SNOB MOM...

Every parent has their philosophy on parenting. We are no different. I ended up with a husband that has the same ideas about parenting as I do. Well almost. If he could have it his way Nur-Jehan would be vegan, but I told him he is not the one who has to worry about making sure that she eats. I feel as long as she is eating nutritional food not loaded in preservatives and dyes and chemicals and sugar I am doing my job of providing her with healthy meals. We both agree on natural foods and natural alternatives to medication (unless medication is really needed. We aint stupid!) No! We're not gonna have her dressin' in burlap sacks, smellin' like molasses, suckin' on an avocado seed. I think I do pretty well dressing her in stylish clothes. Well... ... when we are at home in the neighborhood we dress... kinda homely. LOL. I guess I have gotten a reputation from neighbors and friends of being an "earthy" mom. I don't mind the label, but that is not my goal. I'm not looking for perfection. I just want the best from the start of her life.

I dont want to feel like a "snob mom" if people offer Jehan chocolate covered sugar cubes with a side of sheet of cake with blue #40 icing. So what, if I prefer for her to eat cupcakes made of lentils and spinach with a beet on top (just kidding). :) I dont wanna have a child with 12 toes just cuz we didn't want to give up Yellow#3 or Monosodium Glutamate or cuz we fed them snacks with an ingredient list of 30 lines.

I see people all the time with weird illnesses like lumps in their skin or sick patchy skin or fairly young people that hobble and wonder "what went wrong in their diet?" "what ailment did they ignore to lead to their disease?" I don't wanna be one of them. Kibwe and I remind each other at different times that in our marriage contract we committed to having good health and reminding each other about health. We committed to take care our ourselves first and our family.

It is my goal and my duty to be at home and raise my children, I feel. Thank God that I have worked independent of a corporation most of my life, so I know how to make an income at home. I am doing that now... making money at home.

THERE'S A DROUGHT!

So my challenge has been producing milk these days. The herb fenugreek works wonders! Take a teaspoon or so of it and BAM! I've got enough milk for a bowl of Wheaties! Recently, the milk supply is drying up and the fenugreek is hardly workin'. I mean, I did say I wanted to wean Jehan by age one and her birthday is next week. She has gone from 15 or so feedings a day down to about 4 to 6 feedings a day. I wouldn't be as concerned if she didnt seem to be so hungry still and if she wasnt sucking on my breast at times waiting for a delivery that never comes.

Jehan has been slow (in my opinion) to taking interest in table food. She has her moments when she eats good and for some reason those times are when we are in public even if it is my home-cooked food that I packed. I think maybe she needs the distraction of something else while she is eating. At home she runs around while I am trying to feed her. She wont sit in the high chair. I dont want her to associate the high chair as a "bad" place that I am forcing food down her throat.

THe foods that she likes best are lentils, rice, cooked spinach, bagels with cream cheese, yogurt, natural potato chips, fishsticks (no preservatives or dyes) and potatoes. I have tried so many other foods, but she just convulses her body and spits it out: carrots, peas, hot cereal like oatmeal and cream of wheat or cream of rice.

This has definitely been one the most challenging parts of motherhood for me. As most of you know food is a big part of my life and I wanna make sure that my baby is getting enough nourishment. I welcome any suggestions or comments.

HER HOMIE!

This is Yusef. They hang out the most together. It's so funny because Jehan is so outgoing and Yusef is real chill and laid back. He allows her to jump on his back and even pull his hair. He actually put his head in her hands so she can pull his hair. If Jehan cries he rubs her back. I now babysit him a few times a week for about 7 hours each day while his mom works.

HANGIN' WITH THE BOYS...

For whatever reason there are only boys for Jehan to play with. The women that I am close with all have boys and Jehan hangs pretty tough. It is funny how when she IS around girls she is acts differently. She lets them be more maternal with her, holding her hand and letting them pick her up, but with the boys she jumps on their heads and pulls their hair.

GROOVIN' ON EID...

Watching Her Watch Me...

I'm really a Mommy! This little girl looks at me. She smiles at me. She kisses me. She hugs me. She holds onto me (and won't let go sometimes) SHE LOOKS UP TO ME! I love her AND SHE LOVES ME! Nooooow I know what the other mothers were talking about. This is a love that I have never experienced that grows by the second. Everyday I look forward to her awakening to see what else she has been instructed by God in her sleep to do to AMAZE me that day. As much as I am sleep deprived and as much as I desire my own peaceful "me" time, when I awake before her I lurk around the corner peeping to see if she has opened her eyes. When she has, she smiles at me and I smile at her and I dive onto the bed and we just... kick it!

DEATH BECOMES MY URBAN GARDEN!

Ok, so I tried to teach Jehan about life and growth and all though gardening, but didn't succeed in the since of maintaining my humble urban garden! I shoulda known! Every time a buy a plant there comes a time where I am not consistent about watering it. We were consistent for a while. We even got some awesome produce from the garden. The Red peppers were the sweetest I ever tasted. It only grew about 6 or seven of them. I grew about 15 or so tomatoes and then they just stopped producing fruit. I think because I had them in pots and their growth was stunted, but my grandfather has a garden in pots and his bears a lotta fruit. ANyway, I just uprooted everything and cleaned up the area for the winter. I will try again next year, but plant in the ground instead. ANd I will set an alarm clock to water the darn things! I just have to actually water the plants when the alarm goes off!