Peace

I admit, as much as I LOVE being blessed enough to be able to stay at home with my girls, nap time is probably my favorite time of the day. Or, at least my most peaceful.

It's usually the first time of the day that I actually get to sit down. Without a child on my lap or pulling on my arm.

Nap time doesn't last that long around here and frankly, at almost 5 years old I'm surprised that I can still get the Mermaid to take one. Once they are asleep I love to listen to the piece and quiet and enjoy my time alone. Sometimes I'm good and I do things that I had scheduled, like work on my CBE certification, catch up on laundry, do things for my local LLL group, or for WomenAid but sometimes instead I just head out to the deck with a good book and my second cup of coffee for the day.

I used to be able to take my laptop out there as well, but then it crashed and now I am stuck with a slow and half-broken desktop in the dark basement, where I can only get onto my email by luck, and where I can't take on more writing jobs because I can't log into the websites.

Where I can write new posts for my blog, but can't actually view my blog to see how they came out. It drives me nuts, like I haven't seen my reflection in two months.

No matter how short their naps are (sometimes as short as 20 minutes), I feel fully recharged when they wake up. They run down the stairs, yell "Mommy!" and with a swoop into my arms, rejoin my day. And it feels so right.

Peace

In the News

A few stories that have been floating around the WWW:

CDC Says Cesarean Triples Neonatal Death Risk.
From the article:

While the increased risks of cesarean section to neonatal and maternal health have long been known, an even more grim issue came to light in a study released in the September, 2006 issue of Birth Journal. The CDC conducted research on cesarean section and neonatal mortality, expecting to find that the neonatal mortality rate (defined as death within the first 28 days of life) following cesarean section correlated directly with medical complications of the mother and baby. What they found, instead, was that regardless of risk factors, babies born by cesarean section face a risk of death nearly three times that of vaginally born babies.

VBAC? How About On The Interestate?
An amazing story about a woman a VBA3C on the side of the freeway! Frankly, I'm surprised she was able to find a doctor that would allow her to try a vaginal birth!

Let The Baby Decide: The Case Against Inducing Labor
From the article:

Labor should be induced only when medically necessary, never simply for convenience or because a woman is sick of being pregnant. The risks in these situations far outweigh the perceived benefits. Determining postmaturity or a woman's readiness to give birth are complex processes. We are just beginning to understand the long-term effects on the fetal brain of drugs such as Pitocin, and the exact long-term effects of inducing or augmenting labor are unknown. Pregnant woman wanting information on the safety of a drug can consult the Physicians' Desk Reference or call the product safety officer at the pharmaceutical company where it is manufactured.

The Physical Impact of Cesareans
From the article:

We’re seeing only the tip of the iceberg in regard to the impact of cesareans on women and their families. The reality is that the impact is far larger and deeper than we know. As the cesarean rate increases, so does our glimpse into the reality of the immense proportions of the epidemic and its impact on our lives.

And finally, IKEA Employee Sends Breastfeeding Mother To Bathroom.
From the article:

"On Wednesday I was in IKEA Red Hook in the middle of breastfeeding, fully covered, when I was told I had to stop doing "that" and go to the nearby family bathroom. The IKEA employee and security guards were extremely rude to us. I was hustled off to the bathroom and then had to wait because someone else was using it. I was humiliated, my daughter was upset from being interrupted in the middle of her feed. When eventually I gave up and headed for the car to finish feeding, the security guards who had seen the entire event insisted on checking my receipts.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments about any of these stories.

In the News

Still Working On Myself...

Last night I suddenly came down with this awful stomach bugs...you know those weird ones that attack you like crazy where you almost wish you'd get hit by a truck, only to leave you feeling fine 12 hours later?

Yeah, one of those.

To make things worse, the Knight wasn't home. He was waiting for AAA at our broken down van. Yes, it broke. down. AGAIN.

So, I managed to feed the girls dinner (so what if it was cereal, I was miserable) and put them to bed before passing out on the couch.

About two hours later, I woke up from my stupor of sleeping then getting sick in the bathroom to realize that there were some funny noises going on upstairs. Upstairs, where it should have been quiet because both the girls are sleeping, right?

I literally dragged my miserable self up the stairs to find them awake, standing in their bedroom and holding an empty lotion bottle. This particular lotion bottle was BIG and it had nearly been full when I put them to bed, so I wondered very briefly where all the lotion had gone before my eyes focused and I realized where it went. Their entire room was covered, everywhere. The desk, bookcase, bureaus, even the bed. And both girls were covered, too. Lotion EVERYWHERE.

I lost it. I yelled, I screamed, I pointed fingers. I stopped at one point, ran into the upstairs bathroom to get sick, and realized that the bathroom was covered in lotion, too. That's when I really went to town with the yelling.

The whole time, the girls just stood there with wide eyes and jaws dropped. I'm not sure what scared them more, the condition I was in or my anger.

Everything that I had absorbed about positive discipline had FLOWN out of my head the second I had seen the lotion everywhere. There was no reason, no guidance, just ANGER.

I cleaned up as much as I could in the state I was in, put the girls back to bed and threw myself back onto the couch. Shortly after the Knight came home and when he said hello I said, "Oh, can you see me? I'm surprised I'm big enough to exist, because I feel about this small" and held my thumb and index finger a tiny space apart.

Nobody is perfect, and I know that. I'm thankful for that. But the speed and rate that my anger had consumed me SCARES me. I could not believe that I had lost control that quickly, and I can't understand why. It's just lotion. Not paint, not black marker, no one was hurt, nothing was damaged. The girls now have really soft skin.

Even so, for me this wasn't a lesson about how nobody is perfect, or that loving discipline works better for my family then yelling and spanking, but more about learning to forgive myself. Even Jesus lost his temper. It doesn't make me mean, it doesn't make me a bad parent, it just reminds me to be more gentle and easy on myself; to be more forgiving; and to be more open to these opportunities to learn.

To remind myself that I am still, and will be for the rest of my life, a work in progress.

Still Working On Myself...

Wordless Wednesday: Curly Sue

I can't believe how curly and thick her hair is getting!!

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

Wordless Wednesday: Curly Sue

Linky Love

There are some stories and blog posts lately that I thought were worth sharing...

The Man Nurse Diaries talks about his thoughts on being a man in the delivery room. A must read.


Stand and Deliver wrote a really intriguing post about beds and birth rooms. While over there I would check out the rest of her blog, she offers a lot of information and insight about the maternity system in general.


I also found this excellent website that offers free homeschooling resources. Homeschool Buyers Co-op offers everything from free curriculum to website listings and games.

Where else can you find something this cool besides on Etsy? Wove's shop offers unique creations woven out of willow.

And finally, Natural Moms Talk Radio offers recipes and instructions for making your own shampoo.

What interesting links have you come across lately?

Linky Love

All Children's Furniture Giveaway!!

If you're like me, then you are always on the lookout for high quality children's toys and furniture that won't leave your wallet empty. Sometimes, finding a product that comes at a good price without sacrificing quality is hard to do. That's why I was so happy to find All Children's Furniture.

All Children's Furniture sells everything from bunk beds to toys, all at a great price. Their site is so easy to navigate and provides different search options to help you find that perfect product for your child. You can search by brand, category, and product type. My favorite search option is by price: that way, you can go directly to the high-quality products that fit within your budget. Plus, they are currently having an amazing promotion: free shipping for all orders over $69!

All Children's Furniture is so committed to their products and service that they have generously provided me with a product to give away. This wonderful giveaway is for a Floral Twin Bed Tent by Bazoongi Kids. From the website:

"Made from the same high quality 100% spun-bonded fabric as their play structures, the Flower Twin Bed Tent from Bazoongi Kids is perfect for either daytime play or night-time dreams. Kids will love the beautiful flower garden print and the peek-a-boo door flaps, and there are plenty of pockets both inside and outside for storage as well as multiple mesh windows to ensure plenty of sunlight and good air flow. Designed for a standard twin-sized bed, this bed tent promises to provide plenty of fun and rest for your child and their friends."

I know that the Mermaid would LOVE this bed tent. Can you imagine how much fun this tent would make bed time for your little one?

Here's how to enter this giveaway:

1. Visit All Children's Furniture and look around. Then come back and leave a comment telling me what your favorite products are.

For extra entries...

- Twitter about this giveaway, being sure to add @roxanne600 to your tweet. You can do this once a day to earn an entry a day.

- Subscribe to my feed or follow my blog.

- Blog about this giveaway. Just simply copy and paste the following into your post:

Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother is having a giveaway for a Floral Twin Bed Tent! This giveaway is sponsored by All Children's Furniture, who sells everything from bunk beds to toys. Visit now to enter for your chance to win!

Make sure you leave a separate comment for each separate entry. This contest is open to US and Canadian Residents only. I will randomly choose a winner on Monday, August 10th. The winner will have three days to reply before I pick another winner.

Good luck!

All Children's Furniture Giveaway!!

WHOOSH!!

*photo by Wormtown Medic

Our house is located on a quiet, dead end street. If you go to the end of the street and cut through the woods, you will come out onto a high school campus. The same high school I attended, in fact.

On this campus is a windmill.

I love this windmill. We can see it from our house, soaring up over our street like a mighty protector. In fact, when we are out and coming home, the Mermaid always knows which way to go because she can see the windmill. When we first moved in, I would wake up and see it out my bedroom window, and the way it moved made me think it was waving good morning to me. Silly, I know.

Most of the time it is really quiet, but on really windy days or on rainy days, it makes a great WHOOSH sound as it rotates. I don't find that sound annoying in the least; in fact, I find it rather comforting. It sounds like a womb, with the mother's heart beating through.

The only time I found it annoying was right after we lost Kalei. I was still carrying him, laying on my bed, and the sound of the windmill reminded me of the sounds we had heard from my midwife's doppler: the great WHOOSH of my heartbeat and vascular system and no tiny bumpbump of a baby heartbeat.

We are also close to two schools, two parks, and three daycares. So, at any given time when you step outside onto my deck, you can clearly hear children playing and laughing and the sound of a bat hitting a ball. WHACK! This is my favorite sound, because it is always followed by people cheering.

My favorite days are when all these sounds come together. The WHOOSH of the windmill provides a nice, relaxing background to the laughter and cheering, the WHACK of the bat on ball. On these days, I love to sit out on the deck with a book while the girls run around in the yard, adding their own laughter to the mix. The perfect sounds of home.

How often do we slow down enough to appreciate all the little things around us, like the sounds we hear? There have been many times that I've been so busy and rushed, unable to appreciate the small gifts that were all around me.

At this point in my life, I am more still, more quiet and relaxed than usual. And I love it.

WHOOSH!!

So Soft and Yummy!

Yesterday we had a small cookout to celebrate my lovely sister's birthday. It was so nice to sit and chat with family, eat good food, enjoy the nice weather out on the deck.

My sister requested that I make pretzels, she really likes the recipe I use.

Buttery Soft Pretzels - makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:
4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping.

1. In small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes, until creamy.

2. In large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in center; add oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If dry, add 1 0r 2 tbsp water. Knead dough until smooth, about 7-8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl and coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll and twist into pretzel shape. Dip each one into baking soda solution and place on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

5. Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

These pretzels do take effort to make, but they are so worth it!

So Soft and Yummy!

Close Your Eyes...and Jump

Yesterday we had another beautiful gorgeous day and the Knight decided that a little water fun was in order.

He broke out the Slip and Slide that someone bought for the girls a while back, the one that we haven't had a chance to use yet because it was only our fourth sunny day since May (those of you in New England know exactly what I'm talking about). The three of them put their bathing suits on and I sat out on the deck to watch the fun.

The Guppy was content on splashing her feet in the little pool at the end of the slide, but we could all tell that the Mermaid really wanted to slide. Splashing in some pool was not enough for her today, oh no, she wanted to slide fast and furious!

But she was also afraid. The Knight patiently demonstrated how to run, jump and slide over and over again. The Mermaid did all right on the running start but when it came time to jump she would lose her nerve and just run off to the side.

Normally we wouldn't push her in any way, but it was obvious that she wanted to jump and slide. So finally, the Knight knelt so that he was eye level with her, and told her that she could just close her eyes and jump, and trust him to not let her get hurt. She nodded and began her run to the slide. I watched as she shut her eyes tightly....then jumped.

She slid down the slide, and by the time she got to the end her eyes were open with delight and she was laughing. She happily spent the next 1.5 hours running, jumping, and sliding to her delight.

How many times have I been in a situation where I wanted so badly to accomplish something, but one little fear made me stop or hesitate? Or worse, how many times have I found myself succeeding in my goals, but one little comment made me start to doubt myself and lose focus?

I've been feeling a lot of doubt lately. Doubt about my abilities as a homeschooling mom, about my abilities as a wife, as a person with her own goals in life. Was I just wasting my time, striving for these goals?

This doubt, this fear, has halted my progress in all my goals these past two weeks. I've become distracted and unfocused. But watching the Mermaid close her eyes and jump, watching her have complete trust in her father, made me realize that I have a Father that I could put complete trust in as well.

I'm at edge. The ride ahead looks wonderful and exciting. All I have to do now is close my eyes...and jump.

Close Your Eyes...and Jump

Summer Trips

Last week the Knight and I took the girls to Six Flags, along with his family. We all had a blast, although the Mermaid kept insisting on going on all the rides and then crying her way through them. Kids.

Enjoy the pictures!

Summer Trips

Wordless Wednesday: Beach Bums

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

Wordless Wednesday: Beach Bums

Weekly Deals

I found a lot of great deals this week, especially at CVS. In fact, this week was my best CVS'ing trip ever.

First, my CVS trip:

Deals I focused on were: CVS 1 subject notebook, $0.99 with $0.99 ECB reward; PaperMate grip pens, $0.99 with $0.99 ECB reward; CVS 3 subject or 5 subject notebook, $3.99 with $3 ECB reward; Caliber scissors, $2.99 with $2.99 ECB reward; Caliber glue, $0.99 with $0.99 ECB reward; Caliber ruler, $0.99 with $0.99 ECB reward; Brita filter, 3 pack, $14.99 with $5 ECB reward; Gillette Fusion Razor, $7.99 with $4 ECB reward; Tylenol 8hr, $3.99 with $3 ECB reward, Kotex Light Days, 2/$7 with $2 ECB reward; and all Almay cosmetics, BIGIF.

Transaction 1:
2 CVS 3 subject notebook
3 packages of PaperMate pens
1 Gillette Fusion razor
2 boxes of Tylenol 8 hour
2 CVS 1 subject notebooks
2 pairs of Caliber scissors
2 Caliber wooden rulers
2 CVS 5 subject rulers

Used 2 $1/1 tylenol printable coupon
Used 1 $4/1 Gillette Fusion razor from newspaper insert
Used $3 in ECB's that printed out for me at the coupon machine
Used $27 in ECB's from last week.

Total before discounts and coupons: $51.98
Total OOP: $2.98
Total ECB's received: $30

Transaction 2:

2 boxes of Kotex Light Days
1 Brita Filter, 3 pack
2 Almay concealer sticks
1 reese's cup (filler)

Used 2 $1/1 Kotex printable coupons
Used $1/1 Brita filter printable coupon
Used $27.93 in ECB's from transaction #1.

Total value before discounts and coupons: $47.24
Total OOP: $.02
Total ECB's received for next week: $10

Now, for the grocery deals:

Price Chopper:
180z container of blueberries, $2 each, bought 2
Price Chopper tissues, $1 each, bought 2
Total before discounts: $12.76
Total OOP: $6.10
Saved $6.76 plus got $1 off per gallon for gas.

Big Y:
Colonna Pasta Sauce, BI at $2.49 get 2 free; bought 9
Polar Seltzer water, 10/$10, bought 8
Ace of Diamonds Tuna, $0.89, bought 5
Total before discounts: $43.38
Total OOP: $20.32
Saved $23.06

I also stopped at a fruit stand and picked up bananas, plums, and peaches for $4. In total, I stayed under budget for the week by $15!

What good deals did you score this week?

Weekly Deals

Pit To Distress: Or, Another Reason To Run Away From The Hospital.

Lately there's been a lot of buzz surrounding the article Pit to Distress: Your Ticket To Unnecessary Cesarean?

From the article:

“Pit to distress.” How have I not heard about this? Apparently it’s quite en vogue in many hospitals these days. Googling the term brings up a number of
pages discussing the practice, which entails administering the highest possible
dosage of Pitocin in order to deliberately distress the fetus, so a C-section
can be performed.

Yes folks, you read that right. All that Pit is not to coerce mom’s body into birthing ASAP so they can turn that moneymaking bed over, but to purposefully squeeze all the oxygen out of her baby so they can put on a concerned face and say, “Oh dear, looks like we’re heading to the OR!”

She goes on to say:

Jill asks the questions, “OBs, do you still think women are choosing not to birth at your hospitals because Ricki Lake said homebirths are cool? Do you
still think we are only out for a “good experience?”

I imagine that all of us who have openly questioned the practices of obstetricians in the U.S. have been hit with the same backlash. We must be selfish, irrational and motivated by our own personal satisfaction. We’ve been indoctrinated into a subculture of natural birth zealots and want to force pain on other women or just feel mighty and superior. We fetishize vaginal birth and attach magical powers to a
so-called natural entrance to the world.

Nah. It’s stuff like “pit to distress” that made me run for the nearest freestanding birth center. If I had to do it all over again, I’d stay home.

Yes, I am a big fan of home birth. But I'm not a "natural birth zealot". I don't believe that home birth is an option for everyone, but it is a real problem and a real shame when women who choose not to give birth at home have to choose instead to give birth in a hostile environment where Pit to Distress is becoming more common. Where women are told what they can and cannot do, where they are lied to, and where they are transformed into powerful women whose bodies are doing what nature intends to women who are forced to lay still, be helpless, and let someone else take over their birth for them.

Haven't we had enough already? Consumer desire is slowly making progress in terms of changing hospital practices, but it isn't enough. We need to demand more.

Pit To Distress: Or, Another Reason To Run Away From The Hospital.

Having Kids Makes Life Exciting

Chris Bojhalian. Jodi Picoult. Gail Tsukiyami.

What do these authors have in common?

The answer is simply that they are quickly becoming my favorite authors. And I would not have discovered them, or their books, if I did not have children.

I'm over at MassMoms today, talking about how children have made my life more exciting, even in small ways, like in the books I read. Head on over and let me know what you think.

Having Kids Makes Life Exciting

Wordless Wednesday: Sleepy, Sleepy Princess

She's a princess from dawn to dusk, and isn't afraid to let you know. But this morning, she was very sleeepppyyyy....

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Wordless Wednesday: Sleepy, Sleepy Princess

Remembering Kalei

This past Saturday, the Knight and I held a small ceremony to remember Kalei. My mother, her boyfriend, and a dear friend were also present.

We lit a baby blue candle in a candle holder shaped like a baby shoe and then each held small white candles and went around and each said something nice. We were on the back deck the whole time and the weather was beautiful, the sun was warm and the breeze was causing the leaves on the trees to move and whisper....a perfect atmosphere.

After we blew out the candles we sat around and talked and had a discussion about how our culture has a hard time accepting death, especially when it happens to babies. I think that is a large reason for the silence in our culture surrounding pregnancy and infant loss....people get uncomfortable when talking about it, or even acknowledging that it is a real loss.

Afterwards we drove up to my grandmother's grave and spread a small amount of his ashes there. I felt good about that, knowing that now not only are they together spiritually but physically as well.

My mother was carving a stone for me to put in our garden with his name and date of birth, but it cracked when she was halfway finished. So, she gave me a nice tablet with a quote instead to put in the garden until she can get the stone finished.

All in all, I felt really good about the entire day. The ceremony just felt so peaceful and "right" to me, and I was really happy that we decided to do it.

Remembering Kalei

Don't Want To Let Go...

Today is July 4th, Independence Day.

It was also my due date with Kalei.

Today, instead of going to my IL's cookout, the Knight and I are going to hold a small ceremony. We're going to spread some of his ashes on my grandmother's grave, so that they can be together both physically and spiritually. We're also going to spread a small amount in our backyard, so he can be with the girls when they play outside. The rest we will keep, in the heart-shaped urn in our living room.

I'm grieving, yes. But mostly I feel anger. I heard his heartbeat at 12 weeks, and it was perfect. Why the f*ck did it stop beating? What the f*ck happened?

I know that he probably would not have been born today, with my history of being at least 7 days "late". He probably would have sat, safe and snug, in my belly for at least another week.

I should be at that cookout today. With my big belly and swollen ankles, sitting in a chair and holding a glass of water, hoping that someone else will push the Guppy on the swing because there would be no way I could get out of that chair without the use of a crane. There should be boxes of supplies for the homebirth set up at home. Instead there are boxes of baby stuff that were given to me by friends, still sitting in my bedroom because I still cannot bring myself to put them away in storage.

I'm angry, at myself and at God. But then I think about those two weeks that I carried him, after we found out that he had died. I remember how sometimes, when I was just waking up, in the funny stage between sleep and being awake, I would actually forget that he had died and I would think that I felt him kick. At the time I thought that it was so cruel, that moment of forgetfulness. But now? Now I wonder if that was God's way of letting me know that Kalei was, and is, still with us.

After all, isn't it in those moments of stillness, those moments of quiet transition, when our guard is down and our minds are open, that we are most able to hear His voice?

Don't Want To Let Go...

You Capture: Photographer's Choice

This week's You Capture Challenge is Photographer's Choice. For this challenge, I wanted to capture something beautiful. That's when I realized how beautiful life is, and how there is beauty in even every day life. So, I decided to capture my day in pictures, to help remind myself that the special moments are the ones that are unplanned and often, forgotten.

Here goes:

My day begins at 3:10 AM, when I get up for my paper route. I am oh, so tired and when the alarm goes off, I always think "I am crazy." But, once I start moving around, it isn't so bad.
Half way done with my route, and the sun isn't up yet, but it comes up while I'm driving and I get to watch the world come alive. Every single one of these papers represents another step close to being debt free.
Home from my route; the sun is up and while it isn't raining, it is still wet out.
Getting ready for the day. Note to self: when telling a 2.5 year old to put on her socks, you must specify that she should put them on her feet!
The three of us, finally ready for the day. Yes, we have matching hair styles, and no, I didn't plan it that way. But when the Mermaid insists on it, well...pick your battles, is what I say.

We head out to go grocery shopping and my sister decides to join us. Unexpected visit with sister? Score!

At the grocery store. It slows me down a little when I take them, but I can't imagine leaving them at home. Shopping with their sweet smiles in my sight makes it so much more fun!

The Mermaid decides I'm taking too long and entertains herself by doing yoga in the middle of the aisle. Luckily, the store was nearly empty.

We get home, my sister heads out, and I put the girls down for a nap. While downstairs in the office, I thought I heard the Guppy up, but it got quiet again so I thought I imagined it. That's when I went upstairs and saw that the Guppy had gone into the fridge and eaten the rest of the shredded cheese.

I found the culprit sleeping soundly on the recliner. How could I stay frustrated when I saw that angelic face?
She doesn't care that it's wet out, she wants to go play outside! And after 4 weeks straight of rain, I don't blame her!
Exciting moment of the day: Daddy comes home! "Smile, I'm blogging this!!"
The Knight gets the girls ready for bed and the Mermaid comes to give me a kiss goodnight. I ask her to remember to say her prayers and she gives me this look, as if to say "I know, Mom! I know!"

An hour later, and I sneak into her room only to discover that she isn't sleeping at all, she's "reading" in bed. A girl after my own heart.

Finally, my bed time. I try to be in bed by 8:30 PM the latest. Early to bed, early to rise, and all that crap. At least it's temporary, I miss my late nights!

So, that was my day. It was ordinary. It was unremarkable.

It was beautiful.

For more You Capture, visit I Should Be Folding Laundry

You Capture: Photographer's Choice

Moments That I Kick Myself For Not Having A Camera!

Have I ever said before that I think my girls are so cute?

Because they are so cute.

Sometimes I wish I had a microchip implanted in my eye that would enable me to snap pictures and record at will whatever I see. Weird, I know. But I haven't gotten into the habit yet of carrying my camera everywhere with me, and it's those adorable moments in an ordinary day that I really want to capture.

Take last Friday, for example. We went to the library as usual, but this time the girls asked if they could get their own library cards. So we waited in line patiently (seriously, did the ENTIRE CITY really have to decided to pick that same day to get library cards?) until finally it was our turn. I filled out the forms and signed the Guppy's card for her while the Mermaid proudly signed the back of hers and off they went, picking out books and movies and more books. Then thy both proudly walked out to the counter and proudly informed the checkout lady that they were here to check out their very! own! books! All by themselves! With their very! own! library card!

Meanwhile, I stood off to the side, trying not to be the jerk that cries in the library.

Yesterday, I took the girls to their very first dance class. Again, stupidly forgot my camera. I almost became the first person in history to die from overexposure to cuteness. I was worried that the Guppy, who is much more timid and shy than the Mermaid, wouldn't like the class. Turns out she was the first one in the door, and although she was the youngest child, she kept up with the rest of them and was able to follow directions well.

This time, I didn't do so well at not being the crying jerk.

We left dance class and went directly to my Weight Watchers meeting (3 months on WW and I've only lost 6lbs. Is this the slowest weight loss ever?) and on the way home I called a friend to tell her I lost 1.4lbs. Well, the Mermaid heard me from the back and misunderstood; she promptly told me, "We're not lost, Mommy! I can get us home!" Seriously? We weren't even in our city yet, so I was thinking, No Way. But, out of curiosity, I told her yes I'm lost and that she could tell me how to get home.

So she did.

At four years old, and she could already take the place of my best friend, The GPS. As someone who gets lost in parking lots for heaven's sake, this just blows me away.

Have your kids done anything lately to surprise you, or create a moment that you will forever cherish?

Moments That I Kick Myself For Not Having A Camera!

Wordless Wednesday: Hug Me, I'm Cute!

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

Wordless Wednesday: Hug Me, I'm Cute!