nine months for life

Look what our little one made for us for Valentine’s Day!

Okay, okay … “A” made it.(Her sweet little daughter helped her as well) “A” is the wonderful person who takes care of Savi when I am at work. She is truly awesome. I know that she is great cause I *feel* it …in my gut. My 5 month old does not say much but she sure is all smiles when she sees “A”. I know my little one is in safe hands because I actually work when I get to work. As a matter of fact, the minute I get back into my car after dropping Savi off with her, I am already thinking work. She has got to be really good for me to be able to do that!

I go to get my little one the day after Valentine’s and I am showered with gifts and this card (…and diapers ! I also had to borrow diapers from A, but that is another story :)) . “How spoilt am I!”, I thought. Here were people doing wonderful things for my little one and me while all I was doing was obsessing about the snow storm and my workplace! (Btw, things are changing rapidly at my work…will post an update soon ;)).

It occurred to me that it was too late for me to rectify the fact that I did not have anything for A or her little daughter(she gave me the cutest hearts she cut all by herself because I am her “friend”) or for “H” (A’s sitter helper who also gave Savi a gift!). Do I respond with a “Belated Valentine Gift”? Sounds way too weird and honestly, I have never heard of that ;).

Oh, and what about all my other valentines? My one chance to express how grateful I am to them and I had just blown it!! What do I do??

I have given up thinking. I am going to thank them right here, right now. These are the folk that I think about and wonder what I would have done without. They are truly my “family”. They are vital to helping this pseudo single mom (husband travels ALL the time) survive …and survive pretty well ;)

Thanks to “L”(Doggie daycare) for taking care of my babies for years. I know that my puppies love her to death and we are in love with “L” for life. She is also our our prime doggie consultant and truly understands what our dogs mean to us. “K” (dog walker) is our latest wonderful addition to our dog family. “J” is my dear friend that Charlie is smitten by. “J” is the family favorite :). She does not have to do anything …she makes all the difference just by being. Some wonderful people at work, particularly “R” and “T” who remind me repeatedly that they are right there if I should ever need anything. (And look, the first names of all these folk start with unique alphabets …weird coincidence :))

What would I do without these people? I wonder. I don’t know. I don’t want to know :)

As I sit here typing this, Savi is “talking” to get my attention and Charlie is nuzzling me to be let out. I got to go. But thank you!!

Now that we do more than just lying around, the weekends are getting more “active”. With it being the coldest weekend of the season so far, it has been up to mother goose (yes, that’s me) to get creative and figure out what all this “little person” can do over the weekend.

Now, you have got to remember that unlike babies, “little people” don’t get fooled. You cannot make fleeting baby sounds and get away with it. These activities have gotto be the REAL STUFF.

So these are what I came up with …and the reasons I think they work.

1. Fold the laundry: Put the washed and dried clothes about 5 feet from baby. Fold them high up in the air. If possible wave them around making different shapes in the air. Narrate what you are doing at every step.
Pros:
- Laundry gets folded ;)
- Hopefully, “folding laundry” gets wired into the baby circuitry and your child will willingly do/fold her laundry for the rest of her life ;)
- Improvising and adding activities such as Peek-a-Boo into this activity is extremely easy
- Clean clothes can double up as teethers
Cons:
- It does not work unless you narrate every single step …animated is even better ;)
- You have to be ready to face reality …If it absolutely does not work, it could imply that your wardrobe sucks ;)

2. Read the Sunday Paper: Pile up Sunday ads on your side. Put baby on your lap,facing forward. Read one ad at a time.
Pros:
- You get your window shopping done
- You save money and learn to tell yourself that you are just so happy to be fitting into your old clothes that you really don’t need any new ones.
- Baby reads the newspaper …you might be instilling a great habit in your baby ;)
- Ads are bright and the paper crackles … babies love that
Cons:
- Colorful ads do NOT double up as teethers
- The house is a big mess …it is a lot harder to recycle little bits of paper strewn allover the bed/floor.
- You do not have the luxury to check any ad i any greater detail since stopping for more than 10 seconds on a page might really irritate the baby.

3. Dance to the music (baby music and nursery rhymes, that is):
Pros:
- Your daily workout!
- I would love to think that babies get a sense of rythm when you do things like this ;)
Cons:
- Itsy Bitsy Spider???? C’mon!
- Things like this might kill the little social skills or social life you have left ;)

4. Pet the pets
Pros:
- You come to remember that the animals walking around in the house used to be your babies at one point.
- You throw your touch-and-feel baby books away.
- They love this activity - baby, cat, dogs and all!
Cons:
- Tufts of hair in little baby hands? Hmm, not good!
- You throw your touch-and-feel baby books!

5. Check email

6. Watch the news on TV

7. Stare baby in face

5,6 and 7 are really not recommended. Seriously. While they might work, guilt is almost a sure side-effect ;)

Any fun activities I can add to this? Do let me know :)

Sara Schaefer-Munoz (The Juggle) talks about something I constantly worry about in her post today. I wonder if it is really possible for children who are born into households that have everything to relate to all the hard work it took to make that possible in the first place? As a result of having everything they need, will such children have no motivation to succeed financially? While what we define financial success is totally subjective, I wonder if children that have everything growing up will even understand the importance of saving for retirement?

I was lucky to learn from my parents’ hardships. Year after year my dad struggled with setting up his own business. I saw my parents give up so many little things in order to be able to afford things for us. I was truly blessed to be able to learn the value of money without having to give up too much as a child . So all that struggle my parents endured until the very recent past wasn’t for nothing ;)

Very well, then. If I cannot simulate a financial struggle to teach my children the value of money, I hope to at least, by example, teach them what to do with the money. I think kids should see and constantly be told about how much hard work it takes to bring a paycheck home. They should be spoken to…about financial decisions we make (as long as we make responsible ones ;)). It is never to early to expose them to the world where people are less fortunate and instill in them a sense of responsibility.

I think teaching kids the value of money is like teaching them the value of just about anything else …through example. Kids learn to respect, kids learn compassion, kids learn to be hardworking and kids learn the value of money …ALL by example. They do unto you as you do unto them. That is the bottom line. Am I making any sense?

Ahhhh…what have I gotten myself into! I hope I am up for this job as a parent!!!

Until this morning I was sure Savi needs a haircut. Honestly, there is no way a child would want a head full of THAT much hair! It was time to bring out those shears and give Savi her second haircut in four months.

With the idea of creating some before and after haircut shots, I brushed Savi’s mane down and put some *things* in her hair. I took her pics, downloaded them and now I am ALL confused!! Should I cut her hair at all? If I am say so myself, she does look adorable!!!

Should I just grit my teeth and try my best to get past this awkward period when her hair is running down her ears and stands up in tufts here and there so that she will have pretty and manageable hair in sometime? We all know about that most uncomfortable stage when hair goes from short to long, don’t we? Most importantly, how do I manage the hair from getting into her eyes? Any ideas for some funky hairdos? (ALL under the assumption that she will let me cut her hair if I decide to cut it OR that she will tolerate me putting things on her hair if I decide not to cut her hair !)

Why so much thought into this? Mostly because I have the luxury to ponder on something soooo utterly meaningless at this point … With time I am afraid I will have little time or energy to worry about her hair … and yes, it is plenty of fun!

I think my parents did a faily good job (if I am say so myself ;)) for not having read articles (as opossed to working on Friday afternoons;)) …. I found a couple of really good articles ..

For one, compassion is key …

“But with so much hatred and turmoil in the world today, it seems more important than ever to raise kids who can understand and be kind to other people. Teaching this doesn’t mean lectures or visits to soup kitchens. It’s part of day-to-day life: how you answer your child’s questions, how you solve conflict at the park, how you nudge his or her growing capacity to understand and think about other people.”

And here is a look into my future … I really really hope I can manage to handle her when she asks for a new mommy ;)

Have a great weekend!

NOW, if Savi does not keep me sufficiently entertained over the weekend … I might just be back here blogging :)