Intrepid Murmurings

Hey all! This blog has moved, woohoo!   Come join me to the new Intrepid Murmurings at www.intrepidmurmurings.com to see a brand new photos of a recent family visit to the park, and so much more to come! I am still (endlessly!) tweaking things, but all my old posts and comments transfered great and I've been having fun getting settled and figuring it all out.  

Be sure to resubscribe to the Intrepid Murmurings RSS feed, too, to follow me in a reader (unless you were already following via my feedburner feed)! I don't want to lose you, those who have been with me for years as well as newer followers -- please stay in touch! 

So, sometime Wednesday night, I made a major technical blogging blunder. I don't exactly remember doing it, though I know when it probably occurred, as I remember the system hanging for a bit, me not knowing why. Ha. Now I do. I consider myself fairly competent with technology, the internet, and blogging, but my understanding only goes so far, and this time, my naivety about the inner workings of our current software totally screwed me.  Wah wah wah....  

What I did was mess with the settings of our online photo gallery, regenerating the album where all our family photos are kept. I meant to just change some sizes on one sub-album so it would post right on my blog -- but really had no clue I was messing with fire here.  It finally dawned on me yesterday that this was the reason my photo links would sometimes break, but by then, it was too late. What I did broke most of the links to the last two plus years of photos posted on my blog. Years of extremely photo-heavy posts, I might add, now mostly unviewable!  Hang on while I go scream into a pillow for another moment.

Okay.  Now then.  

I have been wanting for a long time to change some things on my blog, mainly, the software that it runs on.  I currently use an old version of Roller, which is an open source blogging software.  It was great back in 2004, when Lonnie was first setting up our own in-home server and domain name. He made this blog for me, which was outside the very few, fairly constraining, boring options commercially available at the time.  It was cool because it was highly customizable - he could go in and change anything, no restraints, yada yada yada.  And it was free -- at a time when many of the other blog hosting companies charged for the cool options. At this same time, he set up our photo gallery, so we could manage our own photos online.  

Since then, well, blogging (and online photo storage) has come a long way, baby!  And the options out there are SO different, varied, and awesome. Lately, I have been longing for many of the features I see out there now, particularly an efficient, user-friendly blog editor that does not spew insane code that I have to wade through, cluelessly, again and again.  And a way to add lots of photos easily, without resorting to this hack-y way I have been using, which in the end, got me good.  

There have been updates to Roller that we have not upgraded to, because that in itself was a chore to large to tackle -- and impossible for me to do on my own.  This is software for a techie, not me! A past upgrade, many years ago, rendered many of my early posts totally unformatted, which sucked (many from the early days are still like that, though I've redone some here and there when I refer back to them).   Time is precious around here, and Lonnie, understandably, doesn't have the time or interest to muck around with all this anymore. It has been a sore spot for awhile, I am afraid. It's time I cut loose from my admin, much as I love him!!!  

Unfortunately, migrating a blog from Roller to a different blogging platform (Wordpress) is not simple.  Lonnie has already hacked the code to get it to transfer more than the 30 posts it allows (currently, I have 609!  Yipes!) but still has work to do to make the change.  Until that happens, I won't be putting any more time into the current version of this blog -- don't want to just have to redo everything again!  Once we are settled I'll go back and fix some of the lost photos & formatting on the old posts there, as this serves both as a baby book, a journal, a collection of thoughts for later publication, hopefully a resource for others out there, and most of all, a creative and social outlet for me while in the trenches of parenting and life. 

So, hang tight, Intrepid Murmuring fans!  I love you guys, and will be back in a bit!  It may be a few weeks, I am thinking, before the changes are complete and we are up and running again. This blog will not go anywhere, for the time being, but stay tuned for info on the new digs -- including, I assume, a new web address and RSS feed to subscribe to.  

Also, if you want to stay in the know, feel free to follow me on The Intrepid Murmurings Facebook Page, and on Twitter...

Tomorrow starts National Blog Posting Month, and I am taking the challenge again this year to post every day in November.  Last year, it was the step that jump started my more frequent posting, and I am so glad I did it!  It's been a great year!   

This time, I have some plans in store for the blog that I hope to get going this month, with the NaBloPoMo pushing me along.  Mainly, I'm hoping to be posting a lot more about food and recipes, all dairy-free (and beef-free, all things cow!), of course.  I am hankering to get another tab up above, perhaps with its own RSS feed,  where the recipes will reside? The Intrepid Murmurings food blog, perhaps?  Not sure yet.  Stay tuned.  

Its a gorgeous SUNNY Friday morning, the first in awhile, and I'm loving it!  This is the kind of weather we live for in Seattle -- come on sunshine & warmth, stick with us this time!  We've had a busy week with so many things going on, and I've felt like the crazy mom chauffeur at times.  But there is nothing on the docket today except swimming lessons (with a picnic lunch and an ice cream treat afterwards), which we are going to walk to.  Wish me luck keeping the little ones entertained and out of the pool during Emma's lesson -- usually I have the stroller for containment but can't when we walk due to steps!  

Also, please go check out my guest post, Nursing In Public with Twins, My Story & Thoughts, which is running today over on the new Nursing Freedom blog! I originally intended it to be part of the Carnival of Nursing In Public from a few weeks ago, but I was a late entry and offered a spot here, instead!  Thank you Dionna and Paige for publishing my post and for all you do to help normalize breastfeeding!  

Since Elsie and Delia are rapidly approaching TWO years old now (!), I decided I should step up from the "Top Baby Blogs" listings to the "Top Mommy Blogs".  My babies are growing up!  There's a lot of neat blogs listed on this site, and its great for finding a few more readers for mine, as well.  The Mommy blogs site has category listings, so I signed up in the "multiples" section.  Just click on the banner below to "vote" for me, so I get higher in the listings -- the more votes, the higher the listing, the more I'm seen (and I LOVE reaching new readers, hence my groveling!).  

Hey, its party time!  I decided to join the ultimate blog party, which is a HUGE blog hopping way to get to know new bloggers and maybe gain a few new readers here as well.   The party started a few days ago....hopefully joining a few days into it is like being fashionably late, ha ha.  

As a quick intro to new visitors, my name is Kristin and I live in Seattle.  I started this blog in the midst of my days struggling with infertility.  We went through all sorts of treatments, much of which happened before I started blogging, including several rounds IVF.  They were all failures -- it was a frustrating time.  We moved on to adoption, which I blogged about a fair bit, and were almost complete with our paperwork when we got a shocking surprise.  She was born in May of 2006!   This blog then turned into a new mama blog, chronicling, among other things, my angsty struggles with breastfeeding and sleep (snore).  

When Emma was 16 months old, I was shocked to discover two pink lines again!  We were thrilled, though that dampened for me a bit when I started puking my guts out while trying to tend to a toddler.  At 11 weeks, due to my request that we have at least one "early" ultrasound, we found out we were expecting identical twins.  WHAT?!?  In the ensuing months we somehow made it through packing and selling our house, finding and moving into a new one.  Three days after that, at 33.5 weeks, I was sidelined with preterm labor! 

But, then they decided to stick around for quite a bit longer, and Elsie and Delia were born in late May of 2008 (a little beyond 38 weeks, and a week after Emma turned two).  For a year we lived the life of having three kids under three. It was joyous, it was overwhelming, it was insane, but it was our new normal and we rolled with it. 

Now, we are approaching birthday month again, but with a 4 year old and two 2 year olds.  Hello toddlerdom!  Things are still crazy, but for the most part a lot of fun!   For now, most parties around here consist of juice or cupcakes being launched from high chairs, Cheerios and blueberries turning up in all sorts of odd places, and lots of jumping on the couch cushions.  Spontaneous wrestling sessions, screaming contests, and naked babies running through house are a common occurrence.  Sometimes I want to hide in the closet, but most of the time, its a pretty fabulous way to spend my time....

And here are a few of my my favorite recent posts!

Toddler and Preschool Activity Bags!  

Planning Our Days with Intention & What do you DO All Day: Thoughts on scheduling your days at home with kids 

Slings in the News: How Safe Babywearing Rocks My World 

Family Meetings & Riding the Light Rail 

Thanks for stopping by & come again soon! 

Hey y'all. I've heard from various folks lately who have had problems commenting on my blog.  Not good, since I looooove comments!

If this has happened to you, could you please email me (listed in the "about" tab, above) with the details of exactly what happens (what error message you get, if any, etc) if you try?  The two things I am aware of currently is that sometimes I've found EVEN if I do the damn math problem right, it says I do not and makes me try again (I'm really not THAT bad at math).  But usually after the second time it works.  The other thing that seems to randomly happen is that a comment may be identified as spam and it won't be posted.  In this case, I still get it and can manually approve it, so don't fret.  

But if something else is happening for you, please let me know!  I just want to work out the kinks if we can!  The spam comments are unbearable without some level of protection so I'm not going to eliminate it altogether, but maybe we can figure out something to help...

Hey, I am a guest blogger today over at The Foster Family blog -- go check it out!  Thanks Jennifer!!!  Its a how-to post on pasta dyeing for sorting and beading.  Stay tuned for a post about a bunch of other ideas for Toddler Activity Bags -- I'll try to have it up this morning!  

So, apparently it is International Blog delurking week!   Which I only found out about now, but hey!  Its still Jan 10th for another few hours here in the Pacific Time Zone so I am going for it.  

My blog has gone through various phases over the years: miscellany blog, art and food blog, infertility blog, pregnancy and anxious new mama blog, and now, mama of multiples blog.  And I have definitely had my boring down times of minimal (or just annoying and whiny) posting around here, that is for sure!   But things are looking up, I hope! 

I doubt many readers from the early days are still here, but if you are, I'd love to hear from you!  Who's still out there?  Where do I know you from?  And if you are new, or newish, or have just been reading along for awhile..,please humor me!  I'd love to hear from you and check out your blogs, if you have one.

Also, I apologize for the nasty trick of making you do math to leave a comment.  Horrible!  I know it is basic math but I still get it wrong and have to try again least every once every three times I comment ON MY OWN BLOG.  Sigh.  I am not getting spam comments anymore though, so its worth it.    

So now.  Go click on that button right below this.

Right here. ↓

Do it.

Thanks!

Hey, just put a permanent link to my gear recommendation store above.  Filled with our favorite gear for babies & toddlers, favorite TOYS, parenting books, and a special section on stuff for twins/multiples!  I will be adding stuff as I think of it so check in occasionally if you are in the market for something (but are not sure what, heh!).   Definitely check around second hand for most of this stuff  -- this is how I get most of our gear these days! But if you ARE going to buy something anyway, feel free.... 

While I'm at it, over on the Top Baby Blogs site I have made it to page 3!  Its been fun to see my blog slowly creep upward and to get a bit more traffic around here -- which is why I am trying to move ahead just a bit more.  I have no freaking idea how those top blogs get so many votes, and there is no way I will ever make it up that far!  They must be full time bloggers, that is for sure!  But vote for me and maybe I can break 50 or so....ha ha!  

Over on A Few of My Favorite Things, there is a weekly photo contest for funny/cute baby pics.  I had to enter this one -- there is lots of mischief around here!  Unfortunately, not too many things caught on camera!   I entered one of E & D pilfering through my wallet.  Go check it out!  There are some funnier ones (like a mega Cheerio mishap) so I don't think I'll win, but feel free to vote for us if ya' want!  (OMG, three vote grubbing posts in one week.  I promise I will stop now!)  

In my efforts to drum up a little more readership, I have succumbed to joining this nifty parenting blog directory. There are a ton of great blogs listed here, including one of my faves -- go check it out!  But first, click on the button below to give me a "vote".   Many of these blogs are in a whole 'nother  league than mine, in terms of readership, so I am not expecting to make it to the top of their listings by a longshot!  But, every vote counts, and I might at least gain a few more followers in the process...

Thanks!!!

Geesh, this NaBloPoMo is a little exhausting!  But good for folks like me who need a little external motivation!  

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What's going on here?  Elsie is sick, possibly with H1N1, though it could be something else as well.  Still no vaccines in sight for any of us, too!  We are pretty sure Lonnie had it (the Swine) about two weeks ago.  Emma, Delia and I have had cold symptoms, but nothing flu-ish.  Elsie had a fever for a few days, though it seems to have broken since last night.  She also has a horrible cough, and at times is generally miserable (mostly, of course, in the middle of the night). Last night was HELL with her awake and whimpering, dozing on me, or crying off and on for hours.  Delia woke more than usual too, so I was pretty much up and down all night, or trying to sleep with a fussy baby next to or on top of me. Just when teething was over and they were toying with maybe sleeping through the night on occasion, here we go cold and flu season.  Waaaaaaaaah! 

The ped's office wants us to come in tomorrow if Elsie isn't improving (especially the cough), since H1N1 tends to have lots of post-flu complications (like pneumonia in young kids).  Having spent 2 weeks in the hospital with pnemonia and a collapsed lung, I understand how bad that can get in a hurry!  But I am also not TOO worried, since she seems pretty fine during the day, and if it were bad I think she'd be feeling worse all the time.  Hopefully we are all on the mend!  And that everyone sleeps tonight!  I could use it! 

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Feeling overwhemed by stay-at-home mamahood, right now.  The neverendingness of it all can be really exhausting, mentally if not physically.  I finally conquered a mountain of laundry that was piling up on our living room couch, but know there are still more loads to do in the basement.   Keeping up with dishes, laundry, the chaos and destruction that these three can create in just a few hours, plus cooking, serving, and cleaning up three meals a day is a lot of work!  All the little things really do add up, its crazy.  And even though I do have time that I could be accomplishing other things in, I just don't have the energy or motivation a lot of the time.  

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Oh man, just realized there are some link issues in the right column here on the blog.  I think a section of my blogroll got deleted, and another section doubled.  Sheeesh!  Gotta wade through the code and figure that one out (or call in the Admin, who I think may be the guilty party here in the first place!  Serves me right for having him add the NaBloPaMo button instead of doing it myself, ha ha!).   I am percoloating a lot of ideas for changes around here but am not sure yet what I will go for.  Its funny, in the years since I started this blog things have really changed on the blog scene!  Ads, tons of blog networks, all sorts of buttons (for  blog networks, social networks,  special events, blogrolls and individual blogs, buttons for everything!). Some of it is really cool -- I thing the networking aspect of it can be great for finding new blogs to read and new readers to write for!  But it also is overwhelming, visually.  I like the simplicity of the basic old fashioned website.  So perhaps this blog will remain (mostly) a relic of 2004, design wise... 

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Okay, gotta go.  More tomorrow!  Hopefully a more interesting and topic-oriented post!  Maybe with pictures...