Well, I had intended to schedule something (anything) to fill the last, oh, 5 days, but I dropped the ball. In a major way. I mean, I didn’t even let you all know how thankful I am that you stop by here and read about my crazy life on a daily basis.

(And I am, BTW, very very thankful for my commenting blogger friends and quiet lurking friends who come by to see what’s going on at Land of Lovings!)

Instead, I hung out with family, largely ignored my blog and Twitter and Google Reader, finished Twilight, started New Moon, and ate WAY too much food.

But, the good news is I’m feeling relaxed and revitalized and I have lots of fun stuff to post about and I promise to be a better mommy blogger through the rest of the holiday season.

And, just wait until you see my Total Truth Tuesday this week. Sweet Merciful Lord, it is guaranteed to make you feel like a domestic goddess compared to me. I swear!

If you know me in real life, you’ve probably asked me the question everyone asks a pregnant woman as far along as I am, “So, have you guys come up with a name?”

And, I can guarantee you that you’ve gotten this answer from me, “Um, well, it’s just been really hard for us to settle on a boy name. I had plenty of girl names, but boy names are just harder for me.”

That was true for a while. I did have only girl names picked out. But, that is not entirely true anymore. And, it’s high time I fess up.

‘Cause I do have a boy name picked out. Have had one for a couple of months now. And every time I go into my little “speech” about not exactly knowing a name yet, my husband looks at me like I’ve completely lost my mind. Because he knows the real truth and he can’t figure out why on earth I keep saying that.

We’re not the type to keep secrets about the name. I have never had any intention of keeping a secret because, well, I am notoriously horrible at keeping secrets. I don’t even like to keep secrets. And even if I were going to I’d just tell people who asked that we’re keeping it on the DL. But, I don’t. Instead I’m evasive slightly untruthful telling a total lie.

So, here is the real truth. We have picked a boy name. And it’s one that I absolutely love. Thomas came up with it and it is just so perfect. But, it is a bit…unconventional. I mean, we’re not naming him Moon Unit or Dweezil but it’s just got the potential to be received by blank stares and crinkled up noses. I’m not keeping it quiet because I’m embarrassed of it because that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m actually just hesitant to tell anyone because I love the name so much I can’t bear to have anyone say anything ugly about it.

When we picked Arema Kai and Ivy’s name pretty much none of my family liked either. They just thought they were too different. In fact, one family member (and you know who you are) thought Ivy sounded a bit too much like the stage name for an exotic dancer. Poison Ivy, she said. She joked that I was limiting her career choices by giving her that name.

And, this name is only slightly more different than those names. So, I’ve kept it quiet and been hesitant to reveal it to anyone. I guess I’m just thinking that once they see a cute little baby and we announce the name they’ll be less likely to stomp all over the name. They’ll be respectful and kind and, you know, make fun of it behind my back. That is something I can deal with.

That does beg the question, though, what is your policy/procedure on naming babies and name sharing before the birth? Have you chosen to share and regretted or kept things secret rather than subject yourself to all those unsolicited opinions?

I got the opportunity a couple weeks ago to check out and review Mobistories. Mobistories are virtual books for kids that you can buy and have stored on your computer, iPod, or iPhone. I kept meaning to try them, but was behind so much on everything that I forgot. Not exactly a shining endorsement of my reviewing skills, but I’m just keeping it real, people. That’s the way it goes in this mommy’s life sometimes.

Anyways, this week we were refinancing our house and had no one to watch the girls when we went to the closing. So, guess what distraction my scattered mind came up with? You’ve got it, Mobistories.

Okay, so truthfully, I was a bit skeptical. I wasn’t sure a “virtual” book would be able to hold their attention for long enough. My girls do seem to have the attention span of one of those cute little spider monkeys that come dance for pennies with that organ grinder at the mall. You know what I’m talking about, right?

But, I downloaded 4 of the Mobistories books and had them to keep the girls occupied. And, amazingly, they loved them so much they kept asking all day to watch different ones.

They are pretty cool, too, because they come up full screen on your computer and have the printed words (just like a book) but with narration and music. I love the subject matter, too, because I was able to get one about “stranger danger,” one about jazz, and even one about conservation. In case you’re curious which ones I got, I dowloaded Ella Elephant (all about jazz and learning to scat), Stranger Danger (informative and not scary for kids), Salsa for Kittens & Puppies (a latin themed book), and All The Way to the Ocean (teaching kids about why littering is bad).

I actually really loved that they have lots of different books with varied cultural origins and even different narrators’ accents.

And the best thing? Mobistories is offering each reader a chance to try $10 worth of books for free! Head over there, pick out some books, and then just enter the coupon code 211A at checkout for your free books. This isn’t a free trial either. It is a full-fledged giveaway so you have nothing to lose by doing it. They even have a free book available for download, too, so be sure and add that to your order! Do it soon, though, because the offer expires December 31st, 2008.

If you end up going over and getting some, come let me know what you think. I’m definitely planning on getting a couple more to add to my iPod to have on hand for those days I’m sitting in the doctor’s office with two unruly bored preschoolers and I’d love to know what other books you’ve tried!

Here’s what happens when you teach your children to pray. They want to pray about everything. They ask God LOTS of questions and have the most random (and adorable) conversations with Him. And since you teach your kids that God is a friend who loves them, they don’t see any reason why they can’t talk to Him all the time. You know, just like any other friend. And so they do. Which may or may not lead to some crazy moments in public.

Case in point:

The other day while shopping for Thomas’ birthday present at the local electronics store, Kai looked at me and asked:

“Hey, Mom? How are grocery carts made?”

Since I don’t have a degree in engineering, I couldn’t answer this question. The nice gentleman standing beside us glanced over and gave me a sympathetic smile. I stumbled through an explanation that I didn’t know and we’d have to look it up when we got home. Drama avoided. Or so I thought.

But, Kai had other ideas.

“I know!” she exclaimed “Let’s ask God how they’re made. He’ll know.”

(By the way, why do my children have to make embarrassing requests at FULL VOLUME when we’re in public?)

“Great idea, Kai,” I said. “You can do that when we get home.”

“No, Mom. You do it. Now. Ask God how grocery carts are made.”

I tried to explain that I was picking out a gift for her Dad and would do it later. What I really wanted to say is that it is not really “socially acceptable” to have conversations with God about grocery cart engineering in the aisle of an electronics store. But, I didn’t go into it. Instead, I looked around (noting the proximity of the man who had been eavesdropping earlier) and quietly and as discreetly as possible said,

“Um…God? How are grocery carts made?”

Kai impatiently (and loudly) asked, “What did He say Mom? Did God tell you how grocery carts are made?”

Having heard my question for God uttered out loud, the man standing near us changed his expression from a sympathetic smile to an amused and slightly alarmed stare. But, I quietly explained to Kai that God told me He’d explain it to me later. Which, on a side note, made me worried that I’d get struck by lightning for lying to my daughter about what God had “told” me.

But, Kai yelled excitedly,

“Wait, Mom! I think God is telling me right now in my ear!”

Both I and the fellow shopper near us would have dropped dead from shock had she actually then been able to give an explanation of what God “told” her. But, luckily, she just smiled about what God was telling her and never asked again about the origins of grocery carts.

And, the man beside us, got to walk away thinking he’d had the chance to shop beside real life religious fanatics. I’m sure that story got told to someone at the dinner table that night…

Saw this at the Hawaiian Farmer’s Market last year…

For more Wordless Wednesday, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Happy Birthday to my husband in a mushy lovey-dovey post.

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Happy Birthday, my love.

There is no one I would rather travel thiscrazy journey with.

Thomas is famous for his turkey cooking abilities. And this recipe is one that shows off those culinary skills. The Georgia Bird is hands-down my favorite way for turkey to be cooked.

1 turkey
1 C olive oil
3/4 C peach schnapps
5 pears (sliced thin w/skin)
2.5 T of sea salt
1/2 T pepper
fresh minced rosemary (6-9 sprigs)
1 vidalia onion (quartered)

Mix above ingredients in a bowl and stuff into your turkey. Use the juices left in bowl to inject into your turkey and rub into the turkey skin. Rub an extra Tablespoon of sea salt into the turkey skin. Begin cooking turkey upside down and continue cooking for half the required cooking time of your sized turkey. (at 350) At halfway point, flip turkey right side up and baste with the juices in the roaster and dust with pepper, a dash of salt, and top with fresh sprigs of rosemary for presentation and for the delicious aroma! For a beautifully browned bird, be sure and brush with butter throughout the cooking process.

Finish cooking and enjoy!

Oh, Motrin. In case you hadn’t heard, women have earned the right to vote, speak before being spoken to, have a growing influence on this crazy “new” thing called the internet, and even make up a HUGE portion of your consumer base.

So guess what happens when you decide to air a potentially offensive “mommy” ad where the speaker basically says babywearing is something we do just to look like an official mom and thank God we have Motrin to save us? The Twitter world goes nuts with mommy bloggers reacting to your ad and telling all their readers that Motrin is no friend of moms.

Beware the mommy bloggers, Motrin. They can be an unforgiving bunch.

And, since I am always an advocate of letter writing I had to let Motrin know what a bad move their ad was. And if you think it’s a crappy ad, head over here and let them know for yourself.

Check out my letter below:

Wow. The new Motrin “babywearing” ad is beyond offensive. Couldn’t your ad people do better than that? Or are you actually trying to alienate a whole demographic of people?

What’s next? Breastfeeding is “supposedly” good for babies but we moms really only do it for attention. So, take Motrin when it starts hurting.

Or maybe, Raising toddlers is a pain in the butt and I only do it for the tax break so when they get on my nerves I take a Motrin to feel better.

If you guys play your cards right, you could actually turn this into a whole “Being a mom is miserable and thankless but knowing I can take Motrin makes it worth it” campaign.

Yeah, that might play really well.

Bravo Motrin. You just lost one family’s business for sure.
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Go here to see the ad that’s causing all the fuss.

And check out what other mommy bloggers have to say here at Perfectly Natural.

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Tuesday night I got the chance to chill at Atlantic Station with some of Atlanta’s coolest blogging ladies after driving around the city in new Saturns.

Click here to head over to my review blog and see what I thought of the Atlanta area Ride and Drive event sponsored by Saturn/GM and Blogher!