Laserbeams

A friend of mine, who’s daughter is almost a year old, went back to work part-time this week. She’s in the medical field and the part-time gig really works for her- you only see patients on the days you work- as opposed to the part-time office situation where one “works” p/t with full time project expectations from the boss.

Anyway, she was sharing about her daycare search and told me about a certain center that was over $10 more per day than all the other places she visited. Apparently this place has laserbeams that clean all the toys after the children go home at night as well as this air-filtrating ultra-violet light thing that kills all germs in the air.*

Laserbeams?

Really?

I felt like Seth & Amy on SNL.

Laserbeams?

Really? You need laserbeams to clean my kid’s toys?

What’s that, soap isn’t good enough for you?

You need Laserbeams?

From your lasercats? Really?

We both had a good laugh.

She decided to take her daughter to the on-site day-care at her work, which is not equipped with lasers.

*I can fully understand one’s concern over their child sharing toys with potentially sick children. I wash stuff at home too, but probably not as much or as often as my mom wished I did… and I bet that if aforementioned laserbeam was on the market, my mom would buy it for us.

ESCAPE!

A Dogs on Thursday one day late post…….

Mercy escaped last night.

Keith had just gotten home from work and was changing into comfy clothes.

I had just returned home with Sweet Pea after an incredibly busy day and sat down in her rocker to nurse her.

We both suddenly realized that Mercy had not been let out. Keith sprinted downstairs to do so, as we are zealously protective of our freshly refinished floors with respect to doggy business.

He opened the back door and bent down to grab Mercy’s line when RABBITZILLA appeared in the middle of the yard.

I heard some loud barking, followed by silence, and then an “Uh oh, she’s gone.”

SP and I came downstairs to three-stooges-esque activity. I was running one way, Keith was running another, neither of us had shoes on, he was in his “drawers”, I had a baby in my arms.

Our neighbor showed up, breathless and barefoot with a spatula in hand. “Your dog!” Much panting.

“I was grilling steaks,” more panting, “and she ran past me chasing that rabbit! She went through the fence into the thick brush in the park!”

Sweet Pea went into the playpen while I grabbed a bag a treats. I ran into the yard and started calling for Mercy, interspersing her favorite words like “treats” and “chicken” and “go for a walk.” Keith had since gotten dressed and was running to the park.

It seemed like forever before I heard my neighbor yell, “He got her!”

Mercy had eventually given up her pursuit of rabbitzilla and was walking back on the path towards our street (was she coming home?). When she saw Keith, she turned around and started walking the OTHER way, with her tail between her legs and ears back! He commanded her to sit, which she did, and he scooped her up and brought her back home.

Phew!

I was thinking that her turning around and walking away was an illustration of us and God. He wants us to live a life of obedience to him not just for us to follow the rules, but to protect us. We want Mercy to stay in the yard to protect her! When we stray from Him, there are consequences to our actions. Sometimes even when we are confronted with truth we continue to do our own thing or even turn away, but He will scoop us up and bring us back.

What an amazing God.

“If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” - Matthew 18:12-14

They sometimes cry for no reason, right?

We have some friends who are pregnant. Some are blissfully unaware of what it will be like to take care of said child.

One such blissful couple was telling us of their post-baby work plans.

He: We’ve got it all figured out for after the baby is born. My boss already approved me to work from home one day a week. So I’ll have the baby that day.

She: And I am going to P/T, working 3 days, maybe 4. My mom will watch the baby 3 days and I am going to work from home the other day.

He: Yeah, daycare isn’t for us.

She: No. Definitely not.

Me: You know, you might want to look into having a babysitter or some kind of help on the days you are working from home…

Keith: Yeah, you can’t exactly take a conference call when you have a screaming baby on your hands.

He: Oh, nah, I think it’ll be ok. Sometimes they just cry for no reason right? I can just put ‘em in another room and shut the door while I’m on a call or something.

She: (Nodding her head in agreement). Yeah, they cry for no reason a lot right?

We resisted the urge to laugh hysterically.

Sparks make fire

We had an almost fire experience in the microwave this morning.

We were SO outta food & today is grocery day… and Sweet Pea decided to finally START eating food this week. So I made her some ground up oatmeal, but it was kinda bland.

No bananas in sight, no frozen pureed food cubes, no fruit to puree… I found an apple and diced it up, threw in in the microwave to just get it smushy and before I knew it…

Sparks & smoke.

Maybe I should just buy jarred baby food.

Picnic break

The park I mentioned in my last post is literally behind our house. There’s a side entrance trail two driveways away.

On a rare dry evening, we went on a picnic when Keith came home from work. It was so nice to have some time to relax and play.

Can you see her top two front teeth? They just popped through…

Mercy was “on guard,” as usual. Except when the picnic food came out, when she decided to switch her job description from security detail to food-quality-assurance.

Attachment Schmachment

Can I just vent on “Attachment Parenting?”

I love my child intensely, like any other mother. My day pretty much revolves around my child, but in a good way. I quit my job to raise my child, and I know not everyone can or wants to do this, but I did and I am happy with my decision. I love being a stay at home mom.

I know my child. I know what her cries mean. I know when she’s tired or hungry or just bored. Most of the time.

BUT because I don’t subscribe to all the Dr. Sears Baby B’s, I am not ATTACHED to my child and must not really love her.

Seriously, Dr. Sears and company, I loathe you.

You make these comments and “research” that has caused me to question if I am a good mom. Grrrr.

You know what? My baby started being A WHOLE LOT HAPPIER when I bit the proverbial bullet and staved her off for another 20 minutes before feeding her so she’d be on a 2 1/2 to 3 hour routine. The “demand” feeding schedule is misunderstood to feed your child every time she cries. WRONG. She was crying because she was tired or gassy or something ELSE. It just so happened that my child’s natural rhythm, so to speak, was a 3 hour schedule. If she started to cry at hour 2 and I fed her, she’d just cry some more because what she really wanted was SLEEP or some gas relief.

While I don’t like being labeled an “Ezzo Baby Wise Follower” he said something that made sense: ASSESS your child’s needs before you put baby to breast. Duh. My grandmother said that too. So did her mother.

My baby started being A WHOLE LOT HAPPIER when I let her cry through her naptime. It took 2 days, 2 naps of crying and yes, I did check on her and did not just let her cry for hours on end. She wouldn’t fall asleep on me, in the rocker, nowhere. What else was I supposed to do? Now she has her little “transitional object,” which I love, and she’s off to dreamland. Every time. Like a champ. She is well rested and happy.

I have a baby sling. I use it sometimes in the grocery store. She isn’t stable enough sitting up to sit in the cart and the weight of her and the car seat is just insane. So I “baby wear” her there. And when we traveled. And sometimes when when my back hurts too much to carry her in my arms in and out of places. But it’s difficult to do 24/7 at home and I also think that she needs to be on the carpet sometime, exercising her own muscles, learning to roll over, sit up, crawl, feel new objects, learn to play with toys. She can’t do that if she is carried all the time. What do you say about THAT Dr. Sears?

Listen to the way that Dr. Sears describes Attachment Parented children vs. non AP:

“Group A were attachment-parented babies. These babies were securely attached, the products of responsive parenting. Group B babies were parented in a more restrained way, with a set schedule and given a less intuitive and nurturing response to their cues.”

OH MY WORD! “Responsive parenting?” !?!?!?!?! “Less intuitive and nurturing response?” So I don’t respond to my child in a nurturing way because I believe that parents should be in charge and not the 15 pound dictator? Yes, my baby is on a schedule, but it’s flexible based on what we all need. And I’d like to have Dr Sears in my house to see how I lay on the floor and play with my child, enjoying her very presence, watching her try new things, giggle, and laugh as I give her little feet raspberries. And then let him tell me that I’m not a responsive parent. Or a nurturing parent.

UGH! I know what I am doing is right for my family. I can’t stand this categorization of what “type” of parent you are. You are a parent. Period. Sweet Pea is happy, we’re all happy.

Thankfully no “parenting style” was carved in stone on Mt. Sinai. LOL.

Spring Swap

Katie sent me a wonderful package for the Dogs on Thursday Spring Swap.

What a wonderful package! It included some Sugar & Creme cotton, towels for Mercy, a squeaky squirrel, a tug toy, a package of sunflower seeds to plant, and some gourmet dog treats in the most adorable basket. Oh, yeah.. there was a package of chocolate & carmel Werther’s Originals… but I um, ran 6 miles yesterday and threw my willpower out the window. ooops. Thank you Katie for such a lovely swap!

Here’s an action shot of Mercy with her new squirrel toy:

All you dog people out there know how hard it is to get a non-action shot when you introduce a new toy!

This was the first swap I participated in since Sweet Pea was born… and it was fun! Thanks to the gals at Dogs On Thursday for putting it together.

Milestones

Sweet Pea wore her first dress this past Sunday- and tights too!

No shoes though. The booties I made her are still too big.

Everyday she seems to learn something new. She’s really into making raspberry noises and just on Sunday she started sitting up on her own (we still surround her with pillows- just in case!).

We even gave her a bath with her sitting up instead of on the little baby sling.

Pictures just don’t do her justice!

~ Every good and perfect gift comes from above- James 1:17 ~

Another baby hat!

My hourglass sweater progress was interrupted by a new baby boy, Noah, who came two weeks early. This is the second time a friend of mine has gone into labor early and sent me scrambling to knit something. Maybe I should just start knitting for babes earlier?

Another Child’s Cotton Hat, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I truly love this book and the last minute-ness of this particular project. I suppose I could probably finish one in a day if I didn’t have, umm, interruptions. This is the fourth cotton hat I have knit in the past 6 months and the first time I experimented with color changes. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out.

Noah’s mom is my table leader at MOPS, a Mothers of Preschoolers group I belong to . When Sweet Pea was born, she organized meals for us the first two weeks after we came home from the hospital. Yesterday was my turn to bring over dinner to her house. And a cute knitted gift.

MOPS, is a group of mothers who share the common bond of having little ones at home, from pregnancy up to kindergarten. We meet twice a month and cover all sorts of different topics, share stories, and enjoy a little time away from our little ones (who are being cared for by a loving nursery staff).

The support from a group like MOPS is great, for first time moms and fourth time moms alike. It’s nice to have somewhere to go, to meet other women in similar situations, and to be encouraged! Being a mom is NOT an easy job. You can’t clock out at 5 or 6, you are on call 24-7. I would highly recommend a group like this to everyone!

People ask me often how I am adjusting to motherhood, if I’m going stir crazy, etc, and I have to say I really feel pretty good. I don’t stay cooped up in the house all the time, I am out just about every day, doing something, whether it be bible study once a week, MOPS twice a month, or exercising with a friend. Even on days that I am home ALL DAY LONG I usually feel okay about it. I’m raising our daughter, and I can’t think of a more important job I could be doing. It’s a privilege to be a wife and mother.

Always double check your needle size…

This is what was Daphne’s Baby Cape.

Cast on 261 stitches, knit about 15 rows, frogged all 3,915 of them.

I was using my size 3 Addi’s instead of size 6. The 3’s were hanging around because I had just finished the back of Princess Sweet Pea’s cabled coat.  I don’t know how I will be able to catch up!!!

I blame baby brain. You know, the mysterious forgetfulness that shows up during pregnancy and then doesn’t leave after the baby is born?

At least it’s still snowsuit weather here and not cape-weather yet.