To be honest...I am really bored right now. MOM HAD HER BABY! (Last night. She is a cutie. She came 3 weeks early and weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces! They induced her because her fluid was low again. I spent this morning with her at the hospital. But then they had quiet time, no visitors allowed.) She is so precious though! So I have Brennon and he is keeping Sam busy. Actually, I just stopped to message a lady back on CafeMom, and now that I am back to typing, they are both passed out. (Went to bed late. Woke up super early.) Anyway, the house is clean because Jessie is on vacation. I am almost finished with the books I am reading right now-"Empty Arms" and "The Heart of Unschooling" and I am tired of reading today...So that is my spill on why I am bored.
So, since I am bored, I decided to do a post on what kind of Mom I am. (I know some of it is quite obvious to the ones of you that I know pretty well, but I figured why not, just for Sam to look back on if nothing else.
The type of Mom I am has definitely changed over the last 4 years. I have been able to base what I believe off of what I truly believe after research or experience and not just do it because that is how my Mom or Mother In Law or whoever does it or the doctor says to do it.
I guess you could sum up the kind of Mom I am in one word really, "Hippie" as Jessie so often calls me. I call it "Natural Parenting," but call it what you will. It works for us. I am one of those co-sleeping, co-bathing parents. And if I have another one I will be breastfeeding and baby wearing. (Two things I gave up on when I was younger because of the lack of support and the pressure from family to conform. I am sure most of you ladies know what I am talking about.) I try to feed my family as naturally and healthy as I can find it. (In fact, we are switching to deer meat. Jessie goes hunting and comes home with deer meat sometimes and it is only $50.00 to process a few hundred pounds. And it is healthier.) We don't generally eat snack foods like chips and cookies and such. If I don't buy them and put them around the house, Hubby and DD don't think about it, and therefore don't eat it. I have all of us use organic shampoos and such. I hate for us to put a lot of chemicals on our bodies, but I understand it is necessary to wash your hair, so again, we just try to do it as naturally as possible. We don't take medication. (Now, if Samantha were dangerously ill like cancer or something, I would allow her to get the help she needs simply because I wouldn't want to lose her and it is not my right to make such a life altering decision like that. Let's just hope she stays healthy though. But we do not keep Tylenol or sinus medications around the house or anything.) Of course I teach the value of recycling and the importance of not littering. Sam always helps me sort our recycling and take it down to the recycling center once a month. Speaking of recycling, I am a trash in, trash out kinda Mom. I don't like for her to watch trash on television. 99% of what is on our television, if it is on, is educational in some way or another, including what Jessie and I watch. We try to keep TV at a minimum because I hate wasted time, but there are times you need to just relax. Although, Sam and I personally prefer nature as a way to relax. We sit outside and just listen to all the sounds. We are learning to separate each sound and identify what it is. Nature is a big part of her learning, and I think that is how it should be. She needs to learn more about God's creations than she needs to learn about the difference between a verb and a noun. Main point, I don't want Sam to conform to society. I want her to live a meaningful life full of meaningful things and people.
I try to raise Samantha-and any other children we may have to serve. To me, church is just an extra, so you can hear what the preachers says, take it or leave it, be around people you have beliefs in common with and they can help you to get involved with or find your passions through mission trips, volunteering, ect. But the main point, in my opinion, is you need to serve God on this Earth, in one way or another. And Sam will find something that she feels she is meant for. I enjoy the Women's Center and what I do. I truly believe that is why I went through what I did. "He would sacrifice one to save many." Sam comes with me once a month and does little things around there that they need help with, but I know that she probably won't ever have a passion for it like I do. She may have a passion for something else, like sheltering and feeding the homeless, caring for foster children, etc. I just want her to take with her, "Wear her body out here on Earth, so that you can rest when you get to Heaven."
Education is one thing I hold to a high value. I am not a fan of organized education, but self initiated education. They say that before the age of 5, school age, they are naturally curious and always learning. Well, I don't believe that it just magically stops after age 5. (Because after I graduated highschool, I went about learning on my own, always learning. Always self initiated because at this point I was not under the school's say so. Now, I went through about a year of "rebellion," tired from all the structure in highschool, I guess you could say, and nobody could tell me what to do, so I went a year without reading one book. I tried my hardest not to research anything, ect. But after I got over that, I was always reading, always learning, still am.) And I want to inspire my child/children to be the same way, but throughout their entire life.
I gotta be honest though, I have a weak spot as a Mom, as a person in general, that I am afraid I may pass on to Samantha, and that is I am a little high maintenance. I don't need to get my nails done every week or have new and fancy clothes. I Love to save money, so that helps, but I am willing to shell out a little more for Samantha's outfits and costumes and pretty bags and things for her room. As long as we can pay our bills and not have to run credit for everything, anyway. So I have never gotten us in trouble, but I am just afraid that it will teach Samantha to be materialistic.
So, that is it. I just wanted to write it all down. Type it all up. I don't mean to offend anyway. Everybody is different, but that doesn't mean anybody is wrong.
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