I stumbled across this website today and I am so excited about it.

There are many doulas out there looking for mothers to serve and finally there is a good way to connect the two.

In case you don’t know, a doula is a professional labor assistant.  Usually a woman, a doula’s main role is to provide comfort and information to the laboring mother and her partner.  A good doula is worth her weight in gold and sometimes seems to charge that much.  Seriously in this part of the nation it is not uncommon for a doula fee to range from $300 to $700.  Despite her value, that amount is often out of reach for some mothers-to-be, that is why I am so excited about bellywomen.net.  Skimming through the listings I saw many “doula-in-training” posts.  Each of the doula and child birth education certification organizations (DONA, CAPPA, ICEA, Birthworks…) require an applicant to attend a certain number of births as part of the certification process.  This is very hard to do so trainees sometimes offer their services for free or at a greatly reduced price.  While a doula-in-training will probably not have attended as many births as a certified doula she will still know far more about birth than the average mother and according to studies her mere presence will help your labor to go more smoothly.

I have tried to stay off my doula soapbox during this series because once I get up there I have a tendency to be pushy.  At Sister’s Birth my doula was an anchor for both Will and myself and she was the inspiration for my own doula adventures.  Because of that, I am convinced that every woman should have a doula even as I know that is not entirely realistic.  Perhaps I should just share some doula resources and let you decide for yourself.

The Birth Doula’s Contribution to Modern Maternity Care (DONA)

Dads & Doulas (DONA)

Evidence Based Labor Doula Care (CAPPA)

The Doula Book (a series of studies supporting doula care)

A set of keys for the new house, a set of keys for the apartment, a key for the car and a sundry sort of membership/discount cards conveniently designed for travel, these are the current contents of my keyring.  I have even more keys.  The parents’ houses, other people’s cars, safety deposit box, an office.  It seems my circle of friends is a very secure lot. I wish I could scale down but every key I own is necessary in some way so I have developed a few rules for managing them all.

1. I do not need every key all the time. This means I only carry keys that are used daily.  Ones that are called into service less often remain at home until I need them.  On occasion I have been somewhere that I wished I had a key with me but these times have been few and don’t justify lugging around those extra ounces in my purse.

2. Keys that are not used every day must have a label.  A few weeks ago I saw that the key cutting station at Lowe’s had some custom key designs available.  (flowers, a college logo, or even the word “home”)  This is a good idea IF you can remember what designs signify what locations.  I try to be specific enough with my labels that anyone ”in the know” can find the right key quickly but vague enough that they mean little to a stranger (eg -”Grandparents 9410 back door”, “Will’s Cutlas trunk”).

3. Purge excess, out-of-date, or unknown keys annually.

4. Each set of keys has its own ring and each of these mini rings is stored on a carabiner. Here’s a visual for clarification.

This has been soo helpful.  Dropping my car off for maintenance, I can easily hand the mechanic what he needs while safely keeping the rest in my possesion.  On a hot day, I can start the car cooling and still keep house keys in hand to lock up. 

5. Finally, all of my membership cards are on their own ring and also get purged periodically.  This keeps them from getting in the way of my keys and from multiplying out of control.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about keychain management but it works for me.

Works-For-Me-Wednesday is hosted by Rocks In My Dryer.  You should go there.

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

Goethe

I saw this quote over at Ann Kroeker’s today. I’ve read it before. It’s one of my favorites. I suppose because I am by nature a list maker. There is something about a list that gives me focus. When I start to stray my lists draw me back to the task at hand. I derive great satisfaction from marking off each item completed and, on the rare occasion I actually finish everything, feel a twinge of regret that my list is empty.

In addition to the quote, Ann issued an invitation. Write your own version of Goethe’s words. The opportunity to create a list? How could I refuse?! Here’s mine.

One ought, every day at least, to receive a sticky kiss from a small child, give a passionate one away to a true love, enjoy a good meal in the company of a friend, smile at a stranger, and if it were possible, spend at least a few moments thinking with an open mind.

I’m loading the dishwasher the other day and out of the corner of my eye I see my floor smiling at me.  Strange but true…. see?

I’m not certain what makes a floor as happy as mine apparently is.  I know I don’t like being walked on.  To each his its own, I guess.

Did you play?

We are off to close on our house.  So for today I offer you a link for laughter.  Enjoy!

Birth Cartoons

Click here for previous Birth-Day posts.

We’ve done the final inspections on our new house (Yes, I know you’ve heard nothing about this until now.  I’ll fill you in when I’m a little less preoccupied.  Say… when we’re moved in. )  Anyway, it’s simple little place that will suit us well for a year or so except for one big thing.  The walls are white….ALL the walls.  It’s not “antique white” or “off-white” either.  It’s bright white.  I know I want to paint before we move in but a visit to the local paint center completely overwhelmed me with color.  I know some people consider wall color as easy to change as curtains but I am not one of them.  I stood baffled in front of the rainbow display.  I know what I like on the paint chips but how can I be sure that it will look good on the walls?  At home, I found the Behr ColorSmart System and Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer.  The confusion is gone and I am having so. much. fun!  I’ve tried combinations I’ve never considered before and been pleasantly surprised.  I’ve tried “sure things” and realized they were not what I thought.  Most importantly, I now know what I want to do in the house.

If you’ve got a painting project ahead of you, skip over here and here.  It worked for me.

WFMW is hosted at Rocks In My Dryer.  You should go there.

It seems fitting somehow that on Brother’s third birthday he had three different celebrations.  Each was special in their own way and yet all were very low-key (so unlike Sister’s birthday party trend).

First, a simple breakfast celebration with Grandma & Papa in Tulsa.

After being a birthday observer these past few months he couldn’t quite believe his turn had come.

The following Wednesday (his actual birthday) we celebrated at home with just the four of us. 

Both children enjoyed decorating the cake

and afterwards we played with one of Brother’s presents.

Finally, the weekend came and with it our annual fireworks bonanza at Grandma Mary’s (For those of you keeping track, that would be fireworks show #4). 

Brother had a grand time playing with his cousins….

and what’s not to love about more cake.

Over the last week or so, Brother has spent a large amount of his time here in this box castle/train/car/hideout/boat/etc…

Commercialism would have us believe that only the “bad” parent deprives her children of the biggest/best/newest toy or gadget but one look at Brother playing happily in his box convinces me that this is simply not so.

We recently received as a gift this lovely story and I am reminded even more of the power of imagination.

*edited to correct a grammatical error

Last Christmas Grandma gifted us with a butterfly kit. It came with everything you’d need to raise butterflies … except the butterflies. For that there was a coupon which we saved until the spring. Early in March our caterpillars arrived and over the next few weeks we watched them grow and grow and grow and finally make their way to the top of the cup they came in and attach themselves to its ceiling. The transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis was amazing to watch but nothing compared to the day pictured above. The day they emerged as the lovely winged creatures they were destined to be.

Did you play?

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