I love first birthdays. And Traveler? He loves first birthday cupcakes.

For more Wordless Wednesday head over to 5 Minutes for Mom!

I’ve been so unplugged lately from the whole online world. It hasn’t been intentional. I’ve just been a bit…preoccupied. Kai started back to school. Traveler is on the move. And Ivy has been keeping me busy with all her crazy shenanigans.

Since I’ve been away I’ve been super productive, though. And here’s the proof.

Things I’ve done since being unplugged from my computer:

1. Talked to my kids in person. With words.

2. Laundry. Sort of. (I know I did at least one load about a week ago. That counts, right?)

3. Slept.

4. Chased a very mobile 9-month-old throughout the house and realized just how many choking hazards we seem to have around here. This place is in need of some serious baby proofing.

5. Watched the new season of Celebrity Rehab.

6. Broken up 65,254 bickering fights between Kai and Ivy.

7. Developed quite the obsession with Teavana teas thanks to a very cool Christmas present from my husband. It’s my new favorite thing!

8. Started going to a new women’s Bible study where they provide childcare so I can talk to grown-up mommies during the day.

9. Rejoined our gym. (Though we still haven’t gone yet.)

10. Learned to play the flute. (Just kidding. Thought I’d see if you were still paying attention.)

Okay, so I’ve actually only been “productive” if you define that as sleeping, talking, and watching TV. Baby steps, y’all. Baby steps.

I could say I’m swamped with holiday plans (I am) or busy baking and spending time with my kids (which I also am) but the truth is even with all that going on I’d still find a way to sneak online and blog, Twitter, and Facebook while everyone was sleeping.

So why aren’t I blogging, Twittering or Facebooking like a mad woman? Because Ivy spilled chicken noodle soup all over our modem thus ending our internet service until it gets fixed.

So, until they de-noodle my modem I’ll be confined to blogging/Twittering/Facebooking from my Blackberry. And I’m thinking I’ll use this as and excuse to unplug from the internet and enjoy some uninterrupted famly time…

Yesterday was Kai’s kindergarten Christmas party. The Christmas party that I apparently signed up to organize on my own. I must have been drunk that day. Or insane.

But, in charge I was. And I made the best of it. I was nervous since (despite being a homeschooler myself) I am totally terrified of other homeschool moms. They seem so smart. And organized. And not at all the type of people who would go out in public without a bra on. But, I put on my big girl panties and went with it. I even picked up adorable and appropriate penguin cupcakes and not the baby Jesus in the manger cupcakes I wanted to make when I found out it was a “No Santa Allowed” party. It was (shockingly) a success.

I will say, though, that class parties are rife with blogging material. That’s right, I said it. Rife.

Because yesterday in the middle of the party I had a most unexpected encounter. It was, in a word, spectacularly stunning. Okay, that’s two words. But, still. It was.

I was standing by a couple of the kid’s tables and holding Traveler when a very sweet, very well-dressed, and very WASP-y mom came over to fawn over my boy. I smiled when she came to see him. Fawning women is part of the territory when you have a delicious and cuddly little boy.

Very WASP-y mom with an “old money” Southern accent: “Oh my Lord. What a precious little boy. May I hold him? Will he let me? He is just too cute not to cuddle.”

Me: “Of course! He loves to be held.”

Her: “What a cutie. Such pretty skin. You know, my daughter just keeps begging and begging me to adopt a black baby. A black baby! How funny is that? She wants one so bad. I think she thinks it would be fun to play with an afro. And there are plenty of them out there to be adopted. But, I just can’t convince my husband.”

Me: (Stunned silence.)

Her: “I just love those eyes and skin. Seriously, he is a doll.”

Me: (Wondering if I really just heard her talk about getting a “black baby” for her daughter like I talked about getting a kitten for the girls for Christmas.)

Her: “Here you go. Enjoy that sweet boy!”

Me: (No, seriously. Did she just say that? Out loud? To me? I am so blogging this. And also I may be too shocked to even be offended. Maybe. Maybe not. But either way I am so blogging this.)

I honestly didn’t know quite what to say. But I do know that next time I go to a school party I am totally wearing a wire.

I haven’t had a chance to brag publicly about my super cool rock star sister, have I? Y’all, she is the bomb. The bomb. I’ve gotten a chance to listen to the songs she’ll be releasing after the first of the year and I can’t wait to share them with everyone.

And just in time for the holidays she’s got some great FREE Christmas downloads on her site. Head over to Eddysthename.com and check out  her music. Download her free Christmas music and be sure to check back after the first of year because she’s got something really cool in the wings. You won’t want to miss it!

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is this a boy thing? To be up and cruising the house on two little legs at the tender age of 7-months-old? Because  neither of my girls were quite this accomplished in the mobility department so early and I wasn’t prepared to be chasing this little guy so soon!

Even still, I think he looks darn cute doing it!

For more Wordless/Wordful Wednesday head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and 7 Clown Circus!

We had the chance to practice Thanksgiving last weekend and I’m saving the recap for my Wordless/Wordful Wednesday post, but in the meantime I thought I’d share my Top Ten Favorite Recipes for Thanksgiving. (I forgot to mention that if you click on the names it will take you to the recipe! Enjoy!)

1. Buttermilk Pie. This is hands down my favorite pie of all time. I make it for every family get together and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. So good.

2. Georgia Bird. Thomas’ signature Turkey recipe. It’s sweet & juicy and just plain delicious. Plus, the meat is so yummy you never have to worry about the left-overs being bland and boring.

3. Pumpkin Curry Soup. My mom makes this almost every year for Thanksgiving and it is always a huge hit. I love the curry in it and it’s great with leftovers.

4. Pumpkin Dip: This is a new favorite of mine since a good friend brought it to Thanksgiving Practice this year. She served it with green apples and it was a fantastic appetizer. It is amazingly good and was popular with kids & adults!

5. Country Apple Pie: This was the first apple pie recipe I ever used and it is the one I always go back to. It’s always popular at family gatherings and the creamy filling is delicious!

6. Cranberry-Pear Sauce: I made this when I was put in charge of bringing Cranberry jelly for my first married Thanksgiving and it has been a favorite of mine since. I usually add just a little dry white wine while it’s cooking and the flavor turns out really nice.

7. Brussels Sprouts w/Vinegar Glazed Red Onions: I don’t know how you feel about Brussels Sprouts but I love them. And if you’re a fan like me, then you’ve got to try Martha Stewart’s yummy recipe!

8. Mulled Wine: Mulled wine always reminds me of the time I spent studying in Cambridge in college. In the evenings we’d go to see Shakespeare performed in the garden and we’d be drinking mulled wine to stay warm. 9 years later it is still a favorite cold weather treat for me.

9. Creamy Corn: This is another recipe I stole from my mom and that I’ve been making for years. It is a sure-fire way to make corn completely unhealthy but also completely delicious!

10. Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing: What Thanksgiving recipe list would be complete without a stuffing recipe? This one from Martha Stewart is super yummy and the sausage makes it hearty and with just a little bit of kick.

So there you have it. A few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Do you have a favorite you’d like to share? Feel free to leave it or a link to it in the comments! And head over to Oh Amanda’s place to see what others are saying for Top Ten Tuesday!

I hate the word Miscarry. I hate that it sounds like something I’ve done. Like this baby was there, was inside, was growing and I miscarried it. As if there was some other way I should have been carrying this baby all along and I just messed it up somehow.

I hate it because I already find that I’m blaming myself for this anyways. Was it because I was breastfeeding while I was pregnant? Was it all those jokes I made about how crazy it was going to be to be pregnant 2 years in a row? Was it because I was embarrassed? Or because I hesitated in being happy right in the beginning? Is it possible that if I had loved this little one more in the beginning it would have stuck?

I know the answers to these questions. I know it is no one’s fault. I know it happened because it happened and nothing would have been able to change it. But for some reason that doesn’t stop these thoughts from climbing, unwanted, into my brain when I let my guard down.

I went to the doctor on Monday and found out that this surprise baby was gone. That he or she was just no longer there. There was no drama. No bleeding. No pain. No fanfare. It felt a little like some terrible biological practical joke. Now you see the baby. Now you don’t.

I’m sad. And heart sick. I’m confused and frustrated. I wasn’t planning on this, but I was looking forward to it. We all were. And now I feel emptied of something I never even knew I could have wanted.

On Monday after finding out we had most likely lost the baby (blood work confirmed it on Tuesday) I threw myself into helping Kai with her Bible verse memorization. I got goosebumps the first time I read it.

“To you, Oh Lord, I lift up my soul; I trust in you, Oh my God.” Psalm 25:1

It was the perfect verse for me that day. And I’ve found myself reciting it over and over and over these last two days. I’m trusting that there was a reason for this even though it makes no sense to me. Why would I conceive such a surprise baby only to lose it a few weeks later?

I know I’m blessed. I know that there are many women who struggle through pregnancy loss over and over again. And I feel selfish and greedy for being so emotional since I’m blessed to be able to snuggle on the sofa with my two big girls and my baby boy. I also know loss is loss and I’m going to allow myself to grieve this and not apologize for being sad.

And even though I’m going to allow myself this sadness, I’m going to remember what I have. And I’m going to cherish them and hold them tight and be thankful. I’m also going to be holding tight to Psalm 25:1 because I have a feeling that verse didn’t find me on accident this week…

This post was originally published October 3, 2008. It’s one of my favorites so I thought I’d share it again.

Did I mention that Ivy’s teacher asked me to bring in a chicken to show the class today as part of their unit on Farms and Farm Animals? She did. And for some insane reason I agreed to do it.

Yet another of those “What on Earth was I thinking?” moments I have come to know and love.

It started out fine. The chicken was tucked sweetly beneath my arm. The children were excited. Then, the teacher asked to hold it. And the chicken must have realized that this was someone she didn’t know ’cause about 20 seconds into being held in the teacher’s lap she bolted. The teacher tried to grab her back but only succeeded in pulling out a handful of tail feathers and freaking her out more.

Of course, the children being in a circle were pretty much well-positioned for the greatest amount of freakout potential. The chicken half-ran half-flew across the room right into Ivy’s lap. Which set off a scream that terrified both the chicken and the other children who basically perceived the flight into Ivy’s lap as an attack that would be targeting each of them next. The more the children ran and screamed the more terrified the poor hen was. She flew, they screamed. Then she got scared by the screaming and ran away and they got scared by her running and they screamed some more.

God help us. It was insane. There was screaming and crying and shrieking and me chasing this chicken across the room and finally grabbing it and clutching it in a death grip beneath my arm.

Afterwards, the kids were still screaming about how much they didn’t like chickens and begging me to put her back in the cage and I’m pretty certain that they will all go home and tell their parents about the “Giant Chicken of Death” that Ivy’s mom brought to school today.

Guess the parents can pretty much count on chicken nightmares tonight…