Valentine's Weekend

I've just had a few thoughts floating around my mind as we head into Valentine's Day weekend. I know the day is not really until Monday, but I figure, most people will be celebrating it this weekend.

First of all, to all the haters and naysayers who despise Valentine's Day on the sole basis that "it's just a stupid day Hallmark invented to make money" or "I/We don't need just one day out of the year to say we love each other, we do that every day", I say, knock the hate people. Where's the love?? If you don't want to support Hallmark, don't. I'll be making my husband a homemade, from-the-heart Valentine card this year. And of course couples show each other love every day (or they surely should!), but honestly, and maybe this is just me, but I relish in any little reason to get dressed up and have a nice date night, ya know? Who's with me on this? 

Ahhh, wedding memories :)

Now, do I measure the level of my husband's love for me on how perfectly he crafts our Valentine's date? No. Do I place the worth of our love on what a beautiful gift he buys me for Valentine's? No. Will I love him just as much if he even (gasp!) forgets all about Valentine's Day and does nothing whatsoever to celebrate it? Of course. But will I totally enjoy an evening where I get to play dress up, feel belly butterflies, and toast my husband to the amazing love we share? Absolutely. Is that such a crime? I think not.

So am I excited for Valentine's Day? Sure am. From what little Rocky has told me, we're actually celebrating part 1 of our date tonight! All I know is I was told to dress pretty, and we're going out. And yes, we will be bringing Gemma! I had someone question me in this. They hinted that maybe we wouldn't be able to feel as romantic with her around. I couldn't disagree more. When I look over at our beautiful baby, I am filled with love for my husband. We, with God, created that child out of our love, and seeing her fills my heart with love and romance! Also, we can't leave her out of the celebrations this weekend, because she will be having her half-birthday on Sunday!! :)

One last thing to leave you with. This was a very cute article for all you married ladies out there! Happy Valentine's everyone! Hope you're feelin' the love!

Two Inspiring Tidbits

Whenever I find great things in my travels through the world wide web, I try to share them with others. A friend of mine shared this with me, and I'm happy to pass it along!

It's an article from one of my favorite websites (I have the link on the side). Anyway, here it is:

A Baby's Best Start

The other thing I wanted to share is a song. I was listening to my favorite station on Pandora yesterday, and a new Regina Spektor song I had never heard came on. I have always been a fan of hers, and I am so impressed with her candor and courage in writing this song. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Laughing With

Lyrics:

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one's laughing at God when it's gotten real late and their kid's not back from that party yet

No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one's laughing at God when they see the one they love hand in hand with someone else and they hope that they're mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door and they say, "We've got some bad new, sir"
No one's laughing at God when there's a famine, fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they've lost all they got and they don't know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one's laughing at God when they're saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one's laughing at God in a hospital
No one's laughing at God in a war

No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
We're all laughing with God

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?