As announced last week, here begins my weekly Thursday interviews - starting with Janelle from Domestically Seasoned.  I found her blog a couple of weeks ago and discovered we had cloth diapering and a passion for teaching in common - and I also like stealing her weekly meal plans!

My Interview with Janelle:

How many children do you have, and what are their ages?

    I have one child named Calvin.  He will be 2 in October.

How would you describe yourself as a parent, or your parenting style, in a few sentences?

     I find that I am very verbal in giving directions to Calvin.  A lot of my own parenting style came from my knowledge of child development    and working directly with children ages 2-5.  I guess you can say I have had practice before I had my own.  I tend to not let things slide, as I know first hand how frustrating it is to get things back on course.  I enjoy being silly and singing songs with my boy.

What, in your opinion, is the most difficult thing about being a parent?

     Making choices for your child is sometimes hard.

What, for you, was the most surprising thing about becoming a parent?

     I was very surprised with the amount of love and support my family and friends have been to us.

Tell me about one of the saddest/scariest incidents you can remember involving your kid?

     I noticed that my son had a thumb that didn't completely straighten about a month ago.  We thought at first that it was just a cute deformity and did not feel the need to pursue the issue.  We actually joke that crooked fingers runs in the family.  But this really is no joke.  It wasn't until recently, Calvin started experiencing (what looked like) pain in one of his thumbs. I scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician who immediately made us go get x-rays to make sure it wasn't broken.  Her diagnosis was a 'Trigger Thumb'.  So our next step was to meet with an orthopeadic specialist.  He recommends surgery before his 2nd birthday.  This is really scary to think about.

How did you choose a name for Calvin?

     So when you find out (if you find out what you're having) the sex of your baby, you either think of a name, have a name picked out, or you wait to see the bundle of joy to name it.  We we had a name about 6 weeks into knowing I was pregnant.  It was super easy.  I was scrolling through this book of names and found a couple we liked.  And no we are not telling you them! You will have to wait until another baby is made.

     I stumbled across a name and I said it out loud to Hubby.  He was like 'I like that name too' and never said a word to me after that.  Well, a few weeks later, when it was confirmed that we were carrying a baby we decided to let his family know.  We (I) couldn't really contain the excitement of being preggo. So we spilled the beans.  We announced that if it was a boy we would name him Calvin and we announced a girl name. 

     Lo and behold, my mother in law was super excited about the name.  And she has many many reasons as to why.  Comes to find out her father's name is Calvin.  This is where I say to my husband 'you never told me this'.  He thought I knew.  Well, I didn't.  So it was even better than I had expected, and that is how he was named.

Is there anything you do as a parent, that you thought you would never do?

     I would NEVER.... Have a kid who watched TV.

     Um yeah.  We watch TV in my house.  And yes, he has his own shows he likes to watch.  Dinosaur train, Backyardigans, just to name a few.  We usually snuggle up on the couch together and watch your show right before your afternoon nap.  I thought I would never let you watch tv.  Really, it hasn't rotted your brain yet and it seems to be very relaxing for you.  So what, right?

What is one piece of advice you would give to a new parent?

     THIS TOO SHALL PASS - sleepless nights, crying, tantrums, picky eaters, potty training... it will all pass, but enjoy the love and laughter along the way.  These are the best days of their life.