faint of heart

I so very much enjoyed all of your great comments on my No Skills Required Contest post! The big winners of the gift certificates to my favorite natural baby store will announced soon!!
Soon, but not quite yet. See, it's just that right now...

....I am having way too much fun working on the photographs I took at the wedding today.

I promise that I will peel myself away from the photos soon, though, and work on picking the winners! But I'll do it sometime later today; like when it's not 1:14 am. And when I don't feel like fainting. Which, coincidentally, is what both the handsome best man and the gorgeous bride did during the (hot! beautiful!) outdoor wedding today.

But, all was well that ended well. The captivating couple are now husband and wife. And for right now, it's time for this tired, pregnant photographer to catch some shut eye.

Surprise! Contest! No skills required!

PREFACE: You know those "post it ahead of time" features? Well, this is not one of those times. It is really 5:45 am on Friday; I am really awake--and blogging. Sigh.

I have lots of contests on my blog. Why is this one a "surprise"!? Well, because I just had a contest and now I'm already having another one, which catches you totally off-guard and surprises the daylights out of you. Or something. I'm sneaky like that.

When we were at my favorite natural baby/child store yesterday, and whilst MckNugget was toppling over a display of toys, I was thinking to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be neat if I could give this experience to someone else?" No, no, I don't mean the experience of taking a nearly two-year-old into a fabulous store and watching him make a fantastic mess of the store's wares. No, not that! What I mean is the experience of shopping for toys, clothes, gifts, diapers, shoes and other natural goodies. That is what it would be neat to give to someone else.

Someone like you! You guys make my blog so much fun! I would totally still be a crazy blogger, even if I had no readers and no commenters. Remind me sometime to post photos of the book I made about Big Mac's first year of life. I was (er, am) crazy obsessed with writing details, thoughts, chronicling everything, showing off photos and artistically decorating anything I can get my hands on. That's what I did for Big Mac's first year! And then I discovered blogging. Ahhh, a great, instant-gratification way to chronicle my thoughts, show off photographs, write details and keep track of my thoughts. And having you all along for the journey just makes it that much better! And I want to give back to you...in a natural way!

I am going to be incommunicado for the first part of this weekend: traveling to, photographing, and traveling from the wedding I spoke of earlier. Whilst (like how I was able to work that word into this post twice!?) I am away, you all will have the chance to earn one of three gift certificates to my favorite natural baby/child store...which just so happens to have an online-shopping feature. Yes! Three winners will be drawn at random on Sunday morning from the comments under this post. No skills required! It's the luck of the draw and there are three chances to win.

Comment about anything you want. Feel free to say nothing at all, or just comment with an asterisk *. Or, if you would like some comment fodder, then you can share with me if you think MckMuffin is a boy....or a girl!!!



It's widely known that my motherly instinct is that he's a boy. But I have no proof of that, so I (guess that I) could be wrong! (And, yes, I do remember a few months back I did ask about your boy/girl thoughts...maybe your opinion has changed, or maybe you never voiced your thoughts back then.)



Or, and this is a fun one, you could guess what you think we will name MckMuffin! Not what you want us to name the baby, but what we will name the baby. Yuppers, we have both a boy (much thanks to this post...which, if you must know, did help us pick a boy name!!!) and a girl name and middle name 100% picked out. Any ideas on what they might be?



So, leave your two cents here, (And, yes!, even if you have never commented before. I am an equal opportunity contest holder.) Three chances are out there that you will soon be shopping online at my favorite natural shop!!!

See you Sunday morning!

"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!"

Alternately titled: "Good thing Mama's new birthday shirt fits someone around here!"

Alternately titled: "Whaddya mean my outfit has 'too many flowers'?! It's not my fault; I don't dress myself!"




Seriously, though, that was a lotta flowers. I took the headband off of her before we left. Even I was a bit girlied-out. And, seriously, she's clapping all the time now! She makes me feel so proud of myself when she claps for me as I unload the dishwasher, pick up toys in the front yard, or brush my teeth. Small Fry is great for my ego, even if she is a bit over-flowered.

17 on the 17th

17 things about my July 17th:

When I got up, and went into Big Mac's room to tell him he could get up, I discovered that he had one of Prince Charming's real hammers in bed with him. Upon questioning, my son answered, "I had lotsa work to do!"

My MSC and I spent nearly the entire (rainy!) day today at the Children's Museum. A long drive across our metro area was made even longer by traffic and road construction, but it was worth it. I never lost any of my children as we spent the day "learning through play". No small feat, I tell you. That place is massive and my kids are quick.

I scheduled 18 midwife appointments/heart check ultrasounds for myself today, ranging from next week to mid-November. Yes, 18. MckMuffin's heart will be thoroughly checked out by the time he or she is born, I know that! An appointment a week for the next 18 weeks. Uffda.

I made final preparations today for a wedding I will be photographing this weekend. Driving to the wedding will be a haul for me; it's near my hometown in a neighboring state. But the location will be well worth the drive: It's an outdoor wedding and reception on the site of what was once a 12 acre strawberry farm!

I learned, at 3 am to be precise (Hey! When I get up at night to feed Small Fry, I may as well grab a bite to eat and check my email while I'm at it, right?!), that Simon Delivers is going out of business. Sob, sob. Sniff, sniff.

On our way across town to go to the Museum, we stopped to make some exchanges at the natural baby store. And MckNugget saw fit to (accidentally, I think...) upset a very large, four tiered display of toys. That's right: display tipped over, toys fell all over the store. Double uffda.

Okay, fine, so there weren't 17, but only 5. I have fallen short, but I won't let it happen again.

as close to natural as it gets!

Before I became a mother, I taught elementary school art. Before I taught art, I studied art in school. Before I switched my major to art in school (and, I had a triple major, if you must know...K-12 art ed., Studio Art, and Bible), I was dead set on becoming a nutritionist and I was studying that.

Nutrition is still a big-time passion of mine. Along with--you know--all of my other passions. I am pretty passionate, if you haven't noticed it by now.

In an effort to feed my children the doggone best food I can (while also keeping check on the fact that it is their eternal lives that matter eversomuchmore than what they eat on Earth), I spend fair amounts of time, effort, and money on good nutrition for my MSC.

One great nutritional challenge I heard posed to me years ago still sticks with me whenever I grocery shop, look in my refrigerator, decide what to cook or order at a restaurant. It is so simple yet so profound; it still speaks to me so I thought I would share it with you:

Try your best to always eat foods in as close to its natural state as possible.

Oh, how inspirational! In our modern day and age, however, since we do not all ranch, farm and grow all of our own crops, and our up-and-coming society largely promotes all that is quick, easy and convenient, it is all but impossible to follow this mantra with every bite we take. However, by doing the best we can to heed this charge as often as we can, both for ourselves and for our children, I believe we will be doing a great thing!

Here are some little vignettes about how I try to feed my family foods in as close to their natural state as possible:

We eat fresh, raw (organic!) fruits and veggies nearly all of the time. Fresh is healthiest, followed by lightly cooked (steamed or quickly boiled...and, when I do boil veggies, I usually use the water I boiled them in to cook pasta or rice, and save as many of those vitamins as I can!!), frozen and then canned. Canned veggies and fruit may possibly be better than none at all, but in canned form (commercially canned, that is...) food is not anywhere near as beneficial as in cooked, frozen or fresh form.

We do not microwave our food! Microwaves are bad. Enough said!

I try to steer as far away from packaged and prepared food as I can. Making my own mac and cheese, cooking whole oats and not rolled or quick oats, using rice from a bag not a box, eating our flourless sprouted grain and seed bread, and knowing that juice and sugary fruit puffs are not substitutes for real fruit and will not enter Small Fry's mouth!

However, there are certainly (many!) times when convenience is my friend! I am no nutritional nazi here. If I make Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese (Watch out, though! Read labels...even some of Annie's stuff contains MSG...shame on them...So you have to be informed!) then I will add fresh, steamed broccoli or frozen green beans before feeding it to my kids.



Don't get me wrong, my children get suckers when we drive through the bank and the boys have had cheeseburgers at McDonald's. But these are extras. This is not how I fuel my children. Normal snacks will never consist of nutritionally empty calories. But an occasional sucker? Lick up, kids!

Juice is typically not found in our home. It is a treat we splurge on once a month or so. And we are drinking less and less cow's milk. Water is the first choice beverage in our household (except for MckNugget...he will probably crave milk until he's 80). And it's not that juice is bad, per se, it is just basically nutritionally empty and it is super sugary (even the kinds with no added sugar...because fruit is sugary!) and causes blood sugars to spike and drop (and behaviors along with it) and makes kids feel full so they don't fill up as much on really healthy fare.

And, because it can be so hard (even for nutritionally crazed me!) to find snacks that meet high nutritional standards, here are some things I have found to be great eats for my kids...in stead of serving them packaged crackers, candy, cereal bars, single serving yogurts, chips, cereal, fruit roll ups, juice and other assorted nutritionally void snack foods. Here is basically what my children eat:

plain whole yogurt with ground flax

water!

hard boiled eggs

baby carrots

raw broccoli

steel cut oatmeal with honey

nuts

dried fruit

apple slices

avocado

scrambled eggs

kiwi

strawberries

blueberries

nut butters on bread or on cheese

tomato slices

celery dipped into tahini or hummus

black beans

fish

bananas

green pepper strips

garbanzo beans

corn on the cob

seeds

peas and peapods

And there you have it! Am I just living a pipe dream to try to eat food in its natural state while living in this modernized country of convenience? And, if not, what else can you add to the list of super healthy foods that you and your children eat? And, am I the only one who sometimes dreams of moving waaaaaaaay out to the country and trying to live a completely sustainable life with my family? I realize it is probably not going to happen on such a grand scale, though it is something Prince Charming and I dream and talk about, but I love taking baby steps ever in that direction....

the Splash Pad, one of our favorite haunts

Once I was old enough to be trusted to walk to the local swimming pool by myself (or with my younger sister in tow), I swam every day as a young girl. Oftentimes twice a day. I grew up and eventually joined the swim team and was an avid competitive swimmer for years. (Prince Charming was an excellent swimmer, too, but his skills in the water were second to his athletic prowess in running.)

It goes without saying, but I will anyway: I love the water. I love sunshine. I love summer. And I love being with my children!

It follows, then, that on days when I don't have help from our wonderful nanny, I usually always pack up my MSC and head to a swimming hole. Be it our own lake where we swam on Monday, the beach across the street where we will likely go tomorrow, or the Splash Pad where we spent the day yesterday, water is in the cards for our summertime activities.

Don't get me wrong, it is an awful lot of work to take all of my children swimming by myself. But in my opinion, it is well worth the effort. They all have a great time...and so do I!!

As could be seen in my post from early this morning, Small Fry spends some time relaxing and napping in the sling while the boys swim/splash/dump/frolic. But don't be mistaken, she gets her swim on, too!



Following in her brothers' footsteps, Small Fry loves the water. Big Mac does, too, especially the features that shoot/spray water and the slides.



I almost never, ever take my good camera out on outings with my children. It is enough just watching them and doing all that a day at the pool with three small children requires. But I knew I wanted to document our summer at the Splash Pad, so I toted my camera along yesterday. As you can see, I am an on-the-go mama with active, self-entertained children. They do so well when we are out and about. It makes all the packing/toting/unpacking/stroller hauling/sunscreen applying/picnic lunch eating/outdoor diaper changing/constant eagle-eyed watching/towel dispensing/bathroom break taking/goggle assisting/toy collecting/drenched clothing washing worth it!



To see how much they love the water, be it in a pool or a lake, brings a smile to my face.



And to theirs!



I spent a lot of time at the Splash Pad with Big Mac the summer I was (very!) pregnant with MckNugget. I told everyone then, "I don't know if I'll really be back much next summer, what with a toddler and a baby and all." But, of course, I was. But that summer, as I was (quite!) pregnant with Small Fry, I said the same thing: "But, really, I doubt I'll be able to manage this next summer, when I have a baby, a toddler and a preschooler!" But here I am, splashing this summer. And even now, (rather!) pregnant with MckMuffin, I catch myself telling my Splash Pad friends that they are likely not to see me around next summer, "Since I'll have a baby, a toddler and two preschoolers!"



But somehow I foresee that we--all five of us!--will be splashing it up again next summer, as well.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite (Birthday) Things

Do my friends know me, or what? Here are a few of my favorite birthday things I received on my 31st on Sunday:

Ahh, I love pink. And polka dots. And ribbons. Thanks, mom!



A lavender cool/heat bag. Pink, again. Kudos to Shanel. She always knows just what to get me.



Can you believe that Tiff made this awesome hipster bag for me!? Yeah, me neither.



And this gift...I just love it! Thanks, Steph! It's just my style. (I just didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't wear a size 12-18 months, though. Maybe I can find someone around here to wear it for me...)



Steph got me this orange bag, too. Orange and pink. My two favorite colors. Big Mac helped me model the bag in his pjs.



A red colander, a lemon press, and lemons and limes. Sweet!



And this last gift, from my husband, rocks. My college-days friends may remember my penchant for Michael Stars' shirts. Their sparkle and sheen and color is right up my alley. See?



And, little did I know, Michael Stars makes maternity wear, too!!



What is one of the greatest birthday gifts you have ever received?

Wordless Wednesday--slinging at the pool with Mama

Extinction, it's not just for dinosaurs.

"Oh, I can't believe you get out so much with all of your small children. They are so well behaved. And believe me, I see a lots of kids. It always brings a smile to my face when you four walk in." Such beautiful compliments, like this one I got from the lady who runs the cafeteria at our community center (where my MSC and I ate lunch today after swimming the morning away in the Splash Pad), make me feel so proud.

But don't get me wrong: I am certain that, equally as often, people in public turn their heads away from my children when they are acting like hooligans, which they are certainly prone to do.

Therefore, on my mind lately has been one of the parenting tricks I have up my sleeve: extinction.

I cannot simply fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to parenting. I have too many children and they are too young for me to risk just winging it. I am severely outnumbered and the numbers are not going to be in my favor anytime soon. Or, like, ever. Therefore, there are areas in which I must be deliberate. In which I must plan my course of attack when it comes to battles with my children.

And, in this case, I sometimes make a concerted effort to plan to ignore my children. That's right. And it's called extinction.

I didn't learn about this technique in any book on parenting; instead, when I studied education in college, I learned extinction as an educational technique. In reference to classroom management, to be more specific.

Extinction is the deliberate ignoring of a behavior that you wish to eliminate in another.

Let's take a look at how this might play out in a child-rearing situation. Say, for example, (and this is from totally out in left field since a situation like this would never, ever happen...not in my household!!!) that MckNugget is throwing a dying-llama style tantrum on the living room floor, deliberately to get my attention. Having had his will subverted by mine, and learning that he will not, in fact, be allowed to run outdoors in his birthday suit and play in the sandbox directly after bathtime, he melts down, glancing at me every few moments to make sure I see how much agony he is in.

Now, remember, it's not like this would ever happen in my house. My children walk the straight and narrow and would never be caught behaving this atrociously. Ahem.

But if, for example, I was faced with this situation, I might be inclined to institute some extinction. By going about my merry way and completely ignoring MckNugget's antics, I would be teaching him that behavior of that sorts will not get him what he wants. And what he wants is attention. When he is ready to calm down and tell me--with his words and not in a way that involves a dying animal of any sorts--what is making him so upset, I will be glad to forgo the extinction. But, in the meantime, I would probably just altogether ignore his behavior.

Using extinction effectively takes a level of commitment to be sure. You can't ignore for a while, and then when your child gets really, really, reeeeeally whiny, bend down to them and say, calmly, "You need to knock that off!" That would be, in fact, worse than never ignoring their behavior in the first place. Your child would learn, in that situation, that if the keep up long enough, and up the ante enough, you will eventually respond. They will win. This is most decidedly not the message that I want to send to my children!

Certainly, there are times when extinction is not called for and an urgent non-ignoring of a dangerous situation is in order. However, when used in the right situation, this technique is a life saver.

There are so many benefits to using extinction with our children's inappropriate behavior, that I won't take the time to outline each. For one, though, I do know it really helps me to stay calm. To engage in a conversation about my child's behavior is likely to elicit some kind of a defensive response from them. And going back and forth with a whole lotta "But, Mama"'s is not the way I want to spend my afternoons. And doing so is also likely to get me agitated. But to ignore some inappropriate behavior completely (especially when the child is not being destructive, hurtful, defiant, etc.), helps me keep my cool. And keep my arsenal full for a real battle.

Using extinction also helps children learn that they are not in control of another person's behavior. Once I decide to ignore one of my children's antics, I am in it for the long haul and I will continue to ignore it. By not giving in and offering the offending child my attention, I am teaching him that he cannot control me.

The only people our children should be able to control are themselves. And, to teach my children that lesson is a part of the puzzle of raising responsible, respectful adults, who behave right because they want to and who take responsibility for their own actions.

What is the one behavior in your child(ren) that you would most like to see become extinct??

Fry Kwon Do

I let Prince Charming have the final say in this contest, seeing as it was him who took a beating from his 8 month old. He and I ended up both being equally torn between "Fry Kwon Do" by Tom and "Million Dollar Baby" by Jeff and you can see which one he settled on. I guess the men really stepped to the plate to name this playful match between a man and his daughter. Nice work, guys! Tom, Amazon.com here you come!!

In case you were wondering, my other favorites, in no particular order were:

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" by Rachel and Nate.

"And in this corner, weighing in at 17 pounds, is SMALL FRRRRYYYYYYYY" by Kelly.

"Tough Love" by Angela.

and

"What do you mean I don't get a pony? Do I get a pony now? How about now?" by justlori2day.

All of you deserve a pat on the back. Now, duck! Here comes Small Fry again!!!

The Big Bash

PREFACE: Wow, great job on the contest, everyone! The winner will be announced post haste, so stay tuned.



At the last count, 77 friends and family were documented to have attended The Big Bash at our place on Sunday. For the most part, I will let these photographs speak for themselves:

Small Fry made her public ponytail debut at The Bash. Here she is, being held by Shanel:


The party was divided between those who were down at the dock and in the water swimming, tubing and jetskiing...





...those in the back and front yards slip-n-sliding and frolicking...





...and those in the garage, eating and drinking!




This was Prince Charming's idea for keeping the grilled meat warm. Pretty clever, huh?


We used our raw milk bottles as vases for the centerpieces...


A perfect way to spend my birthday and a sure-fire annual event will henceforth be declared from here on out. Hope even more of you can come next summer...consider yourself invited! (But hoping our toilet doesn't break down again during The Bash next year, too!)

Photo Needs A Name CONTEST!!

This photograph most certainly needs a name. Or a caption. Or something clever and witty and funny to sum up the sparring match that Small Fry and Prince Charming had before bed tonight.



As he was holding his precious baby girl this evening, out of the blue came her left hook, clipping him in the chin and catching him off guard. So began a mini sparring match with Small Fry, naturally, being the only one throwing punches and Prince Charming ducking and dodging.

After long, hard thought, I decided that this photo was worthy of holding a contest in its honor. What title or caption can you come up with that sums up this photograph?

Do not for one moment think that I have forsaken sharing more about The Big Bash. I surely have not. But I had a long, arduous day. Prince Charming played hooky from work (you can do that when you own the business!) and I spent today being taken out to lunch on a nearby lake by him, having been forced by the same man to shop for myself in honor of my birthday and then being pulled on our big raft gently out to the middle of our own lake, again by my husband, who drove one of the Jet Skis, so that I could float and relax for an hour, soaking in the hot rays and dangling my feet in the water. I don't have arduous days like this very often! With all that shopping and eating and relaxing, I have not had time to prepare any photos from The Bash yet, save this one:



In a bloggers union of sorts (I would call it a REunion, except there was nothing "re" about it for some of these gals as a few just met for the first time yesterday at my place after months and months of being connected only through each others blogs), my friends Hilary, Angela, Rachel, Tiff, Kristi and Yvette came from near (30 minutes away) and far (up to 5 hours away) to celebrate and be together.

And, as I unwind from my stressful day, I will again put off posting about The Big Bash. Perhaps I will tomorrow. But, rest assured, as soon as I post again, this contest will be over.

So, with that being said, put on your thinking caps and give this photo a name!!!



What is at stake? Well, besides bragging rights, the winner will also receive a gift certificate to Amazon.com where they can buy--that's right--anything!

Good luck!

Babygirl can accessorize!

Aw, you guys are great. I knew you'd never fail me. Thank you for all the cheerful birthday wishes! I had a superb day and, have no fear, photos of The Big Bash will be forthcoming. It was a blast, letmetellyouthat.

I figured that while you wait for stories from said Bash and photographs of the same (and Heaven knows you've waited long enough: no new posts from me since Friday!), that I would tide you over with the rest of these photos of Small Fry from this weekend. Be still my beating heart. These are precious. In--again--my humble opinion. But, just see for yourself...









Yes, she is wearing a bracelet. And a bow. Babygirl can accessorize! Oh, and neveryoumind about all the drool stains. Over a full two months earlier than her brothers did, Small Fry is cutting her first tooth!!!!