The Buerglers

The idea came to me close to five years ago when the first of my girlfriends from college started having babies.  A few of them debated about cloth diapering.  I don't think any of them ended up going that route, but the seed was planted in my head. Time passed and I hadn't really thought about cloth diapers again until Eric and I began reading blog about the environment, green living, simple living, and parenting. Cloth diapers were a buzz in many arenas.  They can save thousands of dollars, and even more as you have more children to re-use them.  And save thousands of pounds of plastic/chemical waste in landfills.  The drawback? Extra laundry.  Extra laundry that demands eco friendly detergents, and air drying.  Hmmm. Not too difficult a choice for us. Despite all the pros, we wondered if *real* people actually use cloth diapers.  Ya know, people who work, people who travel, people whose kids have explosive diarrhea. That's when m...

"Shut up! The camera adds 10 pounds." "Oh. So how many cameras are actually on you?"  Maybe I shouldn't do these pictures late at night when I am congested and puffy ;-) How far along? 36 weeks How big is baby? Various reports on the Internet of 18-20 inches and 5-6 pounds, and gaining an ounce a day.  No official measurements at the midwife's office today.... just "great heartbeat" and "she feels good" Total weight gain: Right around 40 lbs total. Maternity Clothes? Several of my shirts are getting too short! We had a cold snap here in Atlanta so I bought a few long sleeved things at Target. And then in talking to some girlfriends they reminded me that I'll probably wear maternity clothes through the holidays, so I did buy a pair of black pants to get me through the winter. Stretch Marks? They're getting worse around my hips. Exercise: Getting super hard to do much other than short walks. Even my stretching ...

It's been so long since I've sat, just to sit. I quit my job at the lawn company at the end of September because I knew October would be crazy at the Church and getting ready for baby.  I am so thankful I had that foresight. In one week I will send 142 high schoolers to the mountains with 36 adults for a retreat that I planned and organized but will trust two other adults to execute without me. In three weeks I 177 10th graders will come before the Archbishop at two Masses to receive the indelible mark of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; a Mass that includes several visiting clergy, 15 Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, a full worship band, and a reception for all 800 after each Mass.  Yes, ten days before my due date.  No. Big. Deal. In the mean time I've had two more beautiful baby showers.  One thrown by my co-workers and one by my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. My co-workers were so generous in doing a brunch theme shower with lots of gluten-free ca...

I found this floating around the internet on a few blogs I occationally read.  Love this idea and thought it would be the perfect way to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. 10/10/09 was the big day.  We were married in the Catholic church where I work and we are actively involved in ministry. Attending : I think we were right around 200 guests Bridesmaids : We decided on a smaller wedding party that included just family.  All the ladies made couples with the guys. L-R:   Leeann (Eric's sister), Katie (my sister), Me (holla), Deirdre (my brother's then girlfriend / nephews mama), and Paige (my other brother's wife) Catering: The reception site we chose did their own catering and cake. The family owned two restaurants before owning/operating the reception venue.   Appetizers.  The cake. Cake fight. And then this happend. Dress: I walked in the store and immediately picked this off...