5 Confessions

-I recently told a lie.

-My husband and I deactivated our Facebook accounts and I think it was the best decision I've ever made. He has made dinner more, we have argued less, and I've kept my house cleaner!


-I recently admitted that an old acquaintance who I recently ran into, could take me down if she chose and that it terrified me she must might try!


-I'm trying to stick up for myself more. So on Saturday at the kids' school carnival when an eight year old girl told them they cut in line I told her, "No we did not, we got in line behind the last person in line." I showed her!

-There are certain friends I can't wait to grow old with and others I'm not so sure about. Let me clarify-I recently found something out about a friend that bothers me.

Hooray Hooray!!!

Mandi is a Bloom finalist!! Yippee!! Go vote for her!

Also, if you want to see some amazing photography & witty commentary, check her out here.

Bloom

I've been meaning for weeks to tell you all about Bloom! (Somehow the start of school, schedules, a little homeschooling, sports, etc. has made my memory highly unreliable lately. I am not programmed for multitasking, but I'll keep trying.)

But back to Bloom: It's a blog written by two lovely young mothers of excellent Rogue Valley upbringing (with lots of fantastic guest posts), and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites! (also with some fabulous art by my highly talented and awesome cousin, Emily.)

You can read what Bloom is about here. Thus far, I have harvested many helpful hints and delightful ideas. I love the overall feeling of finding joy in creating a home, while keeping it all real. Go read it, and you'll see what I mean.

This week's posts have been particularly fun to read, because they're all about photography, which is, of course, very near and dear to me. You'll just have to go read the whole week's posts, because they are PACKED with fantastic tips and clever ideas for capturing everyday moments.

Incidentally, Bloom is currently running a photography contest (details here) that has been extended until Sunday evening. It's all about capturing moments (simply and non-professionally). I can't wait to see the pix that have been submitted. This is something I've been trying to get better at: capturing moments instead of poses.

So, if you're reading this, you're about to be YONFed! Go to Bloom, read the last five days' posts, and then enter the contest!!

Hey, if we're all reading Bloom, does that make us Bloomers?

Confession Wednesday

Confession: I'm on a new fertility plan.

I've always wanted to have at least six children, but it turns out my body isn't very good at getting pregnant, and even worse at staying pregnant. Eleven pregnancies have produced four miraculous (and sweet) children, and if that's all I ever get, they're enough.

But for better or worse, here's my plan:

1. Thanks to a true friend who knows me too well and won't accept excuses, I'm a little more fit and a little less round than I was two months ago. I still have quite a distance to go, and am hoping for continuous progress.

2. My garage is housing a whole bundle of baby storage: clothes, swing, bathtub, jumper, crib, basinette, more clothes, exersaucer, etc. With the exception of a few very sentimental items (a few outfits and a basinette my father-in-law and brother-in-law made for me), it's all headed to a much better cause than cluttering up my garage.

3. Every day I discover more and more about how much I enjoy being a mother of older kids (four through thirteen). Believe me, there are many, many perks to this! Imagine, if you will, uninterrupted sleep, coherent verbal communication with all household residents, and only one 5-point harness in the car, which can be buckled and unbuckled by any of three older siblings. Everyone here can get their own drink of water, wipe their own - uh - noses, participate in the job chart, and tidy up their own bedrooms. Who couldn't get used to this?

So there it is: Physical downsizing, baby storage gone, and enjoying my big kids.


I'll be pregnant by the end of the year.

It's Yonf's Birthday!!!

Why Yonf deserves a Happy Birthday:

1. Because she is a fantastic mother to a whole crowd of children. (Patient, intuitive, fun, on top of things, relaxed . . .)

2. Because she hosts Project Nights at her house, and invites me to hang out with her cool peeps.

3. Because she's still my friend, even though as a teenager I may have contributed to a certain amount of misery in her brother's life. (Oh wait. Maybe that's WHY we're friends?)

4. Because sharing a birth month with her makes for extra fun.

5. Because without her Year of No Fear idea, I would have missed out on a whole bunch of memorable experiences.

6. Because my kids are as comfortable at her house as they are at home.

7. Because her kids are as easy to have around as my own. (Actually, easier.)

8. Because she's still my friend, even after I pointed her husband out to the fuzz.

9. Because when have mothering dilemmas, I know who to call for some advice and perspective.

10. Because when totally bizarre and embarrassing things happen to me, I know who I'm going to call and have a good laugh with.

11. Because she's so thoughtful, loyal and perceptive when it comes to her friends.

12. Because she can sail through 5 months of pregnancy without even noticing. (JEALOUS)

13. Because there's always something yummy to snack on at her house.

14. Because she'll deliver a ginormous and delicious strawberry lemonade on a sweltering summer day.

15. Because she is candid, yet kind, with her opinions when she's asked to share.

16. Because she helped her friends mop pudding pies off themselves following the Great Table Collapse of '08.

17. Because she takes very good care of her lucky man.

18. Because for all the time she's been Year of No Fear-ing, I don't think she's chickened out of anything yet!

19. Because she's an excellent seamstress, and not only helps sew aprons for weddings of people she hardly knows, but hosts the sewing party to boot!

20. Because she has a lovely, lovely mother who I've adored since I was about 10 (clearly the loveliness is hereditary), and a charming father who I feared in my youth (see #3) but always liked also.

21. Because she's one of my dearest friends.


Happy Birthday Yonf!!!!