Body Image

I wasn't there when this picture was taken and haven't asked for the real story behind the image. She's only 9, so I don't think she is all kinds of head-hangin' sad because her body doesn't look like that thong model.

I think it's because she just finished her ice cream and daddy said, "no" to more.

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And in case you missed the "Vag Off"... you can check it out here (SUAR) and here (XLMIC).

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As part of my Granny's Gadgets presentation yesterday, I opened up a Gadget Challenge! Read more here.... *click*

The Mom Post

To Mothers Everywhere:

Happy Mother's Day!

may you be treated to whatever you wish... whether it be ...

• burnt pancakes and cold toast both dripping with the love with which they were made :), 
• a day to lie in bed while reading trashy magazines with no interruptions save wiping a few butts and finding the really important missing sock (because moms do those things best), 
• going for a run or other form of exercise when you want to... right after you change the poopy diaper and make sure the snacks are served,
• ... fill in the blank... what is your fantasy Mother's Day? Or what do you think it would be if you were a mom but you aren't.

I spent yesterday evening looking at my kids' baby pictures... more specifically, birth pictures. They made me cry. It always amazes me how in love with my kids I am, how in love with being their mom I am, how I can't imagine my life any other way.

I'm sharing my little trip down Memory Lane.

Big G and me...

where my momming all started :)

Baby Baby X and mommy...

my first little girl!

The Q-Man...

despite the fact that I look pained, it was the the most fun and easiest birth up to that point.

(yes, I said fun)

Miss C was very purplish-grey at birth,

which totally freaked me out as none of the others had been.

I truly thought something was wrong.

But within 20 minutes, she was alert and pink and perfectly amazing :)

I loved having my babies. I love being their mommy. Anything more I would say right now would be redundant and cliché.

And my breakfast was just delivered!  Time to eat :)

happy, happy mother's day 

to all you moms out there!

and to those of you who are waiting for baby wishes to come true... I'll be thinking of you with love and hope in my heart :)

Vecchio Venerdì... WonderBaby!

Ready to take on the world...

This girl is my inspiration...

And she even participates eagerly in my ridiculous video creations :)



Another Wonder Woman is doing superhuman things today... Emz from If I can't convince you - - I'll at least confuse you is spending my entire birthday running on a treadmill for the Sojourner Center. An incredible feat by an amazing woman for a most worthy cause... check it out and support!

Master Procrastinator

That is what I could be for Halloween.  I could dress like a rap star or a d.j.  Or a sort of super hero.  Except Halloween is usually about stepping outside of yourself and dressing as something you are not.  So I should go as Miss Punctuality 2010... maybe with a sash and tiara?

Back to my mastery of procrastination...

This year my kids knew pretty far in advance what they wanted to be for Halloween.  They made the decreed-final decision in mid-September.  They had cool, creative ideas that necessitated mom-help and some clever craftiness and the potential for unusual engineering.  I figured that a month plus lead time was perfect and do-able.  You always walk that line teetering on the brink of "stale idea" when you plan ahead for Halloween.

My kids go to a different kind of school.  At their school there are LOTS of days off (which presents the opportunity for a separate blog entry).  They always have a week off right around Halloween and their school parade is the Thursday or Friday before Halloween... so that costume needs to be ready early.  It also allows for the costume-inclined to have an outfit for the parade AND for real Halloween, which is the route my kids have often taken.

Sooooo... with a month's advance notice I, of course, waited until Monday to begin costumes for the parade today.  I finished them.  Grandma helped. And they came out spectacular... in my humble opinion ;-)

Q-man's required no work from me... Harry Potter.  Thank you for being so easy, Q!

Consignment store and hand-downs!


Big G went classic horror.  He wanted to be The Blob.  Here it is:

Big red t-shirt with balloons stapled to it covered by a clear plastic shower curtain with red plastic wrap taped all over it.

The balloons underneath give it that sort of gelatinous jiggle.

Baby X was the show-stopper...  a peacock!  

Poster board, tape, ribbon, and a whole lot of feathers.

Below you can see the beginning of the construction.

Miss C was still in her jammies for the event.  The jury is still out on what she will wear for Halloween.

So given the craftiness and engineering genius and fact that the costumes were completed on time (!) maybe Master Procrastinator gets to be a super hero after all!

Super score. Hard fall.

Trying to find an activity that all of the kids like has not been easy.  Swimming works but is best for the summer as coordinating class times is possible.  Once fall rolls around, they would be two on a team and one in lessons... so someone would be cold and wet and two others would be swimming more than they really enjoy and entertaining a toddler at the pool is just so NOT fun or safe.

Well, we finally found something they all LOVE!  Ice skating!  I have a fondness for this as it reminds me of my childhood.  I took figure skating lessons for about 3 years.  The smell of the rink is so nostalgic.  I smile every time we go inside.  The only small hitch is that the older two have flat feet and over-pronate pretty significantly.  Rental skates suck.  Watching them try to go straight on one foot, do cross-overs, etc. is painful... their ankles bend in so severely.  Their instructors recommend we buy them skates, even cheapies.  Anything would be better than rentals, they said.  Hmmmm.  How much will THAT set us back?

I started looking in the usual cheapskate (lol) places... craigslist and ebay.  Nothing.  Then I looked on the bulletin board at the rink (didn't know they had one or I'd have checked sooner).  There were some in Baby X's size looking in fairly decent shape from the not-so-great photo for $35.  Called the number, arranged a meeting to try them on ... at the rink during a public skating session on Sunday.  Cool, I thought.  I'll take the kids skating!

The skates fit.  Yay!  And were in much better condition than they looked to be in the picture.  Yay!  And the same skates were $279+ tax in the skate shop new.  And we got them for $35!  THAT, my friends, is a Super Score!

Then I fell.

I didn't remember ice being that hard.

Kind of like not remembering childbirth being that painful.

It really hurt.  Not as much as childbirth, but that moment when all of my weight landed on my hip bone and I lay there sprawled out on the ice, it really hurt.  And I had to work to keep my "game face" on.  I tend to be more of a "c'mon, brush it off.  You're fine" kind of mom and I needed to do that to myself in front of my kids!  Put it all in a new perspective, for sure!  I think I'll be checking in with them a little more carefully and compassionately from now on when they take a tumble.

No pictures of the nice, round, silver-dollar sized bruise... but trust me, it's there and it's blue and it hurts.