New Year, New Schedule!

About December last year, I determined that we needed a change around our house. Our days seemed long, the children were bored, and I was just absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.

I took a long, honest look at myself and our days, and I posed this question to myself:

If I were paying someone to keep my children every day, would I be happy if this is what they did?

I found it quite convicting. I realized much of my day was spent trying to "get stuff done". Sure I sat and played some with the girls, and they got fed, and all that jazz. But a majority of my time was spent trying to engage them in some activity to keep them out from under my feet (or off my lap) so I could accomplish something. And the result was 1. Gabriela was bored and getting into trouble, 2. Lilian constantly trying to cling onto me, and 3. I was frustrated because I couldn't get anything done.

But maybe the worst of it was when I really thought about that big question above. I would be pretty unhappy with my daycare provider if she spent most of her day trying to keep a clean house, handle paperwork, answer emails, etc. I want to be at home raising my children and taking care of their needs. But if I would not be content with a paid babysitter doing what I was doing during the day, what does that say about the "at home with mom is best" argument?

After a big slice of humble pie and admiting my shortcomings to the hubby (who is a smart guy and responded with something like, "Well, it's fine if you want to change things, but I think you already do great with the girls"), I decided I needed a great big attitude and outlook adjustment. Along with a new plan!

The first thing I decided was that I need to approach this like a paid job. From the time Eric leaves in the morning until he is home in the evening, I am the babysitter/daycare provider/preschool teacher/whatever you want to call me. Instead of me being out earning an income to help support our family, we have made the choice for me to be the kids' careprovider. That is my job while Eric is away from home. Now obviously, I am also trying to run a household and a small little birth business, and I am going to have to deal with some of that throughout my day. But my main priority should be caring for, educating, and raising the girls.

I know myself well enough to know that if anything was going to change, I needed to develop a specific plan and put it in writing. (Let's be honest, I am not very accountable when it's all just in my head...it's WAY too easy for me to justify not doing it!) So I pulled out my little netbook one day the first week of January and created my plan of attack. It looked something like this:

8:00 Girls up and get dressed

8:30 Breakfast

9:00 Preschool Lesson

9:15 Sibling Playtime

10:00 Lilian Naps/Gabriela Helps Me with Chores

10:45 Gabriela Arts and Crafts Time

12:00 Lunch

12:30 Bible Story

12:45 Physical Activity of Some Sort

1:00 Independent Playtime in Their Rooms

1:30 Gabriela Naps/Lilian Reads, Cuddles, and Plays with Me

2:00 Lilian Naps

3:30 Wake-Up Snack

3:45 Sibling Playtime

4:30 TV Time (While I Fix Supper)

I figured I had better see if it stuck for a while before actually sharing my ambition with the world. Six weeks later, I am ready now to say that it has been wonderful!

We pretty normally break the routine. Like on Tuesday mornings, we have a standing playdate with some other stay-at-home moms and their kids. Lilian misses her nap, Gabriela misses chores and crafts. We regularly have to run errands sometime during the day. I delay naptime a little if I know we have something in the evening that the girls need to be well rested for. If Lilian is still sleeping at 8:30, I let her! But just having a schedule to fall back on when we are home and things are "normal" has been a game-changer for me!

The "preschool lesson" has been great too! I decided to keep it real simple to start with - especially since Gabs isn't even 3 yet. But each day after breakfast, while they are still strapped in their high chair and booster seat, I spent about 15 minutes to introduce a letter, number, and shape of the day. We talk about each one, find lots of examples, and I get to sing, jump around, and be silly. Both girls LOVE it, Gabriela is doing great with learning (even Lilian has been picking some of it up!), and I must admit that it's a fun way to start my day too!

Along with the new schedule, I created a cleaning schedule for myself, and I have Gabriela help me while Lilian naps in the mornings. It has been really helpful in "making" me keep up with the housework a little better and having the house stay "company-ready", which is one of my goals for the year.

I have been trying hard to save other random responsibilities (and pleasures, like anything involving the internet) for their afternoon naptime or independent playtime.

The new routine has provided me with the structure to teach, permission for myself to play more, some one-on-one time with each of them, and a time to do things with Gabriela (crafts, etc.) that Lilian isn't old enough for. They are never bored, and I have seen big improvements in behavior since no one is fighting for my attention anymore. I actually manage to get a whole lot more done now, and everyone is happier.

It's been lovely. And while I don't think it is the perfect schedule or solution for every family, my-oh-my has it made a big difference for us! Just by changing my attitude and deciding that teaching and playing with the girls is my JOB has given me the freedom to save the dishes for later and just sit on the floor and play. And guess what? I actually get more dishes done this way! And save my sanity. (For the most part...Can you really be completely sane when you spend all day with a 1 year old and a 2 year old? Evidence would suggest that you spend your time talking about poop a lot more than a normal person should.)

An Explanation of Why Eric Will Soon Be Gray

Alternate Title 1: An Explanation of Why Gabriela Might Not Be Allowed to Leave the House Until She's 30

Alternate Title 2: An Explanation of Why Eric is Requesting Firearms for Every Major Holiday for the Next 16 Years


While the jury is still out on our little Lilian, I think we can safely assume that Gabriela is going to give her father a lot of gray hair. And it's not just because she is my daughter and I have it coming to me. (Stop smirking, Dad!)...

I'll share a few pieces of recent evidence to support my theory.

Concerning Behavior Example #1: Dressing Like the Women Featured on TLC's What Not To Wear

I hit up a consignment shop's half-price sale a couple weeks ago and bought a bunch of stuff for the girls. Gabriela, who LOVES clothes, was beyond excited when I got home and she got to go through it all! It was like Christmas all over again. After sorting through, removing tags, and getting everything ready to be washed, Eric and I went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. When we called Gabriela in to eat, she came strutting into the kitchen wearing one of her new outfits. Well, if you consider a denim skirt and ruffly bikini top an "outfit", that is. She was ooooohing and aaaaahing and twirling to show off her dining-wear of choice. (I wish I'd captured the moment, but the second I suggested that it wasn't an acceptable outfit, she stripped naked.)

Concerning Behavior Example #2: Dress, High Heels and Pearls. Minus the Dress

Her outfits of choice are always interesting. She is constantly changing her clothes throughout the day and she love dress-up. Her father found it mildly concerning that when she got a box full of dress-up clothes and accessories from her Nena and Papa, she chose to strip down to her panties and wear the heels and jewelry...and refused to put on a dress. (She also totally flipped out when Nena tried to put the clip-on earring on her. I guess it's a good thing I went against the grain in Brasil and didn't pierce her ears as a baby. Seems she loves accessories, but not if it involves her ear lobes.)

Concerning Behavior #3: Forget the Used Lot, She Wants NEW!

Walking through the airport after seeing Grandpa off on Sunday, we walked past a Model T on display. Gabriela stopped and observed the vehicle, looking it over well, before asking, "What dat, Mamae? What dat?" I told her that it was a very, very old car. Thinking on that answer for a moment and then turning away, Gabs shook her head and firmly declared, "Bobbi* nao gosta carros velhos." (Gabi doesn't like old cars.) And then with a little bounce and skip, said, nearly singing,"Bobbi gosta carros NOVOS!" (Gabi likes NEW cars!) *She calls herself Bobbi or La-lela for Gabi or Gabriela.

Concerning Behavior #4: A Fondness for Good Looking Fellas (Besides her Daddy)

While sitting in the truck waiting for Eric outside of his office last week, lots of people were exiting and walking past where we were parked. As each person walked by, Gabriela would ask, "Quem isso, Mamae? Quem isso?" (Who's that Mommy? Who's that?) I knew the names of most of the people, so I was able to tell her.

After playing this game with about a dozen people, out walked someone I didn't recognize. He was young (oh, okay, so he was about my age I think...maybe "young-ish" is the better term?), tall, dark, and what an unmarried woman might consider rather handsome (not that I notice those things at all...I only have eyes for you, my Dear). Gabriela asked the same question, "Quem isso, Mamae? Quem isso?" I told her I didn't know his name, but that he was a colleague of Papai's. Gabriela watched intently as he walked on by and then responded with a big smile and nodding her head emphatically, "Oooooooh, Bobbi gosta da colega do Papai!" (Gabi likes Papai's colleague!)

Concerning Behavior #5: Sometimes a Photo Speaks For Itself

I regularly find the child in her room, scantily clad, and up on her vanity posing in front of the mirror.

The One About Poo

I know, I know. It's been forever since I've posted. I'm sure I've left everyone with lots of questions about our life: How is everyone? What are the girls up to these days? How cold is it in Iowa right now? And with any luck, I'll get to that stuff one of these days. Today however, I am led in a different: The girls' digestive systems. Yes, let's break the silence on the blog with some good poop talk...'cause that's what you do when you're a parent. You talk about poop.

We'll start with the little one. Lilian, my sweet Lilian. Whose first word was "mama" just before 11 months. Whose 2nd word was just about a month ago. It was "gaaaaa" (gas). Yes, my little petite cupcake's second word was gas. And to date, it remains her favorite. She enjoys announcing to the world whenever she toots or burps. She is also quick to let the world know when anyone else around her passes gas...and she often points at the offender. You can't get away with anything around that one. Be warned.

It should also be noted that besides being highly entertained by bodily functions, there is something about the car seat that makes the kid fill her diaper. You frequently go the door on her side and are met by a giant, contented grin, maybe even an excited squeal, and the stench of a poop-filled diaper. Which often escapes the diaper (always escapes if she is wearing a disposable) and fills up her pants legs and possibly even the car seat. I'm not sure if her pleasure is derived from the fact that she feels better with her bowels empty or that she finds humor in knowing the mess someone else is about to have to clean up. Either way, it's really quite charming. (<--insert sarcastic tone here)

And then there is Gabriela. Or Miss Fiber as I believe I might start calling her. More than once she has snuck off with a box of prunes and totally chowed down until I caught her. (Note, a child who eats a half pound of prunes in the morning will be spending the afternoon sitting on the potty. In the case of my two year old, that is considered a benefit of said activity. Much like her sister's fascination with gas, Gabs gets exceptionally excited about pooping.) When not eating copious amounts of prunes, she enjoys bran flakes or All-Bran bran buds, fruits of all kind, sweet corn, beans...she's a proctologist's dream patient. The kid loves her fiber. Which I'm going to credit for afternoons like today.

Just as I got up the counter at the bank today with two children en tow, Gabriela announced that she needed to "faz cocô". It's moments like these that I am thankful we speak Portuguese, as I don't believe everyone in the bank wished to hear about her need for a toilet at that moment. I asked her if she could wait just a few minutes, and she told me she could. Although the look in her eyes said otherwise. I asked the teller if there was a bathroom we could use, but I was informed there was no public restroom. I told Gabs she would have to wait just a moment. The transaction at the bank counter was taking longer than it should. Gabriela continued to remind me she needed to poop. I explained that the two year old really needed a potty, but the nice teller explained to me that we were not allowed to use the restroom at the bank. Moments later, as I continued to wait on the teller to finish our transaction, I watched as Gabs got a most concerned look on her face, and then, with tears building, she told me that she had cocô in her new monkey panties.

It should be noted that a diet high in fiber leads to rather soft stools. Rather soft stools are rather difficult for a two year old to control. And getting poop in your new panties is really upsetting. Especially when they are your favorite ones with monkeys on them.

It's not a lot of fun to clean soft poo out of monkey panties in the bank parking lot either - you know, since we couldn't use the bathroom there, and I wasn't about to make the poor kid sit in her car seat with her pants full. That's for Lilian to do. Which she did. On the way home from the bank.

Marvelous Moments in Mothering

My Grandad tells the story of being just a few years old and having a bigger kid shove half of an acorn in his ear. When he came home and told Granny, my great grandmother, she made some comment about him needing to quit telling tall tales (she probably then gave him a dose of castor oil to clean the fibbing out of him - although I'm just guessing on that part.) He never mentioned that acorn again. A few years later, Grandad was seeing the doctor for a problem with his ear. As the doctor was flushing out his ear, something fell out into the metal bowl with a "clank". After careful inspection, it turned out to be a partially disintegrated half of an acorn. As a mother, I'd think that would leave you feeling a little guilty. But Granny and Papa had four kids and a big farm (that was tilled with mules), and I'm pretty sure they didn't have indoor plumbing yet. Granny probably didn't have time for such things as guilt.

The last week or so, every time I put Gabriela's new sneakers on her feet, she says (in her most dramatic tone), "Ooooooo, tiiiiiiight". It's one of her favorite words right now, and uses it every chance she gets, so every day I've told her, "Look kid, these shoes are a size bigger than you normally wear, they are NOT tight. They're fine." And that quiets her down and she never mentions it again. Until the next time I put her shoes on her.

Last night, after the girls were in bed, I was in the bathroom scrubbing Gabs' shoes. Scrubbing shoes is not normally part of my routine, but I was doing it yesterday. Partially because they were black and yucky from walking the streets of Belo Horizonte and just needed it. Partially because I didn't want to get scolded again while on the streets of Belo Horizonte by some random woman. But mostly because I was tired of getting my clothes dirty every time I picked her up.

So anyway, I was scrubbing her shoes in the bathroom sink and decided to pull out the insoles so they would dry faster. When I did, a sock fell out of each shoe. Apparently, Eric or I (let's blame it on Eric) stuffed her socks into her shoes, most likely after she kicked them off in the car on the way home from supper, and we ended up carrying her and her footwear into the hotel. And apparently, instead of taking the socks out before the next time she wore her shoes, one of us (let's blame it on Eric) just shoved her little foot in there, wading up the sock into the toe of her shoe.

Turns out, her shoes probably were feeling a little tight every time we put them on her. We should maybe listen to the kid sometimes.

And I did feel a little guilty about blowing off her comment and the fact that she has been walking around with her toes all crammed up due to socks being shoved into the end of her shoes.

But then I remembered Granny. And it's not like she had a sock shoved into an oriface or anything. So then I felt better.

We are taking off this evening to make the journey back to the US after a glorious 17 days in Brasil. Gabriela will have clean shoes for the voyage. And they will be significantly less tiiiiiight.

44 lbs of kids, 146 lbs of luggage (plus carseats)

A 1.5 hour car ride, 3 flights (one international), 1 bus, and a taxi ride over the course of 26 hours is a little daunting alone with a toddler and an infant. But when Eric realized he needed to be in India for almost two weeks and then fly straight to Brasil for another two weeks, I saw no other option. Mama wasn't about to spend the entire month of September alone with the kids! Eric had all kinds of excuses as to why he couldn't take the children with him and leave me in peace for a month (some nonsense about needing to accomplish some work?)

So the girls and I drove up to Cedar Rapids on Thursday morning, hopped a plane to Dallas, killed 5 hours in the airport, boarded an overnight flight to Rio de Janeiro, made our way through customs and immigration, checked into another airline, and finally made it into Belo Horizonte's airport at 11:00 am on Friday morning. My Brasil BFF, Megan, met me at the airport and helped me lug the two girls, their two carseats, and all 146 pounds of luggage on board the airport shuttle bus to downtown BH and then transfer it all to a taxi and into her apartment. The president of Brasil happened to be making an appearance here at the moment we arrived and traffic was a nightmare. Our 10 minute taxi ride took 1 1/2 hours. I was rather delirious by the time we arrived. And very ready for a nap. The girls were exceptionally well rested and ready to party it up. Megan totally saved me.

The girls were AMAZING. No, really. I know they are my kids. And I know everyone thinks their own kids are awesome. But seriously. I was a bit anxious about the whole journey. I played out every imaginable scenario in my mind to try and figure out what I would do if my two year old darted off and snuck onto a plane to Abu Dhadi and simultaneously Lilian had a massive blow out while attached to me and we both were completely covered in poop. I think I was prepared to handle anything the kids, the FAA, or the airline might throw at me. But it was so easy. Despite that I probably gave myself an ulcer in the days leading up to our travels, the girls made me look like SuperMommy! You could see the not-at-all-pleased looks of airline employees, security checkers, flight attendants, and other passengers as they saw me coming with two little ones all by myself. But we had won them all over by the time we walked away and received so many compliments.

I talked to Gabriela a lot in the couple days leading up to our trip and told her all about what we were going to do and how she was really going to have to follow directions well. Our daily prayers included a request for easy flights, for Gabriela and Lilian to behave themselves, and for Mamãe to have lots and lots of patience and stamina. And oh how blessed we were!

Gabriela, who is basically a good kid, but is only two and doesn't always mind perfectly, did everything I asked her to do. The first time I asked. And never once complained. Never once whined. Never once cried (except for at the very end of our final flight when she really wanted to look out the window and I told her she had to sit down and buckle up, but it lasted less than 20 seconds).

Lilian was a total champ. She was so easy going and content. She is crawling and cruising like crazy and hates to be contained right now, so I was sure she'd have a hard time with having to sit in her carseat for such long stretches of time. She was lacking in the sleep department by the end of it all, but, same as Gabs, never whined or cried. At all!

There was one moment on the overnight flight at about 4:00 am when I looked over at my two sleeping beauties and got totally teary-eyed. Not really like me at all, but I was so overwhelmed with how well behaved they had both been despite missing naps and being rushed around and being confined to carseats and told they must be quiet. I think it was partially just the exhaustion setting in (as I hadn't had much sleep the night before either with all the last minute preparations for the trip), but I seriously had to stop looking over at the angelic children beside me for fear of starting the waterworks. Plus, I didn't want to get too attached to that idea of my children...I knew it wouldn't last forever and didn't want to be disappointed when they returned to their normal ornery selves later on. haha

I also decided that patience is a lot easier to come by when your kids are behaving. I try to be a calm, patient person on a daily basis, especially when it comes to dealing with the babes. And while I usually succeed and have a cool exterior, I am often boiling over on the inside. I was 100% calm and easy going throughout the whole adventure. That was kind of nice. :)

Eric arrived in Brasil about 13 hours after we did. He was a brave soul as he recounted how he hung out in the Admirals Lounge eating free sushi and drinking free wine and how lovely it was when got upgraded for free to First Class on two of his flights. (He has earned quite the status on American Airlines with all this traveling he's been doing the last year!) Luckily I had taken a nap before he arrived and was able to maintain that earlier calm and restrain myself from strangling him with the strap of one of the two carseats I hauled across a continent by myself with two children.

It's been nice to see my hubby and to not be out-numbered by my kids. After moving out of Megan's apartment and to our hotel on Saturday morning, we enjoyed a low key weekend with a couple different friends. It feels good to be here -even if it is unseasonably cool at the moment.

And after the great trip down here, I've decided to keep my kids. About Day 10 alone with them back home last week, I was considering selling them to the Gypsies.

Oh now, you know I'm only kidding.

I might have locked myself in the bathroom for 10 minutes of peace though. Okay, so it was 15 minutes. If it makes you feel better I did pay for it later. Do you know how big of a mess unsupervised children will make in 15 minutes?

Quick Trip to KC

The girls and I spent Sunday-Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas with my dad. He was attending a conference over there. We decided that 5 hours is a heck of a lot closer than 14, so we made the journey over to visit with him.

When Grandpa wasn't in meetings, we go tto hang out and play tourists. We went to the Kansas City Zoo, the Kansas City Children's Museum, the Agricultural Hall of Fame, and Harry Truman's home in Independence, Missouri. The girls and I had a good time with Grandpa (or BaPAAAAAW as Gabriela calls him) for sure!

Who had more fun in the water room at the Children's Musuem, Gabriela?

Or Grandpa?

Gabriela is especially enamored with elevators and requires lots of reminding of which buttons are okay to push (the one that takes us to the lobby, for example) and which she cannot (like the emergency call button...again.) After a lengthy conversation about why she can't call the nice operator, again, the Texas cowboy on the elevator looked at us and asked, "so where y'all from?" I smiled and casually responded, "We're from Iowa". At that moment, the elevator stopped and he got off. As the doors shut behind him, I realized what he was really wanting to know was what language I was speaking with my child and why. I suspect I might have left him confused about the geographic location of Iowa. "Well, dang, I coulda sworn that Iowa was a US state..." Oops.

I made it a point to regularly loudly say things like, "Lilian, you can sit over there next to GRANDPA, and Gabs can sit with me." Dad and I noticed we got lots of looks when we were together...I used to get the same looks back when I was in college and he'd take me to supper anytime he was in Athens for a meeting. Back then I could just call him Dad and straighten out any confusion. Unfortunately, when there are two young children involved, me calling him "Dad" just seems to make people think he is the father of the babies. And that I am a major gold digger.

Along those lines, I think my Dad got a good reminder of why 50-somethings don't normally have babies. Gabriela's super-human energy wears him out just a little (he seemed more ready for naptime each day than she did! hehe) and Lilian always surprised him with her go-go-gadget-arms that can reach anything she isn't supposed to have. There is no doubt he enjoys his grandbabies...but I do get the feeling that he, like most grandparents, appreciates that he gets to send 'em home when he's done with 'em! :) (Too bad you have to actually raise your own kids before you get to enjoy that benefit...it's just as annoying as that whole having to work 30 years before you're allowed to retire. Why do old folks get to have all the fun?!? hehe)

We got back to Burlington in time for a friend's 5th Birthday Party (a pool party) yesterday afternoon. After returning home from that last night, more than a little exhausted after 5 days without Papai and a 5+ hour solo journey with the kids, I was harassing Eric about not having the garden picked, flowers watered, yard mowed, or laundry done. I might have gently suggested that had he left me alone with no children for 4 nights I could accomplish all kinds of things...I might have even gone so far as to suggest that he give me the opportunity to prove it. ;) He urged me to go into the storage room in the basement before I said anymore. Which is where I noticed he had changed out the water heater.

The water heater was on our to-do list as our old one was a little undersized and we recently came across a large high efficiency model on clearance and, with the available tax-credit and energy company rebate, it was only going to cost us $75 out of pocket for the upgrade. It's a natural gas unit and the existing water heater was completely hard-plumbed with copper pipe, so we knew it was going to be a quite time-consuming undertaking. Which it was, I am told. Turns out he didn't just goof off while we were away. I spent the remainder of the night apologizing and thanking Eric for getting it done solo. I plan on some serious relaxing in the jacuzzi tub with a glass of wine this weekend now that we have a water heater capable of filling it up!

After 29 years, I have a passion!

Throughout my life, I've never had a single passionate interest or hobby. I was one in high school that was an active member of pretty much every extra curricular club. I was in FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America), FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), FGE (Future Georgia Educators), Math Team, and 4-H, among others. I showed beef cattle, was in the Optimist Club's speech competition, and was a cheerleader. You name it, I was genuinely interested in it (so long as it had nothing to do with music - I have no talent at all in that department! The 6th grade trombone experiment proved that once and for all.)

The broad scope of my interests continued in college, not only in my extra-curricular, but also with my major work. Which might have had a little something to do with the six years and countless credit hours...but that's another story we won't take on today (or probably ever).

All that has made me, what I consider to be, a pretty darn well-rounded individual. I know a good bit about a lot and have a very unique set of experiences. I've changed the lower element in an electric water heater by myself. I've made my own wedding cake. I've designed and installed a complete landscape. I've sewn my own formal gown. There are a ton of things I enjoy doing and learning about. What my Renaissance soul has not been useful with, however, is being passionate.

I witnessed my older brother, Travis, pick up a guitar in high school and teach himself to be an awesome player; 15 years later, he can still be seen rocking out in establishments around Statesboro with his band, Dirty Uncle Bob. I watched as my middle brother, Justin, built a log cabin all on his own (using only hand tools) with trees he cut down himself and have seen the him make incredibly intricate wooden creations. They both are incredibly passionate about their hobby (which also sort of turned into a major and then career for Justin). I've always been a bit envious of them in that regard. And it's not that I think I'm not good at anything, but I've never been really awesome at any one particular pursuit. I've never been totally focused and consumed with one specific interest.

But after 29 years, I have found a passion. Something that I want to learn everything possible about. Something that amazes me, that inspires me, that brings me an immeasurable amount of joy. For the last 18 months, every book I've read has been about pregnancy, birth, or babies. I've attend classes, workshops, online discussions, and community programs about birth.

I love being pregnant. I love giving birth. I love newborns. Eric tells me we cannot have 20 babies of our own. He's pretty firm on the no more than a dozen thing. ;)

So I've found that the next best thing to having the experience over and over again myself is being involved with other families and witnessing the miracle of a new life entering the world and watching as two people's lives are transformed as they become parents. My work this year as a birth doula has been incredible. And it is nearly impossible to put into words how much I adore what I am doing.

My main priority remains my family and our home. As long as we have young kids at home, I will limit the number of clients I take on and how many classes I teach. It's fun to have a hobby I'm truly passionate about though. (And making a little play money with it isn't all bad either.)

I have a real business now (Mãe Amor Birth Services). And a real website (http://www.burlingtonbirth.com/). My doula certification is caught up in a backlog and waiting to go before the review committee. But I did receive my HypnoBirthing Practitioner certification last month and will be teaching my first official class beginning in a couple weeks.

Business is good. The girls are growing and doing great. Life is truly grand.

I'll try to be around here a little more often to tell you all about it!