The Joy of Music in our home

During my six years of mothering, there have been countless times when I've been touched by how special a particular moment is. Watching a baby take those cautious first steps; seeing a young child struggle with something that seems simple to me and then witnessing the pure joy and pride that washes over him when he finally gets it all by himself; listening to him read a book from cover to cover for the first time. There are so many important "firsts" that happen in family life. Lately, though, our six year old has been taking beginner piano lessons, and I believe that this experience has been the biggest "miracle" in my parenting journey so far.

Being Compassionate Doesn't Mean Allowing Yourself to be Blamed or Abused

It's interesting, the feeling that I get when I am reminded to be more sensitive to someone when I feel that I've given them an extraordinary amount of sensitivity. It's a funny kind of conflict. I think we have all experienced this feeling to some degree.

Size 18 to Size 8 - My Weight Loss Journey in Photos.

Hi there! This is me. 

I'm known here as Sunshine Mama, and this is my story of gaining and then losing a whole bunch of weight. When we got married in 2005 I weighed about 135 pounds and was a size 6, the smallest I'd been in my teen and adult life. After my first pregnancy I started on a roller coaster of weight gain and then eventually weight loss. From 220 pounds to 155 pounds, from a snug size 18 to a slightly loose size 8, from 2006 to 2012 - this is the whole experience.

I am looking out the window.

This post is dedicated to my friend Tessa and her little boy.

I am looking out the window.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings."

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!  ~John Muir

Reflections on a Changing Life

From moving twice in the past three years, including one cross-country move, gaining and then losing about 70 pounds, friendships and relationships that sometimes ebb and sometimes flow, there have been plenty of changes in my life. There have been new hairstyles, new phases, new projects, and even recently new clothes, which is always pretty exciting.

My mistrust of Western medicine.

To be honest, I have a general mistrust of Western medicine. I would say that this one feeling of mine is the thing that consistently evokes gasps and raised eyebrows. I have a lot of strong opinions on a lot of subjects, from breastfeeding to birth to grammar to mental health and many other things, but when I question listening to ones doctor, or maybe treating conditions at home rather than rushing to a doctors office, people are consistently shocked.

Struggling, but I WILL NOT get stuck.

In the interest of honesty and full disclosure, I am struggling. However, I think the reason I am finally finding the will to write about it means that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so I'm going to get my words out and go with it. When I've struggled with things in the past it has always helped to be able to think about the situation, put words and descriptions onto it, and then move forward.

Bug lost his first tooth!

Our 5 1/2 year old son, Bug, has been wiggling his lower front tooth for the past couple of weeks. For most of that time he's been very cautious about it. Some caution is totally understandable, especially for a kid like Bug who likes to be sure he knows how to do something All The Way before he gives it a try. The new "grown-up tooth" behind it has been slowly growing in, ready to take over whenever the wiggly tooth was ready to fall out. We would joke while brushing his teeth at night that he was just going to grow several complete rows of teeth, like a shark, never actually losing any.

Nazis and their Breastfeeding Agenda?

Breastfeeding Nazi. What a hurtful, offensive statement that is cruelly thrown around, usually behind the anonymity of an online posting. It's a whole other level of hurtful to receive this kind of insult AFTER somebody has repeatedly come to you for breastfeeding advice, telling you that they are committed to making it work and they NEED your help. The internet - it offers us so many wonderful opportunities for growth and learning, and also offers us this wonderful platform where you can hide behind your online identity and say cruel things that you'd never say to someones face.

"I didn't ride in a car seat, and I turned out fine."

"I didn't ride in a car seat, and I turned out fine." What an infuriating response to the topic of car seat safety for kids. It occurs to me that the children who didn't ride in car seats and DIDN'T turn out fine may not be here today to make such remarks. It's very sad to say, but it's true. The resistance to car seat safety is something I have never been able to understand. Our children grow up so quickly and move on to so many new things. Before we know it they're off doing their own thing with their own people. Sometimes we have frighteningly little control over their safety in the world. One simple thing we can do as parents, though, is provide a safe, modern, expert-approved car seat that will hold them in the safest possible way in the case of an accident. Of course an accident could happen and they could be fine in the wrong sized seat, or in no seat at all, but is that something you want to take a gamble with or is that something you want to take every precaution with? Personally, I'm not taking any chances with my children's lives. Bug is comfortably riding in a five point harness at the age of 5 1/2 years, and BooBoo is rear-facing at 22 months. They both know that they're riding in the safest way for their size.

The staying power of New Years Non-Resolutions.

It's been several years since I've made a genuine, publicly announced New Years resolution. This year I broke from that and made a resolution to send hand-written cards to people I love, and I'm sad to report that it's now January 17 and I have yet to mail one out. I actually regret making it an "official" resolution, and I'm going to excuse myself from it and downgrade it to my list of Non-Resolutions.