I suppose in life you always want what you don't have. In terms of children, I guess I always wanted a girl because of the "dream" that was put in my head from childhood. "When you have a daughter, you can give those to her." All the dresses of mine that were kept for my own little girl and everything else for the child I was one day going to have. So I guess its really a matter of mourning the end of the dream. The mother-daughter relationship that I will never experience and all those "one day..." images that have to be re-drawn. So when I found out I was having another boy, it took me a few days to process it. Finally I came to some conclusions about the whole "gender preference" thing.

First of all, the only thing I can't do with a boy is walk him down the aisle, and really, that means very little in the grand scheme of it all.

Second, the Mother-Daughter relationship that I so craved as a child and wanted to experience some day is not gone, merely re-written. Who says I can't take my sons to the spa for a day of pampering? Who says I can't talk to them about girls the way I would talk to a daughter about boys?

Really, there is nothing I can possibly miss out on, unless I let myself miss out on it.

I read once that you spend one month deciding what gender you are hoping for and 9 months telling yourself it doesn't matter as long as it is healthy. Maybe we should skip that first month and go straight to the healthy part.

One of my fave shows is House of Babies. Its a show about a birth center in Florida. The midwife said "some people want a specific gender, but maybe the gender they want isn't what is right for their family". I think that is the case.

Some one up there obviously has a plan for all of us, and I have to think they might know a little more than I do.

*baby-maker, picture-taker

It works similar to hosting other shopping parties in that you as the hostess get rewarded for the sales of the party.

Here is the deal.

What you do: Host a party at your house or park (even better for spring!). Handle the invites and figure out the order of who goes when. Provide minimal snacks and drinks to keep kids and moms clean and happy. After the party, help guests find the event on pictage and urge them to place orders.

What you get: A free mini session during the party. $25 photo credit for hosting the party plus 15% of total sales from the party in photo credit. So not only is it a free session, but you get free prints too!

What I do: Take a 10-15 minute mini photo session of each child and post the best photos on Pictage.com There is no charge for the mini sessions!
Please note that unlike our other sessions, there is no copyright release or disk provided. All images must be purchased through Pictage.

What guests do: Go online to view the images from the session and place their orders. Guests can either place the order directly and pay the shipping charge to have the images sent to them or you can gather up the orders and have it all shipped to you, then disperse the prints and split the shipping charges.

Super simple and super fun! Everyone hangs out and the kids play while the mini sessions take place away from the group. There is no pressure to buy, so there is nothing to loose! It benefits us by word of mouth marketing and potential sales. Plus, you can forward this info to your friends and they can host parties too.

Party ideas: Birthdays Holidays Mothers Day Fathers Day Pet Parties No reason at all!

Sound like fun to you? Book your party today!

*baby-maker, picture-taker

Oops. I guess I forgot to update again. Alas, it has been another month. Sorry fo the delay. SOOO much to talk about though.

There has been great news coverage of the Now I lay me down to sleep organization on the today show. Hopefully that will help get the word out to parents, family and hospitals of this wonderful free service.

Tomorrow is the big day for us. Ultrasound. Gulp! We will soon know if we are making the next boy band or if I will have a little pink in this house to balance things out. Actually, I take that back. Dylan's fave color is pink. He was insistent on pink nighttime underwear the other day. Add that to his collection of Disney princess costumes (hey, he has boy stuff too...) and it just proves the fact that just because you get a certain gender, that doesn't mean they will like what you want them to like. Maybe I just make very sensitive boys. Thats cool with me. They will be awesome fathers some day (just like their own dad).

House stuff. UGH! How is it we pick the worst market since WW2 to try to sell our house. Seems kinda hopeless. No, the sign isn't in the yard and probably won't be. Our neighbors house is being auctioned off after being on the market for months below FMV. I am thinking thats a bad sign. So for now, WE ARE STAYING PUT. Who knows, banks might start lending money again, and when that happens, we will be ready... space suits and all.

Some very adorable pumpkins are turning one right now. My little Peyton, Ellie Bug and my very own Riley. Oh how time flies!

*baby-maker, picture-taker