Just say NO

The thing about me most people may not know (and my husband still denies) is that I am horribly undisciplined. It's true. I have a very hard time saying no to things--especially things that are bad for me.

I know, I know. I am a healthy eater (high raw, no sugar vegan). But you may not know why. I ended up very sick at a very young age (Eppstein Barr--an auto-immune disease--at age 15). Dropping to around 80lbs before my sixteenth birthday and not strong enough to hold a glass of water on my own, I was in bad shape. And while it may be hard to know exactly how or why I had it, I do know what beat it: diet. Cutting out sugar, wheat and dairy and taking a crazy amount of supplements (somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 vitamins 3x day), my immune system bulked up and made me healthier than I had probably ever been in my short life.

I know it can be a hard concept for a lot of people. I hear a lot of concern over extremism or depriving myself. But it's not difficult math--cut out the junk food and feel amazing or eat a balanced American diet and slowly lose energy, functionality and vitality. For me, it's not depravity or extremist. It's health.

Before my illness, I lived off of biscuits and jelly for breakfast, sandwiches and Taco Bell for lunch and would often skip dinner. I was a busy girl and took myself for granted. I am learning more and more to keep the basics of life central to my day. So now, making meals and shopping for food are easy priorities and eating well is something I make time for.

Which brings me to television. If you think I am disciplined, it's probably because you've never seen me in front of a tv. I can watch and watch and watch and watch and watch and....well, you get the idea. I am a true veg queen. I also knew that I can tune the world out with a few well-timed sitcoms, which is why Rory and I chose not to own a television.

What I didn't expect, however, were things like Facebook and Hulu. Before we knew it, our evenings (and weekends) of talking and spending time together were slowly eaten up with checking Facebook and scouring for our favs on Hulu. The very reasons we were committed to not owning a tv were completely lost on us.

Now to top it off (and this is where the crazy takes a sharp turn into straight-wacko-ville), laptops and cell phones give off more EMR/EMF radiation than is safe. I told you I was heading for wacko-ville... But it is something I am seriously concerned about.

So, as if I needed any more motivation anyway, I am just saying no to my laptop and keeping my cell in the car for emergencies. With the little body attached to my mama one, I am especially convicted over the amount of radiation I am exposing to her--daily.

I plan on using Rory's laptop as necessary and hopefully keeping an semi-updated blog to help keep in touch.

In the meantime, I have to brave the Christmas crowds in search of a hard-line telephone to plug into our new landline...Who woulda thought?!

The Power of Family

Wow. Where to start?

I'd like to start with the small stuff: the sweet smell of her milky, pure baby breath, how she turns her head to look at EVERYTHING, that she finally noticed the dogs, how she holds my hand and/or shirt while nursing, how she rubs the small of my back with her little tiny perfect hand while nursing, that she cries less and now has more of a one syllable "waah" as if to say, "Hey, don't forget about me!", that her gigantically beautiful blue eyes still light up every single room she enters, and how she does not like to sit, but must be moving, going, exploring and she will wriggle her way to where she wants to go as fast as she can....although, her body hasn't quite caught up with her mind yet, so she often ends up face down....on the bed, on the couch, on the floor, etc.

You know, just those little things we notice as we spend our days with India.

To be honest, I blog all the time about her--well, in my head at least! Rory and I are always noticing even the smallest change, the slightest advancement, the tiniest of growths. She is beautiful to watch and inspiring to be around. And yes, there are many times I still find my face dampened with tears just at the sight of her.

We are especially enjoying "wearing" her. Babywearing is a pretty common practice--every where but in America! I think it's probably more common than we assume (I know my parents had different kinds of carriers), but we love it. And our mover and shaker D sure loves to be included. We have that mei tei wrap I've mentioned before, but we also use a sling given to us by our friends and former LP leaders the Tripkehughes'.


You can see how comfy she finds it!


And the other day at Farmer's, D was in the mei tei wrap when I realized she had been holding my finger the whole time! My heart totally melted.

One of the most fun things about life with D now is how she interacts with people. If you're on Facebook, you may have noticed my latest update: she gives kisses! To be fair, there isn't much of a pucker yet--it's just an open mouth coming right at you with the occasional tongue ready to lick away! And I can't tell you what a thrill that is! It is pure delight! And there's nothing like shrieks of joy from her aunties and grandma and grandpa to make mom and dad feel absolutely normal in their obsession!

I know my parents (and even Rory's parents) raised their children primarily on their own--grandmas and grandpas were for special occasions but not necessarily there for the day-to-day stuff. I don't know if it's a generational thing, but it's certainly not how we are doing things. I depend on my mom constantly! And we absolutely love love love sharing our Joy with our sisters and parents. And Dia seems to like it, too! She is starting to recognize them and is working on a special relationship with each one. Her Auntie Jessa is like a second mom. I am so amazed at how natural Jess has been with her. The other day D had her first "explosive" poo-poo situation and who was the first to run and grab hand towels? Jess! She went right to her, wiping her legs off and entering into the "mess" with us. I know D feels safe and loved with her sweet Auntie.



Aunt Alli has been a blast from the get-go. Alli started talking to Dia about buying books (Auntie Alli has an amazing ability to hold the most fascinating one-sided conversations with incredible detail!) and India went ga-ga for her! Smiling and grinning up a storm! They have become fast friends and I know their bond is special. D lights up when she sees her Auntie loves.


D has also found special bonds with her Grandpa and Opa:

With Grandpa, it's football! Dia loves the colorful little jerseys running all over the big screen!



And Opa and she share a special love of all things jazz! (I have a video of them dancing, but it's not working correctly right now.....hmm....)

I remember reading once about a famous and accomplished scientist who referred to himself as having stood "on the shoulders of giants." He recognized that his feats could never have happened were it not for the great minds who came before him. And that's exactly how I feel about mommyhood. I am standing on the shoulders of some amazing women (and men!) whose feats of love and selflessness empower and inspire me in so many ways. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to be able to look back and confidently ask what they would have done or recall what they did do. I am more confident for Dia knowing that we both rest on their work and love.

Thank you, Lord, for families that pray and stay together.