Motherhood | Page 10 | Minivans Are Hot

Baggage

October 26, 2010 by Kelli

I’m carrying a little extra baggage today. It has settled in a most unattractive place. It’s not flattering. I don’t like it.

It’s under my eyes.

I haven’t been sleeping well lately. It is likely due to the fact that I have so much going on it is hard for my brain to unwind and calm down at night. Combine that with an almost three year old who has developed wonky sleeping habits and you have…baggage.

Landon is a crafty little bugger. I go back and forth as to whether I should put him in a big kid bed or keep him in the crib. I’m not sure I’m ready for the battles of a big kid bed, but him laying in bed and whining “Mommy” over and over throughout the night (and starting most mornings around 5:45), is killing me softly. Purple under my eyes is not my color.

Dangit.

This is what I hear many mornings and, recently, in the middle of the night as well:

“Moooommmyyy…I’n firsty.” “Moooommmyyy…I needa go potty.” “Moooommmmy? Tan you tome hewe pwease?”

I don’t know what it is with our boys but both of them have been difficult sleepers in their toddler years. I’ll have to share sometime the nightmare we went through with Sloan when he was 3. Just thinking about those months makes me shudder. I’m praying we don’t have to endure that kind of difficulty with Landon too, but his recent nighttime behavior is scaring me a little. The biggest problem of all is that he is so dang cute! And he knows it and is workin’ it. And me? I’m just really, really tired. There is no rest for the weary.

Take last night, for instance. I had a rehearsal at church for our upcoming Christmas Musical. It was a pretty intense scene we were working on with lots of movement and singing so it took me a bit of time to unwind when I got home. At midnight Landon started crying. Thankfully he fell back asleep after only a few minutes. At 12:49 Sloan came into our room with an issue that needed to be dealt with. Fifteen minutes later I crawled back in bed determined to fall asleep. I did, thankfully, only to be awakened at 4:00 by a massive wind storm that shook our walls so violently I found myself wondering if I should move everyone to the basement. And at 4:30 the smoke alarm in the basement started chirping every 30 seconds indicating a dying battery. At 5:27 Landon started calling for me and intermittently singing Jesus Loves Me. By 6:30 he was done being patient and his cries escalated to the point that I knew I needed to drag my weary body out of bed.

And today we start all over. There isn’t time to rest, no time to sleep and it will be another late night.

Please…someone tell me I’ll sleep again someday. Please? Puh-leeeeeze?

Filed Under: Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Life, Motherhood Tagged With: Kids, Motherhood, sleep, sleep issues in children

Potty Training 103

October 8, 2010 by Kelli

I’m not one to talk about all things potty on my blog. It isn’t my schtick. So you will not be getting all the gory details of Landon’s potty training, as diappointing as I’m sure that is to all of you.

Actually, things have been going as well as they could be around here. We’ve had plenty of accidents and when I say plenty I mean I’ve got six pairs of soiled underwear sitting in the basement waiting to be washed today. But we’re also having plenty of successes too.

The issue with child number three is the mobility of our lives. When I was enduring this conquering this with Sloan, we stayed home for a week. We did not leave the house. It was like house arrest…with leaking bodily waste. But we got the job done and after seven days it was over.

The second time around proved a bit more challenging thanks to an active four years old and a newborn in the house. There were many more accidents, but ultimately, we survived.

The third time around is almost feeling like an impossibility. He is having to be trained in Pull Ups most of the time, which is not overly effective in my opinion. But he really doesn’t like the picture on the front to disappear so that works in our advantage quite a bit. So far we’ve only had one major accident in public and that was yesterday at Walmart. Thankfully we made it out of the store before the dam broke.

He told me he had to go, then changed his mind and said he didn’t have to go. And I believed him. Sheesh. It’s like I’ve never done this before. Mom fail.

Otherwise we’re doing alright in public. And at home. Thankfully we are planning on getting new carpet soon so I’m not overly concerned when accidents happen on the floor. In fact, I’m kind of glad because I figure it will speed up the much needed process.

And speak of the devil, he just said he needs to go potty. Excuse me while I go fulfill my motherly duty and get up close and personal with my child. No one ever said motherhood was boring, right?

Filed Under: Family, Gross, Kids, Landon, Motherhood Tagged With: Landon, Motherhood, Potty Training

A Different Kind of Mountaintop

September 28, 2010 by Kelli

Roughly a week ago, I stood on the most beautiful mountaintop in Austria and for over an hour I took in God’s creation from the vantage point of a bird. It was breathtaking. I didn’t want the moment to end. As Lee and I hiked to various points of Krippenstein Peak, we commented more than once how we wished the kids were there. They would have loved it. I probably would have enjoyed it slightly less, of course, because I would have been too busy envisioning one of them tumbling over the side…

Our vacation was absolutely perfect. It was relaxing and adventurous. We had ten days to talk and we didn’t spend all of our time talking about the kids, although we spent a good deal of time talking about them. It was just the right amount of time. Not too long, not too short. It was wonderful in every way and I will forever be grateful that we had the opportunity to do that.

But I was ready to come home.

Lee is my family. But he isn’t my complete family. And walking in our back door to the three little faces that make up our complete family was equally as thrilling as climbing Krippenstein Peak (or…you know…riding up the cable car. I don’t climb mountains.)

They had wet hair and jammies on. They smelled better than any flower from any part of the world. They jumped up and down and yelled “Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!” It sounded better than any mountaintop bird. They leapt in our arms and squeezed tight…more than once. It was better than any view from any peak of the world.

After a bit of play time and wrestle time we sat on the couch. Sloan, my sweet, tender hearted seven year old looked around quietly, then burst into tears. “I’m sad that you were gone so long,” he cried, big alligater tears glimmering in the corners of his eyes.

And then my heart tore in two.

“We’re home now,” we assured him as he crawled into Lee’s lap.

“I just missed you really a lot,” he said, wiping his nose on the back of his hand. And we got to explain to him about how God has blessed our marriage and about how Mommy and Daddy took some time to just celebrate God’s blessings in our life.

“But you know what?” we told them. “The biggest blessings of our marriage are you guys. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy need to get away and be together just the two of us. But we know that God gave us the greatest gifts of all when he gave you you guys and we are so thrilled to be back with you.”

After we got everyone calmed down and settled into bed, I dragged my weary, jet lagged body around the house and cleaned up a bit. As I walked back to my bedroom and passed Landon’s open door I heard a tiny voice.

“Mommy? Tan you tome hewe pwease?”

There is no amount of fatigue that could have stopped me from walking into that bedroom. I scooped him up and we sat in the yellow rocking chair beside his bed. He put his head on my shoulder, his little nose nestled into the fold of my neck. And as I rocked, his tiny hands patted me on the back.

It was a different kind of mountaintop…and I think I liked it best of all.

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Landon, Lee, Marriage, Motherhood, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Coming home from vacation, Home, Kids, Motherhood

I’m excited, but…

September 16, 2010 by Kelli

I’m really, really going to miss these faces:

I try not to think about it too much because I know they’ll be fine. But Italy is a long way away…

And I just really,

Really,

Adore them.

Really.

Filed Under: Family, Life, Marriage, Motherhood Tagged With: Loving Kids, Missing kids while mom's away, Motherhood

I learned something about myself today

September 14, 2010 by Kelli

It’s not totally outside of my capabilities to be organized! I mean, I’m not a sloth, nor am I completely unorganized. But in certain areas of my life, I’ve always assumed that I wasn’t created to be one of those “think ahead” kinda girls. But today I totally thought ahead.

It, um, wasn’t that hard actually.

We leave in two days. TWO DAYS! And while I have a million things spinning through my head of what I need to do to get myself ready for a ten days adventure, I also have a gajillion things running through my head of what needs to be done for the little people I am responsible for on a daily basis. Namely, feeding them while I’m gone.

I am not a bake meals and freeze them ahead of time gal. In fact, I don’t know how to make a single casserole. And if I did, I am most certain my children wouldn’t eat it because they’ve never wrapped their lips around a casserole in their lives. So sorry to my parents and in-laws, but I’m not that organized.

Baby steps.

But, take a gander at this:

That’s food, food, glorious food! I shopped today and stocked the freezer so full I almost couldn’t close it. There’s chicken, beef, fish, frozen vegetables, chicken nuggets, waffles and pancakes in there. I even bought popsicles and ice cream – two things I never buy – so that you guys could come out on top and be the good guys.

How awesome am I?

Now, check this out:

Milk, juice, fruit, eggs, enough bread to feed the state of Rhode Island, yogurt, lettuce and pickles. I even restocked the ketchup and barbeque sauce, which have been low/gone for weeks.

Ah, but that fridge is but the icing on the gigantic cake of awesome! Check. this. out.

That is an entire cabinet filled with no less than 75 snack baggies all individually filled with a variety of goodies from cereal to trail mix to the ever popular Cheez-Its. Just grab and go. No thought, no preparation. If I were like this more often, folks, my life would be so much easier.

Of course, I would hate to deviate too far from the half crazy world I live in. If I were really becoming organized I would survey my cabinets before heading to The Walmart. If I did this I’m most certain I wouldn’t end up with this:

In case you’re wondering, that’s four bottles of Paul Newman salad dressing in the first picture and ten cans of tuna in the second. Why so much tuna? It’s hard to say given the fact that we don’t really like tuna. Lee likes it and he will eat it…when he remembers to since it’s hidden in the cabinet next to the trash can.

Top of the list for our next house? A Pantry!

The Paul Newman makes a little more sense. It’s the only dressing we eat and we eat it on just about everything. Wanna spice up the chicken? Paul Newman. Wanna add some pop to your beef? Paul Newman. Wanna fall in love with cucumbers? Paul Newman. Four jars, though, is a bit excessive. Again I blame it on the lack of pantry. Two of those were hiding behind the tea cups and I only found them when I was moving things around to prepare the snack cabinet of awesome.

So parents? I thought ahead just for you. I prepared something just for you. Not a meal, although I may make a pot of spagetti tomorrow for you to have on hand through the weekend. (Mostly for you – the only kid who will touch spagetti around here is Landon. Tell me, please, what kind of kid doesn’t like spagetti?!)

And now I’m going to rest my weary head upon a pillow because tomorrow’s project is to tackle the nasty surface called a floor in our home. Don’t look too closely at that last picture, you might be repulsed at how we are living (but only for about 12 more hours!)

Filed Under: Family, Life, Motherhood, shameless self-promotion Tagged With: leaving children behind, Motherhood, preparing meals ahead of time, preparing to go on vacation

I Said “A Boom Chicka Boom…”

September 12, 2010 by Kelli

This post has nothing to do with that title – I have just really wanted to title a post that for a long time now…

Actually, this post really has to do with nothing at all. You’re ripe with excitement to read further aren’t you?

Maybe I should do an entire post of one liners.

So there was this blogger who walked into a bar…

Nah.

We’re T – four days and counting until the big trip. I’ve had some freak out moments in the last few days, the biggest being when I realized that we might have to cut Hallstatt out of the itinerary. My Hallstatt. My preciousssssss.

I fretted and fraught (fraught?) and worried and moped. But it was a reality that we had planned way more than we could probably feasibly accomplish in our short time over there. And I really didn’t want to cut out Tuscany. Something had to go. Until…wait a minute. Maybe not.

What it boiled down to is this: We need to be flexible. We I need to be willing to cut out Hallstatt if it becomes apparent that there is just no way we’re going to make it all the way there and still have time to book it down to Tuscany. And so I still have hope, my friends. You see, the goal is to try and stay off of the AutoBahn (and Autostrada) as much as possible. We want to explore and get the flavor of the land. We want to round a curve and be looking down at a village nestled in the mountains. This means that it will take longer to travel. But it also means we’re going to have an adventure.

And if we miss Hallstatt, we’ll just have to go back, right? Deal!

Moving on…

See? More one liners. There is always room for one liners.

Too bad these aren’t the funny kind of one liners.

They’re kind of boring actually…

Ah well.

Sloan woke up with a low grade fever tonight. I gave him some Tylenol and piled him back in bed where I hope he’ll wake up fever free for school tomorrow…because I’m that mom. If you’re not dying, you’re going, kiddo.

We’ll see.

We will also be buying Emergen-C in bulk tomorrow. And Zinc. And Echinacea. I will not come down with a fever on my dream vacation. Oh, and to our parents who are splitting kid duty for the ten days while we are away: I’m so, so sorry. Here’s to hoping whatever Sloan has doesn’t spread. Or maybe he doesn’t have anything. Here’s to hoping that.

Speaking of Sloan – he and I had a duke it out, we-might-not-make-it homework session tonight. I won. Barely. We’re having this minor issue with child #1 in that every.single.time we bring him to the table to do homework, he brings along a massive chip on his shoulder. He is heaping with sass these days and it’s never more apparent than when he is under educational duress. It is especially evident when it comes time to do russian homework. Ay-yay-yay.

When it was all said and done and that which could have been completed in twenty minutes was finally finished after an hour of sweat and tears (no blood, thankfully) I felt defeated and dejected. Now that I know he is running a low grade fever I feel a little better, but the truth is – homework is often painful.

But, just before bed, Sloan grabbed my hand and led me back to our bedroom and sat me down on the bed. “We need to have a little talk,” he said.

“I had a bad attitude tonight and I was just angry and upset and sometimes russian is really hard and I feel like I can’t do it. But I didn’t act right. I wasn’t ‘quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry’ and I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

He did that on his own. Without any prompting.

My heart is still a little gooey. Of course I was quick to offer my forgiveness and apologize for my lack of patience. Amends were made and we agreed to work as a team to make homework more fun. It is moments like those that I truly, truly love being a parent. Sure it’s cool when they hit a home run or draw you a picture, but when they exhibit a heart attitude that you have worked so hard to help shape and mold? That is when parenting is most rewarding. Just when I felt like I was the worst mom ever and totally incapable of successfully parenting that boy, he reminded me that his sweet little heart is full of gold nuggets just waiting to be dug up and harvested.

Do you harvest gold? Did I just mix metaphors?

So yes…parenting is wicked hard. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I wouldn’t even trade it for Hallstatt, Austria.

I Said “A booma ticka rocka ticka rocka ticka boom!”

The End.

Post edit: Sloan woke up fever free this morning and he happily skipped to school (well, happily skipped onto the school bus anyway). Whoop!

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Life, Motherhood, Random, Russian, School, Sickness, Sloan Tagged With: Hallstatt, Hallstatt Austria, Homework, Motherhood, parenting, Raising Kids, Random, Sloan, Working with Children

…but I always remember to brush my teeth

August 25, 2010 by Kelli

When Lee and I were first married, I lived the good life as a freelance writer/gymnastics coach. I realized early on that the typical 9-5 job wasn’t for me. It cramped my style.

Such a Prima Donna…

So I got a sweet job coaching gymnastics at the top gym in the nation, where I didn’t have to go to work until 3:00 in the afternoon and I spent my mornings ghostwriting and editing books, writing corporate newletters and walking the mall that was .2 miles from our Frisco, Texas apartment.

That was the good life. I miss that life some days (read: many days).

One of the more productive ways I filled my time was meeting every Tuesday morning with an amazing group of women from our church. Most of them were stay at home moms, save for one other woman (my dearest of friends) who had no children like me but worked as an actress so she also had a flexible schedule.

I’ll never forget one Tuesday morning as we all began our time of study and Allison, a new mom, threw open the door, her hair all askew, her eyes wide, her clothes wrinkled and a look of total bewilderment on her face.

“Getting out of the house with a baby is hard!” she exclaimed. You had to know Allison to understand how sweet and cute this moment was. We all laughed and I shook my head, totally not getting it. I mean, how hard is it to get a shower and change your clothes, right?

Fast forward three years when I myself became that wide-eyed, bewildered new mom. I would wake up each morning resolved to be cool and smooth and put together, and inevitably by 10:00am I could still be found in my wrinkled pajamas (which, of course, weren’t really pajamas but rather the clothes I had been wearing for the past several days because who had time to change her clothes on a daily basis?), my hair knotted and gnarled in tufts around my head, my eyes bloodshot and red and my bladder full because I couldn’t figure out when I was supposed to go to the bathroom.

You know…first baby syndrome.

Was I supposed to put him down and let him scream just so I could pee? But then it would take all that time and effort to get him calmed back down and God forbid the kid wants to nurse again because there’s a good chance that certain necessary parts of my chest might literally fall off if he nurses one more time…

And so I stood and bounced for hours on end. Not because he needed to be bounced, but because I needed to pee and because it kept me from thinking about the grungy state of my appearance.

It took a few weeks for me to snap out of that daze. It took some time for me to figure out that it was indeed okay to put the child down for moderate stretches of time. Good Lord, when I figured out that I could put him in the bouncy seat for 2.4 minutes of quiet and jump in the shower, I became a different woman.

One with hygiene.

Within a few months, we had settled into a nice little schedule of two solid naps a day, which allotted me all the time I wanted to make myself presentable. Glory day! Until child number two entered the picture. Then, gasp! There were two of them. If I got the baby to sleep, I still had the two year old to contend with. I don’t think I showered for a month.

But again, thanks in part to Tia being a freak of nature and sleeping roughly 19 hours a day for the first six months of her life, we eased well into a schedule that allowed me to at least pull a brush through the nest on my head and run a toothbrush over the fuzz on my teeth.

Enter kid number three.

I gave up on showers all together. Because when you shower, crazy things happen, like kids cutting each other’s hair, or small children taking a Sharpie to the walls, or any number of unimaginable craziness that can happen in the few minutes I leave them unattended.

So if you run into me in public and I look…questionable…just nod your head, smile and take heart in the fact that I always brush my teeth.

Almost always, anyways…

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Gross, Life, Motherhood Tagged With: craziness of motherhood, finding time to take care of mom, mommy is crazy, Motherhood

Methinks it’s time

August 23, 2010 by Kelli

A little over seven years ago we installed a crib in a little bedroom in our home. In seven years that crib hasn’t moved. It’s been warmed by three tiny people and has rarely seen it’s sheets stand cold. Sloan stayed in the crib until he was a little over two years old. I was pregnant with Tia and we decided to move him out of the crib a little early, anticipating a long adjustment period to his new, big boy bed.

He never climbed out of bed once. And wouldn’t for many months to come. And I regretted transitioning him so early.

Tia wasn’t two yet when Landon was born and the plan was for her and Landon to share a room with him sleeping in a pack and play and her in the crib. Little did I know that he would be the noisiest sleeper on planet earth and Tia would start climbing out of her crib the second we brought Landon home therefore throwing all of my well laid plan out the window.

We put Tia in a big bed in the hopes of keeping her from breaking her neck as she spilled over the side of her crib each day and, for the most part, she transitioned easily. She never came out of her room, but we would often go in to find her laying between every shoe and toy she owned.

And then there’s Landon… My free spirited child tasted freedom for three weeks this summer when he slept on an air mattress in Florida. I won’t mince words – he was a nightmare. Putting him to bed made having a root canal sound fun. And when we returned home, I gladly plopped his little behind back in his crib and did the happy dance out of his room.

It’s never occurred to him to crawl out. And I’ve threatened the other two with their lives if they show him how.

“I’ll tell Santa and the Easter Bunny if you show him how to climb out and it will be a slow holiday season for you guys…”

But the thing is…*sigh* Here’s the thing. The poor child appears to be ready to transition to a big kid bed. Sleeping has been a bit of an issue in the couple of weeks since we’ve been back from vacation. He is scared in his room (we’re going to buy a night light today) and is waking up through the night and, in general, seems to be restless.

And suddenly the idea of taking the crib down has caused panic of massive proportions in my heart. So much so that I’ve wondered if we should go ahead and have another baby just so I don’t have to take down the crib.

That’s just crazy talk…

So we are slowly, but surely, plodding toward the task of disassembling the crib. I’ve already warned Lee that I’ll probably blubber inconsolably, then I’ll need a stiff drink (or five) to get through the process. We likely won’t pull the trigger on this until the end of next month because with Lee and I going out of town for ten days, I would feel terrible leaving our parents with the task of getting that child to stay in bed at night. It would be cruel and unusual punishment for them, and I won’t do it. No I won’t. I’m not gonna do it. I’m not taking that crib apart!

Plus, I’m (clearly) just not ready. I’m not ready to say good bye to babydom and I’m not ready to deal with the mischevious little fox that is my third child.

I will survive this milestone, right?

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Landon, Life, Motherhood Tagged With: kids and bedtime, mommy is crazy, Motherhood, taking down a baby crib, transition to a big kid bed

A blogworthy path

August 19, 2010 by Kelli

When I started this blogging thing a few years ago, I had no idea what blogging really was. And I didn’t get it. It seemed like a terrible waste of time (and it sometimes can be) and I didn’t see how it could be interesting at all for someone to read about my life. I mean, my life isn’t much to brag about.

Then Tia ate Landon’s umbilical cord.

I realized right then that I was going to need some support in this motherhood thing because if I didn’t have people to laugh with I might cry, or you know…vomit.

As I delved deeper into the world of blogging, I somehow found myself a part of a blogger’s guild, where I got to know some wonderful people, like Dana, creator of Mamalogues and radio talk show host extraordinaire. Or Gregg, who is hysterical and fun and has a multitalented family. Or Melody and Lisa who would ultimately become my partners in the joint venture that is STL Family Life. And many other wonderful and interesting people along the way.

Most recently I’ve joined forces with the St. Louis Women in Media group to develop more of a community among St. Louis women in all aspects of media, be it traditional or online social media. There is so much to learn and there are so many interesting people to meet! I love it.

It’s been a fun journey, this blogging thing, and I feel like I can finally call this my job, if you want to call it that. I’m sitting here in my pajamas with a cup of hot tea, so you know…

I confess that sometimes I have a hard time taking seriously the notion of blogging as a career. But I’m not really a blogger so much as a writer who has found a voice in the online world. I’m okay with that. Because it lets me develop my craft in my pajamas with a cup of hot tea.

Right on.

Blogging has given me a confidence in my writing that I didn’t have a few years ago. The people I work with are so encouraging and so quick to build others up, and it’s been an honor to work alongside them. Blogging has also afforded me some fun opportunities. From book editing to public speaking on writing to free swag that comes in the mail, like chocolate. Sometimes my job can be yummy.

Last week, I was contacted by Janice from 5 Minutes for Mom where I do a bit of contributing. The subject of the message said, “Do you want to go to new orleans?” Fast forward to this week when I received my itnerary in the mail for an all expenses paid trip to New Orleans next weekend where I will take part in a Katrina rebulding commemorative project alongside hundreds of volunteers, celebrities (pleasebebradpitt, pleasebebradpitt, pleasebebradpitt), and families who are still in need of help and repairs. The project is being head up by Rebuilding Together and Fifty for Five and their aim is to repair and renew fifty homes in five days in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans.

Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. I am extremely excited and equally nervous, mostly because I have no idea what to expect. But I look forward to a new opportunity and to stretching my wings a bit. For those who know me well you know that being alone in a crowd of people I don’t know and being expected to talk, conduct interviews, take photos and essentially make my presence known is scary for me. We’re talking so far outside my comfort zone it might as well be a different planet.

Lucky for me I’m good at faking it and pretending I’m comfortable.

That’s what she said, that’s what she said!

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

So inappropriate.

So that’s what’s happening next week. I leave in the middle of the night on Thursday (actually it’s a 6:00 am flight, which is practically the middle of the night) and I will be back on Saturday night late. I am really, really excited and honored to take part in this event and to be able to use my skills in writing to document it. This little hobby of mine is providing great life experiences while still allowing me to pour time and energy into my family, which is my first passion. I’m feeling immensely blessed.

Now I just have to figure out what to wear.

Oy.

Filed Under: Blogging, Life, Motherhood, Random Tagged With: 5 Minutes for Mom, blogging as a career, Fifty for Five, Motherhood, Rebuilding Together, writing

A Mom is Born: Let’s Celebrate!

August 5, 2010 by Kelli

On August 25, My Mommy Manual and KMOV are hosting A Mom is Born. This is a virtual baby shower with a cause! Using the transition into motherhood as a platform, A Mom is Born will raise funds for the Missouri chapter of The March of Dimes while also celebrating new life. This is only the second virtual baby shower and this year’s celebrant is Virgina Kerr, the anchor of Channel Four’s early morning program, Awake.

Becoming a new mom can be daunting and overwhelming. I remember well being pregnant with Sloan and walking the aisles of Babies “R” Us, thoroughly terrified. What would I need? What would I want? What if he was permanently and irreversibly damaged because I chose the wrong sized bottle nipple?! Gah!

So I did what any self respecting, hormonal first time mom would do – I sent a mass email to every mom I knew asking for advice. It saved my life, that email…okay that might be a little dramatic. It did save my sanity, though. And those mom friends have continued to pour into me and reassure me along the way. So now it’s my turn (and yours!) to pay it forward and share your bits of mom wisdom with a new mom to be.

There are several different ways to participate in this exciting event. The first is to simply attend. You can watch a live stream of the shower online at www.MomIsBorn.com. There will be opportunities to interact with Virginia and the shower hosts via a live chat room. Viewers (guests) will also learn how to personalize a Holding Hands bracelet. This bracelet is a sweet gift for all expectant mothers to wear during labor and delivery as a reminder of the support that she has from her closest family and friends.

A limited number of Holding Hands bracelets will also be available for purchase online with a portion of the proceeds going to The March of Dimes. You can also donate directly to The March of Dimes via the Mom Is Born website.

The virtual shower will be filled with fun, laughter and wisdom as other mothers will pass on pieces of wisdom to Virginia. You can share your own tips or advice on the website prior to the shower and earn an entry into the Raffle for that day. Raffle prizes have been generously donated by the shower sponsors: Build-a-Bear Workshop, Kolcraft, Goodnite Rooms, Pixie Posie Photography and the venue sponsor, Overlook Farm.

Overlook Farm is also offering an amazing special for all moms. From now until October 15, which is when Virginia’s baby boy is due, you can spend a relaxing night in one of their luxurious inns for only $125/night. All you have to do to receive this rate is become a fan of Overlook Farm on Facebook. If you mention the virtual shower on their fan page, you will be entered to win a Girl’s Weekend getaway for four where you can unwind on their 200 acre farm, relax in their greenhouse hot tub, explore their many gardens, or enjoy a glass of wine as you watch the sun set over the Missouri River Valley.

Not a bad deal, if you ask me.

No matter what, I hope you’ll take the time on August 25 to tune in to this special and unique virtual shower. To find out more information, or to submit your piece of mommy wisdom and be entered to win the Raffle, visit http://www.momisborn.com You can also participate by donating to The March of Dimes through the PayPal button provided below.

Maybe we can all convince her to go ahead and buy a minivan. After all, we know what they are, right?!

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