Goblin King Goblin King, Take This Child Far From Me

Okay, not really. But wow. We were supposed to run errands today. It's 2:00 pm and we have yet to make it out the door. I've been trying to prepare to leave since like 11:00am. A is teething and I think he must be feeling really crummy today. All I need is to put him down long enough to wrap up some books for paperback swap. Then we can head out the door. I know he'll fall asleep once the car gets going. He hasn't been able to sleep all day. I even gave him some Motrin. *sigh* the joys of motherhood. Poor little guy. Teething must suck.

Out and About Today

Well, we're out and about today. As soon as I get my arse away from this computer and get ready to go, we have errands to run. I'm determined to renew my books (which are now a day late), but a vast improvement on my usual performance with library books. I need to run to the post office and mail books for paperback swap. And I need to buy printer paper, which means a trip into Target. Yikes. I never know what's going to end up in my cart when I walk into Target.

I got some more of books that I requested in the mail yesterday and today. A now has his first bible, "Meine Kleine Kinderbibel" (My Little Children's Bible). I'm determined to teach A at least one other language. I feel that German is a good one to start with considering I've taken German. Granted, there's a lot I don't remember, but it will be easier for me to pick it back up. I'd like to get to a point where we have times where we only speak to him in German, but I really need to brush up in order to do that. So for now I've decided that immersing him in as many books, songs, etc...that I can get my hands on would be great. When he's older we'll do a German course, but I want the comprehension portion to come more from immersion. I'd like to order some German baby board books. I've found several sites where I can do this. But we're too broke for that right now. Oh well.

I'm still waiting to hear back on that job interview I had. It's so hard to be patient.

Well A is having a bit of a rough time, so I'll sign off for now.

A Tooth and Other Stuff

I'm so mad at our digital camera. It won't load the pictures on the computer. *Sigh* I don't know what else to try. Maybe this is a sign that I should get the SLR digital that I want with our tax return. Yeah - that'll happen. lol. Not to mention I highly doubt our tax return would be that wonderful. One can hope though. I'm still waiting on W-2s. Why do employers wait so stinking long to send them out? Just to torture us? And I only worked one month last year, so I have to wait for a W-2 for one lousy month. Fun.

A is doing more and more each day. He has a hard lump on his bottom gums - so we have a tooth poking through. I can't really see it - he screams everytime I try to look in his mouth. But I can feel it. I'm not suprised. He's definitely displayed quite a few teething behaviors lately. He stands up holding onto the coffee table. I still don't have a picture. I don't always have the camera ready when it's needed.

I've been working on rearranging the bookshelf with the result being that there's piles of books in the computer/piano room. Finally after a couple of months of working on this project I'm making some headway. There's only one pile of books left and I have most of the shelves arranged. I've gotten rid of most of my books that I don't want via Paperback Swap
and ordered some things that I want for A to have. If you decide to use paperback I'd appreciate you noting that you were referred by Swimming-duck - that's my user name on paperback swap. I get a credit for a book from the referral.

T and I are trying a new church tomorrow. So we'll see how that goes. We've been wanting to do so for awhile, just haven't made the effort I guess. Church hunting is rough - anyone who's had to do it knows. Fun times ahead!

New Blog

This is going to be a short diddy as I'm getting ready to head to bed, but I have a new blog up and running. It's called Baby-led Feeding

So check out my new blog. If you're not into baby-led feeding it may not be for you, especially if you're one to think I'm terrible for doing it. Then I definitely encourage you not to read it. But if you're interested or think you might want to try it someday please read and spread the word.

Okay, I'm being paged from upstairs by my child. Gotta run.

The Mommy Wars

Why is it when you become a mom people all of a sudden get so offended about the choices that you make? I don't know why this is on my mind, but it is. I think it's so harmful psychologically how women run each other down based on parenting choices. There are so many choices out there regarding feeding, nurturing, diapering, working, discipline, schooling, medical treatment, vaccinations, etc...Of course there's that part inside of every mom that feels that her way is best. Otherwise, why would she have chosen that route in the first place? Our personality combined with our life experiences lead us to what we feel is best for each child. So why do so many women think that what is best for their child is best for someone else's? I'm not saying that women can't express opinions to other women , because being able to express our opinion is a part of having relationships with others. But this does not usually happen in a respectful, productive manner between many moms. So, without further ado, here's some guidelines for communicating opposing viewpoints to another mom.

1. Ask yourself - Is this opinion WANTED? This is a very important first step. DON'T skip this step.

2. When giving your viewpoint, express it as just that - ONE point of view among many other VALID points of view.

3. Avoid statements that present your viewpoint as what a GOOD mother does (even if that's what you really believe).

4. When presenting your viewpoint, do NOT attack other points of view. Just stick with what you want to express about your own viewpoint.

SKIP THESE STEPS AND YOU WILL ENSURE THAT YOUR OPINION IS NOT LISTENED TO AT ALL.

I haven't had anything happen recently that I can think of that prompted me to post this. But I know this is an ongoing problem in the world of mommies.

Can't Sleep and Baby-Led Feeding Progress

Well, I can't really sleep right now. I have a job interview today so I think that's making me a bit restless. I really really really need this job so I hope all goes well.

Some of you know that we've chosen to go the way of baby led feeding with A. We're really enjoying it so far and A seems to respond well. He gets so excited when he gets food put in front of him. It's so far away from mainstream and I'm sure it would raise all kinds of eyebrows with a lot of people, but oh well, A's not their child now is he? Anyways, here's some links in case you're wondering what the heck baby led feeding is.

Tribal Baby
Baby Led Weaning Blog
Baby Led Weaning Guidelines

So far A has had dairy-free pancakes, avacados, bananas, french fries, broccoli, and pork. Today I think we'll try some black beans. Last night was his first meat and he loved it. I would've taken pics if I had film. He just sat there and sucked the crap out of his pork. It was so cute. I bet it felt great on his gums too. I'm wanting to incorporate more iron-rich foods, hence the beans. I don't want to have to give him supplemental iron drops. I'd rather him get his iron naturally. So I see leafy greens in his future also. At this point he's not swallowing much at all. He didn't swallow any of the pork. I think he did swallow a bit of his broccoli, but not much. Mostly he just plays in it and throws it around. I can't wait to get a highchair. Right now I end up wearing whatever it is we've decided to feed him. Oh well - I guess that's part of the fun.

Anyways, I need to try to get more sleep before my little darling wakes up.

Woman of Too Many Projects

If I was named for my personality/characteristics, this would be my name. Why do I decide to tackle everything at once? Can I just say that I'm in the middle of a million different things right now. Okay - not a million. But here's my list:

- Knitting my scarf (I'm actually done, but can't figure out how to bind off and get it off of the needles)
- Embroidering T and A's matching shirt and onesie that I made them for Christmas
- Reorganizing the bookshelves
- Reorganizing all of the holiday decorations before sending them down to the basement
- Learning to sew
- Following the curriculum from the book "The Well Educated Mind" and taking an online Blackboard course that corresponds to this
- Finding a job - I have an interview this Wednesday finally - woo hoo
- Going through the last 2-3 years of piled up papers/bills/etc...that are in boxes/files/piles in our house
- A's scrapbook - I have yet to leave the hospital and he's six months old
- Writing on this blog all the time (which I really do love by the way)

And of course there's the ongoing daily stuff too (laundry, dishes, etc...). Oh it never seems to end. I think there's something about me that enjoys the craziness of multiple things in the air constantly. Hmmm...maybe that's why I was drawn to case management work.

This job that I have an interview for sounds pretty great. But I'm not going to talk about it much unless I get it. So I'll keep you posted.

Alright...I need to get off of here and attend to one of my projects. I think I'm going to work on my coursework for a bit.

Just Updating

Well, A is watching Baby Einstein in his exersaucer and I thought I would take this opportunity to update, as opposed to fold laundry. In my defense I have at least carried the laundry upstairs and I am planning on folding it.

Aand I did a mom and baby workout yesterday. It was pretty cheesy, but fun. He enjoyed it because he got moved around, tickled, and kissed during the course of the workout. So I got points for my Biggest Loser Challenge. I'm not doing great, but I'm off to a better start this week than I had last week. I'm hoping to continue to do a little better. I'm still working on moderation as a goal for now.

A gives kisses now. It's so incredibly cute. He grabs my face and slobbers on it with a big fat grin on his face. Ah - life doesn't get much better than that!

I have a job interview a week from today. So I'm really really hoping it pans out. It sounds like it would be a good job, much better than foster care. Of course it doesn't take much to be much better than foster care!

I'm still working on my sewing. I've got lots of projects waiting in line right now. Next up will be a shopping cart cover for A. It's a pattern for dummies (they make everything), but it looks harder than the poncho/hat combos that I did. So I think it will be a challenge. At some point I'm making a robe for my mom. That looks like a huge challenge and I know it'd be cheaper to buy her one, but I feel like I'll learn a lot about sewing by making this robe. Plus, she has to tell me it looks good when it's all done. She's my mother!

My Secret Addiction and Catching Up on Pics

American Idol. Okay...so who's tuning in tonight? I know I am...A's first season...I'm soooo excited. I'm having a kick-off party tonight at my house. I had a finale party last season. I'm planning on doing another one this year. I'm so excited. I think I might make A a hat or bib or something with whoever we're rooting for on it. I know...I'm a freak...I get it. It's my secret addiction. On another note we're both over the pink eye. Yay!!! Good health here we come. I'm so excited.

I'm still working on my sewing. I've gotten lots of practice while making my diaper wipes. And here's the pics finally as promised.




And here's a pic from our New Year's festivities.



Alright. I'm going to sign off here. A and I are tuning in to "Bringing Baby Home." A friend from our pregnancy.org birth board was on the show and it's airing today.

We're Sick

A and I just got back from the doctor today. I called yesterday when I realized that we both had pink eye. So here's the list of our ailments. A has pink eye, a double ear infection, and a cold. Poor baby. I'm actually somewhat thankful for the pink eye because without it I wouldn't have known about the double ear infection. I wasn't going to take him to the doctor for just a cold - especially since the cough was getting better. I have pink eye and I'm going to be taking an antibiotic for a cough that's lingered since September. I hate that we're both going to be on antibiotics. It'll be like a double whammy for him since I'm breastfeeding. But I picked up a probiotic powder at the health store so we can both have that. That will hopefully help. My husband made fun of me last night because despite having pink eye in one eye pretty badly, I sat there and read a book last night with one eye open. I guess I really am a major bookworm - as if I didn't already know that! LOL

I'm working my way through "The Well-Educated Mind." It's pretty interesting. I'm just trying to take it all in right now.

Well, I must go. A's asleep and I promised myself that I would clean at least one room in this house today and do at least one load of laundry (I'm way behind on laundry). With both of us being sick, my house looks like a landfill right now.

Sewing in my sleep

Last night I dreamed that someone got me a serger. What an odd dream. I guess all of my sewing ambitions are starting to follow me to bed. Oh well - I guess that's just the way that my brain is wired. Prior to having my LO I dreamed about breastfeeding him. Weird - I think my brain was just trying to figure out the perfect latch so that would be worked out prior to him getting here. LOL - especially considering all the issues we had getting going.

Anyways, this is just a short little diddy. We need to run to Target. We're actually out of toilet paper. Yes, completely out! How does one completely run out of toilet paper? I don't know, but we did it. So I figure that's a definite necessity. I just hope that I don't leave with half the store. There's always that temptation at Target.

I should be in bed

I really should be in bed this time of night, but sometimes when the house is quiet the temptation to stay up a little bit is too much for me. I only meant to stay up for about a half an hour or so after everyone else went to bed, but I got distracted. I found www.paperbackswap.com and have listed quite a few of my books and ordered a few. Free books - who would've thought? And now I can clear things out that aren't being read/used. I got a couple of things to build A's library.

Today was my first day of Biggest Loser Challenge for pg.org. Not a great day, but not too horrible. It could be a lot better though. Tomorrow's a new day and I will try harder.

I'm excited about some finds at the library today. I found "The Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing." It's a very comprehensive book, albeit a bit overwhelming. I also got "Rip It" and that's a sewing book about using clothes that you have to make new things. I was excited to find that one as that's actually on my amazon.com wishlist. I have so many sewing projects swimming around in my head right now. There are so many things I want to make. I can't wait to get started. I have a few things to finish up first though before I start new projects.

While at the library today I also checked out "The Well-Educated Mind". I was really looking for "The Well-Trained Mind" by the same author, but our library didn't have it. The "Well-Trained Mind" is a guide to giving your child a classical education, something Tom and I are considering for A. "The Well-Educated Mind" is about giving yourself a classical education. I thought that sounded pretty interesting, so I may give it a go. This is no light endeavor so I need to think about this. It will take several years to get through all of the classical literature. But I guess I figure what better way to help me decide if this is the schooling route we should go with A then by going through it myself (obviously on a different level)? So I'm thinking about doing this. The nice thing is that with my paperbackswap find I can get a lot of this literature for free. What I can't get there I'm sure my library will have.

Well, it's late and I really must get to bed as my child won't care that I stayed up late. He'll still want to get up anyways!

Praying for Sleep and Adventures in Missing the Point

So tonight I'm hoping beyond hope that I get to sleep more than the past two nights. A has had this horrible cold and has been up coughing and crying the past two nights. I'm not used to this - my baby's usually such a great sleeper. Oy! I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow and my house is a mess as a result of being exhausted over the weekend and getting nothing done. I did clean my kitchen today - yay! There's nothing better than a nice, clean kitchen. That's always the room that I start with when I clean. I love seeing the counters clear of crap. I made cookies to reward myself for cleaning the kitchen. And because it's the last night before pregnancy.org's next Biggest Loser challenge.

Pregnancy.org is the online parenting community that I belong to. I've got a great group of women on my birth board (we all gave birth in July). Anyways, we have a Biggest Loser team in the community. I've participated the past two sessions. The first session was good. The last one? Bad bad bad. In my defense it was during Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, but still, I did horribly. So my goal is to pick myself back up and get back on track. Hence, the cookies. Yes, I said that right. The challenge starts tomorrow, so of course that means I have to eat cookies today.

And now the reason why "adventures in missing the point" appears in the title of the blog. It made me think back over the times that I've lost weight. I did weight watchers once and I did okay with it for awhile. I counted points and even lost weight. Here is my problem with weight watchers. I would save a good portion of my points so that I could have a Hershey's with almonds candy bar every night. Yes...every night. I did lose weight though. But somehow I don't think starving myself everyday so that I could have a candy bar every night was the intention of the program's creator. Hence, I seemed to "miss the point." There was another time that I lost weight. This was the big weight loss - my stomach still drops at the thought of how great I looked and how I got right back to where I am. Anyways, I worked out six days a week and planned out five minimeals every day with one protein and one carb each meal. One day a week every week I could look forward to eating whatever the hell I wanted. And oh, how I would look forward to that day. I would even buy groceries earlier in the week in preparation for all the things that I would eat. Granted, when the day got there, I could only eat a few of the things that I'd planned on because my stomach had shrunk so much. But it was still nice to look at the goodies I guess. But anyways, here's another place where I missed the point. I got it in my head one week that technically the next day starts at 12:00am. So the day before my "big piggy day" I stayed up until midnight just so I could get some snacks in before bedtime. Then I could wake up and still have a full day of gorging. Needless to say, this is when my progress stalled. *Sigh* So you see I don't do well with programs that are based on manipulation, whatever that manipulation may be (i.e. points for weight watchers, reward food day for other plan). This biggest loser challenge leaves your food plan up to each individual participant. Basically I get points for my team if I stick with my own personal food plan for the day. So I've been giving thought to what my food plan will be. This is what I've come up with. I'm going to focus on one small change each week in my eating, maybe more than one if it's an easier thing to change. Every day that I stick with this new habit I will get my points for sticking to my food plan. So here's my new habit for week one. If I eat junky/fatty/processed food at one meal, the next meal has to be healthy. Hmmm...moderation...what a concept. Yes, I realize this is a common sense habit, but if everyone on earth had common sense there'd be no McDonald's coffee cups that say "Caution: Hot." Perhaps I need "Caution: Eating will make you fat." stamped on all junk/dessert food. Hmmm...maybe I should try suing Ghirardelli for my weight gain. Maybe I could make a little money. And then everyone would have to endure looking at a label that says "Caution: Eating will make you fat" on every box of Ghiradelli brownie mix that they buy. And everyone would wonder what kind of idiot caused the company to label their food in such a way. And I could be that idiot. Hmm...wouldn't that be nice. At least I'd be leaving some sort of legacy.

Well, anyways, if you're still reading this you're either a really good friend or you're considering suing Ghiradelli for your flabby buns. I'll keep you posted on my Biggest Loser challenge. Hopefully I'll have something good to report.

And now I'm off to bed.

Coughing, Sewing, Baby Babble, and Wool

The last couple of days have been full of coughing and mucus. I'm sure that you really wanted the visual there. A's had a cold and he's quite the pathetic little guy when he's sick. So he's been glued to my body for the past several days. At least I have an excuse for why my house is a mess right now. That's a relief for once.

I've spent much of my sick time browsing the internet looking for fun sewing patterns. I can't wait to get more material and patterns and make some more things. I really want to try to make a onesie for A and a couple of pairs of pajama pants as seen in Soulemama's blog (http://soulemama.typepad.com/soulemama/sewing/index.html). You have to scroll down and look for the Amy Butler pattern wide leg lounge pant. Very cute. It's from Amy Butler's "In Stitches" book, so I've added that to my amazon wishlist. My wishlist is getting very long. I use it to keep track of good reads that I hear about so that I don't forget them. When A and I feel a bit better I think we'll make a trip to the library to see what books we can find on sewing. I have some scrap fabric left over from the hats and ponchos that could be used to experiment with.

A has discovered a new sound this week. He's been saying "abababababwababwa" constantly for the past three days. It's so cute. I think he's pretty thrilled with his recently discovered talent.

A and I have been making our way through the world of cloth diapering since he's been born. On a lot of the forums and message boards that we've visited I've heard moms continually rave about wool covers and they're the greatest. Well, we've recently tried wool covers and they are the best. A was in a fitted cloth diaper with wool pants on at night and the wool pants were dry as could be the next morning with no ungodly stench. So I'm definitely feeling the wool love. Wool covers are more expensive, but the properties of wool allow it to be washed a lot less too, so I think it probably evens out cost wise.

Hello to the New Year

We had a festive New Year here. My nieces stayed with us Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. They're 8, 5, and 3. So, with our little boy, it made for a busy household. We had fun though. We played Sorry, watched movies, ate brownies, danced on my niece's Bratz dance mat. We stayed up until the New Year and toasted with bubbly. Our bubbly consisted of sparkling fruit juice for the kids' sake.

A and I have kicked off the new year with a cough/cold. Lovely. I don't know that I've ever completely kicked the cough/cold that I got back in September. Oh well.

I haven't given a whole lot of thought to my New Year's resolutions yet. I guess I have the typical resolution to get healthy.

I have some great pics of our New Year's festivities, but since I have a film camera and they're not developed yet I'll have to post them later. My pics on this blog will always be a bit behind the times as a result of not owning a digital...but oh well. I love my film camera and am holding out on getting a digital until I can get the digital version of my camera.

I did get more done on my cloth diaper wipes. I taught two of my nieces how to use the sewing machine and they sewed some of the wipes for me. My husband told me that I was running a sweat shop! lol Next thing you know they'll be making all of our clothes. Anyways, they had a blast using the sewing machine. They were really proud of what they were able to accomplish.