Well, Crap in a Hat!

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Rebekah C

Today I intended to post the first in what I hope will be many Red Dress Meme posts (writing challenges that I will explain later) and a book review. Well actually, I have several things I’m wanting to post. There’s that meme, the book review, an article covering a controversial topic and the introduction of a new segment I’d like to start doing.

But who has the time! I promised myself and my family that they come first and they’ve been “firsting” me to death over here! They can’t help it, though, they’re sick and over half of them are small children (unless you count the cats and the bunny, in which case they are furry mammalian creatures).

Anyway, I find myself posting yet again about how I failed to churn out what I wanted to! But that’s life, right?

Seriously, I actually IMed my husband while he was at work today to rail against the universe. You should have seen it, I couldn’t have been more Emo if I had been wearing black nail polish and eyeliner and had a funky hairdo. I was going to give up. I wasn’t going to set goals anymore because MY goals always end up late, missed or just destroyed. Yeah, yeah, you know the line: “Somebody call the Waaaaahmbulance”.

After seeking validation for my pitiful existence in the blogosphere, I shut my laptop and focused on my kids. We had a fun day though I must say that a heat index of 103 can jolly well kiss my arse.

I’m actually sitting on my bed, next to Morgan, who is snoring peacefully. My little girls and I cooked dinner together and ate it while Ethan graciously went to bed a little early. Abigail had fed him his dinner while I cooked (the cuteness of that scene was totally worth the orange-stained baby. He sure liked the spaghetti, though!). Then we cleaned it all up together (seriously, even my 3yo cheerfully cleaned up!) and watched Ponyo.

Incidentally, I LOVE Ponyo. So sweet!

Then I snuggled with Abby in her bed, nursies and all and came in and tucked Ms. Morgan in. Despite my intense emo-fueled frustration of earlier, I realize that the most important things I needed to do today are taken care of. I definitely can’t complain. I even managed to nearly finish my entry for the meme that ended today. Oh well. It was fun even if I didn’t actually finish it in time.

In a few minutes, I’m going to head over to hang out with my best friends and play Exalted. If you don’t know what that is, suffice to say, my geek is hanging out all over place.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Stay cool!

Posted in Adventures, Daily Life | 2 Comments

Weighty Wednesday 8

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Rebekah C

Right, it’s Weighty Wednesday again. I’m starting to dislike Wednesdays…

I’ve decided the scale and I are not meeting today, either. Bitch Week only just ended yesterday (yeh, I know, right? It lasted for like, FOREVER this time!). I am sick and so not in the mood to confront my failures. Yes, failures because I know I won’t be happy with the scale today.

I’m actually having a really lousy week. I started seeing a therapist and my first session was Monday. I left feeling like it was a total waste of time and stress, though intellectually it makes sense that the first meeting would be sort of a meet n greet. My insurance only pays for 20min sessions, though, so frankly I don’t much see the point in this. I’ll stick it out for a while though and see how it goes. I have a feeling this is just going to turn into one more of those situations where I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable and just end up more hurt in the end. I’m really not sure about what I’ve got myself into. And the anxiety about it is ruining my day, lol.

But back to the weight-loss., I’m just very discouraged. This isn’t really working for me and I don’t know. Maybe I need a break? There are so many stressful things wrapped up in this that, of course, I can’t talk about or I will get phone calls, that it’s gotten to the point where I feel like I’m just not important enough to bother improving. My desire to lose weight feels selfish. I feel like I’m blocked in my goals at every turn. Obviously, none of these feelings are rational but tonight I just don’t have the energy to fight them.

Case in point it has taken me more than 8 hrs to write this post. Imagine what writing a recipe plan for the week is like. I feel like I don’t have enough TIME. Maybe it’s because I can feel my 30th year creeping up on me? Is this some kind of mid-mid-life crisis?!?!

Blagh. I’m in a funk and I know it. Maybe I won’t feel so hopeless about it when I’m not sick, eh? I found the above picture via Google. I see it has a signature on it, no it’s not my image. I just didn’t want anyone thinking I take myself TOO seriously, right? Right.

Posted in Weighty Wednesdays | 2 Comments

Recovering From Having a Baby

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Rebekah C

If I have any regular readers, I have to thank you all so much for your patience. It has been way too long since I posted and the truth is, nobody wants to read mostly about my weight-loss (or lack, thereof, ha, let’s be honest, here).

My son just turned 11mo old. Anyone ever heard the rumor that it takes 6wks to recover from having a baby? HA! Yeah right. It might take 6wks to get over the immediate post-partum period but in all honesty, it takes about a year to really work out all the kinks. I was told this by someone before I had my first child but the reality of that truth didn’t really hit home until I gave birth to my 2nd child. Now that my 3rd child is nearing his first birthday (already!?!?!), I’m a firm believer. It is only now that I really feel like we’re settling in to being a family of six.

I guess I should back up and explain how it is that with three children, we’re a family of six. My husband and I live with his mother. This situation came about a little over a year ago so not only have we been adjusting to the birth of a new child, really, we’ve been adjusting to an entirely new family unit. It’s been quite an experience! We moved here just a few months before Ethan was born. It’s been crazy, difficult, fun, and exhausting.

Yeah, so, six weeks? HAHAHA! Maybe if the only thing recovering from giving birth is my girly bits. But since the entire family has to “recover” and adjust from the birth, it has taken much longer. I’ve got two little girls adjusting in their roles as “big sister”. I mean, for Morgan, I admit it’s kind of old hat. For one thing she adores being a big sister and for another, she’s used to it! I do think, though, that it was a bit difficult for her to adjust to me having even less time to spend on JUST her, though. Not only that but she started kindergarten right after her baby brother was born and that’s a whole new world in and of itself.

Abigail has had to adjust to no longer being “the baby”. She has done very well with this but her struggle has shown up in little ways. I talked about one of them in a previous post. She adores her baby brother, though, sometimes more enthusiastically than he really appreciates, hehe.

Me? Well it’s all been a huge adjustment for me. First there was the fact that I was SO not planning to be having a baby so in some ways, his birth was kind of a shock. Then I’ve spent most of this past year trying to really BELIEVE that there is another baby! And what a lovely surprise he’s been! I’ve finally stopped answering the question, “How many do you have?” with “Two-I mean-THREE!”. Not only that but I’ve had to adjust to caring for him and nurturing him in different ways than I had grown accustomed to with my girls. AND I had to do this all while learning to live in harmony with someone I have “history” with. Fun times! But it’s working. It’s working and my children are thriving and things are starting to really roll along.

My MIL not only had to adjust to having an entire family move in with her after living by herself for over a decade (and crazy, hugely pregnant me), but then there was a tiny little baby, too! It’s really only been in the last couple of weeks that things have started to settle down and our new family is really starting to feel comfortable together. I haven’t talked much about what an enormous sacrifice having us all live here has been for her but she has made it and continues to make it, as graciously as she can. We are so grateful for her perseverance with us on that score, let me assure you!

My husband has had to deal with watching his plans fall to pieces, an unexpected pregnancy, moving in with his mother (lots of history there!), finding a new job, attending school full-time and of course, being a father to three children and a husband to a slightly-less-than-sane woman . How he does it is beyond me. There was a long time there when neither one of us was sure what was going to happen. Was everything going to fall apart? How were we ever going to get through this?

I think I finally began to believe that things were going to be ok last week, when my oldest daughter, totally out of the blue, paused and said to me, “Momma? I like living here. I don’t want to move anymore.”

So now you know why my blog has been kind of sketchy, lately. There is just so much going on and Little Man has only just begun settling into a loosely reliable routine during the day. We just moved him out of our room and across the hall. I tell you, it’s almost like being newlyweds, having the room to ourselves for the first time in almost 6yrs! I’m still trying to figure out how to blog reliably while juggling three kids 6yrs old and under (well, almost 6-next month!) while dh works and is a full-time student. The truth is that my goal is to eventually have a successful blog that brings in a little income to supplement my husband’s hard work. This would allow me to stay home with my children a little longer. These two goals (staying home with my children while supplementing our income) are very, very important to me. But good GRIEF is it time consuming! I’ve had to adjust all of my expectations and I have to admit, it’s been far more challenging to fit it in than I ever appreciated before. I’m having a lot of fun, though, and learning a lot. So I hope you keep coming back while I get my feet under me. You guys help keep me (mostly) sane and I appreciate each and every one of you. :)

Posted in Daily Life | 9 Comments

Epically Lame Weighty Wednesday

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Rebekah C

Right, so, this is most definitely going to be the lamest WW post ever. Ready? GO!

For starters, it’s Bitch Week. And if you’ve been reading, you know that means I absolutely refuse to step on the scale. The scale is currently mocking me from the bathroom, right now. Hear it? Well EFF YOU, SCALE!! SEE THAT? THAT’S THE BIRD YOU HORRIBLE THING, YOU!

The other reason for this epically bad post is that this entire week exploded with regards to my kids. Not in bad ways, but I’ve been so busy I’ve barely had time to sit down and think, let alone write. I’m working on something but in the meantime, you get this while my girls are bathing. God I love having kids old enough to leave alone in the bathroom for a minute.

I hear lots of splashing. That’s a no-no but if I pretend I can’t hear it then I can hide for a few more minutes…right?

Now, knock on wood. That’s right, start knocking! The boy is asleep. He’s asleep and I only had to put him to bed once. For the love of all that is holy PLEASE let him stay that way?

You can stop knocking now.

Ok, now I’ve made my WW post and you can stop holding your breath in anticipation. :P

I have to put my laundry away. You know…the stuff I washed and folded and sorted *cough*Sunday*cough*
Hey! What? I’ve got it together…really!

*blinks*

Kthanxbai.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

Pictures: At the Fireworks, Things That Glow and a Jedi Master!

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Rebekah C

July 4th’s 2nd installment: The pictures! There are a lot and I’m not actually any good at taking pictures but I think they’re awesome and fun so….enjoy!

Morgan has this thing about posing. I ask for a smile, I get something dramatic and cute. That would be my big girl! Abigail is having a total ball with that glow-necklace. They remembered them from last year and asked after them for the entire week leading up to the fireworks.

“Oh yeah, Fireworks, Oh yeah, uh-huh, we’re gonna see ‘em, they’ll be loud, oh yeah, fireworks…”

Ethan just loves being outside. He’s such a calm baby and he just took it all in stride.

Abigail! What a little pixie. For most of the evening, she didn’t stop moving. Just GO GO GO GO GO!

Yay!

Abby borrowed a glow-ball from some family the girls were hanging out with. Very cool…I want one!

She was absolutely not ok with the owner of the ball coming back and claiming it, lol.

Yay for glow-swords!

Grammy bought us Cotton Candy?!!? Woohoo!

“You cannot defeat me!”…

“I AM the Jedi Master…”

“I’m ready to complete my training.”

“Being a Jedi makes me hungry.”

“Aunt ‘Dine made me a butterfly!” (That’s “deen”, btw)

He was totally cool with the fireworks but the glowing thing had more of his attention.

Posted in Adventures | 2 Comments

Forth of July Weekend: Part 1

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Rebekah C

This is the first post of my “July 4th” couplet. I actually wrote this the morning of July 4th. So it reads like it was written “today” but actually, it was a few days ago.

I had planned on taking Morgan out yesterday morning for some one on one time but when I told her about it Friday evening, she was extremely upset that Abigail wouldn’t be coming. She begged and pleaded until I agreed that Abby could come. I mean it’s about her and if she wants her sister along, great!

The plan was for my friend to pick us up at 9:10 so I could take them to the 9:40 showing of Toy Story 3 (in 3-D : The “only way to see a movie”, according to Morgan). So naturally I overslept. See, most days I’m up between 7 and 8am because Ethan is usually up by around then, dh has to work, Morgan has school, all that stuff. So it’s generally pretty unlikely that I’ll oversleep. It’s only when I really NEED to be up early that it’s ever a problem!

Well Abigail was SO excited about seeing a movie and fireworks that she woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. So at 6:30 I was sort of conscious, trying to convince Abby to cuddle with me because it was too early to be awake! I swear I only shut my eyes for a minute! I awoke to my friend helping my kids to get dressed. My first thought was that I was surprised she was here so early! This particular friend does not love mornings! When I blearily asked her what time it was, I learned to my horror that it was 9:15!! Crappity Crap Crap! Somehow I managed to get up and dressed and ready to walk out the door in 10minutes. That had a lot to do with the fact that Aunty went ahead and took care of the girls while I stumbled groggily around trying to convince my brain that it really was time to wake up. I didn’t even get coffee before leaving.

Anyway, I share this so that I can tell you that I won’t be winning any “Mother of the Year” awards today. My girls had Popcorn, Nachos and Coke Zero for breakfast. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I think $14.50 for three bloody snacks (we didn’t even get larges!) is effing highway robbery. I felt like shouting “HELP! RAPE! RAPE! at the register. I must’ve made a disbelieving noise when the cashier gave me the total because he laughed and said, “I need a badge that says, ‘I just work here’.” I was like, “Oh have people been complaining?” GEE I WONDER WHY. They changed around how they do concessions there and it’s like being in a huge cafeteria. It’s completely ridiculous and now they’re charging us obscene prices to pay for it and NONE OF US HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE!!! But I said none of these things, I just laughed and mumbled something about how being the front man sucks and continued on the mad dash to get in the theater before the previews were over. We just made it, the kids didn’t notice we’d missed a couple of minutes.

The girls enjoyed the movie, though Abby lost her glasses within the first five minutes and wouldn’t keep mine on because they are so much too big they’re overwhelming. I thought it was ok. It certainly had some funny moments and the ending was sweet. Morgan wanted to go right back in and watch it again but settled for promises to buy it on DVD when it came out.

In the evening, we all went to see the fireworks display at a local high-school. It’s probably the best fireworks display in the area but for some odd reason, they decided to do it on the 3rd instead of the 4th. We had such a good time! I even ran into an old friend! (Sarah, your children are all so big and beautiful! You must be so proud of them. You guys looked great!)
The kids had so much fun at the show last night. Abigail jumped up and down with almost every big blaze and clapped her hands and squealed. She kept trying to reach out and touch the “sparklies”. It was precious. At one point she curled up in my lap and sang to herself (that’s how I really know she’s happy, when she starts singing, it’s so freaking adorable). Morgan ran around like crazy, making “friends” left and right. It was a beautiful, perfect evening for fireworks. It wasn’t too hot, wasn’t too cool, the sky was clear and there was a lovely breeze. Oh and I had the best kettle corn I’ve ever had in my life!

Ever had one of those moments when you’re perfectly content? That’s how I felt last night. I had two little babes in my lap (Abigail and Ethan) and Abby was singing to herself and Ethan was giggling at me and the fireworks were booming and my husband was smiling and Grammy and Morgan were snuggled together on a blanket and one of my best friends was sitting with us and it was just…perfect.

After we got home and settled all of our exhausted children down, Tony and I stayed up way too late watching episodes of Arrested Development (an absolutely hilarious show). It was pretty much the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Posted in Adventures, Kids! | 1 Comment

Weighty Wednesday 7

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Rebekah C

So today’s weigh in was actually a surprise for me. I gained. Not a lot, only a pound, but still. I didn’t think I was going to be seeing any real loss, but I did think I’d done better than that! I certainly sweated enough to justify seeing at least a maintain! Right? Apparently not!

Upon reflection I think it’s fair to say that yesterday, at least, I did a bit too much snacking. And if I did it yesterday, it’s a fair bet I did it on other days. I also have not been doing a good job keeping my fluid intake up. Coffee doesn’t really count, can you believe that?!

Realizing this, I’ve decided to give tracking yet another crack. I am definitely more successful when I track points, I just don’t like doing it. But, well, sometimes we just have to do things we don’t like. I don’t particularly like frogging or ripping out stitches, either, but I do love knitting and sewing! I guess, like with my hobbies, sometimes ya just have to put up with irritating details to get any good results.

So anyway, today’s weigh-in was 203lbs even. As mentioned, this is a 1lb gain from last week and brings me to a total loss of 5lbs (in 7wks? Really? I think it’s time to up the ante). You would have laughed if you were watching me. I always wait until that special moment in the bathroom has passed before weigh-in. This means that I’ve been dressed for quite a while so in what is quickly becoming a ritual, I strip down to nothing but my skivvies. Then I bring out the scale and put it in exactly the same place (because if I don’t I won’t get a consistent reading as it uses pressure on the “feet” to get a measurement and our floor’s not flat in ever spot). My scale is actually a black digital scale and looks nothing like the one in the picture above. I also do not have such nice legs, either, though my toes ARE painted red. You wanted to know, right?

I always take three measurements before being satisfied with what the scale says (because the first one is always wrong) but today I did six. Why? Well for starters, the first time I stood on it the damn thing lied as usual (I wear, scales are mean-hearted bitches), telling me I weighed 206.5lbs. Well I knew that was crap, there is no way I gained 4lbs and some change in a week. Oh Heeaaaalll no, it’s not Bitch Week! I stood on it five more times, though, because for the briefest of moments, it kept flashing 202.8lbs before switching to 203. No amount of shifting my feet around on the scale would get it to stay there, though! Please, please tell me I am not the only one that encourages and tries to coerce my scale? “Oh come on, you can do it, go back to that other number! Don’t you want to make me happy? Doesn’t it make you feel good when I smile? COME ON YOU ROTTEN…” Oh you know you do! Don’t lie! Validate my weirdness!!!

Posted in Weight, Weighty Wednesdays | 3 Comments

July 2010 Carnival of Nursing in Public!!!

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Rebekah C


Welcome to the July 2010 Carnival of Nursing in Public

This post was written for inclusion in the Carnival of Nursing in Public hosted by Dionna and Paige at NursingFreedom.org. All week, July 5-9, we will be featuring articles and posts about nursing in public (“NIP”). See the bottom of this post for more information.

***

Breasts and Sexuality: Time to Grow Up!

Breastfeeding has been getting a lot of press lately. There has been much debate over whether or not nursing in public is shameful or inappropriate. One of the many common arguments seems to focus around whether or not breastfeeding is sexual in nature. The prevailing consensus appears to be that if it is, it shouldn’t be public and therefore, proponents for nursing in public insist that it’s not sexual. They often make the concession that it is sensual in nature, but not sexual.

Before I get into why I think nursing in public is absolutely appropriate, allow me to first define the words “sensual” and “sexual”.

Sensuality is anything pertaining to the physical gratification of the senses. When we think of something sensual we are thinking of something indulgent. We might describe rich flavors or a heady aroma as sensual. The cool, slippery feeling of satin against our skin or the tingling warmth of a hot bath are sensual experiences.

Sexuality would be anything pertaining to reproduction. If we were discussing animals say, on a nature program, we would study their sexuality from puberty through courtship rituals to how they birth and feed their young. Human sexuality is more complicated, obviously, but my point here is that the study or discussion of sexuality as a whole is not confined merely to the act of copulation. So when we describe something as being sexual in nature, we are not necessarily talking about sex. Anything that relates to our reproductive practices and cycles is sexual in nature.

Based upon these definitions I think that it’s entirely fair to say that breastfeeding is both sexual in nature as well as sensual. This does not mean, however, that I come down on the side of the debate that thinks breastfeeding in public is shameful. On the contrary, I think it’s essential. I think it’s time that society grew up with regards to sex.

I believe that we have confused sexuality with titillation. The reality is that men and women are sexual creatures. Everything alive has a sexual aspect to its nature. For many reasons, mostly religious, our forbearers narrowed in on the act of sex and condemned it as dirty, disgraceful and perverted. They couldn’t do away with sexuality entirely, though, because we are driven by every living cell within us to procreate, to reproduce. So instead they squelched it, made it taboo and shoved it as much as possible into the furthest, darkest reaches of shame and labeled it “sinful”. If they couldn’t stamp it out entirely, they could remove the sensuality from it. We were taught that finding pleasure in sex and anything related to it was wrong.

We’ve come a long way in our society. Women are no longer suppressed as they once were and because of that, neither are the men. In many ways we embrace our sexuality but we do so with the awkwardness and immaturity of youth. We haven’t really grown up yet. We’re still rebelling. In the back of our societal mind, we are still not totally convinced sexuality isn’t sinful. We want to believe it but we’re still struggling to break free of deep-seeded conditioning.

As such, we’ve created a different problem: We don’t embrace sexuality as a whole; we focus on carnality. Women’s bodies have become over-sexualized by the media and in turn, by us. This is especially true of women’s breasts in the U.S.! Once formula really took off and marketing gimmicks had most of our women bottle-feeding from the start, there wasn’t any other purpose for our breasts. So they became exclusively for looking at or displaying as objects of desire.

Regarding breasts in their natural, sexual role, however, takes a mature perspective. As I mentioned before, sexuality isn’t necessarily about having sex. The truth is that breasts are fundamentally sexual in nature because their purpose is directly related to human reproduction: we use them to feed our young. This is why breastfeeding can be “sexual” without being dirty or shameful. We mustn’t confuse the term “sexual” with “titillating”. I think this is the real problem society stumbles over with regards to nursing in public and why breastfeeding advocates get so offended by the idea that breastfeeding is sexual. There is nothing arousing about nursing a baby and society knows this. It’s very few individuals who truly believe that breastfeeding is incestuous and the vast majority of people don’t take these small-minded thinkers seriously, regardless of their feelings about public feeding vs not.

Unfortunately the attitude that has become prevalent is distaste for breasts anywhere outside of a titillating context. It’s not just nursing breasts, its old breasts and fat breasts, too. We don’t like our breasts wrinkly, saggy or with a child attached to them. Most people with this attitude may not even realize that is where their discomfort comes from. However, if breastfeeding should be private-but not because it’s arousing- then why should it be?

Our culture is trying so hard to keep women in an over-sexualized space that we are leaving feminism behind and reaching into a new era of oppression. It’s our children that will pay for this, ultimately. If we mothers allow ourselves to be shamed out of breastfeeding in public then we are perpetuating this insidious, odious attitude. Breastfeeding is beautiful. There are few things on this earth as pure, as right and as perfect as a mother nursing her baby. Do we really want to teach our children that breastfeeding is perverted?! Surely not!

When we consider the benefits that breastfeeding has for our children and ourselves, then we come to realize that breastfeeding is what is best for society as a whole. When we imply by compliance that breastfeeding isn’t appropriate in public, we are silently modeling to our children the very attitude we abhor!

I have two daughters and a son. I don’t want my son growing up thinking that women’s breasts (and by extension, women in general) are just for playing with and objectifying. I don’t want my daughters growing up with this two-dimensional ideal for themselves, either. I sincerely hope that they grow up with a healthy appreciation for the many wondrous and fascinating aspects of women. We are lovers as well as nurturers. We are multi-faceted and that goes for our breasts, as well.

I will nurse shamelessly in public because I refuse to perpetuate the nonsense that women’s bodies are either for sex or disgusting. I want to help society grow up. Shaming a woman for breastfeeding in public reminds me of middle-school children making fun of the only girl in class who’s started her period. It’s childish, immature. It speaks of deep-seeded insecurities and a lack of confidence in itself. I’m not going to pass these insecurities along to my kids. Together, we really can change the world. Yes, it truly can start with something as simple as feeding your baby with pride, in public.


Art by Erika Hastings at http://mudspice.wordpress.com/

Welcome to the Carnival of Nursing in Public

Please join us all week, July 5-9, as we celebrate and support breastfeeding mothers. And visit NursingFreedom.org any time to connect with other breastfeeding supporters, learn more about your legal right to nurse in public, and read (and contribute!) articles about breastfeeding and N.I.P.

Do you support breastfeeding in public? Grab this badge for your blog or website to show your support and encourage others to educate themselves about the benefits of breastfeeding and the rights of breastfeeding mothers and children.

This post is just one of many being featured as part of the Carnival of Nursing in Public. Please visit our other writers each day of the Carnival. Click on the links below to see each day’s posts – new articles will be posted on the following days:
July 5 – Making Breastfeeding the Norm: Creating a Culture of Breastfeeding in a Hyper-Sexualized World
July 6 – Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers: the New, the Experienced, and the Mothers of More Than One Nursing Child
July 7 – Creating a Supportive Network: Your Stories and Celebrations of N.I.P.
July 8 – Breastfeeding: International and Religious Perspectives
July 9 – Your Legal Right to Nurse in Public, and How to Respond to Anyone Who Questions It

Posted in Activism, Breastfeeding | 13 Comments

Unsolicited Product Review: Flirty Aprons

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Rebekah C

I was recently asked if I ever received my apron from Flirty Aprons and whether or not I liked it. Seems like a good excuse for a product review to me!

This is the apron I ordered. You remember, the girly-to-the-point-of-tears design? (Also referred to HAWT!) I received this apron within a week after ordering it. It was in a very nice, sealed package, freshly ironed and I seriously *squeed* when I pulled it out.

The fit is pretty good. The bib is cut more generously than my previous apron so I don’t have one boob hanging out of the side. It’s still not full-coverage but I think that the reality is that if I want that, I’m going to have to go for a smock-style apron. For right now, though, I’m content with something a bit less matronly.

The pockets are in the perfect location and are a very nice depth. They hold plenty (they are already stuffed full of random things that I have picked up around the house over the last few days, hehe). I particularly like that they are exactly the right depth to hold my iPod Touch. Happy Mama!

The straps are extra long which is wonderful for my er, “voluptuous” proportions. I can’t stand an apron with straps so short I can’t wrap them around twice. What’s the point of an apron I can’t hang a towel off of the front of?

Unfortunately I do have one minor complaint: When I pulled it out of the package and put it on I immediately noticed that the stitching on the outside edge of the right-hand pocket (when wearing it) was unraveling.

As you can see, I will have to mend it if I don’t want it to unravel all the way down.

I was kind of disappointed considering the fact I could, in theory, have made this myself for half of what it cost me. But I don’t have the time to make something like this so I feel it was a worthwhile expenditure anyway. I certainly didn’t want to have to send it back and wait for another one when I can just fix it myself.

My apron totally redeemed itself withing two days of owning it, though. Right after I put it on, yesterday, my son knocked his entire bowl of baby-food (sweet potatoes and green beans) into my lap. It all went on the apron and NOT my only nice pair of jeans. The best part is that I was able to wipe it off fairly easily and I’m pretty sure I won’t even have a stain to content with, later. Yay!

So overall, I am happy with my purchase. I’m sure my little problem is just a fluke. A friend of mine has one of these and she likes it! As a heavy woman, in particular, I’m very pleased with this design. It’s hard to find aprons that don’t make me look like an apple wearing a couple of strategically placed twisty-ties. This apron is cute, practical and fun. I do get raised eyebrows from my neighbors (because I don’t take it off much during the day) but I know they’re just jealous. :)

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Snapshots from a Summer Day

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Rebekah C

I had this really great post brewing in the back of my mind yesterday that I was going to write up today while the kids were otherwise occupied.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *deep breath* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

Yeah, ok, so that didn’t quite go as planned. I was so busy today I think my head is still spinning.

Being crazy-busy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though! I had a fabulous day today. I admit that I’m slightly more insane than I was when I woke up this morning (hearing “Hey! Mom?!” five hundred times an hour can do that to a person) but it was for a good cause. Thankfully, upon realizing there was no way on earth I was going to get the time to write out what I originally planned, I found my fresh camera batteries!

So instead of a thoughtful, muse-like post, you’re getting pictures!

I call this picture Happy Teeth! He’s got three (you can’t see the top one) and he’s working on another. That’s noodle he’s got on his face, there.

Here’s Morgan fixing her bike. She was so insistent that she do it herself. Her training wheel’s bolt keeps coming lose.

Here she is, proudly exclaiming, “I fixed it!”

Isn’t she just the sweetest lil’ thing?

Abby cracks me up. Here she is “posing” like she has seen her sister do. I don’t know WHY they alway have to stick their butts out to do this but *shrug* it makes for a cute shot!

This was actually a hard picture to get. He was so excited about that jump-rope! It’s blurry but at least I got his happy little face in focus.

This is my 4th, lesser known child. Her name is Mora and she’s technically Morgan’s kitty. As far as she’s concerned, she owns all of us. She was born in our bedroom on the farm, unbeknownst to us, and we didn’t actually see her or her siblings for another week. She has grown up with my kids, being carried around, feet dangling, by one child or another since she was 2weeks old. She definitely feels that her place is any place the kids are and she follows them around like Linus dragging a blankie. She’s ridiculously tollerant and lets them pretty much do whatever they want with her. She just turned 2yrs old this past May.

Here she is as a kitten (don’t worry, it’s clean):

She is a cheeky little bugger, though, and the only cat I’ve ever met that is a fanatic about fruit (especially blueberries?!!). She was the only one of my kids to actually eat the watermelon I got out this afternoon!

Abby totally goofing off for the camera. I was trying to get her to smile, little turkey!

The girls painted rocks today. See how they paint “rocks”?

They knocked on the door not too long after the above (when I was trying to sneak in some bloggy time, I might add) and this is what I saw when I answered:

I loved Morgan’s legs!

And check out Abigail’s feet!

Yeh, today might have been insanely busy but we had a great time!

Stay tuned, I’ve got 2 other posts in the works: A review of the apron my husband bought for me and a 4th of July post!

Posted in Daily Life, Kids! | 3 Comments