  Trust me).

And definitely get the Kettler seatbelt and drill yourself some holes in the seat to attach it.  Princess #4 has apparently watched Titantic too many times. 

(ah, there it is.  I know you were wondering where I got this post title from)

In other news, I attempted yet again to pass Princess #1's approval test with a new hairstyle, inspired by the lovely Chelsey at The Paper Mama.  This time I got two thumbs up.  Go figure.  I had to modify Chelsey's instructions a bit as my hair is SO long and thick my bobby pins were running in terror.  

So you all can rest easy now that you know I'm no longer embarrassing my 8 year old.
For now.

We're going to be doing lots of tricycling and looking cool this weekend.
(well, Princess #4 will look cool.)

Whatever you do, I hope you have a fabulous weekend too!

Comparisons: One, Two, Three Months

I'm amazed at how, without even trying, I managed to get pictures of each girl in just about the same position at the same age.  I guess there's only so much you can do with a newborn!  Haha.  

One month old.  We loved our bouncy seat!  I think every girl ended up sleeping the majority of their early days in that thing.  Princess #3 actually slept every night in it for the first 4 months of her life!

Two months old.  Ah, the fleeting first smiles.  I remember how awesome it was when each girl finally figured out how to smile and how stoked I was when I figured out it wasn't gas!  And doesn't Princess #4 look SO much like Princess #2 here?  Crazy.  

Three months old.  You can start to see Princess #3's Yoda ears.  Oh how I loved those!  These were all taken at slightly different angles so it's harder to see the resemblance.

Click here to see how the princesses compared at birth!  And watch for more comparison posts to come soon!  Have your own comparison pictures to share?  I'd love to see!  Be sure to link back and let me know!

The Up-Don't

So, my hair has gotten really long lately.  Like, really long.  I wasn't intending to channel Rapunzel or anything but the old budget hasn't had room for a visit to the salon in awhile, so short of grabbing the scissors and doing it myself, I've just let it grow.

I know I could probably easily get myself over to Super Cuts and just have'em wack it, I mean how hard would it be to cut it straight across, right?  But I love my stylist (which as I type that has me cracking up because it sounds like we're tight when really I haven't seen her in 9 months.  She'd probably be all, who are you? if we passed on the street.  LOL), and the thought of handing my tresses over to Super Cuts has me skeered, so instead I've given in to the poorly reasoned logic that it's better to let my hair grow into an unkempt mane than to pay 10 bucks and have a little faith.

See?  Makes perfect sense.

So now on most days I'm sporting the ever stylish ponytail.  You know, nothing says I'm a mom and totally over it like a ponytail.  Sigh.  I still haven't figured out how people like Angelina Jolie can make ponytails look so sexy.  Mine just say "yes, I've given up".

A couple months ago, Jhen at From Here To Eternity did a post on her totally adorable, slightly messy, trying but not trying up-do and I thought, here it is!  The answer to my ponytail misery!  I can now step out in public without having to put forth too much effort and yet still look together and cool.  Thanks to her handy dandy tutorial I was out and about sporting my own adorable, slightly messy, trying but not trying up-do and feeling smug about no longer looking like had given up.

Until I picked up the princesses from school.

Princess #1 jumps in the van, wrinkles her nose and asks in a slightly judgmental tone:  Why are you wearing your hair like that?

What?  Are up-do's not cool in second grade?

My friends, doncha just love how kids know exactly how to humble you?  I may not be rocking the up-do today, but I'm not wearing a ponytail either!  Baby steps, right?  How have you tried to break away from the "yes I've given up" trap?

At Least My Bed Is Made - A Vlog

Hey guys.  I cannot believe I totally caved into peer pressure.  All the cool kids are doing vlogs so I had to do one too.  Sigh.  I can't believe I'm about to show you my bedroom.  How embarrassing.  

Vloggin' Vednesday from planet pink on Vimeo.

I'm linking up with all the cool kids at Vloggin' Vednesday!

'Til There Was You

I never drank coffee in the morning,

I never quoted movies,

I never cleaned my ears after a shower,

I never liked guacamole,

I never listened to Sting,

I never flew overseas,

I never watched Star Wars,

I never liked to have my hair played with,

I never took goofy self portraits,

I never ate sushi,

I never danced in the living room,

I never worked out,
(wait, I still don't do that)

I never knew half of me,

'til there was you.

Both Sides Of The Fence

I am a self-proclaimed natural childbirth enthusiast and probably more accurately, advocate.  With 3 natural childbirths under my belt, I am the go-to person for advice, suggestions and encouragement among my pregnant friends.  I am halfway through the certification process as a childbirth educator and look forward to the day that I begin to teach classes full of women about the process of birth and the miraculous way the body is created to sustain and birth a child.

I absolutely believe that all women are capable of delivering a baby without drugs.

I also know that not all women want that.

I won't pretend by saying I understand.  But that's ok, because it's not my body, not my experience.

Do I think I can be a well-rounded, natural childbirth advocate and educator and yet be OK with women choosing to use drugs and interventions in labor?  I hope so.  That is my goal.

Because the bottom line is, regardless of the choices you make in the management of your labor, every woman deserves to be educated so you make those choices based on knowledge, not on second-hand information, ancedotal stories and blind faith in those in charge of your care.

I'm not gonna lie, any time I have the opportunity to help a woman see that she is able to do labor on her own, I feel a little thrill.  Only because I know what she is about to experience and the view from the post-NCB mountaintop is indescribable.  But the thrill I get when a woman logically weighs the risks and benefits of an intervention and makes an educated decision to proceed based on her assessment of those risks/benefits and her own desires for her child's birth is equally important (wow, sorry that was a loooong sentence!).  Because even though that woman may not choose to birth the way I did, she educated herself and made decisions to help her reach her desired outcome.  And that means I've done my job well.

Honestly, it's hard to be on both sides of the fence, both professionally and personally.  Childbirth is one of those hot topics that really pushes buttons and gets people fired up.  There is a lot of evidence on both (all?  Because of course there's more than just two ways to birth) sides and everyone comes to the table with their own biases, experiences, prejudices and dreams.  I'm not sure anyone can be completely non-partial when it comes to birth, especially women who have experienced it.

My hope is to not perpetuate the argument but rather halt it with education.  Because once a person is educated, there's really no room for argument on whether or not they made the best choice.

So, if you were to walk into one of my childbirth classes what would you learn?  You would learn first and fore-mostly about the physiology of birth, and about the beautifully intricate way your body is created to support labor.  Because the class is geared towards natural birth, you would learn about the mental game that goes along with the management of labor and techniques to use to help you cope.  You would learn about all interventions that might be offered to you at some point, and the risks and benefits that go along with each one.  But hopefully in addition to all of this, you would learn that you are an amazingly, powerful, inspired human being who was created to sustain life and birth it.  All the tools are there.  You just need to know how to use them.

My friends, tell me about your experience with childbirth education.  Was it well rounded?  One sided?  Did you walk away feeling confident or more nervous than ever?  In retrospect, is there any one thing you wish the class would have covered?

Do You Have To Be So 2?

Dear Princess #4,

I know this 2 thing is sort of new to you.

I have to say though, that you can't entirely play innocent.

I mean, you've got 3 older sisters who have been more than happy to show you how to act.

Maybe that's part of the problem.

You see, the constant screaming when you don't get your way isn't working for me.

The outright defiant refusal to come to me when I need to change your diaper is annoying.

(not to mention stinky)

The insistence that I let you do EVERYTHING is getting old.

You don't let me cuddle you anymore when I rock you to sleep.

You prefer to sit next to me in the chair, your little legs barely long enough to stick out over the edge.

You fight with me for control of the toothbrush,

(a fight you will not win by the way - mommy is not paying for fillings for baby teeth!)

You incessantly demand, "Mommy, 'mere!" (Mommy, come here!) and "Ho-dew!" (Hold you!)

and you usually do not care if I'm in the middle of something (ahem).

All I have to say is,

it's a good thing you're cute.


ABC's and Itsy Bitsy from planet pink on Vimeo.


My friends, do you have a 2 year old who is oh so very 2?  What is the best and worst of being 2?

Things That Make My Heart Go Pitter-Pat

It's Friday and that means, well, not too much to me since the Hubs doesn't get weekends like most people do.  But nonetheless, Friday is the precursor to Saturday, which ALWAYS means lazing around in pj's watching cartoons and doing generally nothing.  So, yay for the day before Saturday!

I'm feeling kinda lazy myself and trying to come up with interesting things to blog about.  But nothing comes to mind.  I wish I was like this super organized blogger who had a whole calendar of topics filled out, but I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants.  Which means that sometimes I bore myself (at this point you're probably nodding your head and saying to yourself, "so THAT explains it!").

So today, I feel like sharing just a couple things that I'm loving lately.  And without further adieu...

Seriously?  WHERE have I been all my life?  I just started watching Season 1 and O.M.G!  It's like, deliciously catty and marvelously satisfying.  Marc and Amanda are easily in my top TV duos.  Love them.  Love this show.  I may or may not be watching at least 2-3 episodes a night...

which brings me to...

God bless you the creators of Netflix, for giving a sadly behind the times mama a chance to catch up on pop culture hits.  Who watches stuff prime time these days anyway?  Now if only they would pick up American Idol...

Now I've already established that I'm obsessive about coffee.  I'm *almost* that obsessive about creamer too.  This little baby above, one of my faves.  I get all giddy when Starbuck's breaks out the red holiday cups because I know that means that Peppermint Mocha's are back in season!  So of course it's equally depressing when the dead of January hits and the jolly red cups are no more.  The same is true for the Coffee-mate verison.  In December I stocked up on this creamer, so I'd have plenty to get me through the cold winter months when it was absent from the store shelves.  I got about 6 in my fridge before I noticed the new addition to the label:  NEW Now Enjoy It All Year!

Oops.

Alot of the bloggers I frequent are starting to do vlogs here and there, which I find SO fun.  I'm loving getting to see more personality from my favorite bloggers.  I'm still a little wigged out about doing one myself but maybe... someday...

OK, that's it.  I could probably think of more, but I'm boring myself.  Ha.  

This Sucks

Ask me how much gas you can get for $20 these days...

About 6.25 gallons.

And in a mini van, how full does that get the tank?

About a quarter.

And how long does a quarter tank of gas last us?

About 2-3 days.

Pretty sure my gas budget doesn't cover this.

UPDATE:  In the 3 hours since I first took that picture, the price at the same gas station jumped 6 cents.  Sigh.

My friends, I know we're on the low end here, how high has your gas gone?  Anyone else wishing they lived near a subway system right about now?

Breakthroughs

I've been on quite a little journey with God recently.  I suppose that if you're a follower of Christ, you could say your whole life is a journey with God, but if we're really honest, aren't there specific moments for everyone where you feel like God is definitely trying to teach you something, or speak to you?

That's where I'm at.

I've always been in a relationship with Christ, He's been a constant in my life since a young age.  But there have definitely been times when that relationship has grown stagnant and stale.  Like any relationship, you get out of it what you put in to some extent, and I'm not always great at putting in.  I'd say I was at a real high point when I was in college.  I was focused on my future, and constantly seeking God's will for my life and desiring to walk with Him.  Of course, at that point in my life the most pressing issue on my plate was writing papers and finals.

Life gets a little more complicated than that, doesn't it?

And it's funny how the more complicated it gets, and easily the more I need Him, the less I seem to be able to find time to seek Him.

The first part of this year I knew something needed to change.  I felt lost, like I was spinning my wheels. Directionless.  I knew God, but I felt like He was more of a distant relative or an acquaintance, someone I knew once.  The kind of people you have on your Facebook friend list, but never speak to or reach out to.  And likewise they never speak to you.

Ouch.

It's kind of shocking when you realize it's been awhile since you've heard God speak to you.

I had a list of excuses a mile long.  Reasons why I wasn't hearing from Him, reasons why I just didn't have the time to seek Him.  It was just a bunch of bull.  Just some lame excuses from someone who was too busy trying to do life on her own (unsuccessfully I might add).

I decided it was time to drop the act.  I was at a cross roads.  Either get real and get serious or give it up.  Because the thing is, I know God is calling me to more than just a mediocre life of following Him.  He gave his Son.  He sacrificed Everything... just so I could have a mediocre life?  I think not.  Just so I could mindlessly go through the motions?  No way.

We are all called to a much higher purpose, and I for one am tired of settling for less.

It hasn't been all sunshine and butterflies.  In fact, I'd say that present circumstances have actually gotten more difficult as I've strived to reclaim my relationship with Christ.  But isn't that exactly when God's glory shines brighter?  When I am at my end, then it's no longer me and my own strength but the Holy Spirit living and breathing through me.  And there is hope in that.  And peace.  And joy.  I'm no longer spinning my wheels.  My direction is Him.  And that, in my opinion, is a much better place to be.

My friends, I know this post is not the norm on my blog.  I've always been hesitant to share too much of my heart for Christ, for fear of losing readers who do not share the same love, because I value everyone who spends some of their precious time in my little corner of the world.  But I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not at times share where I'm at spiritually, because it is the core of who I am.  And as this post demonstrates, it is becoming even moreso.  This blog will remain a place where I can express all facets of myself as a mother to 4 princesses.  So that means posts on potty training failures, preteen anxieties, small parenting victories and yes, spiritual breakthroughs.  Because it's all a part of me.  I appreciate your company on this journey called life.  :-)