- First off, why is there so much uproar about the election results?! I wasn't exactly thrilled with our president the last 8 years but I don't remember seeing nearly the same animosity toward Obama as we're seeing with Trump! Like the hashtag #notmypresident ?! Are you kidding me?? Or burning flags?!?! WHAT IS THIS. I just have to say, I'm so appalled by the reactions of many people across the country. And parents that cry, "What will I tell my daughter? What kind of role model is Trump?" Okay really? What kind of role model is Hillary? I don't think either of our candidates was exactly a stellar example of honesty, integrity, goodness, etc. Amiright? So be your kid's own role model and stop worrying. How much power does the president have, anyways? Not that much. Granted with so much Republican strength currently in government a lot could happen quickly, but hopefully they use that for good! Let's put some faith in the senators and congressmen who WE ELECTED and see what happens! Okay political rant over.
- I keep pondering on an article I read a few months ago. It was a mom talking about how many times we as parents say, "Hurry up!" to our kids. As we're racing out the door to Target we call, "Hurry up! Grab your shoes!" When we're on a casual walk we say, "Hurry up! We're walking faster than you!" And even before bed as kids thumb through books we say, "Hurry up, just pick one!" Hahaha. So true! We are constantly telling our kids to hurry. But the author explained that as she's tried to eliminate those words from her life, and instead just slow down and match the pace of her kids, she's found so much joy. Kind of a let them be little approach. Now obviously there are the times when Lydia and I are running late to the doctor's appointment or she'll miss watching the garbage truck if we're not fast, but as a whole I've really made an effort to adopt this philosophy and it's made me such a happier parent! I get to enjoy the way Lydia stops and examines cracks in the sidewalk, and watch her curious little mind as she slowly picks up all her farm animals one by one and puts them back in their barn as we clean. Slowing down and just letting Lydia explore the world at her own pace has taken stress off my checklist/type A self, since now my goal as we run errands isn't, "how fast can I get out of here," but rather, "let's enjoy this experience together." It doesn't always work, and sometimes we're flying through the last two aisles of Walmart while she cries in my arms and we've had enough, but as a whole I've found a lot of peace in this new mindset :).
- Interestingly, as I've found more patience for Lydia I seem to have lost some of it for grown ups - HA. It's like, I can wait all day for my 15-month-old to do something but because you're a competent adult I expect more from you and have no tolerance. So so bad!!! For instance, in the last two days I snapped at a Verizon guy, a door-to-door saleswoman, AND the grocery cashier! In my own head I can justify all of these, aaaand to make myself feel a tiny bit better I guess I will attempt to tell you too ;). Mr. Terrible Eye Contact Mumbler Verizon Man totally didn't mention an additional $93 charge that he just slapped on last minute. The door-to-door gal came right as I was trying to put Lydia to sleep and obnoxiously banged on my door and rang the bell three times. And the grocer kept trying to sell me a freakin membership when she could clearly see that Lydia was screaming in my arms - ahhhhhh! BUT that's not the point. (But it did make me feel a little better to tell you guys that ;) .) The point is right after I shut the door on the sales girl tonight, this giant thought popped into my head. "That could be Lydia in twenty years." OH MY GOSH. Those are all somebody's kids!! So of course I got this huge wave of guilt and an urge to be nicer and more Christlike. What if that was Christ trying to sell me something at the door? (I mean ideally He would see it was a bad time and maybe even offer to make her a bottle, right? Hahaha jk.) But really, my goal is to be more patient with ALL people, not just my daughter, and treat everyone like they matter. Here's to being kinder!
- If you follow me on snapchat (annikajames) you've seen that that pregnancy insomnia is baaaaack! This came around last time with Lydia in the third trimester, and it seems we've already come across it again this time. I wake up anywhere between 2:30 and 4 and then my mind just races. I toss and turn for about 30 minutes before I finally just get out of bed. I heard it's bad to stay in bed if you can't sleep. Trains your mind that you don't sleep well in bed? Anyone know if this is true? But the plus side is I usually have my most productive hour and a half of the entire day! Haha. I clean the kitchen, I research baby products, I blog, I read this toddler parenting book, it's great! Until the next day around 11am when I am dyyyying of exhaustion. Hence lately I've been napping when Lydia naps, which always makes me feel like a super lame mom but boy I've needed it.
- Also, the past two days I've been nauseous again. Boo. I've been taking a half dose of my medicine to try and wean off it, but I might just have to up it again if this keeps up. I was leaning over the toilet yesterday and all these terrible memories of being sick came back and I do NOT want that again.
Anyway, sorry this was kind of a downer post! Just lots of random things going through my head currently. I hope you guys are doing good!
Also a reader pointed out to me a few weeks ago that there is nowhere to make comments on my blog! Haha. Really tech-y over here, clearly ;). So I'm going to hopefully fix that asap, but for now you can email me with questions at annikajchristensen@gmail.com or send me a DM on instagram or snapchat! I'm usually pretty good at getting back quickly to people. Thanks for being patient with my lack of blogger formatting skills!
