It has been awhile since I have been on the blog and it isn't that shocking that I couldn't remember the password to get on. I know that there are people who enjoy the posts and I appreciate your patiences with my lack in updates. Naturally, we have been very busy with life in general, but there have been a few things that have exciting and exhausting. Our little Avery turned 1 yesterday and we had a fun little party for her. She is such a beautiful, smart little girl. I am constantly in complete awe of her and can't believe how incredible my little girl is. She is now starting to go through the stage of "stranger danger" and in a few days we will be shedding the bottle. She can now enjoy whole milk or silk. We had her Dr. appt today and she had 4 shots (count them...4) in her little arms. It is heartbreaking to hear your child cry like that and I am so thankful that we are healthy. Her stats are 22.8 pounds (just under 75%tile) and 30 1/2 inches tall (just under 90%tile). Dr. Gregg said that she is perfectly where she should be. I am sure she says that to all the moms, but I know in our case it is true. :)
Mason has been going through a difficult times. He is very short fused, defiant, and may be having nightmares. At first I was not sure how to handle my new little guy's temperament. Of course, when I don't know what to do I research, read everything that I can get my hands on and talk to anyone who will talk back. This all started about 2 weeks ago. About 1 am I heard Avery so I went to make sure that she was covered up and as I turned the corner outside of my room I heard a small voice, "Hi Mommy." Of course I was startled. I picked Mason up and asked him what he was doing. He was very awake and I wondered how long he had been there. He curled up in my arms and told me that he was scared. When I questioned him more he told me, "Grasshopper on Mason's pillow. Grasshopper want to eat Mason." I had nothing in my repertoire for large scary grasshoppers at 1 in the morning, so I told him let's go see this grasshopper. We went in and squished the grasshopper and gave him a verbal tongue lashing, "Grasshopper! You leave my Mason alone! You leave my Mason alone or you will get a spanking and time out!" After about 10 minutes of this my obviously shaken, tired little boy felt better and went back to sleep. This has happened 3 more times: a bear, a dinosaur, and now the door wants to get Lamby. I don't know what my little boy is seeing, dreaming, or even thinking for that matter. I am trying to teach him to be strong and brave, but I am sad and am unsure how to handle this. He also is having some serious meltdowns. I wonder if some of this is attributed to him not sleeping so well at night. He is back to having a 3 to 4 hours nap during the day. The best thing that I have read was simple and made sense for the behavior issues that we are having.
You think your life is hard? Imagine being plunked down in a foreign land where you're not fluent in the language, you have to figure out how everything from a doorknob to a toilet works, and you're one-third the height of everyone else. When your child seems overwhelmed, it's a good idea to look at what's going on in his world, slow the pace, and provide extra TLC — the same things you like when you're overwhelmed!
Todd finally heard back from the Texas job and he did not get the bid. It was a very emotionally stressful process and Todd was bummed out. He did however, get the bid for counter tops (another government contract) in Aguilar, Colorado. This job is about 45 minutes away. I am elated at how this turned out, Todd is still bummed.
HearAid is doing something new and trying to recruit doctor referrals. We are going and meeting with docs and it is no easy task to get a piece of their time. Then in under 5 minutes I have to explain everything about us and why they should refer to us. To say the least this process makes me so nervous that I want to vomit. HearAid's numbers are soaring so far this year and we are looking forward to the national convention in April. The 4 of us will be attending (Todd, Tom, Renee, and myself) and we are really looking forward to it.
Wow, people must think Avery is so much older than she is because of all that beautiful hair! I thought she must have been 1 a long time ago! Congrats on how your business is doing. That is really exciting.
ReplyDeletePeople used to think it was necessary to "spank" adult members of the community, military trainees, and prisoners. In some countries they still do. In our country, it is considered sexual battery if a person over the age of 18 is "spanked", but only if over the age of 18.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, because the buttocks are so close to the genitals and so multiply linked to sexual nerve centers, striking them can trigger powerful and involuntary sexual stimulus in some people. There are numerous physiological ways in which it can be sexually abusive, but I won't list them all here. One can use the resources I've posted if they want to learn more.
Child buttock-battering vs. DISCIPLINE:
Child buttock-battering (euphemistically labeled "spanking","swatting","switching","smacking", "paddling",or other cute-sounding names) for the purpose of gaining compliance is nothing more than an inherited bad habit.
Its a good idea for people to take a look at what they are doing, and learn how to DISCIPLINE instead of hit.
I think the reason why television shows like "Supernanny" and "Dr. Phil" are so popular is because that is precisely what many (not all) people are trying to do.
There are several reasons why child bottom-slapping isn't a good idea. Here are some good, quick reads recommended by professionals:
Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak,
The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson,
NO VITAL ORGANS THERE, So They Say
by Lesli Taylor M.D. and Adah Maurer Ph.D.
Most compelling of all reasons to abandon this worst of all bad habits is the fact that buttock-battering can be unintentional sexual abuse for some children. There is an abundance of educational resources, testimony, documentation, etc available on the subject that can easily be found by doing a little research with the recommended reads-visit the website of Parents and Teachers Against Violence In Education at www.nospank.net.
Just a handful of those helping to raise awareness of why child bottom-slapping isn't a good idea:
American Academy of Pediatrics,
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
American Psychological Association,
Center For Effective Discipline,
Churches' Network For Non-Violence,
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Parenting In Jesus' Footsteps,
Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment of Children,
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In 26 countries, child corporal punishment is prohibited by law (with more in process). In fact, the US was the only UN member that did not ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.