Ugh! I meant to publish this post MONTHS ago and just found it in my drafts. Darn it! Here it is.
You guys HAVE to check out my momma's new business. It's called Jamie's Cutesy Cubes. They're sensory cubes for babies! She's made several, and given Hudson 2 of them and he LOVES them! I love them too. They're totally adorable. Don't you hate when you find an absolutely adorable toy and your kid won't play with it? Happens all the time here lol. But these are customizable, cute and functional! AND they're machine washable! Possibly the best part.
Check them out :)
www.jamiescutesycubes.weebly.com
Monday, January 21, 2013
A long overdue return
Yep, forgot about my blog again. I came back to discover that the majority of my page views come from people googling "waiting in parents room for spanking". How sad is that? I've gotta blog about other things so that people will quit only finding my blog from such depressing topics.
Hudson is now 10 months old, and super active! He still only belly crawls, a point of mild concern for his parents, but we suspect he is just lazy. He gets around fast enough that way, why bother getting up on his knees? Silly boy. He is quite the clown, too. He just recently discovered clapping and now everyone gets a round of applause, whether they want it or not :) He also screeches "HIIII" at random people in the grocery store, and I don't think he means it as a greeting but people always think it's just the cutest thing and say "hi" back. Everyone loves him. He's such a loveable child. He sleeps through the night now finally, THANK THE LORD. He will not sleep anywhere but his crib or his carseat. Miraculously, there was no sleep training involved in his crib transition. I just started putting him in it when we moved here, in his own room, and fully expected him to end up back in bed with me but nope, he started sleeping through the night. Weird. I'm not complaining! I do miss the snuggles sometimes, though.
His birthday party is going to be the end of February since we'll be in Texas for most of March and I want to have a little party here for him and his little friends :) It's going to be circus themed, so stay tuned for that!
We are still loving Georgia. Well, at least, I am. I like the weather. It's not too much different from Texas but enough that I am not sweating to death here (yet). In July we are off to Germany, which will be an adventure.
I've been trying lots of crafts I've seen on pinterest and will be posting detailed tutorials on those soon :) Stay tuned for the cozy coupe batmobile, plenty of recipes, photo canvas transfers, some baby finger paint art and more! Spending weeks alone with a baby while Justin is in the field = lots of free time for crafts.
Hudson is now 10 months old, and super active! He still only belly crawls, a point of mild concern for his parents, but we suspect he is just lazy. He gets around fast enough that way, why bother getting up on his knees? Silly boy. He is quite the clown, too. He just recently discovered clapping and now everyone gets a round of applause, whether they want it or not :) He also screeches "HIIII" at random people in the grocery store, and I don't think he means it as a greeting but people always think it's just the cutest thing and say "hi" back. Everyone loves him. He's such a loveable child. He sleeps through the night now finally, THANK THE LORD. He will not sleep anywhere but his crib or his carseat. Miraculously, there was no sleep training involved in his crib transition. I just started putting him in it when we moved here, in his own room, and fully expected him to end up back in bed with me but nope, he started sleeping through the night. Weird. I'm not complaining! I do miss the snuggles sometimes, though.
His birthday party is going to be the end of February since we'll be in Texas for most of March and I want to have a little party here for him and his little friends :) It's going to be circus themed, so stay tuned for that!
We are still loving Georgia. Well, at least, I am. I like the weather. It's not too much different from Texas but enough that I am not sweating to death here (yet). In July we are off to Germany, which will be an adventure.
I've been trying lots of crafts I've seen on pinterest and will be posting detailed tutorials on those soon :) Stay tuned for the cozy coupe batmobile, plenty of recipes, photo canvas transfers, some baby finger paint art and more! Spending weeks alone with a baby while Justin is in the field = lots of free time for crafts.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Oh hey I still have a blog...
It's been a while since I posted on here! Jeez. It's been a busy couple of months. We moved out of our TX apartment in early September, and then moved to GA a week and a half ago. It was a long 2 day drive but we made it in one piece :) The only thing that got Hudson through it was his portable DVD player, I swear. The boy LOVES him some Baby Einstein. The cat was probably the most miserable for the trip, but after a couple days of running around the apartment yowling, I think he got over himself.
After having lived in Texas for the past 7 years, I think it's safe to say that I got pretty used to it. So Georgia is a pretty big change! I lived in a part of Texas that was NOT all stereotypical Texas "southern hospitality" and all that. And I moved to a part of Georgia that totally is all that! I really like it. It's a refreshing change. I have yet to open a door for myself/the stroller when I've gone out, and people are constantly cooing and talking to Hudson. So not used to being acknowledged by strangers at all! It's weird, but nice.
Our new apartment is twice as big as the old one and is still very much empty since the movers have been putting off delivering our stuff for almost a week now. (Thanks a lot, guys. I'd call you by name but I couldn't understand your accents...) Today they were supposed to be here almost 3 hours ago and I had to call them to ask what was going on and got "Oh we're just runnin a lil late. We'll be there soon I promise". Grrr.
After having lived in Texas for the past 7 years, I think it's safe to say that I got pretty used to it. So Georgia is a pretty big change! I lived in a part of Texas that was NOT all stereotypical Texas "southern hospitality" and all that. And I moved to a part of Georgia that totally is all that! I really like it. It's a refreshing change. I have yet to open a door for myself/the stroller when I've gone out, and people are constantly cooing and talking to Hudson. So not used to being acknowledged by strangers at all! It's weird, but nice.
Our new apartment is twice as big as the old one and is still very much empty since the movers have been putting off delivering our stuff for almost a week now. (Thanks a lot, guys. I'd call you by name but I couldn't understand your accents...) Today they were supposed to be here almost 3 hours ago and I had to call them to ask what was going on and got "Oh we're just runnin a lil late. We'll be there soon I promise". Grrr.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Chick-Fil-A
I love this blog. Why? Because I can express my opinion on stuff. I don't feel like I have to argue back and forth with anyone in particular. My pageviews are sky-rocketing and I'm not getting any comments, so I guess what I'm saying isn't too controversial or infuriating lol.
My thoughts on Chick-Fil-A...honestly- I don't get why everyone is overreacting. The liberals are all flipping out saying Cathy is a homophobe, when um he's clearly stated "while my family and I believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees." Does that sound hateful to you? It doesn't to me. The conservatives are on the complete other end saying "It's about time someone stood up for what's right! Homosexuality is evil! I'm eating at chick-fil-a more often now!" (Yes, I actually had a facebook friend post that. Sigh...)
It's a company expressing their views on a sensitive subject. Honestly I think it was a bad move, business-wise. You don't hear companies like Petco expressing their views on things like homosexuality and the like.... It's just something you don't talk about. But just because someone finds homosexuality wrong doesn't make them a bigot. They're not saying gays aren't allowed to eat or work there. They never even said they hated gays! Ugh.
Bottom line- my opinion of CFA has not changed. If I feel like having a spicy chicken sandwich, I will head their way. But I'm not going to eat there any more or less based on this, or any of their beliefs.
My thoughts on Chick-Fil-A...honestly- I don't get why everyone is overreacting. The liberals are all flipping out saying Cathy is a homophobe, when um he's clearly stated "while my family and I believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees." Does that sound hateful to you? It doesn't to me. The conservatives are on the complete other end saying "It's about time someone stood up for what's right! Homosexuality is evil! I'm eating at chick-fil-a more often now!" (Yes, I actually had a facebook friend post that. Sigh...)
It's a company expressing their views on a sensitive subject. Honestly I think it was a bad move, business-wise. You don't hear companies like Petco expressing their views on things like homosexuality and the like.... It's just something you don't talk about. But just because someone finds homosexuality wrong doesn't make them a bigot. They're not saying gays aren't allowed to eat or work there. They never even said they hated gays! Ugh.
Bottom line- my opinion of CFA has not changed. If I feel like having a spicy chicken sandwich, I will head their way. But I'm not going to eat there any more or less based on this, or any of their beliefs.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Man and Wife :)
We've been married 2 months and 3 days... Here are some pics from our lovely wedding. :)
Some of the decor, and our toasting glasses
Transforming the mess that is me...lol
Hudson was obviously stressed about the whole wedding prep thing
Mama doing my hair :)
The rings
The cake (that my ever so talented mama made!)
Instead of a guestbook we did this fingerprint tree. It's on my living room wall and I love it.
Saying our vows
Kissing our boy. He's obviously not a fan of PDA
Our happy family
The rings and my beautiful bouquet
Cutting the cake. One of my favorite shots of the wedding :)
Oh and the dedicated, multitastking flower girl and our handsome ringbearer :)
A quiet moment with my boy
Leaving by bubble!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Why I kept my son intact.
I have explained myself many times now, to many people over the course of my 9 month pregnancy and the 4 months of Hudson's life.... but I don't mind it. I will defend my beliefs any day of the week :)
I chose to keep Hudson intact (or as some say, "uncircumcised"...I prefer "intact" because "uncirc'd" implies that it is undone. He is not undone. He is whole.) because honestly, in a nut shell, it's his body, and his choice to make. If he wants to be circumcised some day, then that's his choice. Some say that it hurts more as an adult but how does that make any sense to anyone? It hurts just as bad as an infant... even more, actually, because as an adult your foreskin has already seperated from your penis, and as a baby they're still fused. So imagine having your fingernail seperated from your finger. That's what they have to do to their foreskin before cutting it off. It sucks to think about, doesn't it?
I am not judgemental of parents who have chosen to have it done to their sons. As long as you did your research, and made an informed decision, that's all I ask. But after doing my research, there's just absolutely no way I could do that to him. He came into this world whole and perfect. I am a religious person, and I have a very hard time believing God sent every man into this world with something that instantly needs to be removed. It's a sensitive, functioning organ, and without it there is a loss of sensitivity. Most circ'd guys don't know what they're missing out on! (and some do, and try to restore it. Which is a whole 'nother topic that I know pretty much nothing about)
I've been told that it's creepy that I care so much about penises, especially my son's. To which I responded that I honestly don't care what people think. I care about my son's well-being, not just the state of his penis lol. I want the absolute best for him. The whole "well my husband has a penis, so he knows better than I do" really just amazes me. Your husband is circumcised and knows no different! Our generation (and the ones before it) grew up being told that intact penises were gross and abnormal, and they were circumcised to "prevent infection". More and more research has been done, and today any doctor will tell you it is a cosmetic surgery. It is not necessary at all. It doesn't prevent STDs or infection either. If a guy is gonna get a UTI, he's gonna get one whether he's circ'd or not. Some people are just prone to them. Once the foreskin detaches and is retractible, it should be retracted and cleaned with water. It's really not that difficult of a concept, or "hard to clean" (another reason many people choose to circ) . And while they're babies, they're not even retractible so it's super easy to clean. You just wipe it like a finger.
Someone asked me "Well what about when he starts dating? Girls prefer circumcised penises..." and to that I say if someone is going to be shallow enough to reject my son based on how his penis looks, then he's better off without her anyway. :)
Sources:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html
(warning: graphic photos. But these are the ones that now have my circ'd brothers anti-circ!)
I chose to keep Hudson intact (or as some say, "uncircumcised"...I prefer "intact" because "uncirc'd" implies that it is undone. He is not undone. He is whole.) because honestly, in a nut shell, it's his body, and his choice to make. If he wants to be circumcised some day, then that's his choice. Some say that it hurts more as an adult but how does that make any sense to anyone? It hurts just as bad as an infant... even more, actually, because as an adult your foreskin has already seperated from your penis, and as a baby they're still fused. So imagine having your fingernail seperated from your finger. That's what they have to do to their foreskin before cutting it off. It sucks to think about, doesn't it?
I am not judgemental of parents who have chosen to have it done to their sons. As long as you did your research, and made an informed decision, that's all I ask. But after doing my research, there's just absolutely no way I could do that to him. He came into this world whole and perfect. I am a religious person, and I have a very hard time believing God sent every man into this world with something that instantly needs to be removed. It's a sensitive, functioning organ, and without it there is a loss of sensitivity. Most circ'd guys don't know what they're missing out on! (and some do, and try to restore it. Which is a whole 'nother topic that I know pretty much nothing about)
I've been told that it's creepy that I care so much about penises, especially my son's. To which I responded that I honestly don't care what people think. I care about my son's well-being, not just the state of his penis lol. I want the absolute best for him. The whole "well my husband has a penis, so he knows better than I do" really just amazes me. Your husband is circumcised and knows no different! Our generation (and the ones before it) grew up being told that intact penises were gross and abnormal, and they were circumcised to "prevent infection". More and more research has been done, and today any doctor will tell you it is a cosmetic surgery. It is not necessary at all. It doesn't prevent STDs or infection either. If a guy is gonna get a UTI, he's gonna get one whether he's circ'd or not. Some people are just prone to them. Once the foreskin detaches and is retractible, it should be retracted and cleaned with water. It's really not that difficult of a concept, or "hard to clean" (another reason many people choose to circ) . And while they're babies, they're not even retractible so it's super easy to clean. You just wipe it like a finger.
Someone asked me "Well what about when he starts dating? Girls prefer circumcised penises..." and to that I say if someone is going to be shallow enough to reject my son based on how his penis looks, then he's better off without her anyway. :)
Sources:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html
(warning: graphic photos. But these are the ones that now have my circ'd brothers anti-circ!)
Friday, July 13, 2012
Spanking.
After a discussion on one of my favorite websites, I've decided to post my thoughts on spanking on here. I know, I know... I'm a 20 year old first time parent to a 4 MONTH OLD. What do I know about spanking and discipline?
Well. I was spanked as a child. My parents never left marks or anything, and I never got more than 3 swats (except once I got 5 and that was a really bad day. Lol.) and I could tell it genuinely hurt them to have to spank me. I had this involuntary trembling thing...it was really pretty pathetic. I did it when they yelled, too. Yes, I cried when spanked. Of course I did! It was more out of embarassment and shame than pain, though.
Neither of my brothers or myself ever had a problem with hitting other kids. I can count on one hand how many times I remember us getting in trouble for hitting, collectively. We understood the difference between spanking and hitting. I don't think it's rocket science... I have no problem with telling a kid not to hit and then giving him a spanking. It's just different.
I would never spank out of anger though. As a kid, I didn't get why my parents would send me to their room for a spanking and then make me wait in there for like 10 minutes before coming in. I thought it was to create suspense and make me even more of a mess. But now I understand. They were calming themselves down. And I appreciate it now.
My husband was never spanked though. His mom chose to yell at him...and now he yells too. (never at me, and not at Hudson yet...lol yelling at a 4 month old is just unneccessary) I personally can't handle yelling, because my parents rarely yelled at me. Yelling makes me terribly uncomfortable. I'm not sure how Hudson is going to end up being disciplined. It'll be a trial and error thing for a while, I'm sure. Some kids handle spanking better, some kids just need a time-out. There's definitely no "one size fits all" solution when it comes to disciplining kids.
Someone mentioned treating a kid like you do a dog. Training experts recommend not hitting a dog, ever. I definitely smack my dog...lol. I have had sensitive dogs before that I did not smack, ever, because it really hurt them and they didn't understand why I was smacking them. A stern "NO" did the trick. But when Stella, my chihuahua//corgi mix (who acts so much more like a human teenager than any other animal I've ever met) looks at me and takes off the other direction when I'm loading up the car, (and have my hands totally full with the carseat, diaper bag and whatever else I'm loading up) and I have to run her down and catch her, I give her a smack. Not super hard or anything... But she freaking knows better!
One last thing. Some people criticize parents who spank and say that their kids behave because they're afraid. Like in the discussion I previously mentioned, one girl mentioned all she has to do is look at her daughter and she quits her shit. (she also spanks her daughter) I think there's a healthy level of "fear" and respect a child should have for their parents. I totally get that "look" cuz my mom gave it to me all the time. People always commented that we were such well-behaved children, and it was because we behaved, because didn't want a spanking. And I think that's okay! If your kid behaves because he doesn't want a spanking, I think that's great. You don't actually have to discipline him because he already behaves. I think spanking is more effective, and you don't have to do it as often as time-out etc. Kind of like a shock collar for a dog...one zap usually does the trick. They get the idea, and they don't repeat the behavior because they're afraid of the consequences. Make sense?
If you find yourself spanking them frequently though, you might need to reconsider your choice of discipline. Anytime you're having to do something repeatedly, you might want to double check that you're doing the right thing for your kid.
Well. I was spanked as a child. My parents never left marks or anything, and I never got more than 3 swats (except once I got 5 and that was a really bad day. Lol.) and I could tell it genuinely hurt them to have to spank me. I had this involuntary trembling thing...it was really pretty pathetic. I did it when they yelled, too. Yes, I cried when spanked. Of course I did! It was more out of embarassment and shame than pain, though.
Neither of my brothers or myself ever had a problem with hitting other kids. I can count on one hand how many times I remember us getting in trouble for hitting, collectively. We understood the difference between spanking and hitting. I don't think it's rocket science... I have no problem with telling a kid not to hit and then giving him a spanking. It's just different.
I would never spank out of anger though. As a kid, I didn't get why my parents would send me to their room for a spanking and then make me wait in there for like 10 minutes before coming in. I thought it was to create suspense and make me even more of a mess. But now I understand. They were calming themselves down. And I appreciate it now.
My husband was never spanked though. His mom chose to yell at him...and now he yells too. (never at me, and not at Hudson yet...lol yelling at a 4 month old is just unneccessary) I personally can't handle yelling, because my parents rarely yelled at me. Yelling makes me terribly uncomfortable. I'm not sure how Hudson is going to end up being disciplined. It'll be a trial and error thing for a while, I'm sure. Some kids handle spanking better, some kids just need a time-out. There's definitely no "one size fits all" solution when it comes to disciplining kids.
Someone mentioned treating a kid like you do a dog. Training experts recommend not hitting a dog, ever. I definitely smack my dog...lol. I have had sensitive dogs before that I did not smack, ever, because it really hurt them and they didn't understand why I was smacking them. A stern "NO" did the trick. But when Stella, my chihuahua//corgi mix (who acts so much more like a human teenager than any other animal I've ever met) looks at me and takes off the other direction when I'm loading up the car, (and have my hands totally full with the carseat, diaper bag and whatever else I'm loading up) and I have to run her down and catch her, I give her a smack. Not super hard or anything... But she freaking knows better!
One last thing. Some people criticize parents who spank and say that their kids behave because they're afraid. Like in the discussion I previously mentioned, one girl mentioned all she has to do is look at her daughter and she quits her shit. (she also spanks her daughter) I think there's a healthy level of "fear" and respect a child should have for their parents. I totally get that "look" cuz my mom gave it to me all the time. People always commented that we were such well-behaved children, and it was because we behaved, because didn't want a spanking. And I think that's okay! If your kid behaves because he doesn't want a spanking, I think that's great. You don't actually have to discipline him because he already behaves. I think spanking is more effective, and you don't have to do it as often as time-out etc. Kind of like a shock collar for a dog...one zap usually does the trick. They get the idea, and they don't repeat the behavior because they're afraid of the consequences. Make sense?
If you find yourself spanking them frequently though, you might need to reconsider your choice of discipline. Anytime you're having to do something repeatedly, you might want to double check that you're doing the right thing for your kid.
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