Joan Ellen Cornell

12:15 AM

Beware- this song is ADDICTING.

12:15 AM

Being a mom is a full time job. But even full time jobs give you time off.

I read this blog post the other day by Jess at IROCKSOWHAT that completely inspired this post i'm about to write. Go there and read her post, then come back here and read mine :)

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I knew that when I had Porter, life was going to change. It was not to be as I knew it anymore, and I prepared myself for that. Shoot, life changed pretty drastically the day I learned I was pregnant. Nothing like it has since Porter's been in this world, but it did. I knew that my life would now be about this little guy, and I accepted that and ran with it. I want to preface this post with this- I love Porter more than I have ever loved in my entire life, and that is something that is so precious to me. He will always be my first priority. Jess said something that I think came out so perfectly. "Yes it's beautiful and wonderful and you love like you haven't loved before, but what happens to us inside? You're still you, and you're still cool and can contribute to this world."

First priority. Let's talk about that. Really, I suppose I should be my own first priority, because I feel that I need to take care of myself first in order to fully take care of Porter. He needs me to be healthy, happy, and emotionally available.

Before I had P, I went to lots and lots and lots of shows. Like, 143 in one year (that includes times of 2 shows in one night). That was the first year I moved to Colorado. The next couple of years, I went to a lot. Not quite as many, but usually once a week or so. When I found out I was pregnant, that all definitely changed. While P was in my belly, I went to a handful of shows (mostly to see our friends band, Yamn). The main reason I didn't go more often then was because I was so freakin' tired all the time, and it was way more appealing to lay on the couch. Haha.

So once I had Porter, and I started to feel better, within a month or so I was itching to go out. To do what I loved to do. But I kept feeling like it was wrong that I already wanted to go to a show, that it was wrong that I already felt ok leaving P for the night (with his dad of course). I read on people's blogs things like "I didn't leave my child overnight for 2 years" or saw that people obviously spent every waking hour with their child, didn't leave them for more than 30 minutes to run to the store, ever. I felt like people were going to judge me for going out so soon, and being away for 12 hours or maybe longer.

But-

I went out.

I didn't advertise it really.

I felt like people would judge me.

I constantly wondered if it was ok to still do the things I enjoyed, even though Porter couldn't do those things with me.

And ya know what? That's SO lame. I needed to go be myself and do something that I loved, something that I loved before P was even a thought in our minds. And so I have. And i'm not going to sit here and try to say that I don't miss him (because this is coming from someone who misses her child when he takes a nap sometimes, haha), because when i'm away from him, I think about him constantly and talk about him more. I remember thinking to myself the first night I went to a show that the people I had just met probably were really tired of hearing about a baby they didn't know when they were trying to party, haha. Maybe not, but I sure did talk about him a ton.

So being away from him for not a super long time, doing what I love and what makes me happy, makes it all the better when I do see him afterwards. Now, I'm not saying that I go out all the time, because I most definitely do not, but I am saying that there is no point in giving up everything you had in your pre-baby life that made you happy. Your child doesn't need you to be with them every second if it means you are not fulfilling yourself with those things in life you've always loved.

We try to include Porter when we can- when it's appropriate at his age. He's been to a FIBARK Music festival, South Pearl Jam Music Festival, a Rockies game, and to Tribune County Fair, among many other places. I want to expose him to the things we love to do as soon as possible, because {secretly} I hope that someday he likes and appreciates music (and obviously other things) as much as we do.

I also want to mention that we have left Porter with a babysitter only a handful of times. For the most part, Jeremy and I take turns going out, so that one of us is home with P. I definitely miss going with him like we used to, but that's the sacrifice we make in order to still do what we love but also be with our baby. We like it that way, and it's what works for us :)

Like Jess, I hope this inspires more moms to keep doing what they have always loved to do, pre-baby days. Our children need to see us do what makes us happy and what we love, they need to see us be passionate about life in order for them to do the same!

10:41 PM

Sponsor Swap!

4:53 PM

Hello!

12:01 AM

STS9 @ Red Rocks

7:00 PM

Sponsor Swap, Someone?

4:08 PM

Dogs

6:42 PM

Wedding

12:45 PM

Hi friends!

7:24 PM

Sewing!

3:47 PM

Thrifted

10:26 AM

Cloth Diapering!

9:39 PM

New blog design :)

3:00 PM

Porter has hair! :)

11:35 AM

It's Monday!

4:52 PM

And another P update

8:07 PM

Update on Port Dawg

12:15 AM

Illinois via iPhone pics

1. on the airplane, ready to take off to kansas city (where we had a connecting flight).
2. hanging out on the ground watching people :) we then missed our connecting flight to milwaukee (my cell phone time didn't change, so I thought we were an hour behind what we actually were) and couldn't get on another flight until the next morning, so we called a friend who lived nearby (in Lawrence) and stayed the night with them.
3. trying a pickle. sucked that thing DRY. he loved it!
4. friends kitty.
5. waiting to get on the plane in the morning, tired baby.
6. you know you're in the midwest when you see this sign.
7. what got me through the morning.
8. darts with friends.
9. on the way to the zoo.
10. at the zoo.
11. grandma feeding Porter :)
12. cousins loving the tub.
13. me.
14. long story, but this used to belong to my grandpa (it's fake). my sister and I share it.
15. I went out one night, and this is what I came home to :) grandma's a little rusty on the middle of the night feedings :)
16. waiting to fly back to denver.

This last picture I wanted to post separately, because I kind of like the story that goes with it :)

We flew from Milwaukee to Kansas City, had a short layover, and then flew from Kansas City to Denver. Right as we got into Denver, we hit tons of HORRIBLE turbulence and apparently the weather was too bad to land, so we got re-routed to Colorado Springs. That meant we had to sit on the HOT airplane for over 2 hours until we got the ok to fly back to Denver. I seriously think someone up "there" really really loves me, because I have the world's best traveling baby ever. Seriously. He doesn't sleep much, but he just hangs out and looks around and smiles and laughs at people. So while sitting on the runway for hours hanging out, he literally made everyone's day. We were near the front of the plane, and at one point there was a huge line for the bathroom, and he made a new friend in every person who walked by, smiling and laughing at everyone. And in particular, this one woman (in the photo above) who had so much fun hanging out with him. The lady's husband actually got out of his seat next to her so Porter could sit there, and he stood in the aisle and chatted with other people. How awesome is that??!
Once we got back to Denver, we realized that our car seat wasn't with the rest of the car seats from our flight (we later found out that it never left Milwaukee). We went to the baggage counter and made a report, and while doing so, we talked about how happy Porter still was considering the re-route and stuff. The lady at the counter mentioned that there had been an older woman in there that was talking about this little boy on her flight, and that it was the best flight she had been on in a long time. She was talking about Porter!! So even though the flight was re-routed, people were cranky, it was hot and uncomfortable, and we had no food besides peanuts and pretzels, Porter made this woman's day. Wow. That is incredible to me. He honestly made an otherwise crappy situation, bearable for so many people :)

5:48 PM

Smartie

12:53 PM

DO it.

10:19 AM

Sewing room.

3:33 PM

Homemade baby food.

I recently read this article by MSNBC, "Experts seek to debunk baby food myths". Go read it, what a great article. A few quotes from it:

~As research increasingly suggests a child's first experiences with food shape later eating habits, doctors say battling obesity and improving the American diet may mean debunking the myths and broadening babies' palates.

~"Parents have lost touch with the notion that these charts are guides, not rules," says Rachel Brandeis, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Babies start with a very clean palate and it's your job to mold it."

~In a review of the research, Nancy Butte, a pediatrics professor at Baylor College of Medicine, found that many strongly held assumptions — such as the need to offer foods in a particular order or to delay allergenic foods — have little scientific basis.

~And bring on the spices. Science is catching up with the folklore that babies in the womb and those who are breast-fed taste — and develop a taste for — whatever Mom eats. So experts say if Mom enjoys loads of oregano, baby might, too.

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Right on.

I knew from when Porter was the size of a pea in my belly, that I would make his baby food myself rather than buy jarred food. I never really looked much into it, I just knew that's what I would do. So when I felt like Porter was ready to start eating food, I started making it with my Beaba.

Now that i'm making it myself, I realize WHY it's so awesome:

~it's cheaper. all that food that I used to make 43 meals with- total cost of $14. that's 22.5 days of food. $.62 a day. Over three weeks worth of meals and it took me a couple hours (it made 86 cubes...Porter eats 1-2 cubes, twice a day).

~I can make any creation I want, and am not limited to what they make and sell in jars.

~it's fun. it really is.

~I know exactly what is going into his little growing body.

~you know that feeling you have while breastfeeding, that you, yourself are producing your child's food? Well it feels like that in a way...i'm putting love into making his meals :)

It is SO much fun. I literally look forward to making it. Tonight I spent a couple hours, with a few interruptions, and made 5 different types of meals. Because he has already tried a handful of things, I was able to make mixtures of different fruits and vegetables as well. And I am going to start using a little bit of spices here and there too.

Right now, I buy everything organic that I use to make his food (with the exception of the Pomegranate Juice).

What I bought now:

6 Small Plums

1 Mango

1 Small Spaghetti Squash

Sugar Snap Peas

Pear Juice

What I bought the other day:

Pomegranate Juice

5 Bananas

Baby Carrots

What I already had:

Nutmeg

Recipes:

Carrot Puree
3/4 Bag of Baby Carrots
1 Cup Water
Pinch of nutmeg

Mango Puree
1 Mango
2 Bananas
1/2 Cup Pear Juice
1/4 Cup Pomegranate Juice

Plum Puree
6 Small Plums (I left the skins on)
2 Bananas
1/2 Cup Pear Juice

Squash Puree
1 Small Spaghetti Squash
1 Bananas
1/2 Cup Water

Pea Puree
2 Cups Sugar Snap Peas (I steamed and blended the peas & pods)
1/2 Cup Pear Juice