I'm thinking of converting to Wordpress

I haven't posted in over a year. I finally have the brilliant idea of searching for a blogger app. Of course there's an app for that. But guess what? It sucks. First time I used it, I thought I deleted a post. Nice.

ABCs and Garden Peas...my latest Internet blogger girl crush

She probably doesn't know it, but I really enjoy the blog ABCs and Garden Peas. She has similar interests as me regarding our babies (breastfeeding, babywearing, and cloth diapering to name a few), but one of the things I love is her posts about food.

I am no cook by any stretch of the imagination - I like to bake. My husband does the cooking and is fabulous at it, so why ruin a good thing? ;) But Wendy makes me wish I could cook. I love autumn and all her recipes about vegetables - vegetables! - sound delicious. (I'm no vegetarian either! I work to give my kid vegetables because it's not something I'm good at eating myself!)

I think I will just continue to admire, though, because I've tried 'cooking' and...well...I'll stick to baking.

(PS - Check out her contest! Click the button in the left sidebar)

RT @astartesstudent #whattheheckamIdoing huh?

I started a Twitter account last year and didn't do much with it because I didn't "get" it. Well - I got it - I just didn't have any interest.

Recently, however, I decided I wanted to start following Conan O'Brien's "tweets". I've discovered that my favorite tweets are from comedians. Twitter is the perfect outlet for those one-liners.

Still not sure I like it - the lingo and constant retweets can get old. I've had follow requests that I apparently FAILed because I see they are not listed as followers. Ah well. I guess I won't be King of Twitter.

Persons Unknown

This is going to be a fluff piece cuz this is my blog and that's how I roll.

Is anyone else watching the show Persons Unknown? I don't know how many times I've thought "why don't they..." or "well I would have..." yet I still can't get enough. I'm sucked in, wondering where it's all going.

Who knows, maybe I'm on the rebound from Lost. Maybe I need a bit of a quirky mystery to keep my mind spinning on something.

It appears that even the people that are running the charade are just pawns as well. And who the heck can have cameras on so many people and locations?? After seeing the fake Tori video, I have to wonder how real the Charlie video was. And the used-car-salesmen-who-isn't-really is a bit of a D-bag. Watching the jailbird attack him was fun.

Random side note: Daisy Betts, who plays Janet Cooper, appears to be Australian, judging by her work. Normally I can detect an Australian accent hidden in a fake American accent (even Anthony LaPaglia occasionally says a word or two with an Aussie accent even though he speaks with an American accent off camera), but her American accent is awesome! I had no clue.

Wait...an Australian...a child who shouldn't be raised by another...a young blonde party girl...a male lead with a buzz cut...a mysterious location in the middle of nowhere with Others....MLIL.

Attachment Parenting: Look! The Okinawans Are Doing It!

I'm sorry, I don't even know if Okinawan is a word. Do you ever notice that the people of Okinawa seem to have everything figured out? They always come up in news stories about how to be healthy, the best foods to eat, how to be happy, etc. Well, turns out they're baby experts too.

I recently (well, all right a while ago, but life gets busy!) read an article called Baby Wearing & Bed Sharing: The Scandal of Attachment Parenting from the blog The Fashionable Housewife. I enjoyed it because it gave a level-headed, historical discussion of Attachment Parenting, rather than the weak, over-indulgent reputation Attachment Parenting can have. I was fascinated by the section discussing the way babies and children were cared for in World War II Okinawa, where there were virtually no mental health issues. "Affection was liberally given to all children of all ages" - where did the idea of spoiling a baby come from? The Puritans? I saw a quote once somewhere in teh Internets that you can spoil a baby with THINGS - you CANNOT spoil a baby with LOVE. No, you're not going to hold the baby too much. No, the baby is not going to cry more if you respond when it cries (in fact, he or she will cry less). No, it does not mean that your child will not learn rules, morals, independence, or confidence (AP children tend to show more independence and confidence, and have a greater sense of boundaries). I wouldn't ignore a loved one who was crying - why would I ignore my own child?

I still wear my baby even though he is getting rather big! I have a Babyhawk mei tai and an ergo. We both enjoy when I carry him, and it has in no way impacted his independence. He still loves to explore, venture away from me (I could hardly keep up with him at the local library), and is quite good at being mobile, from walking to "running" to kicking or throwing a ball. We just like being close occasionally, just like we might enjoy hugging our friends or holding our partners. Nurturing touch is just human nature.

Attachment parents often seem to be portrayed as weak, indulgent, spoiling their children, "hippies", whatever, but I think it actually takes a certain amount of strength to parent in a way that seems to go against today's "hard" society. Attachment Parenting is not about giving in - it's about treating your children with the respect and attention they deserve as individuals in order to grow and thrive. My natural instinct has always been to try to understand my child's needs through his eyes and understand his instinct for survival from the beginning - it makes it pretty obvious that children are not being difficult or manipulative the way some adults claim. Learning about the ways human offspring react and develop, as well as discovering Attachment Parenting, has confirmed to me that my instincts are normally spot on where my son is concerned. I don't follow every principle of AP to a T, but I do strive to treat my son with dignity and make sure he knows he can count on me to be there at all times. I see this as simply building a strong foundation of trust that will stay with him for the rest of his life.

I hope this all made sense. I've been working on this post for a while when I have moments here and there. I was using principles of Attachment Parenting before I even knew it had a name, so it was nice to find a whole theory that was along the same lines as my own thinking. It just seems to make sense to treat my child with the same (or more!) love and respect that I would treat an adult in my life and hope to receive in return.

How did I get here?

Do you ever think about how you ended up where you are?

When I was in college, I started with an Environmental Science major. Like every other college students, I changed my mind and decided I didn't want to save the planet - I wanted to speak French. All the time. I was good at it and it seemed so intriguing to be able to speak a different language.

Then I got practical. I was pursuing French and Mathematics, two things I did well in and liked. But one semester I had to make a choice between a class that would lead to a French degree and one that would lead to a Math degree. Not wanting to become a high school French teacher, I chose the Math class.

But then I discovered Computer Programming! I took a Programming class as part of my Math degree and loved it. I aced every test (or close to it :P), loved every class, didn't excel in every lab, but who cares! Yet by now, changing majors again was just not an option. At least not if I wanted to finish on time. So I stuck with my trusty Math major.

Fast forward to my current job, which is not specifically in any of those disciplines but has brought me back to programming. I will be doing more programming soon and am eager to delve back into that methodical world. Funny how I can end up doing something I wanted to do in the first place, in a completely roundabout way.

And then it all gets me thinking about past relationships, without which I would not be where I am now - I love where I am now. So regardless of how I may feel about those past relationships, I will always be grateful that they led me here. But that's a whole other post....

you will have been all of these

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and wrong. Some time in life, you will have been all of these.

- Robert H Goddard

I really like this quote because it is something I aspire to. I may not be religious, but I can guarantee that I try to be considerate of others and conscious of my choices and will raise my child to do the same.

I bring up religion because it seems to come up a lot lately, especially in politics. I will never understand why calling yourself religious or claiming to be a member of a particular faith equates to "being a good person" in the minds of some people. Religion doesn't make you a good person. Going to church doesn't make you a good person. Being tender, compassionate, sympathetic, and tolerant can make you a good person. Your actions determine the person you are.