I have tried like heck to ignore the whole TIME magazine cover story issue, but the dang thing keeps coming up. I still refused to get involved in it, but I do want to point you to this awesome interview with the Attachment Parenting (AP) moms from the TIME story on KellyMom. In this post, they go really in-depth about how they feel about the whole thing and the reality of AP for them and their families.
In case you are wondering, no, my husband and I do not necessarily identify ourselves with AP and all it entails. We do agree with the spirit of the Eight Principles, but not always the exact tenets. That’s why I like to identify us as “natural parenting”. Just like the FDA has no regulation on the term “natural” when it comes to food, there isn’t any specific outline for “natural parenting”. To us, it means that we are making decisions about parenting in the way that comes most naturally to us and how it works with the God-given nature of our children’s personalities. The approach is based on respect for our children, truth and love based on God’s love for us, and what is realistic in our current life stage and physical environment. Also, if I have said it once, I have said it 100 times: every child is different. Including my two children.
Now that we’re talking about kids, how is potty training going? Pretty well! So far, he has about 1 accident per day, but that is usually because I didn’t take him to the potty frequently enough or because he was scared of the potty that was available. He has an aversion to any potty except his green Ikea potty here at home. But! He was able to go to the potty at school this week (his last week of Mother’s Day Out!), and didn’t have a single accident while he was there! Yay!
I shared this yesterday on Twitter, but I highly recommend that everyone see this excellent video about antibiotics in meat production and why it should be avoided.
We will be traveling with both the kids in the near future, in the car, for more than 4 hours. I think I have a good handle on what I can bring to keep Little Sir occupied, but I’m really struggling with what I can do for Little Lady. She is 15 months and puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. I can’t let her color or use markers. She is not so great at watching TV, plus she is still facing backwards in her car seat so she can’t see the iPad that Little Sir would be watching (dang you, stupid AAP guidelines, you have totally hosed us with Kid #2). Any ideas from readers who have done this recently?
I am way overdue for a garden update. But I am really tired right now and it is already getting really hot here in Dallas. Here is a hastily taken picture:
Not pictured: a new soaker hose I have bought because the one that came with the raised beds is terribly ineffective.
If you are wondering about the chickens, they are doing well. They produce better eggs when I give them green scraps. I spend a lot of time chasing them and cleaning their poop. Chicken poop is a huge pain in the butt. Think about that before you go getting backyard chickens!
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Well that’s all for this week, be sure to visit Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Fridays.
#5 Lots of books, toys, magnadoodle, baby safe mirror, snacks… If she has a sippy cup tie it to her carseat! That way you are not playing the try to find/reach the thrown sippy cup under the seat game the entire drive.
As an experienced traveler mom of 3, I have learned to take only 2 or 3 small toys that are their favorites.
My kids entertain each other pretty well for some of the drive time. Don’t underestimate yur kids! They might whine and cry for awhile, but if you keep at this approach, they will learn it. There is a limit, of course. Sme toy time is necessary. But I find my kids do better when they have some time without toys and electronics, and just use their own imaginations or just chill.
Driving at nap time is also helpful. Another tip I’ve found useful is, if you stop for meals, you eat while the kids play (either fast food play land or park). They can eat when you get back in the car.
We also sing songs or practice animal sounds, alphabet, etc. Play rhyming games including nonsense rhymes with the older one and the little one will be listening, be entertained, and be learning stuff.
Good luck with your trip!
Ok, garden stuff. I had to look at your older garden posts to get caught up. I live in hot and dry weather, and a thicker layer of mulch will help keep the moisture in the garden. Like, 3-6 inches around the plant roots. Also, I don’t know what time of day this pic was taken, but it looks like your tomatoes and basil get part shade. That is okay, but tomatoes and basil both do really well in full sun. So if you try the garden again, consider moving something else into the shade. Keep the basil and tomatoes together — they are good companion plants.
About peas — we grew sugar snap peas, and they are a fall crop. Kale, too, Is a cool weather crop. These will not survive in summer in Texas. Maybe if you shaded them and kept the soil really cool, that might help. But I would not expect the kale to last for very much of the summer. (sorry!) you should also expect bugs to eat dying plants. To get rid of the bugs, get rid of the plant. For more organic ideas for pests, look up neem oil and diatomaceous earth.
Your peppers should do well in summer. Mulch the roots and keep well watered. If they get stressed, the peppers will be spicy. They do well in full sun.
Finally, I just read about soaking the garden with a slow drip for as long as 6 hrs, one to two times a week. I don’t know how well this works for raised bed planting, but cyan test it by digging into the dirt to see how wet it is and how far down it stays wet and for how m any days? Seems like that is how rain works, so why not do it that way ourselves?
I can’t tell what the other plants are, except for strawberries, which I don’t know much about. We had strawberries last year and they seemed to do pretty well. Didn’t harvest much, nut if you can keep them from freezing (look up cold frame) they will stay around and possibly produce more fruit in the second year, once their roots are more established.
Other ideas that are great for new gardeners are squash and zucchini. They grow really well and zucchini especially is notorious for producing more than you can eat yourselves. I’ve made zucchini bread, zucchini pizza crust, stuffed zucchini, etc., etc. and it is not too late to plant it in the garden. Buy one already started and it will probably be producing by August or September.
Sorry if that was way too much info. I am super excited about gardening and hope you can have some success! If nothing else, your tomatoes and basil look like they are off to a great start. Read up on keeping them from getting too busy — that helps them produce more fruit, or in the basil plant, it keeps it from going to flower. Once basil goes to flower it doesnt taste very good at all.
Good luck!
Arg! Keep tomatoes and basil from getting too bushy!