Pulling up

Seamus pulled himself from crawling (or inching) around to standing at his piano by himself. This is a big step and he is becoming a big boy. I am always excited to see new milestones for my kids, but I miss how little they were.

Siobhan was a VERY clingy baby, but is an extremely independent toddler. She prefers to stay with her grandparents at night and loves to play alone, with her friends and with her brudder. I am fairly low on the list right now. I know that she will grow up to be a strong adult because I let her grow up, but I miss my baby. There were several months where I couldn't put her down, much less hand her to someone else, and now that is over forever.

Seamus has always been happy to go to others, but he is less likely to just crawl off exploring. He likes to be able to see me. He prefers standing to sitting or laying down, but I can see that he is becoming more independent also. How do our babies grow so big so quickly?

Not Crunchy Enough

I know that this might be a controversial topic, but this issue has been preying on my mind. I consider myself to be a pretty AP mother. I breastfeed exclusively past one year, co-sleep, babywear and spend most days with my children. However, I am a big advocate for vaccination and use disposable diapers. Whenever I go to AP lists or read magazines (Mothering, etc.) I am made to feel like a terrible parent for not being crunchy enough.

I have a full time job. I can keep my kids with me, but I still work. At the end of the day I get, maybe, one load of laundry a day. If I did cloth diapers then all of my other clothes would be dirty. I know that cloth diapers are better for the environment and I hate how much trash disposables makes, but my decision is made. I have friends who cloth diaper and do EC. I admire them for their ability to do those things, but I cannot, I don't have the time (or frankly the motivation).

As for vaccinations, I know people who had polio as children and still have major health problems because of it. Or whose mothers had German Measles when she was pregnant and has hearing problems. If I can prevent my children from terrible diseases, I will do it every day. I think vaccines are an essential thing for most children. If my kids made some child who has reactions to vaccines ill, I would feel terrible and would be somewhat responsible for that illness if I did not do everything I could to prevent it. I know this is a contrarian opinion to many AP parents, but it is how I feel.

We all do what we think is best for our children.

Crawling

Siobhan's newest activity is to lure her brother into following her. She encourages him, similar to a dog, "Come on Seamusy, Come on, Come with me." I think I am going to have to keep an eye on that tendancy. She is also extremely protective of him. He went near a dead wasp and she yelled for me to get it before Seamusy gets hurt. She really loves her brudder.

Speaking of which, does anyone know how to get rid of wasps if you can't find the nest? It is in the house, but I don't know where.

Kid's Day

Siobhan got to go swimming, get ice cream, and get a present today. I had to go to town to run errands today so Siobhan went to Steamboat with Papa Pat. She told Grandma that today was a "Kid's Day." I wish I could have a couple of kid's days, complete with playmates at the pool and rainbow ice cream. The days of toddlerhood, where a day with one of your favorite people and fun activities are par for the course. I hope I can keep her expecting happy days for a few more years before the realities of life intrude.

Sesame Street Personality Test

I found this on The Mayne Event

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Except the neat part. I am the opposite of neat.

What are you?? Does it fit your personality?

Preggie Belly

I've been tagged (steph at Adventures in Babywearing)

Here is a photo of my preggie belly

Girl Scout Cookies

Does anyone love Girl Scout Cookies as much as I do? Specifically Samoas better than sex cookies (as we used to say in college)

Reading Meme

I found this Meme on jenandtonic

There are very few books that I would NEVER read, but lots on this list that I have. Great game.

Instructions: In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of. In the comments, let me know if you're up for it. I left some books in just regular old font, these are the ones I am not sure I want to read or not. Feel free to tell me I am totally wrong and should read something on this list or YES, JEN, you RULE!

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. +Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18.The Stand(Steven King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. +The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) one of my favorites
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. +The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. +The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. +The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. +She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) Dickens
53. +Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. +The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. +Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) -
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. +Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. *Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. +The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) -

Ultimate Blog Party

Welcome to all from the Ultimate Blog Party. I am a sporadic blogger who is trying to do better. I live in rural WY with my husband and two kids (who have way more energy than I ever had). I am trying to become a lactivist (in an area where no one gives me a hard time for NIP), am a recovering (slowly) Messie, and a Mom.

I am an avid reader and I keep a list (more or less) of the books I am reading. If you have any suggestions I am always open to suggestion. Enjoy reading.