The Accidental Pastor's Wife

Crickl tagged me (I just love her blog-be sure it check it out to the left! Crickl's Nest), soooooo...

I am so new at this blogging thing--is meme a word I should know already? Or is it like "blog", a made up word? At any rate, I'll try to list seven things I've learned in my short life and then tag seven other people (Do I know seven other bloggers?? If I don't can I just tag less? Am I a concrete sequential or what? I need definite directions!)

1. Babies will eventually sleep. When I had my first child, I was 21 years old, in college, newly married, and none of my friends were even married yet, let alone mothers. I was so clueless, and during those first few months I would honestly think to myself, "What have I done?" Fortunately, once he started sleeping through the night (around my birthday! THANKS!) and we quit nursing (that's a whole other post!), my outlook changed to one of "I CAN do this!" So I always tell new moms: there WILL be a light at the end of the all-night vigil tunnel. I promise!

2. Nursing a baby is one of the most special times in a mom's life. I can say this from experience. After attempting to nurse my firstborn (who, by the way, appears to be the most intelligent of my children) for 6 weeks with lots of tears and frustrations from both of us, I switched to the bottle. I didn't have any support at all (my mom bottle fed me) and, like I said, clueless. But it was the right decision because it helped our relationship so much. I could get him on a schedule, anticipating his needs, and dad could take some turns feeding him, too. It was right for that time of our lives. With baby #2, I was determined to give it a go again, but this time, seek out help. So I nursed him right away after birth, then met with a lactation consultant after I went home. At her office, she worked with me for three hours one day, weighing him before he ate, weighing him after (important for my psychological wellbeing!), helping us get a correct latch (which was my problem with my first child). She did not let me go home until my little boy was eating. She called that night, called the next morning, then had me come in to train me how to pump if I needed to. I nursed him for 13 months and he had not one bottle of anything!

3. Never stay mad at your husband. A stubborn will never solves anything. I can't stay mad for very long. Neither can he. We end up trying to be mean, but end up smiling at each other, which breaks the ice for us to talk about whatever's going on. Be the first to give in...I'm convinced it works wonders.

4. Look at the components of your dinner, see how long each item takes, then start what takes the longest first. For example, if you're making spaghetti, defrost your meat for meatballs, heat your oven, form your meatballs, set your water to boil for noodles, bake your meatballs, put your pasta in the water and cook it, open your can of spaghetti sauce, drain pasta, take out meatballs, combine in a pot and heat through. You have to do things in order, so they make sense and you're not in the kitchen forever.

5. Keeping in touch with long distance friends is essential. And there's no excuse, with the internet and all. A note, a card, an email, a phone call, can bless someone at just the right time.

6. Older people just want someone to listen to their stories. There's nothing worse for an older person than to feel like they're a nuisance. Most just want to be treated like a friend, not a burden. So seek them out and listen to them.

7. Most TV is not worth watching. We've lived with it and without it, and I much prefer without it. It can be done. HONEST.

Let's see, who to tag...I've got a crying baby girl so I'll edit this later for tags!

Okey Dokey: I'm a pathetic blogger and can only think of five gals to tag (and my Mac doesn't let me post a hyperlink in my post so just click on their websites to the left, ok?)

TAG!
Caroline at Living inside (or is it outside) the Fishbowl
Helpmeet
Finish the Race
Anita at Average Girl
Young Pastor's Wife