So this is what "doing what you love" means...

Today as I was avoiding Facebook, I spent time training for my new position as an Instructor with the Signing Time Academy. The added benefit for me was that J-cakes is in toddler heaven. 17 repetitions of the Diaper Dance don't bother her a bit.





She spent the evening singing "Hi, hi it's nice to meet you" and all morning belting out "These are the kids I love" (she hasn't caught that it actually says "these are the pets I love"!) and she is super excited that we are all signing again.


As a middle child I worry that she gets sandwiched in, way too often. And making the decision to  work outside the home, even just part time, had me worried that would make her slice even thinner, but I am pleasantly surprised to rediscover my little blond beauty- an almost 3 year old with lots to share.


With the constant commentary and curious criticisms streaming from my 8 year old all day, I thought J-cakes was going to have to fight to get a word in. Not only does, she but her words are bright, funny, smart and charming. She has her sister to thank for her sparkling communication skills.


G-pie helped to teach her baby sign language, while she herself was learning to read using the reference book to look up signs. J-cakes is a living testimony to the studies that have shown an increased vocabulary in children who have signed as infants. 


Let's see... today is the 13th, so that means I have been Facebook free for 13 days. It doesn't feel so strange anymore. I don't feel disconnected. Honestly I feel more connected to my family and the path I am on.

Wasabi Nori Facebook Connection

OK so why is it, that at 9:32 on Wednesday night as I am faced with surmountable tasks (updating my new website to reflect the fact that I am now a certified Instructor with Signing Time Academy, returning e-mails and posting checks for homeschool events and activities, uploading those pictures from Disneyland, learning how to make t-shirts cooler with plastic bags...) I am suddenly struck with the desire to update my status to inform Facebook at large that I am eating and immensely enjoying Wasabi Nori that I got at Mother's Market.

You may be asking yourself, now why didn't barefootOCmama feel the need to tell us when she ate the string cheese and pretzels for dinner? What is so cool about Wasabi Nori that it warrants it's own status update? Obviously I "Like" the fact that I am eating Wasabi Nori, and think that my Friends will "Like" it too, and may even Comment on it...

Today my father asked my why I was off Facebook... for just a beat, I wasn't sure I knew the answer. Why not? Because Facebook is HUGE and we all just nonchalantly go about our lives commenting and liking... (a whole 'nother query of mine: has Facebook made us more positive as we try to shine and polish the bits of our life into entertainment for others?). But the truth is..

It is a bit of a gimmick. I want attention. I am stepping out into a new venture, it is something I am excited about. I want to tell the world. I wanted to do something different- everybody Facebooks about their new business, I wanted to anti-Facebook mine.

Do you know and love a baby or toddler who you want to communicate with? I can help.

www.learningbarefoot.com

Now it is not that I am anti-Faceboook. My new web interface seems a bit one sided, I have much less feedback in the blog-o-sphere, than I did with in the safe confines of my "Friends" over at Facebook. Today I even considered that only blogging is a bit narcissistic. I am curious what everyone is up to...

Just like I used to be in college, when I should have been in my dorm room or the library studying and I was off in the commons checking out what everyone else was up to. Makes me really want to go see that movie!

Wipe-out!

Oh that insipid Facebook!!

Like a true co-dependent, I am finding that I cannot truly be Facebook free! I went to a new site (JumpStart) for G-pie to play some math games on, and there was this long Registration Page, that would no doubt be auto-filled for me as I tabbed through the fields, but then- there at the bottom I saw a familiar blue button that said "Connect with Facebook". I did it.

Not actually breaking my own rule of logging in, just using Facebook to log in to another site. And that is how the justifications begin. It is so much better to surf the internet with Facebook.

Facebook is to the internet, as sex wax is to the long board.

But as a mother of three I just don't have the time for sex wax these days. I just want to paddle on out and hang ten! So I have been slipping & sliding around the internet since I have been (mostly) Facebook -free. One of my favorite new-ish developments is the multimedia content. I completed another lesson in my ASL class (www.signingonline.com) today. It amazes me that I can even take these classes on my Droid smart phone. So instead of checking Facebook from a park while waiting for G-pie at Ronni Rowland's writing class, I learned more ASL.

Another amazing and awesome thing about the internet is of course another fairly recent development: cloud computing. I personally love Google for pretty much everything (except pictures, Flickr is tried and true)- Docs, Mail, Calendar, maps. Everything I need can chill online, so I can get to it from anywhere. Totally tubular.

Google also has a very user friendly new toy- Google Sites, so I built a website. Wanna see it? www.learningbarefoot.com It was fun and easy, and soon everyone will be doing it. Toes on the noes, man, toes on the nose...

Almost 5 days Facebook free. All is well.

Just saw this...


And yesterday received this comment from a dear woman...


"You gotta do what you gotta do, Tiffany. I have considered dropping off the facebook universe many, many times. But each time, I come to the same conclusion: I need facebook like I need air. Like I need water. Like I need chocolate. I am not naturally social. For all of my pre-facebook adult life I struggled with depression and loneliness and a general feeling of disconnect from the world around me. I had no way to regularly keep up with my family who was scattered, literally, all over the planet. I didn't have any close friends because my kids kept me too busy for social visits, and I tallking on the phone makes me nervous. l would read friends' blogs, but even that left me unsatisfied. People tend to only blog the very interesting or impressive bits of their lives. I would view the photos of their perfect looking children and hear about their fabulous vacations and get even more depressed. Facebook has given me an insight into human nature that I never had before. Suddenly I was reading about real people dealing with the very same challenges I was on a daily basis. Their lives became less of a fantasy to me, and I started to really understand human nature in a new and exciting way. Yes, it can be a giant time-suck. But I find that the times when I am most desperately searching for someone to talk to are the times when I most need to reach out to people, not hide away like I used to. There are those who only present the best of themselves on here. It doesn't take long to see through it. But I find those people are even more fascinating to me, because every once in a while they let go of their perfectionist ways and post something that gives me a glimpse into all they have been trying to hide. They become more human to me, and make me realize that I'm not so different from them after all.
I'm not trying to dissuade you from giving up facebook. You know your needs and those of your family better than anyone else. But if you just can't do it, don't beat yourself up over it. Leaving facebook would be like moving away from a neighborhood where absolutely everyone knows your name. It's a hard thing to let of completely."


Facebook has certainly changed the social landscape, and we are all adjusting to relating to people as we never have before.


G-pie's team, oblivious to my Facebook strike, went on to lose their third game today. What a great bunch of girls- it is so amazing, to watch as my daughter grows through the seasons of her life. 


I am proud of her in so many ways. Today she contributed to an out with a fantastic throw from third to home. I reached for my phone to update Facebook and then just smiled and sat back- and watched as C-dough laughed, the wind tickling his baby hair, and J-cake twirled under a shady tree near by...


All is well.

Facebook withdrawals

Uh-oh, accidental login number 2 already- and this time I stared at the page for just a moment, Marc Petric is up to something... I thought well, I don't know how else to get a hold of moonmonkeymama so I'll just go to her page and post a quick excuse on the wall, Facebook is the only way I am connected to her...

NO!! Just not true, justifications!! Tempting me to read those reviews, notice the notes, flip through the photos, find them with foursquare (ooh can I still use foursquare during my hiatus? a question to ponder...)

Well, with just a moment of thought I realized her website, http://agnosticweddings.com/ would still be in my history. (I had visited it after seeing it on her Facebook Profile, score 1 point for Facebook: useful in providing interesting information on people we know casually). I can pull it up, find contact info and shoot off an e-mail...

OR, even better- if I am to use this hiatus to reconnect to human social skills as is my intent, I could just wait until Monday at the park and talk to her in person! But then she may not have time to fill the space I will be voiding... I will do both!

... and in taking a moment to think about communicating with a real, live, vibrant, whole person, I realize- I need to be totally, completely and with-no-regard-to-judgments-that-may-ensue - honest, about why I can't make it. Score 1 point for not using Facebook as a substitute for human interaction.

I have been Facebook free for less than 24 hours and I can't stop thinking about what I am missing!! 

But during that time I did enjoy creating a cool field journal from recycled materials, helping my daughter build a fairy house, walking up and down Del Mar- just for fun... (we did try San Clemente Smoothie Yogurt Boba and our Pineapple Coconut Smoothie with Boba was good, although a little pricey-if you play foursquare and want to add it to your to-do list, click below)...

I also sketched a picture of a tree with colored pencils, juiced and blended a delicious concoction for the family- and I even cleaned the juicer, as a matter of fact I have a clear counter and shiny sink, Fly Lady would be proud.

All is well. 

San Clemente Smoothie Yogurt Boba

Facebook on Hiatus

Hello my name is barefootOCmama and I am a Facebook-aholic.

This morning I have decided that I need a break from the constant updates, witty comments and endless sharing going on over there. Not so long ago- before my life revolved around logging in and keeping up with "friends", from lurkers to likers, frenemies and family- I used to enjoy just blogging. Finding a way with words to expose my feeling, express my thoughts and (sometimes) enlighten my readers.

But who were those readers, I wondered. Who are you? Facebook tells me- my own little form or market research, I can look up the demographics of my target audience over there. I can find out so much about you- check out your photos, what links do you share, are in you in relationship, how many friends do you have?

And don't even get me started on the mafia wars and farming chores..

Today I begin anew. I will not log in to Facebook again until after Halloween. I am taking the App off my Droid and I am stopping the SMS messages. What will I find to do, how much more time will I have? Will I stop comparing myself to others as much? How will I know what the people I care about are up to? I am most curious to find the answers to these and many others questions.

My last "like" went to a mom who has always put her children and family first- or so it seems from her status updates!! Facebook Free for 1 minute and counting... check back if you want to find out how it feels!!

BTW if you keep a blog, please let me know!