Little feet.
This is the Peanut at 20 weeks. That’s 16 weeks ago! Time has really flown since we reached that halfway mark. When I saw this picture, I knew I was in trouble :) I always thought I would be the tough parent, but I’m beginning to wonder if it might be harder than I thought to avoid being wrapped around his little finger. I mean, look at that nose!! Ugh, I’m turning into the kind of pregnant woman that used to make me barf. Hehe.
But come ON, look at these feet!!
Forget about it, I’m a goner.
Holiday Traditions
via brown paper packages
A friend of mine, who is an amazing mama of two, did this with her boys, and it got me thinking… one of the things that I’m really excited about doing as a parent is creating family traditions. The rituals and traditions that my parents started with me and my siblings, especially around the holidays, are such an integral part of my life experience. I love the idea of being able to create those memories and feelings for my own children.
We never made a huge deal out of thanksgiving in my house growing up. We celebrated it, we liked it, and we reflected on the things we were thankful for. I made construction paper turkeys in school. It was fun, but we didn’t really have “family traditions” the way we did with Christmas. I love the idea of making a thanksgiving tree every year with my new family. What a great way to get kids to reflect on how much they have to be grateful for - and then to have a visual reminder in the house until the Christmas tree goes up!
I’m still a person, dammit!
I really can, and sometimes DO, think about things other than pregnancy, babies, and raising kids! So sometimes you’ll see things like the post below. Sometimes I step out of the fog of pregnancy, and am blown away by whats happening in this country right now.
When we went to war back in 2003, I was right there at every protest I could get myself to - whether it was in D.C., Philadelphia (where I lived at the time) or NYC. It was a frustrating endeavor; I would see hundreds, sometimes thousands of people at these things, and then come home and there wouldn’t be even a blip about it in any of the mainstream news outlets. But somehow, the occupy movement has managed to built so much momentum that everyone from (gasp!) fox to CNN is covering it. It’s not uncommon to turn on the news and see multiple stories, covering OWS happenings from California to Chicago to NYC. Even more impressive, it’s MAINTAINING that momentum, despite being kicked out of zuccotti park. It’s heartening, because whatever your politics, it’s exciting to see that people who aren’t politicians, celebrities, or billionaires are able to make their voices heard. Something you certainly didn’t see 8 years ago.
thekidhasarrived:
Like it says at the bottom, for more on retired Philadelphia police caption Ray Lewis, check out this link from the Observer.
Brief excerpt:
“You should, by law, only use force to protect someone’s life or to protect them from being bodily injured OK? If you’re not protecting somebody’s life or protecting them from bodily injury, there’s no need to use force. And the number one thing that they always have in their favor that they seldom use is negotiation–continue to talk, and talk and talk to people. You have nothing to lose by that,” Mr Lewis said. “This bullrush–what happened last night is totally uncalled for when they did not use negotiation long enough.”
Mayor Bloomberg has stated the raid was necessary because the protest encampment carried with it a risk of crime, fire and health hazards. Mr. Lewis called that rationale “a farce.”
“They complained about the park being dirty. Here they are worrying about dirty parks when people are starving to death, where people are freezing, where people are sleeping in subways and they’re concerned about a dirty park. That’s obnoxious, it’s arrogant, it’s ignorant, it’s disgusting,” Mr. Lewis said.
icavein:
youthiswasted:
Emotionally intense images of retired Philadelphia police captain Ray Lewis - who has joined the #OccupyWallStreet protests - being arrested by the NYPD.
Captain Lewis has been outspoken against the NYPD’s wrongful use of violence against peaceful protesters.
From what I have seen, Ray Lewis’ conduct defines honor, bravery, and dignity.
There is a media blackout on images of his participation in the protest, and on his arrest:
crosscrowdedrooms:
It’s proved impossible for me to get this shot of former Philadelphia Police Cpt. Ray Lewis being arrested, published anywhere. I was adamantly rebuffed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, NYT, local NY papers, and Newsweek, before even looking at the photograph. One of the only published photos of this paradoxical and intense event is located here at the NYC Observer:
http://www.observer.com/2011/11/former-philadelphia-police-captain-ray-lewis-arrested-ows/
Make this viral and they will come.
parenting styles
My baby obsession seems to have crossed over from pregnancy to parenting recently… I guess it makes sense, since parenthood is looming VERY large these days. With only 28 days left until my due date, my husband and I are experiencing fresh waves of fear - and I’m sure I’m not helping the situation by walking around going “holy crap! less than a month!” “can you believe we’ll have a baby in less than 4 weeks??” Maybe I’m trying to process my own anxiety, but I think it’s making him more and more nervous :)
I’ve been reading La Leche League’s book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It’s fascinating stuff, despite having a title that makes me weirdly uncomfortable. It’s not just about breastfeeding, it delves into many aspects of early parenting. It has a definite bias towards attachment parenting, and I’m a little surprised to find that it’s really resonating with me. I thought I would be a “cry it out” parent, but now that I am already so in love with this little guy, I find that the idea of him crying, or being alone or scared kind of breaks my heart! The things that they talk about - feeding on demand, sleeping with the baby in the same room or bed (for the first few months at least), and wearing your baby - just click and feel right to me.
I came across this interesting article today, that addresses the way our society sees normal infant behavior as something that needs to be “fixed.” It’s indicative of something larger for me as well - the way becoming a parent has already made me start looking at the world in a different way. And he’s not even out of the womb yet!
money savers!
Did you know…
that standard pillow cases are the same size as most bassinet fitted sheets?? I felt like such a money saving rockstar when I discovered that. Now we suddenly have a gazillion bassinet sheet options! For free!! Granted, I don’t know how we’ll feel about sleeping on a pillow case that’s been peed on, but still! How awesome is that?
It’s the little things people.
working…
I’ve had some requests for christmas cards, so I’m attempting to re-launch my etsy shop this week… it’s been a nice brain refresher to get my creative juices going in a non-baby focused way. I really have been obsessed for the last few months. But very soon I won’t have a choice but to be 100% preoccupied with this little guy, so I figured I should take advantage and feed the non-mom in me while I still can! It’s amazing how much more happy and relaxed I am when I take time to create.
This is something I’m noodling with today - it’s veered far off the holiday path, but I like it, so I’ll keep it around. Who knows, maybe my etsy will be going in a new direction in 2012… notecards, greeting cards and stationary. Yes?
I’ll definitely be announcing on here when turtlebird is open again. Watch for it! Woo!!
nursery art
Yesterday I picked up a piece of art we had framed for peanut’s room (see the owl and bear print on the right). I ordered it from iota illustration, on etsy. I love it because it’s cute without being sugary, and of course, because it has an owl on it. The middle piece is a gift from some amazing friends, by wallfry - again, owly and sweet, but not TOO sweet. The piece on the left is by me.
I’m so excited to put all this happy goodness on the walls!!!
obsessions…
Did I mention I have a thing for owls? Meet our awesome bookends.
April 7, 2011, the day I got the BFP!! That’s big fat positive, to you who have never belonged to a baby birth board on babycenter :) What a crazy, surreal feeling that was. Terrifying, actually! Even though it was planned, there is a world of difference between “gonna happen” and “happening!!”
So… I guess that’s sort of the beginning of the story…..
