National Blog Post Month Grand Finale!

I can't believe it..I actually blogged everyday for a month!  Not only that..people actually read my blog!  I had over 650 views.  Someone in Bahrain even looked at my blog!! 

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who read my blog this month.  I totally think that everyone of you that read my blog is totally KEWL!  I especially want to thank Jenny over at Making A Home And Family for sending her readers over to read my blog!  

So what happens now?  Well I'm hoping to keep blogging, NaBloPoMo sponsors a blogging contest every month.  Maybe that is what I need to keep blogging..  

Again thank you so much! Love you!

Edit: BTW those of you who are reading my blog in other countries, I'd love to know who you are..leave a comment!

Happy Birthday to Me

Today was my 41st birthday! I never expected to be alive this long. I've always had this thought that I would never get a chance to see my grandchildren.  Well I might not get to see them grow up but I have seen them. 

For my birthday I got this chocolate cake (this is a bad picture, but SO still hasn't fixed the light in the dining room..grrr..I should have asked for that for my birthday)

Apparently all the hints, as well as the email, given to SO on what to buy me as a gift paid off because he gave me this beautiful necklace this morning, as I was leaving for work/visitation.

 Now I'm tired as I have plummeted off the edge of my sugar high!  Night, Night all!

Givin' Sugar Sundays

Well, this long weekend flew by..

Today I got the shopping done that I needed to do yesterday..I finally have some clothes that fit to start off the work week right!  I've been busy all night cleaning house, doing laundry, and getting my day set up for tomorrow, I'm planning on it being a good day since its my birthday!

Here are two blogs that I enjoy and maybe you will too!

This blog is frackin' hilarious The Manwife Chronicles David is also good for a laugh on twitter and the occasional UStream..I recently spent Friday evening with him and about 10 other people..we discussed decorating, drinking, and falling down.

Another blogger I like is the Reluctant Vegetarian, actually I started off kind of pissed at her cause she has the name I wanted for my blog..as I am a reluctant vegetarian..I'd rather be off eating a thick juice rib-eye then this low protein crap I'm stuck with oh and then I wouldn't have to figure out something to eat every other day at my house!

Saturday Chaos!

So once again its 30 minutes till the Sunday and I haven't even started on the blog.

I had a great morning with the little one this morning only to have the afternoon turn into a screamy fit..my plans of doing some shopping for myself didn't work out.  Every time I put her down to sleep so I could get ready to go, just ended with screaming and upset...I did get a bit testy with her and DS..We finally got out around 2pm and I got a chance to buy two Daily Tea outfits for her.  I know Daily Tea is expensive, but I love their line.  They are feminine yet don't overwhelm you in the pinkness that baby girls tend to get stuck with.  I needed to pick up some new pants for myself as I have lost to much weight to continue wearing my old pants but I didn't get a chance to get to Kohl's. 

We had Thanksgiving dinner with family tonight, which was great.  Its always nice to get together with family and talk and eat great food.  My son went with us and I can honestly say I think he actually had a good time.  He ate a lot, almost seemed like I never feed the boy!  Everyone loved the LO's sling and thought that babywearing was neat.  Of course there wasn't much babywearing as everyone wanted a chance to hold her!

I just got little one off to sleep and I would like to get some rest because tomorrow is grandma visit day which really just drags on me..

Goodnight all!

Almost There

Today was Black Friday...and guess what I did? 

I slept in..I didn't get up at 4AM and go stand out in the cold!

Happy Thanksgiving

The Benedryl has been taken,
the turkey eaten,
The tryptophan is workin'
And I'm about to be snorin'
I am thankful to you all,
for reading about my life
I bid you all a good night!

Wordless Wednesday-Etsy Christmas!

It's All About the Boots

So today was a court date for LO's parents...I have to say parents lightly because some anonymous guy has stepped forward and said that he's the baby daddy..it's like a real life Jerry Springer show. So now things have been put-on hold until after the New Year.

What struck me the most was when they brought mom out is how casual she seemed to be about being in an orange jumpsuit and shackled! It was like it was a completely normal thing...I just kept thinking..WHY!

So when that was done I went and did some work...but I did stop at this cool vintage shop and walked away with a pair of boots and a cool Harris Tweed jacket.

Menu-Planning and Meatless Mondays

My menu plan this week was pretty easy as we share Thanksgiving dinner at two different houses on two different days so I only needed to come up with five meals this week.  We end up with left overs from both houses so I probably will get some turkey for lunches.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only times I will go off my meatless diet to eat Turkey..I take a lot of Benedryl to make me feel the symptoms of my allergy less.  If worse comes to worse I end up really sick and down a day..but hey..I love me the turkey!

Meatless Monday-Vegetarian Minestrone

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 cup carrots, diced

1 small zucchini, diced
1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup barley
4 cups vegetable broth
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped

1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped kale
1 can (16 ounces) canned white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup uncooked small shell pasta

Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and continue cooking for another minute then add the barley.

Stir in broth, tomatoes, kale, and beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes then add pasta. Add zucchini. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more.

Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Ladle into individual bowls and serve immediately.

Tuesday-Chicken/Rice/Green Beans

Wednesday-Spaghetti

Thursday-Family dinner

Friday-Eat out (I promised Jake BW3's for good grades)

Saturday-Family Dinner

Sunday-Potato Pierogi

Givin' Sugar to Some Foreign Blogs

Today I want to give some sugar to some of my friends on other continents...

I'll start with Australia..I'd like to see more blogging from my friend from Down Under Faerie Midwife, but I'm sure she's busy birthin' babies..so I won't hold it against her! She recently got a kick ass tattoo of a stork and I'd love to see more pictures!

From England:

I enjoy reading Nurturing Career Mama's blog about trying to be a working mom who nurses and practices Attachment Parenting.  I was reading a post she put up recently about shopping with a toddler and I have to say I can relate to the non-child shopper..but I guess in the next few years, I will again be that dreaded shopper with a toddler in toe!

Another wonderful blogger from England is Kylie from Not Even a Bag of Sugar.  She writes about her experiences with being a mom to a little boy born at 27 weeks.  She has posted a great delivery story.  And I would love to sit down with her and have a cup of tea. 

Living with Me Can Cause Drinking!

Its Saturday night I have 45 minutes to get today's post written, edited, and posted.  I have no topic in mind and I have someone reading over my shoulder which makes it even harder...

I spent the day in bookkeeping hell...I hate, absolutely hate, doing the books for my SO's business..we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things and how I run the business books is one of them..It leaves me angry, flustered and lacking patience for the LO and my DS..I just want to run away screaming..sooo

I did run away from the shop, but I ran away with the LO and we ran to someone's house to pick up a Exersaucer for $15.  (I love Craigs List!)  She's still to small for it, but in just a few months she'll think it's the bee's knees!

When I got back home (I never run away for too long)  I found a package from Jenny over at Making a Home and Family which thrilled me..I bought some diapers from her and she had to school me on how to use them..I was hoping that another package would be in my mailbox too..a new sling from BabyEtte but alas, I am going to have to wait until next week!

We spent the evening watching movies..I finally sat down and watched New in Town with Renee Zellweger..it reminded me of how I felt during my first winter in Wisconsin..cold and in culture shock!

After the movie..SO decided that he wanted to mess with GiGi and well..you shouldn't mess with GiGi..a water fight ensued and this is what happens!  I win the water fight and you get driven to drink in the bathroom in the dark!

At this moment we are all calmed back down and watching Seven Years in Tibet (Brad Pitt is hot, even with a terrible accent!), LO is sleeping and I'm about ready to head off to the shower..

Remember..don't mess with GiGi..

Babywearing and Big Glasses!

Our babywearing group (Green Bay Babywearers) met today at a great restaurant called Kavarna's.  I love getting together with this group of ladies...we are all crunchy in our own ways.  We tend to just take over the children's area of Kavarna...and pandemonium ensues!

I tried on an Ergo carrier...and I should have grabbed the Mai Tei to give it a try but I didn't think about it at the time.  I did put LO on my back in a back wrap, but she truly hates the process of of getting wrapped onto my back, so I'm really tempted to give a Mai Tei a try!  We got a lot of looks from the rest of the guest in the restaurant while we were trying on our different wraps. 

The other day when I was looking for some pictures I found this one of me and Jake..16 years ago..you can't see him cause he's in the sling!

I look like a baby in this picture..and man..were those glasses big.  My friend sitting next to me was from La Leche League and she really helped me get a good start nursing Jake...Those days seem so long ago..

Topic of the Day: MEN!

I want to talk about men..it seems to be the topic today..Whitney over at Not Merely a Momma talked about her husbands feet and Tiffany (@MomNom) blogged at Scary Mommy about neutering her husband.  I want to talk about how frustrating men can be sometimes...

They fart, belch, leave their dirty socks all over the house, and never put the toilet seat down.  They scratch their privates and pick their butts..and when you bend over to pick something up they butt check you!  (Butt checking is..when they thrust their pelvis into your tush I hate that!!)  I can barely tolerate those things, but I think its programmed in to their DNA so what else can you expect..what I can't tolerate is when grandpa does things just to annoy me.

Like when the LO is sleeping, he comes in and makes loud noises seemingly wanting to wake her up.  I just want to slap him upside the head...I am terrified that she'll wake up and then I'll have to spend hours getting her back to sleep..I threaten him with death if he wakes her but he just smiles and acts like its no big deal.

The other thing he does that pisses me off (I can get pissy pretty easily) is when he brings me the LO with a poopy diaper.  He just smiles and leaves her in my lap..I'm mean jeez..its just a dirty diaper..clean the damn thing.  Poor baby having to wait for me to do it!  I have been half tempted to leave a dirty diaper in his car, just to prove the point..don't mess with the GiGi!

Wordless Wednesday

GiGi (That's what I call myself in front of LO) is gonna be 41 at the end of the month..people are always asking me what I want..so for Wordless Wednesday I'm showing my list!!

Well Behaved Women

Vermont Leaves Copper BabyBasics LINEN Superwide Pleated baby Ring Sling

Racer Girl Socks

French Butter Dish

Terrific Tuesdays!

So yesterday at 8:30am I got a phone call from the LO's social worker saying that our home care coordinator called in sick so they were canceling the visit with the LO's birth mom this morning..I'm like wh..wh..wh..what?  I had no idea that there was even a visit scheduled..baby wasn't ready that's for sure!  Then she says..oh maybe I forgot to call you.  What the hell?  BTW..I'm not a crazy planner, but I do like an idea of what I'm going to be doing so that I can make sure we are where we need to be or else I begin to get resentful.  But geez..a little earlier notice would have been nice. 

Visits with mom were canceled two weeks ago since she was incarcerated again..but they will be starting up again so LO will be taking her first trip to the county jail next week.  I'm not quite sure that jail is good for 10 week olds, but..it's all about the momma! 

I also found out that baby's daddy has gone to court and established paternity and now would like some visits..which brings up some issues in my mind because daddy doesn't have a job, a car, or a place to live.  Dad is entitled to two visits a week, but who the hell knows where the they'll be at cuz coming to see her here is out..did I say that daddy is homeless?  I did say I was willing to help facilitate some visits, which means that I will taking LO to see him (library?) and then hang out while he visits.   But its all about the daddy!

So now once visits get going there will be a visit once week for mom, two visits a week for dad, and one visit a week for grandma.  Visits for mom and dad will be happening during regular business hours and the social worker doesn't really want a mom and dad visit on the same day..I'm like when the hell am I supposed to work?  But it's all about the birth parents!

And yes I'm frackin' bitter but this is my blog so just get over it! and don't be commenting about it being all about placement back with the birth parents cause I know what the goal is..I'm just being bitter!

I know that a perfect world, mommy and daddy will get their damn acts together and in a period of a few months get out of jail, find a job, get an apartment, and become stable so that LO can move back in with her birth parents, but come on..daddy already has three kids that don't live with him..oh wait that's cuz daddy doesn't have an place or a job. Mommy is a felon with severe mental health issues..When does CPS say NO, enough! We've found a place for your LO and you can still be involved with her life, since its a family member..but you have lost your right to decide her future! When is it about the Little One?

I have to wonder if this is why we have so many kids in the foster care system.  The goal of CPS is placement back into the biological parents home..but if there are so many negatives how can you get to the positive? And when you repeatedly pull a child from their biological parents and place them in foster care homes when do you say enough?  If a child is removed more then twice do you say enough?  And what help are we giving these parents before, during and after replacement?  When do we as a society that wants productive citizens say ENOUGH?

Givin' Sugar to Some Blogs

As you know, I just started blogging..I always wondered what I should do to be a good blogger and I came across Blogging For Dummies by @mommywantsvodka. I love her irreverance..anyone that can tell the hospital staff that someone in her room was going to be moving and get someone moved out..well she's someone I'm willing to listen too!

Then, in a cool coinkydink..one of my fellow bloggers Jennifer at Making a Home and Family lives just up north of me..which is totally cool..and since my job has me traveling all over the state, we made a date last week and met for coffee at a cool little restaurant.

Another twitter friend Whitney started me off on this blogging journey, and she has decided to try her at blogging too..Give her some sugar and visit her new blog Not Merely A Momma. 

Nolie over at Nolie's Place just put up a review of Take Flight Boutique over at Esty.  So this is what I want for my birthday..

I Love You to the Moon and Back Hand Stamped Necklace - Sterling Silver Disc

And this..

Keep Calm and Carry On Eco Tote - Eye Chart - Vintage Crown

So if anyone would like to get these for me..or maybe drop a hint to Grandpa..I'm sure he's looking for suggestions..I'd appreciate it!

Sleeply Sundays

I usually wait until LO falls asleep to write my post for the day..tonight, will I was laying down with her till she fell asleep, I fell asleep also..I just woke up a few minutes ago..I'd have just rolled over and gone to sleep but I said I was going to NaBloPoMo and I'm not ready to give in yet, so I'm going to leave you with this thought to ponder...

Childhood memories and adulthood expectations are often at complete odds with reality.

 

Menu-Planning

So yesterday I talked about how I was a resentful bitch and what I was going to do to help myself..

One of the thing I talked about was making a meal plan for the week..Its a little difficult for me to meal plan because I can't eat meat yet the rest of my family feels very deprived if I completely take meat off the table.  I get around this by trying to make every other meal meatless or a meal that I can extract the meat from..like Tacos or Stir Fry.

Here's my meal's for the week:

Saturday: Smashed Potato Soup (ala @NotSuperJustMom) with skillet corn bread and a garden salad.  (I had to do some recipe modifications, I used veggie broth and veggie cream of mushroom soup and took out the bacon bits.  I also added garlic just because no recipe is complete without it!

Sunday: Chicken & Pressure Cooker Rice with Steamed Broccoli and Sweet Potato Pie (Double rice and chicken for Thursday's meal)

Meatless Monday: Angel Hair Pasta with Citrus Cream Sauce/steamed green beans

Tuesday:  Taco Tuesday with Refried beans

Wednesday:  Three Cheese Skillet Lasagne/garden salad/garlic bread

Thursday:  Stir Fry

Friday:   Potato Pierogi with mushrooms and onions/garden salad.

Potato Pierogi Recipe:

1lb Potato and Cheese Pierogi (I like Mrs. T's...when I visited Canada this summer I made them with the generic SuperValu brand and they were good too!)
Olive Oil
8 ounces of fresh mushrooms sliced (you can mix it up and use a variety like Shitake, Portebellas, and Button)
1 onion chopped
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 TBS Sherry  4 oz shredded Cobly-Jack (or anything you have on hand)
Sour Cream-Optional

Preheat oven to broil.

Put some olive oil in a large saute pan* and heat up to medium-high, saute onion for 2 minutes then add mushrooms and garlic.  Cook until mushroom soften then add sherry and pierogi.  Cook pierogi for about 5 minutes on oneside, then flip over and cook for 5 minutes more.

Take off heat and place in a broil proof dish and cover with cheese.  Broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*My saute pan can be placed in the oven so I just top the pierogi with the cheese and just pop it into the oven. 


Good eating everyone..if you want recipes for anything else I'm making this week, leave a comment and I'll post it for you!

Not My Day

 So today started off as a good day, the LO was all smiles this morning and giggles, which I find totally AWESOME!  She took a nap and woke up on the wrong side of it, which made her cranky, which in turn made me cranky..
 

At about 5:00 pm tonight I began to feel resentful...

I resent the fact that I have to bend my life around someone else's inability to care for my LO. 

I resent the fact that I never know what is going to happen from day to day. 

I resent that I have to play nice and I don't want too. 

I resent that fact that I can't do what I want to anymore. 

And I resent that EVERYTHING I do is under a microscope. 

I resent that I have to keep my house spotless.

I resent the fact I have to deal with idiots.

And I also began to feel tired...

Tired of dealing with people who tell me what a good person I am..I don't feel like a good person, I'm just a person doing what needs to be done. Someone has to step up and take care of the LO and if it's me at least I know I have given her a fighting chance.

I'm tired of the looks of sadness when I tell them she's my foster baby.

Tired of washing bottles.

I'm tired of having to visitors to my house..

I'm tired of baby vomit.

I'm tired of listening to a LO scream her head off because she doesn't want to be in that damn car seat any longer, because I have forgotten that I can't do what I want to do anymore and I've kept her out to long...

I AM JUST TIRED...

On my way home while the LO was screaming (it was a 5 mile drive) I was trying to think about what steps I can take to make things easier on myself. So here is my plan..

Tomorrow I'm going to plan out my meals for the week and I'm going to go the grocery store and the dairy..I'm going to try and get the laundry washed and dried.

On Sunday when the LO is being visited by biological grandma, I'm going to try and cook the meals for the week, so all I have to do is reheat them..and I'm going to fold the laundry and change the sheets on the bed.

Blessed Be..and good night

Today I Remember!

We all owe a debt of gratitude to those among us who have served in the military.  I have spent my life surrounded by the military.  I am the daughter of a retired Navy sailor, who is the son of a retired Navy sailor!  I was married to a military member for 13 years.  I have been lucky to spend a lot of time with military members and I know just how dedicated to serving our country and upholding our way of life. 

My grandfather Generose was a first generation American who join the Navy right after World War I as a boatswains mate.  He served 30 years and eventually retired as a Chief Warrant Officer.  He served in the Pacific during World War II as well as being involved with the liberation of the Phillipines. 

Before he passed away I asked him about his service during Pearl Harbor.  He told me that his ship should have been in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked but they hadn't preformed their maneuvers correctly and the Commander made them circle around and do it again, thus delaying their return to port.  My grandfather said that the crews were really pissed off about that until they heard the news later about the attack.  I believe my grandfather served on a ship in the carrier group TF-8 which was a group of ships that the were returning from Wake Island.  He told me he was on the USS California, but he must have mixed them up because the USS California was moored at Battleship Row and was damaged in the attack.

Unfortunately hind sight is 20/20 and I know now that I should have asked him more questions before he passed away.  All of his memories have been lost to me, as my father doesn't remember anything about my grandfathers time in the service.  I have done some research on my grandfather and I came across the National Archives-Military Service Records site and I requested his service records.  Though the records didn't tell me where he served I did end up with a list of all of his awards and they even sent me some of his medals.  Which was sooooo cool. 

My grandfather was dedicated to servicing his country and protecting the freedoms of US Citizens and I'm proud to be his granddaughter.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

Today I drove up to Escanaba to give a seminar to a clinic.  On the way home I stopped off to have coffee with one of my new twitter friends Jen of Making A Home and Family and her LO.  I had a great time and it was nice to chat in person.  After I left, I got lost (not unusual) and while I was getting myself discombobulated I came across this sign painted on a house.

Now this next picture is what happens when you say your going to do something but then don't..ie say your going to clean the kitchen after I worked all day, took care of the LO, and then cooked dinner..You get a picture of yourself in a silly position.  I came out and there he was! I guess being 42 and having a baby can make you really, really tired!

4 Questions

Every morning when I get up I have a four things I do to make my day go better..I take my vitamins, I brush my teeth, put on my makeup, and ask myself four questions.

This has been my morning ritual for years but lately I've had to modify my morning ritual to include bottle washing..those darn things don't wash themselves.  Because I've had to add bottle washing as well as caring for LO to my rituals, sometimes other things slip..I forget to put on my makeup or take my vitamins, I've even forgotten to brush my teeth but I always remember to ask my four questions..They are what keeps me grounded!

They are simple questions but they have a power of their own.  I have them written on a post-it note and stuck to my bathroom mirror.
 

Question 1.  Who do I love?
Question 2.  Who loves me?
Question 3.  What am I proud of?
Question 4.  What do I wish to accomplish today?

I also have them written in my calendar and in my household planner.  I have them stuck in other places so that when I forget who I am, or where I am going,  I can stop and ask the questions again to help me get back on track.

There have been days in my life when I struggle to remember who loves me.  Or I can't find a thing to be proud of, but I never move on to the next question until I have an answer..Someone always loves you and there is always something to be proud of in you life.  As for accomplishments..sometimes just asking the four questions is accomplishment enough. 

Today when I asked the questions these were my replies:

Question 1.  Who do I love?
I love my son and my LO.

Question 2.  Who loves me?
My son and my parents.

Question 3.  What am I proud of?
I'm proud of the way I am raising my children and that I have blogged for 8 days in a row.

Question 4.  What do I wish to accomplish today?
Getting that rack set done in Milwaukee and getting home at a decent time so I can write my 9th post.  

We all have our own rituals, those things that we do rote, so our day runs smooth.  What are some of your morning rituals?  And what would be your answers to the four questions? 

Day 8 of NaBloPoMo

Its already 8 days into November and I have yet to figure out if I should be writing these posts the night before and schedule them to post the next day. If I should get up early and write them in the morning (this is a virtual impossibility as mornings and I are like oil and water, we do not mix well!) or if I just keep doing what I'm doing at sit down to write them after the LO is down for the night. The problem with writing them at night is I'm tired and have no motivation to write something original..

That being said I'm going to write about something that has come up today..
Veronica at CrunchyVTMommy and over at Raising My Boychick everyone was talking about Erica Jongs article Mothering Madness in the Saturday issue of the Wall Street Journal.  Both blogs had great takes on Attachment Parenting and how motherhood isn't a prison.

I'd like to talk about her third paragraph which starts out like this:

We also assume that "mother" and "father" are exclusive terms, though in other cultures, these terms are applied to a variety of aunts, uncles and other adults. Kinship is not exclusively biological, after all, and you need a brood to raise a brood.

She is correct, it doesn't take blood to raise a family.  Look at all the people who become foster parents and adoptive parents.  We take on children that are not biologically ours and try to raise them to the best of our ability.  But adoptive/foster parents sometimes face an uphill battle because the children they choose to raise can already have issues making proper attachments, making it more important that these mothers focus on attachment and not "handing" them off to others to help raise. 

Her next few sentences are this..

Cooperative child-rearing is obviously convenient, but some anthropologists believe that it also serves another more important function: Multiple caregivers enhance the cognitive skills of babies and young children. Any family in which there are parents, grandparents, nannies and other concerned adults understands how readily children adapt to different caregivers. Surely this prepares them better for life than stressed-out biological parents alone.

This statement perplexes me "how readily children adapt to different caregivers." Yes, children do well with multiple care givers but studies show that home care is preferable to day care.  A child being in daycare lends to an parent to being more of an attachment parent at night and on weekends.  How else do you reconnected with them?  My LO is taken from me twice a week for three hours with people that she doesn't really know to see a mentally ill mother that doesn't know how to attach to her child.  It takes hours sometimes to get my disorganized LO back to her secure self.  Why would I damage her "self" by handing her off to anyone if I didn't have too?  

When I was a babe back in the early 70's my mother was encouraged to bottle feed, to let me cry myself to sleep, and to not pick me up all the time.  And even now as an adult, I can tell my mom that is not how I want to raise my child she will argue with me.  She'll tell me how it didn't do me any harm..So how do I know that when I leave my child with her that she is following my wishes?  That I want her picked up him instant he cries, that I want her to lay down with him until he falls asleep, that I want her to wear him as much as possible.  I don't and neither do other parents who choose to follow the Attachment Parenting path.  Please note..I'm not dissing my mom, I love my mom tremendously and without her I wouldn't be who I am today, but I recognize her limits

And her final sentence of the paragraph

Some of these stressed-out parents have come to loathe Dr. Sears and his wife and consider them condescending colonialists in love with noble savagery.

I have found that the parents who are "stressed-out" tend to be the ones that can't see the long term results of the two to three years of stress..Yes it was hard to breast feed my son until he was 2, but now at 16, I smile everyday because I know that my attachment parenting made him the fine young man he is today!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

I view Sunday as my day of rest..It's my day of doing what ever I want..sleeping in until noon, staying in my PJ's all day, baking, taking 3 hour baths, reading..what ever I want!!
I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do today but I did get some baking done. Whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies..(insert your imagined picture here because I forgot to take some!)

Here's the recipe that I feel I've perfected over the last 30 years or so...
When I bake I'm all about easy does it.  I have a fabric box that contains all my dry baking ingredients so all I have to do is pull it out and everything is there. I use butcher's paper under my mixer and measure out my dry ingredients on it so I can just throw it out after. I also use parchment paper on my cookie sheets, so I can just wipe them off when I'm done baking..its all about the easy at my house!

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter-softened
8 TBS butter flavored Crisco (I know..terrible but they are softer this way)
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla (I always add a dash more)
2 1/4 C unbleached flour
2 C of chocolate chips
1 C nuts if you like them
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Beat butter, Crisco, and both sugars until creamy, add eggs until combined. Then add in baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Gradually add flour to mixture..once combined add chocolate chips and nuts (optional).  Drop cookie dough on to a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

I use a small cookie scoop to place dough on the cookie sheets.  Also, I take the cookies out when they are a little lighter in color and leave the cookies on the sheet for about 3 minutes.  This allows the cookies to keep cooking but not get to crunchy..my family likes soft almost mushy cookies.

Music Review-Kids Keller Williams

So tonight I'm going to try my hand at a music review...
I like artists like A Fine Frenzy, Meiko, and Jack Johnson though I have been know when in a funky mood to listen to CocoRosie (if you just want to listen to a cool cover of Turn Me On click on over to KCO meets CocoRosie) and even Cavo but I haven't listened to kids music in probably 10 years.
So LO and I have been listening to Dvork and Mozart cause I'm not sure that Turn Me On sung provocatively is good for babies!

I picked up a few CD's at the library like Bill Harley and Playful Baby but they just don't really do it for me..so I set about looking for something that would meet my needs as well as her growing needs.

I stumbled upon Keller Williams and his new album Kids..This album is his first-ever children's record.  There are several songs that are sung with his daughter which brings the feeling of this really being a children's record. 

Keller Williams is primarily a solo artist who a combines assorted genres into his music.  He has a bluezy, jazzy sometimes alternative bluegrass feel to his music.  Think Jack Johnson but a with a bit of bluegrass mixed in.

His guitar playing and complex melodies are enough to keep adults entertained and his lyrics are funny and sometimes bawdy.  (And by bawdy, I mean g-rated bawdy.)  Two of the tracks Good Advice and Mama Tooted are just two of the tracks that have some bawdy type lyrics that will make parents smile as well as make 5-10 year olds laugh out loud. 

Some of the songs I really enjoyed..

Car Seat-(Track 2) this is a great song with a Jack Johnson kind of feel..it has a good beat and some great rhythm.  The lyrics are catchy and give good visualization of a car seat being a rocket ship and how you can just lay back and chill in your car seat.  This is a good song for a reluctant car seat child who complains about the straps being tight and the discomfort that being restrained can cause.

Free download of Car Seat

Taking a Bath-(Track 6) this is a fast paced folksy, bluegrass song that talks about taking a bath to get the stink off.  I'd play this song as we were heading off to take a bath to a child who was not a fan of bathing.  

Hey Little Baby-(Track 9) This song is sung with Keller and his daughter..and is an acoustic song about a baby waking up in the middle of the night and maybe needing a diaper change, but there's some hugging going on there too!

Grandma's Feather Bed-(Track 13) This is a great cover of John Denver's Grandma's Feather Bed..he definitely freshens up this song and if I wouldn't have been exposed to John Denver as a kid I never would have realized it was a cover.  It has a blues, funky kind of feel..

There is really only one song that I'm not to keen on and that's because this is a kids album and kids have short attention spans..the fourth track-Hulahoop to da loop..this is a great display of Keller's musical abilities but as it starts out it reminds me of the song that plays during the opening credits of a movie soundtrack...it takes a full 1:40 minutes before the lyrics start..once those lyrics start its a great song and I have heard it played on XM Kid's Place several times without the led in..He could have knocked 1 minute off the song and it would have been perfect!

Over all this is a great album, that I think will meet the needs of children under 10 and their parents.  They lyrics are catchy and simple, lending to easy learning so the whole family can join in on the singing fun.  Even though the lyrics are simple, there is a definite grown up component to Keller's music that will delight parents.  I give this album 5 stars!

Edited--Keller Williams supports audio taping of his performances and non-commercial use of the recording..if you'd like to listen to some of his adult music head on over to the Internet Archive. The Internet Archive is a 501c3 that is building an archive of digital formats.

Friday Night Lights..OUT??

Okay so it's day 5 of National Blog Post Month and once again I find myself at the end of the night scrambling to write a post before lights out...but I'm going to do this..I can write a post a day for the next 30 days..I am strong, I am invincible..bah who am I kidding..

This morning as I rolled, and I literally mean rolled, out of bed to get the LO a bottle I felt every bone in my back crack and pop.  All I could think about is why the hell am I doing this to myself?  Why the hell am I raising a little baby..I'm supposed to be on the home stretch.

But later when she cuddled up to me and grabbed my necklace, she's in love with it, I remembered why I'm doing this..because this little girl of mine needs the best start I can give her.  She needs to know that she is loved and that no matter what I'm there for her.  She needs ME..even if I'm popping and cracking all the way to the kitchen!

Speaking about being there..one plus of taking LO into my heart is I have gotten to know a lot of interesting and fabulous people.  People that I would have never had the chance to meet if I'd just stayed in my cushy little bubble of 40ish with a teenager.  I've met a lot of these great people on Twitter and I so appreciate all their input and their kind words! Thanks to everyone! If you want to get to know some fabulous people just check out my twitter feed!

Just 5 More Minutes

Last night I had a bout of insomnia..which is a regular occurance.  What made last night different was that I couldn't take anything to help me sleep.  We co-sleep with the LO and even if I didn't co-sleep I would be afraid that I wouldn't wake up if she needed me. 
I drifted off about 2:30 after moving her yet again because I was hugging the edge of the bed..and I have a king size bed!  She woke up at 4:30 for a bottle and moving around woke me up enough to struggle getting back to sleep.  The alarm went off at 6:30 which I pummell to the point of breaking and the LO stirred..all I wanted was to close my eyes for 5 more minutes but LO was having nothing to do with that..I started working on this poem (advisory....I am not a poet and I know it!)

Please little one give me 5 more minutes

To lay in bed

To rest my head

Please little one just 5 minutes more

To cook us dinner

To do my hair

To sit on the couch and just not to care

I need 5 more minutes

To close my eyes

I need 5 more minutes 

To just to get by

I need 5 more minutes

just to cuddle with you

Wordless Wednesday

Today I had to drive up to Wausau to give a presentation on our new product.  On the way I stopped in Wittenberg to see a clinic there.  I love this little town in the middle of Wisconsin..their downtown has a great way to deal with older buildings...MURALS

Sissy My Co-Pilot