Did You Miss Me?

I've been gone from blogland for a few days. Several of you have asked if everything's OK. Everything is fine. Great, in fact.

It was an intentional hiatus. No power outage. No Blogger issues. Not even a long vacation where my Internet access was limited.

Just a self-imposed break.

What about my challenge to blog 365 days of the year, you ask? It's out the window. Because one of life's great lessons is that if something isn't working, you should change it.

I liked the challenge of blogging every day. Some days it made me stop and capture a story that I might not have bothered with otherwise. I liked the creative challenge of coming up with something.

But I don't think it made me a better blogger. In fact, I think the opposite was true. There got to be too many days when I posted something that was not as well written as I would have liked. Or I posted something other than what I really wanted to because I didn't have time to pull the photos together.

And more importantly, blogging every day didn't make me a better wife and mom. I won't blog when the kids are awake, so I have to squeeze it in a naptime or wait until after bedtime. By the time the chores are done it is late. By the time I write, it is even later. That leaves little time to spend with Jeff without being constantly interrupted by the kiddos. So when we go to bed, we often lay awake and talk for an hour. Less sleep does not make an energetic, enthusiastic mommy when the boys wake at 7 a.m.

Oh, and one other little thing: I've started working again. (Yay! More on that later.) I was fortunate enough to get a job doing strategic communications consulting on a part-time basis, mostly from home. I need to put some time and energy into that, too, and again, it has to happen in the evening or during naptime.

So, it is time for a change. A four-day hiatus was just the thing. Blog 365 is out the window and I'm moving on.

I'll probably still blog most days, because I really want to capture this time in our lives and because I do love to write. But I am giving myself permission to close the laptop and make a decent post a great one by finishing it tomorrow. I am putting my husband and my kids ahead of my blog

  

I'm trying to avoid becoming that guy we've all seen on vacation. You know, the one with his video camera glued to his eye the whole time. There's a difference between recording what's happening and being so absorbed in recording it that you forget to live it while you're there.

I intend to live every minute of this crazy, amazing life. And I intend to capture the stories and images, too, but when and how I want and in a way that works for me.

I hope you'll continue to join us for the journey.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Secure Your Blog Photos: A How-To

I can't believe I'm writing a post about how to do anything on a blog since I have all the technical ability of a blind monkey. But, after my last post mentioning that I disabled the right-click function on my blog, some of you have asked how I did it.

For those of you who couldn't give a hoot about blogs, HTML code and all things technical, you can quit reading now. Come back tomorrow for more of my usual fare.

Now to the technical stuff. First of all, I didn't do this by myself. I had some code and instructions from the Internet, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to work.

Enter Brad Murray, of http://www.4tunate-design.com/. Brad and his wife Jen have quadruplet boys. You can check them out at http://www.4tunate.net/. Just promise me you won't abandon my cuties for theirs! :-)

Anyway, Brad provided me with a little HTML code and the instructions on where to insert it in Blogger to disable the right-click function. I followed his directions and lookee there, it worked! Even I couldn't mess this up.

Here are the code and the instructions, courtesy of  Brad, who was kind enough to allow me to share them with you.

The instructions are for Blogger blogs only. The code would work on any blog, I'm sure, but the instructions might differ a little bit if you are using a different platform.

Instructions:
Go to the Layout tab on your blog. Click on "Add another gadget," then choose the HTML/Java Script gadget.

When the "Configure HTML/JavaScript" box opens, paste the code below in the content section. Don't title the gadget.

Then make sure to move the gadget to the very top of your blog so it will affect everything on the page. I couldn't get mine to move above the header, but I placed it right below, and it works on the whole page, including the header.

Here's the code, but listen carefully. Because I know NOTHING about code, I couldn't figure out how to get this to show up as text instead of functioning as code, so I removed two of these little dudes: <.

For this code to be complete and actually work, the first line needs to have a < at the very beginning, right before "script"). And the last line also needs to have a < at the very beginning, also right before "script." See, I told you I was illiterate when it came to this stuff.

Brad, if you're reading this and shaking your head, feel free to chime in with how I can fix this and make it easier for my readers. I may not be able to deal with this code stuff, but you need to fix a dangling participle, I'm your woman.

Code:

script language="JavaScript">
var message = "function disabled";
function rtclickcheck(keyp){ if (navigator.appName == "Netscape" && keyp.which == 3){ alert(message); return false; }
if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE") != -1 && event.button == 2) { alert(message); return false; } }
document.onmousedown = rtclickcheck;
/script>

And there you have it. I hope it works for you, because if it doesn't all I can offer is my sympathy.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

A Little Housekeeping

My astute readers may have noticed a few changes in ye olde blog the past few days.

First, there is now a good search tool at the top right of the page. I added that in response to my sister Mary's request that I index my recipes. Hmmm... not exactly sure how to do that, but adding a search was fast and easy. If you know the name of what you're looking for, type it in and you should find it. Otherwise, type in "recipe" (or any other search term) and you should get what you're looking for. I'll keep working on that index idea.

Second, all of my photos going forward will be marked with a copyright. I've heard horror stories from too many fellow bloggers about their photos being stolen, and one of the triplet moms I know has even been impersonated by someone, complete with stolen pics of her kids. So, from now on all my pictures will be marked. Unless of course, I forget, which brings me to my next housekeeping item.

Third, I have disabled the right-click function. That means that you can no longer right-click on photos and save them or print them. Sorry grandparents and doting aunties and uncles! If there's a photo you really want, shoot me an email and I will send it to you -- hard copy or electronic -- the choice is yours. It's the least I can do, since I unfortunately have to go all or nothing on protecting my copy and images.

Fourth, even though everyone should know that what I post here belongs to me, apparently it warrants repeating. So now every post will have an annoying little copyright statement at the bottom. It's not that I think all my material is stellar and worthy of copyright. It's just a reminder to the unscrupulous that it's mine, ALL MINE! (Sorry, I slipped into toddler mentality there. Occupational hazard.) Just try to think of the copyright statement as the after dinner mint that your host feels obligated to offer you, even though it will undoubtedly be stale and tasteless.

Fifth, all of the videos will now be hosted through YouTube. If you can't view them on my blog, click through to see if you can view them directly on YouTube.

Sixth...sixth...{crickets}...I got nothing. Nope, nothing. If there's something you would like to see here: functionality, more recipes, tips on triplets, products I love, a new header (Don't pressure me too much, I just changed it!), more stories from my illustious past (ha!), just let me know. I've got 337 posts to go this year, and I'd love to hear suggestions from you.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

New for the New Year

Today's the big day for starting diets, getting organized, exercising more and generally motivating ourselves to do the things we should probably work on day in and day out.

But, a new year is as good a time as any for a fresh start, and I've got a few plans for the blog that I'll be putting in place in the coming months. So, in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I'd like to share my plans with you.

I've got two main goals to start with:

First on my list is to give you guys a new photo to look at when you visit. I've had the photo of Amelia and the boys (age 6 weeks!) up far, far too long, I know. But I'm no expert at design and HTML, so it takes some real effort and time on my part to put something new together. And you have to admit it's a darn cute photo that says a lot!

My blogging time is pretty limited to start with, so I just haven't made design changes a priority. This year I plan to change out my header a little more often. You can bet it won't be monthly, but it will be more than once, I promise! (And no one ever breaks their New Year's resolutions, right?)

My second goal is in response to the Blog 365 challenge. Blog 365 challenges bloggers to post each and every day of 2010. I posted 259 times last year, so I've got some room for improvement there. But I could sure use your help with this one. If you've got questions for me or suggestions for blog posts, leave me a comment or send me an email. I'd LOVE to hear from you.

I am percolating a few other ideas that haven't quite become goals yet. Maybe I'll become a real grown-up blogger and do a giveaway or two. Maybe I'll get off my code-ignorant backside and add a little more functionality to the blog so you can search more easily for certain topics. Maybe I'll start a regular weekly feature for you to look forward to. Feel free to weigh in if you like any of those ideas. Perhaps you can motivate me to set some additional goals.

With four little people 3 and under in the house I prefer to make my goals challenging, but achievable. I know I have way more ideas than I can ever execute, so I'm starting with two goals and I'll go from there.

Help me achieve goal two to blog every day of the year by leaving me a comment with your ideas and suggestions for what you'd like to see here.

Here's to a great new year full of sharing our crazy life with all those who stop by this blog. I love having you along for the ride.

Christy

Check Out The New Look

Spent my allotted blogging time updating the new look, and now it's time for bed. You'll just have to make do with this little video of a triplet dance party until I get another chance to write some more.

Can we rock the house or what?

Check Out My Guest Post: Momnesia

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared as a guest post at Little Bites of Heaven, where Rachael blogs about life with a singleton and a set of triplets.

MOMNESIA

If you are pregnant or have ever been a mom, you've undoubtedly been plagued by momnesia.

C'mon, you left the house in your slippers, had a two-hour meeting with a colleague you work with every day and couldn't remember her name, headed out to the grocery store and ended up at daycare (after hours) instead. It's safe to admit it here. None of us will remember what you told us tomorrow anyway.

Friends warned me about mommy brain when I was pregnant. I listened politely and smiled, but silently laughed at the idea. I was organized. I was great with names. I had a mind for details. How could the appearance of one small being change all that?

Then I found myself six months pregnant and demanding that my husband find the car keys that he clearly did not put back where they belonged, because they were nowhere to be found...while I was holding the car keys in my hand. Oops. That's what happens when pregnancy hormones and momnesia collide. My husband, perhaps sensing a very real threat to his life if he laughed, simply handed me the other set and walked away. I was in the car before I realized what I had just done. I drove away thinking that no one in my mental state should be behind the wheel.

"That's OK," I assured myself. "It's just pregnancy hormones. It will go away once the baby comes." Right, and I'll still get to sleep as much as I want, too.Soon the baby arrived, and I entered the whirlwind of parenting.

Not enough sleep, new problems to solve every day, chaotic schedules (if any schedule!), and the mommy brain continued. I started signing checks with my maiden name and no longer knew my zip code. I could not remember the name of anything and was reduced to using sentences full of pronouns. Many a conversation with my husband went like this, "I talked with whatshisname about the thing." It was up to him to fill in the gaps, which he did admirably, again perhaps sensing that his survival depended on his interpretive skills.

When my daughter began to sleep through the night occasionally, I felt some of the fog begin to lift. Not enough to make me the organized, detail-oriented, conversant being I once was, but it was progress. So what did I do? Logically, I decided to have another child. And I got pregnant with triplets.

Somehow, I managed to come up with names for three children despite the fact that my brain was replaced completely with Swiss cheese during my pregnancy. Not that their names matter. Now that I'm parenting four children under the age of three and three of them are 7-month-old boys who are CRAWLING, I have given up any hope of ever getting their names right. Fortunately, they are all learning to respond to "Hey you," "Buddy," and "Little guy." I use those names so much that it's all their sister calls them, too.

I've decided that I have no choice but to embrace my momnesia and let others share the laugh. My neighbors certainly got a kick out of my latest bout of momnesia (http://trippin-lifewithtriplets.blogspot.com/2009/05/momnesia.html) when I forgot my daughter had "fixed" my hair and took the garbage to the curb with a perky little white bow smashed into the top of my head.

So join the fun ladies, and confess your best bout of momnesia. Your secret is safe with me. I’ll file it away right next to my zip code and the proper names of things. No one will ever find it there.