Wrapping it Up - Volume 9

Time to wrap up another summer week! Sarah was back and I am just about back on track. I caught up (mostly) on writing, I vacuumed the girls' rooms and got the outgrown clothing up into the attic (but don't ask about the bathrooms) and I started prepping for the affiliate conference. I leave a week from today. Last time I was at a conference I was working with the National Choir and it was full of music teachers. Judging from the amount of meetings I've already set up, this is going to be a very different experience!

Highlights of the Week

My twin piece was up on Huffington Post!

This was a completely surreal experience for me. To see my byline was just incredible. It really made me feel like a writer!

I'd been warned that the commenters on that site are a rare breed who seem to thrive on button pushing and are quick to start wars. However, probably because of the kind of piece it was, most people were generally respectful. There was one mini name calling war over the need for ultrasounds, but it died down quickly. Overall it was a very positive experience. I've gotten a great deal of feedback, and that made me incredibly happy that I'd written something that people connected to.

I shared two posts in honor of World Breastfeeding Week. One was a post from the archives about how important a support system is, and how a side benefit of nursing my babies was making lasting friends.

The second was in response to a comment war I got sucked into.

Ironically, this was the day my commenting system went down, and I lost a bunch of thoughtful, insightful comments. So I'm sharing them here!

Finally, on Friday, I talked about our experience growing and playing with water beads. I'm happy to report that we've gotten to play with them over the weekend with no meltdowns whatsoever. Hooray!

Noteworthy Happenings

Like I said, Sarah was back. I spent one glorious afternoon writing while she played with the girls, another less glorious afternoon cleaning their rooms, and a third running errands with Reagan (who was battling an ear infection and some tummy trouble) while Sarah and Madison went to her swimming lesson. Madison did great without me and even went underwater!

No worries about Reagan by the way. She's a tricky kid to diagnose because she is a horrible teether and she's cutting a molar. So her fussiness can usually be attributed to that. I was concerned because her eyes were red, so I took her in. Diagnosis: massive double ear infection. Whoops. She's much better now, but her stomach is not happy on the antibiotic they gave her. Probiotics are our friend.

Even though I'm not nursing anymore, we attended my old group and Madison got to lead the little parade! We spent time with friends, had snacks, and we actually won a raffle prize! I went for a little toy pack that I figured the girls could easily split, but it turned out I really should have gotten the Hippity Hop. Another of our friends selected that as their prize and Madison had a fit when she realized we weren't bringing it home.

Madison also had her last dance class before she switches studios in September. I'm happy that our commute is a good twenty minutes shorter and that there's a good chance that some preschool and library classmates will also be in dance class, but Madison is going to miss Miss Alicia so much. So far, she's in denial that Miss Alicia isn't just coming with us to the new studio.

Facebook

Here's some of what I was up to on Facebook.

Nose wiping and butt wiping topped this week's arguments. I feel those things need wiping. My children disagree.

A very eye opening conversation

And of course, a NickMom picture to accompany.

Most of you agree that this was even BETTER than telling a woman she has lipstick on her teeth. I agree. I vow to ALWAYS inform someone if they have stickers on their butt.

 

Just to follow up - today was worse. MUCH worse. I was out for my "Mom's time off". I had my laptop at Starbucks for a while, then I ran some errands. Halfway through my Target stop - my LAST stop of the afternoon, someone pointed out that the BACK of my pants was ripped. As in, ripped. Not a seam, a tear in the fabric. That exposed my entire backside.

I am never going out in public again.

Or I am, but I will be that incredibly self-conscious person who is a bit obsessive about checking her clothes every minute or so.

Didn't tweet at all this week. My phone was acting up a bit and Twitter seemed to make it angry. Thankfully it seems to have calmed down. If you don't already follow me on Twitter, you can find me @meredithtomommy.

Blogkeeping

No real blogkeeping this week. However, I will slowly be moving all my blog posts on Facebook to my blog page, and off my personal page. For most of you, this won't make any sort of difference at all. But if we're Facebook friends and you've been getting all your post notifications from my personal account, please know I plan to slowly stop sharing most posts there within the next month or so. If you want to make sure you're getting all my posts, pictures, and humorous statuses, make sure you like my Facebook page. And because Facebook can be kind of a jerk and will only show you some of what I post, make sure that when you're on my page you ask to receive all notifications.

I don't know about you, but I don't like Facebook deciding what is and isn't important.

Have a great week!