March 4 Life

I am always sad now when I cannot go to the National March For Life in DC.  I know that right now for good reason why I can't go, but my heart is always there.  I know once you have gone, you always want to return and fight for life.  Anyway, I don't have that many words to say, though if you follow me on Facebook you would have noticed that I have put up a pro-life quote for each day since last Wednesday.

One thing is that I love that my husband goes to it with the teens, even though he's gone from home for a while, its still super awesome that he's on the same page as me in defending life.  And that is something for which I thank God.

Thoughts about attachment parenting

Attachment parenting has been on my mind lately.  More than a few moms I know have had to stop co-sleeping with their babies, due to lack of sleep issues.  As a result, I began to ponder another mom blogger's motto about every baby is different and we need to always keep that in check.  I think this also goes along with the fact that every parent is different too. I am trying to understand rather than judge parenting decisions these days when it comes to each individual child and parent.  While I think some folks like myself are totally attachment parents to the whole nine yards, others are APs in other aspects and others APs in aspects unbeknownst to them, and others not at all.  I think now, after pondering this in my mind a bit, that I am coming to respect each parents decision with their child.  Some children need some detachment to function better, and other need the attachment to function better.

When it comes to co-sleeping some children thrive off of it, and others do not.  At the same time some parents like myself, seem to get their best sleep with a co-sleeping baby, while other parents maybe because of the babies habits may not.  I guess it comes down to being adaptable and finding what works best for everyone that would be affected.

What I have noticed in my own child's behavior is that when it comes to sleep he is very dependent on me, but then when it comes to playing he is very independent and sometimes I have to force myself to get inside his little world of destructo baby land to remember to keep talking with him.  I sometimes have associated this with APing but I am starting to realize its probably more of a temperament thing.  Maybe being an AP does sometimes make him less of a scaredy cat in some situations, but since I only have one subject to observe at the moment its really hard to say.

I guess as a come away from this, I would have to say that for myself I am trying to judge less with parenting styles and realize that folks do what is best for their family situation.  I also think sometimes for the first it is easier to do one thing than it is for maybe the 4th or 6th kiddo.  So, as I try to judge less, I still think we know in our gut what is best for us when it comes to these situations, but I am also trying to remember that I am molding a little child of God here and keeping that in check is always good to remember.

Anyway that's what is on my mind lately.  Hope you are having a wonderful week so far.

Random Bits and Questions from my mind

1. I decided that my favorite place to print pics is CVS.  I have tried most of the drug stores and some grocery stores, and now even Target. And ultimately CVS has the quickest turn around with the best quality prints.  And maybe its just my local CVS that is good with photos, but I think I will stick with them.

2. I am going to attempt making my own laundry detergent, via the Duggar recipe.  Anyone try this out and have success?  I am hoping to be successful and save lots of money by doing so.

3. I am trying to figure out a local volunteer gig, and thinking about pregnancy centers as something to do.  But not sure what I would do there.  Trying to muster the courage to call an inquire.  I have a phone phobia with strangers that has existed since forever.

4. Ben is again throwing my sleep for a loop, but not really at night, he's usually up just once at night these days but has decided that destroying the house is more important than nap taking.

5. I have been enjoying play-dates, though have decided against the library playgroup at least for now.  Too much unsolicited advice and too many different parenting styles that seem to make me cringe.  I think that even though I have little experience with daycare, this somehow reminded me of it and a little of why I am so anti it.

6. Still looking into PT jobs, but I think I want a PT-PT job, one that is like only 4 hours a week.  Know of any of these?

7. I was given a compliment the other day that made me think wow I must just be this person on my blog and then totally different in public.  Makes me wonder if that is a good or bad thing.  Because blogging about it still means I am acting out about it right?  Maybe I need to think twice about stating my opinions.

8. Did I tell you I have a newly born nephew.  He was born at the end of December on the 30th, which made him 2.5 weeks early.  Probably having a baby that early and healthy makes the women who go 2 weeks past their due date crazy.

9. Does anyone else crave milk products when they are having a meatless day?

10. Lastly, I am super appreciative of my husband. He is awesome and has been a great help at getting me through the days by letting me get an extra hour's rest every weekday morning while he takes Ben around as he gets ready in the morning for work.  Thanks love if you read this :)

Some recent pics

Some pics from some recent events.

First Keith and Ben climbed to the top of the pyramid in the Adventure Science Center 

in Nashville.  This is a priceless expression from that adventure.

and then the little dude turned another month older.  He's now 10 months old. 

Last, after the snow all melted from a warm snap.  It came back today.  So we had a little adventure 

sidewalk sledding.

And so a new year begins...

I was half awake to bring in the new year last night.  Another batch of teeth are surfacing in Ben's mouth so sleep has been in limited increments around here.  Though my super awesome husband let me sleep in till 9am today and for that I was incredibly thankful. In what moments I was awake last night, my husband and I discussed the questions posted by Danielle Bean on F&F Live.  They are really good evaluation questions if you don't feel its too late to do a year end evaluation.

From these questions, it seemed to be a theme for me to figure out what it means to be a Kiera outside of school.  I know a big part of that is being a wife and a mama, but what defines me as me is another story.  I have been a student since I was 4 and now at 27, its hard to imagine a school-less life.  Oddly, up to this point is been I want to get this part of my life done, I need this to be over.  And now that its here its surreal.  Its almost like you try a while to have a baby, and then you get pregnant and then the baby is born and you are like woah how did I get here. It's surreal that I actually made it through, but at the same time I have to figure out what this new stage of life entails for me.  I know that I don't want a full time job, but what kind of work do I want, or would I rather volunteer instead of work for pay?  Do I want to do something in my field or something completely unrelated?

So, I hope to figure out what it means to me in this post-school stage of life.  If you want to send a prayer this way as this chapter of my life unfolds, it would be appreciated.

I hope everyone has a great and blessed 2011!

The Verdict Is In

The craziness is over.  The verdict is in.  I have passed my Ph.D. defense. It feels good to be done.  I can finally enjoy playing with my son without something big lurking over my head.  And now on to other things.  Probably looking for a job as a part-time tutor.  Just enough to keep my hands in it all. But that will happen in the new year.  Because as of now, I have aquired a lovely cold, that both Ben and I have.  So, for now we are focusing on recovering and getting prepared for the Christmas season.

For an unrelated topic, I have been thinking about sleep issues a lot.  I think sometimes, and now by my reading, that my expectations are not reality.  One my baby is not formula fed, so he isn't going to sleep 8 or more hours straight till he's older.  Two I have to own up to those around me that I truly am a co-sleeper, and that its okay that my baby sleeps in our bed a lot of the time.  While I may think things are greener on the other side sometimes, I have to know that going with my gut here is what is best for our little family. Also, as many others see this subject differently, I am not saying that everyone or even anyone has to do it my way.  Simply, that this is the choice that I have made, and I am no longer going to feel guilty about it, despite criticism about it.

And as for advent, though I don't think I have gone all out in preparation for the Christmas season.  I have done little things like say the St. Andrew prayer throughout the day, light a new advent candle each Sunday, and follow the Busted Halo advent calendar. But for now these are helping us prepare for Jesus' birth. What are some of your traditions or things of new that you are doing for advent this year?

Interesting tidbit on conversion

So I had the TV on in the background while I was feeding Ben some fruit for breakfast this morning, and Good Morning America was on.  A segment of an interview with Mark Wahlberg and his new movie The Fighter.  I overheard him being made fun of for having 4 kids under 7 years of age, and a refreshing response from him saying that he loved his kids and was very pro-life.  He also then ended the segment saying he started everyday on his knees thanking God for his life and making it through his troubled past.

So I started to do some research, on his life, because this isn't what I usually hear on TV.  Usually its some celebration of some playing house or anti-Christian issue. This was a change from that.  So I found in my research that this man had a troubled life, and is by no means perfect.  But what was most interesting about him was that it seems that he is having a life-long conversion in his faith.  Apparently, a life-long friendship with a priest is a major contribution to igniting and continuing this conversion.  This article at catholicvote.org gives a more accurate description.

So what I drew from this, is a real-life example of how a conversion is not a one-time experience.  It is something that is constant in our lives.  Because if it was a one time deal, then our faith would be stagnant.  And the scripture from the book of James would call us out.  But this man, who has made very public mistakes along the way, is on the journey of a lifetime conversion. I wonder, and sometimes think that a constant conversion may be more of a Catholic idea than a Protestant one, but at the same time I hope that Protestants understand this is true in their faith as well, if their faith is genuine.

With Mr. Wahlberg, his life is in the spotlight, and so we can see the big mistakes he has made.  But in his life, he has seemed to learn from his past and make a conversion in that area to a new self.  While some things seemed to take longer to get over than what one would think they should, we don't know the full story behind it, so we take it with the best intentions. Especially knowing that some of the conversion milestones do require some true faith.

Thus, as the other blogger states, while the man may not be a saint, he at least is no longer a prodigal son to the Nth degree.



btw...If this blog post doesn't make sense, I blame it on not being able to think about anything other than fuel cells.