Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
So Sadie broke through the 28 lb mark. This may not seem like much to you owners of fat babies, babies who weighed 28 pounds by the time they were 18 months, but to us it’s a huge deal. I almost cried when I saw the number. Almost. I’m not a pussy.
It was honestly starting to seem like Sadie would weigh 27 pounds forever. This is the problem with with these small kids: They can eat all day long and not gain a pound. Sure it’s a wonderful trait for a supermodel or anxiety ridden forty-five-year-old who binges on Girl Scout Cookies to relieve stress, but a preschooler needs to gain weight. They need the pounds for little things like, I don’t know, brain development and eventually reaching the height of a kitchen counter.
Most of the time I try not to think about Sadie’s height. Unfortunately Mattie is full head taller and outweighs Sadie by 14 pounds so it is sort of a constant reminder. But we are doing what we know is right for now: she eats healthy foods and as much as she wants as often as she wants and she is followed by an excellent endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Short of the growth hormones, there’s nothing else to do but let nature take its course. Yeah, you know how well I do with “going with the flow.” I like to be in control, take action, keep things moving. I also like to read the last page of a novel or be told the ending to a movie before I see it. My two favorite words are *spoiler alert*
And this is why I have a scale.
I may not be able to do anything about Sadie’s weight but I can at least keep track of it.
So excuse me while I have a little celebration for the number 28!
P.S. I wrote a story about Matilda's eating habits which you can check out on my Babble Blog if you like.
If you’re in Vegas right now put ten buck on it at the roulette table or at least have a Shamrock shake in Sadie’s honor.
You know that as a mom of three who works about 18 jobs I have tons of time on my hands. I mean, that's a given right? So of course I checked out Pinterest and also the website ecards because I have funny thoughts and need a place to put them to pictures. Here's my latest.
I did another funny one on Babble that I recommend you check out.
I've written something over in Babble territory that I wanted to share with you guys. You have to go over there to read it though. If you then wanted to share it on FB it would really help keep me and my family in finery. And by finery I mean preschool, organic apple sauce and pull-ups (because we are not doing well with the overnight training but that's another post). When Sadie was about 18 months old, she was decidedly behind Matilda developmentally. Every night I’d read them from the Dr. Seuss board book Ten Apples Up On Top! and I came up with little hand gestures to go with the pictures. When the pile of apples was really high I’d hold my hand way up in the air and Matilda would do it right along with me on every page of the book. Sadie would sit and sort of listen but her attention span wasn’t anywhere near Matilda’s and I was never sure if she was taking it in or if being read to was even connecting with her. During those days I was constantly worried, constantly wondering if she’d catch up. It didn’t help that she’d recently been assessed by a speech therapist as being on a 9-month old level and in need of twice weekly sessions. Still I read every single night. for more of this post go here.
Every Friday I try to put up something (hopefully a story) from someone who is struggling or has struggled with alcohol to inspire you all. Here's the latest and I think it's a good one. If you relate to what you read and want to talk to women who care, come on over to our online meeting place The Booze Free Brigade. When I first wrote to Stefanie to write another DGDF, I thought I was writing about how great my life was once I stopped drinking, how clear things were to me and how much better I felt about every person in my life, including myself. But, that’s a load of bull. I am writing to you because I am a person who is happy to have stopped drinking but lately has been seeing reasons to drink that scare the crap out of me. So, as long as we’re being honest. I just had a baby last September. My second. I have a two year old and a five month old. So 10 months of my 19 month sobriety were pregnant months. I question every day if that really “counts” as true sobriety. But I think it’s because I want to put as much time as I can between me and my drinking days. I want to look back and say, “Well I made this really, really important and really, really hard decision one day and well, now, look how wonderfully put together I am.” But I’m not. I’ve been experiencing some postpartum depression, some anxiety and a whole lot of overwhelming feelings. The type when you just don’t feel like you’re good in any one area of your life, so why even try? The feeling that used to lead me (and leads most alcoholics) to drink. The feeling that you want to get rid of, so you numb it, thinking that it will eventually go away. I used to think that I would experience less of life if I was not drinking--- nothing fun and extreme—no extreme happiness, belly laughter, no dancing and not caring how I looked. But what I have come to see in not drinking is this: It isn’t what you are not experiencing that you miss--- but the things you are now experiencing that you never did before. I never paid attention to the look my husband gives me across the room at a party or wedding because I was so often dodging his gaze (and thus his judgment) as I filled up my wine glass. I never knew how many engaging conversations you could have at a party because I was always excusing myself to refill my drink or call over the bartender. I never knew that I could be sober and be completely fulfilled. Not drinking used to be synonymous with deprivation. But, really, it’s the not drinking that baptizes you and truly transforms you and your life. I think about the regrets I have and how I won’t ever have to go back to that stomach ache and terrible humiliation that I often suffered from in silence. I’ve come to see that regret is the most powerful emotion we have at times. Regret is our conscience telling us we did wrong. Regret is what tells our brain, “that wasn’t okay.” Regret helps us to move on, heal and be better. Some people say they live their life without regrets like it means they experience more than the rest of us. I think we need to live life paying close attention to our regrets because it’s the only barometer we have as to who we truly want to be. I can’t tell you there is a secret to getting through it. I can only tell you what I have found in myself. When I can be honest, really, brutally honest with myself is when I make the decisions that really change me. When I admit that I need a meeting or therapy or a friend’s shoulder or my husband’s arms. When I hug my kids and say, “Maybe this is why I am going through all this; maybe these little people here are enough of a reason.” And I can tell you it is my two kids that will forever make my decision to stop drinking the most intoxicating (ha, pardon the pun!) and freeing decision of my life. Growing up in a house where alcohol caused a great deal of dysfunction, an interaction like the following is like gold. Last week my son walked up to my husband who was drinking a beer and said, “Daddy beer? Mommy beer?” “No, that’s Daddy’s beer,” I replied. “Mommy’s soda?” “Yes, Parker. Mommy drinks soda.”
Posted by Stefanie Wilder Taylor on February 5, 2012 9:40 pm • Don't Get Drunk Friday,Uncategorized • 3 comments
