Kevin is learning a lot of words and signs. Generally he really enjoys being able to communicate better. Some of the words he has learned recently include:
Cracker--he also knows the sign, which surprised me because I only used it a couple of times and that was a while ago
Book--also knows the sign. He really enjoys having me read books to him while he eats his lunch, and after every book he will make the sign and say "Booh? Booh?" so that I will read another one.
Where did it go?--If you watch the video of Kevin chasing Joanna a few posts ago, there's a part where he is asking "Where did she go? Where did she go?"
Please--this one has been a bit of a struggle, but I am trying to at least get him to start using the sign so that he will ask for things more politely. I am getting really frustrated with him whining for what he wants or crawling all over me to get what he wants from me, so I am hoping this will help a little bit with that problem, although I realize it's something that all kids do. Occasionally he realizes that if he just does the sign for please nicely, it's easier than whining for it, so hopefully he will start to figure it out if I keep enforcing that he needs to ask nicely.
Diaper--he's been starting to do the sign for diaper sometimes when he needs his diaper changed! That makes me really happy because if he can recognize the difference between a clean diaper and a dirty diaper, that's a step towards being ready to toilet train. He's still not quite ready for that yet, but I'm at least glad that he's starting to figure things out.
Bread
Bowl--which means popcorn about 90% of the time
Sometimes he will also do the sign for sleep and ask to go to bed. I'm happy to oblige! How many kids ask to go to bed? He is always so willing to go to sleep when it's time. I just have to put him in his crib and give him his blanket and Puppy, and he settles right down and looks at me as if to say, "Okay, go away now. I'm going to sleep." What a great kid!
Kevin likes to point at parts of our faces or his face and hear us say "Eyes," "Nose," "Mouth," etc. It's fun, except when he gets a little too vigorous with his eye-pointing.
Kevin and I went to the library and got some books about having a baby brother or sister come home. I don't think he really understands that a baby is going to be coming to our house (and staying!), but he did enjoy the books and maybe it will help somehow. I was really impressed because when I asked the librarian about it, she opened up a file folder and gave me a page with a whole list of children's books on that topic. Kevin enjoyed the children's section at the library. He liked the kids' seats and looking at all the books. This was the first time we've gotten books for Kevin at the library because I don't want him to ruin the books with paper pages, and I don't know that I like the idea of him playing with board books that other kids have probably chewed on.
I never know what to say when people ask me if Kevin knows about the baby. We talk to him about the baby coming, but I don't think he knows what that means. Sometimes he does like to reach up and touch my tummy, or he likes to come snuggle and rest one hand on my tummy, and I tell him that Baby Sister is inside, so I guess he kind of has an inkling of what's going on, but I don't know. Or maybe he still remembers her from before he was born and he's just not that surprised because he knew she would be following soon. : )
I'm finding that things feel better if I focus on Kevin while he's awake and reserve homework for when he's asleep. I don't know how that will work out, but I feel like it will. He is more content and I don't feel as stressed or frazzled if I do it that way. I've been noticing lately that he might need to go to bed a half hour earlier (7:30 instead of 8:00) because he seems tired earlier, so maybe that will help me find time to study.
Sometimes I just like to watch him do things. He has such fun expressions and he is learning so much. I feel so blessed to have him in my life and to get to teach and help him. Being a mother and a wife is my favorite thing ever.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
not my day . . . but it got better
Well, I thought I was starting off the day pretty well. I woke up and started off with reading my scriptures. I figured, I'll get prayer and scripture study done right now and then I can spend the morning working on my lab that's due this afternoon, which I haven't been able to find time to finish. Of course I knew better than to plan on that, but I still had my hopes up.
Two verses in, Kevin grabbed my finger and dragged me to the kitchen to get his breakfast. So Kevin and I had breakfast and I cleaned the table up and everything so I wouldn't have to worry about the soggy flakes on the table. Next came a diaper change and getting Kevin dressed. Ryan got in the shower and I figured now maybe I could say my prayers and get to work on my lab and Kevin could play. I was a little surprised that it was already 10:30, as I am every day when it's 10:30 or later and all we've accomplished is eating breakfast and getting dressed. I don't understand why that would take hours, but it does.
As soon as the books and the computer were out, the tantrums began. Kevin was frustrated with a toy. Tantrum. Kevin wanted to poke and prod at my computer and I wouldn't let him. Tantrum. Kevin wanted to draw. Crayons and a different notebook wouldn't do--it had to be with my pencil on the notebook paper I was writing my lab report on. I insisted on the crayons. Tantrum. He somewhat warmed up to the idea of coloring with the crayons after a minute and started coloring, but then mysteriously got frustrated and threw the crayons all over the room and screamed some more.
On top of all this, the lab was poorly written and I had a really hard time figuring out what was expected of me (which is how the class has been the entire semester). I was supposed to figure out the relative ages of a caldera and some craters based on a geologic map, but the file was a jpeg that could only be zoomed in all the way so I couldn't get an idea of the big picture or zoomed out all the way so I couldn't tell what anything was, so I was having a hard time finding the caldera and the craters, let alone telling their relative ages. I just couldn't focus long enough to figure it out because every time I turned to the computer Kevin would interrupt me somehow.
RT needed to go on campus to get some things ready so he could work at home while I had my lab in the afternoon. At this point it occurred to me that I should really call a friend or use the babysitter exchange and find someone to take Kevin, even for half an hour, but at the same time I felt too prideful and decided to just try to manage it, and I figured it would get better once Ryan got back.
I was getting really frustrated and decided to play some songs that always make me feel good. Lo and behold, as soon as I stopped trying to do homework and was watching the YouTube videos of the feel-good songs, Kevin calmed down and just sat and watched them with me. Then he asked for something to eat, so I decided to get him lunch and then put him down for a nap since he had been so grumpy. The tantrums stopped as soon as the focus shifted from the homework to Kevin. He was happy and sweet as can be. Once he was done with his lunch I put him down for a nap and tried to work on the lab again. I was getting really frustrated with the lab, even without Kevin as a distraction. Not even ice cream made me feel better. One question said to locate the Bishop's Tuff and then tell the relative ages of two formations, but the formations weren't even on the Bishop's Tuff, so it just made the question confusing. Another question initially sounded like there was a granite formation on top of a dome in the caldera, but the granite formation was actually found everywhere except the caldera. I know I could have written this lab better. I decided again to drop out of school, except I know that's not right because the Holy Ghost has told me again and again that right now I need to keep plowing through.
What I am coming to realize is that I just can't count on being able to do homework at all if Kevin is awake and I'm the one that's taking care of him. I have to give the homework my full attention and I need a decent amount of consolidated time or it's just not constructive to try to do it. Instead of getting two things done at once by doing homework and keeping an eye on Kevin, I end up doing a really awful job at both and feeling miserable on top of it all because I would really prefer to be playing with Kevin. So I need to make better use of my late evenings and Kevin's naps for getting things done, or I need to arrange things with Ryan or find a babysitter. We have a really great babysitter exchange system set up among the mothers in our ward where we pay each other for babysitting using points, and I need to utilize that more.
It's sort of confusing. With both of these children I felt very strongly that it was time to grow our family, and we followed that prompting knowing it would have a huge effect on my education. I was prepared to sacrifice my education for a while if that was what Heavenly Father wanted me to. But whenever I contemplate postponing school, I feel without a doubt that I'm not supposed to stop going to school right now, and they seem like contradicting commandments. How am I supposed to keep going to school this fall when I have an active toddler and a newborn? And yet I know that's what I'm supposed to do. It seems crazy but at the same time I do feel that somehow it will work out.
One of the songs I was listening to was Through Heaven's Eyes by Brian Stokes Mitchell and the Tabernacle Choir. The words made me think about how if I try to look at my life the way God sees it, things make a little more sense. It's not about the good grades and it's not about being able to tell people that I have a bachelor's degree. The reason my school is important to God is because it's making me a better person, and it helps me appreciate and understand His ways, and it helps us be prepared. And there are lessons that I am meant to learn from the challenge of being a young mother and also a college student. There really are eternal implications for what is happening in my life right now. I can kind of see that, but I think it will make a lot more sense down the road after this is over and I'm remembering it.
I wasn't able to finish the lab before I had to go to class. I hurried and made a lunch to take with me and gathered my things together, and I checked online to see what buses were coming. There was one coming in a few minutes that I could catch, so I hurried down, but the bus left early and I barely missed it, and the next bus wasn't coming for about ten minutes. I couldn't get anything constructive done at the bus stop because the internet connection wasn't very good and I couldn't see the computer screen well enough to use the geologic maps.
A bus finally came. I had barely gotten onto the bus before the driver was barreling down the road again full-speed. Dear bus drivers, please let the 7-months-pregnant lady have a chance to sit down so you don't end up scraping her up off the floor or causing her to go into labor. And while we're on the subject, it would also be really great if you would slow down gradually and be more aware of bumps in the road.
I wasn't feeling too inclined to do the work in my class this afternoon, but it actually ended up being pretty interesting once I started working on it. We were looking at the different textures of feldspars and learning how to tell what kind they are using the microscope to look at the twinning. It was all stuff that I had noticed before but hadn't really understood, so it was fun to finally get an explanation of how all those things form and what they mean. I got that "personally enriched" feeling, which I haven't really felt much for a while, so that made me feel better and remember why I decided to study geology. I think I need to try to change my attitude about school so I can feel that more often again. It's kind of hard to concentrate on school when I have a baby to look forward to this summer, though.
I was able to finish the microscope part early and get home in time to work with Ryan to get dinner ready for the missionaries, who were coming over for dinner. Ryan offered to make dinner and I cleaned up the living room. We had a really nice dinner and enjoyed talking to the missionaries and hearing their message. Right now we have sister missionaries in our ward, and I love the way they do missionary work. After they left we had family home evening. I was glad we could at least end this frustrating day on those positive notes.
Two verses in, Kevin grabbed my finger and dragged me to the kitchen to get his breakfast. So Kevin and I had breakfast and I cleaned the table up and everything so I wouldn't have to worry about the soggy flakes on the table. Next came a diaper change and getting Kevin dressed. Ryan got in the shower and I figured now maybe I could say my prayers and get to work on my lab and Kevin could play. I was a little surprised that it was already 10:30, as I am every day when it's 10:30 or later and all we've accomplished is eating breakfast and getting dressed. I don't understand why that would take hours, but it does.
As soon as the books and the computer were out, the tantrums began. Kevin was frustrated with a toy. Tantrum. Kevin wanted to poke and prod at my computer and I wouldn't let him. Tantrum. Kevin wanted to draw. Crayons and a different notebook wouldn't do--it had to be with my pencil on the notebook paper I was writing my lab report on. I insisted on the crayons. Tantrum. He somewhat warmed up to the idea of coloring with the crayons after a minute and started coloring, but then mysteriously got frustrated and threw the crayons all over the room and screamed some more.
On top of all this, the lab was poorly written and I had a really hard time figuring out what was expected of me (which is how the class has been the entire semester). I was supposed to figure out the relative ages of a caldera and some craters based on a geologic map, but the file was a jpeg that could only be zoomed in all the way so I couldn't get an idea of the big picture or zoomed out all the way so I couldn't tell what anything was, so I was having a hard time finding the caldera and the craters, let alone telling their relative ages. I just couldn't focus long enough to figure it out because every time I turned to the computer Kevin would interrupt me somehow.
RT needed to go on campus to get some things ready so he could work at home while I had my lab in the afternoon. At this point it occurred to me that I should really call a friend or use the babysitter exchange and find someone to take Kevin, even for half an hour, but at the same time I felt too prideful and decided to just try to manage it, and I figured it would get better once Ryan got back.
I was getting really frustrated and decided to play some songs that always make me feel good. Lo and behold, as soon as I stopped trying to do homework and was watching the YouTube videos of the feel-good songs, Kevin calmed down and just sat and watched them with me. Then he asked for something to eat, so I decided to get him lunch and then put him down for a nap since he had been so grumpy. The tantrums stopped as soon as the focus shifted from the homework to Kevin. He was happy and sweet as can be. Once he was done with his lunch I put him down for a nap and tried to work on the lab again. I was getting really frustrated with the lab, even without Kevin as a distraction. Not even ice cream made me feel better. One question said to locate the Bishop's Tuff and then tell the relative ages of two formations, but the formations weren't even on the Bishop's Tuff, so it just made the question confusing. Another question initially sounded like there was a granite formation on top of a dome in the caldera, but the granite formation was actually found everywhere except the caldera. I know I could have written this lab better. I decided again to drop out of school, except I know that's not right because the Holy Ghost has told me again and again that right now I need to keep plowing through.
What I am coming to realize is that I just can't count on being able to do homework at all if Kevin is awake and I'm the one that's taking care of him. I have to give the homework my full attention and I need a decent amount of consolidated time or it's just not constructive to try to do it. Instead of getting two things done at once by doing homework and keeping an eye on Kevin, I end up doing a really awful job at both and feeling miserable on top of it all because I would really prefer to be playing with Kevin. So I need to make better use of my late evenings and Kevin's naps for getting things done, or I need to arrange things with Ryan or find a babysitter. We have a really great babysitter exchange system set up among the mothers in our ward where we pay each other for babysitting using points, and I need to utilize that more.
It's sort of confusing. With both of these children I felt very strongly that it was time to grow our family, and we followed that prompting knowing it would have a huge effect on my education. I was prepared to sacrifice my education for a while if that was what Heavenly Father wanted me to. But whenever I contemplate postponing school, I feel without a doubt that I'm not supposed to stop going to school right now, and they seem like contradicting commandments. How am I supposed to keep going to school this fall when I have an active toddler and a newborn? And yet I know that's what I'm supposed to do. It seems crazy but at the same time I do feel that somehow it will work out.
One of the songs I was listening to was Through Heaven's Eyes by Brian Stokes Mitchell and the Tabernacle Choir. The words made me think about how if I try to look at my life the way God sees it, things make a little more sense. It's not about the good grades and it's not about being able to tell people that I have a bachelor's degree. The reason my school is important to God is because it's making me a better person, and it helps me appreciate and understand His ways, and it helps us be prepared. And there are lessons that I am meant to learn from the challenge of being a young mother and also a college student. There really are eternal implications for what is happening in my life right now. I can kind of see that, but I think it will make a lot more sense down the road after this is over and I'm remembering it.
I wasn't able to finish the lab before I had to go to class. I hurried and made a lunch to take with me and gathered my things together, and I checked online to see what buses were coming. There was one coming in a few minutes that I could catch, so I hurried down, but the bus left early and I barely missed it, and the next bus wasn't coming for about ten minutes. I couldn't get anything constructive done at the bus stop because the internet connection wasn't very good and I couldn't see the computer screen well enough to use the geologic maps.
A bus finally came. I had barely gotten onto the bus before the driver was barreling down the road again full-speed. Dear bus drivers, please let the 7-months-pregnant lady have a chance to sit down so you don't end up scraping her up off the floor or causing her to go into labor. And while we're on the subject, it would also be really great if you would slow down gradually and be more aware of bumps in the road.
I wasn't feeling too inclined to do the work in my class this afternoon, but it actually ended up being pretty interesting once I started working on it. We were looking at the different textures of feldspars and learning how to tell what kind they are using the microscope to look at the twinning. It was all stuff that I had noticed before but hadn't really understood, so it was fun to finally get an explanation of how all those things form and what they mean. I got that "personally enriched" feeling, which I haven't really felt much for a while, so that made me feel better and remember why I decided to study geology. I think I need to try to change my attitude about school so I can feel that more often again. It's kind of hard to concentrate on school when I have a baby to look forward to this summer, though.
I was able to finish the microscope part early and get home in time to work with Ryan to get dinner ready for the missionaries, who were coming over for dinner. Ryan offered to make dinner and I cleaned up the living room. We had a really nice dinner and enjoyed talking to the missionaries and hearing their message. Right now we have sister missionaries in our ward, and I love the way they do missionary work. After they left we had family home evening. I was glad we could at least end this frustrating day on those positive notes.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Helping Dad
(I found this image on familycircus.com.)
We decided to buy a second crib rather than try to move Kevin to a bed and give the crib to Baby Girl. I know that as soon as we move Kevin to a bed it will be quite a battle to teach him to stay there for naps and bedtime, and I want to postpone that as long as possible. I'm hoping that when it's time, he will be more mature and understand better that he needs to stay in his bed, although I'm not expecting it to be an easy switch. His sleep is really important to me because he's so much nicer to be around when he's well rested. After talking to a few of my friends and family members who have dealt with the crib-to-bed switch, I think we made a good choice. I don't think we will mind having two cribs since this probably won't be the last time we have two children in cribs at once.
Of course as soon as screwdrivers became involved Kevin had to jump in and help.
Ryan was very patient with his little helper, but we were quoting the Family Circus comic the whole time.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
6 (ish) months pregnant
I finally figured out the timer on the camera and found a place to prop it up so I could take a picture of myself. Then the stars had to align so that there was a day when I had actually fixed my hair (when I don't have time I just braid it) and had time to actually take the picture. Yesterday it happened. So here is what I look like, about three months away from Baby Girl's arrival. You're welcome, Michelle. I do rather like my little baby bump, although I'm feeling a little impatient for June to come so I can finally meet our little one.
If you click on the "tummy" label you can compare my sizes from this pregnancy and my last pregnancy.
Singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Here's a video of Kevin begging Daddy to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider over and over and over and over again. When he puts his pointer fingers together he's trying to make the spider.
AZ trip part 6: last day
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On Wednesday we got things packed up to leave in the afternoon, and then we went to spend some more time with Mindy and her kids before we left. We got food from Tia Rosa's for lunch, and it was very yummy. Then we talked and played. I had a good time playing with Kevin and our niece Emily on the swing set.
Kevin was absolutely wired at the airport. He was running all over the place, and I couldn't keep up with him. I was really hoping he would get rid of all the energy and then be tired for the flight home, but he was still really hyper on the plane. Ryan pulled out a magazine and started trying to do the Sudoku that was in it, but Kevin wanted to draw on the magazine. It couldn't be on a piece of paper, it couldn't be on the very same magazine from the next seat pocket over, it couldn't be on Ryan's magazine on Kevin's tray. It had to be on Ryan's magazine, on Ryan's tray, with Ryan's pen, sitting in my lap. Once we figured that out, he stopped screaming. When Kevin was tired of drawing, we thought we'd give him some food and put him in his car seat and then maybe he would be tired enough to go to sleep, because he hadn't had a nap and it was already his bedtime. He refused to stay in his seat and ended up sitting on the floor in front of his seat eating a bag of pretzels. I was tired of fighting it and we figured that was good enough as long as there wasn't any turbulence. I turned to Ryan and said, "Gee, I'm glad we spent all that money for Kevin's seat so that he could sit on the floor and on our laps." Kevin had a really hard time getting calmed down and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth before he finally decided to sleep in his seat for a little while. I'm still glad we bought a seat for him. It was nice to have the whole row to ourselves and it was nice to have a place to put Kevin so we didn't have to be wrestling him the entire time. Having the car seat was an enormous help.
While we were waiting for our bags to come, I heard another mom express her surprise that even though she had pumped her little boy (about Kevin's age) full of Benadryl, he didn't sleep a bit. Not sure if I would go quite that far to keep my child calm on a plane.
As hard as the plane flights were, it was totally worth it to get to spend time with family. We had such a fun trip. Maybe someday good deals on tickets to Utah will happen again and I can see my family.
While we were waiting for our bags to come, I heard another mom express her surprise that even though she had pumped her little boy (about Kevin's age) full of Benadryl, he didn't sleep a bit. Not sure if I would go quite that far to keep my child calm on a plane.
As hard as the plane flights were, it was totally worth it to get to spend time with family. We had such a fun trip. Maybe someday good deals on tickets to Utah will happen again and I can see my family.
AZ trip part 5: Desert Botanical Gardens
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After we got back, Ryan got out his dad's telescope and found NGC 3079 in the sky. NGC 3079 is the galaxy he has been studying for all his research. He already has images and data about the galaxy, which is enough to do the simulations about it, but he realized he had never located it in the sky and decided to find it. So Ryan, his parents, and I got to see the little fuzzy patch that is NGC 3079 (the images that he already had are from some really nice telescopes, so they look a lot better, but it was fun for him to look for it himself). So astronomy isn't just about memorizing constellations and stars--and in fact, you don't even have to know where a star or galaxy is to study what it does.
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On Tuesday we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. It's Ryan's parents' favorite place to go and they get yearly passes so they can go see all the desert plants as they grow. A lot of the cacti will bloom for just a day or two, so you have to get there at just the right time to see their amazing flowers. We also went to the butterfly room to see the butterflies. The weather was great.
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| The bright green ones in the middle are blown glass. |
Ryan's mom was so excited that one of these pretty butterflies landed on her hat.
Not a problem--we don't mind a bit.
This squirrel acted like it was trained to pose for visitors.
This one is very appropriately named.
Tuesday evening Ryan and I went out to dinner at Red Robin to celebrate my birthday. Kevin stayed home with his grandpa. We had a nice time.
After we got back, Ryan got out his dad's telescope and found NGC 3079 in the sky. NGC 3079 is the galaxy he has been studying for all his research. He already has images and data about the galaxy, which is enough to do the simulations about it, but he realized he had never located it in the sky and decided to find it. So Ryan, his parents, and I got to see the little fuzzy patch that is NGC 3079 (the images that he already had are from some really nice telescopes, so they look a lot better, but it was fun for him to look for it himself). So astronomy isn't just about memorizing constellations and stars--and in fact, you don't even have to know where a star or galaxy is to study what it does.
AZ trip part 4: Sunday and Birthday Dinner
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On Sunday we went to church at Ryan's parents' ward. It was a little strange to be in a ward that isn't mostly young families. Ryan's mom is the Relief Society president, so she had to sit in the front during Relief Society, but she introduced me to one of her neighbors. I also talked to another lady who I had met before when we had our wedding reception in Arizona, and she remembered me. She asked me where I am from, and I was surprised to find that she knew where Kimberly, Idaho is. In fact, it turns out that she is related to the people who lived in our house before we did (who we are also distantly related to), and they used to go visit there all the time. Pretty cool connection.
In the evening we had a birthday dinner because my birthday was the next Tuesday. Mindy and her family came over to eat too. We had turkey, potatoes, peas, and fruit. Our nephew Dallin asked if this is what I would really choose for my birthday dinner. I wasn't sure, but the dinner was really nice. For dessert we had mint brownies and lemon bars--so yummy!
We sat and talked for a while and the kids played. Kevin had a good time playing with his cousins. He started chasing his cousin Joanna all around the house. I hope she didn't mind. Kevin thought it was thrilling.
We took to taking Kevin for walks around the block when he got too crazy. He also liked to go in the backyard and find grapefruit and oranges. He kept calling them balls and wanted to throw them (he threw one in the deep part of the pool and Ryan's mom had to fish it out with a net). He helped Ryan's mom pick up grapefruit off the ground and watched her use the juicer to make grapefruit juice.
Ryan's mom taught Kevin how to put the shapes into this ball.
AZ trip part 3: Hieroglyphic Trail
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The next day we hiked Hieroglyphic Trail with Mindy and her family. It was a pretty nice hike except the trail was full of fist-sized rocks, so it was kind of uncomfortable to walk on. We saw lots of neat cacti and other plants. When we got to the end of the trail there were hieroglyphics and plenty of boulders and cliffs to climb on. I told Ryan that my sister Michelle would probably be in heaven and that my mom would never have come. We saw boulders with bowl-shaped holes carved into them where the Indians used to grind up corn and beans. Mindy and I rested and talked while everyone else explored the rocks and cliffs and caves. Kevin was in a backpack carrier and stayed with us eating pretzels for a while, and then Ryan took him to look around a bit. There was a chipmunk hanging around thinking of picking up some of the pretzels Kevin had dropped. After a while we all gathered together and had a snack and a drink of water, and then we headed back to the car.
The hike back always seems shorter and easier than the first half. Kevin was tired of being in the backpack carrier and ended up walking or being carried by our nephew Robbie for most of the way back. Maybe it was better that way because he kept leaning over to one side in the backpack (to suck his thumb) and that made it uncomfortable for Ryan. Kevin liked picking up rocks and carrying them.
By the way, Ryan gets credit for almost all pictures taken on this trip.
Ryan went to a reception with his parents in the evening and I stayed home to work on a homework assignment. Kevin ended up falling asleep in my lap, so I held him for quite a while like that before finally deciding I needed to get working on my homework, as nice as it was to hold a sleeping baby again.
AZ trip part 2
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RT's parents picked us up from the airport and brought us to their home. As soon as Kevin was out of the car, he looked around the garage and yard, and then clapped and squealed with glee. It was so cute. It was already pretty late, but we talked for a little while and watched Kevin play with the toys.
The last time Kevin slept in a pack 'n' play was over a year ago. He didn't have a problem with it, so I wasn't too concerned, but when we put him into the pack 'n' play at Grandma and Grandpa's house he started to cry. We concluded that he was scared because he was alone in a dark and unfamiliar room and not in his own bed. So Ryan held him for a while and sang songs to him, and then he got him a night light and gave him his shirt so he would have a familiar smell. After that we put him back to bed and he only cried for a couple more minutes before going to sleep. It was interesting to find that he knows his crib is a safe place and that he needs to sleep there, and that it didn't seem right to him to sleep in a different bed. It took a couple of naps and bedtimes before he stopped crying when we put him in the pack 'n' play, but after that he did well.
In the morning Ryan made pancakes and we all ate some for breakfast. We also had grapefruit juice because their grapefruit trees died in the frost recently when it got very cold, so they were trying to finish off the last of the grapefruit. I normally can't stand grapefruit or grapefruit juice because it's so sour, and no amount of sugar seems to make it taste good. But I tried some of the juice and actually really liked it. It turns out that if you leave grapefruit on the tree longer, it gets sweeter--but I had never gotten to try grapefruit that had ripened longer because I had only had it from the store.
There were so many new things at Ryan's parents house that at first Kevin just kept running around touching everything briefly because he couldn't decide what to do first.
We decided to go to the Gilbert Riparian Preserve and see the ducks on the pond and some of the other animals that live there. When we showed Kevin a turtle, he started picking up handfuls off rocks and trying to dump them on its shell (poor turtle!). Kevin also liked seeing some geese, and he copied the noises that they were making. We tried to get it on video, but he stopped too soon.
That evening there was a carnival fundraiser at the elementary school where some of Ryan's sister Mindy's kids go to school. People bought tickets and then used them at different booths to win prizes, and there were also karaoke, cotton candy and kettle corn, and some bounce houses. Kevin liked the duck pond a little bit and got a couple of fun prizes, but he was more interested in the playground. He played with his grandpa on the playground for quite a while and really enjoyed the tall swirly slide. He usually goes down the slide feet first on his stomach. He also liked dancing to the karaoke music. He did a funny little dance where he ran in place as fast as he could and then spun in a circle. I'm sad we didn't get any pictures, but I guess it was dark anyway.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
RT's parents picked us up from the airport and brought us to their home. As soon as Kevin was out of the car, he looked around the garage and yard, and then clapped and squealed with glee. It was so cute. It was already pretty late, but we talked for a little while and watched Kevin play with the toys.
The last time Kevin slept in a pack 'n' play was over a year ago. He didn't have a problem with it, so I wasn't too concerned, but when we put him into the pack 'n' play at Grandma and Grandpa's house he started to cry. We concluded that he was scared because he was alone in a dark and unfamiliar room and not in his own bed. So Ryan held him for a while and sang songs to him, and then he got him a night light and gave him his shirt so he would have a familiar smell. After that we put him back to bed and he only cried for a couple more minutes before going to sleep. It was interesting to find that he knows his crib is a safe place and that he needs to sleep there, and that it didn't seem right to him to sleep in a different bed. It took a couple of naps and bedtimes before he stopped crying when we put him in the pack 'n' play, but after that he did well.
In the morning Ryan made pancakes and we all ate some for breakfast. We also had grapefruit juice because their grapefruit trees died in the frost recently when it got very cold, so they were trying to finish off the last of the grapefruit. I normally can't stand grapefruit or grapefruit juice because it's so sour, and no amount of sugar seems to make it taste good. But I tried some of the juice and actually really liked it. It turns out that if you leave grapefruit on the tree longer, it gets sweeter--but I had never gotten to try grapefruit that had ripened longer because I had only had it from the store.
There were so many new things at Ryan's parents house that at first Kevin just kept running around touching everything briefly because he couldn't decide what to do first.
We decided to go to the Gilbert Riparian Preserve and see the ducks on the pond and some of the other animals that live there. When we showed Kevin a turtle, he started picking up handfuls off rocks and trying to dump them on its shell (poor turtle!). Kevin also liked seeing some geese, and he copied the noises that they were making. We tried to get it on video, but he stopped too soon.
That evening there was a carnival fundraiser at the elementary school where some of Ryan's sister Mindy's kids go to school. People bought tickets and then used them at different booths to win prizes, and there were also karaoke, cotton candy and kettle corn, and some bounce houses. Kevin liked the duck pond a little bit and got a couple of fun prizes, but he was more interested in the playground. He played with his grandpa on the playground for quite a while and really enjoyed the tall swirly slide. He usually goes down the slide feet first on his stomach. He also liked dancing to the karaoke music. He did a funny little dance where he ran in place as fast as he could and then spun in a circle. I'm sad we didn't get any pictures, but I guess it was dark anyway.
Friday, March 18, 2011
random musings
I love and hate making bread. I like the feeling of mixing and kneading bread because it seems so productive and motherly and homey, and I like the yeasty doughy smell. But at the same time I really hate mixing and kneading because if you don't have the right amount of flour it's really annoying. If I don't have enough flour I add some and knead some more, of course, and just as I start feeling like maybe this time I have just the right amount and it's mixed pretty homogenously, the dough starts feeling incredibly sticky again and it gets all over my hands and the counter and I have to start all over again. But if I have dough that has just the right amount of flour, where it's smooth and sticking to the counter slightly but not so much that I can't even work with it, I just love the feeling of kneading it.
I still haven't figured out why my bread seems to always taste sour and fermented. I was reading some things online and it sounds like rising too fast or too long can cause this. So maybe I need to experiment with adding less yeast than the recipe calls for or not letting it rise as long. Ryan doesn't notice it and doesn't even know what I'm talking about when I complain about it. Ever since I was pregnant with Kevin, my taste buds have been a lot more sensitive. I wonder if food will ever taste normal again.
When you buy something new and you are going to write a review for it, in general it is a good practice to wait until after you have used the item for a while before writing the review. In other words, don't buy a new crib and set it up, and then write a review saying how cute the crib is and you can't wait to see how your baby likes it when he arrives in two months (although this might work for reviewing decorations). What people want to know is how the products works over a period of time, not how it looks out of the box. Also, a review of a product is not the place to talk about how fast the item was shipped to you; it's the place to talk about the actual product. Just a little pet peeve of mine.
I really like the ruched maternity tops. They have elastic sewn into the side seams, and for some reason that makes a really flattering fit. I also mostly like the secret fit belly jeans by Motherhood Maternity. Before I had ever been pregnant, I had this strange misconception that low elastic panels were cool and high ones were nerdy and old-fashioned. Then I actually tried both while pregnant and I realized that it's a matter of functionality, not style. I realized that low panels hurt my tummy. The secret fit belly would be about as nerdy and old-fashioned as it gets according to my old standards because they go really high. But I like them because my pants actually stay up pretty well, unlike the cheap JC Penny jeans I bought when I was pregnant with Kevin. The only thing I don't like is that since the panel covers my entire tummy it can get pretty hot, but then I can fold the panel down and I don't have to experience major abdominal pain because the panel material is light and doesn't squeeze so hard. Now, the sales people always play up the secret fit belly pants. Every single time I've gone to Destination Maternity they've told me that I've got to try a pair on even if I'm not planning to buy jeans because the secret fit belly is so amazingly comfortable. The way they talked, I thought I was supposed to try these things on and instantly feel my tummy settling into a world of bliss and rainbows and weightless joy or something. Yes, they are comfortable, but I still feel the weight of pregnancy pretty keenly down there.
I am pleased to report that Baby Girl does, in fact, have bones. Elbows, even. I felt them with my hand. Which is good, of course, because humans kind of need that sort of thing.
I keep bumping into things with my growing tummy. I keep forgetting it's there. I think I've had a lot of growth in the last couple of weeks.
In March we get the lovely experience of drinking pool water. Actually, our city uses something other than bleach for most of the year to disinfect the water, but every March they have to flush out all the pipes with bleach, so our water tastes and even smells like a pool. I guess I appreciate them keeping the pipes clean, but it sure tastes yucky. I grew up drinking well water, and it was really good, so I guess I'm pretty picky about my water now.
I still haven't figured out why my bread seems to always taste sour and fermented. I was reading some things online and it sounds like rising too fast or too long can cause this. So maybe I need to experiment with adding less yeast than the recipe calls for or not letting it rise as long. Ryan doesn't notice it and doesn't even know what I'm talking about when I complain about it. Ever since I was pregnant with Kevin, my taste buds have been a lot more sensitive. I wonder if food will ever taste normal again.
When you buy something new and you are going to write a review for it, in general it is a good practice to wait until after you have used the item for a while before writing the review. In other words, don't buy a new crib and set it up, and then write a review saying how cute the crib is and you can't wait to see how your baby likes it when he arrives in two months (although this might work for reviewing decorations). What people want to know is how the products works over a period of time, not how it looks out of the box. Also, a review of a product is not the place to talk about how fast the item was shipped to you; it's the place to talk about the actual product. Just a little pet peeve of mine.
I really like the ruched maternity tops. They have elastic sewn into the side seams, and for some reason that makes a really flattering fit. I also mostly like the secret fit belly jeans by Motherhood Maternity. Before I had ever been pregnant, I had this strange misconception that low elastic panels were cool and high ones were nerdy and old-fashioned. Then I actually tried both while pregnant and I realized that it's a matter of functionality, not style. I realized that low panels hurt my tummy. The secret fit belly would be about as nerdy and old-fashioned as it gets according to my old standards because they go really high. But I like them because my pants actually stay up pretty well, unlike the cheap JC Penny jeans I bought when I was pregnant with Kevin. The only thing I don't like is that since the panel covers my entire tummy it can get pretty hot, but then I can fold the panel down and I don't have to experience major abdominal pain because the panel material is light and doesn't squeeze so hard. Now, the sales people always play up the secret fit belly pants. Every single time I've gone to Destination Maternity they've told me that I've got to try a pair on even if I'm not planning to buy jeans because the secret fit belly is so amazingly comfortable. The way they talked, I thought I was supposed to try these things on and instantly feel my tummy settling into a world of bliss and rainbows and weightless joy or something. Yes, they are comfortable, but I still feel the weight of pregnancy pretty keenly down there.
I am pleased to report that Baby Girl does, in fact, have bones. Elbows, even. I felt them with my hand. Which is good, of course, because humans kind of need that sort of thing.
I keep bumping into things with my growing tummy. I keep forgetting it's there. I think I've had a lot of growth in the last couple of weeks.
In March we get the lovely experience of drinking pool water. Actually, our city uses something other than bleach for most of the year to disinfect the water, but every March they have to flush out all the pipes with bleach, so our water tastes and even smells like a pool. I guess I appreciate them keeping the pipes clean, but it sure tastes yucky. I grew up drinking well water, and it was really good, so I guess I'm pretty picky about my water now.
notes/thoughts from Nurture Shock
Going through some of my drafts, I came across this post I started in January. I think I was planning to add more to it, but I don't really remember anymore what I was going to add, so here's what you get.
I've been hearing a lot about the book Nurture Shock lately, so I wanted to read it myself. And in the end, I honestly didn't like it for the most part. Most of the "shocking truths" that he was "revealing" were not that shocking. What? You mean kids learn how to talk better if you talk to them rather than plopping them down in front of Baby Einstein videos? Not that surprising. I think the most frustrating thing was that he dispelled all these myths but didn't usually spend much time at all explaining what to do instead. When he did suggest what to do instead, it was helpful.
Here are some of the thoughts I have been having as I read the book:
The chapter about dealing with teenagers was not helpful. His claim was that when teenagers argue with their parents, it's actually a good sign because it shows they respect their parents. I don't know what his definition of respect is, but I strongly disagree. There was very little helpful information about getting along with teenagers better.
There's a chapter in the book about why siblings fight. I thought it was important to note that kids need to be taught how to play well together. Much of that should be figured out with each other, but they also need parents to intervene to help them think through how to solve a conflict together. Another thing that stuck out to me was that if you want your kids to be friends and get along with each other, then they need to spend quality time together. That quality time is something that cements a bond between them and creates a reason for them to be kind to each other. One study that the author summarizes said that for the most part, if siblings were good friends growing up, then they continue to be friends as adults, but if they are not close growing up, then that doesn't change when they have grown up.
From the same chapter, I also thought that it was interesting that in one of the studies the author explained, difference in age had no effect on how much siblings quarreled. I think sometimes in the church we tend to feel like the ideal age gap is supposed to be two years, and I've noticed that some moms struggle because of that expectation. Sometimes I've felt like if your kids are less than two years apart, people look at your family and say, "Hmmm . . . second baby must have been a surprise!" And if your kids are more than two years apart, I felt like people would wonder why you waited so long--not spiritual enough? I quickly came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. It's a very personal and spiritual decision. I also started to realize that most moms actually don't care or judge each other on this subject, even though that two years apart thing is so commonly expected. We all know that it's hard to be a mother. Long recoveries, post-partum depression, difficult children, other commitments, and many other factors are perfectly legitimate reasons to not be ready for a second child that soon. So it was nice for me to read in this book that age difference doesn't necessarily matter if you want your kids to be close and get along. What's important is that we space our children according to what we feel is right, and that we teach them to love each other and be kind. (Stepping down from soapbox.)
The chapter about tests for finding gifted children was very interesting to me. Apparently most schools test children for gifted and talented programs at kindergarten and then never reassess them. But the tests at that age are actually not good predictors of whether children are gifted. A lot of brain development takes place during elementary school, and the kids that struggle in kindergarten often end up being very bright. I didn't realize that this happens so often. My elementary school didn't do its gifted and talented programs this way. (After moving away from my small hometown, I've actually realized that I went to a very good elementary school.) It really isn't fair to a child to label them as smart or not smart at such a young age when they still have so much time for their brains to develop.
I thought that the chapter about the inverse power of praise made some very good points. One of the main things I learned was that it's important to praise our children for things that they can control about themselves. Instead of telling them that they are smart, it's better to praise them for being diligent or patient or for trying hard to concentrate, because those characteristics are up to the child. The author explained that many children who are constantly told they are smart tend to be more prone to give up easily. If they are not "smart" at something, then they don't want to stick with it, possibly because they don't want to not be seen as smart.
He had a chapter about how to help children learn how to talk. He talked about how seven hours of Baby Einstein per day is not going to help a child learn to talk, and will probably actually delay their speech, which was not surprising to me at all. Another thing he talked about is that instead of talking to the child constantly all day long, it can be more effective to simply pay attention to them and respond to the cues they give you. This made a lot of sense to me. I've heard from a lot of different places that you want to talk to your children constantly so they will learn lots of words, but that was discouraging for me because I just can't interact with my child like that. It seems fake and it's exhausting to talk that much. It makes a lot more sense to me to talk in response to what the child does. If Kevin is doing something or pointing at something, then I respond to that by talking about what he's doing or telling him the name of what he is pointing at (and I try to get down and play with him when I can so that we will have opportunities for this), or if we're outside I will point to different things and talk to him about them, but I don't just babble all day long about anything and everything. It seems like this way the child doesn't get overwhelmed by a constant stream of talking, they learn the concept of conversation (both listening and responding), and they learn to use the words that are most relevant to them. (Oh, dear, I don't feel like I explained this very well.)
I've been hearing a lot about the book Nurture Shock lately, so I wanted to read it myself. And in the end, I honestly didn't like it for the most part. Most of the "shocking truths" that he was "revealing" were not that shocking. What? You mean kids learn how to talk better if you talk to them rather than plopping them down in front of Baby Einstein videos? Not that surprising. I think the most frustrating thing was that he dispelled all these myths but didn't usually spend much time at all explaining what to do instead. When he did suggest what to do instead, it was helpful.
Here are some of the thoughts I have been having as I read the book:
The chapter about dealing with teenagers was not helpful. His claim was that when teenagers argue with their parents, it's actually a good sign because it shows they respect their parents. I don't know what his definition of respect is, but I strongly disagree. There was very little helpful information about getting along with teenagers better.
There's a chapter in the book about why siblings fight. I thought it was important to note that kids need to be taught how to play well together. Much of that should be figured out with each other, but they also need parents to intervene to help them think through how to solve a conflict together. Another thing that stuck out to me was that if you want your kids to be friends and get along with each other, then they need to spend quality time together. That quality time is something that cements a bond between them and creates a reason for them to be kind to each other. One study that the author summarizes said that for the most part, if siblings were good friends growing up, then they continue to be friends as adults, but if they are not close growing up, then that doesn't change when they have grown up.
From the same chapter, I also thought that it was interesting that in one of the studies the author explained, difference in age had no effect on how much siblings quarreled. I think sometimes in the church we tend to feel like the ideal age gap is supposed to be two years, and I've noticed that some moms struggle because of that expectation. Sometimes I've felt like if your kids are less than two years apart, people look at your family and say, "Hmmm . . . second baby must have been a surprise!" And if your kids are more than two years apart, I felt like people would wonder why you waited so long--not spiritual enough? I quickly came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. It's a very personal and spiritual decision. I also started to realize that most moms actually don't care or judge each other on this subject, even though that two years apart thing is so commonly expected. We all know that it's hard to be a mother. Long recoveries, post-partum depression, difficult children, other commitments, and many other factors are perfectly legitimate reasons to not be ready for a second child that soon. So it was nice for me to read in this book that age difference doesn't necessarily matter if you want your kids to be close and get along. What's important is that we space our children according to what we feel is right, and that we teach them to love each other and be kind. (Stepping down from soapbox.)
The chapter about tests for finding gifted children was very interesting to me. Apparently most schools test children for gifted and talented programs at kindergarten and then never reassess them. But the tests at that age are actually not good predictors of whether children are gifted. A lot of brain development takes place during elementary school, and the kids that struggle in kindergarten often end up being very bright. I didn't realize that this happens so often. My elementary school didn't do its gifted and talented programs this way. (After moving away from my small hometown, I've actually realized that I went to a very good elementary school.) It really isn't fair to a child to label them as smart or not smart at such a young age when they still have so much time for their brains to develop.
I thought that the chapter about the inverse power of praise made some very good points. One of the main things I learned was that it's important to praise our children for things that they can control about themselves. Instead of telling them that they are smart, it's better to praise them for being diligent or patient or for trying hard to concentrate, because those characteristics are up to the child. The author explained that many children who are constantly told they are smart tend to be more prone to give up easily. If they are not "smart" at something, then they don't want to stick with it, possibly because they don't want to not be seen as smart.
He had a chapter about how to help children learn how to talk. He talked about how seven hours of Baby Einstein per day is not going to help a child learn to talk, and will probably actually delay their speech, which was not surprising to me at all. Another thing he talked about is that instead of talking to the child constantly all day long, it can be more effective to simply pay attention to them and respond to the cues they give you. This made a lot of sense to me. I've heard from a lot of different places that you want to talk to your children constantly so they will learn lots of words, but that was discouraging for me because I just can't interact with my child like that. It seems fake and it's exhausting to talk that much. It makes a lot more sense to me to talk in response to what the child does. If Kevin is doing something or pointing at something, then I respond to that by talking about what he's doing or telling him the name of what he is pointing at (and I try to get down and play with him when I can so that we will have opportunities for this), or if we're outside I will point to different things and talk to him about them, but I don't just babble all day long about anything and everything. It seems like this way the child doesn't get overwhelmed by a constant stream of talking, they learn the concept of conversation (both listening and responding), and they learn to use the words that are most relevant to them. (Oh, dear, I don't feel like I explained this very well.)
scared of the phone
I have a confession to make: I am scared to death of the phone. Specifically, of calling someone on the phone (except my mom). I don't know why. The unfortunate/fortunate thing about this is that almost everyone has an email address now, so a lot of the time I can just email someone if I need to ask them a question or tell them something. Sometimes that's good because we don't have to worry about telephone tag. It's also nice if I need to give someone information like an address or list or website because it can be saved in the email instead of on a slip of paper in The Pile (you know which pile I'm talking about). The problem is that sometimes it would really be so much easier if I would just call someone and we could talk about whatever we need to in just a couple of minutes. My fear of phones goes so far that sometimes a person will call me and leave a message on the answering machine (because I wasn't home), and instead of calling back I take the trouble to look up their email address and email them my response to their message. Or sometimes people send me an email with a question and include their phone number at the end, obviously implying that phone would be a better way to reach them right now, and I still just respond to the email. I think people must get really annoyed with me sometimes when I persist in doing the email thing when it's something that I should really just call about. I'm a little ashamed that I'm letting the internet affect my ability to interact with people on the phone. It's something I've been noticing more about myself lately, and I'm going to start working on it.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
AZ trip part 1: the plane trip . . . or, a lesson in humility
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Last week we took an airplane trip to visit RT's parents.
We bought a seat for Kevin even though he is still young enough to sit on our laps. I'm a very frugal person, but it was absolutely worth it to me to buy another ticket for Kevin. Trying to keep him on one of our laps for a 5-hour flight would probably make me go into labor. Our first plane flight was about an hour long and I thought it went really well. We were thrilled to find that Kevin couldn't reach the seat in front of him with his feet very well. Kevin was happy to play with Ryan and color with the coloring book the flight attendant gave him. (Ryan did come out of the ordeal with a scratched neck, though, so maybe his perspective is different.)
By the way, Southwest was awesome for bringing a child on an airplane. The people in security and all the flight attendants were very friendly to Kevin and glad to accommodate us, even if he was wild or fussy or crying. We also appreciated that having Kevin with us meant we were guaranteed to board after the A group.
Between flights Kevin amused himself by running on the moving sidewalks. We were very impressed with how quickly he figured out how to adjust to the movement and keep walking without losing his balance. He provided some great entertainment for all the people waiting to board their airplanes. He's getting very fast.
On the second flight Kevin was very tired and wanted to go to sleep, but there were a lot of distractions and he was having a hard time. For a while I was trying to do things to help keep him happy, but soon I realized that what he really needed was to be ignored so he could go to sleep--not easy in a carseat in a new and interesting place with your parents right next to you. So there was a lot of crying before he finally calmed down and fell asleep. I had read about those parents who ignore their children's crying on an airplane and how awful it is for everybody else, and now I realized that I was that parent, and I understood why they would do it. I knew that I could keep trying to amuse Kevin, but he would be grumpy and tired for the entire flight and would cry a lot anyway, or I could ignore him for a while so he could go to sleep and the rest of the flight would be quiet. So yes, I was that horrible mother who ignored her baby's crying at the expense of everyone else, and you know what? I did it for the overall good. But it was a lesson in humility and I said many silent prayers that Kevin could feel peace and get the sleep he needed. He slept for a couple of hours and then woke up. He probably had a stiff neck even though I had tried to prop up his head with my sweater, and he was confused and still tired and wanted to be held, so he was pretty sad. I took him out of his carseat and held him, and he slept in my arms for a little while longer. Then he just wanted to move around, but there was no space, so that was frustrating for him, but eventually he decided he could be satisfied with drawing with Ryan's pen, and that kept him occupied for most of the rest of the trip. It was kind of tiring, but actually I think I was more exhausted last time we flew with Kevin when he was 5 1/2 months old, because I had to hold him in my lap and he was wiggly and could already army crawl, so I spent the entire flight trying to keep him contained.
Someone designed Kevin's new car seat with airplanes in mind, because it fit right between the armrests, and the cup holders (why does a car seat need cup holders?!) curved around just after the airplane seat's armrests ended.
One of the things that hadn't occurred to me is that the roar of the plane does mask some noise. So when Kevin was quiet-fussy (not screaming-fussy), people actually didn't notice that much. I had been afraid that people would get mad at me for reading him If You Give a Mouse a Cookie a zillion times, but once we were moving I realized that most people couldn't really hear me talking to Kevin anyway (not that Kevin was especially interested in reading books, but we did read some). We did get a few people turning and looking, but nobody was mean or even gave us an icy glare. Raisins, granola bars, and Ryan's pen were about the only things that worked well at keeping Kevin amused in the plane. I did wish we had brought his blanket with us onto the plane instead of leaving it in one of the checked bags--it would have really helped him when he wanted to go to sleep.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Last week we took an airplane trip to visit RT's parents.
We bought a seat for Kevin even though he is still young enough to sit on our laps. I'm a very frugal person, but it was absolutely worth it to me to buy another ticket for Kevin. Trying to keep him on one of our laps for a 5-hour flight would probably make me go into labor. Our first plane flight was about an hour long and I thought it went really well. We were thrilled to find that Kevin couldn't reach the seat in front of him with his feet very well. Kevin was happy to play with Ryan and color with the coloring book the flight attendant gave him. (Ryan did come out of the ordeal with a scratched neck, though, so maybe his perspective is different.)
By the way, Southwest was awesome for bringing a child on an airplane. The people in security and all the flight attendants were very friendly to Kevin and glad to accommodate us, even if he was wild or fussy or crying. We also appreciated that having Kevin with us meant we were guaranteed to board after the A group.
Between flights Kevin amused himself by running on the moving sidewalks. We were very impressed with how quickly he figured out how to adjust to the movement and keep walking without losing his balance. He provided some great entertainment for all the people waiting to board their airplanes. He's getting very fast.
On the second flight Kevin was very tired and wanted to go to sleep, but there were a lot of distractions and he was having a hard time. For a while I was trying to do things to help keep him happy, but soon I realized that what he really needed was to be ignored so he could go to sleep--not easy in a carseat in a new and interesting place with your parents right next to you. So there was a lot of crying before he finally calmed down and fell asleep. I had read about those parents who ignore their children's crying on an airplane and how awful it is for everybody else, and now I realized that I was that parent, and I understood why they would do it. I knew that I could keep trying to amuse Kevin, but he would be grumpy and tired for the entire flight and would cry a lot anyway, or I could ignore him for a while so he could go to sleep and the rest of the flight would be quiet. So yes, I was that horrible mother who ignored her baby's crying at the expense of everyone else, and you know what? I did it for the overall good. But it was a lesson in humility and I said many silent prayers that Kevin could feel peace and get the sleep he needed. He slept for a couple of hours and then woke up. He probably had a stiff neck even though I had tried to prop up his head with my sweater, and he was confused and still tired and wanted to be held, so he was pretty sad. I took him out of his carseat and held him, and he slept in my arms for a little while longer. Then he just wanted to move around, but there was no space, so that was frustrating for him, but eventually he decided he could be satisfied with drawing with Ryan's pen, and that kept him occupied for most of the rest of the trip. It was kind of tiring, but actually I think I was more exhausted last time we flew with Kevin when he was 5 1/2 months old, because I had to hold him in my lap and he was wiggly and could already army crawl, so I spent the entire flight trying to keep him contained.
Someone designed Kevin's new car seat with airplanes in mind, because it fit right between the armrests, and the cup holders (why does a car seat need cup holders?!) curved around just after the airplane seat's armrests ended.
One of the things that hadn't occurred to me is that the roar of the plane does mask some noise. So when Kevin was quiet-fussy (not screaming-fussy), people actually didn't notice that much. I had been afraid that people would get mad at me for reading him If You Give a Mouse a Cookie a zillion times, but once we were moving I realized that most people couldn't really hear me talking to Kevin anyway (not that Kevin was especially interested in reading books, but we did read some). We did get a few people turning and looking, but nobody was mean or even gave us an icy glare. Raisins, granola bars, and Ryan's pen were about the only things that worked well at keeping Kevin amused in the plane. I did wish we had brought his blanket with us onto the plane instead of leaving it in one of the checked bags--it would have really helped him when he wanted to go to sleep.
template for a bad craigslist ad
I love Craigslist. I got my couch, my wall shelves, my Nutrimill, and my table through Craigslist, and I love them. But I've seen a lot of Craigslist ads that really annoy me. Maybe this template of a bad craigslist ad will give you an idea of what I mean:
Press caps lock now (alternatively you can choose to use no punctuation and not capitalize the beginning of sentences).
Title:
~~~~~~~++++++++++NAME OF PRODUCT YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL (or, something vague like "baby items" or "furniture")--GREAT BUY WON'T LAST LONG MUST SEE!*******PRICE++++++++~~~~~~~~~~~~
Body of the ad:
HI I AM SELLING MY [ITEM] IT'S SUCH AN AWESOME [ITEM] BUT I HAVE TO GET RID OF IT BECAUSE (choose one: WE HAVE TO DOWNSIZE AND THERE'S NO ROOM/OUR QUADRUPLETS GREW OUT OF IT/MY HUSBAND IS ALLERGIC TO IT/REALLY LONG STORY WITH WAY TOO MANY DETAILS/I'M REDECORATING THE WHOLE HOUSE AND IT DOESN'T MATCH MY NEW SALTSHAKERS) LOL. IT IS SO CUTE AND WOULD BE PERFECT FOR A (GUEST BEDROOM/COLLEGE DORM/BABY'S NURSERY/ETC.). I SERIOUSLY LOVE THIS [ITEM] AND I'M SO SAD TO HAVE TO PART WITH IT LOL. ANYWAY THIS IS SUCH A GREAT DEAL I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!! WE BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW 3 YRS AGO AT (STORE) FOR (PRICE) SO YOU ARE GETTING AN *AWESOME* DEAL. IT STILL LOOKS BRAN NEW CUZ WE ONLY USED IT A HANDFUL OF TIMES AND ITS SOOOOOO COMFY. HERE'S THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
(really long product description copied from store where they got it or from Amazon)
THX FOR LOOKING!!!!!!
For pictures, you have a few different options:
Press caps lock now (alternatively you can choose to use no punctuation and not capitalize the beginning of sentences).
Title:
~~~~~~~++++++++++NAME OF PRODUCT YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL (or, something vague like "baby items" or "furniture")--GREAT BUY WON'T LAST LONG MUST SEE!*******PRICE++++++++~~~~~~~~~~~~
Body of the ad:
HI I AM SELLING MY [ITEM] IT'S SUCH AN AWESOME [ITEM] BUT I HAVE TO GET RID OF IT BECAUSE (choose one: WE HAVE TO DOWNSIZE AND THERE'S NO ROOM/OUR QUADRUPLETS GREW OUT OF IT/MY HUSBAND IS ALLERGIC TO IT/REALLY LONG STORY WITH WAY TOO MANY DETAILS/I'M REDECORATING THE WHOLE HOUSE AND IT DOESN'T MATCH MY NEW SALTSHAKERS) LOL. IT IS SO CUTE AND WOULD BE PERFECT FOR A (GUEST BEDROOM/COLLEGE DORM/BABY'S NURSERY/ETC.). I SERIOUSLY LOVE THIS [ITEM] AND I'M SO SAD TO HAVE TO PART WITH IT LOL. ANYWAY THIS IS SUCH A GREAT DEAL I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!! WE BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW 3 YRS AGO AT (STORE) FOR (PRICE) SO YOU ARE GETTING AN *AWESOME* DEAL. IT STILL LOOKS BRAN NEW CUZ WE ONLY USED IT A HANDFUL OF TIMES AND ITS SOOOOOO COMFY. HERE'S THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
(really long product description copied from store where they got it or from Amazon)
THX FOR LOOKING!!!!!!
For pictures, you have a few different options:
- Don't include one, and either add in description "SORRY NO PICS" or don't acknowledge you didn't include one or say you can send pics if they're wanted.
- Put a picture up, but don't rotate it before uploading it so that people have to turn on their sides to see it.
- Put a really bad quality picture (useful if the item you're selling is a piece of junk and you want to hide that fact).
- If you're selling a long list of items, put a picture of all the items in a disorganized heap.
- Post a picture with a really bright glare reflecting off of the item.
- Take a picture of the item in front of a big pile of junk so it looks tacky.
- Use the picture from Amazon or include the link to the item on Amazon.
- Or, post a picture that's just fine but sell an item that is at least forty years old and hideous and hint that it's an antique and could be restained/painted/reupholstered and it's really awesome.
Basically, if your craigslist ad looks like this, I guarantee I will not even read it, let alone consider doing business with you.
And here's a template for the kind of Craigslist ad I like:
Title:
[Item (no flashy adjectives unless they are useful descriptions)]--[price]
Body of the ad:
[Item you're selling and the price]
[Brief description if needed--for example, to point out a feature, clarify what is included in the sale, tell the brand, etc. If necessary, include useful information such as if it can be taken apart, if it needs a little repair, or dimensions. Do not be long-winded in your description--just get to the point!]
Sometimes it is useful to include a link to the item on Amazon, but that shouldn't be used as a replacement for putting useful information into the ad.
[Three or four decent-quality pictures that give a good idea of what the item looks like and what condition it's in.]
And here's a template for the kind of Craigslist ad I like:
Title:
[Item (no flashy adjectives unless they are useful descriptions)]--[price]
Body of the ad:
[Item you're selling and the price]
[Brief description if needed--for example, to point out a feature, clarify what is included in the sale, tell the brand, etc. If necessary, include useful information such as if it can be taken apart, if it needs a little repair, or dimensions. Do not be long-winded in your description--just get to the point!]
Sometimes it is useful to include a link to the item on Amazon, but that shouldn't be used as a replacement for putting useful information into the ad.
[Three or four decent-quality pictures that give a good idea of what the item looks like and what condition it's in.]
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sunday thoughts on motherhood
"Here is a beautiful tribute by a son to his mother: 'I don’t remember much about her views of voting nor her social prestige; and what her ideas of child training, diet,and eugenics were, I cannot recall. The main thing that sifts back to me now through the thick undergrowth of years is that she loved me. She liked to lie on the grass with me and tell stories, or to run and hide with us children. She was always hugging me. And I liked it. She had a sunny face. To me it was like God. Of all the sensations pleasurable to my life nothing can compare with the rapture of crawling up into her lap and going to sleep while she swung to and fro in her rocking chair and sang. Thinking of this, I wonder if the woman of today, with all her tremendous notions and plans, realizes what an almighty factor she is in shaping her children. I wonder if she realizes how much sheer love and attention count for in a child’s life.' "
This is a quote from a talk given by Ezra Taft Benson, "To the Mothers in Zion." You can find that talk at that link or by googling some of the key words. I found it in several places.
I received this talk in a pamphlet from a woman in my parents' ward about a week before Ryan and I were married, and it deeply touches me every time I read it. This quote was one that especially touched me. I thought of it again last night. Kevin was tired after a long day of hiking and playing, so when I pulled him into my lap to help him say his prayers and sing a primary song, he snuggled right up to me and held very still while sucking his thumb. One primary song didn't seem like enough, and I sang another, and another, and another, until I realized he had fallen asleep in my arms. I sat there for a while, enjoying the feeling of having my baby sleeping in my arms again. There was a very peaceful spirit, and I felt reminded that I can do no greater work than what I am doing raising this child. I thought of the people in my classes, and I realized that as much as I envy them having the time to go to school full-time, I would never trade places with them. Nothing has given me greater joy and greater meaning in life than having an eternal family and being at home with my little boy.
This is a quote from a talk given by Ezra Taft Benson, "To the Mothers in Zion." You can find that talk at that link or by googling some of the key words. I found it in several places.
I received this talk in a pamphlet from a woman in my parents' ward about a week before Ryan and I were married, and it deeply touches me every time I read it. This quote was one that especially touched me. I thought of it again last night. Kevin was tired after a long day of hiking and playing, so when I pulled him into my lap to help him say his prayers and sing a primary song, he snuggled right up to me and held very still while sucking his thumb. One primary song didn't seem like enough, and I sang another, and another, and another, until I realized he had fallen asleep in my arms. I sat there for a while, enjoying the feeling of having my baby sleeping in my arms again. There was a very peaceful spirit, and I felt reminded that I can do no greater work than what I am doing raising this child. I thought of the people in my classes, and I realized that as much as I envy them having the time to go to school full-time, I would never trade places with them. Nothing has given me greater joy and greater meaning in life than having an eternal family and being at home with my little boy.
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