So it seems our little baby is breeched. I’ve still got 38 days so not fretting it… yet. The go getter that I am, has decided to take measures into my own hands. While I know he can change at any point -- my motivation is mostly because I am having a very hard time breathing as his little head is stuck in my rib cage. Lovely thought, isn’t it?
As I laid on the couch tonight, trying to breath- I realized I should try SOMETHING. So for 10 minutes I laid tilted with my hips raised 12-18″ above shoulder. I couldn’t walk for 10 more minutes due to light headedness -- but hey I TRIED! Some other ideas are swimming (it’s snowing in Texas!), headstand (uhmm….), and my favorite music.
While the web says "classical music", that just isn’t the style of our family. We have resorted to changing the lyrics of Disco Inferno from "Burn baby burn" to "Turn baby turn".
So far -- this kid is learning from his brother and sister and isn’t listening. 38 days…. TURN BABY TURN.
National Marriage Week seeks to encourage couples to reflect on the milestones of their marital relationship, remembering why they fell in love in the first place, and take the opportunity to be intentional about creating goals for their marriage.
So rather than me reflecting on the last 12 years of marriage to my beloved, I thought I’d ask my 6 year old, Z -- what marriage is. Wow, I can’t wait for her to get married.
What a whirlwind. 3 days of non-stopness, networking, learning and connecting with a community of women who share the same passion as I do.
Thursday I arrived in Nashville for the Blissdom conference at Opryland. Checked in -- got a fantastic Land’s End welcome bag from the event and it’s sponsors (THANK YOU!) Can you say SWAG galore? One of my favorite goodies is this darling "I Heart Robots" shirt for E -- (thanks iRobot, my kid LOVES it!).
Friday was a full day -- one session after another full of amazing info. One of the highlights of the conference for me was Kevin Carroll. He is an amazing speaker that shared his amazing story and his passion for "play". Talk about KATALYST (or catalyst) -- watch his talk from TED Vancouver:
At lunch, I met 2 fab gals, Jana (Sugar and Spice and Everything Life) and Kathy (A Wife, Mother & First Lady) -- amazing how sitting with random people you can find weird connections. We met TLC host (previously with Food Network), George Duran. And I won his cookbook!
After an afternoon of information and networking overflow -- Blissdom hosted a private concert with attendees and the one-and-only HARRY CONNICK JR. He spoke about the NOLA Musicians Village Project -- an amazing community of musicians and Hurricane Katrina survivors.
Saturday was another whirlwind. Non-stop sessions and absorbing. The night ended with a movie and karaoke. I gave up around 9 pm, headed back to the room to Fring with the family. Fring? Say what? Watch for a review on that soon.
Sunday morning was an early one. I was up at 4:15 to catch the 5 am shuttle. Talk about exhaustion. But this mama is happy to be home with her family. Z welcomed me with a gift.
She wrapped in FOIL! MY FAVORITE!
She had made me chocolate covered marshmallows and made it into the shape of a pyramid. So yummy, i’m sure.
Thanks Blissdom and all of your sponsors for a wonderful weekend!
I have notes, business cards and a ton of new people I am following on Twitter and in the blogosphere. While I knew this would be a great event -- I had NO IDEA!
If you are looking for a women-centric social media/blogging focused conference -- BLISSDOM is your answer.
Shout out to my co-workers at Thomas Nelson who also attended: Lindsey, Ann Janette, Abby and Jackie -- it was fab catching up with each of you!
Because I can, I am. (story of my life, ha!). I’ve taken this flight from DFW to BNA probably 5 times in the last year, and never once have I gotten a stinkin’ plane with in-flight wi-fi.
Today my luck has changed!
Not only did the TSA escort me to the front of the security line.
Not only did I get patted down and told that I feel like a NORMAL pregnant woman.
Not only did I get a whole row to myself.
Not only have I been asked 3 times, with a look of “please do not deliver on this plane” when I was due.
Today I have wi-fi and talk about redefining the in-flight experience. Give me this over a stinkin’ movie anyday.
Woohoo – thanks GOGO In-flight Internet. And I am actually caught up on emails…. Today is a good day.
If you can’t tell, I kind of heart technology in a big way. With my first kid, the 3-D/4-D ultrasounds were way new and way expensive. The second, we had no idea of the sex and didn’t want to know -- so number 3, I knew we had to get a 4-D ultrasound. I am just about 34 weeks and to get a good picture, it’s recommended to have the ultrasound done between 26-34 -- so yesterday was the day.
We went to First Vu Imaging and had a great experience. The tech was ultra accomodating to me and my crazy kiddos. The room provided a nice comfy bed for me to lay on, there were couches for the kiddos and Sean, and a projector for the ultrasound. I knew we were in for an experience, but I had no idea.
Wow and tears is all I can say. We all watched in awe as we met little Izaiah in his current home. It was like a window peeking into his world. While he did look kind of like a claymation character in development, you could see him suck his hands, open his mouth, move around and hit himself in the head with his foot. It was totally surreal to feel this baby move inside my belly, see him on the screen reacting at the same time -- and having the kids jump up and down each time he did something so small.
Z and E haven’t stopped talking about it and have watched the video below over and over. My little E has demonstrated how he to can kick himself in the head with his foot.
Here is a condensed version of what we saw, the video in full was over 25 minutes:
So in 6 weeks we’ll meet this little guy. He’ll change our world forever. Until then, we wait (some of us more comfortably than others).
Being a working mom is one thing. Being a working mom who travels is another.
Thankfully my husband has Mr. Mom qualities. He is nurturing, loving and a great caretaker for our current two monkeys. He only lacks a few things, one being he is color-blind and can’t choose clothes (I’m so not even kidding), and then other, well… he isn’t Mom.
So here we are and I am leaving on Thursday for the Blissdom Conference. The next few days I’ll spend an hour here and there getting the following done so that our house can remain as much in-sync as possible without Mom. Thankfully my job does not require a whole lot of travel, but when it does – here’s a quick guide to leaving dad in charge:
Lay clothes out for each child – each day anyone in public will see them. I use to go to the extreme of labeling days, but I got over that.
Purchase "Daddy staples". These include waffles, milk, bread and lunch meat. This guarantees the kids are fed something at home and not McDonalds or I-Hop each day I am out.
Make sure to pack a web cam to Skype with the family.
Go thru school work and make sure nothing is due that Dad can’t handle. Just realized 100′s day is Friday, therefore must get together an outfit for Z that makes her look old? Don’t ask, I don’t get it myself.
Make love notes and place the day of departure. I started this as a last minute thought on one of my first business trips with kids at home. I think my daughter would explode and never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t have a "Good-Night Mommy LOVES You!" note on her pillow. I found a stash of these notes in her room during a recent nesting clean-up, anything I can do to remind them I love them – no matter distance – I will. Don’t forget to leave Dad love notes too – he’s the one who REALLY needs the thanks!
Print out itineraries and phone numbers. I ususally email a copy to my husband, but this time around he’ll be getting more than enough information about my where abouts – with me being very pregnant – better be safe than sorry.
Make sure that family knows that you are leaving town. This is good for those just in cases, when Dad needs a break, he’ll know who he can turn to for help.
The doctor said this is my last trip, so I better enjoy it until bambino arrives. I hope to soak in lots of good blog and social media info, enjoy a last few days by myself and meet some new friends. And hopefully all will remain calm and peaceful back at the casa.
What tips do you have for leaving Dad with the kids?
By the way, the above photo was used without permission from my husband.
