MERRY CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
SEASON'S GREETINGS!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Craftiness
Well anyone who knows me knows I'm not the craftiest of people. I don't mean in the sense of clever, we all know I'm very clever ;-) I mean crafts, real crafts, like when you make things. However, I have an inner crafty (isn't crafty a great word?) person in me that has been trying to break out for years. I love homemade stuff, the thought and dedication that people put into things that they made with their own hands is grand. I have a few creative, crafty friends who have inspired me, some over the years and some more recently. We recently had a homeschool activity day where we made Christmas wrapping paper, gift bags, etc and I was inspired to make a couple of bags of my own. We actually made several of them, but these are just a few. I know they're not much, but they were made by us with love. I still haven't decided what pictures to put on them, but envision them with pics of my girls on them to get the whole idea. Check out my friend Carri's blog (three plus two blog link on the right) to see real creativity.
So for Missi and Beth and Carri and all the other inspirational crafties of the world, here is my homage to you...
So for Missi and Beth and Carri and all the other inspirational crafties of the world, here is my homage to you...
Saturday, December 1, 2007
AP
Over the past few days I've had a couple of people ask me about "attachment parenting" (AP) so I decided to put a little info out here.
I guess I have melded into AP over time without really realizing it, but knew before M was born that we would be considered AP parents in the "label" world (BTW, if you didn't know, I hate labels). It is hard to distinguish when it all began. I mean there isn't one day that I just knew this is how I wanted it to be. I think it started with homeschooling which led to unschooling, which in a round about way led to me going veg, which IMO helped lead to me getting pregnant, which I saw as a chance to parent the way I always thought I would have wanted to (from the beginning) if I hadn't been 16 when I had S and lived with my parents who were definitely NOT AP! Whew!
So anyway, instead of typing out everything myself I have taken the liberty to provide some links from the person that I think describes AP the best, Dr. William Sears. He and his wife, Martha Sears, have written lots of books on many general topics but probably the most popular is The Baby Book (thanks Carri for recommending this book to me oh so long ago!). The books are great and you can get most from the library.
Here are the links:
Dr. Sears website
What AP Is
What AP Is Not
I always tell people the best advice I can give them is to not listen to anybody's advice. Go with your gut. Parents tend to have very strong instincts when it comes to their children. Be the kind of parent you would be if you didn't have everyone else trying to tell you how to do it. Sure people are going to think you're crazy and spoiling your child... so what! You are not spoiling them. Hold your children, hug your children, just be with your children and let them be with you. Watch them and play with them. You'll be amazed at them. My children never cease to amaze me.
AP is the kind of parenting most people would naturally fall into if they were by themselves on an island with just their family and no one else to tell them what they should or shouldn't be doing with their own child. Don't be afraid to go against what society thinks is "normal" (another word I hate). What is normal anyway? There is no normal b/c everyone is different! Normal in the US is not normal in other countries. The US is one of the few countries where AP type tendencies are looked down on b/c we're warped. I love living in America, don't get me wrong-I'm glad I do, but we are a messed up society that has gotten so far away from our families and we have streamlined our lives so much that we can't slow down and don't want to be bothered with our children... I could go on but I won't.
Enough of my soapbox - can you tell I'm passionate about this (Hey Laura, found something I'm passionate about and didn't know it!)? Anyway, feel free to ask me questions if you want to. I promise I won't yell - don't be scared ;-)
I guess I have melded into AP over time without really realizing it, but knew before M was born that we would be considered AP parents in the "label" world (BTW, if you didn't know, I hate labels). It is hard to distinguish when it all began. I mean there isn't one day that I just knew this is how I wanted it to be. I think it started with homeschooling which led to unschooling, which in a round about way led to me going veg, which IMO helped lead to me getting pregnant, which I saw as a chance to parent the way I always thought I would have wanted to (from the beginning) if I hadn't been 16 when I had S and lived with my parents who were definitely NOT AP! Whew!
So anyway, instead of typing out everything myself I have taken the liberty to provide some links from the person that I think describes AP the best, Dr. William Sears. He and his wife, Martha Sears, have written lots of books on many general topics but probably the most popular is The Baby Book (thanks Carri for recommending this book to me oh so long ago!). The books are great and you can get most from the library.
Here are the links:
Dr. Sears website
What AP Is
What AP Is Not
I always tell people the best advice I can give them is to not listen to anybody's advice. Go with your gut. Parents tend to have very strong instincts when it comes to their children. Be the kind of parent you would be if you didn't have everyone else trying to tell you how to do it. Sure people are going to think you're crazy and spoiling your child... so what! You are not spoiling them. Hold your children, hug your children, just be with your children and let them be with you. Watch them and play with them. You'll be amazed at them. My children never cease to amaze me.
AP is the kind of parenting most people would naturally fall into if they were by themselves on an island with just their family and no one else to tell them what they should or shouldn't be doing with their own child. Don't be afraid to go against what society thinks is "normal" (another word I hate). What is normal anyway? There is no normal b/c everyone is different! Normal in the US is not normal in other countries. The US is one of the few countries where AP type tendencies are looked down on b/c we're warped. I love living in America, don't get me wrong-I'm glad I do, but we are a messed up society that has gotten so far away from our families and we have streamlined our lives so much that we can't slow down and don't want to be bothered with our children... I could go on but I won't.
Enough of my soapbox - can you tell I'm passionate about this (Hey Laura, found something I'm passionate about and didn't know it!)? Anyway, feel free to ask me questions if you want to. I promise I won't yell - don't be scared ;-)
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