As I prepared for and entered Dress Down Momhood I had such visions. Visions of how attentive and diligent and careful I was going to be as we raised the first Wee Lady. I read book upon book upon book before EvieG was born and I knew exactly how things were going to be. Or at least how I was going to be. Uh huh. Didn't quite turn out like I thought it would. There were things I swore I would never do, but did.

Things like:

1. I will never to let my child(ren) watch more that one 30 minute time slot of telelvision a day.
Uh huh. Like that EVER happened. I went sooooo far beyond ever even coming close to living by that rule. I think EvieG's first exposure to TV was when she was 2 months old and we did everything in our power to stop her from crying between the hours of 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. After building some major glute and quad muscles from walking up and down the stairs to soothe her, the only thing that seemed to calm her down was an episode of The Simpson's. We start 'em young in our house. Now that the weather is nice we watch TV a bit in the morning and then a bit in the afternoon and then a bit at night before bed. Hey, at least that's better than the all day Treehouse TV marathons we had going on for a while this past winter.

I don't even give it a second thought when the Wee Ladies go over to someone else's house and the TV is on and they all start singing the theme songs in unison. To ALL the shows. Whatever. We watch some TV at our house. No big deal. They do lots of other stuff and get outside. Most days...kidding. Their brains are not melting. Yet.

2. I will not expose my child(ren) to fast food.
Uh huh. I think the first symbol the Wee Ladies became familiar with was not a STOP sign, but the Golden Arches. Not only that, but Pavlov's Conditioning totally sets in as we drive through a Tim Horton's drive thru-I knew my Psych 101 class was good for something. When we drive thru at Timmy's (or Decaf With Double Cream as EvieG refers to it) the Wee Ladies get one sniff of the starchy and caffeinated goodness and they start going bananas. "Timbits, Timbits!" they shout. And they start salivating at the mouth. Just like Pavlov's dogs. Fear not, good readers. I don't always give into the demands for junk. Just sometimes. When I am lazy and don't feel like cooking, or if I feel like they need a little treat because they are so cute.

I wonder though if I am instilling coffee code into their wee bodies? Do they have a chance? A chance to say no to coffee as they grow up? Or should I just throw up my hands and accept the fact that they have been wired from a young age to inevitably become addicted to coffee? This is what I think about as I drive thru for the third time in one day with them belted in behind me, unable to remove themselves from the aromas that infiltrate the van and send them into sensory overload. I will try and convince them that decaf is the way to go.

3. I will limit the amount of sugar my child(ren) will eat.
Uh huh. See above. We like treats. I like baking. What can I say?

4. I will never heat up the bottles in the microwave.
Uh huh. I tried putting it in hot water for about one night. Anything to feed faster in order to get back to bed sooner. There is nothing less appealing than waiting for the water to get hot, put the bottle in, stare at it until the chill wears off....No time. Sleep was already something to be cherished and savoured. I couldn't bear to lose any more. And for the record, the bottles I used were Bisphenol A free and they were only in the microwave for a few seconds.

5. I will never buy baby food in a jar.
Uh huh. I tried making it for about one day. I personally found it to be a pain in the you-know-what and I decided PC Organics and I were going to become best friends. And we did. Simple. Easy. Healthy. Done. I will say that the only thing I made myself is the meat. I boiled it for about 10 minutes and then put it in the blender with water and put it in the freezer. One smell of the jarred meat and I wanted to vomit. True story.

Those are just five of the many examples of things I said I would never do, but did. The Wee Ladies are happy and healthy and to me these things I said I would never do but did fit our lifestyle. It worked and still works. I look back on the so-called rules I set for the girls and myself. I scoff and think, "Like that would ever happen...a half hour of TV. Ha!" I try to make good decisions and there will be leniences for sure. Everything in moderation. My views were so far one way that it was too rigid for us. We have since found a good balance, but we also have relapses. There are definitely weeks where we have a few too many trips to Decaf With Double Cream. No harm done in the grand scheme of things.

All's I'm sayin' all.

Labels: Guilt