Thursday, January 25, 2007

Moved to WordPress


So long, Blogger. Hello, WordPress.

Yep, I did it. I packed my bags and moved to WordPress. Like you all said, it was easy as pie. :)

Please note I'll no longer be posting on blogger. *Gasp* Did I just say that out loud? Change is difficult for me so this is pretty huge that I'm moving, er moved.

Please update your links, bookmarks, etc. to my new url: http://crunchydomesticgoddess.wordpress.com/

Click here to go see me. :)

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Blogger limbo

I've been trying to switch over to the new version of Blogger for the past couple months now, but every time I try I get this response:

Could not switch you to the new Blogger

Thanks for your interest in the new version of Blogger! Unfortunately, we cannot switch your Blogger account at this time, because one or more of your blogs cannot be moved.


Then the "help article" says:
Why can't I switch to the new version of Blogger?

While the new version of Blogger is no longer in beta, some users with certain types of blogs will not immediately be able to switch to it. We'll be adding support for these blogs as soon as possible, so everyone can join in the fun. But for now, if you have a very large blog (more than a couple thousand posts + comments), you'll need to hold off for a bit.


Some help that is. I don't have more than a couple thousand posts + comments (I only have 400 posts), so why am I stuck here in old blogger limbo??? *Grumble, grumble* *Whine, whine*

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Don't forget to come out of lurkdom below. I won't bite. ;)

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Happy 2 months!

Happy 2 months birthday to my little man today. Has it really been two months already?? Time sure goes by a lot faster the second time around.
In honor of his two months birthday, I made a "memory book" on Snapfish using pictures I converted to black and white from the day of his birth. I plan to order one for me and one to give him when he's older.


And here are the kids a week ago. :)

Monday, January 22, 2007

Late night grocery shopping

The nice thing about going grocery shopping at 10:30 at night is there's nobody there. Seriously. I got to Safeway at 10:15 tonight and there were maybe 3 other shoppers. By the time I left at 10:45, the place was empty.

The bad thing about going shopping that late at night is that I'd much rather be home watching a movie on the couch or asleep in bed. :oP Oh well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Speaking of things I gotta do - I'm getting together with a bunch of friends tomorrow night and I can't wait! I had another mommy's night out with some friends last week and, even though I had Julian in tow (and will again tomorrow), it was wonderful to get out of the house and talk with other adults! With the ridiculous amount of snow and cold temps we've had this winter, the cabin fever has been hitting me big time. So I'm especially looking forward to another fun night out tomorrow. :-)

Thanks to those of you who've already come out of lurkdom. For those of you still hiding in the shadows, don't forget to comment on the post below to let me know you're here. ;)

Come out and play


I've been a bit wrapped up in this whole "having a new baby and caring for a 2 1/2 year old thing" lately, and as a result, totally missed "National Delurking Week" Jan. 8-12 (started by Paper Napkin).

So I've decided that I'm going to have my very own Unofficial Delurking Week this week - Jan. 22-26. (And I say feel free to designate your own delurking week too if you missed the official one.)

I know there are a lot of you who visit on a regular basis, but for one reason or another have not yet commented. This is your chance to say hello. :) Come out, come out, wherever you are.

P.S. I can't take credit for the buttons. I found them on the 'net.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Sears doctors chime in on CIO and other parenting topics

Ooh, just realized this is post #401 for me. Wow! That's a lot of posting over the past couple years!

I'm not a big fan of Dr. Phil, but was happy to learn he was having the Sears doctors (Dr. William Sears and sons, Dr. James Sears and Dr. Robert Sears) on a show on Friday called "Young Moms Ask the Experts." I didn't get a chance to watch the episode, but I did read about it on Dr. Phil's website and was happy with how it all unfolded.

The topics they covered ranged from PPD (postpartum depression) to discipline issues to bonding with your child to whether or not to let a baby CIO (cry it out) to SIDS to boosting children's immune systems to colic and more. In my opinion, there was a lot of helpful information provided.

As most of you know, we're a co-sleeping family and we don't believe in CIO for our kids. Here are some things they mentioned on these subjects that I feel are particularly noteworthy:

On whether or not to let a baby (in this case, a 4 1/2 month old) CIO (cry it out):
Dr. Phil turns to Dr. Bob Sears. “What about this?” he asks. “Do you let them cry or do you not?”

“No, I don't think you should let a baby cry it out,” says Dr. Sears, “and the most important thing is, Robert, who's getting up with the baby during the night, anyway? Wendy is. So what do you care what she does? Let her go in there. Wendy, I applaud you for listening to your instincts and your intuition and going to your baby.”

Dr. Phil asks Dr. William Sears if he agrees.

“If your baby could talk, Wendy and Robert, here's what he would say. 'Hey, Mom and Dad, this is not working. I'm in a dark, quiet room, alone, behind bars*. I need to get close to you. I need to be in your bed, in a co-sleeper next to your bed, in your room somewhere,’” he says.

Next, Dr. Phil asks the Sears doctors to address a myth. “The myth is that if you let the child scream it out, it really develops their lungs,” he says.

“Absolutely wrong,” says Dr. William Sears.

Something I thought was particularly interesting to note:
“When a baby screams for 10, 20 minutes, or a half-hour night after night, what actually happens to the baby's brain?" asks Dr. Bob Sears. "The blood pressure goes up. The pressure gets so high, new blood with oxygen can't flow into the brain. So the brain can be deprived of oxygen, you guys. And that's not all. It gets worse. The brain can be flooded with stress hormones, and we know that stress hormones can damage sensitive developing nerve tissue. So, night after night, weeks and weeks of crying can actually harm a baby's brain. That's why we encourage you both to respond to your maternal intuition. Robert, develop your fatherly intuition, so you can both really thrive as a family. Respond to your baby."
Like I said, I felt like there was a lot of good information provided in this episode, but I don't have the time to go into all of it. However, I am curious if anyone here (my readers) watched the episode? What are your thoughts?

Of course, I was happy to see the Searses suggest many of the things I believe in and choose to do with my children (which all really comes down to following my instincts). I think one of the most important things I've learned about parenting over the past 2 1/2 years is to follow my instincts whether it's regarding sleep/CIO, feeding, discipline, health care, etc. If I trust myself to know what's best for my child (whom I know better than anyone else), I usually feel good about my choices. :)

*For the record, the part about the baby being behind bars wasn't meant that all babies that sleep in cribs feel like that way. It was meant in the context of if a baby is crying and crying and no one is coming to them, then it could feel like a prison. The Searses believe in whatever gets the whole family the most sleep (whether it be in a crib, in a co-sleeper or in a family bed). I think the main point they were trying to get across was that parents should respond to their babies.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

"Farm livin' is the life for me"

Accompanied by my sister, Ava, Julian and I, along with some friends, went to check out a preschool program at a farm located a few miles from our house yesterday. The woman who owns the farm met with us and gave us a tour while explaining some of the basics about the program and filling us in on the various animals we saw along the way.
Here's a blurb about the program from their website:
Every day is an adventure, designed to inspire wonder and growth and give your young child a sense of rural lifestyle. Even on cold days we will bundle up, climb in the wagon and tour the farm, feed animals, collect eggs, climb the giant treehouse, catch toads, follow bugs, or simply play together in the playhouse. Outdoor activities as well as indoor activities such as art projects, music, games and stories are all part of this program.
I really liked what I saw and heard and am seriously considering enrolling Ava in a one day (well, one morning really) a week spot starting in either the summer or the fall. I think it would be an amazing experience for her to spend a day on a working farm once a week.

While there yesterday we saw a mommy goat and her brand new baby that was smaller than a cat, a baby horse (who's mom died) that was rescued from another farm during the December blizzard, peacocks, sheep, dogs and cats and chickens. Ava even held a rooster all by herself! (Wish I would've had a camera with me.) She really seemed at home as she walked around the barn, petting animals, picking up hay to try to feed them, etc. We also peeked in on the "class" which was 8 kids and two "teachers." Ava seemed really comfortable and interested then as well. I'm quite sure she would've been fine with me dropping her off for the day. ;) She threw quite a fit when it was time to go home (ahhh, 2 1/2 year olds), but that's another story.

I'm also looking into other preschool programs (am just starting to learn about Waldorf and Montessori) and would welcome any insight those of you with preschool-aged children (now or in the past) can share. :) I'm really looking for something that's fun and play-based, but still educational to a degree. I'm not worried about her learning letters, numbers, colors, etc. at preschool because she knows most of that already and can learn at home. I really just want her to spend some time around other kids her age (because she is such a social creature) and have a good time.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Vegetarian recipes?

I'm looking for relatively quick and easy to make vegetarian recipes. Anyone have any links or recipes to share? If you'd rather not leave a comment, you can always email them to me too at amygeekgrl@gmail.com. Thanks! :)