Are you feeling guilty for going camping with your family and letting your husband do nearly all of the work? Overcome with embarrassment when you checked into the pediatrician’s office and couldn’t remember your child’s birth date? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

I did not come up with the idea to go camping with our family (including a three week old). I didn’t ask (er, beg) my husband if we could go. Not me! I am way more rational than to desire sleeping in tents with all of our children, leaving the house a mere 4 hours after deciding we would go.

I did not shed actual tears when my tried and true breast pump breathed its last yesterday. Nope. Who gets that emotional over something like that? Not me!

I didn’t have such a late night on Saturday that I dozed off during church (Again!) on Sunday! How embarrassing that would have been. Good thing there is no way I did it!

And, finally, I didn’t become friends with one of the sweet nurses who took care of me last month when I was hospitalized with kidney trouble and end up inviting her over to our house for a photo shoot with her family yesterday. Not me! Nor did I, right in the middle of our shoot, look down and see an enormous frog in the grass and holler at the top of my lungs for Nuggey to come see it. Nope. I’m super professional and wouldn’t holler during a photoshoot in the first place. And I certainly wouldn’t do it at the top of my lungs or in order to point out a slimy green thing to our animal loving four year old.

I would never take a few shots of our delighted son and said frog before continuing on with my photoshoot without missing a beat. Nope. That is just not how I roll.

Not me!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun! Just click continue reading at the bottom of this post to learn more about how to get involved.

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling guilty for stepping over a banana peel on the floor instead of picking it up, hoping perhaps someone else will do it instead? Overcome with embarrassment when when you forgot to wear nursing pads and leaked through your shirt? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

I did not eat lunchmeat as a complete meal at least three times this past week.

After nursing MckFlurry in our bed one night, I did not have the desire to see if he thought it was good to the last drop. Sheer curiosity as to if there was any milk left after he finished did not get the best of me. I did not, in order to satisfy my desire to know, try to express breastmilk myself by hand. I did not have to hold in uproarious laughter when my attempts were a smashing success, sending a stream of milk literally to the other side of our bedroom.

I didn’t go to sleep with a smile on my face. A smile that didn’t grow even bigger when I woke the next morning and by the light of day could see my computer which had been in the line of fire, apparently.

Nope. Not me! I most certainly didn’t call my husband over to come look at it, crack up even more, photograph my computer and then put the pictures on the internet for all of you to see.

Absolutely not. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? I don’t know, but I can be certain that it would not be me!!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

To encourage you to bare your soul today, I’m offering a $40 gif certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs to one person who participates today, either by linking up up or sharing their Not Me! in the comments of this post if they don’t have a blog.

To learn more about how to participate in Not Me! Monday, just click on continue reading at the end of this post.

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling totally bad about letting your husband take your other kids to church while you slept in your cozy bed? Feeling guilty when you snagged a few of the Skittles that you told your children were only for those of them who stayed dry at night? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

This past week I did not beam with pride every time our little newborn had a bowel movement. Not me! I don’t get excited, and certainly not proud, about such a bodily function. It doesn’t make me smile, think about my milk supply and beam or satisfaction about MckFlurry’s full tummy. Not me!!

I also most certainly did not save MckFlurry’s biggest wet diaper to date, leaving it sit out so I could show it off to his daddy, who in turn “weighed” it in his hand and announced it to be of impressively considerable size. Not me and certainly not us!!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

To read about the Not Me! Monday rules or to find out where to go to grab the button, how to link up and what you need to do to participate, just click on continue reading at the end of this post!

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling totally embarrassed after nodding off a few times during church, due to newborn exhaustion and the presence of pain killing narcotics in your system? Feeling guilty when you ate your 4 year old son’s leftover birthday cake for a midnight snack? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

This past week I did not give birth to a 6 pound, 14 ounce newborn. I didn’t spend a few extra days in the hospital with him, only to come home and float away in a sea of happy tears after seeing our other children love on said newborn. I most certainly didn’t wear the shutter out on my camera, taking pictures of our children holding their new baby brother. And I most certainly didn’t go over the top with Small Fry, capturing her emotions during her very first time ever holding her newest brother. Not me! Nor did I get a giggle out of the fact that we still have our countdown to MckFlurry’s birth paper chain in the background of lots of these photos, since he came early and we didn’t get to rip off all the links!

I didn’t take so many pictures of Small Fry that I gave myself a headache trying to figure out which one to use for this post. Nope. And so I’m certainly not covering more ground today by posting some of my other favorite photographs of Small Fry with MckFlurry. Not me!!!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

To read about the Not Me! Monday rules or to find out where to go to grab the button, how to link up and what you need to do to participate, just click on continue reading at the end of this post!

To sweeten the pot today, I”m offering one of these turquoise blue newsboy caps from briar.claire that our newest big sister was sporting the other day:

The adorable caps are only $10 right now, and briar.claire is having a $1 hair clip sale, too! But for one “lucky” person who links up on today’s Not Me! Monday, a turquoise cap will be yours…free!!

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling guilty for letting your children engage in potentially risky behavior you know your neighbors would not approve of? Overcome with embarrassment when forgot to close your shades before you changed clothes? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

In our home, we have a rule that the main level is not the place for loud voices, toys strewn about or roughhousing. The rule is hard and fast and I never, ever make exceptions. I certainly did not make one yesterday before we left for our Fourth of July festivities by allowing Nuggey to jump off the arm of our couch.

Repeatedly. Nope. Not me!

We avoid potentially unsafe behavior of all types in our family, choosing always to be “better safe than sorry.”

This includes allowing our boys to rough and tumble and jump the way they want. I don’t stand for that, especially in our living room.

Not me!

And even if for some unknown reason, I did allow our children to explore their world and their bodies in such unsafe ways, I certainly wouldn’t risk getting the Worst Mother of the Year award by photographing the escapades and posting said photograph to my public blog! Not me.

Nope. I learned my lesson after posting these picnic table jumping photographs and I’ll never again stick my neck out there to be criticized in the comments of my own blog by other mothers who think they know better how to raise my children. Not me! I just can’t handle that kind of criticism.

Nope. I never post dramatic things to my blog partly for interest’s sake, either, nor would I link back to previous blog drama like the one above or the infamous wet trampoline pictures. I am a meek, mild and timid person who would never do such a thing. And our children, in their own ways, are clearly following in my footsteps. Those meek, mild, timid things.

Even if my husband and I did sometimes allow our living room to be converted some nights into a WWF arena or some days into a track and field stadium, complete with the long jump and high jump, we certainly wouldn’t make any excuses for that kind of reckless behavior on our part.

Nope.

We’d never actually believe that part of the reason we haven’t had any serious injuries or broken bones (yet!) in our family is that we do allow our boys to explore their physical capabilities to their comfort level. Nope. We certainly don’t think that by letting kids be kids, they actually learn to nail safe landings, catch themselves when they fall and keep their own bodies relatively safe. Not us!

No risk of broken bone, skinned knee or wounded pride is enough for us to take the chance. I love my children too much to let them sometimes jump off couches under my supervision. I’d never let them do that.

After all, if I let Nuggey do it, I just might be setting his little brother up to follow in his footsteps.

And I’m most definitely not ready for another generation of crazy boy jumpers in my house.

Not me!!!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

Anyone is welcome to write a Not Me! Monday on their blog. To learn more about how to participate, just click on continue reading at the end of this post.

Happy Not Me!-ing.

(There is a prize at stake for participating today!)

Are you feeling guilty for blogging about bodily functions and grossing out some of your readers? Overcome with embarrassment when your daughter lay down in the shallow end of the pool, in her dress, as you were leaving from your other children’s swimming lessons? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

This past week, I definitely didn’t record a voice memo on my phone to help me remember something for later, and then end the memo with, “Okay, see ya later.” Not me!

Nor did I go to soak some laundry in the sink next to our washing machine, forget to turn the water off and then promptly leave the house! Never. I didn’t get a call about an hour later from my husband who had been alerted to the flood after it was leaking into the ceiling of Nuggey’s bedroom downstairs. Not me!

This past week, I also didn’t blog about squirting breastmilk. I mean, sure lots of mothers can secretly relate, but who admits to that on their public blog!? Certainly not me!!!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

Anyone is welcome to write a Not Me! Monday on their blog. To learn more, just hit continue reading at the end of this post.

Oh, and this week there is a huge prize package for one of you who participates!! I have a big box full of natural children’s supplies. Awesome homeopathic cough syrup, all natural cold and allergy relief, pure eye drops and lots more. I’ll pick one person who participates in Not Me! Monday today and send them the box of the great products.

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling guilty for asking your husband to complete something from your Honey-Do list on Father’s Day? Overcome with embarrassment when your young daughter leaks your unborn son’s name, which you are trying to keep secret, to a group of friends? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

My family and I didn’t take a completely impromptu road trip, spanning four different states, this past weekend. Not us! We are structured and organized and always pre-plan everything. At literally a moment’s notice, we certainly didn’t hop in the car to go help meet a need, swinging by some friends’ place a few states away while we were already out. Not us!!

I didn’t do multiples days of my daily financial study homework yesterday in the car during the hours before our small group met. Nope, not me! I certainly never procrastinate.

And I certainly didn’t take Miss Small Fry into a field near our home yesterday for a Father’s Day photoshoot.

Not me!

I’d never ask our two year old to trudge through tall grass with bare legs while listening to her tell me how itchy and scratchy it was.

And I certainly didn’t respond with, “Well, beauty is pain, Darlin’.”

I certainly did nothing of the sort, all for the sake of photos for Daddy of his only daughter.

Not me!

And when bugs flew in Miss Small Fry’s eyes, I didn’t press on with the photoshoot, asking her to try sitting in the grass.

Not me!

But even if I would have, I certainly wouldn’t have done something even more daring. Since Small Fry was having a good time with our shoot, I didn’t decide to move things…

… to the middle of our long, country road.

I mean, seriously. Who would do that!? Not me!

Under our close supervision, our children never participate in out-of-the-box, risky behavior. We walk the straight and narrow…

…and we teach our children to do the same. So, I don’t know who had this photoshoot with Small Fry yesterday, but it certainly was not me!!

What about you? What have you not been up to lately?

Link up your post now! To read more about the Not Me! Monday rules, just click on the Not Me! Monday button in my lower left sidebar, or just right here. There you’ll be able to get some fool-proof ways to publish your own Not Me! Monday post, as well as learn how to link back to my blog if you don’t already know how.

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling guilty for forgetting for two weeks in a row to take the garbage to the curb, causing your garage to look like the city dump? Overcome with embarrassment when carried on singing, loudly, at church during what was supposed to be a pause in the worship song? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

Sure it’s summer, but there is no way our children hang around shirtless half the time.

And I’m certainly not avoiding writing a true Not Me! Monday post today,

and instead just sharing photographs of my children.

Children eating nut butter wedges.

Nope. Not me!

I’d never use this excuse to share about the yummy nut butter I love to make.

And that our children love to eat.

It’s simply not something I would to.

But if it was,

and I really shared photographs of our shirtless children eating whole wheat tortillas smeared with

chunky nut butter,

then I certainly wouldn’t be so self promoting as to tell you that

my recipe for this yummy stuff is right here.

Not me!!

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

To learn more about participating, just click on continue reading at the bottom of this post.

Happy Not Me!-ing.

Are you feeling guilty for going camping with your family, but then coming home at bedtime to sleep with your own pillow? Overcome with embarrassment when you tripped and nearly fell in front of a group of people in a parking lot? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I’ll start!

This week, there is no way I got into someone else’s car at Target, thinking it was my own, and then spent 30 minutes inside of it, frantically trying to understand why it wouldn’t start. Not me! I didn’t Tweet you all for help and start paging through the manual before the owner of the car finally walked up and shouted, “What are you doing!?” Nope. Not me! I would have realized much, much earlier that that was not our car and wouldn’t have embarrassed myself so fully.

So what do you say? Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun!

Anyone is welcome to write a Not Me! Monday on their blog. Just link up now, or hit “continue reading” at the bottom of this post for more details about how to participate!

Happy Not Me!-ing.

It is quite refreshing for me to admit that I am not super mom, while still hiding a little bit behind the guise of Not Me! I hope you’ll consider joining in this week yourself. It’s great fun and there are even prizes at stake today!! The first person to link to Mr. Linky today [...]