The Phantom Tollbooth

This book is amazing! Norton Juster must be a genius because this book is fun and can be used as a learning tool at the same time. The book is full of puns and other idioms that are taken too literally. His characters include Tock the watchdog (a dog with a watch for a body), Alec Bings (his family starts at the height they will be and grow downward towards the ground), King Azaz the Unabridged, the Mathemagician, and the princesses Rhyme and Reason (siblings and children of the King of Wisdom). Milo is a bored boy who ends up in this new world and he must try to save Rhyme and Reason in order to bring King Azaz and the Mathemagician to peace again.

I know these are all taken out of context and might be confusing, but here are just a few examples of how great his writing is:

"Oh no," said the little man, "I'm the Whether Man, not the Weather Man, for after all it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be."

"I am also the judge. Now would you like a long or a short sentence?"
"A short one, if you please," said Milo.
"Good," said the judge, rapping his gavel three times. "I always have trouble remembering the long ones. How about 'I am'? That's the shortest sentence I know."

"Don't be frightened," she laughed. "I'm not a witch- I'm a Which."

"Be very quiet," advised the duke, "for it goes without saying."

I know I am late to see the greatness of this book... but no more. If you haven't read it, please do. I'm already planning on lending it out to a friend and even trying to get Adam to read it (he doesn't read much).

Sugarhouse Park

Today was the first day I didn't have to go to work. It was also a beautiful day so we headed to Sugarhouse Park. We met my parents and Adam's mom there, walked around the park and let Brayden try out the playground for the first time.



To celebrate the occasion, Brayden had to wear his "Mama's Boy" shirt. We got it around Valentine's Day and we seriously couldn't get a shirt that fits him better, at least right now. He's in that phase all babies go through.













These guys had put up a tight rope somehow. It looked really hard!



There was an old guy driving the car with the dog outside walking. It was pretty funny, although I feel bad for the guy because I'm sure he wishes he could have walked the dog himself.

SAHM

I'm sure it's obvious from my hint, but my big news is that I quit my job. I am so many conflicting thoughts and emotions about it and I really have no way to write about it in any sort of clear way. For my sake, though, here are some of my crazy thoughts.

-I consider myself very much to be a feminist. At the same time, I have no problem with women choosing to stay at home. It's all about choice for me.
-I am having a hard time accepting that I will basically be a stay at home mom (disclaimer: I already have a babysitting job lined up and in a month I will start being a sub for the library system, so I will work some, but will basically be home). Again, I feel every woman should have the choice (or couple really- I'm also okay with the man staying home). But I SERIOUSLY never thought I would stay home. I have multiple friends who can attest to that since they heard about it all throughout my pregnancy and probably even before that. All I can say as that I'm learning to never say never. I had no idea how I would feel when I became a mom, and I shouldn't have assumed.
-I still feel a little guilty about it though, because I told Adam all this time I was going to be fine working. He has been amazing though, and accepts me for me. I've changed in a lot of ways since we married and he has gone with the flow for the most part, which I am so grateful for.

So anyways, starting tomorrow I have at least 2 weeks before the babysitting starts and a month before the subbing and I hope to enjoy it. I have a lot of goals too since I feel like I've let a lot of things slide while trying to balance Brayden and work. We'll see how long this new phase will last, but I will try to enjoy it as well as I can and make it a fun time for Brayden.

Dino Museum- picture overload

I joined my parents, sister and nephew on a trip to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point yesterday and had a lot of fun (minus when Jack hit his head). Here are way too many pictures:









Sadly, Brayden really did not like the sand. He went to start crawling and the texture just freaked him out. I was hoping to go on a vacation to the beach so I hope he grows out of that soon.

pet peeve

I hate when people ask me if I have a good baby! I'm sure they mean well, and are just curious... but still, it annoys me because you have to wonder if they actually think babies are ever bad. According to their standards, mine just might be. He doesn't sleep through the night, he's very arm-spoiled, he's into everything with all his new mobility, and he's very clingy and wary of strangers right now. I would never classify him as bad though. Babies are babies, and they have needs. If their needs are not being met, then of course they will cry and attempt to communicate that with you. That does not make them bad.

I've been trying to think of clever retorts, like:

"No, he's bad." or
"Well, he hasn't ended up in prison yet." or
"We like him." or
"He's good at being a baby, if that's what you mean."

For the record: I don't mind loved ones asking if he's had a good or bad day. I also know people slip up and ask the typical questions that if they actually stopped to think about they would realize it's a dumb question. I know I asked it before I had a baby of my own. I know I assumed so many things before I had a child of my own so I can't blame people. I was also of the mindset back then that breastfeeding vs. formula feeding didn't really matter, that you should never let your baby sleep with you, and that some babies were brats. Now I know how wrong that was to think however, and I just think this question of whether babies are good perpetuates that idea.

To end on a happy note, look at this beautiful picture and these wonderful words of advice (written to dads but applicable to moms, grandparents, aunts, uncles and any and all other caregivers):




Instructions: Dads, please read carefully before raising. This is a baby. It needs you. It needs your love, your touch, and your time. Spend lots of time with it. Build a bird house. Read a book. Go for a walk. Do homework. Play. The more time you spend, the better chance it has of growing up happy and healthy. It grows very quickly. Pay attention. Never underestimate the difference you make. It takes a man to be a dad.

Get Me Out

I just read this book called Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank by Randi Hunter Epstein, M.D. I enjoyed it for the most part, although the organization (or lack thereof) got to me as well as the fact that she jumped from the garden of Eden to the 1600s (not a very comprehensive history). Anyways, here are some of the things I learned.

Interesting

-British midwife Jane Sharp claimed that there were no such things as British lesbians; it was something that happened to large-clitoris women in the Indies and Egypt.

-This one is mostly for Stephanie (or other English Lit majors): Childbed fever killed Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin in 1797 when she gave birth to her daughter Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein). The rumor is that she wanted a female midwife but the baby got stuck in the birth canal. Her husband insisted on a male midwife who was later blamed for infecting and killing her. For those of you who don't know who she is, she is seen as one of the first "feminists" and wrote a work called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

-Twilight sleep came about partly because of feminists demanding the right to it. This is hilarious to me because one of the many reasons I chose natural childbirth was because I am a feminist and feel that male doctors try to control and stifle the
power of women giving birth instead of embracing it. Anyways, I'm glad feminists eventually turned to natural childbirth rather than twilight sleep.

-Elisabeth Bing, the founder of Lamaze International, had a birth where she was sedated with laughing gas and had an epidural.


Offensive

-It was thought at first that women simply provided the womb and none of the other important stuff like DNA.

-It's been thought that many of the witch trials were instigated by men trying to take over the baby business and crowd out female midwives.

-A respected OB named Charles Meigs said that a woman should not decide for herself how she should give birth because she "has a head too small for intellect and just big enough for love."

And now I just want to end with an awesome quote that shows exactly how I feel:

"How you view childbirth is a reflection of your philosophy of life. One of the things I feel really sad about is our culture where the message is that women can't have a good childbirth experience without turning themselves over to the control and interventions of the medical community. Starting parenthood with the notion that somebody else has to manage the process is not empowering. This is something that I think about, but I suspect many of my colleagues would say, 'What is she talking about?' I was really proud of my own ability to birth my 9-pound 13-ounce son vaginally without anesthesia. I remember touching his head at my vaginal opening and holding him on the delivery table and being in love. I was his mother. I am not opposed to C-sections, but I'm pretty sure a 30 to 40 percent rate is not justified."

-Marcie K. Richardson, OB and instructor at Harvard Medical School

Swimming

We joined the rec center today and took Brayden swimming for the first time. He loved it just like I knew he would. He loves taking a bath and will even lean back so he's floating on his back with me holding his head.



Here he is in the locker room before going in. Yes, the life jacket looks big on him... but I could barely zip it up! And I picked the right size, so we're just going to be really careful as he grows into it.



Here he is in the pool with Daddy.



And here he is after. Man, I thought getting both him and I dry and in pajamas after a bath was complicated. This is so much worse. Hopefully I get better at it as we keep going.



He even gets his own membership card... definitely a first!