Life is What Happens When You’re Busy Making Plans After falling ass backwards into marriage with a wonderful man, really more than I could have ever asked for in a person to love me, 5 years later I was getting a little worried. I wasn’t worried about the marriage; it was rock solid with the exception of one not so small issue. I had always known what I wanted in life. There was no time frame on any of it but I knew, in my heart, that I would be married with children and successful at whatever I chose to pursue. Yes, my self-confidence runneth over. One small problem, I met the man of my dreams when I was least expecting it. He asked me to marry him, when I was even less expecting it. I said yes, to the shock of myself and everyone else. You see where I am going with this? Life just kept tossing me those lovely wonderful curve balls. I went with it and it all seemed to be playing out perfectly. My life was everything I never knew I’d always wanted, served on a silver platter. One thing was missing, a baby. It wasn’t missing because I had misplaced it or some unfortunate fertility issues. We weren’t so busy with our careers that we had forgotten about it. What happened was I married a man who wasn’t sure if he wanted children or not. I know it sounds crazy that I would have even considered marriage when I was so certain about this one aspect of my life. I knew I needed to be a mother, at some point, the way I know I need to breathe air. But he wasn’t totally sure that he didn’t want children, I am an eternal optimist, and we took a chance. Actually, I’d say it was more like the biggest gamble of my life because if things hadn’t worked out as they did, my story would be very different. Probably a lot more like Elizabeth Gilbert’s and a lot less like Truthful Mommy’s. I remember feeling a lot of trepidation the summer of 2004. It had finally sunk it that maybe this wasn’t going to happen and then big decisions were going to have to be made. Decisions that neither of us wanted to even consider. So we vaguely discussed and kind of decided to plan to plan to have a baby. You know…maybe sometime in that not pre determined future. Personally, in retrospect, I think we were biding our time. He was trying to put off something he still wasn’t sure about and I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I was trying and praying to keep hope alive in my heart. That was the summer of our 5-year anniversary. We planned a romantic getaway to New Orleans. It was magical. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the “we’re on vacation” mojo and the ginormous hurricanes they serve in the French Quarter but we had a heart to heart and decided that we were both on board to plan to plan to have our mythical baby…one of these days. We walked around the Garden district holding hands and talking about how awesome it would be to live there. Spent nights walking together, gazing at the stars, eating rich foods on Jazz cruises in the Mississippi. We lingered in the French Quarter drinking all that life had to offer before coming back to our hotel to bask in one another’s love multiple times* wink*wink* Then we returned home. Our marriage stronger than ever, our faith in each other renewed, our love undivided and then…I started puking and puking….and puking some more. Our plan to plan had been foiled and replaced by actual living in the now! We were both scared witless and excited. Me more excited him more scared witless. For a couple months, I was wondering how this was all going to play out. Don’t get me wrong, he was very involved. We did everything together. I read the pregnancy journal to him every night, so we knew what was going on with our baby. He read and sang to my belly. He was at every appointment. He got choked up at the heartbeat. He catered to my every pregnancy whim. He did everything right but for some reason. I felt like he felt like I had sprung this on him. I was too afraid to bring it up because, honestly, I was afraid of what his answer was going to be. Then I wasn’t sure if it was really fear or some kind of crazy hormonal paranoia. So I just went on basking in my glow and praying every night that he REALLY was too. It felt too good to be true, so I was sure some thing was afoot. Then 3 days before Christmas we went to have a 3-D confirmation ultrasound done because I HAD to know what the sex of the baby was going to be. They had told me a girl but said they could be wrong because of leg placement. The doctor had tried 3 times to get a definite sex reading and always the same. She was a good Catholic girl even in utero, closed legs and a middle finger to the world. I was so nervous, I vomited. It was the big day; I was going to finally know the sex of our baby…our accidental, planning to plan love child. The image came up and we saw our baby in 3-D and I knew…we were ready. He was ready. He was happy. He was ECSTATIC. I had my answer, not about the sex of the baby but the answer to a much bigger question. Then Christmas came. I didn’t care what I received under the tree because I had already gotten my gift, three days earlier in the ultrasound room. I had gotten peace of mind. All the gifts were open and the Big Guy disappeared. Then he came back in with a huge, beautifully wrapped box and he placed it in front of me. “For me?” I asked. “No, it’s for the baby. I bought it a few months back to surprise you!” I opened the box and inside it was the most beautiful Burberry diaper bag that I had ever seen, through my tear filled eyes. He said, “a few months back”. I had worried for nothing. This is one of my favorite and most cherished holiday memories of all of my existence.

New wave of location-based apps mark a 'paradigm shift' (CNN) -- As location-based apps go, Foursquare or Gowalla will work just fine if you're looking for the spot where all your buddies are having a beer. But what if they discovered an awesome, out-of-the-way spot six months ago? Or, better yet, what if you didn't even know you were looking for a watering hole until your phone told you there's one around the corner you shouldn't miss? As the novelty of the simple check-in fades, and the abilities of GPS-based location technology expand, some new mobile apps -- call them "discovery apps" -- are looking to parlay mobile "noise" into useful, place-based tips. "It feels like the paradigm shift in the late '90s when Google came along," said Babak Pahlavan, CEO of Cleversense, which released the app Alfred this month. "There's an information overload -- to find something useful for you is a very daunting task. It's time for a new shift; it's time to make sense of it and make it useful for you." Alfred has been called "Pandora for the real world." Users feed it information about their favorite places (mainly restaurants, bars and coffee shops). Then, theoretically, Alfred -- a mustachioed robot butler -- can suggest similar spots that are nearby, no matter where you are. The free app, currently on Apple's iOS system, with Android and Windows Phone versions in the works, was rolled out this month and took top honors in the "Startup Idol" contest at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado. The app, which was two years in the making, uses a Web-crawling algorithm to pull the information together and, according to Pahlavan, recognized the difference between positive and negative chatter about a place. Continue: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/07/29/discovery.apps/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7

This made me tear up a little. ---- Couple married 72 years dies holding hands 'Neither one of them would've wanted to be without each other' DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa couple who was married for 72 years died one hour apart last week in the hospital as they held hands. Family said the story of Gordon and Norma Yeager is a real-life love story. On the day she graduated from high school, Norma Stock said yes to Gordon Yeager's marriage proposal. The couple got married on May 26, 1939 in State Center. "They're very old-fashioned. They believed in marriage til death do you part," said son Dennis Yeager. Dennis Yeager was the youngest of four children born to the couple. His sister Donna was first born. "Staying together for 72 years is good, I'd say that's exceptional," said Donna Sheets. The way the kids tell it, dad was the life of the party while mom kept everything together. "Anybody come over -- she was the hostess with the mostess. She just seriously -- the more she did -- the more she smiled," said Dennis Yeager. "Dad would be the center of attention, like, 'Weee look at me,' and mom was like 'get him away from me!' You know we even got a picture like that." Norma didn't really want the distance, and family said she hardly left Gordon's side for 72 years. "They just loved being together. Everybody argues once in awhile, but they still, he said 'I have to stick around. I can't go until she does because I have to stay here for her and she would say the same thing,'" said Dennis Yeager. Dennis Yeager said the couple left home last Wednesday to go into town, but they didn't make it. At the intersection of Highway 30 and Jessup Avenue just west of Marshalltown, state troopers said Gordon pulled in front of an oncoming car. "I rushed from Des Moines where I was working and saw them in the hospital," said Dennis Yeager. In the intensive care unit of Marshalltown's hospital, nurses knew not to separate Gordon and Norma. "They brought them in the same room in intensive care and put them together -- and they were holding hands in ICU. They were not really responsive," said Dennis Yeager. Gordon died at 3:38 p.m. holding hands with his wife as the family they built surrounded them. "It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going," said Dennis Yeager. "But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and picking it up." "They were still getting her heartbeat through him," said Donna Sheets. At 4:48 p.m., exactly one hour after Gordon died, Norma passed too. "Neither one of them would've wanted to be without each other. I couldn't figure out how it was going to work," said Donna Sheets. "We were very blessed, honestly, that they went this way." "They just loved being together," said Dennis Yeager. At their funeral on Tuesday, Norma and Gordon held hands in their casket. Family said they will be cremated and their ashes mixed together. Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44960859/ns/us_news-life/

I like Lee of http://www.mysentimentsexactlee.com She was the first person I connected with at Type A Mom. It was my first conference and she was really friendly and gave great mentoring tips. She's just a really nice person and a true genuine individual without pretense.

remember the days before Face Book? why do you FB?

First Lady writes book on edible gardening Washington (CNN) – First lady, wife, mother, careerist, fashionista - Michelle Obama can now add "author" to her list of credentials. Obama has written a book that highlights one of her most visible initiatives as first lady: promoting better nutrition and edible gardening as a means for Americans to get and stay healthy. "American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools, and Communities" aims to explore "how increased access to healthy, affordable food can promote better eating habits and improve the health of families and communities across America," according to a press release issued Monday by the Crown Publishing Group. "Mrs. Obama will describe how her daughters Sasha and Malia were catalysts for change in her own family's eating behavior, which inspired Mrs. Obama to plant an edible garden on the South Lawn - the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's "Victory Garden," planted during World War II." The first lady did not accept an advance for the book and will donate all proceeds to a charity to be revealed later, the statement says. Random House Inc., Crown Publishing Group's parent, will also make a donation to a charity. The book will be on sale nationwide starting April 10. Original article: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/24/flotus-writes-book-on-edible-gardening/

1. Dusted the floors quietly with a dust mop. 2. Had a political discussion with son M and his friend that I hope made them think since they are newbie voters. 3. Watched a big beef roast shrink in oven as it cooked...but it was good!

Fox's 'Glee' has 'harmful' adoption story, petition says By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY More than 2,600 people are asking Fox TV and its hit series Glee (Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET/PT) to air public service announcements about the reality of adoption, arguing the show's current story line perpetuates "harmful" myths. Amber Austin, who adopted a baby boy last year, began an online petition after watching Glee's Sept. 27 episode, in which Quinn (Dianna Agron) vows to get her baby girl back after placing her for adoption. Glee returns Tuesday after a two-week hiatus. "What really bothers me," Austin says, is the suggestion that birth mothers can simply take back a child. State laws vary, but most don't allow a birth mother to change her mind after she has signed adoption papers, according to a 2006 study by the non-profit Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. States with a revocation period often limit it to 30 days or fewer. "For adopted children, the show raises the fear that they may be taken away from their adopted families," says Austin's petition, posted on Change.org, a website promoting petitions and social action. "And for young women facing unplanned pregnancies, many of whom are in Glee's target demographic, the show gives the inaccurate impression that adoption is a temporary solution, not a permanent one." Glee executive producer Ryan Murphy hasn't responded to the petition or to USA TODAY's request for comment. This season in Glee, its third, Rachel (Lea Michele) is struggling to deal with the sudden reappearance of her birth mother, Shelby (Idina Menzel), who happens to have adopted Quinn's baby. (Soap opera, anyone?) "The problem with story lines like this is they're not grounded in reality. They skew people's idea of adoption," says Adam Pertman, the institute's executive director. Pertman says 90% of adoption agencies now offer "open" adoptions, in which birth parents get continued access to a child after placement. So, it would be as unusual for Shelby not to let Quinn see the baby as it would be for Shelby to pop back into Rachel's life. And because birth mothers get counseling before signing adoption papers, he says, it's very unusual for them to revoke consent. Yet Pertman applauds the fact that Glee's Quinn is upset about the adoption, unlike the title character in the 2007 movie Juno, who doesn't seem bothered by relinquishing her child. Glee "gives you what Juno doesn't," he says. "Placing a child (for adoption) is an excruciatingly difficult decision with life-long consequences." Read the article: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/adoption/story/2011-10-30/Foxs-Glee-has-harmful-adoption-story-petition-says/51004490/1

Google search undergoes 'most radical transformation ever' (CNN) -- Google search is about to get way more personal. In a change that's been called the "most radical transformation ever" to Google's search engine, the Mountain View, California, company on Tuesday announced an update called "Search, plus Your World," which causes Google's robots to incorporate data from its social network as well as the public Internet when delivering search results to people. "Search is pretty amazing at finding that one needle in a haystack of billions of Web pages, images, videos, news and much more," Google said in a blog post on Tuesday morning. "But clearly, that isn't enough. You should also be able to find your own stuff on the Web, the people you know and things they've shared with you, as well as the people you don't know but might want to ... all from one search box." The company added: "Search is simply better with your world in it." On the prominent blog Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan writes that the updates fundamentally change the way Google's search engine functions, calling it the "most radical" change ever. "The new system will perhaps make life much easier for some people, allowing them to find both privately shared content from friends and family plus material from across the Web through a single search, rather than having to search twice using two different systems," he writes. "However, Search Plus Your World may cause some privacy worries, as private content may appear as if it is exposed publicly (it is not). It might also cause concern by making private content more visible to friends and family than those sharing may have initially intended." Keep reading: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/tech/web/google-search-plus/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6

Hi, I am new here. I love to do yoga, my only trouble is my 3yo thinks it's fun to tackle mommy! I was wondering if anybody knows of any good kids yoga that me and him could do together?

5 real, fast, delicious meals from around the U.S. Eatocracy - Rachael Ray, Robin Miller and Martha Stewart all whip up some quick-and-easy meals on TV, but for those of us who aren’t gifted in the culinary sense, they might not be that simple. Well folks, CNN iReport has answered your cooking prayers. We’ve collected real recipes from real people as part of the cultural census for CNN's Defining America. For each night of the busy workweek, we’ve selected five fast, delicious meals that won’t eat up too much time or leave you scratching your head. Arturo Navarro of Chula Vista, California, can make a meal of scrumptious salmon, brown rice, and spinach salad in 15 minutes flat. The salmon cooks in virgin olive oil for three minutes on each side. In the meantime, he washes and prepares the spinach, tomato, bell pepper, and avocado salad – a favorite he makes a few times a week. “I’ve changed my diet since last May, so I’ve been eating salmon; better nutrition than what I ate before,” he said. He now prepares fresh meals each day. Michelle Chu’s typical weekday dinners usually consist of a protein, veggies and of course, dessert! She and her boyfriend, who live in Richmond, Virginia, recently visited Omaha Steaks for the first time and were sold on the tender meat. “It’s something we eat frequently because it’s filling, easy to prepare and tastes great.” Chu’s meal of steak, asparagus and whipped sweet potatoes took about 30 minutes from start to finish. And, she ended the meal on a sweet note – angel food cake drizzled with raspberries and Biscoff spread. Are we in heaven yet? Keep reading: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/07/06/ireport-5-real-fast-delicious-meals-from-around-the-u-s/?hpt=hp_bn8

Hi Everyone, I am new to the Motherhood site and soon to be a SAHM. I have 2 girls age 7 and 2 and daughter number 3 is due at the end of March. I am finally going to be able to be a SAHM due to the fact that i found a way to make an income from home and not have to put my girls in daycare. Any tips? A lot of people i know say that staying at home isn't easy and that its a lot of work. I am looking forward to it and can't wait but can understand what people mean. I am sure there are times when you just need some mommy alone time but my kids are my world so I am sure I am going to love it! Counting the days down until i can be a SAHM

Live birth... as performance art? A Brooklyn artist invites spectators to observe her baby's arrival. But does giving birth in a gallery make it art? Best Opinion: Lez Get Real, Babble, Gothamist A pregnant New York City performance artist has arranged to have her baby in an art gallery, while an audience watches. The artist, Marni Kotak, plans to spend every day over the next six weeks at the Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn — which has been transformed into a "birthing room," complete with inflatable birthing tub — until the baby comes. Kotak, who will be attended by a midwife and doula, says the performance, "The Birth of Baby X," will show that "giving birth, the greatest expression of life, is the highest form of art." Is childbirth really art? This is child abuse, not art: Kotak should be ashamed of the way she's putting her artistic vision ahead of the health and safety of her baby, says L.S. Carbonell at Lez Get Real. Baby X deserves to be born into a warm, safe place, not a public environment full of germs, and the midwife and doula "should have their licenses revoked" for enabling this "self-centered" jerk. "This is as much a case of child abuse as beating a kid with a stick." Performance art is all about pushing boundaries: Physical feats and the sharing of intimate body functions are central to the history of performance art, says Ceridwren Morris at Babble. "Artists have slept, stared, stood still... there's been plenty of nudity, blood and sweat. Chris Burden shot his own arm in a flesh-ripping, seminal piece." The visceral act of giving birth in a gallery "fits in with this particular trajectory." But what about the poor kid? "You know things are going to get interesting when performance artists get pregnant," says Jen Carlson at Gothamist. Even if you're a bit squeamish, "we urge you to go" — if not out of respect for Kotak's art, at least to "donate money for this child's future therapy." Read the article: http://theweek.com/article/index/220159/live-birth-as-performance-art

o.b. says sorry (apparently because some of their products were hard to find?). Regardless, this video is hilarious! http://www.obtampons.com/apology

Bad Day At Hallmark Ever wondered what happens when Hallmark writers are having a bad day........ //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// My tire was thumping. I thought it was flat When I looked at the tire... I noticed your cat. Sorry! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heard your wife left you, How upset you must be. But don't fret about it... She moved in with me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Looking back over the years that we've been together, I can't help but wonder... 'What the hell was I thinking?' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Congratulations on your wedding day! Too bad no one likes your husband. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How could two people as beautiful as you Have such an ugly baby? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love. After having met you .. I've changed my mind. -------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- I must admit, you brought Religion into my life. I never believed in Hell until I met you. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// As the days go by, I think of how lucky I am.... That you're not here to ruin it for me. #################################################### Congratulations on your promotion. Before you go... Would you like to take this knife out of my back? You'll probably need it again. ******************************************************************************** Happy Birthday, Uncle Dad! (Available only in Tennessee, Kentucky & West Virginia ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy birthday! You look great for your age. Almost Lifelike! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When we were together, you always said you'd die for me. Now that we've broken up, I think it's time you kept your promise... ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// We have been friends for a very long time .. let's say we stop? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I'm so miserable without you it's almost like you're here. ===================================================== Congratulations on your new bundle of joy. Did you ever find out who the father was? %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Your friends and I wanted to do something special for your birthday. So we're having you put to sleep. )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) So your daughter's a hooker, and it spoiled your day. Look at the bright side, it's really good pay.

Mother's Days: The trouble with mothering bright girls Smart girls say the darndest things. The impending Hallmark onslaught of Mother's Day has me thinking radical thoughts. How can we possibly cover the brilliance, the devotion, the heroic majesty of Motherhood in one skimpy, teensy, weensy little day? Not possible. I declare May the Mother's Month. Heck, since I'm declaring stuff, I declare 2011 The Year of the Mother. I consider it a duty and a privilege to celebrate the extraordinary motherlode of a mother's role in just about everything. One of the many, many blessings of mothering is that you provide a safe, loving, nuturing harbor for your children. They hold themselves together, presenting the outer world with their best, most polite and appropriate selves, only to come home and — because they feel so safe in the nuturing, trusting maternal harbor of love you've created — they let their guard down. They put their manners, filter and impulse control on mute. Any of this sounding familiar? Read more: http://family.lifegoesstrong.com/mothers-days-trouble-mothering-bright-girls?utm_source=OB_family&obref=obnetwork

"Sometimes the only transportation available is a leap of faith."

I'm SOOOOO tired of spam. I get it on my blog. I get it on twitter. I deal with it on facebook. And now here? Ugh. Why do people spam? I don't get it. It's so annoying. It is definitely not a good way to make friends and all it does is annoy people.

Apps to Keep Children Happy By MICHELLE HIGGINS WITH Christmas upon us and New Year’s just around the bend, many families are contending with long road trips and crowded flights. All those hours in the car and at the airport are bound to bring out tantrums in toddlers, squabbles among siblings and the familiar “I’m bored” from tweens. To help stave off meltdowns and keep the children entertained, I asked a range of experts, from professional toy-reviewers to travel-savvy mothers, for the best apps for iPads and iPhones. As a parent who is prone to guilt attacks when my own daughter spends too much time in front of a screen, no matter what its size, my aim was to find that sweet spot that falls somewhere between the ruthless thrill of hurling birds at pigs and the rigor of dividing fractions. I’ve also thrown in some unplugged options. Below are top picks organized by age. Ages 1 to 4 Elmo Loves ABCs, for iPad, $4.99. (Now on sale for $1.99.) Frequent encouragement by Sesame Street’s favorite red fur ball keeps children engaged exploring the alphabet. Why it’s a travel hit: Elmo’s shrill voice may drive you — and seatmates — nuts if your child doesn’t wear headphones (in which case, it’s better for car trips than plane rides). But with loads of songs, more than 80 video clips, 75 coloring pages and interactive games about letters, this app pays for itself in entertainment value, said Jamie Pearson, co-publisher of BestKidsApps.com. Plus, the fact that your children are learning the alphabet reduces the guilt when they won’t put it down. Memory Train, for iPad and iPhone, $1.99. Focus and concentration are rewarded in this memory game that doles out badges and peanuts to children who help Spacey the Elephant recall colors, shapes, numbers and other objects spotted from the train. Why it’s a travel hit: It’s engaging and fun. And because the app is visually based, it can still be played with the sound turned off for young children without headphones on long flights. Read more: http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/travel/apps-to-keep-children-happy.html?hpw

My daughters and I joined a national mother-daughter organization a few years ago called National Charity League, Inc. (NCL). They have a chapter in our community. At first I was hesitant, because the dues were a bit high and it has a bit of a "junior league" feel, but it has been worth every penny. To be a member, you and your daughter(s), from the time they're in 7th grade until 12th, put in a required number of hours each year volunteering in the community. NCL sets up ties with a variety of organizations and you and your daughters "go and do". The teen years have been turbulent in our household and some of the only really good "mom and daughter times" for us have been when we're working side by side, volunteering. It's win-win-- we help make the world a better place and bond with each other. We've helped out at such organizations as Special Olympics, the animal shelter, a food bank, and a center for abused children. One of my daughters always says, "Well, we could always volunteer at those places without being a member of NCL" but having to "report hours" to the organization keeps us doing it-- I know we'd probably let life make us too busy otherwise!