I've been a mom for two years now and the one thing I've never gotten into is television shows for kids. I'm judged by a lot of parents because of this. I understand. it's simply not normal to have a toddler these days and not put the TV or iPad on for them daily or every few days. My son Amani doesn't own a piece of technology yet and we don't even have cable.
I know I'm probably one of few moms thats like this. So I've been asked "what do you do all day with him?" "Don't you get tempted?" Or just simply "why?" (This question usually comes with a side eye or very confused look)
Let me clarify that the reason I don't have Amani watching TV or playing with an IPad isn't because of some strange conspiracy about what technology does to children. It's not about thinking I'm a better mom than those who do allow it either and it's not that I'm not tempted to let him. It's just a personal preference with personal reasons behind it.
First, I tried it. I would let him play around with my phone for a while and downloaded some games that were supposed to be educational for him. Just like any other kid, he loved it. He wanted to play with it for a very long period and as a first time mom i thought "hey whatever
Keeps him happy". Well, at the end of the day I felt strange. I felt as though I didn't really spend time with him. I felt like I missed out on him as a whole and he missed out on me. We usually have great conversations together, he loves to play with his mommy and I felt like the phone was taking over that feeling I got when he discovered something new through play and I'm right there to witness it and witness him learning about the real world. That's when I decided that it wasn't for me.
So, what do we do all day instead?
Here's a short list
-Read Read Read
-piggy back back rides
-build forts with sheets
-paint
-learn something new everyday
-sing songs
-make up songs
-dance til were exhausted
-now that it's warming up (kind of) we play outside
-work on projects
-clean up
-imagination games
Most of the day is spent just chatting with one another. Even if I have no clue what he's saying.
Now, I know the importance of technology for now and future generations so I'm by no means anti technology lol (I love my iPhone haha) I don't want him to grow up technologically illiterate so I do allow him every now and then to mess around with the phones and what not. He's great at using them. Eventually he will have his own iPad and phone and he will want nothing to do with having these fun moments with me and his daddy and his brother. It sounds a little selfish, I know. It is.
So for now, while he still thinks Were the coolest, funnest, funniest people on the planet I want to enjoy every bit of him.
I want his eyes focused not on a screen but what's around him instead. Whether it's Just me and him. Or his daddy and him. Or his cousins, his aunts and uncles and him.
I want to be his teacher, his friend, and I want him to indulge himself into learning and discovering the physical world around him for now.
I want him to prefer to interact with his little brother and build a bond with him instead of just the cute silly characters he sees on the screen.
I want him to learn naturally how to contain himself while we're out in public without having to sacrifice him not mentally being where we are because he's so focused on something else.
I realize that all of these things I mentioned can probably be done simultaneously, that is why I began by saying it's just a personal preference for us as a family. It has been working great for us. One thing I always say to other moms is "Do what works for you and YOUR family not what the next Mom is doing".
We all don't have to be parenting the same way in order to be raising our children right. :)
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Monday, April 6, 2015
Laundry: the struggle is real
This post seems fitting right now as we just got done hosting family for Jases' Birthday and Easter. Special announcement before I go any further: Thank you family for making Jases birthday so special, please know this post has nothing to do with you and everything to do with my hate for laundry ;-).
OK, back to the post!
I'm sure anyone can relate to having mounds of laundry to do after having house guests. I LOVE hosting people and having people visit, it's one of my favorite things to do, but doing laundry is my LEAST favorite chore when everyone is gone! My husband always laughs at me because he thinks its the easiest chore.
My husbands point is, is that you load the clothes and the washing machine does the rest, switch the clothes and the dryer does the rest. Then all you have to do is put everything away. I understand this and it all sounds great and easy, until I actually have to do it.
How I see doing laundry is this way: Put clothes in the washer,wait forget about clothes or forget long enough that now a simple chore will take me much longer. This is my main problem with laundry that causes all my other issues. I can't start the laundry and finish the chore right away, therefore I usually get side tracked and forget. What this causes is a million couple loads of laundry to take all day and at the end of that day I still have to fold and put away. Which lets face it is the WORST part!
This chore has seriously been my enemy since I was little. Seriously, I would choose cleaning the bathrooms (I shared with two older brothers, mind you) over laundry any day! This chore exhausts me just thinking about it. Maybe a little dramatic, but it's the truth!
So, what are you laundry tips? How do you make it more enjoyable? How do you stay on track and get it done in a timely fashion?
<3 Lindsey
OK, back to the post!
I'm sure anyone can relate to having mounds of laundry to do after having house guests. I LOVE hosting people and having people visit, it's one of my favorite things to do, but doing laundry is my LEAST favorite chore when everyone is gone! My husband always laughs at me because he thinks its the easiest chore.
My husbands point is, is that you load the clothes and the washing machine does the rest, switch the clothes and the dryer does the rest. Then all you have to do is put everything away. I understand this and it all sounds great and easy, until I actually have to do it.
How I see doing laundry is this way: Put clothes in the washer,
This chore has seriously been my enemy since I was little. Seriously, I would choose cleaning the bathrooms (I shared with two older brothers, mind you) over laundry any day! This chore exhausts me just thinking about it. Maybe a little dramatic, but it's the truth!
So, what are you laundry tips? How do you make it more enjoyable? How do you stay on track and get it done in a timely fashion?
<3 Lindsey
Friday, April 3, 2015
Sous Chef Sofia
For as long as I can remember, I have always had a love affair with food. Eating it, preparing it, talking about it, reading about it...even daydreaming about it.
When I was young, I would delight in having the opportunity to assist my parents in the kitchen, and some of my earliest memories are of standing by their sides just waiting for the chance to "help." Gradually, I was able to assume more responsibility as I demonstrated my aptitude, and eventually I was able to take over the Saturday morning ritual of making pancakes for breakfast. When I got a bit older, I would ride my bike to the library and borrow Cooking with Regis and Kathie Lee, a tome which guided me through my first solo adventures in the sweet (fudge) and savory (baked beans). As I accumulated more knowledge and experience, so too did my confidence grow, and by the time I was a freshman in high school, I was making apple pies from scratch; any baker will tell you toiling with pie crust dough is not for the faint of heart, but I mastered it and enjoyed it. Being adept in the kitchen wasn't just a matter of practicality as far as I was concerned, but it was also one of creativity and passion. In my family, food was undoubtedly love, just as it is in so many other families. For me, it became something more. Food was science. Food was art. Food was fun.
Fast forward to life as a stay-at-home mom. These days, it is very easy to allow food to become just another chore. Amidst diaper changes, temper tantrums, playground visits, books, rounds of hide and seek, naps, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, often food is reduced to just a matter of sustenance, not one of creativity or enjoyment. Meal preparation usually takes three to four times longer than it normally would because there is a tiny little human demanding my attention. Peruse, if you will, the following exchange; something like this can be heard each and every morning between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. in our house:
Sofia: "Baby hungry."
Me: "Okay, honey. What would you like to eat?"
Sofia: "Mommy hold you."
Me: "Okay, honey. But aren't you hungry?"
Sofia: "No. Mommy hold you."
Me: "Okay."
Sofia: (after being picked up) "Baby hungry."
Me: "Okay, honey. What would you like to eat?"
Sofia: "Baby want pancake."
Me: "Okay, honey. But to make pancakes, Mommy has to set you down."
Sofia: "Noooooo!"
Me: "Okay. What would you like to eat instead of a pancake?"
Sofia: "Baby want pancake."
Me: "Mommy can make pancakes for you, but I have to set you down. I need to use
both hands to make the pancakes."
Sofia: "Noooooo!"
Well, you get the idea. The exchange could go on indefinitely. How to save my sanity? Make the toddler my sous chef!
As sous chef de cuisine in my kitchen, Sofia's job duties consist of dumping and stirring. For pancakes, she will dump the ingredients into the bowl after I have measured them out and then will stir them as she sits on the kitchen floor, bowl cradled on her lap. For guacamole, she will dump the ingredients into the bowl after I have chopped them and then will mix them. For anything, she is always available for taste-testing, just like her daddy.
Sure, this new approach is even more time-consuming and labor intensive than just breaking every couple of minutes to attempt to distract/occupy/pacify/amuse Sofia while preparing a meal on my own, but where is the fun in that? With my sous chef by my side, I can usually make dinner with very little frustration and no tears - two ingredients that really aren't called for in any of my recipes. The relationship I am cultivating with her in the kitchen reminds me of my own childhood and makes me hopeful that Sofia will grow up with an appreciation for cooking and creativity, too. Seeing the pride on her face as she "helps" is such a reward, and hearing her tell her daddy how she contributed to the meal ("Daddy, I dumped the onions! I stirred soup!") is just darling. And aside from all of these wonderful perks is one that I couldn't have anticipated. Because she is often involved in meal preparation, Sofia already seems to have some investment in eating beyond her usual interest; she has some ownership in the meal, and with that ownership comes a willingness to eat things she might normally refuse. Win-win!
I'm already looking forward to taking her to the library to borrow her first cookbook. And you better believe it'll be one with a fudge recipe in it.
When I was young, I would delight in having the opportunity to assist my parents in the kitchen, and some of my earliest memories are of standing by their sides just waiting for the chance to "help." Gradually, I was able to assume more responsibility as I demonstrated my aptitude, and eventually I was able to take over the Saturday morning ritual of making pancakes for breakfast. When I got a bit older, I would ride my bike to the library and borrow Cooking with Regis and Kathie Lee, a tome which guided me through my first solo adventures in the sweet (fudge) and savory (baked beans). As I accumulated more knowledge and experience, so too did my confidence grow, and by the time I was a freshman in high school, I was making apple pies from scratch; any baker will tell you toiling with pie crust dough is not for the faint of heart, but I mastered it and enjoyed it. Being adept in the kitchen wasn't just a matter of practicality as far as I was concerned, but it was also one of creativity and passion. In my family, food was undoubtedly love, just as it is in so many other families. For me, it became something more. Food was science. Food was art. Food was fun.
Fast forward to life as a stay-at-home mom. These days, it is very easy to allow food to become just another chore. Amidst diaper changes, temper tantrums, playground visits, books, rounds of hide and seek, naps, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, often food is reduced to just a matter of sustenance, not one of creativity or enjoyment. Meal preparation usually takes three to four times longer than it normally would because there is a tiny little human demanding my attention. Peruse, if you will, the following exchange; something like this can be heard each and every morning between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. in our house:
Sofia: "Baby hungry."
Me: "Okay, honey. What would you like to eat?"
Sofia: "Mommy hold you."
Me: "Okay, honey. But aren't you hungry?"
Sofia: "No. Mommy hold you."
Me: "Okay."
Sofia: (after being picked up) "Baby hungry."
Me: "Okay, honey. What would you like to eat?"
Sofia: "Baby want pancake."
Me: "Okay, honey. But to make pancakes, Mommy has to set you down."
Sofia: "Noooooo!"
Me: "Okay. What would you like to eat instead of a pancake?"
Sofia: "Baby want pancake."
Me: "Mommy can make pancakes for you, but I have to set you down. I need to use
both hands to make the pancakes."
Sofia: "Noooooo!"
Well, you get the idea. The exchange could go on indefinitely. How to save my sanity? Make the toddler my sous chef!
As sous chef de cuisine in my kitchen, Sofia's job duties consist of dumping and stirring. For pancakes, she will dump the ingredients into the bowl after I have measured them out and then will stir them as she sits on the kitchen floor, bowl cradled on her lap. For guacamole, she will dump the ingredients into the bowl after I have chopped them and then will mix them. For anything, she is always available for taste-testing, just like her daddy.
Sure, this new approach is even more time-consuming and labor intensive than just breaking every couple of minutes to attempt to distract/occupy/pacify/amuse Sofia while preparing a meal on my own, but where is the fun in that? With my sous chef by my side, I can usually make dinner with very little frustration and no tears - two ingredients that really aren't called for in any of my recipes. The relationship I am cultivating with her in the kitchen reminds me of my own childhood and makes me hopeful that Sofia will grow up with an appreciation for cooking and creativity, too. Seeing the pride on her face as she "helps" is such a reward, and hearing her tell her daddy how she contributed to the meal ("Daddy, I dumped the onions! I stirred soup!") is just darling. And aside from all of these wonderful perks is one that I couldn't have anticipated. Because she is often involved in meal preparation, Sofia already seems to have some investment in eating beyond her usual interest; she has some ownership in the meal, and with that ownership comes a willingness to eat things she might normally refuse. Win-win!
I'm already looking forward to taking her to the library to borrow her first cookbook. And you better believe it'll be one with a fudge recipe in it.
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