DIY Haircut

The other day I was telling a friend that none of my children had ever tried to cut their own hair. You know, that quintessential childhood act. Well I'm eating my words now.

On Friday Charlotte came up from the basement with "bangs".



She did a relatively good job, it could have been much worse. But the bangs only went halfway across her forehead. So we fixed them up.



Now my 3 year old looks like a 12 year old. Sigh.

DOULA

So this topic may be the reason I've been a terrible blogger lately :)

I've begun a new journey and I'm very excited about this! It's something I've wanted to do for about 4 years now but the timing was never right. But over the last 6 weeks the Lord has made it abundantly clear that now is the time. I won't go into details here, but it's been one of those decisions in life that God has made so plainly obvious it's comical.

I'm going to be a doula. Doula is a greek word that means female servant. Or more commonly, today, a doula is a trained labor support person. A doula provides constant support during labor and birth. The idea of a doula is nothing new. Women have been helping women give birth for centuries. It is something that has been lost in recent years which, I think, is very sad.

So why would someone want a doula? There has been lots of research done on doulas in the last 15 years and the results are pretty amazing. Here's an example:

The most comprehensive study was done in 1991. Researchers found that when a doula was present there was a:

50% reduction in cesarean rates
25% reduction in length of labor
40% reduction in the use of forceps
40% reduction in the use of pitocin
30% reduction in the need for pain medication
60% reduction in requests for epidural anesthesia

Kennel, et al, JAMA, May 1, 1991, Vol. 265, No. 17.
Additional studies have corroborated these findings.

There is another study that shows women are 35% less likely to rate their birth experience as negative with the use of a doula. That is the biggest reason I'm doing this. I think the birth of your children should be a profoundly joyful experience. It saddens me that for some women it is a negative experience. I want to change that!

I'm blessed to be partnering with a woman who has been a doula in town for more than 7 years. She has laid a great foundation for doulas in this town and has fostered wonderful relationships with hospitals and doctors. I'm so grateful for that! There is no way this momma of 4 could do this type of job on my own :)
You can go **HERE** to learn more about our business.

Cute Obstacles

It's really amazing I haven't broken an ankle while fixing dinner. This is my typical obstacle course in the kitchen:

I really love my kitchen. Some might find it small, but I think it's perfect for cooking. You know how they talk about the kitchen "triangle" your fridge, stove and sink make? Well my "triangle" is nice and close and makes cooking a breeze. The only thing hindering my moving about in the kitchen are all the things happening at my feet!

Help?!?!

I read that we're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Ugggg. If there's another snow day for the schools I'll be using some well placed, choice words for my feelings on that.

Here's a picture of what happened with the latest 8 inches of snow we had.

(The boys and a couple neighborhood kids)

Isn't this cute? Some super fun friends gave us a snowman kit for Christmas. It included the top hat, scarf, carrot nose, corn cob pipe, and coal for eyes and buttons. It also had hot chocolate and marshmallows for post-building! Such a good idea for a gift.

I'm in a major blogging slump right now. I think it's because I have too much to write about! I have too many posts circling in my head and I can't seem to get them out.

Here are some posts I want to write:

* I had a great birthday and the kids got me some really funny gifts

* Do you know what a doula is? That is my new part time job! I'm now a trained Labor Support Professional.

* Margo is on the move and lots of other things that signify she's growing up :(

So what should I write about first? Is there something entirely different you'd like to read? (man, this sounds so narcissistic, but I think we've already figured that out about blogs.) Maybe what I need is a little push from you. So I give you permission, give me a nice big shove! Please.