The House of Estrogen

The Royal Squish's First Chop

2013-08-17T23:57:00.001-06:00

At two and a half years of age, it was finally time for the Royal Squish to get chopped. The lengthy mullet of her infancy nearly reached her waist, but as mullets go, the rest of her hair was shorter. We took a trip over to Aunt Jody's ~~saloon~~ salon and Jody spent the next three hours giving The House of Estrogen girls new do's.

Farewell dear tangly mullett

Watching the action in the mirror

Trimming those precious baby curls

Definitely enjoying the moment


All done!

Before we left, Jody exclaimed, "Wait a moment!" and proceeded to fill out a certificate of achievement for the Royal Squish's first haircut and then attached some of those baby locks to the paper. It's already in my ~~treasure~~ hope chest.

On the blog again, can't wait to be back on the blog again

2013-08-05T17:26:00.000-06:00

What is this, you might ask? It's a blog post! Blogging is a part of my life that was left behind when I began my clinicals for midwifery school and woah, what a year it has been. Skimming through old blog entries, reading the voice of the woman, wife, and mother I was then, and acknowledging and honoring the journey of becoming a midwife. It's not over yet. In fact, I am in the most difficult and grueling part of finishing my degree, as well as fulfilling the role of "primary midwife under supervision" in clinic and at births. It is an honor to be counted among the team at Treasure Valley Midwives and this team of midwives have become my dearest teachers, greatest counselors, and sweetest friends. Midwifery is not a job, it is a lifestyle and our family is thriving in our new way of living. Eric is a true midhusband in every way and being further away from our family has brought us even closer together.

The smidgets are the light of my life. The older they get, the more they teach me. They maintain a happy medium of interests, including magnet dolls, art, pirates, bicycling, swimming, legos, pirates, dinosaurs, and princesses. Just look at how they've grown!

Josie(2.5), Grace(6.5), Rachel(8), Eliza(4.5)

Going on 10 years of our life together

And dare I say, more madly in love than we've ever been!

Stay tuned for more blogging. I closed down my Facebook account for good, so the updates and photos will live here from now until forever. Please leave me a note and say hello. It's great to be back!

Much Love,
Katy

The Renaissance Festival

2012-06-17T00:43:00.000-06:00

My sister's family has always loved the Renaissance Festival in Kansas City, so when we heard there was one near us, we jumped at the opportunity to attend. One of the neat aspects of the festival was that it's a benefit/fundraiser for children who are up for adoption. The day certainly did not disappoint. The people-watching was a bonus for me. Renaissance festivals attract every kind of people imaginable. Kind of like the state fair, but a little more refined. Read: there is no such thing as a refined state fair. But I swear, there were fewer creepers and crazies today.

Within the first half hour of being there, we discovered the Pirate's Cove. The Jack Sparrow teaser was the highlight of our entire day. Rachel has been absolutely obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean, and her sisters have joined in on the excitement. Each time Jack would speak, the girls would erupt into uncontrollable laughter. Their laughter was turning the heads of all the people around us.

Of course, Eric hit it off with Jack immediately. The Royal Squish, not so much.

As much as they loved Jack, the smidgets only loved him from afar.

Rachel finally worked up a bit of courage and got closer.

You could buy (fake) gold coins and then the kids could choose from a dozen and a half activities to to, all for one gold coin each. This one entertained the smidgets for the longest amount of time.

Creating princess puppets.

Everything was pre-cut, ready to go. These party planners are brilliant!

Liza's princess, halfway done.

Rachel's princess.

Grace working diligently and happily.

As we got ready in the morning, I tried to work up the girls for the excitement of the day. I promised them princesses, knights, horses, and kings. The king was kind and happy!

The girls and the KING!

Although the girls kept chickening out when it came to talking to Jack Sparrow, once they had their puppets in hand, they immediately wanted to go show him what they had made. He was so excited to see them again. Right before we said goodbye, he leaned over to me and said, "You know, it's really hot and miserable in this costume, but your kids just made my entire afternoon!"

Jack is finally cool!

We loved all the Monty Python lovers this festival attracted. Especially, the body cart, pulled around by two men who shouted, "Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!"

Eric the brave!

A little fuzzy, but pretty centered for having a 7 year old photographer!

Look again. Yes, we're that funny!

Little ladies

Let's face it - these things are really fun.

Renaissance ponies

The Royal Squish loved all the animals

Real jousting. Ok, so foam swords don't count for anything. But shhhhhh, don't tell the smidgets.

Lots of horse-mounted warriors.

This festival was a given for the turkey leg wagon. I watched the aromas tempt my husband for the entire afternoon. I finally just asked him if he'd like one and he replied with a definite ~~drool~~ yes. So in the spirit of Father's Day weekend, we splurged. And that darn turkey leg fed our entire family.

Let us eat meat.

It really is quite a task to eat something bigger and longer than your head.

Overall, I was quite disappointed in the turkey leg experience. When they put them on the grill, they literally look like circumcised turkey legs, which is a little unappetizing. (Bring on the hater comments!) The entire leg was so full of connective tissue layers, that eating it was difficult. But whatev. Now we can say we've had one. And one is plenty for a family of six.

The girls used one of their gold coins to walk across the troll bridge, which should be called a toll bridge if you're having to pay gold coins to cross it. But that's just me. Upon choosing to cross the troll bridge, my poor, innocent children were asked,
"What is your name?"
"What is your purpose?"

Yep, we spent an entire afternoon hanging out with *those* kind of people............

"What is your name?"

Rachel crossing without troll interference

Grace rolling right through, despite her overprotective daddy

Great job little lady!

Liza gaining confidence

What a pro

Finishing strong

Silly jester

Yet another

The girls used another coin to knock over little creatures with a slingshot and a rock. A little violent if you ask me, but entirely appropriate for the renaissance theme of the day. Eric had an absolute blast assisting the girls.

Hot shot Grace

Hot and tired

Eventually, the heat became more than we could enjoy, so we spent the rest of our coins and headed for home. I highly recommend this festival! It was extremely easy on the budget (you only pay $5 for parking), the crowd numbers were mild, it entertained from ages 0-100, and the park was beautiful.

Until next time.....

Idaho Botanical Gardens

2012-06-16T23:45:00.000-06:00

We visited the Idaho Botanical Gardens this week. The day was warm with a light breeze, making the weather nearly perfect. The gardens were extensive and molded beautifully into each other. Without a doubt, the next time we go, we're dressing up and packing in a fancy tea party. There was so much to enjoy around every corner. Places to sit, places to meditate, places to play - plus the added bonus of continual aromatherapy.

Grammy and the girls

These were huge tree trunks for the children to climb through.

Next time I will actually take photos of the flowers and plants. Some of the highlights of the afternoon included the gigantic porch swing, the tulip trees, the koi pond (we could have stayed there all day), and the herb garden. We also had a special visit from a beautiful yellow butterfly who followed us around for a while.

The porch swing - big enough to sit 10!

A Horseshoe Bend Sunset

2012-06-16T23:26:00.001-06:00

Last week we discovered the splendor and beauty of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. As we drove to the top of the mountain, the view took my breath away. The feathery sunset, even more so. And arriving home with a car full of peacefully sleeping smidgets? Win!

First

2011-08-29T22:14:00.000-06:00

This sweet little lady started first grade today

This has been a summer of changes. The changes are so very apparent in this little one. The jeans that drowned her last spring now have a perfect fit. She grew out of her ratty tennis shoes, ~~thank goodness~~. But most surprising to her parents was the modesty/privacy that crept into our lives. Getting dressed turned into a behind-closed-doors task. Baths with her little sisters? Completely out. Playing doll house? Try again. A phrase kept surfacing, over and over.

I just want to be by myself!

And by herself is when she's most content. The unstoppable duo of Rachel and Grace has now become the dramatic-destruct-o-duo of Grace and Liza. Rachel just does her own thing and drops in at her leisure, mostly to love on Her Royal Squishiness. She's a true mother hen.

This morning I packed a short-order cold lunch. I curled her beautiful blond hair. She asked me to pick out her clothes. Miss Independent still trusts me. And I'm quite sure her outfit isn't something she'll be able to criticize me for in 20 years, thank you Target.

She rode her bike to school and I ran along side her. I delivered her to her teacher and when I asked Rachel for a hug goodbye, she hugged me AND kissed my cheek. A rarity that put a lump in my throat.

I made a quick pace home where I found my husband at the table, feeding the other 3/4ths of our crew breakfast. I sat down at the computer, anxious to upload the back to school photos I'd taken. She's so big. So grown up. So ready to learn and be challenged.

Before Eric walked out the door, he paused in front of me and asked, "Do you feel old?"

I don't even remember if I replied, but suffice to say, that was the moment when I lost it. Choked up, tears falling. And much to my credit, Eric's eyes seemed to look pretty moist as well. Where has the time gone?

Lucky for us, Rachel will carry out almost any and all "firsts" our family will encounter. And I'm feeling very grateful that we'll have 11 more chances to send her off for her first day of school. But something tells me it won't get any easier!

Chicken Dramantics

2011-08-10T20:57:00.000-06:00

Dramantics. Such a lovely word. One inspired by my friend, Evelyn. Yes, I realize it's been more than a month since I last shared excitement from within The House of Estrogen. Between visits from my sisters, attending birth after birth after birth, a family reunion, and (well, the list goes on and on), our summer has been busy. But with the events that transpired this afternoon, I can't help but blog.

Now, if you are not familiar with our chicken situation, please click here and read carefully before continuing on.

Some of you had to refresh your memories, didn't you?

That's ok. Not everyone's memory is a vault like mine is.

The Setup: Today, middle of the afternoon, in the middle of naptime
The Sound: Someone at the front door
Did I mention: The waking of my entire house during naptime

Wondering if it might be a salesman, I went to the nursery window and peeked out towards the front doorstep. It was the neighbor lady. The entire summer has been completely non-dramatic, so I figured she needed another cup of mayonaise or something. I went to the door.

Hello.
Oh, did I wake you?
Everyone is sleeping right now.
.......or WAS sleeping.......as a sleepy smidget walks up behind me rubbing her eyes, her ponytail smashed from the nap
I came to talk about what your plans are for those chickens.....
We plan to have a coop built in the next month or so and we will be putting it on the side of the house......
You have to know that I just can't handle this........
Handle what?
All weekend, those chickens had no food or water and last night, they were soaked during a rainstorm.

I just can't handle this.........

Yes, we were away this weekend, but we fed and watered them extensively before we left on Friday and we were back on Sunday. Would you like the names of the people who cared for them while we were gone. Because I KNOW they fed them!
(I was on the phone with them, telling them how to get to the feed, how much to give, what to do, etc.)

They had no food or water for the entire weekend.
I am sorry you believe that. What rainstorm were you talking about last night? I actually had to leave the house during the middle of the night to go be with a doula client and it wasn't raining during any of the time I was on the road traveling.
The rain - yesterday. In the evening.
It didn't rain yesterday evening.
That rainstorm.
Oh, you mean the one during the middle of the afternoon?
Yes.
Let me tell you about that rainstorm "last night". The girls and I were ALL outside TOGETHER when that rain hit. In a frenzy, we gathered armfuls of baby dolls, stuffed animals, and blankets and while the girls brought them inside, I hauled out the tarp to cover up the chickens. And I covered those chickens entirely. All with a baby on my hip.
Well, they were soaking wet and all huddled together.
How could you see them? You COULDN'T see them because they were completely covered.
They were saturated.
Were you out in that rainstorm? Did you see what it took for me to lift that rock onto the tarp so they would be protected?
I just can't have any of this.
And she turns to walk back home.

But I couldn't restrain myself. I made a bad choice. I engaged. And I shouldn't have. But that's where the story gets really entertaining, so it's ok.

I realize you think WE are the problem, but WE have a problem with your dogs (3 Boston terriers) pooping in our yard on a daily basis.
Well, that's not MY problem.
You seriously just said, "That's not my problem?" Ooooh, that's funny.
And what am I to do about my front flower bed constantly being full of cigarette butts?
I don't smoke. That's Ross' problem.
Fail. You are the only person on this earth crazy-cakes enough to wear the lipstick shade that graces those butts.

Ok, that last line is hilarious. Especially because I intentionally omitted the word "cigarette" from right before the word "butts".

I'm not really sure what happened after that, other than she repeated that she just "couldn't have any of this...." and something tells me she thought she was so intimidating that once more, our family's pet chickens might disappear within 15 minutes. But no. Not this time.

I sure get a kick out of all of this. Or a headache. Not sure which one.

Maybe both.

I shut my front door as she walked away (shoot, I'm just realizing now that I should have slammed it.......for good measure) and immediately went to the back yard to assess the situation of our starving, poor, neglected chickens.

Water: nearly empty, but water nonetheless.
Food: OVERFLOWING

Cause for the neighbor's serious concern.

ZERO.

But there's more.

Number of cats owned by the neighbors on our eastside, across the street, another neighbor across the street, and a couple of houses down: ZERO

Number of cats owned by said neighbor lady: Five. That we know of.

Number of cats currently in my back yard that belong to crazy-cakes: Three

It was in that instance when I realized that in my moment of engaging in the argument, I'd completely forgotten the biggest part of our qualms with her.

The cats.

How they dug up all my bare root strawberry plants. How they walk in the back door of my house if the door to the deck is even slightly cracked. How they poop anywhere and everywhere. Seriously, the poop. Five (that I know of) cats create TONS of poop. But maybe forgetting to mention the cat thing is ok. Because revenge comes in other forms.

Such as: Free animal traps from the local animal shelter to trap the animals who won't stay off of your property..........

As always, I sought counsel from my husband. He is the king of levelheadedness.

His sarcastic response: Maybe we should start spying on all her activity over the fence too! "Ross was out in the backyard without a shirt again and my eyes are burning!!"

Fortunately, we know that spying over the fence would be dreadfully boring. That is why I suggested the following idea to my husband.

So maybe we could put a sign on the chicken tractor that says, "Laura, we're fine. Mind your own business. Love, the chickens"

If ever there was a moment when I thought he might have peed his pants laughing, this was one of them.

She's got nuthin' on us. We don't party, we don't play loud music, we mow our front AND back yards, we don't even put out enough trash to fill our garbage can every week. We don't sleep around, nor do we have "flings" in and out of our house on a daily basis, we don't let our girls run wild and unattended......and all of our girls have been fathered by the same sperm source......bless those X chromosomes. We take crazy-cakes flowers on Mother's Day and her spouse, treats on Father's Day, we invite them over for meals, but sadly, we have one terrible flaw -

Chickens.

You know, life is all about finding the positive in your deepest struggles. In this moment, I cope through blogging about crazy-cakes.

And today, I rejoice in the humor of what happens when................

THE POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK.

Because Being Awesome Is Fun

2011-06-30T10:52:00.001-06:00

There is no limit to the number of fingers you can suck at the same time. Nope. No limit.

Yesterday was one of those days that left me feeling like the coolest mommy ever. Once we'd had lunch and run a few errands, I got the baby settled for her afternoon nap and made it a point to be an awesome mom. When I discovered Grace in the school room, painting sheets of construction paper with layers and layers of various liquid glues ON the bookshelf, I chose to let her embrace that creativity and keep gluing. She was making a birthday card for her Papa. I will be surprised if those saturated sheets dry before the end of next week, but if they do, he will have the most love-filled birthday card ever created. Miss Liza wanted the watercolors to paint with, so I got her all set up at the table. It entertained her for two hours. Maybe longer. Her art spread to her body and soon, she'd painted her body black. Another mid-day bath was in order and she loved it. Rachel was getting her daily dose of PBS Kids (Wildcrats, we love you) and I ran across a book that my mom used to read to me when I was little. It's called The Great Kapok Tree and it's wonderful! Rachel was a little grumpy and told me she didn't want me to read to her so I turned off the television and sat near her and began to read the book. She kept scooting further and further away until she'd made it out of the family room, through the kitchen, and down the hall. I finally quit reading and went to work straightening the school room (which is in the process of being converted back into a bedroom now that we're done with the K12 program). It wasn't 15 minutes before Rachel was standing at the school room door, book in hand, ready for me to read to her.

Win.

Then Eric came home from work. Our I'mHomeFromWork greetings have become pretty hilarious this week, thanks to Eric. He mocks me. And I love it. He's decided to flip the conversation cards and in doing so, our greetings now go something like this:

Hi Honey!
smooch
How was your day?
smooch
Was the office busy?
smooch
(I start giggling, because when he says "office" he's either referring to the kitchen or the laundry room)
sneaks another smooch
Was your boss in a good mood?
smooch
more laughter
Did you do any job visits?
smooch
I may not do any bridge inspections, but I do visit the job sites of children working on cleaning a bedroom or picking up toys in various places
What did you have for lunch?
smooch
more smooches
smooches down the neck
and a dip that makes my back pop
lots more laughter and children saying, "Eeeeeewwwweeee, gross!"
I always ask him what/when he had lunch so I know how hungry (or not) he might be

He mocks me. The I'mHomeFromWork greeting has become so routine, he's now reciting it back to me. But it's funny.

He had to make a quick trip to the bank and when he did, he scooped up Grace and Liza and took them along. Realizing I had 20 uninterrupted minutes with Rachel (so long as Her Royal Squishiness stayed asleep), I told her I needed her help with a project and we made a batch of pan sugar cookies.

I may consider posting the recipe if you shower me with ~~comments~~ love.

We had fun. She can read now, which means she can read recipes. Which means she can cook. Which means that she can now take over the responsibility of meal planning and feeding our entire family on a daily basis.

Wouldn't that be awesome.

~~Or child abuse.~~

We got the cookies in the oven right about the time a normal family would sit down for dinner. In that moment, it became crystal clear that Rachel and I had just baked cookies for dinner. Sweet.

Soon, the doorbell rang. It was my Visiting Teacher from church and I love her. I'd forgotten she was coming. I'd also failed to realize that Liza had ditched her clothes and Connie was greeted by a streaker. You know you have a good VT when she doesn't even bat an eye at nudity. Once Connie left, the little nudist, now wearing a t-shirt, begged to go see the neighbor~~who doesn't like our chickens~~lady. When we walked out the door, we saw the missionaries riding by on their bikes, so we stopped them, gave them a cookie, and sent them on their way. We shared some cookies with the neighbors and quite the surprise was to be had when Liza climbed up on the neighbor lady's lap and we all discovered she had a nakey bum under that t-shirt. At this point, the girls were all eating their dinner, consisting of sugar cookies, carrots dipped in Ranch dressing, and Nerds - which the neighbor lady's husband was treating them to.

I let them play outside until it was dark. They rode their bikes up and down the sidewalks and added some chalk art, as well. They stole my phone away from me and talked to their Aunt Lisa - who just happens to be coming for a visit next month!

I brought them inside and completed the bedtime routine, right to the point where you'd read them a book and tuck them in bed. That's when Eric suggested we pack them in the car and take a drive until they all drifted off to sleep. Eric being spontaneous = win.

We loaded in the car and as soon as everyone was buckled, hunger struck. They whined like bleating lambs and soon, I looked up at Eric and in my best English accent, I quoted a line from 101 Dalmations and said, "I'm hungry mother, I really am!" When we asked the girls what they were hungry for, they said, "Taco Shell" and in that moment, I promised them that if we could find a place called Taco Shell, that I would buy the entire store for them and we could keep it forever.

We never did find a Taco Shell, but we did find a Taco Bell. And that Taco Bell had a pretty special, special. Twelve tacos for ten dollars. So Eric pulled up to the order screen. Do you suppose we can order soft shell and hard shell tacos? Ask her. We could. Any combination of our choice.

And that's when I started laughing. We knew we wanted 6 of each, but what's the fun of a late-night drive thru if you don't make things interesting?

Lovechops, tell her you want the 12 for $10 special.....
We want the 12 for $10 special......
And you want one soft, two hard, two soft, one hard........
(counting my fingers until I get to twelve and listening to Eric laugh so hard he couldn't speak)

We drove forward to the pickup window, only to be greeted with a headset-gal who was laughing like no other. I apologized for being hilarious and told her it was all my fault. Then I asked her for a free water. Because at Taco Bell, they make you pay for the water. And I felt that the laughter I provided was more than enough compensation for free water for a parched, lactating woman. She agreed.

Then they handed us our "Party Pack" - as if that's not the coolest name EVER - and we distributed tacos to each row of seats in our SUV and drove around until all tummies were full and the little smidgets were snoozing soundly.

It was the perfect end to an awesome day. Because being awesome is fun.

~~We are now eating pan sugar cookies for breakfast.~~

The end.

Welcome Stalkers

2011-06-29T01:05:00.000-06:00

When my husband dressed me for a week, my blog hit the radio live-wire and well, strangers, I'm pretty sure that's how most of you got here. With over 1,000 hits a day, it became a pretty fun thing. Until it wasn't fun anymore. My readers now consist of just about everyone from OldHighSchoolFrenemies to CreepyChildMolesterWhoLookedUpMyAddress. See what I mean?

Here I am. A normal woman, raising my hilarious family, still battling the judgement and criticism that comes from how I choose (and work HARD) to feed my children and where I chose to give birth to two of them.

It must be interesting to have a direct line into the life of someone who does things ~~not your way~~ a different way. But the strangers will be strangers.

I write to entertain my family and friends. The bonus is that on occasion, you'll get a brief snippet of a fantastic birth story (yep, they're about 90% hospital births), a funny story about boobies, and the infrequent standing upon an evidence-based research soap box. (My evidence-based claims will now come complete with live links to back them up, thanks to Infertile Filly, a NICU RN who reminded me of the importance of showing the proof in the claim! Thank you!) :-)

It would be fun if some of you decided not to be strangers, so here you go - it's NoShameInBeingABlogStalker Wednesday. Leave a comment. Tell me who you are and where you're from. Maybe even what you do. Let's be friends.

Three for Thursday: Round 4

2011-06-16T17:05:00.000-06:00

Dear Evelyn, I sure miss you a whole bunch. Come back and blog again soon!

Confession: I completely forgot it was Thursday until a couple of you linked up on my 3 for Th prompt post. Can you tell it's been one of those days?

Here goes nothin'......

Three things I accomplished this week:
1. I designed a chicken tractor and my husband built it.
2. I finished piecing together my family's outfits for our photo shoot with Kelly Stewart next week
3. I knocked out some running mileage training for the To Bone and Back relay

Three things I want to do this summer:
1. Host a girl-cousin camp for all the nieces on my husband's side of the family (sadly, *my* nieces are all far away)
2. Run a couple of 5K races with my husband
3. Go to Nebraska and stay a few days with my ~~2nd cousin once removed~~ cousin and her family and go to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha

Three colors used at my wedding:
1. Hot pink
2. Light pink
3. Iridescent white
.......and you thought the "blush and bashful" line on my blog header is a joke.

Three things I find repulsive:
1. Sour milk
2. Kitchen wash cloths - I *only* use disinfectant spray and paper towels on my kitchen table and counter tops. Wash cloths are for messy faces.
3. The stench of the flamingo habitat at the zoo

Three things I like most about my body:
1. My hair. It's awesome. That's why I like to grow it to hippie-lengths and donate it. Because sharing is awesome.
2. My eyes. When I have a cry-fest, my eye color changes to mint green.
3. That thus far, it has been able to do what God created it to do: Grow babies, birth babies, feed babies, and miraculously, still be attractive to my husband.

Three chores I make my husband do:
1. Water the lawn. No, he doesn't do it that way, sickos!
2. Car maintenance
3. Turn the garden soil for me

Three recipes:
1. Curried Quinoa with Chicken and Peas - I added fresh spinach (which wilts) and garbanzo beans at the very end
2. Recipe for a happy mommy: Bathe children and put them in jammies. Brush their teeth and hair. Read them a story. Sing them a song. Say prayers. Tuck them into bed. Children stay asleep for 12 to 13 hours.
3. Recipe for a grouchy neighbor: Show her your now-legal chickens and skip away happily.

Three favorite flavors of ice cream:
1. Chocolate cheesecake
2. Cake batter anything
3. Strawberry

Three animals I'd like to have (maybe not all at the same time):
1. A horse
2. An extremely mellow and lazy dog
3. A milk goat

Three pictures:

Notice what is "hidden" behind the car seat? Yup, someone snuck ice cream and hid it here when I walked into the room.

The missionaries stopped to play sidewalk chalk with the girls.

I went to a doula peer-review this weekend. L to R: Natalie Permann, Dana Kametz, Julie Buck, Natalie Sainsbury, me (Photo snapped by Angela Guerts who currently NEEDS some doula clients!)

Don't forget to link up for a chance at a fun gifty!

Three for Thursday Prompt

2011-06-15T23:59:00.000-06:00

Once again, I am substitute-hosting for Evelyn while she takes a blogging sabbatical. Without further ado, here is your Three for Thursday prompt.

1. Three things I accomplished this week
2. Three things I want to do this summer
3. Three colors used at my wedding
4. Three things I find repulsive
5. Three things I like most about my body
6. Three chores I make my husband do
7. Three recipes
8. Three favorite flavors of ice cream
9. Three animals I'd like to have (maybe not all at the same time)
10. Three pictures

Be sure to come back and link up! Have a wonderful day!

Getting My Way: The Chicken Version

2011-06-14T19:33:00.001-06:00

Once upon a springtime, my family took a little trip over to our local Mom & Pop hardware store and while we were there, we fell in love with the hundreds of little chickies they were selling. They were a darling, yet practical pet choice and soon, six little Rhode Island Reds had made their way home with us. They lived happily in a gigantic box in our garage, basking in the warmth of the heat lamp. One sun-shiny day, we decided to show one of the little chickies to our neighbor lady. She's a bird lover. So much so that at one time, she was raising and breeding hundreds of exotic birds in her basement. She loved them. Life was blissful.

Two days later, that bird-loving neighbor lady knocked on our front door to let us know that she, "Didn't want to be a bad neighbor, but she didn't like us having chickens!" In our town, chickens were a taboo subject. Lots of families had them, but not legally. Yep, we were breaking the law by having six little chickies in a box in our garage.

She let me know she'd reported us to the police, told us a horror story about a lady who had diseased chickens with mites and the mites ended up infesting their whole, entire brand new house, and then went on her merry way.

I believe if her knees would have let her, she would have skipped away from my doorstep. "I called the cops on you. Now I shall skip merrily." That's pretty much how it all happened.

I quickly put a plea on Facebook, asking if any of my country-livin' friends could harbor our chickens for a while. My cry for help was met by countless neighbors volunteering to take our little chickies until we could find a permanent home for them. I kindly declined, reminding them that the neighbor lady would be able to watch the harboring take place, simply by looking out her front window. Shortly, my former midwife, a country-livin' gal, said I could bring them her way. We packed up in the car and off we went, cowering to the merrily-skipping neighbor lady and avoiding the cops.

Because I'm sure those cops' number one priority that day was to confiscate six baby chicks from a box in a garage and put the owner - a mother with a nursing infant - in jail. Let me tell you though, when your neighbor says the cops are coming, all you can think is, "HOLY CRAP! Do they let you use breast pumps in jail?" I had this crazy vision of me standing at the jail bars, hooked to a pump on the other side of the cell bars, pumping my milk for my baby. I was angry at my neighbor, but knew her complaints would stand in court, as we really were breakin' the law, breakin' the law.

Fast forward to this spring and the happiness of the season. Why happiness? Because last fall, an ordinance was passed that allowed for our town's citizens to have 6 hens per property. I waited and waited, not wanting to visit what it would be like to take care of my four human chickies and a set of chickens and I almost ended up waiting too long. A little over a week ago, with the insight of my friend Anna (who has 10 hens out in the country and sings the song Single Ladies to them every day), we were able to snag a few special chicks - the last little flock in town. We bought four. Now there are three. We don't really know what happened to little Ruby, but one night, she cried and cheeped all night long and died an ever dramatic, long, carried-out death in the morning. It was rather depressing.

The other three chickies have been thriving and seem to have grown out of their habitat rather quickly.

They are buff orpingtons. They are very stuck-up, but surely, I will win them over soon.

Knowing that they needed more space, soon, I plopped down on the couch and sat next to my husband. In a dreamy kind of way, I told him all about the growth of the chickies and gently implied that it was now time to build them something special to live in. They needed a chicken tractor.

"Do you have plans?" he asked. "Yes!" I said. "Like actual - ON PAPER - plans?" "If you could just open up the top of my head, you'd see the picture right there!" "What size is this going to be?" "A couple feet tall."

He stacked his left foot right on top of his right foot and said, "There's two feet. About that high?" "My two feet or yours?" We laughed. And then I took a picture.

My feet on the left, Eric's on the right. KIDDING! But my toenail polish is fabulous.

The he sent me to get the tape measure. We needed a realistic definition of two feet.

He was closer. You know what they say about big feet.........

.........they require big shoes. "Draw out your plans." "You're going to laugh at me." Totally his plan. I suck at drawing. He is amused by that.

So draw those plans, I did. And he knows I suck at math. Then he made me do all the math to figure out exactly how much lumber we would need to get. Then I couldn't think of the word for an eye-screw, so I drew one (bottom right-ish of page) and then wrote that we'd need four of those, too.

There you have it, folks. My grand chicken tractor plans.

Off we went to the big orange Box Store. Did you know they will make your lumber cuts FOR you? Really, you can go home with a ready-to-assemble project! First we ~~played on the lumber carts~~ selected our lumber size.

When you're a kid, the best part about going to the orange Box Store is the lumber carts.

Next, Eric selected only the finest, straightest pieces of lumber.

I always laugh when he does this. But it makes sense.

Next, Eric took off towards the checkout.

"Wait a minute. We have to get it cut!" Man-ego defiled: "I will make the cuts at HOME!" "I will not leave the big orange Box Store without a ready-to-assemble project."

I won. This is adorable little Javier doin' his thang.

We grabbed some eye-screws and made our way to the checkout. Grand total? A little under seven bucks. Yup, I'm awesome like that!

My ~~slaves~~ smidgets: Liza carried the 2 ft-ers, Grace carried the 3 ft-ers, Rachel carried the 5 ft-ers.

When we got home, we Eric assembled my plans in less than an hour.

My plans begin.

The frame complete, minus a hinged-door that we will put on the back section.

Beginning to attach the chicken wire, which we already had on hand.

I just want to show you this picture because of Grace's hair. She had worn pigtails, both braided, but she took one side of the braids out. Once the pigtails were out, then she was left with one crimpy side and one straight side.

All we have left is the back section and the final application of chicken wire on the sides. This is going to make a lovely little habitat for the chickens as the tractor works its way around the yard and the chickies grow and begin to devour the grubs currently devouring our lawn.

Coming up next, a Chickie Meet-and-Greet. Start thinking of names for our three little dandies.

We Have A WINNER!

2011-06-13T17:00:00.003-06:00

Maybe this isn't as exciting as winning the title of Miss America, but when a stay-at-home mom gets a date night, it really is this emotionally exciting!

Thank you so much for participating in The House of Estrogen's first giveaway and special thanks to Kelly Stewart Photography for contributing the free photo session!

Each entry was put into a numbered spreadsheet by order of what date and time the comment (on my blog and Kelly's) or email was received. Then Random Number Generator was used to select a winner.

The winning number was number 11.

Number 11 entered in the spreadsheet was:

Nicole King

Congratulations to Nicole. You may remember her from this post when she wore her husband-chosen outfit incorrectly. Well, backwards or frontwards, there's much to celebrate today! I hope you really enjoy your dinner and movie date with your husband and have a great time at your photo session with Kelly!

Fan Mail

2011-06-10T00:57:00.000-06:00

All your emails have been so much fun. Thank you for sending me fan mail. Eventually, I am sure I will say something that really makes you mad and you will write me hate mail, but for now, I heart comments and emails. Thank you for making me feel famous.

Early, early, early this morning, I woke up with between three to five plugged milk ducts heading towards my right underarm. (I am lactating and pretty much have been for the last six-plus years, so if that freaks you out, read no further.) Yup, they hurt. Yup, I knew exactly what to do to get them emptied. (I'm a lactation counselor for the health department, remember?) But nope, none of it was working. By mid-afternoon, the body aches began and I was texting my husband in a desperate attempt to get him to come home from work and take care of the smidgets. Luckily, my mom walked in the door about 10 minutes later and took over. I was able to nap off and on for about two hours, but to no avail, the ducts were still clogged. I finally called an IBCLC and she suggested a few more things to unplug the ducts and get that milk out before it infected the entire breast.

Unfortunately, I things have gotten progressively worse as the night has gone on and by 9:30pm, it felt like the flu had completely invaded my body, minus the up-chucking and down-chucking (if you know what I mean) that accompanies the real flu. I finally took a whole handful of motrin and layered my body with sweat pants, a sweater, and fuzzy socks to try and fight off the awful chills. Ideally, when I lay my head down to sleep here shortly, I will be able to sleep 14+ hours without any disturbance. But living in The House of Estrogen, I might be lucky to make it an hour or so before someone needs me.

Having said all of this, I know I will be quite lucky if I can manage to even get out of bed tomorrow, so I will not be announcing the winner of the giveaway until Monday morning. Go ahead and keep passing on the information about the giveaway. The more, the merrier. And the less I have to type, the better. Did you know even moving your fingers can hurt when you have plugged ducts?

Enough about how I can't seem to get the milk out of a section of one of my breasts. Seriously. Who blogs about that kind of stuff anyway?

:scratching head:

Let's send you off for the weekend with a little bit of giveaway entry fun. Remember how I promised you five extra entries if you let your spouse choose your clothing? Hey - MY BIGGEST FANS SENT ME PHOTOS! So awesome, you guys!

Here is Tyler. He is sporting an ensemble picked out by his wife. Doesn't this university student and father-to-be look so pretty? Work that catwalk, dude!


You forgot to pop your knee in this pose.

Now here is Nicole. Her outfit(s) comes with quite the story. This is what she had to say:
So I have a slight disclaimer. Disclaimer = something funny happened. I am a dork. She really isn't. My husband set out the clothes for me and then left for work and I was a bit perplexed on how he wanted me to wear said outfit. It included a red collared shirt, a t-shirt that said London, a pair of beige corduroy pants and socks (underwear went without saying). You are a fortunate woman. So when I looked at the outfit I just assumed he wanted the red shirt under the t-shirt because that is how I have worn it before, just with a different red shirt. So I went all day like that. Well, when the hubby got home I was informed that the red shirt was to go over the t-shirt. Kudos for having a husband who, at the end of the day, actually remembered that he'd chosen your outfit. You should make him brownies. So I was wearing it wrong all day long. This challenge was really hard for me. I like to pick my clothes and so it was hard to go all day in something that I didn't pick for myself but I did it and I survived. Because of the mix up I included two pictures. One worn the wrong way and one worn the right way. I can't wait to see!

The outfit worn the wrong way. Doesn't she look awesome for having a baby only 4 weeks ago?

And that's the way, uh huh, uh huh, he likes it!

Special thanks to Tyler and Nicole for sharing photos of their partner-chosen outfits. You have each been awarded five additional entries. And special thanks to my friend Jessica who left a comment that read, "I like HOE!" (The acronym for House of Estrogen) How about a HOE blog button or blinkie? Anyone?

Do YOU want five additional entries? You now have the remainder of the weekend to get 'er done. I shall spend my time in bed, rotating between stuffing my bra with ice packs and hot packs. You shall spend the weekend lounging in your partner-chosen attire. Take a photo. Send it in! Enjoy being awesome!

Click here to enter the giveaway!

Three for Thursday: Round 3

2011-06-09T01:35:00.001-06:00

Three for Thursday is my favorite post of the week. If you're reading this, then it's obvious you agree. Because you're cool like that.

Have you entered my awesome giveaway yet? It ends tomorrow!

Anyway, without further ado.......

Three favorite items of clothing:
1. yoga pants
2. gaucho pants
3. my stash of scoop-neck Energie tees

Three things in my house that I wish were self-cleaning:
1. the laundry - oh heavens, that would be a dream
2. the toilets - What's worse? Little boys peeing on the floor or little girls scooting off the seat?
3. the floors

Three favorite summertime lunches:
1. popsicles - if you eat enough of them, you will eventually get filled up
2. turkey sandwiches with garden fresh tomatoes and spinach
3. watermelon

Three things my children say that they picked up from me:
1. "Ding it, gawsh!" - but they are really meaning to say, "Gosh dang it!"
2. "Not happening!"
3. "Shoes in the basket, coats in the closet!"

Three good movie recommendations:
1. Taking Chance - A soldier escorts the body of a fallen soldier home. It will change you forever.
2. The Business of Being Born - an expose on the birth system in America
3. Letters to Juliet - I would love to be one of Juliet's secretaries!

Three inexpensive date night ideas:
1. parking. seriously.
2. a challenging bike ride to an ice cream parlor
3. dollar theater and people-watching at the mall

Three favorite flowers:
1. tulips
2. gerber daisies - my wedding bouquet
3. pink roses

Three places I'd like to visit:
1. Washington D.C.
2. The Great Pyramids
3. Greece - mostly for the food, but also for the landscape

Three good habits that I practice:
1. Journaling my life through blogging it
2. Not buying junk food
3. Being open-minded

Three pictures:

When you can't find your smidgets on a Sunday afternoon, check the hood of a car parked in front of your house.

Somebody has figured out that there's a sweet baby to talk and smile to every time she looks in the mirror.

Motorcycle rides around the quiet streets of the neighborhood are a dream come true for these smidgets!

Be sure to link up for a chance at some Three for Thursday prize love!

And don't forget to get your entries done for the giveaway!

Three for Thursday Prompt

2011-06-08T11:48:00.000-06:00

I am happy to be hosting the Three for Thursday funsies while dear Evelyn takes a blogging break. I miss her already. :-(

1. Three favorite items of clothing
2. Three things in my house that I wish were self-cleaning
3. Three favorite summertime lunches
4. Three things my children say that they picked up from me
5. Three good movie recommendations
6. Three inexpensive date night ideas
7. Three favorite flowers
8. Three places I'd like to visit
9. Three good habits that I practice
10. Three pictures

I hope you enjoy your prompts. Be sure to check back tomorrow and link up! In the spirit of the number three, THREE of you will win a little prize!

Have you entered my giveaway? It's a HUGE prize package! Hurry, click here and get to it!

Soaking in Sunshine

2011-06-07T21:49:00.002-06:00

The thing about light is that as you sit in it, it has this ability to write things on your heart.

Think about it. Surely you remember absolutely everything about a time you sat in the moonlight in front of a campfire, or sitting in front of a beautifully lit tree on Christmas Eve as you open up your new pajamas, or the majestic flashes of color on the 4th of July.

For me, warm sunshine is magical.

This weekend was full of warm sunshine, gentle breezes, and the effervescence of lilac bushes and crab apple blossoms. The sunshine set the tone for how we would experience the entire weekend. It was one of those instances where something told me, "Remember this!" So remember, I will.

I will remember my husband insisting I rush out the back door and come stand next to him under the crab apple tree, its every blossom opened. When I reached him, he made be still and a huge grin swept across my face as I listened to the buzz of hundreds of bees. When I looked up into the tree, the bees were everywhere, happily doing the very thing they were created to do.

Eight days before the blossoms fully opened.

I will remember the squealing of the smidgets as they rushed out to the curb yelling, "Papa! Grammy!" when my parents dropped by for a visit.

Papa doing his famous, "La, la, laaaa" trying to get Her Royal Squishiness to say it back.

I will remember the mommy-glory of learning how to do a ring sling carry that gave Her Royal Squishiness adequate head support while keeping my hands free. Thank you Idaho Babywearers! Go to one of their meetings. Seriously.

There she slept for the latter half of Saturday afternoon. Nine months on the inside, nine months ON the outside.

I will remember watching a storm blow in, the wind whipping the tree branches and cooling my skin. And the way Her Royal Squishiness worked to taste the air with her tongue.

She's got Aunt Sandy's middle name, she's got Aunt Sandy's tongue as well.

I will remember the way my husband laid on the grass and let the smidgets climb all over him. And my suspicions were confirmed as I watched Eric smash kisses on Josie's cheeks. Those cheeks are simply irresistible.

The child's sweet smell is divine!

I will remember our friend Tracie stopping by, just because she could. She's one of those friends who appreciates the fact that the smidget on the left was still in her nightgown at 6 o'clock in the evening. What's the use in getting dressed for a Saturday of sunshine at home?

Want to sign her Recall Luna petition?

I will remember the sunshine of Sunday afternoon - it was sweltering in the most mild of ways. We went to my in-laws and I sat in the backyard under a tree and nursed the baby until she dozed off. She napped under the tree while I hosed off and wiped down the patio furniture for the first patio picnic of the season.

Warm and shaded. Mmmmmm.

I will remember insisting on knowing where my father-in-law was sitting for the meal. I always fill his cup to the very top. If he can pick it up and drink it down without spilling, then I know he is still young and I don't have to start worrying about him yet.

I love the laughter that follows his no-spill success.

I will remember heading back to that tree and sitting with my father-in-law and the smidgets as they poked him and told him stories.

I sat on the empty part of the blanket. You were all DYING to know that fact. I know, dear ones.

I will remember the practical-ness of my father-in-law's choice to put my mother-in-law's birthday candles on top of the pie boxes. You may end up accidentally lighting the pie box on fire, but you sure as heck won't get any candle wax on the pies.

Brilliant, if you ask me!

The treasured, comical birthday candles.

I will remember watching the smidgets pick armfuls of lilacs because they wanted to give their Grammy the most wonderful, beautiful flowers ever. The scent was wonderful and beautiful. The thousands of tiny flowers all over the dining room floor, not so much.


Wispy hair and rosy cheeks at the end of a beautiful weekend.

This weekend, we found joy while soaking in sunshine. And that sunshine wrote some beautiful memories on our hearts.

The next time you hear, "Remember this!" get out your camera.......and just be.

Have you entered the giveaway? Hurry! Click here!

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 7 - GRAND FINALE

2011-06-07T00:06:00.006-06:00

Here we are at the end of a week of husband-chosen outfits. When I initially took on the challenge, I figured my husband would deem the task impossible and I'd be off the hook in no time. Day after day, he proved himself capable and it became intriguing to see what he would pick.

If you're new to the blog, please check out days 1-6 of husband-chosen outfits:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6

This challenge brought many interesting discussions. Eric was disappointed that I showed such a lack of faith in his fashion abilities. I was surprised when he chose the ever-casual set of yoga pants and a cartooned t-shirt for me. Last week opened my eyes in more than one way. For some reason, I had this idea in my head that if I wasn't always striving to be the "trophy wife", I wasn't enough. When I shared that inner-struggle with Eric, he said, "Would you love me any more if I was all ripped and tan and had highlights in my hair?" "That would be gay," I replied. And it all seemed to click.

Outfits and farmer tans aside,

I am enough.

And he is enough.

We never set out to be Barbie and Ken. He has a fetish with playing church basketball and I have a fetish with growing miniature females. We are happy, healthy, and still, madly in love. He still loves me, even though I don't own a Bumpit and I still love him, even though he doesn't have highlights in his hair. The world told me to flush my positive body image down the toilet when stretchmarks began to crawl across my hips, but he called me beautiful and talked to the little one in my womb. He had the chance to put me in the most desirable attire of Stepford, but instead, he dressed me in play clothes and sent me to the park to play with our girls.

As a grand finale, I wanted to take the opportunity to select his outfit. Mr. Engineer Man is just weeks away from achieving his P.E. (professional engineer license) and I felt it was time for him to ditch his bridge-inspection t-shirts and jeans with holes in them and dress up for a business day in the office. He looks so pretty in purple.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the wife-chosen outfit of the day:

Such a 2nd grade boy pose.

Many-a-times our "pillow talk" ends up being so hilarious that we are smashing our faces into our pillows, trying to hush our laughter, as to not wake up the smidgets. This morning Eric out-did himself. He had me laughing so hard I was gasping for air.

He felt it necessary to replicate my "pose".


The results of living in The House of Estrogen.

The House of Estrogen has been absolutely thrilled with the response we've received from the community. From more than 1,000 hits in a 12-hour period to being out-and-about running errands and having people randomly ask, "Did your husband pick your outfit today?" the readers have certainly not disappointed. As a great, big thank you for following this series, we have a GRAND FINALE giveaway.

The Scoop:

How does this sound, oh fans of The House of Estrogen?

A photography session, dinner, and tickets to the movies!

We are joined by Kelly Stewart of Kelly Stewart Photography. She has contributed a mini-session with 10 images on a CD for a family, child, or newborn.

Not only that, but a $25 gift card to a restaurant in your area!

Topped off with two tickets to a movie theater near you!

Are you out of the area? Fear not! Dinner and a movie is on The House of Estrogen, wherever you may be. Just plan a trip to Eastern Idaho and have your photo session at your convenience! (Expiration date for the photo session will need to be discussed with Kelly)

How do you enter to win?

Here's where it gets fun! There are multiple ways to enter the giveaway. For each task you complete (numbered below), leave a comment and let us know what you did. The entries will be put on a spread sheet and we will use a random number generator to select the winner. The contest will end at 12am on Monday, June 13th. The winner will be announced by 5pm on Monday, June 13th.

Now it's time to get to work! You may enter this giveaway in these various forms:
1) Become a Follower of The House of Estrogen blog (for 1 entry)
2) Become a fan of The House of Estrogen on Facebook (for 1 entry)
3) Become a Follower of the Kelly Stewart Photography blog (for 1 entry)
4) Become a fan of Kelly Stewart Photography on Facebook (for 1 entry)
5) Post a status update about this giveaway on Facebook and tag both The House of Estrogen and Kelly Stewart Photography (for 1 entry, limit 2, please)
6) Grab Kelly's blog button and put it on your blog (for 1 entry, link us, please)

And as a final chance at snagging this fantastic prize package, earn five more entries by submitting a photo of you dressed in a husband-chosen ensemble, along with a brief description of the outfit to:

thehouseofestrogen(at)gmail(dot)com

Please note: if you are having issues posting comments on this blog, you may post your comment entries on Kelly's blog by clicking here. If either are not cooperating, please email your entries to the address above.

We would like to thank Kelly Stewart for contributing to this wonderful giveaway. Her work is breath-taking and because The House of Estrogen loves life's moments captured through images, we want to give you the chance to have your treasured life captured right now, in the moment.

Now, go-to. Get busy!

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 6

2011-06-05T23:35:00.000-06:00

Confession: I did not let my husband choose my clothing today. We had a lot going on. That is my excuse.

Here is what I wore - a purple Modbe shirt with a light teal Energie shirt layered over it. And a set of gray cargo shorts. They are currently the only pair of shorts in my wardrobe that button across the width of my hips. Because having four babies in five years is awesome like that.

My favorite part of Josie's body. Her neck. It always smells sweet and just *has* to be kissed all the time.

Are you ready for tomorrow's grand finale? I'm choosing an outfit for Eric. Somebody's going to look fancy-schmancy for work tomorrow!

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 5

2011-06-04T20:50:00.000-06:00

I must be honest, we took today off. It mostly had to do with the fact that my husband was in and out of the house more than four times before I was ready to get dressed this morning (basketball, Bountiful Baskets, recycling center, etc) and I couldn't catch him at the right time to pick out my outfit.

He did, however, earn himself a spot on tonight's post because he was responsible for choosing an outfit this evening for one of the smidgets. Pajamas.

Ladies and gentlemen, now you will understand why I was nervous about having him choose *my* outfits for a week.

See, I told you so.

Tomorrow brings the selection of church clothes and also, the last day of the challenge. (Saving day 7 for husband/wife afterthoughts and the grand finale of ME picking out clothes for HIM.)

As I sit here and write, the scent of our lilac bushes is drifting in through the windows. The crab apple tree, in full pink blossom, is still buzzing (literally) with hundreds of bees doing their happy little pollination thang. Yes, thang. The girls have been fed and bathed, snuggled in warm pajamas. There's a huge pile of pillows and blankets waiting at the front door. We're popping several bowls of popcorn and loading up in the car. It's Saturday night and we're off to the drive-in movies!

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 4

2011-06-03T23:30:00.000-06:00

I am really proud of my husband. He's done a great job dressing me this week. It's been fun to see him gain a bit of confidence and become a fashionisto when it comes to accessorizing. Today he set me up for exactly what today would bring - a couple of visits to the elementary school, housework and cooking, and several hours of in-home lactation visits.

As always, Katy in black, Eric in blue, Katy's afterthought responses in purple

today's outfit description: I decided to pick only what I could find in your dresser. And not being exactly sure where things are kept, I just started going through your drawers. Oooh, maybe I should let you put away my laundry one of these days. I know EXACTLY where everything is in your dresser drawers. I chose a pair of jeans today with a t-shirt the girls and I got for your birthday this year. You and your birthday shirt gifts - always shirts with glitter all over the front. It's a picture of a pencil and eraser. The pencil tells the eraser....."I don't need you, I'm perfect". Totally symbolic and mocking fun at our "Oh, you're a doula and you know it all", prenatal experience. The hammer hit the nail on the head. Kudos. It was finished with a pair of orange/pink/white flip flops, which we also got you for your b-day this year. :brownie points awarded: Oh, and of course there was underwear and nursing pads, as usual.

today's accessories description: I just chose a simple set of single rhinestone earrings, or fake diamonds or whatever they were. Sterling silver princess cut CZ posts your mom gave me at the beginning of the year. I have saved the sets of earrings I wore every time I've given birth to each of our girls, to give to them when they give birth for the first time. This is Her Royal Squishiness' set. It may sound cheesy, but I have a thing with sentimental sets of earrings because I believe they bring balance and strength.

Without further ado, here is today's husband-chosen outfit:

(Sorry for the poor photo - I was left to take it myself and had to use the camera timer and couldn't get it focused)

What was really surprising about this outfit was that I was able to button the capris without any issue whatsoever. Eric picked one of my near-regular-size pair and I was certain they wouldn't fit, but they DID! Thanks honey! I did need a jacket for the morning walks to the school, but it was perfect for afternoon playtime at the park and t-ball practice.

And because I am still responsible for overseeing clothing selections for four other smidgets, here's an example of my work today:

This is to make up for the lack of excitement and humor in my post. Her Royal Squishiness' cuteness is more than adequate compensation. C'mon, I could hear you say, "Awwwww!" all the way from here!

Coming up next week, a giveaway! And if you're wondering about all the items Her Royal Squishiness is wearing (I made the leg warmers) please visit Rockin' Cali Girls on Facebook. They cater to Rockin' Cali BOYS, too!

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 3

2011-06-03T00:07:00.000-06:00

Day three has come and gone already! I wish I could say I had the time to sit and be silly today, but I haven't. The day was jam-packed and I still didn't get to accomplish all the things I needed to do. So without further ado........

As always, Katy in black, Eric in blue, Katy's afterthought responses in purple

Dear Ralph,
um, I mean Tommy.
Lame.
I'm tryin'. Me so sleepy.

Wait, your name is Eric. Sorry, you're just getting all fashionista on me and I got a little confused for a minute.
Lame.
Not lame, but incorrect. I do believe the masculine form of the word would be fashionist-o.

The pressure was on this morning as you had to select an outfit for her to wear to the once-in-a-lifetime parenting milestone called kindergarten graduation. Were you feeling it?
No, I didn't feel the pressure selecting an outfit.
I disagree. You are just seasoned in being cool under pressure.

How did her emotions fare at this event?
She texted me and said she cried.
False. The text said she "was bawling the entire time!"

When she told you of the overwhelming stream of tears she shed, what was your initial reaction?

I texted her back "Baby".

And then you sent another text that said, "All I can think of is The Incredibles when he says, "It's not a graduation - it's moving from 3rd grade to 4th grade!" Touche.

Oh shoot, we're doing a wardrobe interview here. Sorry, I forgot.

So she had a elementary school event and a day of staff meetings at the office. What were her requests in the wardrobe selection today?
"I need to look 'put together', comfortable, not dressy like yesterday, and nursing friendly".
Is it breaking the rules by giving you those guidelines? Hmmmmmm.....

What did you end up choosing?
A pair of black capris, a tan tank top, a light blue shrug, (isn't that what they're called?), black shoes, a custom bead necklace from your blessing way with Eliza, and some earrings.
Shrug is in your vocabulary? Wow, Mr. Fashionisto!!!

What piece of clothing did you have to replace and why?
Had to switch out the first white tank top I picked because it was too short, and I figured that when I grabbed it.
Yeah, that's a pre-baby clothing item. Oops.

As we learned yesterday, accessories = hotness and you added the heat today. Tell us about the accessories you chose for her to wear today?
I picked a necklace that didn't really match at all, but has sentimental value, and then grabbed the first set of reasonable earings I saw.
I must share the history on the earrings. Drop rhinestone earrings. (He defined them as "reasonable"!) I wore them to Homecoming my junior year of high school. Oh.My.Gosh.

Do you realize you made her feel happy, stylish, and comfortable today?
No, but I know you wear those shoes often, so I figured I couldn't go wrong, plus they went with the black capris.
You are like Mr. Matchy-Matchy, dude!

Do you realize you made her feel skinny today?
No.
Well, in a way it was good, but in another way, it's just something to laugh at. Those are maternity pants. So the fact that they're finally getting a little loose is good, but considering the baby is nearing her 4th month on the outside, it borders the hanging-head-in-shame category.

Tomorrow brings no boundaries with what you get to choose. (But don't forget to take weather into account) Any ideas in the works?
Same as always, no.
I know, but I just had to ask anyway.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Come to bed.....PLEASE!

Please know there is a very real risk of me falling asleep while the photos are loading on the blog. If I do make it to bed, I will most likely be asleep before my head hits the pillow.

Ladies and gentlemen, a husband-chosen outfit I very well may have chosen for myself:

Finally going to pack these maternity capris away. Wahoo!

Apparently you cannot go to any kindergarten activity without mammarazzi in the background! Fortunately, I had stopped bawling by this point!

Eric made some great progress today and I'm really looking forward to what the morning will bring!

Three for Thursday: Round 2

2011-06-02T00:53:00.000-06:00

It's Three for Thursday again! If you'd like to participate and have a chance to win some fun prizes, head on over to Hanging by a Silver Lining and link up!

Three of my favorite Pandora.com stations:
1. Oh, sad way to start.
2. I have never been able to figure out Pandora.
3. Every time I've tried I've ended up with some seriously lame music.

Three lessons learned since I have graduated from high school:
1. No bachelor's degree in the world will ever prepare you for the realities of motherhood.
2. I have to put my shoes away when I get home. And the shoes of FOUR OTHER FEMALES!
3. Conquering a mountain of laundry is incredibly rewarding.

Three people I was remembering on Memorial Day:
1. Aunt Sandy
2. Eric's grandparents
3. Some doula client babies

Three favorite YouTube videos:
1. Jesus Take The Wii
2. Advice from a cartoon princess: Snow White
3. The Kid History Series, but mostly Episode 3

Three bad habits:
1. Realizing I've bitten my nails off when my subconscious mind is in great amounts of stress.
2. Blogging when I should be sleeping.
3. Watching The Bachelorette. (Much to my credit, I have not followed the current season)

Three foods I will NEVER put in my mouth:
1. caviar
2. cow tongue
3. mountain oysters

Three things that sounded like a good idea at the time:
1. Let's just say I had four babies in five years......
2. Taking the girls to get Sno Cones last summer - I ended up crunching the back bumper of my SUV :-(
3. Agreeing to run the To Bone and Back relay with my husband in a few weeks. So.freaking.stupid.

Three plans for Father’s Day 2011:
1. Bake rolls
2. Bake cookies
3. Tell my girls to ask their daddy if they can polish his toenails since it's a special day

Three things that make me a “mean mom” (aka a GOOD mom):
1. I don't let my children play with some of the neighbor kids.
2. I brush the tangles out of their hair.
3. I insist that Rachel wear a dress to church.

Three pictures:

Grace visiting with Scott and Annie

The smidgets

The May/June students of The Birth Day childbirth class, sans one couple.

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 2

2011-06-01T23:45:00.002-06:00

This morning began with a fun and exciting radio interview with Mike & Liza. Remember them? They're number one. Numero uno, with a cherry on top. And extra whip cream. We can't forget the whip cream. And drizzled with chocolate. No, let's make that sprinkles. In rainbow colors.

The interview was most excellen-tay until I made a breastfeeding joke. Then the crickets started chirping. So I dipped those crickets in chocolate, ate them, and finished out the interview with the very real prospect of tomorrow's husband-chosen ensemble.

Here's the interview from today:

As always, Katy in black, Eric in blue, Katy's afterthought responses in purple

Hello my sweet lover-bumpkin. Welcome to round 2 of "The game you never signed up to play".

You felt a little thrown under the bus by my poking fun at you yesterday. Please explain.
I'm not thrilled about doing this. It also bugs me that all the women making comments act like their husbands are incapable of picking out a decent outfit for their wife.
Not thrilled = anything that's not your idea. I'll be honest, one of my cousins was a bit worried you would dress me in basketball shorts and long socks because that's what she always sees you in.

I'm just sayin'.

So lack-of-enthusiasm aside, you're still married to the hottest woman in America, right?
Only when she dresses herself.
Correct. Hotness is defined by accessories. You forgot earrings and a necklace today.

Today's ensemble choice had to follow a dress code for her office job. Tell me about the contents of your dress-code briefing?
"It has to be appropriate for the Health Department, so not yoga pants and a t-shirt with a bunny on it. Something like dressier pants or a skirt."
Not THAT kind of bunny. Refer to yesterday's wardrobe photo for clarification.

Tell me about the clothing selections you made today.
I went to the closet and picked the first skirt I saw, then I went to your other closet and picked a top that matched, then I picked an undershirt/tank so you would be modest. And I didn't forget the underwear and nursing pads today.
Who cares about the nursing pads. Crap, now the whole world knows I have TWO closets of clothes.

How would you rate the ensemble in terms of "attractiveness to husband"?
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest......6
I suspect that number would have risen drastically had I gone sans tank top.

Do you ever wear skirts to work?
I have a secret stash of them at the office for the days that the secretary is gone and the other engineers ask if I'm going to wear a skirt (aka - be the secretary for the day).
:jaw dropping to the floor: I have no words.

Today you were bold and chose a high-heeled shoe. Shoot, now I'm not sure if those heels were for me or for him. Were you aware that she would have to stand for the duration of her time at the office?
I figured flip-flops were out, and the heels went nicely with the outfit. No, I was not aware that you would be standing.
I commend you for choosing my most comfortable pair of heels.

How do you feel about these shoes?
It depends on how much they cost.
Is this you giving me your blessing to go out and find another pair of heels on an even BETTER sale?

What did you remember to add to the ensemble today that you forgot yesterday?
Underwear and nursing pads.
:nodding head in recognition:

Pat yourself on the back. Those are important ones.
No thanks, my arms aren't long enough.
But those arms were still able to reach all the way around me, and then some, when I was 41 weeks pregnant, so they can't be all that short.

She's now at home for the rest of the day, doing the weekly deep-cleaning of the house. Might you make a wardrobe exception and let her trade the heels for a pair of flip flops?
I thought about setting out a second outfit for when you got home, but couldn't because I was holding a sleeping baby for almost 2 hours.
So you doom me to a day of being a Stepford wife, all in the name of cuddling a sleeping baby? I find that attractive.

Mike chose not to check the weather forecast and dressed Liza in a sweater today. She's roasting. What factors have contributed to your wardrobe selections?
The fact that it's June now and nobody wears sweaters..duh!
Dear Mike,
I love you, but......FAIL!
Love,
Katy

The morning brings kindergarten graduation and a long office day for your wife (but with casual dress being permitted). Any plans for an outfit that will not only make her stand out (in a good way) among a sea of PTO mothers, but will be cute and comfortable for a day of staff meetings?
No.
God speed, my love.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present today's husband-chosen outfit:

Red top with sequins (the one I reserve for the 4th of July), tank top for modesty, brown twirly skirt, nude pointy-toed high heels. I added the earrings because I simply will NOT go anywhere with naked ears. Because that's not modest.

Proof I caved halfway through the day. I may have the pearls, but I am not cut out for Stepford.

The slip. He forgot a slip. I was doomed to an afternoon of miserable static cling.

The review: I ran into a sweet friend early this morning and she instantly asked, "Did he pick your outfit today?" Seriously folks, how many of you are listening to Mike & Liza? The outfit was do-able for the office. Not so much for mothering four little ones and Deep-Clean-The-House Wednesday. Alas, my husband is proving himself capable of dressing me, even if I wouldn't choose the particular pairings of clothing items myself. My main issue with this skirt is all the gathering at the waist and so I am careful not to wear it with a long(er) shirt (like the one he selected today) as it makes my hips look significantly wider. All in all, I commend him.

And a special thanks to all of you who have visited The House of Estrogen in the last 24 hours. Earlier this evening, I surpassed 1,000 page hits on this blog. I only started authoring it just 10 days ago. Stick around for the duration of the challenge and I assure you, some fantastic giveaways are soon to come!

Now, hurry on over to Hanging By A Silver Lining for your Three for Thursday prompt.

The "Husband, Dress Your Wife" Challenge: Day 1

2011-05-31T16:50:00.000-06:00

We live in a really fun community and I like to think that a good majority of the community is very close-knit. Close-knit thanks to a team who works to constantly bring the community together. One of our local radio stations has a morning show, complete with the best hosts EVER! (For real, they're ranked #1 in the whole wide world. Just ask them.) Mike & Liza are our friends. Mostly just Liza, but we like Mike, too. Liza has this fettish with extremely fat babies and well, when *my* Liza was born, she was smitten and the rest is history.

This week, Mike & Liza issued a challenge and frankly, it was one I wasn't about to pass up. The women of the community were challenged to let their husbands pick out their outfits for a few days. Realizing that I am married to Eric, I understood the prospective ramifications of participating in this challenge. But also realizing that I could probably spin the dynamics of the experience into a series for my blog, I jumped aboard.

Eric will be participating in an interview each day. This is the interview for day one:

Katy in black, Eric in blue, Katy's afterthought responses in purple

Hello Eric! Thank you for participating in the "Husband, dress your wife for a week" challenge issued by Mike & Liza of Classy 97 KLCE.

1) Do you always do what your wife tells you to do?
No, only when it's important.
Note to self: Pretend that EVERYTHING is REALLY IMPORTANT from here on out.

2) When you agreed to this challenge, what were your initial thoughts about dressing your wife in whatever YOU wanted to?
Did I actually agree to anything? My initial thoughts were that it sounded stupid.
Stupid = anything that is not HIS idea.

3) What was the very first thing you picked out for her to wear today and why?
I picked out a lime green and hot pink "woo-woo" set that I bought for her several years ago.
Yes. Yes you did. You picked it out, bought it, and then picked it out again for me to wear today.

4) Given the fact that she couldn't wear the "woo-woo" to the grocery store, what did you finally end up picking out for her to wear that was appropriate for showing her face in public?
A pink t-shirt that says "I'm cute, let's put me in charge" that the girls and I got her for her birthday a couple years ago, and a pair of black gaucho pants, a bra, and some green slip on shoes, but no underwear cause she was sleeping and I didn't want to go back into the bedroom and wake her up.
They're yoga pants, but if you'd like me to have a pair of gaucho pants, I'm more than happy to make a trip to Target this evening and get a pair. And I'll be honest, when I put the shirt on, I exhaled as much as I possibly could so I could squeeze it on. Me thinks you forget I just had my fourth baby and that shirt fits into the 1-year-postpartum category.

5) Why did you choose these items?
Cause they were clean and out in the open.
Read: Katy didn't put her folded laundry away and the clothes were still sitting out on the couch. Apparently, they were begging to be worn.

6) Do they have any sort of significance to you or were they just the sexiest things you could possibly pick out?

No and no. See answer to question #3.

You said "woo-woo"!

7) Do you have a thing for hot pink and lime green?
No.
The underwear and overwear selections suggest otherwise.

8) Or do you just have a thing for your wife?

Maybe.

Interesting.

9) Was failing to add underwear to today's clothing set intentional or not?
No. See answer to question #4.
Valiant attempt to cover your hiney. I adore you.

10) Do you understand the ramifications of picking a shoe for Katy that wasn't a flip flop?
I don't care, and this isn't about Katy.
Wrong. My clothes, my body, my reputation. It's ALL about me, babe.

11) Any ideas in the works for tomorrow's wardrobe selection?

No.

Typical guy mindset. Way to be masculine.

As a side note to #9, underwear of choice was already set out!!! See question #3.

Fail.

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Post-Interview Discussion:

1) Do you realize both your mom and my mom read this blog?
No, I didn't know you were using these answers on your blog.
SURPRISE!!!!!!

2) With that knowledge in mind, do you wish to change any answers or change the wording of any of your answers?
I will let you decide.
BOOYA!!!!!

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Ladies and gentlemen, may I present today's husband-chosen outfit:

He only forgot one thing - my nursing pads. I will not be posting a photo of those results.

Halfway through the day, I realized Eric had dressed me in gardening clothes and I suspect it was in an attempt to get me to work outside clearing the weeds from the flower beds. Since my gardening clothes were clean, I decided they made good napping clothes and now I am off to take a nap.

And lastly, we had lunch at a little pizza shop with Eric today (if I was going out in public dressed to his liking, I was going to be SEEN in public with HIM!) and I took a little comparison shot of this photo from the fall of 2009.

Fall 2009

Spring 2011

The poor dude lives in a house where estrogen seeps from the walls. Pray for him.