Not quite sure what to call this...

When I was a teenager, I always wore a lot of make up and thought a lot about what I was wearing even if it was just going to be the outfit I wore over my leotard for the drive to my ballet classes or rehearsals (which was always). Now, anyone who knew me then (probably just my immediate family at this point in terms of this blog's readership) may be feeling like reminding me that I was also weird... and wore weird stuff... like turquoise mascara with silver eyeliner... and rolled up all my jeans (which wasn't cool yet)... and clear plastic with silver glitter platforms... and as much hippie jewelry as I could get away with. But anyway...

What was I saying?

Oh yeah, in Texas ladies wear make up, and we mostly like it, and no one thinks it's weird. Around here, girls who wear make up (like, more than just clear mascara and tinted moisturizer) I think are usually labeled as one of the following: sorority girl, from Bellevue, from California, from Texas, or slutty. Maybe that's not fair, but come on... it's pretty true. When I first arrived here to dance at PNB, I got to keep up my Texan appearances. They wanted us to wear make up even though we were doing intense exercise all day. In fact, they'd comment when we all got tired and would often remind us that it mattered how we looked and maybe we needed to just wear a little more make up or put on some earrings. I never had trouble with that because, though I mostly HATE shopping, I do love shopping for lipstick and earrings and never felt fully dressed without both.

When I stopped dancing and started dating a short, somewhat grunge-styled boy (who I married), I did relax a little on my appearance. I definitely stopped wearing heels because of Brendan (and, yes, I miss it, but I feel like Bambi when I try to wear them now...), but the rest of my wardrobe became un-Texan just like I always wanted. I always had been kind of weird before, but it definitely increased. I swayed too far in the Seattle direction, though.

At this point, when I feel like I'm not interested in fitting any stylistic modes, I'm kind of sad because I've been dressing sort of bland for so long that whenever I wear something I really like, I feel really garish. Flashy people are ok, but when normal girl dresses flashy, everyone's thinking... umm... she needs a helper. I often say that I can't wait until I'm an old lady and have, I HOPE, truly gotten over giving a fig about what anyone thinks of my appearance and just will wear my costume jewelry, flashy clothing (I own a lot of sequins, people), pins, big earrings, big hair, sparkle lipgloss, and get back into my turquoise mascara and silver eyeliner. Then I can go back to Texas on vacation, and they can all wonder how that nice ballerina turned into such a weird, freaky, voodoo medicine (that means naturopathy) midwife... but maybe they'll want to know where I got my lipgloss and my hairspray.

This post is coming from the fact that the other day I got my new Mary Kay catalog in the mail from my Mary Kay man in Texas (see, things a lot of you didn't know about me). I've been feeling so hideous and drab since that miserable first trimester, and I often feel frustrated that I'm the only girl in my house (I grew up with a sister, and of course had tons of little ballerina sisters). So, I got out all my make up and potions, sat down with that catalog, and proceeded to do up my face like I used to when I was 17. It was SO fun. I even got out eye make up remover and did my eyes over again because I didn't like my eyeshadow combination the first time around. I also put on long earrings and picked a For Real outfit. I ALMOST wore platforms, but we had to go to a 3 year old party in a park on a chilly day; so, the shoes seemed a bit much. You know what? I FELT GREAT! I felt like I didn't look like death (or anemia at least) warmed over. I felt like I got to do an art project. I felt like I looked lovely.

I wondered why I don't just let Seattle think what they will; after all, I AM from Texas and I get flack for it all the time anyway even though I'm one of the most un-Texie Texans I've ever known ('cept for the Christian part!). I realize that my friends wear make up too, but I think it's pretty safe to say that very few of them have teal and sparkle-purple eyeshadows or ruby red lipgloss. It's happening people. I'm going to start being weird again. I'm just going to wear my hot pink shrugs and my green sparkle eyeliner.

Someone once passed on this fashion tip: When you're all done getting ready, quickly turn around to the mirror. Whatever your eye goes to first, take off.

Ummm... no thanks. I like that rhinestone costume jewelry pin... and the faux patent leather, school bus yellow flats... and the sequin tank top... and my maternity jeans... and my electric coral nail polish... and...

Well, maybe for starters I can just start wearing one flashy thing at a time. And just because I like it so much, I do want to start wearing make up again- like, more than just mascara and tinted moisturizer. You know, if I can manage to get myself and my two children clothed, shoed, fed, pottied, and on time... huh, maybe I'll just have a Make-up Day each month...

If I can get to it, what I really want to do is the pretty product review post I have in my head. But, I always wind up doing these weird public journal entries instead!!!

Meadowlark Cards

Can't believe I haven't done this yet. (well, yes, I can... did you read my last post or what???)

I'm very happy to announce and lend my recommendation to Meadowlark Cards, a new crafty business belonging to my sister and her friend. Follow their blog for updates on the biz, and visit the etsy shop to purchase beautiful handmade cards! They have a lot of projects under their belts at this point and would love to talk with you about everything from wedding materials, baby announcements, and Father's Day cards (though, I suppose you're a little late for that for 2011!)

My First Trimester

I realize that waiting until I'm 13 weeks pregnant to blab my business all over the internet seems very out of character for me. Of course, I have my good reasons, and I'll get to all that shortly. First, the happy announcement: I'm due to birth my next baby sometime around Christmas Day. (I am very serious about using a due "window" rather than "date" as I am, 2-for-2, late.) I am sorry if you didn't know yet, and we are friends. I told as many as I could in person and let it out on FB about a week ago.

I really have been a firm believer in celebrating a new life ASAP. Having had a pretty early miscarriage, I know that keeping it secret would NOT have made it easier for me or in any way less painful. That may be the case for some, so I try not to judge those who feel differently. However, I believe that most women keep their twelve week secret (through illness and all!) out of fear due to the taboo on miscarriage that our culture has sadly allowed.

So, why did I wait? Oh, that's a long answer, and all shall be revealed.

First, I'll share an interesting and somewhat disturbing discovery: announcing a third baby is EXTREMELY different than announcing the first or second, and the responses, I believe, reveal much about an individual's feelings and perspectives on children and parenting. No kidding. I have had some downright nasty sounding responses even from people I thought I knew well. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?" "Oh, no!" "Why in the world would you do that?" "But, you'll be done after this one." and the classic, "This was an accident, right?" Aside from all that, though, some people react with pure worry. These reactions are usually from people who've had difficult babies or a rough time with their own children, so I totally understand. Still, it's not really the response you want.

To be fair, my 2nd and 3rd children are going to be very close in age, 19 mos, (exactly how we wanted, for the most part). And, having a baby is difficult no matter what, but I can see how having 3 under 3.5 seems a little crazy. That's all fine. I know it's a little nuts, but I sort of crave those out-of-my-element situations that force me to trust God for my every breath and move. Not to mention the fact that every day as a parent of any number of children is an opportunity to believe what God, the Maker and Lover of those children, says about them rather than listen to the absolute lies of the world and even my own heart. According to the Bible, children are a blessing from the Lord, a heritage, a reward (PS 127). According to many on the planet, children are parasites sent only to suck your will to live OR are meant to be some chance to relive your own childhood and try to eke out some significance for your life. I will definitely, wholeheartedly agree that all the items in that last sentence are often true, and I don't think it's bad to admit that. HOWEVER, if you believe every day that children are a pain, then they will be just that: a BIG, FAT PAIN. If you believe every day that your children are your reason for living and that everything will be fine if only your kids turn out ok, then you are not safe. So, Rib and I have gone into this pregnancy like we're learning to go into every new heart-wrenching adventure in parenting (and love, and marriage, and life...) with the attitude that what God says is true and that if this is what he wants for our lives, then we will have everything we need to not just survive, but to learn and thrive.

Thankfully, we are surrounded by lovely friends and family who gave us the same genuine smiles, laughter, and "hoorays!" that came with our previous announcements. For you, dear ones, we are thankful! If we didn't have some good energy around us, it would be much harder to be brave!

I'll admit that having the surprise of negative feedback made me want to keep a bit more mum about our news. But my main reason, initially, was the fact that on the day my two pink lines showed up Brendan was preparing for his last day at Urbanspoon. We had decided a few weeks prior that Brendan would leave Urbanspoon, a secure, well-paying job and group of people that we love, to start from scratch as the only developer on a new project. I cannot say what it is, but I will say that after 2 months, I'm excited about the possibilities and slightly terrified at the same time. It is a risky move in that we are living on our savings to do it; but we feel good about it as Brendan has dreamed of this for a long time, and we have faith that a new job will crop up if we need it! Still, my heart leapt to my throat for more than one reason when my test was positive. I wanted to wait to spread the baby news, so that Brendan wouldn't get as many raised eyebrows. He was taking a big step already, and while I know that Brendan can handle a LOT at one time, I was afraid that he'd get a bunch of skepticism which would kill both his start-up and baby joy all in one swoop. I also didn't want his partner to worry that Brendan would be too distracted to do good work.

THEN, things got SO STINKIN' HARD! It makes me sad and tired to rehearse it all, so I'm going to give you the bullet points:

• more nausea than the last two
• anemia (I should type it like this: ANEMIA THAT DOES NOT RESPOND TO SUPPLEMENTS OR DIET! AGGHHH! I'M SO FAINT AND TIRED I CANNOT FUNCTION... ugghhh.... choke... gasp.... fizzle... out... to... depressed... nothingness...)
• hypothyroidism
• norovirus (times 4)
• strep throat (twice)
• Ivo sick for 2 months
• me sick for 2 months
• sick baby desperately nursing practically around the clock
• hormonal craziness
• near total loss of spiritual fortitude
• a little bleeding
• difficult to find heartbeat
• husband having to be mommy, wife, AND start-upping husband. Oh, and Daddy.
• introvert husband dying from overuse
• extrovert wife suffering from humanity withdrawals
• a plucky Ezra bouncing off the walls.

Ok, I do have to stop here to praise Primo. He has put up with so much dysfunction from his mother in the last couple months, and done so beautifully. He's been sweet, affectionate, helpful, and very patient (all in a going-on-3-years-old way, but I'll take it!!!)

You can see from that pathetic list that I'm worn out. It has been very difficult, and I've asked myself many times what business I have being pregnant. Good thing God has business with me being pregnant; I feel better when I think about it that way. Brendan's and my personality differences have been more obvious and challenging than ever, but we're talking, talking, talking through it all. Thankfully, things FINALLY took a turn over the weekend due to beginning iron/B12 injections, moving closer to a correct dose for my thyroid med, and leaving the 1st trimester behind. I've also been cutting back some on the nursing. Beginning last week (too late!), I finally started getting good at asking for help which did a lot for my mood.

So, there you have it: why I've been MIA. Totally legitimate! Meanwhile, I get to have another baby! Despite all this mess, I have, as usual, already fallen in love with my new baby who we call, very creatively, "New Baby" or sometimes Newbie. I'm very excited to give birth again, and I cannot wait to find out if it's a boy or girl. Ezra says it's a boy and that we shall name him "Bartells." Yeah, I don't think I'm going to use the name "Bartells;" we'll break it to him sometime soon.

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

iVO

Friends joked that we should spell his name "iVO" to be en vogue with the times and the almost simultaneous unveiling of him and the iPad. Well, here are a few pics of iVO from my iPhone.

I love this next one because I'm trying to pose while Ivo is excited that he got hold of a knife while I was distracted :)

and, a defining feature of my last year: harried, public breastfeeding

As you can see, the iPhone camera has a LONG way to go! And, yes, it's a 4. The iVO is simply the cutest, happiest, funniest...

Gardening

We finally did some gardening. I've been dreaming of gardening at this house ever since we moved in, but last year I was too busy growing Ivo to do it. As I hacked at the weeds and blackberry root brains, all I could think about was sin in my heart. I imagined God doing the hard work of yanking all that stuff out. I thought about how He removes branches that don't produce fruit. I imagined my little seedlings getting choked out by the weeds and seed falling on rocky soil. Never having gardened as an adult, it was truly a joy to experience the beautiful object lesson that it is. Time after time Jesus (and Paul and the other disciples) speaks in organic, botanical terms about our hearts, the Spirit, his words, and his kingdom.

It. was. SO. COOL.

And, I even got a garden out of it. I wish I had "before" pictures... oy, what a mess!

Health Spa Vacation for < $10

Need a tropical vacation? You especially do if you live in Seattle! The last few days have been gloriously warm and sunny, but a couple weeks ago it was SO cold and misty/raining non-stop. I usually don't get too down about the weather, but the fact that we didn't get our usual (10 years in a row, at least) week or two of sunshine in February meant that we went a LONG time in the cold, grey dark!

I went to Maui on my honeymoon, and I dream of getting back there ASAP on a weekly basis. I was especially jonesy for it when I saw coconuts for sale at my neighborhood grocery store during the chilly grey. Thus we arrive at...

Requirement #1: Fresh Coconut, $3.00

Meanwhile, chia seed has apparently been pretty trendy lately as health foods go. I didn't know this when I bought my bag. What I did know was that the raw/vegan newsletter I receive suggested chia pudding as an energy boosting snack. I also knew that Brendan had brought it up as a backpacking food. So, when I saw a bag of them, I figured we'd give it a try.

Requirement #2: Bag o' Chia Seed, $5.00

A bit about chia seed:

Yes, it is the same thing you use on a Chia Pet. It is also full of soluble fiber, protein, and omega 3 fatty acids. It has a very mild flavor, which makes it a good base ingredient for puddings because you can make it taste however you want. I'll tell you the truth: it tastes like "health food," but unless you've already conditioned yourself to dislike such things (by over-sugaring and over-fatting and over-salting everything), you will like it! Ezra liked it and asked for more. The texture is like small, a little bit crunchy, tapioca. If you hate anything gelatinous (or even hate the word gel-a-tin-ous), you are highly likely to hate chia. But, try it anyway (aka MAN UP).

Requirement #3: Homemade Almond Milk, $1.00

Here's what you do:

First, watch this:

Then, crack open your coconut. We followed these instructions, and it was truly easy. Pour the coconut water into a glass. (If you're like me, the obsessed new owner of a soda stream, carbonate the coconut water and give it a drop of pure vanilla extract and a twist of lime.

Shred some coconut meat.

Mix one part chia seed, your shredded coconut, and two parts homemade almond milk. You could also use the coconut water as part of your liquid if you don't want to drink it. Coconut milk as the liquid is positively decadent.

Stir it and put it in the fridge, covered.

A couple hours later or in the morning, for breakfast, stir chia pudding and EAT IT.

Brendan and I both felt GREAT during the day that we ate our chia pudding. Brendan even reported feeling extra energetic for his bike ride into work. Chia seeds are like a facial for your insides (little bit gross? maybe, but it's a good thing... I promise), and the oils from the coconut are good for everything from (supposedly) your thyroid to your shiny hair.

To make this treat especially sunny, do what we did and go ahead and make it a chia pina colada by adding some diced fresh pineapple (adds another $3.00, if you're a good shopper). Now you've got tons of vitamin C in there!

It's ok to sprinkle a little sugar on it or stir in some agave, honey, or brown rice syrup for a little sweetness.

Do a good google search, and you'll find a zillion other recipes for chia. That's good, because you're likely to have lots left.

Thank You for Your Concern

No, I wasn't drunk, though I realize that the post had a drunk dial feel. I was really just all emotional from looking at a year's worth of family photos and seeing the new babe.

And, you know me; I'd tell you if I was ;)

No business...

I've got no business posting at this hour...

I should be asleep...

and I've had one big glass of wine which, since Ivo, is ENOUGH.

But, I'd just like to say:

I LOVE the Richards new baby Levi.

I miss all of you that I should be missing TERRIBLY.

And...

I'll talk to you later.

On Housekeeping

I grew up surrounded by neat freaks. My mom, dad, and sister are all GREAT at being organized and keeping things clean. I never realized until recently exactly how much the immaculately organized and disinfected environment in which I was raised has affected me. I'm not saying they are OCD or anything; they just have high standards AND the ability to meet their own standards. To my mother's credit, even though she kept the house so lovely, I don't remember it ever feeling like it was a place where we were not allowed to live and play and make messes. That is an amazing accomplishment. They never seemed stressed out that I was going to "mess up" all their work. HOWEVER, I was and still am continually called out for being the one who is messy... Messy Bessie, to be exact.

Here is my dilemma: I have inherited the high standards and know how pleasant it is to live in a very clean, well organized home, but I did not get the genes that supply that innate ability to meet the high standard. I am not saying I don't know how to do it; I just REALLY suck at it. My mom made sure we knew how to keep things nice. 6 days of the week we labored and did all our chores. Mine were something like this:

M: clean the bathroom (toilet, bathtub, sink, fixtures, baseboards, sweep, mop, clean towels, etc.)

T: Dust living and dining room furniture

W: Vacuum everything but Mom's and Whitney's room

Th: Clean my room (change sheets, dust, vacuum, organize)

F: Sweep the garage

S: Do all your own laundry- including your own color-coded bathroom towels.

In addition to this, Whitney and I cleaned the kitchen every night which included loading the dishwasher, hand washing some stuff, cleaning the counters, table, and cleaning the sink with Comet.

Yes. I'm serious. No. I'm not exaggerating. Yes. Until the last couple years, I thought all decent families have houses this clean. No. I'm not complaining! Yes. I absolutely plan to do this with my own children just as soon as they're ready. (I remember Whitney using a step stool at the washing machine on her laundry day.)

GO MOM!

You see my dilemma, right? Do you think I'm able to get all that done each week at my house? HECK, NO! Do you think I get all that done in a month (particularly the floor cleaning...)? HECK, NO! So, I have existed in a miserable state of self-loathing for my inadequacies- especially since finishing school and being a "full-time, stay-at-home mom."

My other compromising factor is that my husband is almost NOTHING like my father, except that he is a wonderful, loving, God-loving man. But, I have to beg for Brendan to notice messes. My dad is practically programmed to make them disappear.

Brendan is often kind to mention that I don't know what my parents' house looked like when I was 2.5, and my mom never had two children under 2 at once. Still, I don't want to set myself up to expect to be able to accomplish all that my mother did when the kids are older.

2 things have helped me in my state of dilemma:

#1: Housekeeping Service

Yes. I have had "maids." Yes. That makes me feel like a spoiled white girl. Yes. I had to convince Brendan. I'm not sure what has possessed me to so publicly reveal this (not that it is a secret), but I think I just want other moms to know that it's ok! When I was 9 mos pregnant (broken foot and all!), I got to have cleaning twice a month- my baby gift from my mom and Brendan because they knew how much that would help me. By the time Ivo was a month old, I begged Brendan to let me keep having the cleaning once a month. That way, I could know that at least once a month, my home was how I want it. And. YES. Coming home after the cleaners have been here is AMAZING. It is not as expensive as you might think, and it is COMPLETELY worth it. I have never been one to spend money on stuff (clothes, jewelry...), so my spending money has been reserved for this once a month cleaning. Of course, this also implies that Brendan and I have been greatly blessed to have some spending money- a gift from God for which we are continually thankful and a little bit shocked.

BUT, I'm experiencing an inner revolution that has lead to the cancelling of the housecleaning service. Some of that is that Ivo is older and therefore sleeping well, so I have my energy back. But mostly it's due to...

#2: Life Changing Realization: It is OK

It is OK...

to not have a house as clean as my parents. They are special.

It is OK...

because no one expects that from me but me.

It is OK...

because God didn't give me that gift. He gave me other stuff, and if I spend all my time trying to clean my house to live up to this standard that only I carry, then I'm not able to use the other things.

It is OK...

because needing grace is good. If I could truly "do it all and have it all" as some brands of feminism suggest, I wouldn't need God. And I like needing God. I also would have the "right" to judge other's who don't do it all and have it all. And I don't need that... REALLY, don't need that.

Today, I looked around the house and as the freak-out session began to well up within me at the sight of my cluttered bathroom counter and toys on the living room floor, for the first time, I comfortably said to myself... "WHO CARES? Brendan? Nope. Ez and Ivo? Nope. God? I don't think so. It's just you! And do you really care? NOPE! I know I can clean that stuff up if I want to or need to. But, right now, today, it's FINE for that stuff to be out. It's not unsanitary. It's not dangerous. It's FINE!"

So, I exercised. I journaled. I cleaned the kitchen (because I DID care, and it wasn't sanitary...).

SO GOOD TO BE FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, I reserve the right to save my spending money for housecleaning every 6 mos or so just so I can know the floors are getting a good cleaning and that the grout has been scrubbed.

So, what's the ridiculous standard you can't meet or let go? It's all idolatry you know...

Heartsy

Heartsy is etsy's new groupon-esque endeavor. Visit this link to sign-up, and then vote for Bethany's shop CityThistle to be a featured shop!

Dulse Salad

Dulse is a deep red sea vegetable (aka: seaweed), and I was able to find it at PCC in a dry form. It has VERY high iron and mineral content - something I need a lot of ever since my pregnancy with Ivo. 1/3 C has about 19% of your daily iron requirement!

As with all these new raw foods adventures, I'm using Feeding the Whole Family as my inspiration. Though I still stand by every glowing thing I've ever said about this WONDERFUL book, the Dulse Salad with Lemon Tahini dressing just about made me barf!!! It takes a LOT to do that to me.

However, that was no fault of the dulse. In fact, I found the dulse pretty mild in flavor and can see how it would blend well into almost any salad. My problem was with the massive amount of red onion the recipe required. Actually, I only included 1/2 of what the recipe asked (one WHOLE thinly sliced red onion).

So, here's what my version of the recipe included:

1/2 thinly sliced red onion

2 large, chopped celery ribs

~1 C of dulse, soaked in cold water and thoroughly rinsed

toss veggies with 1 (maybe it was even 2) tbsp unfiltered apple cider vinegar (b/c I didn't have br. rice vinegar) and a pinch of sea salt

The dressing:

1/2 cup tahini

juice of 1 lemon

1 clove crushed garlic

1 tsp Tamari (LOVE this stuff... it's soy sauce, but better... we'll talk about it later)

1/3 cup water

(It was also supposed to have olive oil, but I was running low and left it out. No biggie- it was still really tasty dressing)

Ms. Lair recommends chilling the veggie mix for 1 hour and then serving it on a red lettuce leaf with the dressing on top. I chilled it for about 2.5 hours then tossed it with my baby greens mix from my produce delivery box and some of the dressing.

Our first reactions were, "Wow, this is really good!" Then we both started saying, "whoa, too much onion... whoa, this is giving me heart burn." Then, Brendan finished his, but I choked down one more bite, and then had to consciously not vomit the whole thing back into my plate. WAY. TOO. MUCH. ONION. On a positive note, I feel like I for once ate enough raw onion to maybe experience some of it's reported antibiotic properties... too bad I will try to NEVER do that again.

So, next time- less onion! more celery! more vinegar! I'll let ya know how it goes.

Moral of the story: If it seems like something in a recipe is going to be gross to you, it probably is going to be gross to you. If it's something you've never tried, do it anyway. If it's a well known quantity, then having it in a new recipe probably won't magically make it good. For example, eating 1/4 of a raw onion will probably taste like eating one quarter of a raw onion!

As for dulse, I'm ALL about it, and I'll definitely buy it again. I'm eager to try toasting it and grinding it into flakes to make a sprinkle-on, salty, veggie-booty-esque additive. Cynthia recommends doing this for baby food. Great idea!

Almond Milk

Totally Easy.

I adapted our recipe from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. Seriously, if you don't own this book yet, just buy it!!! It's worth the money.

We started with the standing blender, but our crappy blender didn't do too well with step one:

blend 1/2 cup almonds and a few tablespoons of water into a paste.

We had success with the hand-blender and then transfered the paste to the blender with:

1 tbsp of brown rice syrup and 2 cups of water

Blend until combined. You can strain it through cheesecloth (which I would do if I wanted to put it in coffee or something), but we're just using it for cereal, recipes, oatmeal, chia pudding, etc.

And, yes, we did the math- it's WAY cheaper to make than buy, and you're in charge of the additives.

I WOULD make it again.

A little inspiration

After chatting with Beth today, I've decided on one pretty safe topic to blog about: our attempts at raw foods recipes. Brendan and I are both totally into it, and imagining the blog post will help inspire me to keep trying new things. Tonight, we made almond "milk." (Yes, you can write it "mylk," but that reminds me of the hippie trends I don't like... "wymyn-" that's all I'm gonna write.)

So, pics, recipe, and opinions soon to come!

Other topics I'm considering:
Why yoga is not just "ok," but GOOD for Christians...
My own bloopers reel (with the spazzy children I have- you can only imagine!)
Laundry date night: best relationship invention ever

Off to stir my chia seed pudding (oh, yeah! Get REALLY excited!!!)

6th Day Speech

Here's the speech I gave at the 6th Day Dance fundraiser last night. You can visit us at http://www.sixthdaydance.org for more information.

City Thistle

"What" you ask "could bring Jesky out of blog hibernation? Has something extremely wonderful/hilarious/tragic finally happened? Has she hired a full time nanny? Has she decided that Ivo is just SO underrepresented on the blog that she better get crackin'?"

All of those would be REALLY good reasons to blog, but I make no promises. For now, go visit CityThistle, pick your favorite thing, and then post a comment at Still in St.Louis by Friday evening to get a chance to win an item from my Bethany's new Etsy shop!