Elegant Mommy's Exciting Info!

Time for Gratitude - Meme Humor

2012-02-16T20:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I don't know how many of you are on Facebook...I'm assuming many, if not all, of you are. If you are, you likely have seen the picture collages that have been going around about life choices, hobbies, etc that show the different depictions on what people around us think of those life choices and hobbies...I think they are called meme's...at least I hope that's what they're called since it's in my title - ha! :)

Yesterday a reader posted one on our facebook page and I had to laugh...it was the cloth diapering one below, and for real - it fits me to a TEE! The one I can't find and think definitely needs to be done, though, is a Work at Home Mom one! If any of you are super creative and have ideas for one, I'll throw it together...I just need your ideas for pics that would fit it :)

Seriously, though - whoever came up with the original one is brilliant and should get a ton of credit...unfortunately, I have no clue who was the creative genius behind this concept. I do know, though, that I have seen several that apply either to me or some or many of my friends that I totally get a kick out of. I've posted some of them below...if I have been able to track where they came from, I am citing credit, but if I don't know (or if I get the credit wrong!) I apologize in advance for not giving credit where it's due.

If you have any others you have seen and would like to share, please post a link in the comments...I think they are all wonderful and most if not all of them have put a smile on my face. I hope they do the same for you!

Today I'm super thankful for humor - it helps me get through my days a little happier!

~Evie

By: Babywearing Doula

By: Not sure...?

By: Carolina Cloth

By: Buddha Bunz

By: Holly Helps Us - Birth Services

By: The Guggie Daily

By: Primitive Mommy

By: Colleen MacRamos

By: Guggie Daily

Newborns and Giveaways

2012-02-14T10:26:00.000-06:00

Oh, my goodness! I cannot even tell you how much fun it was to get all these precious newborn baby pictures! I sincerely can't thank you enough for sharing your beautiful babes with us all!

Our Vienna (no, this picture is not part of the contest - I just wanted to share
since I shared Porter's the other day *wink*)

Ok - so, we all know this is a contest and giveaway, but what are the rules?

Here's the deal: Out of all the pictures below, vote for your favorite. That's it. Just type the picture number and name of your vote in a comment. Whomever's baby picture receives the most votes will get a personalized hooded towel from me. Please only vote for one picture, and also please make sure that if you are an "anonymous" comment-er that you also type your name and email address in your comment.

But wait - there's more! Just for voting for your favorite you will automatically be entered to win a six-pack of cloth wipes-slash-baby washcloths also made by me.

You will be able to vote until Friday at 4:00 p.m. CST when I will tally the winning vote-getter and draw for the wipe winner.

Fun, huh?

Well, the fun hasn't even begun yet...just wait until you see these precious babies! Oh, my word, I just want to snuggle each and every one of them! Thank you so much to those of you that shared - seriously, you rock!!

1. Denise Winter

2. Maxwell

3. Toni's Babe

4. Cooper

5. Aubrie

6. Aryia Jade

7. Hazel

8. Carter James

9. Trophy Wife's Babe

10. Devin

11. Liya Elizabeth

12. Danika

13. Parker Tammen (special note: Parker was born on 2/12/12 at 33 weeks!)

14. Jayden

15. Kalyssa and her big sister Lydia

16. Madaline Donna

17. John

18. Alli

19. Kapri Mae

20. Jax

21. Amanda's Babe

22. Heidi's Babe

23. Jerzi

24. Caleb

25. Maddie

26. Allison

27. Mariana

28. Ezekiel

29. Maci Leigh

30. Mason

31. Jacob

32. Ellis

33. George Logan

34. Logan

35. Camila

36. Trenten

Valentine's Day Post and Giveaway

2012-02-12T14:49:00.002-06:00

Ok, so usually I don't post on Sundays...at our house we set this day aside for Jesus, family, etc. BUT - I wanted to make sure that you all have a chance to help me out with Tuesday's Valentine's Day post.

I want to post your super-cute-and-cuddly newborn pictures!

We all love to take pictures of our babies and kiddos, and no matter how old your kids are now, I would *love* to see your favorite picture of your newborn...it could be from immediately after birth, it could be from a professional photo shoot, it could just be a candid snapshot - just make sure it's a newborn picture...no older than 3 months. The more "Valentine's Day-ish" the better, but it really doesn't matter. I just want to share your beautiful children with all our readers! Note: if you have more than one child, please only send one picture.

This is our Porter-boy...he was about a week old here

And to make it even more fun, how about we combine this with a giveaway...or two?

Ok - here's the deal. I will post all the newborn pictures I get. Then I will ask all our readers to vote for their favorite. The picture with the most votes will win a personalized hooded towel from me, and then to sweeten the deal, I will draw randomly from the "voters", and one lucky voter will win a set of six cloth wipes-slash-baby washcloths from me!

So, send me your newborn baby pictures! Please email them to media@elegantmommy.com no later than 10:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday. I need them by that time if you want to be entered to win!

Good luck and I can't wait to see all your precious babes!!

~Evie

Educated Mommy Silent Auction

2012-02-09T14:43:00.000-06:00

So, we want to take this opportunity to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that participated in the Educated Mommy online silent auction last weekend! It was a huge success and brought in over $2,300!!

We got two times as many donations as last time, and raised almost twice as much! We are absolutely thrilled to be that much closer to bringing Educated Mommy to you!

We couldn't have done this without you, so whether you donated, purchased, or promoted, THANK YOU!

We will be doing a few other fundraising things in the coming weeks to meet our goals, and because of you, we have a wonderful beginning to the end!

We are almost there!!

What is Diapapallooza Anyway?

2012-02-07T18:13:00.001-06:00

For those of you that know us and have been around for awhile, you probably have an idea what Diapapallooza is...some of you have even participated so are really familiar with it. For those of you that are newer, you have possibly heard of it. There may be some of you out there, though, that really don't have any idea what Diapapallooza is...well....let me fill you in.

Elegant Mommy is much more than just trendy used maternity clothes. We specialize in all kinds of things, including breast pumps, nursing bras and accessories, baby supplies (accessories, some clothing, bibs, etc), and yes - cloth diapers! It is a passion of ours and a calling to help families throughout their young-family stages...like our tag line says "From your baby bump to your baby's rump, we've got you covered!".

So, what is this "diapapallooza thing", anyway? Well, basically it is a cloth diaper swap. It is an event designed for moms/families to sell their used cloth diapers and accessories, and families that are looking for really good deals on cloth diapers - either to start out or increase their stashes - to purchase them at a reasonable price.

Sellers are able to set their own price on their items, and there is a consignment fee on items that they sell. Purchasers just go through all the diapers and accessories that are for sale and pick out what they want. They purchase through Elegant Mommy - not the actual seller - so there is no need to worry about payment method (i.e. only cash, etc).

When my husband and I first decided to start cloth diapering, I did a bunch of research trying to determine what kind of diapers would work best for us. Once I had an idea of what I was looking for, I attended a diapapallooza and Shelly was so helpful (this was the first time I met her...and long before I began working for her)! She helped me to find what I wanted in several different styles, so I was easily able to determine what I wanted more of after trying them all out. I knew I wanted to sew the majority of our stash, so once I figured out what I liked best and didn't like about different styles, I was able to design my own that I really love for our little man.

If you live anywhere near Sioux Falls and are interested in beginning to cloth diaper your little one(s) or are already a cloth diaper expert and just want to increase your stash, I highly recommend checking out our next diapapallooza the first weekend in March. Our employees are extremely knowledgeable and will help you with any question you may have...even if you have done no research and don't know what you want!

You can get tickets here (Don't worry - they are free! We only have tickets so we can get an estimate of how many folks will be there...please note that if you want to sell some diapers you MUST "purchase" a seller's ticket). If you have any questions ahead of time, you can comment here, ask on our facebook page, or give us a call or shoot us an email. We are all here to help you with your cloth diapering needs, and Diapapallooza is the perfect place to start!

See you in March!

~Evie DeWitt

Living Chemical Free

2012-01-30T12:01:00.000-06:00

One thing that has been important to my family over thepast couple years is going chemical free in our home. It hasn’t always been easy, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight. We started out just wanting parabens out ofour cosmetics and soaps etc., and now we are at a point where we are truly achemical free home. Parabens were important for us to eliminate because welearned that they were hormone disrupters. We assume because we can buy ourcosmetics, soaps, shampoos, etc. at any store, that some big wig in a lab coathas made sure that it is safe for our well being. The truth is, most of thesecome to us almost unexamined by the federal government. There are over 20,000chemicals we use on a daily basis that have never even been looked at or approvedby our FDA. We see recalls frequently because of this. My number 1 rule toreplace something in my home is that is has to work as good as, or better, thanwhat it is replacing. 9 out of 10 times we find that the natural solution worksBETTER than what we were using before!!

After replacing the chemicals we used on our skin on adaily basis, we started learning more about the chemicals we use to clean ourhome! I have struggled with asthma my whole life, and really hated that therewere toxicity labels on all of my home cleaning products. Typical cleaners notonly do a number on your eyes, airways – and with enough exposure – yournervous system; they now contaminate more than two-thirds of U.S. streams.Largely because of chemical cleaners, our indoor air can be up to 5 times morepolluted than the air outside!

We started with a cloth system that kills germs, but Ireally was missing the “clean” smell that my chemical cleaners left behind. Afterdoing some research, I found I could make my own cleaners and I could make themsmell good (instead of just like vinegar). Speaking of vinegar, did you know itkills as many germs as bleach?? Gotta love those results! Below I will share afew of my favorite cleaning recipes!!

If you’d like to learn more, you arewelcome to come to our next Holistic Moms Network meeting held the firstTuesday of every month at Elegant Mommy!! We start at 6pm sharp!!

~Danielle McClure

Holistic Moms Network

Sioux Falls Chapter Leader

www.holisticmoms.org

Lysol Alternative

1/2 cup distilled water

1/2 cup vodka

25 drops orange oil

15 drops lavender oil

15 drops eucalyptus oil

Place all ingredients in a spray bottle, cap and shakewell. Shake prior to use.

This one gets rid of urine smells!! A must if you havekids or pets!!

2 cups hot distilled water

3 T baking soda

1 T borax

12 drops essential oil (orange or lavender)

Place ingredients into a spray bottle, cap and shakewell. Shake prior to use.

Minty Glass Cleaner

The mint is also an effective insect repellant, helpingto keep ants and mice from coming into the home.

2 cups vinegar

1 cup water

1 t castile soap

35 drops peppermint oil

Place all ingredients in a spray bottle, cap and shakewell.

Organic Living

2012-01-24T12:42:00.000-06:00

Hello my name is Rosalie Evans; Realtor®,working mother, treehugger and organic fanatic are just some of the roles Ifill. While my girls Dana Jean (age 15) and Anna Christine (age 10) do notalways understand or condone my choices I will continue to make them for myfamily in the best way I see fit.

We as a family eat 90% certified organicfood. We eat food prepared from scratch and nothing that has been processed ina conventional factory. We drink raw milk and only eat certified organic meat.While you would think that it would take longer to prepare meals it reallydoesn't. And meals can be prepared in bulk during slow times to be used duringbusier periods. While organic foods are more expensive we do save a lot ofmoney by not buying junk foods. We also buy local when at all possible bybuying through our local food coops. It takes a bit of planning but it is wellworth it to buy local and prepare fresh. The kids do get their 10% junk foodand we have been known to eat fast food at times as well. It is all abouthaving some flexibility when working with kids so you don't have yourself amutiny.

We also as a family engage in dailyexercise. Either through school activities or the gym we try to get at least 30mins of activity daily. We are not perfect by any sight but we do try. Even ifit is nothing more then parking further away from the grocery store or walkingthe stairs instead of taking the elevator we do something everyday.

Other steps we have taken to stay healthy isto use safer toiletries. We did a lot of experimenting with first natural basedproducts and then if we could not find something natural that worked we went tothe Skin Deep Cosmetics Database to find a safer alternative. I would say thata good half of the products that I use are actually edible and the other halfonly have minimal toxins. On the same token we also only use Western medicineif we are really sick. I have banned anti bacterial soaps, lotions, or other productfrom my home due to fear of antibiotic resistance. Care is also taken withhousehold cleaners to only use safe ones. We use very few actual products forcleaning and we have a very clean house. Vinegar and water and a steam cleanerwill clean up the great majority of all messes.

So while my beliefs are not conventional,and some people think I am a little weird, that is okay. We rarely get sick andwe have very little exposure to chemicals and toxins. Someday my girls willfigure out I am not totally clueless and by then they will have some veryhealthy habits. If anyone has any questions for me please do not hesitate tomessage me on FB.

~Rosalie Evans

Our Journey to the New Store

2012-01-23T13:22:00.000-06:00

In Early 2011, we knew that we needed to start looking for anew location for Elegant Mommy. Our lease was up at the end of the year and itwas time for us to look for a permanent home. After 4 years we knew that wewere going to make it through thick or thin and it was time to cement ourpresence in our community.

As we were looking for a new home, it was important to findsomewhere that we could own and start to build equity. It was also importantfor us to find a location that would allow us to have a nice community areawhere we could have classes and other events.

We looked at a few different places and even made an offeron one place that fell through. After a long 3-4 months of looking and notseeing what we were looking for, our broker happened to remember a place thatwasn’t even for sale, but he knew that it would be coming up for sale sooner orlater. He made a few phone calls for us and the next thing we knew an offer hadbeen given to the owner. Because the owners were in a partnership (of which ½of the partnership was in Japan),we had to get a power of attorney from a man in Japan who had not been to this buildingfor at least 20 years. It took us about 3 weeks to get the power of attorneyand it took us another couple of weeks to get all of the paperwork done for theSBA side of the loan. We ended up switching banks a few times as well until wefinally found a fantastic bank that has worked with us on small businessfinancing (Reliabank).

November 17, 2011

We closed on our building in the middle of October andimmediately starting clearing out all of the junk that was in there. Someoneliterally walked out of this building one night and never came back. Inaddition to all the “stuff” left behind, the building had gone to disarray inrecent years because of some medical issues with the previous owners. It hadnot been loved for a few years and definitely needed some TLC. We knew that wehad a lot of work ahead of us, but we have never been afraid of work and weknew that it was going to be such an amazing place for our community in theend. From the day I walked into this building, I had a vision of exactly whereeverything would be and how it would look; it has not changed much from myoriginal vision.

October 18, 2011

In one weekend, we filled an entire roll-off garbagedumpster with contents from the store. It only took us about 2 weeks to fillanother entire dumpster. One of the first things that we did was put a new roofon the building, and this was completed before the end of October. While thatwas being done, we completely gutted the inside of the building, down to barecement floors and bare concrete walls. There were 2 VERY tiny bathrooms whichwe knocked out and made into one nice size ADA approved bathroom (which required us tohammer out the concrete on floor to move the pipes…this was the first largeunexpected expense). After the inside was gutted, we moved on to windows. Thebuilding had 4 total windows (not including the front entrance), which wereprobably there since the building was originally built. We replaced all of theexisting windows with operable sliding glass windows and added in 2 more largewindows to the west side of the building. We did not expect the cutting of theconcrete for these windows to be as difficult nor time consuming as it was. Weended up having to hire a special company to complete the cutting of theconcrete for us…this was the second large cost that we didn’t expect.

We then started the framing, insulation, and sheetrock work.This part is where we saw some amazing friends begin to demonstrate some amazinggenerosity. We had many people come help my husband and myself during thisprocess. Lots of volunteer hours went in to making this part come together.Even after the sheetrock work was done, we had some great friends help us withthe flooring and painting as well.

In the middle of all of this, we had a LARGE setback whichcaused many tears to be shed…

Because we had been pushing so hard to get everything done,my husband and I decided it would be worth the money to hire someone to finishdrywall work on the ceiling and texturing the walls. We hired a contractor thatmy husband knew through someone else and expected the work to be done in 1-2days. After multiple issues with this contractor not showing up and not doingwhat had been promised, we decided to let him go after 3 days and hire anothercontractor we had known for years. The first contractor did not like being letgo from the job and caused MANY more issues for us, including a visit from aninspector with the state and in the end, all of the things we had to go throughin order to satisfy the state’s requirements ended up costing us nearly $7000(that again was not in our budget).

Looking back on all of this, I am glad that everythingplayed out the way that it did…it allowed us to spend the Christmas holidayfocusing on Christ and not on our store. It helped us renew our faith that Godwill provide for His work to be done and we would get through this.

After Christmas, we got started again on finishing the newstore and packing up the old location. We got the entire store inventoried,torn apart, packed, moved to a storage unit and painted in less than a week.Because the new store was not ready for us to move in yet, we had to moveEVERYTHING into a storage unit for a few days before we could start moving into the new place. After we got the okay from the city building inspector tostart moving things in, my INCREDIBLE employees kicked in to overdrive. Theygot the entire store set up and ready in just a few short days.

In the middle of all of this moving and setting up, I had togo to Watertownto take care of that store as well. While I was gone that day, my employeesbuilt our wonderful checkout area and got a good majority of our inventory putaway and organized! I was so relieved to have this part taken care of! The nextday I started feeling not so hot and by Sunday, I was completely out ofcommission. I couldn’t enjoy our opening day as I was home sick in bed withstrep. Once again, my great employees kicked into overdrive and they got thestore running smoothly the first day open at our new location.

January 16, 2012

We still are not completely done – we have the back of thestore to finish (which will house our office space, community space, andEducated Mommy). We have made incredible progress in only a few short weeks andhave endured so many extra costs that we never could have expected. We are soclose to finishing the vision that we have always had for this space and wehave faith that somehow God will show us where the rest of the money andresources will come from to finish this project. The good news is that the backarea does not need to have a lot of “outside” contractors. No plumbing, minimalHVAC work, and minimal electrical work. We also need to figure out how we willmake the outside look like our vision, but I’m sure it will all come together.

I really want to take this opportunity to formally thankeveryone who has helped us through this journey. Whether you have been therehammering, cleaning, painting, or hauling or if you were simply praying for usduring this journey, Thank You. Elegant Mommy always has and always will be aresource in our community. We strive to make sure that we are able to educateon so much more than just maternity clothes. We want to make sure that everyoneis able to make an informed decision on what is best for their family, not whatis “right” according to someone else’s standards. I look forward to all of theexciting classes, workshops, groups, and events that will be held in thecommunity room of our building and I look forward to serving every one of youduring your parenting journey!

~Shelly Gaddis, Owner

Elegant Mommy

Living a healthier lifestyle – where to begin?

2012-01-20T12:49:00.000-06:00

Our family’s journey to healthier living began one year ago.Right after Christmas, our daughter broke out head to toe in hives. We took herto the doctor and he suspected strep, but they were unable to get a culture, sothere was no official diagnosis. He prescribed a very strong antibiotic, whichwe promptly picked up and gave her. Within seconds of swallowing it, shevomited violently. We didn’t know what to make of it, so we waited until hernext dose was due and gave her the 2^nd dose. She did the same thing.We decided the antibiotic was not the right for her and began exploring other possibilities.

Our research led us to having allergy testing done and we discovered she wasallergic to wheat and gluten. We then embarked on the gluten free journey. Wefell into many of the marketing gimmicks in an effort to maintain “normalcy”for our daughter. We purchased items that simply amounted to organic junk food.We bought lots of gluten free snacks and cereals, only to later discover thatthe ingredients used; potato starch, tapioca flour, tapioca starch, etc., aren't very good for you. All that starch just turns to sugar in the body and isn't healthy either.

We decided there had to be a better way and began going deeperdown the rabbit hole. Our research led us to the “real foodie lifestyle”,cooking from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and ultimately the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) diet. We began drinkingfarm fresh, non-pasteurized milk, buying grass-fed meats, and organic produce.We significantly cut down on the amount of grains we were consuming and begansoaking those we did eat. My husband lost 35 pounds in just a couple months’time. We had already stopped eating fast food several months prior, but webegan to stop eating out altogether. We all had more energy, and when we cutthe grains, the weight seemed to just fall off of us. Weight loss wasn’t agoal, just a byproduct. This fall we began to implement the Introduction phaseof the GAPS diet. You can learn more about it here.

This isn’t so much of a diet in terms of weight loss as itis a lifestyle change with the intention of helping our bodies heal. Thethought behind it is that all sickness, disease, etc. originates from abacteria or flora imbalance in the gut. If your body can’t properly digest thefood you’re giving it, the undigested particlesof food become toxic in your body and you can develop allergies, behaviorissues, sickness, disease, auto immune disorders, etc.

We have four childrenand two were showing some of the GAPS patient symptoms. Our daughter that wasdiagnosed with the wheat allergy had been born 6 weeks early with hearttroubles and spent a month in the NICU. Her bill for her medications alone was$75,000. That’s a lot of drugs! We’re very thankful that she survived herordeal with medical intervention; however we couldn’t overlook the toll it tookon her body. We believe this is where her issues originated. Our fourth childalso had some digestive issues, where things were coming out completelyundigested. We knew something had to change. She had been exclusively breastfedfor the first 6 months, and continued breastfeeding until she was 21 months.Seems like she should be healthy right? Well, I had antibiotics in labor andthat is where we believe her troubles originated. Her gut flora was compromisedfrom birth.

We decided to forge ahead with the whole family and begin the Introdiet. We were just a few weeks into it, and what a change! My older daughter who waspreviously showing the beginning of ADD/ADHD symptoms was so calm andthoughtful. It was like she had done a 180 degree turn. My son who is 4, usedto bounce off the walls being “all boy” but he would now sit quietly throughchurch with a paper and crayons with no squirming or complaint. Our youngestdaughter’s language began to explode, her expressions just came alive. Myhusband and I have collectively lost 100 pounds, and have so much more energyand just generally FEEL better. We still have a long way to go and willcontinue this lifestyle change, but it’s been so encouraging to see results soquickly. When people start noticing and commenting that your kids are so muchbetter behaved, so sweet, so calm, etc. it’s very encouraging. Teachers,friends, family, babysitters, so many people have commented we can’t help but admitreal results. Our kids weren’t considered “bad” before either. They werepolite, respectful and kind, just very busy. I had a friend comment to me, “It’snot just the weight loss that I notice. You all LOOK healthier, you have bettercolor, the kids seem so different, and you just seem so much more healthy.”

Thebiggest proof in the pudding though, has been the fact that at the end of myfirst trimester with baby #5, I barely feel pregnant! With each of my previouspregnancies, I was nauseous practically from conception to week 20. With mylast baby, I spent almost a whole month barely moving from the couch I was sosick. With this one, I was almost 7 weeks before I even realized I waspregnant! With each of the other kids I knew by about 4.5 weeks. I know I’m somuch healthier with this pregnancy because I can feel it. We’re eating better,are more educated about nutrition and the way our body uses it, and for me whatexactly a pregnant women needs for optimum pregnancy health.

We’re lookingforward to continuing this journey, learning more and watching the differenceit will continue to make in our family’s life. If youwant to learn more about the diet and the doctor who developed it you can clickhere.

To find a GAPS practitioner in your area click here.

To buy the book and begin researching for yourself clickhere.

~Beth Joramo

Time for Gratitude - One By One

2012-01-18T15:33:00.000-06:00

Today I'm working on getting ready for an event that's being held at the Capitol building in Pierre, SD tomorrow. I'm busy making cookies, running errands, and finishing up last minute details so I can be ready to visit with legislators about birth and baby related topics while serving them lunch with several other families from around the state that feel the same way I do.

As I'm getting ready, I am thinking how grateful I am to live in a country where we have this kind of opportunity. I mean, what would it be like to live in a country where people just make rules and laws without any regard or opportunity for the people to voice their opinions? Yes, I am disappointed with some of the laws that there are in this state, and how money and politics play a bigger role than what would actually be good for women and families. But, how much worse would it be if we weren't even able to tell law makers what we think and educate them on issues that they have never before even thought about?

With the maternity care system in the sorry state it is in America, only by educating law makers on real evidence-based practices will we be able to make changes for the better. Not only the maternity care system, but general American culture has a very negative effect on mamas, babies, and their overall health. For instance, how do many people see breastfeeding? I have never been given any "guff" for breastfeeding my kids, but many, many people have in this country. Women get asked to leave all the time if they are feeding their baby in public. Last month, in fact, there was a nationwide "nurse-in" at Target stores to protest a Target employee asking a nursing mother to leave where she was in a Houston, TX area Target store...simply because she was giving her baby exactly what he needed. He was hungry, and she was choosing to feed him in the way we were designed to feed our babies. We need to take a positive stand, and hopefully, conversation-by-conversation, person-by-person, one-by-one, we can change this kind of thinking here.

It's not only maternity care and breastfeeding culture and laws that need to be addressed, though. On a national level, there is an uproar right now about PIPA (Protect IP Act) in the Senate and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) in the House. If you don't know about these two bills, Google them. Seriously. I was surprised what I found when researching a little more about what they are and what they will do if passed.

The thing is, is that we have the *right* to tell our elected officials what we think of issues all across the board. Not only that, but as informed citizens, it is our *responsibility* to make our voices heard! It is part of what makes America so great. We don't have one person dictating their whimsical wishes onto the rest of us. We actually have a say in what happens - that's the whole point of our Republic! We elect representatives that we think will represent us accurately. If they don't, then we have the opportunity every election to fire them.

Whether or not legislators vote in the way you want them to, you can and *should* make your voices heard. You can call them. You can send them a hand-written note. You can attend a town-hall meeting. You can go to Pierre or Washington DC or your state's Capital and talk to them one-on-one. You can send them an email. You can send them a typed letter. Whatever way it's done, I am SO grateful that we can make our voices heard.

Tomorrow I'm going to make mine heard.

~Evie DeWitt

Childbirth Professional Day - Meet Debbie Hayden-Miller

2012-01-16T14:13:00.000-06:00

1. What is your Childbirth Profession?

I am a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

2. Describe your profession and why someone would want tochoose your profession for support in pregnancy and/or childbirth.

As a midwife, I am lucky to share the birth experience witheach family. Midwives have served women for thousands of years. Midwivesprovide a more personalized approach for care during pregnancy and childbirth.Prenatal appointments with a midwife usually are from 30-60 minutes allowingadequate time for education and questions. During childbirth, the midwife mayperform many duties from maternal and fetal assessment, and support for thelaboring mom. During the initial postpartum period the midwife encouragesuninterrupted bonding for the family, provides assistance with breastfeeding,and assesses mom and baby.

3. Why did you get started in your profession?

I fell in love with childbirth with my first pregnancy.After taking childbirth classes while pregnant, I enjoyed them so much I taughtclasses for the next 5 years. At that time, I decided I wanted to do more sowent back to college for my RN. I always planned to go to school for midwiferybut put my education aside while I raised my family. When the last of mychildren became teenagers, I returned to school for my Master’s degree inmidwifery. It was a long journey, but oh, so worth it!

4. In detail, what is your personal childbirth philosophy?

Childbirth is

~an intimate, magical, spiritual moment in a woman’s life.

Childbirth is

~and should be treated as a natural normal event in a woman’slife, not an illness

Childbirth is

~a sacred celebration of new life and should be protected from unnecessary interference.

All women should have the option to birth in a comfortable, secure and supported setting.

All women should have the option to homebirth

5. If you could tell all pregnant women in the worldsomething, what would it be?

Having a child will change your world. It is a time in yourlife you will never forget. Each pregnancy will be differently important. Takecare of yourself while you are pregnant, you have a precious little bundlecargo growing inside of you, and what you do affects you baby.

6. How long have you been in your profession? Are youcertified? If yes, by who?

I have been a certified nurse midwife for 14 months. I amcertified by the American Midwifery Certification Board.

7. Do you have a business name? How can people contact youfor pregnancy and childbirth support?

My business name is Laughing Waters Homebirth Midwifery. Ican be contacted many ways.

Web page: www.laughingwatersmidwifery.com

Email directly from the web page or email me atlaughingwatersmidwifery@gmail.com

Phone number is 605-351-8041

You many also find me on Facebook and Twitter

8. Where do you practice?

I am located in Sioux Falls. Currently all care will be donein your home. Your baby will be born at home, you can select a water birth ifyou desire. I plan to travel no more than 2 hours away from Sioux Falls. I amalso considering licensing in Iowa and Minnesota. As my business grows I planto have an office, at that time prenatal care and well woman care will occur atthe office.

Convince Her

2012-01-10T14:05:00.000-06:00

The advantages of breastfeeding are numerous! I just got done reading an article on 101 Reasons to Breastfeed by Leslie Burby. It still amazes me how something so simple can have such an impact on the mother, child, father, environment and society. Every year more research comes out supporting why breastmilk is best. Unfortunately, initiation rates for breastfeeding hover around 75% in the United States. If you were to try to convince a mom that was on the fence between choosing breast milk or formula, what would your favorite advantage(s) be to convince her? I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

You can also share them at our meeting on Thursday at 6:30 pm at Elegant Mommy in Sioux Falls. Please help spread the word that Elegant Mommy has moved to a different location. They are now behind the Hyvee on Minnesota. I hope to see many of you there and bring a friend!!

~Sarah Alberts, La Leche League of Sioux Falls

New Year, New You...

2012-01-09T10:54:00.000-06:00

...that's what everyone says right? Well,believe it or not, I truly mean it. One of my best friends is very natural,holistic, and "crunchy" as some people call it. Sure, I’ve always supportedgoing green, breastfeeding, and babywearing; however, I realized the things I trulysupport I wasn't necessarily living out.

While I liked to think I'd been doing good with my diet Irecently realized I am CLUELESS when it comes to some things. I honestly didn’teven know we had a co-op, what it was or where it was.

The thing about me is I'm NOT afraid to ask questions. Istarted researching some things and realized the lifestyle and "diet"I was doing was not at all making me healthier, in fact I was ruining my body.Sure, I lost some weight, but I also lost some muscle and valuable nutrients. Ican't say I'm going to go all organic, I don’t think that would be realistic,but I can tell you I'm going to make a valid effort to include more vegetables,whole grains, organic foods, etc.

I also learned from some of my research that what you eat iswhat you are. If you are eating junk, you feel like junk. All the chemicals,refined sugars, etc can truly play into mood. It's no wonder my kids are alwayscrazy! In this New Year I'm going to try and make a huge effort to get my kidseating more fresh fruit and veggies. I honestly thought I was feeding them wellwith the canned stuff. Oops. Not all vegetables are created equal...lessonlearned.

I also plan to incorporate much more exercise into our lives.I’ve always said I wanted to be an "outdoors" person but in reality Ihave been spending most of my time in the house on my butt. I realized I haven't really been "living." I don't want my kids to look back at the times wehad and remember the good movies we watched - I want them to remember all thewalks we went on, the play time at the park, the basketball games, etc.

I've also started researching supplements to improve theimmune system. It seems someone is always sick around here and I'm going to dowhat I can to improve that! As some may know my oldest son has a chroniccondition requiring frequent surgery and some research indicates the better hisimmune system, the better the chance of remission - obvious decision to be madethere! While I may never be as good at a natural lifestyle as some, I hope Ican continue learning and making gradual changes to improve my family’s qualityof life. I'm glad I have such a good support system to teach me. As I'velearned so far, knowledge is power!

~Melissa Churchill

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T15:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've posted anything due to Christmas and New Years and all kinds of family things going on. What a wonderful holiday season! Vienna said to me (numerous times) "Mommy, this is the best Christmas ever!" I pray you all had your best Christmas ever too!

Now that we are actually in to the new year (2012 - WHOA!), we are in a time that many people see as a new beginning of sorts. It's like a fresh start to live the way you have been wanting to live - or at least try - ha!. I have never been a really good "resolution keeper" - if I even take the time to think of a resolution, it usually is out the window by mid-February. This year I think I'm going to try it out, though. Instead of setting a resolution like I have so many times in the past (the usual: eat healthier, loose 20 lbs, exercise every day, etc) I'm going to take a different approach.

My resolution is to write down my goals - both short term and long term. This will be an ongoing and ever-changing list, but I'm going to start out with ten short term goals and ten long term goals. These goals will range from gaining my childbirth educator certification to being more attentive to my kids to taking a mission trip someday to reading the entire Bible.

This year I want to begin a new start to how I approach things...I want to be more organized, and in turn be a better mother to my children and a better wife to my husband. I believe that by writing things down and posting these goals in a place where I can see them every day, they won't get "lost" in the daily shuffle of life and I won't forget about them.

I also will have some goals regarding this blog and helping you all in the best possible way I can. I want to bring you the most up to date and relevant information regarding everything from pregnancy to childbirth to cloth diapering to nursing to just being the best mommy you can be!

So, with that, I hope that you, too, have some resolutions that you can keep and that will better your life! I hope that this year I can help make your life a little bit easier in some way. Feel free to send me an email with any topic you are really interested in (media@elegantmommy.com) and would more information on. Also, let us know what your resolution or goals are for this year...by sharing, I believe we can help inspire others!

With that, here's to a happy, healthy, and blessed 2012! **cheers**

~Evie DeWitt

What does Christmas mean to you?

2011-12-23T11:07:00.001-06:00

I was curious as to what Christmas means to each reader, but since I didn't get many responses, this post is mostly going to be about what Christmas means to me, I guess - ha!

Both of the responses I did get were very similar to what I'm going to expound on. Cara said "Getting together as a family and being thankful for the year's blessings ♥ and of course Jesus, after all He's the reason for the season!" Along those same lines, Melinda responded with "Celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus and time with family!"

Ever since I was a little girl Christmas was a big deal. Not because of presents (though that was of course an added bonus and why we - my brothers and sister and I - were so super excited about it! Ha!), but mostly because of the time we spent with family and worshiping our newborn Savior. My folks were always really involved with the youth at our church (they were the youth group leaders), so some of my earliest memories are hanging out with the "big kids" (aka junior high and high schoolers) throughout the year, but also while mom and dad directed them in the Christmas Eve candle light service. It was always really cool. My mom is wonderfully creative and a born leader, so the productions were always fantastic. Now, it's important to note that I grew up in the very small town of Platte, SD, so it's not like it was a huge production or anything....but the church was always packed to the brim and people from the congregation and community loved it. By the time I was in high school, it had become quite grand, and we always made an impact. So, because of that, you can imagine how important the celebration of Jesus' birth really is to me. In addition to our involvement with the candle light service every year, we made a point to read the Christmas story out of the Bible before we got to open any presents, and at both my extended family celebrations we did the same thing. I remember my mom's mom doing things like printing out Bible verses for each of the grandkids to read...once we read it we lit a candle. It was always very moving (looking back at least...at the time it was mildly amusing, but for sassy teenagers it was mostly just appeasing Grandma).

That brings me to time with family. Family and extended family has always been a central part of my life. I grew up with tons of cousins - I think there are 35 on one side and 20 on the other...yes, we had big families. Obviously, we aren't all the same age, so there was more like a group of about five on one side and four on the other that were really close and played together all. the. time. We were best friends. So when Christmas came (and family came from out of town and stayed for awhile) we were in family / cousin / best friend heaven. We had SO much fun! If there was enough snow we would take a day and go sledding on my dad's side...then on my mom's side we would pull taffy another day. It was truly the best time of the year for so many reasons.

These things still mean so much to me. Family is a very central part to our Christmas celebrations. Of course now that I have my own family with a wonderful husband and small children, it's getting to see the look in the kids' eyes when they see pretty lights, beautifully wrapped presents, and the fun little traditions we are putting into place as the years go by. That is definitely the most important thing to me right now. But we have some extended family traditions as well. I absolutely love getting to spend time with both Randall's and my families this time of year...the love, giving, camaraderie, laughter, and of course good food is simply perfect.

The very most important thing to me, though, and truly the reason for Christmas, is the little baby that was born so long ago in a stable in Bethlehem. He was born to save me (and you!) and has given me new life. Seriously - what could be a better reason to celebrate such a wonderful Holiday?

So...what does Christmas mean to you?

~Evie Dewitt

As a side note - I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and pray your celebrations are perfect in whatever you do! Many, many blessings to everyone!

Santa...yes or no?

2011-12-22T12:34:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks back I asked our Facebook readers if they "do" Santa at their house and why or why not?

There was a big response with a lot of diversity, so instead of going into detail about what we do (so you can get on to reading these great responses), I'll just tell you that we "do" Santa at our house, but we want to make it clear to our kids that Christmas is not only about getting gifts from Santa (or anyone else for that matter), but that giving is even more important.

So, enough from me on the subject...what do our readers have to say?

Yes we do! Just because that's how we were raised and it's something for the child to look forward to. Christmas is so exciting through the eyes of our kids!
~Asher

Yes, it's tradition
~Erin

Nope, not anymore. Last year was a big debacle with a certain gift that Emmie didn't get. This year everyone is getting three gifts just like our Savior got on His birthday. I am trying to get them to realize the true meaning of Christmas. We have an Advent wreath and Advent calendar this year too. The kids will each get one thing they want, one thing they need, and we will have one family gift to share plus just a couple odds and ends in their stockings. We will also again have a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas day as well.
~Pam

We do Santa but we only get them five or six gifts total including Santa gifts. But we talk about what the true meaning of Christmas is and what happened and why we celebrate Christmas daily. We talk about Jesus and the manger and the story of Christmas all month, then on Christmas day we celebrate Jesus' birthday.
~Tina

I have a feeling that this will be the last year my oldest (8) believes in Santa...I'm sure he'll break the news to my 5 year old as well. I don't mind the Santa thing while the kids are young. Honestly, they don't care who gives the gifts. I'm ok with that. We also talk about the meaning of Christmas. I'm not extremely religious, more spiritual.
~Kimberly

Santa has always done stockings in our house. Along with fruit, candy, nuts, and a toothbrush, he wraps some SMALL gifts and leaves them in the stockings (gift cards, CD's, DVD's, games, puzzles, lip balms, lotions, etc...). In my opinion, Santa bringing the "main" gifts leads to heartache in older children when he "miraculously" doesn't get them what they want, if they KNOW the main gifts are from family, then they understand WHY they don't always get that really expensive item they want. Haha!! Now that said...Tasha REFUSES to believe there is no Santa, seriously. She informed her teacher that she "agrees with my mom and dad when they say there is no Santa, just so they don't argue with me about it"...<sigh> One of the many joys of having a mentally impaired 18 year old.
~Sheila

We also do Santa, because it was the way we were raised. In the past we have done the big gifts as "Santa" gifts. After reading Sheila's thoughts it really made me think...We spend SOOO much time stressing about making sure we get the things they asked from Santa because they are usually the most expensive things. If we DO NOT succeed in getting them, it leads to a big ol Santa let down. So I think this year, WE are gonna claim the big gifts and let Santa bring the petty stuff!
~Katy

No Santa in our house. We have an incredibly strict 'no lies' policy in our house, and it covers everything. They were allowed to believe as long as its what they thought on their own, but when asked we tell them the absolute truth, including the true story of St Nicholas and reasons for the holiday. They all still get stockings along with a couple of gifts, and we're all good with that. Only the four year old seems a tad confused, she asked the other day "if you and daddy are going to be Santa, then who is going to be your reindeer this year?"
~Toni

We do! I love the magic of Santa and his elves. :)
~Danielle

Nope; no need to set 'em up for any further disappointment than they'll experience already with us and life and the world...can't justify lying about it, either ~
~Lisa

Yes and no-- I don't bring up Santa, make cookies for him or any of that, when he says stuff about Santa you just ask questions back. The media, grandma and grandpa and friends supply a lot of information/ideas of Santa. I teach him about Jesus and His birthday. But if he wants to believe in Santa I don't want to rain on that parade. If he ever asked I'd tell him, otherwise I think it's harmless to let it go.
~Kristen

We definitely do Santa. We will also do the tooth fairy. Childhood is full of magic and the unexplained. I like to foster that as long as possible. As long as my kids are young enough to WANT to believe in it, I will encourage it.
~Mary

Wow...I have heard a lot of new things on this post that I have never heard before. I honestly didn't realize that people around here wouldn't "do" Santa for little kids. People make good points though.
~Kyndal

We don't "do" Santa, because of the whole make believe thing. Because when they are older and find out it's fake they might have a harder time believing in something we find real but can't see like Jesus/God. However it's been really easy to skip Santa because she is only three. I just had a lady ask her today what she was going to ask Santa for and she looked at me like "what is this lady talking about mommy"...so I am sure we will be having some interesting conversations in the coming days/weeks.
~Sheena

Time for Gratitude - Mothering like Mary

2011-12-21T19:10:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I would be completely remiss if I didn’t talk aboutour son Porter today since we are so close to Christmas which is also his 2nd birthday.

For any of you that read this blog regularly, you know thatI had a home birth with him. Even though I haven’t written my entire birthstory for you yet, someday I definitely will. Basically, he was born two yearsago in the middle of a raging blizzard (like, seriously - thank the Lord weplanned a homebirth because I don’t know if we would have been able to get tothe hospital which is only about 10 blocks away…for real) on Christmas morning….whileour daughter was eating her breakfast J.About an hour after he was born we were all in the living room openingChristmas gifts…it was fantastic.

Anyway, this Christmas I’ve really been thinking aboutbeing a mommy, how blessed I am in so many ways, and of course my children…particularlyPorter since he shares his birthday with Jesus and, frankly, ‘tis the seasonJ.

One of the things that has really, truly been on my heart,though, is a Bible verse that I’ve heard and read probably 100 times…maybe youhave too…”But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”Luke 2:28 NIV. This is, of course, from the story of Jesus’ birth. Many thingshad transpired…Mary and Joseph traveled a long distance when she was very pregnant, once they reached theirdestination they were turned away from staying in a probably over-crowded andnoisy inn (a blessing in and of itself, I would think), but because she was sopregnant (and possibly in labor at the time…who knows?) the innkeeper let themstay in the stable. After he was born, angels appeared to shepherds in fields not far away and with a great and magnificent chorus they told theshepherds what had just happened and where to find the baby Savior. After they had seen the baby, theshepherds went and told everyone what had happened and what the angel had toldthem. This is where it says Mary took all these things and pondered them.

What got me thinking about this is a few weeks ago my Pastorwas reading this passage from the New Living Translation, and this verse jumped outat me ”but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” It’s amazing how hearing something injust a little different way can bring so much meaning to it. I had never reallyeven considered Mary before…as with most Christian churches, the focus hasalways been on Jesus – makes sense, right?

I mean, for the first time in my life, I looked at Mary as amother…just a regular excited,scared, joyous, protective young mommy …just like me! I mean, what mother doesn’thave memories of their births and surrounding events, thoughts, emotions,worries, joys, etc that she keeps in her heart and thinks about often? I’vebeen really wondering what kind of things she thought. Was it how her laborwent? Was it how Joseph supported her during labor and delivery? (I wonder howthat went, by the way…in those times laboring women were usually surrounded byother women, weren’t they? They weren’t even married, so I wonder howcomfortable he was being so close to her in such an intimate way?) Was it the way it felt as her Savior’s headwas crowning? Or perhaps it was the angel that told her of her immaculate conception, or of the visiting shepherds and what they told her they saw. Maybe it was the unbelievable responsibility that she must havefelt…seriously – how would you feel having to raise the Son of God? I feelenough responsibility raising our own precious babes…tack on that one of themis the world’s Savior and I think I might feel a bit overwhelmed – ha! Maybeshe was just in complete awe of how perfect (literally) her baby boy was andjust drank it in.

Anyway, today and the past week or two I've been veryreflective of all this. It gives me such a sense of comfort and camaraderiewith Mary to know that she thought about things just like I do; that God made usall the same, no matter where or when we lived…we are all mothers.

So, this Christmas morning, I will most definitely be “pondering”some things in my heart…as I will on January 22^nd (Vienna’sbirthday) and frankly probably every day for the rest of my life - let's be real.

I’m sothankful and grateful to be a mommy who ponders.

**Please note that I am not comparing myself to the mother of Christ J. I am simply commenting on my revelation that she was just a regular mommy, too, and I'm sure we have thought at least some of the same things about our children. I wish many, many blessings to you all as you celebrate this joyous season!

By Evie DeWitt

Childbirth Professional Day - Meet Rose Marie Hoiten

2011-12-20T15:01:00.000-06:00

1. What is your Childbirth Profession?

I am acertified nurse midwife, certified family nurse practitioner, and internationalboard certified lactation consultant.

2. Describe your profession and why someone would want to chooseyour profession for support in pregnancy and/or childbirth.

(I will talkmostly about my role as a certified nurse midwife.)

Nursemidwifery is a profession that has a background in nursing and also midwifery.Midwife means “with woman” and that is exactly what a CNM does - spends timewith women. They care for women in all stages of their life cycle fromadolescence to menopause.

CertifiedNurse Midwives (CNMs) provide primary care during all stages, but are mostknown for the care they give women and their families during pregnancy andchildbirth. CNMs can practice in hospitals, birth centers, and homes. Here inSouth Dakota, CNMs are not able to practice in all places concurrently and dueto the laws currently in place, I made the decision to practice as an out ofhospital nurse midwife.

I love myprofession because I have gotten to apply the knowledge and skills that Iacquired from years of education and experience in the traditional hospitalsetting, and now I use it to care for women and their families in the homesetting. I get to know my patients very well and support their decision tobirth at home. I very much enjoy the work and travel I do to assist patientswith labor and birth in their homes.

Mybackground as a family nurse practitioner (FNP) and international board certifiedlactation consultant (IBCLC) have given me a solid knowledge of primary care,well child care, emergency medicine, and lactation. These certifications bothenhance the degree of services I can offer my clients in the out of hospitalbirth setting.

3. Why did you get started in your profession?

I was first certified as an IBCLC while workingas a labor and delivery nurse. I then went back to grad school to complete thefamily nurse practitioner program. I was working out in rural SD and realizedthat women in our state had very limited options for pregnancy and obstetricalcare. I had always wanted to be a nurse midwife, but the distance to a programwas the hardest thing for me considering I had several young children of myown.

While working as an FNP in central South Dakota,I had come across several patients in a couple weeks time that really needed anurse midwife. Their options were limited and since I could not do intrapartumcare, I felt moved to pursue midwifery training. I had contemplated this for along time, but those couple weeks in my life moved me to make a phone call tothe University of Minnesota nurse midwifery program. In 2 days I was signed upfor a class doing post graduate work to become a Certified Nurse Midwife.

4. In detail, what is your personal childbirth philosophy?

I believethat women should have the resources and available providers to make thedecision that is best for her and her family. We need to have hospitals andphysicians available, but for low risk patients the hospital is not always theappropriate place to labor and birth. When women come into the hospitalsetting, it is easy for hospital routines and practices to “just happen”, evenif the woman and her family have strong reasons for attempting to avoid certaininterventions.

A womanknows how she should birth. As a certified nurse midwife doing homebirths, myjob is to ensure that whatever a woman decides is safe for her and her unbornchild. I believe that it is my job to thoroughly screen my patients and makesure that any women that I am caring for remains low risk. I want to have thetime to get to know my patients on a personal level and build a relationship oftrust, so that should the need to abandon a planned homebirth arise, we alreadyhave that trusting relationship and we can work together on the appropriate andnecessary steps to take.

I don’tbelieve that any women should have to birth unassisted. Women should receivesupport from the healthcare community to do what is right for them and thatincludes hospital birth, birth center services, and homebirths. Women should beable to make the choice where they want to birth and have access to trainedbirth attendants in all settings.

5. If you could tell all pregnant women in the world something,what would it be?

Everypregnant woman has the right to decide what type of care is right for her. Ifsomething does not seem right for you, then investigate your options and makean informed choice.

6. How long have you been in your profession? Are you certified? Ifyes, by who?

I have beena Certified Nurse Midwife since 2010 - I am certified by the American MidwiferyCertification Board and am licensed in SD.

I have beena Family Nurse Practitioner since 2005 and am certified by the American Nurse’sCredentialing Center and am licensed in SD, IA, and Alaska.

I have beenan International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 2002.

I have beena Registered Nurse since 1992 and am licensed in SD and Alaska.

Additionalcertifications include: CPR, NRP(Neonatal Resuscitation Program), ACLS(Advanced Cardiac Life Support), ALSO (Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics),and ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support).

7. Do you have a business name? How can people contact you forpregnancy and childbirth support?

Journey HomeMidwifery

Call myphone to set up an appointment (605)769-0807.

Email journeyhomemidwifery@gmail.com

My websiteis still under construction, but more is going up everyday:

www.journeyhomemidwifery.com

8. Where do you practice?

I amcurrently seeing patients either in my home or a small office space that Irented in Salem, SD at an old chiropractor clinic. I will be moving back intomy home office early in the spring to my rural Montrose home. I amapproximately 30 miles west of Sioux Falls.

I willtravel to births in the eastern South Dakota, approximately 2 hours from myhome.

Favorite Childhood Christmas Traditions...

2011-12-16T09:20:00.002-06:00

My holiday traditions were a littledifferent then everyone else’s when I was growing up. Every Christmas Eve my family went to theevening church service and/or went to go look at Christmas lights aroundtown. My dad would take us on a tour ofall his favorite themed light streets and my sister and I would count theminutes until we could go back home. “Why?” you ask. Because we werespecial. That’s right, Santa was sooveranxious to give us our gifts, that he would wait until we were out of ourhouse to come snuggle those beautiful presents under our tree. As soon as we got in the house, we wouldlaunch downstairs to see if Santa had come to visit us.

Of coursehe had, and the next hour or so was spent in a flurry of glossy wrapping paperand ecstatic shrieks of joy. After weopened our presents we would usually have some snacks and hot chocolate andstay up late watching a movie. (Morelikely than not, A Muppets Family Christmas, which my family knows all thewords to. Much to my husbands chagrin.) Occasionally, when my sister was little, mydad and I would go to the late night candlelight service at church. We would go to bed and sleep in on Christmasmorning, then usually do Christmas dinner at home or a nearby relative’shouse. In hindsight, this was a seriousplanning win on my parents’ part, because we crashed hard from oursugar/present high and usually slept in pretty good on Christmas morning.

Now that Ihave my own children, my husband and I are trying to incorporate both of ourseparate sets of traditions into some conglomeration of a tradition for our ownkids. I am adamant about doing giftopening on Christmas Eve., especially this year as I will be hosting Christmasdinner at our house, because I always thought that made our family special whenI was growing up. We are slowly butsurely beginning to morph our families’ way of doing things into one.

I loveseeing my kids’ faces when they experience the awesomeness of Christmas. It isn’t just the gifts, or the food, but thechance to spend time together and make memories. Whenever I think of Christmases past, mymemories have a sort of happy hazy glow around them, and this feeling ofcomfort and joy is what I most wish to pass on to my children through mytraditions.

By Rochelle Lund

Teaching Kids to Give

2011-12-14T11:06:00.000-06:00

This is a time of year that children (and adults) can very, very easily get wrapped up in the season and have an attitude of "gimme gimme gimme" "What wonderful things am I going to get?" "I want this and this and this and this and this and this!"

Even though we are living in a time where things are financially tight for many many people, for some reason we feel the need to give our children pretty much anything and everything they ask for (just take a look at people's carts at your local Wal-Mart and Target). Hubby and I are no exception...we want to give our kids what they are dreaming about and something that they will love...they are at an age where their "dreams" are not that expensive so it's easier to get caught up in giving them so much. It's not because we want to spoil them, it's because we love them and want them to have the kind of Christmas they will remember and look back on with fondness and wonderful memories, and I suspect many other parents feel the same way. This year we have forced ourselves to cut things back...they are getting some things they really want, but we are not going overboard like we did last year.

So, in the midst of the flurry of giving, glitz, glitter, and the spirit of the season, how do you teach your children the value and joy of giving?

Well, at our house, we have been talking a lot about being a light to others and showing God's love. We especially focus on it at bedtime prayers. Vienna and I talk about how we can be a light and things we can do or give to others to show and be an example of God's love. Randall and I feel that giving isn't just about the physical act of giving something to someone, but also things you can do for others...that giving of yourself can mean so much. Of course, we also make sure the kids are "in" on any gift giving, we wrap a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child, and we talk about how fun it is to give to others. Our kiddos are still really young, but it's fun to see their understanding coming about. Vienna did something for Porter yesterday and when I thanked her for doing something so meaningful and nice, she asked if she was being a "light". Yes! She's getting it :)

Here are the responses from our readers on this question:

We always emphasize that it's not about us, as we are very blessed. We may not have everything we want, but we have what we need. We try to stress that all year long, not just Christmas. We pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and they have so much fun picking stuff out to go into them. As they get older, they have really taken notice of the Salvation Army bell ringers and always want to put something in the kettle. So we are going to ring bells with the older ones this year too. I think it's important to answer their questions honestly and have an open dialogue about why we need to give and help them to realize how blessed they are. The last couple of years we also stopped doing big presents under the tree and just do stockings. If something doesn't quite fit in the stocking we make a treasure hunt out of it with clues in their stocking and they have to find it in the house :)
~Beth

We sponsor a local family
~Jessica

We do it all year long
~Debra

I was raised that we give up one gift at Christmas to buy one for the angel tree. We picked out what we wanted and donated it. I hope to do that with my children.
~Amy

Finding Balance at Christmas

2011-12-12T10:57:00.000-06:00

"How do you find balance this time of year - kids, family, shopping, Christmas programs, parties, etc?"

Ok, so when I asked this question to our readers, I was really hoping for some good tips, advice, and ways I could better balance things. I didn't get very many responses (though the ones I got I will post here), but after I thought about it a little bit, I realized that I actually am balancing things pretty well.

No, I'm not perfect - not even close, but this year I've really haven't had much choice but to have some balance in my Christmas preparation. I've started a new business, and I have had several custom orders that I've had to do, and I have one really big custom order I'm working on right now. The thing is, is that some things are just gonna have to take a back seat. We had our son's birthday party yesterday (he turns two on Christmas day), and while she was here for that, my sister asked me if I wanted to go to her place in Watertown today and we could make Christmas cookies/goodies together...our mom was going to go, and it would have been a very fun day...one that we try to do every year. I didn't have a choice but to say no this time...no matter how much I wanted to go. I have other things that take priority, and until those are done I need to not do some of the "extras"...perhaps I'll be able to do something like that in a week or so, but right now it just isn't possible.

So, my advice is to prioritize. What is most important to you? For me, it's my family and some of our Christmas traditions. Vienna and I made popcorn strings for a tree, as a family we made little Christmas tree treats, we have decorated our house and done a little shopping and gift making, and we will make cookies on Christmas Eve. Church is also a priority, and we look forward to the Christmas program there next week. My new business is important to our income, so as with any business, I need to give it my time and make it a priority...it will never come ahead of my family, but some other things definitely can be knocked back a bit...some things just aren't as important.

So, for those of you that usually get a Christmas card from us, maybe just don't expect one, but if you do get one it will probably be late...sound good? ;)

....that's my story, so how did our readers answer this question?

Very carefully :)
~Mary-beth

run...run...run!
~Shellia Ann

Sadly I skip most parties, enjoy the family when I can and work eats the rest.
~Joy

Don't be a perfectionist. The kids won't remember perfect sugar cookies, they will remember the time you spent making them together.
~Angie
Evie's note: I really like Angie's advice!! I have taken it to heart and really applied it in things we do this year - you should see our very non-classy tree decorations - ha! :)

Drinking. Lots of drinking. And I keep wondering where these kids come from...
~Kimberly
Evie's note: Kimberly - I think this is hilarious! :)

Christmas Traditions...

2011-12-08T12:15:00.001-06:00

This month I am asking questions on our Facebook page and compiling the answers in a blog post so everyone can enjoy each other's thoughts on Christmas and family this time of year. I will be including my own thoughts on most of the questions as well, so.......enjoy! :)

Today's question was "What are some Christmas/Holiday traditions that you have with your kids?"

We are just beginning our Christmas traditions, but this year we will be doing the same thing that we did last year, so it's a start :). On Christmas Eve we baked cookies together and Vienna decorated them.Then before we went to bed, we set out cookies and milk and Vienna "wrote" her letter to Santa asking for what she wanted. We woke up in the morning and opened gifts and spent the day all together just playing and enjoying our time together. This year will be even more fun because Porter will be able to join in :).
~Evie

The Christmas pickle. :) We have a glass pickle ornament that gets hidden in the tree on Christmas Eve and in the morning the kids get to search for it, the first to find it gets an extra little gift (usually a trinket or little candy).
~Toni

We usually try to go pick out either individual ornaments for each kid, or they pick their own. Or we get a family one that has "us" on it. And of course family baking day!
~Joy

We hunt and cut down our Christmas tree every year. The kids get to pick it out, so not always the straightest tree, but they picked it :). We also allow them to open one gift on Christmas Eve (pj's) and this year we are adding slippers!
~Shelly

We have the elf on the shelf and his name is zartmax. Then last year I found a tiny elf that had the same sort of look so they begged santa in a letter to give that elf (zartsam) magic as well :). So every night they fly to santa telling him how the boys behaved and they are in a new spot every morning to they have to search the house for them.
~Desiree

We watch Polar Express on Christmas Eve in our Christmas pj's with popcorn and apple cider
~Erin

Time for Gratitude - The Greatest Generation

2011-12-07T11:44:00.001-06:00

Picture found and borrowed from the Official Pearl Harbor Tour Website

Today is “Pearl Harbor Day”. Not only is it the anniversaryof that fateful day in American History, but it’s the *70th* anniversary. That’s70 years since America was catapulted into the middle of the war that was ragingin Europe and the rest of the world.

I found this snippet on the History Channel’s website thatincludes President Roosevelt’s remarks about the attack. I think this is areally good representation of how our nation felt, reacted, and how Japan didn’tget exactly what they expected in the aftermath of the attack:

PearlHarbor Awakens the "Sleeping Giant"

“Yesterday,” PresidentRoosevelt said on December 8, “the United States of America was suddenly anddeliberately attacked.” He went on to say, “No matter how long it may take usto overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteousmight will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will ofthe Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defendourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form oftreachery shall never endanger us again.” After the Pearl Harbor attack, andfor the first time after years of discussion and debate, the American peoplewere united in their determination to go to war. The Japanese had wanted togoad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions againstthem; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict thatultimately resulted in Japan’s first occupation by a foreign power.

On December 8,Congress approved Roosevelt’s declaration of war. Three days later, Japaneseallies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States. For the secondtime, Congress reciprocated. More than two years after the start of theconflict, the United States had entered World War II.

Picture found and borrowed from the Official Pearl Harbor Tour Website

My husband, Randall, is a historian (he plans to be aHistory professor someday) and he has a passion for WWII. His belovedgrandfather served in the Pacific theater on the USS Crescent City APA-21. Hepassed away in 1997, but to keep his memory alive and honor him, Randall iswriting several WWII historical books. He has had the honor of interviewingover 500 WWII veterans, and is piecing together their stories.

We have also gotten involved with the USS Crescent City’sreunion group. Randall serves as President of the USS Crescent City Associationand Reunion Group, and we had the pleasure of planning the reunion in thesummer of 2010 which was held in San Diego. As you might imagine there aren’t alot of veterans that served on the USS Crescent City still living (let alonehealthy enough to attend a weekend-long reunion), so several years ago thegroup joined forces with the USS Hayes, USS Adams, and the USS Jackson. Whenthey were in the war, these four ships actually fought and worked together andwere known as the “Unholy Four”. They were Attack Transport ships, and theybrought Marines, Navy Sailors, and Army Soldiers from one battle point toanother and were also able to defend themselves and attack as necessary. Nowthey get together for a fun weekend of remembering and fellowship with eachother each summer.

Anyway, with our involvement with the Reunion Group andRandall’s talking with so many veterans, his research, and writing, we areimmersed in WWII at our house! We have had the pleasure of spending time withand getting to know many men and women from this great generation. They livedand fought in a very different time in our country, and it’s because of theirsacrifice (both in the war and on the home front) that we are able to live thelives we do today.

So, on this 70^th Anniversary of the day thatchanged our country’s history and future, I am grateful for the men and womenwho served in WWII and all wars fought on our behalf. Thank you to thegeneration that sacrificed so much for us…you are a generation of the valuesand work ethic that this country was founded on, and my family and I strive tobe like you.

I leave you with this “Sailor’s Version of the 23^rdPsalm” that was Selected from “Chatter”, and Published aboard the USS CrescentCity APA-21:

The Lord is my Pilot, I shall not Drift,

He lighteneth my way across the dark waters;

He steereth me in deep channels,

He keepeth my Log.

He guideth me by the Star of

Holiness for His Name’s sake,

Yea though I sail ‘mid the thunders and tempests of Life, Ishall dread no danger,

For thou art near me;

Thy love and Thy care they shelter me.

Thou preparest a Harbor before me in the Home of Eternity;

Thou anointeth the waves with oil,

My ship rideth calmly,

Surely sunlight and starlight shall favor me on the voyage Itake,

And I shall rest in the Port of God forever.

~ By Evie DeWitt

Breastfeeding during the Holidays

2011-12-06T16:10:00.001-06:00

The busy season is upon us with the hustle and bustle of aMerry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Itis a joyful time but it also can bring some stress. When you add nursing your new baby to your todo list, it can bring some challenges especially if it’s your first Christmaswith your nursing baby. Here are somesuggestions to keep a great breastfeeding relationship while celebrating withfamily and friends.

Agree beforehand with friends andfamily members to limit gift giving. This helps with shopping and saves money, too!
If you decorate your house, askfriends to help instead of doing it all yourself. You can direct operations from your rockingchair.
If possible take your baby to theparty. Hosts are usually referring to older children who can get into trouble underfootwhen they say “Adults only.” Wearing youbaby in a sling or wrap makes it easy to nurse discreetly.
Baby-wearing is also useful whenyou have guests. It enables you to keepyour baby from being passed from one person to the next and becoming overstimulated. If you keep a running listof chores on the refrigerator, you can point to it whenever someone offers tohelp.
Ask guests to bring foodcontributions instead of making all the meals yourself. Telling Aunt Marge that you have been lookingforward to her special spinach dish all year should do the trick!
Work around nap times and othertimes when baby is sleeping.
Avoid long car and plane trips ifpossible. If it’s unavoidable, make sureto take plenty of time for nursing breaks.
Shop for gifts online or fromcatalogues. Keep “real life shopping”trips short or take plenty of breaks to breastfeed. If you are still feeling shy about nursing inpublic, feed your baby just before you leave home, in the car or dressing room.
Eat well! Those holiday treats may look yummy but besure that you eat a meal first! We don’thave to follow a strict diet when breastfeeding but good food providesenergy. Also, be sure that you aredrinking plenty of fluids.
Rest…. Make sure that you are getting sleep! Take naps if you can with your napping baby.
Watch your baby’s cues. If he becomes fussy, sneak away to a quietroom for some mommy-time.

LLL of Sioux Falls is meetingthis Thursday at 6:30 at Elegant Mommy. We’d love to see you there!!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderfulholiday season!

~ Sarah Alberts, La Leche League Leader

L is for 'Lessons Learned'

2011-11-30T12:33:00.001-06:00

They saythat when a door closes another one opens. My son is living proof of that saying. A year ago at Thanksgiving time, I had a job I was starting to despise. I worked either too much or too little andnothing would make the bosses happy. Truthfully, I was at the point of going to work just for the good moneyI was making just because I was planning my Labor Day wedding for 2011.

The Fridaybefore Thanksgiving, I was let go. Theweird thing was I was not upset. I justwondered how I was going to be able to pay the bills for the wedding. As I left, I immediately informed my fiancéthat I was coming to his parents’ home for Thanksgiving. He was excited to see me but also wonderedhow we were to pay for our wedding as I was making more money between the twoof us.

January 12,2011, I learned I was pregnant with my son. His due date was August 12. Threeweeks before the wedding date. Our planswere changed, and we married in April.

During thispregnancy, I tried to find work and was not very successful until my last twomonths of pregnancy. It was also duringthis time I truly learned the saying’s meaning. While looking for work, I took care of my niece who was born in January,returned to school and brought my GPA up considerably, and fell in love withthe occupation of being a stay at home mother.

I have theloss of this job to thank because if I maintained this job, I would not have myson here today playing peek-a-boo with his giraffe named Bubbles as I writethis blog and talking to me when I miss one too many of his peeks. I would also not be in school finishing mydegree, nor would I know what a wonderful blessing it is to stay home and carefor my child and know I will never miss a major milestone because I am here tosee it.

I havealways heard those wise sayings but never truly paid attention to their truthsuntil my son’s arrival forced my eyes open to seeing them and reflecting uponmy life over the past 25 years and remembering how many of them were proventrue but I did not see it.

The nexttime I have a loss, I will give it the time to grieve the loss but I will alsolook and see what new opportunities are available for me to take advantage ofin thanks of the new loss. “Do not crybecause it ended, smile because it happened.” has become my new mantra when it comes to losses.

As strangeas it is, I am thankful that I learned to be thankful for losses great andsmall over the past year and it is all in thanks to my 3-month-old son.

By Eryn

November Giveaways - Week 4

2011-11-28T11:58:00.001-06:00

Enter now to win our last $25 Gift Card to Elegant Mommy!!!

How do you enter? Well, to enter this week you need to comment on this blog post (**Make sure to enter your name in the comment, too - especially if you are an "anonymous" comment-er**), or on the Elegant Mommy or Educated Mommy facebook page giveaway posts.

What do you need to say in your comment?

Tell us your four favorite things about winter

Yep, it's that easy. Just tell us your four favorite things about winter and you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Elegant Mommy! The winner will be drawn on Friday afternoon around 4:00 pm CST.

Good luck!

U is for 'Unpredictable'

2011-11-23T08:21:00.001-06:00

When you think of the word thankful, negatives don’t usuallycome to mind. All the stress, bad luck, hardships and heartbreak are notusually the first things you think of. When I found out I was pregnant my wholeworld changed. My once very predictablelife changed tenfold. Needless to say Iwas far from ready for it. I wasn’tready for the UNPREDICTABLE battle I was about to endure.

I found out I was pregnant in January a few years back; I had justgotten back from a girls weekend out of town. I had been taking a test a fewdays before my expected period for almost 6 months, only to have a negativeevery time. My husband and I were not preventing pregnancy. When I took thetest I treated it as it was already going to be a negative like all the tests Ihad taken before. So I left it on the counter and went about my daily routine.I was shocked to get that + sign when I finally looked at the test! I waspregnant; I was going to be a mom! It was my dream come true. The only thing Ihad wanted in life since I could remember was to be a mom. I had all these images of being this perfectmom, always put together and the mom other moms wanted to be. I was going to doit all, be the best mom and wife I could be, I wasn’t going to raise my voiceto my kid, lose my temper or anything. (Go ahead and laugh) I would have thisperfect family. I sailed through pregnancy and even had an easy labor, anddelivery. I had this mom thing down….it wasn’t till my daughter was actually inmy arms that I was hit with reality.

I didn’t love my baby the moment they laid her on my chest.I didn’t love her the first time I nursed her. I didn’t love her the entiretime we were in the hospital. The feelings of overwhelming love didn’t arriveuntil we were home from the hospital. For a very long time I felt so guilty that I felt so indifferent about my child. I still cannot explain why Ididn’t feel that immediate bond. It obviously did eventually show up and wewere inseparable. Part of the reason we were inseparable was because I was alsothe only one who could calm her, I was breastfeeding, I was stay at home mom, Iwas everything to her and it was exhausting. My husband turned out to be not as hands on and as involved as I thoughthe would be. There were many nights Iwould be upstairs consoling a crying baby while he was downstairs with the TVlouder than normal to drown her cries. That created a lot of resentment andanger towards him. He had every excuse on why he “couldn’t” help. He couldn’tfeed her because I was nursing, he hated the cloth diapers and he had no ideahow to use a baby carrier even though I had showed him countless times how touse it. Our marriage grew strained and we started to fight all the time. Iwanted to go to marriage counseling and he wanted me to get on medication fordepression so he didn’t have to get “yelled at all the time.” He would ignore my “honey-do” lists andrequests for help around the house stating because he went out and worked, andI stayed home the housework was my job.

Along with a strained marriage, also came a very strongwilled infant/toddler; I won’t call her difficult, instead I will use“spirited.” She tested my patience like no one else had done before. Iunfortunately often got furious at her for certain small misbehaviors. I took alot of stress out on her. I wasexhausted, I couldn’t wait to hand her off to my husband and escape to thegrocery store or target and wander up and down every aisle just for time alone.I was beginning to dislike my own child. I loved her, but I didn’t like her.She was so well behaved for other people but with me she was a monster. Shedidn’t sleep; she would wake up every 45 minutes to an hour every night. Myhusband would not get up with her and if I made him it usually ended up in ahuge fight, which would last for a few more hours. My dreams of being thisperfect wife and mother were shattered and I felt defeated.

On top of that I hadn’t gotten use to my post baby body. Ididn’t have the time or the energy to put any thought into my wardrobe. I worestained t-shirts, jeans or sweatpants every day threw my unwashed hair into apony tail and skipped make up all together. This only caused me more anxietybecause before kids I would never leave the house without my hair done andwearing at least mascara.

I reached out to people who were also moms, went on onlineforums trying to make connections. I still didn’t know anyone in our area eventhough I had lived here now for almost 3 years. The friendships I found withother moms were not true friendships. There was always the competition of whosekid did this or they always seemed to try to “one-up” each other. And thegossip and trash talking that went on was unbearable. I fell into their toxicpattern and my stress mounted. If I shared personal struggles with one of themall of a sudden all of them knew my business. I was no better. I gossiped about them aswell. I eventually couldn’t take itanymore and my “friends” and I had a falling out. I was back to being anisolated stay at home mom with a child I didn’t even like, and a marriage to aman I didn’t even know, who I couldn’t talk to about all these things becausehis solution was always the same, get on drugs for depression.

I hit my breaking point last year. I was going to have surgeryfor a double hernia. Because my husband was so uninvolved in our lives I had tohave my mom come in from out of state to drive me to the hospital and to takecare of me afterwards. She stayed the weekend and then took my daughter backhome with her, while I recovered because my husband refused to take off anywork to care for me or our child. So when my mom left for home that Sunday Iwas on my own for a whole week, learning how to move to not cause myself pain,getting my meds, preparing my meals and cleaning up after not only myself butmy husband as well. It hurt too much tocry, so I didn’t even though I missed my daughter (it was the first time I hadever spent the night away from her let alone a whole week from her.) I was on astrict no lifting for two weeks, but our daughter was only going to be gone forone of those weeks. So when she came home I still couldn’t lift her. It killedme that I couldn’t pick her up or take care of her how I wanted to. What madeit worse was the lack of help. That’s when I decided I had had enough.

I made my husband go to a marriage counselor. I even had himpick the counselor out. I told him it was counseling or I walked. He made itthrough 2 sessions before he decided he didn’t need to go anymore. I was theone with the problems and I still needed to be heavily medicated for severedepression. So at the beginning of this year I took my daughter and we left. We went home tomy parents. Two weeks later he asked me to come back. I did thinking he wouldchange. We continued to fight, it didn’t matter when or where, in front of ourdaughter we would scream at each other. He would tell me he wished he could hitme. He would call me every name in the book and tell me how worthless I was. Heaccused me of cheating on him, lying and stealing from him. I was a horriblemother and wife. I had failed. I had failed at the one thing I ever wanted andit killed me. I had a child I disliked, I had a husband who I didn’t know anddidn’t love me and I had nowhere to go but back to my parents. I had no friendsto help me (I shouldn’t say no friends, I do have a few that have been amazingsupport and you know who you are!)

My daughter and I have been through hell and back in her short life. I have so many parenting regrets that I can nevertake back. She is still a spirited child, but since I made the choice to leavepermanently she has become a whole different person (I truly believe now thatshe was acting out and feeding off the stress of her father and I) I love herand she is my whole world. I cannot imagine what my life would be like withouther. I am slowly becoming the mom I want to become. I don’t yell as much (workin progress) I am learning to be independent and to manage life as a singleparent. Luckily I have the support of my family (who were a state away before).

When Ilook back at my life as a parent I don’t dwell onthe negative, on the hardship and strife. I am actually very thankful for them.I am thankful that these last few years happened. I am so thankful for theUNPREDICTABLE life that was thrown at me when I entered mommy hood. Without itI wouldn’t be so strong and independent. Without it I wouldn’t have found who Iam as a person, without these last years I wouldn’t be a mom. Without theUNPREDICTABLES that come when you become a parent I would have never been strongenough to stand up for myself and my child. I would have never discovered whomy true friends were. I would have neverchased my dreams and found my voice. I know there is a lot ahead of us still,and life won’t be easy as a single mom, but instead of fearing the unknown andthe future I am embracing the UNPREDICTABLE knowing that I have the strength toforge ahead for my daughter and me.

Submitted by an Anonymous Guest

F is for 'Fertility'

2011-11-22T13:13:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for a lot of things beginning with the letter F. Family,
friends, faith, food... to name a few. What I have decided to focus
on today, however, is fertility.

Growing up, like many little girls, one thing I dreamed about being
some day was a mommy. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to have
children. What I did not expect as a little girl, would be the battle
I would face to become a mother.

Fertility, in my case, was not something I was certain I would be blessed with.

After over three years of trying to become parents - with no success -
my husband and I consulted a reproductive endocrinologist. There, it
was decided, that I suffer from Poly-cystic Ovarian Sydrome, also
known as PCOS.

Once discovered, fertility came more easily for me than for some
others who battle. For this, I feel blessed. After a few rounds of
oral medications and failed attempts, within five months, my husband
and I conceived our miracle. Spencer was born without complication on
November 1, 2010.

Fertility is something that can be easy for many to overlook and take
for granted, especially if they have not had to battle. I feel that,
because of my personal struggle, I am extremely thankful for a period
of fertility in my life and for the son I was given as the battle was
won.

By Nicole Worthley

This Week's Sale!

2011-11-21T14:17:00.001-06:00

So, we posted about this week's giveaway, but now, how about some exciting sales!?

Online and in our stores, you can now receive

20% off all soap and accessories!

(not including soap refills)

This includes:

Rockin Green
Charlies
Sprayers
Wipes
Wee Essentials Wipes Cubes
Wetbags
Inserts

So, stock up on your soap and accessories today through Wednesday!

HAPPY SHOPPING!!

(New sales coming Thursday)

November Giveaways - Week 3

2011-11-21T10:40:00.001-06:00

Enter now to win a $25 Gift Card to Elegant Mommy!!!

How do you enter? Well, to enter this week you need to comment on this blog post (**Make sure to enter your name in the comment, too - especially if you are an "anonymous" comment-er**), or on theElegant Mommy or Educated Mommy facebook page giveaway posts.

What do you need to say in your comment?

Tell us three reasons you are confident in your parenting skills

Yep, it's that easy. Just tell us three reasons you are confident in your parenting skills and you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Elegant Mommy! The winner will be drawn on Friday evening around 7:00 pm CST.

Good luck!

Time for Gratitude - Birth Options in South Dakota

2011-11-18T11:41:00.001-06:00

In addition to being Elegant Mommy’s “online face”, I amalso a doula, birth activist, and plan to soon begin training to become a certified childbirth educator.Now, when I say “birth activist”, I know that can have a negative connotation tosome people. Let me just clarify what I mean. I am *passionate* about helpingwomen and families understand and know that they have CHOICES in their birthplans. I am really an activist for “educated birthing”. I want to help womenand families know that they don’t have to just do whatever their provider tellsthem to do. It’s the provider’s responsibility to tell pregnant and laboringwomen what their choices are and perhaps even what they would recommend…nottell them what to do. It is the pregnant woman’s responsibility to be educatedand informed about what they want and what they don’t want. If their provider doesn't tell them all the information they need to make an educated decision,they need to know the right questions to ask to get their answers. I help themwith that.

In addition to that, I have gotten involved with the politicsof birth in South Dakota. Now, I can go on and on about the political aspect ofthings and what our laws are, who has the most influence and seems to “run itall”, etc., but I really want to focus on something in the political realm thatis extremely positive for birthing families in this state right now.

This year the state legislature *passed* a bill that willallow Birth Centers to belicensed here! That is HUGE and wonderfully exciting for families here!!

The first draft of regulations for this bill was releasedrecently, and on Wednesday, I had the pleasure to attend the Public Hearing forinput on these regulations in Pierre. There were several Certified NurseMidwives in attendance, as well as a representative from South Dakota SafeChildbirth Options, and myself. I spoke on behalf of the American Associationof Birth Centers (AABC); as a South Dakotamember of the AABC, and also a member of their national Birth Center LicensureWorking Group, I was honored to submit comments on their behalf. There werealso several representatives from the medical community – Medical Association,Nursing Association, and Hospital Association, as well as the two gentlemen whoput the rules together from the Department of Health.

Overall, there was wonderful discussion between all partiesabout some clarification in the rules, as well as recommendations from theparties in attendance. The Department of Health, who is responsible for comingup with workable rules, listened to all suggestions and recommendations, and Iam confident will make positive changes to the rules based on input from everyone. Therewas definitely an air of solidarity in that we all want the same thing – more birthoptions for South Dakota families. Even if we didn’t all agree with *everything*that was suggested, we were all basically on the same page and really just wantBirth Centers to be a viable birth option for South Dakota families.

Though there’s still more work to be done, I’m very happy toreport that we are one step closer to more healthy and safe birth options here!

By Evie DeWitt

K is for 'Knowledge'

2011-11-17T17:56:00.001-06:00

As I write this, I am pumping at work while on my lunch.It’s not the most fun way to spend your lunch break or any break for thatmatter. The sacrifices we make as a breastfeeding mother are boundless. Not allof us are lucky enough to be a stay at home mom or a work at home mom. I thinkit takes a lot of courage to be a full time working mom and still providebreastmilk. Not all workplaces are friendly to the idea; judgment, time, and locationare all factors to a mother’s comfort in doing such a personal and yetdisconnected way of expressing milk. So many moms can relate. With that said, Iam not your typical pumping mother.

When I gave birth to my second son, Jameson, I was beyonddetermined to breastfeed. I was a complete breastfeeding failure with my firstson whom I tried and tried to make it work. My determination was like a firebrewing over the course of 2.5 years. I anticipated the jaundice, the pain, thetears, the fight to make it work... because unfortunately the natural practicedidn’t come natural for me. What I did not anticipate was the fact I couldn’tget him to gain weight. Despite the hours and hours of nursing, skin to skincontact, and all the loving a mother can give to a child… he simply didn’t gainweight. He lost nearly a pound in the hospital and from there we got no where.Especially with a 2 year old ruling the house to nurse for an hour, pump andnurse again left me feeling as though I had abandon my first born. Slowly, ournursing sessions became newborn screaming, mother crying sessions. What’s amother to do? How do you make a babyeat? Did I fail once more? Am I not cut out for this? What more can I do tomake him gain something? I felt sodefeated and defective; again.

Based on how I started this entry, you obviously know that Idid find a way. After a lot of research, reading, searching, and googling Ifound one website with an amazingcommunity of mom’s in my shoes -Exclusive Pumpers. It’s definitely not how Ipictured my breastfeeding relationship with my son, but it does provide him theone thing I wanted for him. I can honestly say I didn’t know what I was reallygetting into when I started. In the first 9 weeks I pumped 9 times a dayincluding 3 times at night while my baby slept all night. That equates to hooking myself up to the horns 63 timesa week, 252 times a month… you can about imagine the disdain I had for my pump.I would have loved to take a bat to it “Office Space” style. However, thecomplete joy, self-appreciation, and satisfaction I gained at seeing bottleafter bottle of breastmilk gave me the confidence to keep going. His weightbegan to increase slowly, he wasn’t as fussy in between feedings, nor as hungryand he was sleeping like an angel… all of which were more reasons to keeppushing myself.

Those first 12 weeks were definitely the hardest. There arerules to follow as an exclusive pumper that a nursing mother doesn’t. Findingtime to pump a strict schedule of 15-30minevery 2-3 hours (just as you would nurse) is only the beginning. Along withfeeding, changing, playing, comforting your newborn you must also entertain,parent, love, and keep your two year old occupied simultaneously. Forget abouta shower and remembering to eat. On top of that, you start to count ouncesyou’ve pumped. Nothing will send an exclusive pumper into a state of paranoiafaster than coming up short on ounces. It’s been a rocky, stressful, and yetrewarding journey. As time has passed, it has gotten easier and more manageableas my supply has leveled out and I am able to drop some pump times.

Of course, there will always be the skeptics. To prove justhow determined I was to nurse I did keep offering him the breast as the weeksand months passed. I was able to get him to comfort nurse around 5 months old…in fact it was the only way he would go to sleep many nights. However, it isdefinitely not a sustainable way forhim to eat since it was solely for comfort.

I chose not to take the easy way out, but you can bet Ithought about it. If it weren’t for my completely awesome husband I wouldn’t beso dedicated. More importantly, if it weren’t for my research, my deep rooteddetermination, the group of exclusively pumping moms I met, and the wealth ofKNOWLEDGE I learned, I wouldn’t have been able to provide. I had no idea thatusing a pump at all times could be an option for breastfeeding!! Again, it’snot what I wanted, but it was the next best option. There are so many moms withhigh hopes of breastfeeding who were/are faced with breastfeeding obstacles. Issuescan range from poor latches, lazy nursers, or biters to babies that are tonguetied, have a cleft palette, preemies and NICU babies who really had to make thebest of their situations.

For all of this, I am so incredibly thankful for the‘K’nowledge I obtained to make breastfeeding possible. At 5 pumps a day, my now6.5 month old is happy and healthy. It may not be my nipple in his mouth, butit is my milk.

By Teresa Plautz

N is for 'New Beginnings'

2011-11-15T14:34:00.001-06:00

Not everyone is born with the ideal family. When I married my husband Scott in April of 2010, we covenanted with God to raise our children in a Christian home. Our little family was blessed with the pleasant surprise of my pregnancy just two days before our first anniversary. I will be delivering our first son next month. While I have had a safe, uneventful pregnancy, the past year of my life has brought a number of problems with incredibly close members of my family tree. Having my own offspring on the way has given me a different perspective on many of the issues we've experienced. Despite my own concerns and fears, we are not merely products of our heritage. We are able to overcome obstacles and create a new legacy for our children. Our son is a fresh start.

A few short years ago I was a cynic. After my first engagement ended, I doubted everything in my life: God, friends, myself. I wondered if I was capable of being a good mother and spouse. From those painful days sprang restoration, healing, and a greater understanding of God's faithfulness. I trusted Him to enable me, instead of myself. Slowly, I have grown in my marriage and in my role as a woman. I was able to finally establish healthy relationships with people around me. I was blessed. Not long later, I met my wonderful husband, and we have continued to grow together. Now I have new roles to fulfill: wife and mother.

If you'd asked me in 2008, I might have said I hoped I'd be with a good man. I never really thought I'd have the perfect spouse for me, or even a child on the way. Now, I have a new beginning. In my son, I have the opportunity to nurture another life, to raise them well. I have an opportunity to teach someone to live beyond selfishness, anger, and bitterness. I have the blessing of teaching, loving, and disciplining another human life. The task frightens me. What woman is without fears before her firstborn? In Christ, I'm not alone. I have Him to stand guard over my little family and my heart.

By Emily Schultz

Childbirth Professional Day: Meet Judy Kay Jones

2011-11-14T14:26:00.001-06:00

1. What is your Childbirth Profession?

I am a Certified Professional Midwife.

2. Describe your profession and why someone would want to choose your profession for support in pregnancy and/or childbirth.

I provide prenatal care and assist families with their births in an out of hospital setting, either at home or in a motel. I stress the importance of good nutrition and self care. I support a woman in allowing her body to give birth to her baby without interferences and help them to have a wonderful bonding time after their birth and get breastfeeding well established. My position is that of a watchful eye to observe, encourage and be aware of any problem that may truly need to be addressed with more than time.

3. Why did you get started in your profession?

I gave birth to my last two children at home unassisted. Several years later a friend asked me to be with her for her home birth. I was really impressed by the midwife who asisted her. I began working with her and that opened the door to the work I believed God had called me to do. Several years later, after some difficult situations, I began to do some real heart searching to be sure that midwifery was really what God had called me do. He gave me assurances that is is what He has called me to do.

4. In detail, what is your personal childbirth philosophy?

My birth philosophy is pretty simple. Birth is a natural normal function of life. Our body is created very well and knows exactly what to do to give birth. It works best if we relax, breathe deeply and let it do its work. There are many little things we can do to encourage it to work well, like being in a shower or tub, having plenty of nutrition and fluids, pressure supporting the uterine ligaments. The more births I attend, the more I realize that there is really a very broad "normal" definition of birth. There is an intimate connection between the mother and baby and the labor will progress in just the right way to protect both. There is no length of labor that is a perfect birth. It does not need to be pushed to start or pushed along. It needs to be supported. Moms need to listen to their own body and work with it, not against it.

5. If you could tell all pregnant women in the world something, what would it be?

Two things are really important for pregnancy. Truly good nutrition is the best way to have a healthy baby and a good birth. Secondly, listen to your body. It will tell you what you need to do and when to do it.

6. How long have you been in your profession? Are you certified? If yes, by who?

I have been involved in midwifery for 27 years. I am certified by the North American Registry of Midwives as a Certified Professional Midwife.

7. Do you have a business name? How can people contact you for pregnancy and childbirth support?

Most people just know me by my name, Judy Kay Jones, but I do call my work Joy of Birth Midwifery. People hear about me by word of mouth from someone else. I do not advertize. I am almost too busy the way it is! They can reach me at my home phone and leave a message 605-263-3043. I do have e-mail and you can reach me at judycpm@iw.net .

8. Where do you practice?

Since the state of South Dakota will not allow me to practice here, I practice outside of South Dakota. My South Dakota families meet me out of state, usually in Minnesota. Maybe some day South Dakota families will be able to have a CPM in their own homes

November Giveaways - Week 2

2011-11-14T13:33:00.001-06:00

Would you like to win a $25 gift card to Elegant Mommy?

To enter this week you need to comment on this blog post (**Make sure to enter your name in the comment, too**), or on theElegant Mommy or Educated Mommy facebook page giveaway posts.

What do you need to say in your comment?

Tell us two things you have done for someone else recently! If you haven't done anything for someone else recently, now is the perfect time to do so! ;)

Yep, it's that easy. Just tell us two things you have recently done for someone else and you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Elegant Mommy! The winner will be drawn on Friday around 4:00 pm CST.

Good luck!

In addition to this giveaway, enjoy 20% OFF all footwear at Elegant Mommy this week only! This includes Baby Bella Maya Booties, Rebekah Scott Designs, and Lexiebugs shoes!

****The winner of this week's giveaway is "Upcyclebaby"! Please email me at media[at]elegantmommy[dot]com to claim your prize! Congratulations!****

A is for 'Answered Prayer' and 'Anything'

2011-11-10T12:59:00.001-06:00

Answered Prayer

Myhusband(Brian) and I were thinking we were going to be done havingchildren.

He was more into this thanI was-I wasn't completely sure I was done, but I submitted on the issue withthe promise that God would bring a "miracle" into our lives. Idoubted that at the time, of course. In Jan. 2009 my husband had a vasectomy.

Imagine my surprise anddelight when we found we were expecting in May of 2009! Unfortunately, beforethe end of May we miscarried. I was very depressed but after some time, I waslearning to be content with the 4 blessings we had.

In Nov. 2010 we wereblessed enough to finish the basement (minor - some aesthetic things) andthus moved all 4 children downstairs into 2 new bedrooms. Then at the endof December we found out we were expecting again!! This time it was different,and we now have a beautiful baby girl who was born Aug. 19th, 2011.

When I was pregnant, I feltI heard God tell me to breastfeed this child. I'm so shocked/surprised/happythat we've been doing this since she was born and she is now 2 1/2mo. old,turning 3mo. this month! She has a great latch and she likes to be nursed! I'malso so glad I am able to nurse her when I'm with her and pump when I'm notwith her-so she is always getting breastmilk! It has been a wonderful blessingand as an added bonus it has not added any burden to our finances-which isreally a great blessing in and of itself!

So, there is our story of Sarah Faith and what wehave to be thankful for! She is an answer to many a prayer(mainly from me!) andall the children seem to adore her right now-everyone has adjusted fairly well!

Blessings,
Melinda Roth

Anything

A few months ago, we had our two yearold son start praying before our family meals. It was so adorable to hear him pray and to be honest, it was one ofthose parenting moments when we thought “We got this one right!” The prayers started simple.

“Dear Jesus, thank you for ourfood. Amen.”

And over time they evolved to includethanks for other important things such as Mama, Daddy, and baby Carter. I’m so glad we can teach our son to bethankful. But now, in all his independence,he has begun to thank Jesus for practically everything he can see.

“Dear Jesus, thank you for light. Thank you for couch. Thank you for window. Thank you for candle. Thank you for shoes. Thank you for chair. Thank you for blanket. Thank you for hair. Thank you for cup. Thank you for Charlie [the dog]. Thank you for hats. Amen.”

Most nights mom, dad or the food aren’teven included in the prayer. And I mustadmit I find myself becoming impatient, watching our food get cold as he praysfor quite literally everything. “Hey buddy, you’re taking this thankfulnessthing a bit too far.”

Wait. What? Did I just say that? Wasn’t it my goal to teach him to bethankful? To be aware of our manyblessings and say a prayer of thanks for them? Oh to be humbled by your child! Truthis … I need to be more thankful. Thereare things in my life I take for granted and never express thanks for. What would our house be like without windows? Or lights? I’m thankful for blankets too but I’ve never told Jesus that. And so in my attempt to teach my son, heinstead taught me something. I can bethankful for anything. And I should be thankful for everything.

What blessings in your life do you takefor granted?

By Ashley Anderson

H is for HoPE and Holoprosencephaly

2011-11-09T14:21:00.000-06:00

What I am thankful for.

Holoprosencephaly or HoPE

At 20 weeks utero my daughter was diagnosed with a condition called Holoprsencephaly. She was given no HoPE of surviving to birth and if she did, she would not make it out of the hospital. The doctors pushed for abortion, but this was not an option for us. God gave her to us for a reason.

Isabella Jeannette Dice was born at 11:31 AM on January 25th, 2010. She has undergone several surgeries since then along with multiple hospital stays. But she is proving the doctors wrong with every day she is with us and every milestone she is accomplishing.

Why am I thankful for my daughter's condition?

Because of Isabella I see the world in a whole new way. She has shown me that it's the little things in life that really matter. I love how people adore her and care. While our lives might not be 'normal', it is the only life I want.

Remember, With HoPE anything is possible!

I am a parent of a child with special needs.

Everyday something seems to happen that reminds me how different we are.
Our lives. Our schedule. Our responsibilities.
Listening to the stories of other families. But then I stop and think….it’s ok.
I am in you and you are in me, together that makes one very happy family.

~HOPELights

By Christine Dice

What's a Nursing Strike?

2011-11-08T13:20:00.000-06:00

I have toadmit I don’t hear of mothers having nursing strikes veryoften but they do happen and can be very frustrating for mom and baby. For mom, not knowing why she is beingrefused and for baby, because he might not be happy yet won’t nurse even thoughit’s always been his food and comfort.

Just forclarification, a nursing strike is when an infant who has been nursing happilyfor months suddenly refuses the breast when offered. It is different from baby-led weaning becauseit happens so suddenly. The baby isoften unhappy with the whole situation and wants mom to figure out what’s wrongand solve the problem.

Nursingstrikes can be caused because of physical discomfort like a stuffy nose, earache, teething, sore throat or anything that keeps baby from nursingcomfortably. It also could be caused bya stressful time like a move or a new job. It may be that mom startled him when he bit or perhaps he heard a loud noise while nursing. Even things like momchanging lotion, perfume, or deodorant can lead to a nursing strike. Any unusual change from the norm cancontribute to a nursing strike depending on baby.

Even if momcan’t figure out what caused it, she can help get things back on track. Don’t be too quick to offer other drinks andfood. Do pump or hand-express milk duringthe strike to maintain the milk supply and to prevent plugged ducts andmastitis. If the strike lasts longerthan a day, mom can offer expressed milk in a cup but avoid bottles so baby’ssucking urge will encourage him to nurse. Some ways to encourage baby back to the breast are: Nurse him in his sleep (probably the most commonsuggestion because it works); nurse somewhere different – while walking, whilesitting in the car, at a friend’s house, outside or in a warm bath (the skin-toskin contact can really help anywhere); make yourself available - leaveyour shirt up with your breast exposed for a day but don’t push the issue; andmaybe just some time spent away from the hubbub of the family snuggling momwill calm him enough to nurse.

Whateverworks might need to be used for a couple days before everything is back tonormal. Almost all nursing strikes endhappily but they don’t all end quickly. If you need help with a nursing strike or any other breastfeedingdifficulty, contact La Leche League (LLL). We are here to help!!!

This Thursday isour monthly meeting at 6:30 at Elegant Mommy in Sioux Falls. Come meet some wonderful mothers who love to breastfeed and support eachother!

By SarahAlberts, LLL Leader

November Giveaways - Week 1

2011-11-07T16:13:00.000-06:00

Who would like to enter to win a $25 gift card to Elegant Mommy?

To enter this week you need to comment on this blog post, or on the Elegant Mommy or Educated Mommy facebook page.

What do you need to say in your comment?

Tell us FIVE things you are thankful for!

Yep, it's that easy. Just tell us five things you are thankful for and you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Elegant Mommy! The winner will be drawn on Friday.

Good luck!

****Congratulations to our winner: Carly Glover!****

T is for "Terrific" Toddlers and Time

2011-11-04T08:22:00.003-05:00

Happy November everyone! This month we are doing something kind of fun here on the blog. I will be featuring a "Thankful" post submitted by readers like you all month. The fun part? Each post will focus on one letter to spell out "THANKFUL". The posts are all about what readers are thankful for in regards to pregnancy, birth, parenting, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, etc.

So, without further ado, I present you with a couple "T" posts. Happy reading!

~Evie

Terrific Toddlers

Hello Everyone!

As part of the Elegant Mommy T-h-a-n-k-f-u-l Blog Series, I would like to present you with "T is for Terrible Toddlers."

I have a beautiful amazing smart toddler. I've heard the saying (I think you'd have to be under a rock not to of) "Terrible Twos" or "Terrible Toddlers." Sure, my daughter now knows the power of a good temper tantrum. She's an avid climber (specializing in the stairs and the dining room table) and an amazing escape artist. She's a conquistador of our dogs and an explorer of unknown drawers and cabinets. She is a professional organizer. (I mean, she's so thoughtful for putting a screwdriver in my purse. You never know when I'll be needing one on the go) She's already dressing herself. And by that, I mean undressing herself. In public. Thirstie diaper and all.

As moms, we all have days when we might not lose our temper, but we sure give a heavy sigh. Mine came the other day when our daughter learned how to open the door to the bathroom and as anyone who has discovered a bathroom for the first time would do, she immediately started placing items in our toilet. A roll of pennies, a spoon, and washcloth took a toilet bath before I picked her up, washed her hands and promptly placed one of those childproofing knob covers on the door (which means that when my husband and I have to really go, we will not be able to turn that knob if our life depends on it...or drawers at least).

If you haven't experienced the Houdini-esq maneuvers of a toddler yet, you could chalk this up to my daughter not being supervised properly. However, if you've had kids, you'll know that no matter how many baby gates you put up, outlet covers you place or hours spent staring at your child, they are the perfect opportunists. Someone at the door? Phone ring? Changing the wash? Your child will find a way to surprise you no matter how hawk-like your supervision is.

Soon-to-be or new mothers, are you scared yet? Don't be. After all, this post is about being "Thankful." I'm beyond thankful for my toddler. You know what I did when I saw the pennies in the toilet. Laughed. When in my life have I ever seen such a silly sight? What would possess someone to put pennies in a toilet? It was like a wishing well in my bathroom. Ha!

Toddlers are amazing. They are learning things at an extraordinary pace. One day they know maybe one word, then one weekend they have five and then next they are saying sentences. They learn to potty train (eventually). They learn names. They point to things. They play games. They understand things you never ever explain. How did my daughter learn that her doll was a "baby"? How she learn that the baby needs to be burped or rocked when there is no baby at home to reference?

They also start to reciprocate love like never before. They start to give you hugs, blow you kisses and will even say I love you. The first time they give you a kiss, you're world might actually stop. You will want to stay in that moment for the rest of your life. You will probably call or text or message everyone you know letting them know your child just kissed you. They may not understand, but to you, you're life has completely changed yet again. And as parenthood goes, it will continue to change for the rest of your life.

So, be thankful for your toddler and their new expressive selves. They are learning so much, and if you're open to it, you'll get an education as well.

By Krista

http://thedabblingcrafter.blogspot.com

Time

I am thankful for the "Time" I have been given with my children as a stay at home mom. When I first became a Mommy, staying at home with my (now 5 year old) daughter wasn't an option for us. Then came along our son (nearing 3 years old) and the tug still pulled at my heart. I knew in the depths of my heart that I was meant to be a stay at home mom, it was just a matter of figuring out a way to make it a possibility. This was really hard for some of my friends and family to believe, as I was a determined business woman. But soon they realized I was more of a determined mother!

Long story short, a year and half ago I was blessed with the opportunity to stay at home with my children. Although my time at home with my daughter was short-lived, as she is now in kindergarten, I have learned to be thankful for the time I was given with her, rather than fill my mind and heart with guilt.

This time at home with my children has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. When I start to feel sad that we missed a fun play group or a storytime, or we didn't accomplish as much work on our ABC's as we had hoped for or I take a look around at my messy house I remind myself to smile because I was blessed with one of the greatest gifts I could ever imagine. We fill our time with hugs and kisses, Mommy storytimes, giggling, chatting about superheros and dolls. Who could ask for anything more? What great times we will have to remember always!

By Anna

Time for Gratitude - Thanksgiving

2011-11-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I know that it’s still only the beginning ofNovember, but I have to say that I *love* this time of year – it’s time to bethankful! We are doing a “thankful” theme on the blog this month, so be lookingfor some really cool guest posts about that.

In my post today, though, I want to share why Thanksgiving isone of my most favorite holidays, and for many reasons.

First of all, celebrating Thanksgiving is the one day wherethere isn’t anything “else”. It’s purely and simply a time to get together withfamily and give thanks for the bounty that God has blessed us with. There isn’tany “hunting for eggs”, “Christmas gifts and commercialism”, nor “flowers andchocolates”. Don’t get me wrong. I love Easter, Christmas, and Valentine’s asmuch as the next guy. Especially Christmas. There is truly something specialabout celebrating our Savior’s birth and everything that goes along with theHoly Day that it is. But more on that next month – ha! I’m just saying that it’sso nice to not have anything but family and our thanks on this holiday.

Secondly, Randall and I get to host it. We don’t have a hugehome, but it is so fun to get everyone here and just relax and hang outtogether and have the kids play! My youngest brother, Otto, usually comes upthe night before and last year he even made the dressing and helped geteverything ready. He and one of his buddies stayed Thanksgiving night and went “BlackFriday” shopping at Cabela’s sometime in the middle of the night. It was reallyfun having everyone here. Since he graduated from high school last year and isin school in Gillette this year, I don’t know if he’ll be able to do thatagain, but even if he doesn’t, it is so much fun to all get together!

Thirdly, can we talk about the food for just a minute? Yum!My sister-in-law taught me how to make a delicious turkey when we lived inPortland, and Otto told me two years ago that I make the best turkey he’s everhad. Ha! Thanks Kristi! JNot to mention my great-grandmother’s dressing recipe, my sister’s pies, and mymom’s fresh homemade buns. Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it all.

Lastly, I have some of the best memories from Thanksgivingspast. I don’t mean from when I was a kid, but more recently when we lived inPortland (before we had kids we lived there for about 9 years) and would gettogether with Randall’s brother Patrick and his wife, Kristi. Kristi also has alifelong friend that lives in Seattle that would come down for the weekend andit was fantastic (she soon became my friend, too – love ya Terri! J). We would wake earlyand drink coffee all morning, and pretty much as soon as noon hit we’d start onthe wine. Dinner got later and later as the years went on, but it didn’tmatter. We were with the only family we had out there, and we had more fun andlaughs than I can even say. It was wonderful and I miss it every year!

Things are different now that we have kids, but the feelingsare just the same. There may be a little less wine and a little more food cutin bite sized pieces, but the time with family hasn’t changed, nor has thereflective thanks that we give for the things we’ve been so abundantly blessedwith!

My wish for you, dear reader, is that you can reflect on whatyou are thankful for and what you have been blessed with. Whether things aredifficult right now, or you are in a time of abundance and happiness, Ichallenge you to look for the blessings in your life and write them down eitherpublicly or privately. Feel free to share what you are thankful for here incomments (we at Elegant Mommy would love to share in your blessings!), on yourfacebook page, or on our facebook page. Even if you don’t feel like sharingpublicly, please take the time to write them down somewhere. You never know…youmight be surprised at how blessed you really are J

By Evie DeWitt

WAHM - Meet Rebecca Stenberg: WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor

2011-10-31T12:21:00.001-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you do?

My name is Rebecca Stenberg and I work part-time, mostly athome, for my county’s WIC office as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor. I alsocoordinate our county’s Breastfeeding Coalition. WIC (Women-Infants &Children)provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health carereferrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, andnon-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age fivewho are found to be at nutritional risk. As a Peer Counselor, I provideprimarily over-the-phone breastfeeding support and referrals. I also teach abreastfeeding class and provide at-home visits when necessary.

~Tell us how youdecided to begin doing what you do and how it has changed your life.

Everything I thought about my life changed after the birthof my first daughter. I had a son at the age of sixteen and never even thoughtabout breastfeeding him. But, eleven years later, when I had my daughter, Inever doubted that she would happily snuggle at my breast. I didn’t anticipate themyriad problems we would encounter. Our Lactation Consultant saved ourbreastfeeding relationship and I continued to nurse her past her secondbirthday. But, more than just breastfeeding, this sweet little girl refocusedmy priorities. I had been enjoying an engaging and successful career as aproject manager in a major city and my circle of friends included the best andthe brightest in government and non-profit. I was going places and having awonderful time in the process! But when I held that little girl, as so oftenhappens with mothers, I understood that life as I knew it was over. Although Idesperately wanted to stay home, I took some time weaning off of that life andworked part-time for a couple of years. But when daughter number two came along,I was done. The pull to be home was so strong. The pull to help other moms andbabies was even stronger! I knew God was leading me to my “higher calling” andmy bags were packed.

Becoming a Lactation Consultant seemed a logical fit, but itwasn’t nearly as easy as I thought to gain the education and experiencenecessary to qualify me to take the certification exam. Working for WIC allowedme to get the training I needed to start helping moms with breastfeeding. Iprimarily work with mothers over the phone, from home, but also teach a classonce per month and now can also do home visits if needed. Over the past threeyears or so, I’ve been able to attend several training sessions and became aCertified Lactation Specialist. I also earned enough hours to qualify to sitfor the exam last July. (I am currently waiting to find out if I passed.)

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

My talented husband, Steve, and I met in college and havebeen married for more than 13 years. We have a 20-year-old son and fourdaughters, ages 8, 5, 3 and 1. My husband works for a local manufacturing plantas a supervisor and, although their industry was hit very hard by therecession, he has been able to maintain a stable-enough salary for me to stayand work at home. We live in rural Wisconsin,not too far from St. Pauland Minneapolis, Minnesota, and enjoy the outdoors,gardening, cooking, hiking, boating, and swimming. My husband and I both agreethat our children are the greatest blessings of our lives. Watching all of ourchildren together brings us more joy than we ever could have hoped for!

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do andbalance your family life…how do you make it work?

Working from home isn’t nearly as easy as everyone thinks itis, but it does seem to work best for our family. The work I do is primarily onthe phone and does take a bit of concentration. I’ve learned that I can’t takecare of a child’s needs, or even cook or clean, while I’m on the phone with aclient. I try to do my phone calling when the house is quiet and my childrenare busy. On a typical day, I get kids out the door for school and then reservethe morning for a few household tasks, errands, or play dates with my twoyoungest. Around noon, Iput the baby down for a nap, make lunch for my 3-year-old, and put her at atable with lots of art supplies. Then I “work.” I use an online program totrack clients and keep notes. I find out which moms need a call right away andtry to be on the phone as much as possible during this time, so that we’re notinterrupted. If I need to do a home visit, I try to arrange that when myhusband will be home. Then, late at night, I’ll hop on the computer again tofinish charting my notes from each phone call. I also use evening hours to domy work for the Breastfeeding Coalition, scheduling meetings, creatingeducational materials, etc.

Of course there are days when my grand plan fails miserably.The cable man comes and wakes up the baby. A friend asks me to watch her kids.Someone needs to go to the doctor or dentist. Any number of things canultimately make the day go wrong. Although I have to “check-in” nearly everyday for my job, I don’t always have to put in a lot of time. Some days I workfor three hours, other days, only one (or none). My husband’s job is verystressful and he’s often busy in the evenings, so I can’t always count on thattime to get my work done. My house suffers miserably, and sometimes the kidssuffer a bit, too. More times than I’d like to admit, I’ve had to resort tounsavory tactics to avoid being a parent so that I can work – putting in amovie, bribing with treats, etc. Once I even locked myself in my room, while mydaughter threw a fit out in the hall, so I could finish up a phone call.

There are days when I wonder, “Is it worth it?” But theanswer is always, “Yes!”

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

I’m currently on the Steering Team of a new MOPS (MothersWith Pre-Schoolers) chapter. I also serve on my church’s Nursery Committee andattend regular Bible studies.

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or thosethat aspire to work at home?

- Be realistic about your time. Think about how much timeyou’ll need to do the work that you want to do. Can it be done while doingother mothering or household tasks or do you need to have dedicated time? Whatwill your day actually look like (do some trial runs)?

- Once you know what kind of time you’ll have to invest,have a conversation with your husband and children about how things willchange. It may seem small, but even a little change is change. Talkabout how your working at home will affect the family, whether it means someoneelse has to pick the kids up from school or your husband needs to cook supperfive nights a week. My children have benefited from me working at home in waysI never anticipated – they’ve had to become more responsible than some of theirfriends, they are good at entertaining themselves, and they are very helpfulwith younger siblings. However, there are days when they hate hearing that momhas to work. There have also been times when I’ve had to be away for a few daysfor trainings. My husband sacrifices greatly to be the stay-at-home dad whileI’m gone, or to bring the kids with and entertain them at hotels. Includingeveryone in the discussion and planning ahead of time helps everyone gaincontrol over a new schedule.

- Try to find a friend to exchange childcare with, or find adaytime babysitter. There are times when I need to work out of the home,without my children. Finding friends in similar situations (WAHMs) has beenwonderful. I’ve also found many homeschooled children in our area that can getaway for a couple of hours to play with my kids while I work.

- Unlike many WAHMs I know, I’m unable to do most of my“work” during evening hours. I use this time to organize my home life as muchas possible. It took me awhile to figure this out, but if I spend a little timeto plan my life as a wife/mother, my work time is less stressful. I try to planmeals a week or two in advance. This has saved money, time going to the storemore often than I really need to, and time trying to figure out what to cook. Itry to really clean the kitchen every single night so that it’s ready to go thenext day. I also use a simple housework schedule from Time-Warp Wife.Every day is dedicated to one part of the house – Monday is bathrooms, Tuesdayis bedrooms, etc. It sounds so simple, but this is saving my house from fallingapart!

- Don’t ever forget why you wanted to stay at home in thefirst place. Being clear about WHY you’re doing what you’re doing helps keepyou from losing focus. I find it helpful to actually write out benchmarks thatindicate whether or not I’m meeting my goals. During a particularly busy week,I discovered that I had actually paid more in childcare than I earned –definitely NOT meeting the goal! When things feel like they’re not going well,it helps me to look at that list and actually be concrete rather than relyingon gut feelings. And check in with your husband and family to see how they’redoing. I am often surprised to hear the lengths to which my husband will go inorder for me to be successful as a WAHM.

WAHM - Meet Terra of Master Creative Designs

2011-10-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

My business is called Master Creative Designs and the bulkof my business is personalizing labels for 3 different sizes of Hershey’sChocolate Bars for just about any occasion, event, holiday, etc. that you canthink of. J I also make personalized mintbooks, &waterbottles.

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do andhow it has changed your life.

I saw an ad in the back of a magazine, 7 years ago, for acompany that offered computer software to help you personalize candy bars. I loved the concept of creating favors andgifts for my friends, and building it into a business! I really wanted to jump in and start rightthen, but with small children and a tight budget, it just wasn’t a good time. I kept that opportunity in the back of mymind for 4 years, and when my 4^th child was 2 months old, I wasoffered a “deal” I couldn’t pass up, and decided now was my time. So while I am technically a “dealer” foranother company, I solely drive this business to make it what it is. They are my idea’s, my creativity, my time,and my paperwork (ugh, my least favorite part!) And the longer I do this, the more I’minspired to create my own designs and add to my collection of items.

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

My family is my life. My husband Mike and I have been married for 15 years in November. We spent the first almost 3 years of marriagein a small town outside of Omaha, NE. We have lived in Sioux Falls for 12 years now and love ithere.

We have 5 sassy, rambunctious, and beautiful children, whokeep life interesting and it is NEVER boring at my house. Arianne is 13, Noah is 11, Gracie is 8, (shetold me tonight that she is going to sell chocolate bars someday to pay her waythrough college…and I’m pretty sure she will.) Zachary is 3, and Sierra turned one yesterday (the 27^th ofOctober). We also have a Dachshund(weiner dog) named Jack Jack, after Jack Jack the wonder baby in the movie “TheIncredibles.”

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do andbalance your family life…how do you make it work?

I am able to do this business because of my incrediblehusband. He helps out extra around thehouse so I can work on my orders, and go to craft shows. He has also become somewhat of an expert whenit comes to putting bars into foil pouches and placing them in the clearsleeves just the way I want them. And myolder children also love to help out where they can. However, a majority of the things I do aredone in the evenings while my children are sleeping.

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

I am fortunate to be a full time stay at home mom. But when you ask that, the term *taxi driver*did pop into my head.

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or thosethat aspire to work at home?

You never know untilyou try!!

WAHM - Meet April of Enchanted Dandelions

2011-10-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

I’m April, and I’m owner of Enchanted Dandelions, where I offer ecofriendly products for babies, children and the home, all handmade by me. Some of my wares include flaxseed hot/cold therapy packs, cloth diapers, natural baby teethers, baby bibs and burp cloths, wool dryer balls, aromatherapy sachets, bean bags, and so much more.

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.

I’ve always enjoyed crafting and sewing as a hobby. When my daughter was born, I started making various things for her. My friends loved what I had made, and started offering to pay me to make things for their own children. Their support inspired me to open up an Etsy shop, which I originally did so just for fun. However, a few years later, I’m now a single parent, and I’m so fortunate that my shop has grown to where it allows me to provide for my little ones.

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

I’m a proud mama to my three little Sprouts, ages 6, 5 and 3. They are my inspiration and my motivation to always keep pushing forward. We live in a small town in the foothills of the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains, which is great for us, as we love the exploring the outdoors.

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?

Hmmmm.... lots and lots of coffee, and very little sleep. >.< Even after all this time, I really don’t have a magic formula on how to get everything done (which explains the mountain of dirty laundry!) I try to get as much done as I can while the Sprouts are sleeping or at school. And when I do have to work while they are home, I try to include them as much as possible. They love helping me pick out fabric, and pack up orders.

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

As a family, we love going on adventures- hiking, geocaching, exploring local parks. I also love to read whenever I get the chance, and poke around thrift stores.

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?

Sounds cliche, but never give up. It’s a LOT of work, and there will be times you feel like walking away, but I’ve found that the more you put into your business, the more you will get out of it. So never stopping asking yourself what you can do to make you business better. :)

WAHM - Meet Tricia Anson of Gettin' Crafty Too

2011-10-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

My name is Tricia Anson and mybusiness is called Gettin’ Crafty Too. My friend Emily Robertson and I makehandmade accessories for all ages. We have a huge array of hair bows, flowerclips, flower pins, button clips, with three different types of headbandsavailable to clip your accessories onto to mix and match for added versatility,and more. We make bows with ribbon, felt, and even duct tape! Recently, westarted making bottlecap bows and corker bows as well. Our flower clips andpins are made out of artificial flowers, felt, and fabric. We are working ontons of new products and ideas—including pacifier clips and some fun things forlittle boys are in the works as well.

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do andhow it has changed your life.

I have always been a “crafty”person and had a passion for art and just creating my own things as well as agreat interest in the business world. I took art all through high school andwas the president of the Business Professionals of America club and class mysenior year. However, after getting an associate’s degree in businessmanagement, getting married, and having my son all before I turned 22, let’sjust say my craftiness was not on the forefront of my priorities! However, myfriend, Emily Robertson, and I started trying out some hair bow ideas just forourselves because, well, we’re both on pretty tight budgets! It turns out, wewere pretty good at it and just for fun, we would post pictures of ourcreations on facebook. We kept getting compliments and some friends were askingif we were selling them, so we thought, why not?! Thus, Gettin’ Crafty Too wasborn as a way to earn some extra income for our families. We chose that namebecause we always said we were “gettin’ crafty” whenever we were making bowsand it just seemed perfect!

Welaunched our facebook page and started an Etsy shop in mid September of thisyear, and boy, it has been exciting! We have learned so much and come up withso many new products in the short time we’ve been selling and it has sure keptus busy. We’ve done a couple craft fairs, have a handful more scheduled, and weare currently working on opening a new shop to sell from on storenvy.com.Learning to balance my 13 month old, housework, and other responsibilities hasbeen quite interesting, to say the least, and the business has been a whole newdynamic to Emily and I’s friendship as well. A lot of heartfelt discussions arehad while “gettin’ crafty’ and though it is challenging, it has been extremelyrewarding to have other people love your handmade creations.

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

I am amother to an amazing 13 month old, blonde haired, blue eyed, little boy namedNoah and I’ve been married to my best friend, Benjamin, for three years now. Iam 22 years old and I love being a stay at home mom. My husband and I teach thePrimary Church every Sunday at our church for kids ages four to eight and wejust love it. Our church is just a block away from our house and it is a secondhome where we are thrilled to be raising our baby boy and, hopefully, morechildren in the future! Being a stay at home mom is one of the most importantthings I believe I can do for my family, so being able to help with ourfinances (besides being a cloth diapering, homemade everything momma) with ourbusiness not only fulfills my creative needs but helps my husband make endsmeet.

Emily has been married to herhusband, Justin, for two years and is 23 years old. She is a full time nannyfor a great family and plans to be a stay at home mom when the time comes aswell. She also teaches Children’s Church at her church on the south side ofChicago and loves working with little ones—she is ”Auntie Emmy” to my littleguy.

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do andbalance your family life…how do you make it work?

Thebalancing act is an everyday, on-going learning process but as long as you keepyour priorities in line, it is doable. Some days, I get chores done during myson’s first nap and bows made during his second nap—and then some days, I get anap instead on accident! My husband has been amazing with wrangling Noah to letme get work done if I’m behind or even (gasp!) helping with chores! Emily andher husband come over in the evenings frequently and as soon as I put thelittle dude to sleep, we get working while our hubbys play video games. Worksfor all of us! Emily takes a lot of the computer work home with her and editspictures while she nannies. I am truly blessed to have such a great supportsystem to keep this business going without losing sanity!

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

I am astay at home mom, but two days a week I babysit three of my friend’s boys ather house. Luckily, two of them are seven and nine so they go to school, buther two year old and my one year old hang out with me all day. I usually usethe time at her house to get products made or try new things when the boys areoccupied.

Emilynannies for a little girl five days a week, and as I said before, she brings alot of the computer work with her to get done as she can. We both work forgreat families who are really supportive which is a huge help.

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or thosethat aspire to work at home?

Plan,research, and be realistic. It is exciting to start something of your own—itbecomes almost another child, but it will quickly fail if you do not do yourresearch and set real goals. Realizing that your first month, really, yourfirst year is not going to be amazingly profitable is key. Otherwise, you willsoon get discouraged. Research other businesses, research pricing, researchideas, research marketing, research everything! Knowing what you are spendingand how much you need to price things to actually turn a profit is something alot of newcomers fail to do and that will bring you straight to failure.Numbers aren’t fun, but they are important. As long as you stay knowledgeable,keep short term goals to reach, have a good support system, and like what youdo, you can definitely be successful and have fun doing it! The challenge isrefreshing and it is amazingly rewarding to know you can accomplish such athing yourself!

WAHM - Meet Stacey Schumacher of IttyBitty Lydi

2011-10-24T11:08:00.001-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

IttyBitty Lydi

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.

When my daughter, Lydia was about 6 months old, I started making tutus for her and friends and family were loving what I was making. Soon people started to ask if I could make one for them. Of course, I did! Soon after making tutus, I also started Designing Hats/Headbands to match the tutus. Every Little princess needs a matching flower in her hair :) I have to say- after deciding not to go back to work at the Bar I worked at prior to having kids, I prayed EVERY night for something I could "make" or do to bring in money to help out with the bills...after about 6 months it kind of all just happened!

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc.

My husband Kurk and I were married in March of 2003, 5 days notice before we got married in our house, by the Army Chaplain. He was to be deployed and we were not sure how quickly he would leave...so we had to work FAST! Luckily, he was only gone 2months at that time. He then deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006 upon his return, I soon found out I was pregnant with our now 4 year old Lydia. (After trying for 4 years to get pregnant unsuccessfully) in 2009-2010 he was again Deployed but this time to Kuwait. He returned to us in April 2010 and our 2nd daughter Kalyssa was born in Dec 2010 (you do the math ;) We also have a Lab/ Boxer named Sydney Lou, she is the girls best friend. We recently found out she has bone cancer..so she is getting spoiled and loved on as much as possible

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?

Its a struggle to tell you the truth. My husband works crazy hours between his road construction job, and guards...so I never really know when he will be home to help with the kids.I do have a few VERY special Friends that will come and help out in exchange for products when I have an upcoming show (thank you Chrissy and Stacey and Karri!) I do work quite a few late nighters after the girls go to sleep

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

I work part time at Elegant Mommy here in Sioux Falls and run after a 4 year old and 10 month old. I also have a passion for Photography so that fills in any gaps I may have

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?

Just DO IT! If you THINK there is something out there that people may want, try it! You may be surprised where your path leads you!

WAHM - Meet Shelly of Shelly Rose Designs

2011-10-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?
My business name is Shelly Rose Designs, sometimes referred to as Green Belle as that is what I named my shop on Etsy...and can’t change it...so now my Etsy shop is “The Green Belle Shoppe by Shelly Rose Designs. I often label my dryer balls as Green Belle Dryer Balls by Shelly Rose Designs. I know confusing right? I make a bunch of things but have limited what I sell to baby blankets, scarves, cowls, and dryer balls. I make all items with as much natural materials as possible, i.e. all my dryer balls are made out of 100% wool, and all yarn is either cotton, wool, silk, blends.
~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.
I started creating when I was a child really. I was always writing, painting, coloring...and as soon as I learned how to crochet, I was making barbie doll dresses. I took a break from the crafting part in high school and college where I got the impression that “real art” was painting and sculpture and such. I first went to college and majored in something practical though as art is not...lol. I started in psychology and math, then changed to pre-pharmacy, biology, and chemistry. I liked it all, but was never really satisfied. So after having my first child (and many years of working in management at a large craft store) I finally majored in Fine Arts with minors in Art History and English (I love reading, writing, and poetry). Well to my surprise I loved it and was happy. I started staying home full time when I had my third child. We just couldn’t afford 3 kids in day care.

I started getting restless and got back into my crafts. I started quilting which I love, but it very hard to do with babies. Then I made a couple of totes and pillows. My husband as always told me I should sell my stuff so I found Etsy and sold my first quilted handbag. Then I got back to my yarn roots. I love yarn as I can take it everywhere with me and the only “machine” I need are my hands and a hook. I can crochet while nursing...at the park...and my kids’ athletic events, etc. I was making scarves and baby blankets when I ran across some wool dryer balls online. I had seen the plastic ones so I knew about dryer balls, just not wool ones. So I made a couple and then a couple more and then on a whim put up a set on Etsy. They sold! So a few more and a few more and some experimentation and improvements and it literally just took off. In 4 months I had my first retailer and now I have 10 and am so grateful! I am looking at expanding a bit, but not a ton right now as I don’t want to overburden myself and have no time for my family. I also pride myself on getting an order out within a week, and shorter for smaller orders. I figure that if I don’t like to wait, my customers don’t either J There’s the balancing act again. I’ll be able to add a lot more when my youngest goes to school.
I love helping my family out financially. It isn’t much, but it is more than nothing and every bit helps now days. I feel good about it and take pride in being a stay at home mom and a work at home mom more now. Having a creative outlet doesn’t hurt either!
~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc
I have been married for 8 ½ years to my husband and have known him for 14 years this fall. I met him in my first class in college actually--math class. Five years later we married and had our first baby boy 9 ½ months later J; then another little baby boy 2 ½ years later and finally a baby girl 2 years after that. My family is my life and is great. My husband is probably my biggest fan and my kids love helping me make dryer balls or helping me pick out yarn for a baby blanket. I cannot wait for the day to teach them how to crochet, then they maybe they can open their own shop and make some money for themselves and learn some business aspects. They know that I don’t go to work like daddy but they do know that if I make x amount of dryer balls I get to buy this. Once my son asked for $10 for a DS game and I told him he could earn it by making a couple of dryer balls J
~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?
My family comes first of course and my business right behind that, but as long as I take the off times when my family doesn’t need me and balance them, I seem to make it work. That means that some days I only have 5 minutes here and 10 there which means I am rarely idle. I never watch a whole movie and if I do see most of it, you can bet that I made a few dryer balls or crocheted something while watching, in fact my office is a corner in the living room. I keep most of my yarn and supplies upstairs, but I do all my work and my computer is in the living room so I can play with my kids at the same time. I use my time to the fullest and take my yarn everywhere! I am suspect that I may be that “weird lady” who knits/crochets all the time...except that I only in my early 30’s and not a grandma (no disrespect intended J).
~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?
I don’t have a “real” job outside of the home job, but I do a lot of other things. I take care of my daughter all day while her brothers are at school. I do all the shopping, running around, taking kids to sports practices and games, dr.’s appointments, some lawn work, cooking, cleaning (you get it J) to give my husband a break since he works out of town often.
~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?
Find something you love to do and do it well. As you can tell I just kind of fell into it myself but I think I was meant to do this. I crafted and did art my whole life. My job to get me through college was working at a craft store and eventually in management in that craft store which taught me so much about the business aspect. The funny thing is that with all those majors I never picked business. My best boss ever told me I should major in business and management as I was good at it and I told him he was crazy.

...and look what happened I went into business...crafting!

WAHM - Meet Rebekah of Rebekah Scott Designs

2011-10-19T10:25:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

Rebekah Scott Designs. I sew and design purses, children’s shoes and purse accessories including some hair accessories.

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.

I grew up West River in Philip, South Dakota. From a very young age, I was always playing in mom's sewing scraps; I could spend hours designing Barbie clothes and hats for my friends. Around the age of ten, I was sewing stocking caps and selling them on the playground to friends. I give my mother all the credit for teaching me how to sew.

I again really got excited with sewing and designing when my graduation gift for college was a serger from my mom and dad. I continued to save money at Christmas by sewing purses for my friends and family. Word spread fast and soon I was getting calls from people I had never met placing orders for purses. I started small until it took over my life and I knew that this was something God had prepared me for all my life and it was time to embrace it!

To this day, I am still amazed at God's goodness and His grace - I love designing and would not want any other job in the world. So, with God’s and my husband's incredible encouragement and support, I decided to launch Rebekah Scott Designs.

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

I have 2 kiddos, Gus-4 and Ivy- 18 months. I love being a mom, I started this at home to remain at home with them and getting to see all their firsts- and so far so good, haven’t missed a single step! My husband embraces my wild ideas still and loves to see my succeed, we still think my goodness how did we get here? I met my husband at church camp 16 years ago and he still turns my head!

My immediate family is absolute essential in my business. My mom is my most full time employee other than me and my twin sister is my sales leader, she is so good at it. My dad helps with my display units and weight for shows and trailer trouble ;) and the rest of my family including inlaws just make sure to spread the word!

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?

Well we balance and then we re-balance and then we re-balance. That’s our life. I am very self-disciplined by nature so I lead a “tight ship” as they say. We have a very scheduled day at home here so my children understand what happens now and then next, that way I can keep sewing and running our home. Good thing my children don’t know any different, they just know mommy sews and I get to play. I have rules about work: No turning the machines on Sunday and no work from 11:30-1:30pm before lunch, ball time and nap time. As long as I am consistent they are too J.

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

Is there anymore time? Ha! I do love to decorate my home and make old things new-er. And I love farm life, so I try to help with cows and feeding men during harvest and that sort of thing.

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?

Write your ideal day out and your total vision for your company, what exactly do you want to see in your future? Be disciplined and do something everyday to make the “dream” bigger or one step further to your ideal lifestyle- one email, one phonecall, one google search, something. Ask God to work out the details and ask to be His vessel onward, nothing is possible without His tail winds. He gave us wings, but He controls the wind.

Childbirth Professional Day: Meet Marilyn Hildreth

2011-10-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

1. What is your Childbirth Profession?

I have been a maternal health RN since 1975 having worked in a NICU Unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Labor and Delivery, Postpartum and Newborn Nursery. I have been honored to be present for over 5,000 labor or births. I have been a certified childbirth educator through International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) and Lamaze International. I have served on the ICEA Board of Directors as Education Chair and Faculty for numerous ICEA Workshops, I have served as Instructor for Lamaze International Labor Support for Nurses Workshop, been a Certified Doula since 1999 through ICEA and DONA International, a Doula Trainer for ICEA and DONA International, and am an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

I am currently serving on the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) Leadership Team, and I am also serving as Chair of the CIMS Mother Friendly Nurse Recognition Program.

I am also a consultant for health systems that are working towards CIMS Mother Friendly status.

2. Describe your profession and why someone would want to choose your profession for support in pregnancy and/or childbirth.

Childbirth is a beautiful place to help empower women to find their voice for the rest of their life.

3. Why did you get started in your profession?

My life verse from an ancient book Titus 2:2 is for older women to instruct younger women on how to love their husbands (children). I believe older women have a responsibility to teach the younger women life skills. Childbirth offers the perfect opportunity to do this.

4. In detail, what is your personal childbirth philosophy?

Childbirth is a life transforming time in a woman's life. During this rite of passage a woman is able to find her voice for the rest of her life for herself, her children and her family. I believe childbirth is a time to empower women to speak up for their wishes and for what is best for them. My job is to respect that woman and honor her wishes.

5. If you could tell all pregnant women in the world something, what would it be?

Trust your body/your instincts. It knows what to do.

6. How long have you been in your profession? Are you certified? If yes, by who?

See above

7. Do you have a business name? How can people contact you for pregnancy and childbirth support?

Yes. JM Birth Consultants International

People can contact me at Marilyn@jmbirthconsultants.com or call at 605-691-5808. My website is www.jmbirthconsultants.com. Visit the site for a listing of workshops and video resources

8. Where do you practice?

I practice all around the world: Qatar, India, South Korea, Canada, along with many hospitals throughout the US. I live in Brookings, SD, however, and I do a lot of work with the hospital there.

WAHM: Meet Lisa Rolfson of Lisa's Bowtique

2011-10-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

Lisa’s Bowtique. I make handmade accessories, such as hair accessories, jewelry, tote bags and hats. I also work full time at 1^st Financial Bank in collections management.

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.

I decided to form a business as I made accessories for my 3 daughters. I got compliments and my friends and family urged me to start a small business…and I did! I have my items at 2 vendor locations, Elegant Mommy and Salon Capella, and I also have my personal inventory for vendor booths and online sales on my website www.lisasbowtique.weebly.com. I also have a Facebook page with over 50 followers so far! I love my side business and I enjoy hand crafting each item I make. I love the creativity and it is one of my “stress busters!”

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

I have been married for 5 years to my husband Ryan. We have been together for 9 years and have 3 daughters…Elizabeth 11, Sayda 8 and Sophie 3. We also have 3 dogs…Saint Bernard – Hannah and 2 Yorkies – Spike and Ella.

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?

My husband and I work together to make our schedules work for ourselves and our girls. He also has a side business making metal art with his sister – Metal Junkies. We are busy and don’t have much down time, so we do a lot with the girls along with us and make it a family affair! It’s not easy to have 2 full time jobs as well as 2 side businesses, but we have fun and stay busy!

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?

There is a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment in creating something on your own and selling yourself and your business. You feel a sense of accomplishment, achievement and success when you have built something on your own to be successful. It can be overwhelming at first, but it is well worth all the effort in the end. I enjoy dealing with my customers and talking about my creations with others! It’s fun to do something that makes others smile.

WAHM - Meet Glam My Baby's owner Aron Larson

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

Glam My Baby, I make blankets, legwarmers, reversible bandana dresses and reversible bandana skirts, and new product this fall winter hats!

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.

I was on maternity leave after I had my daughter Annika, she inspired me to make girlie things for her and then the ideas started flowing.

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

I am married to a wonderful man named Steve, we have 2 sons, Korbin 12, Stellen 4, daughter Annika 2, and one on the way due end of March! We also have a German Shepherd Bali Mae.

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?

I am learning to use this fabulous app that syncs to my blackberry called Cozi which will text me reminders and allow to me do all my family members appointments, games, school events and remind me about snacks and dress down days at school!! I am also learning the importance of keeping the kids on a schedule after we get home during the week to keep things running smoothly! My husband and I approach the kids in a team effort and my 12 year old is a fantastic entertainer! I sew in my spare time and absolutely find it as my passion as it makes me feel so delighted to finish every item I sew!

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

I am a Sr. Systems Engineer for Great Western Bank and have been with them for 12 years and a full time cruise director for my family!

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?

Finding something that you truly enjoy doing will not make it seem like work, and that in its own self is rewarding and successful.

Time for Gratitude - Fall

2011-10-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

We have reached my very *favorite* time of year!! I can’t even tell you how much I love autumn.

I love having all our house windows open and letting the cool breeze sweep through. I love seeing the changing colors of the leaves. I love seeing the combines in the fields and watching corn husks scoot across country roads in the wind. I love the delicious apples. I love the smells. I love….well……everything.

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch (well, really, it is a little farm south of Mitchell – we go there every year) to load up on pumpkins, gourds, and anything else that looked cool for fall decor. We aren’t really into decorating for Halloween - just fall and Thanksgiving - so, we didn’t need to be concerned with what kind of pumpkin would be best for carving. This is a good thing, because the kids were SO excited that they just picked up whatever pumpkins and gourds they could carry and loaded up our wagon. They also each picked out one big pumpkin that Randall or I had to carry.

Once they got all they could, we loaded up the car and headed back home. Much to the kids’ delight, they got to decorate the house and porch however they wanted to. I gave them some ideas, but they were the ones who had the final say and did it how they wanted. The porch was transformed into our very own “pumpkin patch” as Vienna calls it. They were much less interested in the inside of the house – I guess I should have expected that from an almost four year old and a 22 month old.

Nevertheless, the porch looks fantastic, and I’m so proud of them both – especially Vienna. Porter had fun kicking things off after Vienna had them “just so”, but instead of getting angry, she just asked him to not do that anymore and picked it all up again and re-set it. It was SO much fun watching them get into the spirit of the season and work together…well, in their own way, anyway.

I’m looking forward to as many autumn walks as we can fit in before the weather gets too cold, pointing out the lovely fall colors to the kiddos, and relishing every crisp day we have before it gets too “crisp” to enjoy it this way.

Happy Fall, Everyone!

By Evie DeWitt

Eleven Things Nobody Told Me...

2011-10-11T14:34:00.000-05:00

...brought to you by The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

Despite childbirth classes and friends who’ve “been there,” many little things about those early postpartum days aren’t usually mentioned. So it might help to know what’s normalJ

1. There aren’t many diapers to change at first. The colostrum your baby gets from your breast is small in quantity, which is perfect since his tummy is about the size of a marble. His first poop will be sticky or black – that’s the meconium, the wastes that filled our baby’s intestines before he was born.

2. You’ll be having what seems like a heavy menstrual period that can last for a couple of weeks, sometimes longer. This is called lochia and at times the flow can be really heavy. Standing up your first time can cause quite a gush.

3. When you breastfeed your baby, your uterus will contract in response to the oxytocin released by the baby’s suckling and your may get a gush of blood each time. The cramps will soon fade but they can be almost labor-strong sometimes

4. Unless you’re recovering from surgery (and maybe even then), you’ll probably be hungry after the birth. You’ve just had a real workout and you deserve some real food.

5. Your baby doesn’t fit the books (not surprising since babies can’t read).

6. You can’t sleep. Part of it is the mental turmoil of having made the leap into motherhood. Then there’s the shift in hormones. And being a new mother raises your radar so that you sleep more lightly and wake more easily, especially if your baby isn’t with you. Keep your baby with you and you’ll probably sleep better.

7. You might feel overwhelmed by visitors. If you’re in a hospital, ask the staff to stop visitors at reception and suggest they visit when you get home. If you’re at home, post visiting hours on the door and stay in your nightgown. If you behave like you feel great, people will treat you that way and that’s not in your best interest right now.

8. You start leaking from everywhere. I’ve already mentioned lochia. Some women also find they have temporary bladder issues. As your milk comes in, you may find you can’t keep a shirt dry. Also temporary. You may sweat a whole lot at first, too, especially at night while your body goes through hormonal changes and simultaneously tries to dump any IV fluids you might have been given during delivery. Once baby starts getting a lot of milk, he will start filling a lot of diapers, so there are his fluids to deal with. And your eyes… well, they tend to tear up over just about anything!!

9. If you’ve been given a lot of IV fluids, you may look more pregnant after the birth than before, swollen eyes, swollen fingers, swollen breasts, swollen everything. (An epidural can significantly reduce blood pressure so the fluids were pumped in to help keep it in the normal range.). Eating protein and watermelon may help you unload the fluids.

10. These first few nights can be tough!! Take plenty of naps, even an evening nap and prepare your bedtime nest. You might want to have water or juice beside your bed as well - new mothers can get very thirsty.

11. You may be stunned how much you love your baby. Or you may be stunned that you don’t. The first is what we’re built for; the second often results from birth interventions. Love can come as a thunderbolt or it can creep up on you over the first month or two. But it comes.

12. Being a mother is a twenty-four hour a day job and it can be hard. Many mothers feel outraged and shell-shocked by the challenge of taking care of new baby.

The last one is why it’s so important to have a network. You need people who will take care of you so that you can mother your baby. Day by day you settle in, you learn new patterns and life smoothes out.

By Sarah Alberts

***Join us at Elegant Mommy this Thursday, October 13^th at 6:30pm to talk about Bringing Baby Home. We will also answer any other question you may bring to the meeting.***

WAHM - Meet Erin Nelson of Irish Twins Soap Co

2011-10-07T14:17:00.000-05:00

~What is the name of your business and what do you make?

Irish Twins Soap Co. - I make all natural soaps, homekeeping and spa products. I use all natural ingredients ALWAYS. I use only essential oils for fragrance, never any dyes, synthetics, or artifical ANYTHING. My products are "Good for You and Good for the Earth".

~Tell us how you decided to begin creating what you do and how it has changed your life.

I began making soap because I wanted to know what was in the products I was using on my body and in my home. It has changed my life dramatically. Making soap and running this business has been my full time job for two years now and my business is steadily growing. I love getting the word out about natural, sustainable, green living alternatives.

~Tell us about your family…kids, husband, pets, etc

I have an amazing husband who is wholly supportive of our business, two growing boys and a beloved Lhasa Apso "Bandit" who is my "soap dog". We're blessed to have each other, our health and an opportunity to do what we love.

~Tell us about how you are able to do what you do and balance your family life…how do you make it work?

I run my business from home and therefore am able to throw in a load of laundry, get the dishwasher going and make supper while I'm stirring soap in my kitchen. In between those days I'm delivering orders, working online, or out and about at demos, shows and events. My husband is very supportive, so he fills in the gaps with whatever needs to get done. Working from home allows me the opportunity to be home with my family and a schedule flexible enough to participate in school events, sports, run errands, shuttle kids, etc.

~Do you do anything in addition to your at-home business?

A million other things, but yes, it is my full time job. J

~Is there any advice you would give to other WAHMs or those that aspire to work at home?

It's a leap of faith, but it has been so rewarding. There are sacrifices to be made, but so worth it to have the flexibility. Sometimes the job takes on a life of its own.