Sometimes. Sometimes something happens that causes the whole nation to stop.
To be still.
To reflect.
To feel.
Friday, December 14, 2012 was one of those days. The nation's heart skipped a beat. Halted in disbelief, horror, rage, shock, and finally an out pour of love.
I am sure if you enter the date coupled with Connecticut shooting in the search bar you can find dozens of reports. That's not what I am going to write about. You can get the facts elsewhere. I am here to record what happened to the hearts of America.
It was all over facebook. All. over. So many hearts and minds turned towards the victims. Towards the children who were taken from this world all too soon. Towards their families. Facebook was flooded with pictures of Christ and the children. Any children and all children. Prayers and thoughts were sent along the internet waves. Hugs to our own children were a little longer and a little tighter.
Trying to gather the few facts that were available just hours after the slaughter I looked into Alaska's brown eyes and couldn't imagine a day of sending her to school with her breakfast half-eaten as she ran out to the bus and her things left around the house, right where her little hands had set them, and then have her never to come back. Our hugs at home were a little longer that day. Our time playing was punctuated with more smiles than usual as she twisted and climbed and finished off by handing me block after block.
Society felt it. It felt the loss of their own babies that morning and there were mothers who could not stop crying as more information was released and details got themselves sorted through. Society felt rage. Sorrow. Confusion. Shock.
But society also felt the love. We all know children. We all have been children. And children should not be murdered. Love has been outpoured in immense measures. Thank goodness society can still feel that one emotion and come together in a nation full of people that seem so disconnected from one-another.
It passes all my understanding. There is no one to blame, and yet this was most definitely not an accident. Anyone who shoots another person has larger problems then can be understood in this life. There are no answers, no excuses. It happened and instead of being afraid, we have to go on. It's not our place to judge. Nor is it our place to blame. It is our job to love.
Perhaps I feel differently about it because of my own brother being on the autism spectrum. It could have been him. He could have been the shooter. Emotions are strong things and cannot be reasoned with. When they are strong enough they can do many wonderful and terrible things. Social or mental challenges set aside, we all have emotions that drive motives deep within us that often we cannot even explain.
As society quickly spirals downwards and morals dwindle and are lost it is so easy to be afraid.
That is not who I am. That is not what I was sent here to do. I am here to be bold. To be courageous. To have charity. Alaska and the other children sent to make our family sweeter will grow up unafraid. There is nothing that can conquer the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truths that it teaches about our time on this earth and afterward.
We will be held accountable for ourselves. And I am sure the first question will be, "Did you share enough love."
Stunned to stillness and after much reflecting I have made a decision. I will have no fear. The world needs more love. More understanding and patience. More charity. What is a life if you are always afraid? It is nothing. There is so much to be afraid of. Especially as more and more people choose to serve Satan rather than God. My children will not be afraid. They will have a mother who trusts in humankind and knows there is a God.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
Snickerdoodle Ginger-Lime Chewies
I seriously just read, befuddled and followed the most complicated recipe ever! When it could have been summed up as: Roll dough in to 1 in. balls and dip in sugar mixture.
It was all like, roll dough out between two pieces of parchment paper into a flat disk. First, what's wrong with using flour and a rolling pin like most normal people do? And second, you have to search back to fourth grade math when you learned about disks.
Cut this into quarters, fourth grade math again, and divide each quarter into 11 or 12 equal portions. Shape potions into balls. Ummm, have you ever tried to cut a piece of pizza into 11 or 12 equal portions? Who came up with these directions?! You cannot cut a piece of pizza, a triangle, into equal parts without driving yourself crazy! At this point I scooped up all my dough and threw it back in the bowl.
Roll in reserved lime-sugar mixture and gently reshape. This seriously almost had me dumping what was left of the sugar and lime peel into the bowl with the dough. What SHOULD have happened was had the subject (balls) re-introduced and read, "Roll dough balls in reserved lime-sugar mixture and gently reshape. Ugh! Where was the editor? Or maybe the editor doesn't bake and had no idea this would be so complicated. After all, the two sentences were connected with a semi-colon, therefore the subject would just carry over to the other part of the sentence without having to be re-stated. What they didn't take into account is a person following directions does one step at a time, period. Roll dough in balls. Period. Done. Cross it off the list! Don't look at the last part of the sentence and try to connect it to the first part.
What they really could have left off was the whole cutting and dicing. Roll dough into balls 1 in. in diameter and be done with it. No need to waste some perfectly good parchment paper. Or cause any heart attacks because said baker doesn't have any since it wasn't on the ingredient list. Oi.
After I got through the muddle of the recipe I decided these are as simple to make as snickerdoodles and taste way better. If you like ginger and lime - together. Which I guess, why not?
I am really bad at remembering to smoosh cookies before putting them in the oven. Rolling into balls and dipping in sugar is really enough steps for me. Add smooshing before shoving them in the oven to bake is a little too much on my mind. Needless to say, I looked at the directions one item at a time before I shut that oven door the first time. I even went back down the ingredient list, making sure I didn't forget the vanilla or salt or something else that would be impossible to mix in at this point.
I thought I knew what I was doing the second time, neglecting to check each step, and forgot to smoosh them down before I took them out after 6 minutes and had a mini freak-out that they didn't look like the rest. Until I remembered that I had forgotten the smooshing. So I went ahead and smooshed them down (huge no, no) and put them back in the oven for another 4 minutes to puff themselves back up. And, you know what, those cookies taste WAY better than the firsts that went through the oven. So I purposefully forgot to smoosh the rest of them until the 6 minute mark and then cooked for another few minutes.
Someone should have followed that recipe themselves before publishing it and my copy now has notes all over it about "just like a snickerdoodle" and about not smooshing until cooked for 6 minutes.
This recipe also is one of those 'choose your own adventure' recipes. '2 or 3 tsp ground ginger, to taste', was on the ingredient list. I've never cooked anything with ginger before and was at a total loss as to whether 2 or 3 would be better. So I put two, knowing that when it was cooked the taste would change again. I now know to do three. And that is circled, because I know it will be a year before I do this recipe again and by that time I will have forgotten this learning experience and would have to think really hard about what I did the year before and whether or not it worked and whether or not I want to do what I know or try for something different. This way, with a circle, I have no need to think, just do and pour it on.
I cannot believe something so seemingly complicated ended up being so easy. I will no longer be afraid about cutting recipes from magazines when their instructions look too long to handle. It really could be as simple as dipping dough balls into remaining sugar.
It was all like, roll dough out between two pieces of parchment paper into a flat disk. First, what's wrong with using flour and a rolling pin like most normal people do? And second, you have to search back to fourth grade math when you learned about disks.
Cut this into quarters, fourth grade math again, and divide each quarter into 11 or 12 equal portions. Shape potions into balls. Ummm, have you ever tried to cut a piece of pizza into 11 or 12 equal portions? Who came up with these directions?! You cannot cut a piece of pizza, a triangle, into equal parts without driving yourself crazy! At this point I scooped up all my dough and threw it back in the bowl.
Roll in reserved lime-sugar mixture and gently reshape. This seriously almost had me dumping what was left of the sugar and lime peel into the bowl with the dough. What SHOULD have happened was had the subject (balls) re-introduced and read, "Roll dough balls in reserved lime-sugar mixture and gently reshape. Ugh! Where was the editor? Or maybe the editor doesn't bake and had no idea this would be so complicated. After all, the two sentences were connected with a semi-colon, therefore the subject would just carry over to the other part of the sentence without having to be re-stated. What they didn't take into account is a person following directions does one step at a time, period. Roll dough in balls. Period. Done. Cross it off the list! Don't look at the last part of the sentence and try to connect it to the first part.
What they really could have left off was the whole cutting and dicing. Roll dough into balls 1 in. in diameter and be done with it. No need to waste some perfectly good parchment paper. Or cause any heart attacks because said baker doesn't have any since it wasn't on the ingredient list. Oi.
After I got through the muddle of the recipe I decided these are as simple to make as snickerdoodles and taste way better. If you like ginger and lime - together. Which I guess, why not?
I am really bad at remembering to smoosh cookies before putting them in the oven. Rolling into balls and dipping in sugar is really enough steps for me. Add smooshing before shoving them in the oven to bake is a little too much on my mind. Needless to say, I looked at the directions one item at a time before I shut that oven door the first time. I even went back down the ingredient list, making sure I didn't forget the vanilla or salt or something else that would be impossible to mix in at this point.
I thought I knew what I was doing the second time, neglecting to check each step, and forgot to smoosh them down before I took them out after 6 minutes and had a mini freak-out that they didn't look like the rest. Until I remembered that I had forgotten the smooshing. So I went ahead and smooshed them down (huge no, no) and put them back in the oven for another 4 minutes to puff themselves back up. And, you know what, those cookies taste WAY better than the firsts that went through the oven. So I purposefully forgot to smoosh the rest of them until the 6 minute mark and then cooked for another few minutes.
Someone should have followed that recipe themselves before publishing it and my copy now has notes all over it about "just like a snickerdoodle" and about not smooshing until cooked for 6 minutes.
This recipe also is one of those 'choose your own adventure' recipes. '2 or 3 tsp ground ginger, to taste', was on the ingredient list. I've never cooked anything with ginger before and was at a total loss as to whether 2 or 3 would be better. So I put two, knowing that when it was cooked the taste would change again. I now know to do three. And that is circled, because I know it will be a year before I do this recipe again and by that time I will have forgotten this learning experience and would have to think really hard about what I did the year before and whether or not it worked and whether or not I want to do what I know or try for something different. This way, with a circle, I have no need to think, just do and pour it on.
I cannot believe something so seemingly complicated ended up being so easy. I will no longer be afraid about cutting recipes from magazines when their instructions look too long to handle. It really could be as simple as dipping dough balls into remaining sugar.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Pizza at 10
Growing up, living in the boonies, there was never a pizza joint close enough to deliver to the door. The kind where they bring your pizza to you in a heat-safe case, dripping cheese and that crumbly flour they put on the bottom. Where they ring the bell and you hurry to the door, on your way gathering up all the five dollar bills you rummaged for in your jean pockets. And maybe you pay a little extra for a tip because you don't want the poor guy to have to balance everything for some change. Besides, seriously, you really just want him gone asap so you can dig in and burn your tongue on that first bite.
I love ordering pizza for delivery. No hunting around for socks and shoes. No having to put a bra back on after you've gotten so comfy in your sweats and sweatshirt. No having to rock-paper-scissors for who has to go pick it up. It's just there, brought right to you. And I love, love, love it. Our local Papa Johns even has an online ordering system and you can get points for using it instead of calling in your order. Life just got better.
It was one of those nights where I had a late lunch and wasn't hungry at dinner time. Handsome Husband had the same problem and it wasn't until 9:47 that we got the munchies. 13 minutes to close and we sent our order in via online. 30 minutes later the doorbell rang and we ate pizza in bed that night while watching Brave.
Brave. I didn't think I would like it. The trailers had all seemed a little heavy on the bathroom humor and I am not much into that. But it was good. Really good. Watch twice in a row good. It's one that we will definitely be buying. Except for that bear. That bear is humongously scary and torturous looking and scared the squeal out of me when he entered the stage. If that wouldn't give a five year-old nightmares then maybe Snow White would. That evil queen is pretty evil looking. And in Sleeping Beauty, too.
I love ordering pizza for delivery. No hunting around for socks and shoes. No having to put a bra back on after you've gotten so comfy in your sweats and sweatshirt. No having to rock-paper-scissors for who has to go pick it up. It's just there, brought right to you. And I love, love, love it. Our local Papa Johns even has an online ordering system and you can get points for using it instead of calling in your order. Life just got better.
It was one of those nights where I had a late lunch and wasn't hungry at dinner time. Handsome Husband had the same problem and it wasn't until 9:47 that we got the munchies. 13 minutes to close and we sent our order in via online. 30 minutes later the doorbell rang and we ate pizza in bed that night while watching Brave.
Brave. I didn't think I would like it. The trailers had all seemed a little heavy on the bathroom humor and I am not much into that. But it was good. Really good. Watch twice in a row good. It's one that we will definitely be buying. Except for that bear. That bear is humongously scary and torturous looking and scared the squeal out of me when he entered the stage. If that wouldn't give a five year-old nightmares then maybe Snow White would. That evil queen is pretty evil looking. And in Sleeping Beauty, too.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
That Good of an Idea
We were invited to a wedding reception. Steven's cousin's wedding reception. And if you go to a reception, you have to have a present to go with it. I found it's the easiest way to make money ever. Send out a wedding announcement that costs 50 cents if you're me and $1.79 if you're someone else. The return is a card with most often $20 folded inside. Personally I would prefer an envelope with $23.64 inside, forget the card and just tack on the extra dough. You would be saving the receiver a lot of stress and worry. No one really wants to keep 100 cards around after their wedding, but the guilt is just too much to just toss them. Save them the anxiety I say!
But really, gifts. We weren't organized enough to get to either target or bed, bath and beyond for a gift card, let alone walk in to look at their registry and go grab a specific plate or throw pillow. Nor did we have the foresight to think of getting any kind of gift until we were on our way to the reception. It's just the way life works. We will know we have hit maturity when we have the gift purchased and wrapped three days before the reception. That is going to take awhile.
We also had to make a costco run before heading on our way. And when I say run, I mean literal run as Alaska and I sit in the car and Steven sprints in like Jesse Jackson and throws a few needed things in a cart while I wait in the parking lot. Not parked, mind you. I am literally sitting in an isle that doesn't have a lot of traffic waiting for Handsome Husband to make his grand appearance. I then proceed to meet him in front of the store while cars back up behind me as he throws everything into the trunk. *Everyone was really nice about it, and then as I looped around an isle to leave they all honked at me. Thanks.
My idea going into all this was that Steven would grab up one of those huge containers of licorice for them to take on the honey moon with them. You know the kind. The one that you take to girl's camp with you and lasts the whole week even with 24 girls eating out of it. He forgot it. He forgot all about getting a gift.
I thought we would just get going on our way since we were running late as it was. Apparently it was that good of an idea, though. Steven rushed back into the store to get it, coming out with reeses instead because apparently there are a lot of licorice lovers out there on a saturday night and all the licorice was gone.
It wasn't wrapped and it was bright orange. It looked really good among their other gifts. No card. But we did have the decency to tape some scrapbook paper to it with our needed information. You know, instead of writing on the box with sharpie. I thought it was a step up.
But really, gifts. We weren't organized enough to get to either target or bed, bath and beyond for a gift card, let alone walk in to look at their registry and go grab a specific plate or throw pillow. Nor did we have the foresight to think of getting any kind of gift until we were on our way to the reception. It's just the way life works. We will know we have hit maturity when we have the gift purchased and wrapped three days before the reception. That is going to take awhile.
We also had to make a costco run before heading on our way. And when I say run, I mean literal run as Alaska and I sit in the car and Steven sprints in like Jesse Jackson and throws a few needed things in a cart while I wait in the parking lot. Not parked, mind you. I am literally sitting in an isle that doesn't have a lot of traffic waiting for Handsome Husband to make his grand appearance. I then proceed to meet him in front of the store while cars back up behind me as he throws everything into the trunk. *Everyone was really nice about it, and then as I looped around an isle to leave they all honked at me. Thanks.
My idea going into all this was that Steven would grab up one of those huge containers of licorice for them to take on the honey moon with them. You know the kind. The one that you take to girl's camp with you and lasts the whole week even with 24 girls eating out of it. He forgot it. He forgot all about getting a gift.
I thought we would just get going on our way since we were running late as it was. Apparently it was that good of an idea, though. Steven rushed back into the store to get it, coming out with reeses instead because apparently there are a lot of licorice lovers out there on a saturday night and all the licorice was gone.
It wasn't wrapped and it was bright orange. It looked really good among their other gifts. No card. But we did have the decency to tape some scrapbook paper to it with our needed information. You know, instead of writing on the box with sharpie. I thought it was a step up.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
10 Months with Alaska
Well, Punky, 10 months together and you are your very own person. Lots of tricks came out of the woodwork this month and I am so happy to call you mine!
We've also known each other for equal amounts of time inside and out. I can't believe it was you gently kicking little bubbles against my outsides from the inside, you have such strong opinions about how things should be done. Our power struggles continue, however. When you were on the inside you would push against me at times that would cause me to say, "Hey, stop that. Stop that right now." And I would most definitely push you back. It always reminded me of kneading dough. Your little bum would stick off to one side and make my belly a little lopsided and I would pat you back in to place.
Now we're constantly struggling over who should hold the spoon when you eat and which cupboards you get to climb into. And believe me, soft-spoken as I may be, I am just as stubborn as you are. We've had many arm wrestles over spoon handles and you are stronger then you know. Those times that I get it away from you, believe me, it was with all the muscle mass I own. Sometimes I have to cheat and uncurl your fingers. And those times that I give in and get a second spoon so we both have one are the times when I am picking my battles. I love you so much! You are a little ball of personality and I will be your proud momma standing behind you as you accomplish so much good in this world.
Favorite Things: Reading books. You will take time out of your busy world of exploring and curiosity to sit still for long minutes at a time turning the pages of your very own cardboard books.
A Month of Firsts: First steps! You took 5 steps out from the windowsill yesterday into the oblivion of the living room. No real aim, your little legs just took off without you. And you didn't seem to mind so much. Which is the way it usually is. I don't think you even know what's going on, just that you're moving a little faster toward what you want before you trip.
Remember When: You figured out all about shaking your head 'no'. Even though that's not what it means. It's your way of dancing. And it looks ridiculous and is so cute all at the same time. We had stake conference and we all got up to sing the rest hymn and there you were in your daddy's arms, shaking your head like crazy like you were rocking out to One Direction.
Special Talents: Opening up drawers and cupboards on the first try. Most especially in the bathroom when I am getting ready. I can always count on you to strew tampons all over the bathroom.
Favorite Pastime: I would most definitely say shopping. Which is really nice since 'tis the season for shopping. You just love watching people and don't even care so much any more if they pay attention to you, just so long as you can watch them. Your happy attitude lasts much longer in a store filled with people then if we go to a boutique where there are not so many people.
Sleep: Your bed time is still 7:30 but I could see it easily slipping to 8 in the near future. You will take a two hour nap at least once a day and on Fridays twice. Guess I wear you out during the week.
Crying: You let us know what you want and sometimes I just ignore it and you stop and get interested in something else. Thank goodness. Your daddy noticed and has decided to take on sign language with you since he can't stand you being whiny about things that you want.
Dislikes: When I won't let you get into the DVD cupboard. It's a constant battle since the entertainment center is made of oak and the screws for baby proof latches won't screw in.
My Favorite Part: Your cheese smiles. They are so dang adorable and uber cheesy.
We've also known each other for equal amounts of time inside and out. I can't believe it was you gently kicking little bubbles against my outsides from the inside, you have such strong opinions about how things should be done. Our power struggles continue, however. When you were on the inside you would push against me at times that would cause me to say, "Hey, stop that. Stop that right now." And I would most definitely push you back. It always reminded me of kneading dough. Your little bum would stick off to one side and make my belly a little lopsided and I would pat you back in to place.
Now we're constantly struggling over who should hold the spoon when you eat and which cupboards you get to climb into. And believe me, soft-spoken as I may be, I am just as stubborn as you are. We've had many arm wrestles over spoon handles and you are stronger then you know. Those times that I get it away from you, believe me, it was with all the muscle mass I own. Sometimes I have to cheat and uncurl your fingers. And those times that I give in and get a second spoon so we both have one are the times when I am picking my battles. I love you so much! You are a little ball of personality and I will be your proud momma standing behind you as you accomplish so much good in this world.
Favorite Things: Reading books. You will take time out of your busy world of exploring and curiosity to sit still for long minutes at a time turning the pages of your very own cardboard books.
A Month of Firsts: First steps! You took 5 steps out from the windowsill yesterday into the oblivion of the living room. No real aim, your little legs just took off without you. And you didn't seem to mind so much. Which is the way it usually is. I don't think you even know what's going on, just that you're moving a little faster toward what you want before you trip.
Remember When: You figured out all about shaking your head 'no'. Even though that's not what it means. It's your way of dancing. And it looks ridiculous and is so cute all at the same time. We had stake conference and we all got up to sing the rest hymn and there you were in your daddy's arms, shaking your head like crazy like you were rocking out to One Direction.
Special Talents: Opening up drawers and cupboards on the first try. Most especially in the bathroom when I am getting ready. I can always count on you to strew tampons all over the bathroom.
Favorite Pastime: I would most definitely say shopping. Which is really nice since 'tis the season for shopping. You just love watching people and don't even care so much any more if they pay attention to you, just so long as you can watch them. Your happy attitude lasts much longer in a store filled with people then if we go to a boutique where there are not so many people.
Sleep: Your bed time is still 7:30 but I could see it easily slipping to 8 in the near future. You will take a two hour nap at least once a day and on Fridays twice. Guess I wear you out during the week.
Crying: You let us know what you want and sometimes I just ignore it and you stop and get interested in something else. Thank goodness. Your daddy noticed and has decided to take on sign language with you since he can't stand you being whiny about things that you want.
Dislikes: When I won't let you get into the DVD cupboard. It's a constant battle since the entertainment center is made of oak and the screws for baby proof latches won't screw in.
My Favorite Part: Your cheese smiles. They are so dang adorable and uber cheesy.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
It's Not You, It's Me
It's not Alaska's fault she hates solid food. It's my fault.
Give me a blow-out diaper and two wipes, I can make it happen. Let a kiddo puke all over my clothes and allow only one burp clothe. Take all the pots and pans out of the cupboards and make me pick them up whilst having a pounding headache. But do not make me clean up a baby from a messy meal given a hose and seventeen wash clothes. I can't do it.
Seriously, armed with two wash clothes, what do you logically do first? Clean the high chair tray to prevent more mess, clean the kid to get them out faster, wipe the hands, wipe the face, wipe the pants that somehow got pureed green beans on them? And what about all that food that dropped in their lap and slid out of the highchair? Just where does that go if you have no dog? So many things to do at once and I am no expert.
Not to mention, this takes time. It takes a lot of time to get a spoon into a baby's mouth, have them slurp half of it while the other half runs down their chin, scoop that off their chin and give them another spoonfull while dodging the little hands that want the spoon. And then all the nodding, hand waving and general wiggling that goes along with the process is not my forte. Not at all.
We were sitting down 5x a day sometimes to get through one jar and it was wearing me out. We were on the brink of snacking on cheerios and eating bottles forever. I couldn't stomach the inefficiency of the process nor the mess. Those two together does not make a happy momma over here.
But luckily two little angels stepped in. We had house guests for a week while their dad/husband hunted in the great Wasatch mountains and they love, loved feeding Alaska her food. The messier she got, the cuter she was. The longer it took for her to get down her breakfast, lunch and dinner the better because that meant more one-on-one play time with the girl who was feeding her. And any small victory was a victory none-the-less. I still remember Geni saying, "Oh! She ate half the spoonfull!" And that was just enough encouragement for the spoon to continue its path toward Alaska's mouth.
Watching their enthusiasm for feeding Alaska was contagious and I learned a few things. You gotta be quick. Lightning quick. You've got a trap door that isn't going to stay open for long and you never know exactly when it's going to open. You've got hands to dodge, but luckily grown-up arms are stronger then hands and if you don't mind a little rice cereal on your sleeve you can ward the bullies off. You've gotta mix those nasty green beans with applesauce to get them down and those carrots are pretty powerful as well. You've gotta reach around sometimes and stick food in her mouth while she's preoccupied looking at the floor wondering what's down there. You've gotta keep feeding her, around her fingers she may have in her mouth, around the other spoon she's got in her mouth and around those front teeth that are coming in. As long as she's not crying she'll open her mouth for that spoon.
Things are going much smoother now and we're going beyond cheerios and cheese slices. We've got pureed baby foods in the bag and marching on. It wasn't Alaska fault she couldn't get that stuff down past her waving hands, it was me. And now that I am not so paranoid about getting a little messy things are going smoother. Although I still don't know what to tackle first with the wash cloth. Face, clothes, tray. I have taken to washing her hands in the sink and not even bothering with the wash cloth for getting the food jam between those baby fingers.
Give me a blow-out diaper and two wipes, I can make it happen. Let a kiddo puke all over my clothes and allow only one burp clothe. Take all the pots and pans out of the cupboards and make me pick them up whilst having a pounding headache. But do not make me clean up a baby from a messy meal given a hose and seventeen wash clothes. I can't do it.
Seriously, armed with two wash clothes, what do you logically do first? Clean the high chair tray to prevent more mess, clean the kid to get them out faster, wipe the hands, wipe the face, wipe the pants that somehow got pureed green beans on them? And what about all that food that dropped in their lap and slid out of the highchair? Just where does that go if you have no dog? So many things to do at once and I am no expert.
Not to mention, this takes time. It takes a lot of time to get a spoon into a baby's mouth, have them slurp half of it while the other half runs down their chin, scoop that off their chin and give them another spoonfull while dodging the little hands that want the spoon. And then all the nodding, hand waving and general wiggling that goes along with the process is not my forte. Not at all.
We were sitting down 5x a day sometimes to get through one jar and it was wearing me out. We were on the brink of snacking on cheerios and eating bottles forever. I couldn't stomach the inefficiency of the process nor the mess. Those two together does not make a happy momma over here.
But luckily two little angels stepped in. We had house guests for a week while their dad/husband hunted in the great Wasatch mountains and they love, loved feeding Alaska her food. The messier she got, the cuter she was. The longer it took for her to get down her breakfast, lunch and dinner the better because that meant more one-on-one play time with the girl who was feeding her. And any small victory was a victory none-the-less. I still remember Geni saying, "Oh! She ate half the spoonfull!" And that was just enough encouragement for the spoon to continue its path toward Alaska's mouth.
Watching their enthusiasm for feeding Alaska was contagious and I learned a few things. You gotta be quick. Lightning quick. You've got a trap door that isn't going to stay open for long and you never know exactly when it's going to open. You've got hands to dodge, but luckily grown-up arms are stronger then hands and if you don't mind a little rice cereal on your sleeve you can ward the bullies off. You've gotta mix those nasty green beans with applesauce to get them down and those carrots are pretty powerful as well. You've gotta reach around sometimes and stick food in her mouth while she's preoccupied looking at the floor wondering what's down there. You've gotta keep feeding her, around her fingers she may have in her mouth, around the other spoon she's got in her mouth and around those front teeth that are coming in. As long as she's not crying she'll open her mouth for that spoon.
Things are going much smoother now and we're going beyond cheerios and cheese slices. We've got pureed baby foods in the bag and marching on. It wasn't Alaska fault she couldn't get that stuff down past her waving hands, it was me. And now that I am not so paranoid about getting a little messy things are going smoother. Although I still don't know what to tackle first with the wash cloth. Face, clothes, tray. I have taken to washing her hands in the sink and not even bothering with the wash cloth for getting the food jam between those baby fingers.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Nine Months with Alaska
Favorite Things: Playing Rawr. You love hiding behind the chair in the living room and will take off for it when I am slow in changing your diaper or when your daddy chases you.
Special Talents: Standing all by yourself consistently.
Remember When: You were so grumpy being at home so we spent the day exploring station park and you loved all the attention people gave you.
A Month of Firsts: You've got two top teeth coming in and you grind them all the time. It drives me crazy and I am always pinching your cheeks to make you stop. The sound makes my ears ache! You also got through your first jar of baby food in one day. It was a huge accomplishment!
Favorite Pastime: Climbing in and out of cupboards. You also love your books. You've found they make crawling a lot easier and you'll put your right hand on one and use it to slide on as you push with your left hand, paddling the ground.
Nickname: Punky has taken over, but Alaska Paska still slips in there sometimes.
Sleep: To bed at 7:30, up at 7:00. You are ready for a nap at 10 and sleep until 12.
Crying: You don't get mad too often but it seems like you are shedding more tears lately even if it's not real crying that you're doing. Probably because you are usually bopping your head on something as you explore the house.
Dislikes: Please. You love everything right now. Except maybe having to be quiet during sacrament. You usually get your bottle around then to keep you busy and quiet.
Likes: Playing and reading books.
My favorite part: Kisses. Alaska style. You'll wrap your little fingers in the back of my hair, which is most often in a bun or ponytail, hold on tight and push your open mouth onto my jaw bone.
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