The Bowl Game

Things said during the Bowl Game (in no particular order. I only listened for about 5 minutes.)

April: "I like Girls!"
Greg: "I like other people's little boys."

"Eric is dead sexy. No, Eric is a dead beat."

Questions asked of Amber while having a baby:

1. Do you want pictures?
2. Are you having fun?
3. Are you completely naked?

Shutterfly

Check it out! I made a shutterfly book.
You can blame my lack of posts on this book and the online training that I have to do before Wednesday. I'm sick of computers.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaMWzJu3csWzng&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

Teething

I had a really shitty day today. I woke up with a throbbing headache and couldn't figure out why. I thought maybe if I took a shower and got cleaned up it would help. Nope. I tried taking a nap, eating food, doing some exercise, changing the temperature, ignoring it, and quite a few other things. Nothing worked.

The whole time I had this headache, everything seemed to be horrible. John (who never lays still for diaper changes) almost made me cry every time I tried to change him. I watched a friend's kid for a few hours and his cry seemed almost unbearable. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't just go to sleep at nap time! I ran out of eggs when I was trying to make dinner and it seemed like the end of the world. Sam chewed up some of my chapstick and it made me so mad! If I didn't know any better, I would blame it on PMS, but nope, it was just the headache's fault.

Finally, I gave in and took some Excedrin. Once it kicked in, my head felt 95% better and the world seemed to be a place I could once again enjoy. But there was still that 5% pain in my head. Suddenly I realized that the source of the pain was localized to two tiny little sections: the square centimeter on either side of my gums in which my top wisdom teeth have been working their way out.

Seriously? All that pain and frustration from two little teeth? Yup. Teething sucks. Now that I know what is causing this discomfort, I am able to find some remedies to help sooth the pain. But it took me (a full-grown adult) about 9 hours to realize those two little teeth were ruining my day. Imagine what teething feels like to my ten-month-old son. He probably thinks nobody loves him, everyone is out to get him, and the world is going to end. I completely understand why he sleeps less, crabs more, and constantly wants to be held and comforted when those little teeth are moving around.

Kids are tough.

Mama don't raise no fool!

Albert Einstein once said,

"I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.

The world will have a generation of idiots."

 

My son has an obsession with technology. Its as though he knows exactly what he is not supposed to touch and goes straight for it. I can't leave a cord on the floor, my laptop on the coffee table, my cell phone on the nightstand, or a clock on the shelf without him finding and doing his best to use and/or destroy the item. It seems to me that it is ingrained somewhere in his ten month old brain that technology is good, technology is fun, technology is something that I must have whenever it is available. 

 

The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that a child does not watch something on a screen until two years of age. I fully intended to comply with this recommendation until I realized how close to impossible it is to raise a child away from technology.  

Here are a few examples of times that I have failed:

1. When John was a newborn and would not sleep unless we were holding him and walking around, Eric and I watched about three different television series in the wee hours of the night while pacing back and forth to try to keep John asleep.
2. Skyping with his Gramma and Grandpa in BC. We want him to be able to see who he is talking to!
3. Every time I use my computer and he waddles around the coffee table to see what I'm doing or grabs the screen from behind and yanks it down so he can see it.
4. Using my cell phone (he now puts his mouth directly on the screen of the phone and makes noises so that the other people can hear him).
5. I'm sure there are tons of other ones. 

We actually built a room in our basement so that we could move the television down there and watch a movie or play games without worrying about how much John sees or hears.

 

But is it really that big of a deal? How much will it actually affect him later? I have no idea.

Here's what I do know: it drives me crazy when I am trying to have a face-to-face conversation with someone and they are on their cell phones texting, browsing, or otherwise occupying themselves.  

 

Some of the time, I think "What's the point in learning xy or z when I can just look it up online?" This mindset also drives me crazy. What happens if I move somewhere without constant access to Internet? If I begin to depend on technology for everything, I won't be able to do anything without it.

 

These are just a few of the things that are important for me to be able to do on my own, but more often than not, I end up depending on technology to help me out:

 

Communication. Cooking. Entertainment. Fixing things. Cleaning. Teaching. Creative Ideas. Lesson Planning. Exercise/fitness. Directions. Updates. Medical questions. Music.

 

I saw an advertisement for an iPad potty trainer. Basically, the little potty has a place connected to it that you can put an iPad right in. That way, your kid can go on the iPad every time he has to tinkle.

 

Technology has more benefits than I can even imagine, but I'm also a little afraid of how it might change the way my kid sees the world. When I was a kid, we made up games and used our imaginations to keep ourselves busy (we also didn't have a TV in our house). Kids that I teach tell me all about their video games and that"if I'm good at school today I can get a new app!" I think that Albert Einstein had a good point.

 

I'm going to do my best to make sure that at least for my kids, human interaction will always be more important than technology. If I succeed, at least I can say I will not be responsible for raising one of those "idiots" that good old Albert feared. Hopefully at the least, my kid won't be dependent on technology to do his bathroom business.



Just like riding a bike

WARNING! This post may be too graphic for young children or persons of the male persuasion

I have gone months, if not years without riding a bike, but everytime I get on, some how it just comes naturally. My feet hit the pedals, my body automatically balances itself out, and everything just seems to flow.

I remember the most important parts of riding a bike, but somehow I forget the feelings that come with it.
I forget how amazing the breeze feels against my face.
I forget the exhileration of riding down a hill and not being able to stop.
I forget the freedom I feel when I ride with no hands.
I forget that after a while you get pretty tired.


I got pregnant in August of 2011. My son was born in May of 2012 and I have been breastfeeding him since then. It is now March of 2013.

I have gone for over a year and a half without menstruating, but now its back and somehow it just comes naturally, although not nearly as welcome as riding a bike. My cramps hit my uterus, my body tries to balance itself out, and everything just seems to flow. This type of flow, however, is NOTHING like the natural flow of riding a bike. 

I remember the most important parts of menstrating (I can still put a tampon in just fine. I know the two positions I can sleep in without making a mess in the bed), but somehow I forgot the feelings that come with it.
I forgot the feeling that I'm about to shit myself everytime I wear a tampon.
I forget the incredible fear of public embarrasment that overwhelms me everytime a drip of sweat runs near my backside and I can't stop it.
I forgot how food is so appealing, but never gets rid of those cramps, no matter how much I eat.
I forgot that after four days and thinking I'm almost done, I get the worst cramps of my life and feel like an invalid for another afternoon.

In case I forgot that part of being a woman means I still have a uterus, I can always count on my once-again-monthly cycle to remind me.
 

Faith, Family, Food, Fun, and Farting

Those five are usually a package deal with the Hubers' clan.

This weekend, Amber, Nathan, and Corianna came to pick John and I up in Grand Rapids late Friday night. We continued our adventure by crossing the border into the Great White North (if you can consider Ontario a part of that) to visit Alicia at her college.

I could probably have written multiple posts about the great fun we had, but didn't. So here are a few highlights:

Food! Greg (Alicia's boyfriend) is an excellent cook. We enjoyed eggs and bacon, spaghetti, appetizers, and more made by the serving hands of Alicia and Greg. We also had some great Ethiopian, coffee, milkshakes, and sweet potato fries provided by the local restaurants.

Rock climbing. Amber watched the Kiddos at her friend Lynn's house while Alicia and Greg took us to a creepy abandoned parking lot and into a very large warehouse with no signs labelling what type of business it was. Turns out, it's their rock climbing gym. We had a blast climbing, bouldering, and racing up the walls. Nathan and I felt pretty weak after Alicia and Greg rocked our socks off (pun intended).

Chuch. Lish and Greg go to the same church as Matt and Lynn, so we all walked there from Lynn's house. Their church has a great community and was very welcoming. They have a really great pastor and the sermon was on prayer. It was a great reminder about how and why we pray. Isn't it amazing that the creator and sustainer of the universe would care to listen to minuscule creatures like us and allow us to call him "Father"?

Hiking. Hamilton is right on the Niagara Escarpment, meaning there are beautiful waterfalls all around the area. We went on about a 4km hike from some waterfalls to Dundas Point overlooking the whole valley area. It's crazy how 2 babies can make a hike much more of a workout! We had a blast tromping through the mud, throwing snowballs, climbing to the top of the waterfall, and enjoying God's beautiful creation.

Farting. Yup, it gets it's own section. Primarily because at one point Greg asked this question: "Is this something that your family always struggles with? Because last time we went to visit them they were all saying that they had the same thing." Greg, I'll have you know, that the last time you visited, there was a sickness going around that cause projectile vomiting and diarrhea. That was NOT normal. This, however, was much more typical. The Hubers' bowels are just very natural. I will have you know that this makes certain moments of a road trip rather unpleasant.

Babies. John and Corianna love each other. At least, I think that's what it means when he wraps his arms around her head and squeezes as tight as he can... It was so fun to see them playing together, stealing toys, sharing spaghetti, and blabbering about whatever they saw. We went to the harbor and saw some ducks swimming, right away, John pointed to them and said "duck." Now, my son is smart, but he has never seen a duck before, so I thought it was a fluke, but nope, three or four more times he pointed and said "duck." We were amazed. A few minutes later we were walking next to the water and someone was taking their dog on a walk. John pointed at the dog and said "duck." So...maybe he's not a genius, but it was pretty impressive. He knows the word "dog," so I'm pretty sure that he just assumed the ducks were the same as dogs and we heard what we wanted to hear. But it was still fun. He also thought it was hilarious when Amber and Nathan chased each other around trying to push one another off the pier or when Greg and Nathan climbed the ropes up to the ship pretending to be pirates.

Needless to say, we had a pretty great trip. And what better way to end it than laughing our way through a Tim Horton's drive-thru at two in the morning? Can you say slap-happy? The lady on the other end of the speaker wasn't amused. Sorry!

Love is...

Love from a son to his father...

Tonight Eric was sleeping on the mattress in John's room while I got John ready for bed. Every time he could wiggle free, John would crawl straight over to Eric, put his little hands on Eric's back or head, and say "dadadadadada."

When it was time to read his story, John crawled with the book (not an easy thing to do) onto the mattress right by Eric's head. Eric read him his story and then I got ready to nurse him. Eric kissed him on the forhead and said "Goodnight John, I love you."

John stopped nursing, looked straight up at Eric and gave him a HUGE smile, then he put his hand up next to his big smile and waved bu-bye. His little eyes followed Eric as he turned out the light, walked out of the room, and closed the door. Once it was dark, rather than going right back to eating, John stared at the door and quietly wispered "dadadadadada" to himself.

It was such a beautiful way of saying "I love you Dad" in the best way a ten month old can. It almost brought tears to my eyes. If I wasn't already sure of it, I now know that John loves his daddy.

Eric and John taking a nap (2013 Jan 01)

Eric teaching John to drive (2013 Jan 04)

Sam the Wonder-Dog

Here is Sam:

He's a pretty patient dog as you can tell from my previous bragging.
A few minutes ago, John (our almost 10 month old) had his fingers in Sam's nose, grabbing his lips, and pulling his neck hairs. Sam just sat there. I tried to snag a picture of that, but instead I got these three:

 

That dog has some serious patience.
Also, he's great entertainment! I was tossing Sam's ball for him the other day and John thought it looked like great fun, so he gave it a try. His throwing skills may have been somewhat lacking, but Sam's enthusiasm for the game made it all worth it. For a while, Sam was laying on the floor right in front of John. Everytime John "threw" the ball, Sam would lift his head, flop it back down next to the ball, put his mouth around it and look up at me as if to say "Are you seriously making me play fetch like this? Can you please just throw it for real?" I tried to catch a video. Here's what I got. I'm not sure who was the one "fetching" but it makes for a good watch.

Sam and John playing "Fetch"

 

Curls

My hair is naturally frizzy. If I apply the proper amount of product, that frizz turns into pretty nice curls.
Well, today, I actually read the directions on the bottle of mouse in my drawer and got really excited.

"Shake can and dispence 2-3 egg-sized dollops into hands. Scrunch damp curls section by setion. Then, run a wide-tooth comb from roots to ends, fully coating strands with the mouse. Blow dry hair upside down with a diffuser until it's 90 percent dry, and then air dry for frizz-free curls."

Well that sounds awesome! With my chin-length hair, blow drying couldn't take more than two minutes. For frizz-free curls, who wouldn't give two minutes? One-hundred percent sure that I just found a new way of styling my hair for the rest of my life, I delve right into it.

It doesn't make a difference that I don't have a wide-tooth comb right? This dreading comb should work fine. Two minutes of bending over and smilng at my son (who thought I was crazy) later and I checked out the final product.

Not only was my head a frizz-ball, it also had some crazy weird creases. AND I don't think there was a single curl, nonetheless a frizz-free curl.

I straightened my hair today.

Blogging huh?

After reading through every single blogpost from my two baby sisters, I decided that I should "blog."
When I mentally debated what I might blog about everything that popped into my mind had to do with being a mom, so here I am. It's alright with me if no one ever reads this; I think the process will be fun. Things I've wanted to share with people today, but had no outlet to do so:

1. Elijah brought in his adoption book, a scrapbook starting with "Once upon a time in China" and ending with him coming home to his forever family. I should do that when we adopt kids.
2. I had the most beautiful soundtrack today as I was laying on the floor pretending to be asleep. It consisted of excited baby words like haay, daga, boo, nala, and so many more. Every time I peeked out I got to see a beautiful 2.5 tooth smile. Then he stuck his finger up my nose.
3. Building things with letter blocks is therapeutic. Hearing John giggle when he knocks them down and says "boom" is even better.
4. I've been nursing for nine and a half months with a nipple shield. That was a solid $10 investment. I think we've saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on formula costs.
5. Sickness is no fun. My kiddo had a fever of 103.2 degrees last week. Now he has two fever blisters on his cheek/chin on the right side of his face. Poor kid is gonna have those for the rest of his life. I specifically remember having a cold-sore on my right nostril when we were on vacation visiting relatives when I was about eight years old. I was so embarrassed because the one time I got to see my cousins all year and I felt like there was a tumor growing out of my face. I passed on the prone-to-cold-sore gene, but I'll do my best to keep the embarrassed gene to myself and let him live in confidence.
6. I haven't menstruated since August of 2011. Yup, it's been more than a year and a half. That first one back is gonna be killer. I got some little cramps in my uterus the other day and couldn't figure out what in the world was wrong with me; I felt like I was dying. When I realized what they were, I went straight to the medicine cabinet. 800 mg of Ibuprofen later I was feeling like a champ.
7. Today I was sitting on the floor eating pita and hummus with my baby (and Sam the Wonderdog ready to clean up any mess) thinking "This is the life."

As you can tell, I'm a pretty blessed lady. My family consists of a loving and hardworking husband, an energetic and inquisitive baby boy, a loyal and patient dog, and me. We have a house, food, job(s), and more than we could possibly ask for. Most importantly, we have love, guidance, protection, and mercy from the greatest being in the universe (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
We'll see what happens in this pleasant place of pensive pondering.
-Angela Faith