It's not you...it's me.

Last night, one of our best friends was hanging out at our house. We kept chuckling about how anytime we wondered something (my wondering: how old Salma Hayek is because she is smokin') we could just use our phones or our laptop. No waiting. No pondering. No tip-of-the-tongue frustration.

The internet is awesome. Actually awe-some though. Awe-inspiring.

I can get answers (or at least an opinion to put me at ease) when I have one of my weekly health concerns. The amount in copays alone that it's saved me...wow.

I have been able to figure out this huge food allergy thing...and help others on their journey.

And the girls I have met through the blogosphere/Twitterverse? Well, even though when I talk about them (oh, yes, I love them enough to talk about them IRL), I get that look. The "Ohhh, I didn't realize you have friends that live in your computer. Never saw that comin.' " And although I have only heard a handful of their voices through my phone, I feel more connected to some of them then to friends who I see, in person, regularly. I've met people who "get" me. Girls who are my friends. Not my blogfriends or my Twitter friends. Just my friends.

It's an awesome thing.

But? Sometimes the internet sucks. you. in. Or maybe it's just me. So it sucks. me. in. And I wanna know what my friends are up to. And I need to play in one of my 3095033 games of Words with Friends. And yes, I want to spit these words out onto a blog post before I forget them. And that drama going on around Twitter? Well, of course I want to get the dirt!

And because I am a working momma, my evenings are precious and short and frenzied. I'm trying to fit in time to read The Foot Book to G for the 7th time that day. Trying to give L my undivided attention so that he can tell me the new exciting story. Trying to fit in workouts. A conversation with B. Making lunches. Checking backpacks.

And that whole balance thing that I said I wanted to work on? Well, evidently it's a good goal, because I have not reached it. I am so unsteady that I don't know if I'll ever be able to juggle Twitter-mommyhood-SLP-exercise-marriage like some of my girls. These days are deliciously crazy, and I want to remember them that way.

So I've decided to just step back and breathe a little. I'm not throwing my computer out the window ... when you gotta blog, you gotta blog. I'll check in on Twitter but not feel the need to go a while back in the timeline to see what I missed. I know I've never been good at responding to comments, but I can't respond to all of them for the time being anyway.

I'm thinking all this time on the yoga mat - and, yes, a nudge from God - are giving me a craving for presence and balance and zen everywhere.

Which reminds me, I have a yoga love post rolling around in my head. I need to get on that. I kid, I kid. Well, kinda. Anyway.

Hopefully with this life shift, I'll get the chance to sing a few more rounds of "the Hot Dog Song" with G, or play Wii with L, or just sit on my couch and breathe. Or think of 29059 reasons why I love the internet.

Namaste'.

I get by with a little help from my Tweeps...

People like to warn about the horrors of social networking. I agree with a lot of them. There are lots of crazies out there. I'm fairly anonymous on my blog. Search hard enough (or ask around) and you can find out my kids' names. Look around a bit, and you can find out a roundabout place where I live. I don't have an exceptionally large following, so maybe that's why I am more lax. But I do know that there are dangers. 

That being said, I won't be deleting my social networking sites anytime soon (even though there are days I consider it).  Today was a reminder of why. 

On Sunday, someone gave poor L a piece of non-gluten-free bread. The story of how he got it isn't the point. It wasn't B or I who handed it over, but we've all slipped with his allergies. 

I digress.

Today is Wednesday and the third day that he's woken up, violently vomiting, followed by diarrhea. When it happened Sunday night into Monday morning, I expected it. When the cycle repeated itself very early Tuesday morning, I was concerned, but a call to the allergist confirmed that this second reaction phase was indeed normal. But when my L woke up this morning and vomited again (and again and again), mere hours after a dose of Benadryl, I was a bit panicky. 

I called the allergist's office to get a recording explaining that they were closed on Wednesday. Hours of bothering Dr. Google turned up a whole lot of nothing.  Exasperated, I turned to Dr. Twitter. As usual, Dr. T. did not disappoint. His friendly nurses completely turned my day around. 

I simply tweeted a request for anyone with gluten allergies to come forth and rescue me. And rescue me they did. A few of my Twitter besties retweeted my cry for help and did the legwork to hook me up with resources. Thanks to them, help came out of the woodwork. 

Another sweet friend emailed me the contact information for a clinical dietician at a local children's hospital, as well as encouraging thoughts on my parenting, that I desperately needed to hear. Although the woman she recommended couldn't give me specific help with L's present issue, she was full of information on necessary supplements for L due to his milk allergy, and suggestions for G's suspected milk allergy. 

I called L's pediatrician, who tried to convince me that L's sporadic vomiting was viral. Or simply acid reflux. My mama instinct was screaming but I managed to remain fairly respectful while I dug my heels in about this being allergy-related.

I became more and more aggravated, until I got a tweet from a woman who has Celiac Disease.  She put my mind at ease, explaining that it's unfortunately normal for L to still be vomiting; that the fact that all of his ahem-functions are normal between bouts of illness are a good sign; that the reason he throws up only late at night/early in the morning could be due to excess acid, and explained why.A few other women jumped in with valuable tidbits of information and encouragement.

In the meantime, someone responded to a post that I had published on a food allergy forum, continuing to give me answers and support. 

As I type this, L is napping peacefully. I am no longer choked up and tense, as I was this morning. Even though L hasn't eaten much today, I know he's hydrated and his response to the wheat he ate is normal. I have a plan of action for tonight to hopefully keep him more comfortable through the night. Without my social networking, I'd be the one sick to my stomach. 

I didn't link to everyone who helped me today because I was afraid I'd forget someone, and not everyone who helped has a blog to link. Plus, I know they did it out of the kindness of their heart, not for blog traffic. Hopefully they know just how grateful I am for their friendship right now. I love the fact that some of my online friends are my closest friends, and someday I'll figure out a way to hug them in person and buy them a beer.

Namaste.

Twitter: Social Networking Site or Virtual Counseling?

I joined Twitter a while back...and promptly fell a little in love with it.

At that time, I deleted my Myspace. I figured something had to go, considering I had three email accounts, a blog and a Facebook.

Yeah. I know. Sign me up for Social-Networking-Aholics-Anonymous. What can I say? I crave personal interactions. When I'm a SAHM in the summer or on maternity leave, I'd go bonkers without it.

I love me some Facebook. It's actually my home page and I admittedly spend too much time on it. I also adore my blog, and connecting with others through theirs.

But my sweet little Twitter has a special place in my heart.

I throw out a mommy question, a speech/language inquiry, a too-personal-for-the-internet pregnancy query, and almost always, I immediately get a response of some sort.

I can whine shamelessly about my lack of sleep and promptly get supportive ::hugs:: from my "tweeps." (For those of you who haven't discovered Twitter yet, that would be "Twitter peeps." Don't knock it.)

And I have met some really, really great girls, and a few guys, through Twitter. I can't believe I can honestly say that I have made real friends through Twitter, but honestly? I have. I couldn't live without them and their questions, advice, and funny tweets that make me laugh when I am sleep deprived and on the verge of tears, all written in 140 characters or less.

And if, God forbid, I was forced to choose, I am pretty sure I'd give up Facebook for Twitter. I just really hope I never have to actually make that choice. Ahem.

One girl I have met on Twitter through another mutual blog/Twitter friend is Jess, who I adore. She and I have a whole lot in common and her tweets are always extremely honest, like her blog. She has opened her own Etsy shop and you all need to go check it out and give her a little love. She's hosting a giveaway on her blog and I am dying for this print for Baby Gray's room.

And then go join Twitter if you haven't already, and look me up at namastebyday.