Blatant Promotion

Because I love mockery AND giveaways, here is my blatant yet righteous promotion of TAMN and her fun-o-rama blog:

Click here for a chance to be a winnah!

Good Stuff

Along the lines of Seriously So Blessed I have found a new blog: What Mormons Like, with a classic assessment:

"If there ever was one, Mormons are a mayonnaise-loving people."

Another of my favorite quotes, in reference to Mormons loving sign language:

"Perhaps sign language is held in such esteem because it allows Mormon children to talk without making noise. Particularly in church, Mormons like quiet children. This is why Mormons make quiet books, lug kids out into the hall, and even bring baby heroin (aka Goldfish Crackers) to church." (The bold is mine, all mine. If we don't have a stash of Goldfish crackers packed in the church bag, Sunday may as well be all over by 11:10).

Check out the blog. Of course it's tongue in cheek, but we all know there is always a grain of truth in the mockery around us.

And PS - I Heart Mayonnaise.

A quick update

I've been trying to blog less and do more, and this will continue for the next week or so. I have been busy with my birthday, finishing BBC, writing a lesson for Church, reading Breaking Dawn, and trying to pick up around the house while wrestling two maniacs every day. So here's how everything is going:

1. Birthday - see previous post. My final gift arrived on Saturday (cupcake stuff from Mom). Can't wait to try out some of the fun designs from the Hello, Cupcake book. Depending on how obsessive/ crazy I go for Big J's first birthday, he will likely end up with the crocodile cupcake cake on pg. 87. I don't have time to scan & post a pic, but I will soon.

2. BBC - I'm done with the summer session. I don't own a scale or a tapemeasure, but I can tell you that I am much stronger than when I started. Due to the intense ab exercises, I might actually have functioning ab muscles again. I highly recommend the class to all moms. Saturday classes are still going on, are free, and will meet at Raccoon River park @ Biddle shelter from 10-11am. I'll be there, and hope you will too. Ok, I might skip next Saturday. I really want to go to the Fair or the Farmer's Market.

3. Writing a Lesson for Church - Let's just say I am glad it's over. I sweated and stuttered my way through it, and at the end I wanted to shout "I'm much more articulate in real life."

4. Breaking Dawn - Big Daddy was so good, and bought me 2 of the books on my birthday list. I actually took 3 days to read Breaking Dawn, but that was because I just didn't have an uninterrupted block of time to read it in one go (oh yes, I could do it, too). Net/net: SO good, but I am a little sad that we won't be hearing from Edward and Bella any more. I really hope she continues the series in some way. I want to read more about their world. I heart Stephenie Meyer.

5. Picking up around the house - It's a mess. I have to do a quick sweep through the kitchen and living room as the Elders are coming for dinner tonight. I'm trying 2 new recipes, found on The Pioneer Woman. Love the blog, hope the recipes are just as good. Big Sis is going nuts waiting for school to start. Big J is now eating solid foods (sort of), but still dislikes it intensely. I feed him in the morning now, and it's going a little better, but he never finishes the little bit of food I make him. We'll try green beans tomorrow but I can only imagine how disgusted he'll be. He's also getting a little more vocal, with little hoots and monkey screeches added to his vocal repertoire.

A Catch-Up Post

Little updates:

1. I found and purchased a Bumbo off craigslist. J is getting to the age where I thought he might benefit from a Bumbo, so I have been stalking ebay and craigslist for what I wanted. Of course, being the picky, high-maintenance person I am, I had to look for one of the less common colors: orange or lime green. The prices were always too high for my taste, and so I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the ad on craigslist on Saturday morning. By that afternoon, it was mine - a lime green Bumbo with tray in perfect condition (for less than half the retail price!). She even threw in a little suction cup toy for extra fun. A quick Clorox wipe down and we were good to go. He loves it, and I can't believe how well he sits up in it. My strong boy!

2. I WON! I won a free month of Baby Boot Camp. Shortly after I started the class, I received an email from the instructor stating that if we went to a website called Lila Guide and wrote a review about the class, we'd be entered in a drawing to win a free month of BBC. Well, as the only person to write a review, I won! Ha Ha! Hey, I'll take what I can get!!

3. We tried the sling again. Now that he's got good head control, I tried the hip carry, and it worked out pretty well. Still not sure if he's positioned correctly, but he seems to dig it. I will probably go to next month's local Baby Wearer meet up to get a second opinion, but I can't wait to try it at the mall or Farmer's Market soon. (Note: the tall, skinny model with the flat stomach and puffy-eyed toddler is NOT ME. The pic is to illustrate the sling and the hip carry.)

4. The sleep update: We've regressed a bit, and sleep is still a total struggle. Our evening routine is solid, but many nights it's difficult to get him to fall asleep much less stay asleep. Naps are also challenging, and more so when we try to do anything in the morning or afternoon. Or pretty much anytime after 9 am. Awesome, no? I keep re-reading Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, thinking "Why isn't this working for us? I must be missing something, but what is it?" This afternoon I found a blog which actually eased my mind a bit. On the rare occasion that someone asks me a question about my kids or child-rearing, I'm happy to share what we do/say, but generally with the caveat of "but you have to really figure out what works for you and your family". Apparently I forgot my own advice. I can't try to program my baby to follow a plan and then get frustrated when it doesn't happen. I have to figure out what works for My Baby and My Schedule and My Family. So he doesn't go down at 7:30pm. So he struggles to self-soothe and wakes up every few hours. So he likes to nurse in the middle of the night. Well, that's what's working for us right now, so I just need to relax and go with it. I know he won't be like this forever. I need to relax and remember this. The blog that reminded me of this is Ask Moxie. I think it was just reading about so many mothers' experiences that reminded me so strongly of my own advice. They also made the point that we live in a time of 'expert worship', where any person who publishes a book is suddenly considered to be the end-all be-all of advice. How idiotic. That would be like me writing a book on interior design because I once watched Trading Spaces. So I'm tossing the sleep book and trying to be more chill about our day to day life. It will all come together. (but cross your fingers for me anyway)

A new day

Note: I am considering changing the names in this blog to protect the innocent. Any thoughts on that?? (and it's Ok if you just want to tell me I'm an idiot for not doing it sooner).

Matt was home for much of the day, as he didn't have to work until 7 pm tonight (Nobody get excited - he works at the school library. It's our way of offsetting the $32,000 a year we pay in tuition). I had a busy morning with BBC, a con call and general screwing off. We went out for lunch, then to Costco to buy new tires (seriously, how much more boring could we possibly be??), then filled the afternoon with a nap. I am so boring I think I am putting myself to sleep. Again.

During lunch we talked about my blog. He is of the opinion that I have lost my 'voice'. I agree with him. I started the blog as sort of online diary, with the secret hope that people would find it & think I am brilliant, witty, and should be published. While I am none of those things, I still enjoy blogging but sometimes it is work and I think it comes across that way. I am trying too hard, I am throwing too much random stuff out there, and I am not pleased with the result. So I am here to apologize, and to tell you (both my blog readers) that I am going to back off a bit and try to refocus myself.

I haven't been very good to myself lately, and it shows. With Matt working late shifts, I tend to put the kids to bed and surf the internet until he comes home at midnight. Then we chat and watch TV until I finally give in and go to bed - around 1am. As Big J gets up 2 more times before his early morning wake up, I have been even more sleep-deprived than usual. Resulting in a cranky, extra-slow functioning Mommy. I have also been giving in to my chocolate cravings, padding into the kitchen and sneaking a handful or two of chocolate chips out of the giant bag from Costco. Then I feel guilty about working hard to eat well during the day, and spoiling it at night with chocolate gluttony. Shame on me. As of tonight I am going to turn things around - bed no later than 11pm, and work to stave off the chocolate cravings (or at least dipping in to the bag of choco chips). Tomorrow I'm buying a box of sugar free fudge pops.

To top it all off, work has been emotionally chaotic. Big Boss is out the door on July 23. I knew she wouldn't last more than 2 years, and I say GOOD RIDDANCE to her. I've never met a woman who is so abrasive and belittling of those around her. We have had 2 more people quit in the last month. I also found out that someone else is being forced out within the next 2 weeks, and I am really uncomfortable with all these changes. While my situation is still working well for me, all these personnel changes are messing with my head. The company has always been unstable when it comes to human resources, but in the last 12 months we have had so many people quit and NO REPLACEMENTS. We're a small organization in the U.S., and to have 9 people leave in the last 6 months is a lot. Only one of those positions has been filled - and by someone who is a corporate spy from HK. So forgive me if I moan about how much I dislike my job. The job itself isn't so bad. It's the dismal atmosphere and lack of both leadership and transparency within the business. I continue to be told that I shouldn't consider this to be a long term position, but frankly I'm in until they ask me to leave. And then I'm collecting every dollar of unemployment coming to me.