Monday, February 27, 2012

You might be a crunchy mama if...



We are all "crunchy" in own ways BUT you might be a crunchy mama if...
Photo credit to Michal Koralewski


Instead of running to Walgreens in the middle of the night for Tylenol, you rush to whole foods for some Hylands and Gripe Water.

You know off the top of your head the natural remedies for eczema, teething, ear infections, and cradle cap.

You're always a bit surprised (and maybe even disappointed) when you see a new mama friend pull out a bottle of formula.

You feel so bad for the babies when their parents start talking about how they did CIO at 6 months old and how their baby slept in their crib from day 1 and waking up once a night was just "soo hard for them that they had to do something about it."

You know the meanings of CD, BW, EBF, EC, AIO, etc.

You own and can teach anyone the pros & cons of the Moby, the Ergo, and a Mei Tei sling.

You own and can teach anyone the pros & cons of covers with prefolds, AIOs, and pocket diapers.

You don't own a crib, or if you do, it just houses a mountain of clean clothes waiting to be put away.

You're the only mama at playgroup/mommy&me/gymboree that didn't have a c-section.

You know your rights for Breastfeeding in public and have had to use them.

You know your rights for pumping at work and are the sole reason your company now has a pumping room.

You memorized all Babies R Us locations along the route on your road trip so that you could use their nursing rooms.

You haven't had to buy cleaning products in years, just vinegar and some spray bottles.

You had to either make a special request in your baby shower invitations - or donate/throw away products you received like Pampers or Johnsons & Johnsons.

You can see & hear your baby in the middle of the night without having to leave the room or look at some gadget.

The babies nursery has barely been used and she's 9 months old.

You were at least a little bit disappointed when you realized just how unhelpful Babies R Us would be and when you had to let go of some of the stereotypical visions of being a mom that you had just always assumed until you started questioning things. (family gazing at newborn baby in the nursery, bottles & pacifiers, pampers, Johnsons & Johnsons, a beautiful crib bedding set with a bumper, a cute nursery with rocking chair, etc.)

You love breastfeeding but are looking forward to start making organic baby food.

You can't just use any old childcare or babysitter. You have to find someone who understands why you use washcloths instead of babywipes, a sling instead of a stroller and olive oil instead of Johnsons & Johnsons lotion.

You secretly think you have it harder than other moms because you pay more attention to your baby - and you just can't take them seriously when they complain that their baby only sleeps 6 hours straight.

You find out your 4 month old is allergic to dairy and your first thought is "well I guess I'll be on a special diet for the next 2 years.."

If the media labels one more drunk/medicated grandma/dad/babysitter passed out on the couch/chair with the baby as a "co-sleeping" death you're gonna scream!!

Your children's preschool/daycare has a farm and they make their own organic lunches .. Oh wait that may just be in California ;)

You know how amazing being in water feels when you're in labor.

Getting an epidural wasn't even an option for 1 second.

You'll talk to any mama who will listen about breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing, or natural childbirth.

You won't buy anything without checking the EWG database first to make sure it's a 0 or 1.

You totally ignore that prescription your pediatrician gave you and hit up the natural foods store instead.

You cringe at the very thought of vaccinating your child.  And you cringe even more at the thought that people think you don't vaccinate just because of Andrew Wakefield or Jenny McCarthy.

You wish you had heard of encapsulating your placenta before you gave birth!

You had to explain to all of your friends & co-workers what a doula is and what they do.

You're continually amazed at how well your husband/mom/mother-in-law go along with all your "crazy" parenting wishes.

Can you relate?  Add your own in the comments section!




And if you haven't seen these yet - enjoy!




Friday, February 24, 2012

DIY Project - Family Valentine's Day Boxes

Family Valentine's Day Boxes

Any time a holiday approaches I usually procrastinate up until the very last minute, don't end up making any plans at all, and then scramble to find something to do.  Now that Mia is here, I know I need to plan better and work on creating family traditions & rituals for her.  Some of my very best memories from my childhood are the holiday traditions we had, especially those around Christmastime.  

So with Valentine's Day approaching quickly, I turned to every mom's best friend - Google - for help.  At first I wasn't finding much - just the usual traditions of baking Valentine's Day cookies or passing out Valentine's Cards to the entire classroom.  Then I came across the idea of a box for Valentine's Day cards for each family member.  I took this idea and ran with it.  

The basic concept is that each family member writes little Valentine's to the others and delivers them into the boxes.  If your child is too young to write, you can write for them!  So for example - "Mia" writes to her Daddy - "I love it when we have bath time and splash together"

Working on very little time I dragged the husband to Micheal's and grabbed 3 basic photo boxes - one for each of us.  I must admit they are not my favorite (for example I don't particularly like the color yellow - and I would have preferred a pink box for Mia) but I knew that if I waited to find the perfect box, it would never get done.  I didn't have much time so I just picked up some basic scrap-booking stickers - one sheet for Mom, one sheet for Dad, and two sheets for Mia because, well, little baby stickers are just sooo cute!  I decorated only the front part of Mia's box and I plan on putting her handprint & footprint on the front.  Each Valentine's Day I will help her decorate another section of the box.  As she gets older the box itself will be a beautiful keepsake of her life & all her favorite things: the scrawled-with-crayon version of her signature at age 4; the Barbies she will become obsessed with at age 5; the dinosaurs she will discover at age 6.  I'm not sure if she will still care about it once she reaches her teen years, but who knows, maybe it will end up plastered with the smiling face of the Justin Bieber of 2025.  And when my other children come along I can easily dash out to Micheal's and get them a box too for their first Valentine's Day. 

Then somewhere along the way I realized these boxes will be perfect for a while lot more than just Valentine's Day!   Visions of beautifully decorated & customized boxes to be pulled out several times a year at each Holiday danced around in my head.  These little boxes would be perfect for delivering & keeping all kinds of cards & letters to eachother.  Mother's Day cards, school pictures, scribbled drawings, anniversary cards, Christmas letters, and more!  When she brings home a macaroni art creation - into Mommy's box it will go.  When she wants to make a Father's Day card with crayons & glitter - it will be lovingly delivered right to Daddy's box.  And when I continue my mom's loving tradition of putting little postcards with handwritten notes on them into my Kindergarten lunchbox - hopefully she will want to hang on to those in her box as well! 

By the time she is 18 all of our boxes will hopefully be bursting to the brim with important treasures.  And her Daddy & I can use them too!  For our letters & cards to eachother over the years.  Who among us has all of these treasures but looses track of them after awhile?  Do you know where all of your cards are?  I bet they aren't stored in anything as cute as this!

*Pictures Coming Soon!*


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