Motherhood: The Forgotten Diaper Change

My toddlers were well feed, my business advertisements were posted, daily emails and follow ups completed, however mommy had a fail moment today. It completely slipped my mind to change my almost 2 year olds diaper.  It’s a normal part of our routine. We get up, change diaper, wash up a bit if need, have breakfast, get dressed, and go about our day.  But somehow, this oh so important task that we do every day, several times a day simply slipped mind.  Of course she did not go all day without a diaper, however it too me till after our first snack time of the day around 11am to realize my mistake. I was so busy concentrating on the next task that I needed to get completed that I neglected this basic need of my almost two year old.

It’s a PJ day, well not really but in my house it is. I had to drag myself out of bed today.  My husband has been working 16+ hour days and it is taking a toll on our whole family.  The girls are giving me more attitude than normal and we didn’t even make it to the youngest tots’ physical therapy session today.   I literally rolled out of bed, gave the girls milk, popped on the television, and we all laid in a row on the floor for the first hour or two.  The girls indulged in Sprout and Disney, me I was somewhere between sleep and being a ringleader preventing arguments between two toddler girls.

Breakfast was late, but the girls enjoyed it.  I kept it simple with turkey bacon, eggs, and toast for the girls.  I’m on a health kick, okay well not so much of a health kick as a lifestyle change, so my breakfast consisted of chai seeds and lemon in 8 oz. of water, followed by three pieces of toast with moistened powdered peanut butter and honey. Trust me it is better than it sounds, and it gives me the creamy sweet fix that I need to get through the day. 

I really didn’t feel like doing much of anything today, but having to toddler girls changes that. We had an impromptu craft time with markers and paper. Little did I know that the wee one had a surprise for me.  When I finally realized that I had neglected to change her diaper during snack time, I was tickled to find 5 markers, 3 crayons, and a plastic fork hanging out in her PJs. I don’t know when she found the time to sneak them in there, but I am so happy they weren’t in the diaper that I was changing.

PJ day is still going strong, but I’ve learned my lesson, pay attention to the small things before you tackle the large stuff.  It is so easy to get caught up in the next step rather than focusing on the where you are right now.  The beginning of my day would have been a lot simpler had I just slowed down.

Najeema Iman, I AM Curly Locks (Epic failure today, but I’m learning)

 

Guest Post: Raising Conscious Kids(And Other Things Our Great Parents Didn't Teach Us)

Raising Conscious Kids (And Other Things Our Great Parents Didn’t Teach Us)

From  September 21, 2012 by Kamila Powell (chicconservationist)

 

Thank you, Kelly Cutrone for inspiring the ending of this post’s title. And inspiring me to take a deeper look into my life and contribution to society’s horrific obliviousness. Before this becomes a Kelly Cutrone fangirl post, let me start writing about what I decided to post about today. And that’s raising conscious children. It’s not enough to have recycling bins in your house anymore. We are in a day and age where everything is digital (a blessing and a curse) and the media is even MORE so in the business of driving sales for crap we don’t need. There’s really no getting around it. It’s everywhere. We could take our kids, go hide under a rock and be cave-people. But instead, I suggest we try a new way of thinking.

If you read my first post, you know a little bit about my stance as far as consumerism goes. Where that comes in to raising children is what I’m talking about now. If my kids grow up to be jerks who don’t care about their impact on the environment and the people who inhabit the world, I can at least say they spent a good portion of their lives doing it because they were in my home. By the time they grow up, some animals that we see in the zoo today may be extinct. Maybe because they are being poached for unacceptable and cruel reasons. Maybe because of the waste and pollution ruining the world and in turn the habitat of those creatures.

There will be less clean drinking water. Maybe because of all of the waste factories dump into our water sources. (Here’s lookin’ at you, fashion industry). I could go on forever. And believe me, I will. In the mean time, here are 3 ways you can teach your kids to be conscious individuals.

1. Eat Less Meat
Why it’s Good for them and the World

• Obviously, buying less meat reduces animal slaughter
• Less meat in their diet means less hormones which is good for them and their development
•  Buying less meat means your affect on the shipping process (which in itself isn’t green) won’t be as high

How To Do It

• Introduce more beans, potatoes and grains. These are filling and healthy alternatives.
• Take your children to a farm. I wouldn’t go so far as explaining the whole slaughter process to a small child. However, kids are very smart. If you tell them that bacon is made out of the piglet they are visiting, they are more likely to understand why eating less meat is a good thing when they get older.

2. Buy/Use Second-Hand & Donating
Why It’s Good For them and the World

• Donating your kid’s gently used clothing teaches them to be thoughtful and kind.
• Using second-hand clothing reduces the need to shop and therefore your impact on supporting companies that manufacture what we call “fast fashion” (a lot of times they don’t pay factory workers living wages, are oblivious to human rights, dumps factory waste into water sources, etc.).
• Buying second-hand clothes, if they are from an independent con-signer means you are supporting a small or local business.

How to Do It

• Pretty self-explanatory. Find Second-hand stores. And don’t rule out Etsy for supporting a small business or entrepreneur.

3.Unplug
Why It’s Good for them and the World

• Being unplugged for any amount of time in a day teaches children to appreciate their surroundings and be innovative.
• All of our computers, iPads, cell phones, etc are connected to coal energy plants, a very unsustainable way of making energy in many facets. Since there is no quick fix for this issue, we can do our part by unplugging devices when they aren’t being used, and just cutting down on our usage altogether. Instead of entertaining the kids with an hour of T.V., shut stuff off and go outside (this is a biggie for me since I’ve moved to North Carolina. Flowers, trees, mountains…the kids love to be outside and so do I!).

How to Do It

• Plug multiple electronics into a power strip and use that to turn them all off (find more green tips like this here.)
• Invest in good (eco/socially responsibly made) gym shoes!

Even if you just do one out of three, the world will be a better place because of your influence on your spawn – I mean kids. Well, that’s all for now.

Here’s another piece of My So-called Organic Life.

Meet the Blogger

Kamila Powell is a proud college-dropout, writer & digital content curator. Social justice, sustainability and art (both visual and performing) are a few of her favorite things. She currently lives with her two cubs in Charlotte, NC. Check out her newest venture into fashion and sustainability at chicconservationist.tumblr.com Twitter: @kamila_powell

Mothering Woes: Tormentuous Three's

Let me start off by saying I have only had one cup of coffee and a leftover hot dog today, not to mention Elly had two at home appointments with her therapist.  I knew today was going to be eventful. My nerves have been pushed to the limits, and despite the extra 1 1/2 of sleep my husband gifted me this morning I am running on adrenaline and that same cup of coffee that I mentioned earlier.

We have reached what my pediatrician referred to as the tormentuous threes, terrible twos ain't got nothing on this.  I'm trying to be a better parent, so meeting with Ellys' occupational therapist this morning was quite beneficial for me.  I thought that our meeting would consist of working on Elly's verbal communication and fine motor skills, but it focused more on effectively parenting through everyday task and experiences, as well as better ways to handle parent-child conflict. There is a God!! because lord knows even though I have taken parenting classes, frequent Babycenter.com and read quite a few blogs on effective parenting, I am at a loss right now.  This three year old is having at least three melt downs a day, selectively listening when told to do something, isn't responding to time outs or spanking, and is now becoming disruptive in public (that's another story for another day.)

While writing this I would like to point out that I am coming of a 45 minute stand off with a three year old and my frustration level is at its peak.  So let me set up the scene. 

After a fairly peaceful lunch of  hot dogs, bananas and milk (its one of those days,) I told the three year old that it was time for a potty break then off to nap time.  We had a fairly peaceful morning, so I figured nap time would be a breeze. The occupational therapist gave me some great advice that I was willing to start implementing today.

I was wrong it all started with the normal. "I don't wanna go sleep." Then it was "I don't wanna close my blinds," and "don't wanna close my door."

Then this happened...

The three year old: I want a Barbie. (Do you see that, it was singular A BARBIE, meaning one."

Me: (After grabing the Sterlite container with the Barbies in it) Okay, which one?

The three year old: No!!! I want all the Barbies.

Me:  (Counting 1-2-3, 3-2-1 in my head hoping that my blood pressure doesn't spike as I was expecting this to be an easy snack time) No, you may only have one Barbie.

The three year old: No!!! I want all the Barbies.

Me: No!!! You may have one Barbie or none at ALL.

Well I guess she decided choosing one wasn't worth it, so the Barbies went into her closet.  Fast forward 20 minutes, the tears a flowing, we have had two time outs and one spanking.  I stood my ground, but there is always a price.

Fast forward another 20 minutes the three year old has thrown all of her blankets, pillows out of her bed, and is screaming non-stop about the things she doesn't like or love.  She now only has one basic pillow and one fleece blanket on her bed as the rest have been confiscated, and mommy feels like pulling her hair out.  I won, she went to nap time, but it wasn't without a fight.  I guess that is what I get for having a child with a similar temperament and slight stubbornness as me.

You learn a lot about yourself looking at your children.  Motherhood as anything in life is journey.  You have good days, you have bad days, and you often want to pull your hair out.  You have to stay consistent, stay grounded, and not be afraid to accept advice, even from strangers from time to time.  You will get tired. You will want to give up, but don't, the journey hasn't ended yet. 

Peace and Love 

Najeema Iman, I AM Curly Locks (Mother in transition, learning to stand firm)