Start here. Grow far.

Now that I'm here I'm kinda glad I'm not there

One of my good friends had a baby boy on Saturday. It also happens that Saturday was my son's first birthday. While I celebrated him and celebrated my friend and the birth of her son it was easy to remember back to exactly one year ago and the difficulties I had after my second-born came along. Although I love newborn babies and there were many moments of bliss after my son's birth, what I remember most was how hard it was to become a mother to two and how hard it was to be a mother to this particular new baby boy. He was not as easy a baby as his sister was, not at all. It didn't make me love him any less, of course, but it did make my transition into mothering two kids a tough one. Now, one year later, I can honestly say that I will miss his newborn smell, his tiny toes and hands, his milky breath, especially since he will be my last baby. But I am much happier as a mother of an almost-four-year-old and a one-year-old. We've come a long way and although I do envy my friend a bit for the firsts that she is about to experience this year (first smile, first laugh, first food, first crawling) I don't envy her the sleepless nights, the first-time mother worries, the constant diaper changes and demanding feeding schedule. But, we all have to go through that to get to here. Her journey will be bliss-filled and yet difficult at times, I'm sure. But, like me, in a year's time, she will look back and smile at her memories both good and bad, and marvel at how far they've come.

[photo credit: SXC]

Mom Central hearts Baby Potential and StickyFeet offers chance to win a onesie!

Popular parenting site Mom Central just reviewed our onesies as part of their 2008 Holiday Gift Guide: "My little Environmentalist onesie was beautifully made with a patch featuring two globes and adorable decorative stitching along the neck (flowers and butterflies!). It's easy to see how much care and effort goes into the production of these shirts, as well as into the message." Visit Mom Central to read their full review.

And Jamie, over at StickyFeet, just reviewed one of our tees. She's giving away a Baby Potential onesie to one lucky reader so be sure to visit her site to enter by December 30!

Win a Baby Potential Onesie!

Mommy Instincts posted a review about our onesies at her new review site, Sharing My Instincts today. She's also giving away a Baby Potential onesie to one lucky winner. Be sure to enter before 11:59 p.m. Central Time on December 24 for your chance to win!

My throat had been scratchy and sore for a few days. Then my sinues got blocked. I attributed it to allergies. I was busy, as usual, and there's never time to slow down no matter how tired you feel. But today I woke up and my voice was gone. Everyone I ran into asked me if I was sick. Truthfully, it never occurred to me so I kept telling them no. It was only when my dad told me that there have been no allergens reported the last few days that it hit me. I was sick. I am sick. And I was either in denial or too busy to notice. Well, now I'm noticing. So I'm off to bed. Maybe I'll even make some tea and take it easy tomorrow. Even moms need a little extra care from time to time.

[photo credit: SXC]

Love Thursday

1. I love that the photo shoot I had with my kids went so well today. If you're in San Antonio and need a fantastic photographer who's great with kids, call Donna Gustin Photography RIGHT NOW (because she's talented, charming and working for half the price in 2008!). She came to our home, put the kids (and me) at ease, used natural light, started shooting as soon as she arrived and we got some beautiful shots. You can see a few of them here on her blog. Seriously--it's not too late to book Donna for a session with you and your kids. And you can use the resulting gorgeous photos for your Christmas cards.

2. I love that I got nearly all of my Christmas shopping done on Amazon last night and that it all shipped out today. Never has Christmas shopping been so easy.

3. I love that someone just won one of our "Teacher" onesies! Congratulations, Ginny. I'm shipping it out tomorrow.

We've got several giveaways coming up on our readers' sites. Stay tuned to find out where you can enter to win!

Detachment parenting?

If you're not familiar with the concept of attachment parenting you can get a detailed breakdown of it here. My quick take on it is that it's a way of raising your child with the intent of helping them grow up feeling secure in their child-parent bond so they are able to form healthy relationships with others when they reach adulthood. Attachment parenting methods include breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, homeschooling, and many others. And while I don't exactly consider myself a card-carrying attachment parent, I do practice some of these child-rearing methods such as breastfeeding and babywearing. I didn't give a whole lot of thought to choosing to breastfeed or to wearing my baby. These are things that just seemed natural to me so I did them. But now I'm starting to wonder if wearing my baby was such a great idea.

Don't get me wrong: I love wearing my son in his sling. I take him everywhere in it and it leaves my hands free which is especially nice when shopping or picking up my daughter from preschool (with the seventy-billion art projects they send home - really, how can one school own that much paint?). But now it seems like my son is rarely content unless he's in his sling or I'm holding him. He can be mildly content if I put him down to crawl about but if I step into another room or he loses sight of me he freaks out. I admit that when this started, around the time most babies experience separation anxiety, I was flattered. He missed me! He needed me! He loved me! I never wore my daughter in a sling (silly, but I didn't know such a thing existed even just three short years ago). She also never experienced separation anxiety and let other people hold her and babysit for her with ease. I was glad about that. But this newfound feeling of being desperately needed, wanted even, by my son was a powerful drug. I thought it was sweet. I thought it was cute. Now, however, I'm starting think it's just nuts. My poor boy seems more worked up than ever if I am out of his sight or if someone else wants to hold him or even talk to him.

Did wearing him constantly in a sling encourage his behavior? Is he too attached to me? And how do I carefully detach him, just a bit, so he will adapt more easily to change, to getting to know other people? And, I suppose, it's possible he would have had this tendency even if I had never worn him in a sling. I'd hate to think that the sling turned him into such a fusser, especially since I love the sling so very much. But what gives? Is there such a thing as too attached?

[photo credit: SXC]

Sometimes the over-the-top TV shows get it right

If you're watching Desperate Housewives this season you've seen Eva Longoria's character, Gabrielle Solis, go from runway-model gorgeous to mommy frump. I guess five years, two kids and a blind husband will do that to a gal. And frankly, although the story lines on that show are pretty out there, this is one TV characterization of a woman that I can identify with. Well, except that I was never runway-model gorgeous (slightly stunning, maybe, but I digress...). I did go from being a somewhat-style-conscious, professionally-attired career woman to a work-from-home, stained-yoga-pants-again-today, work-from-home mama of two in pretty short order. In fact, the stealth of my transformation was quite shocking.

On the show, Gabby's husband, Carlos, is poised to get his sight back and Gabby is terrified that he won't find her attractive any more. My husband's eyesight is perfectly fine so he can plainly see what he's gotten himself into (poor guy!). Still, I still find myself wanting to dial back the clock a bit so I can come up with a better way to mix motherhood and the sloth-like demands of working from home with my formerly fashionable and feminine side. I haven't come up with the magic cure-all (yet) but watching Longoria's humorous portrayal of a woman similarly struggling reminded me that I'm not alone in having swapped style for stains. Anyone else feeling ready to fight some frump?

[photo credit: SeenOn!]

Wordless Wednesday: How my daughter sees me

More Wordless Wednesday here.

This is it.

Over the holiday weekend I learned that a high school classmate died last week. She was on vacation with her family to celebrate Thanksgiving. She was only 38 and had two-year-old twins. I didn't know her personally but upon seeing her photo and reading her obituary I remembered seeing her in those high school hallways of nearly twenty years ago. I remembered some of the people who did know her. And the news of her sudden and unexplained death stayed with me all weekend.

When my daughter threw a fit because she hadn't had a nap, when the baby wouldn't sleep because he was getting over his cold, when my daughter dipped her hands in yogurt and smeared them all over the kitchen table, whenever I felt myself thinking, "This is too much. I need a break. I can't take this any more," I realized that I could. I realized that I wanted to. I realized that even the things that drive me crazy and to the brink of sanity are precious to me. This sad event was a reminder to me that I must hold on to every minute with my children, even the difficult ones, as tightly as I can because there may not be many of those minutes left. We never know when our clock will stop ticking, when those minutes, however glorious, however irritating, will run out.

I can't stop thinking that this high school classmate will never get to witness THREE and all of the joys and fun and pain and frustration that go along with watching your "terrible" two-year-old turn into a loquacious three-year-old who asks poignant questions like, "How does Jesus make cars?"and who begins to grow into a real, honest-to-goodness person right before your eyes. I grieve for her because of all that she will miss. And all that her children will miss because of her absence.

This sudden, sad, shocking event whispered to me all weekend. It said, "Hey, it wasn't you, but it could be you next time. Don't hold back. Don't wait. Don't assume you have tomorrow. Don't let the little stuff get you down. Enjoy it all. Soak it up, all of it--good, bad, happy, sad--and live life the way you want to. This is it." Today I'm paying attention. And I hope I won't forget how to.

[photo credit: SXC]