ME: [yelling across the house to Dane] Hey, honey? Are you feeding the kids?

DANE: Feeding the kids? To what?

So maybe you’ve noticed that Sadie’s seven months old now. You might also notice that I’ve been wearing the same two outfits every day for a month. Or no, probably you didn’t notice that, because I haven’t posted pictures of it. (And don’t expect me to start now.) I’m just saying, when The Yummy Mummy Manifesto came my way, promising “Baby, Beauty, Balance, and Bliss” for new and expecting mamas, well, let’s just say I was interested.

And you know what? It’s a fun book. The Yummy Mummy Manifesto isn’t about being the mommy with the most stuff—in fact, there’s a whole chapter on how to “underspend” on your under-two-year-old—it’s about being a mommy with style.

There are sections on what to wear, how to decorate your kid’s space, and how to create sanctuary within your home. There are also less-expected sections, on “primal mothering for prudes,” “mantras of the survivalist mother,” or “crafts: for women who hate them.” It’s mothering advice and style advice, all in one little book. Except, of course, it’s not a little book at all. It’s a large-format tome with vivid colors and drawings throughout. And we know I’m a sucker for a beautifully designed book.

There’s plenty of discussion of healthy living, too. Apparently eating processed foods and caffeine is not an appropriate substitute for sleep and exercise. (Has author Anna Johnson been spying on me?) I’m feeling inspired to eat my greens. No, feeling inspired is not the same as actually doing it. Thanks for asking. But I have made fresh fruit smoothies as an afternoon energy-booster every day for the last week. So that’s something.

But back to my own style dilemma. How DO you dress the postpartum figure, you wonder? (Or anyway, I was wondering.) For one thing, you have to adjust for having changed not only size, but also shape. The styles that you wore prepregnant may not work for you postpartum, even in a bigger size. [Cue light bulb blinking on over head.] See, this woman knows what she’s talking about. One style tip down, thirty-four and a half more chapters’ worth to go.

For more on The Yummy Mummy Manifesto, visit MotherTalk.

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book, as well as a small honorarium from MotherTalk for participating in this blog book tour.

I was going to title this: Blogs I read when I should be doing laundry sleeping doing other productive stuff, but that seemed a little long-winded.

I read a lot of blogs. Yours, of course! And also a bunch of random ones. For example… I love craft blogs. All Buttoned Up. Angry Chicken. The Small Object Steno Pad. Tree Fall. Wee Wonderfuls. SouleMama. (I’m loving her book, too—lots of practical suggestions for implementing waldorf-y ideas at home. Also lots of stuff I’ll never do—cough, archiving every little thing the kids make! cough—but I only have a little bit of guilt about that.)

I’m only a wee bit crafty myself, but I love to see all the glorious projects I’ll never attempt.

Which makes me wonder: what kind of blogs do you all read? Do tell.

9:30pm
DANE: Do you know there’s bread dough rising on the counter?
ME: Oh! I forgot about that. But, you know, in a good way.
DANE: Like, oh, good, I meant to forget to bake bread?
ME: No, like, it was hot and I didn’t want to turn the oven on earlier.
DANE: Right…

How was your mother’s day? Anyone? Let’s see, my weekend went like this:

Saturday, a family we know moved to a new house. (They like to be anonymous on the internet, so I won’t say who they are or how I know them. But they were moving.) Their four-year-old girl, whom we’ll call C, came to play at our house rather than help the big people carry furniture.

We thought we’d take all five (!) kids to the library for the afternoon, so I sat down to nurse the baby before we took off. And this, of course, is where hanging out with other people’s kids gets fun, because C came running over to ask, “Is she SUCKING on your BOOB?”

Now, I have it on good authority that this kid is familiar with the concept of breastfeeding, so I’m pretty sure she was just confirming. But it still left Dane spluttering and choking and coughing in an attempt not to laugh out loud, which left me to try to reframe with positive language: “Yes, she’s nursing. She’s drinking milk. She’ll be done soon, and then we’ll go to the library!”

Yeesh. I’m hoping no one was scarred for life.

We did ultimately make it to the library, though Sadie managed to require a change by the time we got there. A diaper change. And a clothing change. And, oh look, a car seat cover change! Except there is no car seat cover change, I just have to wash the one I’ve got. And did I mention I didn’t bring a diaper bag to the library, because… because I’m an idiot? No other reason? Luckily I keep a spare diaper and hand sanitizer in the glove compartment, and, um, covering the carseat mess with tissues is appropriate, right?

But by the time we got home, Sadie and Audrey were ready to nap, so I brought them in without worrying about Sadie’s carseat cover. And then I forgot all about it until the next morning, when we tried to go out the door to church. Whoops.

Despite my attempts to rationalize (It’s not VERY dirty! Only in one spot! I could put a… a towel, maybe…), we took the carseat out, stripped it down, and stayed home all day. And so Sadie gave me a day of being at home for mother’s day. The end.

Back to That Baby CD and DVD giveaway! Using the random integer generator at random.org:

————————————–

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2008-05-12 05:13:17 UTC

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Which means comment #4 wins. Anon, I’ll get it to you asap. (Anon’s daughter and my kids take dance lessons together, so that shouldn’t be terribly difficult. Assuming I remember. Which, honestly, is questionable. Imagine me trying to get out the door with four kids, three pairs of ballet shoes, and a camera. Now imagine me forgetting to bring the CD and DVD. Wasn’t hard to picture, was it?)

And if you want to order yourself a copy of That Baby CD or DVD, coupon code “MotherTalk” is good for 20% off your order through May 18, plus you’ll be entered in a drawing for a free ipod nano. Not too shabby.

Remember how Dane went out of town for a week? Remember how all the appliances fell apart while he was gone? Want to read about how I almost fell apart even before any of the appliances? Awesome. Because my new column’s up at mamazine.com today, and that’s what it’s all about.

(Did that last line read like the hokey pokey to anybody else? …and you turn yourself around… that’s what it’s all about, yeah!) (Wow, I have not played the hokey pokey since the last time I went roller skating. Which, um, has been a few years.) At any rate! Please check it out. And then tell me your stories about being the only parent holding down the fort. Won’t you? You can leave comments here or there, or anywhere! Well, maybe not anywhere, but definitely here. Or there.

To those of you who have had your lives—your worldview, your self-perception—forever changed by the carrying or the birthing or the parenting of a child, happy mother’s day.

For those of you who grieve for motherhood lost, motherhood interrupted, or motherhood that has not come into being: may you find peace on the path that you walk today.

Hey, don’t forget to enter to win a copy of That Baby CD and DVD! I’m not leaving comments on that post (to make my random-winner-choosing easier, utilizing comment numbers and a random number generator), so naturally I have comment-replies floating around my head. If I were going to reply, I would have said things like:

“I’m pouting for you too—that was a fabulous photo. Or maybe you meant something else and now I sound stalker-ish. Whoops.”

And: “No kidding! I’ve stopped counting how many Sesame Street Old School and Blue’s Clues and Between the Lions we’ve lost to scratches. Sigh.”

And: “Bonus points for everyone!”

And: “M, why are you anonymous? (Also: yay! shoes!)”

In case you were wondering.

In addition to every appliance in my house breaking down last week (and my skin breaking out to match), we had an especially fun week because Dane was out of town. And by “fun” I mean exhausting and sometimes terrifying but ultimately fine. He doesn’t travel for work usually, and never for a whole week at once, so I have no only-parent coping skills. And I decided to prepare by not really thinking about it ahead of time. Awesome.

Audrey didn’t nap at all for the first few days, which meant early bedtime, which meant quiet evenings for me. Yay! And then she did nap the rest of the days and was awake and cranky until late o’clock every night. Oh well.

I completely ran out of steam in the last few hours of the last night before he came home, though I suspect that was mostly due to consternation over which flight Dane would come home on, and when it would arrive, and where it would land, and whether there would be any flights at all, given the extreme weather at the airport. One of the possible flights was diverted from San Diego to LA. Let me tell you, we don’t live all that close to the San Diego airport, but it’s way closer than LAX. Especially at midnight. Or at five a.m., depending on how long your flight is delayed. At any rate! He did finally get on a plane, he did end up at the airport he intended, and he did, ultimately, come home.

And then he promptly threw out his back and spent the rest of the weekend lying on the floor making pained noises. Thank goodness for otc pain relievers, I guess.

So now I’m looking forward to a quiet, usual week, with no household catastrophes and no travel. (But with lots and lots of laundry. I’m not caught up from last week yet.) Wish me luck…