Welcome 2013

Welcome, 2013!

Before we continue, I need to add a disclaimer.
I am not yet finished with 2012.

I still have the RACK 2012 post to get out.

I want to post our Christmas pics.

There is a litany of birthy and parenting topics that I have fabulous ideas on to do posts.

And yet....



Yep. Crickets.
They are all up in here, messing in my business.

But, I did get a new computer from Hubby for Christmas! So hopefully in the next week or so I will have it set up and that will make it easier to do things from home. :-)

I just wanted to pop in and say Welcome to 2013!

New Year, New You! Right?

Or in my case, I am striving for a continuation of the resolutions I set last year.

I have joined a local CSA, which is awesome. I have a half-share of the combination shares for the Winter season, so I am picking up fresh organic veggies, apples, a loaf of bread, a dozen cage-free eggs, and fresh cheese each week. All GMO free and as organic/natural as possible. I hope to do a post on the benefits of the CSA in the near future also. I am so pleased that I hope to do a full share during the summer season. Given that I cannot get Hubby to work with me to find an appropriate place in our yard for a garden where it will get enough sun and not get in the way, this is a good second choice to our own garden. I still hope to do some growing at home, probably different herbs and easy plants to supplement the CSA options.

I am also working toward weightloss/getting healthy. The CSA is helping with that. I'm back on MFP, aka MyFitnessPal. Actually, I logged back in on Sunday and it was the first time I'd logged in to the site in over 7 months. *hangs head in shame* But, I have renewed motivation and energy, so we are working in that direction again.

I'm not even going to try to renew last year's resolution to blog daily. We all know how that went. I think weekly is a more attainable goal. And it will start after I get my computer up and running. ;-)

As far as organizing, I am in a better place than last year. And have made leaps and bounds in the last few weeks, including joining a "Dustbusters" group on FB that a friend created for us to use to bounce cleaning/organization ideas off one another and lend support. That has helped me come across some really good ideas. And of course, Pinterest helps a lot.

And I have been more socially active in the last year. Mostly concerning birthy stuff, like going to birth socials and workshops hosted by Mama*ology. I am actually the Board President of Mama*ology this calendar year, so I am excited for that opportunity and the things we will be doing this year.

So there you have it. My non-resolutions resolutions for 2013. Which will be begin after I finish 2012.

Gratitude List: To Prevent Flipping Your Shit

The last few days have been a rollercoaster. Mostly things I cannot control, yet rain down chaos and frustration from the heavens. I have had several not-so-proud mama moments. I have yelled. I have given mean looks. I have threatened. And I even flipped my shit exactly once.

I went through something similar to this a few years ago. It was not pretty. I did not like the person I was during that rough patch, let alone the parent I was. But I managed to soldier on and learned a lot from it. Namely, the warning signs that shit flipping was imminent so that I could head it off at the pass. Trust me, that is a HUGE deal. If not for me knowing those signs, I might be curled up somewhere quoting The Mad Hatter. You know, after flipping my shit...times infinity.

One of the things that has stuck with me a lot lately is this:

I have calmed the storm in my mind by thinking of these words. I do need to focus more on what is going right than wrong, especially in times like this. It leads to less shit flipping, as previously stated.

I remember in 8th grade English class that we did a project in November where we kept a list and wrote 5 things daily that we were grateful for. At the time, I was dealing with crappy family situations and the death of a close friend. I truly NEEDED that daily list, it helped me through.

The teacher kept emphasizing the importance of recognizing these things in our life that we were thankful for because it was good for the mind and soul. My first few days were filled with "typical" things: parents, siblings, home, friends, food. But it evolved to more: the cool crisp in the air, the warmth of the autumn sun, the acrobatic leaves swirling through the sky. Focusing on the mini-blessings helped to ease the burden of the big picture.

As I have struggled the last few days, I have found my soul reminding my heart of little things that have had a positive effect, even if minute. Hopefully listing them will help me lift my spirit a little further out of this funk and maybe help someone out there in the Interwebz.

So here is my handy dandy Gratitude List (TOO much Blues Clues lately, it is affecting my handy dandy vocab) from the last few days, in no particular order.

Cloth Diaper Peddler

I recently found a blog post going around Facebook titled "Becoming a Walking Cloth Diaper Ad." I related to this blogger on so many different levels. Before Monkey was born, I had never been introduced to modern cloth diapers. Since he was born and I started using cloth, I could literally talk all day about it to anyone that listens. I am certainly a peddler of cloth.

There are tons of different types of diapers and different brands. There are diapers made by WAHMs (Work At Home Moms) that can be custom made to fit your specific needs. There are some people that literally collect cloth diapers like a child collects Pokeman cards. Wait, that's showing my age. I should say like Sassy collects Bakugans. There, that sounds more "hip."

Then Use the Nozzle to Spray the Poop into the Bucket...

Wait...WHAT?!

Yeah, you heard me right. And that is just one step in my laundry routine for cloth diapers. Tonight I'm going to tell you how I was lured into cloth dipes by some friends when I was first exposed to the way of the crunch.