Stickers, stickers everywhere!

I just picked yet another sticker up off the floor. As I unstuck it from itself I couldn't help but smile.
Lately I have been pulling stickers off the bottoms of my socks, peeling them off the rug, scraping them off the side of various pieces of furniture, and I believe I removed one from the fluffy cat’s tail. Each time I find one of these once loved but quickly forgotten about mementos my heart melts a little more. I smile, sigh, and find a place to display the little reminder of how much my little boy has learned and grown in the past year.
I imagine that in most homes stickers are forbidden for anyone under the age of five for the reasons I mentioned above. I also imagine you are waiting for me to explain why I so much enjoy finding them all over my house.
Samuel LOVES stickers. We discovered this some time ago and after a few tries he learned not to eat them. He loved them so much that I thought it best to put them away and use them as a reward sometime in the future. As most of you know we recently bought Samuel a potty and began the attempt of potty training early (for those that don't know, we started a few weeks ago, around 11 months). After his first success I decided he needed something special.... A STICKER! He loved it. He stuck it on his leg, held it between his fingers, talked to it, and brought it to lunch. Unfortunately that particular sticker didn't survive lunch. I was bummed that I couldn't save it as a reminder that he actually used the potty but I figured he earned it and could do with it what he wanted (except eat it) and in the years to come there would be plenty of opportunities to hand out stickers. I never thought I would have so many opportunities in the next few weeks.
Since then he has earned at least a dozen stickers for making pee-pees in the potty. I am so proud of him and that is why I smile when I see these stickers, even if they are plastered to my laminate flooring and need a warm compress to remove. I even had to pull one out of the pee filled potty but I did it with pride. My little boy, at 12 months old can now use the potty regularly at least once a day!
A side note; I hesitated blogging about this. I know some will read it and make snide remarks. I have heard it all before regarding my choice to cloth diaper, make my own baby food, and breast feed until he self weans. After more thought I figured those people should stop reading my blog because I plan on there being many more posts bragging about his accomplishments.

THE RSVP

RSVP (invitations), request for responses
Etymology
From the French RSVP, répondez s'il vous plaît, meaning “reply please”.

My mother was always one to RSVP within days of receiving an invitation. She thought it impolite to wait and unacceptable to not RSVP at all, so I followed suit. I was never quite sure what "RSVP" stood for but I always knew what it was asking of me. I didn't get the chance to personally request others RSVP until I was 24 and hosting an anniversary party for my parents. The RSVPs came in promptly and all were in before the requested date. (I should note that the majority of the guests were my parent’s age.) The party was perfect. Years later I once again would be asking for an RSVP to a party I was hosting but this time the guest list had a different look. It was a much younger crowd. The RSVP dead line date was drawing nearer and many of the guests hadn't responded. It was right there on the invitation, clear as day, along with the proper contact information. I panicked. "The invitations never got there", was my first thought. I began calling guests and was a bit put off by what I found. The invitations had been delivered but the RSVP was ignored. After making some phone calls and hearing many half hearted apologizes and excuses I came up with a tentative head count (something that is very important when ordering food, planning seating, or preparing gifts for guest.) I became bitter by the lack of respect for the RSVP and began to question if it was something personal. (Unfortunately for them, but thankfully for my feelings, I later found that some others had the same problem.) The party went well and, to my surprise, some guests who didn't RSVP showed up.
Now, as I prepare for my son Samuel's first birthday party I also prepare myself for the dreaded RSVP...or lack thereof. I decided to be proactive and have begun to inform guests of the party two months in advance. I am getting creative with goodies for the kids so as not to be left with bunches of goody bags or worse, not enough. I have planned a menu that will be easy to expand on short notice. I even booked a venue that will comfortably accommodate any amount of people that may show up unexpected. I am also contemplating having the invitations read “Please, please, please RSVP” but that may be pushing it. So, I can only wonder, has the RSVP become a lost art for my generation?


Another thought (and possible next blog); Are “Thank you” cards no longer expected? For what occasions are they a must and when are they just not necessary?

This Week’s Small Change

This Week’s Small Change
(the link that got this blog post written)

I love the concept of "simplicity" especially as it is put by "Simplicity Parenting".
Sam and I have decided to keep gift giving simple by applying the following gift giving rules;
1. 3 gift limit. This rule made shopping fun because I got to pick something special for Samuel just from me. Sam also picked out a special gift for Samuel and we both agreed upon the third. For each other we set a one gift limit and under $10 (for this year). That is a real challenge; we will definitely be applying rule number 2 for this Christmas.
2. Make the presents! Making a present, re-gifting, doing something, or selling/trading something of your own to get something for someone else makes it so much more personable and so much easier on the wallet. We will only apply this to the immediate family so don't worry friends, your little ones will get real presents from us on their birthdays :)
3. Buy it for someone else. When Samuel (and our future children) is old enough to make a list of what he wants we hope to have him purchase a thing or two from the list and then donate it. I recently sent my sister something for her birthday that I would have loved to keep for myself and it felt great to send it to her instead.

So why am I blogging this? Pretty much to hold myself to it! This is something I have always felt strongly about but for some reason held off on applying until we had a baby (and coincidentally this is the same year we have not a penny to spare on gift giving).

2011 will be the year of simplifying for me... I can already feel the weight lifting from my shoulders.

Zoo

We are going to the Zoo today and renewing our membership. I am super excited knowing that we can once again go to the zoo any day/time they are open even if we haven't a dollar to spare (that is most days). I <3 Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens....and so do the Sams.

It's the little things

Lately my husband has been bringing Samuel into the bathroom when I am showering and lifting him up over the curtain so all I see is his sweet face.

Samuel has been grabbing my face with both hands and pulling me into his face so he can give "kisses". In reality I think he is tyring to eat my face or teeth on my chin but I still love it.

My husband has taken it upon himself to put together the diapers after they are washed. When I do it before he gets home he seems disappointed.

Every time I eat a yogurt I know it only cost me .0625 cents.

I tried to give Samuel rice cereal last night and he turned it down and wanted to nurse instead.

What a difference a year makes

Last year at this time I was barely pregnant, just enough so that I was starting to tell people. Now, as I approach the 30th anniversary of my own birth (thanks mom), I have a soon to be six month old son and a completely different life.
In this past year I have had many accomplishments both large and small and some so seemingly insignificant that their value can only be know by me. Some examples;
I have been pregnant
I learned to trust God
I have been very pregnant
I redecorated our house
I gave birth
I learned to really trust God
I gained 35lbs
I lost 15lbs in 3 weeks
I lost another 10 there after (please, don't do the math)
I learned to breast feed
I continued to breast feed
Those were the most obvious of my accomplishments so let me move to the somewhat smaller ones;
I mended friendships
I learned to live on a tight budget
I held out to 8cm before getting an epidural
I made it 3 days straight with only 2 hrs sleep each day
I made a 10 hr drive to and from NJ while 6 months pregnant
I made a much longer drive to and from NJ with a 4 1/2 month old
I have succesfully cloth diapered and will continue to do so
And my most favorite seemingly insignificant accomplishments of the past year;
I put on weight and loved it
I didn't move back to NJ (those who know me know how major this one was)
I grew, birthed, and sustained the life of a human being...ME! (and millions of other women I know but to think I did this is amazing...maybe this belongs in the big accomplishements list)
I did wake up ever two hrs to nurse the baby
I slept comfortably for more than 5 hrs straight
I ignored the negative feedback cloth diapering brought me
I ignored the judgments of not giving solid foods at 4 months
I cooked my husbands favortie foods...often
I hosted house guests on 4 different occasions, twice while pregnant and twice with a new baby
I learned to live happily on a very tight budget

Reading back I think it should all just be on the list of big accomplishements.
Years ago I would have told you how I dreaded the idea of ever turning 30 but now I embrace it. My twenties were fantastic (and I will blog on that topic one day) but I believe my thirties are going to be fabulous! 30 IS the new 20!

Birthday

A week from today will be the last day I have as a twenty something. My twenties have been great, in fact I may just blog about that decade of my life but another time. When turning thirty was months or years away I imagined I would have a big surprise party maybe even something formal with fancy hors d'oeuvres carried around on trays, after baby was born the hors d'oeuvres became hot dogs and the trays turned to paper plate but a party non the less. As it grew closer and I seemed to grow farther away from friends I wanted nothing to do with any of it. What good is a party if you fear no one would show or you have to throw it for yourself? Now I am feeling some regret. Turning thirty is a big event and they only let you do it once (otherwise this would be my 26th birthday, part 4). Is it too late? Could we pull it off in a short amount of time on our budget? Would it matter to me in ten years? I haven't had a birthday party in years and have in the passed vowed to never have one because of previous attempts failing miserably. i need to make a last minute decision and hopefully not regret it either way. How important is turning thirty?