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February 2014 Moms
Meghan14
member
SAHM check-in 11/18
Meghan14
member
What were your successes this week?
What was your biggest challenge or struggle this week?
What helped save your sanity?
Topic for the week: Do you follow a parenting philosophy? Or do you make things up as you go?
GTKY: Preparing for the Holidays, are you an early shopper/ decorator or do you wait until the last minute?
Feel free to bring up any other thoughts, feelings, or concerns you are having.
F'14 October Siggy Challenge: Animals in Costumes
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Re: SAHM check-in 11/18
What were your successes this week?
The whole BIL wedding weekend went surprisingly well. I left the reception to run LO home to nap while some friends watched him and made it back in time for the toasts.
What was your biggest challenge or struggle this week?
Just making sure I was prepared for multiple contingencies for the weekend.
What helped save your sanity?
Topic for the week: Do you follow a parenting philosophy? Or do you make things up as you go?
Is surviving a philosophy? Whatever needs to be done to get by?
While teaching we were always being encouraged to learn new philosophies/ strategies. I never found one I agreed with 100%. I learned to pick and choose what fit my beliefs and personality. I plan to do the same with parenting. No one says you have to totally follow someone else's ideas, except the authors of those ideas.
As LO grows, I will probably use a lot of the Love & Logic strategies.
GTKY: Preparing for the Holidays, are you an early shopper/ decorator or do you wait until the last minute?
I hate that Christmas now starts before Halloween. I like to give each holiday its chance. My fall decorations are out until after Thanksgiving. I used to have all my shopping done before Thanksgiving because I seriously hate crowds. Now I procrastinate and do it all online, or hit local stores on weekdays when they aren't as busy. I decorate the outside the 1st weekend in Dec and do the tree and inside the next, Everything stays up until January.
Feel free to bring up any other thoughts, feelings, or concerns you are having.
What were your successes this week?
Survived our trip to Vegas and the only thing I forgot was contact solution for me! LO did great with family after a night of sleep. He absolutely adores older kids so I'm convinced somewhere there was a universe mixup and he was supposed to be the 2nd child, not the first.
What was your biggest challenge or struggle this week?
Trying not to murder IL's. They're good people but my MIL drives me nuts 50% of the time and stuck in a car with her for 5 hours straight, I almost wanted to punch someone when they asked if we could share a room with her. One of DH's uncles is a snorer- like sawing logs. So no one slept good especially those of us who were in the same part of the house as him. I got like maybe 3 hours of sleep total the first night.
What helped save your sanity?
Hitting up the strip Saturday was a blast. I won twice what I put in but I couldn't bring myself to stop while i was ahead
so I lost my $20- 3 times! Also yesterday I just took a day "off" and didn't do anything. It was nice to relax and put off cleaning and unpacking until today.
Topic for the week: Do you follow a parenting philosophy? Or do you make things up as you go?
My parents always made sure we knew they loved us, even when we did something wrong. I guess that's my only current philosophy is that even in correcting, still show love and express that especially after punishment or discussion. Also trying to still balance the line between not raising my voice and raising a defiant child vs yelling when LO does something bad/frustrating. Other than that, I probably just make it up as I go.
GTKY: Preparing for the Holidays, are you an early shopper/ decorator or do you wait until the last minute?
I'm an early decorator. Will have to wait on the tree this year though as we're getting a real one for the first time since leaving my old job with college housing! Shopping I can't start before December 1st unless there is a black Friday deal. DH wants a toolbox for Christmas so I'm afraid I may have to do that this year. Usually I know for the most part what I'm buying, I just like to put it off. DH is the opposite though so last year we decided no shopping together and he does his family.
Successes: being able to stick up for myself when it comes to advocating for LO's needs when MIL babysits. Staying more on top of house work! Everyone getting over the cold H gave everyone so I can have help again!
Challenges: finding things to do with LO now that the weather is getting crappy. We used to go for daily walks to the park. But now it's too cold.
Sanity savers: having help again! I had about a 3 week stretch where H and everyone else who helps me was sick. It's been nice to get a break!
Parenting philosophy: I'm a therapist, and my specialty is attachment. Thus far, there are things I know I won't do like spanking, shaming, and disciplining when I'm angry. I like a lot of Love and Logic when it comes to setting limits.
GTKY: I'm Jewish. My holiday decorating consists of putting up a menorah. But I have gifts that I collect throughout the year to give to people around the holidays. I hate to shop at holiday time, so I just buy things when I see them if it's something that I think someone would like.
What were your successes this week? Good weekend visiting my parents -- love how much they love LO. I've been fixing really good dinners for us, and I'm proud of that. I've tried some new recipes, and I feel like I'm getting out of the simple simple simple rut. It's hard because LO, but cooking is something I enjoy so I'm glad I'm doing more of it.
What was your biggest challenge or struggle this week? Thanksgiving family drama. Snowstorm where we're totally snowed in and out of gas for the snowblower. A fussy, cranky, clingy LO. It's hard to do anything sometimes.
What helped save your sanity? LO taking some consistently long naps. Having last Tuesday all to myself. Spending some time with my mom.
Topic for the week: Do you follow a parenting philosophy? Or do you make things up as you go? I pretty much make it up as I go! I try to be patient and treat LO lovingly no matter what is going on. I hope this makes sense, but I'm learning so much from how my MIL treats me and how my sister's MIL treats her. I want those [negative] experiences to shape how I raise my son, how I treat him, how I communicate with him, and how I show him I love and respect him. I know we're years and years and years away from him bringing home a DIL...but I think I can lay the groundwork now. Everytime I do something with him -- or when I'm not feeling it -- I think about things my MIL/BIL/H have said about when DH and BIL were young, and I don't want my son saying those sad things in 25 years.
GTKY: Preparing for the Holidays, are you an early shopper/ decorator or do you wait until the last minute? I am an early shopper, and we'll decorate right after Thanksgiving. My shopping is more than half done. I like to start early because of budget and to keep my stress level low. It becomes too much work and not pleasure enough if I save it for the bitter end! I actually thought if we didn't have LO, I would have put the tree up today (why not?) but I'm not looking forward to wrangling him away from it for a month! (Heyyyyyy there baby jail!)