old wives' tales (OWT) vs new wives' tales (NWT)

I am starting to take issue with all these wives' tales. While I appreciate where the original thinking came from, I find that these 'tales' have gotten a bit ridiculous. Now, keep in mind that my family is foreign--meaning that we have all kinds of tales and home remedies. And, maybe, without realizing it I still follow or believe in many of these.

Here are a few that stick out in my mind and I have offered a NWT (new wives' tale):

1) OWT: Never wake a sleeping baby.Yes, if they are a newborn, maybe. I never had much reason to wake up Evan when he was a little baby. If he slept longer than 4 hours I would start to watch the clock since he was nursing and needed the nutrients. But as he got older it started becoming necessity sometimes. Like today--we were out and about and he fell asleep in the car about 5 minutes from home and 20 minutes from lunch. He was so pooped that I put him in his crib when we got home and let him sleep, but at 1240 I decided to wake him up--he didn't have his after nap bottle or any lunch. If I continued to let him sleep he would have missed milk and a meal and his entire schedule would have been so off it would have screwed up his afternoon nap. He is now playing quietly and will go down for his regularly scheduled nap in about 45 minutes.
NWT: It is bad for the baby to miss meals due to off-schedule naps.

2) Cutting a child's hair before the age of 1 is bad luck. I am lucky that I have a great mother in law that I love and respect, so for her I waited until Evan's first birthday to cut his hair. For most kids, this isn't an issue but my kid came out with a full head of hair and it only got longer as time went on. For many months I had to deal with Evan trying to blink hair out of his eyes or try, unsuccessfully, to swipe it out of them. I'm surprised he didn't end up cross-eyed. It started getting a little upsetting watching him be bothered with his long, wispy bangs. So, next kid will get a very small bang trim if needed and I will still give a ceremonious 1st birthday haircut.
NWT: If your child's hair is constantly in his or her eyes, it should be trimmed so as not to affect their vision.

3) Raising your arms above your head while you are pregnant can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around baby's neck.  This one is just ridiculous anymore. I was at the grocery store and couldn't reach something on the top shelf--even if I weren't pregnant--so I asked an employee to help me out. As he was getting it for me, I hear "you shouldn't be reaching above your head anyway". "I'm sorry--you don't look at all like my doctor", is what I wish I would have said to her but I just ignored her. There are so many things wrong with this I don't know where to begin. Are you saying a pregnant woman can't wash her own hair? And, have the wonderful ladies that teach prenatal yoga been putting my baby at harm while I am selfishly trying to stay in good shape? Please, woman. Keep your completely ridiculous, and unsolicited, tales to yourself!
NWT: Participating in proper prenatal exercise on a regular basis is very good for both mom and baby, even if that requires your arms to raise above your head.

Sometimes I get sucked in to some superstitions because, like I said, I am still a bit superstitious about some things. But sometimes I will just have to follow my own intuition about what's best for me and my baby.

never thought I'd utter the words...

I love mornings. I know--it shocked me too! I used to hate mornings--ugh. Then I was forced to get up early once I had Evan...and over the past year, I have seen the beauty of the morning time. The weather is crisp, the mood is serene, and I have just started my day. Don't get me wrong, I still love my evening routine of catching up on shows and reading, and I still have mornings where it takes a while to get the blurry vision-sleep crust out of my eyes, but I have a new appreciation for the morning-time.

I think part of the reason is that I don't get woken up by an annoying alarm. And also that I get to wake up to a smiley baby--even if he is crying until I take him out of his crib.

It's also really nice to realize I have accomplished so many things before lunch (most days, some days I'm just not that motivated).

There is one thing that I don't think I will ever stop enjoying, and that's lazy mornings in bed with hubby and baby!

i am firing my housekeeper....wait--I don't have a housekeeper!

I'd love to say I was such a tidy person before I had a baby, but I have to admit that I collected my fair share of clutter around the house. In my defense, I was a tidier before baby but I don't think that counts...

I am not sure why, but I have such a hard time keeping the house as clean as I'd like (and Shawn will wholeheartedly agree!). I'm not sure if it's because it's the largest place I've ever lived (in comparison to the many apartments I've lived in before), or if it's something else. The truth is, a messy house stresses me out. No really, it does! I can't relax and I walk around feeling the stress of the mess (maybe that would have been a good title for this blog).

What I can't wrap my brain around is how I can feel overwhelmed by the state of the house, but don't get that bug to just clean it. In fact, I actually had a bit of an emotional moment last week about it. You know that feeling of just wanting to cry? Not like you are so upset you are crying, but that you are upset and you are looking forward to a good cry. That was me. I just had this general feeling of being stuck in the house because I don't like to disrupt Evan's schedule too much, and being stuck in a house that never seems to stay clean. I just got in a funk.

Luckily, I have an amazing husband that talks things through with me. He admit he is stressed by the state of the house--wait, I need to clarify something real quick: when I talk about 'state of the house', I don't mean gross/dirty. I just mean clutter and the need for a vacuum once-over kind of mess. OK, so back to my ramble..My general complaint was that I could vacuum, sweep, mop and do dishes and by the end of the day it looks like I've done none of those things. Not to mention I feel like I do dishes 100 times a day. I cannot wait for a dishwasher!! It gets disheartening. It's not like it's hard, but it's SO tedious. And then add the guilt of being a stay-at-home mom (that should be able to keep things clean) and let that build--voila! We have a little breakdown.

Now the comment about being stuck in the house is just 'feeling'. When I have things scheduled, I have no problem taking Evan along with me. But when I am at home, thinking about all the steps it takes to go on errands with him, I get overwhelmed and wait until he's napping and Shawn is home. The truth is, I know what I need to do, and how I can get it done. My problem is getting that motivation to actually do it.

And bless my friends who keep telling me that it's OK because I have a baby...I love you guys for it, but he's 1 now and the truth is, there is no reason I can't keep this house reasonably clean. Spotless? No way. But clean--yes. So in talking to Shawn, he felt I really needed to get yoga back into my life. He would work his schedule in any way he could so I could make it to yoga regularly. And then, he started doing a couple of things around the house--not like dishes, which he does at times already, but clean-out sort of stuff.

So, between the amazing effects of regular yoga, a little head start from Shawn, and the determination to get out of this clutter/homebody rut I'm in, the past  couple of days have been off to a good start. And on that note, I need to go put away some laundry...

to eat? or not to eat? there is no question!

As we've journeyed down the road of milestones, we've had some good times and not so good times. But like with all things kids--it goes by quickly, good or bad...

When Evan was just a few days old, my doula came to check in on us and said something to me that has become my mantra as a mother. She said to try to enjoy all the moments, whether they were good or not, because they go by so quickly. "This, too, shall pass". And boy was she right!  When Evan finally started sleeping through the night, we went through a phase where he decided to get up and cry at 4 or 5 in the morning. But it passed and we were back to sleeping 'well'. There was a time when he would just snuggle with us in the morning, but once he learned to crawl we couldn't keep him still. Every phase, good or bad, will pass quickly...

Which brings me to our current phase: eat? no thanks! We just started to transition him onto cow's and almond milk (both because almond milk doesn't contain enough of the fat that babies need), and I've been mixing formula into it as well. So I know he is still getting good nutrients. But, geez, this kid is just not interested. He will eat fruit all day, and drink anything I'm drinking, but forget everything else! I know, this is a phase and "this, too, shall pass". This is what I keep telling myself now - he will eventually eat and I will not be sent away for starving my child! I have proof that I try:

That's the remainder of: cheese and bread (usually a winner, but not today), strawberries (which did ok), and oatmeal with bananas and blackberries. Oh yeah, and OJ that was spilled everywhere. I am banking on the belief that when he's hungry, he'll eat, and in the meantime he'll be just fine...

I just let him play for about 10 minutes while I stocked up on some sanity (coffee). Then I took his clothes off and rinsed him off in the bathroom sink. It's bath day, but I'm thinking he'll get that before his afternoon nap...you know, after he makes a mess of himself at lunch. The one I doubt he'll eat.

evan turns 1!

It's been a whole year, can you believe it? Me neither! It has gone by so quickly, it's almost scary...

His 1st birthday fell on Friday the 13th. I know... We started the day with his very first haircut! He needed one months before but my MIL believes the old wives tale about how it's bad luck to cut a child's hair before the age of 1, and so we waited. I never heard of that before but once I did, I got a little superstitious about it...

Before the haircut

Here he is before we started. Man, was he squirmy!! At least I got it out of his eyes and people will stop mistaking him for a girl. Didn't happen often, but with those eyelashes and curls, it's an honest mistake.

After the haircut

This is his deer-in-headlights pose. Andrea was in town so we took him to the children's museum. He had a blast playing! He looks like such a big boy now!!

Later that evening, we met up with Megan and Paul at Tamayo and celebrated his birthday with some drinks, apps and cupcakes. Yes, we took our 1 year old to happy hour for his birthday! He had a great time =)

Megan's birthday was the next day so we started her celebration early.
Andrea took Evan home and Shawn and I went out to a movie. Yes, we went to the movies, alone! It was nice.


Saturday, we got our act together and headed to Wash Park with all of our friends for some bbq and fun to celebrate both birthdays. All in all, a great day--weather was amazing and we had a spot right by the lake.

So now I officially have a toddler (which, I guess, is what they call babies over the age of 1). Eeek! It's been an amazing year and I am so blessed that I have been able to spend so much time with Evan, watching him grow and learn. It's those moments that you can't ever get back and I think I've done a great job of cherishing them. I've had my tough moments with motherhood (and will continue to do so), for various reasons, but I've realized over the past year that I love being a mother more than anything I've ever done. Having an amazing kid like Evan doesn't hurt either =)

miles and miles of milestones.

July was a busy month for us. We had lots of family out for Evan's baptism which took place on 4th of July.
My parents, sister Angel, Uncle Joseph and Aunt Valerie took a 2 week road trip out here, stopping at Yellowstone, the Badlands and many other places along the way. My cousin Jake flew out for a long weekend as well. Shawn's parents and sisters did a road trip out here as well for a long weekend. Luckily, we worked it out so only my parents and sister stayed with us until the last few nights when my aunt, uncle and cousin joined us. Regardless, we always had a full house and I loved it! I loved having family there to sip on my morning coffee with =)

 Anyhow, back to the baptism--Evan was super cute in the outfit Val got him. Here are a couple of pics with his Godparents and with us (wish I had my eyes open!)


Evan fell asleep at church, but definitely woke up when the priest poured the holy water over his head!

  
We then went to House Restaurant for a very yummy brunch. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out, eating, and just enjoying being together!

The rest of July was recovering from the big family visit, tying up some loose ends with our home improvement projects and getting into new adventures.

We celebrated Shawn's birthday by doing a little camping and hiking at Rainbow Lakes. It was a great time, as always. Evan's 2nd trip and he did awesome--no rain this time!

Evan sprouted a few more teeth, bringing the grand total to 6!

I went to a Sublime concert at Red rocks, the Dirty Heads and Matisyahu opened for them. It was awesome!

And finally, I decided to start watching a little girl named River beginning in August. I saw the posting on the Highlands Mommies email (online community for my neighborhood) and decided to look into it. Turns out, she's 9 months old and on the same schedule as Evan. So we all met and decided it was a good fit. 2 days a week, so it's not a huge commitment, just a playmate for Evan and a little cash for me!

So much info--I swear I'll catch up so you don't always have so much to read!

oh the manual labor!

Sorry again for the slacking, but I blame the lack of a laptop for this. It's a poor excuse, but it's all I've got.

So June was the month for major house improvements. And by that I mean, the whole DIY movement--which equals lots of physical labor! So, what did we do? We (and by WE I mean Shawn and our neighbor) got the fridge out of the dining room. In order to do that, Shawn had to put the fridge on a dolly and take it around the corner to the alley, through our yard, and through the sun room window (which had to be completely removed). The window was replaced and now the fridge lives in our sun room. Next to the washer/dryer, which we had to stack. I happened to be out of town when this took place, so when I asked how it looked, Shawn replied, "like a damn Samsung showroom" (you can deduce that all 3 appliances are by the same manufacturer and are of the same color). Made me chuckle!

We also tore up the entire front yard and redid it. I don't have a good 'before' picture but this will give an idea:

Notice the flagstone and the flower box. We tore it all up, put in a new walkway, new sod and got rid of the huge hump of grass by the curb. Here is what it looks like now (minus all the people):

It took a few weeks but it's done! Just need to plant a couple things and decide how we want to pretty-up the porch.

I also painted the dining room, finished decorating it, and got curtains for the living room.

What else did June hold for us? Evan took swim lessons at the local rec center. He loved them--sang songs, played in the water...good times!

This month also included my solo trip to Mexico for my friend Jess's wedding. It rained the entire weekend but my BFF Erin joined me and we had a great time! There were a couple people there that complained about anything and everything--it made me feel bad for Jess and Jared, but also for them. You are in Mexico, on vacation, all inclusive. Really, you're complaining?? It's not like you can do anything about the rain. Just make the most of it, sheesh!! They were kind of the talk of the weekend because no one could believe that they had so much to complain about while on vacation! I was kid-free with no responsibilities--I had NO complaints!

So that pretty much sums up June. All in all, a good month. But that was just gearing up for July...