Mom vs. Toddler...What's in your bag?

I am interrupting this very lazy blog hiatus to talk about my bag.
I need a new bag you guys.
GUESS how long I have owned this bag?

Since........my freshman year in college.  Of course I haven't used it every day since then, but for those of you who don't know how long ago that was for me, that was Fall, 2003. 12 Years!!!

(Oh my gosh??)

It is all leather, definitely the most expensive bag I have ever purchased, and it stood up straight and had that new-leathery-shine when it was brand new.  I just love it so much and can't seem to give it up, even with the ripped seams and the massive hole in the lining where I just found 8 pens hiding last week.

BUT, when I saw the linkup and giveaway on Nell's blog for a new Lily Jade bag, I just had to post! And since the giveaway requests to know what's in my bag...

There are the contents in all their glory.
-Huggie's wipes clutch
-SkipHop diaper clutch / changing pad (screams new mom, I know.......)
-Wallet clutch (clutch theme anyone?)
-Mama water bottle
-Toddler water bottle
-A classy ziplock with Puffs Plus....hello allergy season
-Keys
-Pen
-Snack (usually there are about 4 different options of snacks in my bag but you caught me on a weird day...

Someone just recently asked if my bag was organized, and I said organization isn't my main goal, but simplicity is.  Still a work in progress...but...not bad? As long as I hide my junk in multiple clutches? haha.

Anyway, I refuse to give you the link because I really need to win.

But now I feel bad, so here it is.  uugh. Please don't enter.

And a bonus 2-for-1!!  Since Mia is in a crazy bag-lady-phase (usually carrying around 2-3 purses at any given time, all with their own specially curated contents), I thought I'd take a peak inside one of those treasure receptacles and see what I found...

-Cereal crumbs still left in the bag
-Outlet safety cover (hhmmmm)
-Toy car a neighbor accidentally left at our house 6 months ago
-Wooden stacking toy
-Velcro hair roller
-Cell phone
-Secret burner cell phone
-Plastic hot dogs
-Mom & dad's Crest they've been looking for all week and literally just found because of this post
-2 books

Which reminds me of a tip someone once gave that if you want to increase the number of books you read, carry one around with you so you can read whenever you have a free moment (or something like that).

My daughter must be super smart......

Thanks to Lily Jade & Nell over at Whole Parenting for inspiring me to break my lazy streak and share something!!

Have a great week ya'll!

Answer Me This: Hip hop socks and a 2 lb. chocolate bar

Before I show up fashionably late to the party at Kendra's today, I just need to say that I am so glad that Facebook hasn't taken down my baby bum photo (yet), since I hear that's happening around the net lately.  Maybe they were impressed with my spanglish? 

Ok, getting to the questions.  It's my first time! Thanks for hosting Kendra!


1. What’s something you've won and how did you win it?

I won a 2 lb. chocolate bar for being a top seller of chocolate for a junior high band fundraiser.  I'm pretty sure I sold an inordinate amount of chocolate covered almonds to my parents, but it didn't matter who you sold to soo...I won.  :)

I also played in many sports growing up - basketball, volleyball, softball, golf, tennis, and ran in track, so naturally I won many times doing that also.  :)  The main "win" I remember was being on an undefeated 4 x 100M relay team in junior high.

Now that I think about it, it sounds like junior high was quite the competetive peak for me. (??)

2. Do you save old greeting cards and letters, or throw them all away? Why?

I keep about 30% of these.  I have kept many notes and letters from my mom that she sends along with packages from back home in South Dakota.  She often has something funny to say or an update about somebody I know from back home, and always the weather update.  I think I'll like to look at these when I'm older.

I have also kept some thank-yous and affirmation notes that I received from household sisters in college, or from those I served with at Maggie's Place. 

I keep Christmas cards up until spring (much to the annoyance of my husband).  I then move them to a folder until next year, and then I throw them away.  I have no idea why I do this.

3. When you’re at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

I am almost always barefoot at home, except during the "winter" months (here in the desert) when I wear socks.  

These were a gift from Joel - my all-time favorite "around the house" socks, especially because they have those awesome grippers on the bottom.  And they make me smile when I read them of course.

4. Who’s the most famous person you have ever met? 

This was a hard question for me, basically because I have met very few famous people that I can recall.  I blame my husband for this, since he often works with famous people and usually doesn't tell me who they are until after the fact.  I guess he forgets our wedding vows on those days?  They definitely mention something about this.

Since I couldn't come up with one "big one", here is the short, not-overly-famous list:

-- At an Emerson Drive concert at the South Dakota State Fair when I was 18, the lead singer came down from the stage (we were near the front in the grass) and serenaded me and kissed me on the cheek during a song.  Not technically "meeting" but close? Better? Incredibly embarrassing?
-- I met Brenda Warner, Kurt Warner's (since-then retired football QB) wife and author twice at Maggie's Place related events

-- I met Matthew Kelly (author) at a book signing

-- I sat next to Bishop Olmsted at a Maggie's Place luncheon one time
-- I had plenty of face time with  Scott Hahn who was one of my professors at Franciscan University

Wow I need to take a break from all that excitement.

5. What has been your best work of art?

You may remember a certain craft book I got for my birthday a few months ago.  I guess the paper flowers I've made from the book would be my "favorite" work of art...they make me super happy whenever I see them around my house.

6.  What’s your strongest sense?

Well I thought I had a strong sense of smell before I read about Kendra's ant-smelling skills.  Now I'm feeling quite inferior so I'll tell you a weird related fact.

I have a mild version of this "sense" thing called synesthesia, which is defined by wikipedia as "a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."  
Phenomenon is a strong word in my case, but here's an example - many people who have this see a specific color when they see letters and numbers - like, all a's are red and all b's are blue.

Mine is more what they call "spacial sequence" synesthesia where I see dates, especially months and years, in this physical world in my head.  I won't go into detail or you'll think I'm cray, but I thought that everyone saw dates and numbers like this until about a year ago when I heard Tsh Oxenreider talk about it on one of her podcast episodes.

I also have strong gender associations to certain inanimate objects (example: spoons are always girls, forks always boys...is that the weirdest thing you've ever heard?), which I think is part of the same thing.

On that strange note - have a great week friends! 

Why I don't use birth control {in an analogy}

If any of you know me very well, you know I am not much of an instigator or a lover of controversy. I like to keep things easy to digest, light-hearted and agreeable to the masses.  For the most part, I think it is very hard to convey emotionally charged ideas in the perfect context, tone, etc. over the internet so I usually avoid it.

I guess today I'm feeling differently.  Maybe it's because I was so annoyed at much of the media's misrepresentation of the Hobby Lobby verdict recently (<< this link is fine, on the other hand).  

Or maybe it's because of Buzzfeed's post on Wednesday that brought the question "why we use birth control" to the table. 

Or maybe it's to join this conversation about why some of us choose not to use birth control.

[Update: Here's another great list from a Buzzfeed Community post!]

At any rate, here I am.  I understand I am probably preaching to the choir since I know many of my readers are in the same boat as me. But here I go anyway.  I just have two huge disclaimers: 

1. I do not think you are a bad person if you use birth control. We are all trying to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families, and decisions around sex are very very very very very personal.  Again.  We Are All Doing Our Best To Figure Life Out.

2. I am NOT perfect.  One of the main reasons I don't like talking about this is because of this fact.  I have realized in very real ways that our lack of perfection steals our courage.  

So, I am here to answer one question and one question only: 

Why do >> I << choose to not use birth control?

I could give tons of reasons but I really just want to add to this conversation by giving an analogy that I feel best explains it for me.

Remember these analogies back in grade school?  Weren't they great? Am I stalling?

Ok, so you know how there are these diet pills out there that claim that you can eat whatever you want, and if you just take this pill, you won't gain weight?  We usually laugh at them, right?  Let's imagine that one day they actually make something that Actually Works.  It is truly a miracle of science.  

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The drug encapsulates all of the extra calories you don't need and passes them through your system instead of letting your body absorb them. And like I said - let's imagine that this actually works, and better yet - nobody laughs at it anymore and it becomes socially acceptable for everyone to use.  Would I use it?

For the same reason I am confident I would not take this pill, is why I don't use birth control.  I feel like our bodies are made in an amazingly ingenious way.  We are hungry, we eat food, it nourishes our body, we find enjoyment and pleasure in it, we sustain life.  But there are rules to eating - natural consequences that we all know about.  I can't eat donuts all day or I will feel sick.  If I never eat a vegetable I will have vitamin and mineral deficiencies and my body won't work to it's potential.  And if I eat more food than I need to fuel my activity I will gain weight. 

This is not a perfect analogy, but I feel like it is very similar to sex - with it we build a strong relationship and bond with our life-long partner, our families are blessed by this strong relationship (not to minimize what else goes into a good relationship), and the entire human race is sustained when new life is formed.  But there are rules with sex also.  A woman's reproductive system usually runs on a 28-35 day cycle.  If we have sex on a day that we are fertile, it is very possible and likely we will create a life. And if we have sex on an infertile day it is very likely we will not create a life.  These are natural consequences.

Therefore, I am the type of person that likes to let the world work as it was meant to because I believe the world was made in a very specific, beautiful, smart way that has my best intentions at heart. I think that going against how the world was made can lead to some serious consequences.  I get sick from eating too many donuts because hey - I shouldn't be eating so many donuts.  And I would have a hangover after drinking too much and hurting my liver.  And I would likely contract an STD if I had sex with 30 people (even if I used a condom.)

I think natural consequences teach us things.  They teach us prudence, temperance, justice and courage...and I want all of those things.

Lastly, as I think about teaching my daughter about the natural consequences in life, I can't help but feel silly at the thought of telling her when she's 16: honey, I really hope and suggest you wait to have sex with your future husband, but if you don't wait, at least use a condom to hopefully! avoid the consequences. 

Let's imagine for a moment that I do tell her that, and the birth control fails (which happens alllll the time - do you remember where I used to work?) and she gets pregnant.  

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Will I feel even sillier because her whole life I was telling her that if she hits a dog it will bite her, and if she refuses to eat what's on her plate she'll go hungry, and if she doesn't study she'll fail her class, and if she doesn't change the oil in her car the engine will fail, and if she is late for work too many times she will get fired?  Yes. I will feel incredibly silly that I taught her about consequences except in this one little tiny instance - in that thing that has eternal consequences.  Creating a life won't just effect your whole entire lifetime (in a really awesome and beautiful way).   It is of eternal, awesome, consequence when you create a life - that has a soul - that will live forever.  

Sex is a big deal.

I think that's how awesome and important it is to pay attention to how we are made, and respect it.