I promise this conversation actually took place on the day celebrating the great Dr. Martin Luther King jr. I would like to take credit for it and say we we're having a thought provoking conversation about skin color but I can't. It was completely spontaneous and completed came from Bear's 3 year old brain.
Bear: "Mommy what color you skin?"
Me: "Um, I don't know... Maybe peach?"
Bear: "OK Mommy, then mine be pineapple!".
Wouldn't it be nice if everyone thought of skin color as no more complicated than fruits belonging in the same food group. They are all delicious in their own way, everything contributes equally to an awesome fruit salad, but they are all simply yummy fruits. Is this truly any different than people? We are all delicious in our own way. We all contribute equally wonderful things to the world. And most importantly we are all PEOPLE! I absolutely loved this conversation. It really made me stop for a moment and think. I love the innocence of her young brain. I love her questioning nature. Right now is our chance to mold the youth and their views. If we allow them to think skin color is no different than different kinds of fruit and let them know it is important to challenge anyone who thinks differently wouldn't it be a better place? It's not realistic to think they won't encounter prejudice and ugliness but if we put love and equality into their hearts we give them a fighting chance to make this a better place.
What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Cause and Effect in the Preschool Child
This is usually the relationship between my girls. Bear is very into baby dolls and loves to help with her sister. She tells us throughout the day "Be careful Mommy, her a baby." The other morning I came out from brushing my teeth to see this picture. Bear said, "Mommy, her was crying so I give her a bottle!" She is such a big helper!
I am going to blame the next story on the full moon. Bear was never a biter. On a few occasions she tested the waters but it was 2 years ago and lasted a week tops. Imagine my surprise when baby Bees started screaming bloody murder and Bear ran to hide, only to find out she bit the baby's toe!!! She didn't break the skin but you would have thought she did the way the baby screamed. All I can figure is that her new love of the movie "Lilo and Stitch" influenced her since she ran around all weekend pretending to be Stitch.
Later that day we caught her feeding a goldfish cracker to her 12 week old sister. She knows Bees can't have food yet and tells us over and over but I think she is now at the stage that she wants to question our authority and find out WHY we say things can't happen. I love her inquisitive nature but I wish we could find another way to explore the laws of cause and effect without practicing on our baby sister! That was definitely a wine and bubble bath kind of night! Anyone have any suggestions to help with this situation???
Sunday, January 8, 2012
More thoughts from me...
- I love losing weight with my husband. We totally motivate each other and it's easier to stay on track because neither one of us wants pizza or something the other can't have... Ok I REALLY want pizza... But since he isn't eating it neither am I. Pizza is totally a gateway drug for me so I have to avoid it entirely... And I didn't mean gateway food it really is like a drug to me... It's intoxicating, addictive, and life altering... And it leads to things like coke (coca-cola of course) and from there it's all downhill... Many a diet has been ruined by a single slice of pizza!
The problem with dieting with my husband is that he has lost 6 lbs in the time I've lost .2... It's truly not fair how easily men lose weight. I guess I can look at the bright side and know in 2 weeks I will have an in shape, sexy hubby to motivate me to lose another .2 lbs.
-Baby Bear never watched cartoons... At least not this young. She loved to watch sports with daddy but that was just coincidental...
Everyone has told me baby 2 will do things faster because they want to be like the older child. It has already started! Our morning routine consists of breakfast while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Baby Bees loves it! She will lay on her blanket and stared mesmerized at Mickey. I know I should move her somewhere else and read books to her or do some flashcards while listening to classical music but it actually gives me a few minutes to brush my teeth or make a cup of coffee! So they watch together. I love how I come back from the bathroom and Bear is telling her baby sister all about the show, narrating it for her. It really is sweet.
-It's funny it's only been 3 years since Bear was this age but I find myself forgetting what to do to keep Bees entertained. I was looking through old pics on MySpace today (that's where most of Bear's baby pics are... Can you believe it, it really hasn't been a century since we were all active MySpace users) and I saw a pic of me reading her a book at 2 mo. I remembered that it was her favorite book and if I recited it she would quiet and smile... I realized I haven't picked up a single book to read to Bees and at this point I had several memorized for baby Bear! So of course I ran straight into their room and grabbed all the board books I could find to make up for lost time. And wouldn't you know it... Bees smiled and laughed through them all. I went to make another cup of coffee (don't judge) and came back to Bear reading the books to her sister! How sweet is that? Which brings me to my next point...
-The good thing about a second baby is that the first child takes some of the entertainment responsibilities off your shoulders. Big sister is much better at dancing silly, singing songs, and overall entertainment of the infant crowd. Baby Bees already looks up at her sister with big open eyes in awe of everything she does...
- The downside of this adoration of her sister is that she recognizes even the slightest whisper of her sisters voice. When the baby is sleeping if Bear says one thing baby is wide awake. If anyone has suggestions for preventing a 3 year old from talking for 2 hours I would greatly appreciate them!
- Lastly, What is colic? Everyone tells you it will pass but when you are already thinking of how to make a sling that will support a 25 year old because clearly this child will still be screaming it's head off in 25 years... You might already be looking up mental institutions because it's pretty much guaranteed you will be committing yourself in the near future... If nothing else just to get a good nights sleep... And then you realize... It's been a week since you've had to take out any of your 3 slings (yes I have 2 Sleepy Wraps and a Moby Wrap)... Is my baby still cranky in the evening? Yep. Does she prefer me to be the one to put her to sleep? Of course. But does she smile, coo, and laugh as she wakes up now? Can I see the light at the end of the tunnel? Did we survive colic??? Yes, Yes, and Yes! And you will too my dear friends that have been suffering with us!
The problem with dieting with my husband is that he has lost 6 lbs in the time I've lost .2... It's truly not fair how easily men lose weight. I guess I can look at the bright side and know in 2 weeks I will have an in shape, sexy hubby to motivate me to lose another .2 lbs.
-Baby Bear never watched cartoons... At least not this young. She loved to watch sports with daddy but that was just coincidental...
Everyone has told me baby 2 will do things faster because they want to be like the older child. It has already started! Our morning routine consists of breakfast while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Baby Bees loves it! She will lay on her blanket and stared mesmerized at Mickey. I know I should move her somewhere else and read books to her or do some flashcards while listening to classical music but it actually gives me a few minutes to brush my teeth or make a cup of coffee! So they watch together. I love how I come back from the bathroom and Bear is telling her baby sister all about the show, narrating it for her. It really is sweet.
-It's funny it's only been 3 years since Bear was this age but I find myself forgetting what to do to keep Bees entertained. I was looking through old pics on MySpace today (that's where most of Bear's baby pics are... Can you believe it, it really hasn't been a century since we were all active MySpace users) and I saw a pic of me reading her a book at 2 mo. I remembered that it was her favorite book and if I recited it she would quiet and smile... I realized I haven't picked up a single book to read to Bees and at this point I had several memorized for baby Bear! So of course I ran straight into their room and grabbed all the board books I could find to make up for lost time. And wouldn't you know it... Bees smiled and laughed through them all. I went to make another cup of coffee (don't judge) and came back to Bear reading the books to her sister! How sweet is that? Which brings me to my next point...
-The good thing about a second baby is that the first child takes some of the entertainment responsibilities off your shoulders. Big sister is much better at dancing silly, singing songs, and overall entertainment of the infant crowd. Baby Bees already looks up at her sister with big open eyes in awe of everything she does...
- The downside of this adoration of her sister is that she recognizes even the slightest whisper of her sisters voice. When the baby is sleeping if Bear says one thing baby is wide awake. If anyone has suggestions for preventing a 3 year old from talking for 2 hours I would greatly appreciate them!
- Lastly, What is colic? Everyone tells you it will pass but when you are already thinking of how to make a sling that will support a 25 year old because clearly this child will still be screaming it's head off in 25 years... You might already be looking up mental institutions because it's pretty much guaranteed you will be committing yourself in the near future... If nothing else just to get a good nights sleep... And then you realize... It's been a week since you've had to take out any of your 3 slings (yes I have 2 Sleepy Wraps and a Moby Wrap)... Is my baby still cranky in the evening? Yep. Does she prefer me to be the one to put her to sleep? Of course. But does she smile, coo, and laugh as she wakes up now? Can I see the light at the end of the tunnel? Did we survive colic??? Yes, Yes, and Yes! And you will too my dear friends that have been suffering with us!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Going back to work...
makes me want to be sick. I love what I do. I truly do. I miss every one of my students. I love my co-workers and the school I work at. I have always said I would make a terrible stay at home mom. My husband told me tonight how he knows I will be much happier when I am back at work. How come none of these things make me feel any better?
First of all I know how incredibly blessed I am that I have my mom to watch my sweet baby (and my sweet preschoolers in the afternoons). I can't think of a better person to watch her. Bees loves my mom to death. Her first smile was at my mom. When I couldn't get her to stop crying in the height of colic she would quiet immediately for my mom. I worry that she won't tell me if it gets to be too much for her. I worry she will resent how much time she spends helping us out.
I have to stop myself from feeling that it isn't fair that I spent 2 1/2 months at home with a colicky baby and now that she is smiling and interacting I have to hand her over for someone else to enjoy all day. I have to remind myself that the reason I was able to stay home with her then is that that is when she needed me the very most and only now is she at a place I can hand her care over to someone else (not that I was alone that whole time, my mom has been by my side almost every day).
I worry about work... Not about being an SLP. I know I can handle that. But being an SLP or any specialist in a school really starts to suck about January. This is when all the new referrals come in, caseloads grow, evaluations and meetings peak, and morale plummets. It doesn't help that today was the coldest day of the winter so far (5 degrees with the wind chill for my Florida friends). Instead of being prepared for this and knowing what I'm going into tomorrow... I have no idea where any of my students are... No lesson plans ready (kinds hard to do lesson plans when I don't know where the kids are at) and about 5 IEP meetings that I need to do paperwork for by Thursday.
The last reason I'm bummed is I didn't accomplish nearly half of the things I wanted while on break. I am more behind than ever on my scrapbooks, my maternity clothes are still in my closet and my pre-baby clothes are still in boxes (not hat thy would fit), I never attended any meet ups with the moms group, my house is a disaster, and my car is a mess. I will miss lazy mornings snuggling with my baby... I will miss fun afternoons with Bear, playing dolls and watching her shows.
I'm just not ready... But I don't know if I will ever be! The one good thing is that unlike the last time I was at work... After a long stressful day I can enjoy a nice big glass of wine... If anyone chats with my husband and would like to help a girl out... Suggest he bring a bottle home with him after work tomorrow. I would greatly appreciate it!
First of all I know how incredibly blessed I am that I have my mom to watch my sweet baby (and my sweet preschoolers in the afternoons). I can't think of a better person to watch her. Bees loves my mom to death. Her first smile was at my mom. When I couldn't get her to stop crying in the height of colic she would quiet immediately for my mom. I worry that she won't tell me if it gets to be too much for her. I worry she will resent how much time she spends helping us out.
I have to stop myself from feeling that it isn't fair that I spent 2 1/2 months at home with a colicky baby and now that she is smiling and interacting I have to hand her over for someone else to enjoy all day. I have to remind myself that the reason I was able to stay home with her then is that that is when she needed me the very most and only now is she at a place I can hand her care over to someone else (not that I was alone that whole time, my mom has been by my side almost every day).
I worry about work... Not about being an SLP. I know I can handle that. But being an SLP or any specialist in a school really starts to suck about January. This is when all the new referrals come in, caseloads grow, evaluations and meetings peak, and morale plummets. It doesn't help that today was the coldest day of the winter so far (5 degrees with the wind chill for my Florida friends). Instead of being prepared for this and knowing what I'm going into tomorrow... I have no idea where any of my students are... No lesson plans ready (kinds hard to do lesson plans when I don't know where the kids are at) and about 5 IEP meetings that I need to do paperwork for by Thursday.
The last reason I'm bummed is I didn't accomplish nearly half of the things I wanted while on break. I am more behind than ever on my scrapbooks, my maternity clothes are still in my closet and my pre-baby clothes are still in boxes (not hat thy would fit), I never attended any meet ups with the moms group, my house is a disaster, and my car is a mess. I will miss lazy mornings snuggling with my baby... I will miss fun afternoons with Bear, playing dolls and watching her shows.
I'm just not ready... But I don't know if I will ever be! The one good thing is that unlike the last time I was at work... After a long stressful day I can enjoy a nice big glass of wine... If anyone chats with my husband and would like to help a girl out... Suggest he bring a bottle home with him after work tomorrow. I would greatly appreciate it!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Baby weight...
I have never been one to REALLY be concerned about my weight... I have dieted and attempted to work out but most of my life I never really had to do anything. When I met hubby until I got pregnant with my first child I gained 5 lbs every year. That adds up to a lot of pounds. Still I wasn't very motivated. After Bear was born I and I lost the initial baby weight I was still up about 15 lbs, 5 of which I lost just in time to find out I was pregnant with Bees. Now after baby #2 I am up 30 lbs from before I started to have kids. I know this is normal and it should take as long to take it off as it did to put it on... but all of a sudden I am concerned with my weight. First of all I go back to work in 2 days (eek that just squeezed my heart), and I do not have 1 pair of pants that really fits except maternity... yuck!
We were out running around yesterday... I was wearing a pair of maternity pants that have survived the duration of 2 pregnancies... 18 months of clumsy pregnancy eating... and they are slightly stained in a few places. I also had on a maternity sweater because I couldn't find anything else. My daughter had chocolate milk spilled on her pants and between the two of us we were a hot mess. My husband nicely pointed out that maybe since we were going to the mall we could each buy some new pants...
So I went into a store I used to love... so excited that I no longer had to shop at a maternity store and could get back into clothes I liked! I grabbed the size I thought I would wear and a few the next size up just in case.... I tried on about 4 pairs of pants before I was no longer smiling... by the next 2 I had a horrible stomach ache... after the next 2 I sat on the floor and cried... I really cried... I couldn't believe that the largest size in this store did not fit me... I got it together and went to another store. I don't typically shop at this store because it's a little pricy.. I finally found a pair of jeans that fit around the waist. However I guess if you are as big as I am around the waist you are supposed to be 6 feet tall. Does anyone know what I should do with the extra foot of fabric? I was so glad to find something that fit my waist I didnt even care about the extra length. I guess I need to go buy some boots too now! At this point I was so depressed it didn't even occur to me that I DON'T need jeans. I cant wear jeans to work! Now I need to go out shopping AGAIN to find work pants before I go back to work in 2 days (eek!)
I checked out... spending a small fortune on an outfit for myself and Bear. I thought I had it together enough... Went to the bathroom and changed and met up with Erik and the girls. Before he could even get out that I looked great I was crying again. I couldn't believe I was crying in the middle of the Lego Store...
Conveniently this happened on New Year's Eve so I am making the stereotypical resolution to diet and work out and do anything short of running marathons...So friends I could use some encouragement... Tell me stories of how you have struggled, triumphed, or accepted your own situation... Tell me I can do it... and if nothing else... lie to me and tell me I look great in my tattered old maternity clothes when you see me because I honestly don't know if I can bear shopping again until I am down at least 1 size.
We were out running around yesterday... I was wearing a pair of maternity pants that have survived the duration of 2 pregnancies... 18 months of clumsy pregnancy eating... and they are slightly stained in a few places. I also had on a maternity sweater because I couldn't find anything else. My daughter had chocolate milk spilled on her pants and between the two of us we were a hot mess. My husband nicely pointed out that maybe since we were going to the mall we could each buy some new pants...
So I went into a store I used to love... so excited that I no longer had to shop at a maternity store and could get back into clothes I liked! I grabbed the size I thought I would wear and a few the next size up just in case.... I tried on about 4 pairs of pants before I was no longer smiling... by the next 2 I had a horrible stomach ache... after the next 2 I sat on the floor and cried... I really cried... I couldn't believe that the largest size in this store did not fit me... I got it together and went to another store. I don't typically shop at this store because it's a little pricy.. I finally found a pair of jeans that fit around the waist. However I guess if you are as big as I am around the waist you are supposed to be 6 feet tall. Does anyone know what I should do with the extra foot of fabric? I was so glad to find something that fit my waist I didnt even care about the extra length. I guess I need to go buy some boots too now! At this point I was so depressed it didn't even occur to me that I DON'T need jeans. I cant wear jeans to work! Now I need to go out shopping AGAIN to find work pants before I go back to work in 2 days (eek!)
I checked out... spending a small fortune on an outfit for myself and Bear. I thought I had it together enough... Went to the bathroom and changed and met up with Erik and the girls. Before he could even get out that I looked great I was crying again. I couldn't believe I was crying in the middle of the Lego Store...
Conveniently this happened on New Year's Eve so I am making the stereotypical resolution to diet and work out and do anything short of running marathons...So friends I could use some encouragement... Tell me stories of how you have struggled, triumphed, or accepted your own situation... Tell me I can do it... and if nothing else... lie to me and tell me I look great in my tattered old maternity clothes when you see me because I honestly don't know if I can bear shopping again until I am down at least 1 size.
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