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Eureka!

So I have been reading about attachment parenting lately.  Without having to go into a great amount of detail, it is a style of parenting based on Attachment Theory that involves 8 general principles.

(via http://www.attachmentparenting.org)

I remember learning all about all the parenting styles and theories during undergrad and grad but mostly now I am just living it.  It is very easy to see that Attachment Parenting is exactly the parenting style I use. It seems to come naturally to me I suppose. We are also a nurturing household that does not believe in violence no-way-no-how; so it isn’t surprising to me.   I will go into more detail another time as I find it absolutely fascinating, but I am way to tired from all the active parenting I did today. So for now, follow the links if you are interested. OK…so a point to all of this…..

In this type of parenting, one of the main ways parents can bond and form attachments with their children is through baby wearing. I’ve decided to give this a go since picking up and putting baby down wherever I may be at the moment is frustrating for the both of us. Most of the time he fusses and cries if I walk away or stop paying attention but sometimes he plays contently. This can be very vexing when there is a household to run on top of playing with baby all day.  I was beginning to feel he was a prop that if I situated in the easiest place possible I could quickly do whatever needed to be done.  The really difficult parts of my day have been nap time and bed time.  Sweet Jude is an extremely light sleeper….that is, unless I am holding him, then a rocket ship could fly through the house and he would never hear it.  If I wanted him to sleep then all systems were at a stand still until he woke.  Now, I realize all these thing are very normal for an almost 9 month old so I’m not sweating that. It is, however frustrating at times because these behaviors demand tons of attention and I can’t get ANYTHING done….. That is until……

This is Jude hanging out in his Moby Wrap playing with my frizzy hair. I’ve had this wrap since his birth and have recently been using it more and more, especially when out and about. Yet, I was always a little afraid of the back carry. But this weekend I had a great epiphany. Eureka! I shall tie him on my back so I can mop the dang dirty floor…so…. I watched enough videos on YouTube to consider myself an expert…..That was until the first time I tried to wrap a wiggly squirming baby onto my back and I started having serious second thoughts.  However, I got used to it, and eventually went around doing chores and much neglected housework with Jude safely strapped on.   I was wearing my baby and it was awesome.

Jude absolutely loved it too and the only time he cried today was when I took him out of the wrap to let him play for a while and walked away. He really enjoyed being close to me while I went about doing the things I normally had to rush through or just plain not do. He napped on my back while I talked to my mom on the phone and did dishes…..at the same time! Crazy, I know!  Normally if he is napping, washing dishes is the one thing I absolutely cannot do. It would wake him up no mater how many doors were between us. While sleeping on me he didn’t budge. I even nursed him while rearranging book shelves. At the end of the day, I definitely noticed a happy baby (ok he is always happy) who had great naps and so far is sleeping soundly in his crib.

I will definitely be exploring the world of baby wearing further. …yeah…the term baby wearing does invoke strange visual images of baby sweaters and hats… but I swear this is the proper term!

I am almost giddy with excitement that I might even be able to paint again AND I can share the experience with my son.

OK that is all I have for now. We have a fun adventure planned for tomorrow, hopefully I may have a few pictures to share sometime this century.

‘Till 2075 then,

Love Wenders

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Happy Saturday

I have a feeling that this might be the last  “do nothing” weekend for a while.  O.K. I KNOW it will be.  We stay pretty busy from Halloween to the New Year.  I am really getting excited about the upcoming holidays and family time.  Even the weather knows it is time. FINALLY! A cold front blew in yesterday and hopefully we can look forward to more crisp chilly weather.

So this weekend we are all going to spend time getting the house a little more organized and just hanging out.  We also have several seasons of Eureka to catch up on which is definitely a priority issue. Sooooo…..

Happy Saturday Everyone!

(photo above taken at the Dallas Farmers Market a few weeks ago.  What a good day!)

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The best part of waking up

Wow, I’ve really forgotten how time consuming the tiny ones are! I’m also convinced that Jude is way more high maintenance than Parker ever was. However, it’s been a billion years since the mighty teenage one was a baby, and I may have thoroughly repressed any memories of poor sleeping habits and separation anxiety issues since then. There isn’t much time for anything else but baby these days. Don’t get me wrong, these are amazingly enjoyable times and I am loving every new milestone and quirk. I know I am more blessed than can expressed to be able to stay home with my nonsleeping, spitfire, and watch him grow and develop. BUT a little more sleep and me time would not be turned away. Creative productivity is currently at a complete stand still. Mainly because if I do get any time to myself, painting or blogging has to be shared with the plethora of interests and activities I have. There either should be more time in the day or more of me to go around.

While i contemplate how i can split myself in two, I shall share with you my favorite time of the day.

Every morning, I love plopping myself down on the mushy couch with my cuppa coffee and watch the not-sleepy-one play in his poopie chair. Appropriately named because a diaper change will be necessary every time he visits it. Ahhh, life is good.

Time for a refill.
Peace and Love,
Wenders

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Get with the busyness

This is the time of year that I get the itch to get super organized.  Cooler weather means less reluctance to do things.   The summer heat no longer represses me with an iron fist of swelteringness.   Also, October starts the months of busyness, and if I don’t clean out the hall closet now there will be chaos supreme by Thanksgiving.  I am positive of it.  Coming up we have birthdays galore, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to.  And for some reason, I am especially excited about all these things this year.   I am feeling down-right festive.  Why, I even decorated the porch for Halloween…by me I mean I went to Target and bought the stuff for Parkers to decorate with.  I hope to post some outstanding pics once we get it spooky enough.  With the purchase of a fog machine and a black light we just may have done it!   There are so so many things going on this week and next that I must must must stay on top of the photo thing!  I am so behind! Wish me luck.

OK, now to get right on top of that.  I have full confidence in myself that I wont just lie down and cuddle with the dogs and just read a trashy novel……

Mainly because that spot is already taken.

Love,

Wenders

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Having a family is very fulfilling, sometime to the point of…


Having a family is very fulfilling, sometime to the point of overflowing excessively.  Like the kind of full that you have to use a super-absorbant microfiber towel just to catch it all.  I am totally enjoying my busy little family,  but It might be wearing me out…. Just a little bit….I have serious bags under my eyes.  Seriously,  don’t stare too long at them!

Ok there would be visible bags under my had I not purposefully overexposed my face, but I’m sure you get the point.

So you wanna know who does NOT have bags under his eyes?  This guy:

How in the world he manages to get his beauty rest on such little sleep I will never know.  I’m just sayin’,  Jude….Would it kill ya to nap every now and then.  Trust me, naps are a beautiful thing.  Nevertheless, we endeavor to truck on and do what we can.

I am ready to embrace the fall weather but it seems that summer still wants to persist.  I am attempting to scare the warmness away and bring on the chill with a few spooky decorations.  I’ve never decorated the yard for Halloween before so I decided to live a little on the wild side and purchase a few Hallowcheesy things to get us into the spirit.   Pretty sure it was my best effort yet….Never mind that this is the first time:

I think it turned out pretty cool and most importantly we had a great time doing it.

In in other news, I think Baby J and Mags the Dog are in cahoots…..Not sure about what, but they have been acting very suspicious lately:

See?!  It’s enough to drive you batty!

Stay tuned for more up to the  minute month info on the goings on in Wenderflonia….Notice there wasn’t any talk about painting.  I am at a loss as to when I can find the time and inspiration and I am becoming ok with that.  I am enjoying my family at the moment and all the chaos that goes with all their creative whirlwinds.   But of you must know, BFS has been doing some terrific work lately.  You can check it out here.

Peace and Love,

Wenders

p.s.  all photos taken with my iphone and  then overly post processed with shakeit photo and camerabag apps because I am addicted

Potentially next up will be tales of my harrowing adventures through photoshop training…. that sh@*’s hard!  Just so you know.

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Fall is here!…..sort of…..

My energy is slowly, repeat…slowly, returning. I am still tremendously overwhelmed but now that there is some relief from the heat, I am feeling the tingle of creativity trickling in. Odd how simple things as outside temperatures have an effect on creativity. It does for me that is for sure! Now, to see where I can fit a little painting in. Surely there is a spot in my day…somewhere. Maybe after my 10:30pm gym runs?

Bah, it will go somewhere. All I know is that the mornings are crisp and cool and I can take the baby out for a walk at a normal time. I even feel like doing a bit of yard work. Which is awesome because there was some serious garden neglect going on this summer.

Fall is here and I’m ready to don on my favorite sweater and go buy spice candles and carve punkins!

Much Love,
Wenders

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Where’s Wenders

True artist are sulky and reclusive…. right?  Of course this is not so easy when one has to be present for a  family but that is pretty much all I have to give artistically now.

Several weeks ago, I took an unexpectical, unintentional step back from my work and blogging.  Unfortunately it was right in the middle of a pretty busy time, and oddly during a surge of creative ideas.  Is this sabotage or sabbatical? Sabbotatical? … Tell me brain.  Tell me now!   If it was a sabbatical of sort then I spent the whole time anxious.  Even after working a few things out with my brain, I still feel nervous and blocked.  Still friends…but blocked none-the-less.

I suppose it is difficult to “create” under such conflicting feelings but I endeavor to muck through.  I’m just hoping my existential artistic crisis is winding down soon, and I stop being so dang avoidant…which is what it truly feels like.   I look at the piles in my studio and think, “no thanks”.  I see all the unfinished work and I want to work on something else.

I’m generally on the bandwagon of personal growth and triumph, but realistically I think as an artist I work better by having a few blue periods.  That’s my new excuse anyway.  There has to be something to it though…

btw it has taken me three days to do this poorly constructed blog post….just wrong brain….just wrong :-(…..

That is all,

Wenders

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still alive

Never fear, I’m still here. I’m hopefully in the end stages of a critical creative malfunction. I’m not exactly sure what came over me, but it mainly involved physical exhaustion and lack of time. Little Mr. 6 month old reserves most of my time and energy these days so the reserves deplete quickly.

Nevertheless, there are still many exciting ideas in the works. There will be more details coming soon so stay tuned.

Peace and Love
Wenders