Saturday, May 26, 2012

Mommy Wars

Am I the only one who didn't realize this was "a thing"? Mommy Wars -- apparently the phrase was coined in the '80's when I was still playing with pogo-balls and fashion plates. Don't get me wrong. I know there is competitiveness among mommies who ascribe to different theories -- believe me I know. I guess I just didn't realize it had a name. And also that moms in some countries don't experience it. I guess what I'm saying is, I thought it was normal. And, yes, I've been a perpetrator and a victim.

I found this post while looking for a devotional, and I found it very interesting...and moving. Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable

It is the third of five in a series on the topic. I started with the third because it was the most recent one at the time, but I found them all uplifting and thought-provoking. And I thought we gals, gals who all mean well though we may have been inadvertent perpetrators at one time or another, could advance Mommy Peace and Mommy Grace and Mommy Dependence on God. I'm going to try to make that my thing.

Love you girls!  

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Just a Moment-o Please

A large part of the great thing about having kids rests in the little things. The things that maybe no one else would notice (unless they are with your kids hours upon hours) and if they did notice, they surely wouldn't think those "things" are as adorable or as significant you do.

My life is full of these little things, and I've been using a great app for capturing those little moments (who has time for a full-fledged journal?!) It is appropriately named Momento (by d3i for iPhone and iPad). This app allows you to record anything you want to remember and tag it (if you want), so you can find like items. (In my case, tags are simple: talking, walking, family, playtime...) You can also import feeds from your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or a dozen more online accounts, so that your "diary" is all in one place. The things you write directly into Momento can stay private, which is great because I am in love with my boy, but even I don't think that the whole world wants to know when he starts to say the word egg like "egk" instead of "agk." I don't pretend to be a tech review gal, so I'll just say it does lots of other cool stuff, and it's worth looking into. (It was runner up for Apple App of the Year in 2011...so it's quite possible that you all have been using it for months.)

Here are a couple of those little things that I've enjoyed in the past week:
  • When Bob Marley's "Is This Love" came on, Gavin started grooving in perfect rhythm, and looked at me like, "I love this song," though he had never heard it before.
  • When we were at a playdate, he had just finished putting all of the Duplo Legos back in the bucket, and a little friend came over a took a few out and started placing them on the floor. He watched her and looked down at each Lego like, "I just put those away..."
  • He has started blowing kisses and saying "mwah" or "mah" as he does.
There are lots of little things, and I'm happy to say, they make my life very big.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Trouble with Waiting

The trouble with waiting to publish a blog post is that with a toddler, most things move at lightning speed.

For example, my last post was about the love tags we are using and also about how I was so glad Gavin was feeling better after a rough week. I knew I was forgetting some love tags, so before I hit "publish," I thought I'd walk away for a little while until they came to me. Not an hour later (at 10 p.m.), he wakes up crying and would not be consoled, which is all but unheard of these days. Finally after a diaper change, Hyland's teething tablets, orajel and ibuprofen, I gave him a second spot of orajel, and he relaxed and went to sleep.

I DID think of a few more love tags in that time, and I added them, but otherwise left the blog as is. It was still a bright spot in a hard week. I just wasn't sure when I published it if the rest of the night would prove to be so as well. As with most things toddler--that was up in the air.

So anyway, why do I imagine that anyone cares about the internal puzzling of my blog-writing process? Well, there have been several posts that I published quickly, so they would be true at that moment. Then later, I learned a new bit of related information or realized I forgot something important. So recently, I went back to the posts and added comments to address the missing items.

Here are the posts with new comments:

Six reflections on pregnancy and the newborn days from this "poor little heady"
(If you're wondering why I'm OCD enough to go back and add the additional information, you may want to read this one.)

 Oh, the places I've pumped! (and other nursing adventures)






Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Current Love Tags

It's been a long time since I've posted love tags (the loving nicknames we are calling Gavin). We've just been through a trying week of breathing problems, fever, diaper rash and teething. What better time to recount our love tags. Here are the ones currently gushing forth.

Honey Bear
Baby Boo
Sweet Somethin'
Snuggle
Snuggle Pocket
Snuggle Pop
Sweetie Pie
Fussy Bucket (only when he's fussy, of course)
My Pumpkin Pie

Gavin is feeling much better now. So much so that he feels he can conquer the world, or at least, repeatedly walk toward and touch all of the off-limit items in the house (all the while smiling and saying "no" in acknowledgement). Oh well. I would much rather redirect a mischievous baby who is smiling than try desperately to figure out how to help a miserable baby who is just trying to make it through the day.

Today was a bright spot, and I am so thankful to my loving Lord for that.