the SPOTLIGHT is on...Skrimpy

[samstress]

kristen-

what are your favorite mdc forums? have your favorite forums changed since you joined mdc?

tell us how first bites and beyond and fearless birth came about (i'm quite interested in both of them)?

favorite warm beverage?

how did you meet your dh?

name a place to which you hope to travel one day.

i know you're planning a homebirth. were all your children born at home?

favorite pizza topping?

what was the last movie you saw that you absolutely loved?

what was the last movie you tried to watch that you just couldn't get through?

[kristenburgess]

Hey that's me, LOL! Ok, let me give it a go

what are your favorite mdc forums? have your favorite forums changed since you joined mdc? The DDC is definitely my favorite forum right now. But I would say that my favorite standing forums are the Special Needs forum and the Unassisted Birth forum. I'm not planning a UC really right now, but I have always loved reading them.

tell us how first bites and beyond and fearless birth came about (i'm quite interested in both of them)? I wrote First Bites because I wanted a guide to feeding baby that was everything I wanted in a baby feeding book I wanted to write a guide that centered on traditional foods for babies, and also one that didn't shy away from meats. My fourth baby, Galen, had a lot of feeding difficulties and I gained a whole new perspective on homemade baby food. I felt like my experiences with all four kids help me to have a balanced perspective on feeding babies and toddlers. I also have a newsletter I send via email weekly and the ladies that get my newsletter let me know all of the most important baby feeding questions they had - so I used my experience and their needs to create a solid guide to nourishing baby

Fearless Birth is a short workbook to help work through birth fears. I've had fears with each of my pregnancies (even after wonderful births) and I feel that letting go of fear is important - but I also think you can't just say "oh, I'll just get over that fear." Sometimes some work needs to be done to honor the fear before you can release it and go into birth with confidence. Fearless Birth birth gives exercises to go through so you can release those fears

favorite warm beverage? Oh, lets see... probably warm apple cider

how did you meet your dh? Lol, we met playing a game online... Final Fantasy XI (and I'm blushing now).

name a place to which you hope to travel one day. I very much want to take the kids to Japan

i know you're planning a homebirth. were all your children born at home? Yes, all of them were born at home! All of their birth stories are written out here - top four stories. I also read them all on the air for Kelli Stapleton's Birth Stories on Demand podcast!

favorite pizza topping? I love mushrooms - mushrooms and pepperoni are the greatest <3

what was the last movie you saw that you absolutely loved? hmm.. hubby has had us watching TV series on DVD lately. We did watch The Pursuit of Happyness the other night and I really enjoyed that one, even if it is a few years old

what was the last movie you tried to watch that you just couldn't get through? I'm finding myself getting a bit tired of DH's Babylon 5, Babylon 5 spinoff, and Babylon 5 movie marthon

[samstress]

[ladyelmo1]

I see that you have 4 kids what are their ages/genders? How do they all get along with each other?

Larger families seem to be dying out in modern society. Did you grow up in a large family? Did your dh? What drives you to want a large family?

How do you manage those times when the "herd" gets out of control? Banish them outside? Ear plugs? Duct tape?

What are your favorite parenting books/strategies for dealing with a larger brood?

[kristenburgess]

I see that you have 4 kids what are their ages/genders? How do they all get along with each other? I have a DD - she will be 9 in early December. I have DS1, 7; DS2, 5; and DS3, 2

I think they get along fairly well. They have their points of bickering like any siblings but I feel we work pretty hard on good family relationships so they do well together.

Larger families seem to be dying out in modern society. Did you grow up in a large family? Did your dh? What drives you to want a large family? I did not grow up in a large family - it was just my younger brother and me. DH has two sisters but grew up in an... interesting... family environment. His dad basically had a live-in mistress so it was his mom, his "stepmom," him, his two sisters, and five "step-siblings." DH was the oldest of that crew. It was weird for him, lol.

How do you manage those times when the "herd" gets out of control? Banish them outside? Ear plugs? Duct tape? I have often considered Duct tape... but my usual course of action is either A. send them outside, or B. have them sit on the couch with their hands in their laps and their mouths closed, hah. In general, though, I think they are well-behaved. They play outside a lot and I find as long as they get outside time, spend time with us, and we stick to the family routine, they do well.

What are your favorite parenting books/strategies for dealing with a larger brood? I liked the Duggar's book because she gave a lot of practical strategies for managing a large family. We do a lot differently (for instance we pretty much cook from scratch have have special diet considerations), but there was a lot of practical advice that helped.

We homeschool and my kids have always thrived with a fairly strong routine, so I have found the book Mangers of Their Homes to be useful for creating a workable daily routine (though I do not use most of the baby scheduling sections).

I would love to find some more books on large families - they're always very interesting and one can usually glean hints from them!

I spend the lion's share of my reading time reading pregnancy/birth/baby books and homeschooling books