Anastasia Irvine's Blog (13)

Juggling Life

Juggling my roles as a Mother, wife, woman, housecleaner and cook is sometimes overwhelming. On some days it’s an accomplishment if I’m dressed before noon and the kids have been fed.

Those days are the days where I can’t seem to get the baby to sleep long enough to manage getting clothes on, breakfast made, laundry done and plan an activity greater than Yo Gabba Gabba for the Toddler. I find myself going all day without anything but a coffee and granola bar for substance. If I’m…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on June 30, 2011 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Mommy's Make-up

When it comes to make-up I am no stranger. I’d say I exercise a reasonable restraint in resisting daily usage, but at the same time I enjoy the perfecting powers of foundation and blush on my tired mommy complexion. I never thought of my usage to be excessive or that it would have a negative influence on my daughters. But when my toddler started running up to me freshly done up with the make-up she took from her teenage Aunts room asking if she was “pwetty” I couldn’t help but wonder…. Was…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on June 28, 2011 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Scars of my Cesarean

During my second pregnancy I wrote about my first birth experience and how the previous cesarean effected me. Writing these feelings down really helped me to deal with my fears of the upcoming birth (an attempted VBAC).

I hate my scar

I hate the pain when I work out

I hate that sometimes I have pain for no reason at all

I hate having fears that didn’t exist…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on June 25, 2011 at 9:30pm — No Comments

I Promise Not To Say The F Word

There are a few things in life that get me heated instantly, and our society’s misogynistic view of what woman should look like is one of them. I hate to think that my daughters are growing up in a society with such distorted views of what a woman’s figure is. We come in different shapes, sizes and colors and that’s beautiful. I don’t want my daughters to think that the plastic they are passing off as beautiful, sexy or otherwise desirable is what they need to be.

So, having…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on June 21, 2011 at 9:30pm — No Comments

MIL Conflict...How Do You Avoid & Resolve?

Okay, so I'm breaking my own rule here and am going to discuss (vaguely) a family issue with Mom-In-Law conflict....

I really didn’t have many problems with my Mother-in-law while dating my Husband, nor after we got married. We were never close (in fact she really has never seen me be myself), but our relationship was always a positive despite the lack of depth. But, beginning with the pregnancy of my first born, things went sour….and fast. I can’t deny that I probably have more…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on May 18, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

What The Grandma Generation Doesn't Understand: Potty Training

Humans are, in my opinion, complex creatures with varying abilities, strengths, weaknesses, personality traits and so forth. I find (through my years of management in retail) that even as adults humans are rarely capable of mastering, or in the case of previous employees, even becoming mildly successful at a skill or task in a single day. Although the vast majority need more than a single day to master and retain a skill, and especially a complex one, there are the minority that possesses…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on May 17, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

My Beautiful Imperfections

I can't say I have ever been truly happy with my body. Not during my chubby times, thin times, teens or now. I always seem to feel like i'm not adding up to my own distorted perception of what a woman is. It's like I have been living my life looking at all the things I don't like and have been blind to all my qualities because of it.

I want to pass on a confidence to my daughters that they are beautiful during all stages of life. Baby, toddler, child, teen, woman, pregnancy,… Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on March 20, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Tips For Stress Free Cloth Diapering

I've been in love with cloth diapers since I found out I was preggers with my first. I love that they don't have chemicals for me to worry about, that I change more often then disposables since my girls let me know sooner, they saved me a fortune, they are good for the enviroment and they're soo cute! There can be a downside though. As much as I enjoy my cloths I have to admit that they do require a bit more time then the toss and go disposable. Here are my tips to keep cloth diapering from… Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on March 14, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Why I Breastfeed Uncovered

When I got pregnant with my first, Piper (now two) I knew I wanted to breastfeed. It wasn’t a matter of weighing the pros and cons of formula vs. breastfeeding, and it wasn’t a concious decision. My mother had always breastfed her children (eight in total) and I grew up without ever thinking about the action, it was natural and simply struck me as the way you feed your baby.

As my pregnancy progress I started actually noticing how people cared for their children. It was weird…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on March 2, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Really??? When Potty Training Goes Wrong

Sometimes my toddler makes me crazy! I try to look at the world through her eyes and understand what she might be thinking or how things make her feel, but sometimes all I get out of it is “REALLY?!?”. I mean I understand the developmental stage of a two year old in complex and known to be full of frustration and power struggles, but do they really have to learn individuality and consequence by complete and utter defiance?

For the past few weeks I have been in just such a…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on February 16, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Fragments of You Are Fragments of Me

As I get older, and especially now that I have children, I notice more and more of my Mother and Father in my personality. When I was younger I never thought I was very much like them, But surely I am my Mother’s and Father’s Daughter. Their influence as parents is always going to be a part of me, both the good and the bad.

The feeling of happiness and contentment I get while singing to my Daughters is connected to my Mother’s morning singing (my favorite thing to hear upon…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on February 10, 2011 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Breast Is Best, But Not For Everyone

When I think of women and our relationship with each other it seems to be love/hate. In our competitive society it seems that woman longs for that friendship and understanding that only another woman can offer. Yet we give in to judgment of that same kin. This kind of relationship spreads beyond being a woman and translates into all female roles, including and especially motherhood. It seems that truly excepting another woman’s choices, though not in agreement with…

Continue

Added by Anastasia Irvine on February 4, 2011 at 9:30pm — No Comments