Spring... Yay?

It's finally here... the first day of spring. Birds are chirping, snow is melting, mud is... mudding and the kids can barely contain themselves. While I am excited about the prospect of warm weather and sunshine, spring  also brings something that I dread... spring cleaning.

I know, I know, it's not that bad. And really, it isn't, because I've become such a slacker when it comes to spring cleaning that I don't know why I stress about it. I don't really do it anymore. That really bothers me because I love a freshly spotless house. But this year, I can't avoid it. It has to be done. My house is a disorganized pit and I find it only stresses me out more than I need to be. My husband laughs at me, because on days where I am supposed to be relaxing I can't. Not if the sink is full of dishes, the kitchen table is piled with the kid's homework, the dishwasher needs emptying, the living room needs vacuuming, and my favorite fat lazy pants are dirty and need to be washed. Relax when all that is sitting there? Ya, not happening.

When I was a kid, I remember watching my mom go through her spring cleaning routing. Walls were washed, carpets were steam cleaned, anything that needed painting got painted, and the cupboards were all washed, inside and out.When we bought our house, I had made up my mind then that I was going to follow in my mom's footsteps. My house was going to be clean. Two kids later... ya, not so much. I have no idea how my mom did it with four of us little angels running around. She was a saint.

I am bound and determined to get organized this year. The cabinet in the kitchen that holds the kid's craft stuff and crayons will be cleaned out. The junk table (yes, not only do I have a junk drawer, I also have a junk table) will be cleaned off and a new method will be found to organize the mail, bills, cell phone and game chargers, school things that need to be kept handy, and various tools that get used but not put away. (I'll just leave that screwdriver-hammer-wrench there until the next time I go down to the cellar.) It will happen!

My walls, well, they are in a pretty sad state. With the woodstove that we use for supplemental heating in the winter, they always seem to be dusty or dirty. This is the year to repaint, so I guess I'll get out of washing those this year. But I will keep up with dusting them so that next spring they will only need a quick wipe down. Oh, quick little tip that I learned along the way about washing walls... warmish-hot water, splash of white vinegar, little shake of baking soda, and a little squirt of dish soap. It does a great job (little streaky, but I probably don't have the ratio of all the products right) and doesn't smell like an obnoxious chemical... it just smells clean.

The kid's rooms will get a complete overhaul. Broken toys, outgrown toys, toys that have had juice spilled on them, toys that have missing parts will be tossed! My spare room/ computer room will be completely emptied and cleaned until it sparkles! That is a big one right there. Have you ever seen that show on BBC "How Clean is Your House." My spare room is like an episode of that. Kim and Aggie would have a field day in there. Maybe if I'm feeling brave enough when I tackle it, I'll post before and after pics. You will be amazed!

I'm not  relaying all this to you because I want to sound like some over-achieving neat freak, because I am far from it. I just want the rest of the slackers with messy houses out there know that you are not alone! I'll let you all know how I make out.

Until next time... :)

The Eternal Debate

I'm sure what I'm about to say is going to ruffle a lot of feathers, but the topic never fails to ruffle my own.

Breastfeeding.

We've all heard the pitch. "Breast is Best." I'm not debating that. I am well aware of the health benefits to the baby, the bonding experience, yadda yadda yadda. To be honest with you, I'm a little sick of hearing about it. From the "lactivists" staging nurse-ins at department stores down to the school pick up line conversations. What prompted me to write this is an article I saw today on a major news website. Great article-it was about the difference between "idealism" and "realism" when it comes to breastfeeding and the pressure it puts on new moms. Because the reality is, that a lot of the time, reality sucks. We all have this vision in our heads about perfect bonding moments, but that's not always the way it goes. And it wasn't so much the article that got me riled up, it was the comments. I can't believe some people can be so ignorant.

Let me start with this. I didn't nurse either one of my kids and it was for totally selfish reasons and I own it, so there is no need to bash. I wanted kids, but I hated being pregnant. I was miserable. Between the usual side affects, the unbearable heartburn, and the fact that I questioned every single thing I put into my body as to whether or not it was good for the baby, I was done. After nine months of my body not being my own, I wanted it back.  And when I say I wanted it back, I'm not talking about my pre-pregnancy shape. For nine months my body was at the sole mercy of this little person growing inside me. I wanted to be in control again. Luckily, I have a very reasonable husband who said something that many women don't get to hear often enough... "It's your body, do what you think you need to do."

So, on to the comments...

One moron, who obviously must be a man, had the gall to comment about mandates for breastfeeding. Mandates? Really? His logic was that breastfeeding leads to healthier children which leads to less trips to the doctor which leads to lower healthcare costs. Ok, so maybe his logic makes a small bit of sense, but I would like to shoot it down right now. Both of my formula fed kids are very happy, healthy children whose only trips to the doctor are for their yearly physicals. My son does have very mild asthma, but I also know children who were nursed who have tons of health problems, allergies, are sick all the time, you name it. Would I have avoided his asthma had I decided to breastfeed? Really, I want to know. I want someone to give me a definitive answer. You can't, can you? And until you can, stop making us formula moms feel like we are raising little disease magnets just because breast wasn't best for us.

Another douchebag piped in that his wife nursed their kids because he wanted her to. Then, she was told by a neighbor that her baby cries because she is not producing enough milk. Hero-hubby showed her that the baby was indeed gaining weight, after which she nursed and the baby began choking because her milk was flowing so well. He suggested that it was her mindset that was holding her back from producing milk and that if you think you can breastfeed, you can breastfeed. Buddy, these are boobs, not "the little train that could." There are so many things wrong with this picture, that I'm sure are obvious to someone with any common sense. But having never breastfed, I can't vouch for the mental part of it, other than to say his story sounds a little far-fetched and he sounds like a huge chauvenistic pig. Women, our bodies are ours. Men, state your reasons for your opinions, but in the end leave it up to us.

Of course there were comments from the righteous, who have enough fortitude to breastfeed and strongly advocate it. What I don't like, is these news outlets and research teams attempting to make formula moms feel inferior because it is not what they chose and starting debates that leads to that kind of animosity. I don't like the moms who are all about this looking down their noses at those of us who chose not to. In my case, it was a choice and as I've said, I own it. But for others, it's not always a choice. There are sometimes health considerations for both mom and baby, there is the fact that many women realize that the baby just won't latch on right, I could go on and on. Stop with the snobbery, or even worse, the pitying, sympathetic clucking when faced with someone who just could not make that option work.

I'm sure you've heard the term "Mommy Wars." Do we really need to start the "Boobie Wars?" Get over it people. Own the fact that the choices you are making are what you believe is best for you and the rest of your family. Respect those who make different choices and are living differently from you. Don't we have enough pressure on us to try to raise productive members of society without bringing all the other bullshit into it?

Kudos for a great article. A big fat middle finger to those who totally missed the point of it.