Whoah Boy! Now I know what they are doing with those weird metal things at the dining room table! My boy is growing up too quickly.And for those who think N and G look alive--here is N from one of her first times eating solid food.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Grub
Whoah Boy! Now I know what they are doing with those weird metal things at the dining room table! My boy is growing up too quickly.And for those who think N and G look alive--here is N from one of her first times eating solid food.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
An Open Letter to Baby Boy Clothes Designers
Dear Designers of Baby Boy Clothes--
I am the mother of a 6-month-old who weighs over 20 lbs making him wear size 12 month outfits. He cannot sit alone for very long and he doesn't have a neck yet. He cannot roll over very well and so you understand that crawling, standing and walking are many, many months away. He has no teeth and hasn't yet partaken of "real food."
He is a baby.
NOT A TINY LITTLE MAN.
As such, he SHOULDN'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WEAR BUTTON DOWN LINEN SHIRTS, PULLOVER SWEATER VESTS OR 3-PIECE SUITS.
He should be in cute little rompers with bottles and pacifiers and all things baby on them.
He doesn't surf, so please don't make so much goddamn surfing-related clothing. He doesn't yet play in the dirt constantly so can we avoid all the brown for awhile? It is not too feminine to have some cute rounded collars on shirts instead of fricking striped polos.
Not every boy who wears size 12 months is a toddler. Mine is a baby and I want him to look like a baby!
I am the mother of a 6-month-old who weighs over 20 lbs making him wear size 12 month outfits. He cannot sit alone for very long and he doesn't have a neck yet. He cannot roll over very well and so you understand that crawling, standing and walking are many, many months away. He has no teeth and hasn't yet partaken of "real food."
He is a baby.
NOT A TINY LITTLE MAN.
As such, he SHOULDN'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WEAR BUTTON DOWN LINEN SHIRTS, PULLOVER SWEATER VESTS OR 3-PIECE SUITS.
He should be in cute little rompers with bottles and pacifiers and all things baby on them.
He doesn't surf, so please don't make so much goddamn surfing-related clothing. He doesn't yet play in the dirt constantly so can we avoid all the brown for awhile? It is not too feminine to have some cute rounded collars on shirts instead of fricking striped polos.
Not every boy who wears size 12 months is a toddler. Mine is a baby and I want him to look like a baby!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Annual pap and pregnancy envy
Sitting in my ob/gyn's office on Monday, I was browsing through the pregnancy magazines because, DAMMIT, they didn't have any People or US Weekly. And I cannot just sit there and watch Rachael Ray blather on about whatever talk show hosts blather on about.
Anyway, I'm flipping pages in these magazines and yearning for another baby.
WHAT?
Did I forget my meds today?
Do I not have a 5-month-old who sleeps like crap?
Was I not nauseous and pukey for 15 weeks?
Did I not feel like a beached whale for the last 9 weeks?
But you know what? I can't help it. I feel what I feel. And when I look at G and he grabs my nose or laughs and smiles at me I want to experience a pregnancy one final time. And when N says, "Mommy, I forgot to give you your good morning hug," I want to do it one final time.
I know I'm addicted to chocolate, but I didn't realize addiction applies to babies too.
Anyway, I'm flipping pages in these magazines and yearning for another baby.
WHAT?
Did I forget my meds today?
Do I not have a 5-month-old who sleeps like crap?
Was I not nauseous and pukey for 15 weeks?
Did I not feel like a beached whale for the last 9 weeks?
But you know what? I can't help it. I feel what I feel. And when I look at G and he grabs my nose or laughs and smiles at me I want to experience a pregnancy one final time. And when N says, "Mommy, I forgot to give you your good morning hug," I want to do it one final time.
I know I'm addicted to chocolate, but I didn't realize addiction applies to babies too.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Our busy weekend
Mommy and N did some sledding and had so much fun we went home and got Daddy and G. Poor G, though, stayed in the car and sucked on his fingers while Mommy videotaped Daddy and N sailing over the powder.
After sledding, Mommy and N created a nice snow-person family. Fred, Miss Ann, Ashlyn and I can't remember what N called the last one. Check out Miss Ann's hooters!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Finding strengths and being a SAHM
So I read this book entitled, Now, Discover Your Strengths, which comes with an online test one can take to determine one's strengths.
Not surprisingly, my 5 strength themes are:
So the question I've been wondering is do my strengths mesh with being stay-at-home mom? The book is written for companies to ensure their employees are being as productive and happy as possible so it is a little challenging to apply this to my life in an altogether different organization.
I've also had to wonder whether these strengths applied to my role as a teacher.
Since the test didn't tell me how I ranked in my strengths #6-10 or #11-15, I don't know whether I had any strengths as a Developer (see the potential in others) or in terms of Empathy (sense others' emotions), which seem to me to be things you need in order to be a good SAHM or teacher.
But I think I was a good teacher and am a good mom, so rather than worrying about what I'm not, I'm gonna parse out how I use the 5 strengths listed above to be the good mom I think I am (and, believe me, this ain't a braggin' thing...simply an exercise so I don't stew forever that I picked the wrong "career").
Achiever -- I do like to get things done and accomplish certain things. I don't write down what I intend to accomplish because as soon as I write it down, it doesn't get done and then I feel like crap. So I just mentally note what I accomplish, and there are always certain things I want to accomplish every single day, like play with N for at least 20+ minutes while G is napping or get 1 type of housework chore done. And I do tend to have a high stamina, which is necessary, I think, for being a SAHM.
Communication -- I like to express myself and share and draw pictures with words, which hopefully makes it so N and G like to listen to what I have to say. I guess better this than being difficult to talk with.
Strategic -- I guess maybe this works best in terms of how I discipline...finding the best route (most of the time) for dealing with my children based on their personalities. I discard the paths that lead straight into resistance? And I guess it can apply to doing activities with the kids--knowing how to break things down in a way that is easy and enjoyable for a small child--when I do a project with N, I can break it down into small parts applicable to her development stage.
(As a teacher, I always thought one of my strengths was being able to take a lesson plan idea and develop activities that I could use with both my AP students and my special needs students-----activities that were smart and challenging but geared for their particular skills and needs)
Discipline -- I have routines and order in the house. Toys have a certain place in our home. The day has a certain routine. I am consistent. Kids need routines and consistency.
Woo -- I am approachable and funny, which makes me fun for the kids to be around.
There needs to be a category for "Entirely Too Much Inside One's Own Head" because I know I shouldn't be spending as much time as I am wondering whether I have the strengths to be a good SAHM.
I should probably look only at the statement I made to D today. When we got home from my MIL's house, I went to run some errands and was gone about 2 hours. Once I returned home, I took N sledding and then we built a snowpeople family (pictures to come in a couple days). When that was finished, I came in and cooked supper. D was in the dining room with G. I told D that I felt like I hadn't seen G all day and I felt guilty about it.
Guilt! About not spending 4 hours with my son when I see him every single day. And some of that 4 hours he was asleep. And, really, it wasn't even a full 4 hours because I did nurse him and get him down for a nap during that timeframe. But I felt a little sad that I hadn't spent more time with him.
That right there is enough to tell me I couldn't HANDLE being a working momma. The guilt would eat me alive. Damn, I'm such a softie.
Not surprisingly, my 5 strength themes are:
- Communication (like to write, talk, elaborate, etc)
- Achiever (inner drive to act, stamina to keep going, must accomplish something everyday)
- Strategic (think through clutter, asking what if questions)
- Discipline (routine-oriented, create structure, like precision)
- Woo (meet others easily, put people at ease)
So the question I've been wondering is do my strengths mesh with being stay-at-home mom? The book is written for companies to ensure their employees are being as productive and happy as possible so it is a little challenging to apply this to my life in an altogether different organization.
I've also had to wonder whether these strengths applied to my role as a teacher.
Since the test didn't tell me how I ranked in my strengths #6-10 or #11-15, I don't know whether I had any strengths as a Developer (see the potential in others) or in terms of Empathy (sense others' emotions), which seem to me to be things you need in order to be a good SAHM or teacher.
But I think I was a good teacher and am a good mom, so rather than worrying about what I'm not, I'm gonna parse out how I use the 5 strengths listed above to be the good mom I think I am (and, believe me, this ain't a braggin' thing...simply an exercise so I don't stew forever that I picked the wrong "career").
Achiever -- I do like to get things done and accomplish certain things. I don't write down what I intend to accomplish because as soon as I write it down, it doesn't get done and then I feel like crap. So I just mentally note what I accomplish, and there are always certain things I want to accomplish every single day, like play with N for at least 20+ minutes while G is napping or get 1 type of housework chore done. And I do tend to have a high stamina, which is necessary, I think, for being a SAHM.
Communication -- I like to express myself and share and draw pictures with words, which hopefully makes it so N and G like to listen to what I have to say. I guess better this than being difficult to talk with.
Strategic -- I guess maybe this works best in terms of how I discipline...finding the best route (most of the time) for dealing with my children based on their personalities. I discard the paths that lead straight into resistance? And I guess it can apply to doing activities with the kids--knowing how to break things down in a way that is easy and enjoyable for a small child--when I do a project with N, I can break it down into small parts applicable to her development stage.
(As a teacher, I always thought one of my strengths was being able to take a lesson plan idea and develop activities that I could use with both my AP students and my special needs students-----activities that were smart and challenging but geared for their particular skills and needs)
Discipline -- I have routines and order in the house. Toys have a certain place in our home. The day has a certain routine. I am consistent. Kids need routines and consistency.
Woo -- I am approachable and funny, which makes me fun for the kids to be around.
There needs to be a category for "Entirely Too Much Inside One's Own Head" because I know I shouldn't be spending as much time as I am wondering whether I have the strengths to be a good SAHM.
I should probably look only at the statement I made to D today. When we got home from my MIL's house, I went to run some errands and was gone about 2 hours. Once I returned home, I took N sledding and then we built a snowpeople family (pictures to come in a couple days). When that was finished, I came in and cooked supper. D was in the dining room with G. I told D that I felt like I hadn't seen G all day and I felt guilty about it.
Guilt! About not spending 4 hours with my son when I see him every single day. And some of that 4 hours he was asleep. And, really, it wasn't even a full 4 hours because I did nurse him and get him down for a nap during that timeframe. But I felt a little sad that I hadn't spent more time with him.
That right there is enough to tell me I couldn't HANDLE being a working momma. The guilt would eat me alive. Damn, I'm such a softie.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Latest milestones
Hubba Bubba, the 19.5 lb 5-month-old, can sit on his own. He can flip himself from his belly to his back. Of course, lugging his largesse back over is a work in progress.
He smiles all the time, sleeps like crap at night, and is just a great little dude (although he will never live down the shitty sleep habits).
4th Birthday
I am birthday'd out. 2 parties within 7 days--one with family and one with N's little friends. I don't go all out, but it still requires some planning and preparation.
I made the birthday cakes this year using my friend A's cake decorating supplies. Although I envisioned something wonderful, they looked like plain ole homely homemade cakes. I'm gonna take a cake decorating class before G's birthday in September.
In the past we always had a meal for our family, but I really splurged on her present-- a Disney Princess Barbie doll palace. I guess am trying to relive my childhood desire for the Barbie Dreamhouse through N. Anyway, given how much I spent on that, I figured a homemade cake, storebrand ice cream and a bowl of Doritoes was good enough. Plus, she had asked to have a friend party, so I had to factor in the costs of that too.
N wasn't feeling 100% on the 24th when we had the family party, but she was all over the friend party. I had a haircut scheduled at 11:30 so I started getting the table and crafts lined up around 9:30 (her friends were to arrive at 1:30). N got herself dressed in her favorite princess gown and asked, "Have my guests arrived?" about every 6 minutes.
She and her friends had a good time---no hitting, crying or tantrums---which is AMAZING for a group of six 3- and 4-year-olds.
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