Here is our Sunday afternoon. Perfection.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Do's and Dont's
Things we do 'round these parts:
Manicures - Ok, well I don't do them. But Ansley and my mom are pretty fantastic at them. They are happy to have a good hour session at a homemade salon here at our kitchen table. Compelte with a selection of colors, nail files, nail buffer thing (I am sure that is the official name) and even a beverage. Ironically, Ansley was introduced to a manicure at the Battlehouse Spa, so the nail salon next to Winn Dixie is not how she envisions her next manicure these days. I am fairly certain I never once played nail salon or spa growing up. If anything, my mom was hollering out the second story window at me to get down from the tops of the magnolia trees that grew around our house. I always climbed too high. I could climb with a book under one arm and be at the top in seconds. How romantic and wonderful does that sound? Reading away my childhood in the top of an Alabama magnolia tree. Now as an adult, I can't think how in the world that was any sort of comfortable. I am pretty sure I would never allow my kids to climb a tree like that these days. Perhaps I should.
Sleep - We sleep when and where we can these days. I don't make my children stay in their beds. Ansley almost always does anyway, but Stephen may venture out a few times a week. I can make a quick bed out of our love seat in the dark in under 15 seconds. I am pretty sure most mamas can. You don't want to sleep in your bed? Not a problem. You can sleep on the couch. Or on this pallet. If you will sleep, I will help you find the right location for the night. That location, however, is NOT in the bed with me and Jamey. Not so much because we don't want you there, but rather there is just no available real estate there at the moment. (See below under things we don't do)
Cartoons in the morning - Yes, we do it. We watch cartoons before school. I let my kids eat ON THE COUCH and watch cartoons. It keeps us happy. It keeps us moving. My kids know that if I see the process of breakfast eating or uniforms is slowing or coming to a halt, goodbye cartoons. I am sure an expert somewhere will tell me to make them come to the table so that we can all have breakfast together. Blah, blah, blah. Who really wants to have family talk time at 6am anyway. Ok, honestly, Ansley gets up as bright eyed and bushy tailed as they come, but must deal with me and Stephen (who are NOT morning people) and she does a fine job of this. Molly James is yet undetermined in the morning person status.
Things we DON'T do 'round these parts:
We don't do baby food yet. Babies are all different. And I am certainly not the mama I was 8 years ago when Ansley arrived. At MJ's four month checkup, the doctor told me to go ahead and start solids. He asked what foods we would like to start with? I told him that we would not be starting foods for a while. He looked at me and blinked. I must have looked pretty serious so he said, "Well, you are the mama and she looks fine to me," and that was that. It is important to me to nurse MJ for as long as I can. This is a decision that I feel is best for me and more importantly for her. (I am not suggesting that it is right for everyone or even anyone else.) She will be five months tomorrow. Gracious.
Put baby down and expect her to stay there: immobile she is not. So we are all on guard for where this baby decides to roll or inchworm next. Also, I am reminded of the condition of the carpet daily as I see her eyeballing teeny tiny peices of whatever is on the carpet. GROSS. So I vacuum. Again and again and again. Let me say again, GROSS.
Finally, nights of uninterrupted sleep - that is something we definitly do NOT do. Molly James does not sleep through the night. Not even close. Not even a little. And you know what? I am ok with that. We do kind of a half modified cosleeping sometimes. Sometimes we don't. She nurses as much as she wants through then night usually. And I am ok with that. She is a night snuggler. She reaches out for me with her eyes closed. She snuggles her body up next to mine. She will put her little hand on my face. And I am ok with that. She is tucked in safe between a daddy who loves her , a mama who loves her and a brother and sister asleep in the other room who believe the sun rises and sets because Molly James says it should. And I am ok with that.
There will be time for sleep again. Someday.
Manicures - Ok, well I don't do them. But Ansley and my mom are pretty fantastic at them. They are happy to have a good hour session at a homemade salon here at our kitchen table. Compelte with a selection of colors, nail files, nail buffer thing (I am sure that is the official name) and even a beverage. Ironically, Ansley was introduced to a manicure at the Battlehouse Spa, so the nail salon next to Winn Dixie is not how she envisions her next manicure these days. I am fairly certain I never once played nail salon or spa growing up. If anything, my mom was hollering out the second story window at me to get down from the tops of the magnolia trees that grew around our house. I always climbed too high. I could climb with a book under one arm and be at the top in seconds. How romantic and wonderful does that sound? Reading away my childhood in the top of an Alabama magnolia tree. Now as an adult, I can't think how in the world that was any sort of comfortable. I am pretty sure I would never allow my kids to climb a tree like that these days. Perhaps I should.
Sleep - We sleep when and where we can these days. I don't make my children stay in their beds. Ansley almost always does anyway, but Stephen may venture out a few times a week. I can make a quick bed out of our love seat in the dark in under 15 seconds. I am pretty sure most mamas can. You don't want to sleep in your bed? Not a problem. You can sleep on the couch. Or on this pallet. If you will sleep, I will help you find the right location for the night. That location, however, is NOT in the bed with me and Jamey. Not so much because we don't want you there, but rather there is just no available real estate there at the moment. (See below under things we don't do)
Cartoons in the morning - Yes, we do it. We watch cartoons before school. I let my kids eat ON THE COUCH and watch cartoons. It keeps us happy. It keeps us moving. My kids know that if I see the process of breakfast eating or uniforms is slowing or coming to a halt, goodbye cartoons. I am sure an expert somewhere will tell me to make them come to the table so that we can all have breakfast together. Blah, blah, blah. Who really wants to have family talk time at 6am anyway. Ok, honestly, Ansley gets up as bright eyed and bushy tailed as they come, but must deal with me and Stephen (who are NOT morning people) and she does a fine job of this. Molly James is yet undetermined in the morning person status.
Things we DON'T do 'round these parts:
We don't do baby food yet. Babies are all different. And I am certainly not the mama I was 8 years ago when Ansley arrived. At MJ's four month checkup, the doctor told me to go ahead and start solids. He asked what foods we would like to start with? I told him that we would not be starting foods for a while. He looked at me and blinked. I must have looked pretty serious so he said, "Well, you are the mama and she looks fine to me," and that was that. It is important to me to nurse MJ for as long as I can. This is a decision that I feel is best for me and more importantly for her. (I am not suggesting that it is right for everyone or even anyone else.) She will be five months tomorrow. Gracious.
Put baby down and expect her to stay there: immobile she is not. So we are all on guard for where this baby decides to roll or inchworm next. Also, I am reminded of the condition of the carpet daily as I see her eyeballing teeny tiny peices of whatever is on the carpet. GROSS. So I vacuum. Again and again and again. Let me say again, GROSS.
Finally, nights of uninterrupted sleep - that is something we definitly do NOT do. Molly James does not sleep through the night. Not even close. Not even a little. And you know what? I am ok with that. We do kind of a half modified cosleeping sometimes. Sometimes we don't. She nurses as much as she wants through then night usually. And I am ok with that. She is a night snuggler. She reaches out for me with her eyes closed. She snuggles her body up next to mine. She will put her little hand on my face. And I am ok with that. She is tucked in safe between a daddy who loves her , a mama who loves her and a brother and sister asleep in the other room who believe the sun rises and sets because Molly James says it should. And I am ok with that.
There will be time for sleep again. Someday.
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