EDIT: Have you been hearing stuff about SOPA & PIPA & been supah confused about it? Watch the video below & find out how what means for small bloggers like me & you & even the average Facebook & PINTEREST users. This is no joke people. If the internet like dies…then what? Click here to get your name on a petition. And I’m pretty sure if those voices inside of your head have an email address they will count too. 

Ah! So baby number two is gestating in me now. Am I thrilled? Like so thrilled! We found out precisely the day I knew we could. The day after this post. We had just had my IUD removed in November & at the gyno I was told that yet again this sucker was not in place. I had an ultrasound to be sure I wasn’t pregnant & the doctor told me that I would probably end up with child very soon.

My period arrived a few days later & I waited that sucker out for my Droid app to start placing nice red hearts on a few days for go time.

And obvs it worked.

My period was due the day we tested & after buying the test we went back & forth about waiting to test or just doing it. I was in such a place of “I want a baaaaaaaaaby” that I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand one more day of not knowing so I peed. And a few minutes later appeared two very faint lines.

So faint in fact I decided to test again…& again the same two lines.

Jumps & hugs & big smiles were had by all {really just the two of us} & I quickly downloaded yet another app to get my exact stats. 4 weeks & due 8/23. 

WOW. 4 weeks pregnant. That is just like a little tiny blib of a thing. It doesn’t even look like a shrimp thing yet.

But here we are 5 weeks later with a belly {damn. Was it just my gut or does every subsequent baby appear earlier than the last?} & no morning sickness {knock on wood} & fuck damn shit hell bastard bitch am I FUCKING tired. Like I want to just go up to people & shake them & say “But do you know how tired I am?! REALLY?!” Currently it is 7:40 & as soon as this post has passed my untrained editors eye I am hitting the sack. 

Cravings come & go. 2 weeks ago it was tuna fish subs from Subway. The first few weeks was spinach artichoke dip & right now it’s just water…

Phoenix is being I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E  like beyond. Talks about how he is going to protect the baby & cheer the baby up when she {he thinks it’s a she} is sick or sad. Kisses my belly at night, brings me vitamins & bandaids. Like awesome. 

And that my friends will conclude the less than thrilling “I’m pregnant update” because this gestating Mommy is a tired banshee.

When I was a teenager I spent most of my days involved in a church activity of sorts. Youth group, bible study meetings, worship practice, work parties etc. With the exception of the Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by our church for the neighborhood, my youth group did not do much charity work.

I remember when I was about 13 or 14 talking with one of the youth leaders who worked for my Dad about doing some volunteering at the local cancer ward in the children’s hospital . After making the arrangements we loaded my parents van with 6 or 7 kids & made our way to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter . I remember being really nervous to go because I felt so sad for these kids who were so very sick. I wasn’t sure how to talk to them or what we were going to do when we got there. I also expected CHKD to be a sad & cold place with crying families all around me.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in to find two huge column type fish tanks & the entire hospital to be decorated in fun bright colors. We made our way to the area where the kids were & the person in-charge explained that despite their sickness the kids were just like us & all they wanted to do was just hang out & have fun with other kids their age.

It took a bit of warming up for me but after a few minutes I was making craft with some of the girls & talking about NSync & BSB. After about an hour or two we ended or day & promised to come back soon. Unfortunately we never did make it back, but I think about those kids often & hope that they have been able to celebrate just as many birthdays I have been able to.

This post is sponsored by American Cancer Society

If you got a chance to read the post that my MOM wrote you’ll know that I grew up in a Military family. For 10 years my Dad was in the Navy and for 10 years he was out a lot on deployments. At home would be my mom trying to hold down the fort with 4 kids & at one particular time she had a newborn & 3 kids with chicken pox! I know it was hard for her & I could go on & on about different stories from when my Dad was away. But one thing that sticks out in my mind are the people from our church in Virginia Beach, VA that would come by & help us out. They would bring meals, take the kids out for the day, fix things around the house & just be there for us when we needed.

Cheerios has partnered with the USO to come up with a great campaign called sendCheer, that is helping support military families by sending out a little but of cheer. On specially marked Cheerio boxes you will find a pre-addressed post card. All you have to do is cut it out, write a message & stamp it. Quick & simple! Make sure you check out your locale Walmarts for the special displays as well!

We picked our box up this weekend & my sister Julie helped me send out a little note to the family.

Since the holiday season is approaching us {yikes!} we plan on doing a lot more to support our troops. Picking up a few more boxes of Cheerios & also sending in some care packages.

I know that this is a sponsored post, BUT it’s a great cause so please take a minute & see what you can do to help out!

This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias. All opinions & stories are my own.

I had something else to write about for tomorrow {today Monday}. But as I’m sitting here watching the news I can’t help but feel anything but overwhelming emotions & my Royal Wedding thoughts will have to wait.

I remember where I was on 9/11. I was home from work, I finished my school work early & I was waiting for O-Town to make an appearance on Live with Regis & Kelly.

But that never happened.

Instead what came were sights that my 13 year old self did not understand.

“Mom! A plane just crashed into some building in New York”.

Shortly after that my Dad called to say he was on his way home. He was afraid that Norfolk, VA would be a target because of our Naval base.

And it was then that the gravity of the situation hit me.

My home.

My country.

Our lives, were under siege.

That night we had an emergency prayer meeting at our church & I remember sitting with my friends as we weeped over the loss.

The lost parents. The lost children. The lost husbands. The lost wives. The lost friends.

The loss of security.

And today the man responsible for all of that is gone.

I am sadden over all of the lives that have been lost in pursuit of him.

But I am also grateful.

To the children who miss Christmas with their fathers or mothers.

To the spouses who sleep alone at night.

To the brave & courages men & woman who fight.

Thank you for your sacrifice.

Thank you.

We live up on a mountain. Where it took 4 months to get TV, internet and phone. And also no one delivers. And for whatever reason the power goes out at least once a week.

Last week the power went out and did not come back on like it usually does. The gracious and helpful power company said they would have it back on by Monday. It went out Wednesday. So we have been at the Hilton ever since. But I’m not complaining.

The Hilton delivers you the days USA Today every morning. And the headline on Friday’s paper made me immediately think “Blog topic” and “Are you FUCKING kidding me?!”

Question: Has Social Networking Gone too Far?

By now we all have heard the sad, sad story of Tyler Clementi the 18-year-old Rutger student who took his own life after his roommate & a friend posted a video online of him having sex with another male.

Seriously tragic story and I can’t imagine what those parents must be feeling. And no matter what you believe (and boy am I being challenged with that everyday) you have to know that this hatred of gays really has to stop.

But now there’s all this buzz about social media as if Youtube or Twitter is the problem. It’s not. You are the problem. A lack of good parenting is the problem. A lack of compassion for human beings is the problem. A lack of self-control.

Blaming social media for deaths that occur because of online bullying comes from the same stupid sect of people who think its ok to sue McDonalds because they got fat.

Where is personally responsibility at?

I asked the same question that USA Today asked on my twitter and got this response from @mommythisnthat

The internets (and yes that is plural for a reason) is not dangerous. People are dangerous.  In the wrong hands ANYTHING can be dangerous. Anything can go to far. I I once saw a movie (or maybe it was Lockup Raw) where the inmate killed someone using a  spoon. Do we now hide spoons?

Clearly there is an issue of people using the internets and not being responsible. But that is on the people. The teens, the children, the MOTHERS.

Again I am so sorry to Tyler’s family for their loss but why the hell is Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook to blame for this?

They don’t lure people in by saying “A great place to network and humiliate each other”

You’re going to use social media you need to be socially responsible. And when you fuck up. YOU fucked up. No one made you do it.

Parents when you are teaching internet safety don’t just talk about the dangerous of meeting some creepy toothless man who lives in a cabin somewhere in West Virginia. Talk about how to be responsible & kind to people on the internet. That’s our job. Not Facebook’s.