Rock & Roll Baby, Rock & Roll

She did it last night! She rolled all the way over from back to tummy and then back again about 3 times in a row, laughing her little elfin head off the entire time. I laid her in her crib after she yakked all over my shoulder, and as I was cleaning the baby puke out of the back pocket of my jeans and from in between the girls (the child has perfect boob aim when it comes to spewing... It's uncanny!), I caught a glance out of the corner of my eye of her grabbing her feet, piking up and then rolling over. It was very ingenious of her to use the foot grab to get her pudgy arm out of the way so she could get all the way over onto her tummy... My smart little blueberry! I'll have to try to catch her on film rockin' her new act. I've been a bad mommy lately and haven't posted any new picture of the girl. I promise I'll post some soon... Gotta find the free time to make a little video of her...

My Little Over-Achiever

After mentally trying to grasp that my girl may have teeth a lot sooner than usual, she goes and does something else ahead of the class...

I went to pick her up from Ms. Carrie's house yesterday and Carrie told me that she is days from being able to roll over completely from back to belly. Carrie said that she sat and watched her rockin' out in her play yard yesterday and was amazed as she saw her attempt the roll a few times but kept getting caught up on her arm. So, short of moving the arm out of the way, our girl can roll over! Carrie said she's going to work with her on trying to teach her to get that arm out of the way... She's growing so quickly...She'll be 4 months old on Saturday!

Back in the swing of things

Ma and Mel, you want to go and brave the madness that is Costco and Walmart on Saturday??? I've been out of the loop on the mass grocery shopping trips and I can't wait to hang out... I miss bonding over giant cans of pinto beans and trying to figure out how the hell we're going to fit all of the groceries, the kids, and us into mom's truck... Call me. Please!!! I can't grocery shop with 2 kids alone!!!!

Teefers

Our girl is cutting teeth early ya'll, and it SUCKS! I forgot how difficult and painful it is...It makes me feel so bad for her, she sounds like she's in so much pain and you can't even see or feel any tooth yet. So we've been giving her baby Tylenol and baby orajel as needed and that seems to be working ok so far. I think we probably won't see this pesky tooth for a few more months but she'll probably have a few more episodes of it sliding down and then receding back into her gums. Rough. Poor drooly, grumpy baby...

Mom's Day: The Beginning

What a good man I have... I awoke to steaming decaf peppermint mocha, a new cookbook I've had my eyes on, a new book to read while pumping at work and a pretty journal so I can write letters to Brooklyn as I have done for Luke since he was born. Oh yeah, and a sausage mcmuffin that didn't make it to picture time.... Yum!! I'm not a big fan of the fast food, but it tasted great and I didn't have to make it, so it rocked. I also got a sweet card from my Hubby who rarely is a sappy kind of guy, but brings it with full force on Mother's Day cards. There was also one from the Duke, complete with a Picasso-worthy four color "signature" that I'll save until I'm old and gray. Nothing like one day of true sweetness to remind you how amazing it is to me a mom.

Kiss your babies, hug your hubby and treasure every moment... For it all goes by so damn quickly....

Farty Friday

What is it about Fridays that just makes everything better?

It makes my coffee taste better, the commute to work almost enjoyable, and that early morning shower feel like heaven. I woke up totally exhausted like usual ( I need to start enforcing a bed time for myself!), dreading the mountain of things that I have to do today, but my sweet baby girl made it all better... I kinda rushed through my shower this morning as I could hear her rolling around in her crib and fussing a little and I had to be fully dressed and makeuped before I went to change her and feed her. So, I walk into her room to wake her up and get her ready for her day and she's laying sideways in her crib giggling at me while trying to shove her fingers down her throat in an attempt to find her thumb. I get her up on the changing table pull of the onesie she slept in and start changing her diaper. All of a sudden she lets out this massive belly laugh pulls her knees to her chest and lets out this rumbling, fat truck driver fart that practically rattles the walls! I start laughing my head off, Matt comes in the room and starts cracking up and Luke hangs his head around the door and tells me that I need to say excuse me when I fart that loud.

How is it that a gassy, laughing baby can make just about any day better, especially a Friday?

Sleep, Precious Sleep

I haven't talked about it in a while, but I feel like bragging a little right now. After having a heck of a time sleep training Miss Brooklyn around 2 months old, we finally got over the hump and she's been sleeping through the night ever since. I can't preach it enough: you have to get your baby on a schedule. It doesn't have to be super strict on what happens when, but there needs to be some consistency in your nightly routine for the baby to learn when it's time for bed. We have a pretty loose routine at night, Daddy takes Luke and I take Brookie, and we get 'er done. Luke's routine is pretty much set in it's ways so it usually goes dinner, playtime for about and hour, 30 minutes of his Teen Titans cartoon to wind him down, a sippy of warm milk, jammies and teeth, 2 books with Daddy and then we both come in and give him kisses and tuck him in. He still gets up a few times a night to pee, tell me he had a bad dream (without actually falling asleep), talk about storm clouds in his room (his night light reflects off of his dresser and makes a weird shape on the roof of his bedroom in the dark), or 1 of a hundred crazy, off the wall thoughts that fly into his head that can't wait until the morning. Brooklyn's is far more simple. It usually begins with changing her diaper and onesie, followed by a bath ( every couple of days...), chow time, and then off to bed in her crib. This has worked like a charm and we've only had a few hiccups where she's woken up later in the night hungry or wet.

Schedules are a beautiful thing! Anybody see Idol last night? How about those painted on ridiculous grey and black pirate pants Adam wore for the duet with Allison? What a buzz kill... No man should EVER wear pants that tight!

Boobie Pump Down for the Count

This is what I get for buying a "gently used" breast pump online... Yeah, I bet you only used it a few times, or a few years, which ever! But at least I got a screamin' deal on my new Medel.a Pump in Style Advanced, and it comes in a super cute messenger bag...About $100 off the regular price to be exact!!!!

Maybe I'll finally have enough space in that thing to bring to sets of parts so I don't have to wash the same set 3 times a day in the bathroom sink.

Party like a rockstar

This weekend my parents managed to throw two gigantic parties for my little sister's graduation from nursing school and my mother's 50th birthday. I think they are criminally insane.

Who the hell has ever heard of throwing two back-to-back 30+person parties? They were able to set up, cook, entertain, tear down and repeat for two parties (one on Friday night @ 6pm and the other @ 1pm on Saturday), both with completely different themes, meals, and oh yeah, it was POURING outside and they were both held outside in their backyard!


I'm amazed and totally impressed... It was a blast!

Project "Firm Mommy"

When you have a baby, at least for me and both of my pregnancies, you sort of lose your swagger for a bit.I know that it all stems from low levels of hormones following birth, but it's kind of depressing when you see a lack of confidence and attitude in yourself that you used to be so proud of.

I've never been one of those women obsessed with my weight or my looks and I think I've only actively dieted probably twice in my life. The first was for a "biggest loser" contest at work with a cash payout for the winner, the other was right before we went to Mexico last year. I hadn't been in a swimsuit, let alone a tiny bikini (of which I bought 4 for the trip) since before Lukey Duke was born and I really wanted to try and look my best for our first REAL vacation ever. I didn't do anything too extreme, just a few weeks of low carb, low calorie and managed to get myself to a trim 148 pounds of sexy mama. I was pretty proud of myself for dropping the weight but new full well that we were trying to get pregnant, and had been for 8 months, so the thought of gaining weight again wasn't a problem. Then we had Miss Brooklyn and I was quite proud of myself for only gaining a modest 30 pounds, compared to the 45+ pounds that I gained with the Duke. It kinda surprised me when the weight started melting of so quickly after she was born and I happily accepted that the last 5 pounds were probably going to stick with me until I was finished breastfeeding...

I've never claimed to be drop dead gorgeous or the sexiest thing alive, but I think I have pretty decent self-esteem and a healthy ego for a 20 something woman. So it kinda started to bother me when I realized that I was subconsciously turning away from Matt when changing clothes. What was happening to me? Why was I suddenly self-conscious around my husband who I've NEVER been nervous to be naked in front of?

This new "timid" me was really starting to piss me off so I decided that no matter what I have to give up (even less sleep, am I crazy or just masochistic?), I'm going to find time for myself everyday. I'm going to find a way to get 30-45 minutes on the treadmill at least 4 times a week and I'm going to firm up my soft mommy body. I know that the weight and the flab won't melt overnight, and I'm ok with that. I just don't want to be hampered with bad body thoughts and I really want to be active again. My kids deserve a happy, unburdened mommy who exudes self confidence and that's what I'm going to give them...

Wish me luck!!