Seven Questions I Ask My 18 Month Old (On A Daily Basis)

This is a drive-by post that will hopefully make you giggle. I just made note of the things I've asked Molly so far today. This is what I've come up with, and I'm guessing this is pretty standard:

1. What are you eating?

2. Why are you so quiet?

3. Where are your ponytail holders?

4. Why are you licking that?

5. What's wrong???????

6. Why are you yelling at me?

7. Did you poop?

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches - A Book Review

This past June, I had the privilege of photographing a wedding with my sister-in-law, Amanda, up in Maine. Or New Hampshire. I can never remember which state we were in...but I digress.

This trip meant that I would be childless for 4 whole days! Including the 8 hour car ride up north! I grabbed a couple of books that I had been planning on reading for months, and guess what? I read every single page of all three books.

This was my favorite. I don't recall who gave the book to me, or why, but WOW - couldn't have read it at a better time in my life. I keep alternating between thinking that I ought to pass the book along to another mama and then thinking that maybe I should keep it around to re-read when I am needing encouragement.

The way that Rachel Jankovic writes makes it so easy to relate to her whether you have one little one, or four, the reality of cheerios being dumped all over the living room (true story, happened last week) is something that I think any mom can identify with.

She really encourages a 'go with the flow' attitude. You can't control every single element in your home because - hello, they are KIDS! BUT, at the same time, it doesn't have to be total chaos. They are human beings and you can teach them!

In the book (early on, actually - page 12!) she says, "I didn't write this book because mothering little ones is easy for me. I wrote it because it isn't. I know that this is a hard job, because I am right here in the middle of it. I know that you need encouragement every day, because I do too."

I seriously want to send her some fuzzy socks and a chocolate bar for writing this book. 

The Top Ten Things You Will Cry About Post-Partum

1. Everything

Okay, okay... I'm just kidding. But I bet if you asked my husband what I cried about in the weeks following Molly's birth, that would be his answer - and to his credit, he dealt with the extreme emotions beautifully.

The REAL List:

1. The sudden quadruple of your stretch marks (in various places!) that you so carefully 'avoided' with a dutiful application of cocoa butter throughout your pregnancy.

2. When you finally lay the baby down. She's sleeping peacefully. You only have about 15 minutes, maximum. You start to cry because...you can't decide if you should shower, use the bathroom, eat, or sleep!

3. The first time you step on the scale post-partum. 

4. Your baby's umbilical cord falls off on Day 4. The doctor said 8-14 days, and it fell off on DAY FOUR so obviously you did something horribly wrong!!!!!!! <--- I may be saying this from experience.

5. Post-Partum = Payback for 9+ months of no Aunt Flo. Sorry. It had to be said.

6. Milk. It doesn't matter what the circumstance - spilled, too much, too little, too hot, too cold - it'll be cried over.

7. Summer is clearly approaching more quickly than it does other years, simply because you can't imagine wearing a bathing suit right now.

8. You're pretty sure that you'll be bald in a matter of weeks. Maybe days.

9. Your husband looked at you funny/the wrong way/normal.

10. She's already not a newborn anymoooooooooore!

This is by no means a complete list of what I, personally, cried over in those first weeks (ahem, months...) but I hope that others can identify with, and maybe even laugh a little over, the above list. It's normal. I think.

Maine: A Photo Post

We did so many fun things on our recent trip to Maine, but because life keeps barreling on, I don't have the adequate amount of time that I would like to recount all of the silly stories from the trip. So, you get a post full o' photos. Not even taken by me, I might add - photo credit goes to my sister-in-law Katelyn and/or Aunt Debbie.

My Little Fashionista

Yes, we're feeding the deer.

"Molly, want to feed the baby goat?" "No." :)

Getting brave....

That's still a NO on the goats, Mom!

Little Lovey (Don't be fooled, there was a royal tantrum at the zoo)

About to eat our first Maine Lobstah!

Keep It Simple

I have been hesitant to post about finances, but I think our generation has a severe lack of understanding what is necessary and what is extra, and maybe it's time to start talking about getting back to the basics.

Before I start explaining what we do and why we do it, I want to be very clear: This is not an attack on anyone else's lifestyle. You can choose to do things differently, and that's just fine. This is meant as an encouragement for those that desire to lower their monthly bills, but feel trapped by the social norms. Annnnd, go:

1. Cellular Devices: People are always shocked that Patrick and I shared a cell phone for the first year+ of our marriage, and we still carry two of the most pre-historic cell phones around. We simply do not need an astronomical cell phone bill due to bells, whistles, and data charges. Since just about everywhere has free wi-fi, we did invest in a Samsung Galaxy Tablet this year without the data plan. 

2. Housing: We just moved into our first actual house. It's still a rental, but until now, we've lived places that were not our ideal, simply because we believe it is better to save your money for the right opportunity rather than spend what you don't have in order to live somewhere 'comfortable'. I consider doing laundry in my own home a luxury and a privilege.

3. Good Credit: While it is an asset to have 'good credit', credit card companies reel you in by making you think that you NEED to have a credit card to build 'good credit'. There is a way to keep a credit card responsibly, but it is also a slippery slope and once you start to charge things like a Venti Double Triple Espresso Mocha Caramel Whipped Soy Latte (that probably doesn't exist, but if it did, it would be called the 'I Have A Newborn') because you don't really have money for it in your bank account -- there is a problem. 

4. Television: We have never had TV channels anywhere that we've lived. In fact, our television is so old that it isn't compatible with even the three "basic" channels that everyone is supposed to get for free. We don't actually watch a whole lot of TV anyway, so we mostly use it for movies - but one awesome thing is Netflix! We can watch Netflix streaming through our Wii, and while we may have to be the LAST people to see the final season of The Office - oh well! It's not really the end of the world!

5. Kids Cost A Lot: This is true. My hospital bills were astronomical. Diapers cost an arm & a leg. BUT, I think that people inflate in their minds what is "necessary" for babies/children based on what the media tells us. Do we really need everything in Babies R Us to keep our babies well fed, safe, and happy? Thanks to the generosity of friends and family, I received LOTS of awesome things for Molly at my baby shower, and we saved gift cards to help purchase the things that we still needed. I almost never purchase things new from a store. I always check yard sales, consignment shops, and online for anything from clothing to toys to yes, even diapers! And lets be honest, Molly would prefer to play with a toilet paper tube and some packing peanuts over most of her toys anyway.

This blog post took me about a week to complete, working in 10 minute intervals. I'm trying out this new thing where I limit my time on the Internet while Molly is napping..you know, to help with my productivity. ;-) At any rate, the next post will not take this long to go up...it's already in process!

It Happens in Threes

This past weekend was anything but uneventful, and not particularly in the way that I had hoped!

We went to visit some friends in the DC area for a birthday party, but on the way back, it began to snow, and (long, long, long story short) we ended up completely turned around in downtown DC, in the snow, for almost 2 hours. I had assumed the GPS was in the car somewhere, and hadn't checked before we left earlier that morning. Ugh, total fail on my part! Mad props to my sister-in-law Amanda for not whining (too much anyway) about seeing the Washington Monument from just about every angle...twice.

The next morning, bright and early, my beloved almost-one-year-old (yikes!) smacked me in the eye with an iPod touch. My first child induced black eye. Thanks, kid! I tried to cover it up with makeup, but it just ended up brown/blue..and sparkly.

Next, we discovered around 5pm that our keys had been stolen earlier in the day. Yet another very long story short, we were unable to retrieve them, although we were/are fairly certain we know where they are. Thankfully, we have family that is willing to step up and take us in on short notice for a couple of days while we wait for our replacement vehicle key and for the locks to be changed on our house. Sigh.

The main purpose to this post is this: Have you ever heard of the saying that bad things happen in threes? I heard it maybe a year ago, and since then, I have had several rounds of "3" fall into my lap. My question is, do I notice that things happen in threes because I heard that phrase, or do things really happen in threes? Hmmm...food for thought.

A Tiny Challenge

I may have alluded to this before, or you may have met and observed this about Molly in person...or maybe you don't know at all, but I have a daughter with a very strong will! She is not laid back, she throws temper tantrums that 2 year old children would be envious of, and she is sassy as can be.

I would not have her any other way!

I knew pretty early on that she was going to be a Tiny Challenge. She picks up on things very quickly, and was mobile at a very young age. She is the child that scopes out where all the plug sockets are in a room within 10 seconds of entering.

This type of personality is a blessing and a curse, just like any. Yes, she is mobile and tends to go straight for the "No no" items in a room, throws royal fits (complete with head flinging and body limping -- speaking of which, I might have a black eye in the morning), smacks me right in my face when I tell her "no", and all out SCREAMS if I am not doing something quickly enough for her liking...but....

She is also extremely loving. She gives kisses and hugs and pat/scratches my back. She tries to wipe my nose with tissues and feed me some of her snacks. She is a very good communicator and between pointing and gesturing and making little noises (sometimes almost words!), I usually know exactly what it is that she would like to be doing.

I am learning to choose my battles early. Yes, lovey girl, we must put pants on...society and Mommy declare that it is necessary, and no amount of fit-throwing will change that fact. But ripping up the tissue into a thousand pieces and handing it to me (saying, "Here") while I write this blog? I'm not gonna fight that one today. :-)

My "Tiny Challenge":

Resolutions

I could probably count on one hand the amount of New Years Resolutions that I have made, and even fewer that I have kept. Part of the reason that I don't actually make the traditional January 1st resolutions is because I know that I will have trouble keeping them, then will feel guilty every time that I think about it...but not guilty enough to do anything about it.

So when Patrick asked me yesterday what my resolutions were going to be this year, I jokingly said, "Move into a house!" He says that is not a resolution, but rather it is a goal. I guess I always pictured them as being the same, but it made me think (we have a lot of time to think, driving 45 minutes each way every day).

I could probably list a bunch of goals that every woman in America could relate to:

- Exercise more frequently
- Cook healthier meals
- Keep my house tidy
- Spend less money

BUT, the fact is, in a few weeks, I probably will have (mostly) forgotten about these goals as I step back into the daily crazy balance of my life with Molly.

Those, of course, are excuses - because I know that if I made time to exercise, I could. And if I really wanted to spend less money, I probably could.

So instead, this year, I am purposing to be honest with myself about the time that I have and be more wise with how I use it. It is amazing how many things one can accomplish during nap time...or not accomplish.

Never Say Never

No, I'm not referring to a song by The Biebs...although, I will unashamedly admit my adoration for that particular tune. ;-)

You know the things that you say before you're pregnant/have a baby? The ones judging other mothers' parenting choices? The ones that are start off with, "I will never ever ever ever do _________" Yeah, that kind.

Never say never.

You will eat your words...daily. And it will be such a humbling experience. 

I'm not talking about judging others for things that may harm their children's safety. If you see somebody feed their baby a bottle of orange Fanta, while screaming curse words, then driving away with the baby in their lap in the Walmart parking lot? BY ALL MEANS, JUDGE AWAY. (and then pray for them!)

I'm talking about these:

I will never ever ever go to the store at 9pm wearing yoga pants.

I will never ever ever let my baby sleep in bed with me. all night.

I will never ever ever pacify my child with food to make them stop crying.

Even as I write this blog post, I'm thinking of examples and banishing them from this post with the thought - "But, I really would never do that! "

I've done all of the above. And she's only been here for 8 1/2 months. Granted, the yoga pants were post-partum, and I was tired of maternity pants!

Anyway, I write this as an encouragement. It's okay to do (some of) the things you vowed you'd never do.

(But for the record, my child will never ever ever play in the play-place in the Mall.)

(No, really. Never ever.)

Bathtime Beauty

We have a waterbug on our hands. She wasn't so sure about the bath when she was itty bitty, but ever since we took her to the pool at about 4 months old, she has been hooked! Her favorite, though, is the "big girl" bathtub at Patrick's parents house. 

She wiggles and stands up to the bathtub (with our supervision...) while it fills up with water and bubbles - I just love her cute little nakey baby butt as she stands there impatiently. No pictures of that, though - well, at least not on the blog. ;-)

Finally, the bath is ready, and we sit her down with a big rubber duck, a small rubber duck, a little metal bowl, and an orange plastic toy boat that was Patrick's when he was little. She splashes and plays and dances if you sing to her. 

She doesn't mind getting water in her eyes (unlike her mother) - she just holds her breath and blinks a few times until I wipe her face with my hands. I love how laid back she is about that! 

Also...seriously...she makes the cutest faces at her Daddy. She loves him so much.

Nursing Cover from Swanky Panky Designs - A Review

A friend of a friend recently began to make nursing covers, so my friend purchased one for me, since I was sorely in need - my first one bit the dust after only a couple of months. :-(

So here I am to give a review of my new nursing cover from April over at Swanky Panky Designs. Not only is she going to be stocking nursing covers (send her a message if you want one!) soon, but she also has the cutest camera strap covers, mixing bowls covers, and shirts for your cutie pie kiddos!

The fabric is durable, and Molly can't yank the top part open - which is a big plus, because the child is hell-bent on exposing me to the public EVERY time I nurse her! I also LOVE the fun pattern that my friend picked out for me. :-)

So whether you're looking for one for yourself, or searching for the perfect baby shower gift for a friend (OR a just-because gift....I love just because gifts), click the link above and visit April's shop for a sweet $18 nursing cover!

"THAT Mom"

Since high school (or at least, somewhere in that time frame), I've always prayed that God would help me not to be "THAT Mom" when I grow up. Don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about. We all have someone in mind. No matter how much we love them...they are still "THAT Mom", and we cringe a little when they go on the prowl!

But let's be honest with ourselves, ladies. We are all "THAT Mom", sometimes. There is no way to perfectly guard against it! The best that we can do is surround ourselves with family and friends who will brave the fire-breathing dragon that is "THAT Mom" to let us know when it's time to reel in the rod of unwanted opinions, facts, and lengthy stories about our children's milestones.

All through my pregnancy, I would get so annoyed with older moms telling me "just wait til..." or "it goes so fast!", or even telling me all kinds of labor stories, tips, and tricks. 

Now, looking back, I appreciate the love and support from those mothers, but when you're 5 days past due and feeling like you could rival a beached whale, you just want to scream every time someone says, "Oh, she just needs longer to cook!" <--- No. She's being an evil newborn who hates her mother before she's ever been born. (<--- I know that isn't actually true, but, that's really what you feel in the moment. :-)

Being on the "other side" now, I often say to my husband, "I can't believe I almost typed to her that it's going to go SO fast!" (Speaking about commenting on my pregnant friends' statuses on Facebook, of course.)

I get up in arms about car seat laws, outraged when someone is prohibited from breastfeeding in public, and giddy at the sight of a coupon that will save me BIG bucks on diapers. My daughter passes gas during the most inappropriate (albeit hilarious) times, reaches little milestones like... you know, licking the windows, and is 30-something weeks old (come on, now, just say almost 8 months!). I don't post these things on Facebook, not because it isn't important to me, but as a deterrent for myself, so that I will not be tempted to be....you guessed it... "THAT Mom".

Wait...is me writing this post being "THAT Mom"???

Generations

In this day and age where women seem to be having children later in life versus earlier, it is becoming less and less common to have multiple generations alive at the same time. This is why it is such a blessing and an extremely fun thing to document that Molly's great-great-grandmother is still living!

The other day, we went out to her "home for the aged" to visit, along with Patrick, Patrick's mom, and Patrick's grandparents. FIVE generations, y'all!

 

We accidentally took the picture youngest to oldest, but oh well. :-)

A Blankie For Baby

I wanted to write a quick "review" of one of my favorite gifts we have received for Molly so far in her little lifetime!

 Click Here to get this AWESOME Lands End baby blanket for YOUR cutie pie.

I have shamelessly pushed for this blankie to become Molly's "lovey", and now she is pretty attached to it.

At first, it doesn't seem particularly soft, but the more you wash it, the softer it becomes! It's soooo soft now.

Also, it's crazy warm, despite the small holes - which makes it breathable, so I have no problem putting it in her bed with her. AND it has her first and middle name embroidered on it, which makes it even more precious, if that's even possible.

 

The Chattanooga Adventure

As long as I can remember, my parents have never shied away from road trips just because there was a baby in the family. Probably because for the majority of my childhood, there was always a baby! 

So, when my sister in law was asked by one of my dearest friends to photograph her upcoming wedding in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I jumped at the chance to go along.

Last week at this time, we were driving through Somewhere, Virginia listening to one of the 12 (yes, 12) mix CDs that we acquired for this journey and munching on Sundried Tomato Basil Wheat Thins. <-- Check those out, because trust me when I say that they are the bomb diggity.

The trip was beautiful and enjoyable, and Molly did great! She was sooooo done by the end of the ride there, but still, we never had major meltdowns for more than a few minutes and she definitely brightened the day for many a rough-lookin' traveler by waving and grinning out the windows everywhere we stopped!

The wedding was lovely (and fun!), with the most hilarious bridal party I've been around to date. FOUR random singing/dance parties, all pre-ceremony. And Waves made a beautiful and laid back bride, despite the torrential downpour right as it was time to start taking pictures outside. 

Besides the wedding, we also got to visit with some other treasured "old" friends - Morgan, Josiah, Johanna, Jimmy, and Owen.

The ride back, however, was not quite as pleasant. :-( There was a good bit of traffic (Labor Day - we had expected that), rain almost the entire way, and about an hour and a half from home....our car died. Just up and died! I mean, fair enough, the poor dear had about 203,000 miles on it - but, really? Right now? I know God is trying to teach me something in this, I just haven't figured out what yet. 

Thankfully, we had friends in the area who took us in for the night, and my grandfather came to get us the next day after the auto repair shop owner let us know that our wonderful Buick had breathed its' last breath.

So, here we are. Looking for a vehicle to get us from point A to point B, and bumming rides in the meantime.

A Beach Day

Today we took a trip to the beach - Molly's first daytime trip to the beach, in fact! I say daytime because she has been to Assateague one time, but it was in the evening for a bonfire with friends - so not really your typical "beach" experience. :-)

I know, I know...Summer is almost over, and I live 25 minutes from the beach - so why is this her first trip? 

I hate tourist season. I loathe it. I hate the traffic, I hate the jacked-up prices of everything, I hate the stupid people who don't know where they are going and what they are doing. I hate the barely-dressed masses, and the less-than-sparkling water. And the trash in the sand. <--- That is why this was our first trip. And we didn't even go to Ocean City!

We went to a "secret" local beach. It's tiny and wonderful, and I'm not telling anyone where it is. Ever.

Molly LOVED it. We're talking - best mood ever, wanted to stay in the water forever, fell asleep on Amanda kind of loving it. It was blissful, minus the pretty awful sunburn that I came away with (my own fault).

Here are a few pictures from our beach day, courtesy of Molly's aunt Amanda.

The "Mom" Hair

I have never liked ponytails on myself. Sure, they look cute on other women...but not me. Nope, I just end up looking like a boy...or someone with no hair. 

 Even with bangs, I just can't rock the ponytail! Whenever I do just give in to the ease of a ponytail, I always end up seeing someone with fabulous hair, or getting my picture taken. Murphy's Law at its finest.

After having Molly, I fell into a pattern of "mom" hair - not that it looked bad, it just wasn't my normal way of doing my hair. I didn't have "time" to blow dry/straighten every day. 

But guess what? Your baby will be just fine if you spend 15-20 minutes doing your hair and makeup every day. She will not die from being strapped in the carseat with some toys while you shave your legs and use a little hair product.

Don't get me wrong - Molly doesn't like it when I divide my attention, but she has also (after a few weeks) gotten used to it. Now, my routine looks something like this:

Feed baby, put baby in the carseat with some favorite toys. Turn on Disney kid songs in the bathroom. Take a shower. Baby cries for a few minutes (she's thinking hey! mom! share some of the bathtime fun with me!). Baby (usually) falls asleep, lulled by the shower/music/toys combo. 

Once I get out of the shower, I get a few extra "getting ready" minutes by leaving the shower running! She stays asleep and I get to choose an activity: painting my toenails...plucking my eyebrows...the fun stuff. ;-)

After I turn the shower off, she usually wakes up in just a few minutes. I leave her in the carseat, though, while I blow dry and straighten my hair. Makeup can usually wait until her next naptime, unless I have somewhere to go.

As a new mom, it can be really hard to let your baby cry, even if it's just for a few minutes. But I'm realizing that this is how they learn! If they have been fed and changed, and given plenty of attention beforehand, I know that she is fine, and is just learning to self-soothe and self-entertain. This will be such a valuable trait when she is a little bit older...then maybe Mommy can pluck her eyebrows AND paint her toenails! ;-)