My daughter has recently started taking several steps in a row. Seven or eight. But only when I have been holding her hands, hugging her, or otherwise balancing her, will she take that many in a row. If she is walking to me, she'll only take 3 or 4. As I was trying not to get my feelings hurt about that and wondering why, I realized that in my arms, she feels safe. I know her best and know how to help her balance best. So when I send her off, she feels confident to go explore her world. When someone else is helping her walk, she is less confident.
Wow, what an analogy for life. My role as a mom is as her harbor. I give her strength and confidence that no one else can. She can go farther and accomplish more from my arms than from anyone else's. But I have to watch her walk away so she can go explore the world, just as a ship leaves its safe port to go on new adventures. And sometimes watching her go hurts. But it is a clean pain, a proud pain, a pain that comes with it a great sense of love and peace that I am helping her accomplish what she was meant to do. I hope and pray I can remember this throughout her life, that only when I am helping her go out and do what she was meant to do, will I be accomplishing my role of parenting her the way God meant me to. Like wet sand held in my hand: not too tightly so that she would slip away and be no longer mine, but loosely, to fly where she will with my blessing, yet knowing I will always be her strength and confidence so she will always feel at home in my arms.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Name Game
To start off, I'd better say that I have a minor obsession with names. Well, words, really. I love etymology and meanings of words, and because of that, I love names even more so. When Daniel and I named our daughter Naomi, we (but especially I!) placed a lot of weight on meaning, sound, spell-ability, and where the name fell on the popularity charts. I still enjoy researching names, sometimes with an eye for future children, and sometimes in the genre of "what were her parents thinking?!"
For instance, a couple of years ago I was working at a coffee shop. A very pregnant lady came in and ordered a drink. As I was making it, I chatted with her about her baby due in a few weeks. I found out they already had a little girl, and were struggling to come up with a name for their new little girl. I asked the name of their daughter, and she told me it was Kennedy. "That's cute!" I said. "What does it mean?" She had no idea, so I had the brilliant suggestion to look it up, and pick a name with a similar meaning for her next daughter. She thought that might be a good idea, got her drink, and left. I never saw her again. A year later, I was expecting our daughter, and remembered this conversation. I didn't care for the sound of the name "Kennedy", but was curious what it meant, so I went to babynames.com to find out. I wonder if that pregnant lady never came back in the store because she was mad at me or embarrassed at her daughter's name? When I finally withdrew my foot out of my mouth, I told my husband the story, and the meaning of "Kennedy". It means "ugly head", literally from the ancient Celts who would wear helmets in battle, and their heads would become misshapen from this practice. Yikes! But I digress.
As Daniel and I were driving in the car the other day, I brought up some names I had been thinking of. I had noticed that some girls' names sound good with either an -a or an -ey/ie/i ending, but some names only work with one of them. Here are the names we came up with that work for either:
Laura/Laurie
Jenna/Jenny
Audra/Audrey
Cara/Carrie
Liza/Lizzy (different pronunciation for the "Liz" part, though)
The ones that DON'T work:
Shella (lol)
Britna
Ashla
Olivie
Sarie
Isabelly (lol)
Anyone have any names to add to either list? Anyone else play "name games" in your head too?
For instance, a couple of years ago I was working at a coffee shop. A very pregnant lady came in and ordered a drink. As I was making it, I chatted with her about her baby due in a few weeks. I found out they already had a little girl, and were struggling to come up with a name for their new little girl. I asked the name of their daughter, and she told me it was Kennedy. "That's cute!" I said. "What does it mean?" She had no idea, so I had the brilliant suggestion to look it up, and pick a name with a similar meaning for her next daughter. She thought that might be a good idea, got her drink, and left. I never saw her again. A year later, I was expecting our daughter, and remembered this conversation. I didn't care for the sound of the name "Kennedy", but was curious what it meant, so I went to babynames.com to find out. I wonder if that pregnant lady never came back in the store because she was mad at me or embarrassed at her daughter's name? When I finally withdrew my foot out of my mouth, I told my husband the story, and the meaning of "Kennedy". It means "ugly head", literally from the ancient Celts who would wear helmets in battle, and their heads would become misshapen from this practice. Yikes! But I digress.
As Daniel and I were driving in the car the other day, I brought up some names I had been thinking of. I had noticed that some girls' names sound good with either an -a or an -ey/ie/i ending, but some names only work with one of them. Here are the names we came up with that work for either:
Laura/Laurie
Jenna/Jenny
Audra/Audrey
Cara/Carrie
Liza/Lizzy (different pronunciation for the "Liz" part, though)
The ones that DON'T work:
Shella (lol)
Britna
Ashla
Olivie
Sarie
Isabelly (lol)
Anyone have any names to add to either list? Anyone else play "name games" in your head too?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Flying with Babies
I recently saw a post on Yahoo answers where a momma of two, an 18 month old and a 3 month old, will soon be flying by herself with her 2 babies. She was asking for tips, and I wound up typing a lot, as I've flown so often with Naomi already! So I thought I'd share, and then ask my reader(s) as well: Have you flown with babies? What tips or tricks do you recommend?
Here are my best observations:
Wherever you have a layover, make sure it is at least 1 and 1/2 hours, but not longer than 3. 1 and 1/2 is ideal. Any less than that leaves no room for error if they change your gates or your first flight arrives late. And running through the airport with a baby in tow to try to catch your next flight is not fun!
Bring a collapsible stroller for the airport for any baby who won't want to or be able to walk long distances in short amounts of time.
If your baby is around 5 months or older, bring "new" toys that s/he has never seen or hasn't seen in a long time and doesn't remember. This will get you through the last leg of the flight when they're cranky and bored.
If your baby uses a pacifier, bring some, or ensure they're nursing, or drinking from a bottle or sippy cup during takeoff and landing. This will help relieve the pressure in their ears and help prevent screaming.
Check your bags. I know it costs an extra $25 each way, but it's worth it to only have to worry about the baby, stroller and diaper bag for the flights and through the airport! And weigh your bag on your bathroom scale before you leave to make sure it's less than 50 lbs. This will save lots of shuffling around items during check-in, and prevent carrying too many heavy things in a diaper bag.
If you fly with baby food or liquids, have them easily accessible when going through security.
If flying with a baby and a toddler, I would likely use the carseat with the toddler so that s/he won't be constantly trying to get off your lap and run around the plane cabin. If possible, carry on both carseats so that in case there is an extra seat available on your row, you can strap both kids in. Most airlines allow this if you ask for it.
If you need to check a carseat, then remove all extra padding, buckle the buckles and pull the straps completely tight. This will prevent wear and tear on the straps. (Also, if an airline loses your carseat, they DO have "loaners" they will give you until yours comes in. And they will bring you yours to your address. Unfortunately, I know this from personal experience.)
Try to time your flights around their naptimes. If you can arrive at your final destination near your baby's afternoon naptime, it might be worth it to leave at 6 am.
Pack a snack for you in the diaper bag as well. Those little pretzels sometimes just won't cut it, and you'll be wishing for dark chocolate peanut M&Ms.
Most of all, remember that the flights have to come to an end at some point!
Here are my best observations:
Wherever you have a layover, make sure it is at least 1 and 1/2 hours, but not longer than 3. 1 and 1/2 is ideal. Any less than that leaves no room for error if they change your gates or your first flight arrives late. And running through the airport with a baby in tow to try to catch your next flight is not fun!
Bring a collapsible stroller for the airport for any baby who won't want to or be able to walk long distances in short amounts of time.
If your baby is around 5 months or older, bring "new" toys that s/he has never seen or hasn't seen in a long time and doesn't remember. This will get you through the last leg of the flight when they're cranky and bored.
If your baby uses a pacifier, bring some, or ensure they're nursing, or drinking from a bottle or sippy cup during takeoff and landing. This will help relieve the pressure in their ears and help prevent screaming.
Check your bags. I know it costs an extra $25 each way, but it's worth it to only have to worry about the baby, stroller and diaper bag for the flights and through the airport! And weigh your bag on your bathroom scale before you leave to make sure it's less than 50 lbs. This will save lots of shuffling around items during check-in, and prevent carrying too many heavy things in a diaper bag.
If you fly with baby food or liquids, have them easily accessible when going through security.
If flying with a baby and a toddler, I would likely use the carseat with the toddler so that s/he won't be constantly trying to get off your lap and run around the plane cabin. If possible, carry on both carseats so that in case there is an extra seat available on your row, you can strap both kids in. Most airlines allow this if you ask for it.
If you need to check a carseat, then remove all extra padding, buckle the buckles and pull the straps completely tight. This will prevent wear and tear on the straps. (Also, if an airline loses your carseat, they DO have "loaners" they will give you until yours comes in. And they will bring you yours to your address. Unfortunately, I know this from personal experience.)
Try to time your flights around their naptimes. If you can arrive at your final destination near your baby's afternoon naptime, it might be worth it to leave at 6 am.
Pack a snack for you in the diaper bag as well. Those little pretzels sometimes just won't cut it, and you'll be wishing for dark chocolate peanut M&Ms.
Most of all, remember that the flights have to come to an end at some point!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Contest Central
If I blog about awesome contests, would you enter them? It's free to enter, so why not? There are two in particular that I am super crazy about. The first is a contest for a Hazelaid brand Amber teething necklace. Just read this mommy's post about how awesome they are, if you don't believe me. And by commenting on her post, you are entered to win a gift certificate to buy your own teething necklace!
http://themommyhoodmemos.com/2011/09/amber-teething-necklaces-i%E2%80%99m-a-believer-review-giveaway/#comment-5047
The second giveaway I'm suuuper stoked about is by cotton babies cloth diapers. They are coming out with 3 new colors, 2 new prints, and 2 new styles of diaper! I know my favorite colors are "Mirror" and the print "Albert", but I'm having a hard time deciding which I love more, the new Flip training pants, or the Freetime All-in-one diaper! Anyhow, if you want to enter that contest, just comment on their blog! Here's the link: http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-product-giveaway.html?showComment=1316192781517#c3401432938350447135
One other site that does constant and amazing giveaways: Teething Bling on facebook. They have super awesome teething necklaces that mommy wears and baby can chew on. If you like them on facebook, they are constantly giving away stuff, whether it's their necklaces or other wonderful baby products, or even gift cards to Staples or Walmart. My "jade" pendant is absolutely mine and my daughter's favorite necklace for me to wear!
As mommies, it's hard to be able to afford cool stuff for our kids all the time, so I hope that someone I know can benefit from this info! Love to you all!
http://themommyhoodmemos.com/2011/09/amber-teething-necklaces-i%E2%80%99m-a-believer-review-giveaway/#comment-5047
The second giveaway I'm suuuper stoked about is by cotton babies cloth diapers. They are coming out with 3 new colors, 2 new prints, and 2 new styles of diaper! I know my favorite colors are "Mirror" and the print "Albert", but I'm having a hard time deciding which I love more, the new Flip training pants, or the Freetime All-in-one diaper! Anyhow, if you want to enter that contest, just comment on their blog! Here's the link: http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-product-giveaway.html?showComment=1316192781517#c3401432938350447135
One other site that does constant and amazing giveaways: Teething Bling on facebook. They have super awesome teething necklaces that mommy wears and baby can chew on. If you like them on facebook, they are constantly giving away stuff, whether it's their necklaces or other wonderful baby products, or even gift cards to Staples or Walmart. My "jade" pendant is absolutely mine and my daughter's favorite necklace for me to wear!
As mommies, it's hard to be able to afford cool stuff for our kids all the time, so I hope that someone I know can benefit from this info! Love to you all!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sweet Sneak Peek
Recently, one of my friends from our Bradley Birth Class was telling me how she is already planning for her son's first birthday party. *Gasp*, he's even a month younger than my daughter! I didn't laugh at her for planning something 1/3 of a year away, but that might have been because she inspired me...I realized that the earlier I start planning and preparing, the cheaper and nicer it will be, since I can have plenty of time to make things for my daughter's birthday instead of rushing around last minute and buying everything.
So. That being said, I started looking for a theme. I may as well say, I also despise licensed characters. Inasmuch as I have anything to do with it, my daughter won't ever have an "Elmo" or "Barbie" or "Hannah Montana" party, etc...of course, once she can speak her own mind, who knows? She'll probably ask for a licensed character party every year. But for now, the planning is up to me. *evil cackling*
I started my research by looking for a cake. I figured I could build a party theme around a cake, and I did! Naomi's first birthday party theme is officially: Owls. I did a lot of online research, but quickly realized that if I want her sweet treats to be as adorable as this one, and not wind up looking unfortunate, then I needed to practice! I saw some cute owl cake pops and thought I would try my hand at them. I think they turned out to be adorable!
So. That being said, I started looking for a theme. I may as well say, I also despise licensed characters. Inasmuch as I have anything to do with it, my daughter won't ever have an "Elmo" or "Barbie" or "Hannah Montana" party, etc...of course, once she can speak her own mind, who knows? She'll probably ask for a licensed character party every year. But for now, the planning is up to me. *evil cackling*
I started my research by looking for a cake. I figured I could build a party theme around a cake, and I did! Naomi's first birthday party theme is officially: Owls. I did a lot of online research, but quickly realized that if I want her sweet treats to be as adorable as this one, and not wind up looking unfortunate, then I needed to practice! I saw some cute owl cake pops and thought I would try my hand at them. I think they turned out to be adorable!
Owl Cake Pop
And here's the whole mess of them. I used a ballpoint pen to poke holes in a cereal box to prop them up while they were drying. They were really a lot easier to make than I'd thought they would be!
Colorful Owl Cake Pops
Now, I'm glad I didn't make an entire cake's worth of cake pops. That would have been entirely too many! But from one box of cake mix, I made 12 regular cupcakes, 12 mini cupcakes, and 1 loaf pan's worth of the rest of the batter, which, when mixed with frosting, became 20 cake balls. Want to know how I made the owls?
I lightened the photo to more easily show off owl-ey features.
What I did with the mini cupcakes was practice various icing techniques with my metal icing tips. The regular-sized cupcakes, I practiced making ball of yarn cupcakes which will hopefully be for my birthday party/Christmas party later this year. Here's a sneak peek:
I used Pocky with chocolate chips to make the knitting needles.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
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