Guest Blogger Thursday: Kinsley's Favorite Bow Maker!

Here is a woman who is quickly turning into my Best Internet Friend! She has a great blog where i LOVE catching up on what her beyond adorable baby girl is up to, AND she has a business, Princess Couture Designs, that well, Kinsley and I just might be her main supporter! Kidding! So many people love her and her mad skills, I'm almost jealous that I have to share her! On any level that you look at she is the all around Super Mom! So here Ladies and Gentlemen is Michellene!

Can a Women really do it all?

Now I'm not here to answer this age old question for everyone.. Simple just myself. Can I do it all.. Maybe but I think the better question is can I do it all WELL? The answer to that is certainly NO

A little back ground on myself..

First and foremost I'm a mommy

My little stinker {14 months old now}

Secondly I'm a wife {1 and 2 are completely interchangeable}

Third I have a full time job at a computer company

Fourth- I run a small online business making hair accessories {Princess Couture Designs}

and Last but not least I also go to school full time....

Don't get me wrong here I'm not complaining at all.. I'm happy where I am but some days I think to myself, what areas of my life are suffering because I've taken on so much...trying to be super mommy! Definitely my sleep has suffered and my reality Tv watching time has suffered but has my relationship with my husband or even my daughter? I often find myself up way past everyone else finishing up some last minute things. I'm guilty of having a laundry pile and sometimes even a dish pile. I am by no means perfect but I'm trying.

While I know the things I take on everyday are for them, they take there toll on all of us. So while I fully believe Women CAN do it all, I intend to start thinking whether I should do it all. Sometime us mommies get so wrapped up in being the "perfect" mom that we forget what really matters... You trying to be the perfect mom and loving your little one already makes you perfect. We are too hard on ourselves sometimes... Its ok if the laundry goes undone or you don't want to make dinner. I guess now I'm just kind of rambling.. I just want all the other mommies and even women in general to know that while you CAN do it all you don't have to.. And you don't have to feel bad if you don't want to!

Being a mommy makes you super woman whether you conquer the world or not!

Thanks Michellene! It was such an honor to have you as a guest poster on my blog! AND as a BIG thank you, i'm going to host a giveaway to Princess Couture Designs! This is all on me guys because I love her stuff THAT much. So if you win you will get to spend $15 in her store (shipping not included, i'll cover that seperately!)! And that can REALLY go a long way people! So here are the rules for the giveaway.

1. MANDATORY: Follow my blog and Follow Princess Couture Designs publicly and comment that you did and/or are. (Two entries since you are following two blogs)

2. Comment what your favorite PCD bow is. (one entry)

3. Blog about this contest (TWO entries)

4. Tweet about this contest (one entry)

Please leave a seperate comment for each entry. A winner will be annouced Saturday, November 13, 2010. The giveaway will be closed at midnight on Friday, November 12, 2010.

Guest Blogger Thursday, MIA

So there isn't one, so if you would like to see your blog pimped out on my blog, email me and i would LOVE to have you as a guest poster... the subject can be on anything you like!

Since we don't have a guest poster I'm showing you a very blurry picture of Kinsley. This is Kinsley when i pick her up from daycare. Notice 4 things in this photo please...
1. She's smiling because she sees the Mama!
2. She's walking because she wants to...
3. Hold her baby... the ever present baby... gotta love her!
4. she has no bow... it's always removed at daycare because the other kids pull it out and it gets lost, so she wears it in and wears it out but her head is naked inbetween. Sad, yes, i know... we will all morn the absence of her bow now...

Thank you and goodnight.

Guest Blogger Thursday!

Todays post comes from my good friend Sara. Sara's blog Goodbye Beer Belly, Hello Baby Belly is all about the funny antics of raising a child in Alaska. Sara and I met at North Carolina State University in a Women's Ag Fraternity. Through the year motherhood has brought us closer as we relate and sympathize with each other. She headed out to Alaska to be with her military husband and because she's always up for a good adventure, and BOY does she get it! So enjoy her post and make sure you go to her blog and check out more of the fun!


Babies don't shiver. Did you know that? I didn't.

I've found I don't know a lot of things about the cold. I have lived most of my life in the south, so why would I need to know about the cold? However, now that I live in Alaska, being outside, in all temps, is the cool thing to do (no pun attended!)! Plus, we don't have a lot of sunlight in the winter, so you want to get outside whenever possible so you don't lose your mind being cooped up inside for 7 months straight!

I thought learning to dress myself for the cold was hard...try dressing a tiny little human being that can't tell you if they are too cold or too hot! I have been really stressed out about how to get my baby "winter ready". So, I do what all educated mothers do...I study! I read books, blogs, websites. I go to classes. I talk with other mothers!

All of this studying has been super helpful! I've learned things that I didn't even know, like babies don't shiver! To find out if your baby is too cold or too hot, place your hand on the baby's chest. If the skin is clammy and hot, remove a layer. If the skin is cool, add a layer! The areas of the baby's body that are the most prone to frostbite are the wrists, ankles, and neck! Layer, layer, layer! You should even layer hats! A tight-fitting hat is also super important!

Now that I now how to properly dress my Alaskan baby, I'm ready to try some winter activites with my babe. Like ice skating...just place your baby in their jogging stroller, and skate away! Or cross-country skiing! You can even make your own ghetto pulk sled so that you can strap your baby trailer ski sled to you and ski, ski, ski! How cool is that? (once again, no pun attended!) :)

So, now with all of this new found knowledge, I am ready for the snow! Bring it on!

Thanks Sarah! I can't wait to see what else Alaska has in store for you and Joey!

Guest Blogger Thursday!

Whoa, I'm late today! So our guest blogger today is Modern Mom from How to Survive Life in the Suburbs. I fell in love with reading all about the antics that she deals with that i just KNEW she had to be a guest blogger! She has a great sense of humor and always has a funny story to share. This self proclaimed Modern Mom is a mother, a wife, a good friend, and a person still trying to find peace and enjoy every day. She gave up her beloved career to stay home with her amazing children. She's an inspiration to read about, plus she makes it so much fun!
So without further ado:


Mommy Cliques In Suburbia

School is back in full swing and all the Mommies, they are back! They are putting on their suburban Mom outfits and venturing out of their cars for after school pickups. It's time to say Hello to everyone, and get caught up on those we have lost touch with over the short hot summer. As I float from group to group of Mommies I have a revelation. I am smack in the middle of a jungle of cliques. The Mommies, they have divided!

Some of the way way post high school cliques I noticed this fine fall day:

Granola Bar Mommies
-health food eating, only organic, save the earth, never use a plastic bag, gave up my car and bike freakin everywhere!

Fashionista Mommies
-can only shop "Down Town", are perfectly made up, never chip a nail and wear ONLY designer clothes

Sporty Mommies
-teach their own aerobic classes, wear cute yoga pants and hoodies everywhere, have their own walking clubs and have a date set for their next marathon

The Super Gossips
-self explanatory. Super dangerous. Consider yourself warned.

The Too Familiar with Other Moms Husbands Mommies
-sadly this group is growing. Gross. If he is married, Keep. Your. Hands. Off.

The Slutty Moms
-closely related to the above group.
-wears shorty shorts, enjoys skin tight jeans and low cut bar shirts every day, thinks she is still 19, may have just had some "Summer Surgery". I certainly don't remember those stripper boobs being there last spring. Neither does my Hubby. Ha

The Never Gets Out of Her Car Mommies
-seriously-who are you? Mysterious dark sunglasses, tinted windows, drops off, picks up, no one has ever seen you, you never volunteer for a thing? We don't bite!

The Uber Volunteer Mommies
-have their hands in everything, the ultimate kiss a**, driving the teachers nuts, always at the school Moms.

The I'm Better Then You Mommies
-nose turned up, opinionated but not helpful, pushy, often leads to play dates from hell, always has a job more important then you.
-as a bonus, clearly has a child smarter, prettier, more talented then yours.

The Live Only For My Kids Mommies
-live and die by the kids schedule, come and sit in the car and watch the kids at recess to make sure they are Okay, take them home for every lunch, never do anything for themselves!
(Okay so that is just one Mommy I know of, but thought she deserved a mention!)

The Executive Mommies
-the lawyers, doctors, V.P.'s, head researchers ...the suits

The Give You the Shirt Off their Backs Mommies
-these women would give you anything you need, help you any way they can, stuck for a sitter? sick kid? need a car pool? an ear? lovable, squishy, big hearted Mommies

This list just begins to scratch the surface of the Mommy cliques. There are probably as many different cliques as there are people.

What I have learned. If you are going to survive life in the Suburbs, you have to accept that there are some super scary Mama's out there. Avoid them! The good news, it turns out the suburbs are also full of some of the most sincere caring and loving women on the planet. Women just like you. Struggling to get through this life, and enjoy a little laughter along the way.


Did you like what you read, go and check her out on her blog and Twitter!

Guest Blogger Thursday, Heir to Blair Edition

Have you ever never met someone and yet you feel like you know them, or had them change your life? That is what Heir to Blair is to me. Beth Anne is an incredibly witty girl that has a real talent for writing and inviting you into her life and family. She has southern sass, an amazing husband, and the cutest little boy! But despite her touching and often hysterical moments she also reminds us that she is a real person with real problems. And her main problem is one that many women suffer from, yet not many talk about it. And often, since it's not spoken of, many don't know how to recognize it or how to deal with and support someone who has it. This great IT is postpartum depression. I want to thank Beth Anne for taking the time to write about this very personal subject and I pray that we can all be as brave as she is being and has been.

So without futher ado Beth Anne from Heir to Blair

About 15% of women experience a postpartum mood disorder (PPMD) after giving birth. Shocking? Yeah, it shocks me, too. It shocks me how low that number is, considering the radical changes a woman goes through on physical, emotional, & chemical levels. Her body is split in half, her hormones are experiencing more chaos than a Lady Gaga concert, & she's catching (maybe) 3 hours of shut-eye in a 24 hour time span. But it's not about sleep. Or healing lady-bits. It's a mind-altering medical condition that has horrifically low awareness. Non-believers tell us to get more sleep. To "buck up" & take responsibility for the life we brought into this world. They tell us to wait for our hormones to "level out."
We suffer from overwhelming despair, insignificance, & lack of worth with postpartum depression. We fear leaving the house, leaving the baby, or even touching the baby with postpartum anxiety. Obsessive thoughts of harming the child, ourselves, the dog - these create a reign of terror that is postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder. & that small portion that experience the terror that is postpartum psychosis - visual & auditory hallucinations, delusions, & a complete detachment from reality.
& we, sufferers of postpartum mood disorders, have something to say back to the world.
A good nap will not snap us out of this. Sleep is great. By all means, offer a new mother (especially one with a PMDD) the chance to rest. But it's not a cure.
We can't pray our way out of the depression. That is simply insulting. Don't say it.
It's not about our "new body" & inability to fit into pre-pregnancy jeans. In fact, dieting & hypoglycemia can exacerbate symptoms.
Not everyone needs anti-depressants & medication. & more importantly, be wary of any doctor/practitioner that automatically prescribes meds with no other therapies or follow-ups.
But if medication is needed, there is no shame. I take a little blue pill every day - it is simply better living through modern chemistry.
We can deal with motherhood. The most hurtful thing ever insinuated was that I could not handle being a mother. That I was too inept & selfish to "deal." This was the root of my worry & depression, so hearing it out loud from someone else nearly shattered my heart.
We are good mothers & we love our children. I loved my child so much that I was willing to take pills everyday, agonize in therapy, & even admit myself to a hospital. Because I wanted nothing more than to give my son a healthy momma.
Having a postpartum mood disorder does not mean we will hurt our babies. The media LOVES to sensationalize postpartum depression & psychosis. But we're not all Andrea Yates. Most infanticides are the result of postpartum psychosis, which is a rare PPMD, & occur in roughly 5% of postpartum psychosis cases. We are not killers. & more importantly, we could eliminate that 5% & stigma with a little more awareness, education, & understanding.
In fact, there are so many "levels" of PPMD severeness. The women who suffer deeply are crying out for understanding. But the women who do not have it as "severe?" They do not suffer any less. They are hurting, scared, & angry just as much as I was sitting in my hospital room. They are not "lucky" because they don't require high doses of medication. They need love & support & the confidence to share their stories, too.
Above all, the greatest thing you can know is that we will get better. This is not forever. With the proper care, time, & understanding, we will be whole again. It has been a year long road for me, but I am finally back on the road to recovery. (I don't know who is more thankful - me or my husband.) I am so thankful to my incredibly supportive family & my amazingly wise psychiatrist. & my husband...I have no words. I'm not whole again & there is still a long road in front of me. But I am getting there. With a little more heart & strength than I had before.

Thanks Beth Anne for your story. Hugs to you and your beautiful family!

Guest Blogger Thursday!

Ya'll might remember me mentioning Stephanie here where i was a guest poster on her blog Confessions of a City Eater. Well now i have the pleasure of hosting Stephanie on MY blog and i couldn't be more excited! As i told you before I just love keeping up with her blog because her daughter is beyond cute (not to mention stylish) and i just love following her Empowering Motherhood series! So here's Stephanie trying to give a little heart felt advice and direction to her 18 year old self. Sometime i know we all wish we could do!

Letter to My 18 Year Old Self.

Dear Stephanie,

Do you remember when you were younger and the summers felt like an eternity? When you used to sleep until 1pm? When Christmas couldn’t get here soon enough? Do you remember how time had no meaning? It just meant slow and slower. You spent a lot of time waiting. Just waiting. Waiting for things to change. Waiting for your 18^th birthday so you can move out of your mother’s house. Waiting for your 21^st birthday so you could drink legally. Waiting for something exciting to happen. Waiting for that moment where you realized that you were, in fact, someone special and extraordinary.

You had big plans for life. You want to be a professional. You wanted to be all I-am-woman-hear-me-roar! You wanted to have a career. You wanted to be a lawyer. You wanted to be financially independent. You wanted to be able to take care of yourself because you felt you couldn’t rely on anyone else to take care of you. You told yourself you would have a career first and then, only then, a husband and a baby. You wanted to be able to survive financially if you had a child and ended up getting a divorce. Your timeline went like this: Bachelor’s at 22, JD at 25, marriage at 30, baby at 32. It was also so simple. So perfect.

Then. Then he walks into your life. This man will flip your world and change everything. This man will be tall, dark, brooding, and in search of fulfillment. When he tells you he “feels empty inside” something will stir deep within you. You will want to be that something. You will be drawn to him like a magnet compulsively moves toward another magnet. Suddenly, your perfectly constructed timeline is just that: a construction in your mind. It is a thing of the past because you have found The One. You will still have your goals but marriage will jump to the top of your list. Professional achievements will come second to personal achievements because you realize being in love makes you happier than any job ever could.

Being in love will mean leaving your Miami life behind to follow your heart personified. It means moving to Boston for four years with no plans other than being with the one you love. Being in love has taught you true happiness and you decide nothing is worth doing if it’s not done with passion. You will spend years trying to figure out your professional life. Don’t be surprised by how often you ask yourself “what do I want to be when I grow up?” You will start law school but you will not finish. Love will make you move again. Love will stand between you and law school but you won’t dwell on it for long because it’s love after all. And this love will give you something law school or professional accomplishments can never give you: A Child.

You will love being pregnant. You will hate the first three months of life with the baby girl you name Catarina. You will write her letters every week of your pregnancy, every week and month of her life. You will do this so you won’t forget what you went through but mostly so that she will know who you were when you first became her mother and how much you loved her despite what you felt. You will do it so that she knows YOU. So that one day when she is pregnant with her first child she will feel more connected to you. After those first three months you will love being a mother. You will realize how ironic life is: your personal life is wonderful, but your professional life is one big question mark.

Your real timeline will look like this: Bachelor's at 21, marriage at 23, master’s at 24, baby at 26. I know it might not seem like it, but you will be ok with this. You will realize that it is ok to rely on others and that it is ok to not have your life go according to your plans. Plans are plans. They are not set in stone. There are no certainties in life anyway so you rely less and less on your plans. You will realize that being a mother is actually the career you have been searching for. You will feel passionate about it and, for the first time in your life, you will feel like you are good at something.

Life will take a detour and it may not be what you expected or hoped for but I promise the life you will live will be so much better than anything you could have ever planned. Life is meant to be enjoyed and lived and, trust me, you will soar on the high that is a life well lived.

Try not to stress out too much about the direction of your life. So much changes for you in such little time. Enjoy the ride and remember how fiercely you can love and feel happiness because it’s those feelings that will get you through the tough times ahead. Tears will flow, your heart will break, and you will feel disappointment like never before, but love will keep you hopeful. It will keep you moving forward with your head held high and a smile permanently on your face.

Always yours,

Stephanie

I did a guest post!

Check it out over here at Confessions of a City Eater!

Confessions of a City Eater is written by Stephanie. She has a great blog where you get to oggle at her adorable daughter Cati (and her many outfits), try new recipes with her, and now Empowering Motherhood!

She's a pretty cool chick and THANK YOU so much for host my answers to your soul searching questions!

So head over to her blog and check out my answers and so much more!

Guest Blogger Thursday!

This weeks post came to me via in inquiry for my review of their post. Emily Patterson is a Communications Coordinator for Primrose Schools. Now you might be thinking...Great, so what is Primrose Schools? Well it's school for early childhood education that concentrates on a balanced learning curriculum. They place special emphasis on literacy instruction, hands-on learning activities, building a foundation for understanding mathematics, the integration of technology to support learning, and most importantly, on the development of confident, happy children.

There isn't a Primrose School in my area but I found learning about what they have to offer very interesting, especially in this fast paced very competitive world!

The following paper from Emily is about sign language, which I found very interesting since I've been trying to teach Kinsley some sign language and she's finally getting it! I mean I can't ask her if she's hot, needs to poop, or is just made at the world. BUT i CAN ask her if she wants more to eat, if she's all done, say bye bye, eat, and milk. I'm working on fine tuning these and adding in thank you to the vocab too!

So without further ado,

Acquiring Sign Language

Early Childhood Education – Acquiring Sign Language

One of the keys to surviving in a tilted economic system in which opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living will be limited is versatility – and the ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.

At the same time, a growing shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language has led to more career opportunities – and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.

Signing Before They Can Speak

A great deal of research has clearly demonstrated that the early years – ages 2 to five – are the best time to educate children in different modes of communication and language. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well.

This is not as odd as you may think. As you know, many indigenous peoples around the world, including American Indian nations, have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language. Some paleontologists and anthropologists theorize that Neanderthals – who apparently lacked the vocal mechanism to produce many spoken words – depended a great deal upon hand gestures to communicate.

In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. An article published in the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:

"...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, children
can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces
frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)

The author also cites study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development demonstrating that young children who are taught sign language at an early age actually develop better verbal skills as they get older. The ability to sign has also helped parents in communicating with autistic children; one parent reports that "using sign language allowed her to communicate with her [autistic] son and minimized his frustration...[he now] has an advanced vocabulary and excels in math, spelling and music" (Glarion, 2003).

The Best Time To Start

Not only does early childhood education in signing give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond – in addition to giving children a solid foundation for learning a skill that will serve them well in the future. The evidence suggests that the best time to start learning ASL is before a child can even walk – and the implications for facilitating the parent-child relationship are amazing.

Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas

Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the network of Georgia child care facilities belonging to the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose child care schools. Primrose Schools are located in 16 states throughout the U.S. and are dedicated to delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum throughout their preschools.

Guest Blogger Thursday: Mr. Mom!

I LOVE this guest blogger as his place in life is near and dear to me. He is a stay at home DAD! How cool is that! Some of you might know that my own Dad was a Stay At Home Dad too! He stayed home with my brother and i until i was almost in Kindergarten. It was AWESOME! He made the neighborhood blueberry pancakes, built us a fort on telephone polls (meaning, HUGE), and just had fun with us. Many children rarely get to see their Dad's so how lucky were we and how lucky is Liam?!?!

So I just KNEW that i had to have Nils guest post on here, so i hope ya'll enjoy and be sure to check out his Blog Being Mr. Mom!

The Power of Sleep

A week ago I was more than tired from taking care of our little tooth factory. My wife was home from work for a few days and told me after we put the little guy to bed, that I should go to sleep too. This was before 8pm and very unusual for me to go to bed that early. Usually we would get stuff done after our son goes to bed between 7 and 8.
I actually took my better half's suggestion and went straight to bed...
The best part of it all was, that my wonderful wife let me sleep in the next morning! Oh heaven...
I was so damn tired that I didn't even wake up at the "usual" time my little man gets up.
So I slept about 12 hours and after I had breakfast I was still tired. Or maybe tired again?
Believe it or not, I went back to bed and slept 2 more hours! WOW! This was new and so needed...
After all that sleep and a hot shower I felt like NEW! I haven't felt like this in a long, long time.

And I still feel the positive effects today!

My wife is gone for days in a row due to her job, what puts me in 24/7 mode at these days. It's especially stressfull when the little man is teething (which he has been doing for the last 8 months). He has exactly as many teeth as month he is old. 14... What can I say?

We always put our little man first and my wife and I are a great team. "What's gonna work? Team work!" ;-) But everyone needs a break every once in a while and we need to remind ourselves to take it! It's really important and so refreshing and helpful for the days to come.

I love being a Dad and everything what comes with it! :-) Sometimes we just need a little rest, or a little bit more sleep (if possible of course! I know!), or just a break from it all to function, "normally".

Ok everybody, get some sleep, so you can enjoy your family refreshed...

Mr. Mom
(Any misspelled words you may find, are yours to keep) ;-)

Guest Blogger Thursday!

So i've decided to start TRYING to have a guest post every Thursday (GBT) for ya'll, because i know i can get old. So to kick us off on the right foot Kit from Blogging Dangerously has graciously allowed me to re-post this post that she wrote for another favorite of mine (and a future guest blogger) The Heir to Blair. I'm so excited about this because it really helps with a oh so sensitive subject that, well my family does NOT want to read if it's from me! So without further ado...

Intimacy in Marriage

Sometimes I’m not sure if my readers are more shocked by the WAY I talk about sex on my blog – or by the fact that I actually HAVE sex and 4 young children under 7. The resounding comment on my blog is, “I will try to remember these things in case my husband/wife and I EVER have sex again!”

And you know what? I get it. For a few years there it felt like the only time my husband and I had sex was when we were actively trying to get pregnant. And after the second or third night of “trying” we were ready to wait a month until the next window.

Sometimes the most intimate we were was just leaving the other one alone in the bedroom to make magic alone and then get some much needed sleep. We weren’t going for movie-style intimacy, we were just trying to hang onto some semblance of our sexuality.

After my 4^th daughter was born it got much more difficult. First of all we had 3 young children who were keeping us hopping during the day and a newborn who was keeping us awake all night. Then, YEARS of breastfeeding had taken their toll on my estrogen level and I was just NOT IN THE MOOD. And when I WAS in the mood my body wouldn’t cooperate so it hurt – pain is definitely NOT an aphrodisiac!

I talked to my doctor and she gave me an estrogen based lubricant that worked wonders. First of all it helped during sex but then the estrogen was absorbed and helped me get to the point that I no longer needed it. If you think that you have a physical issue (pain, or anything that’s not like it used to be) please ask your doctor.

Once we’d resolved that issue we ran straight into another issue – timing. I’m a night person. I have a lot of things to do during the day and I can’t relax completely until they’re done and everything is put away and things are in their proper place and my face is washed and my teeth are brushed, etc.

My husband is more laid back but when he’s tired he’s TIRED. Bedtime for him is LIGHTSOUT, no talking, keep your hands to yourself time. So you can see what I mean about timing issues. Day after day he would walk into my home office and get shot down. Night after night I would roll toward him only to have him roll away.

And it was okay, our marriage was strong enough. But after a while I realized that it didn’t HAVE to be. We didn’t have to have a lackluster sex life because we had a strong marriage. Sure, on the weeks where we all came down with a stomach bug it was good to know that sex could take a back burner but during the weeks when things were going well it was equally good to know that I was married to a man who could curl my toes – TWICE.

We started trying to be more flexible. I realized that if I was in the mood during the day we could squeeze some time together into 15 minutes – certainly less time than I was allowed for lunch – and easily shorter than a nap. We started going to bed earlier.

And the more sex we managed to have, the more we thought about sex, and the more sex we ended up having. There were weeks when we had sex 5 times – and they were followed by weeks where we didn’t have sex at all. And then there were weeks after weeks after weeks when we had sex twice. There was really no pressure to keep score but the point was that we were in the habit of having sex instead of the habit of NOT having sex. And while our marriage may have been strong enough to withstand NOT having sex, it was nice that it didn’t HAVE TO. There was no pressure to have newlywed sex but it was nice to be enjoying my body with a man who could curl my toes - TWICE.

Now if you are interested in becoming a Guest Blogger for me feel free to contact me! You don't even have to BE a blogger (though if you are i'll pimp out your blog on here!). You can talk about anything! Adventures in teething, your most recent trip to the bar, or how you met your Honey!
Just let me know or please say yes when i ask!

thanks!