Four Random Things All Thrown Into One Post

Yesterday, my best friend, Jaime, shared this link with me, so I thought I'd pass it on. What an incredible miracle! Let's just pray for the parents of that child, that they give thanks to God their baby was not harmed, and that they have learned their lesson to never, ever leave their children alone again!!

I also came across this amazing article from about a month ago. Very interesting stuff! Of course, Gemma isn't even close to ready for real food yet; she's only 3 months. But considering how fast the first three months went, I'm quite confident the next few will fly by as well, so there's no harm in reading up early! I've ordered both of these books from the library; have I mentioned how much I love the Cincinnati Public Library system? Seriously, it rocks. They have everything. Anyway, for those of you who are mamas to food-eating little ones, I want to hear your opinion about the article. What do you think?? Have you tried this? Has it worked for your kids? If you haven't tried it, would you consider it?

Next, I wanted to talk a little bit about my most recent library checkout, Bedtiming, by Drs. Marc Lewis and Isabela Granic. Devoured it in a matter of days. I like that it's not really a "sleep-training" book; it doesn't really tell you how to "sleep-train" your child, but rather when the best times to do so are. If you're like me, the term "sleep-training" might make you feel uneasy. For me, all that comes to mind is the "cry-it-out" method and I have these tragic visions of listening to my child screaming in the other room all night. 

However, the authors define "sleep-training" fairly loosely - it could be establishing a consistent sleep routine/schedule, getting your child to sleep through the night, nap sufficiently during the day, sleep in his/her own crib or bed, etc. They also assure the reader that there is no one way to "sleep-train" your child, that there are many viable methods that can be very effective, if used at the right time. Whatever your opinions on "sleep-training", if you are a parent to little ones, I highly recommend this book. Like I said, they do not push any one method; the book simply describes the periods of cognitive and emotional development of the child, and how each period of development offers either opportunities or roadblocks to the "sleep-training" process.

Rent it. Borrow it. Buy it. Just give it a read; it's well worth it.

Lastly, I'm looking for advice! We're going to be flying to San Diego in a few weeks. We are very  fortunate to have a nonstop flight, however, it is about a 4 1/2 hour flight, maybe a titch longer. I have read that it'll be best for me to nurse Gemma during take-off and landing, so I'll be doing that. But my concern is with the many hours in between take-off and landing. My little one does NOT take long naps; they usually only last 30 minutes. I just don't want to be that parent that everyone on the plane wants to stab by the end of the flight because Gemma won't stop crying or something. So. Anyone know any special tricks that work for a 3 month old?

Apples? Oh yea. Apples and Pumpkins? Double oh yea.

Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie - not perfect but who's complaining?

-Robert Brault

Quite true. Family life isn't perfect, but let's be truthful here - how unbelievably boring would life be if it were perfect? Having said all that, I'd like to conclude that my family has had a pretty perfect October. (This is where I'd insert the appropriate emoticon of that gleaming, sarcastic smile one makes after making an absurd statement, if such an emoticon actually existed. I digress.) But seriously, it was an awesome month. Not really 'perfect', of course, but that's what makes it so fun. 

Before I get into all the highlights, let me first say this: I'm really bound and determined to update my blog more often. There's a few reasons for this.

Reason 1: I'm a chronic procrastinator, so I'll use this as therapy to work through this particular flaw.

Reason 2: Hopefully I won't be so overwhelmed when it comes time to update. When I wait too long, then there's soooo much to write that I end up a) becoming stressed about it and b) writing way too vaguely about life and leaving out potentially entertaining and awesome details!

Reason 3: Well, having more frequent posts is just more exciting for my hoards of avid readers! (Insert previously described emoticon.)

Why did you need to know all that? So that you can keep me honest, people! (Seriously, yell at me if it's been too long since the last post.)

So a few weeks ago, the Rhoades fam took an excursion to an apple orchard. It was Rocky's and, of course, Gemma's first time ever apple picking so this was a big deal!! Sadly, it was raining when we got there, even though the ever-reliable weather man had promised a clear afternoon. Nevertheless, we Rhoadeses are optimists and weren't about to let anything rain on our apple-picking parade... not even rain. So I put the Gemster in her Baby Bjorn and the two of us took shelter under my trusty Yankees umbrella that somebody gave me during the summer that I worked for the environment, as I like to call it. But THAT is a story for another time...

Anyway, Rocky and I had the greatest time picking apple off trees and chomping right into them to see which ones were worthy of taking home. (Don't worry Mom, it was an organic farm -- no pesticides, no one else touching them, no need to wash! haha) Oh, and for the record, this IS acceptable apple picking protocol at this orchard!

We had a great time, despite the rain. In fact, the only real disappointment of the rain was that I was unable to take pictures, due to fear of my camera getting wet. So, we went back two weeks later to snap some shots and buy more apples! (But mostly just to take pictures.)

So, being in the Fall spirit and with Halloween right around the corner, we of course had to go pick some pumpkins! Another first for the hubster and the Gemster. Had a super fun time again even though we got a whole bunch of those bramble things stuck to our pants and shoelaces. (Is that what they're called - brambles? Ya know, those spikey ball things?) Anyway, here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

So then, we went home. And I got this great idea to take pictures of our little baby INSIDE the big pumpkin! Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. But we hit a few bumps along the way... 

Bump 1: Gemma has a big booty. (Of course, it's mostly diaper, but still.)

Bump 2: We cut a bigger hole for her to fit through. But she was still a bit to tall for it.

Bump 3: Apparently, sitting inside a pumpkin is CHILD TORTURE. Seriously, this kid was not having it.

Anyway, here are the results of failed operation Take-Pictures-of-Gemma-In-A-Pumpkin:

Fortunately for moms and dads everywhere, crying pictures are still completely adorable. Pitiful, but adorable.

So we moved on from there to hopefully redeem ourselves with a successful carving experience. And succeed we did! I'm not sure if Rocky really enjoyed gutting the pumpkins but he did a great job nevertheless. He even helped me finish sorting out the seeds from the stringy stuff once he was done. Why wasn't I finished with the sorting, you ask? Well... Mom, Dad, if you're reading this, I'm sure you're already laughing. You see friends, sometimes in my life, usually while working on some sort of inane project like this, I happen to engage in what some might call perfectionist tendencies. In other words, I was not about to have even one tiny little piece of stringy stuff on my seeds! I digress... again.

So. We sorted them out, baked them up, and munched happily away on them as we carved big ole faces into our fresh, rotund little gourds. 

Yes, those are upside down flower pots. Seeing as I killed my plants long ago due to my extreme lack of a green thumb, I figured I could still put them to use somehow! 

By the way, I do indeed have some great pictures of Gemma on her first Halloween. Once I upload those pics, I'll post them!! Toodles till next time! :)