I haven’t talked much about it, because I’ve been terrified that things will fall through, but… We seem to be on track for a (local) move the first week of April. Jeff and I love the new house, the new neighborhood, the new yard, the new school, the new everything and are anxious to get settled. The kids? Not so much.

As part of the bribery tool to help make the transition smoother for the them, we’ve built up the new rooms they’ll be moving into. New wall colors! New blankets! New clocks! New curtains! New, new, new! Exciting, right? I certainly think so.

Now, I thought it went without saying that I, as their mother, would be the one responsible for said rooms. Sure, I’d work with their passions (dinosaurs for the boys and sweet little illustrations for Lily,) but this was my project. I’d get to pick out the bedding and decide on the wall art for them. I’d choose ballet slipper over hot pink for Lily’s walls. I’d decide that timeless Tyrannosaurus Rex was a far better choice than the trendy Transformer quilt. Me, me, me. For them, of course.

My husband, on the other hand, seemed to have some other ideas. He had the nerve to whip out the paint chips last night and steer the kids the direction he envisioned. At IKEA last weekend? He had the gall to encourage a brightly colored quilt for Ben that totally clashed with the well thought out color scheme I had decided on. The nerve!

The decor of my children’s rooms simply is not debatable. It’s fun for me and I’m good at it. That makes it my job. And, the fun filled process helps balance out the fact that I’m the default laundry do-er, lunch maker, puke and poop cleaner-upper and middle of the night go-to parent. That’s only fair, right? Should my husband decide to take any of those off my plate, I’m willing to let him choose the pillow shams.

But I still get veto power.

I grew up with a father who documented every single moment in film. It drove me completely crazy, and there have to be hundreds of shots with my hand out in front of the camera, scowling back at him. I swore that when I had children I would never be that parent. I would never torture my own offspring like he did.

Flash forward to parenthood and I am totally obsessed with documenting my children’s everything. So much for saying never. Lily’s first phrase? “No cheese!” And she wasn’t talking the American kind. Someday, she’ll be grateful. Or, at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

I’ve learned so much about taking good pictures of my kids over the last few years, but am always looking to improve my photo skills without getting too technical. Here’s how some of my favorite photographer friends capture their own kids on film, along with a few tips of my own. Happy shooting!

1. Get on their level: It took me until recently to get this and it’s made all the difference in the world. Roll around on the floor. Kneel down in front of them. Crawl up behind them— anything is better than looking down three feet at them. Focus on their eyes and you’ll get a better shot!

2. Give little hands something to hold: It’s amazing how putting something in a child’s hands (whether it be a favorite stuffed animal, a piece of string or a small rock) can stop the fidgets and help them focus. {From Lolli at Better in Bulk}

3. Never tell them to smile: Ever. I’m serious. {From Ryan at Pacing the Panic Room}

4. Act like a crazy person: Make goofy faces, jump up and down, spin around singing songs. The more insane you look, the harder they’ll laugh. Who cares what passersby think? You’re going home with priceless photos.

5. Make them part of the picture, not all of the picture: They are a small person in a big world; it’s ok if they look small sometimes. {From Christian at Cultural Savage}

6. Get intense: I use this on both kids and adults if I want that really intense look, I say:  “if you look through the lens ALL the way, you can see my eye back there. You have to really look hard”  The result is a really committed focused look from the subject.  (this backfires with the super little ones, because they immediately want to put their face up to the lens to look through it to find my eye.) {From Ryan at Pacing the Panic Room}

7. Bribe them with candy: Sure, not the healthiest, but there is little my children won’t do for a few M&Ms. A whole bag? I’m in picture heaven. Just make sure to wipe their mouths between shots.

8. Let them get lost in their own world: They have a much easier time forgetting the camera’s around if something else interests them.  Their reactions are a lot more honest and real and true which makes shooting children so rewarding! When I want to get a shot of them looking at the camera I’ll surprise them by saying their name quick and excited-like they look over really fast and I press the button…those shots are the most amazing! Especially if they smile excitedly back like they want to share in my secret! {From Shelle at BlokThoughts}

9.  Become a shutterbug: I laugh when I see a parent take “a” picture at the zoo.  You aren’t photographing still life bowls of exotic fruits, yo! They are kids and unpredictable and always moving. Keep your finger on the button and delete when you get home.  I typically take 100 pictures on a trip to a zoo and keep only a dozen. But boy are they awesome. {From Pauline at Classy Chaos}

10. Delight your children: Think of ways to delight them and then save it for when you have the camera around.  I love being able to capture those looks of wonder and excitement on my kids’ faces. {From Amy at Bitchin Wives Club}

Care to add any?

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And once you get that perfect shot, you’ll need some amazing way to present it. Click here to WIN my new favorite find. You won’t want to miss it!

My two year blogging anniversary is today. Blog years are like dog years— two must be at least six or seven, right? Because it seems like forever.

When I started out, I had no idea where I wanted blogging to lead, other than that I wanted a modern sort of baby book for my kids. I wish someone had given me a few tips, because I didn’t know a thing. Here is what I wish I had known, way back then…

1. Buy your domain. For the cost of a sandwich, you can own your very own dot com. It’s so worth it.

2. Know your worth. I had no idea that bloggers could get stuff… For free! I cringe when I look at the the things I sold out for in the early days. Is some soap worth writing a whole review for? Maybe, but if it’s not, you don’t need to do it. You can say no.

3. Never promote something you wouldn’t recommend to a friend. Hyping up a movie for weeks before seeing it is not the smartest thing. And, if all you can talk about upon finally viewing it is possibly giving the star lice? It won’t be so easy to get paid. Plus, you’ll feel like an idiot.

4. Bloggers aren’t weird old men living in basements. (For the most part.) They’re people just like you looking to connect with people like them. And they can become amazing friends.

5. But, mean people do hide behind computers. Toughen up and be prepared for people to call you a bad mother, poor writer and questionable person. And, you have every right to delete those comments.

6. If you’re serious about blogging, start on Wordpress. Blogger is totally fine (and free! and easy!) if you’re just in it for a scrapbook of sorts, but if you want traffic and money and opportunities, Wordpress is a better option. Once you start on a platform, it’s not so easy to move. Plan ahead.

7. Begin your blog name with an A. Everything is blog-world is alphabetized and those names that are lucky enough to start with an A, B or C get the most exposure on every list. Starting with an S? Kind of sucks.

8. Every blogger feels jealousy. So and so gets this or that and you don’t. It’s a crappy feeling, but we all get it. Read Hey, Jealousy by Loralee. And, chin up.

9. Remember why you started. For fun, right? If it becomes stressful or overwhelming, step back and reevaluate. You are allowed to do that. It’s YOURS!

10. Should you stick with blogging for a whole year (which makes you a total veteran,) read this post on what to expect on your first anniversary from Ann’s Rants. Who was smart enough to start her blog with an A.

How did mothers ever cook dinner before the invention of television?

Seriously, Scooby-Doo, you’re a life saver. Bless you.

{I’m hanging out with the Aiming Low girls today. Stop on by and say hi!}

Every night in our house there comes a moment when Jeff and I start jockeying for a free pass on the nighttime parenting rituals. We go back and forth comparing our days: I got up at 5. Well, I had to fly to New York. I got up at two o’clock in the morning to deal with a bed-wetter and had to take all of the the kids for flu shots. But, I had to fire someone and present a powerpoint in front of 500 people. And so on. Whoever is deemed the winner of the “woe is me” awards is the one who can sit out the teeth brushing or story reading or homework assisting.

Last night was a toughie.

I had a fine day: Dropped a smiling Lily off at the bus stop. Worked at Starbucks for most of it and managed to get quite a bit of work done. Ran to Target to buy diapers. Not bad.

He got up before five o’clock in the morning to drive to the airport to fly to Chicago wearing a business suit. Took a train to his office there and had back-to-back meetings for five hours. At the end of the day, he walked four blocks to the train, rode it back to the airport, flew back to DC and drove home, arriving well after eight.

No brainer, right? He wins.

Except that I got puked on upon picking Ben up from school. Like, all over puked on. Down the shirt, seeping into the bra and in my hair. Cheesy, curdled vomit. It was pretty gross.

Guess who won and got to sit out the teeth brushing for some blog writing?

It seems a little puke goes a long way in the house. But, I’ll take it any day over business travel in a suit.

I’m speaking next weekend at Bloggy Boot Camp, hosted by the amazing girls over at SITS. I’ll finally be meeting friends that I’ve been communicating with for (what seems like) ever. One of them has kept me laughing for the past two years and another one will even be staying with me. {Yay for blogging conferences that don’t require you to fly!} And the other 78? I cannot wait to meet them, too.

The subject matter I’ll be speaking on is building your blog audience through social media. I figured I may as well share my thoughts here, too. This being my blog and all…

When you start out blogging, the best way to get your name out there is through commenting on other blogs. It introduces you to fellow bloggers and puts your name on the map. Think of every single comment as a little calling card– they’re a reflection of you and the more entertaining or intriguing they are, the more likely people are to click and be brought to your blog. And become your readers.

Time flies when you’re busy commenting and it’s easy to spend hours on it. After you’ve been blogging a while, though, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with the constant commenting. There are only so many hours in the day and I, for one, really need that daily shower. So, I use social media sites to promote my blog, and also to support the blogs belonging to friends/readers of mine. It’s less time consuming than commenting and can be a great way to spread the bloggy love. And who doesn’t want more of that?

Twitter is my favorite social media application. I love the instant gratification of it. I love being able to keep in touch with people without having to get into long e-mail exchanges. I love finding cool posts others have tweeted and being able to share my own. But to be successful, you need to have a following. Start by following people you like. Interact with them. Follow basic Twitter etiquette. Use the countless Twitter tools out there. Once you get the hang of it, it’s fun! Especially so with a glass of wine.

StumbleUpon is lots of fun and quite addictive. Jennifer from Playgroups Are No Place For Children gives the best StumbleUpon tutorial out there. It’s super easy to get started and I do see a decent amount of traffic from it. I also try and Stumble great posts as soon as I read them. How it works remains a bit of a mystery– some posts take off and some don’t, but it’s always a nice effort to make.

Facebook is another way to promote your blog. You may want to consider creating a separate account just for your blog, and a making fan page. Slap your blogroll on there. Become fans of the pages belonging to your friends. Help spread the word about their blogs and they’ll do the same for you. Facebook can be so much more than your long lost high school BFF.

Kirtsy is known as “Digg for Chicks.” The sites operate the same way, each highlighting user-submitted content that makes it to the front page by being voted up by the community or chosen by the editors. Digg’s traffic potential is higher than traffic from Kirtsy, but Kirsty is geared just towards women. While you may not see thousands of visitors, it’s a really cool site run by really cool women, and definitely one worth playing around with.

There are countless others out there, too. Delicious is a popular bookmarking site, though I don’t personally use it. Linked In is another site that you can use to promote your blog, though it’s a bit too businessy for me (When you make up words, perhaps you don’t belong there.) There are countless, and you need to find the few that work for you. Once you do, connecting with people through them is a breeze. And, at the end of the day, that’s what blogging is all about.

What’s your favorite application? And, have you written anything lately that you’d like shared? Leave it in the comments and I’ll Stumble or Tweet it!

Why would a non-reptile loving person allow an assortment of  lizards, turtles and snakes into her house on a Saturday afternoon?

To see this, of course!

I would do just about anything to make that little face smile.

Happy fourth birthday, my love. I hope this is your best year yet!

{If you live in the PA/MD area, I can’t recommend Critter Caravans highly enough. If you can handle it, that is.}

{Alternatively titled: The nastiest picture of my daughter you will ever see. I pray.}

Last week, we sold the changing table that we’ve used for all three nurseries. As the young couple walked out with it, rosy with the excitement that can only come from expecting your first child, my husband pulled aside the stranger-man and passed on to him some wisdom. Birth, he whispered, is the grossest thing ever. Just to warn you.

The poor guy looked both terrified and intrigued. Perhaps, unlike us, he actually attended birthing classes and knew what he was in store for. Or, maybe he was just as naive as we were, who knows. For Jeff, every delivery room occurrence came as a surprise. A very gross one.

Aside from my constant vomiting and complaints of comstipation, I think I managed to remain as ungross as possible for most of the nine months I was pregnant. Sure, my skin had some issues and I gained ten pounds alone thanks to a massive Nutella craving, but I wasn’t that bad. Once I lost my mucous plug, though? All bets were off. Bring on the gross.

It began when Jeff was spooning me in the hospital bed. My labor was slow and the nurse had just broken my water. A few minutes later, along with amniotic fluid, the entire contents of my bladder were emptied. All over my husband. Honestly, it was oddly liberating– it’s kind of a pain running to the bathroom all the time. It also was great preparation for what else my system voided itself of during the active part of labor. Thank goodness for attentive nurses.

The whole labor and delivery thing is straight out of a sci-fi flick— the iodine they coat you in before delivery? Yuck. The stuff oozing out of your boobs? The tearing? The placenta, for crying out loud? It doesn’t get much nastier than that slimy thing. Post delivery is just as bad– the ginormous maxi-pads, the scarring, the sitz baths, the massive bleeding and clotting— I swear I thought I was dying each and every time.

But the result? It goes without saying that it’s all worth it.

In a few months, I mean.