Bella's 3 Week Photo Shoot

These are from Missy-poos 3 week photo shoot the other morning. Nothing fancy, something really anyone with a camera can do. Now these instructions are for little babies, though they can be applied to toddlers and children too, if you have a whole lot more patience.
First off, take some pillows or a nursing pillow and put it on a relativly clean area of the floor. You want to make sure that any light coming through a window is coming from behind where you plan to stand to take the pictures, not from in front of. Also, if it is a bright enough day try to stick with the natural light of the sun and not use lamps or overhead lights, this will give your pictures truer colors that a light bulb allows.

Next, find a plain sheet. It doesn't have to be white, but white is what I recommend since that way it won't give the skin a false color tint the way a colored sheet might. Take that sheet and drape it over your pillow(s), this gives you a professional looking backdrop for your pictures.

Next take tons and tons of pictures. Make sure you have lots of fun while doing it. Don't let this become a stressful activity for you or baby because then he/she will probably become fussy. Don't worry about trying to get just the perfect shot, because eventually, if you take enough shots you're bound to end up with at least a couple that you love. The great thing about a digital camera is you can just delete all the really blurry ones and the ones you just don't like.

Lastly, upload them to your computer and enjoy!

(If you want to really edit your pictures there are plenty of free programs you can download, and many computers and cameras come with basic photo editing software.)

*When doing this with children or toddlers, I suggest taking your sheet to the wall and using another for the floor to create the professional looking space.

How to Have a Cheap Date with Your Child

If, like me, you are not blessed to have a free zoo near your house, here's what I recommend:
Get a zoo membership.
Really. True, you look at the price of a family membership and your wallet probably winces just a bit (or a lot). But think of it this way, say it costs about $85 (our's is $79) a year, you know you probably won't go even every week, but say you go at least once a month, going on my admission prices for 1 adult and 2 children plus parking, you're looking at spending roughly $20 ($3 parking, $7 adult, $5 a child) if you aren't a member. But if you are a member and go to the zoo just 5 times, your membership has more than paid off. PLUS, if your zoo is like mine, you probably also get discounts to special zoo events and a discount at the gift shop (if your zoo has one).
But say the zoo isn't your thing, try to find a museum or children's museum near your house and get a menbership. Generally these types of things pay off after 5-10 visits, that's less than once a month. Plus, once you have a membership you find you go to them more often. That leads to learning more and more quality time with your child(ren).

Can you tell me why?

Why do I have to have one set parenting style? Hmmm??? Where is it written that I have to follow one parenting style to the tee and not use any others? And why must I even have to label myself as an "Attachment Parenting" or "Traditional Parenting" parent? Can't I just be a, um, parent?
Yes, I do co-sleeping, yes, I hold my baby when she fusses, and yes, I prefer to breastfeed my child whenever possible and introduce as little formula as possible. BUT... I also believe in my spanking, CIO (when the baby's older), and not letting my children run the show. I use what works with my children, and who knows, maybe the same things won't work for Bella that work for the boys, and if they don't I'll find what does work and use that. I'm not going to say the way I parent is the right way that everyone should use, because there is no set one way that works for everyone. And I'm sick to death of people asking "Well, are you AP or traditional?" or then going into a "Well, this kind of parenting is much better than this kind..."
I mean who are they to say that one type is the best? Are they an expert on the subject? Yeah sure, they can do all the "research" they want, but here's the thing... research, about 90% of the time, is biased to favor what the researcher wants to show.
So, yeah, I spank my boys... get over it. Its what they respond best to. Did I try other means of punishment? Yes. Did they work? No. I use what works with my children, and if anyone has a problem with that they can just go... well yeah, you know what they can go do.

Picture of the Day: "Baby So Tiny"

First off... no Ryan is not slapping Bella.
Okay, now that that's cleared, up, this picture is from Sunday. Ryan was fascinated by the size difference between him and Bella. He was just dumbfounded by the fact that his hand is almost as big as Bella's entire face. I tried saying its not such an amazing thing since he's three years older than her and she is, well, a newborn. But he's just stuck on this "Baby so tiny..." kick. I have to hear about all of her is so tiny all the time. It's sweet, but getting a wee old.

Why Isn't Angry Mom Gone Already?!

I could seriously cry. I'm sick to death of her and want her gone. And trust me, so do the boys.

Before getting pregnant with Miss Bella I was a very even tempered sort of person, sure my temper would occasionally flare up, but not unprovoked. And very very rarely did I take my anger out on my boys. While I do believe in spankings, I do not believe in yelling or screaming at my children. When I became pregnant I became very moody, like with huge mood swings, and since I couldn't punish the boys when they misbehaved, I couldn't chase them down or anything, and they knew it, they would act horrible when their dad wasn't home. Thus, I ended up yelling at them... a lot. I was no fun at all for them to be around.
One of the things I was looking forward to about not being pregnant was getting my moods back to normal. As a matter of fact, it was one of the main things I was looking forward to. But I'm still this huge emotional wreck. It takes very little to set off my temper, and not much more to have me yelling at them. I hate it. If I'm depressed in any way its because of this. I miss being me, and I know the boys miss me too.

This stinks.

Sore Loser.

I just don't get it. Zach has always played so well with others, and he loves when others play games with him. We've always taught him to take losing in stride and to not be overly boastful when he wins. Well, I took the time to play Wii with him yesterday (not something I do often, its more of a Zach and John thing) and the boy has become the biggest sore loser/winner. If he would start to lose at the game, he would quit the game and start a new one. If he won he would be obnoxiously boastful about it. I know he didn't get that from John and I. I'm about 90% positive he picked it up from my little brother, and while we work and work on trying to get him not to act like that it just gets ruined each time he goes back to my mom's house. I hate that he picks up all these bad habits from my brother, but what can I do? I can't punish my mom and step-dad by not letting Zach come over because of my brother, but each time he comes back its worse. Its not just the sore loser/winner thing either. Its everything. My little brother has the worst manners and a horribke attitude and its rubbing off on Zach. We've told him he can't go over for the next two weeks, which makes us feel horrible because its not his fault, but what else can we do?

A Girl's Mom: Week 1

Its been one week since we've gotten home from the hospital with Miss Bella. So what we're going to do now is review my progress of my first week as a mom of a girl.

1. This is the one that bothers me most, so I'm just going to clear the air on it now. Apparently, I didn't know the proper procedures of changing a little girl. I thought I was doing good, I even remembered to wipe her down with wipes every time. Then the first time my mom watched her I get a call from my mom wanting to know why Bella had raw spots on her bottom. I said I don't know what she's talking about, and she said in some of Bella's folds down there she has raw spots from where I haven't been doing a god job of wiping her. So, my little girl has already had a sore bottom thanks to my lack of knowing how to properly change a girl.
2. Clothes. And to think I was stressed over being able to properly dress her and make her clothes match. She's so skinny (just like Zach was) she can't even wear anything other than the few newborn onesies we have. So I get to put off reviewing this for a little while yet.
3. Starting her on a schedule. Okay this one has nothing to do with her being a her, but it is part of getting used to a baby. Bella's on a schedule, but its one entirely of her making, which makes it pretty difficult for the rest of us. She wakes up in the morning around 6-6:30 to nurse for about 20-30 minutes, she then sleeps until 9:30-10ish. Then she wakes eats, get changed, then goes back to sleep around 11 and stays asleep till about 3 then wakes and eats again then goes back to sleep until 8ish. Then she has her I'm awake lets be together time. She'll stay up until 11ish. I know this is backwards and I should try to adjust her schedule but really, I like having her sleep so much.

Really, so far, being a girl's mom isn't that hard or different, but then my girl is also still a newborn so we'll see.