what momma writes

you'd never know you were a sleep fighter by the looks of these. oh child, you will learn. you are getting better each day little miss.

... all 3 of them! pockets came over to play. she is a little tentative with stella, but at the same time loves her. she hasn't quite figured out what to do when people hold or give stella attention. she becomes a little sullen even though the first thing she says upon seeing us is: "baby slellahhh!!" with excitement. below are some pictures of my 3 babies & me. pockets still managed to find a way to curl up on my lap with 2 other babies on board. we pretended it was "night night" time. it was nearing pockets nap time so the little noggin was probably tired. i'm excited to see how pockets and stella will interact one day. sharing some attention is good practice for pockets new little brother or sister coming in july :)

A dear friend, Mel, who i refer to as " my photographer " seems to juggle everything. No, no I mean everything. We were involved in umpteen clubs and projects in high school and her energy ran circles around me. She requires less sleep than I do, but I always wonder how in the world she is a full time photographer along with a separate birth photo business  AND mama of a toddler and infant. I was exhausted after reading her day, but this explains why she is always up late and somehow seems to fit it all in & manage to be there for her family and friends (always) - props to you mama, you really need to learn to say NO to people though ha! Thanks for sharing your day and schooling us that while being a SAHworkingM has it's rewards it certainly makes work hours quite nutty. ... I am equally a big fan of brenda’s blog as she is of ours.  She’s been so supportive over the years of our phot ography and it’s my pleasure to fill in for her as she foc

... not grandmother's house, but to aunt taryn's house we go! it was your first road trip and sleep over. mark it and check it.  little lamb was great in the car to columbus and cleveland.  slept most or all of the way. jillian drove both ways to cleveland, she's such a peach. we stayed with auntie jillie and uncle matt in columbus and they took such good care of us. you slept like a champ and it was so nice having a wife all weekend. my boss told me everyone needs a wife. it couldn't be more true. husbands are wonderful of course, but wife's, they just know what we need, when we need it. i have to give matt props for warming up the car, making brownies, rocking you while we were getting our stuff together or i had to shower. you were surely spoiled. our MF crew. sorry didn't have time to photoshop mary in here. still making the reunions happen.  (please excuse my shirt. it's not really cut like that, but stella is pulling it down.) all t

happy 2 months tree monkey! that's your newest name. stemmed from dada. not sure why, but it has a nice flow when we ask "how is tree monkey doing?" you gave me the best 2 month birthday gift: 6 hours (ok probably 5.5 hours by the time i fell asleep) of consecutive sleep! i had to count on my fingers over and over again when i saw the clock strike 5:00 a.m. you are so thoughtful like that. it's taken you 1,224 hours of life to learn to sleep 6 hours at a time,  and i know this isn't necessarily going to stay, but i will rejoice in last nite's slumber none the less. and i won't lie, i'd like to bottle that night up! in general, you've been sleeping the typical 2 month old stints  2-4 hour increments. thanks for throwing this one in there. this is how you greet mama in the morning  (and daddy if he isn't already at work) oh how happy it makes me. and a side note: your gummy baby smile is similar to mine as a baby.  you are always pretty hap

In June I was able to complete a doula training and met some amazing women who share the same passion for birth and all that goes into the before during and after. I'm excited that fellow doula , Peg (moma of 3) agreed to share her doula journey. She is now accepting momas!! First and foremost, I want to give a huge congratulations to Caren and John at the arrival of their daughter Stella!   I first met Caren this summer at  toLabor     training.  I was immediately impressed by her hunger for knowledge about birth.  We had a wonderful weekend together experiencing something beyond words.  We are forever connected after that weekend.  When she asked me to do a guest spot on her blog, I was honored.   Recently, someone asked me why I wanted to become a doula.  I found myself speechless (a rarity for those who know me well).  How to describe this passion - this calling?  For some doulas, it begins when they have an intervention-laden birth and a desire to do things differently t

dear collection of thongs, this is a little over due. i'm sorry to report that we won't be seeing each other any time soon, or ever for that matter. you were there for me in all those tight pants, skinny jeans and of course numerous dresses i wore daily especially in new york.  you saved my ass (literally) of my underwear line being spotted. i appreciate all the times we had. i was able to befriend so many of you due to my part time employment at victoria's secret, which quickly led to my addiction to buying matching panties  (yes i did just type panties) and bras that, at the time, i thought were "oh so sexy." but, old friend, times have changed and well, i apologize, but you and all your friends have been replaced.  your services are no longer needed or appreciated thanks to pregnancy and after birth's gift of hemorrhoid flare ups, one of the things no one tells you as a mama . i have new priorities now: like first and foremost: not subjecting my ass t

happy friday, friends! mister john and i are going on our first date since stella. we probably won't be getting down on friday like most, but uh, much needed and will be good to get out sans baby for a flash, but  i'll be happy to come back to this sweet, little bird's face too! ... enjoy the long weekend.

I'd like to thank Kelly of You Make Me Live for her courage and willingness to share her story on such a "touchy" subject. I think it's important people talk and hear about the hard stuff too. Life's not all roses. I met Kelly in my Tuesday night yogi group and she works with "my photographer" Mel as a talented birth photographer at Beautiful Beginnings . I'm so happy to report she will be having her second baby boy in May 2012! Congratulations Kelly, Donny and big brother Corbin! Sending you love and prayers the rest of the way. We welcomed our newest precious baby niece into the world this past Saturday (July 2nd). It was truly one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Jenny had the natural birth she desired and she & Kynlee are doing great. We are all so in love with her already!I was there taking pictures the whole time, but instead of telling the whole story over again, you can read it and see a

chalk up another post i thought i would do pre-baby. but, heck, i thought i had 2 weeks and 2 days to kill before little monkey debuted!! here is stella's space. we chose a gender neutral color ( montego bay if interested) and wanted it to simply be "child friendly" i didn't want a huge theme or something a child couldn't potentially grow into. mister john painted both the accent wall and the light gray walls along with  putting up crown molding with my dad. nicely done fellas. we are happy with the outcome. i hope stella is too. (left to right) white crib with accent wall. i wanted a vintage-y looking crib. window seat. nursing and reading time. simple changing station. john's grandpa made that dresser. love the history. kiddie korner. you never can have too much storage in a kiddie room. close up of shelf. wanted her room to be montessori friendly -  she will be able to reach all the things she needs to reach (books, stuffed animals and a few toys) clos

A huge thank you to Missis Worthington of   this little place  for agreeing to write this little ditty below - I'm taking note of your motherly words of wisdom - and i'm happy to report it was a november debut!! Please drop by and pay a visit. I often live vicariously through her adorable family adventures,  her stellar moma-style and bright photography. It's so sweet to be saying hello to little nugget's friends and family! I was a turkey baby myself, so I'm definitely pullin' for a November debut! The story of me and nugget's momma is that we met through blogosphere/twitter land. I was charmed by her blog and the two of us have remained in touch ever since. So again, I am tickled to be here sharing a thought on my own adventure in mommahood.  Miss E was born to my husband and I in March of 2010. Since that moment, the biggest change in me has been my ability to put myself second. I was kid once. I had my chance to be selfish, to be first in line, to