Stuff Mom Never Told You

It was a cold winter day in our tiny studio apartment in Orem. Tim turned on a new podcast-- "Stuff Mom Never Told You" -- and I was hooked. Mostly because they talk about everything I know and love like menstruation, childbirth, feminism, etc, etc. They are hilarious, informative, and just plain interesting. Last week, after the breastfeeding podcast (including discussing the breastfeeding in public controversy), I wrote a little email to Molly and Cristen about how I'm a mother and a college student, and that I take my baby with me to class and breastfeed and have never had an issue with it. I told them also that their job is my DREAM job. To do research about these things and then just talk about them. Freaking amazing.

And they responded!!!!!!! (cue delirious giggling) Silly, I know. But they are my idols. I suggested cloth diapering as a podcast. Maybe they will do it! That would be so, so cool.

The email:

"Hi Caitlin, Molly and I will take your career dream as the highest compliment! I think it's so great that your school allowed you to take [Theodore] to class with you. If only more schools and workplaces were more flexible with childcare.

Cloth diapering is an interesting idea. I know my mom was a big proponent of them, if only for the cost savings. We'll put it in the MomStuff queue and see what we can come up with.

Thanks for listening and writing in!
Cristen"

Woman gives birth on flight to SLC

This was almost me.

The best of birthdays

Yesterday was the best birthday of my life, no contest. I mean, I'm sure I loved my slumber parties of yesteryear, but yesterday was great in that I got to take a step back and look at my life and how happy it makes me.

First, on birthday eve, Tim gave me a foot rub and we watched The Matrix. I LOVE THE MATRIX. I thought about it all night long. Man. It was good.

On birthday morning, we watched The Matrix 2 and got ready for the day. My wonderful sister came to babysit while Tim took me to Salt Lake for a birthday surprise. He took me to the Nutcracker at the Capitol Theater. I forgot how beautiful that theater is! I'd never seen Ballet West perform, but they were so talented and it was a delightful show. I love going to dance performances, but I haven't been to a ballet since the last Nutcracker (I've stuck to the modern dance shows, which are amazing at BYU). Anyways, it was beautiful and so nice to relax and be together as a couple. Tim always knows how to make me happy.




On the way home, Tim started acting weird. He never texts and drives, but he was doing it. And refusing to tell me who he was talking to. So... I kind of figured something was up. But a surprise birthday party!! I've always, always wanted a surprise party and no one has ever thrown me one. It was so cool! I felt so loved. I felt like so many of those I know and love were at my party. I had so much fun with everyone, and I hope they felt the same. It was happening! I realized at my party that I have so many interesting and diverse friends, and they are all really fun to be around and kind and open-minded and welcoming. It was great.

Oh, and Smith's totally had an incredible sale for my birthday. We stocked up on cereal, Kashi crackers, and pasta.

AND: I got a great haircut on Thursday morning. FOR FREE. Thanks for the Starving Student card, Dad!


Birthday #23: Success! I was sad for it to end.
Presents: Shoes and shoes and carbon offsets. Tim got me some awesome Simple Mary Janes and Melissa made me these AMAZING sweater sock/shoes out of a recycled wool sweater and crocheted TWINE. How cool is that?! And our favorite godfather Gordon, he bought me CARBON OFFSETS. I know there are a few other things coming, including some moolah from my mommy and daddy to buy myself some goodies.

Three months old

At three months,

Atticus likes:

Breast milk sampling
Sleeping in with mom

When Gordon comes to visit
Reading (especially That's not my Lion... thanks Coralie!)

The Bumbo Seat

Being helped to sleep promptly and not when he is fussy

The Matrix and other exciting movies

The flips



Long walks
Diaper changes
Feminist rallies

The mornings
When Annabelle is nice to him

He doesn't like:

The stroller
Being at home all day
The sleepies
The evenings
Annabelle smacking him with a hanger


He continues to amaze us with his laid-back and happy demeanor. He gets cuter and more expressive every day and we are putty in his hands when he smiles at us. He can do more fun tricks, and we are eager to see him learn more (like changing his own diaper.... we're teaching him that one soon).

Caitlin's birthday post

This is the one part of Cait's birthday today that wasn't a surprise for her. I didn't really do much for her birthday, but when it's a surprise, it always seems like a lot. I'll let Cait talk about the details of the day tomorrow.

Right now I want to talk about the details of the woman I love.

First of all, she is the best mother on the planet. This fact is indisputable. She cares so much for our son and bringing him up in the right way. She has really given over her whole heart to being a mother and I love her for it.

She is also so smart. She throws herself at all the learning that she can get. She always surprises me by how much she knows and I've given up on thinking that I'll ever be smarter than her.

She is a great friend especially to me, but as far as I can tell to many other people as well.

And, best of all, she's just a whole lot of fun to be around.

I could write much more. I could, I assure you. But it is late and my lovely wife is waiting for me in bed. She's fantastic.

Dear Glenn Beck,

Please, please, I'm begging you... tell everyone that the whole Mormon thing was a joke. I can take it no longer that you are the political voice of my religion. It sickens me to my core. I dislike Sarah Palin as much as the next person, but that is no reason to be a sexist pig.

And no, all women do NOT belong in the kitchen. Jerk.

Adorable

(this picture has nothing to do with this statement, I just think it's cute)


I really like the evenings when Atticus and I have nothing to do, and just can sit and nurse and sleep and nurse more and sleep more. Mostly actually I read while he sleeps and nurses. We've gotten into a good groove with him where if he doesn't get overly tired, he practically doesn't cry. Sometimes the overtiredness is unavoidable, but while we are at home I try to stave off the sleepies by getting him to sleep. It works.

Foreign Policy fame

If you know me, you probably know how much I worship Valerie Hudson.

Well, this month she made it on Foreign Policy magazine's top 100 "global thinkers." This is a pretty big deal for a BYU professor, Mormon mother of 8. Awesome, huh?

Shot down in combined Relief Society/Priesthood

So on the fifth Sunday whenever that occurs in a month, all the male and female adults of the ward get together to be instructed by a member of the Bishopric, who lead the ward. This Sunday our Bishop talked to us about strengthening our marriages, as everyone in our ward is married. He asked us one question about ways in which we strengthen our communication.

I raised my hand and talked about the "I Love It..." game that Cait and I play where we first talk about some of the areas we think the other could improve and things that the other person does that might happen to bug us. And then we spend the rest of the time, which ends up being the majority of the time, by talking about things that we love about each other. We always do it when we are calm with no distractions and haven't been previously angered about anything. It's worked well for us, even though we don't do it as often as we used too. It's gotten to the point, I think, where we can bring up a lot of those things in regular conversation.

After I made this comment, a number of people, three I think, said that they thought that was very dangerous, saying how it could lead to bitterness. They also said that if something was bugging you about your spouse, it was probably just something that you were doing wrong and that you should change rather than saying anything to your spouse.

I think there is definitely some truth to those statements, especially the second, but I've found that sometimes the best way to confront an issue like that, say when Cait used to leave her clothes on the bathroom floor when they were dirty, head on and just discuss it and come to an agreement.

Of course, everyone has their own way of doing things, we were just wondering how everyone else handled these sort of things. Mainly this if for the married people, but it also applies to anyone who has a disagreement with another person that you are close to. So what do you think? What is the best way to communicate things that your spouse does that bothers you?

Mounds of gratitude... and turkey

Thanksgiving was a beautiful day for us.

We drove to Wyoming through the lovely canyons of northern Utah.

We heard the news of Janice's (she is my favorite of the Browning cousins...) home birth (and a VBAC!) and her new beautiful daughter, Ava Jeralee.

We hung out with Tim's great family. We laughed at Grandpa's declining memory and realized we should have named our baby something easier to remember.



We ate DELICIOUS food. I usually am biased towards food because my mom, aunt, and grandma can COOK. But it was actually good! And only one variety of jello (which was delicious, I ate three servings of it!)

We went on a beautiful walk in the Wyoming countryside (?) and saw some buffalo and elk.












We played Mormon Bridge. Tim won.

I got destroyed in Scrabble my Grandma. Who knew? I think I needed some humble pie to go with my pumpkin variety.

Although the little guy screamed part of the way home, I finally got him to sleep about 20 minutes away. And we enjoyed a peaceful journey the rest of the way.

AND, we got to hang out with Trace and Michelle and their new baby Alexis. It was really fun, though we were all really tired. We like them a lot, unfortunately they live far away in Logan. Alexis and the little guy were binky buddies too... Alexis had a pink one and the little guy a blue one. It was cute, too bad we didn't get a picture.

Most importantly of all, we were able to reflect on our unlistable blessings that have been granted to us this year. But actually, I will list them, for clarity:

1. Our marriage. I think it may be the best one around. We are always seeking out ways to improve, and I can clearly see a difference this year has made in both of us. Tim and I bring out the best in each other, and I've never been happier. Everyone told us we were crazy, but look at us now.




2. Our sweet little guy. As I type this, he's just chilling in my lap, looking around at his new world and smiling away at me. He has enriched our lives beyond what I could have imagined, and I'm grateful for every moment that I can be his mommy.



3. Education, work, friends, etc. We are just in such a good place in our lives right now. We live in an apartment that is better than we could have pictured last year, we have plenty of money in our savings, we have awesome friends right across the way and lots down the street, our ward is so fun and welcoming, we are both having really successful semesters at school, we both have jobs that we enjoy and that make us enough money to squeak by, and our families have been supportive and helpful as we transitioned to this stage in our lives. Allison is a phone call away to come over and hold the little guy so I can get work done when Tim's not around, we see Devin and Hillary often, and Tim's parents completely furnished our apartment for free. My mom came into town for those blissful two weeks in September, and my dad is off serving his fellow countrymen in Dover. Charity and Josh are off serving the Lord and gaining some neat cultural experiences as well in London and Chile, while Devany is perhaps giving us a new brother-in-law in a few months. And let's not forget Lauren and Christopher's incredible charity this summer when they took us in for a month (not to mention their generous baby stuff bestowal, we've had to buy practically nothing thanks to them). I know not everyone has such an extensive safety net, and we are grateful for all they do for us. I only hope that through our small acts of kindness to others we can keep the service spreading.

I feel like I should end this in "Amen" or something.