Thank you, Stacy, for sharing your story.

Round one.

When I was pregnant with my first, I half decided to give birth naturally. I started seeing some midwives and attended a hypnobirthing class, but if I am going to be honest I always knew in the back of my mind that I could opt for an epidural since I would be in the hospital – which is why I say half decided. I was scared of the unknown. But I read the book cover to cover, practiced the relaxation techniques almost daily, and kept telling myself I could do it…with that ever-present ‘maybe’ trailing along behind…

When I finally started having contractions 9 days past my due date I failed miserably at putting into practice everything I had learned. I didn’t even bring my relaxation music with me to the hospital. I was excited and scared, but mostly naive. I dilated to about a 5 or 6 before I started seriously thinking about that epidural. Her birth was still a good experience and I didn’t feel bad about getting the epidural, but a part of me knew that I had to prove to myself I could do it naturally next time.

Round two.

With my second daughter, I started having practice contractions on a Wednesday night 2 days past my due date about 20 minutes apart which got me excited because I knew from my first experience it was only a matter of time now that I was actually feeling something. The next night Husband and I went out to dinner for some spicy Thai food in hopes to get things really started and to have one last date. Once we got home my contractions started getting a little more intense and by 1:30 am I was calling my mom to come over since I had asked her to be my doula. I realized from my first experience that I needed to surround myself with more support. I knew my mom would encourage me to keep going naturally if my resolve started wavering.

By Millie

I saw this simple way to make flashcards for my kids somewhere and have been wanting to try it for awhile. We just gathered our animal toys and took photos of each them on a white background. We got them printed up and…viola…now we have flash cards. I love that every card we make is of something relevant to them…some object they recognize and love and care about learning.

For my two year old, I’m using them to help her learn matching the toy to its photo and learn the animal names. For my older children, I’m going to add written name cards so they can recognize the animals names and have them practice writing the names themselves as well. The kids have really been enjoying them.

If my man were the type to squeal, he totally would have when we opened our package from Passive Juice Motel. I mean, a shirt with Ira Glass on it? His dream come true.

And I’m pretty sure the Einstein t-shirt they sent my kids is going to make them smarter. But seriously, if you’ve ever wanted a quirky tote or an awesome t-shirt or plush Mona Lisa or Bill Murray or Earnest Hemingway (and who hasn’t!), this is the shop for you.

Thanks, Passive Juice Motel!

By Heather

Cole has been completely enamored with drawing and coloring lately. He walks around all day with his notepad and writing utensil, “jotting” down his ideas and scribbling the pictures in his mind. It’s darling.

The other night he was asking about the journals that Matt and I have, and expressed that he wanted a journal of his own to write in when he goes to bed at night. The only slight problem is that he can’t spell, let alone write a journal entry. And that’s when it hit me. He can DRAW a journal entry! I asked him if he’d like a nighttime drawing journal of his very own. His face lit up and was very excited about the idea!

The next day I went to the dollar store and purchased a simple composition book. I covered it in old fabric that I had, and voila! It was done in about 4 minutes! The fun thing is that you can decorate it however you want, or even have your child decorate it. I also got a $5 container (this one’s really cute!) and put a few boxes of crayons inside.

So the journal and crayons sit on Cole’s nightstand so we never forget to use it each night. Before he goes to sleep, we’ll ask him what his favorite thing was about the day. Then he draws it, and we write the date and translate the picture in a little caption on the page. Sunday he was asked to give a prayer in church. He was pretty excited about it, so he drew a little podium with a microphone. He drew himself, and all of the chairs his classmates sit in, and a picture of his teacher (that’s what he tells me the picture is about, at least ).

Have fun with this activity! I only let Cole use this journal (notebook) at night so it’s special and doesn’t get old. During the day he has a different notebook to color in that can be tossed about.

By Millie

I’ve been wanting to do another project that my two year old could get in to. I find I usually pull out a project when she is sleeping, but sometimes I feel a little more ambitious. Collage seemed like the perfect foolproof activity for this age.

I started out by slightly watering down a quarter sized blob of white glue, then pulled out some tissue paper scraps, brushes, and we were off. I demonstrated tearing the tissue paper and we each made a small pile. After playing around a bit, we found that painting the paper with the glue water first, then place the tissue paper, and then paint a little more glue water on top worked best for us.

You can’t mess this up!

Today’s picks are from Adri Gamboa, the queen of the handmade hoodie!

1>> The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel ::  This is played constantly around our house lately.

2>> Jamberry Nail Shields :: I’m sporting this style right now.

3>> Triangle Hair Pins :: Perfect for an easy hair day.

4>> Vertical Succulent Planter :: A fun family project, and good for morale because they’re hard to kill.

5>> I Love You to the Moon and Back Print  My favorite thing hanging in my boys’ room.

By Heather

 Sometimes kids can be really difficult to photograph. I’ve been taking pictures for quite some time now, both in the portrait setting and also a lot of my own kids (TONS). Over the many years I’ve been shooting, there are a few simple tips that have helped me get “the perfect shot”.

- Make sure the kids are having fun and are comfortable! If they have something that makes them happy, weather it be their favorite blankie or a silly pair of glasses (pictured), let them see it or play with it, and that’s when you’re going to get more natural results.

-If you’re in a very comfortable environment, like your home, just let your kids be themselves. Then sneak out your camera and get them interacting the way THEY want to. Then you’ll be able to capture and remember how they really were. Remember, they don’t always have to be looking at the camera in order to take a beautiful photo.

-Natural, indirect sunlight makes for beautiful photos. You’ll be shocked at what a roll lighting plays in a photo. Play around with the different ways your child is facing a window. It can give the photo a beautiful, soft, natural lighting that makes your photo picture perfect!

-Ask your child to tell their favorite joke. That gets them smiling naturally and usually gets me the cutest pictures. Sometimes I even ask them to spin and jump around until I say stop, and after they do there’s all smiles (without the cheese)!

Remember, taking pictures of your kids doesn’t have to be torture! Let it be fun and natural, and you’ll see the same in your photos.

The day we got our Koteli bag in the mail was a GOOD DAY. I mean, a reusable bag that I can actually get folded back up into its little pouch? Sign me up.

This is seriously our go-to bag now. It has become our pool bag (it even fits the towels!), our diaper bag, it was our beach bag on a recent vacation, and we take it to the grocery store on its days off.

And they donate 10% of their online sales to the SEE-Turtles’ Billion Baby Turtles Campaign. Who doesn’t want to help baby turtles??

You can even use them as giftwrap.

Last summer my husband and I, along with our two and a half year old son Parker, moved across the country. We had so much to look forward to but were most excited for the arrival of our second child. A girl to be named Matilda. Like most parents we had some worries, but never in a million years could we have imagined the amount of pain, heartbreak, and happiness that she would bring.

Matilda was born on September 21st, 2012. She was perfect and healthy. We took her home, we ate chocolate cake, and we laughed and danced in the living room. Everything was how it should be. Until she started sleeping more, eating less, and throwing up after nursing. We took her to the ER when she was eight days old, which led to an ambulance ride to the nearest children’s hospital and a subsequent transfer to NYC. I was told my now nine-day-old baby was in critical condition with acute liver failure.

To this day, I have no idea what happened. I cannot comprehend how I went from holding the most beautiful baby girl I had ever seen to watching her limp body wither away.

Matilda was placed on the top of the transplant waiting list – she weighed 6 pounds and would need a whole liver from a baby of similar size. This broke my heart. I was naive and had never considered that babies need small organs.

The idea of a liver transplant honestly terrified me. The statistics for surviving such a surgery at Matilda’s weight/age did not encourage a hopeful outlook. I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to Matilda at the door of an operating room and worse, not being by her side if she were to pass. I looked to previous neonatal liver transplant recipients for encouragement and to my faith for solace.

The days leading up to Matilda’s transplant were overwhelming. I remember feeling butterflies every time I looked at her. She was slipping away; we could see that. Complications continued to stack up and talk of removing Matilda from the waiting list grew closer by the minute. They warned us that she might not remain a viable candidate for much longer. We refused to lose hope and were determined to enjoy life by celebrating the time we had together. I made Matilda an owl costume for Halloween. She looked adorable.

On November 2nd, Matilda’s six-week birthday, her match was found. It came from a two week old. When the transplant team came to us with the news, we felt confident. Our last hours with Matilda prior to the transplant were peaceful and beautiful. We held her hand, we read her stories, sang her songs, and prayed for comfort and strength. The transplant went better than anyone could have imagined. The surgeon said it was remarkable that she was still alive. Only 1% of her original liver was still functional when they removed it from her tiny body.

Every day, every moment that I hold Matilda close, kiss her cheeks, and make her laugh I am reminded that she is a gift. The moments that I have with her were conceived, nourished, and brought into this world by another family. A mother chose – in what I imagine to have been the saddest moment of her life – to bring light into my life through the gift of organ donation. 

We were blessed, many are not. Please take a moment to consider registering yourself and your children to become organ donors and save lives in the wake of tragedy.

Hey guys. Hope you had a great weekend! We sure did. Freshly Picked was on ABC4!

And local friends, don’t forget about the Road Rally today at 11…hope to see you there!