From Bonnie:
I want to hear about sweet Bella. Is she still in Pre K and if so how does she (and you) like it? How was the fifth birthday party? What are her passions? What does she do that drives you nuts? How does she charm you? How has she been adjusting now that Julianna is no longer a baby? (Particularly interested in the last one since Ella is now the proud big sister of a three month old herself and, while things are going well so far, I am a little nervous about how they will go once Lorelei is mobile, not to mention able to grab toys…)

Okay – now technically that was far more than one question – but I’ll let you get away with it Bonnie, just ‘cause I like you.

Bella is lovely – I so need to sit down and write her a long, detailed letter in honour of her fifth birthday, but like everything else it gets put aside because I get hyperfocused on silly things like designing Christmas Card Templates.

Her birthday party was great, she insisted on inviting all her most favorite friends and took it all very seriously – giving me a pen and paper a month before the party and dictating a guest list. It was a Dora/Pirate party – as those are her two favorite things.

Her passions: Dora, Dora, Dora. Pirates, Pirates, Pirates (although second, they are a distant, distant second).

What does she do that drives me nuts? Oh – so many things. She’s at least as whiny as me, if not whinier (and trust me when I say that would be an accomplishment, as I’ve had whining down to an art form since my own childhood). She’s demanding, she’s bossy, she’s an alpha dog who likes to get her own way – she knows my buttons and how to press them. Somehow though – I can never stay mad at her for long (and she knows this too).

How does she charm me? She is so loving; she is very giving with affection – both verbally and physically. She has a way of expressing herself that makes me melt. She shares my silly, weird, kooky sense of humor. I think she’s fairly divine.

How is she adjusting now that Julianna is no longer a baby? Most of the time it is fabulous. They are starting to interact on their own more and more – I’ll go into the playroom in the morning to find them sitting on opposite sides of the table colouring together, they love to roll around on the bed together and laugh, have baths together at night. It has been great fun lately to watch them creating their own sisterhood dynamic and watch the growth of this relationship that will be unlike any other for them. I could gush forever about the wonder and miracle and joy of sisters…

Oh – and she fractured her wrist falling off the playground equipment a few weeks back – she gets it off just in time for our trip to Disney in December. The cast still seems quite novel to her, so she’s not really complained too much yet. She really was a trouper through the whole thing.

From Rebekah:
And I want to hear all about your 4 goddesses trip. So here are my questions about that … 1)What stands out as the best part/highlight of that time for you personally? 2) What did you learn about yourself while out there? 3) What did you learn about one of the other ladies that you didn’t expect to learn?
And Melinda:
I agree. Dish on MB, Brooke and Leigh. Spill all your secrets. Does that count as a question?

Oh – yet another thing I must write (gush) about.

The weekend was magical; it refreshed my mind, body and spirit. I could be with those three ladies every moment for the rest of my life and never grow tired of their beauty, wisdom, energy and general goddessness.

The highlight has to be our nights in the hot tub – hours in the warm water under the stars, with just the perfect coolness in the air to make it comfortable. The conversation flowed like buttah, and took a million different turns, at times light hearted and filled with laughter, at times serious and highly emotional. I learned so much about life from those three mystical, strong, powerful, feminine women – I felt like I couldn’t soak it all in fast enough. I wanted the weekend to last forever and ever.

Leigh and Marybeth I’ve known forever. Technically we met while pregnant with our babies – but really, we three have been together for lifetimes upon lifetimes already. I’ve never really experienced anything like it before. Marybeth exudes power and physicality; she challenges me and pushes me farther than most people I’ve known. Leigh is my soft place to fall – I don’t know if I’ve ever felt as immediately comfortable with anyone as I did with her right from the start. I feel like she already knew all my secrets when I met her, so I don’t have to hold up any walls. Together –ah…together they’re just magical.

Brooke?…she’s delicious, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. More beautiful than her pictures, she’s even better than all my imaginings. Oh so wise, and wonderful, with the most piercing gaze and welcoming aura. I wanted to kidnap her and make her stay longer so I could try to soak in as much of her as I possibly could. I ached inside when she left.

What did I learn about myself…that I have so much to learn, so much growth left ahead of me – and that that is okay. This doesn’t seem like much – but really it is.

What did I learn about them? I’m not at liberty to say. Information gained in the hot tub, stays in the hot tub

From Beth:
What’s your goal/goals right now? What do you want in the next year in your life?

Oy – big question!
1. Get myself organized. I’ve always had flaky tendencies, but they used to be balanced by my Type A compulsions. In the past year I’ve left behind all my anal ways and embraced flakiness full on. I’m a mess, seriously. Feel like my thoughts are pulled in a million directions and I get part of everything done – but never really finish anything. I think I might actually look into hiring one of those organization people to help me get my physical surroundings in order – the mental stuff, however, is all on me.

2. Get the Birth Network back into a period of growth. We’ve been doing great with the status quo, but in the beginning we had such big dreams and plans – I want to recapture some of that energy and enthusiasm in our volunteers and start the New Year with new commitment to making the Birth Network even better than it is.

3. Continue to improve my photography and digital processing skills. I’ve never really felt creative before – and I love the high I get from this new passion of mine. I want to spend time on my technical skills and equal time on developing my own personal style.

4. I want to renew my commitment to gentle, conscious parenting … so much easier with one child than two. Thanks to my friends Phoebe and Melinda, who started a chapter of Attachment Parenting International – I have a monthly meeting to attend that will help me keep on track with my intentions and give me the tools to parent my daughters in a way that matches my ideals and values.

6. Introduce more ritual, tradition and spirituality into my life, and into my family’s daily routine. I feel that our lives have been rather devoid of spiritual connection (and I do NOT mean organized religion – rather a connection to the inside and outside that goes deeper than just existing).

7. Surrender, Surrender, Surrender

8. Get back in shape. I don’t feel healthy. My back aches all the time, I’m always tired, I mentioned above I can’t focus, I feel blah. Aside from problems with clothing fitting - I just want to feel powerful and strong and more alive. So – have joined the Y, started taking my vitamins and Fish oils again, and I’ll go from there.

9. Take a dance class. Dancing brings me so much joy – it is totally ridiculous that I have not managed to take a dance class in years upon years. No good excuse.

10. Write in this damn blog more often

From Marybeth:
So what are your thoughts/emotions regarding co-sleeping with the little wee?

Oh – I am so flaking out on this one. WAY too big for me to get into in a Q&A – but something I totally need to write about in depth soon. Since I have the rest of the month to get through, expect it before the end of 2006!