Abby Cadabby
Little Lucky Ladybug
October 31, 2012
October 26, 2012
I'm not crazy...I'm just a little unwell..
I've always loved the Matchbox 20 song "Unwell," but never thought this would become part of my life's soundtrack.Hold on
I'm feeling like I'm headed for a Breakdown
I don't know why
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know, right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
At the risk of getting a little too personal and honest on this blog, for the last few months, I have been experiencing what, in its simplest form, can be described as "being in a funk." In fact, a pretty major one. Saying that I'm just in a funk keeps me from using the heavy words like Stress, Anxiety, and the dreaded "Depression." I call on one of my 4 best friends (who lives all the way in Australia) nearly every day just to bitch and cry about just about everything that has been frustrating me lately. And it has been a lot - the husband, the kids, my work hours, lack of sleep, Atlanta traffic - everything! In fact, I think she's a blessing from God for even still agreeing to take my call!
This comes as a surprise to many people who know me because I've never really been like this before. Most people have always seen me as a pretty happy and optimistic person. I've enjoyed life and been thankful for for blessings that have come to me. I used to find humor in all situations and let things slide off my back pretty easily. Now, I can't figure out how that has changed. I look in the mirror and I can't even recognize the person I'm seeing. While, there's still a part of me that recognizes that things could be so much worse and that I really have been blessed with a lot, there's another part of me that just constantly feels defeated and like I've completely lost control of my life somehow. That is the part that consumes me....and it stinks!
Then, I struggle with some serious guilt for even having this feeling. I mean, I have 2 wonderful healthy kids, a supportive husband, a stable job, and so much more. I've wanted this...I've prayed for this! So now, how dare I complain about how my toddler calls my name too much or me not getting enough sleep or how my husband won't help with housework? Why can't I just be happy???
So, I've been dealing this pretty quietly for the past few months and finally opened up about it to some friends of mine in my mom's group during our monthly meeting. Ironically, the topic of our discussion last night was to go over the vision boards we created in the beginning of the year and to just see how many of those visions were met. Even before meeting, I became consumed with defeat. I called my best friend and got the pity party started. "Nothing on my vision board has come true! I haven't accomplished a thing! My life sucks! This year sucked!" And so on...glass half empty!
Anyway, at our meeting, I finally shared my struggle with the girls and found an overwhelming amount of not only support, but perspective. One piece of insight that particularly resonated with me came from my friend and fellow blogger, Maria (Mamalicious Maria). She's married and just had her 4th baby, but still manages to do amazing things in her life and for others while still remaining completely sane! Well, she reminded me of something I've always believed in - seasons and sacrifices in life. Simply put, this legitimately is a tough time for me and there have been a lot of adjustments to be made this year. I have young children, a crazy schedule, nights with little sleep, a full time job, 2 blogs, a messy house, loads of laundry, a poor diet, and I can go on and on. It's not easy...for anyone! Sure, I didn't accomplish certain things on my vision board. I didn't take any big trips and I didn't finish my book. But would I have had to sacrifice to have accomplished any of those things? How much more time away from my family would I have to take in order to finish my book or take a trip overseas? And I really have made a few strides on my board. I wanted more success on my blogs and I found that this has been most successful year yet! I got into the Business School program I wanted to and well...I'll just have to keep hoping to meet Oprah or Michelle Obama or Ellen DeGeneres.
The point is that this is just a season...a really tough one...but a season. One day, my babies will sleep through the night and be able to make their own breakfast in the morning. One day, I'll be at a point in my career where I can set my own schedule or work from home. One day, I'll be able to keep my house clean without losing my keys in the toy chest or tripping over Dora dolls. So, just for today, I don't have to feel so bad about being in a funk. Not that I'm giving up, but there are quite a few things I just don't and won't have that much control of right now, but whatever I can do, it'll be up to me to get back to myself. Not an overnight fix, but hey, life's a journey right?
October 25, 2012
Follow up Review on the Baby Plus Prenatal Education System
Samara is now almost 9 months old and since birth, I will say that I truly noticed some significant developmental differences between both of my girls and I truly can't help but wonder if those are, in fact, attributed to this product. Let me be sure to say this: I do not work for this company, nor am I being asked to write this review! In fact, it has been one of those things where while part of me would just conclude that “well, every child is different,” but then I remember that it may very well have been because of the Prenatal Education System.
While Samara is not reading and writing in Mandarin quite yet, these were 2 if the major developmental differences I've noticed:
1. Ease of Breastfeeding. If you recall, this was one of the major reasons I chose to stick with system – the promise that she would more readily and easily nurse. In all honesty, Breastfeeding was a piece of cake this time around and I was beyond thrilled! I had tons of lactation consultations and a very uncooperative baby the first time around, but Samara was pretty much a natural from the beginning.
2..Her ability to Self Sooth. When I tell people that Samara started falling asleep alone and sleeping through the night in her own room by 8 weeks, they never believe me. Meanwhile, Leila, at 3 and a half, still hasn't mastered that ability! In fact, we were required to rock Leila to sleep until almost 2 years old (or maybe longer). Samara can be placed right in her bed and can sooth herself to sleep in a matter of minutes!
Increased interactivity and responsiveness is also a claim this product makes. While I definitely do witness these qualities with Samara, I can’t say that has differed much from the levels I witnessed with Leila. Both of my babies came out just as ready for the world as they could be!
So overall, I've been pretty happy with the results I've found and can honestly say that the claims that were made were accurate in my case. I would definitely use it again if I chose to have another baby (emphasis on the IF). Now, I'm just super curious if anyone else has used it and what their results were with it.
Readers, have you or anyone you know ever tried this? If so, please leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts on it!
October 24, 2012
October 10, 2012
Gender Bender: Should you let your child wear a Halloween costume of the opposite sex?
For the past few days, my girlfriend and I have been on the hunt
for Halloween costume ideas for our daughters.
We’ve gone from Disney Princesses to Dora and the challenge is always
just to find the perfect mix of creativity and affordability in a costume. Finally, I get the following text:
“With no energy to have a boy vs girl debate, she will be
Sponge Bob this year…and couldn’t be happier.”
I mentioned that to Leila and her response was, “Nooo, she
can’t! That’s a boy!” Now, while my daughter has become pretty
aware of the “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina” bit, I felt a little torn
over her opposition to a girl wearing a boy’s costume. First of all, it’s SpongeBob – hardly the
symbol of manliness or machismo. So what’s the big deal? What’s more is that I don’t necessarily want
her to feel such separation between the sexes this early in life.
Now, as I say that, I have to revert back to last year’s Halloween. I met a woman who was beyond ecstatic sharing her pride in a costume she was able to help her 7 year old son craft – Lady Gaga. Wig, skirt, stockings, you name it! My first thought after seeing it was, “How nice that she is so accepting of her transgendered son,” when, in all fairness, the kid was only 7 and I probably shouldn’t have tried to assume his sexuality based on the costume he chose. It may very well have been that he truly enjoyed the pop icon.
However, others around me responded quite differently though, thinking that mother should have imposed more of a boundary for her young son.
Now with that said, what is “acceptable” when it comes to dressing your child up as another gender? Girl Elmo’s? Boy witches? What’s considered going too far?
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