Do the right-for-you thing

I have an embarrassing amount of mother/baby/parenting/breastfeeding/potty training/anything to do with raising a child book in my personal library. The first thing I did after finding out I was pregnant was go to Borders and purchase the books I would then read into the wee hours for the next 9 months. After 3 pregnancies I still found myself reading every chapter of "What to expect when your expecting" to now only come to the conclusion that not much happens in a pregnancy that you have any control over, and alot of the times things happen that aren't in the books at all. If I'm not reading up on every little boo-boo, milestone, or some issue my kids are going through I'm googling it. I recently googled "my 2 year old wakes up screaming from his nap" which Finley had been doing for several weeks. All the google responses I got pointed to autism (panic)! 3 days later he no longer woke up screaming from his naps (sigh of relief). After all the reading and googling I've done I could qualify as a human encyclopedia on children from 0-2 years. With the birth of Harper came the birth of my adjusted way of parenting:following my gut and doing what's right for me. This method has come to my attention mostly out of necessity. For instance, Finley wanted to start using the big boy potty a few weeks after Harper was born. This required me to abandon Harper to his pack-and-play,bouncy seat, or swing several times a day to help Finley and his potty needs(Finley was NEVER left alone in any sort of baby container for any length of time, I once peed while he was alseep on me). During these times Harper may have been nursing or sleepy and it would make him cry when he was set down. After a few times Harper eventually got use to this and would put him self to sleep and take his nap appropriately, in his crib alone (not nursing or rocking on me the entire time as Finley did). This has resulted in my 7 week old baby falling asleep on his own for his nap and is sleeping through the night (Finley slept through the night maybe by 7 months). By trusting my gut that Harper was safe in his crib and didn't need me to help him take his nap he is a much healthier sleeper. We are both happier for this. With all the endless reading comes an endless barrage of conflicting advice,then I have too sort through it all and puzzle it together in a sleep-deprived hormonal stupor and in the meantime my common sense (if you keep nursing, rocking and patting a baby he wont sleep soundly-would you?) has fallen by the wayside. Yes, I will admit Harper shed some tears through this and nothing is more excruciating than hearing a baby cry. My gut reminded me-he is not alone, he is not scared, he is not hungry, he is not in pain. Finley being my first child I was afraid of not doing everything just right and if he cried that was a sign of my failure-I always felt like I was failing. Now that I have consciously set the idea of perfectionism and (some) of the books aside, the answers have become clearer-sleeping babies need to stay sleeping (even if still in a car seat) and hungry babies need to eat (probably not for an hour though). My goal now has been to stay somewhere in between neglect and paranoia and to realise there is a maternal legacy we all encompass. I doubt my great grandmother read "What to Expect When Your Expecting"
Disclaimer: In no way is my new approach to parenting guilt-free (but is there really one?)

Shape Up Shoes - the Most Convenient Way to Shape Up!

Shape Up Shoes - the Most Convenient Way to Shape Up!

This made me laugh! I saw this ad in a mom magazine and in big bold letters it said "For the Busy Mom! Need extra help getting to that pre-baby weight?" Watch out if you see this fashionista walking down the street in these ridiculous pound shedding shoes!

Rock Beetles

Here are pictures of Finley's Earth Day Rock Beetles. Its hard to find fun and cute projects for my almost 2 year old to do and this is now on the top of my list. Family and friends you may be getting alot of painted rocks for the holidays this year! Finley collected smooth round bug shaped rocks along a rivers edge. We took them home and painted them all sorts of colors with acrylic paints. (I was really nervous to use acrylic paints for fear Finley and I would be forever rainbow colored but I purchased a brand called Apple Barrel and they washed off better than our Crayola washable paints!) Once they were dry I took black acrylic paint to create the accents-the head, wings, and spots. Once that was dry I sprayed them with two coats of clear acrylic sealer. Once the sealer was dry I hot glued on googly eyes. All of these inexpensive supplies can easily be found at any local store that sells art supplies (Gotta love Wal-Mart!)
Finley had so much fun with this project, I would definitely do it again. I was even thinking this would be a fun, yet messy, birthday party project for kids to do and take home as favors.

So Proud of Finley

We went swimming today at the pool and he loves his new Speedo bathing suit that’s all equipt with the flotation devices and his new arm floaties. Today is the 2nd time he has been a solo swimmer and he loves it! So the last 10 minutes I wanted to take off his arm floats so he could practice without them, which causes him to sink down to his mouth level requiring him to swim more. He did great, then I asked if he wanted to go under the water and he said yes so I dunked him under! He loved it, and let me do it about 4 times. He swallowed a lot of water so we need to work on that but I was so proud because he wasn't afraid. We swam for over an hour he had a blast…much more fun than me holding him the whole time. He is becoming Mr. Independent…(Oh, I was very proud of Harper too, he slept the entire time and gave me the gift of a great morning swimming!)

The many shades of GREEN

Since I was a young child Earth Day has been one of my favorite days of the year. I remember when I was really young, I'm guessing kindergarten age, my mom and I went to a local event for Earth Day. I can barely remember all the details but I remember we got our first canvas reusable tote bag-it had the earth pictured on it. I was hooked, I officially felt a high off celebrating and taking care of the earth. I felt at the ripe age of 4 that I had a responsiblity to do something. Growing up I was the earth moderator in our household. Educating my family on things that would help "Save Our Planet". I would always be on everyones case about just doing our part.I'm sure I was annoying at times but my mom was always so good about encouraging me. Now I'm proud to say that alot of my hard work and nagging has paid off...my family members are definitely making an effort to "Go Green". It's a bit comical now as we have assigned ourselves shades of green to rank our earth-friendly-greenness. My sister I believe said she is sage green where I am more moss green (though I did just trade my Prius hybrid in for a Highlander-eek that may have changed my green shade a bit!). I also enjoy seeing my mom tote her life around (be it lunch, groceries, or magazines) in her reusable tote bags. All that matters to me is now that we are all trying to get to some shade of green. Now that I am a mother my stewardship for the planet has changed, I now have to pass the tree branch onto my two sons and hope they can do even better than I have.We have celebrated earth day today by visiting a nearby river and waterfall. While Harper slept snugly in the baby Bjorn Finley navigated over the rocks to explore every nook and hole. He spent the morning there by the rivers edge throwing sticks ("boats") into the water and making huge splashes with rocks...he was certainly in is element. We then collected smooth rocks for our earth day project. Now my little earth boy's are taking their naps to rest up for our "Trash Clean-Up Walk". I'm proud to be able to give Finley and Harper the opportunity to explore their beautiful planet and learn to love and take care of it as I have growing up. Its up to our children now to make a real difference. Be it big or small sage or moss green. Happy Earth Day everyone.

Ahhh to be a kid again

I captured Finley's expression with my camera as a butterfly was flying past him. I don't think there are words to describe how he felt...you can just see it in his face. Priceless.

mOM

During yoga the other night we set our practice on the Third Eye Chakra. Here is where our mind practice takes place. During a moment in child's pose with our Third Eye Chakra or forehead rested on our mat we were instructed to envision our future. Asking where we see ourselves a month from now, a year from now, five years from now. I pictured myself with my with my children about five years from now and this wave of dark energy came over me, not a pleasant feeling. I immediately shook myself out of this thought and brought my attention back to my bright blue mat. I wasn't ready to go there I didn't want to be thinking of the future and my kids on the path of being all grown up.
As I pulled into the driveway after my class Justin was in the sandbox playing with Finley and a new lighter wave of energy came over me. I then realized how important it was for me to practice on staying in the present with my life and my family. In the hustle and bustle of being a SAHM it can be tempting to want to get your kids to the next "easier" stage in their lives-no diapers, no teething, no midnight nursing, no temper tantrums, no potty training...you see where I'm going. Yes, this time of my life is challenging but these days are the last days my children will be at this point in there lives. Each day that rolls over brings us that much closer to five, ten, twenty years into the future. The present is the time to be in, and not taking our energy wondering what will be...because no matter what we will get there and we'll look back at this stage in our lives and say "Where did the time go!"
The next time I find myself on my mat with focus on my Third Eye Chakra I'll envision my future as my drive home, pulling into the driveway and seeing my beautiful 23 month old playing in the sandbox and my 5 week old with that sweet smile he always offers me.

And then there were 2!

During my short abandonement of my little blog I gave birth to Harper Ellis a beautiful 8lb 5oz boy with wispy brown hair. The labor, once it kicked into gear, was 2 hours long and I pushed with all my might for 7 minutes (though it felt like 7 hours!)




The transition from one baby to two has been interesting. Some aspects have been much easier and others much harder. Though, the amount of love on can procure for two children is amazing, I didn't think I would be able to love another child as much as I love Finley-this was the easier part. The harder parts range from finding enough time to spend with each child, having enough arms to nurse one while the other needs: a hug, juice, snack, has a boo-boo,wants you to play choo-choo train, needs to use the potty, or is just plain screaming! I think you get the picture. It not easy to juggle the hectic daily tasks of life such as showering, eating, getting dressed, cooking etc. with two children who require a lot of you (while I'm typing Harper has woken up and currently really needs me...).

Time elapsed: 47 minutes Now typing one handed while nursing



Then when is there time for yourself-to be addressed in a future blog. Though no matter how hard it can be, how frustrated I can get and how close I sometimes getting to calling it quits I wouldn't trade it for the world. There is nothing that makes me feel more wonderful than the love I have gotten in return from my 2 boys...well I should really say 3 because I do have such a wonderful husband...even if I do want to trade him in for a housekeeper on an occasion!