Only A Mere Woman

     Well, this post is to try and flesh out my blog title a bit, and try to explain where I hear the emphasis in "She? A Mere Woman!" I guess we'll shoot for the emphasis first. I hear it said by a man, scoffing at the idea that "she" could possibly do/think/whatever, hence the question mark. "A mere woman" is meant to be like a put down, showing how he thinks it is ridiculous that a woman even contemplate such a thing, while at the same time discounting the fact that she accomplished it. Does that make sense?       And so we come to the actual definition of " mere " (I don't remember which online dictionary I took it from, sorry). MERE:  1. Being nothing more nor better than. - This was the meaning I had in mind when I decided to take it on as a blog identity, sorta like not as good, lacking. But guess what? There is an even better meaning! MERE:  2. a) Pure and unmixed. 2. b) Fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfi...

     Because MUSCLES!!!!!  Seriously, though, because the stronger my muscles are, the more I will be able to do. I've always been quite active, rather sportsy, and I don't want to lose it. Especially not now that I have kids, and two boys at that. I want to be able to do *ALL THE THINGS!* that they might be interested in doing someday. Goodness, there are things I  want to do someday, like finally hike Old Rag, for instance. But I also don't want to wait forever, for when we no longer have babies that need to be carried. Because who knows when that is going to be! Sure, looking better is certainly a plus, but not my main motivation. I don't want a "perfect" looking body; I want a body I can do  amazing things with! And one of the best sources of information and motivation I have found is Girls Gone Strong . They are all about empowering and motivating women of every fitness level to better who they are as people, not just physically, though that does play ...

     Stretchmarks are the bane of every woman's existence, especially when it comes to pregnancy. I noticed my first stretchmarks somewhere in my teens, much to my chagrin. Lucky for me, they weren't highly visible, though it did not stop me from being ashamed of them. Fast forward a handful of years, and I'm a new mom with even more stretchmarks, also sort of a shock, as I could not see them at all when pregnant. You would think I would not have been that surprised to see them, considering I already had them elsewhere, but I had naively thought that perhaps I would fall into that category of women who do not get them as a result of pregnancy. Silly me. I was rather pleased when they faded from red to silvery, much less noticeable that way. So I was on the look out for them with pregnancy #2, and not to my surprise, but still to my disappointment, there were new ones. All of that consternation was really quite ridiculous, considering I have long been of the opin...

(This is an "I'm trying to figure this out" type of post. If it doesn't make much sense, or isn't well written, that is why)      I never thought it would have come to this. Never pegged myself to be the tree-hugger, crunchy granola type person, you know, the kind we made fun of growing up. But, well, it turns out I was wrong. Not that I'm a full fledged "natural is the only way to go" person, not by any means. I flip flop a lot on the subject, freaking out about how expensive I imagine going all organic, etc. really would be, while simultaneously becoming rather more disturbed by the things I learn in regards to what is allowed to be put in food and lotions and things, all the while reminding myself that we're all going to die some day anyway, and it's so hard to determine what really is good and healthy, so what's the point anyway?      I understand the desire to and thinking behind wanting to only use natural products, but it seems ...

     Christian was dying. He had lived a good life, done his best to align his will with that of his Father, and he was ready to go Home. Surrounded by praying loved ones, he quoted 1 Corinthians: "Death, where is thy sting?" With that, he closed his eyes, and breathed his last.       "My sting?" Death questioned gently as he took Christian by the hand, "Oh, it's still around, though you will not be experiencing it." Christian was slightly perplexed. "If the dying are not touched, then who is?"       Death smiled sympathetically as he answered, "Those left behind. They will feel it when they look at your easy chair, and you are not there. They will feel it at the ocean, where you loved to vacation. They will feel it when that song you always cranked up suddenly plays on the radio. They will feel it on those major life milestones where the whole family celebrates as one. They will feel it on your birthday, the day everyone would ga...

          Well, J.B. has taken to the bottle surprisingly well, and right from the start, too. That was a bit unexpected, for the few times I had pumped so that I could leave for a reasonable amount of time he would never take one, even from Daddy. I guess he must have really been hungry. We did have a brief period about a week after introducing the bottle that he basically refused to take it, but I think he is over that now, considering he drank 5.5 ounces in one sitting yesterday, the most he has ever taken! It brings me much joy and comfort knowing that he isn't going hungry. And you will never know what a good thing wet diapers are, until you don't have any to change, and really should.            Anyhow, it is a great thing that he is getting the nutrition that he needs and I am no longer able to provide for him, but let me tell you, bottles are a hassle! As awful as nursing was in the beginning, all in all nursing is much eas...

          If you read my last post, you would have noted that we are expecting again.  Yup.  This time we decided not to wait to tell people, because I really didn't want to be keeping a secret like that for three months again. It was hard last time.  Well, that's not true.  At first I was like, "We aren't telling anybody ever."  Why, you ask?  Because I so wasn't ready for this, at all.  Not that we were avoiding, exactly, just kinda seeing how well breastfeeding alone worked, but I totally wasn't expecting children 16 months apart.  So, after the congratulations of whoever we told, came the inevitable "So, are you excited? / You must be excited!"  And honestly, I wasn't.  Unless you were to mean excited in the sense of nervous/excitable:  "Oh, she's an excitable person - freaks out at everything!"  I was kinda panicking, actually.  There are days, quite a few of them actually, where it...