Book Review: The Wonder Weeks

I started reading "The Wonder Weeks" the other day. Okay, I skimmed it... barely...
It seemed like the gist of it was this: Sometimes your baby gets in fussy moods and these fussy, cranky moods can last all day and all night for weeks and weeks or maybe just part of the day or part of the night or maybe not at all and you just need to be patient with them, because they're babies and they are learning new things and every time they're fussy for any length of time it's a precursor to them learning something new so just give them a break because the moral of the story is: BABIES CRY.

I just couldn't get interested in the book.
It goes through week by week from birth to 18 months. I really thought I would get into it, but the parts I skimmed seemed to say the same thing to me over and over- like the beginning of every George Straight song (I really like The King, btw). Maybe if I was on my first baby I would find it more interesting.
It did get me to thinking, though... Babies are like little aliens. The are completely brand new, foreign to  our world. Where they are living before, they weren't even breathing air! EV-ER-EE-SING-GULL-LIT-TILL-THING is like NOTHING they've ever experienced before! actually, it's not "like nothing they've ever seen before, it IS NOTHING they've ever seen before. I know this isn't a new concept to anyone older than a baby, but have you ever thought for an extended period of time what that would be like? We can travel to different countries and the culture, language, weather, and everything else may be new and different to us, but at least we all breath the same, we all eat, sleep, use the restroom. There may be modifications to the way things are done in different places with different people, but we all know these things will take be done and we can do themselves. But a baby can't do an
y of these things and they have no idea what's coming next or what it will be like or anything. That would create quite a bit of anxiety in any adult, even the most laid back among us- to not know anyone around, have no idea where your next meal is coming from, when you are going to get cleaned up... the list goes on... When you really think about it and put yourself in a baby's position it's no wonder they cry! It's no wonder they get scared or have separation anxiety- THEY'RE ON A WHOLE NEW PLANET!
Okay, I might come back to this "thought" later. In short, "The Wonder Weeks"- check it out from the library, return the next day! Sorry, that's not fair. There might be some really good tips in there. If there are, let me know. Maybe I'll check it out again.




A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"
"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."
The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."
Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
"You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"
- Unknown

# 0042: Reason #7,482

I posted this on our family blog on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 and titled it "Reason #7,482":

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, my girl told me she did not want to go to heaven, she wanted to stay home with me and Dadda and her brother at our house. I told her that God and Jesus who we pray to every night would be there and that really it is the place to be. Besides, me and Dadda are planning on being there one day and we'd all really like it if she and her brother were there, too. (I didn't want to get into a whole lot of, "we'll go there when we die" stuff because then we'd have a whole new set of questions.)

I could tell she really wasn't too sold on living somewhere else. I dropped it for awhile, but then I brought it back up again at lunch and tried to explain to her that heaven is actually our real home. We'll only be here for a little while then we'll go live with Jesus in heaven forever. Somehow or another I think it became clearer to her this second time around.

All I could think was how incredibly thankful I am to have been the one there to answer that question (even if it was technically a statement). I am the one that was there to ease her concerns on this subject (a very important one) that she was confused about. There are so many parts of my day that make me grateful to be a stay-at-home mom to these kids. I couldn't begin list all the reasons (well, I could begin, but I don't know that I would ever finish until maybe the year 2028 and even then I think I would be able to continue), but this particular conversation on this particular day I will call "Reason #7,482."

I am thankful that I was there, I was available and we were not rushed. I'm also thankful for all the previous 7, 481 reasons that led to this one. Without all those, would she have even trusted me enough to ask?

Maybe not all of her questions will be as important as this one, but they might be to her at the time and I plan on being there. I'm glad to be "The Mom" and I'll send the baby-daddy a quick email saying thanks and say a prayer of thanks later, too.

Reason #7,483: One boy and one girl each hugging one of my legs while I made zucchini bread and my big girl saying, "We love you so much, Mama!"

Have you ever heard the saying, "If we don't teach our kids to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to."? I believe it. We can't entrust anyone else with the responsibility of pointing our kids to Christ. We hope and pray that they will meet people along the way that will be encouraging to them, but God gave us the responsibility first when He gave us these babies. 
I read something else the other day about how nightly prayers, attending church, daily devotions or Bible readings really aren't enough to show your child the love of God- they have to see you live it. 
I love that my kids can see me walk the walk everyday. Oh yeah, I walk the walk every day- I'm the ultimate Christ-like example. No, I'm not. I'm confident that there are better examples out there, but I'm the one that He gave these kids! 

# 0041: Snuggling Up, Watching a Movie

Classic. You see this on facepage statuses all the time: "Snuggled up on the couch watching a movie with my kiddo tonight!"
We have movie nights fairly often and they're a big deal. We have to have things picked up and ready to jump in bed as soon as the "big show" is over. We have one of those movie theatre popcorn poppers that we drag out and we watch a show we've never seen before. We try not watch movies or TV constantly so that when we do it's an event.
I love relaxing and holding those little kids snuggled up on the couch! I love to see them get into the show. It's a great way to end the day.
You could say that movie watching is a lousy way to spend quality time together; there's no talking, no engaging, you're just vegging out. True, but sometimes it's nice to veg out together, with no talking, just some laughs occasionally and the snuggling. Of course, the snuggling.

This exactly what ours looks like. We even update the marque.

We got some popcorn buckets at Target.

One day we want to get one of those big projection screens and a progector I guess for the backyard. Fun.

# 0040: Making Faces

I HATE GAS PRICES!!!!... therefore I hate pumping gas, going to gas stations and just about everything about gasoline. HOWEVER!!!!... I love making faces with and at my kids!
Soooooo... we take something that none of us like (the kiddos don't like it because they know it's just a delay in getting them to our much anticipated super-happy-fun destination) and have fun in spite of it... for at least just a minute.
I love to make faces at them through the window. I see them sitting in there, still in their seats, starring straight ahead, looking completely bored and I love seeing their faces light up when I peek in with my eyelids pulled up and my tongue sticking out. It beats watching those numbers roll up!
I'm sure this activity wont last forever. Soon they'll have their noses in books or phones or anything else, but their goofy mom. For now it's a fun game to play, a nice distraction to lighten the mood... while the oil companies lighten our wallets... sigh...

Another fun face making game to play is to take pictures of your crazy face and see whose is the funniest. My siblings and husband and I used to do this before we had kids... Remember the novelty of the digital camera? We would plug it into the TV to view the pics off of it and then get carried away passing the camera around to see who could make the ugliest face.

# 0039: My Growth... Part II

I love when babies get to the age where they're hanging on your hip with their arm around your shoulder and the other one dropped to their side like they're cool; like any minute they could throw a gang sign up in your face. (I don't know if this is funny or not: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/babies-gang-signs_n_1891304.html)
I love mine squeezes my upper arm between his little body and his own arm when we walk upstairs and how he grabs onto my chest with his other hand going around a corner (I don't know why he does- I'm not that fast).
I love how they look like they're in charge; like they're the mighty sea captain directing the ship where to go- like little Jack Sparrows...

Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean

Alright- now let's get out of here- word to your mother!

# 0038: My Growth

I have developed a "growth" on my right hip... It's a really chunky, giggly, slobbery, adorable growth. I guess we've entered into the "attachment" or "separation anxiety" phase. It took him longer to get here than it took the other two. Actually, he detaches easier than the other two did, which is kind of good since there is the other two.

I love that little growth! Most days it feels like I'm walking through mud to get things done around the house because of the neediness of this age, but I know from experience that this growth wont hang on forever. In just a matter of days he'll be crawling. Still, it's good for him to sit and play with a basket of toys while I type up a blog post every now and then.
Oh!- Did you think I was going to talk about Reason # 0038 being my growth as a mother? Oh yeah- there's that, too...

Book Review: Deceptively Delicious

I was walking through the library a few weeks ago to pick up some books we had on hold and Deceptively Delicious was on a display along with some other cookbooks. I remembered seeing Jessica Seinfeld on one of those morning talk shows (that I despise...) peddling her book a few years back when it first came out. I remembered thinking it sounded kind of interesting so I grabbed it.

The design is cute and retro- I like it. It explains how to do everything from the pureeing of the vegetables and fruits to the actually recipes themselves. She explains alot and even has input from a real dietitian.

I found some recipes that looked good. I bought up my veggies and pureed them one day. The pureeing was the most time intensive part. I tried the brownies first; the brownies with carrots and spinach. They were not bad. My critics said they tasted a little weird, but still satisfied the sweet tooth. I tried sweet potatoes in my pancakes- that was good! We did cauliflower and butternut squash in our grilled cheeses- I liked that, too. The apple sauce muffins with carrot in them was a big hit! I tried several other recipes from the book; some were okay, some were good, but over all they were healthy! I knew that I was getting an extra dose of something healthy where I usually wouldn't be. It's like a buy one, get one... sort of. 

This is not a new criticism of the book, but I don't see how it really teaches your kids to eat their veggies. They're not learning to like the taste and texture of them. IF they help you prepare the food, they might learn the importance of eating them (if it's important to you, it might become important to them). But they're not really learning to enjoy the fruits and veggies. 

I like the book. I think it's a pretty good idea, but I don't expect my kids to be all about spinach and cauliflower now. I like the book because it reminds me to eat healthy and if I can sneak in an extra vegetable somewhere I should (eggs are a great place to start)! My kiddos are pretty good eaters, but you're not going to find them begging for broccoli or olives or slices of cucumber. More than likely you wont see them slamming a V8, but you wont see us putting away a Dominoes pizza at 9 pm either, I'm just sayin'. 

As far as really getting my kids to eat well, we start them early with introducing lots of different foods. I try to lead by example and I try to make sure they get a variety. Of course, threats and promises of after meal treats are tools of the trade as well.

Jessica Seinfeld has a couple of suggestions too, like eating together, staying on a daily meal schedule and talking about anything else but food at the table. 

You could check out the book or you could have a V8...

# 0037: Bible Stories

Last week, I had the opportunity of teaching my two oldest kids in Sunday School. Long story, but we walked in, turned the light on and jumped into class with no plan really. I opened up the Children's Bible to a random page and started reading. 

I told the story of Baby Moses (Exodus 1-2) and compared him to our little baby boy. Then, we made our own Baby Moseses and baskets and a river and yada, yada class was over! 

Since becoming a mom, I love that I am able to understand better certain Bible stories like this one. I love that I "get it" when it comes to matters involving other parents and children, because like everything else in the Bible, the principles never go out of date, they are never irrelevant. 

How terrifying it must have been to be a pregnant Hebrew woman just hoping that your baby wouldn't be born a boy because you knew he would be taken from you and killed. I can't imagine your husband would feel that great about it either. Then, for Moses's mom to carry him, birth him, keep him hidden and nurse him for 3 months then send him down a river in a basket! I can't imagine putting a three month old baby in a basket in a river and just hoping for the best. That was the best she could do. 

I love that I can understand these people's feelings better because I'm a parent, too. That's as far as I want it to go, though. I don't want to experience having a Pharaoh that would sentence my kids to death as soon as they're born. Just being parents is where the comparisons can stop for me.

What a blessing for Moses's mom when her sister convinced Pharaoh's daughter to let "a Hebrew woman" nurse him. She got her baby back! She got him back for a while longer anyway. 

I love that I "get" this stuff just a little better now that I have had my own babies. 

This isn't the only story in the Bible having to do with parents, babies, family, etc, of course. There are so many great motherly and fatherly examples in the Bible. 

# 0038: Rocking Babies

I love rocking my babies. I love to be able to rock them to sleep or calm them down when they're worked up. 
Honestly my girl has been my favorite to rock. The boys were really more interested in the food. I could rock her all day long because she was the only one at the time. We would "rock 'n' read" after lunch and "rock, read-n, sing" before bed. 
I loved rocking the girl to sleep... until she got too big to rock to sleep. I'd think she was asleep, lay her down and those big eyes would pop open. That's when we had to start some sleep training. Around 9 months or so we had to let her cry it out... sort of. We kept our rockin' routine, then we checked in on her every 10-15 minutes and basically did everything but pick her up again. I even sat, holding her little fingers through the slats of her crib singing every verse of "Jesus Loves Me" I knew about 76 times each. I wanted to pick her up and rock her, but it just got to where she wouldn't rock to sleep anymore. We kept our routine except for the laying-her-down-completely-asleep part. She had to learn to get herself to sleep. You never know about those rascals. It was a different story with the boy and I know it will be different with the new boy, too.
I know there's a blog post going around right now about all the contradictions in baby sleep advice from the experts. I'm blessed to have my own panel of experts, of course; "The Grandmas". 
I'm not sure what all the expert books say, but I have yet to meet a grandma- anybody's grandma of any age that wasn't ready and willin' to drop everything for a chance to rock a baby. They all get that same sweet, longing look on their faces recalling the babies they've rocked. That tells me something. That tells me that rocking babies is meaningful (to say the least) for years to come for the babies and the mamas. It's bonding. It's memorable. It's something you don't want to miss out on! 
I'm all for the parenting books, but rocking babies just seems like basic common sense; a natural, motherly thing to do at least every once in awhile. I love the memories I have of rocking my babies. I even have memories of being rocked myself by both grandmas. I remember singing "This Little Light of Mine" while being rocked back and forth. 
This is the song that was going through my head while writing this post:

I'll do everything I can to make you proud to be my man 
And I'll fulfill all your fantasies
I guess we're promising a lot, but for now it's all we've got 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Rockin' chairs, rockin' babies, rock-a-bye, rock of ages 
Side by side we'll be together always 
And if you'll hold me tight when you love me 
That's all I'll ask of you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

I'll be your friend, I'll be your lover 
Until the end, there'll be no other 
'Cause my heart has only room for one 
Yes, I'll always love you, and I'll always be here for you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Rockin' chairs, rockin' babies, rock-a-bye, rock of ages 
Side by side we'll be together always 
And if you'll hold me tight when you love me 
That's all I'll ask of you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Rockin' chairs, rockin' babies, rock-a-bye, rock of ages 
Side by side, we'll be together always 
And, yes, I'll always love you and I'll always be here for you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years, and I'll be here 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Thru our rockin' years 

Yep, that's "Rockin' Years" (Dolly Parton with Ricky Van Shelton from their albums Eagle When She Flies and Backroads, respectively)

# 0037: The Differences

Today at lunch, my little boy took a big bunch of grapes out of the box. "Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-o..." he said very excitedly as he pulled the bunch out by the stem!
"Are you gonna eat all those," I asked him? He answered with more "whoa" s, dropped them on his plate and dug in.
His older sister was sitting next to him with a skeptical look on her face. She said, "I don't think he's going to eat all those."
"Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-o..." was about all he could say (he's a little Joey Lawernce in training).

Pretty typical convo, right? Typical boy with eyes bigger than his stomach. Typical unimpressed girl living in reality about these crazy "feats of strength".
I had to laugh. I love that I get to see for myself, up close these major differences right there in my own kitchen.
These kids may be "typical", but they keep me entertained! I love seeing these typical differences between boy and girl. I love being able to enjoy both of them and have fun with their distinctions.