This is my first ever carnival that I am going to try to participate in on a regular basis.  I found it from the very funny blog, Absolutely Bananas. (You can find out more about Make Me Laugh Monday’s by hitting on the donkey button)

It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day realities that we all face, so I love this carnival.  Here is my first ever Make Me Laugh Monday post- this is from D-Listed. 

**************WARNING- D-LISTED IS A VERY ADULT CELEBRITY GOSSIP SITE.  ALTHOUGH THIS PARTICULAR POST IS NOT NECESSARILY ADULT ONLY ORIENTED, YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO LOOK AT D-LISTED WITH A CHILD ON YOUR LAP.  WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE IN BED.**********************

Michael K., who writes D-Listed is hilarious.  This site is not People.com.  He writes the funniest, and MOST sarcastic things about celebrities and the whole Hollywood scene in general.  I laugh out loud a lot when reading D-Listed, and that is hard for me to do.  Here is my Make Me Laugh Pick this week:

Britney’s New God-

It’s an Easter miracle! A youth minister in Houston thinks he might have found the image of Jesus Christ in a Cheeto. Steve Cragg of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church said he was eating a bag of Cheetos when he came across what he originally thought looked like a dog. After turning it sideways, Steve saw the image of Jesus Christ. His students have named it Cheesus and Steve keeps it in a special box.

…It’s a little too early for April Fool’s jokes. I stared at Cheesus for a good 5 minutes and all I see is a Cheeto that I would love to eat. I sort of see George Washington with a rifle, but I do not see Jesus. I just don’t have the gift in me.

To read the rest of the article and to see an actual picture of the Cheeto Cheesus, click here to go to the D-Listed article.

Make sure to hit the donkey button to read more Make Me Laugh Monday submissions.  :-)  Happy laughing. 

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A few months ago my good friend, Amy (from Crunchy Domestic Goddess), informed me that Attachment Parenting International (API) was in the process of re-designing its website. 

Amy is also photographer, and asked me for permission to submit some maternity photos she took of our family when I was pregnant with Cole for API to consider using for their new website.  Of course I told her yes, not really expecting any of them to be used.

Tonight Amy informed me that API’s new website is finished, and our family is on the homepage!  I was pleasantly surprised when I went to the site and saw not one, but two photos from our session on the homepage, and a banner link.

Obviously I am very happy and surprised that our photos were chosen, but I am very proud that the images captured by Amy for our family will be used for Attachment Parenting International to help promote parenting practices that create strong, healthy emotional bonds between children and their parents.

Attachment Parenting is a philosophy based in the practice of nurturing parenting methods that create strong emotional bonds, also known as secure attachment, between the infant and parent(s). This style of parenting encourages responsiveness to the infant or child’s emotional needs, and develops trust that their emotional needs will be met. As a result, this strong attachment helps the child develop secure, empathic, peaceful, and enduring relationships.

API is a non-profit organization, and I volunteer as the treasurer for my local group.  API now has several exciting changes they would like to announce, including:

• A newly redesigned web site and new logo at Attachment Parenting.org;
• Attachment parenting worldwide support forums;
• Parent Education Program - a comprehensive series of classes for every stage and age of child development from infancy through adulthood;
• A new book based on API’s Eight Principles of Attachment Parenting by API co-founders Lysa Parker and Barbara Nicholson which is expected to be available this summer;
• A series of podcasts, webinars, chats, and forums with API Advisory Board members and other supporters of AP. Future events are scheduled with Dr. Bob Sears, Dr. James McKenna, and Kathleen Kendall Tacket. Check out the events page for more information.

These are just a few of many exciting things going on at API. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out for yourself.

The pictures of our family are the first two pictures in the block of three, from left to right, and the first banner link on the right side bar which says, “API News.” 

**Edited on April 3rd- After I wrote this post, API changed the pictures on the website and used a different photo in the second spot.**

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This is a follow up post to the post I wrote about C-sections, The Reality of C-Sections.  While writing that post, the thought occurred to me that it may be helpful to share some tips and ideas that could help mothers recover from a C-section.  Some of these tips I learned first hand, while I was in my recovery period, and some I learned and heard about after the fact.   If you have any other tips or something that is not mentioned here that worked for you, please let me know and I’ll add it to the post.  If you have had a C-section, it can be a long process to get “back to normal,” so any ideas we can pass on to other mothers recovering from their C-sections, I am sure will be appreciated.  :-) 

• Rest and Do Not ”Over Do” It- I know this is easier said than done, especially since there is a new baby, but I believe, in general, this is THE most important factor in determining how fast your recovery time will be.  Not only have you just had major abdominal surgery, but you are caring for a brand new baby, whose existence depends on you right now.  The laundry, and housework can wait.  Give yourself permission to rest at least for a week, and not take on all the housework too. Focus on your baby- that will be tiring enough, without worrying about the housework.  Your body needs rest to heal properly. 

If you are finding it hard to do this, (like I did), pretend that you just had major abdominal surgery for any reason other than having a baby.  Pretend that you had to have a hysterectomy (which is very similar to a C-section).  Would you be up and trying to cook dinner?  Would you be stressed your towels weren’t washed, or your bathrooms weren’t clean?  Chances are, no.  You would forget about these tasks for a while, and would be resting.  More than likely, you would have your husband, friends, or other family members helping out.  That brings me to my next tip:

• Let Others Help Out- Again, I know this can be easier said than done.  No one likes to admit that we need help, but the one time in your life where you will need help is after having a C-section with a new baby.  Let your husband cook dinner, and put away the laundry.  No, he won’t do it exactly like you do, but in the end, it will get done.  Or if you have a friend or family member nearby, and when they ask how you are doing (which they will) tell you need some help, or tell them it would be wonderful if they could come over and help with a small task.  Make a short list for them, so they know what you would like help with. This also ensures they won’t start cooking something for dinner, trying to be helpful, when your husband is bringing take-out home. 

It is hard to ask for help, but again consider if your friend just had a baby, and asked if you could help her with a load of laundry.  Wouldn’t you jump at the chance to help her out?  Most people want to help, and it makes them feel good and useful.  If they can’t do it, or don’t want to, they will find an excuse not to come over.  But I believe that would be an exception.  Besides, they are all dying to see your new baby, and if I have to throw a load of laundry in the dryer to see a cute new baby, no problem. 

Don’t forget that you can ask for help with the baby too.  Maybe you are just dying to take a shower, or grab a short nap.  If your baby is okay being held by someone else, ask them to come over for an hour.  Believe me, most people will jump at the chance to come over and hold your baby.  Having a few minutes or a shower in peace, is not being a bad mother- it is a necessity for you to keep going, and to heal.  Friends and family are wonderful and can help so much.  You only have to ask, and let them know a little help would be greatly appreciated.

• Don’t Overdo It With Visitors- Didn’t I just suggest to have friends and family help out?  Yes I did, but there is a big difference in having a few trusted friends and family over who you know will help out with what you ask them to, say hi briefly, and be gone.  You will be wiped out from the surgery and taking care of a newborn.  Now is not the time to have your chatty Aunt Cathy over for hours, or all your college roommates.  There will be plenty of time for you to have extended visits with these family and friends.   You need time to rest and heal.  You can’t do that when you have a constant stream of visitors in your house. 

A few ways of keeping visitors to a minimum are, stay in your pajamas, get into bed,  or put a robe on when someone is coming by for a visit.  You can tell them that you were going to take a nap, and if they see you in your PJ’s, or even laying down in bed, or on the couch,  they usually will get the hint not to stay too long.  Another great suggestion is you can say your doctor advised you to rest, and not have visitors right now, so you can recover from surgery.  It is pretty hard for that insistent relative who has decided she needs to see your baby *right now* to argue with doctor’s orders.  I also had a friend who had her baby at home.   Her midwife put a sign on the door saying something to the effect while the family appreciates shorts visits, this is time for the family to bond, and for the mother to heal and rest.  It specifically asked that visitors stay no more than 10 minutes, and if you see something that needs to be done, it would be appreciated if you could do it. 

The point is, that it is your house, your body that needs to heal, and your baby.  You don’t have to play hostess right now.  You can call the shots, so to speak, on which visitors you take, and how long you would like the visits to be.  Don’t feel bad, guilty, or feel like you are being rude.  People who want to see you and your baby will understand you need to rest, heal, and bond with your baby now.  The baby will still be there in a week or two, or even three for them to visit.

• Follow the Doctor’s and or Nurses Suggestions- This one may seem obvious, but because some of us (okay, me) think we know better, we may try to ignore some of the discharge instructions.  Obviously, the health-care providers have lots of experience and tips.  They are not telling you not to climb stairs to be mean and confine you to one area of your house.  There is a reason for the suggestions, and having learned the hard and painful way, the suggestions really are given to ease pain, and speed up your recovery.   

For me, it was driving.  I was told not to drive for at least ten days.  Ridiculous, I thought.  One night about a week after I was home, I really wanted to have some pictures of Ryan printed.  Joe was exhausted, so I told him I would hop in the Jeep (an automatic too) and drive the 3 miles to my closest Walgreen’s.  He reminded me I wasn’t supposed to drive.  I told him I would be fine.  BIG mistake.  I never knew you used the muscles that were cut during the C-section to drive, but you do.  Every time I hit the gas and brake, it hurt- a lot.  After I got home, I was very sore, and even during the next few days, it felt like I had stretched the muscles in the incision area, and they were very tender.  I learned that night there was a good reason I was told not to drive while I was healing- it hurt, and it was like taking five steps backwards with my body healing.

• If You Have Stairs, Move What You Need Into One Area- Stairs can be excruciating to walk up right after a C-section.  I have 14 of them leading to my upstairs.  My bedroom, bathroom, and Ryan’s nursery are all upstairs.  Walking up and down the stairs killed me.  I thought my incision was going to rip open, with every step I took.  After two days of this, when I came home from the hospital, I sat down in the glider in Ryan’s nursery and told Joe I was staying right there.  I was NOT walking up and down the stairs anymore.  I had all of Ryan’s clothes, blankets, and diaper items right there in the room.  Joe would bring me water, and food.  Because of a technicality with our bed (it is very high off the ground), I could not climb up into it or get out of it, without intense pain.  So I slept in the glider for three nights as well.

Have your husband or all those friends and family who want to help, move your items on one floor for at least a few days so you don’t have to stress your incision by climbing stairs.  There may be cases where you have to climb stairs, but you will not want to make any trips up the stairs that are not necessary.  My baby’s room worked well for me, since all his items were there, it was pretty easy to “set shop” up there for a few days.  Joe just kept a monitor on downstairs, and whenever I needed him to bring me something, I just called him.  This may seem like a small point, but it will help your body heal.

• Follow Your Pain Medication Instructions- I forgot often to take my pain meds.  It wasn’t like I was busy or anything with a new baby.  A nurse told me when your body has pain, then your blood pressure goes up and it will take more medication  and it takes longer to stop the pain, than if you had stayed on top of the schedule.  This was really true.  When I forgot to take my pain medication, it took more medicine and it took longer for the pain to stop.  When I took it on schedule, I virtually had no pain- there wasn’t time for the dosages to wear off.   

I didn’t like taking the pain medication and I know that contributed a lot to me forgetting to take it.  It was a big psychological block for me too.  I felt “sick” taking medication several times a day.  I tried to wean myself off of it for a few days, before I allowed myself to just take it. I had to tell myself I wasn’t sick, and I wasn’t going to be taking it forever, but for the time being, my body needed it to help control the pain, so it could heal. 

• Have A Pillow Nearby You Can Hold Up Against Your Incision- I was sick to my stomach after my C-section, due to the anesthesia.  Throwing up after a C-section, is NOT fun.  It was the worst pain I have ever had in my life.  Coughing, and laughing after a C-section is not fun either.  More intense pain. 

After I was home, my aunt, who is a nurse, came to see me.  I told her how much it hurt when I coughed, sneezed, or laughed.  Actually, I was trying not to laugh to avoid the pain.  She told me to hold a pillow into the incision/stomach area.  She said that would help support the muscles in that area.  I tried it and it worked great!  It was a great tip- I only wish I had known about it when I was in the hospital.

• Have Something To Prop Yourself Up In Bed With- While I was in the hospital, any time I wanted to sleep or rest, I could just hit the button on the bed, and it would adjust into a position I could be comfortable in with no pain.  After coming home, trying to lay down flat in bed was awful.  I needed to be reclined somewhat, but the pillows I had weren’t working.  Finally one of those reader pillows with the armrests to the sides, did the trick, when I was able to finally climb into bed and tolerate the pain. 

 Of course we didn’t have one, and no stores in our area had them, so my aunt saved the day when she brought me hers to borrow.  This was one of those things that I never even thought about, until I was faced with reality that I couldn’t lay down flat to sleep.

• Eat Nutritious Food and Beverages- This goes without saying, but not only will you feel better if you eat nutritious and healthy meals, but your will be giving your body the best energy sources you can, to help it do its job of healing.  Drink as much water as you can, especially if you are breastfeeding. 

Eat as much organic everything that you can afford.  You can certainly have some treats if you feel like it, but the more nutritious food you supply your body with, the better and faster job it will do in repairing itself.      

• Hire A Post-Partum Doula- If you have family and friends nearby, this may not be necessary.  But if you don’t, or don’t have anyone you feel comfortable with asking to help out, a post-partum doula can be a lifesaver and the best money you will spend.  PP doulas will come to your home and will follow up with you, see how you are doing, check on the baby, hold the baby, cook, clean, do laundry, and general housekeeping.  I think a PP doula services would come in very handy as well, if say you only had your husband to help out.  He will be tired too, will be adjusting to the baby, and trying to keep you happy.  A PP doula can help ease his work load as well, and give him a much deserved break. 

In my area, the PP doula’s will come in for as little as one hour a day, up to forty hours a week.  Even if you think you can’t afford a PP doula, in actuality, you might be able to for a few hours a week.  Keep in mind too, it isn’t forever- just until you have recovered enough to start taking on the chores yourself.  Different doulas charge differently, so it may be helpful to interview a few several weeks before your due date, so you can have someone in mind.  Even if you don’t have a C-section, a PP doula is wonderful.  Consider how much it would cost if you overdo it, and end up back in the hospital for a few days.  You would have to pay for a hospital stay again, and most doulas fees don’t come anywhere near what you would pay for a hospital visit.  A PP doula can help you manage tasks, and ensure you don’t end up over doing it. 

If you have an unplanned C-section, you may not have even thought of many of these tips or ideas, but hopefully you can incorporate as many as you can, depending how far along in your recovery you are.  However, if you know you have to have a C-section, do what you can before the C-section in terms of moving things in one area, lining up friends and family to help, etc. and it will make it that much easier and restful for you, and your family when you come home. 

I know first hand how hard it is to be out of commission for a while.  If you overdo it, you will be out even longer.  Allow yourself the time you need to feel better, and recover from your C-section.  You will feel better faster, and you will be a much happier and healthier mama for your baby. 

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I wanted to say congratulations to three of my friends, who all had babies in March.  Ironically, they were all due within a week or so of each other, and the last baby was born today- Yea!  Two of the mama’s live out of state (in the same state, but they don’t know each other), and the other mama lives in my state. 

My first friend to deliver, E., was due on March 20th.  She had a scheduled c-section on Wednesday March 12th, because her baby was breech.  E., knew she was having a boy, and Wyatt was born at 9:01am.  He was 7lbs. 15oz.  He has light, wispy hair just like his mama, and is absolutely adorable.  He has the cutest, chubbiest, cheeks.  E., and Wyatt are home, and despite Wyatt having a bit of jaundice, they are doing well. 

Our second friend to deliver, T., was not due until March 25th.  At her recent check-up they discovered T. was developing preeclampsia so the decision was made to induce that day.  After being administered the drugs to control the preeclampsia and being in labor for over 14 hours, T., delivered her daughter, Molly via c-section.  T., did not know what the gender of her baby was until she said she heard the doctor say, “It’s a girl.”  Molly was born on March 18th at 6:14pm.  She was 7lbs. 10oz.  She has a lot of dark hair, and is beautiful.  I think Molly looks like her dad, and Joe thinks she looks just like T.  After recovering for a few days in the hospital, T., and Molly are at home now resting, and healing. 

Finally, my friend N., welcomed her third son, Kieran, this morning, March 25th, at 9:25am.  N. was due on the 20th, so she was very ready for Kieran to be born.  Kieran weighed 7 lbs. 7oz.  I haven’t seen any pictures yet, but N., says he has light colored hair and blue eyes.  N., delivered Kieran at home, with a relatively short labor.  Kieran was born after the third push.  Since N., lives in my state, I can’t wait to see Kieran in person.

I am so thrilled, happy, and excited for all three of my friends!  For E., and T., they are first time mama’s, and there is nothing like having your first baby.  N., is an awesome mother already with her two boys, and now there is a new brother, and I know she will excel as a mother of three.  They all did amazing jobs bringing their babies into the world, under different circumstances- they are all powerful birthing goddesses! 

Congratulations to E., T., N., and their families.  I  know they are all enjoying their sweet new babies.  We love you all! 

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We had a wonderful Easter.  It snowed the night before, and even though the sun came out on Sunday, it stayed pretty chilly. 

Ryan and Cole’s cousins and aunt are in town visiting with Grandma and Grandpa.  Ryan and Cole just adore them.  They are older- 11, 10, and 6.  Ryan tries his hardest to keep up with them.  We all went to an early church service.  Then we went over to Grandma’s house for brunch and an indoor Easter egg hunt, courtesy of the cousins.  They hid plastic eggs all around the house and Ryan and Cole were thrilled to find them.  Every time Ryan spotted an egg, he had to come running in, get Joe, and lead him to the egg.

Ryan also told me the night before since it was snowing, that the Easter Bunny and Santa are friends, and the Easter Bunny needed something to ride on.  He reasoned that Santa was loaning the Easter Bunny his sleigh.  In the morning he said he had heard a bell ringing, and he just knew it was the Easter Bunny’s sleigh. 

After brunch, we all hung around and the kids played.  Then we took Ryan and Cole home for naps, since they were fading fast.  I actually forgot to make them their Easter baskets the night before (we were working on income taxes- fun I know.)  So I was able to bide a little time by reading a note the Easter Bunny had left for Ryan and Cole.  The poor Easter Bunny’s sleigh had broken down, and it had to be fixed.  So the Easter Bunny promised he would have their Easter baskets here after their naps.  Ryan tried to stay up because he wanted to pet the Easter Bunny, but sleep finally won out.

The Easter Bunny delivered, and when Ryan and Cole woke up, they were happy to see they had their baskets, and an extra present- some play construction cones.  We went back over to Grandma’s house, where the boys put on their coats and had a real Easter Egg hunt outside (again, thanks to the cousins, who had hid mroe eggs outside).  Then we had Easter dinner, which of course was delicious. 

I love taking pictures of the boys finding their eggs, and ended up with way more of Cole this year than of Ryan.  But they all had so much fun.  We’ll see if the Easter Bunny returns Santa’s sleigh to him in time for Santa to use it.  Here are a few pictures:

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Thank you to everyone who visited my new blog site, and left a comment, entering yourself in the T-shirt giveaway.  I also want to thank the following blog owners for including the giveaway on their blogs:

Laura at Laura Williams Musings

Amy at Crunchy Domestic Goddess

Eliza at The Life of a Home Mom

Kailani at An Island Review

Without further delay, the winner (determined by random.org) of the What Happens at Grandma’s Stays at Grandma’s Toddler T-shirt from my online store, Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs, is:

SASSYFRAZZ!

Congratulations and I’ll be e-mailing you.

Thanks again to everyone who visited the new site, and I hope you will come back often.

Happy Easter!

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Ryan is participating in a language development study.  He was a participant about two years ago, before he was talking.  A few weeks ago the research team contacted me and said they wanted to have some of the original children participate in their latest round of research, and asked if we would consider having Ryan participate again. 

The research involves having Ryan wear a vest, with a slot for a special recording device.  It is about the size of an iPod.  It records for 16 hours a day and will pick up everything within a 6 foot radius of the child, to “hear” what the child hears, and then determines what the child says.

It is a little odd on recording days, because I am very mindful that anything and everything I say will be recorded.  Same goes for Joe.  The researchers assured us that they have heard it all- even awful, drug out fights between parents.  Fortunately Joe and I haven’t had one of those yet on recording day, but it does keep you on your toes.

Today was a recording day, and I felt well enough to go to work.  The boys went to day care.  I stayed a few extra hours at work to catch up, and honestly I was kind of glad I didn’t have the “pressure” of dealing with the recorder.

All went well, until the last half hour before Ryan went to bed.  I called him downstairs to help me pick up toys.  Normally he fights us tooth and nail when it is time to pick up toys.  But tonight he didn’t even fuss.  Bonus I thought…when the recorder’s computer plays back our recording, they aren’t going to have anything on me.  They will probably think I am a wonderful mother!

WRONG, big double WRONG!  As Ryan sat down on the floor to start picking up his very first toy, which was a block, he asked in a crystal clear, perfect voice, which even a crappy recorder would pick up, “Mommy, why do you say MotherF****R when you step on these?”

Oh my God!  If that recorder had a screen, it would have seen me turn about 10 shades of red!  The worst part is I admit it, I did say that word *once*- I swear, just like Ryan said- exactly ONCE when I stepped on a block, pointy corner side tearing into my foot.  It was like six months ago. 

I can’t believe he remembered the incident, AND remembered the f-bomb word clear as a bell, and WHY did he choose to ask me about it tonight, of all nights since the six months ago it had happened?  It is like he just KNEW everything he was saying was being recorded, and this was the “perfect” time, to ask me about that word.

I tried to recover- I mumbled something like “we don’t use that word Ryan,” but really there wasn’t anything I could say to fully recover after that gem he dropped. 

I am sure I will be known forever now as the mommy who uses the f-word in front of her children.  If the researchers haven’t heard that before, they have now.  I can imagine this hip group of language scientists sitting around in the college town, analyzing their data when one of them perks up and calls their colleagues in to hear the latest fight between parents, or the “secret” that the my four year old just gave up. 

Oh well, I am sure hoping that this isn’t the first time they have heard something like this.  After I got over the initial embarrassment, I did have a good laugh over it and told Joe.  He had a really good laugh over it (at my expense).  In hindsight I should have said something like, “we don’t use that word Ryan, and I’ll have to talk to your dad about the words he uses.”  :-)

Hopefully our next recording session in a month won’t be so “interesting,” and no other “secrets” I thought were long forgotten will be exposed.

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During the past week, two really funny things happened, (while the boys were taking their baths)  but I was too sick to blog them, so here they are:

Joe was giving the boys a bath.  At one point, the boys started fighting over a toy.  Joe said he looked at Ryan, who was holding Cole’s arm, mouth open, and was ready to chomp down on it.  Ryan never bites, so I am not sure why he was doing this, but Joe stopped him and told him we don’t do that.  He added if he saw him doing that again, there was going to be trouble.

At that point Joe said Cole got a huge smile on his face, crinkled up his nose and said, “Trouble.”  He knew his brother was getting in trouble.

The second incident Joe said Ryan and Cole were playing, when Ryan got very serious and said in almost a whisper to Cole, “No one messes with the king.  You never mess with the king, Coley.”  We can only assume that Ryan heard a Burger King commercial or something, and now he believes he is the King who is not to be messed with. 

I told Joe he had better start taking the camcorder in the bathroom so he has it on hand to tape these interactions.  Of course, as soon as the boys saw the camcorder, they would cease their funny material.  I guess we really shouldn’t mess with the king. 

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Despite my best efforts of resting and taking it easy, I am still sick with a cold I just cannot shake.  I started feeling better on Wednesday, but then on Thursday came down with this terrible cold.  I have had a sinus headache since then, with a cough, runny nose, and today a sore throat. 

My wonderful husband and his parents watched the boys yesterday, and I literally stayed in bed and slept for the entire day.  I thought if I could just get some extra rest, I would feel better.  No luck.  Today I rested again, and missed a party I wanted to go to.  Instead, Joe and I made a Costco run, and that just completely wiped me out.  Joe finally told me about something a co-worker gave him last week, when he had the same cold.  It is called Mucinex, and it breaks up mucus in your chest.  Joe said he did feel a lot better after taking one that day at work.

I am usually not a big “pill” person, but I have tried every natural remedy I can think of, and it hasn’t helped.  My wonderful husband, went to Target and got me some, and I have to say it seems like it is working.  I still have a slight sinus headache, but it is much better, and my nose isn’t constantly running now.  I hope this means the worst is over, and I will finally stop coming down with new symptoms with this horrible cold.

We got a change in the weather, and it is really snowing hard.  I think it is supposed to keep snowing through tomorrow, so needless to say, the boys and I are staying home tomorrow.  My wonderful husband (can you tell how much I appreciated him this weekend?) helped with a ton of housework this weekend, so with the exception of one bathroom, the house is clean, the laundry is done, and there is food in the fridge.  I plan on taking it easy again tomorrow. Any healing vibes you can send my way, will be greatly appreciated. 

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Welcome to A Mama’s Blog’s new home.  I hope you can linger for a moment and get acquainted with the new site.  If you are looking for any past articles, just scroll down on the right hand side bar, and you can use the “Search” feature, or look through the “Archives.”  You can also browse through past posts by ”Category”.  

Perhaps you have noticed a brand new feature, the “Link to Me” button, with the jibberish code underneath it.  You can now place a link on your blog using this code, and my button will appear on your blog.  I did this with my friend Amy’s Crunchy Domestic Goddess blog button in my blogroll.

Finally, my favorite feature so far is the header.  I searched and searched for the image that was perfect, and couldn’t find it.  I really wanted an image that reflected me with my boys, but it didn’t seem like they had an image with two boys and a mama that I liked.   I took a few days off from searching, and when I went back to look through the thousands of images istockphoto has,  a new one popped up.  A mama with her two boys, just about the same age as my boys! 

My designer, Heather,  from Girly Blog Designz customized it more for me, so it would look even more like Ryan, Cole, and I, and she added the laptop in for me.   Really, because what blogging mama doesn’t have her laptop with her at all times?  :-)  Then we found a landscape picture background that Heather merged into the picture.  Next Heather added her creative flair, and we finally had the header.  Needless to say, I am so happy with how the new blog turned out!

I am so happy and excited to be launching the new home of A Mama’s Blog, that I am giving away this best selling infant/toddler T-shirt from my store, Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs:

It says, What Happens at Grandma’s Stays at Grandma’s.  The shirt is white (as pictured) and it is infant/toddler size 18 months.  You can view all the specifics of the shirt, see a size chart, and see it in greater detail here, at my store.

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  If you have a blog, I’d really appreciate it, if you would mention and link this contest, and my new site in a post on your blog.  Please sign Mr. Linky if you do link.  I will pick a winner through random.org on Saturday March 22nd, at 10pm eastern time.  I will announce the winner either Saturday night, or on Sunday March 23rd.   So make sure you leave your post before then,  if you want a chance to win this adorable shirt. 

Even if you don’t have a child in size 18 months, it would make a great gift for your niece, nephew, grandchild, best friend’s baby…you get the drift.  Since this shirt is unisex, it is so cute for either a boy or a girl!

Thanks for stopping by the new site.  Don’t forget to check back to see who the T-shirt winner is. 

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