The Baby Borrowers

I am generally not a big fan of reality television. However, there is a new show on TV that I love. It is more of a social experiment, I believe, than most reality television can claim to be. Baby Borrowers takes five young couples, all between the ages of 18 and 20, who believe they are ready for married life, adulthood, and babies. The show gives them big, beautiful houses to live in - none of them having ever lived together before. They are given one day to settle into their new homes and enjoy the "married life" before the first package arrives. All the girls must don simulated pregnancy suits for the next 24 hours until their real babies arrive. One girl can't even bear the thought of the suit because it hurts and looks hideous. Already I was hooked on this show!

The next phase of the show brings 5 babies into the picture, each assigned to a different couple, all six to eleven months old. The real parents can watch the action and even intervene if necessary, like when one of the girls gives up feeding one of the babies and says, "Fine. Starve." and walks off. There are also trained nannies in each house for emergency situations only (choking or something like that).

The show is riveting so far and they are only in the first phase. Already every "mother" has broken down and they are only in Phase 1. One mother is upset because the baby likes the boyfriend more than her which SO mirrors real life that it isn't even funny. I can't tell you how many days J has refused to do ANYTHING for one of us but will do it immediately and without argument for the other one just because he likes the other one better that day. Phase 2, approximately 4 days after the baby arrives, replaces that baby with a toddler and the previews look awesome! As the parent of a toddler, I can't wait to see those shows! Phase 3 starts 3 days later when the toddler leaves and in walks several pre-teens and their pets. Phase 4 brings a teenager into the home and Phase 5 leaves them caring for an elderly adult, complete with health problems, pills to remember, wheelchairs, etc.

These kids who think they are so ready to grow up and have kids of their own are cracking under the pressure in just 24 hours. Why are kids these days so anxious to grow up? Why can they not just enjoy being teenagers, enjoy a life with fewer responsibilities?

I love my toddler more than life itself. I devote most of my time that I am not working to him in one way or another. I love spending time with him and I adore him. However, I am so glad I didn't have him straight out of high school or even college. I am even glad I didn't have him in my 20s. I am so thankful for the years that were just about me through most of college and the years that were just about me and my husband without a child in the picture after that.

Once you have a child, that commitment is for life. There will never be another day of your life when you won't be that child's parents - even when you are 90 years old. If you are lucky, that child will depend on you in one way or another forever - even if it is just looking to you for advice or for love or to be a grandparent or great-grandparent to their kids and their kids' kids.

Seeing these kids who want to have kids themselves makes me a little sad. I think this social experiment labeled as reality television is great. If it can persuade even just these 10 young people that they aren't ready, it will be worth its weight in gold. One of the guys even said he agreed to do the show to convince his girlfriend they aren't ready and comments often throughout the show, "My plan is working!" I hope the plan is working also!

New Year's Resolutions - 6 Month Update

So, for many people, I'm sure their New Year's Resolutions are long-since forgotten by now. Not me. I rarely make a ton of resolutions but I want to follow-through on the ones I make.

Here they are once again along with the progress I’ve made. I'm pretty happy with where I am at this point.

1. Start getting up earlier in the morning (ugh) to allow time for exercise and to make J a healthy breakfast. As expected, I am not following through on this one. Doug and I were just discussing our morning routine today. It isn't working. As for the exercise, I've solved that in another way by joining a gym and have been going an average of 2 times a week (meaning sometimes I go 4 times and sometimes I don't go at all). This has been a hard habit to get started but I am still optimistic that I can make this lifestyle change for both me and Doug. We need to encourage and even guilt each other a little better into going. As for J's breakfast, I need to do better in helping with that one. I have been doing one thing better and that is buying almost exclusively healthy options for breakfast. That way, even if it is a grab-and-go breakfast, it is still a Special K bar or a Clif bar or raisins as opposed to something awful like sugar cereal. I've also cut down on the sugar cereals I buy for Doug because I know J will want them as well. Fortunately, J's favorite cereals are Raisin Bran Crunch, Kix, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Organic Clifford Crunch. While only the Clifford Cereal is sugar free, at least they are all better for him than what a lot of kids eat.

2. Paint at least one room in my house (my bedroom, the guest bathroom, and/or the guest room/playroom) and hire someone to paint my kitchen. As noted before, I took a day off and painted the guest bathroom which is also J's bathroom. I am really happy with how it turned out. J wanted a monkey-themed bathroom and I think it is adorable. I also bought sample paint to test the colors in the kitchen and master bedroom. Hopefully I can hire that job out later this year when the funds are more readily available.

3. Make my front flowerbeds look presentable. With some help from J (okay, maybe mostly him throwing dirt around while I worked) and some real hard work and help from my dad, my front flower bed looks awesome. There are new flowers throughout the bed. The old flowers have been trimmed. The hedges have been trimmed. One hedge was removed due to over-crowding. A beautiful brick edging was added to hold all of our brand new mulch in when it rains. All in all, I am extremely happy with this project. Now if I can just keep the flowers alive with no more rain than we've been having, I'll be really happy!

4. Lose some weight - any amount will do. I've only lost 5 pounds since joining the gym the last week in April but I've been really happy with the results the gym is producing just the same. The first night we met with our trainer, I thought I was going to die within the first 5 minutes on the elliptical. My heart was racing and I was out of breath. Within a few weeks, I could do that same elliptical, hold a conversation with him while on it, climb off, and be ready to tackle the next hurdle. While losing weight would be great, I've definitely shifted my focus to just feeling better and being healthier. If the weight loss comes with that then great. If not, I'm okay with that as well.

5. Spend more time with my friends. Game night, anyone? We just had 16 people come over for a weekend of games, RockBand, karaoke, and visiting. It was awesome and I'm looking forward to the next big weekend get-together in August with most of them. Additionally, we've got friends coming up this weekend for a kid-centered weekend at the Botanic Gardens and the Zoo and I've got a crop next weekend. I adore the time spent with our friends and look forward to many more good times with them. I do need to learn balance and I need to learn to say no sometimes. Our weekends have become so booked and backed up that there is never a single weekend to look forward to without plans. Never time to rest or just sit around and watch a movie at home. Next year's New Year's Resolution needs to perhaps involve a greatly reduced number of plans with friends and family. Ironic, isn't it - you always want things to be the way they aren't.

So, that's the update for now. All in all, not bad progress for the 6-month mark. My biggest goal for the remaining 6 months is to really hit the gym hard. I need it to be a priority in a way that it hasn't been. I need that lifestyle change so I will feel healthier. So I can be around for J for the next 50 years. So I can set a good example for J of healthy living, eating, and exercise. There is no greater gift to give a child than to just set a good example. I hope to do that.

Friends

My parents are staying with us this week before taking J home with them for a week so 16 of our closest friends can spend the weekend with us. J is attending Vacation Bible School this week. One treat when my parents are in town for him is that my mom will pick him up an hour or so earlier than we typically do from after-school care. On Monday afternoon, my mom had the following conversation with J. I thought it was so sweet.

G: How was Vacation Bible School today?
J: Good. Will you go with me tomorrow?
G: Go with you to Bible School? I don't think they let grandmas go.
J: But the man on the stage said we needed more people.
G: I think he meant more kinds your age.
J: But he said to bring our friends.

I'm so thankful that J views his grandparents as friends. He has so much fun with them and looks up to them at the same time. They spoil him while still making him mind. I am very thankful for our parents and the positive influence they have on J's life. I hope he always knows how lucky he is to have them.