Monthly Archive for October, 2005Page 2 of 3

Silent Birth?

I had not intended to remark on the personal birthing choice of two celebs who have been filling up the headlines lately. The concept of silent birth means there should be no noise during the birth and the baby should not be spoken to for a week after. This supposedly keeps the trauma of birth to a minimum. I wonder if L. Ron Hubbard ever hear what a baby has to say after he/she comes into the world…

Genuine encouraged me to \”cut and paste\” the comment I left at his blog post about this insane concept. One of my favorite quotes in Genuine\’s post said,

I don\’t know about other births, but the four I have been witness to were not quiet, and when the baby came out, he wanted a serious explanation, a warm blanket and his mommy!

Go here to read the entire post.

In my comment I went back to the birth of my son, my first child…

Here\’s a beautiful illustration why this philosophy sucks… The baby can\’t see, and if it could - because it was in the womb, it wouldn\’t know dad or mom from any other human. It is the voice that soothes in the beginning…

My point, one of my most treasured pictures of my son was taken moments after birth. He was \”looking\” at his dad - my precious husband. My son had been screaming because he didn\’t like being on a scale any more than his mama :) My husband leaned over and spoke to him - to his very first child. I\’ll never forget (and the fact that we got a picture of it is stinkin\’ beautiful) how my son immediately stopped crying. And though he had newborn vision, he looked at his dad and just listened. Looked (in the general direction of a fuzzy facial blob) and listened. He recognized a familiar voice in a sea of newness. Comfort, calm… that was what baby needed…

Published
by
jenny
on October 13, 2005
in General, Joel and Mutha' Hood
. 14 Comments

My conscience…

has blue eyes, blondish-brown hair, and is 6 years old. Today my conscience was my son, because my own didn\’t kick in. Or, worse, I ignored it and carried on regardless of right or wrong.

There is a song Joel learned at Vacation Bible School this past summer. There is a part in the song I have been singing to him recently when he gets angry or frustrated and takes it out on others.

Every move I make, every breath I take, it must be done in love.

He gets it. He\’ll smile, acknowledge the problem and change. I think the singing part helps him feel like that \”corrective moment\” is more fun than corrective.

Today, it was my turn. I was terribly frustrated and was quite snappy with Joel and Livi. I was exasperated with the baby because she wouldn\’t stop crying, and we had to leave for parent-teacher conferences, and how can you do a parent-teacher conference with a screaming baby - do you hear the tone of my voice has gone from middle C to high C???

As we were walking out the door, and I was barking commands at my children, Joel stopped me at the door. He gently and respectfully said,

Um, Mom… do you remember, \”Every move I make, every step I take, it must be done in love\”?

I didn\’t know whether to smile or cry. I did know something needed to be done. I knelt down and said,

You are absolutely right. I apologize for behaving that way. Thank you for coming to me with a gentle heart….

My precious little conscience…

Published
by
jenny
on October 11, 2005
in General, Guilt, Joel and Mutha' Hood
. 0 Comments

Outbursts of love…

In the New International Version translation of Hebrews 10:24, it reads, \”And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.\”

I know there is controversy over different Bible translations, but I love the New Living Translation version: \”Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.\” I like that, \”outbursts of love and good deeds\”…

Published
by
jenny
on October 11, 2005
in General, Jenny Jen-Jen and Mental Pause
. 0 Comments

Happy News

I was listening to talk radio one morning, and I heard an interview about happynews.com. I visited the site, and found the news to be, well, happy. Good. Nice. Refreshing. The weather was happy. The horoscope was even ?happy? (and I am not a \”horoscope\” person). The news was good. I\’m a regular now. I know it\’s important to keep up on the news, and not all of it is happy. BUT, I think we are over-saturated with the bad stuff - a balance is missing.

For example, a local news station recently reported on the weather. I live near Seattle. What is Seattle known for? Rain. Seattle. Rain. Seattle. Rain. Seattle. Rain. It is September. Fall. Seattle. Rain. Fall. Seattle. Rain. The newscasters bantered about rain in the forecast and said, \”It\’s gonna be a long time until spring!\” Really folks? Did ya have to go there??? It\’s barely fall, can we enjoy it just a wee-bit. We get the crisp, cool air, the smell of smoke from fireplaces, and there\’s this smell of rain on dry ground that just feels so good… We get to wrap-up in our sweaters and scarves, and bundle our little ones in hats and mittens - with only their red noses showing. It\’s about hot coffee and hot cocoa; baked potato soup and bubbling casseroles; pumpkin carving, dressing up, baking, cider, candles, and carving a turkey that will live on in soups and sandwiches for days…

Published
by
jenny
on October 11, 2005
in General, Jenny Jen-Jen and Mental Pause
. 1 Comment

Pumpkin Mountain

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Published
by
jennyonthespot
on October 7, 2005
in Family, General, Joel and Olivia
. 2 Comments

Rolling, Sitting, Scooting

Lucy! You\’re getting so big! You can roll anywhere you please. You want to scoot forward, but you have only gone back so far. You have found your way into the crawling position, but rocking is your forte\’. Sitting up seems to be a fun spot for you. You need help getting there, but will stay for awhile and play. Sometimes if you tip over, you need help; but most of the time, you gently topple over and roll towards a new adventure.

One other thing, \”mama\” is definitely your first word. \”mamamamamamamamamama\” I love the sound of that…

Published
by
jenny
on October 7, 2005
in General and Lucy
. 0 Comments

Whacky

This how my baby girl gets when she doesn\’t want something. Sweet Baby Lucy and her six-month-old self is communicating beyond vocal measures. Sweet Baby Lucy uses both hands both arms to communicate \”Step Back!\”. She whacks her food (flinging rice cereal - good times… ). She whacks her bottle. She whacks toys; she\’ll whack the very hand that feeds her. Since she is only 6 months old (OK, 7 months next week,) her finer, more well-placed whacks are still yet to be seen. However, her passionate rejection follows a simple, deliberate pattern: arms thrown up and then arms thrown down. There is much devastation in such simplicity. Indiana Jones could more safely navigate a treacherous cave with a monster boulder on his tail than escape the cunning swing of Whack Baby.

Published
by
jenny
on October 7, 2005
in General and Lucy
. 1 Comment

I’m “older”

I sat the local paper on my counter. As I thumbed through the few pages, I saw an article about a local business - one of the bars in town. It had been closed because new owners took over. The article was written because it was finally opening again… The owner talked about “older crowds” and according to this local bar owner, I fall into the “older crowd” category…

“We’ve got a DJ and if we have an older crowd, we’ll play some 80s music, but if it’s a younger crowd, we’ll play some Top-40 or something else”, he said.

I’m an 80’s kind-of gal (minus the tall hair frozen in time by Aqua Net, and no leg warmers, pegged pants nor blue eye shadow). Just the music… I guess I’m part of the “older crowd” now… drats

Published
by
jenny
on October 4, 2005
in General and Jenny Jen-Jen
. 2 Comments

Overuse of the word \”Season\”

Proceed with caution…

It\’s a new season for this family. Literally, fall is upon us! This brings the much anticipated Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte\’. Even a car full of screamers can\’t take away the comfort and peace that the Pumpkin Spice Latte\’ feeds my Fall-lovin\’ soul.

It\’s a new season because school started last month. I scooted Olivia to her first official day of preschool. She wanted me to curl her hair so she would look like Shirley Temple. She wanted to show Owen her pretty hair… If her three-year-old proclamation comes true, she will be marrying Owen someday…

Olivia hopped right on into her schoolhouse, bouncing curls and all. She wore her sparkly red shoes - she wanted Owen to see those too. There was no looking back. The girl was in her element. She goes to school a few hours 3 times a week. She would love to go every day, and she would love it if she could show-and-tell everyday too.

Joel headed out too. After much struggle and wrestling with my heart and mind, the decision was made to send Joel to the Land of Kindergarten instead of homeschooling. The first day was very hard - for both of us. He wanted to homeschool. Each \”first day\” picture I took of him has a sad look, if not a tear. However, he was a trooper. When I picked him up that afternoon he was so excited to see me. I asked, \”Were you ok after I left?\” Joel said with a hand in the air, like a grown man putting his ailing mother at ease, \”It\’s ok mom, I took care of it…\” By the second day after school, he tried to ignore me. Not out of resentment for abandoning him, no! He believed that if he didn\’t \”see\” me when I picked him up after school, his teacher would put him on a bus! He really wanted to ride the bus.

I love Fall. I could almost say it\’s my favorite, but then I remember how excited I get at each new season. I think Fall makes me the most excited though. It brings out the sweaters, the warm drinks, flames in the fireplace, snuggle time, the cute fabric pumpkins my friend Sara gave me. It brings new color, chill and crispness, and it brings change. Fall is when school pictures are taken, when a child enters a new grade - or leaves for college. And just like Jenny, it\’s a pivotal month for me too…

Published
by
jenny
on October 4, 2005
in Family, General, Joel, Mutha' Hood and Olivia
. 1 Comment

Me Thinks She Doth Protest Too Much!

Why??? Because wee-little Lucy is teething.

It seems she has been teething for months - at least 1/3 of her little six-month life-span. Yet, there are still no little sharpies emerging. My poor little baby is miserable. If baby ain\’t happy, ain\’t nobody happy.

Out of this teething trial I have come up with a new song. OK, new words to an OLD song. Remember Unforgettable by Nat King Cole? In my head it\’s the version Natalie Cole sang \”with\” him in her remix… Because in my head I have a silky voice like Natalie Cole and I should be a recording artist. I digress…

Here\’s my version. All you who have known the agony of a comforting a teether, join hands and sing with me:

Inconsolable, in every way
And forever more, that?s how you?ll stay
That?s why, darling, it?s incredible
That someone so inconsolable
Can simply make me inconsolable too.

Published
by
jenny
on October 4, 2005
in General, Lucy and Mutha' Hood
. 0 Comments