e-Lew Weekly: 6/13/12

Twenty-Six Weeks

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday- helping in the garden

Monday

Wednesday

e-Lew Weekly: 5/30/12

Twenty-Four Weeks

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Wednesday

Take Your Advice and…

You know what? I think authors of parenting advice materials should think seriously about the state of their readers when they write their stuff.

I thought this first when I went to my favorite standby parenting book, The Baby Book, by William Sears, to see what I should do about Eldyn’s colic. Here’s something that book said, verbatim:

“I find it very interesting that colic usually does not begin until after the second week of life. Could it be that the infant is giving us a two-week grace period to help her get organized and adjust to life outside the womb? If her expected parenting style is not fulfilled, her system goes from neutral equilibrium to disequilibrium…resulting in the total behavioral decompensation we call colic.”

Well now, if that doesn’t make you feel kind of like poo. I mean. Just when you’re trying to get organized and adjust to life with a baby outside your womb, you read this bologna and realize you caused your baby to have TOTAL BEHAVIORAL DECOMPENSATION.

Plus, even though there are plenty of important sounding words up there (and according to WordPress spell check, one non-word), what he’s saying isn’t even research. It’s just something  “interesting” to him.

I’ll tell you what’s actually interesting…

Megan’s pregnant!

As a result, I’ve been thinking a lot about parenting advice lately. This will be Megan’s first baby and so she’s making me feel useful by asking questions. I go happily along answering like I actually know what I’m talking about when it’s entirely possible I don’t. Especially when you consider I haven’t even met her little boo yet.

So, Dr. Sears. I’ll give you a pass for pawning parenting bologna off as fact because it really is irresistible to do.

However. Megan, just remember, whatever I say is bologna. Except this: You’ll make an amazing mama despite my terrible advice. xoxox.

Big Day

It was a big day for the Barrows Boys today.

1. Brad started a new job
2. Eldyn started full-time daycare with Hiram
3. Hiram was in charge of showing Eldyn the ropes

Of the three, Hiram took his new responsibilities most seriously. According to teacher reports, Hiram spent the entire day shushing anyone who made noise while Eldyn was trying to nap. He also made frequent unscheduled visits to the baby room and told anyone who would listen that Eldyn was “his baby.”

And I was worried.

Back to Work

Today was my first day back to work. Aside from a few episodes of tears and drama (by me) things did not go at all according to plan. In other words, things went down without any single hitch.

• e-Lew woke up hungry at 5:50 a.m. Just ten minutes before our alarm was scheduled to go off.
• Hiram and I were sitting in Herkie by 7:15 (Herkie was nice to remind us that just two days ago, 7:15 was actually 6:15. Thanks a lot Herkimer.)
• Brad and Eldyn stayed home together and accomplished everything on the to-do list I (lovingly) made for them.
• I screwed up just enough stuff at work to get the “just back to work” sympathy break I needed. (Sorry Sue.)
• All my work friends let me blather on and on about my family and even acted interested (“Eldyn makes this “ohh ohh” sound and it’s SO cute. You really gotta hear it.”)
• Hiram couldn’t have been happier to see me when I picked him up at the end of the day.
• When I finally got home, Eldyn seemed to remember me and forgive me for ruthlessly abandoning him with no one to love him but his daddy.

 

Save the Best for First

When I was little, I used to hide my favorite chapter books under my mattress so I could always have the end to look forward to.

I still have a gift certificate for a massage that Brad gave me 5 years ago.

I have never actually finished a box of chocolate in my life.

I have this thing I do when I really like something and that is, I hoard it. I keep it for when I really, really need it.

I also do this kind of thing on more of an everyday scale. I save my shower for after I’ve cleaned the toilets because clearly, a shower is better than cleaning toilets. Or, I finish the laundry and then take a walk. The problem is, I have a newborn. And a toddler. Which means…I really need to start doing my favorite things first. I need to wake up in the morning and say to myself, “If I get to do only one thing for myself today, what should that be?” And then, I need to do that thing. First.

Gulp.

This is not easy for me. If I do my favorite thing first, then what’s left? How do I face the rest of a day knowing all I have left on the agenda is toilet cleaning and laundry?

But then I realized, I have a newborn. And a toddler.

You wanna know what comes after my shower? An impromptu matchbox car race or a session of coaxing my baby into another one of his million dollar smiles.

So what about the toilets?

Yeah, I’ll get to that.

When I have time.