Another week, another new renter for you to check out! SugarMama is a wife and a mom of 2 little boys with another babe on the way. Head on over by clicking on her thumbnail in my sidebar and see who her famous friend is!
——————-
Please scroll down to the previous post - make sure you vote, and leave a story in your comment!

My friend Jenny (who will soon have a blog - yeah!) sent me this site, The World’s Healthiest Foods, which you simply must check out. It’s fantastic! It’s completely free and there’s so much information there. And did I mention yummy nutritious recipes? Because there are yummy nutritious recipes, too.

Are you reading Fark yet? You should.

Does it take you a long time to prepare a photo post because of the shrinking? Do it quick with this handy dandy site! I love it when I’m in a hurry.

Just for fun…

Please vote for what you think I found in my ear and leave your version of the story (how it got in my ear) in your comment.

I assure you that you will be enlightened in the not too distant future.

So I’ve received several (okay, three) emails suggesting that I highlight myself as a Site o’ the Week to give you all some more information about me. I finally got around to answering my own questions, so here you go:

How did you name your site?

I went through several names before settling on this one. I wanted to portray the fact that this is not just a ‘mommy blog’ because that is just a fraction of who I am and what I write about, and yet still include the word ‘mom’ because it’s the most important of all my jobs. It just popped into my head one day when I was playing with a theme change and I decided to throw it out there. People commented that they liked it, and it stuck.

What or Who inspired you to start blogging?

Probably my friend Raechelle. We had a website for years and blogged there with no official blogging software. It was a giant p.i.t.a. so when I was deciding what software to use, I chose Wordpress because she liked it so much.

What is the major theme(s) of your blog?

It started as a pregnancy blog in August 2005 for our family and friends. Now that I’m no longer pregnant, it’s primarily my son, my family and my life. Anything that pops into my head can pop into my blog, though. Sometimes it’s current events, parenting, political causes, cute pictures of my kid, recipes, natural alternatives & household hints, fitness stuff…pretty much anything.

Do you have “real life” people reading your blog or are you in cognito?

This blog began for our family and friends so those are my primary readers. They don’t comment, but I see their ip addresses popping in daily so I know they’re there. Hi guys! Sometimes when I get all political and ’swear-y’ I think I should maybe have two blogs, but my parents and in-laws are very cool and anyone who doesn’t like it doesn’t have to come back. That’s what that little ‘x’ in the top right corner is for, right?

Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

I think so. I might be am more snarky in writing than I am face to face though, but the general person is the same. In real life I don’t generally criticize people or make smart ass remarks to anyone but my husband (never at his expense, but just in conversation with him because we laugh a lot). I guess people who know me in real life could answer this better than I can.

How do you feel about self-censorship in blogging? Are there any things you won’t write about?

I don’t write about sex. Mine, anyway. Not because I think it’s taboo, but I suppose because I have nothing to say about it to the internet. That’s how we got our baby and that’s all you need to know.
Anything else is pretty much fair game if I feel like talking/writing about it. I never judge anyone in my head, but sometimes I write in a conflict-inducing manner when I get in one of those moods. You guys are so nice! Even when I try to be controversial, this is always a pretty calm place.

What are some of your favorite things? What are your pet peeves? What makes you unique? Anything else you want new readers to know about you?

My favourite things: my family including my animals, breastfeeding, being a mommy, the smell of Rylan’s breath, reading, cuddling, laughter, the smiles of the people I love, running, yoga, lifting weights, rollerblading, walking, biking (on smooth, flat terrain - I’m a chicken), teaching, organizing, a clean house (but not the actual cleaning process), coffee (strong & dark), fresh fruit, Christmas, scrapbooking, the new smell of spring, bare feet in the grass, the smell of rain, the sound of the breeze through the trees…

Pet peeves: Lack of common sense, littering, lack of common courtesies, racism, sexism, ageism and all the other nasty -isms, lack of respect, lack of parenting which I believe causes a lot of the previous items on this list, burning myself (which I do often), cutting myself (which I do often), paint boogers that are hard to fix, our crappy falling down fence that I don’t know how to fix or rebuild, the carpet in our living area (pets + carpet = yucky), too small bathrooms, lack of storage space, our tiny office/scrapbooking room…

What makes me unique: I’m not sure. I guess my compassion for animals, children and the elderly, but I think it’s sad that that makes me unique. It should be far more common.

Since there’s nowhere for you to click this week, how about you answer any or all of these questions in your comment:
Anything else you want to know?
Anything that surprised you?
Anything you already knew?

(Click this small button to see this and all previous Sites o’ the Week).

If you would like to be featured as my Site o’ the Week or would like to suggest someone for me to feature, please send me and email at muchmorethanamom [at] gmail [dot] com.

We’re not motorcycle folk by far, but this Harley outfit from Rylan’s Auntie S knocked our socks off.
She’s not a biker either - she’s an ebay shopper extraordinaire!

How’d ya like that? A post with no controversy! And lots of cute! Y’all know I just like to stir the pot a bit, right? There’s nothing better than riling people up for a good intelligent arguement. Okay, there are lots of things better, but it’s still fun. Especially out here in the blogosphere.

We’re off to a friend’s for coffee this morning, home for lunch with the BG and then meeting with our baby group for our regular Tuesday get together this afternoon. Our hostess with the mostess for today asked us to bring a pic of our baby for a craft. I’m dying to know what it is. I love and yet I hate suspense…
I’ll show you my mystery craft tomorrow soon if it turns out (and maybe even if it doesn’t…)

Have a fantabulous Tuesday!!

Especially when it’s a book of your free choosing.

Check out this list of books! I’ve read and enjoyed many of them. Some I wouldn’t even consider reading (unless of course someone told me I couldn’t. At which point I’d get it and read it so fast my eyes would burn, because I’m just like that) but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. I think you, and everyone else, should be able to read whatever the heck they want to, even if it’s not for me.

(I feel that way about a lot of things…same sex marriage, abortion…because who am I to judge? Isn’t that God’s job? But that’s a whole nother post that I’ll save for another bright sunny day).

Who are these people that think they have a right to control what people read? Hmmm. Since many were banned for containing the term goddamn, I’m thinking radical religious folk, per chance? It’s not enough that religion is the root of all war (and oil, I suppose…hi Dubya) but it’s also trying to prevent education and free thought. Well, nothing new with that part.

I especially love when people get up in arms about books that they haven’t even read. Mocha Momma has a wonderful response “You seem to feel very strongly about this book. Tell me, when did you read it?“ Then, when *shock* they mumble under their breath that they haven’t, she moves on to “I’m sorry. I can’t possibly discuss a book with you when you haven’t read it. Maybe you should read it prior to discusssing it as if you know everything about it. You would never presume to go to a Book Club on the night they were discussing a book when you, yourself, hadn’t read it, right?” I highly recommend heading over to Mocha’s place later this week to check out her musing about some of her favourite banned books and why she loves them.

My, how we love controversy here at MMTaM! (I have to admit, sometimes I write things just to see what kind of reaction I get…)
In case you care, I am a technical Catholic, but I still think much of the ‘interpretation’ of the bible/Qu’ran/insert old religious text here is ridiculous for the most part. Especially since, um, it’s really old an doesn’t so much apply to the current times. Unless “Wives submit to your husbands” works for you. God is cool. Lots of religious people, um, aren’t. Like this wingnut. But not you. You, I love. You are smart and you read banned books and love it, right?

I read banned books. Do you?

Dear Rylan,

You are five months old. I can hardly believe it! I know mothers say this all the time, but it’s so true. Time passes way too quickly.

You’re making a lot of noise now. My favourites, of course, are “Muuuuuummmmmuuuuuuuu” and “Maaaaaaammmmmmmmm.” We’re counting that as your first word, even though you may not know what it means. You also like “Ungaaaaaa,” “Huuuummmmm,” “Baaaauuuuuummmm” and “Umbaaaa.” We love them all. It’s so fun for us to hear you expanding your “vocabulary” to include more sounds. You especially love to talk while bouncing in your bouncy chair and while in your carseat. You talk to the baby in the mirror while we drive.

This month we went to visit all of your grandparents and they all came to see you at least once. You went to your first wedding, too. Auntie Jennie got married on August 5th and mommy was her maid of honour. You loved looking at all the people. Grandma Betty and Daddy looked after you while Mommy was busy and you were no trouble at all.

Grandma Betty took us and your cousin Ashley to see Robert Munsch live. You enjoyed the stories, and even laughed a bit before you fell asleep. You were really laughing at Mommy’s fake sneezes, but at least you were happy! Grandma bought you one of his books as a memento of the show.

This month you took a bit of a step back with your sleep habits. After sleeping 10 hours through the night since you were 10 weeks old, you all of a sudden started going to bed 2 hours earlier but waking up to eat twice in the night. As hard as it is to get up, I really enjoy nursing you in the dark and cuddling in your quiet room. You always go right back to sleep after, so I guess you just need a little more food now. You usually sleep 12 hours overnight now, with a few naps during the day.

You are almost sitting on your own now – you topple quickly but you love to try. Even more, you LOVE to stand up! If you hold our hands when you are lying down, you pull yourself up and skip the seated phase altogether - you stand right up and look so proud of yourself. We barely need to support you at all in the standing position. You just hold our fingers and you hold yourself up. You really are a strong kid! It’s no wonder because you never stop moving. You could bounce all day, and when you’re not in your bouncy chair your legs still whip around like you’re trying to bounce the floor!

You’re still enjoying your cereal for the most part. You only get it a couple of times a week for spoon practice and you like both rice and oatmeal. You are already trying to grab the spoon and feed yourself so I guess we’ll be buying some plastic to put under your high chair soon because it’s going to get messier. Pretty soon your food horizons will be expanding, but nursing will still be your main source of nutrition for quite a while yet. You are enjoying your high chair, and even like to sit in it to play while Mommy works in the kitchen.

You’re the light of our lives, monkey, and we’re so happy to be your biggest fans!

I love you,
Mommy

Want some cool ‘Cancer Sucks’ merchandise to help us reach our goal?

Save $5
when you spend $35 or more!
——————————
Enter the coupon code
SRV134
when checking out of the store.
——————————
Coupon expires 9/27/2006…so hurry!

Thanks to all of you who have already made purchases or donated via paypal (to muchmorethanamom @ gmail dot com) or sent cheques (email me for our address). Thanks, also, to everyone who continues to link to us and pimp this project. We really appreciate your support in this mission. We’re getting close to 50% there now - every dollar helps!

Just a little “natural” parent hack… (I submitted this in a comment at Parent Hacks and thought I’d share it here as well.)

In our home we try to avoid the potentially carcinogenic chemicals in Febreze and all sorts of commercial cleaning/household products. Our ’safe’ version of Febreze is as follows:

Mix in a spray bottle:

1 cup water
2T. baking soda (natural odour remover)
2T. vodka (for the quick drying properties)
5-10 drops tea tree oil (natural antibacterial)
5-10 drops lavender essential oil
1t. pure vanilla

Adjust drops of oil for a stronger or weaker scent - I suggest reading safety guidelines for each oil on their bottles.

Shake well each time prior to spraying to ensure ingredients are mixed.

For use on most fabrics, I use 10-20 drops in 1 cup of water. For use as an air freshener, I use 20-40 drops in 1 cup of water.

This one is, obviously, the lavender vanilla scent. There are many other options to suit your taste - sometimes we use mandarin essential oil, mandarin/vanilla, eucalyptus in cold season, lemon/lavender/clary sage, lemon/lime, mandarin/grapefruit, ylang ylang/rose/bergamot… the list goes on.

Stephanie wins the title of “Most Enthusiastic Commenter” on Much More Than A Mom! I think she’s trying to set a record. If you want to increase your comment count, play nice with Stephanie! She’ll hook you up.

I first ‘met’ Stephanie on Baby Center message boards when the BG and I were about to start trying to conceive in Summer 2005. I got pregnant quickly, and then went back to teaching and got extremely busy and haven’t been back to any boards anywhere since, but Stephanie followed me to the blogosphere (in a completely non-stalker kind of way) and here we are!

How did you name your site?

I originally came up with the name “Plain Ol’ Housewife.. I think NOT!!”. It is exactly what I am, but I am more that that. So I kept it for a while, then I noticed that it was too long for my taste, so I changed it to something that meant the same thing but was shorter. That is when I changed it to “Irregular Housewife”. I don’t stay home all day bare-foot and pregnant in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. I have school, I take care of my family, and animals, I play outside, I hang out with friends, I have my own life, as well as my life with my husband. I love cooking but I HATE cleaning, but it gets done. I just believed that I needed to use a name that meant something to me and truly described me.

What or Who imspired you to start blogging?

Actually, NICOLE did, LOL! I really liked the way she could update friends and family all over the world, about her everyday life. I have friends and family ALL OVER, as well, and I wanted to be able to do the same!

What is the major theme(s) of your blog?

I don’t know if I have an exact theme, but I would say that it is about my life as a newlywed. In my blog I talk about my struggles day to day and what I do on a daily basis. I also talk about my life and my friends and family, who mean the world to me!

Do you have IRL “In Real Life” people reading your blog?

YES! My husband, mom, friends and family check in often.

Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

I hope so! As I said before, my blog is about my everyday life so I would hope that I am projecting the real me into my typings!

How do you feel about self-sensorship in blogging?

I feel that you should be able to say whatever comes to mind, because it is your OWN blog and people are visiting your site to see how you are doing and feeling, so I think that you should show how you feel but be kind to others feelings.

Are there any things you won’t write about?

Ummm, I would have to say YES! For example what goes on in my bedroom, stays in my bedroom. I don’t think that it is anyone’s business. But I do tend to share some other things like how we are TTC, and dr’s apts and such, so there may be some private things on there but it isn’t about our sex life, I can tell you that!

What are some of your favorite things?

My favorite thing to do is sit on the beach with my husband, hand in hand, with our feet in the water! We were fortunate enough to do this for our wedding and I am so happy we did! Some of my other favorite things are my animals. I have 9 all together; 3 dogs, 1 bird, 4 fish, 1 snail, and I love them all to death and would do anything for them! They are my family. I also love to get on Nicole’s blog and see what she has written for the day, most the time it can be quite comical! She’s a funny one I tell ya!

What are your pet peeves?

Hypocrites, I really dislike people who tell you not to do something because it goes against their beliefs then they turn around and do it. I also dislike it when people JUDGE other people. We are all human and make mistakes. Whoe says you wouldn’t have made the same mistake if you were in a different position?

Go on…Click! Go pay Stephanie a visit and tell her MMTaM sent you! Leave a comment here first, though, okay? You know you want to.

(Click this small button to see this and all previous Sites o’ the Week).

If you would like to be featured as my Site o’ the Week, send me and email at muchmorethanamom [at] gmail [dot] com.

We’re taking of to visit my folks and take my dad to chemo (and see Robert Munsch live!) so I don’t have time for a thoughtful post today. I have a SotW post scheduled for tomorrow and I’ll be back Thursday or Friday.

I will leave you with MotR’s post which piggybacks a bit on this one.

Talk amongst yourselves.

I have an awesome new renter to introduce you to today, as well. Anne-Marie Nichols of A Readable Feast will be spending the next week with us, hanging out over there in my sidebar, just tempting you to click on her. Every day! She shares innovating ideas about reading and cooking with your kids to enhance their education. Just my kind of site - can you see why I chose her? This is a woman who is balancing it all - working at home and mothering in addition to all kind of community persuits. Quite amazing, I’d say! Head over today to check out some great fall activities to do with your kids and then click again tomorrow for some related recipes! When I get back, I’ll be digging into her archives.

As a prelude to my little bit of assvice, I give you Miz. S’s take on the topic:

Speaking of work, kids, and mommy-ing: I would like to express my opinion about the whole SAHM vs working mom thing. My basic philosophy is that people should do what works best for their family and everyone else should mind their own goddamned business.

But as I look around me at the people I know who are a) going through a divorce or b) OUGHT to be going through a divorce, I am more and more convinced that the woman who stays home with her kids for years and years puts herself in a perilous financial position. None of us expect to get divorced, at least not in the heady, early years of marriage, but it happens. Other bad stuff can happen too. You just can’t predict what your financial situation might be.

So go back to school, take classes, learn new stuff. Be able to support yourself if you are suddenly on your own at the age of 50. Either that, or have a KILLER pre-nup and/or AWESOME insurance.

And while I’m in the advice-giving mood? I know that summer is almost over, but some of you all will be at the pool between now and Labor Day, and I would like you to do something VERY IMPORTANT before you go there.

Put on your bathing suit. Look at yourself carefully in the mirror. IS ANY HAIR SHOWING? If so, please go get a bikini wax or make liberal use of a razor.

I have spoken.

I included a little more of her post than I needed to because guys? She’s funny!

On with the stay-at-home vs. working mom philosophy. My personal opinion on it anyway. (Notice I said personal opinion? That means you can’t tell me I’m wrong. It’s an opinion, people! Feel free to discuss in comments, however, and share your own opinions on the matter. I love me a good animated discussion.)

*Staying home with your kids is extremely valuable for their development.
*Having a quality babysitter/nanny/dayhome is also extremely valuable for their development.
*Quality time spent with your children is more valuable than quantity time.
*Having no pension or retirement plan when your kids grow up is not valuable. Not valuable at all.
*Having no medical benefits that come with working is not valuable. Not valuable at all.
*Having no sense of security and independence is not valuable. Not valuable at all.

We can afford for me not to work. It would be tight, but we’d certainly be fine. The BG has great benefits too. We both know how valuable our time with Rylan is. I am taking a minimum of his first year off of work. The BG may be able to take some time with him after that. By the time he’s 18 months, we’ll both be back to working full time. He’ll be at a babysitter about a block from my workplace, playing, learning and being a kid. He’ll be the only full-time child there. Her youngest is in kindergarten half time this year. She also takes some kids for subsitute teachers and some lunch/after school kids. Bottom line on the babysitter thing - Rylan will have lots of chance to socialize but also lots of one to one attention. He won’t be going to school with what we teachers call “daycare-itis” referring to kids who grow up in daycares so have learned that you have to raise your voice and/or misbehave to get attention. But? The thought of him being with someone else all day still makes me want to throw up. (Mom and Dad, are you sure you don’t want to move here? We pay well!)

Where am I going with this? Hmm. I’m not sure. Oh wait. I remember!

If I were to stay at home living on the BG’s salary and benefits, which is more than enough to take care of our family, and he were to, say,

a. leave us (which he would never do, but things happen that you have to plan for - you know, midlife crisis/mental illness and stuff)
b. die
c. become terminally ill or permanently disabled
d. some other really shitty thing that I can’t think of right now

we’d be royally f*cked. Sure, I could get a job at that time. I’d be out several years of pensionable service, would be too expensive to get my current contract back and would be seriously out of the professional loop. But I could work in retail, I guess.

As it stands now, our then-toddler will have wonderful care for 7.5 hours/day Monday - Thursday and 4 hours on Friday and be with us the rest of the time. He will have parents who can afford to put him in whatever activites he chooses (which, to me, is minor compared to the rest), who can both afford to be independent should something happen to the other and who love each other and him deeply enough to have thought far enough into the future to ensure the well-being of our whole family - no matter what. We can never get these years back - these years with our amazing son, these years together and these years planning for our future. We’ll never work evenings, never work weekends and have all holidays home with him. I have a week at Easter, a week at Christmas and 7 weeks in the summer. The BG has 4-6 weeks whenever he wants it, plus 3-4 days a month in lieu of flex time when Rylan can stay home with him on a weekday. Those times, and our evenings, our mornings, our lunch breaks together, our middle of the night cuddles…those times will be wonderful, quality times that we will never take for granted.

I have seen way too many people, mostly women, left helpless when left alone - by whatever means - because they didn’t plan ahead. I’m not saying all moms should work. I’m saying all moms should evaluate their situation. Think hard.

Is there any way I’d ever stay home with kids indefinitely? Sure! As soon as we win a very large lottery and have our complete retirement savings, no debt, kids education paid… I’m there~and there’s nowhere I’d rather be. Unfortunately, because that is unlikely, I have no choice but to be responsible. We’re still buying the occasional ticket. Just in case.

The Dairy Council tells us:
Milk is nature’s most perfect food.
The Dairy Council doesn’t tell us:
Milk is nature’s most perfect food for a baby calf, who has four stomachs, will double its weight in 47 days, and is destined to weigh 300 pounds within a year!
—– Unknown

Hmmmm. Makes you think, no? I drink milk. I don’t particularly enjoy it (with the exception of my daily latte), but I drink it. Why? I guess it’s probably because I grew up hearing that it was good for me. If you think about it, it’s really gross. Cows make milk for their babies. I make milk for my baby. Dairy cows are kept perpetually pregnant to force lactation so that another mammal can buy their milk. I took my grade one class to an Ag Expo this spring and learned all about it. Ew. I’m thinking of attempting to go soy - at least part of the time.

On the topic of mother’s milk, which you know I just love…

I have some snarky remarks prepared for the day someone says something negative to me about feeding my baby in public. I’ve never had a problem at all, and probably never will. If I do, I’m kind of afraid of something like this happening. Because that’s just my luck.

Do you drink milk?
Have you ever thought about it this way before?
What are your thoughts?
Have you tried soy? Rice? Good or gross?

that he doesn’t know what it means? It’s still music to my ears. He says it all day long now.

Chelle tagged me for a little meme (a long time ago - oops), so here I go.

Word Association…

1. Morning : Coffee

2. Pets : Love

3. Snow : Cold

4. Bounce : Sheets

5. Crazy : Sexy Cool (two words, but it’s what first popped in to my head)

Here are the next five words for you:

1. Mom:

2. Self:

3. Red:

4. Wood:

5. Run:

And I tag: Deb, Stephanie, Kat, & Michelle and anyone else if you haven’t already done it.

And another tag from Stephanie…

She said…and I thought…

1. Christmas…family

2. Animal…helpless, defenceless, voiceless, amazing.

3. Pain…sucks

4. Sweet…baby breath

Since I just tagged people above, I’ll skip this one. Because I’m lazy like that.

Corinne was another one of the fantabulous bloggers I found while mindlessly surfing while nursing. Her son Shepherd is abso-freaking-lutely adorable! And crawling! And did I mention adorable? Check out her answers to my not-so-creative questions and then pop by her place for a while…

How did you name your site?

The two pink lines on 5 home pregnancy tests that I took… I kept thinking there was such a thing as a false positive.

What/who inspired you to start blogging? How long have you been blogging?

I had been reading blogs for a while (mainly introduced to the blogging world via Dooce when, at work, I googled that I hated my job and boss. I found other blogs like it and was immediately hooked. At the time, I was a newlywed, and working to help put my husband through his last year of college. The summer after he graduated (summer 2005), we were visiting his dad for Fathers Day. I was already 5 days late, and chalked it up to stress about my job, but JUST TO MAKE SURE, I took a home pregnancy test, and left it on the counter to go change. I went back a few minutes later, and there were two pink lines. After a few, “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit’s” I went and found my husband, who was excited and so encouraging. It was shortly after that I decided to start my blog.

Talk about your blog. or… What is the major theme(s) of your blog?

Well… it started off as a pregnancy blog. Then it kinda evolved to the rest of my life…. Now it’s mostly about Shepherd, my son, and the life our family has in Northern Virginia.

Do you have IRL “In Real Life” people reading your blog?

Oh yeah…my husband accidentally told his mom, who told his grandmother, and so I had to tell my mom, who then told some people at her church, so… yeah, there are probably more people reading this that I know in real life than even I am aware of.

Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

I try to keep it real.. I omit our last names for safety’s sake, but other than that, what you see is what you get.

How do you feel about self-censorship in blogging? Are there things that you won’t write about?

I don’t write about my problems with family, with my husband, and even with Shepherd. There are some things that I feel don’t belong out there, and that remain sacred between family, and between husband and wife. I feel that it’s a decision that’s up to each individual writer. I know people who write about everything, and you know what? Kudos to them… but for me, and my family, I tend to keep those things private.

Tell us all about you. What are some of your favourite things? Pet peeves? Anything else you want new readers to know?

Well… I love my family. I’m crazy about them actually… yes, even the ones that drive me absolutely insane. I’m fiercely loyal to them too. My favorite things are spending time with them, and laughing… especially my father. I love hearing him laugh. Also? My mother-in-law… when you really get her laughing, it’s so much fun. Also? I enjoy time at home with my husband and my son. Anything we do, we always have fun.

Some of my pet peeves…hmmm… I can’t stand it when people post anonymously leaving assvice. I try very hard not to respond to it, and I haven’t, but it always angers me, and to some point, if I”m honest, it hurts me. If you have a problem with something I say, or something I say I’m doing, please e-mail me. I put my e-mail out there for the very reason. I’m not mean, and I won’t rip you to shreds, I just would rather entertain those kinds of issues on a more private level.

Other than that, I feel I’m a pretty easygoing person… and I love, love, LOVE my readers…. even new ones. I try to add each and every readers own blog to my bookmarks (my blogroll is SERIOUSLY out of date) and try to read them every day. I’m not always good at commenting (as I have little time to read, much less comment), but I do read new blogs.

Go on…Click! Go pay Corinne, Forrest & Shepherd a visit and let them know MMTAM sent you.
Leave a comment here first, though, okay?

(Click this small button to see this and all previous Sites o’ the Week).

If you would like to be featured as my Site o’ the Week or would like to suggest someone for me to feature, send me and email at muchmorethanamom [at] gmail [dot] com.

Oh, and don’t forget to support the CANCER SUCKS campaign! (Now permanently located in my fancy horizontal menu up top there.)

The BG was off today so it was chore and yardwork day for us. Bah.
I baked 3 dozen zucchini chocolate muffins and 3 dozen banana muffins for the freezer and for baby group tomorrow, which I am hosting.

Regarding yesterday, you might find it entertaining to know that when I met the BG, not only was I attracted to his utter hottness, but also to his grammar. On our first date, we went back to his apartment to watch tv after dinner & golfing, and he got all worked up about some newscaster’s use of the word “disorientated” in relation to a lost hiker or something like that. The next morning, I told my mom that he was the one. Also, when we were driving he got cut off in traffic and said “F*cking moron!” It reminded me of my brother. I had to marry him.

How did you know that your significant other was the one?

You haven’t forgotten about our fundraiser, have you?

Save $5 when you spend $35 or more at the Cancer Sucks store!
——————————
Enter the coupon code CRB134 when checking out.
——————————
Coupon expires 9/17/2006…so hurry!

New Renter Alert! New Renter Alert! Click on the thumbnail in my sidebar to visit Angela at Bold Contemplations. She calls her site “A place to express your opinion and engage in lively debate on varying topics both significant and light-hearted.” Sounds good to me - like a place I’d like to go for a latte. Be sure to let her know you came from MMTaM. Give her some clicky love. You know you want to.

This time, I’m not going to blurb about how I don’t mean to offend anyone. I think you know that by now. However, if you choose to be offended, that is your prerogative. (It is not, however, you’re prerogative.)

In no particular order, here are some things that annoy the hell out of me:

1. Your pen belongs to you. You’re the owner of that pen. As in - you are. It’s a contraction.

2. They’re nice people. As in - they are. Those nice people live over there. Yep, that’s their place. As in - they own it.

3. Yesterday, I hung out with some mommies. They were nice mommies. They were not nice mommy’s. Nor were they nice mom’s. They were nice moms, however. This mom’s nice too, although particular about her grammar. As in - mom is. It’s a contraction.

4. I’m not smarter than you, or than anyone else, per se. I’m just, again, particular about grammar. Then again, I am pretty damn smart. Heh.

5. When you get lost, you are not disorientated. That’s not a word. You are disoriented. Along the same line, when you are going to an orientation for a new job or some such thing, you are not being orientated (which is a word, but is related to mapping skills), you are being trained.

6. When you take steak out of the freezer, you are not unthawing it. That means freezing. You are thawing it.

7. I have been making sense on this blog (most of the time) since August, 2005.

8. Where do you wear your fancy shoes? I wear mine to sell my wares. Were? Doesn’t belong here.

That’s all I can think of for the moment. Here’s to reading better grammar everywhere. Cheers!

Feel free to add your own in comments.

Editing services available. Email me for a quote.

Internet? Are you there?

Oh, thank the good lord in heaven because holy hell, how I missed you!

The techie came over this morning and replaced a filter in the cable box outside and we’re finally back online. And with shockingly high speed, I might add. We got a new super duper high speed (higher than regular high speed) modem made for people like the BG who download/upload/inload/outload - whatever - huge files, like entire movies and stuff, and the old filter in our box wouldn’t support it. Not that box. Pervert.

So, today we’re off to an infant/child first aid class and a bbq with our baby group. Tomorrow, a lovely walk to Starbucks (Hi Jenny!) for a venti something or other.

Did y’all check out (sm)all ages? She rocks, no?

And my renter over there? —->
It’s your last day to give her some clicky love from here. You’ll be glad you did!

One last thing. I totally need a case of these. Click on “instructions” and view the animation, would ya? It’s funny.

Ahhhh, it’s nice to be back.

My sincere apologies to this amazing blogger and you, dear three or four readers. Due to a dumb blogger technical difficulties her SotW post was broken, as was my whole site, for 36 hours. We’re almost fixed, and I am sorry. I have had to remove some of her links, and will try to get them back in asap. If you left a comment on this post previously, it’s now gone and I’m sad about that. Feeling guilty? Leave another!
———————-

Meet Clea at (sm)all ages. If you have kids, and even if you don’t, you will LOVE this site. Clea is a firm believer that nobody should ever have to listen to the Wiggles. (and if you clicked on that link, you’ve seen that she’s absolutely correct. Ouch.) Clea offers MP3’s (yes, real MP3’s of entire songs) for download of “clean” music that may or may not appeal to your kids but definitely won’t hurt your ears or lower your IQ. I’ve been enjoying Clea for a few months now and have been stockpiling some songs for the Ry-guy to listen to in the car. I’m loving her resources and I have a feeling that you will too.

Enjoy her interview - sans links, unfortuantely, and then head over and check her out!

How did you name your site?

My husband did that. We had talked about putting on all-ages shows during the day that would appeal to kids of all ages, even the littlest ones. And he suggested we call our little company, “small ages.” But we never did it. And then when I thought of this blog idea, I went “ah-ha!” and remembered his brilliant name.

What/who inspired you to start blogging?

I never really knew about blogging till a year ago. I mean, officially. Back in the late 90s when I worked for a skateboard company called Tumyeto in their fledgling internet department, I “blogged”pretty much daily about weird teen stuff (for their now-defunct clothing company, POOT!) But about a year ago I was searching for a live version of a Wilco cover online and up popped a music blog and I was stunned. I literally called my husband and said, “there is this world that speaks
to us, but we don’t know anything about.” I followed a handful of the best music blogs for awhile and then decided to start by own, mostly because of something Oliver at Soul Sides had written about how there were a zillion blogs and yet there was still room for more, especially if they had real focus. So I wrote him and I wrote another blogger I liked, the gal from The Rich Girls Are Weeping. I liked both of their blogs a lot because they have intriguing things to say about their tastes in music, and they just gave me some brief yet potent words of wisdom and encouragement.

Talk about your blog. or… What is the major theme(s) of your blog?

Ah, well in a nutshell, I say, “No one should ever have to listen to the Wiggles.” I post and write about music that is appealing to children and adults alike. I think that the idea of crap-ass music for kids with lots of sanitized synthesizers and saccharine smiles is unnecessary. I think that kids can discern what they like and don’t from the vast array of “good” music being produced and w

but I published a post (an AWESOME site o the week) with a broken link that broke my site, and then before I could fix it, our internet went down…and is still down until at least Saturday. Aaaaargh! I’ll try to republish the SotW until I get it working, and see you again on the weekend I hope.

Until then, please busy yourselves with my renter and some of the loverly folks in my blogroll!

Meet Clea at (sm)all ages. If you have kids, and even if you don’t, you will LOVE this site. Clea is a firm believer that nobody should ever have to listen to the Wiggles (and if you clicked on that link, you’ve seen that she’s absolutely correct. Ouch.) Clea offers MP3’s (yes, real MP3’s of entire songs) for download of “clean” music that may or may not appeal to your kids but definitely won’t hurt your ears or lower your IQ. I’ve been enjoying Clea for a few months now and have been stockpiling some songs for the Ry-guy to listen to in the car. I’m loving her resources and I have a feeling that you will too. Enjoy her interview and then head over and check her out!

How did you name your site?
My husband did that. We had talked about putting on all-ages shows during the day that would appeal to kids of all ages, even the littlest ones. And he suggested we call our little company, “small ages.” But we never did it. And then when I thought of this blog idea, I went “ah-ha!” and remembered his brilliant name.

What/who inspired you to start blogging?

I never really knew about blogging till a year ago. I mean, officially. Back in the late 90s when I worked for a skateboard company called Tumyeto in their fledgling internet department, I “blogged”pretty much daily about weird teen stuff (for their now-defunct clothing company, POOT!) But about a year ago I was searching for a live version of a Wilco cover online and up popped a music blog and I was stunned. I literally called my husband and said, “there is this world that speaks
to us, but we don’t know anything about.” I followed a handful of the best music blogs for awhile and then decided to start by own, mostly because of something Oliver at Soul Sides (http://soul-sides.com/) had written about how there were a zillion blogs and yet there was still room for more, especially if they had real focus. So I wrote him and I
wrote another blogger I liked, the gal from The Rich Girls Are Weeping (http://therichgirlsareweeping.blogspot.com/). I liked both of their blogs a lot because they have intriguing things to say about their tastes in music, and they just gave me some brief yet potent words of wisdom and encouragement.

Talk about your blog. or… What is the major theme(s) of your blog?

Ah, well in a nutshell, I say, “No one should ever have to listen to the Wiggles.” I post and write about music that is appealing to children and adults alike. I think that the idea of crap-ass music for kids with lots of sanitized synthesizers and saccharine smiles is unnecessary. I think that kids can discern what they like and don’t from the vast array of “good” music being produced and we should expose our kids to that and see what they pick (it’s a fun game.) So I focus
on some of the ones we in our family like and others that I think are clean enough for you and yours. I don’t usually write about bands making music for kids specifically unless they are really making music everyone can enjoy on a Sunday afternoon, like Dan Zanes or Lunch Money. My kid doesn’t like every song I post but that’s the beauty of this project. She really does pick and choose what she likes of what we offer up. And I love that and I’ve seen a pattern, although she
surprises me often (like she totally rejects the bad teen pop of the neighbor girls, even though she thinks they are totally cool). She loves heavy head banging rhythms, but she also loves sweetly voiced ingenues.

Do you have IRL “In Real Life” people reading your blog?

Rarely. Most of my friends get CDs from me regularly and aren’t blogging type people. But occasionally a pal will go on and see something and be like, “When do you do this?”

Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Yep. I mean I’m always wittier when I write than when I speak, but yeah they’re the same.

How do you feel about self-censorship in blogging? Are there things that you won’t write about?

Sure, for the first few months I wouldn’t mention my daughter’s name or put pictures of her up. But I did recently. I don’t know, I just felt like I wanted to all of a sudden. I want to stick to my topic and theme, but occasionally I do go astray. I have another blog for big detours though (www.superclea.com) where I don’t even talk about mom stuff. I think blogging is about speaking your mind or sharing what you want, so I think if its self censorship it ain’t censorship. Does that make
sense?

Tell us all about you. What are some of your favourite things? Pet peeves? Anything else you want new readers to know?

Me? Hmm. I love music, I love my daughter (she’s five.) I love my smart hubby and have a super cute dog who is currently wearing a cone and looks like she’s from outer space. I don’t think being a mom is boring like that silly woman who wrote the purposefully inflammatory article about such things, but I do agree that any more than an hour of Barbie or Polly Pockets is too much for me in one day. I write for a living (www.Iwannabooks.com) and love what I do and try to instill a love of work to my daughter, who has decided she will either be a painter like Frida Kahlo or Mary Cassatt (her favorites) or a Princess Baker. Works for me. Favorite things: Wilco, getting my daughter to myself for an afternoon of around-town fun, making stuff, other people making stuff, dreaming up new ideas for projects and businesses, baked potato chips
and shift dresses. Pet peeves: requisite junior high stuff? two faced friends and too much make-up.

Go on…Click! Pay Clea a visit and check out her awesome non-Wiggles music samples! Leave a comment here first, though, okay? Because if you don’t, my feelings will be hurt.

(Click this small button to see this and all previous Sites o’ the Week).
If you would like to be featured as my Site o’ the Week or would like to suggest someone for me to feature, send me and email at muchmorethanamom [at] gmail [dot] com.

I have the flu. The flu sucks. The flu sucks more when you have a baby. This blog sucks when I have the flu and a baby and can’t lift my head, let alone turn on the computer and sit to type.

Actually, I’m 80% better today. Yesterday? Terrible. The BG was out and I couldn’t even change Rylan’s diaper because every time I stood up, I threw up. I crawled to him on the floor, flopped a boob on the blanket and napped while he ate, and then either crawled back to the couch or stayed on the floor with him. Freezing cold. Boiling hot. Freezing cold. Boiling hot. You know? Ick. I still haven’t kept anything in for 36 hours, but I’m getting there. I’m about to drink a big glass of water (gotta make the breastmilk!) and hope it stays in.

So, that’s my lame-ass apology. I’ll be back tomorrow.

For some real entertainment, click on my renter in my sidebar.

and then, watch this, because
{cheese}Yes, Suri, she does exist.{/cheese}

Welcome to my new roomie for the week, Poppy @ The Opiate of the Masses.

Click on her thumbnail in my sidebar and check out what she took out from the library this weekend that makes her a geek…
(I’m totally going to check that out the next time I go to the bookmobile - It looks awesome!)