Friday, December 31, 2010

Cereal diaries - day 5

Haha... today started off with a bang. Princess Crybaby only wanted her morning milk warm, thank you very much mommy, OR ELSE.


In what is sure to be an indicator of the future, she wailed at me until I remade the bottle to her satisfaction.


*rolling eyes*

Thursday, December 30, 2010

cereal diaries - day 4

I wonder if this is a new phase. Now that we've started cereal, when she wakes up and it's time to eat, she is almost hysterical as I get her bottle ready. Like she's trying to communicate she only has moments to live, MOTHER, and how on EARTH can I deny her the life-sustaining food she so desperately needs?!!!? *laugh* Then, of course, when she is given food, she's back to being the happiest baby I've ever met. Does this hot/cold approach remind you of somebody? .... me neither.

HAHA

This forward progress in the food area has caused a temporary (please God) setback in sleeping. Her naps during the day haven't really changed but she's been getting up every couple of hours at night. This is VERY hard on Mommy's brain. I feel a little like we've gone back to square one. I'm not sure how to help her. I would try letting her fuss it out but she's got some SERIOUS lung power and fussing turns into a full-fledged screamfest in a matter of moments - it wakes up the entire house. Munchkin gets back to sleep pretty quickly. The idiot boy dog, however, is not nearly as accomodating.

So, I get up every two hours, hoping she'll bounce back out of it.

nanny state?

I've heard this term a lot lately and thought I'd better check it out for myself. It's hard to know where to stand on issues any more. As I become older and more informed about the political "process," I am more convinced we are the next verse in a very long song. Our country is but one of many who succumb to the insistence of its leaders that they, not the individual citizen, knows what is best for the people and, as a result, doom the entire nation.

The stark fact is that you cannot give power to rule others to a select group of people and expect good things to come from it. Power is like a drug; once given it is very hard to use it only to serve others. We tell ourselves we act in the best interests of others but we are, in reality, stripping them of their personal freedom. This creates a larger and larger gap between the rulers and the ruled until a once humble and noble-intentioned person entrusted as the head of the State becomes a conceited tyrant - bent on pushing forward programs, laws and policies that only serve the people writing them - other politicians. Progress becomes lost in the endless maneuvering, currying favor and compromises made in backroom meetings. The deal is done before it ever sees the light of day.

We are not fit to rule ourselves. Only God can truly lead a people. Haven't we seen one civilization after another begin with the noblest intentions, built on righteous ideals fall apart a few hundred years later because of corruption, greed and all manner of evil?

So what is an average person to do? Scream into the wind with no affect or stand aside and be swept along with the current of political whim?

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Cereal Diaries - Day 2

Gave Munchkin a turn with the spoon this morning. Princess Crybaby was, again, a little confused, but ended up successfully eating two or three spoonfuls. Success! Baby is learning! (Mommy is remembering)

The best thing about all this is remembering this process with Munchkin and, I think, that makes this even more fun (and less worry-filled). Instead of worrying I'm not doing it right, she isn't going to learn or some other insecurity, I can relax and enjoy the mess.

Cereal Diaries - Day 1

She wasn't sure what to do but she was very enthusiastic. Well received - will call this a successful start.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Earth, Wind & Fire (no, not the disco band)

Munchkin is a great kid.  As my mother says, she is a very, very, very bright child in an itty, bitty body.  That's a lot of brilliance to contain in one little package.  Like capturing the wind.  You can contain it, but it is very, very hard to make it sit still.

That reminds me of how, when my brother and I were still living at home, Mother used to describe us as we might be found in nature.  Brother is light - he fills a room with his presence - he is impossible to miss.  He chases away shadows just by being there and warms cold spots.  People, like moths, are drawn to his light - it radiates from him. 

I am fire.  Raw energy that causes forward motion.  Fire is impressive by it's power and beauty but can be very, very dangerous if left untended.  In my family, my temper is legendary in its ability to flare up, seemingly out of nowhere and be gone again, just as fast.  Fire also has the ability to draw people in.  Fire gives warmth and protection when harnessed. 

If my brother was light and I am fire, Munchkin is wind and Princess Crybaby is water (so far as I can tell).  Let me explain:

Munchkin is wind.  Wind is constant motion.  Wind carries songs and wishes.  Wind powers turbines and creates electricity.  It sustains life.  Wind can be terribly destructive if your structures aren't built (and reinforced) solidly.  Wind will mess up your hair, blow your dress up and ruin your umbrella on a rainy day.  But, it brings joy because you need it to fly a kite, or sail in a sailboat. 

Princess Crybaby is water.  Water is the giver of life.  We are made of water and without it our lives would end.  Water, like wind, has its own song.  From a babbling brook, to the mighty oceans, people choose to be near water - for many reasons.  Water is flexible but never mistake it's adaptability for tameability.  You can dam up water but beware its power and the potential for catastrophe if the dam breaks.  Very quickly, a little bit of rain can overrun a stream and run a car off the road (as we are constantly reminded during flash flooding seasons). 

Coach is light.  Because I admire my brother so much, it is understandable I would marry a man who shares many of the same qualities as he.

While any one of these things has the power to destroy, we need (and want) all of them around because of the benefits they bring us. 

What describes you: Wind, Fire, Light, Water (or something else)?