HaleMom.Com

Sounds weird, right?  Well, before I had my daughter, back when I first met my husband, he had a manual transmission car (he still has it,) and it was something I had never tried before.  One morning, I made him wake up at 6 in the morning, and sit in the car while I attempted to learn to drive his stick.  (I know what you’re thinking…get your mind out of the gutter!)

The Learning Process

After an hour or so, I was confident enough to drop him off at work, and take the car around town.  Boy that was the craziest day of my life (before baby.)  Imagine being on your own in a car that you barely know how to drive, and drive in Austin, one of the hilliest (if that’s even a word,) cities in Texas.

Earlier this evening made me think about that day, and how I dived right in, and just started driving.  Even though I knew manual is something most people have a hard time with, I knew that if I just put my mind to it, I could do it.  Knowing full well, that I might stall out in the middle of an intersection, or stuck on a hill while there’s mounting traffic, or even worse have an accident because I rolled back into someone’s bumper.  Well, fortunately none of those things, well not all of them, happened the first day I was learning how to drive a stick

In my experience, parenting has been just the same way.  I dived right in, not really knowing what to expect.  As a new parent, I’m still learning on how to do things, and when to do things, and even though you think you have the hang of it, there’s always the stalls and the roll backs.  Yes, they do happen, but somehow we manage to get passed them.

The Sweet Spot

Eventually when you finally get the hang of driving a stick, you’re able to do all sorts of cool things like coasting, and staying in gear while at a complete stop (the sweet spot,) and get out of sticky situations when people are driving like maniacs.  That’s how I think of parenting.  There’s those moments where you can just get out of gear and coast through, doing all the right things, and save gas along the way (by gas I mean energy.)

Then there’s the sweet spot.  The times that you can just sit still, still in parenting mode (in gear) and watch, at a standstill, your child growing and developing before your eyes.  If you drive a stick, you know what I mean, but if you don’t, you still probably know what I’m talking about if you’re a seasoned parent.  That’s what makes being a parent worth the while.  Seeing a little human bud from just a little munchkin to a full on person.

Then there’s the sticky situations that you can get into, but after a few months of a munchkin running around, there are certain things you just know how to handle, and know how to avert, or deal with the situation in a matter of seconds, before baby even knows what’s going on.

One such situationsmade me think about all of this was when we were about to get baby into bed.  While getting her clothing from the laundry room, I stepped on a piece of glass that my husband dropped earlier, and I guess he didn’t get every morsel, because some ended up in my big toe.  While I was tending to my foot, I asked him to get baby ready for her bath, and so he did, got her diaper off, but he decided he wasn’t going to put a diaper on her while they were waiting.  He refused to put her in the tub while I was fixing my toe, after repeated requests and declarations of “she’s fine until you’re ready”, then pssssssss.  OH NO!  He got peed on!

I’m sorry honey, but I couldn’t help but laugh.  I told you to put her in the tub!  That’s the moment when you think you’ve got everything under control, and then BAM, things aren’t so rose colored anymore, but that’s a moment you also have to stop and laugh.

Anyway, this comparison is really starting to fry my brain, and I also have tons of housework I need to get to, so I’ll leave you all with that.

Do you think I’m just crazy and making a stretch in comparing parenting to driving a manual transmission?  Do you have anything to add, or maybe another angle?  Please feel free to chime in, and help make me feel like I’m not talking to the inter-wall.

Cheers!

~Hale Mom

Well, it feels like it’s been an eternity since I’ve started working on this video and all the editing that goes into it, but it finally got done.  Bare in mind that I’m still relatively new to making videos, so it’s not the best, or most perfect video, but it’s what I was able to do.

It’s not very easy to take much time editing video while taking care of a newly cruising baby that has been transitioning from breast to bottle (not to mention the confusion I’ve had with solid foods in the mix,) but I think we’ve gotten the hang of things.

So now, I present to you: Voices and Insights from Mom 2.0 2010….

Thank you to all of the interviewees:  Heloise, Jennifer Tankersley, Enrico Schaefer, Heather Acton, Heather Armstrong, Danielle and Ashley O’neill.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my loving husband, that dropped everything and with baby in tow, made it possible for me to be at Mom 2.0(and did a wonderful job of taking care of baby bear.) I love you, honey!

I hope you enjoyed the video, and feel free to add any constructive criticism, because I know there is plenty I can improve on.

Thanks for watching!

~Hale Mom

Latest news talking about recalls of suspected items containing salmonella and non declared items on labels.

I hate hearing about recalls, because it makes me feel uneasy about anything I buy and eat anywhere.  How do you feel when you hear about product recalls of items that you have considered buying, or have bought?

Be safe, and healthy

~Hale Mom

Oh little baby, it has been so long that we have been attached
from part of me and daddy, you were hatched.
For many months I provided your full nutrition
but for giving up I feel the need for contrition.

But now little baby, from the breast you occasionally drink,
certainly not nearly as much as some would think.
Now you’re becoming such a big girl
and eating your food from a bowl.

Now that you’re almost a year
there is one thing that I certainly fear.
That you will no longer need mommy for comfort
–it’s just an area I don’t need to come up short.

Our ups and downs keep me on my feet,
but your growth, I can not cheat.
Your light brightens my day
so I never lose my way.

From breast to bottle we have come
even though it’s a battle none has won.
I still cherish our time together
but it’s different now whether

you eat with your hand
or you eat while you stand.
From the breast to the bottle
and even though I’d like to coddle
you,
I must let you grow to your full potential,
so I’ll respect the sequential
Even I’m still learning about all of this,
so I’ll just give you a big hug, smile, and kiss.

~Hale Mom

Mounting dishes

Mounting laundry

Mounting work

Mounting pressure

Mounting fears

Mounting guilt

Never so many wishes

In such a quandry

Never felt like such a jerk

Need to have a refresher

of how from these tears

confidence was built.

It doesn’t matter how much I feel I’ve conquered and won,

in this battle that’s motherhood, there’s always tons to get done.

~Hale Mom