SortaCrunchy

Evidently, I need some time off

Okay, I am just going to tell you all this right now so I can get it out in the open. Rather than celebrating the end of NaBloPoMo today, I am beating myself up over my latest entry in the ongoing contest of Worst Mommy of the Year Award. Are you ready? Brace yourself.

I dropped AJ.

Part of me wants to word this in the third-person . . . She fell out of her carseat. Onto the floor.

But the truth lies in the first person . . . I forgot to buckle her in the carrier carseat and picked it up and she flipped forward and landed face down. On the floor.

I can't recall that I have ever experienced anything quite as terrifying and sickening. When D was a baby, she fell off the bed a time or two (yes, see, I've got that Worst Mommy award in the bag, girls) but it was when she was an older baby. The sight of my precious, not-quite-three-months-old baby, face down on the floor . . . Oh ya'll. I am having a hard time shaking it.

This all happened this morning as I was leaving D in the nursery at our weekly community prayer coffee gathering and thankfully - thank you, God! - one of my sweet friends (also a mommy) held AJ for me while I called the doctor's office in tears. (FYI - I discovered today that if you are in near hysterics when you call the pediatrician's office, they put you straight to a nurse - no waiting for a call-back. Just so you know.)

My other sweet friends calmed me and made me laugh with their own tales of baby mishaps and accidents. That did make me feel better. And so far, she seems to be fine. But still. And I still haven't quite determined just how I am going to tell her daddy about this.

So even though I had a whole other post planned, this is what's on my mind today.

In other, non-child endangerment news, as I mentioned yesterday I am taking the next week off from blogging. Let's all pray I don't return from this week-long hiatus in the same condition I was in when last I returned from hiatus . . .

I so look forward to catching up on blog reading next week. Also, my friend Corey called me yesterday to see if I would mind publishing posts over at Living and Loving Every Minute of It while she is out of town. (Not guest posting! Just hitting the "publish post" button on her pre-planned, pre-written drafts.) So anyway, I'll be around. Just uncharacteristically quiet, as I suspect many in NaBloPoMo recovery will be . . .

Labels: baby, blogging, mothering, NaBloPoMo

The light, the tunnel, the end approaches

Almost there, girls. Almost there. Tomorrow is the 30th and I will be released for the self-imposed tyranny of NaBloPoMo. Again, thank you so much for your words of encouragement - especially here at the end.

By way of advance warning, I want to tell you after tomorrow I am taking a week off from publishing posts. I have been sorely neglectful of reading and commenting on some of my favorite blogs and I am craving some time to just luxuriate in all kinds of bloggy reading goodness.

I haven't done a Thursday Thirteen in a while and the lure of a list proves to be irresistible . . .

In Which I Reflect on NaBloPoMo'ing

1. I do not like to post every day.
2. I much prefer to take the weekends off from posting.
3. Answering questions from my readers really was quite fun.
4. I definitely appreciate all who submitted questions (and by the way, those I haven't gotten to will not go unanswered. I am saving them for a rainy day.).
5. Talking about my own views and history and experiences day after day gets really boring really quickly.
6. I did have fun guest posting at Velveteen Mind. I would like to guest post more often, I think.
7. Posting every day is a lot of pressure, and I don't know how mega Bloggers like Michelle at Scribbit do it.
8. I am so stinkin' proud of myself for following through and finishing a project!
9. There is much to be said for public accountability as motivation to stick to something.
10. I hope I win a prize, dang it.
11. Hmmmm, that's just about all I have to say about NaBloMoPo.
12. Just for fun, here's a few of the Google searches that brought readers to SortaCrunchy in the past month . . .

sugar makes teeth hurt - well yes, actually it does, doesn't it? Especially if you are drinking my Texas Sweet Tea.

mother babe breast - not sure what to say about that . . . I do have one of the first and two each of the others if that helps you out at all.

t - Really? You did a Google search on a letter? And really? It brought you here? Strange, that.

moldy BREAD, BREASTFEEDING - and again, I am just unsure of what to say about that.

Back to my list . . .

13. So, NaBloPoMo. You and I are about to part ways. Knowing what I know now, would I do it all over again? Yeah, I sorta think I would. It's definitely been one of those things where if I hadn't participated, I would always wonder if I had what it takes to do it.

And that last statement strikes me as being just a bit too serious. It's just blogging, after all.

Labels: blogging, general chatter, NaBloPoMo, Thursday Thirteen

Go See

Teething infant. Potty-learning toddler. Target and Sam's and the post office (oh, my).

Lord only knows what will actually get accomplished around here today, but if nothing else, I can sleep easy knowing I did my part to Save The Bunny:

(Click on the bunny to go see my guest post at Velveteen Mind!)

Labels: blogging, NaBloPoMo

SortaCrunchy Q&A #14 - Tips and Tricks (sorta)

It's just gorgeous here today. Really, really gorgeous. Days like today make me wanna belt out a few verses of "God Blessed Texas" (If you wanna see heaven brother here's your chance). Added bonus - Miss D has been especially delightful the past few days. Just a real dream of a child (where are you, O Wood, that I may knock upon you?), and that has made life particularly sweet in my SortaCrunchy home.

And that puts me in a good place to answer today's SortaCrunchy question from Birdie of BirdBrain. Birdie is a fun and funky (in a good way, girl!) new mama to one sweet little September '07 man - Otto. Stop over and say hey if you have time!

Birdie asks, "What are your favorite tricks and tools of the Mama trade? What objects/tricks/ideas/attitudes get you through the day with two little ones?"

Honestly, I don't have a lot of tips. Or tricks. Well, some tricks. Like telling D that Cliff Kid Chocolate Brownie Organic Z Bars are "Bunny Scout Brownies." Those brownies are my back-up plan when she refuses to eat a meal, and she is ever so delighted to devour a Bunny Scout Brownie - Max and Ruby style.

So yeah, I have tricks like that.

But my only real tip is one that was given to me by Martha Sears, the mama of the Attachment Parenting super duo who co-authored The Baby Book with her husband, Dr. William Sears.

(Sidenote - I know I talk about the Sears an awful lot. I am not on their payroll. I just love them. I truly, truly do. Their books and website helped bring me from a dark, disappointed, and unhappy place in my mothering to a joyful, uplifted, and inspired turnaround. That's all.)

So anyway.

Martha Sears writes in The Baby Book that in parenting her own high-needs child, she had to learn to get behind her eyes. That phrase, that instruction, that advice has been the single most helpful parenting tip I have ever come across.

When D was a baby and was crying, fussy, out-of-sorts, whatever, I would take a deep breath, close my eyes for a second or two, then open them and look right into my daughter's eyes. Then I would imagine her looking out at me and ask myself, "If I were looking out of those eyes, what would I need to see to feel better?" I sure wouldn't want to see an angry, frustrated, exhausted mama. So no matter how angry, frustrated, or exhausted I was, I forced myself to be the mama she needed me to be at that moment. More often than not, all she needed was some peace, compassion, and understanding . . . maybe in the form of a bouncy walk around the room, perhaps an extra long hug with quiet whispers of affirmation in her ear. It usually wasn't much, but it almost always worked to just get behind her eyes and really think about what is was she was needing.

I gotta tell ya'll this. Life is proving to be quite unfair to my angelic AJ. Her two bottom teeth are threatening to erupt any day now. Yes! At not quite three months! Bless her heart. So this laid-back and content angel of a baby has been uncharacteristically needy and fussy for a few days. I find myself going back to Martha's advice and still find it works like a charm. Heck, it even works when D is going into meltdown mode and she's almost three.

I wonder if it'll work for pre-teen hormonal angst? We'll see.

Anyway, friend Birdie, that is the best I can offer in terms of tips and tricks. I hope it helps you as much as it helped is helping me.

Labels: attachment parenting, baby, mothering, NaBloPoMo, parenting a toddler

SortaCrunchy Q&A #13 - Quickly

The wonderfully sweet Karla of Looking Towards Heaven offered two questions for my SortaCrunchyMightHurtMyselfSoonBecauseI'mSoBoredWithItAll Q&A experiment. The second of the two is a very thought-provoking one (If you could write a letter to a persecuted Christian in a foreign country, what would it say?) that I want to come back to when I am over this burn out. (Five more days! No wait - after this post, four more days!!)

But her first question is one I am happy to answer today: What are your favorite quick night recipes and why?

Two words:

Cheese quesadillas.

(Or quesa-dill-as. Depends on where you live and how big of a Napoleon fan you are.)

Why? If there are two things we always, always have on hand in the SortaCrunchy kitchen, it's tortillas and shredded cheese. Slap 'em together, toss 'em in a skillet, and voila! Dinner is served. You can get all fancy with them, adding chicken or beans or veggies - I use whatever I have on hand. Quesadillas and tortilla chips some fresh veggies have been served as dinner around here many a-night. D always eats them up, too, which is a blessed bonus.

What works for fast and easy in the kitchen for you?

Labels: food, NaBloPoMo

SortaCrunchy Q&A #12 - It's a Family Tradition

Here's a little insight into the part of the country in which I grew up: Whenever someone mentions the words family tradition, some force that is beyond my control plugs in the honkey-tonk jukebox in my mind, pops in a quarter, and sends up Hank William Junior's "Family Tradition" . . . (Don't ask me Hank/why do you drink?/(Hank) why do you roll smoke?/Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?) (Sing it with me, Melissa E! I know you know the words!)

So yes, I'll be humming along to that morally pure and uplifting anthem while answering this question from my Sweet Friend Mary Ann of Mountainer Mommy: What family tradition from when you were a child do you hope to continue with your family?

Well, it just so happens that really the only traditions my family has have to do with the holidays. How timely! My family always, always, always put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving weekend. Our family tree evolved through the years. When we were younger, it was decked out in handmade and hand-painted ornaments and brightly colored tree lights. If I close my eyes, I can still see it standing in all its glory - blue and red and yellow and orange lights twinkling amidst gold tinsel and silver "Baby's First Christmas" bells. As we got older, my mom reclaimed the tree and chose a lovely maroon and gold angels theme. The colored lights were replaced with the more refined white ones, and the "Baby's First" ornaments were tucked away in keepsake boxes. No matter what went up on the tree, Thanksgiving weekend was always the designated time to do the decorating.

Tonight we are putting up our tree. It's the first tree we have put up in seven years! Up until this past summer, we had two cats in our family. The temptation proved to be too great for the naughty kittens, and I finally got tired of having to redecorate the tree every morning. But the cats have found other homes now, and Miss D is enamored with Christmas trees this year, so putting up a tree will be a long-awaited event for us. My dear, wonderful, Sweet Friend Keara gave us a tree they weren't using and I am so excited for the fun that awaits us! We'll keep it simple for now . . . I have to save room for all the D and AJ originals that are sure to fill the boughs in years to come.

Labels: family, NaBloPoMo, parenting a toddler

SortaCrunchy Q&A #11 - On blogging

Last week, Megan of Velveteen Mind shared one of her NaBloMoPo concerns, "Possibly the worst aspect of NaBloPoMo is that so many solid posts get buried. I much prefer giving my blog some room to breathe." I could not agree more! Well, I don't have all that too many solid posts around here, but I do prefer some breathing room. Yes, that's exactly why I am getting so resentful of NaBloPoMo'ing . . . I'm feeling a tad claustrophobic on my own blog.

And since we are speaking of blogging, I present to you the next in the SortaCrunchy Q&A series. This question is from Linda of 2nd Cup of Coffee. Linda is a wonderful writer and I have so enjoyed my time spent reading over there. Please stop by and say hi if you get a chance!

Linda asked, "Why do you think blogging has become such a phenomenon, and what do you personally gain from blogging?"

Very good. Very good question.

To begin with, I think blogging has become such a phenomenon for the same reasons social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook have taken off. These modes of communication meet two basic needs that most people have . . . a craving for community and the desire to belong.

As far as what I personally gain from blogging - well, I guess I get both of those needs met in a very fulfilling way. I love my little blogging community - a small circle of women who have come to be good friends of mine and the larger circle of mommy blogs where I "see" so many familiar faces. Blogging allows me to participate in an amazing community of women whom I will probably never have the pleasure of fixin' a cup of coffee for, but who are very dear to me nonetheless. Building relationships through comments and email affirms for me that this is a place I belong.

I feel sorta funny saying all of that because I have a spectacular and supportive community of friends in my hometown who are just to die for. So it's not like I rely primarily or solely on blogging for community. I don't know . . . maybe a childhood full of relocations has left me with an extra deep need to connect with others and find a niche into which I fit?

So those are my thoughts on blogging. Now I would really, really love to hear yours! Whether in the comments or as a post at your own blog, please share your answer to Linda's question. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Labels: blogging, NaBloPoMo