INSPIRATION THURSDAY: A MOMENT OF CALM

I first met Liz at an Earth Day celebration where she had a booth. I brought my wool soakers to show her, because we had talked on the phone, and she had expressed an interest in consigning them at the shop. When we started chatting, she was so welcoming. We chitchatted about babies, diapers, and cool art (the booth next to her was selling some awesome jewelry). I was struck by how calm and collected she was on that hot, busy day. She had recently had a baby, and didn’t seem frazzled at all, the way I would be in her position.

We kept in touch. I would stop by the shop periodically. We would talk about baby sleep, breastfeeding, and diapering tips. Every time I hung out with her, I noticed how she was just so calm. She always had a smile on her face, never had a bad thing to say about anyone, and just seemed so put together.

She was trying hard to run a business, take care of her family, and raise her son gently and naturally. During one of our first conversations, she mentioned how she was struggling with breastfeeding and hoped to make it to six months. (She’s still nursing her toddler now). She was struggling with letting her son cry it out for naps, because she wasn’t getting much sleep. Again, she had just opened her business. She brought her son to work with her every day and still managed to brush her hair and look cute every morning.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: FOURTH OF JULY SPARKLERS!

Baby T's and Little M's cousins came to visit this weekend. After Baby T was in bed, his cousins played with sparklers. Paranoid mommy didn't think Baby T was old enough. Mean mommy.

These pictures are pretty cool, though.

MONDAY MOMENTS: AN UNEXPECTED REQUEST

I haven't really posted about this, because there was so much going on at the time. But guess what?

Baby T has weaned.

He stopped nursing about 2 or three months ago. It has kind of been such a nonevent that I didn't even mark it in my baby book. That's not what was unexpected, though.

It's when he asks to nurse again. Which happens at least once a week.

INSPIRATION THURSDAY - A Renaissance Soul

I’ve been working nonstop for the past few weeks—between 12-hour nursing sessions and attempts to exercise that are foiled by wildfire-smoke-filled air—and I was clicking between my four email accounts today with my left pinky because Little M wouldn’t nap unless he was on the boob. Surprise surprise. And Wimbledon was on, so I couldn’t veg in front of Dr. Phil (I know, I know, but it’s like watching a train wreck. I like to turn it on and cringe when there’s absolutely nothing else to do). And I only have four TV channels since they took away my Bravo (all you people who don’t have cable, you know what I mean. ANNOYING!)

So anyway. I was clicking around in my email, and came across BlacksburgBelle.com. I found the website because an adorable onesie caught my eye in the email, so I clicked onto SoRad’s website, then I noticed that there was a blog post about marketing, so I clicked on that, and I found this girl’s website.

I started reading her blog. And I came across this post.

And I started thinking, “Who is this girl?” This post. Is. Me. Exactly. I think April Bowles-Olin is my doppelganger.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: BABY LAUGHS

I've been slacking on the insightful blog posts this week. Mainly because I've been busy, but I've also been spending time with my happy baby. Little M loves to laugh. He laughs at the dog, he laughs when you surprise him, and he laughs the hardest when we tickle him. Check it out:

Check out other Wordless Wednesday posts at Hobo Mama and I Thought I Knew Mama!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: MORE BROTHERLY LOVE

Baby T loves his brother. Or, as he often says, "I love my Mason brother." As you can see.

MONDAY MOMENTS: LISTENING

As Baby T gets older, I find myself talking more. Sometimes it’s more like barking. I try not to tell him not to do something unless it’s unhealthy (dangerous), immoral, or illegal. But lately it seems like everything he does is at the top of the stairs, precariously close to the edge of the pool, or involves a sharp object and his mouth.

He’s pretty good at reading my verbal and nonverbal cues. He knows I mean it when I yell to stop before he runs into the street or falls with a pencil in his mouth. Last night when Big T fell asleep on the couch and Bay T had a devilish look in his eyes and said, “I wake up daddy,” his eyes got big and he took me seriously when I explained how waking someone up while playing is much different than waking someone up for real. But I’m afraid the more I talk, the less he’ll listen. 

Today, while getting out of the car on a busy street, I parked little M’s car seat on the sidewalk and asked Baby T to watch Little M (AKA stand on the sidewalk). Thirty seconds later, Baby T was at my side by the car. This time, it was my turn to listen. 

“I not watchin’ Mason, mommy.”

Or, after his birthday party, when several of the adults were trying to kill all the flies that had come in with the guests (I know—what kind of company do I keep, right?) he whacks our dog with his hand and says,

 “I kill Sully, mommy.”

He is talking up a storm these days, and the more he talks, the more I listen.

This post is part of Capital Mom's Monday Moments series. Check out her blog at www.CapitalMom.ca.