Let's be friends

Here is Jetta at the Park in Central Park yesterday. She just loved the slide...see her running over the bridge.She just walked right up to all the kids and started playing along so happy, and look how well she is sharing as she is trying to give a sand toy to a boy. His mother was yelling at him for picking up a toy that wasn't his., How would he know it wasn't his? All the kids were playing with the toys and not having a problem with sharing....it was just the parents who seem to "know better" than to touch something that isn't yours. All I heard was "no, that's not yours!, stop that! put it down! " I think that left to themselves the children seem to have a system of their own. If I don't want you to have something, I will either start screameing, or just take it back. Otherwise, your free to play with anything I have. Wow, maybe that's why adults can feel so lonely in a crowd. As we grow up we learn to stay in our own little box, fearful we will be rejected. I think that we teach our kids this behavior and I saw how we do it first hand. We are born with the spirit of togetherness, and it is beaten out of us by well meaning parents. We really should take some notes from our children. I think they're on to something.

#1 Daddy

I just have to say, I have the best husband and friend in the world. And Jetta has the best Daddy. The other day I asked him if he had any doubts about us being together for the rest of our lives (of course I know the answer,...it is just my abandoned child archetype coming through). His response was, "no of course not, if anything, I worry we don't have enough time together in just one life time" I know everyone must be sick of me bragging about him all the time.....but he just gets better and better every day. Jetta really picked well this life time. We always say "your my baby" to Jetta, and last night she went to bed saying "my baby" to her little bear her Boppy gave her. That was right before she rolled over into the comforting arms of her Daddy.

Beh Beh Bulls!!!!!!

She still just loves her cultured veggies. Thank God for her wonderful Aunt Jessica, or she wouldn't be so healthy, and not to mention, so happy. She is overwhelmed with joy when she sees the jar of veggies coming out. She screams "beh beh bulls!!!!!" with total abandonment and excitement. It is amazing. I just imagine all those wonderful microflora in her gut having a big party, and I go to bed with a smile. (If you want info about how to make these beh beh bulls, just go to http://www.bodyecologydiet.com/)

Rethinking your Job

I think I have come up with a way to think about parenthood in a way that seems to make more sense in this world where career is everything. Being a parent is just like being a personal assistant to a very picky sometimes rude and obnoxious celebrity. When you think of it that way, you somehow can look at all those miles you put on the car just driving in circles so she can sleep, and all of the trips to Barnes and Noble, and Whole Foods just for something to do, and all the cleaning up after her as your house falls apart around you, and everything you do just because she wants you to, it doesn't seem to be that ridiculous. Every parenting book makes you think that if you toddler isn't napping for x amount of hours and eating x amount of meals, and if aren't in control of your own life, then your have failed. Well, if your client wasn't a 19 month old but, say Julia Roberts, people would say, you better just do what she wants or you are going to loose your job. Well, our kids can't fire us (although in some cases they should be able to), but we should live like they could and treat them better than any client or boss we could have. After all, unlike mean or fussy bosses/clients, they are actually doing what they should, being babies. And to make you feel better about the big salary you could be getting as a personal assistant, for the same work you do every day, just remember that bank of love you have is growing bigger and bigger each time you let you child be just who she was born to be.

Mantra

After a day of tantrums and exhaustion yesterday, I woke up this morning with a new plan of attack. A new goal and mantra. My Mantra was, "Do what ever it takes to make Jetta happy, and know that things will change." If that means getting in the car and driving around for 3 hours so she can take a good nap, I will. But I made it a good thing by spending the time in the car listening to my Carolyn Myss radio shows. ( she is my new lady) I will use the time that is so called "wasted" to do something for my own growth. It won't be forever, and instead of fighting and trying to make things be a certain way, I am practicing ' going with the flow'. And I have to say the day is going pretty good. We went to Whole Foods today and Jetta actually succeeded in picking up her sushi with her chopsticks! I think everyone around us was a shocked as I was. Maybe she was Japanese in her last life. Well, we are both a lot happier today. I think a beg lesson of motherhood is learning that no matter how hard you try to make something happen the way you want it, you can not win when you fight with nature. You only win when you work with it. That is probably a good thing for all the keep in mind.

Snow Day

Here's Jetta taking a little break after a long morning of manual labor.

Good Night

We have finally had 2 nights in a row of sleep. After the past year plus, this is a huge reason for celebration. It is so cute the way Jetta wakes up now at about 6 am and sits straight up. She looks at me and says "Mommy, mor mor (morning) , nug nug?" She points to the window so we can look out to see if it is morning yet. I ask her "Is it morning?" and she shakes her head yes. She really understands the concept of not nursing until morning. Wow, she is growing up. Now we just have to figure something out about this nurse-a-thon naps. Ha!