New Babies Everywhere!

So it seems that EVERYONE I know has just had or is about to have a baby.  Is there something in the water?  My husband and I have two boys who are 5 and 7, and I have been pretty satisfied with that until lately.  Do I want more?  I mean, wouldn't it be neat to have a big family?  Even the possibility of a daughter? 

Then I remember the all-nighters, breastfeeding, teething, baby-proofing, diapers... the list just goes on and on and I wonder: could I really do all that again?

So I wanna know, how many children do you/did you want?  Why?  I'm not looking for "whatever works for each family" kind of answers here, I want *your* story.  Why did you have 6 kids?  Why do you want an only child?  Why don't you want any at all?  I WANNA KNOW!  Oooh, sorry for yelling... I got carried away...

Favorite Author or Book?

Who is your favorite author and why? If you can't think of a specific author, you're certainly welcome to list your favorite book!

Happy National Punctuation Day?!.,-

(That's a little "title humor") Did you know that today is National Punctuation Day?  Today we celebrate our exclamation points, ampersands, quotation marks and yes, even commas.  Even commas, you ask?  Yes, even commas.  Why?  Because all punctuation is created equal and we must show honor where honor is due.  Where would we be as writers without punctuation?  We would be adrift in a sea of words, never knowing if one was making a statement or asking a question. 

Today is actually the 5th Annual National Punctuation Day, and the official website declares it... "the holiday that reminds America that a  'semicolon is not a surgical procedure'."  It was founded in order to remind professionals across the country the importance of using correct punctuation, and has expanded to help raise "punctuation awareness" in schools everywhere.  

I like the idea of a National Punctuation Day... I mean, we just celebrated Talk Like A Pirate Day, and if something like running around yelling "argggggh" has its own holiday... well... I think something as important as punctuation should too!

Sleep Baby, Sleep

Sleeping through the night - I have never understood why this topic is of such interest to perfect strangers.  When I had my first baby, I would be carrying him through a store or park and people would come up to admire how cute he was (because who doesn't want to cuddle a new baby?).  They would say, "Oh, he's so cute", or, "Oh what a sweet baby", the usual new-baby fare.  This would be immediately followed by, "Does he sleep through the night yet?"

Having been strapped... er, blessed, with a high-needs baby, I can tell you that this kid didn't even sleep through the hour, much less the whole night.  I would stammer, embarrassed, that he slept "okay" or "enough", or just laugh and say "not even".  This would, of course, somehow entitle them to give me their opinion on just exactly what it was I was doing wrong.  "Well he's waking up because you're 'letting' him", or "Just ignore him; he'll quit crying eventually".

I am assuming that since it happened to me, it likely happens to everyone.  So here are some things to consider.

Every baby is different.  Some babies eat all the calories they need throughout the day, and some do not.  Most babies actually have a biological need to eat at least once in the middle of the night until nine months of age.  That bit of info certainly would have helped me!

Babies need their mommies.  When baby sleeps in a different room at night and wakes up, alone, he may need physical reassurance to get back to sleep.  Much the way an older child does when awaking from a scary dream, or the way I do when I wake up in the middle of the night and scootch a little closer to hubby if I've got the heebie jeebies.

Throughout history and around the world, babies were not expected to sleep all night.  Our current culture of forced independence and solitude is unnatural - look at any tribal society around the world and it becomes apparent.

Just remember that you are the mommy, and no one knows your baby better than you do.  Next time baby wakes up in the night, just hold and cuddle him and enjoy his baby softness - because let me tell you - it won't last forever.

Lights, Action... No Camera?

My kids went to the Casa Manana for the first time today.  The Casa Manana is a local children's theatre that offers such a great experience!  Actually, I have been once before on a field trip when I was seven... so I was very excited to go back.  I had considered going earlier, but the kids were smaller, and the tickets.. yikes!  Then I found out that my homeschool group was offering tickets for almost half off -- I could not resist.

The current show is Sleeping Beauty, and believe me, it wasn't your mother's sleeping beauty - they took considerable creative liberties with the story.  The fairy who cast the curse was a record spinning DJ who spoke in rap, and the curse stated that on Maven's 16th birthday, she would prick her finger on a record needle and die.  I laughed out loud... there were several jokes made, like, "what's a record player?  Oh, what's that round thing... some sort of antique plate?"

There were several other twists that just made it hysterical, and my kids sat there, completely mesmerized, for almost an hour and a half... didn't hurt that we were in the SECOND ROW -- that's right, SWEET tickets!  Will I go again?  That would be an emphatic YES.

I am quite uncultured, given that my only experience with live theater was in the second grade, and had no idea how breathtakingly wonderful it is to watch a live show (that isn't at Six Flags).  How on earth did recorded movies become more popular than this?  I have discovered a whole new world...

Homeschooling, A Personal Choice

I am a homeschooler, and I am completely dedicated to it.  Not only am I dedicated, but I truly love it, and that is what makes it possible to do this day in and day out.  Not everyone loves it, not everyone wants to do it... and that's ok.

I hate housework... no, that's not strong enough... I despise housework.  It is something that must be done, and I do the bare minimum.  Our floors are mopped (most of the time) and our bathrooms smell nice.  There are no unwelcome visitors in our kitchen and I *try* to vacuum at least once a week.  I have friends who enjoy housework... now, that's not to say that they just run around the house singing while they mop, but they derive a deep satisfaction from it and enjoy the process.  It is an action that receives the benefit of their spark, their personal enjoyment.  My housework receives no such spark.

I have known people who felt that way about homeschooling.  They realized that their children needed to be educated, and felt that educating them at home was the best choice, but they did not have a *love* of homeschooling.  They loved their kids, absolutely, but the schooling process received no spark or personal enjoyment.  These moms are generally told by other homeschooling moms that they just need to see it through, or that no matter how hard it is, it's better than sending their kids to school.  I disagree.  I believe that each family is different and that if mom truly hates homeschooling, how are the kids going to benefit from that?

Now, this may seem like a negative article, a "just give up" message, but it isn't.  This is for anyone who feels pressured to raise their kids a certain way, but deep down they just don't "feel" it.  It is OK to do what YOU know is right for your family.  For mine, it is homeschooling, for others it may be private or public school.  Find your joy and live in it. 

Who Says Video Games Are Bad?

On one of my “all-natural mommy” message boards, I have to go incognito.  They can never know who I really am – or they would ban me for life!  Who am I?  I am a video game junkie.

I am a child of the 80’s (okay, so I was born in ’79, but close enough right?) and so I grew up on video games.  The funny thing is, because my parents were so very young, they loved them too.  Because of this, some of the best memories I have are of the whole family clustered around the television, rooting for whomever happened to have the remote and offering suggestions where needed.  At my house, videogames were never a solitary venture; they were always looked upon as a group activity.  This has carried over into my life as a parent, and now we have a Wii, an Xbox and a Gamecube that we utilize almost daily (my husband and I more so than the kids some days!).  We look at it as a family activity and as a chance to bond, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

As a self professed “green mama”, that aspect of my life doesn’t quite fit with the rest.  My all-natural parenting groups poo poo television and video games, calling them “crack” and “brain killers”, and I simply have to zip my lip and apologize to Mario and Luigi the next time we meet.

Questions?

Why do you think there is so much buzz surrounding Sara Palin, I mean Hillary Clinton is a woman too right?

What exactly is it about the "fingernails on a chalkboard" sound that evokes that awful physical reaction? Do you know anyone who experiences an exreme reaction?

What exactly prompted someone to eat an egg for the very first time in history? I mean, this thing came out of a bird's behind and they think, hey, let's eat it?

Why is it okay for men to be a little overweight, but not women? Does that mean that men are more shallow?