What GOOD music is - with Daddy

There has to be something wrong with me, or at least, with the moms I know, not all of them, just the ones I consider to be great moms. I'm sorry... that might have sounded very, very judgmental... I just don't know how to say it any other way. I guess there is something embedded in my brain, and I need to let go of it. 

Libby and I have a routine every day, which I honestly don't consider it to be very structured, but I guess it is. We do almost the same things every day, almost at the same time. And I understand that could be boring for many people, that they might think that I could be more flexible, but then, if I didn't know what to do, I would be bored. I don't know if I'm making sense at all. 

Okay, so, if you asked me, "What do you do from the moment she wakes up (6:30 am) until she takes her nap (11 am) and after?", this is how my answer would look like:

6:45 am -              Emerson or I give her her milk

7:00-7:30 am -  Breakfast

7:30-8:30 am -  Walk in the neighborhood with Merritt and Kori

8:40-9:20 am-   Libby walks on her own around the complex

9:30-10 am -      I take a shower while Libby plays in the pack and play

10:00-11 am -    Read Bibles or sing songs, read books, stories. Snack before nap time

11 am-1 pm -      Nap. Mom reads her Bible (lately naps, too), cooks, cleans, whatever...

1 pm-2 pm -        Lunch. Mommy washes dishes while she watches Harry or phonics videos

2 pm-3 pm -       Skype with grandma. Mommy vacuums or keeps cooking or folds laundry

  Play the game- Queen

After Skyping, we usually just hang out. I make sure everything is clean in the kitchen, and that whatever we are having for dinner is ready for when Daddy comes home. More stories, kisses, timeouts when needed. We change things around according to my needs. Sometimes I have to vacuum after Skyping because I couldn't do it before her morning nap or stuff like that. And when I pause and think, "Well, it's not really that structured, I'm somewhat flexible...", I honestly believe I am.

I read in a book that flexibility is the ability of materials to deform, but then they go back to the original shape. Flexibility with children has been "malformed" to think that you don't need a plan really. So when someone says they are flexible with bottles, naps, etc., what they really mean is that they don't have a time for anything, they just go with the flow of the day. Flexible parents would look at me and say, "You have her on a schedule". 

YES, I guess I have her on one. And I have even been made feel bad because of it!

500 hundred miles - The Proclaimers 1

500 hundred miles - The Proclaimers 2

One day, a mom asked me to tell her my daily routine and when I told her what I did with Libby, she looked at me like I was kind of a weird creature and said, "I can't believe you don't watch TV!! What do you do all day long?" To what -again- I responded with my schedule when Libby was about 6 months old. I actually had her on such a "rigorous" schedule - according to her, anyway- that I predicted Libby would fall asleep very soon, and she did :)) 

I'm not trying to prove my point or even prove to you that I'm right. I honestly don't care what you think about my mom skills, which I think are awesome. If you go with the flow, fine. But when you consider that this mom watches a movie several times everyday with the son because the child loves that movie... Well, it's hard for me not to think that she has it "easy". So anyway...all this because yesterday was Sunday and we had such an easygoing day. We just watched Youtube with Libby, and did nothing. We watched The Office, we ate in front of the TV, I tried to scrapbook while she was coloring on her new block with the new crayons Mommy bought for her... but I felt bad, because after she was finished with the crayons, I kept on scrap-booking, and Emerson was taking a nap in the couch. She would walk from her room to the living room, just like a lost puppy, like bored, I thought she needed something. But Emerson said she was fine. And she was... it's just probably me.  

Listen to the music - The Doobie Brothers 1

Listen to the music - The Doobie Brothers 1

She is used to read stories, she grabs her books and points towards the pictures, and I repeat STAR until I go crazy. But she recognizes the star now everywhere. She is also recognizing the letter A. And you say SUN and she looks up, since there is a sun in her bedroom. And she makes the sheep's noise, or at least she tries. And she whines like a puppy when she sees Dori, or grabs Perrito Guau Guau. So those times when I cry in my bathroom because I want time to hide and rest, instead of repeating CIRCLE -for the millionth time- are paying off. My love, my time, my hugs, my kisses, my everything-I-have-I-pour-into-her will pay off. She is joyful, kind, she is becoming very patient while waiting for her food. She is a hugger. She will be the perfect big sister for Baby.   

Huapango - Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional 1

Huapango - Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional 2

I am so proud of her, and so very thankful that God has let us experience the joy of having a child... In fact, yesterday in the bathroom while I was crying, I just laughed and thought, "I am so silly... this is nothing, I will have two in my lap in five weeks." 

I blew my nose and got out. But I felt much better. And that's pretty much it. Emerson brew today for Labor Day. Later we'll go out for ice cream or something similar. I'll make sure to take photos. This blog has become very important, not only because I record everything they do, but because I can actually share how I feel. It will come in handy in 30 years -God willing- when I have lots of time in my hands. It will be neat to remember what I thought while I was raising them :)))