BYOBb idea from 2:27........

...........a.m.

that's in the morning.
and BYOBb doesnt mean, 'bring your own beer, baby.'

i couldn't sleep last night. at all. for 2 reasons.

1 - im pregnant:
because every 29 seconds i shifted to a new, uncomfortable position
because babyleif was moving so much it was almost on the verge of frustrating, but not

and

2- scary ant visions:
because this past week we've been seeing an ant or two in our kitchen as we pass through.
just a teeny tiny one or two. nothing too major or scary.
BUT because i dont believe bugs should be in houses, or at least my house
and because ive been kitchen-clorox-spraying my counters and walls and everything in our kitchen and its still not helping....
......mr leif got some ant traps/poison/killer (wow, such evil words) from home depot yesterday and totally got all 'mr leif vs. ants'.
and so instead of sleeping, i kept having visions of a whole army of ants marching into our kitchen. devouring our bait like thanksgiving dinner, and then NOT dying or taking the poison back to their colony. but rather, hanging out in our kitchen ALL. NIGHT. LONG.........inviting more ants to their party..........and so yeah, my visions were gross/scary/ant-filled.

and so i couldnt sleep.

and then the bad thing happened. my mind began to wonder.
i dont know if its me being pregnant and half crazy
or
if its me being extra self conscious lately
but
regardless, i am wishing my mind would just calm down a bit.
and i am very critical of myself and how i think and process things......
i wish my ideas and dreams would slow up......
and i wish i would keep them to myself. but i dont.
and you should know that by now :)

so.
a quick preface, before i delve into BYOB.

..........in attaining my masters of school counseling degree, i've taken some parenting courses.
these classes aren't intended for me to attend 'as a parent trying to learn how to parent'
but rather, as a future facilitator of parenting groups (id rather call them mammas clubs)..........and of course to help the parents that think/want/desire me, the school counselor, to magically 'heal' their child during their course of elementary school. and please note, the sarcasm in that last sentence is purely due to the fact that TODAY is my LAST day of summer and i have to go up to school to prepare for tomorrow my FIRST day back to work. hehe :) but no really, its not all that bad, im craving a schedule.
so anyways
back to my degree.......
i L.O.V.E.D. learning about how to facilitate parenting groups.

i remember the first day of parenting class, i thought......."pshhhhhhhhhh, i won't run a parenting group until i've had a few kids that are at least in middle school, otherwise people won't believe what im saying, because i won't have any experience..........."

but i was quickly swayed from such thinking.
and felt empowered.
and of course, in true lindsey fashion..........i starting dreaming
and imagining
my first parenting group.

well.
last night, i really, like really starting wanting to make this happen.

and.........
i thought that once i would get this group up and running (preferably next fall) i would create a seperate blog/page for it........so of course it would need a title.
and at 2:whatever in the morning, a title instantly popped in my mind:
BYOBb
Bring Your Own BabyBaggage

now that its normal awake hours, 7:24 to be exact, im sort of trying to process the whole BYOB thing, but ya know..........i kinda like it! im sure i'll change it to something a bit more refined, but for now, its a bit catchy and a tad on the naughty/suspicious/moms might want to say "sorry, cant come to the pool today, i have BYOB at lindsey's" side.........eeeeeeeeeek!

let me set the stage.
picture this below, my living room, filled with moms.
and of course they would be holding a notebook, pen, cup of coffee........and idealy munching on coffee cake.
because at the core of a successful parenting group (mommas club) is the idea that mothers would come, bearing real struggles, sharing their hardships/concerns/questions..........and then in return receive advice from other moms going through the same thing, and i would offer insight as a third party, as to what/how/why the child is reacting........

i want the mommas to come, say and hear things like:
"omg. little benny is totally having tantrums in the middle of target too! so i.... "
and
"here's whats worked for me..."
and
"seriously? me too......... just yesterday i locked myself in the bathroom and put both the shower and sink on full blast, to eliminate the sound of screaming.......am im going crazy???"
and
"next time, you could try..."

and then i'll jump in and offer some sort of........
"wow, you're feeling defeated, your child is using this too...."

so.
you get the idea.
right?
i have a year to get this up and running.
(and most likely the idea will fizzle out)
but i hope not.

and as i was grabbing a pic for this post, i realized, i haven't shown mr leif's handywork from last spring (that is our new built in, corner entertainment center) shown on the left side of this photo below!
nicely done, ey?

k. thats all for now.

thanks for letting me document this idea.

and please, someone hold me to it!