What REAL Women Look Like

I found a very interesting site yesterday and I felt I HAD to share. My blog is about what to REALLY expect when you have a kid and this site has the same flavor. It's called My Body Gallery: What REAL Women Look Like. Basically women load pics of themselves (clothed), blur out their faces and enter their "stats" like height, weight, pant size, general shape...etc. It's really cool. I was surprised that when I entered my own stats the pics that came up were not what I expected. The women looked smaller than me. Then when I looked at some that were a few pounds heavier; they looked more like what I thought of myself. CRAZY. The site even references the fact that most women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and waists 25% yet these same women were able to correctly estimate the width of a box. What is wrong with us ladies??! I recommend that every woman check out this site. It is very educational and worth visiting.

mybodygallery.com

Day of REST?

Well, finals are finally over and today is my first day OFF. Ari is clean and fed, I have had my own breakfast and now my winter break can begin! First I am going to catch up on my blogging, then do a little cleaning and a load of laundry. After that I will do some stretches/playing with Ari before I change her and then its nap time for her. While she naps I will do a quick run on the treadmill and take a shower. Then when she gets up I will change and feed her. Then we will load up the car and head out to do some Christmas shopping. While shopping I will entertain Ari with biter biscuits, puffs and milk. Then we will head over to the grocery store to grab a few items. Again I will entertain Ari there with biscuits, puffs and milk. Next we'll swing through CVS to grab a Rx and then head home where I will unload Ari and the groceries, occupy Ari with toys while I put the groceries away, PEE, then hopefully put Ari down for another nap after I change her. While she sleeps I will pull out the Christmas tree and decorations and haul them upstairs from the garage where I will start putting the tree together. When Ari wakes up I will stop what I'm doing and play on the floor with her for a bit before starting dinner. Then I will change, feed and clean Ari and finish getting dinner for mommy and daddy ready. Then when daddy gets home we will eat dinner then give Ari a bath. After bath time I will get her dressed for bed and hand her off to daddy for the bed time bottle. Finally, I will head back to the Christmas tree to finish putting it together, then clean up dinner and other dishes from the day then sit down and think about ways I will REST again tomorrow. Time to begin!! I LOVE time off : )

Baby Milestones Worries

So, I read the following article and LOVED it. It made me feel so normal : ) What is normal anyways?? When it comes to our children, normal becomes very important and is on your mind everyday. Everytime that Ari does or does not do something I wonder if she is "normal". Silly I know but it is amazing how the pressure to be ahead of the game starts as soon as your child is born. From the first time that your child's height, weight and head size are charted, the race begins. It is especially apparent if you have friends or family with kids the same age or close to the same age. Why do we do this to ourselves? For myself I feel like it is out of fear of not being a good parent. If my child is not meeting the chart's numbers or the books milestones, then its my fault and I suck as a mother. Deep down I know that I am doing my best, but it does have an effect.

My daughter is 9 months old and just started crawling a week or so ago. It was a big deal in this house. My husband and I were ecstatic. Now though we seem to be focusing on what's next. She hasn't said ma ma or da da, no teeth, no "hi" or "bye", no clapping, no "arms up!"....but I'm not concerned. Even though friends of mine have kids that are close in age and have been doing these for months now. That's ok. Ari is fine. I'm not worried at all. Yes, I sit in front of her while she is in the bathtub and say "ma ma, ma ma, ma ma, ma ma, ma ma, da da, da da, da da, da da" then "sigh, that's ok baby, high five!" and I get a hand in the air : ) That is her "trick" that we are OH SO proud of. When you say "high five" Ari puts her little hand in the air and touches your hand. PRECIOUS! Personally I think this one trick is the most difficult and most advanced. I make it a point to show EVERYONE. Their kids can't do it, but mine can. HA!!

Check out this article for more fun:

The Truth About Baby Milestones

http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Development/The-Truth-About-Baby-Milestones/1