Today was the day where I reached the breaking point. I have been stuck in the house for days---thanks polar vortex, KT has been working up to 18 hours a day, Ella is going through a whiny phase, and I had to get out!!!
I am literally sitting in the Starbucks inside of Barnes & Noble writing this, applying for jobs, and working on my book. And it is exactly what I needed. I was going stir-crazy in the house. KT and Ella were definitely bearing the brunt of my frustration. I was snapping at both of them constantly. And KT is in just as bad of a mood from being so tired from working so much, so we were just feeding off of each other's negativity. It was a vicious cycle. Not to mention that Ella is going through the worst whiny phase right now, so she is constantly just whining for attention, juice, snacks, anything really. I'm pretty sure that she doesn't even know why she is whining half the time. So I definitely had a bad day for following through with my no yelling resolution. I knew this point was coming soon and today I just had to do nothing except get out of the house.
I also think I am having some issues with the fact that I got a taste of going back to work and getting to have adult interaction, and now I am back to only talking to a one year old for hours upon hours. I love being home with Ella, but I gotta find some friends up here that are available to get together. I know a couple people, but it is so hard to coordinate schedules. What I really need is time with girlfriends away from the kids for a while!! I think I need a vacation too. Man, I need a lot right now. Maybe Ella gets this whiny thing honestly....
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Crunchy or Silky??
Recently, I was checking out some posts on my mommies group website and I came across a post about being a "crunchy parent". Frankly, I had no clue what this meant. Obviously, I have been living under a rock because most everyone else did. So I had to get to Googling to find what this very strange-sounding style of parenting is. I found quite a few websites that detail not only what a "crunchy" parent is but also what being a "silky" parent means.
Basically, a crunchy parent is one that believes in all things natural and organic. Such things like cloth diapers, baby-wearing, breastfeeding, extended-breastfeeding, delayed or selective vaccinations, homemade organic baby food, natural and homemade cleaning products, co-sleeping, no circumcision, no cry-it-out, no spanking or yelling, etc. A silky parent is essentially the opposite of this. And a "scrunchy" parent is one that falls in the middle somewhere. I've decided that I am pretty much a scrunchy parent. KT and I try to do as many of the crunchy style parenting techniques that we can, but there are several things that we are much more silky on. For example, we knew we would breastfeed as long as we can (which we did for 6 months), we have and still are co-sleeping (although we are trying to get her back in her crib currently), we try to buy organic when we can, we are dabbling in making our own cleaning products (first batch of homemade laundry detergent was a success), we do not believe in cry-it-out, and we did practice baby-wearing at times. However, things like vaccinations and circumcision (if Ella had been a boy) are things we are very set on. I used to believe that I was set against cloth diapers and extended-breastfeeding, but I have become much more lax in that area lately. I would like to attempt cloth diapers for the next baby, and I believe I would be able to handle breastfeeding past one year. Although, I still do not think I would go past two years at the max. I am trying to practice the no yelling or spanking, but I do raise my voice sometimes and pop a hand. I am trying to put a lid on that though. Maybe I should add that to my list of resolutions!
I found a couple quizzes that are fun to take to see where you fall on the crunchy or silky scale.
I found out that I am "sprinkled with granola" for my crunchy level, and I am 70% silky. I think that I am slowly becoming more and more crunchy though. And I am pretty happy about that. So how crunchy, silky, or scrunchy are you? Take the quizzes and find out, and share below what your results are and what you are crunchy/silky about. By the way, please tell me I am not the only person that really didn't know what these terms meant!
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Basically, a crunchy parent is one that believes in all things natural and organic. Such things like cloth diapers, baby-wearing, breastfeeding, extended-breastfeeding, delayed or selective vaccinations, homemade organic baby food, natural and homemade cleaning products, co-sleeping, no circumcision, no cry-it-out, no spanking or yelling, etc. A silky parent is essentially the opposite of this. And a "scrunchy" parent is one that falls in the middle somewhere. I've decided that I am pretty much a scrunchy parent. KT and I try to do as many of the crunchy style parenting techniques that we can, but there are several things that we are much more silky on. For example, we knew we would breastfeed as long as we can (which we did for 6 months), we have and still are co-sleeping (although we are trying to get her back in her crib currently), we try to buy organic when we can, we are dabbling in making our own cleaning products (first batch of homemade laundry detergent was a success), we do not believe in cry-it-out, and we did practice baby-wearing at times. However, things like vaccinations and circumcision (if Ella had been a boy) are things we are very set on. I used to believe that I was set against cloth diapers and extended-breastfeeding, but I have become much more lax in that area lately. I would like to attempt cloth diapers for the next baby, and I believe I would be able to handle breastfeeding past one year. Although, I still do not think I would go past two years at the max. I am trying to practice the no yelling or spanking, but I do raise my voice sometimes and pop a hand. I am trying to put a lid on that though. Maybe I should add that to my list of resolutions!
I found a couple quizzes that are fun to take to see where you fall on the crunchy or silky scale.
I found out that I am "sprinkled with granola" for my crunchy level, and I am 70% silky. I think that I am slowly becoming more and more crunchy though. And I am pretty happy about that. So how crunchy, silky, or scrunchy are you? Take the quizzes and find out, and share below what your results are and what you are crunchy/silky about. By the way, please tell me I am not the only person that really didn't know what these terms meant!
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It's 2014! That means it's time to make all of those changes we always talk about but never actually do!
Wow. It is already a new year. And I haven't blogged since September of the last year! Bad, bad blogger! I could tell you all of the dozens of excuses that I have for why I have neglected the blog, but it basically boils down to laziness. Plain and simple. There has been so much going on that I just didn't have any energy left over to put into the blog. But that is about to all change!
The last few months of 2013 brought lots of new things, some good and some not so good. We had all of the holidays from Halloween to Christmas, and those were all great. Ella had a blast with all of the celebrating and traveling that we did. In November we got to celebrate Ella's first birthday, and that was amazing! We had such a great party, even if Ella did make me hold her the entire time. I also got a job in October...and then got laid off from said job in December due to budget cuts. That was a tough break because I really liked where I was working. But it was definitely hard to leave Ella..for both of us. And to be honest, we are still dealing with the ramificatons from that period of time. She has a fierce attachment to me now and cannot handle me even going to the bathroom. Trying to fix that ASAP. KT is still working the new job he got and it's going okay. I know this isn't something he wants long-term, but it works for now. I also am now a part of a book club with my mommies group, and I am loving it! I will upload some pictures very soon of Ella!
So back to 2014 and the changes that I plan on making this year. The following are my resolutions:
I am definitely being ambitious with all of these goals and plans, but I really hope to be able to stick with them. So, do you have any resolutions or goals for this year? Share them! Who knows, I might adopt one of yours to add to my list!
The last few months of 2013 brought lots of new things, some good and some not so good. We had all of the holidays from Halloween to Christmas, and those were all great. Ella had a blast with all of the celebrating and traveling that we did. In November we got to celebrate Ella's first birthday, and that was amazing! We had such a great party, even if Ella did make me hold her the entire time. I also got a job in October...and then got laid off from said job in December due to budget cuts. That was a tough break because I really liked where I was working. But it was definitely hard to leave Ella..for both of us. And to be honest, we are still dealing with the ramificatons from that period of time. She has a fierce attachment to me now and cannot handle me even going to the bathroom. Trying to fix that ASAP. KT is still working the new job he got and it's going okay. I know this isn't something he wants long-term, but it works for now. I also am now a part of a book club with my mommies group, and I am loving it! I will upload some pictures very soon of Ella!
So back to 2014 and the changes that I plan on making this year. The following are my resolutions:
- Put down the social media and focus on Ella more. Even though I am home with her I feel like we don't play games, read books, etc. enough. So that means that I am limiting my time on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I'll still be posting pictures of Ella though, so make sure you follow me on all of the above to stay updated!
- We are going to be healthier if it is the last thing I do! We have become seriously lax about our green smoothies, so those are definitely coming back. We are also doing things like switching to whole wheat and whole grain as much as possible. Going to try to buy more organic too.
- Another one of my goals this year is to be more proactive in doing what I love to do..writing. I have this blog which is definitely going to get more attention this year, but I also want to do some freelance writing and write some book reviews. Reading and writing are my passions (outside of Ella of course), so this is the year to make them my priorities too!
- Volunteering is also on my list. I have volunteered with Big Brother Big Sister in the past, but I want to do more work with the Children's Hospital here in Birmingham. I want Ella to grow up with a sense of gratitude for what she has, not with an air of entitlement.
- Finally, financial planning is a must for this year also. We want to be in a house soon, so it's time we get serious about making that a reality.
I am definitely being ambitious with all of these goals and plans, but I really hope to be able to stick with them. So, do you have any resolutions or goals for this year? Share them! Who knows, I might adopt one of yours to add to my list!
When Daddy does bathtime...
My angel
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