PARENTING FREEDOM

Carol | February 8, 2012

We got to see my baby niece on the webcam for the first time yesterday. C1 said, “Baby… Baby…” and even repeated the baby’s name.

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Carol | November 27, 2011

Oldest was heading back to university tonight. I asked Derek if N18 put his dorm keys in his diaper bag. (I meant backpack.)

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Carol | November 7, 2011

What a beautiful day for November! The kids had fun outside. Leaves certainly are crunchy! Cattails sure make great toys, BUT they make an incredible mess. It looks like snow all over the yard. And they stick to clothes something wicked… The past several months have turned our innocent little baby into our number one mess maker (and the competition was stiff). C is now 14 months old and likes to empty drawers and cupboards. She loves climbing and reaching and even opening our lever doors. She discovered the toilet brush. She still loves books and often just sits and reads to herself. She doesn’t know the difference between “coloring books” and “coloring ON books.” She is SUCH a big girl and is accepted and included as one of the gang. The older kids are so helpful with her. She has B13 wrapped around her little finger. A “cough/crank/fake cry” brings him running, and she turns her frown upside down on a dime. It is really hilarious. She loves patting the cat. The joy C1 brings into our lives is immeasurable. I hope she is blessed in her future like she has blessed us.

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Carol | September 19, 2011

Now, I can make myself at home. This is what I call a “Status Update”. You will only see these mini-posts in a reader or in the little box called “Status Updates” at the top center of my website. You can read them all if you click on the“Status Updates” link on my right sidebar, but they don’t show up among the regular blog posts. I just wanted a replacement for Facebook.

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Carol | July 20, 2011

The Swing
Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside–

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown–
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

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Carol | March 6, 2011

I have often read Ann Voskamp’s lovely articles on her blog. She is a homeschooling mother of six. She also takes beautiful photographs and has recently become a New York Times bestselling author.

For the past couple years, I noticed she kept an ongoing list of things for which she was thankful. I found when I started writing my own lists, it just seemed like a lot of bragging to me. Also, I found that when I thought of things just for the sake of it, there wasn’t much feeling in it, so I didn’t always feel the gratefulness. Sometimes, when I think “thankful”, it is out of a sense of duty instead of deep appreciation. I figured if I shared my lists on my blog or Facebook, people would think I was bragging and that things in my life were sickeningly perfect. I felt that such a list would be unbalanced because I was ignoring all the hardships and pain that I experience in my life. I naturally gravitate toward writing about only the good things in my life, so I thought a list would just draw even more attention to them. I tend to think that people would rather read that your life is just as hard as theirs. And, I think people prefer to hear bad news. It makes better gossip and better ratings on the news.

Then, I watched Ann Voskamp’s interview in these clips from 100 Huntley Street.

Having An Attitude Of Gratitude — Ann Voskamp — 1/2

Having An Attitude Of Gratitude — Ann Voskamp — 2/2

Ann explained it differently than I had understood. She said she began by thinking of things she loved. That made me realize I could collect my list in a different way. Instead of just sitting down and trying to make an artificial list of things that I SHOULD be grateful for, but may actually be annoyed by at that moment in time, I could live my life everyday and write down the things that made me happy as they came along. Things that made me smile or laugh or feel joy. I don’t have to get hung up on words like thankful, gratitude, or gifts.

I am going to give it a try. I will write as the things happen to me. I am not going to search for them. I will not commit to writing every day because that would turn into a burden, but I will write when I have the time.

I have not read Ann Voskamp’s book yet. I decided I want to read it AFTER I make my own list. I want to write what comes into my own head, and then I will enjoy reading her lists.

I will look for the following as they happen:

Things/times/people that…

• make me happy
• I love
• give me joy
• make me smile
• make me laugh
• and even, make me truly thankful

March 4, 2011

1. Silence… The jabbering going on right now makes me remember that wonderful thing.
2. Baby GC (6 months) crawling behind my la-z-boy chair and lifting the heat register out of the floor leaving a gaping hole next to her.
3. Baby GC lifting both arms high in the air for me to pick her up.
4. Baby GC slurping on my cheek/chin with one tiny sliver of a tooth.
5. N17 doing lunch dishes, vacuuming, and cleaning the counter and table.
6. B12 reading a StarWars book to L6 and they are both babysitting GC at the same time – hilarious because she is crawling and likes to eat books.
7. B12 muscle testing me and Baby GC. He is really great at it. I am very excited about this and look forward to blogging about it. It is a health tool that EVERY mother should know.
8. C9 talking on the phone to her friends for hours.
9. I wore my new Tough Traveler backpack yesterday for the first time. Baby GC loved it while I did the supper dishes. It is the best carrier for ages 6 months to 4 years. My first backpack made it through four children, but I needed a new one for this baby. My sister will get it next. I know she will love it because it is for tall people.
10. I am thankful for my height.
11. I am thankful for a sunny day.
12. I look back fondly on the Fridays we spent at the local Christian school over a period of about three years. I miss Mrs. M., but I am thankful for those times, even if most my children don’t remember those days.
13. I love McDonald’s fries.
14. I am so thankful we can afford groceries unlike the single mother interviewed on the radio who is struggling now that the cost of food has gone up.
15. A sales lady at a store asked if I had a new baby. (GC was peeking out of the sling.) I said, “She’s not new, but is now six months old.” She said she was behind the times, and, “So this makes two boys and two girls?” I said, “Three boys and two girls.” She said, “Five children!” And I braced for the negative comments… but instead, “You’re so lucky!” I said, “THANK YOU! Most people don’t have that reaction!” She said she was one of six children so she knows…
16. Baby GC was in the sling at a store when we became trapped by an old couple. The raggedy old man was so happy to see the baby. He came right up and rubbed her cheek with his own wrinkled fingers. He couldn’t stop grinning and pointing out her blue eyes, etc. to his wife. He said with a big smile, “I love babies.” I felt like I wanted to protect my baby, but I was polite and talked to the strangers. It was only afterward that I realized that I was very thankful for that experience. I was thankful there are people in the world like that old man. People that love babies and little children. People who are drawn to little ones. They are a rare breed. I could tell that his wife was just like most folks who like babies but do not have that gift.  The way this old man felt about GC was just like my Uncle David felt about children. And I think I have a streak of it as well.
17. I am so relieved and thankful that my credit card is not really lost, but when I called the store, they said it was there. The teller just forgot to give it back to me, and I forgot to ask for it. I have gotten into the habit of not giving it to the teller because it has a chip, and they always say to do it myself, so I rarely have to ask for it back anymore. Baby GC is a distraction for the tellers and the people in line, so no wonder we forgot. I am relieved I don’t have to deal with the problems that would have resulted from a lost card. 
18. The way Baby GC gives me such huge smiles and arches are back and reaches her arms when I take her out of her carseat to go into each store.
19. C9 making a small braid in her hair.
20. The looks on the kids’ faces when I gave them six new Nerf swords/axes (on sale) and hearing a huge battle in the basement.
21. PVR
22. The Middle
23. Chocolate chips
24. The way Baby GC makes big sighs and coos when she sleeps.

March 5, 2011

25. Listening to Mark Levin’s sarcasm and Happy Days are Here Again…
26. Right Scoop gave me a big smile of shared excitement when he wrote about a Sarah Palin interview, “Oh man I feel like the election campaigns have already started! That was awesome!”
27. Being reminded of Glenn, Stu, and Pat singing Happy Days are Here Again after the 2010 election. Listened to it again and smiled and enjoyed seeing N17 smile about it, too.
28. Freshly bathed baby in a pink sleeper lying on the floor with a pink toy in her mouth cooing on a Saturday morning. Then, picking up and rocking said baby and having her eyes close immediately upon latching on. And knowing I can just sit and hold her while she nurses and/or sleeps as long as she wants.
29. Purring kitty
30. Fox News Channel
31. The smile on L6′s face when I changed the channel from the news to a Scooby-Doo movie.
32. Not having to make lunch.
33. I laid Baby GC on the floor and arranged four of her things around her in a semi-circle. She crawled toward the book.
34. Holding sleeping baby during another nap.
35. Not having to make supper.
36. Holding both my little niece A2 and Baby GC in my lap at the same time while they enjoy each other.
37. Baby GC fussing in her carseat so we turn on the radio and she starts dancing in her car seat.

There. That’s a start. I don’t know if my list is normal or if it is even close to what would make other people happy, but I have always known I was different. I guess it doesn’t matter.

Category: Facebook, Inspiration, Journal 2011, List of Loves | 6 Comments »
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Carol | March 5, 2011

Dr. Seuss Has the Best ‘Attachment Parenting’ Quote
http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/116937/dr_seuss_has_the_best

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” Dr. Seuss

“The reason something like ‘cry-it-out’ is not an AP tenet is because we believe that a child who is crying is using their voice — the only thing a baby has — to ask for something…”

Are We Contributing To The Exploitation Of Our Kids??
http://www.blogher.com/are-we-contributing-exploitation-our-kids?

AnyBody: Parents are ignoring their children for their BlackBerry
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/31/AR2011013104657.html?hpid=sec-health

Happy Children Make Happy Adults
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110225094936.htm

“Being a ‘happy’ teenager is linked to increased well-being in adulthood…”

Joy of parenthood is a fantasy: Psychologists say cost of children forces mothers and fathers to convince themselves it’s worthwhile
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1362784/Psychologists-say-cost-children-forces-mothers-fathers-convince-worthwhile.html#ixzz1Fk0ormnG

technology does have it’s advantages
http://contented-sparrow.blogspot.com/2011/03/technology-does-have-its-advantages.html

Found this kind of sad. But things sure have changed since the Little House in the Big Woods days.

Michelle vs. the Michelles: A Breast-Feeding Throwdown
http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/17/michelle-vs-the-michelles-a-breast-feeding-throwdown/

“Michelle Obama is talking up the health benefits of breast-feeding and new government incentives that she hopes will encourage more moms to nurse and hopefully, curb childhood obesity.”

“But two other Michelles, Michelle Bachman and Michelle Malkin, breast-feeding moms themselves, are challenging her “nanny state” approach to the issue…”

Chronically Ill Children Are 88% More Likely to Suffer Physical Abuse, Swedish Researchers Find
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110217083026.htm

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Carol | February 27, 2011

February 24, 2011 – Day of the first tooth (GC 5 months, 3 weeks) and day of the first university acceptance letter (N17).

February 26, 2011 – “We got a crawler, we got a crawler, we got a crawler, hey hey hey hey!!” (Tune from Little Rascals dollar song.) Been off and on for a couple weeks now, because she still uses tummy lunges to gain distance. She will be six months old next week. We watched videos of C9 walking at nine months the other day. It is funny how all five children reached almost every milestone within about a month of each other. They all started as BIG babies with the smallest two at 8 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. and 8 lbs. 7 3/4 oz., a nine pounder (9 lbs. 1 oz.), and two ten pounders (10 3 3/4 and 10 lbs. 2 oz.). We missed the “infant” stage with ALL of them.

I was nursing the baby in my room, and L6 came in to say this (with a huge smile and giggle), “Mommy, I don’t know why I am so happy!!!” And he bounced away to play.

February 27, 2011 – Baby GC (almost six months) and Pippin

In the above video, she crawled a little way before I started recording… And yes she did grab the cat – by his foot – gently!

Hey, this is the song I mentioned above that I sing with different words all the time:

The Little Rascals: We Got a Dollar!

I laid the baby down on her belly and left the room for a minute, and when we came back, she was sitting up alone playing with her toys.

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Carol | February 22, 2011

I took these video clips of my children this afternoon.

Sliding in the yard

Igloo in the yard

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Carol | February 14, 2011

Six-year-old son to me about his five-month-old baby sister, “GC is like one year old because when you were pregnant with her, she was kind of like alive!”

Blue-eyed Baby GC (almost five months) and Brown-eyed L6

Yes. He’s right. He recognized that life doesn’t begin at birth.

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