The Mom Crowd

Ace is six months old. I am still learning how to balance taking care of her and the house during the day. I could get things done while she naps, but then I end up either napping myself or justify taking a break. I sometimes think I will fold that basket of laundry after I lay her to bed, but then I usually get distracted.

Maybe getting the house in order is low on my priority list. I am home now and I don’t feel like I am living up to that part of the job. Is managing the house part of the job?

At the end of the day, Ace is great. She is fed and taken care of. Does staying home and managing the household get easier when they get older?

Does balancing the house and taking care of a baby depend on your cleaning and organization style? If I liked to clean, would I be more motivated to get it done? If my husband was more worried about the house would I be more motivated to get laundry/organized/dishes done?

I don’t expect all of these to be answered. Do you have any thoughts? If you stay home, what was it like when you first started?

P.S. I have written about this before. I guess I am still struggling with it. This is what came to mind when I thought about writing.

This is the first part of a series explaining current technology trends. There is so much great technology out there, but how do you use it? Is it even worth your time to figure it out and use it? Will it enhance your life or make you want to throw your computer out the window? We will explore all of these questions in this series. If there is a specific technology question that you want answered, feel free to ask it in the comments or fill out the contact form.

So let’s get started with the first topic in this series – RSS.

You may have noticed the little RSS icon on many websites with a statement that usually says, “Subscribe to My Feed.” The icon is also in the address window at the top of your web browser. The icon is typically orange with two white curved lines.

So what the heck is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or “news feed.” RSS is the format that syndicates content from blogs, news headlines, and podcasts into a subscription. Then a feed reader will read the subscription and show you the content of the website’s articles.

An RSS blog format contains the text and pictures of a blog post. Then the feed reader will show you all the blog posts of all the websites you have subscribed to in one window.

Back in the day, you would have to Bookmark a page in your web browser and then manually click on each individual site. Now with a feed reader you can view all your favorite websites in one window. Saving you time and making it easier for you to keep up with your favorite blogs!

Here is a picture of what my feed reader looks like. (This is the list view.)

Here is a picture of what a blog post looks like in the feed reader.

Here is a picture of what that same blog post looks like on its own website.

How Do I Use RSS?

Step 1. Get a feed reader. There are many feed reader options. If you already have a Gmail account, you can easily use GoogleReader. Other popular feed readers are Bloglines, Rojo, and Newsgator. You can also add RSS to your MyYahoo! Page, but it only gives you the titles of the blog posts. The titles of the blog posts then link you to the actual site.

Step 2. Go to the website you want to subscribe to and click on their RSS icon.

Step 3. A window will open and ask you which feed reader you are using. Choose the feed reader that you have an account with.

Step 4. Set up any necessary preferences. GoogleReader asks you if you want to view it on your Google Homepage or Google Reader. Bloglines opens up some display options.

Step 5. Enjoy viewing the content of multiple blogs all at once!

Is RSS really that great?

I really like my GoogleReader. I could spend hours reading all the content in my reader. GoogleReader posts the time that the blog post was created, so I can know the second that my friends update their sites. It is really great to have all the posts on my favorite websites in one place. Sometimes I will miss a post when I actually view the site, but I will catch it in my reader.

A feed reader is great for friends who don’t blog often. Instead of going to a website multiple times only to be disappointed that they haven’t blogged in three weeks. You can subscribe to their feed and be pleasantly surprised when one of their posts pop up in your list.

The bad part of using RSS and a feed reader is that you can’t view the comments or write a comment on a post. You have to click through to the post on the website and then comment. For this reason, I still personally visit all my personal friends’ sites, because I enjoy commenting.

If a website has the option you can subscribe to the comments through RSS, but you still can’t write a comment. Also, I have found that popular sites will have many comments that pile up in your reader.

One problem that I have had using my feed reader is that I will subscribe to a blog that I think looks cool, but then I don’t keep up reading the posts and I loose interest quickly.

Another down side to using a feed reader, is that you can’t see a site’s design. You can’t view the fun treasures in the sidebars of your favorite websites. How else will I know what books my friends are reading or who else is in their blogroll? The flip side is that there are no pesky advertisements in the feed reader.

I enjoy using my feed reader to keep up with websites that are informative and where I don’t comment much, but I will still personally visit my favorite friends’ blogs.

Extra Credit:

If a site does not have an RSS option, you can plug the address (URL) of the site that you want to view in your RSS reader into feedity.com.

Further Reading on RSS:

Explaining RSS the Oprah way
RSS in Wikipedia
Easy RSS Explanation

Do you use RSS? Do you like it? Which feed reader do you use?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week, I took the kids to have their Christmas pictures taken. The kids woke up that morning without runny noses and with limited scratches and bruises on their faces so I called Portrait Innovations to see if they had an opening that day. I have heard good things about Portrait Innovations, so I was excited to give them a try.

We had a wonderful experience! Not only were they able to book me a same day appointment, the waiting area was comfortable, clean, and had a Lego table for the kids to play at while we waited. The employees were warm, inviting, and extra friendly. We walked out of there with our pictures in hand, spending what we would have spent had we gone to Target like I’ve done in years past. They do not charge a sitting fee, and their $9.95 package has no catches…except that you can only chose one pose for the package. However, you’re probably going to LOVE a lot of other shots they take and want to order more more more!

There were many things I appreciated about Portrait Innovations.

• I loved that the photographers had hand-held digital cameras. Our photographer was able to reposition herself a lot more easier than constantly readjusting my 3 year old and almost 1 year old! She moved with them! At Target and other commercial photography studios, the cameras are stationary.

• I also loved that the kids weren’t placed on a table. For the most part, they were on the floor and this freed me up from having to make sure they didn’t fall to be able to help with the circus acts required to get Connor to smile! Darah’s smile wasn’t hard to get that day, but Connor was a little nervous about all of the attention.
• The photographer had an assistant who’s job was to get my kids to smile. She had some of the neatest tricks I’ve ever seen! More than just the fake sneeze I usually try to get them to smile.
• The photographer paid extra attention to drool, snot, and flyaway hairs on the kids and pointed them out to her assistant and myself. I really appreciated the extra attention to these details!
• I got to keep the c.d. for free! Whenever I want to reorder anything, all I have to do is bring the c.d. of all of the pictures they took (including shots I didn’t order) and have them print them in the store. I am also able to share the pictures with friends and family. The photographer told me that if I wanted to print some of the pictures from my home computer, that would be fine as well! Very very cool!

I really can’t share anything negative about our experience, except that Connor didn’t want to take his hand out of his mouth during the shoot. The only other thing that is somewhat of a con is that they do not keep any pictures in the store. If you lose your c.d., then you are out of luck if you ever want to reprint any pictures. Other than that though, I strongly recommend Portrait Innovations!

Are you a baby wearer?

Since Ewan’s birth I have become a consumer of baby carriers. Someone from our Bradley class introduced me to the idea of having a sling to carry the baby in. Of course everyone knows about the Baby Bjorn and we got one of those but there was something appealing to a more non-Western way of holding and wearing my baby. I have to admit that when I first learned about it, it seemed like the cool, hip thing that naturally minded folks do. Now that I have 3 kids I love the benefits and versatility of wearing the little munchkins around.

When Ewan was born I bought the Native Baby Carrier. He didn’t like it too much as a newborn but did like it when he was about 4 months old. We used it quite a bit as well as the Baby Bjorn. The Baby Bjorn wasn’t as helpful once Ewan got older. He was too heavy to carry comfortably and we used the Native Baby Carrier on occasion.

When Isaac came along I carried him around ALL day in the Baby Bjorn because he had to sleep upright due to reflux and that he did not want to sleep apart from me. He also did not like the NBC as a newborn.

When we moved to Dallas I was more interested in trying some different kinds of slings. One of my friends in the neighborhood made (and still does) Mei Tai slings. They are great! Of course Isaac and Ewan were already 2 and 3 years old but it didn’t stop me from using it. We took it to Canada and used the sling to carry the boys in while we went hunting for frogs and hiking. The Mei Tai can be used to carry babes on your back or front and the boys loved riding in it.

Once Isaac reached 35 pounds the Mei Tai was harder to use and was more uncomfortable–only because carrying 35 pounds is hard no matter how you slice it. I wanted to try a wrap sling that could do a hip carry. I decided to wait until I was pregnant again to purchase an Ellaroo wrap. These slings can also do different holds–hip, back, front, newborn depending on what size you get. I was interested in a wrap length that would do a hip hold. I was very excited about my sling but discovered once Graham was born that the length I chose was not long enough to do a newborn carry. I have to wait until he is older so I can do a hip carry.

One of my friends from my small group here in Pittsburgh was given a Moby Stretch Wrap. She let me try it and I was sold just by looking at all the different carries you can do from the directions! Not only that but cost wise, it is the least expensive sling and you can wear the baby in so many different ways. I hear from others that it is good until the babies get to be in the 20+ pound range because once the baby gets that big it stretches out easily. For now I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sling! It is so easy to use–although it looks intimidating at first. Graham loves it. He usually falls asleep in it right away and stays warm and cozy. Jon even likes wearing it and can put the sling on and stick Graham in it all by himself!

The benefits of baby wearing are that it makes it easy to get some things done especially when babies like to be held so much. Baby wearing makes it easier when you have a fussy baby. Babies cry less when they are held and baby wearing even helps stimulate/boost your milk supply, and of course it promotes bonding with your baby.

I can’t wear Graham around ALL day because I start to go crazy but it works awesome for grocery shopping, running errands, going for walks etc. My kids never liked being in their car seats and I have always hated lugging the infant car seat around everywhere. It is bulky and heavy and makes you contort your body in ways that you aren’t supposed to. We leave ours in the car and I use the sling to carry Graham around everywhere when we are out and about. I find that people also tend not to touch my baby when I am wearing him because it invades my personal space. When the babies are in car seats it is very inviting for small kids and adults alike to spread their germs on your baby. I am a little sensitive about that so it works well for me.

I am now a huge fan of baby wearing. Some women have figured out how to wear their babies and nurse at the same time. I haven’t got there yet but if we can figure that one out it will make grocery store excursions a lot easier! Another cool thing is that baby wearing is great for taking baby out for a walk. You carry around the extra weight which also burns more calories. Say good-bye to that extra leftover baby weight.

I think the hardest thing about baby wearing is choosing the right one. Common stores like Target or Babies R Us don’t carry all the different kinds of slings and wraps. If you are interested in baby wearing see if you can find someone who will do a presentation and let you try on their slings to see which one you like the most. It is definitely worth it!