Mumsaid

I am spending the day doing small chores around the house and playing on the internet. I say "playing," but really I am doing some planning, reading, and renewing. Yesterday my Babydaddy came home telling me of a frightening, yet rather grand, idea: Paper Christmas. No decorations from the box. Paper and paper only. Handmade decorations. I am not sure about gifts. (I hope it doesn't include gifts because I have already started my Santa-ing.) My first reaction: I MUST have Christmas lights. The lights create warmth in a cold season of darkness. They are Pagan, Christian, AND Jewish in origin. Must. Have. Lights. He agreed. Lights and paper. I thought, "Now THERE'S a visit from Eureka Fire Department waiting to happen. We haven't had them over since the gas leak. I'll whip up some cookies and get ready." I have been researching "green" crafts, and I am not a fan of the Uber-commercialized Winter Holiday Season, so I a

Wow. It's been awhile since I posted. After two false alarms, gestational diabetes, and a serious stumble into SAD, I am being induced on Tuesday. I had such big plans for this blog. I guess I'm still not finished with it. Tim has created Patterville, our very own family site that will basically be my blog/craft adventure outlet, so what to do with Mumsaid? Hmmm... My purposes for this blog: 1) Mumsaid I am a Writer After an upset with my place of work, I hesitate to speak freely about anything, so my writing career will have to be put on hold until I actually quit working in "the social and political democracy in which we live." (This is a catch phrase from my college years. We were taught to be liberally-minded educators at the ready for when our country needed us. It turns out that our country is so completely litigious that freedom of speech isn't exactly guaranteed.) So, writing anything and having an actual following will have to wait. 2) Mu

Pretty cool ticker from The Bump. Now to see if it actually keeps track over time. Either way, it's cute, and I certainly have my priorities....

During these lazy, hazy days of summer, my 8YO and I have traveled to as many of the St. Louis County Libraries as possible. (More on that later. Til then, browse here: http://www.slcl.org ) I have found two books thus far that are worthy of posting, as they have made me laugh out loud while lying my beached whale self on the couch. (Ok, I admit, that's all I have read so far, excepting the craft books that serve as eye candy while a certain neighbor a couple doors down isn't mowing his lawn with his shirt off.) In no particular order, might I recommend a couple books to the momma's out there? #1: Not Tonight Honey, wait til I'm a size 6 by Susan Reinhardt For any momma who understands the need for a little....ah....support. You momma's know what I mean. Pay particular attention to the chapter titled, "The Uterine Comptroller." I was laughing out loud at that one. Note: This author is southern through and through. Though not all of us worr

A few weeks ago, my Patterfamily and I attended a diapering class at Cotton Babies. www.cottonbabies.com It was an introduction to cloth diapers and the variety of choices now available to those interested in an alternative to disposables. Two moms in attendance caught my attention, as they were just too perfect to be pregnant. I try not to judge others, but that night I don't think I tried hard enough. Where are their swollen feet? Their tired, puffy faces? Surely they put pillows under their shirts and came here for a laugh. I was near growling when one of them took out a notebook and began writing, in detail, the ins and outs of dealing with infant excrement. These creatures are the unfortunate product of parenting magazines, I thought. Newbie moms attempting to be Supermommies. They will make sure their offspring have everything their little hearts' desire, all the while scheduling playdates with neighborhood children, ensuring that said offspring remain in acce

That for which I am grateful: a husband who cleans the bathroom in the middle of the night an 8 year old boy with a darling stitched up face and cheerful disposition the unfailing love of my family the gift of sharing other people's children (big and little) hugs and offers of help from said children just when I need them Saturday morning the little peach-sized baby in my belly new Birkenstocks the somewhat feral cat that calls this house "home" the little feet I hear coming back to see me on the computer I know there's more...if you, dear reader, care to add your own "Thank You's" by way of comments, please do.

I just got back from a weekend yoga retreat in Golconda, Illinois. (More info on that below. Great place.) My darling Sarah and I were the "pregnant girls" in the group. All weekend I felt high as a kite and yet was as sober as can be. It was fabulous. A yoga class and cookout on Friday, two yoga classes, one circle gathering, one philosophy class and a yoga nidra class on Saturday, one yoga class and one circle gathering on Sunday, fabulous meals, Christian Icons all over the place, Kentucky farmland across the Ohio River right outside my back door...it's no wonder that I am crashing upon my arrival home. I was snotty to my husband on the phone, snotty to my husband about the chaotic state of our home, and snotty to my husband while he baked us bread, grilled chicken to last a week, and grilled veggies. Why? What has happened? Where did the Om go? I was so certain that everything I was experiencing was "authentic" and everyone I came in contact with was &

When I was very young, there was a phrase we used to mean, "You had better listen and obey, because Mom told you to." If a statement was preceded by "Mumsaid," it was immediately turned into a directive. For example, "Mumsaid to go change the laundry." That implied that the laundry was to be changed from washer to dryer, a new load started, and the clean clothes brought upstairs immediately. If you questioned any direction and heard "Mumsaid" as your answer, no further explanation was given or necessary...that word was Law. Self: "Why should I go change the laundry? I am reading/playing/drawing/watching TV." Sibling (usually older): "Mumsaid." Self: "Awwww....but I don't want..." Sibling: "Mum said ." Self: "Fine." And Self stomps downstairs to complete the chore, mimicking the sibling saying the Law. As the youngest, it was with pure spite that I enforced the "Mumsaid Law." Ord