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Thursday, August 14, 2014

On the Post-Partum Body

Here's a little piece of advice for y'all. Free. Of. Charge. 

If you should ever happen to find yourself 10 days post-partum and in a fitting room - PAUSE.  Then hit rewind and get the heck out of there. Do not head to the mall in the first place and by all means, do not go to a store, peruse the racks and grab a size 4 dress that, "looks like it runs big."

That size 4 dress will not go over your hips and it will certainly refuse to be pulled up over your thighs. The size 14 you try on will most likely fit, but it will not suck in, minimize or in any way hide your new pooch.

Sure you feel sexy because you can see your toes for the first time in months and because all of your maternity shirts drape graciously around your mid-section. But you are not, I repeat NOT, the size and shape you used to be.

In order to preserve your self-esteem - get a smokin' hot pedicure, enjoy the new view of your feet and note how shapely your ankles are now that the pregnant swelling is gone. Focus on the fact that your boobs fill out your bra again for the first time since the last time you were pregnant.

But please, leave all the dresses on the rack.



Monday, August 11, 2014

Back to School

I LOVE the Back to School time of year. I am a super dork and pretty much love everything about school actually. I used to eagerly anticipate the beginning of each school year. I loved the crisp folders stacked in my backpack and the process of walking through a brand new classroom to find the desk with my name on it. The smell of pencil shavings instantly takes me back to Wekiva Elementary and I could probably hold a seminar about the best materials and methods for covering a textbook. Do kids still have to do that?

In spite of my own fond memories of institutionalized education, B Daddy and I are making a different choice for our children. Squirt is officially Kindergarten age, but he didn't board the school bus this morning and I won't be picking him up from the carpool lane this afternoon. At the present moment we have all intentions of raising our kids as granola eating, chicken raising (but hopefully never denim jumper wearing) homeschoolers.  

Before kids were even a thought on the horizon, I devoured this book by John Taylor Gatto because I am a giant nerd. After the first chapter I was completely hooked and somewhat flabbergasted. Public education has only been around in its present form for 100 years?? In ancient Greek society (revered to this day for its highly educated populace and incredible accomplishments) there "were no schools?" What?!! This was all news to me.

B Daddy and I are both products of public education (I did have a brief stint of private high school while living overseas) and I never imagined I would make any other choice for my children. But after reading Mr. Gatto's opus and contemplating the benefits of a home education for over 5 years now, we've decided it's right for our family in this season of life.

Here's why: 
1. We get to maintain control of our family's priorities and schedule
2. We're able to tailor their education to each of our children's aptitudes and interests
3. I think we'll enjoy it :)

We were planning to do this homeschool thing entirely on our own until my 8th month of pregnancy - when I suddenly decided (hormones anyone?) that it would be wise to have help on the homeschool front. We found an amazing homeschool hybrid school here in our area and rushed through the process to get the Squirt enrolled for the coming year. He will be going to that school two days a week and will be at home with us the other three days of the week. He'll be introduced to new concepts in a traditional (although small) classroom setting and then we get to reinforce, practice and follow up on those concepts at home.
I'm thrilled that I didn't have to wake him up before the crack of dawn to get to school this morning and also that I don't have to re-invent the Kindergarten wheel here at the house with a newborn in my arms and two toddlers entwined around my legs.

Tomorrow will be his "first day of school" and we couldn't be more excited.


Are your kids back-to-school yet? And more importantly could you still re-cover a textbook if you had to? 



Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Say Hello to the New Guy



The New Guy was born last Tuesday. We're all pretty excited about him over here. I let the photography company that the hospital contracts with come and stage a little photo shoot while we were still in the hospital - hence the fanciness of the all-white backdrop and the ubiquitous but freaking adorable Daddy-holding-babe-in-hand-with-wedding-ring-cameo pic above.

They wanted $115 for the digital images they took, but this little 8x10 keepsake announcement was only $19.95. These people prey on postpartum hormones. So yes, that is a picture of a picture you are looking at. #imsofancy

Here are a few shots I took of the little man yesterday afternoon. *Warning: Newborn overexposure comin' at ya.*

Selfie practice

'Sup Mom

OMG - No. Way. 

Not impressed. 

Blue Steel/The Smolder 

We are all doing just fine over here. At his one-week check up today the pediatrician told me today that I need to be waking this guy up more at night to feed him until he gets back to his birth weight. I smiled and nodded and have absolutely no intention of obeying the doc's orders. Waking a newborn at night is against my religion. The bigs all love the New Guy too - so much so that I have actually disciplined children for bowling each other over in an attempt to be the first to grab a pacifier or a burp cloth for little baby brother. Is this a common big family problem?

B Daddy is back to work this week and the Squirt is back to school (!) next week, life goes on huh? With any luck I'll be bloggedy-blogging much more frequently now that pregnancy is over and I feel human again.

We are seriously so grateful for the way y'all have supported us through your prayers, your texts, your words of encouragement and your gifts of time/food/fellowship. THANK YOU!!


 
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