A low-post week, brought to you by...

OH. MY. GOSH. Everyone is having their babies already but ME!! WHY???? It's not FAIR!!!! *whinewhinewhine* *moanmoanmoan*

See? Aren't you glad I haven't been posting???

7 Quick Takes

1) I love the idea of Conversion Diaries Quick Takes on Fridays, since it's easier than using my pre-weekend brain to actually think of something coherent to say, but today I'm too lazy to link in to the carnival-- so this is just mine own version.

2) This post by Jordana, on Curmudgeonry, really lifted my spirits yesterday. I would love for you all to go and read it and be re-invigorated in your commitment to the sacrifice of motherhood. And that includes those of you who are mothering other people's children, too-- nieces and nephews, neighbor kids, whatever. I've been saying over and over to myself today, "This is my body, broken for you..." and it has helped me keep my mind on the eternal significance of even the small daily "brokenesses".

3) As I approach the beginning of my third Breastfeeding Adventure, I'm starting to notice articles and posts about breastfeeding as I stroll through the internet. In particular, I've become aware that b/f-ing in public is a very controversial issue-- even in the Church. Well I'll be darned. I never knew. Really. I breastfed Sofi in movie theaters, college dorm rooms, church services, grocery stores, everywhere, and I never really noticed any looks of censure. Maybe I was just naive? But anyway, I found a great article by a breastfeeding husband in the church (for lack of a better label) and got permission to re-post it here. (it'll be up shortly)

4) If you've noticed, I haven't been posting much this week. You can always take blog silence as an indication that something (usually finances) has sent us bad news and I'm slogging through the Slough of Despond. I usually don't blog from there. Too muddy.

5) One more house to see in our price range. Then back to the waiting game-- see if anything else comes on the market in the next week or so. Our letter of approval from the bank is good for 60 days.

6) Home schooling a third grader really shortens your day. I spend an awful lot of my day on nouns, verbs, multiplication tables, line graphs, note-reading and whining children. It's exhausting.

7) On the other hand, there's this:

The Breastfeeding Article of the Month Award goes to...

Melissa Neece!! Or rather, her husband, Kevin. Actually, they can share it, since she wrote the rest of the article. I got her permission to re-publish this excerpt, which is from her husband's perspective.

And to sum up, here is an article about breastfeeding in public that my husband Kevin wrote that I of course think is brilliant:

Written by Kevin C. Neece:

It is really a sexist view that proclaims that women are intelligent and responsible and can make choices about how they respond to stimuli and that men are just drooling animals, uncontrollably dominated by their passions because they are basically too dull-witted to do otherwise. Saying that men “can’t help it” or “are wired that way” may seem like compassion and consideration for men, but in reality it is a degrading gender bias. The truth is that we should expect all adults to behave like adults regardless of their gender.

As a man, I am personally tired of hearing such views bandied about so easily as though they are not at all bigoted. It may be culturally acceptable, but it is wrong to expect men to be the lowest common denominator of our species. Adult men are expected to be and are often portrayed as no more than college frat boys with families. But college frat boys are just junior high boys with newfound freedom and legal permission. And junior high boys are just elementary school boys with sex drives. So essentially, we are telling men that their progress as a gender is so stunted that they can never truly be expected to grow out of boyhood. This is now excused because we tell them that they are genetically wired to be too stupid to grow up. When you place no expectations of civility and maturity on any human being, they will more often than not respond to those expectations by remaining in the realm of their baser instincts. If, however, people are treated as beings capable of civilized, respectful behavior, they develop as such.

Moreover, the story of human progress tell us that the basic project of being human consists of learning, changing, growing, and trying to become more than what we are. By insisting that men are incapable of advancing themselves in a conscious, focused manner, we are depriving them of their basic dignity as human beings by ignoring their potential to grow in positive, civil and mature directions.


As a man married to a breastfeeding mother, to whom I am very sexually attracted, I can say that simply having developed the mindset of the natural, feeding function of the female breasts has allowed me to consistently view my wife’s breasts as sources of food when seen in a functional context, and as sources of arousal when seen in a sexual context. There has never been any confusion between the two. I did not have to be trained or desensitized. All I had to do was learn about the purpose and beauty of breastfeeding. Were the activity of public breastfeeding more common and accepted in our culture in general, and were our expectations of men inclusive of more than unthinking Neanderthal-like sex drives, there would not be an issue regarding the response of intelligent, civilized men to public breastfeeding. A mother must be asked to do no less than put the needs of her child before other considerations. A man’s response to what he may or may not see for a brief moment is his own to deal with.


The breastfeeding conversation among Christians today tends to focus on nipples, nudity, and naughtiness. Instead, Christians should be about the business of helping to develop a view of breastfeeding as normal, natural, and necessary. Part of that process includes the promotion of breastfeeding as an acceptable, everyday experience. This may create some difficulties along the way for Christians who are now grown men, but it will also help prevent future complications for the Christian men of tomorrow. If our boys are raised in a culture that values and openly accepts the fullest, truest nature of the female breast, we can come one step closer to a world that no longer reduces breasts, and indeed women, to mere sex objects.

Familiarizing the younger generation with a broader understanding of the feeding function of breasts will help to prevent unnecessary and unwarranted sexual temptation in the future rather than creating such temptation by presuming a universally sexualized view of the breast. This is not about a few instances of men being bothered by seeing a little skin. It is about a process of cultural education and development toward a more enlightened future where sex is a natural part of life and not something that dominates our lives in a negative fashion. In this future, breastfeeding is placed in its proper context as a normal and necessary function of motherhood, no longer overshadowed by over-sexualization, nor oppressed by the tyranny of titillation. Therefore, normalizing public views of breastfeeding mothers is a move toward moral responsibility and away from the domination of sexual temptation. As such, it is important that it be carried out, not flippantly or defiantly, but with a focus on awareness, education, and acceptance.

Another House

Avalon Blvd- Photobucket Album


So, this house wouldn't really have been in contention with our previous top choices. BUT. Just as we were leaving-- and after I'd already tossed the camera into the front seat of the Honda, so sorry, no pics-- we noticed a sign across the street (right across the street-- direct line from the front door) for "Dew Drop Park". We've lived in Orlando for a month and a half now, but our first reaction was still something like nonchalance. Meh. A park. In the middle of a suburban neighborhood. Probably cute, a few swings, no big deal.

You'd think we'd have learned by now.

We trudged over and Oh My. What a jewel of a park! A lake! Tennis courts! Volleyball court! TWO full-sized playgrounds! Pavillions! Clean bathrooms! Wow. Orlando is the city of parks, that's for sure. They're everywhere, and they're beautiful.

So now I feel like, despite the general blah of this house, I can't quite cross that park off our list. And, as you can see from pics above, it is pretty blah. No extra perks. No backyard-- pool takes up the whole thing. It does have a grapefruit tree on the side, and the curb appeal is pretty good. I love the wrought iron. But the inside is just... you know. Blah. And it's a little pricey.

So it's technically still on the list, but... I guess I just don't see it working out for us. We'll see.

Good answer, son, good answer.

Whenever I have the time I like to take Judah into my bed after his nap and cuddle with him for a while till he wakes up all the way. He's like me, and unlike Sofi, he takes a little while to "warm up" after napping, or in the mornings.

Anyway, one of the sweet things we do during that time is just chat. About stuff. I ask him deep philosophical questions, or we talk about his dreams, or what he wants to be when he grows up. I highly recommend this :)

Yesterday's question:

Me: Judah, what do little boys like best in the whole world?

(me, expecting a dissertation on guns/swords/cars/running/fighting/climbing,etc.)

Judah (takes his binkie out): Mamas.

say it with me now, Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....

Supercool Internet Things

I found some cool thing online this week I'd like to share with y'all :)

First off, here's a link to a blog/website for and about handmade businesses. It's mostly geared towards childrens' stuff, but has a ton of great info, links, hints and articles. I've subscribed to their feed and am loving their photos! So inspiring. Can't wait to put some of what I've learned into practice in Jamie and Judah's new room-- whenever that happens!

From that site's linkage, I discovered another awesome site. It's run by artists from all over the place who donate prints for free download and printing. Some of them are simply gorgeous! I can't wait for the new house to start trying some out-- so I'm totally printing a few today! Goodness knows frames are cheap enough at Goodwill and Salvation Army..

So, how about y'all? Did you find anything fun online this week?

Overheard at our house

Judah runs inside, proclaiming...

I found a lizard, I found a lizard!

(they're everywhere here, but the kids still find it a novelty)

Me: Oh boy! Was it a big one?

Judah: yes, it was weeeally BIG. And it talked to me! *nods vehemently*

Me: Oh really? What did it say?

Judah: It said, hello, do you want to be my friend? and I said yes!



Earlier today:

Sofi: I want to grow up right now and move to Russia and buy a house and have ten kids!

Me: Oh my. Really? Well, go for it!

Sofi: Weell, maybe only eight kids.

Nursing Top Sweepstakes!

Check out what I found! Aren't these CUTE?? You can enter too, but I'd rather you didn't since it gives me a better chance of winning ;)

Downey Park

Ironic to think that after living in fairly rural area of Va their whole lives, the first time my kids get in a lake is after they move to Orlando. Downey Park is AWESOME!! A splash pad AND a lake with lifeguards! What more could you want???

oops

That post from yesterday had the wrong video on it. I fixed it. Go check it out-- it's super cute :)

The Houses we saw... (brought to you today by Children Sleeping Really Late)

As I posted on FB the other day, we went house-hunting on Sunday! We saw about seven or so houses before the kids totally melted down, so we'll go back and see a few more this afternoon.

Before we start our tour, let me remind you that we are specifically looking for a house that needs some cosmetic work. That's our speciality. We buy crappy looking houses, that have good foundations and "bones" and then we give 'em a makeover :) I'm sure you remember all the before and after shots from our Hburg house... So keep that in mind when you look at the following pics. J says I have an "orphaned puppy fixation" when it comes to houses :) The worse it looks up front, the more likely I am to want to buy it and "take it home to love on".

I didn't get a whole lot of pics... it's hard for me to remember to take shots when I'm concentrating so hard on taking it all in, you know? But I'll include the url to the listing for each house and y'all can go there and see better/more pics. How 'bout that?

Initially this one was our favorite:

878 Jericho Drive



It was in the nicest shape-- basically move-in ready. J and I both loved the great room,



(view of the g-r from the kitchen window)



the fireplace and beadboard in the dining room,



and the pool area.



My brain started buzzing right away with plans for the terraced area behind the pool-- ummm, yummy :)



Cons: I really don't like so much carpeting (although J does) and the bdrs were the smallest we saw. Really small. Really too small for two boys sharing a room. But it was at the top of the list for a while. And it's still high-ish :)

At first my favorite was this one:

1017 Bradford Dr

The kids called it The Yellow House :) I lovelovelove the front yard-- especially the big old magnolia out front.



(entryway-- so blurry, but you can make out the cute wainscoting)



The neighborhood is beautiful-- lots of lovely front yards along the block for inspiration. I liked the layout better than Jericho Dr, and the house just felt more spacious in general. The yard is also bigger, with a beautiful fountain beside the pool and more space for swings and general running around.



But, after getting home and doing some research on "terrazzo floors", and pouring over photos and notes, I think both J and I agree that this one is at the top of our list, currently:

240 S Embrey



It needs a lot more work than the others, but it has the most sq footage and so much potential. For starters, there are the floors. Original terrazzo throughout the majority of the house-- and the carpet's already been torn out.



The MBR will need carpeting (it's part of an addition, we think) and the kitchen has just been re-tiled already (over the terrazzo :P ). The bdrs are several feet bigger in both directions, the MBR suite is nice and big and has a brand-newly renovated bath-- with a JACUZZI!! The pool is much bigger than average (that we've been seeing), although the yard is tiny. The front yard is pretty large, so we'd end up doing some re-orienting toward the front. There's also beautiful molding, a built in hutch in the dining room,



french doors to a partially converted garage that could be finished into a man cave/rec room/play room. There's pool access to one of the bathrooms and the MBR has glass doors that open out onto the pool, as well :)





Here's a link (I didn't take any pics) to another one we saw. We liked it, and it's still on the list, but those great pics you see on the listing? Those were taken when it was still owner-occupied-- months ago. Since then it's been foreclosed on and the owners gutted it when they moved out. Took out fixture, appliances and it's been neglected and empty for months. Doesn't look nearly as nice anymore. And the walls have this weird rough plaster thing going on, with, get this, ROPE glued into the wall corners like you'd put up molding, KWIM? And it's all bright red.

Ferncrest Drive

Ok! Opinions? Advice? Suggestions? Bring it on! I'd love to hear any feedback any of y'all might have :) Really and truly. Feel free!