8 years ago, my life was forever changed...

Eight years ago, I was blessed with a new title in life: Mother. Mama. Mommy. Mom.

Some would say that I was blessed with that new title eight years and nine months ago, but for me, the title became real at 3:47pm eight years ago, when Julia Rose entered the world. 

My pregnancy had been a bit of a surprise, so most of it was filled with learning my new role in life (as wife) while simultaneously preparing for another new role (mother) that would essentially turn upside-down everything I'd learned to that point about being a wife. Now I can look back and say my pregnancy went by so quickly, that it was a blur, but I'm not sure that I would've said that back then.

At eight pounds and two ounces, and 20.5 inches long, she entered the world screaming and crying with a lower lip that quivered with such fury. Perhaps she was thinking what I was: Put me back in! I'm not ready for this yet! 

The early days of motherhood brought with them a startling reality: The child we lovingly called "Bebe" before she was born was REAL. I mourned feeling her move and kick inside of me and simultaneously celebrated her squishy face and the way she curled her toes when she pooped. Together we learned to be a team--when she was hungry, I fed her. When she was dirty--I changed her diaper. The Beatitudes of Motherhood, I guess you could call them!

What a long, strange trip it's been, as I've evolved as a mom and she's grown as a child... Eight years seems so old and yet at the same time, it all went by so fast. The other night as I stared at her in her sleep, all I could think was, "I never knew you'd look like this." It's hard to explain beyond that... I just remember holding her as a tiny infant and wondering what she would look like, what she would love and what she would hate, what her voice would sound like, etc. when she was this age. And now the reality of who she is is right in front of me. It's breathtaking. As many challenges as we have endured together, it's still been such a wonderful thing to get where we are today.

I may feel frazzled, overwhelmed, short on patience, and spread-too-thin most days, but when all is said and done, I am so lucky to be a mom.

Happy birthday, baby girl. Aaaannndddd many moooorrreee!

 Her last day of being 7 & first day of 3rd grade.

Too big for a booster?

Today is Bebe's last day of being 7 years old. California law states that "Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat." According to the law, tomorrow Bebe can legally ride without a booster seat.

We went to the pediatrician the other day, and she is 51" tall and 58 pounds. She is exactly 50% for height and weight. You could say she's the size of an average 8-year-old girl.

How do you know if your child still needs to be in a booster or not? They can safely ride in a seat belt without a booster if they pass the 5-step test:

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

I decided just for fun to take her out to my car (a 2nd generation Honda CR-V) to see how close she is to passing the 5-step test. Here's a picture to illustrate:

Looking at the picture, let's evaluate according to the 5-step test:

1. Yes, she is sitting against the back of the vehicle seat.
2. While it appears that her knees are comfortably bent, they are bending about an inch or more from the edge of the seat.
3. The seat belt cuts into her neck, not between her neck and arm.
4. The lap belt rides way up on her abdomen, barely coming across her thighs.
5. Who knows the answer to this question--we won't be trying!

As you can see, she has a long way to go before she'll be ready to fit into a seat belt without a booster. It perfectly illustrates that what is considered legal is not always best practice. I know as she gets older, that she will struggle with peers who comment on her use of a booster, but Bebe has been well-informed of the benefits of car seat safety, and I am hoping that information will equip her with the strength to stand up to them.

I have several friends whose children are already out of booster seats (and are around Bebe's age, or some younger). While each parent has different reasons for having their child ride booster-free, I have yet to hear one that makes sense.

"It hurts his leg/back/neck/random body part." Those body parts are going to hurt a lot more in a crash if he's improperly restrained.

"She's so small that if I kept her in a booster until 4'9" or 80 pounds, she'd be in high school!" Obviously, there comes a point where you can decide accordingly, but if your child is tiny, how does being restrained improperly help in the present?

"His/her butt was too big for it." There are plenty of seats on the market to choose from. 

We all want to keep our children safe, and I feel as if car seat safety is becoming a bigger topic now than it was when Bebe was born, but there still needs to be even more information out there, especially for parents of older children like her.

Back to school!

Today was Bebe's first day of 3rd grade. I can't believe it! Tomorrow, my baby girl will be EIGHT!

Third grade is a BIG DEAL apparently. In K, 1st, and 2nd, I and other parents gathered with their children inside of the classroom and waited until 8:10 for the teacher to do a quick intro and send us off. In THIRD grade, though, there's none of that--just drop your child off, help them find their desk, snap a pic and give a quick kiss goodbye!

Thankfully, I got out of there without shedding a tear...

Work-Life balance Rule #1: Have a Plan

Tomorrow is Bebe's first day of 3rd grade. With a new school year comes a new schedule, and new commitments to fill into our already-busy lives. When I look at the "to-do" list, I admit, I freak out, and say, "How are we going to get it all done??" but I know that the best thing to do is to have a plan, and so that's exactly what I'm doing.

One of my biggest fears with having a larger age gap between my children was that the younger one would be dragged to and fro to keep up with the older one's obligations. Last year, that didn't seem to be much of an issue. This year, it's a totally different story.

On Mondays, Bebe will have Children's Choir rehearsal from 5:00-6:00pm.
Every-other Wednesday, Bebe will attend Religious Education classes from 6:30-8:00pm.
On Thursdays, Bebe will be going to gymnastics class from 6:15-7:15pm.
On Saturdays, Bebe will be taking 1/2 hour swim classes.


Notice how I didn't mention Tuesdays? That's "Daddy night", which means that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (when she has various activities) it will be ME who is doing the shuttling to-and-fro. I'm trying to come up with ideas for how to "fill in the spaces" with Dois while Bebe is wherever. There will be pockets of 30-minute to 60-minute "extra time" where he and I will be hanging around in a parking lot, or somewhere nearby. I don't want him to feel like he's just being dragged around. Thankfully, he's at a great age where we can go "exploring" or just walking/running/jumping/skipping nearby and he'll be content. (Oh, and did I mention that Dois' bedtime is 7:30... take note of Wednesday's and Thursday's times...)

The plan for this year, though, all comes down to this: Keep calm, be prepared, and PRAY.