spam i am?

for the last few weeks, i've been "taking care of business." swap business that is! for those of you participating in the swappity swap, ALL of the emails have be sent (& hopefully, they have ALL been delivered, & received). i've felt a bit like santa claus... making my list, checking it twice, hoping everyone will play nice. we have a gadzillion people participating this year in the swap. okay, okay - not a gadzillion, but over 500. i've lost count, there are so many emails going back and forth. if you haven't gotten your email yet, please, please, please contact me! (accordingtokelly@gmail.com) i've been having all kinds of crazy email issues, it wouldn't surprise me one bit, if the gmail monster ate a few emails along the way! with over 500 swappers, i've been sending out a ton of emails (as you can imagine). part-way through my email campaign, gmail decided i was a spammer. (what? little 'ole me? never!) in an effort to protect the world from my spamming ways, gmail started limiting the number of emails i could send out in a 24 hour period. which, really delayed many of our swappers receiving their partners information. for that i am so sorry! if i could, i'd send each of you a personal apology - i hate being late, for anything. but there are just way too many of you, so this "blog" apology will have to do! because i was late in getting out all the "particulars", i don't want you to feel rushed. so, i'm going to be extending the swap deadline... please have your swap packages sent by friday, august 14th. hopefully, this will give you enough time to gather your goodies & become the best of besties with your swap partner. oh, & if you are wondering what to send, or looking for a little inspiration, check out last year's flickr pool here. & once you receive your package, be sure to post photos here, for everyone to enjoy!

now that the swap business is slowly wrapping up, at least my end of it (now, it's all up to you folks!), i'm going to be taking a few day off - a blog vacay of sorts. lately, there has been all kinds of drama in my life (technological, personal & everything in between), & i just need a bit of a breather. but don't worry, i'll be back soon. hopefully, completely refreshed, totally inspired, & ready to tackle to world. so check back soon, & check back often. soon, i'll be back "on my feet," rearing to go!

be back soon...

what my boys do, when i'm feeding the baby.

all i want for christmas...

i am currently lusting & drooling over THIS mixer. the candy apple red & clear mixing bowl are calling my name. sure, christmas might be many moons away. but you can be sure THIS baby is going to the top of my list. she's pretty enough, she'd actually earn a continuous resting spot on my counter (my current mixer makes it's home in the cupboard, when it's not in use).

image via williams-sonoma.

bathing beauty.

just keeping cool.

are you ready to get your swap on?

okay ladies... i'm hard at work on the swap. actually, to tell you the truth, all the hard work is done. what i NEED to do is email everyone their partners. so don't worry if you haven't received your partners' info, you're not the only one. & i promise (crosss my heart & hope to die, stick a needle in my), i'm not ignoring you. so, if you've sent me an email, please don't hate me if i haven't responded. it's not that i don't love you, because i do! i really, really do! the problem has to do with my email account. under normal circumstances i LOVE my
email system. but, because there are sooo many swap participants (i think we are in the 400s this year! holy cow!), i'm sending alot of emails. gmail seems to think i'm a spammer. so, i can only send out a few emails at a time, otherwise everything i send starts bouncing back, & then they lock my account. & when i say lock my account, i mean i can log in, i can receive email (i think), but i can't send any email for 24 - 72 hours. i've already had that happens once, thus far, so i'm trying to avoid getting locked out again. so, with that being said. i promise, your partners' info is on it's way. in fact an email with YOUR name is sitting, at this very moment, in my drafts, just waiting to be sent. i'll probably extend the deadline by a week or so, to make up for this lost time, but that's a discussion for another day. today i'm just concentrating on getting out all the emails & fantasizing about my hubby's birthday cake that i can't eat (all the sugar, flour & dairy... this diet really kind of sucks). so please, i ask of you, i beg of you, just be patient a little while longer. sooner than later you'll be getting your swappity swap on!

original image via HERE.

so, the secret's out.

i hate to shatter any images you might have had of me, but obviously, i'm not perfect & i am far from being super mom. i'm the first to admit that being a mom is hard, hard work. but luckily, as we have so recently learned, "we're all in this together." sure, it might be a line from a cheesy disney movie (which i love btw, bring on the cheese baby!), but... cheesey or not, the words definitely ring true. it's kinda like our very own, very special mom anthem:

everyone (every mom) is special in their own way
we make each other strong
we're not the same
we're different in a good way
together's where we belong

we're all in this together
once we know
that we are
we're all stars
and we see that
we're all in this together

i love that... "we're all in this together!" suddenly i don't feel so alone. because, often times, that's exactly how i feel - alone. when you are deep in the throws of motherhood, it's easy to think that you're all alone, that no one has ever felt this way before, or would understand what you're going through. but luckily, this isn't true. mothers all over the world, at this exact moment, are having the exact same feelings & emotions. together we can share our experiences & frustrations, our disappointments & joys, and together "we make each other strong."

so today i thank YOU... thank you for encouraging me. thank you for being a shoulder to lean on. thank you for inspiring me. thank you for listening to me. thank you for sharing your experiences with me. thank you for not judging me. thank you for always being there. thank you for making me stronger. we are definitely "all in this together."

in the end, all i can hope for, all anyone can hope for, is to my best & follow mr. lincoln's advice: "whatever you are, be a good one." so, i might not be super mom, & might be far from perfect. but, in the end, at least i know (& hopefully one day my kids will know) that i am always, always doing my best. & that's what's really important.

so, let's make a promise to each other today... let's promise that we will continue to be "all in this together." let's continue to create "a judgment-free zone, a sisterhood of motherhood where anything goes" in the words of oprah. & together, let's promise, that we will continue to do our best & forget all those silly expectations. so who's with me - any one want to pinkie swear?

image via here.

the truth about motherhood.

going on month number two in little charlie's life, i still find myself pretty much housebound. that's right, i haven't quite gotten the hang of taking three kids out on the town. & as much as i'd prefer to be crafting, holding my little baby, doesn't leave much time for projects. so, these days i find myself watching lots of tv. did you happen to catch oprah's the truth about motherhood episode? maybe it's just the stage (of life) i'm in right now, but i swear the entire show was the extension of an on-going conversation playing inside my head. everything they said, i could totally relate to... "oprah is saluting moms everywhere and letting them know they have support. 'we hear from mothers all the time who say they feel alone. they feel overwhelmed; they feel sometimes inadequate. and you say you're afraid to admit the truth for fear of bing judge," oprah says. 'so today we're creating a judgment-free zone, a sisterhood of motherhood where anything goes."

when they said "the expectations we have on ourselves is completely unrealistic. this generation of women was raised to believe that we should and could do it all... and that list (of expectations) is so huge that we think if we can't live up to that, then we're not good moms." i wanted to shout: AMEN! & i couldn't agree more with the idea that "the one universal truth about motherhood seems to be that no one ever tells you what to really expect." so, today, i too am "creating a judgment-free zone, a sisterhood of motherhood where anything goes". & although i LOVE being a mom, (i really, really do!), sometimes, i wish i had been more prepared for motherhood, if you know what i mean. so, here are some of the truths about motherhood, that no one remembered to tell me. maybe someone else can benefit, or possibly at least relate...

* every woman doesn't LOVE being prego. there definitely are some women who do, but i wasn't one of them. i hated getting fat, i never had that "pregnancy glow". all in all, pregnancy isn't exactly my favorite stage in life.
* recovery AFTER the delivery can sometimes be harder, and worse, than the actual delivery. (i was put on bed rest for 6 weeks after i had gavin.)
* stay in the hospital as long as possible. you might be bored & lonely, but when you go home, you're on your own. at least in the hospital you can call a nurse for help.
* i must not have paid very good attention during health class, because i did not realize i would bleed for weeks. (a bit personal, i know, but a truth about motherhood that i did not know.)
* breastfeeding might be natural, but it is definitely NOT easy & often times it can be painful
* hemorrhoids, 'nuf said!
* your boobs will never be perfect again... they'll get super huge (& probably painful while engorged), & then they'll shrink down, practically becoming indentations.
* just because you carried the baby for nine months, doesn't mean you can soothe & quiet them when they are screaming bloody murder, for hours & hours on end.
* sometimes, you'll go days without showering. a pony tail will become your new 'do, a hat your new best friend, & you can go hours without realizing you haven't eaten anything.
* finding the energy & time to do all the things you "used" to do isn't going to be easy
* sleeping more than 2 hours in a row should be considered a luxury
* getting the time & energy to clean the house, fold the laundry, or load the dishwasher will make you feel like you've won the lottery
* counting the number of wet & dirty diapers will become your new hobby
* you'll find yourself thinking "of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up. (especially when you are feeding the baby every 6 units!)"via about a boy.
* in the end, holding your little baby, seeing them smile, hearing them laugh... will make you forget everything else, as though it never happened, & make you willing to possibly, do it all over again.
edited to add:
* i always knew i was going to breastfeed, i just was never prepared for how much i could (and would) leak. i didn't realize that i could soak through my shirt, even while wearing a nursing pad.
* i wasn't prepared for being man-handled by everyone. i didn't realize that i would also get used to totally strangers grabbing & "feeling up" my boobs.

so, your turn. what are some of the truths about motherhood that you wished someone had told you? what's the real scoop on motherhood?

i'm starving.

so i've been battling a medical condition. nothing extremely serious, although it is very painful & makes me feel terrible, pretty much all of the time. i've tried natural remedies, as well as lots & lots of strong medications. & yet, nothing seems to kick this bad boy in the butt. so, as a last resort i'm starting a new diet. the no sugar, no wheat, no starch, no dairy, no processed foods diet. i'm a going to avoid all forms of sugar & wheat as well as processed foods that promote yeast growth. basically, i can't eat anything. (on the plus side, maybe i'll lose this baby weight i'm carrying around.)

okay, so maybe "i can't eat anything" is a bit of an exaggeration... i can eat whole grain products (oatmeal, rice, & pastas), things made of corn flour (pretty much anything that is gluten free), fresh meats, fish, eggs, oatmeal, popcorn, soups (without msg), nuts & seeds, vegetables & water. i guess the really tricky part, other than fantazing about all the foods i can't eat, is figuring out what i can eat. any suggestions?

image via here.

i think i'm in love.

i'll take one please.

pardon the interruption...

so i'm busy as a bee, putting together all the swap partners (we have about 300 participants! holy cow!) anyway, as i was saying, i've been playing match maker, when a thought occurred to me. in the past, i've always "paired" up partners, so you swap back & forth, with one another. i've always enjoyed this, because you get to know one person really well. but, i was thinking it could be kinda fun to do a more "random" type of swap... person a gives to person b, person b gives to person c. does that make sense? this way you get to know two people... the person you give to & the person who gives to you. so what do YOU think? any preference? i'm not sold on either idea & seeing that this is YOUR swap, i thought i'd put the ball in your court. (love that tennis humor? speaking of which did anyone catch the men's wimbledon final? it was AMAZING!) anyway, make your preference known.... vote on your preferred swapping method.

introducing...

images & design via ana brandt

happy fourth of july.

here's hoping your holiday is filled with sunshine, family, lots of good food & a few fireworks. no plans are "set" yet, but i'm sure we will end up having a bbq which means loads of mom's patio beans, rene's artichoke dip, and something yummy for dessert, maybe a big 'ole slice of lemonade cake with lots & lots of frosting. if we have a little free time, THIS project will be perfect... both quick & easy. have a great holiday weekend! & don't forget, today's the last day to sign up for the swap!

image via ser.en.dipi.ty

you definitely need to go to disneyland this summer.

as you probably already know, this summer disneyland is pulling out all the stops. everything is bigger, bolder, & more fantastic than ever before, especially the firework spectacular! with eden espinosa (best known for her starring role as elphaba in the LA & san francisco run of wicked) singing magical's theme song as well as classic disney tunes like "baby of mine," you know it's going to be incredible... & the show doesn't let you down. you know it's good when the very big (as in strong), very manly man standing in front of me, whispers to his friend "wow! that was good. that was really really good." so, without any further ado, here's a sneak peak at the incredible finale for disneyland's newest firework spectacular magical, if you want see the ENTIRE show you'll just have to go to disneyland this summer. but, if you really want the "full" effect, watch THIS video of steve davison, vice president of parades & spectaculars, reenacting the finale of the show. then, watch the following video of the "real" thing. & i apologize in advance for any shaky camera work, i was busy juggling a one-month old baby & the camera...



p.s. the new fantasmic & electrial parade are also incredible. trust me!