Learning to say, "No"

DSC_8753.jpg, originally uploaded by Brian Bjork.

Its Christmas time. I wonderful time of the year, but also a time where emotions run high as do feelings of disappointment. While I love Christmas, in previous years I have tried to cram too much in trying to please everyone and do everything. The end result is usually tears on Christmas day because I am tired, stressed, and rushing around with not enough time to do what I want to do and what I feel like I have to do.

This year I have been attending Mom2Mom at church and one of the things that resonated with me was the idea of saying no. I made it my personal goal for the holiday season to only fit in what we really want to do and what we can realistically do. It is easier to say no this year because Rachel's well being is influenced by our level of activity as well as my stress level. I am also learning I am not responsible for other people's happiness. This is a hard lesson and I frequently shoulder the responsibility when others are unhappy.

A couple weeks ago Brian and I sat down and discussed what was important to us this holiday season and mapped out a plan. We have very similar desires and came to decisions very quickly. So far this year we are all relaxed and happy in the Bjork household other than Rachel who is in the middle of a growth spurt. :)

Bath Time!

Rachel looked so cute this morning after her shower that I couldn't resist taking her picture, and since it was such a cute picture I had to share it with all of you. As you can see on her face she loves bath and shower time.

Singing Baby

Rachel has started to sing with me. Super cute! It took me a couple tries to capture her cute little voice on video, and even this time she was a little distracted by the camera. On top of that I even managed to open the video in our editing software, edit it, and then upload it without any help from Brian. I have to admit I am pretty impressed with myself. I should warn you before you watch the video that my singing voice is not nearly as cute as Rachel's. In fact I can't believe I am even posting myself singing, but showing off my baby is totally worth any embarrassment I feel.

Happy Birthday Ben Shell!

Brian Here!

Just here to give a shout out to Ben Shell since it's his birthday today! Yay Ben! Ben and I have been friends since college and he's a great friend. We have similar tastes but like things for different reasons which make our conversations fun.

Happy Birthday Ben!

The Turkey Mystery

Once again this year we hosted Thanksgiving at our home. My mom and sister helped with the cooking again which was necessary and really appreciated this year with Rachel as an added addition to the family. We started cooking at around 11 am and the turkey went in at around noon. Our oven has a timer that can be turned off with the timer button or the cancel button. The downside of using the cancel button is it cancels the oven temperature as well. Can you guess what ended up happening?

At around 3:30 or 4:00 we go to take out the turkey and noticed it looks a little pale. And then we noticed the oven was cool and the house didn't smell like turkey. Someone had accidentally pressed the cancel button to stop the timer. No one recalls pressing the button. The turkey had been sitting in a cool oven all day. Oops!

The solution: Turn on the oven and serve a fancy 4 course Thanksgiving feast.
Course 1: jello, salad, and bread
Course 2: starchy sides (stuffing, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes)
Course 3: turkey, green beans, and cranberry sauce
Course 4: dessert


Course 1


Enjoying her first Thanksgiving


The whole family minus Brian

Oh, I should mention Sarah, my sister, and David got engaged Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Congratulations to both of them!

Our Letter

Brian Here!

I'm sure many of you have heard about the new security measures the TSA are taking. I don't like the new scanners that are being installed in airports because there aren't any long term studies showing the radiation is safe and also because a low educated security person does not need to be looking at a naked picture of my body; and they REALLY SHOULD NOT be looking at a naked images of my wife or kid's bodies!

The alternative is that we can opt out of the body scanners in order to get an advanced pat down where they will touch my private areas... and my wife's private areas. This is a terrible alternative.

Those things are installed in the name of security but I don't believe these new security measures increase our safety by a an amount that is significant enough to give up our right to privacy in order to fly.

Rebekah has similar strong feelings to this situation so last night we wrote a letter to our senators and our representative to request they enact legislation that would stop these new security measures. It wasn't even that hard. I searched online for letters of complaint about the TSA and found a letter that was similar to what I wanted to say. Then Rebekah and I modified the letter, checked the facts, and then printed it out. This morning we put the letters in the mail box.

We both realize that our letter will not make a difference on its own. It will only make a difference if enough people also write complaint letters. So if you feel the same way we do, please take a couple hours of your time and write in. Our representatives need to hear our objections to new laws in order to represent us.

Conquering Nap Time

DSC_8598.jpg, originally uploaded by Brian Bjork.

For some time Rachel has been sleeping through the night in her crib. She knows the routine and while not always happy about it she complies. Before bed she eats, gets her diaper changed, is wrapped in the swaddle blanket, is offered kitty pacifier, is given good night kisses, and lights out. Most nights she quietly falls asleep.

Naps have been another story. Before placing her in her crib I would swaddle her, darken the room, turn on her white nose machine on, and offer her kitty pacifier just like at night, but within a couple minutes of being placed in the crib the screaming would start and continue until I came in and picked her up. I would soothe her, she would start to nod off again, I would place her in her crib, and she would scream again.

I have not been consistent with placing her in her crib to nap because it is easier to let her sleep in my arms or in her swing where she will happily sleep for a couple hours and wake up well rested. Furthermore, I had forgotten when we were training her to sleep in her crib at night she would take up to 10 minutes to stop crying and fall asleep.

Last week I decided we were going to get serious about naps. Naps were going to happen in her crib regardless of her opinion. I decided I would let her scream for 10 minutes at the most before I went in and picked her up. This was the hard part for me and I had to set my watch and keep very busy for those 10 minutes. It took her several days to accept her nap routine and sleep for several hours. It seemed really hard in the midst of teaching her to sleep in her crib, but when I think about it now I am once again reminded we are blessed with a pretty easy and adaptable baby who is also a great sleeper.