what momma writes

not great shots above and below but oops i don't really care. just was in work out clothes that were form fitting. here we are in our 30s. i typically feel "small" but in this picture i certainly don't. i'm not concerned with thinking  i'm going to have a big baby though. i think my bump fits my bod. the end. see you in the 40s?

a little auburn for fall. change of season. change of hair color. happy fall.

i had the pleasure of spending the morning with pockets  and it was time for my (our) lunch. i wish i could have recorded what happened when i got  dad's famous sauce from the fridge. i located a small container of left overs. pockets spotted it and said "pawpaw" she knows that her pawpaw makes the best pasta sauce  and now equates his name with the food. while warming it up she repeatedly said  "dat. dat. dat. dat. dat."  and pointed to the stove where the sauce was located.  there was no doubt that she wanted "that" she ate all morning so i didn't think she would eat that much. before sauce and pasta she had yogurt, grapes, puffs and crackers. pockets proved me wrong... i shared my lunch. and it was a pleasure. i threw a bib on her  (thanks to all the baby gear we have here) sat her on my lap and the 2 of us went to town. i haven't seen an 18 month old eat so ferociously before. when it was gone she was in disbelief. a satisfied face.

don't worry these were chosen prior i just forgot to post. not that people are on the edge of their seats checking our picks. it's probably most fun for us. caren barely holding the lead: 21-11 john holding his own: 20-12 JAC v CAR John - CAR Caren - CAR HOU v NO John - NO Caren - NO NE v BUF John - NE Caren - NE MIA v CLE John - MIA Caren - MIA DEN v TEN John - TEN Caren - TEN NYG v PHI John - PHI Caren - PHI DET v MIN John - MIN Caren -MIN SF v CIN John - CIN Caren - SF NYJ v OAK John - OAK Caren - NYJ KC v SD John - SD Caren - SD BAL v STL John - BAL Caren - BAL GB v CHI John - GB Caren - GB ARI v SEA John - ARI Caren - ARI ATL v TB John - TB Caren - ATL PIT v IND John - PIT Caren - PIT WAS v DAL John - DAL Caren - WAS

i posted some months back to join the prayer train . i'm asking you to stay on it or join it. ali is still battling many forms of cancer. ali looks amazingly gorgeous,  but on the inside there is a war in her body. on tuesday i attended a prayer service for ali.  we were given prayer cards and candles. every night at 7 pm we are to say our prayer for ali or send her healing, positive thoughts. let's flood the earth with healing vibes for her recovery. join me and set your phone alarm for 7pm daily to send her  the healing energy she needs to beat this! my friend melanie (ali's sister) has documented  her battle, for ali's story click here . photo via . we are rooting for you ali!!

can you believe we are in our early 30's together little one? ha. well, uh, i can't. we've got some updates on you, but we aren't getting all crazy as these aren't too different from the last time. measuring 32 cm again. (i know, odd since you were about 32.5 cm last time) we believe since you changed positions again that affected the measurements and i am seeing m.wife every other week now so you may not have grown as much in 2 weeks than you normally do in about 4. so there. you move all the flippin time so who knows how you will end up. right now - ROT  - otherwise known as Right Occiput Transverse. we have plenty of time to get you in a more optimal position. this one isn't fabulous or horrible since you still are cooking but this lovely little position you are currently hanging in can lead to long and more painful labor. do you reaaaaaaaally want that now? didn't think so. pelvic tilts, standing and swaying and lunging are supposed to ease you into a

not going to lie. i enjoy this fortune & welcome it. it was john's, but since we live under the same roof i'm hoping i get the same vibes.

for those of you who guessed llama. guess again. apparently baby llama was born on 9/17 @ 3pm. i guess we will be having a girl or boy afterall.

scorekeeper says: Caren in the lead (12-4) John in the follow (9-7) ...but who is keeping score... SEA v PIT John - PIT Caren - PIT OAK v BUF John - BUF Caren - BUF ARI v WAS John - ARI Caren - ARI TB v MIN John - MIN Caren - MIN JAC v NYJ John - NYJ Caren - NYJ CHI v NO John - NO Caren - NO GB v CAR John - GB Caren - GB BAL v TEN John - BAL Caren - BAL KC v DET John - DET Caren - DET CLE v IND John - IND Caren - IND DAL v SF John - DAL Caren - DAL CIN v DEN John - CIN Caren - CIN SD v NE John - NE Caren - NE HOU v MIA John - HOU Caren - MIA PHI v ATL John - ATL Caren - PHI STL v NYG John - NYG Caren - NYG so many similarities this week. comes down do HOU/MIA and PHI/ATL ...and Katie - I chose NO against CHI because  NO is coming off a loss and they are at home. nothing against your bears.

via . 9.17.10 i married mister john. it was a perfect day. really, it was. it's not every day you get all of your favorite people in one spot. celebrating your life together. and it's not 1/2 bad to have lovely weather. a year gone by. a lot has changed in a year. but all good. like all couples we have our arguments and aggravations,  but most of the time i find myself with sheer joy at the littlest of things and i find myself more in love everyday. (sorry if you puked in your mouth a little.) ... and i know last year, on this day i made the best decision.

sometimes i still can't wrap my head around it being september already i can't believe a year of marriage flew by... when i look at all the pics and think about our wedding  i just want to thank everyone  all over again and again and again ... here's just a few. all photography via thank you to the golden pipes of cousin sally and buddy anthony. thank you to my ladies. i'm so very blessed. thank you to my dad, sister and brother-in-law. i don't know if i've heard better toasts. (perhaps i'm partial?) thank you to our ever amazing photographers. lucky to have such talented friends. thanks to uncle dave. his trolley sandwiches were a hit. thank you to my moma. she got my vision and it all came together. thank you friends and family for traveling supporting  and celebrating us. cheers.

crisp fall air? tonite i enjoyed a jog in my favorite fall-filled air. and i sat on our porch taking in the perfection, waiting for the rain. still waiting, but... it's a windows open kind of evening, is it not?

i tweet. and i follow tweets. a lot of people do. with a strong interest in birth work i happen to follow doulas. a few weeks ago i was drawn to a shower of tweets by @Preparing4Birth  a doula in Colorado. I thought her series of tweets were pretty powerful and share-worthy. These are written to 1st time mamas, BUT i don't think they should be limited to just the 1st timers as 2nd timers may want a different experience or approach.  ...Or to educate themselves a little further. even if not interested in a natural or unmedicated childbirth - i believe these still apply to figure out what works for you and your partner to acheive your wants and needs in child birth. empowering. Dear 1st time mamas: Your labor & birth become part of your history, legacy - of your family - What do you want to leave in that chain? Dear 1st time mamas: You can make informed decisions. You can be the driver. Be strong. Dear 1st time mamas: A healthy & good birth experience is more than you &